What would John Lennon think?

It was an emotional start to the day. I had fallen asleep last night, a broken man. I was just so dog tired. It's been a tough week training and I'm feeling a bit out of my comfort zone at work. I'm working with Michael on a strategy for the next four years and there's emotion invested in it.

The problem is that I think that the concepts involved seem to be like many things in life.... A mix of concepts, mostly evidence based, put together into a model which have become conventional wisdom. The model doesn't seem to be supported by much evidence though, especially for my application. The issue is that I hadn't considered the time involved in 're-inventing the wheel' or having to challenge convention. My head remains pickled.

Anyway, back to the emotional morning. I was awake early and decided to watch the Masterchef final. My favourite, Natalie, won. Of course the programme is wonderfully edited, but she came across as such a cool human being and one I could imagine being my mate.... A DJ with a love of food.

In my teenage years, I wanted to be a chef. At my wee catering college, within 2 minutes of getting my placement in a kitchen, I bottled it and ended up simply working in a hotel. I had been in quite a few kitchens and thought that I just couldn't work quick enough with precision. A total lack of confidence, even though my knowledge of food was in a different league to most people's in the 80's. Although like Natalie, I was a bit of a chav, my granny was in the industry and I was regularly taken to the best restaurants in Scotland at the time.

A few years later, I discovered the joys of techno music at the ground breaking and seminal club called Pure. I instantaneously wanted to be a DJ and bought a set of decks. Unfortunately, I have the motor control and timing of a confused baby so I was rubbish.

Being a great DJ or a chef is pretty similar though. The aim is to please others through connecting with their senses. I'm imagining a Richie Hawtin mix......very basic loops, beats and frequencies combined together, yet remaining clearly defined. Loops that gets stuck in the mind, bass that pulses through the entire body and frequencies that touch all the extremities. Independent but not mutually exclusive; simple genius. Not such a different sensory response than the zing on the tongue from a pomegranate seed in a Broughton Deli salad or the textures and tastes in a perfect tarte au citron.

Natalie also impressed me because she seemed to have the same steely determination, attention to detail and focus as an Olympic athlete but a genuine smile that could light up a wet weekend in Portobello. The gal did well!

I'm now sitting in North Tea having a fine flat white with perfectly textured milk. I'm still tired but will be recovered for a busy weekend. It'll be my 1st open water swim of the year tomorrow and a bike ride. I've a 5km hilly road race (run) on Sunday and maybe a fell race on Monday if my calf remains pain free.

On a less positive note, I'm going to end on politics. You chaps up in Scotland are lucky because we've seen Ukip get 25% of the vote in the English local elections. It's a sad day for democracy and very sad that much of the population can be so misguided.

Anyone who feeds off fear, distrust, xenophobia and racism is wrong. People who believe the shit they read in the right wing press need lessons in critical thinking. It is important to remember that Adolf Hitler managed to achieve 43% of the vote in the 1933 German elections and was able to secure power on the back of this. Romanians and Bulgarians pose a minimal threat to this country. Islamic fundamentalism is only a threat if ordinary Muslim's perceive that they are hated and feel discriminated against. Human rights are not optional.

The Dalai Llama once said "if you think you are too small to make a difference, sleep in a room with a mosquito". We can all make a difference!