Two of my shirts have quite a meaning behind them. Somehow my wardrobe gravitates to stripy shirts. I don’t know if a conscious thing or price driven by Internet sales.

One represents resilience and another represents change. Not as Woo Woo as it might sound.

Back when Next catalogues were a thing, a big deal - de rigueur shopping before Internet shopping was a glint in anyone’s eye, I bought a green stripy shirt that has lasted a lifetime. Is it really a lifetime when I am still alive?

I bought it when I started working with first bit of office money coming in, probably around 1993 after I started work at Mac Connect. I also bought my mam a broche and everyone else in the family a gift with my newfound earnings. Probably my first and only time.

The quality of that Next shirt still shows to this day. Not a single frayed edge and I have gotten a lot of mileage from it even to this day. The styling also shows. I only wear it when I have put on weight and need the 80’s style roominess for comfort. My two Primark shirts didn’t last the end of a year before looking old.

My lilac stripy Ted Baker shirt marked a turning point where I needed to make changes in my life. If you dip into my social media feeds you will find an abundance of food and drink posts. I love it. I love cooking, I love dining out and I love cocktails.

One year, I had bought the Ted Baker shirt in a sale and took it up to Sunderland after Christmas to wear when going out. We arranged to go into town to meet friends. I put that shirt on, wanting to show off something that I didn't normally wear but it was just too tight.

That Christmas period was one Xmas meal with friends after another, then with family and with work. I was literally stuffed. That shirt was too. I looked down and saw the buttons being pulled in both directions and felt saddened by it, but it made a deep impression on me.

As soon as we arrived back in Bournemouth from our long drive down, we unpacked the car and I immediately put on my running pants, my trainers and set off to the clifftop. I had felt like a balloon over the festive period with my face all puffed up and my stomach extended. I was sick of it. I felt all cooped up and this short jog felt such a relief.

My mind was set, and I went on to lose a lot of the excess. I was closer to 100kg than 90kg to begin with. I still battle with my weight and lifestyle, with my mindset and my vices but I know it can be undone.

The only approach that really worked for me was the 5:2 intermittent fasting routine. That was so hard to get started because of my love for food, but once I got into the routine, weight came off easily and steadily. Too much to go into for this article as there are many nuances of understanding in there.

I can do the 5:2 diet for 6 months and then the holiday visitors came to stay at our home… That’s the problem with Sunny Bournemouth, everyone wants to visit.

When it comes to clothing brands, I tend to start off buying a piece, shirt, cost, jacket at full price as there must have been something to draw me in outside of a sale. Once I find that I love it, love the fit I then tend to buy up piece after piece from that brand in the Sales. I actually have too much of everything. A really bad vice.

I unashamedly love Reiss, Ted Baker and Hugo Boss but my wallet doesn’t. We don’t have kids to spend it on so what the heck.