The Bristol Climbing Centre
Drumroll please. So this is it, my first big challenge. First, let me get you in the picture. I am TERRIFIED of heights, even stepladders bring me out in a cold sweat. Recently my mother unveiled a collection of memories she had stored away in the attic and, thanks to my brother’s handiwork, now has an attic stairs to access it. I was of course excited to see what treasures my 22 year old self had left behind for me. One snag however, the stairs seemed more like a ladder on a hinge and to a coward like me it was a challenge to get on it. Going up wasn’t too bad, probably because of the excitement of what was in those dusty boxes. Coming down was the difficult bit, the world looks so far down from the top of a ladder. It’s ludicrous to be so afraid of such a thing. So when I decided to challenge myself more there was only one thing I could think of - climbing.
Since moving to Bristol I’ve met more people who climb than anything else. It seems to be a really popular pastime, one that I never thought I would be a part of. That sense of exclusion made me feel that my fear of heights was holding me back. Surely it’s not that difficult, the website has a child on it for crying out loud. So I went guns blazing along to the climbing centre in St. Werburghs. Fearing I might crumble and turn back I barely stopped for traffic, I was like a crazed loon on a mission.
I arrived and was given a harness and a helmet...”Oh dear, so I’m really doing this then”, I thought. I was teamed up with two other novices and we took turns in scaling the wall. I assumed that everyone would be as cagey as me on this taster session. How wrong I was. The other two were up and down faster than I could say ‘nausea’ and suddenly it was my turn. Not wanting to appear a wimp (and faster than my brain could calculate what was coming next) I got on that bugger and climbed. I got to halfway and looked down. Eek! It was dizzying and on my first attempt I argued that I had come far enough and wimpered to come back down. While the instructor saw to a more daring climber on his descent I had to wait...just wait. Thinking “Flippin' ‘ell how long do I have to dangle here?”, I clung to the wall until my fingers stiffened. Fearing that I may hurl I closed my eyes and thought of England. It seemed like an eternity before the instructor gave me the go ahead to safely come back down. “Wait a minute, you want me to WHAT?”, I shrieked. He had instructed me to LET GO OF THE WALL. I questioned his sanity for a moment and wondered what I had done to deserve to die, right here in St Werburghs. Claiming back a scrap of rationality, I gave in and let go of the wall. In comparison to scaling up, abseiling down was a breeze. I didn’t expect to enjoy that part, what a relief. Job done....almost.
The next wall was a tad more difficult and I’m sure you can sense the pattern emerging here. Each climb was more of a challenge than the last. The bits jutting out from the wall (that you cling to for dear life) got a little harder to negotiate, thus the skill developed when embarking on climbing as a pastime. The instructor described it as a giant puzzle. I had no idea it was a mental workout aswell as a physical one, yet another reason to do it. However, the one reason against was still trumping the many for.
Five minutes to the end of the session, I thought, “nice one, nearly there” but I wasn’t. I had not yet completed a full wall. I decided it was time to strap on a pair (so to speak). I scaled the wall and got to about three quarters of the way when a voice from below provided guidance. I responded “Is that you God?" No, it was the instructor. Good, don’t really fancy a visit from Himself while I’m hanging off a wall. Step by step he guided me up until I touched the ceiling. I never expected to get to the top but here I was looking down on the tops of everyone’s hard hats. That familiar dizzying sensation washed over me so I closed my eyes and abseiled down to terra firma, this time with an amazing feeling of accomplishment. Okay so I’m still a coward when it comes to heights but at least I know I can do it if I really try...I’m even considering a course.
http://www.undercover-rock.com/
Image courtesy of Undercover Rock.
The Big Pizza Date
I'm still working on the scary challenge so watch this space. In the interim an interesting opportunity arose featuring pizza and men. I like pizza. I like men. Easy decision here, invite accepted. It was to the Big Pizza Date, run by mysinglefriend.com at Pizza Express. I got the chance to create my own pizza and meet some new people. A room full of mingling singletons, dough to knead and shape (v therapeutic) & free flowing booze, better than glaring square eyed at Big Brother.
My previous experiences of online dating have been a bit bland. I gave it a rest for a while in favour of actually meeting real live people in real time. So, my expectation of the Big Pizza Date was fairly low but I figured it was worth a whirl for the pizza alone. Turns out the addition of this doughy distraction eased the pressure of the 'dating' part, making it a lot of fun.
We were divided up into groups and shown how to fling the pizza dough about to shape it, without having it land on someone's shoes (nobody likes the taste of leather and laces). We chose our own toppings and off they went into the giant oven while we sipped prosecco. I was a bit jealous of the group in the far corner where a flour fight broke out, the casualties emerging with white dusty faces. However I had to commit to the debate that had ensued at my table as to whether a persons choice of pizza reflected their personality. FYI - I went with mozzerella, olives, artichoke, mushroom, capers & anchovies with a light sprinkle of oregano. I like to think it reflects my creativity and lust for salt.While the pizzas baked we mingled some more, helped along by the endless supply of bubbly. The characters were as varied as the pizza toppings, from Mr Red Onion & Mushroom to Stuffed Crust Boy, there was a wealth of personalities in that room, including the women. It felt more like making friends than dating. Although I have to admit I was more interested in the pizzas than the men. I did come away with a phone number and set a date with one person. I can’t technically call it a date however unless I’ve switched teams...
I was pleasantly surprised to have had such a nice evening, thanks to a hearty combination of the tasty pizza and the energetic company. And, dating aside, a girl can be sure of one thing, a good pizza will never let you down!
http://www.mysinglefriend.comhttp://www.pizzaexpress.com
Image courtesy of pdphoto.org
Clifton Bookclub
I know what you're all thinking. These new experiences aren't challenging enough. So, before the complaints start snowballing I figure I'm going to have to do something to remedy this. Baby steps though eh?
For those of you who don't know this about me, I don't read a hell of a lot, with the exception of the nutritional information on chocolate bars and that's far from riveting (can be a shocker sometimes though). I'm more of a picture person :) I found a book club on Gumtree and, again, sent a query on it's merry way through cyberspace. I was invited to join the Facebook group of the Clifton Bookclub, my first bookclub read being The Tent, The Bucket And Me by Emma Kennedy. It took only a few days to read it and I was entertained, proud (to have read a whole book in less than a year) and excited at meeting new people.
I took myself along to my first meeting with the club, to a pizzeria where I met 8 other ladies. Surprisingly the book took up about an eighth of the talktime with the conversation moving onto jobs, pastimes, other favourite books, weddings - one of the members is due to be married soon...isn't everyone these days?...or is it my age?....anyway I digress. Despite (and perhaps because of) the relaxed bookiness the evening was really enjoyable. The pizza was a bit bland but hey, you can't have everything.
The next book on the list is Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts which I expect, judging by what I've been told, is going to be a bigger challenge to read within a month. Well, as I said, baby steps but I am working on a more daring venture, I promise!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=292250174747&ref=ts
Image courtesy of Ebury Publishing
Natural Face Products Workshop
Having perused the Bristol Folk House website for inspiration I decided to go 'au naturel' with the Natural Face Products Workshop. I arrived after a stressful Tuesday afternoon to the calming aromas of lavender and rosemary, ahhh that's lovely, that is, headache disappearing. Laid out on the table in the centre of the room were apples, bananas, spinach & mint - among other foodstuffs. I wondered, firstly, if I had walked in on a cooking class and, secondly, why I had not eaten dinner?!!
The workshop was run by Claire Day, a wonderfully serene lady with immaculate skin. Nice one I thought, good sign, (not like when you have your hair done by someone with 'flock of seagulls' hair and you get a bit nervous) I was in good hands here. Claire went on to tell us how the natural ingredients that we all have in our kitchens can make fantastic beauty products, while saving waste. If you have something going off in your fridge, whack it in the blender and slap it on your face for a nice relaxing mask. Hmmm, all I could think of here was the lonely red pepper and half jar of wholegrain mustard I had knocking about in mine - note to self, go shopping.
So we started off with a Honey & Banana Face Mask. Making this reminded me of preparing my nephew's lunch, however this was destined to be slathered all over my face....wait, no, still rather like nephew's lunch. Maybe this is the reason why a baby's skin is so soft! So back to the banana mush, I mean, mask. I had a little try, slapped that bad boy on and waited for youthful skin to emerge. Verdict was that my face certainly felt like it was being treated but that banana was a bugger to get off! Next came the Rose Water Moisturiser. Now, this surprised the hell out of me. It was so simple to make! And there I was, just a few weeks before, queueing up & waiting to part with £16 for a tiny tube of gunk that claimed to restore all sorts of abbreviated nutrients to my skin (science was never my forté). This homemade moisturiser took minutes, was all natural and could be tailored with a few drops of essential oil to whatever you want it to be. I made a marjoram and rosemary face cream and a peppermint foot cream, flippin' lovely.
Added to these products was a Green Honey Mask (which looked rather like a soup recipe I've tried), exfoliating Baking Soda Facial Scrub (so easy I almost let out a little yelp) & Apple & Lavender Facial Toner. With the varying properties of oils & fruits, these products can be altered to make whatever you require, ie spot zapping/cellulite kapowing/dryness busting moisturiser.
After this workshop my fridge will be extra stocked with all sorts of concoctions (just hope they don't get spread on flatmate's toast) while my wallet will be a little fuller, not to mention that emergence of youthful skin, hoorah!
http://www.bella-bees.co.uk
http://www.bristolfolkhouse.co.uk
Image © Sinead Millea
