Blurred images (or, Why I Always Choose the Window Seat)

I love travelling by train

100m wool dash

The needles were down to watch Usain Bolt dash to more Olympic glory, but then I finished my first cushion cover. Lots of improvement to make (pattern ideas brimming), bit oh so cosy and comfy!

Lympix

Life can be unpredictable. In the past year, as Ben and I have undertaken the 101 challenge (www.wherethatbenwent.com and http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2012/07/31/rising-to-the-101-culture-challenge/), we've done many things we wouldn't have expected to do. I never knew, for example, that there was a magic shop hidden away in a central London station, nor expected that I would go white water rafting on the Olympic course.

I certainly did not expect to go to the Olympics themselves. I moved - in common I expect with many Londoners - from irritation at the disruption and anger at the cost, to excitement about the events as the opening ceremony date moved closer, to immense pride at my city's readiness and in the welcome we have given the world. 


But, as I say, I hadn't got a ticket, and although I would most certainly be watching on TV (although I hadn't predicted quite how addicted I would get to watching it...!) I wouldn't be in the ground or in any of the stadia. 


Life, though, can be unpredictable: out of the blue we were contacted by British Airways, who were looking to talk to bloggers about their sponsorship of the 2012 Games. Their team took us to their hospitality centre and on to watch the men's Water Polo (which is a bit like rugby in water, it turns out - brutal but impressive!), and we went on to watch the Park Live big screens BA have put up in the Olympic Park. There have been some ridiculous things related to sponsors this Olympics (LOCOG not allowing any non-sponsors to publish certain words?? Seriously, guys?!) but the passion and support for the Games and for Team GB from the British Airways people we met was real enough, and none of their seats appeared to be empty. But then, since I was one of the people filling them I suppose I would say that! 


We were lucky enough to be in the Park again, watching on the Park Live screens, during most of Super Saturday, soaking up the amazing atmosphere. London has been brilliant this Olympiad and I'm really proud to be a Londoner welcoming the world here. Hopefully we'll manage to see some more Team GB Gold medals today. WOOP!

Montivagant

This wonderful word, which I had never heard of before this morning, would probably sum up our holiday...

Other beautiful, and beautifully illustrated words can be found here:
http://www.theprojecttwins.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26&Itemid=15

What I did on my holidays

Slightly over a month since beginning the Coast to Coast walk, and nearly three weeks since completing it, my feet are not quite back to normal, my tan lines haven’t yet faded, and although I’m not waking up naturally at 6am with a body ready to start walking I am not entirely used to the pace of life back in London.

I love the city, and although our lives are almost ridiculously busy, I would have said before this trip that it would be many, many years until I am ready to leave it for somewhere quieter. Walking through beautiful countryside, and meeting many wonderful people may have changed that slightly –I still don’t want to move out of London (I would miss the buzz and the cultural diversity far too much) but I am much less of a townie at heart than I had thought.

Other things I learnt on my holiday:

- I dislike being lost on the moors.

- Compasses that work are preferable to those that don’t, particularly when lost on the moors.

- You can never –NEVER –have too many Compeed with you.

- Waterproof boots are a must.

- You can quickly get used to carrying a heavy pack every day, but don’t expect your knees to appreciate it.

- Having an end goal in common can bring people together, and over a few nights in various pubs turn them into friends.

- Two man tents are really only made for very small people with no bags.

- Noodles are an acceptable food to have for any meal of the day.

- Underestimating how far 200 miles is to walk is very easy, but finding that you are capable of it is incredibly satisfying.

- When on a holiday, if the other people also carrying all their stuff with them and camping are doing it for charity, it might not be as relaxing as you had originally thought…

- When coming back from a holiday, if your friends congratulate you for making it back ok, they think you are mad.

- Cumbria and North Yorkshire are incredibly beautiful, and I will be back.

Coast to Coast Live Map

An Adventure

I've liked the idea of long distance walks for a while now. There was a time a couple of years ago that was pretty dark in my life, and, coming out of that I found myself thinking more and more about walking from Land's End to John O'Groats. I felt I would really see and connect with the island where I live, and get a sense of something completed and a new chapter begun.
Well, despite getting my paws on a few of the first maps that I would need, I never got around to doing that walk. Life, luckily, became much easier and happier without feeling the need to prove myself through physical and mental challenge.
However, the lure of the long walk and the idea of transporting myself through Britain by the power of my own feet hasn't left me yet. I'm fortunate that my boyfriend loves a challenge (see his blog, www.wherethatbenwent.com, if you don't believe me!) and suggested that for our holiday this year we could do the Coast-to-Coast walk. Sounded good to me!
So, this Friday we'll be setting off from St Bees on a little adventure, eastbound across northern England. I'll be posting updates and pictures on this site as we go along.
And after this walk, who knows! I still have those Land's End maps waiting for me...

Spring/Summer

After all these weeks of grey and rain, the past week of occasional sunshine and perfect - if temporarily so - blue skies has felt like an awakening. The trees must have been in full leaf before the past week, but somehow it was only with the sunshine that I actually noticed. Every year it is somehow a shock and an amazement, and a delight, to see the leaves again. May the sun keep shining through June!

Wanderings and Beginnings

I've always been a bit of a wanderer, with my feet as well as my thoughts, and I can't help but feel there is a connection between the two. There's something about letting your feet go along by themselves that allows your mind to do the same thing, and leads you to new and interesting places and ideas. 

I'm by way of being a bit of a part-time songwriter, and letting myself wander through the streets of London, going down the ways I haven't been before, helps me put my thoughts together, and takes me to sights and sounds that inspire. 

As much as I love the city, and the idea of the millions of people who pass and have passed through it over hundreds - thousands - of years, I'm also drawn to the countryside, the sea and the hills, and the possibilities that they hold. 

Life is a wandering adventure, and I'll give my meanderings shape here.