Burns Night

Och Aye the Noo!

Wee, Sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie...

Well, this part of the post isn't so much about my 30 things, but more something that should have been on my list!

Last Friday (25th January) was Robert Burns Day and I decided some time ago that I should host a Burns Supper. I did the usual optimistic inviting of folk on Facebook thinking that, if I was lucky, I might get 6 people agreeing to be fed animal entrails whilst I  attempt to recite poetry in Scots tongue at them. 

Well, it was a little more popular than that, and in the end I had to cram 19 people into my not-so-large flat. Surprisingly it was actually quite comfortable! 

Party Time!

There was plenty to eat (oatcakes, shortbread, cheese, scottish salmon, tunnocks, cranachan, and of course haggis, neeps and tatties) and plenty to drink (irn bru, whisky, ale, mcewans) and there were some fine recitals of Burns' works (Rob doing the address to the haggis was fantastic) and some less so (sorry Ciaran, whilst your recital was *hilarious*, the Scottish accent needs a bit of work!!). 

All in all a fantastic evening, at least it looked like it through my ever-so-slightly red-wine-tinted glasses!

Dave, Laura, Suze & Alan
preparing to fry!

But the HIGHLIGHT of the evening came when... *drumroll*... we cracked out the homemade deep fried mars bars (the deep fried Tunnocks teacakes weren't so bad either!). 

When my brother told me he was planning to bring the ingredients to make these bad boys, I thought there was no way in a million years he would actually do it - sorry Michael, but you have to admit that you don't always follow through with your plans. 

But he did.

And they were excellent. 

My first deep fried mars bar - should definitely have been on the list!

Deep Fried Goodness - this photo includes mars
bar, tunnocks tea cakes and cranachan!

Cheese Problems

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?
Nacho Cheese!

(Not what you're thinking...you filthy so and so!)

I have realised I have no idea how to go about making cheese - any ideas?! Anyone want to join me for this? Leave your ideas in the comments boxes!

Talking to Strangers

OK, so I am starting to really regret one of my list choices: 

#24 - Strike up 30 conversations with people I wouldn't have otherwise spoken to.

I think that most people might be wondering why the hell I put this in here. The reason  is because, when it comes to people I don't know, or being in an environment that I'm not so comfortable in or having no reason to talk to someone, I am fairly shy and just a bit crap.  

For example, people in work, not on my team, and who I don't know - I would never strike up a conversation or be the first to talk. When I see them in the street I don't even say hi - not because I don't want to or because I want to be rude. It's just because I'm shy or I assume they don't recognise me and I don't want to look like a kn*b. But then afterwards I get annoyed at myself and wish I'd been better and after all it is just nice to be nice.

So, I included the above in the list as a means of self improvement and trying to push myself out of my comfort zone. 

BUT this is proving to be much much much more difficult than I thought...what do you say to someone? How do you even go about striking up a random conversation?

Aaaaarrrrghhh!  

It's not all bad news though, there may be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. The other night I texted a friend (about something totally unrelated) and she asked me if I would like to go speed dating at the Science Museum. I have said yes, not in the hope of finding love (get the feeling I'm not going to meet my 'type' at an event where you have to pay a tenner to chat to some girls)but because I'm hoping to strike at least 10 of the 30 off my list! 

Ingenious, right? It's a start and I probably shouldn't be paying to do this... there must be other ways - give me some suggestions people!

Time to be off! Hope you're all having a happy Wednesday!   

First Steps!

Progress!

I'm only a week away from the end of the first month of my 30th year and I am pleased to say that I have made a start on ticking some things off of my list. It's have to say it's slightly scary how quickly 1/12th of the year has slipped away! Anyway, here's a bit of an update on my progress so far.....

#1 Write a Blog

This will probably be the last time I mention this one. Obviously every time I write a blog post I'm fulfilling my aim to keep a blog - just thought I'd point out that I am actively tackling one thirtieth of my list!

#3 Visit the Southern Hemisphere

Obviously I haven't completed this one yet BUT on Friday night, after a couple of glasses of red, I booked tickets to go to New Zealand! This will be my first ever visit to the southern hemisphere and there are not may places more south than NZ - so I think I will have smashed #3 when I eventually get there. 

I'll be travelling with flatmate Rob and former flatmate Clare and we're due to go for just under 3 weeks at the end of March. It was actually terrifying spending so much money on a pair of tickets. Clare and I were literally squeaking with excitement for the rest of the evening! 

I actually had a stroke of luck when booking tickets. I managed  to get a flight without a 10 hour stopover on the way back. Unfortunately Clare and Rob (we booked separately) didn't get the same deal and will become a bit more familiar KL Airport... mwhahahahahaha...*ahem*, erm...I mean...sorry guys. 

I'll try not to be too smug - just slap me if I become unbearable!

Clare and Rob caught in the act (of booking tickets)...this photograph was not staged whatsoever...honest!

Very good times! Just need to figure out what we'll be doing when we get there now - ALL advice and suggestions are welcome!

#10 Go to One Gig Per Month

Since my birthday I have made it to not one, but TWO gigs.

Well done me.

On 30th December, myself and my friend Charlotte boarded a ferry at Newcastle to take us to Amsterdam for Hogmanay. For those of you who have travelled with DFDS before, you will know the delight that is the evening's entertainment in the boat's cabaret bar! Sadly, there was no cabaret to be had, however the ferry's band, Pearls and Curls were actually quite good! By good I mean, they had half decent voices, could play their instruments and didn't murder the songs. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the ferry's entertainment manager who did a couple of half hour sessions and absolutely killed some of Adele songs karaoke stylee...it was actually very cringe-inducing stuff.

I didn't get a photo of the band, but here is Charlotte having a great time!

Charlotte on the good ship King Seaways, delighted with the on board entertainment!

Gig number two was at a crowded jazz bar in the centre of Amsterdam. There wasn't much space up front and I was being very grumpy about my sore feet (we walked for MILES that day trying to find a place to eat) so we skulked at the back, where I could prop myself against the wall. The band was pretty good, though unfortunately they hadn't quite got the balance right and it was all a bit guitar heavy. 

The highlight of the night was when the band got this really old guy (think he might have been someone's great grandfather) to come up on the stage from the audience to sing with them. He had this shaky old man voice and you could see people sort of laughing at him (the old fool!) BUT THEN he started to whistle and I have never heard a whistler like it. Seriously good whistling. I can't really describe it on here, but take my word for it, the guy is a legend, and he could make a recording career out of that whistle. 

OK, reading back, it strikes me that I have written far too much about the whistler and that was a bit of a crap story really...I should rewrite that bit, but I can't be bothered. Oh wells, what you gonna do...here are some pictures of the jazz gig to round off this post:

Jazz bar and band - a bit of a sh*te photo!

Lottie enjoying gin and jazz - how come your feet don't hurt???

I need to come up with a more creative way of signing off my blog. Maybe some kind of a catchphrase - any ideas?!

'Til next time...

My 30 Things - The Definitive List!

Happy New Year folks!

I have finally finished the list - only 3 weeks late... 

By the time I am 30 (20th December 2013), I aim to complete the following (though not necessarily in this order):

1. Write a blog (first challenge will be learning to format correctly to make this look good!!)
2. Learn to drive
3. Visit the southern hemisphere
4. Do a performance NOT in a choir or orchestra
5. Run a 10k
6. Go to the dogs
7. Climb a mountain
8. Make a cable knit scarf
9. Go a month without drinking any alcohol
10. Go to one gig per month
11. Go home from work on foot 30 times
12. Shoot a gun
13. Make it into the news
14. Make cheese
15. Make some kind of home brew
16. Go for afternoon tea somewhere posh (e.g. the Ritz or Claridges)
17. Go star gazing
18. Get a manicure
19. Get my hair dyed
20. Swim in a lido
21. Go to a Michelin Star restaurant
22. Go to a football match
23. Go kayaking/canoeing on the Thames
24. Strike up 30 conversations with people I wouldn't have otherwise spoken to
25. Meet a celebrity
26. Learn the art of making macaroons
27. Redecorate my bedroom
28. Create a vegetable plot
29. Go to the London Jazz Festival
30. See a performance at the National Theatre

So there you go. I think that some of these will be quite challenging, but hope to have fun along the way. 

This blog will be used to chart my progress through the above list. Hopefully with lots of pictures, interesting stories and graphs (I am quite excited about producing nice excel graphs and stats!!) 

I'll be looking for activity buddies (clay pigeon shooting anyone??) and am happy to accept any suggestions for the above (perhaps a nice cheese recipe?!), so get in touch and comment to your heart's content!

Over and out!