A last-minute Christmas

OK, most years I publish a few gift ideas on here but this year has been frantic and if I'm honest time has been short. So, some Christmas gift ideas for people who haven't had the chance to get out just yet, for the fortysomething bloke in your life...

1. A good bottle of single malt is often welcomed by the mature male type. Not every time; if he's teetotal or plain doesn't like the stuff, obviously it will be a disaster. Check also the sort you're getting; my own taste veers towards the unpeated, non-smoky flavours of Penderyn (the Welsh one) or Glengoyne. I was sent a sample of Bowmore and it's much, much smokier, peaty, tastes almost of seaweed. For some this is utter whisky heaven; for me it's something I can appreciate rather than something I'd choose. Oban makes a good mid-point.

2. Books: in an age in which people can download the latest best seller to their computer without thinking about it, something quirky can be welcome. I've been wading through "The Philosophy of Beards"  by Thomas S. Gowing which takes you through the history of beard-growing as well as the physiology and is great fun. "Becoming the Perfect Gentleman" by Zach Falconer-Barfield and Nic Wing contains such gems as putting cutlery down whilst speaking, brushing your teeth and flossing (no kidding...) and what you need in a wardrobe (don't forget a single reversible belt will do you nicely). Don't take it too seriously and it's pretty entertaining. For once I'm not going to recommend one of my own books; they're all about work and I wouldn't wish any of them on anyone for Christmas.

3. Music: Two ideas beyond boring tokens. One I've given to my daughter. An Albumcard is a great idea; select the album you want to send and you get a greetings card with the cover on it and a download code. So the recipient still gets the album you wanted to give them, the fun of opening a proper present but they get it in a format they will actually use.
The second I've given to my daughter (don't anybody say 'spoiled'). Spotify has quietly launched family sharing, so you can get a discount for household members who want their own account. For a fiver a month she can have all the music she wants in Premium form, so it's downloadable and keepable-for-a-few-weeks (and you can always re-download), no ads, take it with you on the mobile app...with a few exceptions concerning artists who don't want to play, just about everything is available.

No. 1 is available from just about any supermarket. No. 3 part 2 at least is available as a download anytime. Help yourselves - and have a great break!

Pillar of sound

I'm doing fewer gadget reviews on this blog for what I think is the good reason that an awful lot of people are making an awful lot of gadgets very well indeed. It's probably indicative of my age that when I started writing about this stuff, there was some poorly-made tat out there and some weedy little speakers that were quite overpriced.

Which is why it's a pleasure to write about the Stelle Pillar, £249 from an Apple store near you (they will also be available elsewhere I'm sure). You can see from the picture that they come in different colours so you're likely to find one that will look good in your living room. The better news is that they're chargeable with the enclosed adapter so proximity to a wall socket isn't an issue when it's full of juice; it will also charge an external device through its USB socket.

Mine is black and it was very easy to pair with my iPhone although it seemed to struggle when I tried to add my iMac it wasn't so keen; it recognised my Nexus tablet OK but switching between this and the phone wasn't great. If you don't mind pairing again every time you want to use a different product with it, you'll be fine in my experience.

So, what about the sound quality? The answer is that it's very good. It has speakerphone capacity which is great, it has 15 hours of playback and although I'm not one for quoting decibels at people - they always seem a bit meaningless to me in the context of a review - it had a decent bit of bass oomph so that you can enjoy listening to music quietly as well as loudly.

Gripes are few; it came with a plastic disc whose purpose I've yet to ascertain (I suppose it can stand on it but...why?) and for a geek like me switching between devices could have been smoother. The speakers being built into a small unit means there is inevitable next to no stereo "spread". My wife had to fiddle with her iPhone audio settings before she was convinced it could play classics reasonably (my Beatles, Stranglers, Madness and other middle-aged-rocker fare were fine). And when you switch it on, the voice that says 'hello' is Australian - that's not a gripe, just a bit of trivia, before I get complaints!

For the vast majority of listeners I suspect it'll be a very good buy.

Weight loss - the inside story

This evening I'm going for a coffee with a colleague. She's been very kind about my weight loss - I've mentioned my efforts on here a few times (well, you would). I said I'd bring people up to date about my weight loss on this blog - anyone who's interested, read on.

Here are the facts. 16 months or so ago needed some benign, hereditary cysts removed from my scalp. I was expecting it all to be a bit routine. I visited the doctor and since I was 47 they put me on the scales.

I was told I was on the high-risk list for diabetes and my blood pressure suggested a stroke before 50 was entirely probable. That plus the fact that my father hadn't made it to 50 because of his heart (we'd always blamed the smoking) did a lot to focus my mind.

So I went on the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet (huge, huge thanks to my friend and colleague Grenville Bradder for drawing my attention to this) and reintroduced the gym into my life - moreso since November as my chiropodist finally zapped an ingrowing toenail which had been a persistent little bugger.

So, having unknowingly crept up to 18 stone I'm now just about over 14. The GP surgery tells me I should lose about one kilo (2lbs) and then focus on staying there. The pictures below tell a story - the tieless one is from 2010, the one in the middle is from 2014 and the one on the right is not quite a month old.

Photos: James Poulter, Be-Wizard, Civil Service

The one in the middle is my least favourite - the suit is tailored, the hair freshly coiffed and I clearly think I look something.

So my coffee-drinking colleague said to me a little while ago, this must have done a lot for your confidence. And yes, the answer is that it has - but you might be surprised to hear it took a while. At first it was shot to pieces - and that's what they don't tell you when you lose weight.

Stand-up
I do a lot of presentation work on stage, which is why there are pictures of me doing so. And over the last couple of years I've been doing some stand-up comedy as well. Some of it's been OK - the first one was a rant about the tyranny of slim-fit shirts, which chimed with some people.

In terms of the presentations on, say, social media (I wrote a book on it in 2008 that came out in 2009 when it was pretty new) I'd occasionally refer to this blog, saying something like "I run a small men's lifestyle blog...not a lifestyle blog for small men, obviously [PATS GUT]..." and it would get a suitable laugh.

So, guess what? The weight went down and I didn't have my fall-back humour subject for when things were flagging, either for the corporate gigs or for the comedy. Whoops. The comedy started going downhill immediately - I made the mistake of trying the slim-fit shirt routine as a fairly averagely-built man. The audience was bemused - and I found myself explaining I used to be bigger. Only a brief sentence or so, but if you have to explain why something's funny, it probably isn't.

You could argue that on some level I'd built being fat into my identity and found it rather comforting. Indeed, you might think I'd unconsciously not only justified it in my mind but made it essential. What I'm certain of is that on stage during 2014 until as recently as last week I could feel my legs shaking, which hadn't happened before.

Look sharper
That wasn't the only thing hitting my confidence. If you're about to go on stage or TV, the natural thing to do is to check yourself in the mirror - is the tie straight, the hair OK, boring stuff like that. After a major change as I've had, for a while it didn't look like 'me' looking back. OK, it was and is a better look than I'd had for about 15-20 years, but that feeling of going in front of an audience looking unfamiliar and without the fallback fat jokes was unsettling. If you lose weight noticeably (and believe me the best part of four stone is noticeable) you have to adjust to the new look and become comfortable with it. It can take time.

I went to my friend and comedy mentor Tim Dingle for a bit of help. We had a session in which he explained (as a bit of a psychologist) that my feeling insecure on stage was b*ll*cks because when you break it down, it means I was concerned the audience wouldn't be satisfied I was fat enough. Which was of course nonsense. We worked on some calming techniques before and during presentations and stand-up routines. We looked at different ways of producing jokes.

I also spoke to my good friend Dr. Lynda Shaw, whose knowledge of psychology is considerable. She said my belief that I'd identified myself as 'fat' and grown to welcome it was probably right, and that I needed to adjust to the new version.

She also suggested getting rid of all of my 'fat' clothes; I was reluctant but this actually took care of itself. I had a few of my tailored suits altered but there's only so much they can do. The suit in the middle picture above now has a waistline that fits but they can't make the armholes and legholes smaller, and the sweep of material at the front (including the length of the lapels) to cover the gut can't be reduced, so you end up with something that doesn't actually fall off but which looks like a very baggy suit indeed. So I now have one suit that fits. I may need to buy another.

Losing weight can cost a fortune. They don't tell you that either!

Happy ending so far
Rationality has kicked in now. I can see at a glance that the bloke in the picture on the right is going to be less prone to coronaries (like the one from which my dad died at my age) and the GP has confirmed that any risk of diabetes has receded into the distance. At 49 I look and feel loads healthier than I did at 45 and probably 35 - more fool me for putting the weight on in the first place, but I'm fine now. I went jogging with a teenage family member the other day - they got through about a sixth of my normal routine. I hadn't realised my energy levels had lifted like that, but clearly they have.

I'm not blogging about this to show off. I just think there's an untold side to the weight loss issue that will affect middle-aged people of both sexes - seriously, there can be downsides to work through. If it's happening to you, it's worth persevering. Had you not read everything I've written and just seen the pictures, you wouldn't see any advantage in the fat versions at all, and no matter how uncomfortable you might be with a slimmer version of yourself at first, it's the same thing.

And I'm getting back to the stand-up. Eventually. Probably. I just don't feel the same need to get on stage and justify a major flaw any more...

Cooler shirts from Smartweave

Last night there was torrential rain so it must be Summer. Women get to run around almost half-naked in this season; if men want to look respectable we still have suits or at least formal shirts to contend with. And we don't like the sweaty patches look. Last year I was on assignment for the New Statesman in Gibraltar, wearing my 'lightweight' pale grey suit and when I took the jacket off I looked as though I'd been in a shower.

Whether a shirt from Smartweave would have overcome that level of saturation I don't know, but I've worn the sample they sent twice on hot days and it seems pretty effective. No patches, but I was definitely perspiring like a whatsit underneath. It would have added to my confidence in any meetings I attended whilst wearing one.

Don't get me wrong; you'll still niff a bit. Some journalists in the Nationals used the shirts in the gym or on long cycle rides to test them and I wouldn't advise that - but for ordinary use, keeping yourself comfortable and dry, the shirt seemed about perfect.

There's a good selection of shirts on the site with variations in collars, fits and cuffs; illustrated is a relatively casual white jobbie with a tartan trim, I have the grey with black trim and it looks very good indeed. If you want to go formal for work shirts you can do so, without the trim and double cuffs for cufflinks are available. I did a little mystery shop and asked the difference between tailored and slim fit, not telling them I was writing about their company, and had a thorough response within an hour, which bodes well for customer service. Also the shirts are well put together; the fit is good on me and the seams appear strong.

I'm not short of shirts, if I'm honest; if I were I'd certainly be looking at spending around £75 a garment from these guys.

Best thing: Appears to work, sweat wicked away as promised, but looks and feels like an ordinary cotton shirt. Companies attempting this sort of thing before have produced odd-feeling and odd-looking garments but not this time.
Worst thing: Remembering not to use conditioner in the wash, which interrupts the drying technology. You can always wash it again, conditioner-free, and its de-sweating properties will be restored, but I'm a swine for forgetting and sticking it in with the rest of the whites.

Weight loss diary 1: Weird Fish

OK, this time last year I said I'd keep you all informed about how my (slightly enforced) weight loss programme was going. I am nothing if not a man of my word, and since I'm between three and a half and four stone down I see nothing wrong with telling absolutely everybody about it who wants to know, and several people who don't.

I'll write about the psychological effects another time (they're not universally positive, you might be surprised to hear) but for the moment let's consider practical stuff. I am pretty much surrounded by clothes that don't fit. I went to the gym (yes the gym) a few months ago wearing my gym kit and taking civvies with me; I forgot to take a belt and, you've guessed it, the chinos simply fell off.

Trying something new

So it's with some trepidation that I'm trying to work out what my waist size is these days. I was stretching into a 40in but have been trying 36 and more recently going into a 34in in certain brands. One of these is Weird Fish, which has made me aware of its Spring collection. The trousers they sent over to try are well-made, solid stitching and a great casual style; they're the sort in which you can unzip the lower leg to make shorts which don't look as though they've been converted from longer versions, and which somehow don't have a scratchy zip. Weird Fish is one of those companies that makes slightly tighter waists than some; I can do them up and they're comfortable when they're on but I may have been better off with a 36; the jeans I'd bought from another manufacturer the week before are a 34 and are very slightly loose. One day someone is going to explain to all of these manufacturers that an inch is an inch (I suspect the jeans are designed to flatter me while the Weird Fish measurement is slightly more honest). Click the image for a larger pic.

Speaking of flattering, they also sent a jumper, the indigo model you can see to the right. My wife tells me it's very flattering; it's warm enough for the Spring and it goes very nicely with the trousers. The red detailing on the collar and button area make it particularly appealing and if I say so myself the slim cut means I look better than I've done in about ten years. Perhaps oddly there's plenty of room in the XL size they sent; of course I'm used to XL being skin tight, so maybe this is what everyone else has been feeling like for a while!

These clothes aren't cheap - you'll get a penny change from £60 for the trousers and the same amount of coins from £70 for the jumper. But they're nicely made - the stitching suggests that unlike cheaper brands they won't be falling to pieces anytime soon - and the pre-fading on the jumper particularly makes it very stylish.

Their website and shops may well be hearing from me again.

A last-minute Christmas

OK, like last year I'd intended to go through December with an idea for a Christmas present each day, writing about them in a little depth. Then some stuff happened - I won't bore you with the details - and it's suddenly the 20th and I've covered very little.

Which is a shame because I've been sent a few good items to look at. The Colgate ProClinical A1500 toothbrush would make a good stocking filler for the hygiene conscious; it adjusts its pressure and speed according to where it thinks it is in the mouth. There's a display and a 30-second pacer that tells you when you've done enough on one area.

I liked the idea a lot and since I'd recently replaced my own toothbrush I passed this to my daughter to see what she thought. She found the display a little disconcerting - difficult to read while the brush is actually in your mouth, which is when the display will count - but in spite of her protestations, she's got cleaner teeth than she had before.

Clutter
For me this has been a year of getting more and more clutter around the place and given that I write a lot about technology this means a lot of wires. This is why I thought BlueLounge's CableBin so useful; it's basically a large bin with a gap down the side so you can put an extension cable in, and then have all of your other cables simply coming out of the bin.

It really tidies the place up and for all I know makes it safer, too.

Another gadget on sale this week is at Aldi - the 7in DVD player for £39.99. I can confirm it works, the packaging is nice and stable and it plays many formats on DVD or CDs.

However...

I'd have reservations about how many kids (I'm assuming a younger market) will want it. It's an exaggeration to say we're all on downloads now, but many people are and they won't want this player. If they do, they may want a larger screen. It's only ten years or so since this sort of technology was a big wow and if you're certain your recipient wants to watch a DVD whilst travelling (and hasn't got a plain laptop) then go for it; my instinct is that these things have had their day.

Fitness

If this year has been about anything for me then it's been about getting fitter. This is where my favourite gadget of the moment, the MisFit Shine, comes into its own. It's an activity tracker worn like a wristwatch; you sync it with an app on your phone and it tells you what you've been doing.

It can take a little getting used to. You can read the time from it but it has a system of lights which take some deciphering. You can tell it when you're performing a particular activity - swimming was mine - by tapping on it three times, but I didn't tap correctly apparently so after a one-kilometre swim it thought I'd been fairly inactive.

Persevere, though, as it's a lovely little gadget that tells you how much of your daily target you've achieved and how many calories you've burned. Don't do what I did, though, and keep it on whilst getting the Christmas tree out of the loft. The wristband can catch on things, then you get downstairs and find you haven;t got the thing on your wrist any more, and the lighting in the loft rather suggests you won't be able to find it again even if you try.

But a lovely gadget and my favourite of the season - all too briefly, I'm afraid.

Christmas presents 1: Scent to you

Now this is a good idea. The new Vivabox, available in exotic venues like Boots, is simple but genius. Costing £37.99, it consists simply of seven small samples of eau de toilette - you can buy one set for men and one for women - and a voucher for a full bottle of whichever you like, from The Perfume Shop. It's as simple as that.

The even better news is that the scents aren't rubbish. My wife wasn't drastically struck on the selection for women but she's a fussy whatsit who's fond of her Jo Malone - you know, the seventy-quid-a-bottle factory (it's rather good but then it pretty much ought to be). She had a selection from Lacoste, Boss, Ghost, Paco Rabanne and more, and no these aren't their second-tier offerings, these are the top sellers.

I was rather happier with my box. Boss Orange Man is something I rather like although my wife doesn't  so that's remained unopened, like the Hugo Man; I'm wearing the Carolina Herrera 212 Men at the moment and it's a little sweet for me (to me it smells feminine; I don't get this 'this one's for men, this one's for women' ethos so many perfume makers think ought to be a hard and fast rule, either you like it or you don't, and if I wanted to smell flowery one day that's down to me).

I suspect I'm going to opt for the bottle of Eau D'Issey but I could also have chosen Paco Rabanne Black XS, Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male or James Bond 007. Actually I don't dislike the James Bond, but you'd feel such a pillock buying something with a name like that - and isn't it ironic that it should come out in the Daniel Craig era; if ever there were a 007 who wouldn't give a stuff how he smelled, he's the one.

Good and bad

It's not a faultless scheme. I can't exchange my voucher online, presumably because it's a come-on to get me into the shop in the first place. That's a valid promotional idea but a Christmas present that's a promotion may not appeal to everyone. Also, I can't go into the shop and use it as a contribution towards a more expensive scent. I'm starting to run short of my beloved Armani Code, but the voucher is strictly for exchange for one of the scents included in the promotion.

On the other hand I don't have to use the voucher until the middle of 2015 so nobody's hurrying me. The samples contain enough for a day or three's splash each, so I can get used to how each of them smells rather than have a quick sniff and buy on the spot.

Above all, if you or your partner have ever had a scent given to you that you don't like, you'll be appallingly aware of how awkward that can be - you think you should wear it when the giver comes to visit, you don't want to be rude...this selection idea is more personal than a bland gift voucher but it also gives the recipient a decent breadth of choice.

I'd get one for someone if I were you - then maybe next year they'll increase the range.

Taking the tablets (and phones)

Apple has been making new toys as you've probably read. Of course I've been looking at them and some are very shiny indeed.

First the one I don't 'get'; the iPhone 5c. Slightly cheaper than most of the others on offer but not sufficiently to make it a cheap option, this comes with up to 32 gigs of memory and has a better camera and faster processor than its predecessors. It's a nice phone and if you want a marginally lower-spec phone then OK - but releasing it at the same time as the 5s? Really? I suppose something's going to compete with it and Apple might as well aim for the number two slot as well. I did wonder whether the youth market would go for the colours; my 13-year-old's view was 'it's a bit yellow, isn't it?'

iPhone 5s

The 5s is a prince among phones. It has fingerprint recognition and it's no use mugging me and gruesomely cutting my finger off so you can use it - it detects that it's an actual finger with a pulse that's touching it. This seriously excellent function is hidden in the start button so there's nothing obtrusive in the design, which basically echoes the iPhone 5. It's a faster phone than we're used to in terms of apps and it has a number of new whizzy features; if you leave your phone switched on in a locker in a basement (it can happen) then normally it will continue to waste battery trying to find a signal. The 5s won't - it realises it's not moving and switches the aerials off.

Best of all is the camera. You get decent pictures from your mobile, which has never gone without saying. Here are some fireworks from mine - remember this is just a phone camera with the flash turned off in poor light - someone who knew what they were doing with a camera could take some seriously good pics (this'll probably look OK on the page, click it for a larger image and see how out of focus it actually is - my fault, not the camera's). I certainly don't have any reason to carry a 'snaps' camera around with me any more...oh, you'd got to that stage some time ago? OK.

Look also at Apple's third video down on this page, which about two minutes in demonstrates the slow-mo video camera. I've had hours of fun making the dog wet and filming her shaking using this - just nothing worth sharing yet because I don't know what I'm doing with the lighting. Here's the Apple link: http://www.apple.com/iphone-5s/videos/

As you can gather, if you're thinking of upgrading or generously buying someone hundreds' worth of phone for Christmas, I'd go for the 5s.

iPads

I haven't seen the new iPad Mini yet but the iPad Air is much lighter than its predecessors. It has the same processor as the new phones so is faster to react than the older versions and a lenticular display like the last one; the result is a very easy full-sized tablet which is fine for high-definition movies, whether you're filming them or just watching. The speakers always impress me; you get a reasonable amount of bass for something so thin.

I find my own previous-generation iPad Mini more practical because you can carry it around in a smaller case; on the other hand I've stopped using it for typing in spite of buying a keyboard case because the keyboard is physically too small to be comfortable, and I find the larger screen better when I'm travelling as I like to carry movies with me for the plane and long hotel evenings whilst on business.

Accessories

As always there are accessories available, including the usual gamut of cases and chargers. My favourite is the Griffin PowerDock 5. Looks like a toast rack (except the dividers are plastic) and it supports up to five devices. The blurb says it's designed for Apple gadhets, which I imagine is a bit of marketing - it has USB ports, you plug your own adapter in so it'll work with anything. I've recently bought a Google Nexus 7 for testing Android apps and it's charging perfectly happily as I type.

(Incidentally I don't write as much about Android because I use mostly Apple, but for a good all-round tablet with a smaller form I've been very impressed with the Nexus 7 so far - it even managed to transfer a YouTube film to my TV yesterday without my having to set up a manual connection. I suspect it was talking to the Virgin Media box, but I didn't have to fiddle with passwords or anything like that as it was already on the same WiFi network. Didn't work for stored video, unfortunately, so Apple kit plus Apple TV is still ahead on points if not price).

Photographers should also look at the Olloclip, a deceptively simple add-on for the iPhone's camera. You just clip it on and focus a bit and you suddenly find your camera on your phone has gone wide-angle or panoramic, there's a lense for each. Make sure you buy the right one for your phone; grown-up photographers will want to know that it takes fish-eye, wide angle, macro 10x and macro 15x. None of that means very much to me; I do know that I've started to take pictures that look as though they come from a much better camera...unfortunately with the same incompetent operating it as before.

That's handy (or other glove-related puns)

OK, I'll ask - what did someone just do to the summer? I'd have sworn there was this Autumn thing before winter kicked in but the state of these blocks of ice - or 'feet' as we call them in the trade - on the end of my legs tells me otherwise.

So I've been looking at gloves. And I have a new favourite pair - from MacWet.

These are technically sports gloves, and I have been using them in the gym. You need to measure your hands across the knuckle - this is because they are 'proper' fitted gloves, suitable for people doing work with their hands rather than just commuting or something. The grip is stronger than you find on most other gloves.

I can vouch for their efficacy when you're pushing weights up and down, certainly. Not that I'm massively active; people who follow this site will be aware I've been trying to lose weight, though, and part of that has involved reintroduction of exercise into my life. They work.

Mostly, though, I use them when I'm out generally. A snugger fit than most, you can use them when you're operating a phone (mostly) or whatever else you need to do; they're comfortable because of the case you'll take in measuring your hand, and they look rather stylish in my view.

£27.99-£29.99 a pair depending on the length of the cuff. Not the cheapest gloves but for the right context among the most practical.

Trumper's shaving triumphs

OK, I've been shaving again and I've been testing a number of creams and colognes from Geo. F. Trumper. They're not the cheapest but the company produces some of the most pleasant shaving preparations I've used - more on those in a minute.

The wet shave
I used to get quite frustrated by the sheer amount of men's publications advising us on how to shave. We know, I'd say, we mastered that when we were 13. But then I look around and notice how many blokes still have some sort of shaving rash. And it's not necessary. Here are a few guidelines...

• Blade: The blade with which you shave must, repeat must, be clean. This is very difficult once you've used a modern 'cartridge' head with about 53 razors and a bit of rubber to lubricate it more than once, which is why I switched to a double-edged safety razor a couple of years ago. If you do the same, change the blade every five shaves or so. My Dad used to tell me that a new razor will always cut you; it won't, the old off-sharp ones are the ones that will catch on the skin.
• Heat: Water should be hot and if you can (a flannel will do it) the face should be warmed before shaving, to soften the hair.
• Shaving cream: Your preference rules, but remember soapy stuff will dry up on the skin and may well lead the razor to catch a bit. If you use a cheap preparation, don't lather the whole face at once as it'll dry up.
• Shaving: Shave in the direction the hair is growing to avoid razor burn. If you have time, shave twice gently, each time to reduce the hair growth rather than machete the lot at once.
• Rinse: Get all of the soap or cream off - you don't want to be stuck with a spot-making residue.
• Cologne: On the upper chest or back of the neck by all means - but not straight onto the face after shaving, you've just been dragging a naked razor across it so it'll go red.

That should get you over a number of difficulties.

Preparations and products
My favourite barber The Valet has one fault and that is that they don't stock Trumper's, fast becoming my favourite shave company (with a respectful nod to the Bluebeards and looking forward to the Valet's own range which it will be releasing sometime next year).

Shaving cream is important. It has to feel pleasant, stay moist and not dry up and smell OK. I've been using the Trumper's almond cream (pictured) a lot recently and it fulfils all the criteria; the chances are that when I've finished my current pot I'll replace it with the coconut version I was using before as the almond smell is a bit sweet for me (NB: this is because it smells of almonds, and to be fair there's a clue in the name). The Eucris version is also nice to use with a refreshing sniff of eucalyptus in the morning, and the extract of limes is also a good wake-up concoction; both smell quite distinctive, though, and may clash with your choice of cologne.

There's no obligation to stick with the same company's scents of course. Trumper's goes for the traditional and classic rather than the modern scent and some I find too dated or overpowering; the violet cologne seemed very feminine to me, reminded me of a music teacher from primary school - I have no idea whether she shaved with Trumper's stuff or not, but she was about 100 and smelled terribly of violets. Another scent, Curzon, I found to be different in smell but similarly oversweet and elderly.

Spanish Leather, on the other hand, has become a firm favourite. It doesn't smell as manufactured and artificial as so many  of the major perfume houses' modern offerings (you know how you can get something that smells not so much of a single scent but 'smells of Armani' or 'smells of Hugo Boss'? You don't get that with Trumper). Masculine, classic, a bit refined and different from most of what you find on the High Street. Extract of Limes I liked very much as well, particularly  when used with the matching shave cream - lime and a bit of spice in there, and it lasted most of the day.

These are quite strong and should be used sparingly - a few drops will do you. And they do last - unlike some colognes  I could mention, you'd better decide you like the smell of this stuff because if you put it on at 7am you'll still know it's there at 6. 

Just in Case

The thing about getting an iPad or other tablet - or indeed a smartphone - is that not only do they need protecting but a good percentage of the cases on the market are purely decorative - or worse, the designers think they're decorative but anyone with functioning eyeballs is likely to have a different opinion.

This is why the black picture you can see illustrating this entry was such a blessed relief. It's from Tech21. Look, it's black and more chic than you can see from the picture - but it's also reinforced and feels very solid indeed.

The same is true of the Impact Shield screen protectors the company produces - obviously they're flexible and stick-on-able but ultimately very tough. This is achieved by putting some of the same stuff BASF and the military use to protect their equipment.

It seems to do the job which is excellent; in my view, though, the best thing about it is the simplicity and elegance. Just don't put it down on a black surface.

Docusign Challenge 4: The conclusion

As per previous posts, I've now tried to go three months without signing my name with a pen. Fortunately nobody has asked for my autograph - no, look, that has happened to me when someone has a book I've written at an event (my guess is that the PRs put them up to it, but no matter).

The latest is that I signed another contract electronically today and a further one last month but - wait for it - the other party signed it in biro and sent my copy back to me. I'm not sure if that counts.

Signing for prescriptions and anything like that is at the moment a dead loss without a pen. Ironically it's years since I've had a prescription for anything, but a blood pressure issue (discovered only months ago) and a minor scalp operation followed by antibiotics mean I've become very familiar with the health systems. When it's your health involved, you sign in whatever way they want you to.

But I think the e-signers are onto something. I'll certainly continue with electronic contracts as they file themselves and you don't lose them. That's a good reason to use them in its own right.

I'll look forward to some of the statutory services catching up.

Rockface makes "first shave butter"

To shaving, and I've been sent samples of Rockface's new shaving butter and body spray. I'm going to declare quite openly that I'm not a fan of scented deodorants; they have a scent (there's a clue in the word 'scented') - I'd rather my own sweaty aroma was masked leaving me free to chose my own cologne, thanks. The smell of this one is not offensive at all and if you're OK with these products it's a good one.

More interesting is the shave butter (pictured). It claims to be the first of its kind and I've no doubt it's the first to be called 'butter' - a spillover from the female cosmetics industry is that stuff has to be called butter rather than cream sometimes and other such naming jollities.

I don't care about that. I also don't care that it does substantially the same job as a shave oil - lubricates the skin a bit so your razor doesn't stick and cut you and achieves a smoother and indeed closer shave - or the Proraso shave preparations about which I've spoken on here before.

No, I care that it does the job equally well if not better, doesn't leave a residue like shave oil, has a light scent that fades very quickly, doubles up as a post-shave balm and does it for just under a fiver (I've been paying over twice that for the Proraso stuff). The same company offers its own balm but I find this calms the skin down just as well.

I shall certainly be buying it again and would recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their shave - although not as much as I'd recommend using a good cleanser on your face first and keeping the razor clean with hot water. That and not pressing too hard will get you over a lot of shaving rash issues, but this makes a good addition.

Great weather for...er...

I've been playing with gadgets again. This time it's the Netatmo Weather Station, a handy little gizmo - or pair of gizmos - which turn your iPad and/or iPhone into a weather station. They use an app, they talk to your phone and tell you when it's raining.

OK, the last bit was an oversimplification.

As I write in the formerly sunny Norwood it has started pelting down. Obviously I don't need a piece of technology to tell me this. Last week, however, a family member was suffering a little with breathing issues due to pollen - we live opposite a microscopic park (already my home sounds posher than it is) and if you have hay fever this can become very difficult, particularly combined with an unkempt (read 'completely neglected for years) garden next door.

Air quality

So an indoor and outdoor gadget that tells you what the air quality is like is something of a help. You can monitor temperatures and air quality through the apps, which are of course free, and set alerts when they reach a certain level.

For £139 it could be an expensive way of seeing whether it's raining or not if you're not all that worried by the temperature. In the current heatwave, however, if you're prone to breathing issues it could be a very good investment - and you can buy extra modules to monitor different rooms if, say, you have kids.

DocuSign Challenge 3: Getting used to it

As regular readers will know I've taken up the challenge to go three months without signing a wet signature. DocuSign issued the challenge.

I'm over half way through and the position is much as I thought it was last time I wrote about it. Basically if you're doing anything for businesses it's terrific. Nobody has questioned my right to sign electronically, contracts have been accepted without any issues, it's been great. This coming Friday I should receive my first payment based on a contract I signed using the iPad App. All good stuff and as an added benefit all of my contracts are stored securely offsite in electronic form.

This is all excellent. Meanwhile when there's anything personal involved - hospital visits to pick up a blood pressure machine, pharmacists for the odd prescription, ordinary stuff like that - signing electronically isn't an option.

I certainly feel my business life is easier with this technology - but suspect that costs will prohibit the business stuff for a fair while yet.

Watches without borders

Regular readers (hi Mum) will be aware that I'm quite fond of nice watches. And by 'nice' I generally mean uncomplicated, a classic design, something that looks as if it tells the time rather than plays music, acts as a video phone and goodness knows what else.

(Note: I reserve the right to change my mind if Apple ever produces the long-rumoured iWatch).

If it can be sold raising money for a good cause that is of course a bonus. So the only thing holding me back from acquiring a Special Edition Tagente (pictured) from Nomos Glashütte is the absence of a spare £1350. Or £1200 for a slightly smaller model, the Special Edition Tagente 33.

Design

As you can see they are simplicity itself, and better still they're mechanical. I'm fond of well-engineered products and an old-fashioned wind-up watch is something I don't actually possess, although my automatic is a good substitute.

These models are distinguished by the red '12' which is a way of reminding yourself that when you spent all that money £100 went to Doctors Without Borders (or if you're an old git like me Médecins Sans Frontières). Meanwhile you'll have a watch with galvanised white silver-plated dials, black oxidised polished hands and an a (alpha) Nomos caliber movement with manual winding, for people who know about movements.

I think they look excellent and are a discreet way of supporting an excellent cause. I may consider making a donation and telling them Nomos gave me the idea. Meanwhile if you're in the market for a watch and can withstand the price, the two models are limited to 1000 pieces each.

Losing weight: an update

OK, it's a while since I adopted this 5x2 diet and promised I'd keep people updated - the original post from September is here.

There has been some qualified success. The first thing I'd have to say is: do not assume that if your jeans are more or less spray-on, really ought to get the next size up, that you're going to shrink two waist sizes within three months. This, if it's going to be sustainable, is not going to happen.

However, there has been progress. I'm still wearing the same jeans but I need, really need, a belt. And I've lost (FX: DRUMROLL) just over two stone. The shape would probably have changed more if I hadn't managed to develop an ingrowing toenail, which has limited some of the exercise possibilities (this has been treated, is improving and I was back in the gym yesterday).

But here are a couple of pics of me from BBC appearances - before the diet:

And after:

Now, nobody should kid themselves I'm an oil painting, obviously. And it's been gradual (and will continue to be). Having had the cysts removed from my scalp I can have a shorter haircut, which helps.

But there's definitely a difference. I can recommend this diet to anyone who's serious about losing weight permanently.

Heaven is the first haircut in weeks

A handful of you may be aware that I had minor surgery at the end of April - just the removal of a few cysts from my scalp. It was all supposed to be over very quickly, better in a couple of weeks.

Hah.

We pause here for a quick wallow in self-pity and snarling about stitches and wounds going infectious. Tell you what, let's just put a quick picture in:

That's me, the day before a major stage presentation, a week or so after I was supposed to be 100%. The bandage pinged off during the presentation.

I was not delighted.

Later the head bandage shrunk to a plaster and people kept asking whether I'd been in a fight. Nobody had accused me of looking hard for...actually, no, it's never happened. Until now. Oh, and of course you can't have a hair cut with all this going on.

Yesterday - finally - the plaster came off and I went to the barber. Almost flew. Frankly they could have cut my head off and got a good review.

Towel shave

But I do feel I must recommend all blokes have a hot towel shave every now and then, and if at all possible do it at The Valet in Addiscombe or one of its concessions at local hotels. I had the "Casino Royal" (yes I know the book and film have an 'e' on the end of 'Royale', it's a barber, you think they care?) which costs £45 but honestly, it's worth it.

You start off with a pre-coating of Proraso Eucalyptus undercoat. This refreshes and stimulates the skin, and then they put a hot towel over you. You then get a close shave (or three; the trick they use is to take a little hair off often, which is gentler and less prone to provoking a rash).

There's a clay mask for extra cleaning. There is cleanser. There is a total of five hot towels. Nobody, repeat nobody, is allowed to disturb you during this hour of completely indulgent time.

Then I switched to the other chair for my first haircut in months. I spent £29.50 on a decent re-style, after all that growth it needed it; I asked them to model it on Jose Mourinho, and when they'd picked themselves up off the floor they did their best (Lucky I didn't ask for George Clooney). It looks unusually good - for me anyway:

No doubt I'm biased by this being my first fully de-bandaged day since 30 April, and this being the first picture I've seen of me from that angle without a large visible cyst on the side of my head. But I feel genuinely refreshed, the attention to my wants from the guys at the salon was superb as always and I'd certainly recommend it.

(And yes, good of you to ask, I have indeed lost a little weight).

Pop-up shop this weekend

Anyone who fancies looking at some of the socks I highlighted earlier this week (see this post) and who's in the Spitalfields area might want to know it and a few other menswear brands have a pop-up shop from Sunday until Tuesday at 52 Artillery Lane, E1.

As well as Richmond Socks there will be bow ties from Charles Olive, 'preppy; clothes from Coeur (a bit young for this blog's target market frankly), underwear from Hamilton and Hare and various luxury items from Monsieur London.

I'm hoping to pop in on the last day, Tuesday - when, with a bit of luck, they'll be reducing the stock rather than carting it all back. Dream on...

Father's Day: some drinks ideas

So it's Father's Day on Sunday. This I know because my daughter is going to have some friends for a sleepover. I will be up at 6am cooking breakfast I imagine, for several small females who refuse to eat my greasy food.

Which is as it should be...

If you managed to resist the socks I wrote about the other day and you already have slippers, you may be limited as to what to hint that your offspring ought to get you. My feeling is that a single malt would do nicely (and do drink it very sparingly - ignore the standard 'safe limits' in terms of units, I've recently had cause to find out they don't work if you have high blood pressure - less is always more).

If you want to drink small amounts then there are a number of ways of doing it. First go for something stonkingly expensive. Glenfiddich is a single malt that comes in a number of expressions; the 12 year old is probably the most popular, light, oaky, very pleasant with a drop of water. The 15 year old has a more depth and tastes a bit fruity; if your kids are adults and feeling flush, splashing out £50 on the 18 year old version (pictured) will make them very popular, you can tell them. Intensely sweet, the price tag means this one is really for the buff - do not under any circumstances drop hints for this one if you're planning to put ginger ale into it.

Tasting sets with small amounts of all three are also available, and these come from supermarkets which is helpful at this distance. Likewise another of my favourites, Penderyn (the Welsh one) has tasting samples available from a number of outlets, we're talking the signature 'Madeira' finish, another version in sherrywood and another which is oaked. The sherrywood is my personal favourite (this means the casks used to store it formerly contained sherry, imparting some of the flavour).

For a gift that gives for a little longer you could drop hints for a membership of Flaviar, if you're into your spirits. This sends boxes of five phials of expensive spirit for £24.99 a month, suitable for having friends round and tasting. They sent me a selection of Indian whiskies a few months back and very nice they were too; at the moment there's an offer for Japanese. 

They won't arrive in time for Father's Day, though. At this notice it may well be socks or nothing. I will be delighted with my Dennis and Gnasher tee-shirt and will pretend to be surprised.