I always enjoyed his company - he can't have been that old.

RIP Rastafish

Just over 60....

After hearing of the passing of my dear friend Colburn Rastafish/Buff Tomlin I thought I would come on here and commemorate him.  Diarising has always helped me cope with things, so thought I would share the story of when I first met Rasta with Blonde

It was 2007, I was living in Islington at the time, I was going through some matrimonial issues so I’d spend most evenings in the Empire. One night while playing at the Empire and Rasta came in and was introduced to me as Buff by a mutual friend, I’m not sure how it happened but he ended sitting behind watching me do my nuts while keeping the whole table entertained with loud & flamboyant stories.  Over the course of the next few nights Rasta would come in and either win the lot in a loud and bodacious way or lose the lot in loud and dramatic but also entertaining way  

On one of the nights as I was leaving and he asked if I needed a lift to Islington, so I jumped in his car and we set off. While driving to Islington he received a call and had quiet heated exchange. He told me he needed to go see someone real quick and would drop me off after. I agreed it was around 3am and I didn’t really want to jump on the night bus or look for cab stand.  

We first drove to a questionable area of Rotherhithes ,he went into a house and for what seemed like an eternity and came out with two porcelain plates of west Indian food (rice and stew fish with vegetables) covered with clingfilm. He passed one to me and put one in his back footwell and started driving. As we were driving he took out a gold chain from his pocket and asked me how much I would give him for it. I Told him I didn’t know anything about gold so wouldn’t be buying it, he then proceeded to take out a set of diamond earrings and asked me the same question.  I didn’t even reply this time I just started laughing, as did he; so much so that he stopped the car in a bus lane and laughed hysterically while saying “you crack me up Steve hahahha you crack me up”

It was now around 5am and I noticed that we were driving west, I asked him why to which he replied “I just need to see my bredrin up west”  and he would drop me off after, I was beyond caring at this point and knew I was going to be pulling a sickie. I was all in on the adventure now.

We parked up outside a fairly large house in Hammersmith and he gestured me to come with him. He banged on this door and shouted through the letterbox “Open the door! It’s me man! Buff” a tired and fed-up looking Jewish man opened the door sighed and led us into a regal looking living room, I sat and waited while Rasta followed the man into the office attached. I could hear Rastas loud voice from were I was sat “just give me 5Gs man and we’ll square it next time”, a courtesan looking lady walked into the living room and offered me a tea to which I politely declined. Around 10 minutes later the both Rasta and the man came out of the office looking happy, we proceeded to leave and as we did the man said “Don’t keep coming this late Colburn, it’s to late” to which Rasta replied “What you talking about it’s early man, early bird gets the worm and you Jewish people always get the bloodclaart worm” they both smiled and laughed and waved at each other like old friends.

We jumped back into Rastas car and I asked him to drop me off at the closest tube station, he said “don’t worry man I’ll drop ya! Go sleep and I’ll drive us to yours now” we got to mine and it was now 10ish from what I remember he parked up in a permit holders only space and came in to use the bathroom. As we walked in he handed me a wad of cash, I asked him what it was for and he said “just looking after you Steve, buy your missus something nice” he used the bathroom and left. I counted the cash and it was £800 I thought what a nice gesture

I’m not quiet sure how much that £800 gesture cost me over the next 15 years but it was always worth it…

I have so many fond memories of Rasta, he was a great character and a good friend.

I’m sure if there is an afterlife he’s up there 4 borrows deep into a cash game waiting for the tournament to start all while telling his stories in a loud and flamboyant way…!!

RIP My old friend….!!!

Had a McDonald’s breakfast today too, double sausage and egg McMuffin and a breakfast roll with brown sauce.  No matter how much I deny it, there’s nothing that beats a Mcds breakfast.

Takeaways are easy to resist for me because I’ve stopped eating halal meat (Sikh thing) and majority of the takeaways in Nottingham only serve halal food even the Chinese ones. 

Problem I have is actually eating, as ridiculous as it sounds I forget to eat when I’m locked in working.
(I’m rooting for AJ in the AJ Fury fight btw, but do understand Fury will be the favourite, really looking forward to it)

Great mileage Ledders, 110km a week yikes and great pace pal, my best 5k time is 23 minutes that was a couple of weeks ago, I’ll really go for it once I’ve healed and let you know the time.

Matt you’re really inspiring me to hit the bench hard when we get back... Great stuff..

I’ve injured my leg doing some DIY at home so haven’t been doing much. I’ve kept my push up regime going but I’m losing motivation. Before the injury I was doing around 5-7k a day running, 100 pull ups and 100 push ups..

Looking forward to getting back to it..

'Happy Belated birthday Tom...!!!

Congrats on the PR Matt.. that’s huge 148kg at  your home gym, I’m assuming with the right equipment (balanced weights & bench) you’ll probably be around 155ish, maybe a few kg over or below. Good going & I’m sure there’s more left in the tank too.

Ledders - sounds like you know what you’re doing and are aware of the things that you’re not doing.

Dean - Sounds brutal pal, do you run or cycle too?

Marky - diet is everything, I need to focus on my diet too, I’ve been intermittent fasting for the past few weeks and feel a lot lighter and happier.

Went for my first weights session yesterday, did a little of everything. As you do when you finally have access to a gym. Definitely lost some strength, still managed a 90kg x 1 OHP and 140kg bench x 2

My squat was horrendous 100kg felt like the planet, managed 5 reps.

Hugely improved on my pull ups, I can do 3 sets of 15-20 quiet easily.

Next time I train I’ll make sure I write a plan out prior, it felt weird free styling, my muscles are much more efficient when I have a plan before I hit the gym

I’ve been running 5k a day (on strava add me if any off you use it) 6 days a week too.

Can’t check my body fat percentage but my weight is currently 13st 11, down from 15st 3. I’m feeling a lot better for it too. I’m going to do weights once or twice a week and carry on with my body weight exercises and running see how it goes. Will update you all once I get my hands on a body composition scale

My brother wrote, produced and directed “Get Gone” a British feature film it’s currently on Amazon Prime for free to prime members please do have a watch when you all get a chance

Another great Saturday but I'm absolutely f**ked.....

4 and 5 at 128kg again on bench following on from hitting 133kg for 3 on Thursday. Going by how much harder this bench is I'm sure that a double will be on the cards for 3 plates when the gyms re-open.

Big PR on the squats hitting 117kg for a single and then 2 more singles at 121.5kg. They weren't perfect reps but felt strong and the bar felt reasonably light on my back. I've not squatted above 110kg for as long as I can remember so really pleased with progress on these.

I'm missing the different exercises that I get to do at the gym particularly my shoulder work but the heavily bench / squat focussed stuff is certainly paying dividends for those two lifts.

Looking forward to a recovery day tomorrow, I've a feeling I'm going to need it.

Epic....!! On both fronts..

What are you doing for recovery?

Haven’t done much apart from pull ups, push ups and 5km everyday (although I’ve missed yesterday and probably today)  not sure wether it’s body dysmorphia but I am noticing my shoulders looking narrower. I was supposed to start weight training again 2 weeks ago but thought I’d give my joints a rest and now feel guilty for losing muscle.

Anyway great to see you still pushing on...

[Be like a couple big Nate Robinsons, when they do get in there]

Elite athletes are always going to have that switch they can turn on once there is a target, so no shock to see them both crushing that aspect.

Can't expect them to look anything like boxers, even with a year to train, though.

Be like a couple big Nate Robinsons, when they do get in there

Stop it

Anybody managing to get anything done at home?

I've hit a bit of a plateau on the bench, 128kg for multiple sets of 3 but can't crack the 4th. Makes sense really as I'd progressed rapidly for a few weeks prior to this.

Just shows the difference in the set up between the gym bench and home bench though, I got 2 comfortable sets of 5 at 127.5kg before lockdown without a spotter but now can't get past 3 at 128kg with my mate there.

Squats are coming along really well. Physio got my pelvis straightened out and after a couple of steady days I'm now up to 108kg for a single with really good depth, slow descent and a nice pause at the bottom.

It's early days but I'm now confident of hitting 120kg fairly soon and maybe 140kg as a long term target.

 I’m not doing any strength training but getting in 5k a day plus some yoga 3 times a week. Will start some form of resistance training in a 4 days

Bench is sounding good, I’d be more concerned about consistency rather then weight progression at the moment and you’re pretty consistent!

Squat shoes are going to help with this massively imo.

Wonderful gesture

Thank you Booder 🙏

Happy New Year, Steve!

Wonderful gesture, from a top man 

Few more rough months, and hopefully many years down the line we'll all have a tail to tell about the winter of '21.

Pity deliveroo don't do VIP statuses, I'm pretty sure I'd be supernova elite by Easter...

Thanks Marky

I flip flop between Uber eats & Deliveroo too 😂 I’m addicted to discounts so only use when I get a discount above 40%

Happy New year to you too and love your outlook on things 💪🏽✊🏽🙏

Try the following people if you know them

Mediconnect guys - Dexter Blackstock & Anthony Anderson

Linton Reid maybe interested too

Spoken to them all unfortunately not interested .

Sorry pal

Try the following people if you know them

Mediconnect guys - Dexter Blackstock & Anthony Anderson

Linton Reid maybe interested too

Happy New year People.


Lockdown is upon us again, it’ll be hard on all of us, some more then others if you’re struggling please feel free to contact me on the below email for the following

Food - If you live in the Nottingham area and struggling

A friendly ear..

If you  or someone you know is vulnerable and has a hazard outside their home I.e. snow, ice, hardcore etc that needs moving but not tipping and can be moved by one or two people

My email is

Stevensethi@gmail.com

Stay safe people

Steve

Anyone Nottingham based who can't get to a gym.   i signed up to a semi ok gym in Oakham (rutland tier 3 10 miles the other side of Melton) today at a posh school complex.   No questions asked with a tier 4 address after joining online prior to initial attendance.

https://www.sll.co.uk/catmose/

Happy new year to everyone.  The wheels fell off for me with covid.   Been training hard since first lockdown finished.  Put on three stone from March-July though!  Loved the WSM btw.  The huge jock must win it next year.   He made two huge fuckups this year and still came 2nd.   So young and so huge naturally.   Love WSM more than ever.   Eddie v Thor is booked in for Nov 2021 in vegas in the ring.  Eddie has some great traning and lifestyle videos on his youtube channel.   He has just bought a huge mansion and basically turned it into a monster training den with outdoor sauna/steam/ice bath and hot tube and a huge gym in the basement.  Worth a watch.   Shaw has similar on his channel.   Both have 1.5m sign ups on youtube.  They must be killing it revenue wise away from the day job to afford these mansions.  

Eddie is such a natural in front of the camera for the tv work and you tube channel.   A lot of the boys who are copying him streaming just can't deliver it like eddie does quality wise for me.

Agree with the Eddie stuff, have had to avoid all videos for the past few weeks so I didn't see the results. When I saw Novikov in the heats I thought he might win, remember he had looked very strong last year.
Time has probably caught up with Shaw, had a great chance to get his 5th with injuries/reduced field/USA location etc, yet he never looked liked winning in the final.

Tom Stoltman had a very good chance to win this year, as you say, huge fuck ups. Saw it coming in the loading race trying to hold the Anvil the way he did.
Europe could dominate for a while, most the Yanks are getting on.

Agreed time has definitely caught up with Shaw his videos with Eddie And Robert O are hilarious... As WSM gets bigger I think you’ll see more Americans enter because of the bigger investment in the sport.