40 things – Page 2 – 40 things…

20th “thing” achieved: 7. Visit every Ceroc venue in Surrey

Variety is the spice of life

I was introduced to Ceroc almost 10 years ago, by a friend at work. At the time I was a little skeptical about it as I’d been dancing Ballroom for a while and I regarded with disdain the lack of discipline, footwork or technique that I had become accustomed to.

However, when I tried it, I suddenly saw the appeal! Ceroc is a form of partner dancing which combines a fusion of different dance styles with an easy, fun attitude and a focus on accessibility and enjoyment rather than prescribed musicality, steps and technique. I fell in love with the freedom afforded by the diversity of styles and music, which meant every dance is different and I love the culture of swapping partners so you get lots of variety and avoid the scenario of being left out or having no-one to dance with.

83445410_10158496683749610_2003137579662180352_n — A typical night at Ceroc Worplesdon

I started dancing at the Stoke pub in Guildford on Monday nights. The venue eventually closed and shifted to Worplesdon on Tuesdays, and I moved with it. Over the years I have been demo (helping the teacher demonstrate the moves), Taxi (a kind of helper for beginners) and Taxi Manager (looking after the Taxi team). However I have never really tried any other venues as I felt comfortable in my own environment. Also as dance evenings can run until 11pm or later I didn’t want to travel too far!

Ceroc Surrey has the following venues:

Worplesdon – Tuesdays
Surbiton – Wednesdays
Mytchett – Wednesdays
West Byfleet – Thursdays
Ewell – Tuesdays
There is also a sister venue in Shalford on Sundays

There are some parts of a Ceroc evening that follow the same formula, no matter where in the world you go; it starts with a 30-40 minute beginners class, which teaches set moves in a prescribed way. The theory is that you can drop in to any class and still be able to pick up the dance.

50067391_10155892201822805_2183334319840296960_o — Beginners Class at Ceroc Worplesdon

There is then a short break followed by a 30-minute Intermediate class, which is aimed at those who have mastered the basics and are looking to improve further. During this time the beginners have a review/practice session with the Taxis.

78949859_10162785597645416_9203506395771568128_n — Intermediate class in Mytchett

Finally the evening finishes with a 1.5-2 hour “freestyle” where the DJ plays music and people just dance!

19105996_10155813324056874_5059825553378903941_n — Ceroc freestyle

The one thing that I noticed is that apart from different locations or evenings which might be more or less convenient for people, there might be a particular venue which appeals to different people. It’s almost like each venue has its own personality! The teacher is different, the DJs have slightly different tastes or styles, the Taxi team differs, and the regular attendees also differ. Although you do get a lot of cross-over between the venues as many people frequent several venues each week!

14918857_1448130815216964_5360190999682717062_o — Fancy Dress at Ceroc Ewell

Some venues are incredibly social, almost like a little family or social group; some are very nurturing and particularly suit beginners; others have more advanced dancers and appeal to improvers. Some focus on fun things such as dressing up or silly themes, others offer advanced classes or play a wider variety of music. Some venues can be quite “young” with an average age in the 20-30’s, whereas others may be more popular with older dancers. Some venues will offer tea, coffee and cake during the evening, whereas others decamp down to the pub after closing!

14632844_10154761213392033_638925373299251984_n — Hallowe’en cakes at Ceroc Shalford

I’d definitely say it is worth trying out all the venues in your local area to find the one (or three) that best fits your style and personality. For me, there’s something about each venue I like – my only issue is finding time to go to them all!

For more information:

19th “thing” achieved: 32. Visit the Ballet

Tutus and Tights

When I was a little girl I had one of those jewellery boxes with the clockwork ballerina in it. That was my only frame of reference for ballet. I had never really wanted to be a ballerina and I hadn’t ever seen a ballet on TV or anywhere else for that matter.

In fact, I think my biggest exposure to ballet was comedy parodies like the Dawn French/Darcy Bussell mirror dance or the Morecambe and Wise sketch. Bits of famous tunes taken out of context and used in adverts like Mini Cheddars.

Since learning other forms of dance I’ve become more and more fascinated by this elusive art form, Ballet. The men seem to be made of pure muscle and the women have feet of steel (and waists the size of my arm). I get the technical difficulty but I wanted to understand the beauty and emotion of a full performance.

The Royal Opera House was staging a series of ballets by Mariinsky Ballet company, and Swan Lake was one of them. I booked tickets for me and Natalie, and we got Balcony seats for £90 each which I think was pretty good going! We arrived and drank in the majestic surroundings of the Royal Opera House, and eagerly awaited the performance.

20170802_192406 — Beautiful surroundings

It was absolutely amazing! The set and costumes were fantastic, the orchestra was flawless, and the dancing… wow, the dancing! Choreographed to take up a whole stage my eyes were darting everywhere trying to take in the whole spectacle. The principals were outstanding, and the Jester (played by Yaroslav Baibordin) stole the show with his boundless energy, I really felt like he lifted the whole performance in the first half (although perhaps a little irrelevant to the storyline).

4509 4 — ‘A wonder’: Xander Parish, Viktoria Tereshkina and members of the Mariinsky corps de ballet in Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Observer

This video gives you a great taste of the performance.

That’s not to say that the two stars weren’t good. I mean, they were phenomenal! The Prince (played by Kimin Kim) didn’t really do much in the first half but when he did his big solo in the third Act my jaw literally dropped. He leaped and seemed suspended in mid-air for ages before landing. Odette (played by Ekaterina Osmolkima) could spin like a top and executed some unbelievable moves.

swan-lake-3 — Parish and Viktoria Tereshkina in ‘Swan Lake’ with the Mariinsky Ballet at the Royal Opera House (Jennie Walton)

The set pieces however, were the bits that really blew me away. It felt like the stage was full of hundreds of ballerinas in some of the lake scenes- there was probably 30 or so – and I now finally get the Dance of the Cygnets and how it’s supposed to look. Every single dancer was spot on, moving in total unison, so their pieces made them look like a single unit instead of many individuals. Truly amazing to watch.

mariinsky-articleLarge_0_0 5 — © Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters

14786470212_c692ee9a02_b — Viktoria Tereshkina and Vladimir Shklyarov in Swan Lake © Photo by Natasha Razina 2014

What a fantastic experience. My only gripe is that the music relied on acoustics to carry the sound rather than microphones and speakers, and although it certainly wan’t quiet – I heard every note – I did feel a little detached as I missed that feeling of complete immersion that comes with being enveloped by the music to convey the emotion and energy of the scenes. Having said that, I was in the cheap seats so can’t really grumble!

I’ll definitely be going to the ballet again and I would encourage you to give it a go, just once, to see what it’s like. You may well find a new passion you never knew you had!

For more information:

18th “thing” achieved: 29. Visit Bournemouth in the summer

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside…

My best mate Natalie and I have known each other for about 18 years. We met at University through the Ballroom Dancing Society and kept in touch after I graduated. We probably really became close friends around 12 or 13 years ago and have gone on many adventures together, seeing new places, learning new things, supporting each other when times are tough, celebrating each others’ successes, carrying the drunk one home, providing much needed sage advice and getting involved in as many silly or fun things as possible.

When writing the list of 40 things, which we did during an 8-hour drive to Southport last summer, it was a given that Nat would be coming along for the ride on a lot of the adventures. I wanted to see Lincoln Christmas Market (I’d not been for 20 years) and invited Natalie to see my home town. In return, we realised that I’d never seen Nat’s heartland either. Bournemouth’s supposed to be a beautiful place, especially in the summer (voted best beach in the UK in 2012 and has consistently featured in the top 10 every year) – yet I’ve never been there. So onto the list it went.

Agreeing a date was difficult, but we managed to find a clear weekend at the end of July when neither of us were rushing off to other stuff, and so tootled down to the coast. Or at least, we crawled slowly in torrential rain!

The day started off badly, I was aiming to be at Nat’s for 10:30 but pulling out of my street, ran over a screw so had a flat tyre. Luckily for me, a mechanic was walking past at that exact moment and changed my tyre for me, what a hero! A quick trip to the tyre fitters and I was off again with a new tyre.

20170722_100937 — Local hero rescuing me and my flat tyre

The downpour had abated by the time we arrived at Christchurch, the first stop on our journey. We looked around the quaint town, taking in the shops and restaurants and admiring the buildings. We stopped for lunch at a lovely pub called soho, after being told of over an hour’s wait at the first two we tried, apparently so popular you need to book! Nat commented that the town’s become a lot more trendy recently! It was practically hipster with little boutique coffee shops and shops packed with curios.

Funky building – and my Nephew’s name!

Hipsters and eccentrics

Lunch

Tourists in the rain

We visited the Priory, the source of the town’s name. Originally a Saxon town named Twynham, the Normans built the priory on the site of an old church. By the 12th century some stories of miracles surrounding the church had arisen which eventually led to the town becoming known as Christchurch. The Priory is enormous, almost as long as Westminster Cathedral, and has some stunning stained glass windows and statues. We were especially impressed with a beautiful epitaph written about a woman who died in 1815 – unusual in that it lauded her accomplishments rather than beauty or function as a wife/mother.

Christchurch Priory

It’s so long!

Beautiful windows

Tribute to a woman revered for more than her beauty

Bride’s waiting for the rain to abate before heading off

We had a bit of a wander around the castle ruins and then moseyed along the river to see the Ducking Stool. Engraved on the stool is a poem: “Of members ye tonge is worst or best – an yll tonge oft doeth breed unrest” – Apparently ducking was a common punishment for scolds (nagging wives)!

Didn’t have any rotten fruit to hand, luckily for Nat!

Inside the castle – enormous windows!

The ducking stool

After Christchurch we drove past Nat’s old school on our way to Bournemouth seafront. Blowy, but simply beautiful!

Heading into Bournemouth itself, we visited “Cropp Corner” (a bit of road/street planning that Nat drew when on work experience, that got actually built in real life!) then down to the pier. We relived our Vegas moments with a few goes in the amusement arcades and I had a go on a helter skelter (never done one before!) Yep, stupid idea. So I’m terrified of heights and I climb up this rickety thing and brick it all the way down. Horrible.

Cropp Corner!

Palm trees – it really is trying to be California

Yay! 2p machines – our favourite!

Helter skelter

Finally we went out for a curry at the Taj Mahal Westbourne. Wow, just amazing food, and dishes we’d never heard of! Alongside the usual Korma and Bhuna were dishes such as Sally, Kalayani and Asari – all super tasty… honestly I have never enjoyed a curry as much. 100% recommended!

Finally we turned in for the night, being kindly hosted by Nat’s brother and courtesy of her parents’ room.

The next day dawned fairly dry and we headed into Poole. After checking out all the fancy boats and we hopped on the ferry to Brownsea Island. Site of the first Scout camp and now a National Trust preserve, we joined a guided tour in the hope of learning much more about the island and the amazing work of Robert Baden-Powell. Our National Trust guide was about 100 years old and knew lots about the island (weirdly not much about plants!) It was a bit slow going but very informative!

How I imagine every boat should look

These things aren’t cheap

Sloooow walk… see the couple behind us deciding if they can do a runner

I see the sea!

See the age of this tree carved on it

YOu wouldn’t get me up there!

It started raining just as we set off to head home around 4-ish. Final little detour to see Sandy Balls *snigger* and then home. Highlights from the journey home were steam powered tractors and a drive-thru Costa. You have never seen me so happy as when I got that coffee!

Sandy balls! Chortle!

Drive-thru coffee – brilliant idea

Steam powered tractor

I had a brilliant time in Bournemouth and whilst the weather wasn’t exactly beach-worthy, it was still absolutely beautiful and well worth the visit. In some ways I was glad it wasn’t too hot or the beach would have been swarming and I wouldn’t have enjoyed it quite as much!

It’s also really interesting to see the roots of someone important to me, it helps put into context all those myriad life experiences that they had which shaped them and made them who they are today.

For more information:

17th “thing” achieved: 10. Visit 2 new dance venues outside of Surrey

Moving out of my comfort zone

I’m a creature of habit. there, I said it. When I was younger I craved new experiences, was always happy to go to new places and see new things – but over the years I have become more introverted, set in my ways and reluctant to break my cosy routine.

Dancing’s a great example of this – I dance many different styles and genres, and could pretty much go anywhere in the country and find somewhere to dance. But the idea of travelling too far (and having to get home after); rocking up at a venue where I don’t know anyone and they don’t know me; not knowing how the classes work or the etiquette for a particular venue – these things all make me feel like giving up before I’ve even set foot out of the door!

Quite a few of my 40 things are centred around pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and this is another of those things – so I decided I would challenge myself to visit two new dance venues that I’ve never been to before.

1.–West Coast Swing – San Francisco.

I love West Coast Swing. It’s such a beautiful, smooth dance and has a great connection between lead & follow (for non dancers – usually a guy will “lead” – i.e. indicate what move is required, and a lady will “follow” or execute the move). Most West Coast Swing (WCS) dancers focus on the nuances of the music as much as the beat, making it an incredibly fun experience.

As the name suggests, the dance originated on the West Coast of America, so when visiting California, it would have been crazy not to have experienced a proper WCS dance on the actual West Coast! A friend of ours from the UK, Richard, had previously moved to San Francisco so when Natalie and I were on holiday, we made contact and asked about dance venues. Richard introduced us to Mission City Swing – a class run by a fantastic instructor, Eric.

Upon arrival we weren’t sure what to do, there was nobody to greet us so we just sort of wandered in and milled around. When some regulars turned up they explained we could pay etc in the break between the first and second class. We entered the room and saw people were shuffling backwards and forwards in some sort of warm up. After a while, we just shrugged and started copying the other attendees – drilling the basic rhythm and movement. Luckily we’d both done some WCS before otherwise it would have been very intimidating for a complete newbie!

It turned out that we’d arrived part way through a progressive series of lessons so we were trying to catch up on 3 weeks’ worth of instruction. I believe that the expectation was that newbies would wait for the next 4-week series, although they were happy to welcome us!

1956920_269258443242476_78308607_o — A typical evening at Mission City Swing (Photo courtesy of Mission City Swing facebook page)

When the class started, the instructor was amazing – really clear explanations, technically demanding but fun too. After we’d met a few of the dancers during the class they were much more willing to chat to us and we found they were a really friendly group that were open and welcoming, and we got lots of dances despite being completely new faces.

I’d say that it was definitely worth going and a wonderful experience to take home with us.

2. Ceroc – Fleet, Hampshire

One of my favourite dance styles is Ceroc . It is an international dance club which is really versatile, easily accessible and fairly formulaic so all venues operate roughly the same. They are centered around welcoming new people and there is a culture of always changing partners so you don’t get left on the side like a wallflower. A perfect way to expand my dancing horizons and see new places without a major culture shock!

I dance Ceroc a lot but tend to stick to my “home” venue. It’s on a regular night, I know everyone, it’s comfortable. But in the interest of trying new venues, I decided to branch out a little. Fleet’s not far from me and I have lots of friends that go there already. In fact, I’ve been promising to give it a try for almost 4 years!

With no more excuses I decided to finally take the plunge, and without the safety net of my best mate to hold my hand. It may sound silly to those who know me, but even a venue where I probably know lots of people can be intimidating when going for the first time; I’m not as outgoing as you’d probably assume!

Anyway, I arrived and was greeted warmly at the door, the lady there gave me a run-down of the layout of the venue (classes, where to get water, drinks for sale, toilets) and I joined in with a brilliant class and got stuck into dancing. Quite a few people I knew were there and a lot more who didn’t know me soon approached me for a dance. I definitely felt like the new toy, as it seemed like everyone wanted a go! At one point I had 3 people queueing for a dance, it made me feel very special!

20157870_10154667318907805_7804794844505004516_o — Proof I was there! Ceroc Plus – Fleet

I am glad that I decided to expand my dancing horizons. I don’t want to be stuck in a rut and there are so many positive experiences to be had by just casting your net of experience further afield. I’ll definitely be going back to Fleet and I’ve promised myself I’ll be brave enough to try some other dance venues too.

This experience also served as a great lesson to me about how it feels for others when they come to a new place for the first time – be it work, dance club, social group, or even joining a group of people in the pub. Just because someone appears to be experienced, seems outgoing, or looks like they know what they are doing, doesn’t make a new place any less intimidating. It hammered home the importance of a friendly welcome, clear explanations of what to expect/where to go/what to do, and including them in your conversations. I’ll definitely be making an effort for all new faces that come to my regular haunts, and I encourage you to do the same!

For more information,

If you’re ever in San Francisco, DEFINITELY check out Mission City Swing
If you want to try Ceroc, here are some links;
- More info about Ceroc, and find a venue near you
- Ceroc Surrey
- Ceroc Plus (Fleet)

16th “thing” achieved: 33. Go on the London Eye

Eye spy, with my little eye, something beginning with…

Almost 20 years ago, I moved to Guildford, which is just 40 minutes from London on the train. Being so close to our capital I imagined that I would be going there all the time to see the sights, but the sad fact is, when you live locally you are much less likely to take in the tourist attractions than you would be if you visited on holiday. I had travelled across all of Europe, visiting all the main tourist spots, museums, cathedrals, statues, etc – but hadn’t done the same in my own capital city despite going to London several times for work or for nights out.

About 10 years ago I decided to make a conscious effort to “play tourist” and had managed to visit the Houses of Parliament, Tower of London, and the Shard. I’ve gawked at Buckingham Palace, crossed Tower Bridge, walked through Hyde Park, visited the Natural History Museum, and seen the Cutty Sark. I even took an open top bus tour once (although there was alcohol involved so I don’t remember much!) One thing on my list remained – to go on the London Eye. Built in 2000, it has become an iconic part of the London landscape, and until the Shard opened in 2013, was the highest observation point for London.

When I published my first blog, an insurer I work closely with, Dual, got in contact with me. Not only did several people there sponsor me for my 500-mile challenge, but all came back with encouraging messages. In particular, one of the Development Underwriters, Rhiannon, noted that I’d put the London Eye on the list, and offered to take me to help me achieve my goal!

I was delighted to accept and we eventually got a date in the diary. Weather had been quite changeable but we were lucky as the day dawned bright and dry. We met at the ticket office and the queue was enormous! Tickets are normally around £23 each (although there are some 2-for-1 deals available) but for £9 extra each we could get Fastrack entry – a definite win!

In the (much shorter) queue, we were invited to pose in front of a green screen, so that they could superimpose a London skyline behind you. Probably useful if it was rubbish weather but the view was fine so we didn’t bother. Our turn came and we hopped onto the moving capsule. It doesn’t stop moving but it’s so slow you can easily walk on/off without worry.

In the capsule

All the spokes of the giant ferris wheel

Another capsule

The City through the Spokes

Our capsule had about 20 people in it, and whilst the walls are transparent there’s only really 2 places you can get a good view without the metal struts obstructing you, so it was a bit crowded for selfie purposes! One kid was practising his English as he read the sign that said, “Please do not lean on the doors” as he climbed all over the door mechanism. I had to step in and explain what it meant, I could just envisage him triggering the door and falling out! (he didn’t).

FullSizeR — Rhi and I enjoying the views

20170704_123004 — Lovely view over the water, City side

The views were fantastic, you have the classic old buildings of Westminster on one side and the striking new buildings of the City on the other side. The ride takes about 30 minutes which is plenty of time to see your fill. I’ve written about my fear of heights before, but I didn’t feel scared as I felt well encapsulated! Not to mention it’s mostly over the water so I didn’t worry about going splat on the floor!

Rhi and I had a great time and finished off the day with a bit of lunch at a lovely Dim Sum restaurant on South Bank called Ping Pong (!) Great food and brilliant service, and it wasn’t actually too expensive so well worth checking out!

In summary, it was a great day. The company was excellent and I’m glad I’ve finally ticked the London Eye off my “must do” list. However, I have to say, if you’re less bothered about going on the Eye but just want to have a great view of London, I would go to the Shard. I went a few years ago with my parents and it was absolutely amazing. The views are much better and you are higher so less obstructed.

The only downside with the Shard is that, being in the centre of the City, you don’t get the same iconic view of all the new buildings (Shard, Gherkin, Walkie-talkie) all clustered together.

All in all though, a definite win. Have you tried to see your home town or local attractions through a tourist’s eyes? Maybe you can take a bit of time out to do that and experience your surroundings with the same appreciation that you have for the places you travel so far to visit.

For more information, please visit:

Dual Private Clients:
- Website
- Twitter
London Eye
View from the Shard

15th “thing” achieved: 35. Visit the Opera

I’m all cultured and stuff!

Growing up, I always thought that Opera was too high brow for me. A pastime for the posh or pretentious, expensive, hard to understand, and dull. It’s often in another language and even when in English the sounds are stretched and rounded out in such a way that half the time you wouldn’t recognise the words. Or that’s what I always thought.

Over the years, my attitude has changed. I appreciate the sounds (though I still can’t make out the words) and the technical excellence from a truly great singer is a joy to behold. So I decided to expand my cultural horizons and try an opera for myself!

My friend Kim is a professional singer and happened to be taking part in a production of La Bohème, one of the classics, being performed by the Black Cat Opera Company. Tickets at Guildford’s Electric Theatre were a steal at £22 each (you’re looking at up to 10 times that at the Royal Opera House!) so I booked for me and Natalie, and eagerly awaited the performance.

On the night, Nat couldn’t make it so Chris stood in as a perfect substitute. We arrived to discover we had scored seats on the front row. We were just a couple of feet away from the stage! I looked up and was relieved to note that there was a screen at the top of the stage that showed subtitles, translating the Italian words into English, so I could follow the plot.

20170623_192916 — This is how close I was to the stage

The stage was set, and out walked the musicians. In the big performances they would have a full orchestra but that would have been overkill in such an intimate venue, so instead we had simply a pianist and conductor. That was all we needed! The lights dimmed, and the opera started. Set in the 1840’s, it follows the story of a group of young bohemians (artists, writers etc) living in poverty in Paris. The staging was superb and the costumes were fantastic – they adopted a Steampunk style which worked really well and helped to bring a great modern twist to a clearly traditional setting!

Opera 5 — The beginning (photo by Doug Breakwell)

Opera 6 — Introducing the bohemians (photo by Doug Breakwell)

Opera 1 — Boy meets girl (photo by Doug Breakwell)

Opera 2 — Going “out out” – it all kicks off (photo by Doug Breakwell)

Opera 4 — Heartbreaking (photo by Doug Breakwell)

The singers were just amazing. I looked them up in the programme and was impressed to see that they are all critically acclaimed singers that have performed in world class productions. I was completely blown away by the quality of music and the acting sucked me in until I felt like I was part of the story. I cried copiously at the end and could barely see when they came for the curtain call!

Before we left, I got chatting to the old couple next to me, they told me that they love coming to see these productions. They clearly love the music and go to a lot of performances, but they were not snooty or pretentious about it at all. When I arrived at the theatre I was really pleased that it wasn’t too pompous and whilst people weren’t scruffy, there was a definite feeling of casualness that pervaded the audience. This wasn’t a bunch of posh people strutting around like peacocks, but a group of music lovers that had come out to see a great piece of drama acted and sung before them.

20170623_192718 — Chris and I surrounded by casual crowd of music lovers

I felt incredibly privileged to have experienced such a fantastic production and I can guarantee that I will be going again. I’d like to experience all the pomp and circumstance of the Royal Opera House just once, but I have to say, the intimacy of a small venue, ability to be so close to the action, quality of production (not to mention cost and convenience) – all mean that I will be looking out for more local performances.

I’ll definitely be following the Black Cat Opera company for future productions and suspect I might become hooked on this opera malarkey!

10/10, would go again!

20170623_220041 — End of a brilliant night, with Kim and her brother

To find out more, you can visit:

13th “thing” achieved: 27. Learn dressmaking/alterations

I can sew!

Since ditching Home Economics at the earliest opportunity, I forgot about sewing until my late 20’s when I suddenly discovered a talent for making fancy dress costumes.

My technique consists of “have a guess and hope it’s OK” but I wanted to learn some fundamental skills. In particular, how to follow a pattern, and how to alter clothes so that they fit me properly.

I undertook a search online and found Alex who teaches all sorts of sewing skills, and arranged a series of classes. She charged us £40 for two hours for up to 4 people. Due to other commitments, we were only able to get a group of 3 together – me, Natalie and Jo.

We decided we wanted to learn the following:

Making clothes from a pattern
Altering trousers (hems – mostly for Nat and Jo)
Altering dresses (particularly nipping in at the waist and keeping room up top)

Alterations are a big deal for me. Every part of me is a different size so if I fit my top, clothes hang off me round the middle; if I fit my waist, the cloth bulges and stretches horribly around my bum, and so on. I bought a dress once which I paid to have altered and it was amazing. But I can’t afford to shell out £40 extra every time I get a new outfit! Alternatively, I can shop in Pepperberry which caters to curvy ladies, but they are fairly expensive and it does limit my choice somewhat.

We arranged to hold four sessions at Nat’s house, as she has a nice big table and lots of space. The first week we covered taking up trousers and repairing hems invisibly. No more WonderWeb for me! We learned about different types of material, thread, machines, needles, pins and much more – Alex was a fount of information!

20170401_171241 — Week 1: Intro to sewing, and how to hem trousers

The second week I learned the proper way to repair a skirt that I ripped (I walked about with a super high split up my skirt all day due to an extra large step on the train). Nat began work on a dress pattern, whilst Jo started to make some shorts for her children from an old dress.

20170415_161901 — Week 2: Nat’s shuffling pattern pieces, I’m repairing my dress whilst Jo cuts out the shorts

The third week I learned that the reason some of my dresses appear too big is because they are too long in the back, causing the material to bunch up. The dress I worked on had to lose about an inch in the shoulder, I shifted it all up a bit and sewed the sleeve back in. When finished, the dress fitted perfectly!

The final week I learned the bit I really wanted to know – how to make dresses more shapely around my curves. I’d picked up 2 good quality dresses from a charity shop for £4.50 each (per una and Coast) that fit my largest measurement but were loose everywhere else. Alex showed me how to pin, mark and create darts to make the clothes fit.

I managed to sort one, whilst the other now needs some material taking out of the back (like the previous week’s project). It’s a bit more tricky as there’s no room at the shoulder so I’ll have to take it down into the waistband, fiddly with an invisible zip. That one’s still a work in progress, but the other looks great and I’ve already had people comment on how nice it is!

Overall, I think I’ve made a really good start on the sewing. To truly grasp the nuances of the art would take many years but I feel I have enough skill to do what I set out to do – alter my own clothes to fit and repair those annoying little niggles.

All 3 of us have agreed that we have learned some useful skills and want to have more lessons. However we have other commitments (I have a lot on in the next 3 months!) so this may be something I come back to after my birthday.

I’ve got a pattern that I’m working on, I’ll be having a go on my own and then if/when I get stuck I’ll be calling Alex for some more lessons!

Alex teaches at Surrey Adult Learning, or you can book private lessons here.

It’s something I think we can all benefit from and Alex is the perfect teacher to get you on the right track!

9th “thing” achieved: 22. Do a Photoshoot

Vintage makeover and great memories

With all these pictures I’ve been taking of myself you would get the impression I am a bit narcissistic. The fact is, as time goes on I regret not having really nice pictures from my younger years to look back on. So I thought I’d get some done before I get any older!

I wanted to mark the occasion with something special, including a makeover to get the most out of it. My friend Natalie had done a shoot with Alter Ego and the pictures came out really well so I put it on my Christmas list and my parents kindly got me a voucher for my present. Alter Ego do different packages – lingerie photos, couples, friends and vintage. Given my love of the vintage 1940’s and 1950’s look, the choice was obvious!

The studio is in Northampton, so I took a day off work to go. I got there for 12.00 and met Martin (the photographer) and Karen (the makeup artist). Upon arrival, I was given a warm welcome and they made me a coffee to enjoy whilst choosing the images I wanted to recreate.

I brought some of my own clothes but also they had a wide selection of dresses to choose from. I love dressing up so I was in heaven at this point! We picked a few scenarios to stage, then it was time for hair and makeup. Karen was brilliant and did a wonderful job!

Martin was great – really friendly, and instantly put me at my ease. He set up the studio whilst I was being dolled up, then we got down to shooting. A little direction and gentle encouragement and before you know it, we had some great pictures!