COVID is ruining everything

 I've updated colours of the remaining list items. Blue is items that can be done under current UK Covid-19 restrictions, and Red denotes items that will have to wait until whenever the world gets back to normal. 

It's certainly put pay to me completing the list in my 30th birthday year. Guess I'll just have to do all the blue things and finish the red things when I can. Ugh. 

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

Coast to Coast!

This won't be a long post! I've just returned to Cayman after completing one of the bigger activities on my list - the Coast to Coast road trip across the USA! It was an incredible trip, starting in NYC and finishing up in San Francisco - we visited 15 states in 21 days and saw/did so many amazing things.

The reason I'm not going to go into detail here is because I'm doing a full scale write up on my other blog - Letters to England. If you'd like to find out more, head over there! 

Back with a vengeance!

It's been a looong while since my last post here (which is nothing new, we've already established how terrible a blogger I am). Anyway, I've now lived in Grand Cayman for almost 2 years. 2 years! How mad is that?! I've turned 28 and so am closer to the "deadline" for this list than ever. Things are going pretty well but I've been especially driven the last few weeks to get some things ticked off.

Ruthin Castle

I've been back in the UK for my Easter break, and amongst the traditional partying and visiting friends/family I've been trying to work through as many list items as possible! Starting with my stay in a haunted house (actually a castle...) Ruthin Castle in North Wales is truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever stayed. It dates back to the 13th Century and has been home to kings, princes and nobles as well as being used as a fort, hospital and most recently a hotel.

 I was there with a friend overnight and we both thought it was stunning. The gardens are magnificent and full of peacocks; the inside feels like you've been taken back in time to a luxurious home fit for a King. And the rooms....well. We were upgraded for free to one of the castle's amazing suites and it was honestly one of the best hotel rooms I've ever stayed in. But here's the exciting part. Ruthin Castle is supposed to be one of the 10 most haunted places in Britain - home to specters such as Lady Grey, who allegedly, upon discovering her powerful husband was being unfaithful with a peasant girl from the local village, killed his mistress in a jealous rage. She was then sentenced to death herself for murder, and it's said that she has never left the castle since. Unfortunately we didn't encounter Ms Grey or any of the other ghosts that are said to inhabit the castle firsthand, but we did hear lots of ghostly bumps and creaks in the middle of the night. I was convinced it was ghosts. My friend...less so. But still - an exciting stay and an item checked off the list.

I won't go into crazy detail about everything I've managed to check off over my easter break - we'll be here all day - but I'm chuffed to have managed to finally plant some trees (more than 2 in the end!) at an event in Chester, walk along Hadrian's Wall (part of it at least, it's a very long wall) and send Jemima a message in a bottle. I did this with the company NOD - with all the attention at the moment on cleaning up the world's oceans and removing plastic waste as well as glass, I didn't think sending a traditional message in a bottle via dropping a bottle in the sea was such a wise idea. NOD allows you to send a tiny scroll message in a tiny bottle to a friend in the post. Jemima loved it and especially loved the lessened impact on the environment.

Me at Hadrian's Wall

Speaking of Jemima - she and I finally went out together to to a night of pub golf! We did 9 "holes" in 8 bars along Deansgate locks and we ended up joint winners with each other! We also went out dressed as each other in Jemima and Emily inspired outfits - complete with cat ears and hair roses - and introduced ourselves to people as each other. It was a fun night and a great way to spend time with my best friend before I fly back to Cayman. However I really wish we'd done Pub Golf already when we were younger. My body cannot handle alcohol and late night McDonalds like it used to and I spent most of yesterday in bed with a killer hangover and suspected food poisoning. Ah well - at least we did it.

Me and Jemima before
our Pub Golf night out

A few other things have been checked off the list in the last year or so too - last summer Jemima and I went on a trip to Blackpool and FINALLY had our fortunes told! It was an interesting experience and I'm not sure how much if any of it was accurate, but fun all the same. I've also done a few things in Cayman such as running through the fountains (not Piccadilly gardens as originally intended but the Camana Bay ones are pretty much exactly the same so I'm counting it). And I've obviously seen so many sunsets in Cayman since living there. They are seriously spectacular.


Oh oh oh! I also finally had the time and money to go back to South Africa to visit my grandad. I'm not going to go into the trip much here, unfortunately my grandad's behaviour whilst I was there has left an enormous rift between us which really ruined it for me. But the game drives were fun and we saw lots of wildlife, including some amazing rhino, lion, hyena and elephant sightings, so it wasn't all bad.

 One thing that's bothered me about the list is the item "Go to the Dogs". I made the decision to cross this off without actually going as since making the list originally it's come to light just how bad the poor dogs are treated in the dog racing business, and it's not something I wish to support any longer.

So - 22 months left to complete the list! That's the only race I want to be a part of, and the race is on!

The Worst Blogger Ever

Perhaps an over-the-top title for a post but I really think I might be the worst blogger ever. It's been a year since my last entry on this blog - but in fairness I've had some life changing circumstances this year.

2016 was a year of dramatic change for the world: Britain voted Brexit, the US voted Trump and we lost a seemingly endless list of big-name celebrities. The year was also a big one for me - my best friend got married, I did my first ever 10k run, I played for the Queen and took a bunch of kids on tour to France for the first time. Oh, and I moved to the Caribbean.

I won't dwell on that here as I have a whole other blog about my exploits in Grand Cayman (which you can find here) but suffice to say it's been a life-changing move for me. Before August the closest I'd ever gotten to the Caribbean was playing Monkey Island, so it's been a bit of a culture shock. It has however, enabled me to check a few more items off my list!

First of all, I started off the year with free ice skating lessons! It's a fab initiative that Altrincham Ice Rink were running for anyone aged 25 and under (lucky me I was just under the cusp at the time) that meant I could go along for a free group lesson for 6 weeks, not having to pay for skate hire or rink entry, and I was also allowed to stay to skate after for up to 2 hours for free! I got quite into my ice skating, even buying my own pair of skates, and was quite excited to see they're planning to build a rink in Cayman! It's not been built yet but they are telling everyone to watch this space. Hmm.

Moving my entire life across the world meant I had to downsize my personal possessions quite a lot and sell a lot of things to make sure I had plenty of money to move over with. Tragically I had to sell some of my beloved musical instruments but I also managed to save up over £300 of £1 coins in my terramundi pot, which was fun to smash! The original intention had been to spend my terramundi funds on an expensive bottle of champagne from Selfridges but no matter - there'll be plenty of time for that. I also did an epic car boot sale to get rid of a lot of my junk.

I also wanted to try and do as many UK-based things as I could fit in before I left the country, which included a day trip to Stonehenge! I also went to see loads of musicals and plays - including Rocky Horror show in full on slutty Ann Summers outfits, and a dramatic enactment of King Lear live at the Royal Exchange in Manchester - which included a horrible scene of a man's eyes being plucked out! 

Packing up my life meant I got chance to watch a lot of TV, so as well as watching the entire series of Desperate Housewives (which took up a significant chunk of my time and became a surprising addiction!) I managed to tick a few iconic films off my must-watch list: Home Alone, Blazing Saddles, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Castaway, all classics in their own way but also in my opinion fantastic films! I LOVED Castaway and couldn't stop saying WILSON!!!! for days afterwards.

Once I'd finally arrived here in Cayman I was able to tick off one item I've been struggling with for ages - Try 20 kinds of food I've never tasted before. Since being here I've tasted such a weird and wonderful number of foods I've easily checked this off. The big traditional food in Cayman is turtle (farmed locally on island and NOT taken from the wild) which was surprisingly tasty and similar to really tender beef rather than fish as I was expecting.  I've also tried tropical fruits like starfruit, rambutan and longan; sampled Caribbean staples like Saltfish & Ackee, Jerk chicken/pork; and new exotic sounding fish with hilarious names like mahi-mahi and wahoo. It's really a whole new world of flavour to me, I love it. 

So to sum up, it's been a good year for the list even if I haven't necessarily been the best at updating the blog. As for the rest of the world....well I guess like the Cayman ice rink we'll have to watch this space....

Ho, Ho Bloody Ho

It's 4 days before Christmas, is everyone in the Holly Jolly spirit yet?? I just can't seem to find that festive feeling in me yet, maybe I should just accept that this year I won't feel it because of the tablets, but there we are.

For me, something that really encapsulates Christmas (aside from the religious aspects and drinking far too much wine) is to think of others, be generous and kind, and give what you can to make other people who may not be having the best time of their lives a bit of a lift. To that end, I thought it would be a great time to give my first ever blood donation! 

I went along to the local Town Hall this afternoon for my appointment, feeling a little bit sick at the thought of being hooked up to a machine that would suck a pint of blood from my veins! After filling in a form I was asked to drink a big drink of juice to keep my blood pressure up and help prevent me from fainting during the appointment. Then a kindly looking male nurse took me into a private booth to ask me some questions about my medical health and history, and to test my iron levels. 

Now if you ever go along to a blood donation for the first time, this is the bit you really won't like. They spike the tip of your finger with a sharp tool, squeeze it until blood comes out and suck some out of the wound with a pipette - then drop a blob in some blue stuff. If the blob sinks, you've got good iron levels. If it floats, you've got a problem and may be anemic (not good for blood donation). The thing is, they don't tell you how much the spike hurts! People would probably just tell me to man up and deal with it - people lose legs and complain less - but honestly it really stings, and the pain lasts for a while after! Anyway, plaster on the offended finger and back to the waiting area I went.

Shortly a friendly but matronly looking nurse came and fetched me - my turn had arrived. She sat me down in a big scoopy plastic chair with comfy cushions on the feet and behind my head and proceeded to try and find a vein in my left arm. Apparently there weren't any veins in my left arm so she tried the right instead hoping for better luck. Success! A big fat vein perfectly central in my arm. Matron nurse took an antiseptic wipe and polished my elbow vigorously with it like it was a rusty silver Christmas tree ornament, and then I was "ready to go". Eek. On with the blood pressure cuff to make the vein stick out, clenched fist, sharp scratch and "OUCH" the needle was in. 

I watched the blood disappear from my body into the plastic blood bag next to me and felt strangely relaxed as the Christmas tunes played in the background. My arm felt a little tingly but not painful, and I thought about how much my donation would end up helping people. At my Slimming World meeting later, a friend told me how good a thing it was to do, as you really are saving a life by donating. That felt good.

So the donation came to an end, and the machine started to making its bleepy noises and Matron nurse returned to whip the needle out of my arm and get me sat up straight and my arm dressed. I was excited now for my reward of biscuits! After making sure I was okay, I was led over by Matron nurse to the recovery area, where there were trays of chocolate biscuits, crisps and plenty of juice to keep the generous donors' blood sugars up. I grabbed myself an orange chocolate club and some orange squash to match, chilled out for 20 minutes and finally felt ready to go. Not woozy or ill at all, although my arm felt a little heavy but no worse than after a vaccination.

Anyway, that was it! I hope if anybody reading is thinking about donating blood but wants to know more about what goes on, this clears things up and reassures that there really isn't anything to worry about. Go and book that appointment, and give a really important gift this Christmas season.