Come September
Another month gone. Seriously where does time go? This year is whizzing past so fast, I can’t believe it’s October already, especially as September was so much fun.
It’s was a busy month at work as two new series I’ve been working on were coming to an end after six rather intense months, so between getting tapes from one place to another, ensuring programmes got delivered to the broadcasters, keeping up with invoices and budgets, and remembering to find time for some of the 40 for 40 things, things have zipped by.
Starting this months challenges was Item 31. Go to a strip club. Having thought about asking Mr Stringfellow if he’d let me into his club ( I met him once, he wasn’t wearing any underwear, but I’ll tell that tale another day), Jude rather marvellously came up with the idea of going to a Burlesque night at Proud Cabaret on a Groupon deal. Now before you shout at me, I do realise that the art of Burlesque is something very different from Striptease, however for the purposes of my list the end result is almost the same, as ladies with amazing bodies take of their clothes for the enjoyment of the surrounding crowd. Anyway, we decided to get into the spirit of the evening and get dressed up Burlesque stylee ourselves, so with boobs in Basques and feathers in our hair, four of us, Debs, Jude, Vykkie and I, headed out. The evening included a three course meal, as well as our entertainment. From the singing Compere, to the rather freaky bendy lady who tap-danced on a table with her head underneath her legs (don’t ask, it wasn’t pleasant to watch), an acrobatic chap who left his DNA on me, as well as three lovely ladies with rather fabulous nipple tassels, we had a pretty good laugh. We were all a bit shell-shocked at one point, but that just added to the fun.
Some of you may remember a while ago I completed Item 28. Take a Yoga Class and that I really enjoyed it, so much so I wanted to continue on in my Yogic path. And I have. I signed up to a 6 week beginners class again at The Life Centre, which started this month… as if I haven’t given myself enough to do this year! Anyway, so far, it’s been very enjoyable. Really lovely people in the class and the teacher, Sandy, is explaining all the poses to us as in fabulous detail, as well as reminding us to breathe throughout the class – thank goodness as I’ve felt myself turning blue a few times as I try to bend my way into some strange contortion and seem to forget the most important bit of keeping alive!
Mid month saw me attend a work BBQ where I enjoyed a few Vodkas, go on a tour of the newly revamped Wimbledon Studios with Jude where we enjoyed a couple of glasses of Pimms, catching up with my wonderful next door neighbour Linda, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner over a bottle of Prosecco, and attend the launch of Square Eyes again with Jude where again we enjoyed a few more drinks… I gave my liver a few days off though as next it was off to Cornwall with Liz for a bit of a weekend mini break and there’s always booze with the pair of us.
Meeting at Paddington for the 10am train to Newquay we packed a picnic (OK, we bought some lovely goodies from M&S) and jumped on board. We chatted all the way there, only occasionally stopping our gossip to enjoy the stunning views. On arrival at the hotel, we both crossed the first of four more 40 for 40 things off my list, Item 23. Have a Hot Stone Massage. Two hours of pure bliss and indulgence. Seriously, it was worth travelling all that way just for that massage. My therapist was amazing, even though at one point I couldn’t stop giggling (it seems I’m rather ticklish). Incredible. If you’re in Newquay, highly recommended. Liz and I then enjoyed a bottle of bubbles on our balcony watching the beach bums (Yes, actual bottoms, as people changed out of their wetsuits) whilst overlooking Fistral Beach. Glorious!
Friday saw us head into the water ourselves for Item 13. Take a surfing lesson as we joined Francis of Hibiscus Surf School as she took us under her wings and taught us to surf. What an absolute hoot! Several hours passed very quickly and were full of giggles as we tried and failed, and tried and failed to get up on the boards. Liz did manage for a few seconds, but I only got up as far as my knees. Still, we caught a few waves, and certainly got a taste of the rush proper surfers enjoy – we also tasted quite a lot of seawater! Glug! Brilliant though – and another activity I’ll certainly be doing again. Maybe in slightly warmer water next time…
Surfer Chicks! Note to self: Wetsuits are not flattering, not flattering at all...
Catching a wave...
...then falling off...
meanwhile, Liz is standing up! Show off!
After all that exercise we obviously needed to refuel, so we spoilt ourselves (again) by going to Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen for dinner. And not just any dinner, this was the 6 course Tasting Menu. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, and yum! Every item in the menu is explained to you, every glass of wine (there was a different one with every course) is described in fantastic detail. We took our time and spent over three hours melting at every mouthful.
Saturday called for a bit more exercise, ony this time is wasn’t us doing it – instead we did Item 12. Ride on Horse back along a beach. It wasn’t 100% what I had planned in my head when I put the list together, the rain certainly didn’t help, but good fun none the less. Oh, and there will be a photo of me on my horse Maeve soon, but I couldn’t take one of myself and hold the reins, so that’s Liz in front!
Having had such an amazing meal on the Friday night, we kept on in a similar fashion on Saturday, getting dressed up and pootling off to Padstow for a night at Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant. Before we left, I made up my perfect menu in my head – if I could have anything it would be Scallops to start, Dover Sole Meunière for Main and Crème Brûlée to finish. How lucky am I? Every single item was there on the menu ready for me. And every single mouthful was outstanding. Liz got crabs…
After all that, it was time to come home, so we packed our bags for Bodmin and travelled back to Paddington with bellies full, but we did manage to squeeze in a quick Clotted Cream Scone on our way back (OK two scones, but who’s counting?). Liz – thanks for being such a fabulous friend!
Now you may have noticed that I said I completed four items during the little trip to Cornwall. So far, I’ve only told you about three of them… The fourth, well, I’m not going to say too much as I might end up as an embarrassing video on YouTube. All I’ll say is that the glorious pool at our hotel had twinkling lights like stars in the ceiling… so it might relate to Item 6 but I’m not saying any more than that. Not a word.
As if I hadn’t done enough this month, I rounded things off with another Item 15. Do something ‘cultural’ every month taking a trip to the theatre to see Les Misérables. This show has been on my list of things to see for years ( it’s now in its 25th year), and I’m so glad I made the final push to see it. And lucky too, as Alfie Boe took the lead as Jean Valjean. Wow, what a voice that man has, in fact the whole cast was brilliant. A special ‘wow’ goes to Alexia Khadime in the role of Eponine. We all know the song “On My Own” but Alexia truly brought a new level to it for me. Simply superb.
So that’s it, September has rolled away and October come to say hello, bringing with it the summer, so that’s my cue to say goodbye…
‘Till the next time…
xoxo
BlobbyJogger 