Tag: 60 before 60

Waxing 3

With each waxing session I’m getting braver.

I just got braver. I had my third waxing appointment this evening and this time I went for a bikini wax as well as a full-leg wax. I didn’t do anything too dramatic with the bikini wax and just got a basic one. It hurt a bit, but nothing like I thought it might have done. Next time I go I’ll get my under-arms done as well and then this challenge can be successfully ticked off. I had thought that once I’d finished the challenge I probably wouldn’t bother continuing with waxing as the first time it didn’t last too long and so seemed easier (and cheaper) just to shave. But the second time lasted much longer and presumably this time should last longer still. So I think this could become a regular thing for me.

2012 Twelve February Review

2nd monthly review of my 2012 Twelve challenges.

Hm, a bit of a rubbish month really as far as achievements go. I’ll blame it on the fact that February is a short month (even with the extra day this year) and I was away for a week of it.

1. Floating in a floatation tank.  I did achieve the #1 challenge on my 2012 twelve list as I went floating over half term whilst I was in London.

3. Taking at least one photo every day of the year. Apart from taking lots of photos whilst I was in London, I haven’t been keeping to my photo a day challenge. I felt quite inspired by the Hungry Cyclist’s project of taking a photo of something he eats every day for a year, and this might be something I’ll do in future years. However, I first need to get in the habit of taking a daily photo of anything, before I can start thinking about making it specific!

7. Learning to use at least 3 new pieces of technology or computer programmes. The ‘Apple in an Hour’ course was postponed at the last minute. It will still happen, but I have no idea when. So I haven’t learnt how to use any new bits of technology yet.

8. Doing a writing course. I haven’t started my writing course yet, though I should have more time this month.

9. Getting at least one piece of writing published. I’ve achieved #9 as I got a book review published (unpaid) in Wanderlust. This is quite a prestigious travel magazine, so I felt quite proud of myself when I saw the review in print alongside a photo of me. As I actually wrote it and got it accepted last month, this is more an achievement from last month but I didn’t want to count it until I actually saw it in print.

So, although I’ve got two challenges ticked off and I’m only two months in and so technically I’m on schedule, I still feel like I haven’t made much headway. March should be better, as I’ll get on with the writing course and I need to make a serious effort to go over my finances to plan for the rest of the year. Once I’ve done this I can start making plans to change my car and for my next house. As the MOT is due on my car in mid April and I’ll be away for the first half of April, I really need to get my car changed by the end of March. So this is the major project for this month.

Floating

I spent an hour in a floatation tank and ticked another challenge off my list.

Last Wednesday I went to Floatworks near London Bridge for my floatation tank experience. I’d been at the Hockney Exhibition at the Royal Academy beforehand and had a bit of rush across London to get there in time so wasn’t feeling particularly relaxed when I arrived. The building looks like a warehouse and I wasn’t sure how to get in. The door, when I found it, looked like a tradesmen’s entrance on the side of the building and I had to ring the bell to get buzzed in.

I went down the not particularly enticing stairs to the dimly lit reception area. It had a fish tank and there was new age relaxation type music playing. Very cliched. As I sat waiting I thought about how depressing it would be to work down here in nice weather. I had to fill in a form and was given a pair of flip flops to wear.

After a few minutes I was called through. The rooms are private and each have a shower, a chair and a big egg shaped floatation tank in them. I was given instructions on how to use it – pretty simple really: button on right is emergency button; first button on left is for the light inside the tank; second button on left is to control the lid. There was also a spray bottle of fresh water on the inside of the tank in case I got salt water in my eyes. Luckily I didn’t need it.

I was told to have a quick shower and in five minutes music would start playing and the lights in the room would go out. The shower had gel, shampoo and conditioner and I was provided with a towel. There was also vaseline in case I had any cuts (it’s recommended to put vaseline over them to prevent stinging) and earplugs. These aren’t for noise prevention, but to prevent too much salty water getting in your ears.

I got undressed and showered pretty quickly so I was in the tank before the lights went out. I got myself stretched out in the water and put the neck pillow under my neck. I checked out that I knew where the buttons were and that I knew how to control the lights and lid of the tank itself.

The music started low and got slightly louder as the lights dimmed. It plays for the first 10 minutes. Then there are 45 minutes of silence before a final 5 minutes of music to let you know your time is almost up. I turned the light out in the tank and lay in complete darkness listening to the music and trying to get comfy. Although I was floating I wasn’t really letting all my muscles relax, particularly my neck muscles. I moved around a bit too. I’d only realise I’d moved when my head or feet would touch the end of the tank or I’d touch the sides.

I didn’t put the lid down at first as it was completely dark anyway. But then the part of my body that was above the water line started to feel a bit cold, so I lowered the lid and warmed up straight away. It was a bit stuffy, but better than being cold.

I did manage to relax and felt quite drowsy but didn’t actually nod off. When the music started to play again I was surprised that the 45 minutes were already over. I raised the lid and sat up. Then I lay down again, but this time without the neck pillow. It wasn’t any better. If I was to do this again I don’t know what I could do to help my neck feel comfortable.

I got out of the tank (easier said than done with such buoyant water) and back into the shower. As I was in the shower the tank lid closed and gurgling noises emanated from it – no doubt it was being cleaned ready for the next user. It took a while to feel that I’d got all the salt off my body and out of my hair. Once I was dry and dressed I went to another room where there are mirrors, hairdryers and spray deodorants. Then, apart from paying, my experience was over.

So what did I think of it and did it live up to my expectations? I think it was pretty much what I expected it to be. I enjoyed it as a one off experience but don’t think it was any more relaxing than a spa pool, jacuzzi or steam room. For less than the £45 this cost me, I could have spent several hours in one of the spas in Baden Baden in Germany and would have left feeling much more relaxed than I did from here. I’m glad I’ve done it and sated my curiosity and I would recommend it as a chance to experience something a bit different. However, it’s not something I’ll likely do again (not unless it was a lot cheaper!) and even if money wasn’t an issue it doesn’t appeal as something to do on a regular basis.

One plus though, is that for several days afterwards my skin felt really soft. Even after I’d had other showers the effect still lasted.

Altitude training

The thing that worries me most about climbing Kilimanjaro is the altitude. I may have found a solution.

I was just browsing for tents and came across this. Ellis Brigham in Manchester have an altitude training centre. It seems that you pay 30 quid to sit in an egg chair, strap a mask over your face and get a readout on how well you deal with altitude. I’ve always felt as though I slow right down in even relatively low altitudes and so this could be an interesting test for me when I start my preparation for Kilimanjaro. It’s not being able to deal with the altitude that worries me most about the climb and if I don’t complete it, it will probably be due to this.

The site also mentions that you can book a series of training sessions before you embark on a high altitude trip. It doesn’t say how much this would be, but I imagine it will be quite pricey. I do like the idea of working out on the cross trainer with an oxygen depleting mask stuck to my face though. I wonder if this is what they mean?

2012 Twelve January Review

How did I do on my 2012 Twelve challenges in January?

As we’re now into February I thought I should review how I’m doing on my 2012 Twelve. I’ve only mentioned the tasks I’ve actually done something about.

1. Floating in a floatation tank – I’ve got this booked and will be floating a week on Wednesday.

3. Taking at least one photo every day of the year – I’ve done this for about half the month. I’ve started carrying my snappy camera around with me all the time, but most days just forget about it.

4. Coming up with a fitness plan and sticking to it (the start of my training for Kilimanjaro, though I may not actually climb it for several years yet) – I haven’t done anything about the fitness plan yet, but I did attend a talk on Kilimanjaro.  

7. Learning to use at least 3 new pieces of technology or computer programmes (not counting my new camera) – I’m booked to do an ‘Apple in an hour’ course at school just after half term. This will be the start of me learning to use an Apple Mac.  

8. Doing a writing course – I’ve enrolled for an online course with the London School of Journalism and received the first two lessons. I haven’t had time to start them yet though.

9. Getting at least one piece of writing published (paid or unpaid, as long as someone else makes the decision to publish it and it’s not self-published) – I wrote a brief book review for Wanderlust and they’ve accepted it. I’m not getting paid, but will be published in a prestigious travel magazine.  

11. Buying a car/van that I can sleep in (and doing any necessary conversions/adaptations) – I’ve started researching vans and how to convert them.

Tips for Kilimanjaro

Tips for climbing Kilimanjaro from a man who’s been up there 10 times already.

I went to the Destinations Travel Show in Manchester today. It’s comprised mostly of stalls run by travel companies advertising their tours. As I tend to avoid tours this isn’t of much interest to me. Even the talks are basically a half hour of advertising blurb. I’ve been to these shows before so I knew what to expect and only went because I had a free ticket and didn’t have anything else planned.

I did find one thing of interest of though.  A talk on climbing Kilimanjaro by a tour leader who’s already been up and down ten times. He works for Exodus, so of course some of the talk was on what Exodus do for you if you go with them (good breakfasts served in a mess tent and the open-sided toilet tent always positioned with a great view), but a lot of what he had to say was more general and included a lot of good tips. Here are some of them:

  • Acclimatisation – each day when you reach your camp for the night, don’t stop there. Have a bit of a rest then climb for about another hour, before coming back down to the tents. This starts getting your body ready for the thinner oxygen, but you’re sleeping at a lower altitude to recover from your first exposure to it.
  • Take plenty of chocolate – healthy food is all well and good, but there are times when only comfort food will do. This will be one of them.
  • Expect pain, lots of it.
  • Headaches aren’t only caused by altitude, but by the intensity of the sun hitting your eyeballs too. Take a really good pair of sunglasses.
  • Wear a hat – don’t fail to summit because you’ve got sunstroke.
  • Take some really good earplugs – you’ll be sleeping in close proximity to a lot of people some of whom will snore. And snoring is amplified at altitude.
  • Don’t panic if you can’t sleep. As long as you are horizontal and resting, you are still doing your body some good. On this note, don’t take a nap when you arrive at camp as this will really throw your sleep patterns out.
  • If you’re hungry you’re doing ok. People who are hungry make it to the top. If you’re not hungry, it doesn’t mean you won’t make it, but it is a sign that you may struggle a bit more.
  • There isn’t a lot of snow at the top and what there is is very compacted and frozen. Normal walking boots are fine, you won’t need crampons.
  • You need to drink a lot of water even if you’re not thirsty. However, water bladders will be frozen when you start heading for the summit at midnight on the final day. Carry your water in an alternative way.
  • There are several reasons why the last day starts at midnight. One is so that you can’t see where you’re going. It’s about 7hrs on a switchback path that would destroy any morale you had left if you could see it.
  • If you use an ipod wrap a heat pad round it otherwise it won’t work.
  • After the first few days, you’ll be above the cloud cover so it won’t matter what the weather’s like – you won’t be in it.
  • The weather is really changeable and no one time of the year is particularly better than any other.
  • The climb starts at around 1600m – spending a few days in the area first will help your acclimatisation.
  • Running, swimming and cycling are the best training. They have to be done to the extent that you really get your heartbeat up and sweat a lot.
  • Walking across ‘The Saddle’ (the strip of land that dips between the lower peak and and the summit) is soul-destroying. It’s a day of walking with nothing ever seeming to get any closer.
  • Don’t expect to do too much talking whilst you’re walking – you’ll be conserving your oxygen for breathing.

Planning

Lots of plans are starting to come together.

Having plans for fun things to do in the holidays or at weekends is what keeps me going through term time. Especially when I work 14 hour days like today. And know that I’ll be late again tomorrow. And even that won’t be enough; I’ll still be behind with everything I need to do. So the plans are really important.

This week my plans have really been coming together for half term. I’ll be going down to London to stay with a friend in Chesham for the first part of the week and then heading round the M25 to Kent to stay with different friends for a few days.

On the Monday I’m going to Wembley to do a tour of the new stadium. We’re then heading into town to have a late lunch at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant. To finish off our day we have tickets for a Night of Adventure at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square. This is a roll call of people who do interesting, adventurous and intrepid things. They each present a slide show of their ‘adventure’ but have only 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide to present it. I’m hoping for inspiration.

We also want to go to the Vertigo 42 bar on the 42nd floor of the Nat West Tower. This is the second tallest building in London and the bar is small and surrounded by windows with amazing views. It’s expensive so we’ll only be having one drink there. I don’t know if we’ll have time to fit it in on Monday between the restaurant and the show so may have to postpone it till another evening.

For the Tuesday and Wednesday I have my tickets for the Hajj exhibition at the British Museum and the floatation tank. I’ll have plenty of time on these days to do other things as well, like visiting some of my favourite shops: Stanford’s, the Algerian Coffee Stores, the bookshops on Charing Cross Road …

As well as plans for this half term, I also have the England game to look forward to in the June half term and Womad in the summer. A few weekends are getting booked up too, with friends coming to stay at the end of the January and a weekend in Nottingham planned so I can go to my first ever ice hockey game with a friend’s daughter (she’s a bit of an expert and so will be able to explain it all to me).

The 14 hour days don’t seem so bad when I think about all of this.

The St Kilda mailboat

I’m surprised to find out that St Kilda mailboats are still sent out today.

St Kilda mailboat
A St Kilda mailboat in the museum in Scalloway, Shetland

St Kilda is an island (actually a small archipelago) out in the Atlantic way west of Scotland. It was abandoned in 1930 when the way of life become unsustainable for the remaining 36 inhabitants. It’s now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and one of the best ways to visit the island (and one of the only ways to spend more than a few hours there) is to take part in one of their work parties. So far it hasn’t been feasible for me to do this, but one day I will.

Until their evacuation, the residents of St Kilda lived in almost complete isolation. The only way they had of communicating with the outside world was with the aid of a St Kilda mailboat. These mailboats were small wooden boxes in which letters and money for a stamp would be placed. They’d be sealed up, an inflated sheep’s bladder would be attached as a float and the mailboat would be launched. They usually landed in Scotland or Scandinavia where the finder would hopefully post the letter inside.

Today I saw an article on the National Trust for Scotland’s website about a mailboat launched by one of last summer’s work parties being found in Norway. Although there are other means of communication now, each work party launches a mailboat as a way of re-enacting the tradition. Until I saw this article I hadn’t realised they did this.

I wonder who’ll find the one I launch when I eventually join a work party there?

Lots going on

I seem to have an awful lot of exciting things going on at the moment.

There seems to be so much happening at the moment. We’re on day 9 of the year and already I feel that this is going to be a good year in which I’m going to achieve lots.

I signed up for the travel writing course with the London School of Journalism on Saturday night and by Sunday I had my first two lessons emailed to me. I really wasn’t expecting it to be that quick! Today I’ve had another email from them with a lot more information. I’ve skimmed through the two lessons to get an idea of what’s expected of me so I can start thinking about them. I’ll wait until the weekend to go through them properly though.

Still on the topic of writing, yesterday I was reading Wanderlust magazine and found a short book review that had been submitted by a reader. This is a regular column where readers can submit a review of a ‘must read book’ that they’ve ‘read on location’. There’s no payment involved, but it seems like a good way to start getting myself into print.

I made a quick study of the style of the already published article and then wrote one in a similar style and emailed it off to the magazine. I also used a few of the tips I’d picked up from my skim-reading of the two writing course lessons I’ve received to make the layout and presentation seem a bit more professional. I’ve already got a reply from ‘Tom’ thanking me and saying he’s looking forward to reading it. Reading what? My review? Or the book itself because he likes my review? Does this mean I’m going to be published? It’s all a bit ambiguous. But if I am published then that’s a good start on my 2012 twelve list.

On a completely different topic, today was my first day back at school and I was already discussing half-term plans with a colleague. We got onto summer holiday plans and she mentioned she has booked to go to Womad with a group of girlfriends. I had no plans to go to Womad over the next few years because it falls in the summer holidays when I’d rather be away somewhere for a month or more. I want to go to Womad, but thought it could wait a while. However, when my colleague mentioned it and then invited me along it seemed like fate. Another example of how keeping a list and focussing on the things I want to achieve helps to make them happen. So I’ve said I’ll go. It should be fun to be with a group of people as well.

I’ve just been online to book a ticket, but it’s all a bit confusing. I need to check with her tomorrow which type of ticket she’s got and for which days, then I can get mine booked. I’ll still have time to go to Scotland afterwards (or Japan if the free tickets thing happens), and I can explore Wiltshire or Somerset for a few days before the festival starts.

I’ve got the floatation tank booked in London for half-term and today they’ve emailed me to confirm two sessions. I’ve mailed back to correct it to one session! I’ve also got a ticket for the Hajj exhibition at the British Museum over half-term. During the rest of my time in London the friend I’m staying with suggested meeting up at lunch time one day to go to Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen. If we can’t get in there then we may go to the Ritz for afternoon tea instead. I’d like to go to Jamie’s restaurant, but the afternoon tea at the Ritz would mean another challenge ticked off. Choices, choices …

Whilst I was planning my half-term and thinking about the things I can achieve I thought I might as well check out England fixtures at Wembley. I got excited when I realised England are playing Holland on February 29th, until I realised that this is the week after half-term. I thought about trying to get down for the game, but I really don’t think I’d make it on time. I’ve looked at other fixtures and there’s a Belgium game I could go to in June. It’s on a Saturday, so the travelling time wouldn’t be a problem. I’d rather go to the Holland game, as The Netherlands is a country I go to most years and feel a bit of a connection to. Also, the only other game I’ve ever been to at Wembley was an international schoolboys’ game when I was at school myself. This game was England vs Holland, and so it seemed kind of meant to be that the game I see now should be England vs Holland. Except it’s not meant to be. Oh well, can’t have everything.

To apply for tickets for an England game I need a FAN (FA number). I’ve applied for one and now have it ready for when the tickets for the Belgium game go on sale. I’ll have to keep monitoring the FA’s site to make sure I do get a ticket.

I still have quite a few posts about Iceland in the draft stage as well which I’m trying to get finished, but now I’m getting distracted by all these other things. I’m certainly not complaining about having lots of good things going on in my life though!

Gazing at the Northern Lights

YES! I saw the Northern Lights!

The first three nights I was in Reykjavik there was no tour to the Northern Lights. The two bus companies that run the pretty much identical tours decide at around 5pm each evening whether the tour should go ahead or not. They decide this based on cloud cover, weather reports, and reports on the activity of the aurora causing particles. Each evening I checked with the hostel receptionist, but no luck.

On the fourth night (30/12/11), I asked as usual, fully expecting the answer to be no as there was pretty heavy cloud cover. But the answer was yes. I was a bit sceptical, but the receptionist showed me the cloud cover report on the internet and it was clear to see that from 11pm onwards the cloud was really expected to clear over the Reykjanes Peninsula.

I booked the tour with Reykjavik Excursions as their tour started half an hour later than the one with Iceland Excursions and there didn’t seem any point in hanging around for an extra half hour when it would be too early to see the lights anyway. The tour was 4,900 kronur or about £28.

I got all wrapped up in my layers of thermals and fleeces, made a flask of hot chocolate and packed my tripod. The bus picked me up outside the hostel and then went round a few other hotels and the BSI bus station collecting more people.

Once everyone was on board we headed out on the airport road to the Reykjanes Peninsula. Once we were out of the Reykjavik we began to see the moon and then stars. A good sign as it meant the cloud was clearing. We stopped in a couple of dark places, but had no luck with the lights. We then drove to the end of the peninsula, by the sea and near a small village and a lighthouse. There was quite a big area for parking here and other buses were already parked up, with others arriving after us. Everyone got off the bus and gazed at the sky. There was nothing to see. As it was cold I thought I might as well as wait back on the bus until something happened. I didn’t want the lights to finally appear just as I reached the point of no return with hypothermia and frostbite.

I hadn’t been on the bus for long when I noticed everyone pointing and looking at the same section of sky. I got back off the bus and with difficulty could just make out a patch of sky that was slightly lighter in colour. It could easily have been light from the moon, but the driver assured us it was the beginning of an aurora.

As we watched it began to turn green and spread across the sky. Not the whole sky, just a stripe from horizon to horizon. It would widen and darken, and then fade again. Sometimes fading completely in the middle. It was paler than I imagined it to be, yet on the photos people were taking it looked just as deeply coloured as the photos in magazines and tourist brochures. Maybe the cameras just pick up more light or something.

We watched it for about an hour until it pretty much faded completely. It did do a bit of swirling but mainly stayed as a stripe. So it wasn’t as impressive as I was expecting, but was still pretty cool. I’m glad I’ve seen it anyway and feel quite privileged as I know this is something lots of people dream of seeing for themselves.

As for my photos? They didn’t come out at all. My amazing new camera which has been so good at taking photos so far, including in low light, just wouldn’t pick the aurora up on ‘auto’. I switched to manual but couldn’t get anything to work properly as I couldn’t see the buttons in the dark and I’m not familiar enough with this camera to do everything by feel alone.

Once I realised I wasn’t going to get any good photos I lent my tripod to a couple of South Africans who were sat in front of me on the bus. They got some really good photos which they have said they will email to me. I really hope they do. I don’t know when they’ll be going home to do this, so I may have to wait a while. But whenever it is, I just hope they don’t forget me or lose my email address!