Is it supposed to be this cold all summer long?

I'm back y'all! I've been in the UK for the last 4 and a half weeks for my summer holiday from Cayman...and it's honestly been freezing. I've spent the majority of my time wearing hoodies, fleeces and long sleeves while my friends mostly laugh at me while donning shorts and t-shirts. I think I've gone soft...

It's been a pretty busy month for me. I've been making the most of being "off the rock" and trying to keep myself busy with activities from the list. In just 4 weeks I've ticked off:

-Go Ape!
-Go strawberry picking
-Milk a cow
-Cuddle a Shetland Pony
-Visit a Michelin Star restaurant
-Buy an expensive bottle of Champagne from Selfridges as if I do it every day (and then share it with my closest friend)
-Throw a dart into a UK map and travel to where it lands
-Do Alton Towers PROPERLY (with the hotel and everything)
-Make an unusual flavour of ice cream from scratch
-Devote an entire day to exploring and shopping in the Camden markets

So as you can see it's been a busy one! I was also originally planning to squeeze in even more trips: Paris to go on a cycling adventure; llama trekking with Jemima; to the Lake District to climb Scafell Pike; and South Wales to go Whale Watching, but everything's ended up so busy and tiring so I've decided to leave those 3 til next summer. I'll still be within my 30th year so I guess it counts.

Here are some of my highlights:

Go Ape

I've wanted to do this for so many years, mainly because I felt I had something to prove to myself. Last time I attempted a high ropes course was when I was 13 years old at a PGL holiday; I froze halfway through and had to be rescued from the rope....mega embarrassing.
My brother and I both arrived at Go Ape Delamere on a cloudy afternoon - rain had been forecast but we'd been lucky so far. We had decided to go for the Junior course rather than the full adult one purely for financial reasons, but also as the smaller course was easier and much quicker to complete.

Once we were up in the trees, I felt the familiar feelings of dread wash over me. I'm not scared of heights but I just hate the feeling that I'm going to slip and fall - no matter how safe I know it is or how strong my safety harness is. But an hour later, George and I completed the course and had arrived at the final zipwire. A crash of thunder suddenly sounded overhead - this signalled that Go Ape would immediately be closing so we both jumped onto the zip wire without having time to look back or feel any fear!

We #smashedit !

Alton Towers

Jemima and I had been planning this one for months. I've been visiting Alton Towers almost every year since I was a child but never managed to stay in the hotel or visit the water park before, so this time we wanted to put that right. We had 2 nights booked in the Splash Landings (ironically Caribbean themed) hotel, as well as 2 days in the park, 2 visits to the waterpark, a digi-pass for our ride photos and a visit to the Towers Dungeons, for the modest sum of £197 each. This included breakfast in the hotel and a basket of treats in our room!

 The park was nowhere near as busy as I was expecting either day, and we had pretty good weather. This excellent combination ensured we got onto every ride at least once, even getting to ride the new Wickerman coaster twice! We managed to get a photo on every coaster with our digi-pass and enjoyed everything the park had to offer, including the new Sea Life section. The Wickerman is incredible, I love a good wooden roller coaster but this was another level - with shooting fire and a tremendous backstory including a pre-ride film preparing you to be sacrificed to the Wickerman.

The waterpark was a new experience for both of us - unfortunately Jemima couldn't spend too much time in the water due to her new tattoos but we still managed to get around all of the slides and enjoy the rapids too. It was a fun evening and a great way to cool down after a sweaty day walking a hefty 15000 steps around the theme park! The master blaster was definitely a highlight, but I particularly enjoyed the slide where you could choose your own music and light experience before sliding.

A definite highlight that is new to the park though is the Alton Dungeons experience. It costs a little extra to go in but it is totally worth it. There are live actors that take you on a journey through time into steadily creepier realities. It's a lot of fun and keeps you on your toes - particularly if you are volunteered to take part in any of the scenes!

Next time I want to try out the proper Alton Towers hotel and maybe spend a bit more time in the water park, possibly not in the summer holidays as it was very, very crowded.

Park Hall Countryside Experience

I hadn't planned on coming to this place by myself, but sadly schedule clashes meant my farm trip would be a solo one. I'll admit I did feel a bit out of place queuing up to enter alone amongst all of the families with small children, but I reminded myself why I was there and put the thoughts out of my mind. I was greeted on entry by pens upon pens of rabbits. Rabbits aren't my favourites (I've been put off by an old housemate's particularly violent pet) but these were adorable, and there were lots of

babies too!

After the rabbits I had the pleasure of meeting Honey the Miniature Shetland Pony. I was able to stroke her and groom her for a few minutes before having to move on (endless queues were I suppose to be expected on a busy day in the summer holidays). I spent the majority of the morning trying to get away from the hoards of children by walking the deserted trails around the farm, but I did get some time to meet the adorable goats, lambs and donkeys, cuddle up with the Shetland ponies again and watch the exciting Pig Races before the cow milking demonstrations (the real reason I'd trekked all the way to Oswestry!) Park Hall farm is one of the only places in the country that allows its visitors to try to hand-milk their dairy cows. It goes without saying I was the first in line ahead of all of the small children! I was shown what to do but warned it would be tricky to get any milk from the cow since it was toward the end of their milking cycle, but I squeezed and a warm jet of milk shot straight out! I obviously have a magic touch. It was a weird but memorable experience that I'll not forget in a hurry.

Champagne

The most expensive champagne I've ever drunk is Veuve Cliquot, and it's inevitably always been bought for me by someone else either as a gift or as part of an event. I wanted to know more about the luxury brands of champagne that rich people have the wealth to buy whenever they want. Of course, I was on a budget but I wanted to ensure that the attendant in Selfridges didn't know that. I perused the shelves with my best lackadaisical expression until I was approached by an assistant. "Are you looking for anything in particular?" he asked with a smile. I lazily gestured up to the very top shelf, where all the bottles were locked in a glass case. All of these were at least £100 in price, except just one which my eyes fixed upon. " I was looking at the Gosset 15 year, actually", I replied. "Yes, that's a very good price point for that particular bottle", the young man beamed. "I know, I've never seen it so cheap, it's my favourite champagne," I lied without even a blink. Inviting me to wait at the counter, the man fetched the ladder and key (to the interest of some onlookers) and brought me the most expensive champagne I would ever have paid for.

"That'll be £95 please. Are you celebrating anything special?" "No," I replied, "just a standard Friday night really". I smirked on the inside as the man looked a mix of horrified and awe-struck. I did feel a bit bad to be lying like this but it was fun to pretend to be so rich that I could just buy such luxury any time I wanted.

Jemima and I would split this champagne at the weekend as part of our "French celebration day" (instead of going cycling in France) and honestly I can understand now why it was so expensive. I was worried it would taste the same as any other bottle but the flavour was just glorious. It wasn't overly fizzy, but tasted rich and almost creamy. Pure indulgence with every sip. I obviously won't be buying it every weekend, but I know now that it will be worth the splurge whenever I have a real special occasion to celebrate.

Michelin Star Restaurant

This has been a dream of mine for a long time. Michelin star restaurants - like the expensive champagne I talked about above - are traditionally seen as an experience for only the most wealthy people. However, since living in Cayman where all the meals are usually a minimum of $50 anyway, it didn't seem like such a ridiculous splurge to me any more. I located a lovely restaurant in Blackburn called Northcote. They offered a 2 course lunch menu for £29 which seemed very reasonable. I treated myself further, however, and went for the 3 courses at £36.

Upon arrival I was welcomed to the lounge with canapes and a cocktail menu. The Fragola fizz I ordered was delicious and sparkly, and the hummus with crackers had an unusual earthy flavour like nothing I've tasted before.

When my table was ready I was led through to the dining room, and they kindly carried my cocktail through for me on a silver tray. This felt very opulent and wholly unnecessary since I had both hands free but hey, I was enjoying the luxury experience! Whilst I waited I sat with a stunning view over the countryside and munched on divine fresh sourdough bread and butter.

My first course of pork pie arrived, and was like no other pork pie I've ever seen. It was a long rectangle of pork with a wafter thin layer of pastry sitting on top, served with homemade branston pickle and apple relish. It was very tasty and the pickle was incredible and sweet.

The real winner of the 3 courses was my lamb main. A single lamb chop and a lamb meatball were served with the most delicious roast potatoes I've ever eaten (sorry, mum) cooked with indian spices, and a white curry sauce with sweet garlic, peas and half an onion. The flavours were indescribable but the sauce and potatoes were the stars of the show - safe to say I daubed up every scrap of the sauce with the potatoes. The lamb was also cooked to perfection.

For dessert I ended with a layered chocolate dessert served with salted sheep milk ice cream. This was immaculately presented with chocolate curls and not too sweet, just a firm hit of chocolate and an excellent contrast to the slightly salty ice cream. My meal didn't even end there, as I took my mocktail (an Adam's apple with flavours of elderflower and apple) through to the lounge I was presented with 2 miniature eccles cakes, served warm and sweet. A perfect end to a perfect meal, and one that I'll remember for a long time to come.

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I went fruit picking with my friend Kat; we collected lots of gooseberries and a few strawberries, so I was able to make a delicious gooseberry and elderflower ice cream from scratch. It tastes exactly like hot summer days!

 

I explored Camden markets with my brother Oliver - he was keen for a chance to look around them too as he rarely gets time mid-week to spend there when it's quieter. He bought a kimono from a vintage store and I picked up a unicorn shower cap, and lots of pictures of lovely vintage dresses that I currently have no room in my suitcase for! But I'll definitely be back.

Finally, I used an online website to throw a dart into a map of the UK. By complete coincidence, it landed in the village of Hassell which is only 8 minutes drive from my mum's house in Sandbach, so this was an easy one! It was nice to drive out to an area that I haven't explored much before, even so close by.

I'm not going to go into much detail about everything else I've done this summer, but safe to say I've been burning through the list! I intend to get as much done before my 30th birthday as I can, and then finish everything else before the end of 2020. Let's see how I do!

PS. Not technically in the Summer but before we broke up for the hols I achieved my Grade 1 in French Horn, with distinction!

One Year to Go

It seems like a lifetime ago when Jemima and I first sat down to make our list of "100 things to achieve before 30". Obviously, at the time we were very optimistic and, in its first iteration, the list was to be completed before we graduated university. Well, it's 8 years later and I've still got almost 40 items left to do. Argh!! How did I let life get in the way so much? Surely 100 is not that many things to get done in 8 years? But apparently, it is. And in fairness, a lot has happened in 8 years. I've moved away from Britain, had SO many different jobs, traveled far and wide and have generally been trying to get myself to the level of a steady, fully-functioning adult (with varying degrees of success). 

I've been steadily ticking things off - most notably recently I took a martial arts class in Cayman - the CASK (Cayman Associated School of Karate) school offered a trial week and I thought - "Why not?"

It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The class was 90 minutes long and involved an incredible amount of stretching and core exercises. I was taught my first stance and also 4 different types of block, and 2 punches. There was a lot of ritual and the entire environment was clearly one of respect, calm and learning. I really appreciated my chance to have a go at learning the basics, but don't see myself taking it up as a regular hobby.





Also, as it was my 29th Birthday recently (that's right - less than a year now to go on the list!) I celebrated with friends on the beach by holding a silly sports day - think egg n spoon races, tug of war, three-legged races and all of the old favourites. It was so much fun and a great way to spend my birthday! We also got to hang out on the beautiful beach and watch the sunset after all of our games.

Oh - and I carved my name into a tree behind my house. #graffitiartist