D is for dinosaur!

The letter D on my challenge stands for dinosaur, though maybe I should rename it D for disaster? This is the first challenge not to have gone completely to plan (though I am only four letters in, so expect there to be a lot more mishaps!)

I decided that it would be fun to challenge Joe to a dinosaur making competition as dinosaurs are cool! My first thought was to make it out of cardboard and toilet rolls, in a kind of Blue Peter ‘here’s one I made earlier’ style. However while browsing the aisles of the Early Learning store while buying presents for small people, I stumbled upon brightly coloured tubs of playdough. Memories of creating masterpieces from the stuff at a young age came flooding back, and so I decided that would be the ideal material for my dinosaur. That was my first mistake.....my second mistake was deciding to make my own playdough.

Roping in mum I got to work, chucking flour and salt into a bowl and throwing in water. Add two splashes of food colouring (one red and one to blue to make purple) I was faced with a sticky pink mess. Not to be deterred I added a bit more flour and threw the lot in the fridge, keeping my fingers crossed that poor unsuspecting Mr T wouldn’t think it was some kind of new food and eat it all.

Fast forward a few days and my pink mess and I were on route to Joe’s to create our masterpieces. Joe took one look at my playdough, and described it as looking like ‘something that a creature from Star Trek threw up’. Charming! He then spread newspaper all over the coffee table and threatened me with death if I got any of it on his sofa!

Here was where the plan went even further downhill, as the playdough was too sticky, and ended up stuck to our hands and the newspaper. We did manage to create dinosaurs in the end, with Joe having slightly more success than me! To say that I am not artistic is an under statement! After taking a picture the mess was quickly bundled up in the newspaper and thrown away!

This challenge has shown me that a career in the playdough making industry is not for me! Oh well, on to E.

C is for Cotswold Wildlife Park!

This latest challenge came in the form of animals, as Joe and I headed to Cotswold Wildlife Park. Despite the grey clouds hanging threateningly over our heads we were lucky, and the day stayed dry. (People in England always seem to discuss the weather, so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon).

The wildlife park is home to a variety of animals including giraffes, rhinos, lions, and Joe’s new favourite red pandas. I was disappointed that there were no elephants, but I made up for this by making friends a reindeer (though there was no sign of Santa, I expect he is on a beach somewhere taking a well deserved break after the madness of Christmas). The reindeer in question did not look too impressed when I hurtled up to him and thrust a camera in his face. After chasing him up and down the pen a few times the result is this charming photo. All ideas for a caption welcome!

The park also has an exciting adventure playground complete with a helter skelter! Here I was faced with the question of just how old do you have to be for it to be acceptable to have a go. I decided at the age of 26 years (and four months to be precise) I was perfectly entitled to have a go. Joe however disagreed. Who do you think won?

Other highlights from our visit included Joe threatening to throw me to the lions if I didn’t behave, almost getting run over by the little train on several occasions, compairing the meerkats, and eating a jacket potato with chilli on it and only getting a small bit on my clothes. All in all a successful and fun day out!

B is for bingo!

Scenario number two of my 26 part challenge saw me mingling with the pensioners at a Gala bingo night in Gloucester. Faye and Bex were happy to accompany me, full of hope of hitting it big and becoming rich ladies of leisure. Having mentally spent our winnings we filled out a form, and were made members of the bingo club (we got given a membership card and everything!)

Walking into the hall we already stood out, as we didn’t have a blue rinse and were under the age of 70. Not to be put off we grabbed a seat, and stared blankly at the booklet we were given. Now, I will admit we were confused as to what we had to do! All I knew about bingo was that I had to mark off the numbers as they were called out. I had no idea how many we had to get, and in what order they had to be to win a prize. Cue me asking a nice man called Rob to help us. He started by explaining to me, but quickly realised I was a lost cause, and so decided to teach Faye instead. Even after his explanation we were still none the wiser!

With a few minutes to go until the main event I headed to the bar to get some drinks, and on my return was faced with the angry serial bingo player. Unknowingly I had committed the cardinal sin in a bingo hall. Stolen someone’s seat. Of course I should have realised it was the seat she sat on every night – as she had left her felt tip pen there! I had to sit opposite her in the end, and once the game started she proved very useful – telling us what the rules were.

Sadly an hour and a half later we were finished and had not won a thing. There was one moment where Faye thought she had, but this was before we were sure of the rules and knew what constituted a win. However we all agreed that it had been a good night. You get a sense of excitement crossing off the numbers, keeping your fingers crossed that the number you want will be called. We even got to keep the dabbers! (Bingo lingo for red felt tip pen!) I wouldn’t go as far as going every week as a lot of the regulars did, but I would certainly go back again. Next time I may just walk away with some money!

The challenge continues – stay tuned for C.  

A is for apple bobbing!

Why should apple bobbing be left until Halloween? When I thought up this challenge I decided that the best way to start would be by dunking my head (and Joe’s) into a bowl of cold water and picking up an apple with my teeth. Apple bobbing was always the thing I loved about Halloween. As a child I was not allowed trick or treating, and so Jodie, Jon and I would dress up at home and prowl around the house in the dark. However the highlight of the whole evening was apple bobbing, and as an adult (?!) of 26 it was still fun!

Joe looked quite bemused when I informed him that we would be bobbing for apples, but he didn’t complain! I went first, filling the washing up bowl with freezing cold water and dunking my whole head in. Now, I haven't done apple bobbing for a few years, and the shock of the cold water was enough to completely confuse me! On my first go I ended up with no apple, coughing and spluttering and spraying water all over me, Joe and the kitchen.

After a few more attempts, and despite almost losing my contact lenses when I forgot to close my eyes I was successful! Never has an apple tasted so good! My pride was short lived when Joe and Jon (who I also roped into the challenge) completed it with much less hassle and remained relatively dry.

I ended the challenge with mascara down my face, water in one ear, and wet hair. But, A is complete! 1 down 25 to go. Stay tuned for B.

Beating the January blues - The alphabet game

Like many of us I find January quite a depressing month. The fun and excitement of Christmas is over for another year, the weather is cold and miserable, and summer trips to warmer shores seem a long way off. So I have come up with an idea to beat the blues, and do something different at the same time.

I have started what I am calling the alphabet game, where I have challenged myself to do something starting with each letter of the alphabet. It can be anything - from the crazy, to the simple, or to just visiting a place starting with that letter. And I am dragging Joe, my friends and family along for the ride! The plan is to not only beat the blues but to also do some fun things, and see if I can think of something for all of the 26 letters ( some will be a lot harder than others!)

I will keep you all updated via this blog, where I will write about the experience and share photos. And if you are feeling down in the dumps you can join in, by doing some of the things I have done or by coming up with your own ideas!

So heres to the alphabet game - bring on A!

To be continued......