My evening with Mike Tyson...along with 1,000 other fans!

• Tags:
• Dragon Promotions
• Mike Tyson
• Venuw Cymru

Posted by Samantha Castle on March 24, 2010 4:00 PM

ITS not everyday you get the opportunity to meet a real-life legend face-to-face so when Weekly News reporter Samantha Castle was given the chance to meet boxing champion Mike Tyson she jumped at it.

Meeting the Baddest Man on the Planet was quite a profound experience for me. Not being a boxing fan but still being very aware of Mr Tyson's reputation in and out of the ring made me feel slightly apprehensive of our meeting and put me at a disadvantage knowledge- wise, but I had no reason to fear him he was a pussycat!
I had been invited, courtesy of Dragon Promotions' Mike Williams, ring-master of the An Evening with Mike Tyson tour, to experience the £75 VIP package for myself.
I along with thousands of eager men and a handful of less eager women pilled into Venue Cymru last Friday evening and took my place at the back of a long queue to meet the legend that is Iron Man Mike Tyson.
After a number of security checks and the opportunity to purchase my own unique piece of Mike Tyson memorabilia including framed boxing gloves, shorts, T-shirts and photos, I eventually had my turn.
Under strick instructions that I wasn't allowed to ask Mr Tyson a single question- which was just as well as I know nothing about boxing and was actually going to ask what his favourite cheese was and did he have anymore plans to act (see The Hangover)- I took my place beside him under the glare of the flashbulbs.
Dressed in a brown suit and looking mean and trim for his 43 years, with a shaven head and that famous facial tattoo, he clasps my right hand in both his huge shovel-like hands and said 'Good evening mam' in a soft voice that reminded me of the late Michael Jackson's soft raspy whisper. I put my left arm round his back against his still very solid torso, we both faced the camera and smiled and he then he turned to me again and said 'Thank you' and 'Good buy' as I left the room.
Softly spoken and very polite- how surprisingly nice!
The show itself was a funny affair with a panel of boxing greats including Mike Tyson- the youngest heavyweight champion in history, Big Joe Egan, Jonny Nelson and former world heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon lined up on the stage surrounded by more boxing memorabilia.
After the boxing greats each took their turn sharing anecdotes about their time with Mike there was a rather slap-stick auction of the boxing paraphernalia before Mike himself took to the stage for a short Q&A session.
Altogether a very interesting and entertaining evening- one to tell the grandchildren.

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My inner gym-bunny's hopped off!

• Tags:
• Ffit Conwy
• Sports Relief

Posted by Samantha Castle on March 11, 2010 11:20 AM

WITH news that the Welsh Assembly Government is spending a whopping £650 million a year on obesity and poor health I have enrolled myself into my local council run gym scheme- Ffit Conwy, to ensure I'm not part of these statistics.
The membership is less than half the price of some of the hotel and spa facilities in the area and the staff are well trained and attentive, plus armed with my Ffit Conwy card I can use eight other council run leisure facilities and swimming pools too.
Health experts recommend five 30-minute sessions of physical exercise for adults and five 60-minute sessions for children each week. But on average Welsh adults achieve fewer than three sessions and 11-16 year olds fewer than four.
People who are physically active have up to a 50% reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers and a 20-30% reduced risk of premature death.
I have to admit I have been a little shy attending the gym and have only managed the odd early morning weekly spinning class, which although is a great start to my day, just one 45 minute workout is not enough exercise to make a difference to my health- (see Paula's tip below). But with the encouragement of the attentive gym instructors at Llandudno Junction's gym, who regularly contact me with encouraging email's, I am sure I will find my inner gym-bunny once again!

In the meantime, my favourite gym instructor Paula Griffiths has provided this exercise tip:-
"The body is designed to be efficient and to save calories. If you do the same exercise week after week you'll use up fewer calories over time because you are getting fitter. Simply by changing your routine regularly will mean you'll continue to see results.
"You can do this by trying a variety of activities such as cycling, rock climbing or fitness classes. Remember that you burn more calories if you have to concentrate!
"Activities like dance mats or martial arts are great because you have to think about what you are doing. You should also have your gym programme reviewed regularly by your instructor to make sure you are getting the most out of the time you spend in the gym."

She added: "Instructor Kieran and I will be doing all of the fitness classes in the centre all week leading up to Sport Relief. We are collecting sponsors online and in person."
To donate log on to: www.mysportrelief.com/ljlc

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