Category: 60 Before 60

Waxing appointment made

Setting up my first waxing appointment.

My web design course isn’t running next Tuesday so I thought this could be a good time to have my first waxing experience. As the college salon, staffed by trainee beauty therapists, only has appointments at certain times it hasn’t been convenient until now.


I popped in on my way to class this evening to make an appointment. Whilst I was there I also got a patch test done as I’m thinking of also getting my eyebrows and eyelashes tinted. For insurance purposes they have to do the patch test first to make sure you don’t have any weird reactions. The receptionist mixed a few chemicals and then painted a purple blob on my arm. As it is meant to be a dye that lasts for a while and doesn’t wash off I’m expecting questions from curious students the next few times I have short sleeves.


Leg waxing, eyelash tinting, whatever next? I’m finally turning into a girly girl. I don’t think I’m quite ready to trade my walking boots in for a pair of stilettos just yet, but watch this space …

Other blogs and websites

Getting inspiration from other people’s websites.

There are a few websites and blogs that I monitor frequently. One is Alastair Humphreys’ website. He pushes the whole motivation thing a bit heavily at times, but he is quite inspirational and I’ve picked up a few ideas from him. When I checked out his site today he had a link to a website belonging to a Swiss couple who spent eight years cycling round the world, more than a year of which was in Japan. This section of their website seemed quite interesting as cycling in Japan is an idea that’s starting to ferment at the back of my mind. Unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of detail, but they do have some amazing photos.

Another website I check regularly is that of the Walking Englishman. He really inspires me to create my own website though I know I’ll never be in his league. At the moment he’s a few weeks in to an 80 day, 1000 mile walk through Scotland and England. Most days he’s updating a blog about it. The update I read today was about the small part of the Great Glen Way he’s walking, including Neptune’s Steps and the route into Fort William. If I walk the GGW in the summer I’ll be doing it the other way round to this, but it’s still more information for me that will help me to prepare.

I do like it when the blogs and websites I look at link in to what I’m doing at the moment.

Alastair Humphreys’ website can be found here.

Verena and Luciano Lepre’s website covering their 8 year cycling voyage around the world can be found here.

The Walking Englishman can be found here and his 1000 mile walk through Britain can be found here.

Julia Bradbury’s Canal Walks

Learning about the Caledonian Canal as I prepare to walk the Great Glen Way.

Julia Bradbury isn’t my favourite walker and I’d rather be out walking myself than watching a TV programme about it. But occasionally she walks in a place I’m particularly interested in and so I’ll download the programme on iplayer and then try to make enough effort to actually watch it. She’s now doing a series on canal walks and the first was featuring the Caledonian Canal and the first part of the Great Glen Way. As this is where I’m hoping to walk in the summer I thought I should download it.

I’ve just watched the programme and I did find it quite worthwhile. It’s useful to see what the places actually look like as then I’ll be better prepared when I come to walk in them. She also gave some history about the canal which was interesting.

The canal was built by Thomas Telford and was on a scale that hadn’t been seen before. It joined up the west coast to the east coast utilising the lochs that were already there. It was the first canal big enough to take more than just barges and was meant to aid fishing boats in their journey from coast to coast as it would save them having to go round the more dangerous coast to the north of Scotland. The canal got public funding which was also a first, because the government were keen to invest in the area to stop migration and encourage business by making the area more economically viable.

The canal ended up being way over budget and taking about three times as long as originally planned. Some things never change! By the time it was ready and functional advances in shipping meant the north coast could be more easily and safely tackled and the railway system was taking over from the canals. So this amazing example of engineering was never used to its full potential and ended up being a bit of a white elephant. It looks stunning though and provides a great walk or cycle and is set to be the UK’s first long distance canoe trail as well. So at least it’s appreciated and well used even if not for the original reason!

Great Glen Way

I’m planning to walk the Great Glen Way and wild camp along the way.

For my long distance walk I’ve decided to walk the Great Glen Way. For it to count as the challenge on my list I have to complete it in one go and not just as a series of individual day walks. I also want to do it whilst carrying all my own gear. As I’ll be camping each night I’ll need to carry a tent, Thermarest, sleeping bag, stove, pans, etc as well as few toiletries and a couple of changes of clothes.

My walking in Exmoor last week was the start of my training towards this. I’ve been worried about my knees and whether or not they’ll hold up to walking consecutively over a week. I’m also not sure if I’m fit enough and strong enough to carry all my gear. I tried to carry a fairly heavy bag each day I walked in Exmoor and after a while I did ‘forget’ I was wearing it. My bag on the GGW will be a lot heavier though and more bulky, so I’ll have to do some training with this too.

My knees are going to be the biggest problem. I had to take two rest days in Exmoor. Each time was after a 15 mile walk with a lot of descent. I’m not too bad on the uphills – I can take short breather breaks if I need them – but the downhills are real killers. I walked slowly and used two poles but still had a lot of pain and swelling and later on stiffness in my knee joints.

One of the reasons I’ve chosen the GGW is because it’s only 73 miles so I should be able to keep most of my walks along it to a 10 mile maximum. Also, the first few days walking will be fairly flat. By the time I hit the descents I should have a lighter pack (I will have eaten away at the weight) and be more than half way there. I’ll take my poles and a stash of ibuprofen and will hopefully be able to complete it.

I’d like to combine my wild camping task with the long distance walking task. There are actual ‘official’ wild camps at some places along the route. Do they still count if they’re official? On some nights I will have to find my own wild camp though, so whether or not the official ones count, I’ll still be completing this task.

I’ve been googling the GGW to try to get as much information on it as possible. I’ve found a detailed blog from a few years ago, some general information sites and a very good photo diary on flikr. The photo diary in particular is good because it means I can see what the various bits of the route look like and how feasible it will be to camp along the way.

Now I just have to do more training, get a map and a guidebook, sort out train tickets and arrange to leave my car with a friend in Glasgow.

Helicopter ride

Exploring the possibility of flying to Lundy Island by helicopter

I was thinking about going to Lundy on Friday. I like small islands and this one has interested me for a while. I noticed on the map that in summer the ferry goes from Ilfracombe which is where I want to finish walking my bit of the coastal path. 

I spent today, or at least this afternoon, wandering around Minehead; partly to give my knees a rest ready for my big walk tomorrow, but also to research logistics for my next few days walking. Whilst in the tourist office I picked up some leaflets on Lundy and then settled into a nice cafe (The Creamery) for a delicious late lunch and to study them. 


Unfortunately the times of the ferries are such that I’d only have four hours on the island. It’s 3 miles long and half a mile wide and there are quite a few things to see – seals, ruins, views. To circumambulate the island would be about 7 miles so it is doable in 4 hours, but I’d feel rushed and like I couldn’t stop to enjoy it. If I was staying longer I could get the ferry from Bideford instead and have about 8 hours on the island, but it’s not to be. And at £30 return with National Trust membership (more without) I don’t want to go for quick whiz round – I want to have time to explore properly. So that’s on hold. 

What was interesting on the leaflet though was the helicopter service. It seems to only be out of season and is £99 return. This is going on a Monday and returning on a  Friday. Maybe this would be too long for such a small place, but if I just wanted a relaxing half term to camp, walk, read, write and think then this could be good. 


When I tick the ride in a helicopter task off my list I want to actually go somewhere in the helicopter, not just do a scenic ride. I had intended it to be the Scilly Isles, but now Lundy is a real contender as well. 

England at Wembley

Why I want to see England play at Wembley

Driving down the M6 on my way to Exmoor I passed lots of cars and vans and minibuses with Manchester United flags and scarves flying out of windows or strewn across the back windows. It was cup final day at Wembley: United vs Barcelona in the Champions League.

This made me think about the new Wembley Stadium and how I’d like to see it. I loved the old stadium with the iconic twin towers and it’s a shame it’s gone. But the new one looks like a pretty interesting piece of architecture too. 

I first went to Wembley when I was about 14 and at secondary school. I went along on my brother’s primary school trip to see England vs Holland in a schoolboys’ under 15 game. We won 7-0 and I fancied the Dutch goalkeeper. 

The last time I went into the stadium was when I worked as an extra for the day on a Persil Automatic advert. I had my face painted red and white and was part of an imaginary football crowd. It was a long day but I got paid £50 and well fed. 

In between times I went to the market that was held in the car park on Sundays. I wonder if it still is? I’ve also been to a couple of concerts there. I saw Madonna in her ‘Who’s That Girl?’ tour in the 1980s. I queued up all night for tickets, ticking something of my ‘things I must do’ list of wishes at the time. The ‘thing I must do’ was the queuing up all night, not the Madonna concert. The other concert I saw there was the celebratory concert after Nelson Mandela was freed. The man himself was there and made a speech on stage, as well as a whole host of bands and singers.

So I have good memories of the old Wembley and I’d like to start getting some of the new Wembley. I’ve never been to an England game – the ‘real’ England, not the schoolboys – so it would be great to see them for the first time in the new Wembley. I doubt I’ll see them win 7-0 though!

Soon to be waxed

Thinking about waxing

I called in at the beauty therapy salon bit of college tonight on my way to web design to check out times and so on for waxing. As it’s a college and training place they only do ‘salons’ at certain times. At the moment the only evening ones are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, neither of which is convenient. Thursdays I definitely can’t do, but Tuesdays should be possible in the next few weeks. The appointment would be at 6pm and take about half an hour. I start web design at 6.30pm. After half term the teaching should be pretty much finished and we’ll just be getting on with creating our own websites for the assessment, so then it shouldn’t matter if I’m a few minutes late. So another few weeks and then I’ll be having my first waxing experience.

Update

Getting ideas for working towards a few items on my list.

Web Design
As I didn’t do the Duke of Edinburgh camping weekend, I’ve spent today sorting out plants, making up hanging baskets and planting vegetables. I’ve also got loads of laundry and ironing done. These are all things that needed doing, but I’ve run out of time to do the other things I was hoping to do, like my homework for the web design course. So I’ll have to do that tomorrow evening instead. The teaching part of the course has almost finished and soon we’ll be starting on creating our own websites for the assessment. I’m going to work on the actual website I want to have so at least I’ll be well on the way with it when the course finishes in July.

Exmoor
I rang the campsite in Exmoor this afternoon to try to book for next week. As it’s half term and the bank holiday I thought it might get busy. I spoke to owner who doesn’t take bookings in advance, but advised me to try to get there before lunch as it is likely to be busy. He said they shouldn’t have too much trouble fitting just me and my small tent in though. I’ve checked out a route online and it’s about a 4hr drive. To allow for a stop on the way and any delays, I think I’ll leave home at 6am next Saturday. That should give me plenty of time to explore the area once I’ve got my tent up, and then I can start my walks first thing on the Sunday morning.


I read a bit of the April edition of Country Walking magazine whilst I was having my lunch. It’s got a special feature on the national parks and yes, there was an article on Exmoor. So I’ve cut it out and will take it with me. I’ve already got the OS map which I bought a few weeks ago and lots of printed out walks from the internet.

Ballooning
I spoke to a friend at work during the week about ballooning. If I can get a good price she is willing to do it with me. So now I just have to wait for the special offer to come up again on Groupon. When it does I’ll buy a couple of vouchers and then we can sort out a day to do it.

Diving
The Groupon voucher that arrived today was for a PADI diving course. Although I have no time to do anything about this at the moment I had a quick look at what the requirements are for the course. I need to be able to swim 200m. I can swim 200m, but only with lots of breaks, and I somehow don’t think they’ll count this. At least I have an idea now of what I need to aim for when I start swimming again.

And another volcano erupts when I’m not there

I’m missing out on lava AGAIN!

Yes, another volcano in Iceland has erupted and yet again I miss out on seeing lava. I was close to this volcano when I was in Iceland a couple of summers ago. I skidooed over the glacier that covers it, though I was further south. I also came close when I did a trip into the interior of Iceland which is pretty much closed to everyone in the winter. Because of distances and difficulty of getting transport in this region this Grimsvotn volcano isn’t as easy to get to as Eyjafjallajökull would have been when that erupted. 

One of these days one will erupt when I’m either already nearby or when I’m in a position to get on a plane (assuming they’re still flying) and head straight over to see it. 

Car Valeting

Experiencing the joy that is a clean car

I did a first this afternoon and even though it’s not on my list of things to do before I’m 60, I’m still going to write about it.

I got my car valeted.

I always thought this was something people with too much money do. I love having a clean car but rarely have one. My car gets used to transport muddy boots, plants, leaky bags of grout, camping gear – I won’t go on – but rarely gets cleaned, a) because I don’t have time, and b) because it’s not very often I get the chance to park right outside my front door and when I do it’s usually raining so I don’t want to go outside with my vacuum cleaner. So my car gets dirtier and dirtier and well, with the cost of petrol these days, I really can’t afford the price of the extra fuel I’m having to buy to cart all that dirt around.

I decided a few weeks ago to go to the valeting place near my house and emptied my car out into my living room. I baulked when I found out that prices started from £50! But then a colleague told me about a place in East Didsbury that does an amazing while-you-wait job, inside and out, all for a tenner. As I was in Didsbury today anyway for college and I have to drive past the valeting place I stopped to get it done on the way home.

It’s truly amazing. They washed, sprayed, wiped, scrubbed, hoovered, and even put something on my tyres to make them really black. Then they gave me a nice smelly thing to hang over the mirror. Why have I never done this before???

Now I can get rid of all the car junk from my living room. Hopefully when I sort it out more of it will go in the bin than back in the car. Then I can get on with other jobs, feel organised, and free up time to work on my list. And I’ll have a nice clean, fresh smelling car to go to Exmoor with.