40 Things To Do Before I'm 40

The End

2012-01-01T13:48:00.001Z

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I turned 40 in November and for some reason I kept putting off doing this final blog post. After all, it's the end of an era, this blog has opened so many doors for me and helped me meet some wonderful people. Thank you to all the people that have supported me along the way. There has been highs and lows in the last four years since I set out to complete my 40 things list. Thankfully more highs and I've done an amazing amount of stuff that I would never have thought possible, being the coach potato that I am! My favourite task? Probably climbing Ben Nevis - I never thought I would ever do anything like that and now that the scars have healed I'm even thinking about climbing some more. My least favourite task was probably driving the Ferrari. I had a complete prat of an instructor that contradicted everything he said and made me come away hating the experience.

Out of my original list there are a few left that I would probably still wish to do, so I've transferred them and a few others on to a life list for my new new blog http://janette-jones.blogspot.com/. I'm also still doing the paper reviews for Radio Nottingham, so you can catch me on there once a month.
Well, I guess this is goodbye or should that be Au Revoir?

Boo!

2011-07-17T07:20:00.003+01:00

Aha blog! Did you think I'd forgotten about you? Never! You are always at the back of my mind, always looking for another opportunity to cross one more task off my list.

I'm just back from a long weekend in sunny Scarborough. Unfortunately there never seemed to be the opportunity to complete my skinny dip task, so I will have to ear mark that for a secluded river somewhere in Nottinghamshire. I am grateful I didn't do the mass skinny dip that I talked about in a previous post, due to several reasons. The most important one is that the 'discreet' photography wasn't all that discreet having seen some of the photos in the press. Seeing my ample assets would certainly put most people off their breakfast, that's for certain.

My wonderful friend, Frenchy Phil, has sent me a French disc to spur me on to learn a new language, so you never know I may just be able to cross that task off before I turn 40.

As for my 40th itself, I can't really decide what to do. I thought about having high tea at one of the restaurants in Nottingham for all my girlfriends, but none of my friends know each other, so that could prove to be a little awkward. I think me and the husband (who turns 40 in September!) are just going to book a table at World Service. I'm hoping to have lost some of my excess baggage by then, so I may even treat myself to a new frock - push the boat out so to speak! I don't think I relish the idea of having a big do. I hate being the centre of attention at the best of times, so whatever I get up to on the day, will be discreet.

8) Go To An International Football Match In The New Wembley

2011-06-05T09:12:00.011+01:00

When I was a die hard football fanatic, the thought of going to Wembley every season was like mecca. Thankfully I went four times as a Nottingham Forest supporter, but never quite managed to see an international match there. Wembley at that time was in dire need of a refurbishment. The whole place looked decrepit and I remember there was always a problem with the toilets over flowing.

Turn the clock forward twenty years and we now have a brand new sparkling stadium. Gone are the infamous twin towers but instead we have a stadium worthy of being our national homage.

I caught the coach with a whole host of other supporters in Nottingham, taking us just over 2hr 45mins to do the journey into Wembley. The approach is still the same, still have to go through
an industrial park to get there, but finally ending up just outside the stadium, parking in a concrete jungle.

The first view I saw was this:-

Not a bad old view is it? A fantastic structure. I was trying to relate it to how the old stadium stood, but having not been for over twenty years, it was hard to place where the twin towers once stood - I'm sure also we never used to park that close to the stadium either.

I had a good walk around the building and then located my entrance to the turnstile, which meant me climbing the stairs and walking round the side of the building, where I came across this:-

the Bobby Moore statue - captain of the 1966 World Cup team - you know the last time that England actually won something and didn't fall down on penalties! Quite a lot of people were hanging around here, which seemed to be the main meeting point. I had a wander around a bit more, bought an ice cream and a programme as you do - typical that the only day that it's blazing hot in this country and you are at a place where there is no shade!

Then the turnstiles opened and as my fair skin was beginning to get a little frazzled thought it was best to get inside and in the shade. The turnstiles are a new sophisticated system, where you place your ticket under a reader and then it beeps to allow you to push the turnstile open - so glad that I followed someone in that had done that before, because I would have just stood there not knowing what the heck to do! Then to my joy I found that I was in the noise bleed section of the stand, so five flights of stairs later (had to walk off the ice cream) I was there and thankfully the seat was just inside the entrance:-

My first view was this:-

The stadium was huge and something that my little camera couldn't really grasp the enormity of it all. I hasten to add that this was about 3:15pm when I took the photo - which was 1hr 30min before kick off. It was great to savour the atmosphere and the build up to the game. I people watched, I read my book for a little while and watched the stadium start to gradually fill up to a mind blowing 86,500 thousand people!

Which looked a little like this! The atmosphere was incredible, especially when everyone stood up to sing the national anthem. Then I have to say it fell a little flat. The game itself was dire. England were down 2-0 at one point. Some how when you don't feel that attached to the team (I barely knew any of the players and those I did know ended up going off injured) then it doesn't mean as much to see them win. But I savoured the occasion - I knew I probably wouldn't do it again. So I people watched again, which probably gives you an indication of how dire the game was and then at 80 mins I decided to head back to the coach park, as I didn't fancy coming out with the rest of the 86,000+ people.

So all in all, it was one of those tasks, very much similar to Wimbledon - glad I went, I enjoyed it whilst I was there but probably wouldn't do it again, but hey, you don't know until you try these things, do you?

My Week

2011-05-27T19:52:00.003+01:00

Had another appearance on BBC Radio Nottingham on Wednesday, which went well as always. Also got my ticket for the England match this week - can't quite believe it's only another week away! Also was very tempted by this http://www.midsummerskinnydip.co.uk/news.php all in the name of completing another task off my list of course. Then I checked my diary and realised that I was going to my friend's daughter's Baptism - divine retribution?

I'm Alive!

2011-05-22T16:13:00.005+01:00

Hello, you will be pleased to know that I am alive, just awfully busy at work, so busy in fact at the mo, I just seem to work, eat, sleep in a continous circle with not much chance for anything else. Need less to say my list has suffered some what. It's Murphy's law that now I am back earning a wage I can now afford to do some of the tasks that I want to but unfortunately I just don't seem to have the time to sit down and organise them.

However this weekend, I decided to change all that. I've been thinking of going to an England match at Wembley for a long time but then I had the added hassle of arriving late back in Nottingham and a little concerned about the safety aspect of doing this. So I've been waiting for a Saturday match for a while and today managed to get a ticket for the England v Switzerland match on June 4th. Another tick off my list and hopefully it will spur me on to get a few more completed before November.

33) Watch A Nottingham Forest Match From An Executive Box

2011-04-13T07:47:00.012+01:00

Well, it's been a while hasn't it? Unfortunately settling in to a new job has left me little recreation time, but it's not all bad, especially when I get to complete another task!

I've supported Nottingham Forest football club since I was three years old and from the ages of about 18-24 pretty much lived my life down at the City Ground, watching my team week in week out. Then I guess life took over, my friends stopped going, I went out more, discovered boys and drinking, as you do, but I still supported them from afar.

I think in all my times of going down to watch them, I must have sat in every stand at some point, but the pinnacle to me was always a seat in an Executive box. I can't explain why I wanted to watch from there, but it just seemed so luxurious compared to the rough and tumble of the stands and there was also that aspect of it being so unobtainable, after all, it cost a small fortune to hire one out.

I haven't been to a match at Nottingham Forest for well over ten years due to the fact that football doesn't feature so heavily in my life any more, plus my husband cannot stand the game, so I sort of got out of the habit of not watching it even when it was on TV. But occasionally some thing happened that meant I drove over Trent Bridge and I would look at the ground and it would just bring back a flood of memories of the times I spent there. Then I got this new job, working for a non profit organisation and I had to liaise with the football clubs in Nottingham and suddenly I was back at the ground, reliving the memories and well I may have mentioned to my contact if there was any possibility of getting a seat in an Exec box. They did one better! I got a call on Friday to say that we had a whole box to our selves to do with what we wished. So I rang around and managed to sell some tickets with all proceeds going to the charity. So on Tuesday against Burnley, which is not possibly the most glamorous match in the world, we drove to the ground and we being my husband and me - yes I got him to his first ever Forest match!

We were greeted on arrival and given tickets to the box and a free match day programme, purchased a drink and then went to our box. It was a lot smaller than what I'd anticipated - it seats 8 but I think you would be struggling to get 8 big blokes in there. Incredibly nice though to just sit and chill and watch the stadium fill up in front of you and not having to wear layer upon layer of clothing to stay warm on a cold Nottingham evening. What was even better was the fact that there was a TV in the room and once the match started it switched to the Nottingham Forest match also on the screen so you got a commentary as you watched the match. It also gave me chance to people watch big time, as you could see into each box (I would presume so you haven't got restricted view of the pitch). There is obviously still quite a lot of money around Nottingham as the woman in the box next to me had a multitude of designer accessories including a sort after Chanel hand bag!

It was a pretty dire first half I have to admit but second half saw it liven up with two goals by Forest to seal the victory. It was almost like old times seeing them win again - I half expected Psycho to come running down the left flank, but it was not to be...

So my first ever Executive box match at Forest was a success. I certainly don't think it was any less of any atmosphere being in the box than sitting outside in the stands and it's certainly something that I wouldn't mind doing again. Plus all ticket monies sold went straight to the charity I work for - even better!

The French Thing...

2011-03-13T17:32:00.003Z

So on and off I've been listening to French on my I-pod as I walk to work. It isn't working. I'm okay with the first chapter or so, but then my mind starts to wander and before I know it I've missed sections. It doesn't help that the recording is full of stuff that I wouldn't probably ask for in English never mind a foreign language. I'm a little bored to say the least. So this afternoon I've written out 40 sentances, phrases, words and numbers that would be of the most use to me and I'm going to see how I get on with those. I'm hoping it won't take too long...

And for those who listen in, my next radio spot is this Wednesday, 16th March - around 08:30am.

An Update...

2011-02-27T08:29:00.002Z

Well apart from having the week from hell this week, which involved me being back in Nottingham and for part of the week my car being in Solihull (won't go in to it, but it was all to do with a well know break down service and their lack of customer service) I am still attempting to learn French! I am finding it pretty difficult due to the fact that I have the memory capacity of a goldfish, but I'm hoping the more I listen to the disc, the more will sink in. So far I know how to order a coffee, tea and beer, none of which I drink...

Some Good News...

2011-02-13T15:37:00.002Z

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? Nearly a month since I last posted and probably one of the longest times I've gone without posting since I started this blog. So what's new, well... I have a job! I've started working for a charity as a Community Fundraiser, which is an area that I really wanted to get into but there never seemed to be the right roles, until now. I've just completed my first week and apart from the fact that I've started at their busiest times of year, I love it! I love being busy and it seems to have unearthed the old Janette that is highly motivated and wanting to be a success. Long may it continue!

Of course I'm still thinking about this blog and trying to at least plan some of the outstanding tasks into my busy working life (never thought I'd ever be saying that again!) In particular I'm also conscious that I started to learn French and then abandoned it half way through December and I hate leaving things half finished. Well, I now walk to work, so I've down loaded some French phrases on my I-pod and in the half an hour it takes me to walk in, I can listen to at least 5 sections of my French dialogue (it has 10 collectively). Here's hoping that it doesn't take me too long to learn them all and I can cross another task off my list!

And just before I go, I'm on BBC Radio Nottingham tomorrow (14th Feb) at 8:30am approx. Hope you can tune in!

Where I'm At

2011-01-16T10:27:00.006Z

Well my first radio appearance of this year is done and dusted thank you very much and went okay. Unfortunately my good intentions of starting back learning French went slightly astray this week when my feeling grotty suddenly turned into gastric flu, not pleasant and I won't go in to any more detail about that!

So what beholds me in 2011? Well I'm going to try and enjoy life. A simple request you may feel, but the last six months of being unemployed have not been great and have had more downs then ups. I figured I could spend the rest of my time at home miserable or I could turn it into something positive (circa Field of Dreams; if I'm positive a job will come!) So I'm going to take each day as it comes and try and knock a few more tasks of my list in the meantime.

One final thought, a few people have started to ask what I'm going to do with this blog once I've hit 40. Well I've always been conscious that this blog is about my 40 things and that I don't stray too far from that, so unless it's task related then it won't be updated after November. However, after several failed attempts I have started another blog which will be continued after my 40th, which is here if you are interested my other blog. It's mostly about my writing but it will cover other aspects of my life as well.

Right back to the French me thinks...

Happy New Year

2011-01-10T15:54:00.004Z

It's been a while since I posted here. I feel the need to apologise for my absence, but December ran away from me, as I guess it did for everyone. Well new year, new me or that's what I'm hoping! After I've finished with the old learning of French (hoping to complete Feb/March time) going to try and cram in as much as I can before I turn the big 4-0 in November (gulp, where did all the time go since starting this blog?)

Any ways, keep reading and following and hopefully I won't disappoint in the completion of tasks!

I'm also on BBC Radio Nottingham this Wednesday if you want to listen on at around 8:30am.

Parlez-vous Francais?

2010-12-06T07:58:00.004Z

This week, I will be mostly listening to my new ear worms french CD. This has 200+ essential words and phrases anchored into your long term memory with great music, or so it claims! I'm hoping by the end of the week, I will at least be able to speak a smattering of French - here's hoping anyway!

Saving Animals

2010-11-30T15:12:00.005Z

Yesterday morning was spent mostly writing. I Joined Activate, a Born Free campaign group about a year ago and every 2 months I write letters to the Heads of countries where the designated animals are, hoping to get them released from captivity. It's an easy enough task. Born Free provide you with all the info and it only takes around 30 minutes to draft and write a letter to the relevant person.

So far I haven't had a reply from anyone, but I think this is quite normal. I've tried sending emails and snail mail but still nothing. I'm hoping that one day I will and even better that one of the animals I'm campaigning to be released is actually taken from a life of misery and cruelty and put back in it's natural environment.

Sadly the two bears still languish in a pit in Berlin, Lucy the elephant is still kept indoors in Toronto and 18 Dolphins are still confined to a training regime in the Philippines, all of these I've written letters to the relevant people in the hope that they will be released. Thankfully Tom and Misha, the two Dolphins rescued from Turkey are now in a deep sea pen in a peaceful marina - this happened quite quickly after we were sent details of the campaign, so I can't claim a helping hand in that one!

If you want to get involved, please visit - Born Free, I'm sure a few more people putting some weight behind one of the campaigns will make all the difference and you never know I may just be able to cross another task off my list ( 15. Rescue an animal from captivity).

13) Read all the BBC Top 100 Reads

2010-11-28T11:25:00.002Z

Well, it has taken me a while to do this (this was one of the original tasks I started over three years ago!) but finally today I have read the last page of A Suitable Boy and therefore completed reading all of the BBC Top 100 reads. It hasn't been an easy task. There have been some books that were personal favourites that took little to no time to complete, there were others that within the first chapters I found them tedious and incredibly difficult to complete and then there were others that complete took me by surprise, that I wouldn't have thought that I would have enjoyed but I did.

It has been a long task, one that I thought would never complete but it has taught me a lesson that I can't love all books, even though my premise of completing the task was to push myself into reading books I wouldn't otherwise have chosen, sometimes that didn't work when I felt like throwing some out of the window.

Below is my list of the books that stood out for me:-

The Ones That Surprised Me
1. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
2. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
3. The Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett
4. A Prayer For Owen Meany - John Irving
5. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
6. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
7. The Stand - Stephen King
8. The Clan Of The Cave Bear - Jean M Auel
9. Kane & Abel - Jeffrey Archer
10. Holes - Louis Sachar

The Ones That I Nearly Threw Out Of The Window
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
3. Middlemarch - George Eliot
4. One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
6. Dune - Frank Herbert
7. The Count Of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
8. Crime & Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
9. The Magus - John Fowles
10. The Woman In White - Wilkie Collins

And now, quite happily I can attack my to be read shelf and as for my tasks, I'm on to the learning a new language next.

I don't Speak French Part 2

2010-11-21T13:36:00.003Z

Now that I've nearly finished my BBC Top 100 reads, I've been debating whether or not to do any more tasks this side of Christmas. Then this morning in my in box, up popped this:- Groupon, which is a voucher for ear worms, a musical brain training cd that allows you to learn key words and phrases for a chosen language. For a fiver I thought it was worth trying out and hopefully by Christmas I might have another task to tick off!

One Down, One To Go...

2010-11-20T07:52:00.003Z

Just under 1500 pages - I'm thinking I should finish this in a week?

Reading and Take That

2010-11-14T15:40:00.003Z

So I'm on track with my reading target so far with just two weeks to go and three books left to read before I can finally cross the BBC Top 100 reads task off my list. It has been an incredibly challenging task at times, one which I've struggled with on a number of occasions. There have been times when I've felt like throwing some books at the wall, I've been so frustrated with them, but I've persevered and much as I love books this task has at least taught me that I can't love all books.

And whilst I am here...Take That went slowly down in my estimation when I heard Robbie was rejoining them, to the extent where I seriously thought of changing my task to something else. Then I watched the documentary last night and I'm kind of back on their side again, so you never know I may just manage to fulfill my task, but then of course I now have 5 to snog...

The Godfather - BBC Top 100 Reads 96/100

2010-11-07T10:18:00.004Z

I must be the only person in England not to have seen any of The Godfather films - for some reason the sense of violence that I imagine them to portray has never appealed to me and perhaps made me more than a little apprehensive about sitting down to read the book. The essence of this novel is about families, how they react with one another, how their loyalties lie within their extended families and how they observe the outsiders that threaten to penetrate their domains. The violence is there but is kept in short, sharp amounts and doesn't over exaggerate the actions. I completely enjoyed this saga of the 1940's criminal under world and it would be interesting now to see how the film relates to what I've just read. Another one completed off my list - just 4 more to go.

Happy Belated Birthday...

2010-11-05T13:17:00.002Z

Another radio appearance today and a little different to the last ones, in the sense that I chose to cross a picket line in order to get into the building and record my paper reviews - staff are striking largely down to the pension cuts that the BBC are proposing. A very strange start to the morning and hopefully something I won't have to do again.

Due to my birthday on Wednesday, it's now just under a year to go on this blog and 19 tasks left to complete before I turn 40. Currently got 4.5 books left to read on the BBC Top 100 list before I can tick that one off and then I can start to progress on some of the others. Hopefully I can tick a few more off the list this year and then try and complete as many as I can in 2011. It will be interesting to see what opportunties I get to complete the other tasks still outstanding on my list. Not sure where life is taking me at the moment, but what ever happens, hopefully I'll have some more completed tasks to talk about.

A Prayer For Owen Meany - BBC Top 100 Reads

2010-11-02T19:15:00.002Z

If I'd started to write this review half way through reading this, it would have been one of those posts where I bemoaned the fact that I struggled to comprehend the meaning of this novel. However, every now and again a book comes along that completely surprises me and turns out to be nothing like what I expected to be - A Prayer For Owen Meany is a definite slow burner, which I am so glad I stuck with.

The main narrative of the book is undertaken by John, a childhood friend of the very strange Owen Meany. In fact, Owen is declared so strange that the author types his conversation in capitals. Although there is a very loose story that never seems to go anyway, the author cleverly weaves us through key incidents in Owen's/John's life, dealing with death and prejudice along the way. A repetitive tale that follows them from childhood into adulthood all becomes apparent near the end of the novel and makes the conclusion complete. A wonderful book.

The Last Six...

2010-10-31T06:35:00.004Z

This week I've been mostly Christmas present wrapping, colour chart perusing (we are getting decorated) and eating Halloween sweets that were meant for the trick or treaters. I seriously think I've eaten so much sugar I don't know what day it is! Therefore reading has gone by the by, as my concentration levels resemble that of a goldfish at present.

I now only have six books to go before I complete this task and yes you guessed it, they are all tombs of books, with the lightest one weighing in at around 600 pages approx. But now that they are sat on my desk staring at me, with Mr Bump keeping a close eye on them, here lies a mini challenge in itself - how quickly can I read all of these? I want to read them properly, to give myself some sort of satisfaction at completing such a huge task and I want to be realistic about it. So I figured, end of November should do it? My to be read pile of 'ordinary' books is calling to me, so that will spur me on, hopefully... I'll keep you updated!

This Week...

2010-10-21T10:17:00.002+01:00

I've been mostly finishing Gormenghast and Love In time of Cholera - now starting A Prayer For Owen Meany, which I'm hoping to finish by the end of the weekend and then 5 more books before I've finished this task!

Another Week

2010-10-11T15:29:00.002+01:00

Yet another week has past and I've been steadily reading through Gormenghast and doing nothing else related to this blog, I'm afraid. I went on a writing course on Saturday, from which I pinched the idea to have a dedicated reading time, so from 8pm onwards (if not sooner) every night I'm intending to read through the rest of the Top 100 list. I'm sure my husband will be well chuffed, as from now he can watch his beloved Sci-fi in peace - I'll see how long that lasts!

Monday, Monday

2010-10-05T06:09:00.003+01:00

Well, my radio appearance came and went faster than an English summer. I was on with Mark Dennison, whom I've never met before, but was very down to earth and quite funny. We were trying to decide what the twist was going to be on the X Factor. I decided that Sharon Osbourne was going to come back and then her and Danni would have a huge fight in the studio, but perhaps that should be on a pay per view channel?! We also managed to have a chat about the blog and I'm booked back in for November 5th.

I'm a little frustrated that I've not completed any more tasks at the moment. I've got a pile of books to read for the BBC Top 100 reads, but all of those are 600 pages +, so no quick wins there. I can't really see any more being completed at the moment, as I'm having to be a little careful with the old pennies - the job situation has not improved any. I'm praying for a miracle, I do hope you will join in...

Has It really been so long...

2010-10-01T11:13:00.003+01:00

since I updated this blog? It only seems like yesterday when I was deciding what books to read first. Since then I've read two more books off my list - Crime and Punishment - which was very strange and I never really got into it and Kane and Abel - which I loved and couldn't put down. Personal wise, it's been a real mixed bag of emotions in the last week. I didn't get the job I was interviewed for and I tried to attend a job fair in the centre of Nottingham and failed miserably as the queues were so long to get in (I later found out 4,000 people turned up to this and seeing such long queues of people looking for work was really soul destroying). I've even signed up to do temporary work but still getting no joy in my search for work. I've no idea where life is taking me at the moment, but I wished it would make a decision pretty soon! In the meantime, I'm clinging on to dear life to anything that remains stable in my life; my hubbie, this list, this blog, so please do excuse me if I unburden my soul in the upcoming weeks.

This Week...

2010-09-20T14:25:00.002+01:00

I will be mostly reading!

Invincible

2010-09-16T15:33:00.004+01:00

I had an interview on Tuesday for a job. My first interview in nearly 6 years and the only one that has materialized out of all of the jobs I've applied for. Although there were elements that I could improve on, I came out of there feeling pretty damn good. Not the sort of 'I've definitely got this in the bag' sort of attitude but a 'I did, I got through it and this will give me the confidence for the next time' feeling. I felt invincible on Tuesday, like I could achieve any thing. Don't you wish you could bag those feelings up some times and save them for future use?

I guess this list has been the substitute for my career in some ways. It takes so many deep breathes to achieve a task, as I always feel so nervous before hand, but for that one moment afterwards I feel euphoric.

I need to just believe in my self a lot more and hopefully the job and the tasks will be complete. I need to build a field of dreams...

Weird Week

2010-09-12T08:40:00.003+01:00

Well it's been a funny old week. After completing another task by going surfing, I was on a natural high until the next day when I could hardly walk and wondered to myself just why exactly I chose to do a very active sport with my very inactive body.

On Tuesday, I very nearly thought I'd completed another task when I received a phone call from a TV company saying I was short listed to appear on their show but unfortunately I didn't get a call back so back to square one on that particular task.

Oh and I read, quite a bit actually. I've now completed Brave New World, a weird mix of 1984/Clockwork Orange. I didn't really get it, if I'm honest with you, it kind of lost me in the middle and the ending was weird (I hate it when that happens) but I think it's one that would benefit from another read at some point in the future.

Not sure what I will be doing next, I think I will just concentrate on getting the Top reads task completed, but if the funds allow it, I may just go to the next England match at Wembley next month.

Keep smiling :0)

19) Go Surfing

2010-09-06T15:00:00.005+01:00

I've always loved the notion of surfing from an early age - too much Hawaii Five-O I think when I was small. It never occurred for me to try until I started on this list. For one thing I've never liked open expanses of water and the second is that I'm crap at most sports (she says remembering how she used to get picked last for games at school!)

Of course I could have done this right at the outset, when I holidayed in Hawaii for my honeymoon, but we never quite found enough time for it and then of course I've been promising that we will go down to Cornwall for the past three years and never quite got there. So when I was happily reading The Guardian one Saturday, I came across an article for the Scarborough surf school. Perfect, I thought, I love Scarborough and don't need any excuse to go there and the fact that I will tick another task off the list would be a bonus.

So surf lesson was booked, accommodation booked, until I rang on Friday to check on the surf. Umm, can you do Sunday instead? he asked and actually it worked out better for us, as we got caught up in the last of the summer traffic travelling down and would have missed the lesson had it been on the Saturday.

So Sunday came and I was quite nervous. I didn't know how I would react being out in the open sea and of course it didn't help watching Jaws a few days previous. Wet suit was adorned of which I have to say is the most uncomfortable thing I've ever had to wear in my entire life. It's quite horrible having to pull the thing on that's wet from previous use and doesn't quite go were you want it to go without a rigorous amount of pulling. Next we had to carry the surf board down a very steep cliff onto the beach, which about killed me off before I'd even started surfing. We then had a very short lesson on the beach on how to get up on the board etc and then it was in to the water to confront my fears.

I had nothing to worry about. I loved it! Couldn't get on the board on the first few attempts, but after that I was on the board and riding the surf, dude. I was in a learning party of 7, 3 of which were kids and were standing up on the board virtually straight away. The most I got to was to a kneeling position, although one of the other adults managed to stagger up a couple of times. My balance was all over the place and I spent quite a bit of the time face down in the water, after falling off the board a hundred or so times, but I couldn't stop smiling the whole time I was there and I can't wait to try it again.

After about 2 hours my time was over and I walked quite happily back to the surf shop to deposit my wet suit (it's even worse trying to take the thing off!) and back to the hotel for a hot shower and wash the sea salt from my hair.

Definitely one of my favourite 40 things to do!

My Task List

2010-08-30T08:14:00.002+01:00

So another week beckons, another list of mini tasks for me to complete...

1) I am going to try and read A Suitable Boy (honestly)

2) Go Surfing (booked for Saturday)

3) Submit my novel, you know the one that I tried to submit over a year ago and has sat on my hard drive ever since, to Penguin, who are accepting unsolicited manuscripts until the end of October

4) Order some more books from the library - just 10 more to read now on the BBC Top 100 list

5) Appear on the radio again on Friday

So quite an easy week really, but hopefully one that will result in me ticking another task off my list.

Food Festival Says No

2010-08-26T08:05:00.004+01:00

In my quest to cook with a celebrity chef, I've already written to my favourite chef for a chance to be a guest in his kitchen (big clue there!) and this week I decided to write to the local council to see if I could cook with at least one of the celebrity chefs that would appear at this years Nottingham Food Festival. Unfortunately they said a big fat no, the reason being that it is a paid event and people may complain if they have paid to see a celebrity chef and instead get someone else as well. I'm sure given a chance I could be just as entertaining, but there we go! I fully understand their reasoning behind this and it was worth the try!

Oh well, back to the drawing board with that...

Katherine by Anya Seton - BBC Top 100 Reads 89/100

2010-08-23T15:23:00.005+01:00

Katherine is a historical novel based on the life of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt. I don't do historical novels as a rule. I find that they are usually too full of references to the past that it some how detracts from the story in hand. I did find elements of this novel interesting and it did compel me to continue reading it, but half way through I became too over loaded with the historical references and notes to the past, that it made the text harder to digest. It is a stereotypical story in the sense that woman is betrothed to someone she doesn't love but falls for someone who is unobtainable. They eventually get the chance to ignite their love when circumstances allow them to be together and the rest of the story is their struggle to remain lovers whilst remaining within the boundaries set by their society.

I don't feel that this has changed my opinion of historical novels at all and unless you enjoy historical novels, then I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

On The Road by Jack Kerouac - BBC Top 100 Reads 88/100

2010-08-18T14:09:00.004+01:00

Billed as the ultimate road trip book, 'On The Road' is a semi autobiographical tale of two friends searching for fulfilment by travelling back and forth across the United States. While the book regales us with their exploits and vivid descriptions of the characters they meet, what it failed to ignite me with, was any sort of empathy for the characters involved. We learn very little about Sal Paradise, the main character, other than he tends to go from one exploit to another. There is no reason given for his travels, other than he can do this and therefore he does. His travelling companion, Dean's ill regard of women, does not make him any more likeable, impregnating several women in the space of a few months. What I also failed to understand was what either one of them attempted to achieve from their travels. Was it some sort of hedonistic interpretation of chasing the American dream?

I'm also not sure whether the author was trying to mirror 'The Catcher In The Rye' in some form, but whilst Salinger succeeded in gaining the readers sympathy of his main character, Holden Caulfield, I ended up despising Sal Paradise and his travelling companions with a passion. Definitely one that I won't return to and definitely not one of the great American reads.

This Week...

2010-08-17T14:33:00.003+01:00

Well last week was a funny old week, I seemed to run from one thing to another and not having the capability to concentrate on one thing for more than a couple of minutes, which made doing tasks for my list incredibly difficult. I've managed to book the surf school for Saturday 4th September, so that will be another task off my list. Unfortunately I wanted to book it on the Sunday and try to squeeze the England match in on the Friday, but there is no surf school booked for then, so Saturday it has to be and I'll move the England match to October. The Vikram Seth book I gave up on and have now started 'On The Road' by Jack Kerouac, a paltry 290 pages compared to the VS book of 1500! I will go back to the VS book, but I'll get a few easy reads out of the way first!

As for this week, I've not got a lot planned:-

1) Finish On The Road

2) Read 700 pages of the VS book

3) Contact the local council re cooking with a celebrity chef (we have a food show in Nottingham in September so worth a shot to see if I can cook with one of them)

I desperately want to finish the BBC Top 100 reads list so a) I can start reading books of my own choice and b) so I can start on the learning a foreign language task, so I'm going to concentrate on completing that one for the feasible future.

Friday Radio

2010-08-16T07:23:00.004+01:00

Well Friday 13th came and went without too much mishap. I was on the radio again for the paper review and a quick chat about my blog. I'm not sure if I've ever done this before (apologies if I have!) but thought I would just run through what happens when I go to the BBC Studios, if anyone is interested out there of course.

7.15am Arrive at the BBC Studios in Nottingham, sign in at the security desk and then make my way upstairs.

7:15am-8am Sit down in the waiting area with all the days papers and try and pick 4 stories that I feel are interesting and worth discussing. Any that I do feel are worth mentioning, I will jot down the details in a notebook as well as a few notes on my views on the story (hate hearing the newspapers rustle on air, so never take the actual newspapers in with me!)

8am-8:20am - The producer will come out to discuss what stories I've chosen - asked me on this occasion to drop one of them as it was discussed at length yesterday. Also chatted about being available for other radio shows, should they need me.

8:20-8:30am Taken in to the studio and head for the far desk, make sure I'm positioned correctly in front of the mike and then wait for the introduction from the presenter. You have to be flexible in terms of how long you discuss the papers for, as depending on what's happening news wise in the area, is dependant on your time slot. Most times I usually get chance to have a quick chat about my blog as well, so I always jot down a few updates before I go in, just in case I go blank when he asks me!

8:30am All over! I then get booked in for my next appearance - 3rd September, just in case you are interested!

Very occasionally you see the odd famous person around the studio. When I came out there was a girl sitting in the waiting area, who I later found out played 'Smell' in This is England - looking nothing like her character but as I drove away and listened to the radio, sounding exactly the same as she did in the film!

BBC Radio Nottingham

2010-08-12T10:02:00.003+01:00

Another reminder that I'm on BBC Radio Nottingham tomorrow at approx 8.30am - hope some of you manage to tune in!

Half Way There

2010-08-09T09:25:00.003+01:00

Well, I've now completed 20 out of my 40 tasks, so I'm half way there, with just over a year left. Of course I would have liked to have been here a lot sooner, but hey, what can I say, sometimes life takes over and time passes you by quicker than you think. Of course the fact that I've got a lot more time on my hands these days helps immensely and I'm taking full advantage of the fact that I have, by trying to organise as many tasks as I can. My time off has also given me ample opportunity to think about my tasks as a whole. Unfortunately opportunities don't come to you handed on a plate, you have to go out and seize them and that's what I intend to do with the rest of my outstanding tasks - I'm going to get out there and instigate and grab every opportunity I can to complete the remainder 20.

My working list for last week, was nearly all completed bar the skinny dipping trip, which didn't come off due to some unexpected visitors on Saturday, but apart from that I completed all my goals for last week. Goals for this week are as follows:-

1) Read A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

2) Send an article proposal to vege/weight magazines

3) Book surfing

4) Plan which England match I will be attending

I'm also on BBC Radio Nottingham (again!) on Friday 13th August around 8:30am - a busy week ahead!

32) Go To Watch A Baseball Match

2010-08-08T15:12:00.006+01:00

I blame Ferris Bueller. Ever since his day off, baseball has always intrigued me. The huge stadiums, the atmosphere, the food vendors and the speed and the pace of the game - the all American dream. Unfortunately my funds wouldn't stretch to going to America to see the New York Yankees or a similar status team, so I had to look nearer home. After a lot of Internet searching and a few red herrings (apparently there used to be a team based in Nottingham but as they hadn't updated their website for several years and didn't reply to my emails, then I guessed that they were no longer playing), I eventually found a team in Rotherham, the Sheffield Bladerunners and today we decided to catch one of their last home games of the season.

Sheffield Bladerunners play in the Northern AAA league and were established circa 1985. We turned up to watch them on their home turf, at the Phoenix Sports & Social Club in Rotherham, expecting to see a little stadium, a few dozen people watching etc. Unfortunately we were at a loss to see where they played when we arrived and only managed to just glimpse a uniform in the far distance beyond the football pitches. There was no stadium, no people watching that weren't involved directly with the teams, but do you know what, it was great. We sat on the grass and watched 2 x 7 - inning games (double headers)and a bunch of individuals that were there for the pure love of the game and not for the financial aspects like so many other sportsmen. Okay so there were no home runs, but it still kept us entertained for the best part of 2 hours.

If I lived a little nearer, then I would definitely go to watch them again and I certainly wouldn't ever turn down the opportunity of watching a bigger game in the States, but for now I'm quite happy I spent a few hours on an otherwise boring Sunday completing another task.

Create A Short Film To Go On To You Tube

2010-08-05T10:52:00.003+01:00

I had so many ideas for this that never seemed to get off the ground, but finally I opted for a short documentary on my friend, the actor Phil Lowe. Phil worked as an extra on many shows filmed within the East Midlands and notably was a reoccurring extra for Crossroads, where he uttered the immortal line 'night Chef'. I've known Phil for about 5 years and over the years have heard the stories of his life on set and always thought it would be a good idea to capture them all in one place.

Unfortunately my idea was better than my knowledge of film editing software. I eventually used Muvee, which is a basic editing package that allowed me to gain all the footage I required. What I really wanted to do was to include the pictures of Phil's life as an extra and just have the odd shot of him talking, so on occasions there is the odd shaky bit, as I didn't think these shots would be included. I've got no idea on how to still keep the audio but include the pictures, so if anyone can recommend a better editing software to do this, then please feel free.

So what I have is a very basic film, but I think it encapsulates Phil's stories of life on set - I hope you enjoy it and PS I don't think Shane Meadows has anything to worry about at this moment in time!

The Lord Of The Rings - BBC Top 100 Reads 87/100

2010-08-04T07:15:00.003+01:00

I first started reading The Lord Of The Rings when I was 10. Fuelled by my recent love of The Hobbit that my teacher had lovingly read aloud to us, I thought this would be an easy follow on. Suffice to say, I think I managed to read the first chapter and then gave up. Years later, it came up again on the BBC Top 100 list - I had already watched and surprisingly loved the films as part of an earlier challenge, but still my mind went back to being 10 and wondering if I would struggle to read it.

I read each book separately, which I think helped. Faced with a mammoth tomb of a book always puts me off - at least with a smaller book, you get a sense of achievement when finished. I found the books hit me in waves. There were parts that I totally struggled to understand or even follow and then there were huge parts that I loved and it become a struggle to put the book down. It is a wonderful story, but my mind doesn't handle fantasy all that well and I have trouble trying to create the scenes in my head that Tolkien is describing. I'm really glad I finished it, but would I read it again? Probably not. I think I preferred the Phillip Pullman books more.

The Coffee Shop

2010-07-31T13:05:00.005+01:00

I can honestly say that I've never known an hour to go as quickly as it did this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed being on Richard Spurr's show - I think we shared the same sense of humour, but if you're reading this Richard, then I'd like it back please... Did a more in depth paper review with another guest, combined with listeners calls and music and managed to show my inner geek by announcing to the whole of Nottingham that I want my husband to build me a Tardis in our back yard. So all in all, quite a good morning and here's what I'm planning to do in the following week task wise:-

Edit and load my short film onto You Tube
Finish The Lord Of The Rings book
Start A Suitable Boy book
Order a few more books off the Top 100 list
Go to a baseball match
Possible skinny dipping although if the weather is anything like it is today, then that will be a definite no

Unfortunately the proposal for the column in my local newspaper went down like a lead balloon. The reporter fired rapid questions at me about my book club and didn't really give me a chance to expand any further, so I guess that's a no then! It's also looking unlikely that I will be able to go to the next England match. I'm fine going there by myself, but coming back the bus doesn't get into Nottingham until 1:15am and I don't fancy walking the streets looking for a taxi at that time of night. Hubbie understandably is a little worried about my safety, so I'll just have to wait until they do a Saturday match.

Right, really must start this editing - hope you all have good weekends!

The Saturday Shift

2010-07-30T18:18:00.002+01:00

There was a time when I was a kid that Saturday mornings meant sitting in my pyjamas eating Texan bars and watching The Lone Ranger. Much as I would still like to do that, what can I say, I grew up and so tomorrow I'll be one of the two guests on the Richard Spurr show on BBC Radio Nottingham. So when you are having a lie in tomorrow, think of me in the studio and if they were still around then I would say have a Texan bar on me. Should be a good show, so do tune in!

What I Did on Tuesday

2010-07-27T16:31:00.004+01:00

Read The Two Towers - number 2 book of The Lord Of The Rings
Tried to find someone to come to the next England match with me at Wembley
Tried to download the software to play and edit my film, gave up and then husband took over!
Sent a proposal to the local paper for a possible monthly column
Posted a request for a seat in an Executive box at Nottingham Forest on Gumtree (if anyone knows of anyone who has a spare seat, then I am willing to pay a reasonable price to do this)
Started reading 'The Return Of The King' - number 3 book of The Lord Of The Rings

What I did on Monday...

2010-07-26T13:54:00.003+01:00

Radio appearance went very well. I was awake, alert and managed to find some interesting stories in the papers, well I thought they were anyway! I've also managed to do some more of the 'research' behind some up and coming tasks. I've now got a list of a local (well Sheffield!) baseball team and also the dates of when England next play at Wembley and I've even found the address of a possible (whispers) skinny dipping location, as well as writing to a celebrity chef to ask if I can appear on his show. I'm in the process of editing my short film, at least I will be when I can get the software to download and I'm also going to put forward a proposal for a column in the local newspaper, in the next day or so. So potentially I have a few tasks bubbling away, begging to be completed, let's just hope I can cross another few off my list pretty soon!

A Very Quick Update...

2010-07-25T08:25:00.004+01:00

I'm on BBC Radio Nottingham tomorrow around 8:30am, which means another update on my blog and another paper review. I did (sort of) make a list of things I wanted to achieve by this date, so just to update you...

1) I've read three out of the five books I wanted to read - pesky Count of Monte Cristo threw that one out.

2) I made a short film - just got to edit it and load it onto You Tube
3) I haven't booked the surfing yet, just need to organise a date with hubbie and then it's done (may do that today!)

4) Haven't written to the tv show yet re the celebrity chef, but may also do that today.

5) Haven't looked into baseball yet (must do that soon before the season ends).

6) Have located a spot for the (ho, hum!) skinny dipping, just need to check it out.

7) Haven't started to learn French as yet.

So pretty dismal month but then again, I have been busy doing the old job search and sometimes I found it quite hard to concentrate fully on more than one thing, so I'm not going to beat myself up too much! Here's to the next month and hopefully August will bring a few more task completions!

BBC Top 100 Reads - Brideshead Revisited 86/100

2010-07-19T10:54:00.004+01:00

I was a little too young to watch the epic TV show show in the eighties and I only managed to watch the remake film last year, which kind of went over my head some what. I'd heard so much about the story, so this book had a lot to live up to. It didn't disappoint. The tale of Charles Ryder who comes to Oxford to study and is immediately captivated by the outrageous and decadent Sebastian Flyte is completely intriguing. Charles then visits Sebastian's family home of Brideshead and willingly at first, becomes involved within their eccentric family life, until he becomes to recognise the spiritual and social distance from them.

Don't let the paltry 326 pages fool you. This is an epic of a novel, one that I feel you don't gain the full impact of such from the first read and one which I hope to read time and time again. The recent film certainly didn't do this book any justice and perhaps one day I'll watch the TV show to see if that bares a fairer reflection. Until then, another book crossed off and now onto The Lord Of The Rings!

The Countdown

2010-07-15T10:55:00.003+01:00

I was going to leave this until my 39th birthday, but I just couldn't resist to see how many days I had left of my challenge before I turn 40 - approx 475 days to do 22 tasks - gulp! So I've thrown down the gauntlet and I'm going to go all out to get as many (if not all!) completed by the time I turn 40. I might as well take full advantage of the spare time that I have at the moment and put it to good use, I guess. So here goes, hopefully I will be completing my next task in the next week or so. Watch this space...

The One That Nearly Defeated Me...

2010-07-12T08:35:00.003+01:00

The Count Of Monte Cristo looked so promising when I first started it. The tale of a man wrongly imprisioned on the eve of his wedding, left to languish in a prison cell for numerous years until one day he escapes and seeks to avenge the men who betrayed him. In practice the tale sounds mesmorizing but 1400 pages is why too long for this story. It has taken me over 3 weeks to finish and I've lost count of how many times I put the book down, after desperately trying to get to grips with the tale. At one point I even considered giving up altogether, but it's on my task list and therefore I have to complete it - that's what I kept telling myself anyway - and complete it I did, this morning, thank goodness! Now on to Brideshead Revisited which I hope is a little less tedious.

Thank You

2010-07-02T07:55:00.003+01:00

When I first started this blog, I didn't think any one would read it. To me, it was just a record of trying to complete my list and I didn't really understand the concept of the blogging community. Now three years later, I've just received my 40th follower, so I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone that follows me, the regular commenters, the lurkers and the ones that listen to me babble on, whenever I appear on Radio Nottingham - your support is much appreciated!

The End

Another Appearance - Another Challenge

2010-06-29T11:23:00.003+01:00

Had another appearance on BBC Radio Nottingham this morning which went okay. I thought it was perhaps a little disjointed. For some reason when I've not been on for a while I don't think it flows as well as when I'm on more regular - I guess I just needed to practice more and the early starts don't help, especially when I've got used to not fully functioning until midday!

My next appearance will be on Monday July 26th and I've decided to set myself a little challenge. I've written down what I want to achieve by my next appearance, so I thought I'd share it with you as follows:-

1) Read 5 books from the BBC Top 100 Reads

2) Go or at least book surfing in Scarborough

3) Make a short film

4) Write to a well known cookery programme to see if I can cook with a celebrity chef

5) Investigate baseball (still haven't heard back from the Nottingham team, so I guess it may have disbanded)

6) Investigate skinny dipping (ooh la la!)

7) Start to learn French

I'm itching to get into the twenties with tasks completed, so I will report back over the next couple of weeks on how I get on!

Radio Nottingham

2010-06-28T20:12:00.002+01:00

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm on BBC Radio Nottingham tomorrow from approx. 8:30am. I'll be doing the normal paper review and updating listeners on my blog.

Learn How To Play Chess

2010-06-28T19:40:00.004+01:00

For some reason, the game of Chess passed me by as a youngster. I never learnt how to play it at school. I never had lessons from my Father or Grandfather, so I knew this wasn't going to be a simple one to complete.

I started to learn approx. 2 months ago. My Line Manager at work begin to teach me, then got bored after a day or so. Then I found another work colleague that was willing to teach me, but then I left work, so that came to an end. A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I was going to learn this game once and for all, I set up my chess board and started to read my 'how to' book, but something was missing - I needed to play against someone if I was ever going to get to grips with this game. Thank goodness for my wonderful I-Pad touch! I managed to download an application where I could play against the computer and voila, today I actually got the computer to check.

According to the experts, it takes years to learn the dynamics of Chess, so no doubt I will continue to learn, the more I play. I'm just happy that I managed to finally pick up the basics and it's definitely something that I will carry on with - it's kinda got me hooked!

Cook With A Celebrity Chef - Plan B

2010-06-25T16:39:00.004+01:00

Just in case Plan A doesn't go according to plan to cook with the lovely James, there is always Plan B - www.chefsunite.co.uk. For £10 you can enter into a raffle to win a whole host of celebrity chef foodie experiences and raise money for Children with Leukaemia at the same time. Can't think which one I will be entering...

Update

2010-06-22T10:27:00.002+01:00

It's been a little while since I published an update so I thought I'd prove that through my silence from blogging, I am actually getting on with tasks!

1) I've just finished my 84th book from the BBC Top 100 Reads (Terry Pratchett's Guards, Guards - which I actually quite enjoyed). I'm hoping that I should finish this task no later than August.

2) Chess - I still require a bit more practice on this before I officially sign it off as complete - hoping to complete this by the end of the month.

3) Get my own column in magazine/newspaper - I'm starting a book club at the local library, so I'm going to approach the local paper to see if they want to run a piece on the books that we cover each month.

4) Go to an international football match in the new Wembley - was going to book this and go prior to the World Cup starting, then I got made redundant and couldn't justify spending that amount of money. There are more fixtures planned for the end of the year, so hoping to go then (job permitting).

5) Rescue an animal from captivity - still no news on the animals that I've campaigned to release as yet.

6) Go surfing - hoping to go to the Scarborough surf club at some point this summer.

7) Go to a Baseball match - awaiting to hear back from a Baseball club based in Nottingham.

8) Make a short film - have to admit I've been incredibly lazy on this one and haven't got round to working out my camcorder and then booking some time with my friend to film him.

9) Cook with a celebrity chef - again been a bit of a lazy bones with this and haven't got round to promoting a sub-blog re this or writing to the said chef to go on his tv show - hoping to at least get round to doing this by the end of the month.

10) Skinny dipping - currently looking at options of outdoor swimming.

11) Learn a new language - I think once I've finished the Chess and Top 100 reads - this will be my next goal - hoping to complete this by Sept/Oct.

So, keeping incredibly busy at the moment and hoping to at least clear a few more tasks off my list pretty soon.

His Dark Materials - BBC Top 100 Reads 82/100

2010-06-12T13:55:00.004+01:00

I'm not a great fan of 'fantasy' fiction, which is probably why I had never heard of this trilogy before. Of course I saw the film 'The Golden Compass', of which the first book was based on, but not realising it was part of a trilogy, I didn't really get it. However, from the moment I picked up the first book, I was hooked. Yes at times, the plot becomes a little complicated with the many variety of man/beast involved, but the story is so thought provoking, so intense at times, that once finished, it stays in your mind for hours afterwards, whilst you digest what you have read and comprehend the imagination of the author.

Whether you are young or old, I highly recommend all three books to read this summer, it will certainly change your mind over 'fantasy' fiction.

Boo!

2010-06-07T15:25:00.003+01:00

Don't worry I've not forgotten how to post or anything. I've just been really busy job hunting and also reading the BBC Top 100 reads - currently reading the last of Philip Pullman's trilogy - completely blown away by it.

Hope to have some news on the completion of a few more tasks soon!

Dumb Blonde Strikes Again

2010-05-26T14:21:00.002+01:00

I picked up Pillars Of the Earth this morning to begin reading. Mmm these illustrations look familiar I thought. Hmmm the plot sounds just like a book I read a few months ago... Yep you guessed it, I've read the book a little while ago and forgot to tick it off my list. In the words of Homer Simpson - doh!

A Town Like Alice - BBC Top 100 Reads (80/100)

2010-05-24T11:11:00.005+01:00

I can't remember the last time I read a book with such enthusiasm as this one. From the opening paragraph I was hooked and loved how the story weaved in and out of present and past. It's also not very often that a book surprises me with a changing plot, but this one did. I enjoyed this so much I've ordered the film on Love Film, although according to the reviews, the book is much better. Onto The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett next, with any luck I may just finish this task by July/August.

The Library

2010-05-23T07:40:00.004+01:00

Now that I have a little more time on my hands, I decided to try and get as much as I can completed on the BBC Top 100 list. I've currently just finished 79/100 and having just about exhausted our local library's supply of the list, decided to order a steady stream of books on line. Of course nothing in life is simple. I ordered the Lord Of The Rings in three parts and of course the last book came first. I went up to the local library yesterday to pick up my ordered books, only to find that the whole place had gone self service and you now had to use an ATM to get the books in and out. Talk about making things harder than they need to be!

Anyways I'm currently enjoying A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute and hopefully should get this finished within the next couple of days. Then onto The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett and hopefully by the time that I've finished those, The Fellowship Of The Ring may have turned up. Here's hoping...

Like Bees To Honey by Caroline Smailes

2010-05-20T09:50:00.007+01:00

The fabulous Caroline Smailes, has another fabulous book out next week and you lucky devils can grab an early showing by following this amazing blog tour. Below I am hosting Chapter 26, with the next chapter being hosted at www.beinglucydiamond.blogspot.com.

If you wish to follow the tour from the beginning then start here www.carolinesmailes.co.uk/blog

Open publication - Free publishing

The Reason Why...

2010-05-13T20:13:00.005+01:00

Much has been said about me completing the BBC Top 100 reads, especially when I spend a large chunk of my time complaining how tiresome it gets to try and complete a novel you don't really like or enjoy. However it is worth trawling through the rubbish to catch the occasional gem that otherwise I would not have even considered. The Stand by Stephen King was one such book. It weighs in at a hefty 1325 pages and took me forever to get started, but once I did I was hooked. Its a tale of how a government experiment of creating a virus is accidentally released into the outside world with devastating consequences. More sci-fi than horror, although the many characters at the outset of the novel are a little confusing, the storyline soon calms down to reflect a select few that have to use every skill they've ever learnt to survive. If you read one book this summer than read this one.

Election Free Zone

2010-05-09T07:39:00.003+01:00

Well another radio appearance came and went so quickly. Appearance went fine and I managed to find three stories that at least didn't mention the election that happened only the previous day. The BBC was the busiest that I had ever seen it, with most of the presenters having worked for most of the night and then having to do their day job. Not sure when my next appearance will be, but I'm hoping it won't be for another month to at least give me chance to complete a few more tasks.

Motivation is the key, I guess, to get this list completed and I feel that I at least have some of that back for the time being, so best get on with things. Hope to report on completing another task soon!

I'm Still Here...

2010-05-03T13:51:00.005+01:00

Well it's been a month of highs and lows since I last blogged. No sooner had we eventually moved to our new house, then I found out I was short listed to be made redundant, something which has sent me on a bit of a roller coaster ride. Some days I'm fine about it, others are really dark days when I can't quite get used to the concept that for the first time since I left school at 16, I will be out of work.

I've been thinking about my list an awful lot in the last month. Unfortunately other things have taken precedent over me completing anything, but I've been chipping away slowly but surely - update as follows:-

1) Chess - just need a few more games under my belt and then I can sign this one off (a chappie at work is going to teach me in his lunch hour, he just doesn't know it yet!)

2) BBC Top 100 Reads - currently reading Stephen King's The Stand which will make it 79 read once completed.

3) Rescue an animal from captivity - currently writing letters for various Born Free Projects including 'Free The Berlin Bears' (you can add your support by joining the Facebook group 'liberate the Berlin Bears') and 'Free Lucy', an elephant kept alone at Valley zoo in Canada (again you can add your support by going onto the zoo check website 'www.savelucy.ca/take-action-for-lucy). If any of these animals are successful rehoused then I will consider this task complete.

4) Create a short film to go onto You Tube - just need to get to grips with the basics of our very small camcorder and then go round to my friend, Phil's house for a coffee, few ginger nuts, oh and to film him of course.

5) Learn a new language - have a Learn French kit which I need to find out if it's compatible to my PC, if not then I'll purchase one and once I've finished it, will consider this task complete.

So now I can see all that in black and white, I don't feel so bad about me not actually completing anything, although it would be nice to get a few more completed, as time is ticking on and this chappie is now snapping at my heels http://grahamettridge-40thingstobeforeim40.blogspot.com. Not only is he (marginally) younger than me, he's also got some really cool things to do on his list, so go check him out.

And last but not least, I'm on BBC Radio Nottingham again this Friday - roughly around 8:30am, for all of you early risers!

Until we meet again...

Scor-zay-zee at the BBC

2010-04-02T07:38:00.010+01:00

I was on the Radio yesterday, so it meant an early start, even though it was my day off from work. I also had to negotiate a different route into Nottingham - now we've moved further out, it's no longer a quick 10 minute ride into the studio. I was quite looking forward to updating listeners on my trapeze lessons when on the stair well at the BBC I bumped into this guy.

Scor-zay-zee is a local Nottingham rapper and he also happens to be in one of my favourite films of last year 'Le Donk'. So favourite, that me and my work colleague constantly quote from it at work - a cult classic. He looked a little over whelmed when I bounded up to him and told him I was such a fan, but he was really cool and told us what he was up to.

So the rest of my time was overshadowed by meeting this guy, we even discussed the fact that I'd met him live on air, which left no time to talk about flying the trapeze. Back on the radio on May 7th, so will update listeners then, but for now I met Scor-zay-zee - how cool is that?

35) Fly A Trapeze

2010-03-22T20:14:00.003Z

I thought the reaction from people was bad enough when I said I was climbing Ben Nevis, but when I told people I was attempting to learn how to fly the trapeze, most of my friends wanted me committed.

I've no idea why I added this one to my list. I can remember watching circus performances as a little girl and the trapeze artists always seem so death defying and highly glamorous in their sparkly outfits. Unfortunately for this particular 'Aerial Workshop' held in the Yorkshire Dance Company in Leeds, there was no sign of any sparkly outfits just jogging bottoms and t-shirts.

A fabulous teacher who immediately put everyone at ease and talked you through each move thoroughly ran the class. There was no pressure to do any of the moves, especially for me with a very dodgy back. I personally didn't fancy damaging a disc this close to my moving date for my new house, so the teacher helped work around this and where as others were trying the 'Archangel' or the 'Spider', I was happy just with the fact that I could get up on the trapeze and do the odd move that wouldn't risk my back.

The trapeze itself was about 6ft from the floor. There were no harnesses just a safety mat to lad on, but it was really weird, as you felt incredibly safe once you were on it.

The whole session lasted 2 hours, which was more than enough time to sufficiently practice the moves. At the end of the class I was completely shattered. The energy you require just to get on the trapeze is unbelievable and the day after I feel very battered and bruised.

Would I do this again? Definitely! I do need to lose some weight first though and get a lot fitter and then hopefully I can work my way through all the grades from beginner to experienced. So you never know, I may just run away to join the circus after all.

I'm Back

2010-03-16T18:13:00.001Z

I know it's been a while and all that and no I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just incredibly busy with our house move and currently living in a sea of boxes. You will be pleased to know that I've still had time to chip away at my list. I've been reading some more books of my Top 100 list, as well as learning a new task (more details to come) and planning a few more activities to do once I complete my next set of tasks. I'm also on BBC Radio Nottingham this Friday (19th March) so I will be updating listeners to what I've managed to complete since my last appearance.

Update on a new task coming soon!

Thaw Blogsplash

2010-03-01T18:31:00.002Z

Ruth's diary is the new novel by Fiona Robyn, called Thaw. She has decided to blog the novel in its entirety over the next few months, so you can read it for free.

Ruth's first entry is below, and you can continue reading tomorrow here.

These hands are ninety-three years old. They belong to Charlotte Marie Bradley Miller. She was so frail that her grand-daughter had to carry her onto the set to take this photo. It’s a close-up. Her emaciated arms emerge from the top corners of the photo and the background is black, maybe velvet, as if we’re being protected from seeing the strings. One wrist rests on the other, and her fingers hang loose, close together, a pair of folded wings. And you can see her insides.

The bones of her knuckles bulge out of the skin, which sags like plastic that has melted in the sun and is dripping off her, wrinkling and folding. Her veins look as though they’re stuck to the outside of her hands. They’re a colour that’s difficult to describe: blue, but also silver, green; her blood runs through them, close to the surface. The book says she died shortly after they took this picture. Did she even get to see it? Maybe it was the last beautiful thing she left in the world.

I’m trying to decide whether or not I want to carry on living. I’m giving myself three months of this journal to decide. You might think that sounds melodramatic, but I don’t think I’m alone in wondering whether it’s all worth it. I’ve seen the look in people’s eyes. Stiff suits travelling to work, morning after morning, on the cramped and humid tube. Tarted-up girls and gangs of boys reeking of aftershave, reeling on the pavements on a Friday night, trying to mop up the dreariness of their week with one desperate, fake-happy night. I’ve heard the weary grief in my dad’s voice.

So where do I start with all this? What do you want to know about me? I’m Ruth White, thirty-two years old, going on a hundred. I live alone with no boyfriend and no cat in a tiny flat in central London. In fact, I had a non-relationship with a man at work, Dan, for seven years. I’m sitting in my bedroom-cum-living room right now, looking up every so often at the thin rain slanting across a flat grey sky. I work in a city hospital lab as a microbiologist. My dad is an accountant and lives with his sensible second wife Julie, in a sensible second home. Mother finished dying when I was fourteen, three years after her first diagnosis. What else? What else is there?

Charlotte Marie Bradley Miller. I looked at her hands for twelve minutes. It was odd describing what I was seeing in words. Usually the picture just sits inside my head and I swish it around like tasting wine. I have huge books all over my flat; books you have to take in both hands to lift. I’ve had the photo habit for years. Mother bought me my first book, black and white landscapes by Ansel Adams. When she got really ill, I used to take it to bed with me and look at it for hours, concentrating on the huge trees, the still water, the never-ending skies. I suppose it helped me think about something other than what was happening. I learned to focus on one photo at a time rather than flicking from scene to scene in search of something to hold me. If I concentrate, then everything stands still. Although I use them to escape the world, I also think they bring me closer to it. I’ve still got that book. When I take it out, I handle the pages as though they might flake into dust.

Mother used to write a journal. When I was small, I sat by her bed in the early mornings on a hard chair and looked at her face as her pen spat out sentences in short bursts. I imagined what she might have been writing about; princesses dressed in star-patterned silk, talking horses, adventures with pirates. More likely she was writing about what she was going to cook for dinner and how irritating Dad’s snoring was.

I’ve always wanted to write my own journal, and this is my chance. Maybe my last chance. The idea is that every night for three months, I’ll take one of these heavy sheets of pure white paper, rough under my fingertips, and fill it up on both sides. If my suicide note is nearly a hundred pages long, then no-one can accuse me of not thinking it through. No-one can say; ‘It makes no sense; she was a polite, cheerful girl, had everything to live for’, before adding that I did keep myself to myself. It’ll all be here. I’m using a silver fountain pen with purple ink. A bit flamboyant for me, I know. I need these idiosyncratic rituals; they hold things in place. Like the way I make tea, squeezing the tea-bag three times, the exact amount of milk, seven stirs. My writing is small and neat; I’m striping the paper. I’m near the bottom of the page now. Only ninety-one more days to go before I’m allowed to make my decision. That’s it for today. It’s begun.

Continue reading tomorrow here...

House Buying & Web Designing

2010-02-25T08:47:00.001Z

Never underestimate that a simple house buying process may take over your life. So much so that every spare minute is taken up either replying to queries, filling out forms and answering phone calls. So much that when you are not doing these things, you are thinking about the next step, when should I start packing etc etc. Needless to say that my list has suffered because of this. I have so many tasks that are being planned but I just don’t have the time to complete. Playing chess, making a short film, reading BBC top 100 books to name but a few and gulp I have just under 2 years to finish my list, which is scary enough in it’s own right.

I’m also thinking about redesigning my website. I really need to start pushing my writing this year, but it’s kind of hard knowing what to put on my site, when I’ve not been published. I definitely need a presence there, but I’m not happy with what I’ve got at the moment.

I’m sure it will all come together pretty soon, but it would be nice for my next appearance on Radio Nottingham to say that I’ve actually completed a task instead of waffling around the fact. Wish me luck!

I'm Back!

2010-02-19T10:21:00.002Z

Sorry, it’s been a while since I was last here. Blame my impending house move, it seems to have wormed it’s way into every aspect of my life, taking over my brain and all of my time. They say it’s one of the top ten stressful things to do in your life, I think right now it’s number one on my list…

Anyway, I digress – Chess! Blinkin’ hard to learn this one. I started to read the Chess for beginners book and promptly gave up, halfway through the first chapter. It reminded me of the time I tried to crack the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t understand the ‘how to’ book on that either! I went on BBC Radio Nottingham again today and Andy Whittaker has set me a task of learning to play Chess by my next appearance (March 19th) so the challenge is on – best dust off my Chess board this weekend!

Make A Short Film - Part 1

2010-01-25T12:20:00.004Z

If I'm ever going to get round to making this short film, then I thought I'd better start and learn a few basics on the art of film making, so I spent an interesting afternoon yesterday at the Broadway Media Centre, on a beginners film making course. Interesting from the start really. I mean who, as an icebreaker, gets people to draw a picture of the tutor, write down a question, then turn the paper into a dart shape and threw it at them? And it only got better.

Setting up a film camera is a really tedious task, for any of those out there that are budding film makers, should know. Our tutor's humour helped us through those tedious moments and then onto filming a few set pieces and finally the editing process. Before we knew it, three hours had passed and I now knew the basics and enough to realise that film making is not for me, I still prefer the more creative side of writing.

Although I haven't got the software they have (Final Cut around £300), I think I picked up enough tips to have a stab at making this short film, just need to arrange with my wonderful friend to film him!

To be continued...

Radio Nottingham

2010-01-15T17:25:00.002Z

Radio appearance was a bit pants today. For some reason I got a bit tongue tied during the initial run up to the paper review (God know why I've done it so many times before!) and was really cross with myself afterwards for doing it. Thankfully they didn't cancel my next appearance, so I guess they are probably used to it (to be honest I've been in the studio when the presenters and newsreaders have been a bit pants too) Hopefully my next appearance will mean I would have completed at least another task by then. Guess that's my cue to go and read some more of my Learn to play Chess book...

Busy

2010-01-05T20:08:00.004Z

Just to prove that I mean business this year, as well as reading my Chess for beginners book, I've just booked an introduction to film making at the Broadway Media Centre in Nottingham for the end of January. Hopefully this will help with my short film task and other future plans I may have to be a multi award winning film director...

Spots

2010-01-03T17:05:00.003Z

Well New Year wasn't quite as expected. Here I was all geared up for a wonderful celebration and motivating myself that the start of 2010 will be greatness itself, when it turned out to be a bit of a damp squid really. I somehow developed a severe allergic reaction and spent New Years Eve dabbed in calamine lotion and drinking copious measures of lucozade, as the bottle of Moet sat in quiet celebration by itself in the fridge.

Now ordinarily something like this would throw me completely off kilter and all my so called plans would be just thrown in the air, but I'm determined that 2010 will be a great year and no matter what happens, then I'm going to enjoy it and more importantly complete some more tasks off my list.

It's now just under 2 years before I hit the magic number, so this year has got to count in clearing those tasks down. So spare a thought for me whilst you are watching Celebrity Big Brother (yes don't deny it, I know you will be watching it!) and I'm reading up on the rules of how to play chess - my first task of 2010!

Happy New Year

2009-12-30T18:14:00.003Z

So Christmas came and went so quickly, if you blinked you may have missed it. I was a very lucky girl and received an I-Pod Touch from Mr M, which has been loaded with all manner of things including a chess game, that I will be using to complete one of my tasks very shortly.

As 2009 brings itself to a close, it also gives me chance to say thanks to each and everyone of you that have travelled along with me, through this journey. Believe me when I tell you that 2010 is going to be a very productive year, task wise, so I hope that you will all continue with me and enjoy what I have planned.

I hope 2010 brings you everything that you wish for - Happy new year!

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas...

2009-12-20T12:57:00.004Z

On this very cold but very festive Sunday afternoon I plan to:-

Finish off The Magus - one of my BBC Top 100 Reads
Plan what others I'm going to read in the New Year
See if the Learning French kit I bought from Oxfam does actually work on my PC
And put up my Christmas tree whilst watching Elf (a tradition!)

I hope whatever you plan to do keeps you safe and happy!

Life

2009-12-13T18:26:00.003Z

Regular readers of my blog, will note that I'm struggling at the moment to get motivated and complete any new tasks this side of Christmas. Well, although new tasks may be out of the question, there are certain tasks that are ongoing at the moment, the BBC Top 100 reads, being one of them. I'm constantly trying to complete at least another book off the 100 reads, which can be quite tedious, especially when it's a book I don't particularly like. I'm currently reading The Magus by John Fowles, which in fairness is not as bad as some of the books I've had to complete in the past, but I think I've got into a rut and had a long list of equally boring books that has almost suffocated my love of reading and made me resent picking up a book.

It hasn't helped that I've kicked my exercise routine into touch at the moment. I used to spend at least half an hour a day on my exercise bike, complete with book in hand to help me through it and I'm struggling at the moment to find any other time of the day to read. But I'm trying to push myself through this bleak period and I have promised myself a rest after I've completed The Magus. One of my work colleagues has given me all the Twilight books to read and as I'm a huge fan of the films then I can't wait to get my paws on them as well as the other books that I've purchased along the way. So no better time than the present to get another book ticked off the list - I'm off to watch the X Factor Final complete with a copy of The Magus to read between breaks.

Reflections

2009-12-06T09:29:00.003Z

Ah, another week has flown by and I would love to tell you that I've spent it doing my latest task (looks very sheepish). Unfortunately I haven't. Christmas shopping/work/tidying our house for the influx of viewers yes, but no new tasks to report I'm afraid! That's not to say I haven't been thinking about it and the whole year in general. This year has been a funny old year what with one thing and another. One of those years that you really can't wait to see the back of. In my past, especially when I lived on my own, I always looked forward to the thought of New Years Day; it was a chance to start afresh and reinvent myself for the forthcoming year.

So for me, New Years Day can't come quicker. I have lists galore and plans you wouldn't believe - 16 of my tasks to complete and hopefully a new house will beckon, as well as my writing of course, I've got great plans for that as well and you never know I may just manage to squeeze in another task before January 1st!

High Flyer

2009-11-29T19:19:00.004Z

Judging by the reaction I got from my friends when I posted a comment on Facebook, the next task that I've organised to do, may just provoke the same from yourselves. I've booked trapeze lessons! Not the most easiest thing to book on the Internet it has to be said. It took me a good hour of googling to find somewhere that was not based in London and didn't cost a small fortune to do. I eventually came across Yorkshire Dance, a company based in Leeds, approx. 1 hour car journey away from the land of the Nottingham and a very reasonable £18 for a 2 hour session. I don't go until March, which gives me plenty of time to get rid of the Christmas stomachs and get fit to do the session properly.

Which leaves me with the question ... now what else can I complete from now until March..?

I'm Back!

2009-11-22T13:02:00.007Z

Well it seems forever since I last wrote a proper blog post and even longer since I actually completed a blog task! I've had a few distractions in the past couple of weeks. Firstly NaNoWriMo, which is the write 50,000 words in a month task. This started off oh so well, but then I had the added complication of getting our house ready to sell and as my priority was on house things, I got slightly behind on the writing and then as the days went past, even further behind, to a point where I thought, oh bugger it and so I did!

The break away from my blog has done me some good though. I'm feeling all refreshed and raring to go again, to the point where I've even made a list of all tasks I'm hoping to do in 2010 and the ones I'm going to have a stab at doing as well.

Planned tasks are:-

1) Learn a foreign language

2) Go to an international football match at Wembley

3) Read all the BBC Top 100 reads

4) Make a film to go onto You Tube

5) Learn chess

Other tasks to have a go at are:-

1) Surfing

2) Watch Forest in an Executive box

3) Fly a trapeze

4) Go to the Grand Prix

5) Cook with a celebrity chef

6) Skinny dipping

7) Get my novel published

8) Save an animal from captivity

Plus there will also be my scheduled appearances on BBC Radio Nottingham - recent appearance on Friday went very well.

I've a feeling 2010 is going to be a good year, but a very busy one!

Return

2009-11-19T06:03:00.001Z

Sorry, it's been a while I know. I will reveal all very shortly, but in the meantime, I'm on Radio Nottingham tomorrow if you care to join me.

NaNoWriMo

2009-11-01T20:59:00.004Z

Things may be a little quiet on the old blog task list for a little while, whilst I get to grips with this http://www.nanowrimo.org/ I've just finished my first day at 2039 words, so I'm pretty chuffed that I'm ahead of my target and you never know, this may be the one that I get published. So in around about way, I may well be working on a blog task. I think I may be doing myself an injustice here!

Mission Accomplished!

2009-10-25T18:14:00.003Z

I was overjoyed when an email popped into my in box from my fellow blogger and very good friend Frenchy Phil asking if I wanted to catch 'Welcome To The Sticks' at the Broadway cinema on Sunday pm, but I confess, when I agreed, I did have ulterior motives. The last time we went to the cinema together was to see Le Donk, the Shane Meadows movie and I came away with the inspiration to make my own film, which fitted quite nicely into making a short film to go on You Tube task. Then an idea began to form, slow but sure at first, until I had the basis of a structure for a 10 minute short film. The subject matter? My friend Frenchy Phil. Phil is an ex actor and has had the most fascinating life that I think truly warrants capturing on film. So today at the Broadway, after plying him with lager and tempting him with a bag of minstrels, I plucked up courage to ask him and he has said yes. Now I just need to get grips with my camcorder and learn how to edit. I wonder if Shane is available for a master class?

Me & James

2009-10-25T08:14:00.006Z

I have a confession to make, one that my husband won't be too pleased about. I have a secret crush. Not just any old crush you understand but one that's been there for a few years now, growing in strength, sometimes also dipping, but quite strong at this present moment in time. It's James Martin the celebrity chef. I have to admit I like to indulge whenever I can. There's the cook books, a couple of appearances at the Good Food show, Saturday morning kitchen (of course) and also his column in the Sunday Mail. There's just some thing about this straight talking Yorkshire man with the cheeky smile that I find hard to resist.

Now when I first put my list together nearly two and half years ago, I wasn't aware of the great man. The only chef that seemed to be at the top of everyone's list was Mr Ramsey. I have to say that I'm not a great fan of Mr Ramsey's at late. There's the consistent foul language, which has become too over powering and of course the headlines, which if you are made to believe are that things are not too rosy in the house of Ramsey. Needless to say, he is still one of the top chefs, for that you cannot take it away from him.

Now if Gordon were to offer me a few cookery lessons I definitely wouldn't say no, but since the emergence of James then I've decided to amend one of my tasks to 'cook with a celebrity chef', which will give me the chance to either cook with Gordon or James, should the opportunity arise.

I'm off now to buy a copy of the Sunday Mail and to write a letter to Saturday Kitchen, explaining why I would like to appear at the Chef's table - talk about stating the obvious! Have fun what ever you choose to do this Sunday!

Lazy Bones

2009-10-22T18:53:00.006+01:00

Since my two x rejection letters from agents, I have to say that I've done nothing else with my novel, other parts of my life seem to be taking over. Did I tell you that I'm trying to move house? Oh and trying to lose weight. As well as trying to complete this list, appearing on the radio and holding down a full time job. Time is so precious at the moment, that I wish I could have a few twenty six hour days. I'm not complaining. Funnily enough the more busy I am in life, the more motivated I become to get things done. I do worry though that I'm trying to over compensate for all those years that I sat on my ass doing nothing with my life, but I don't want the next twenty years to pass me by in such a flash that I turn round and ask myself just what have I achieved.

Talking of achievements, I've been particularly inspired by Cally Taylor, who seems to be everywhere on the Internet at the moment, with the release of her first book 'Heaven Can Wait'. I had a very embarrassing moment in Borders in Leeds, where I couldn't for the life of me remember her last name or the name of the book and wondered around aimlessly hoping that if I just set eyes on the cover, then I would know instantly which one it was. I didn't unfortunately, but never fear it will be purchased next time I go into town (if all else fails I will write down the title prior to going!) Cally is someone that is completely dedicated to writing and even though she holds down a full time job, still finds enough time to write an impressive portfolio of short stories and obviously her first novel as well. She's certainly gave me a good needed kick up the ass and I'm definitely gong to enter her short story competition.

Which leads me back to writing, sort of and my novel and yes I need to get my finger out and get it posted to more agents. Life is much too short for it to just sit on my hard drive.

Baby Steps

2009-10-18T19:37:00.004+01:00

I think I spoke a little while back about how some of my tasks aren't as straight forward as they first appear and how sometimes I have to do a series of tasks within a task, just so I'm able to cross it off my list. I call it taking baby steps, each task being broken down into smaller sections in order to complete it. The BBC Top 100 is an obvious example - 100 things to do before I even get to strike my pen through that one. Another one that springs to mind is one of my new revised tasks 'rescue an animal from captivity'. No, I haven't got a clue how you rescue an animal from captivity either, but I gathered that 'Born Free' might, so I've joined their 'Activate' campaign , which means I get to write to some pretty important people to express concern over the welfare of wild animals within their country. Some campaigns are connected to the release of animals back into the wild, so I'm optimistic that my little steps, may just influence the release of an animal within captivity in the near future.

A Large Slice Of Humble Pie

2009-10-13T19:38:00.003+01:00

I made yet another radio appearance this morning, which was fab and went well. I really like Andy Whitaker as he always makes me feel relaxed whenever I go on his show and he's lovely and friendly. I updated the listeners on my blog and discussed what I was about to do next (a short film in case you wondered) and then ran through the paper review.

However, just before I went in, there was a rep from a Children's charity and also a young girl who spoke of her neglect, growing up with her parents. Anything to do with harming children or animals and I'm a complete wuss, I start to fill up and the girl's story of how she used to cook and care for her younger siblings from the age of 6, was truly heart rendering.

Talking about my oh so unimportant list straight after that made me feel very humble indeed and brought everything back into context. I don't think I've mentioned on this blog but I volunteered to be a mentor for teenagers in need and I was feeling a little disheartened that I'd not heard anything, so much so I nearly asked the guy from the children's charity if they ran a similar scheme that I could apply for. Tonight I went home after work and opened my emails and there in my inbox was an email from the charity apologising in the delay of getting back to me and how my email to them was inspirational. I guess today was a good omen after all.

Time For An Update

2009-10-12T18:00:00.003+01:00

I'm on BBC Radio Nottingham tomorrow anytime from approx. 8:15-8:30am, where I will be updating listeners on my blog and also doing the paper review. Hope you all get chance to tune in!

Julie/Julia

2009-10-09T22:18:00.003+01:00

Although it's been out for ages, I finally got round to see Julie & Julia at the cinema last night. The film tells the true story of Julie Powell, who decided to cook her way through a french cookbook and record her story via a blog. Sounds familiar? Well it turns out we had more in common than I first thought. Julie turned to a challenge when she was feeling un fulfilled with her life and like me she was determined to record every step of her challenge and do it properly and not cheat, a girl after my own heart. One element that I loved about the film was where she hadn't got a clue if any one ever read her blog, besides her Mother, but it didn't bother her, as she just wrote the blog to record her achievements and disasters in the kitchen!

Without giving too much away, Julie eventually gains a book deal on the basis of her blog and unfortunately that's where the similarities ends. I'm not sure if the film works doing the whole split story thing, but it was good to see a blogger played in such a favourable light. Anyway, who knows, perhaps one day I'll get my own film too!

Oh What A Circus!

2009-10-06T18:06:00.008+01:00

Sunday's are pretty boring affairs usually, aren't they? I mean nothing really happens on a Sunday - right? Except this Sunday. This Sunday was soo different to all other Sundays. Fancy an evening with Shane Meadows? Yes, I did too, so there I was on a Sunday singing David Essex songs with my friend Frenchy Phil, outside the Broadway Media Centre in Nottingham, staring at a bloke, thinking, is it, isn't it and then by the time I finally decided it was actually Shane Meadows, he had gone inside.

Now I have to admit I do get a little giddy when I know I'm going to be in the presence of greatness and not only did I have to contend with Shane, there was also his mate from college days, one Paddy Considine, my favourite actor, who also happens to be in my favourite film, directed by Shane, 'Dead Man Shoes'. To top it all, the ticket price also included an exclusive screening of his new film 'Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee' - it was all too much really!

So there we sat on the front row, where a few late arrivals mistook us for VIP's (well you would, wouldn't you?!) whilst Shane introduced the cast and crew of the film, then sat back and watched the most funniest film I'd seen in a long time - my cheeks ached with laughing so much.

The film was followed by a Q & A session and then I got the chance to be a real groupie and get my boxed set signed and have a couple of photos with the chappies. I was totally calm throughout, behaved appropriately, until I got to the back of the cinema and then had a 'oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD!' moment.

So pray tell what does this have to do with my 40 things? Well, Shane Meadows happens to completely inspire me. How he depicts working class life in his films is how I want to write about such things. He described his work as having sat in the same room of the working classes, as apposed to looking through the window, like his peers. A good analogy, but on my part I certainly need to up my game to be anywhere near his brilliance.

He has inspired me to start working on my second novel. Something completely different from the first, a lot more gritty, a lot more 'real'. You never know, this may well be the one that's published...

The Write Way

2009-09-28T19:59:00.004+01:00

Did you ever consider that sometimes in life you have to go backwards before you go forwards? My novel currently sits on my hard drive, feeling a little unloved after being rejected by two Agents and I kinda of figured that whilst I'm waiting for the motivation/inclination/time to submit it to further places, I shouldn't stop writing. After all, the more I can get my name out there, the more likely an Agent is to want to act for me. So whilst I was off work ill, I decided to tidy out the spare room, to keep my mind off feeling so ill (there is a logic there somewhere!) and I came across my writing box, crammed full of short stories, features and other writing related things, that I've done in the past. I had a quick look through some of the short stories I wrote and yes they definitely need work and my writing has hopefully improved since then, but there's a few possibilities there, that may just lead somewhere.

So my plan, whilst I decide what my next move is with the novel, is to get re writing these short stories and see if there is a place for them out there. After all there's nothing wrong in delving into your past, to help with your future.

Another Radio Appearance

2009-09-27T17:00:00.002+01:00

It seems Radio Nottingham want me back for another paper review (I must be doing something right!) October 13th from 8:15-8:30am approx, if you are interested in listening.

More Rejection

2009-09-24T20:30:00.003+01:00

I came home from work yesterday feeling very poorly, to find a solitary brown envelope on my door mat. Another rejection from an Agent. I don't particularly like Wednesday's any more.

Feeling Rejected

2009-09-20T16:41:00.002+01:00

I haven't felt entirely motivated in the last couple of weeks, which you have probably noticed with my lack of posting.

I'm struggling with the BBC 100 Reads at the moment, so I have no new tasks to report that are in progress, other than this.

In fact the only thing I have to report is the fact that I received my first letter of rejection from an Agent the other day. She feels that my work doesn't excite her enough to want to act for me. Oh well, it was to be expected, Rome wasn't built in a day and how many rejection letters did J K Rowling receive before she went to print? Hopefully I won't set a world record with that!

Write A Script/Story For Dr Who

2009-09-09T10:31:00.004+01:00

I'm a pretty loyal person and once I like something I tend to stick to it for life. It probably won't be any surprise, therefore, if I told you that my love for Dr Who first started when I was three years old. I have an older brother, who watched it avidly week in, week out and as we had only one television in those days, then his viewing habits and those of my parents, become mine in a roundabout way. Not that I'm complaining of course. I loved the programme as much as he did, except for the Daleks and for some reason I still have a fear of those to this day.

Favourite Doctor? If you had asked me three years ago, I would have said Tom Baker without a shadow of a doubt, but then suddenly Mr Tennant took on the role and brought so much life and depth to the character, that he took over the mantle. Here was someone that for the first time, showed how alone the Doctor must feel, travelling through the universe with just his blue box for company. It will be a sad, sad day when he hangs up his key to the Tardis.

What do I love about the programme? I love it's unpredictability. You have the character of the Doctor and his Tardis and that's it. The world is your oyster in terms of plot and structure. He can go anywhere and meet anything, he is the Doctor after all, the last of his kind.

When it came to writing my story, I had a vague plot in mind. I could remember reading a ghost story set in a hotel many years ago, so without further ado I ordered the book from the Internet and once arrived, devoured the contents and began to plan my story around the basis of the tale.

The oddest feeling I found, once starting to write about it was that although you had the freedom

of writing any story line you wished, you still had this character of the Doctor that was set in stone and it felt quite restrictive in terms of what I could do with him. I'm used to building a character from scratch and making them my own, with the Doctor the formula was already there.

I had a long weekend over in Northumberland just recently and managed to have two full days of un interrupted writing. Two days full of landscapes and views of ruined castles, that would inspire anyone to write and so I did, finding such a back drop just the tonic to complete my Dr Who story.

I'm not going to share the story with you quite yet, as my first port of call is to try and get it published, but I will keep you updated on it's journey and hopefully pretty soon, you will be able to read it.

Radio

2009-09-02T20:35:00.003+01:00

I'm on Radio Nottingham from approx 8:15am tomorrow, just in case you were interested. I'm doing the paper review and updating listeners on my blog. Guess I'd better get on with completing one of my tasks then ...

Two Down

2009-08-30T08:02:00.004+01:00

I managed to get another submission pack out to an Agent yesterday and Forest beat Derby. Can't ask for a better Saturday than that!

One Down

2009-08-25T21:46:00.002+01:00

So I've done it. One submission pack to a Literary Agent is now completed and ready to be posted tomorrow. There would have been more sent, but sadly as every Agent requires a slight deviation on what is required, I prepared the simplest one out of the three. So now I sit and wait and hope that someone, somewhere would like to act for me. Here's hoping.

I will, I will, I will

2009-08-23T19:08:00.005+01:00

It's 7pm on a Sunday evening and my head is slowing getting back into work mode. We haven't done as much as I would have liked to do on our week off, there's still stuff to be done around the house. But and it's a big but, I'm not stressing about it, it will get done when it will get done. Just the fact that we've managed to do more than we have done in the last five years, is enough for me.

There is one thing that I need to get done though. I'm now sat with the Artists and Writers yearbook and need to send off my novel to Agents. You see I haven't written anything since I've finished this novel and I need to do this, before I can move on and do different things. So my task for the next hour is to find at least three Agents that I would like to represent me. It shouldn't be too hard, should it?

Motivated

2009-08-19T11:08:00.004+01:00

I have another radio appearance coming up in in September. It seems they have a new system of whenever you make an appearance, they like to book your next one in the diary. Which suits me fine, at least I can plan my appearances around work stuff. It also keeps me focused on my list somewhat, as each appearance always opens with the immortal words 'so tell our listeners how many tasks you've completed since you were last in' or words to that effect. Can't really turn round and say 'well actually I couldn't be arsed to do any tasks since I was last in, so nothing to report', well I could but I don't think they would ask me in again.

So focused I am, mostly on two tasks, finishing my Dr Who story off and creating a film to go onto You Tube. If I manage to finish either one of those or even both by the beginning of September then I will be a happy bunny. In the meantime, back to the home improvements and no, I still haven't got round to sending my novel off to any agents yet.

Getting Sorted

2009-08-17T09:58:00.002+01:00

I have a week off from work as of today. I couldn't be happier. So much has happened this year, that I just wanted to take a step away from everything and relax, rewind. Not that my days will be empty you understand, I have a whole host of stuff to keep me occupied. Mostly house related stuff, as we are trying desperately to get the house on the market asap and move. There is also the small matter of getting my novel out there and looking for representation, something I've been dragging my feet over for the past month.

So my first day off will be spent getting organised and planning - split days between house related stuff and writing. I'll let you know how I get on...