Leeds Castle – Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom

Nestled away off the M20 outside of Maidstone lies Leeds Castle, described as ‘The Loveliest Castle in the World.’ Dating back to the 1100’s, the castle is shrouded in history. From Edward I to Henry VIII right up to Lady Bailey’s private ownership in the early 20^th Century, this magnificent building has become one of Kent’s best and most attractive tourist attractions.

Leeds Castle in all its splendor
Photo Credits: KS. Wigley 2013

We have been a few times – we’ll come to a reason why shortly – and have been impressed by its spectacle and grandeur. With its beautiful and vast five hundred acre gardens, moat and lake, it is impressionably quaint, especially around the spring and summer months when the flowers are in bloom and the resident peacocks are in feather. Around autumn, it evolves with the browns and oranges as the trees get ready for the cold, turning the once green foliage into a burning secret gem. What is magnificent is that it still holds a lot of charm no matter how the weather is. You can appreciate the best of the grounds even if it’s incredibly cold or blisteringly warm.

The peacocks actually own the house. Well at least they think they do…
Photo Credits: KS Wigley 2013

Spring and summer are best suited to castle and gardens as it is the perfect time for picnics with a fantastic backdrop of the castle. And the geese. And ducks. And swans. And many, many peafowl. Due to the warmer climes a botanical wonder also beholds any who enter the grounds with many beautiful and brightly coloured flowers in bloom to delight and amuse you. The gardens hold a serenity that not a lot of places can match. They are well kept throughout the summer and you can wander at your own leisure. As for spring and autumn, parts of the grounds are kept sealed off so the plants and flowers can be replaced without interference. The lakes are linked up by small streams that run the course of the gardens. At one end, there is a summer house and a traditional Japanese-styled zigzag bridge that crosses one of the ponds. At the other is a waterfall that feeds the lower lakes from the larger moat that surrounds the castle itself. The expansive garden also has its own hedge maze, which is as fun as it is frustrating. You start and you can see the finishing point; a raised concrete mound at the centre. You just have to find the route. It’s a fun little time-spender and out of the times we have been, we still haven’t known which way is the correct one. We still recognise specific parts of the maze but don’t know how to get there. Once the middle has been reached, you can see the entire maze to retrace your route and see the correct route you should have taken instead of aimlessly drifting through the hedges, which is what we did the majority of the time. Getting to the middle was just pure luck, we feel.  Once you’ve finished going over your failed route, you exit via an underground grotto, complete with carved stone statues, eerie lighting and this ghastly face…

As if the grotto wasn’t creepy enough!
Photo Credits: KS Wigley 2013

When you’ve had enough of the gardens (or indeed the rain) you can wander around the castle itself and learn all about its history. The walk past the water cascade to the gatehouse hits home that when you see the castle, you realise that this wasn’t built as a defence. There are no portholes or secret nooks for soldiers to hide in, battlements only look decorative, cannons don’t line the front garden, and the castle itself is not belligerent; this was purely built as a place to live. It just so happens to have a moat. With a choice of an audio tour or simply making your own way, you get to explore the majority of the rooms. Starting out in the wine cellars on the lower floors, you work your way up and around the grand building learning about its colourful history as a royal residence and under private ownership. Some of the rooms have encapsulated the Tudor splendor very well and the furniture, decorations and awnings have remained.

Elegant yet tasteful
Photo Credits: KS Wigley 2013

Other rooms have a more modern décor from the turn of the 20^th Century; with the bold colours and striking but simple lines. You make your way through into the different rooms, laid out in a labyrinth style, which is somewhat confusing if you don’t know where you’re going. This is an over-thought though as you do make you way through rooms such as master bedrooms and down corridors, peering into servant quarters, the music room, drawing room, the spectacular bathroom and various exhibition spaces. The grand marble staircase brings you to the end of the tour. The castle also features a courtyard; a magnificent spiral staircase made out of one large tree; period art works; historical artefacts and sizable library full of old books.

Mostly about birds
Photo Credits: KS Wigley 2013

Although not as big or even as spectacular as some royal palaces, Leeds Castle is still an eye to behold. It’s quaint within its surroundings which suites it perfectly.

Leeds Castle does also hold special events in its grounds. We visited during a St. George’s day festival and on a plot of land, overlooking the castle, an arena had been set out and various skilled recreationists took part in jousting challenges. Crowds gathered around, cheering and booing for their respective knights in shining armour; watching on in awe as they stormed down the track on horseback; charging at each other with lances, only to continue their battle on-foot with carefully choreographed swordfights. The castle has been known to hold special open air concerts, guided garden tours and photo walks, a supercar showcase, hot air balloon flights, fireworks displays and Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. These events are rather limited and can be somewhat quite pricey in their exclusivity but on the more down-to-earth front, there are regular occurrences that do take place also.

Moses watches his dinner
Photo Credits: KS Wigley 2013

Falconry displays are held at specific times and if you have time during the visit it is worth it. You get to watch the birds of prey dive and swoop whilst a trained falconer talks you through the stories and the procedures of being a falconer and how these winged hunters work. If birds of prey aren’t your thing and you prefer water-bound birds, there is also an opportunity to feed the swans and ducks that reside in the lakes. There’s also a children’s play area where you can let your kids burn themselves out to their hearts content if you so wish. And then there’s the…

If that’s your thing, you’re in luck!
Photo Credits: KS Wigley 2013

And once you need a break you have a choice of a Costa coffee café, the restaurant that serves hot food, a snack bar selling chips and the like or, our personal favourite, the ice cream parlour that sells delicious frozen Kentish diary treats! There are also a couple of souvenir shops that sell gifts such as personalised fridge magnets and key rings so you can immortalise your visit forever.

Leeds Castle is a unique place to visit. It’s fairly hidden away but it is a highly recommend place to go. Unfortunately ticket prices aren’t cheap and this may come as a downside – an adult ticket costs £21 – something that when cash is hard to come by, will turn people away, especially if they have . However, what you get for the price is as many visits over the course of a year. Perfect if like us, you live only thirty minutes’ drive away, which is why we’ve been as many times as we have. Not so perfect if you plan on only visiting once. If you are local, you can of course behold the castle in all its splendour. Take a picnic and enjoy the views. Take a raincoat and enjoy the house itself. Or merely take yourself and wander peacefully through what the gardens and grounds have to offer and realises why they call it ‘The Loveliest Castle in the World.’

Photo Credits: KS Wigley 2013

Jimmi and Kat

Visit the Leeds Castle website

Follow Leeds Castle on Twitter: @leedscastleuk

Like Leeds castle on Facebook

Lamborghini Gallardo

“….The Lamborghini Gallardo is dead,” TopGear.com told me. My heart couldn’t help but feel the weight of what I just read.

The final Gallardo may have rolled off the production line late this November but the legacy the Italian supercar manufacturer has created has been staggering. After ten years, just over 14,000 (with ever so slightly less variants) Gallardo’s have been built and it’s not difficult to see how popular it really was. Lamborghini have always had a sight for making great cars. With the likes of the V12 LP700 Aventador; the insanely expensive Veneno; the equally bizarre one-off showcase Egoista; and going further into the past; the Diablo and of course the car that started it all; the Miura, it would be correct to assume that Lamborghini has the means of making something the other manufacturers can’t seem to match. The Gallardo it seems fits nicely in with all these crazy speed-machines that captured the balance between civilised and not so civilised.

Photo credits: Lamborghini s.P.a

After Lamborghini fell into financial trouble in the late 80’s, American car giant Chrysler took hold of the hallowed Italian marque. No matter what Chrysler did, there were still problems and cars such as the Diablo missed production deadlines and Countachs were hurried out of the factory instead to make up for any loss. The American market didn’t help; they just weren’t interested in fire-breathing, hard to drive wheel-demons and so Chrysler, it seemed, had a dying breed on its hands. They had to let go of Lamborghini. An Indonesian company called Megatech acquired the name and it started to make a difference. With the profit, Lamborghini could start again designing cars and called off the Diablo at the end of the century and had a few aces up their sleeve. Megatech then sold everything to Audi, and with a bit of German common sense, the ideas they had begun to flourish. Two new cars were in works; The Murciélago and the Gallardo. The Murciélago emerged in 2001 and the Gallardo came a few years later in 2003. The Gallardo was designed to be the ‘Baby Lamborghini’ to give the company two tiers of supercar, in much the same way Ferrari had the 360 and the Enzo and Porsche had the 911 and the Carrera GT. The Murciélago was fitted with a V12 whereas the Gallardo had a V10 powerhouse but was just as furious as its bigger brother. This meant that customers could have the Lamborghini experience for a fraction of the price without having to shell out on £300,000+ supercar. The Gallardo would then go onto outsell and even outlive the Murciélago.  It’s no small wonder why this car has found its way into not just mine, but also a lot of people’s admiration.

Photo credits: NetCarShow.com

I have actually driven a Gallardo as part of a track day. I had to choose one of four cars out of either a Ferrari 360, an Audi R8, the Gallardo, and even more painful, an Aston Martin DB9. For a car-fanatic like me, the decision wasn’t easy. I wanted something special. I thought about the Ferrari but as much as I love Ferrari, I thought no. It’s not the most powerful out of the four cars, it only had a V8, it’s a bit old and it’s a bit showy and too ‘play-boy’. So what about the DB9? Well, the Aston, as beautiful as it is fast, had the biggest engine; a 6 litre V12. “Yes” I thought “however…” that V12 was mounted in the front and that kind of turned me away from a car-maker I so dearly love. I wanted the engine behind my ear so the Audi and the Lamborghini were left. Technically, the R8 and the Gallardo are very closely related. Both are made by Audi (no doubt), both have four-wheel drive and both are built on the same essential platform. The Audi ticked all the right boxes but there’s something too sensible about it. I have no qualms with the R8 but the Gallardo just seemed more fun which at the end of the day is why people like Lamborghini. The Gallardo is also a rarer sight to see on the roads. You notice the bright red Ferrari’s and people think and know it’s a Ferrari. The R8 seems too familiar but the Lamborghini’s aren’t in the spotlight all the time. So, with a 5.2 litre V10 producing more than 510 horsepower and a top speed of 190mph, I strapped myself into a bright orange Spyder with a 7 speed semi-automatic sequential gear box. Starting the engine was a joy in itself, I was happy to just do that to hear every one of those spark-plugs and pistons work together in a crescendo of noise as the entire thing shook under its own ferocity. Crawling it out onto the track I had this amazing sense that I was driving a £130,000 supercar and was still in awe. I was wise to choose a mid-engine car as the sound of a wailing V10 reverberate around one eardrum from behind put you in a strange position. It sounds like the thunder is angry at you but no matter how far you plant your foot into the carpet, you can’t escape it. And then there are the brakes. Those carbon-ceramic discs are incredibly sharp and I couldn’t help but feel the car squirrelling and squirming ahead of the bends. Couple that to short, sharp growls when downshifting, where the throttle is slightly initiated to give the engine a tiny increase in power for a smoother gear change, creates a sensation that makes you think this possibly couldn’t be a car that people can buy and go to ASDA to get shopping with (if you really like). Despite the fire-breathing, demonic demeanour that doesn’t pump oil and petrol but adrenaline, the Gallardo out of all of the vehicles I have driven with an internal-combustion engine – and admittedly that isn’t many – was the easiest. And that’s even comparing it to a ride-on tractor mower! It was like driving a very big, very loud go-kart. It was incredibly simple and it’s something that’s going to be with me forever. I now want one. I feel like Baron Bomburst from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when I say it but ‘I want that car!’ If I get the opportunity to drive another car like it then I doubt my opinion will change because the impression it had made on me will be around for a long time.

Photo credits: NetCarShow.com

The Gallardo leaves behind a long line of amazing cars and its bonkers off-springs. There’s the LP560-4 which increased the power from the standard; then there’s the 550-2 Balboni, which gave rear-wheel drive thrills and added a stripe in honour of Lamborghini’s test driver; and then there’s the 570-4 Superleggera which refines everything and puts the car on crash diet to lose a few kilos; not forgetting the Super Trofeo; the Tricolore; the Bicolore; the Noctis; the Nera; the Bianco Rosso; a fleet of GT3 and American Le Man race cars; and the last of the last, a Spyder Performante to name but a few as well as a face-lifted version that came just last year. But in the automotive world, we have to remember that this isn’t a sad occasion because the Gallardo had leave to make way for a brand new supercar to be born. It’s how they car makers spice everything and keep it fresh and exciting. The new car – speculated to be called the Cabrera and currently being hidden under the guise of ‘Hexagon Project’ – is set to capture the same essence that made the Gallardo so appealing. Test mules and prototypes have already been made and taken around various test tracks so Lamborghini are continuingly heading forward. With styling cues from both Aventador and Sesto Elemento, this is going to another interesting blast from the Italians that is definitely going to be worth the couple years wait.

Photo credits: NetCarShow.com

As it stands then, the Gallardo may have gone but it surely won’t be forgotten. It has made a huge impression being the centre of movies, videogames, songs etc. It continued to be held in high regard by motoring journalists such as Top Gear and AutoCar for being sublime and adding a bit of sparkle to the otherwise computer-precise Ferraris or sensible Mercedes-Benz and Porsches. Like the Countach and Muira before it, the Gallardo is going to be one of those cars that no matter what – be it ten years, twenty years or fifty – it will always be regarded as a timeless classic that will still look as epic as it did in any boyhood poster and heralded also as the ferocious, stampeding bull it was.

Photo credits: TopGear.com

Words by Jimmi

Check out the Lamborghini website

Or check out Hexagon Project

And also read the TopGear.com article

Mallard’s Festival of Speed – Grantham, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

Just imagine being in a cramped, small cab that’s shaking, hissing and spitting ash, steam and blistering heat. Read-outs are maxing out into the red; the fireman is shovelling coal onto the burning fire and the driver is trying to maintain control to keep it at its top speed. Gravity is on your side and there’s no head wind on a short section of track and the train blast through stations, over fields and into tunnels. The journey eventually comes to an end and you are elated to just be out of that small sauna on wheels. And then news comes to you. Important news… ‘You’ve travelled faster than any other locomotive in the history of existence. One hundred and twenty-six miles per hour was recorded just outside of Grantham; You’ve broken the World record for the highest top speed of any steam locomotive to ever grace the rails…” or words to that effect. A smile spreads to your face and you realise that this engine is one of a kind. And yet what you don’t know is that this engine will keep its record for seventy-five years. And seventy-five years later LNER’s 4468 Mallard A4 Pacific was returning to the place where she broke that very record.

It wasn’t that long ago since I was in York seeing this very fine engine and her five remaining, streamlined sisters at the National Railway Museum’s ‘Great Gathering of the A4 Pacifics.’ Word got to me that Mallard was taking a very rare trip to where the record was achieved. This was right in my home county of Lincolnshire. The small town of Grantham hosted this special event on the 7^th and 8^th of September and with it being practically on my doorstep, I couldn’t exactly say no to see this amazing piece of machinery once more. Hyped by Facebook and Twitter, it was apparent that this event was indeed quite extraordinary. Temporary track was laid close to the station and Mallard was ready to be moved from her home in York for the weekend, bypassing through another station just down the road from my home. Naturally, I took time out of my busy summer holiday to wait on the station with a bunch of fellow enthusiasts to see Mallard and a Class 55 Deltic being towed through on the previous Wednesday ready for this one-off celebration. I opted for the 7^th, as did a lot of other people. A reported 7000 plus people, young and old came through the gates to see some magnificent engines over the weekend. It was sight to behold as the sun shone throughout the seven hour event. With many opportunities to take photos and get close up to Mallard and Royal Highland Fusilier, it was an incredible day out.

Partnered up the Class 55 “Deltic,” the special event was an informative insight on how the railways progressed from the age of steam, right up to dieselisation in the 1960’s. Deltic was the A4 successor and both were present right here at Grantham.

With only two engines to see, the paddock wasn’t huge and so the event wasn’t as big as originally thought. But people came in droves and these two engines pulled up an incredible crowd on the first day. With different events being held through Grantham that included a model rail exhibit and a collection of vintage sports cars from the 1930’s; the same decade that Mallard rocketed up to her top speed, there was a good amount to see and do, including a few shops and stall, miniature railway rides and an open LNER buffet coach acting as a cafe, as well as helpful volunteers keeping the visitors in the loop on what was going on in and around Grantham over the weekend.

It was great to see the varying amount of people coming to see what was essentially the Concorde of steam locomotion. This very record breaker with its sleek, modern curves, enormous red wheels and an overall presence that dominated the entire paddock showed that this was no ordinary engine and what it had done was no ordinary feat. As I mentioned in my post about the event in York, fast train travel in the 30’s was what every railway company aspired to achieve. LNER went above and beyond to prove that they had the fastest locomotives and Mallard is their swansong.

During the day, Mallard’s cab was open and I couldn’t exactly leave without having a peek. The last time I got close to it was well over ten years ago but this time, visitors could actually go in and on the footplate rather than peeking through! The queue… well the less said about the queue the better, was long. Almost two hours long. That didn’t bother me because it gave me a chance to take lots of pictures and get close to the workings of both Royal Highland Fusilier and Mallard. There was much time discussing with my dad and Grandad about railways and trains and such and there was a good view of the East Coast expresses thundering through Grantham station. Each train that passed through even gave a celebratory blast of the horn in celebration of Mallard’s return.

We also discovered that Deltic’s power output was only 1,600 horsepower per single engine (which in itself is only the same amount of power as two Lamborghini V12’s) and that it produced 100 mph; so sadly, it wasn’t even the fastest train there. Nit-picking aside, being so close to either engine, we managed to get a good look around the workings, in a way that wasn’t entirely possible when we were at the museum in July.

Sadly, the queues for the Deltic were long also, so unfortunately we had to give that cabin tour a miss, however, it didn’t go unappreciated. It was a welcome addition to the event and struck interest amongst those who preferred the more modern-day, cleaner, more reliable high-speed express trains – my dad included. Royal Highland Fusilier made the event that little bit more special and gave something else to look over. Although personally I prefer the old-fashioned rip-snorting steam engines, the Deltic symbolises how much modern-day, fast travel meant to people travelling up and down the country and as such has become an icon in its own right, with this being one of only six left.

The queue eventually got shorter and shorter and we got much closer to Mallard. I for was getting excited. I had never been in the cab before and so this was the highlight of the trip. I finally got to live out my boyhood dream. The sense of what once was and how hectic it all would have been in there on that 3^rd of July with the crew battling with an iron monster, keeping every valve, dial and lever in check whilst it seared through the Lincolnshire countryside. Every little detail about it told its own story from the regulator that pushed the engine to bursting to the wooden floor-boards under my feet. There was one thing that I couldn’t leave without doing. I went and sat in the driver’s seat. I couldn’t help myself…

The free event, although small, was grand enough to matter to the enthusiastic but also small enough to give a flying visit. The vintage buses ferrying people to and from the station was neat touch but the real star was of course seeing something that has meant so much to me for such a long time (again). There’s a picture of me when I was much younger being dwarfed by the front buffers and not much has changed – I still feel dwarfed by this colossus; the sense of every bit of Mallard working in harmony to do the very best. These two iconic parts of British Rail history coming together made a very nice day, if some-what on the small. No! ‘Small’ is the wrong word. Quaint, I think suits it better; personal; involved. A lot of people may not know about Mallard and the record-breaking event but I’m guessing a fair few who went just out of curiosity know about how important this really was. We overheard a gentleman from the museum say that Mallard is the most popular attraction. With the amount of people at Grantham on that eventful and somewhat nostalgic Saturday, it’s amazing to see that this seventy-five year old spectacle of engineering is still peaking interest amongst thousands of people from all over the world. It’s highly inspiring that this nation can create so much hype over what was essentially a quicker way to get to and from London or Edinburgh. As steam ventured out of mainline service, it has preserved that record. Mallard’s success has created something that not a lot of railway locomotives will ever do. She has created a legacy that will last for an eternity.

Jimmi

Keep up to date with Mallard’s celebrations by checking out @railwaymuseum, nrm.org.uk or /nationalrailwaymuseum

Alternatively, check out #Mallard75, @mallardgrantham and mallardatgrantham.co.uk

The One Kilogram Challenge

The Date: Saturday the 23^rd of February
The Location: The Nosey Parker, Lincoln
The Challenge: One Kilogram of dinner!

Such a bold and brash challenge to take up, I think you’ll agree. Leaving Kent for the weekend, Kat and I went back to my hometown of Lincoln to see my parents and to generally escape the misery of Medway. Naturally, we (my mum, dad, sister and girlfriend) all went out for dinner at Lincoln’s Nosey Parker restaurant.

The restaurant used to be owned by a company called Tom Cobleigh, which used to own restaurants in and around Lincoln, or so I believe anyway. I think they branched out further a field but this was a long time ago. I digress. Within the past few years though, The Nosey Parker was bought by a company called Flaming Grill and just after it had re-opened under new ownership, we went there to see what it was like. Upon opening they had an eating challenge on their menu. Called the Flaming challenge back then it required the eaters to blast through a whole kilo of food in less than 45 minutes for a chance to be placed on the as of yet, rather empty wall of fame. I tried it a few years ago and could not manage it all. I opted not go for the challenge, instead I just took my time but I still got full and had to ask for help from my family to help me eat the rest. I had failed and I knew I had. I was beaten by food! However on my return it was suddenly a whole different story.

So, cutting out the waffle of ordering whatever everyone got their meals before me and I was waiting in anticipation for this mountain of food to be wheeled out of the kitchen. After telling everyone else that they didn’t have to wait for me to start as chances are I will be eating a lot long after they had, the waiter bought out my dinner, set it down in front me and told me that I was in for a challenge and half. I told him I attempted it before and he wished me luck. The Flaming Challenge – now called the 1kg Challenge – is basically a burger meal that you would find in any other gastro-pub. However, that is where the similarities end. You see, this is two twelve ounce flame grilled beef burgers, two breaded chicken fillets, bacon, chili beef, cheddar cheese, onions, six onion rings and a heap of chips with two bread buns. It’s hard to describe so the picture below may help a little with trying to explain the size of the thing. I mean, it could barely fit on the plate.

This is a small portion in America

The challenge has eased off a bit now so rather than finishing it in 45 minutes, I just had to finish it full stop. I wasn’t in it for the long-haul. I was just happy to eat my way through it just as I had done previously. It all looked so appetizing but with any meal this size, you kind of don’t know where to start. My heart was sort of in my throat because I had no idea how I would react with this again. Would I accomplish this battle or would I be left in a heap of ‘no guts no glory’ shame like I had done before? I tucked in, going for some of the chips and bite of the bun. Realizing that this may fill me up straight away, I thought that these were the least of my worries as the main focus would be on the meat. The chips and bread were not important. The meat would be the best bit so I popped the toasted top bun onto my napkin and set on devouring the pile of deliciousness, starting with the chicken. The breaded chicken was very good. Adequately sized portions meant that they went down rather quickly if I’m honest. The chilli beef was rather wonderful too. It had just enough kick to make it spicy but was also mixed with various tomatoes and peppers that made it palatable and not too heavy. The bacon was perfectly grilled and held a lot of the flamed flavour from the burgers, which were the best bit. They were grilled to perfection and also held a lot of that smokey, flame grilled flavour that has become signature to the chain. They were properly thick too so don’t think that these were like the type of thin burgers you’d find in McDonalds. Each must have been as big as a standard hamburger by themselves. And by hamburger, I mean the full thing, with the burger and buns! There was a lot of beef there! Slowly but surely, and after dipping in and out of everything else on my plate, the burger was going down. Even after eating the first burger, I felt that this was a lot of food. Eventually I started to feel full after finally finishing the second burger. I would say that this was the equivalent of my previous attempt. I was ready to throw in the towel. At least the meat had all gone but there was still rather substantial amount of steak-cut chips and two bread rolls left. I slowed down to a snail’s pace only using my fork to eat now. The mayo I used earlier on in the meal wasn’t really helping. It made me feel a bit sickly to be honest, although, that could have been the anxiety kicking in as I knew that it was only half of what I had eaten already and that I could do it. Brave faced, I continued.

This is my brave face

Spreading the chips out didn’t seem to help either as it made the plate look full again. A huge wave of defeat and dread spread over me. I couldn’t do it. I was eating the chips but every time I looked down at the plate, there seemed to be more and more. And that wasn’t including the bread. Chip by filling chip, the pile started to decrease. Finally there was about 15 or so left. I held my forehead thinking that this could not be done. It is impossible even though the 15 chips left seemed so minuscule. With the bread I was hopeless. Encouragement ensued from my family and 5 chips later the remnants were going down as well. After a long fight, all of the chips had gone! And the thought came across my mind that the bread could be tackled in the same way. The bread was by far the hardest to get through. It was so filling and there was a lot of it. Again, probably about the same amount of bread in each bun would be the same as what you would get in a Big Mac. I had to resort to tearing small bite sized pieces from the first one that was set to the side on my napkin taking a drink every few bites to calm me down a bit. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much ever and it was starting to take its toll on me and my internal organs. I felt full after the burgers had been devoured but not as full after all the burger, all of the chips and half a bun. I chewed on. And the bun went away! It was gone. I could do this! The other bun still had chili beef on which was nice but because it had been so long since I started, it had gone a bit soggy and soggy bread isn’t the best thing in the world. I can only feel sympathy for the ducks. It was still rather tasty and its started to disappear as well; I was going to do this. A few fork full later, victory was on the horizon until 3 scoops were left. Success was there. 2; only another bit of bread. 1; last scrapings. GONE!

This was full over an hour ago

One kilogram of food had now been eaten and the challenge beaten! I received my certificate, which is now hanging in my hall of fame.

And I was even on the wall of fame in the Nosey Parker!

Greatest achievement ever?

So, what’s for dessert…?

Within regards to this I may very well try different eating challenges, Man vs Food style, although I have a big appetite, I am only a weedy chap and therefore may not find it particularly easy. But I will keep you posted! There’s a restaurant not too far away from me here that does a spicy wings challenge… Watch this space!

Posted by Jimmi