Back Injury

About 3 months ago, I fell down the stairs at home. Silly me - I was carrying a duvet cover, tried to avoid the cat (who was coming up the stairs) and slipped off the step. Despite the excess of soft things to land on, I managed to end up bouncing down the stairs on my back.

After two weeks of agony, I finally started to heal up. Lots of bruising and stiffness was beginning to ease, and although I was still munching painkillers like no tomorrow, at least I could carry on a relatively normal life.

It took nearly two months before I was able to head back to the gym to start training, during which time I had gained 4 kilos. I was also hampered by the fact I couldn’t put any pressure on my lower back - which ruled out any sort of back extension, crunch or running machine.

I’m currently working through a program to keep my body in condition whilst it heals. I’m mainly using machines instead of free weights and I’ve switched the treadmill for the elliptical trainer. Slowly, my strength is coming back and the weight - whilst not falling off - is beginning to get under control and start heading in the right direction.

I plan on maintaining the “restricted” program for another 6 weeks, after which time, I’ll re-introduce back extensions, crunches and light jogging to my routine.

How the iPad will win me over

I’m British - which means I am inherantly crap at languages. It’s part of our make-up - the total inability to master what them crazy furriners are on about. Nevertheless, I have managed to grunt out a bit of Dutch now and again. I can even manage to watch the TV and understand what’s going on.

However, one area where I absolutely haven’t even started to integrate is magazines.

I tend to read a few regularly:

  • Private Eye
  • Digital Photographer
  • Shutterbug
  • T3
  • FHM (although I only ever buy this at the airport, for some reason).

In the UK, each one of these has a 4-5 pounds price tag, which means I’m spending around 25 pounds per month on magazines. That’s around 30 euro. If I go into a Dutch shop and buy the same magazines, they tend to run to 12-15 euro each - 75 euro per month for the lot of them! That’s one hell of a markup.

Actually, it’s caused by a variety of things - the niche nature of foreign language titles, the extra hassle of importing titles, 19% tax (UK magazines don’t have VAT added). It doesn’t get any easier when you take out a direct subscription to the magazine - although they are a little cheaper, you have the added problems associated with international postage (Decembers magazine turning up in April). You are also completely ineligible for any offers of savings that the “domestic” subscribers receive, further jacking up the perceived cost.

So, Apple. There’s the problem. Fix it for me.

All you have to do is allow me to take out a magazine e-book subscription in my home country for delivery on to my iPad in Holland.

That’s it. Just allow me to buy it digitally - I can already buy it on paper from the publisher, or from my local shop. Just allow me to buy it from you, digitally, for the same price as my countrymen. No “customisation”, no modifications. Same thing, same price.

Get this right, and I’m sold.

NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY