Busking? Check!

Goodness me, time flies! December, as usual, was a whirl of social fun and wrapping paper, with possibly not enough time spent on 'the list'. However, I can finally say I have completed something! Yes, December 23rd saw me, a santa hat, my recorder and a merry band of ACCA carol singers standing in front of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, playing to an audience of....well, none really. Apart from two commissioned photographers (thanks to Stuart and Sara). Who so far have failed to deliver photographs (but will do in January, so watch this space for evidence!). Stuart did throw me some spare change, so I can officially say I collected some money for charity, which went to a Big Issue seller on my way back to the office.

I have to say it was great fun - reminded me of years gone by when playing carols in shopping centres was a regular festive fixture. The playing wasn't quite as slick - a 30 year old plastic recorder is not the finest of instruments - but the carol singers did me proud (thanks to Sam, Maureen, Amrit and Shivani!). And the 8.5 minutes went very quickly. Pride was slightly dented by the overly-concerned mother dragging away her intrigued daughter, but overall a very enjoyable experience. So final thanks goes to Richard, whose idea this was in the first place - first mission accomplished!

Something that nearly made the list (suggested by Tori I believe) was volunteering for a charity. I didn't include it, as it's something I've been meaning to do for a long time, and was slightly ashamed I'd never found the time. But I signed up for a couple of shifts with Crisis Christmas this year, and having found it a great experience hope to make it an annual event at least. So another tick for me.

January will definitely see the jumper being knitted, juggling being practiced, headstand being progressed and cakes being baked (Father Christmas was very kind to me with cookbooks, cake tins and other paraphanalia, all of which will come in handy). Then I'll need to plan what will be next...2010 is going to be fun - happy new year everyone!

Help comes from unexpected sources...

On what turned out to be an unexpectedly lovely evening this week, I've possibly made my first steps to understanding eliptical orbits and their impact on the seasons! I stayed with sis #1 at friends of hers in Selly Oak on Tuesday, ahead of a funeral on Wednesday, which might explain the excessive consumption of JD. Or it might just be that the chap of the house is a big fan, and happened to be well stocked with caffeine-free coke - oh, the joy! Anyway, I digress....

Said chap was trailed as knowing everything I might want to know about science and religion, which turned out to be true. At least for a Tuesday in Birmingham. And with the help of a green rubber ball and an apple (with the stalk being the North Pole), I took steps towards understanding how it all works. Now I won't say my first steps - others have gone before, and my problem is always one of retention. Light bulb moments are common, but they fall out of my head. And so look out Stuart - on Sunday I'll attempt to relay my new-found knowledge and see if you understand too. And then we'll progress. Thanks Fishy!

On other subjects, me & Shaun are like 'this' (crossing of fingers going on here) now (see earlier post), after a second mention on the BBC Six Music breakfast show this morning - it was about porridge, prunes and cardigans, all subjects on which I'm an expert. So maybe I can invite him out soon...

And I now own juggling balls...and can drop them really really well! Aside from having two friends that have offered to teach me, I'm liking this site for being nice and simple. Watch this space for progress...

Just like riding a bike...!

Actually, I think I have probably been on a bike more recently than I have picked up my recorders. It must have been at least 15 years since I've played anything remotely musical (maracas don't count, I'm fairly sure!), and I have this afternoon utterly surprised myself by being not only able to play the notes but to even sight read a tune. Admittedly, only Christmas carols so far, but in a very recognisable fashion, apart from the recorder being a tad flat. I guess when things are drilled into us enough at a young age, we retain some level of competence (I was about 9 years old when I learnt to read music). I am excited though - so bring on the busking, which will be 11th December somewhere discreet in Trafalgar Square, if there is such a thing, with maybe a mince pie and a flask of mulled wine. I will need carol singers, so feel free to come along and witness me possibly officially crossing off the first thing on my list! Bring a camera...

Other contenders though are juggling, which I'm hoping to attempt this weekend coming (might take me a while though, my hand/eye coordination is notoriously bad), and the jumper, for which I have purchased the wool and the needles. Crochet and Christmas cards are where my creativity is being focused at the moment though, but it would be nice to have the jumper done before the spring arrives at least!

Other progress includes having Shaun Keaveny name check me on the BBC 6 Music breakfast show (so maybe I could arrange to buy him a drink sometime - it's either him or Clare Sweeney at the moment!), deciding my scrapbook could be an online one, with a little help from a friend, a little more work on the dolphin, and identifying a photography group that should help my skills and motivation there.

Areas I'm definitely slacking in are the running and the writing...still, there's plenty of time...

A good headstand starts with a dolphin

It's been a long while since I've been in a yoga class that teaches the headstand (sirhasana). For some reason it seems to be avoided generally in the UK - maybe it's to avoid the comedy factor of a room full of vaguely zen-like individuals toppling over onto each other, or maybe there's a litigous reason associated with the same scenario. Either way, I think the last time I seriously attempted it was in India in 2004. I have, maybe only once, achieved the delightful state of weightlessness that is supposed to come with a well balanced headstand, but if I recall correctly that was for maybe a second or two before a less-than-graceful wobble and a return to earth.

I'm not naturally a well-balanced person (I hear chuckling!), and any asana that requires balance is invariably frustrating for me. But with the headstand there is the added problem of my not having much upper body strength. And this is where the dolphin comes in, designed specifically as a preparatory posture to get those biceps, triceps and shoulders working. For the first time in a long time this morning I incorporated it into my yoga session. I'll await the resulting muscle ache with some trepidation!

There is a long list of benefits associated with inverted postures, and particularly the headstand, including: relieving anxiety; preventing asthma, hay fever and menopausal imbalance (I'm not quite there yet); rectifying glandular disorder; and other things to do with reversing gravity in the spine and the legs. All good reasons to persist methinks...I'll just need to remember that patience is a virtue.

The pen is mightier than the keyboard

This whole writing malarky is challenging... First off, I have to decide which potential masterpiece I'm going to focus my efforts on. As I'm the queen of ideas but lack any ability to finish anything, this is proving difficult. I have one I keep returning to, but others tempt me away with promises of being easier to write. This I know to be a lie, but just because something is an untruth doesn't stop me believing it.

The next challenge is finding the time. Being a girl that likes a plan, I have of course written a schedule. Not quite stuck it to the fridge yet, but I may have to as things like sleep, work and knitting keep getting in the way. Plus of course I get easily distracted by reading books about how to write. Helpful. Still, I've got 23 months and 2 weeks to do this in...no problem.

And finally, I still haven't committed to either the notebook or the laptop. Which at the moment means I've got three different bits of writing going on. It's good to carry a notebook around for those flashes of inspiration, but transferring them to a single file isn't really happening at the moment.

Discipline, that's what I need. Now, any suggestions as to how I get that??

Knit one, purl one...

As it turns out, purling is a bit ambitious yet, but yesterday I had my first knitting lesson and so far, so no dropped stitches! The idea of sitting around at a lunchtime in the office with a few colleagues - including one token male who yesterday was absent due to his partner's waters breaking - was a fine one. Knitting as it turns out is indeed the new yoga . So much so that when I got back last night after what was strangely quite a stressful yoga class (it was a whole ujjayi breathing problem), I sat there watching David Attenborough's new series with a cup of warm milk and my knitting needles clicking away....I think I must have been channelling! Still, my current enthusiasm bodes well for a jumper somewhere down the line. Although it is only day one.

On another note, I also started going through my 'memories box' at the weekend. So far I've limited it to my gig tickets - of which there are many - some cards I've saved and a few other bits and pieces. Leaving aside the piles of photos still to be explored, the next issue is how on earth I'm going to present them. On the advice of a friend I Googled 'scrapbooks' and came up with a ridiculous range of options. More research needed methinks...

Narrowing things down a bit...

Having spent the day slaving over a hot oven, I'm slightly ashamed of the fact that I seem to have lost the ability to bake. Yes, it's been a while since I've really made an effort, not generally being a pudding kinda girl, but back in the day I could rustle up biscuits and cakes with a certain amount of confidence that they would turn out just fine. I had a mum and a nan who, like most women of their generations, were queens of the stove with seemingly little effort, and I soaked up some of their skills when I was younger. But as my efforts today will show, I was somewhat cocky to think I had some residual level of ability left! Practice does indeed make perfect, and so I'm thinking maybe my 'new cuisine' should be recapturing the skills of baking...


On a separate note, it seems once again I completely missed the whole Glastonbury registration/ticket buying deadlines....so I'll be holding out for 2011 to complete that one. Somebody please remind me!

The beginning...

Hello!

I'm lucky enough to have had the best birthday celebrations this week, and for those of you that don't already know, I now have 2 years, or 24 months, or 728 days until I'm 40! Now we all know how quickly that will pass (yes, you'll be 2 years older too!), and I wanted to make sure that when I raise that glass of champagne on the morning of my 40th I'll have some fun, some laughter, and some learning to look back on. Some of you have suggested things for me to do, for which I'm - mostly - grateful, and I ended up with way more than the 24 I was looking for. I've narrowed it down a bit and, at last, here's the final list:

Master the headstand
Take the sleeper to Fort William
Write a book
Go to New Zealand, Canada and Australia visiting friends
Go to Glastonbury
Busk in Trafalgar square on my recorder
Drink with someone famous
Ride on the back of a motorbike
Build/make something to last another 40 years
Learn a new cuisine
Put together a scrapbook of my life to date
Sell a photograph
Get into the papers with Susie - on 8 August
Knit a jumper
Learn to juggle
Watch the sun rise from London Bridge
Wear false eyelashes & get a spray tan
Sing karaoke
Figure out the solar system and explain it to Stuart
Follow in the footsteps of HV Morton
Pony trek across Dartmoor
Hot air balloon ride
Run a half marathon
Go to Old Trafford

I'm hoping some of you will be there to take part in or witness some of these events (maybe not the jumper-knitting, I'll keep that private!), and I'll definitely need photographic evidence to prove I've done them. I'll be providing regular posts on progress over the coming months, so keep your eyes open. Now I'm off to decide what to do first...suggestions welcome!