Got up this morning and decided to day was the day to complete another one off the list. Oooh wait a minute there was a hint of spontaneity  in there!! Yep I decided to do the Banbury circular or fringe walk before the weather turned and I didn't get another chance. So after posting a plea for some walking buddies to join me on facebook and getting no offers, I roped my husband in to do it with me. He really does deserve a medal for putting up with me. You're probably wondering why I've put photo of my feet to start this one well I thought it would be fun to see what they looked like before and after a 10 mile walk. I'll post the after picture at the end when I've finished writing up this blog. The first time (10.08) is the time we started. I downloaded the map and directions from the internet and decided that we would

start the walk from the closest point to our home, it made sense to do it that way so on the map it was point 12.  We walked along the ironstones or as is known on the map the Mineral Railway path right down to the Southam road. We then crossed over to go over the bridge and then walked along the canal path. This was the longest part of the walk as we went from one end of the town to the other. Once we got to the 'Nadkey bridge' we were about halfway. The picture of Andrew stood on a bridge is the halfway point and the time, 11.35, is the time we reached it. I didn't think we did too bad walking 5 miles in 1 hour 17 mins. At this point we left the canal and began walking round the edges of farmers fields. It was a bit muddy to say the least with all the rain we've had recently and Andrew slipped a few times but neither of us ended up on our rears so our dignities remained intact. through Bodicote and the full length of Salt Way was the next leg of the walk. The first half of the lane is where we saw most people out walking dogs or on their bikes. The weather was just right for being out this morning especially as they had forecast showers some to be heavy. Luckily the rain held off till we got back. Right at the end of Salt way and we cross Broughton  road and enter Giants Caves park. 
these used be caves you could go into but they've since been filled in and they are nothing more than hills now. Across more fields and through more mud but some beautiful views were to be had for sure. The last part, past Withycombe farm and down the long drive from the house to the main road seemed the longest probably because our legs were getting heavy, achy and rather tired. We got back to the start at 13.56

One last thing to tell you about  and that is the calendar for children in need is nearly here. We are expecting delivery imminently. Details on how to get your hands on this most converted possession will follow very soon. It does mean that along with this blog I will have published something, another one ticked off the list.

I've always admired the grace and elegance of dancers, mainly ballroom and Latin dancers and have secretly harboured a desire to be able to dance well. Being an avid fan of strictly just makes me want to learn even more, so, my long suffering brother, Dominic, has been semi dragged (semi, because he wanted to do it really) along to dance classes. Hang on a minute aren't you married?  I hear you cry, yes I reply, but Andrew keeps going abroad with work and never seems to get home on time to go to the classes so we made the decision that I needed some-one else to go with me. We searched the internet for a local class and got some recommendations before picking Step by Step in our local town. Well we turned up and met the teacher, a really nice lady with a sense of humour, reassuring because she is going to need one to teach me to dance. 
Tonight we start with the rumba, the catch is its because some of the other dancers are entering exams, what we take exams oh oh didn't see that one. She did tell us that we weren't to worry if we got a bit lost just to enjoy ourselves and relax. The lesson started and we did the warm up, cor blimey that was a work out in itself and we just about managed to keep up or rather catch-up. Now onto the dance, we lined up singularly and she took us through the steps and routine a section at a time. We went over it several times both with and without music. Great just about got that, this isn't going to be too embarrassing after all. Spoke to soon as usual. The teacher then decided to throw in the arm movements, well arms and legs together didn't work for me at all so gave up on the arms and concentrated on the feet. Now here we go dancing with a partner hahahaha what  a giggle. Our first few attempts on my part anyway were a....maz......ing as Craig would say, that is amazingly awful. Forget two left feet more like three and poor Dominic I think I nearly tripped him up a couple of times. I'm not sure how Dominic did cause I was too busy concentrating on what I was supposed too be doing. We went through the rest of the routine bit by bit and was getting the hang of it until the last section, feet tied in knots doesn't begin to describe the mess we got into but hey we ended up in the right position even if we took a different route to everyone else. We had a really good time and are looking forward to the next lesson. Who knows we may become dancers after all.

 Sunday October 6th and I am no longer making any excuses to go and support our local town event. Its easy to say 'I'm tired, too busy or it'll be there next year' and not go along to enjoy the local area show casing it's assets. Well this time I decided to get up and go along. A lot of work goes into organising these events much of it done voluntary or in peoples spare time and if we the general public don't get up and support these events they will simply disappear.  There are so many benefits to these things not least bringing awareness of local business, organisations and local life. Its a chance to bring together people and help the local economy. Well I for one am glad I went and although on my own I did meet a few people I knew. I was quite surprised at how well organised it was. The area was sectioned so there was the international food court, children's fair ground style games, craft and street entertainers. All this alongside the canal with it's canal boats of all types. The variety of boats was amazing, there were ones for weddings, ones selling Welsh cheeses and ones traditional canal crafts to name a few. There was live music which added to the atmosphere and the whole feeling of everyone having a good time. It felt like a boost in these difficult times, something to raise the spirits and smile about. All in all it was lovely and I would love to go again, no excuses. If this one inspires you to get up and support your local town then my job is done. 

As you can see I've really got on with the recipe book. All these have been made over the last two weeks some for lunches others for dinner. the only one I wasn't keen on was the granola and fruit compote. The compote was fine, I really liked that but I wasn't so keen on the Granola. Like other times it could be I didn't quite get it right but what ever it was I don't think this is one I'll be making again. Completing these means there do is only about seventeen left to do so not too many more.

I don't know where to start with this one, I still can't believe what I saw or that it was me. At the risk of sounding vain, I have to keep looking at the photographs and pinching myself because the transformation I under went was just out of this world. Ok let me take a step back and start with how this one got onto my list. We a re talking about having a professional photo shoot done and learning how to do my own make-up. I think I've mentioned this before but I'm not keen, putting it mildly, on having my photo taken. I seem to freeze inside  which then some how translates into the picture so it looks like I'm grimacing or like a rabbit frozen in headlights. I never look comfortable and relaxed and quite frankly I'e never been that comfortable with the way I look. My husband is always telling me I'm beautiful and I've been told by family and friends that I'm quite pretty but I've never really seen it. So I wanted to see if a professional photo shoot and professional make-up could change the way I feel about myself. Now I realise that with the calendar  I have had a professional photo shoot done and my make-up professionally done but that was for a specific thing and the make-up wasn't what I'd call every day wear. What I had done last Sunday was a birthday gift from Dominic and John and when you see the results I'm sure you will understand why I can not thank them enough. 
The whole experience started that morning with me showering, defuzzing  and moisturising. I want to look my best! Dominic and I had chosen four outfits to take with me, Dominic is great for things like that and even suggested taking some pyjamas and a teddy for  fun. I wasn't sure about that but hey I didn't have to use them. John took Dominic and I to the railway station and we caught the 10.11 train to Birmingham Snow Hill. I took about an hour and we chatty, laughed and both got very excited and nervous at the some time. It was really good to spend some quality time with my brother and do something out of the ordinary. I must admit though I felt a bit guilty knowing the day seemed to be all about me and that Dominic was acting as a kind of chaperone but I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did. Anyway we got there and decided to find the studios then go for something to eat. We were quite early and it was going to be a long day. We followed the instructions given by the studio which I must say even I could follow easily. We asked if we could leave our things there while we went of to find a cafe and they very obligingly said yes so that's what we did. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the cafe but it was only a couple of minutes from the studio and was really lovely. The tea, which was only one of bout 20 choices, was brought out in glass teapots with diffuser type things in which contained the loose tea. The waitress asked if we had been there before and as we hadn't explained how to brew our tea to perfection. We order food too and when the tea was brought out the waitress apologised for the delay in bringing our food. When the food came out she apologised again and said to take a cake from the counter compliments of the house. All this baring in mind from the moment we sat down to the moment we left was only about 35 minutes. We couldn't believe how lovely the service was and attentive the staff were too. we headed back to the studio and went up to where the reception was. Georgie was the girl greeting us. She was bright and bubbly and very friendly. She took our jackets and hung them up and offered us a drink. I had to fill in a short form and waited for the hair stylist. The staff kept reassuring us it wouldn't be long and offering us a drink, which sound a bit over the top but it wasn't. They weren't in your face or pushy or cheesey. You were made to feel genuinely cared for and that you mattered. I was introduced to Kelly, the hairstylist. She was so lovely too. I did feel sorry for her as she was full of cold and obviously not feeling her best but she didn't let that affect her work one bit. She was so gentle I nearly fell asleep having my hair washed and when brushing my hair I didn't feel the bristles touch my scalp once. Now at this point I must add I was under strict instructions by Nettie, my hairdresser, not to have my . hair cut short. We were in the process of doing a restyle so like a good little girl I relayed all this to Kelly. She was fine with it and duly cut my hair into the new style a it was long enough to do. I don't know about you but when I have a restyle it usually take a couple of weeks to adjust and rally like it, not this time. My usual hairdresser was right the style she wanted me to have was perfect for me and even before Kelly had finished drying it I had fallen in love with my hair. This was a first for me. The style was a graduated bob, popular today but so sleek and elegant. I couldn't believe how much younger it made me look. I could see Dominic nodding and grinning in approval. When Kelly had finished we sat and waited for the next bit, the make-up. I was a bit nervous of this cause I don't wear a lot of make-up usually. A little bit of eye shadow, blush lippy occasionally I'll go the whole hog and use foundation but make-up to me is a very special occasion event. Well because my hair didn't take as long as the schedule for it we waited about half an hour. In that time we were apologised to and offered more drinks. We were fine, we chatted and laughed and interacted with  Goergie. We just soaked up the atmosphere and chilled. Jen came through and took us to have my make-up done. At long last I was going to learn how to do this properly so I thought. Oh how wrong I was. We were too busy chatting and laughing at the stories Jen was telling us I didn't learn a thing! The transformation was amazing. We went for the smoky sexy look and I looked a million dollars. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Between my hair and make-up I looked at least 10 years younger. The bags under my eyes were gone my skin looked smooth and fresh and my droopy eye didn't show either. Who was this woman looking back at me? I have emailed Jen to see if she can send me step by step instructions.
Next was the photos. I think this was the bit I was dreading the most. How was I going to relax and enjoy this? Chaz was great from the moment we shook hands he began putting me at ease. We went upstairs and he took a look at the outfits I had brought along. He loved them! especially the pyjamas. Ok so now I'm convinced about them they could work thank you Dominic for your vision I would never have had the confidence to bring them with out you. So the first outfit was casual, trousers and top, Chaz showed me and explained exactly how and where he wanted me to stand and snapped away. Outfit number two and the same again, direction ans snap. I was beginning to enjoy this. My insides didn't feel like a frozen ice lolly and we were actually laughing and having fun. Out fit number three and four and I was still having fun. I wish I could have been this relaxed when we did the calendar. maybe I'd have been a little more daring. All I could hear from Chaz was sweet. nice, that's the on, lovely. oh yes. What did this pictures look like? Dominic was getting sneak previews and was just grinning from ear to ear. Photos done and time to wait for the viewing. I can't say much about this other than Dominic and I saw the first one come up on the screen and cried. I Think my reaction was that's not me. The lady in the photo was stunning. I could not believe any one or anything could make me look the way I did in those photos. Drew who was in charge of the viewing left us too it and just smile as he went out of the room. There was no way we were going to be able to choose from these. They were on a loop and went round three or four times before we came out of our state of shock. We made a decision and Drew came back. This was the crunch time money. He explained everything clearly but without being pushy. At no time did we feel pressured or obliged to buy anything. We did decide on five one of which came with the package anyway. All there is to say is here they are. Hope you like the as much as we do. and if you want to use this studio they are love it studios in Birmingham. I was so thrilled with the whole experience I felt compelled to write them an email  expressing how grateful I was. 
                      
  To Georgie, Kelly, Jen, Chaz and Drew
I just want to thank you all again for a wonderful experience. You will never know what you did to boost my confidence in myself, to make me realise that I can look amazing and beautiful. I have never felt like that about myself before and for me to like what I see in the mirror is a feeling I will never forget. You all made it a relaxed and fun day and your attention to detail and personal service was second to none. 

Andrew and I are no strangers to spending the odd weekend in London, (the man in the picture again is my brother-in-law not my husband). We go a couple of times a year most years for one thing or another. It's usually for a family occasion or an anniversary or collect and award of some description. Each time we have gone the weekend has been mapped out and organised even to allowing time to get back to the hotel and change for the evening. Not once have we considered doing the Museums and seeing as they are free it seems odd that we haven't. It's easy I suppose to get caught up in the occasion or event and forget that there are other things to do and I suppose there has always the attitude that if its free it will be there another time, much like the attitude to local events etc that go on around your local town and villages. Well it  is because f this I really wanted to visit some of those museums. Time was tight especially as we were doing the monopoly board challenge, going to the theatre and one other thing that I will tell you about later. So on the Friday we arrived we set off to the Imperial War Museum. This place is somewhere I'd wanted to go purely because as I've got older I've become more interested in history. This museum also held a special interest as my side of the family lost a lot of relatives in the concentration camps. I never sure if I want to know the full horrors of what went on but feel that I owe it to my past relatives to understand what it was like, to have a respect for the human sacrifices they paid for being who they were. This museum certainly did that. I must say that we weren't able to spend a great deal of time there a couple of hours hat's all but that wasn't enough and a return visit is definitely warranted. We started on the top floor and viewed many of the VC and GC medals awarded to service personnel during the war years. The most shocking was to learn that the youngest age was just 15 years and 3 months. I could not get my head around that one, how did a nation ever think that a child of that age was ready to go to war? It was truly a humbling experience. It was interesting in an odd sort of way to see some of the equipment used by the soldiers too. things like the helmet with holes or gashes in worn by those injured or killed while trying to save their brothers in arms. I can even begin to imagine what it must have been like either back in the first world war or in the wars fought today but after reading some of the stories alongside the medals each serving person of the armed forces both past and present has my huge respect and admiration. These men and women deserve recognition for what they do, not just in the form of a medal but a hand shake from a member of the ordinary public or a national armed forces bank holiday. I would love to see the 11th November declared a bank holiday as way of thanks to all those help to keep our country safe and protected.

We like many others like to go out to eat, not that we do it often but looking through the menu, being in different surroundings and enjoying each others company is always a pleasure. Both our sons, Darren and Christopher work  in the hospitality industry so we have some understanding of the workings behind the scenes Darren is a chef and Christopher works on the bar and front of house. Because of this I have found that I have far greater respect for how difficult it is to ensure the food and quality of service is always of a high standard. It's easy to go to a restaurant and complain because you had to wait a little longer for your food than you would like, or the cutlery wasn't quite up to scratch. I'm not saying we shouldn't make comments on these things, how else will the service improve if we don't. what I am saying is there are ways and means of doing so that is constructive and not degrading to the staff who have to put up with, sometimes, professional complainers who are just after a free meal. Because of this I wanted to see if the dining experience of  a restaurant owned by a top renowned chef hence the reason it went on my list. So did it live upto my expectations? In short yes it did. The service and attention t detail was exemplary and the food was fantastic. From the moment we arrived at the Maze Restaurant (owned by Gordon Ramsay, for those who don't know) our every need was catered for. We ordered cocktails in the bar while we waited for our table and then when taken through the waiter carried our unfinished drinks to the restaurant. We were seated and given the menus. As we perused the offerings our waiter brought a range of cuts of beef to the table and proceeded to explain the steaks taken from these cuts in great detail. It was interesting but I still opted for the chicken as I'm not a great beef lover. however Andrew, Cath and Geoff all had steak and thoroughly enjoyed them. They all said they could taste the difference between the types of steak and was quite surprised at this.  We were asked if we were there for a special occasion to which we replied yes, it was Cath and Geoff's 24th wedding anniversary and our 26th. The waiter then asked if we would like to see the kitchen and met the head chef after we had eaten our meal. Of course we said yes and he duly arranged it with his manager for it to happen. We carried on with our dinner excited about the extra attention we were receiving. After finishing our main course we were offered dessert. Geoff was the only one who could manage one but the waiter laid the table with four spoons and a fork for Geoff. we were a bit confused and thought this was going to be an error. How wrong we were. because we had said about the anniversaries we were treated to a slate plate per couple with happy anniversary written in chocolate on and a petite four each complimentary. This was very unexpected and only went to make us feel even more valued as customers. We finished and paid and was taken to the kitchen. the head chef was lovely. He was obviously very busy and although spent time talking to us he still checked every plate that went out giving it his approval or sending it back. He signed our menus and we thanked him for his time and wonderful food. If I had to criticise anything it would be where we were seated. Our table was at the top of a set of stairs that formed a thoroughfare between the rest of the hotel and the bar and restaurant. it was a little off putting at times but we still enjoyed ourselves. One other thing Cath and I weren't sure of was the mussels we had. Some of them hadn't opened and we both said we had always understood that if a mussel was open before cooking or closed after cooking you shouldn't eat them. We did mention it to the head chef, who incidental was called Matt. He explained that sometimes that happens and it it is to do with the type of mussel, temperature of the water etc. I wasn't totally convinced and won't be eating mussels that aren't open after cooking or are open before cooking.

As you can see I'm getting through them and soon there will be another three to put into the completed column.

What a wonderful weekend. Three more things ticked off my list, good food good entertainment but most of good company. This weekend saw Andrew, Catherine (one of my sisters-in-law) and her husband Geoff spend our anniversary weekend in London together. It was Cath and Geoffs 24th and our 26th so before I go any further happy anniversary to us all. Right I said I crossed three things of my list and I did. They were visit every square in London that appears on the monopoly board, eat at a restaurant owned by a top/celebrity chef and visit museums in London. I'm going to start with the monopoly board challenge. This one was suggested by my brother Dominic I believe and seemed a lot of fun to do even if a bit daunting. I'm not great at finding myself around places I don't know and heaven forbid I have to drive somewhere for the first time on my own. Luckily my husband bought me a sat nav and I've been a lot better since but that wasn't going to help me with the challenge round London. Thank goodness I have Andrew and Cath and Geoff came too. Geoff works in London so had some idea and Andrew is pretty good at finding his way round places. We had hoped my Dominic and John was going to come with us but unfortunately they couldn't. Well Andrew and Geoff had done quite a bit of research, planning the best route to take, bus numbers etc. We even looked at how others had tackled the challenge and the sorts of things they had photographed to cover the obscure squares like go to jail. We had arrived in London Friday lunch time met up at the Hotel, checked in and went for a walk. We stopped at a lovely little pub for a bit to eat and a drink then wandered round a bit more to get ready for the night ahead. We had booked a table for a pre-show dinner and tickets to see Top Hat. These weren't originally anything to do with my 50 for 50 challenge but the show ended up being a bonus one to tick off the monopoly challenge. Geoff suggested not only doing the squares but seeing if we could get the playing pieces too. There was a little problem with this one as the pieces have changed slightly over the years but we decided on the following; Top Hat, Dog, Boot, Iron, Thimble, Ship, and Car. I realise that's seven pieces but we were unsure about the thimble so added it in to be sure. Later we seemed to remember a wheelbarrow too but decided to leave this one out.This sounded a really good idea as I hadn't seen anyone having done this when researching it on the internet. So we turned up at the theatre and got photos so the top hat was ticked off. The photos aren't going t be in order of finding them but I'm going to group them. First here are the playing pieces.

Now I'm going for the odd squares like community chest, free parking etc. You might think some of them is a bit of a stretch but hey it was fun thinking laterally.

These are my community chests. The first one is a shipping insurance company so figured it would class as community money. The second one is a statue on the Australia house building of a man's bare chest. Surely That one counts and is different from the one everyone does of a lady exposing her chest. I did say that there was some lateral thinking going on.


Right now we have the places to visit. There are quite a few so I'll just add photos with captions if that is ok. Otherwise I can see some of you nodding off.

As you can see it was quite a busy weekend, but it didn't end there. I was lucky enough to complete two more from the list but I'll tell you about them later. Now I'm off to Birmingham to do two more. Busy, busy, busy.

Anyone remember this one? Come on some one must remember, oh well I'm going to remind you anyway. Way back at the start of this epic voyage of activities I said I was going to collect 1p and 2p coins for the year and give them to my local school. Well little did I know how much I would collect. Now I must confess here I haven't done this all by myself and my eldest son Darren actually thinks I've cheated a bit but I say never look a gift horse in the mouth. So where has all this copper come from? well, have you ever wondered how much money is lost down the back of sofas or odd coins left lying around the house or collected in jars and never seen again for years? Not given it much thought eh? I have,. I was tidying up and my husband, Andrew, happened to say he's been putting  his loose change in a pot on the side. We opened it and he said to put the copper in my tin, so we sat and sorted through it and in it all went. I suddenly remembered we had some very old tubs in a cupboard with odd bits of change in too. We hadn't seen or added to these tubs for a few years so had completely forgotten all about them. We got them out and sorted through them too and this is the result, a tin that is almost full to the brim. Not bad eh, Darren might be right , it might have been cheating a bit but who cares a school is going to benefit and as far as I'm concerned that's what counts.

More meals from the hallowed book over the last couple of weeks. The omelette was a last minute change as I'd planned a lamb hotpot from the book but as I ended up only having to cook for myself this is what I did instead. Anyway the verdict on all the meals were great. I was a bit worried about the bulga wheat salad as it contained fresh mint and Andrew isn't a lover of mint but he seemed to enjoy it. We thought that this would be great for a BBQ, the chicken would do well on the BBQ grill and the salad a great accompaniment or side dish. The easy crispy chicken was really tasty again I was a little worried about the fact there was parmasan in the coating but it wasn't overly strong just added to the flavour. The nicest thin about this weeks selection was although a few were spicy not all of them were. I've found with most diet or healthy eating menus they tend to use a lot of spice. it's probably to add flavour to what could be a bland meal but I'm not overly keen on really spicy foods. I'm sure I've said this before so I'm not going to bore you all with it again, but suffice it to say these menus have been really tasty and easy to make.

Picture this, you arrange with your colleague for a meet and greet bugs session for the children. Ooooh sounds like fun the children will love it I hear you say, just what we thought. Paul, the guy who runs the sessions came to Hayley's house and got set up. I arrive with my children and we get settled. At this point I need to say I am absolutely terrified of spiders. Not the normal ones you would find around the house or garden, no I can cope with them no problem but, big fat hairy ones no thank you. You know the sort I mean, the ones with eyes you can see staring at you, the ones that creep along with those long legs waiting to scared the living daylights out of you, yep tarantulas, those you can keep. I'm ok ish so long as they are the other side of the room in a sealed box. Having said that I do tend to keep a close eye on them just incase they escape and come for me. I knew there was going to be those kind of spiders there but I had it arranged that when they come out I could disappear into the kitchen and make drinks. Well anyway, like I said I get to Hayley's house, have a cup of tea put in my hand and then am told that my dear friend and colleague has a surprise for me. 'Me? a surprise for me? why what have I done to deserve that?' I ask. She promptly tells me I am going to complete another one of my fifty for fifty tasks and hold a tarantula, I must have done something pretty terrible to her for this surprise. I feel the colour drain from my face and have an overwhelming urge to run but I can't. I just stare at her blankly. I vaguely remember being told that if I can do it some money will be donated to a charity of my choice, and that I need to not show the children my fear because other wise they will sense it and be frightened too. I very tentatively agree to at least try but make no promises. The session starts and the children and adults including me get up close and personal with stick insects, atlas moths, domino beetles, giant centipedes and a whole host of other creatures. Then comes the big, fat hairy things. Paul brings out the biggest tarantula I have ever seen, there is no way I can do this and I start shaking and feeling very sick. Paul tell us that we can't hold that particular one but can look. I feel a little relieved but the lid is off the box and it is too close for comfort. I feel my heart rate racing and begin to feel quite cold. Why is it that certain things do this to people. I have no control over my fear what-so-ever but really don't want to put that fear on the children. Paul puts that one away only to get out the smaller one, it's only smaller in comparison to the first one, to me its still BIG, FAT and HAIRY. The children are all keen to hold it while I'm sat on the sofa a quivering wreck, you have to admire the bravery of children. It just goes to show that fear is a learnt behaviour, even more reason I suppose for me to do this. Paul brings the tarantula over to me and I feel a huge panic surge through my body. If it wasn't for the fact I'm pinned in my seat on all sides by the children and at this point my legs don't feel like they will work, I'd run like hell. I close my eyes and Paul puts the thing in my hand. I risk an eye long enough to see it crawling on me and to realise its about as big as my hand. That's it I can't look any more and turn my head away with tears in my eyes, I must be brave, I must be brave. After what seems like an age Paul takes the spider away and I'm left shaking. The children are so proud of me they give me huge hugs which is appreciated more than I can ever express. Some-one asks me what the spider felt like on my hand and I have to be honest and say I couldn't actually feel it. That's not because there is nothing to feel it's more the fact I was too scared to feel anything. I reckon if pins had been stuck in my body at that moment in time I would not have felt that either. I was also asked if I'd would do it again to which I think I replied not if I could help it. So which one of the tasks is covered by this one? Well I can truly say number 50, left to my family and friends to SHOCK, surprise or entice me. I also think that if my other spontaneous acts haven't counted then this one surely has to what do you think?

Saturday saw another task completed. This one was put on because I hate it with a vengeance. At this point I'd like those of you who do not like football to put your hands up. I realise we maybe in a minority after all it is our national game but I have good reason to dislike it so much. For starters its a bit like Marmite you either love or you hate it. If your one of the millions that love it I bet it takes over your life. Come on admit it, the football season starts (not that it ever seems to end now-a-days), time with the family, days out or get togethers have to be arranged around matches shown on tv. Heaven forbid something is arranged when the favourite team is being shown on tv, that's going to be grounds for divorce surely. Football just seems to be the be all and end all for those who love the game. Don't get me wrong I'm not opposed to hobbies, people taking part in sports or having their own interests but its when important family events get pushed to one side and partners/husbands/ wives become football widows that I feel it's gone too far. There's another reason too, sports personalities are suppose to be some-one to look up to, some-one children can aspire to, but when you see cheating, disrespect and behaviour that is less than acceptable in society how can they justify themselves. I realise football has cleaned up it's act at lot and that some of the issues raised here are prevalent in other sports but footballers especially in the top clubs get paid so much more that it seems that is all they are there for. It really bugs me that some-one can have a price tag of millions on them for playing a game. I know some will argue that football generates revenue for the country, and many players do a lot for charities in their own time, and I don't dispute that, but when they get paid the amount they do when others like the armed forces are struggling to get the basic equipment to keep them safe it makes me angry. I understand that the monies teams generate gets ploughed back into the clubs and that they don't get government grants but the fees and wages are obscene and I honestly can not see how they can be justified. Besides this, still on the financial soap box, how can it be right that they get paid for playing for their country when athletes and other sports people have to scrimp and scrape  and beg for sponsorship to finance travel, training and equipment to represent their country. I would like to apologise to anyone I have offended but these are my views and my views only, I do not intend to represent anyone else's views in any way shape or form. There are other reasons for my dislike of the game but I will stop there for fear of alienating any readers of this blog I may still have, if I haven't already. I guess you can see the reason my two son's and husband suggested this one to go on the list. I secretly think they were hoping if I saw a live match they could convert me. Sorry guys but you failed. So what match did I go and see? Oxford versus Rochdale on Saturday 31st August was the chosen one. I can hear some laughter and rumblings that I could have chosen a better game or team to go and watch. No, now stop, seriously, no more please, cease this laughing it's distracting. In my defence I had to start some where and knowing my views I felt a team half way between boys football and a top flight team was a good way to introduce myself to the sacred game. Besides this we had to stay local as we took our grandson. Well did I enjoy? The atmosphere was good, a real family feel in the stand we were in, but as for the game well I'm afraid to say it wasn't that thrilling. I would probably go again but secretly I'd rather a day at the races, that was much more exciting, however if I got the chance to go to the Grand Prix that would be amazing.

I really don't have any idea of where to start with this one, there is so much to tell and I don't want to bore anyone so I'll start with just saying how fantastic the whole experience was. The reason I put this one on the list was because I'm not that big a music fan. I don't go out and buy CD's, own an Ipod or any other portable music device and have no desire to do so. I don't why there is this lack of interest because I will sing along to songs, was brought up with music in the house and don't mind a bit of a dance from time to time, I just don't seem to enjoy it enough to want to buy into that whole culture. On the other hand I loved camping as a child and spent many a happy holiday under canvas so putting the two things together made sense. However my long suffering husband doesn't do camping and much prefers a bit of comfort so camping was a bit of a challenge for him and might I add one he rose to brilliantly. As there is so much to write about and we took over 200 photographs, I think the best way to do this post is to pick out some pictures and add captions to them. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did the experience.

Below is just a flavour of some of the things we saw and experienced. The one thing they don't show is the variety of foods on offer to buy. There was entertainment around the grounds as well as scheduled performances within the arenas, the hill climb challenge for all the cars on diplsay including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and of course activities and events for children, the pies versus cakes competition and stalls to purchase goods of all kinds. There certainly was something for everyone and the most fitting festival to go to for the festival virgin.

Here we have some of the photos from the bands. They aren't great but at least I can prove I was there and lets face it photos don't ever really capture the atmosphere or feel but I can assure you that there was atmosphere in abundance. It felt safe, friendly and appealing to all ages. It was well planned and organised even down to lighting to see your way back to the tents after, metal tracks at the entrance to the car parks and wood chip around extra heavy foot traffic areas. The shower blocks were clean and  even when some of them broke down they were on the case within minutes trying to sort the problem. The toilets I must say we were both dreading a bit but we needn't have worried because they were cleaned about every two hours or so. This really wasn't what I expected from a festival, especially after seeing the pictures of them on the TV but I'm glad my first experience was a good one because I now want to go again with the family next time. For anyone in two minds about this sort of thing I say just go for it try this festival and see where it leads you. Unfortunately there are some pictures missing. The final band of the whole festival was Jules Holland and his Jazz orchestra. What a time for the batteries to die in both the camera and my phone! There couldn't have been a more fitting end. Chris Evans and his team of organisers did a fantastic job an the volunteer staff of marshals, security and helpers were all a credit to the event.