Here are some beautiful photographs of fault lines for you to gawp at…
What is it like to live on a fault line?
For 12 weeks starting from 1st August 2010, Serena & Tamsin Davies and Adam Whitaker drove 15,000 miles along the worlds most dangerous fault lines to ask the question.. What is it really like to live in a permanent danger zone?
Supported by Land Rover who kindly presented them with a Land Rover Defender 110 and £10,000 of funding from the Royal Geographical Society, the trip and documentary was a big success.
Here are some of the videos from or about their expedition… Continue reading
Keeping Healthy in Market Deeping or anywhere else in the world
A friend and reader of this site emailed me recently. They have just moved to Market Deeping in the UK and asked for suggestions to keep their health and fitness level up. If you are wondering why they asked me, before I took on this job as a photographer, I lived in the little town of Market Deeping. It’s a wonderful small town that I miss very much, even with the fantastic places I get to visit today.
My advice for getting fit and healthy applies no matter where you live. Even on a fault line!
Here are my two best pieces of advice for anyone:
- Start eating more healthy by cutting out excess sugars and fats
- Start focusing on keeping fit by taking up a sport or exercise such as running (a personal favourite)
What does being here:
(Photograph of the lovely village of Market Deeping)
Make any difference to whether you can do these things?
The answer is, it makes no difference in the slightest.
Get out there, do some exercise and start eating healthy! For legal reasons, I think I’m supposed to tell you to consult your doctor first, so please do that.
In (The Deepings) Market Deeping there are services that were created for the sole purpose of keeping you fit and healthy, but that is no different anywhere else. Here are a few that I searched online which showed results – based in Market Deeping:
- Running Clubs Market Deeping
- Market Deeping Swimming Pool
- Local Weightwatchers
- Market Deeping Zumba Classes (or similar activities)
- Home Care Market Deeping (for elderly people)
- The Deeping Cycling clubs
- Local Gyms
I’m sure you are starting to get the idea. In the list above I linked any of the services I know of and recommend. If you are looking to try out any of them you may enjoy the recommendation.
Don’t use your location as an excuse
If you want to stay fit and healthy, your location makes no difference at all, that’s just an excuse. Well, maybe it would be a little easier to run on the moon. Or do snow sports… in the snow. But in general – just keeping healthy and remaining fit can be done in any location. The only thing that matters is your commitment and dedication to the cause. If you want to lose weight, you will, if you want to get healthy, you will. You have have to work at it and not give up or use excuses.
I want you to get healthy starting now, you’ll feel great. I’m already feeling better since I started this goal only 4-5 months ago. I’ve lost several pounds and more importantly, I feel like I’m 30 years old again. Much more alive. Rather than feeling 20 years older than my real age!
Keep pushing.
Are you living on a fault line?
I do not mean literally… Though please contact me (jack@faultlineliving.com) if you live on a fault line and I would love to do a short interview with you for the blog. If you’re into health & fitness too, that will be even better!
I was referring to something a bit deeper in the headline. You can learn more about it in this video:
Mike Lodgson is saying that everyone is living on a fault line.
You’ll have to watch it to fully understand it.
For me, a big wake up call was when I found out an old child hood friend suffered from a heart attack. This is a man in his 40’s. Overweight, but nothing more than I was. I realised at that point, that I was living on a fault line. If that is all it takes to have a heart attack. And one that means Paul needs care for the rest of his life now. What if it happens to me?
Not long after that I took up running. Then later came more fitness related activities and healthier eating. Cutting out junk foods, fizzy drinks and so on. It was difficult. But I am a father and married to my beautiful wife who I do not want the burden on them of this potentially happening to me. I got off the fault line.
In some ways, this is part of the reason I created this website with the name faultlineliving.com as a lot of it is about keeping healthy and fit. Though it’s more of a personal blog and I have actually lived on a fault line for work previously – which was a lovely experience, yet scary.
I just wanted to write this post to inspire and invite you readers to get off the fault line and live a more healthy life. It’s fantastic and I’ve never felt better. Thank you for reading. Here is what I’m having for breakfast:
Rex got injured – What to do if your pet gets injured
Rex injured himself on a walk around some local fields (in Marbella, Spain) earlier today. It looks like he cut himself on some glass. It is all fixed up now after a little bit of panic deciding what to do. I want to help you be more prepared than I was if this happens to you. Which hopefully it will not.
Also a friend shared this video on Facebook, how cute is this?
What we decided to do after Rex got the injury was clear the cut and cover up the wound. We thought it would be fine at first but later decided to call the local veterinary / animal hospital. They recommended that Rex has stitches to seal the wound which we decided to go with in the end.
The reason we managed to get him booked in so fast was because we used an “emergency vets”. This is a veterinary surgery that is open 24 hours 7 days per week to the general public. This was our only option being a weekend and as we do not have a “regular vets”.
One of the best tips I can give you now is before your pet gets injured (if ever), have a chosen veterinary surgeons. Just in case something is to happen at a time when normal vets are closed, you will probably want to opt for one that is 24/7 and offers emergency appointments. Otherwise you may be in the same position as myself and my family, though there is nothing we can do about if with being in a different country every month!
Some vets offer free first time check ups where you get the opportunity to meet them and get a feel for their work. This way you can get to know your vet before spending a penny with them. If your local vets don’t offer this, book your pet in for a basic checkup, it won’t be too expensive and it will give you peace of mind knowing you like and trust your vet.
If you pet has been injured like Rex was, you’ll receive medications with instructions after your emergency appointment. You’ll need hide pills in your pet dogs food to get them to take the medication. Turns out Rex can smell the pills inside the food! But we did eventually get him to eat the medications, only not in his regular food.
I do hope that helps anyone that is in the same situation as myself and my family was earlier today. By the way, Rex is perfectly fine now. If you haven’t read my other posts/pages – Rex is a 2 and a half year old Labrador:
Rex is also quite good on the lead now and enjoys going for runs with me! Good luck with your pet.
Why I absolutely love running and how to get started now
Running. You can do it anywhere in the world. Whether you’re rich, wealthy or poor.
For me, my love comes from the ability to just do it. You don’t need a gym membership or to buy fancy machines in. You just get out there and run.
As a travelling photographer, this is the perfect type of exercise for me and that’s why I want to hopefully motivate some of you to give it a try.
The perks I gain from running are:
- Feeling more awake throughout the day
- Sleep better at night
- Losing weight (that is a big one!)
- Feeling much more healthy
I also tend to naturally eat healthier now that I am running regularly. You can’t really say the running “does” that for me, but it did influence the decision… “If I am going to do all of this work running, I may as well eat healthy so it is worth doing”.
Back to the topic…
Here’s my tips for how to get started with running now
Starting running is easy. You simply go out for a run. It’s recommended you buy a few necessities before starting, but you don’t need to go overboard. And definitely don’t let money stop you, those fancy £150 shoes aren’t going to make you run any faster.
Depending on your current age and fitness level, your first run distance will vary massively. All I can suggest (as someone who was originally overweight and now has ran multiple marathons) is to get out there and do it. My first run was barely 200m long, then I stopped and ran back. Then I did it again, and again, and my distances slowly got further and further.
There are plenty of “tricks” people come up with to running without training, for example: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17456672. But I would not advise following them. I’m not a doctor or expert in fitness by any stretch of the imagination and they’re the best people to consult for fitness advice, but from what I’ve found for myself, the best way to start running is simply go out there and do it.
If a middle aged photographer, that is never in a single place longer than a month because of work, with a young child and wife, can make running work and put in the required time for it. Anyone can. Though I must admit it can be beautiful running to a view like this:
Which I understand not everyone has the benefit of. But when I started, in the little village of Market Deeping (UK), I did not have the benefit of such views.
Multiple marathons later, I still enjoy running and have lost a ton of weight (not literally of course). Still running every other day, no matter where I am in the world.