Birthday presents, global travel, walking, wedding discos and much more - all packed into the Tameside Radio Breakfast presenter's latest unique take on life.

Another sizeable set of birthday candles extinguished this week for me, then! I am delighted with this year’s haul of presents, which included a groovy lava lamp from my wife Sofia.

I’ve not owned one of these beauties since my Liverpool student days in the 1990s, and have been doing a bit of research into their history. 

Apparently, British accountant Edward Craven Walker was passing the time in a pub when he noticed a homemade egg timer, fashioned from a cocktail shaker filled with alien-looking liquids bubbling on a stove top. He rushed to the lab, and the rest as they say is history! His other pastime was making underwater nudist films and ballets. He sounds like a most interesting and eccentric chap, who sadly passed away in 2000 after a bout of cancer.

No two lava lamps are the same. Much like us humans, they all have their own unique traits, patterns and personality. Apparently, employees at the company which makes them sign an oath of secrecy when they join, so their inner workings remain a mystery. 

I just love the glow they give off. I feel seriously zen writing the column this week, late for the deadline as usual. The lamps are a great British invention, helped back to popularity after years of declining sales by the first Austin Powers movie.

The story of their invention is a good reminder to keep your wits about you as you go through life, as you never know when the next big thing will fall into your lap. A similar thing happened when inventor Percy Shaw was driving home on a foggy night in West Yorkshire, and two circles of light guided him around a mist enshrouded bend. It turned out to be a cat sitting on a fence. Ken Dodd once quipped that had the cat been facing the other way, he might have invented the pencil sharpener. I’ve seen far worse on Dragon’s Den.

I’ve been making an effort to move more whilst taking a few days off from my live shows on Tameside Radio. My steps have averaged over 6000 per day this week, which is actually quite a lot by my usual sloth-like standards. The issue with being a radio presenter is that I sit on my substantially contoured derriere playing records all day, and this will do nothing for my bid to succeed Daniel Craig as the new James Bond.

Walking requires no specialist equipment, other than a comfortable pair of shoes. Posture is important, and the benefits are multiple. It lifts your mood, helps your mental health and makes you feel so much better afterwards. 

I really enjoyed walks in our local park with Sofia during lockdown, and since I downloaded a pedometer app on Sunday, I have become a little obsessed with my steps total. I thought I’d get into practice, as I’m planning to get a wearable Fitbit soon and make real headway with my weight. I dream of sitting down at the Christmas dinner table this year, having lost the three stone I need to lose. I bore myself with my endless failed attempts, but am feeling motivated at the moment and don’t want to let that slide. The Olympics and the Tour of Tameside have both been inspirational lately, I must admit!

Elsewhere this week, I’ve been wondering whether global travel will ever get fully back to normal. 

I spoke to someone this week whose parents live in New Zealand, and they have never met his two and a half year old toddler. I can’t imagine how that must feel, and whilst Zoom calls are some consolation, they really are no substitute. I don’t think we were put on this earth to spend our lives in front of a laptop screen. However, we are still in the middle of a pandemic, and I can’t see unrestricted foreign holidays returning for a while yet.

I’m doing a wedding disco soon for a couple who have had to postpone their big day multiple times owing to lockdowns. I’m a little nervous, as I’ve not dusted off the Now CD collection for a while. I don’t plan to make it a regular thing again, but it will be nice to hopefully see a packed dancefloor enjoying Whitney, Wham and Black Eyed Peas.

Just as Zoom and Skype can never replace meeting family and friends in person, I’d argue the same is true for the countless lockdown streams of DJs spinning tunes in their garages and sheds. I found them about as appealing as a James Corden DVD box set.

Have a good week, and I’ve already got tomorrow’s walk planned -  a three and a half mile round trip to claim a free coffee. Must resist the cakes!

You can listen to Alex every weekday from 7am to 11am and on the 'Super Scoreboard' show on Saturdays from 3pm to 7pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM. 

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