I'm 30 and outta time!

This has been an exciting four years working through this list and visiting Stonehenge was an amazing way to mark my thirty years on this planet but unfortunately I didn't mange to get through everything on my list. I didn't get chance to:

• Read 'A long walk to freedom' - this is chunkier than the Bible
• See the pyramids of Giza - the flights and tour were booked but Civil War broke out!
• Sleep under the stars - again I was going to sleep on a felucca in Egypt but Civil War got in the way and I didn't fancy it in the Maasai Mara in case the baboons ate my face in my sleep.
• Buy and pay for a bottle of champagne in a bar - I have no idea how this didn't happen!!
• Ride horseback along a beach - apparently you have to be quite a competent rider to do this in this country

However I couldn't give two hoots because I have done so many other amazing things that weren't on my list that I didn't think would be possible four years ago. My favourites have been;

• climb a mountain
• buy a house
• fall in love!!
• see white and black rhinos in the wild 
• bathe in the hot springs in Iceland

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get through this list and has contributed to creating some wonderful memories that I will cherish until I kick the bucket. I am blessed to have so many people in my life that I can call my true friends and are there for me when I need them to do something a bit crazy.

Now, I have had a lot of people ask me about what I am going to do next and it is will careful thought and consideration (and pressure from Laura Wilson) that I am going to continue on with a 40 things to do before I am 40 list. Watch this space...

x

10. Plant a tree

With my birthday imminently approaching Chris whisked me up to Vicky’s farm to plant a Silver Birch tree along the A69. After a 90 minute detour of the countryside and numerous park ups at Little Chef to check the directions we eventually find Vicky and her dad equipped with tractor, tree and spade. The planting didn’t take long because Mr Lowery stepped in and did a lot of the heavy digging while I supervised but I then took great enjoyment in stomping the tree into place.

After the tree stomping we went to see the pet lambs which was even more exciting!

You can find out more about the Silver Birch from the Woodland Trust, my personal favourite line is that in early Celtic mythology the birch symbolised renewal and purification (maybe that is what will happen to me when I hit 30?!) 

18. Learn to play Poker

This is just a short post because to get the full effect of my newly learnt gambling skillz you need to come round for a poker night. For this challenge I called upon my friends Brian Kerrigan and David Gray for a lesson in poker. I wasn’t the only amateur round the table so didn’t feel too pressured. Apparently the success with poker all lies in your ability to bluff and not give away if you have good or bad cards oh and try and remember the winning hands. I didn’t win but I gave the seasoned pros a run for their money so a rematch is definitely in order…

x

23. Go on a camping holiday

I hate camping and the reasons are three fold;

1.       It’s cold, even in Kenya!

2.       It’s damp, probably even in the Kalahari

3.       Your sleeping is dictated by the sun

Why would anyone want to call this their home for the evening?

You could be camping anywhere is the world and in any kind of tent and the above would still apply.

I was lucky enough as a child to not be subjected to camping holidays (caravans all the way for the Wilson gang) and in my adult life I have tried to avoid it as much as possible apart from a few select occasions which include;

-          My Duke of Edinburgh bronze award

-          Archaeology fieldwork in Scotland and France

-          Our trip to Kenya

-          And going away with the scouts

On all occasions my three reasons to hate camping applied unless there was pre bedtime drinking involved. However I decided to give it another go on our ‘holiday’ to Fort William to climb Ben Nevis (in this instance I’m classing any leisurely trip away from home as a holiday). In hindsight I should have put climb a mountain on my list because it is something I have never done but would give me a sense of achievement. But this is what I LOVE about life it throws up all sorts of opportunities that you just need to grab with both hands. 

How bad ass in Ben!

This is where my blog entry will completely deviate from the camping because I have decided that I hate it and never want to subject my body to it ever again and concentrate on the positive that I CLIMBED THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE UK! And I did it with zero preparation and on 4 hours sleep – a result of camping, and a slight injury to the lateral ligament in my right knee.

Here's my story in pictures of my journey up the mountain (unfortunately I did not mange to get a picture of the miniature dachshund that made it up or the Chav attempting it in a leopard print onesie and UGG boots).

Can you see the fear in my eyes at the prospect of going to sleep in a tent!

Everyone is all smiles before we set off.

Stunning views!

Banana breakdown point

Keep smiling!

Really stunning views

Everyone appreciated a wee nip at the top!

She made it and is still smiling!

We had to scramble through snow to get there

Woooooo!

I think it was here I realised what I had achieved

Post mountain pint!

Massive thanks to Sandra Bayly for organising the trip and Chris Wharton, Ciaran Mallon, Lucy Mo, Vicky and Nick Jary for getting me up there (Vicky you were on that mountain in spirit!)

7. 5 hours to climb 1,344 metres. I said afterwards I would never climb a mountain again...bring on Snowdon next year! I can say that now my legs and lungs have recovered :)

x

26. Have a spray tan

On a summers Sunday evening online shopping session I impulsively bought a voucher for a spray tan with the intention to use it for this years’ Ladies Day in Newcastle on 26 July 2014. I thought Ladies Day was the perfect opportunity to have it for as I would be among Newcastle’s finest dressed (and many questionably dressed) so I wanted to look my best and not reflect the (hopefully) shining sun off my pasty white skin. 

 The spray took place in one of Gosforth’s newest hair and beauty salons, Luma’s.

Luma's on Gosforth High Street

I wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for, though Vicky the museum’s Comms officer had told me a few months previous about her experience of standing there in her pants while the spray tan lady person instructed her into different positions to get an even coverage. I did get myself prepared beforehand after reading online to make sure you exfoliate properly, shower at least 6 hours before and don’t moisturise or wear make up/deodorant before the spray.

If you’ve never had a spray tan before then you stand in a small open booth in just your pants and the spray tan lady runs moisturiser into you dry bits (knees, elbows and places you attract eczema) before she turns of the machine which sounds like a jet engine taking off and blasts cold tan at you in what I presume is a methodical pattern. It didn’t take very long and she did ask me to do strange positions with my hands but nothing too out there. After you’ve been sprayed then you’re left standing there to dry for a few minutes before you can get dressed. At this point I was left along so I took a few snaps while I was waiting…

This is the booth you stand in.

The tools of the trade

Now this is where the hilarity starts, what I wasn’t planning for is that I would be advised not to wear my bra because I would get tan lines so I had to walk up Salters Road (which is a looong road) braless, not an enviable experience! I could have got the bus home but I felt too self conscious being on a bus without a bra on but I also didn’t realise that I would come out a darker colour than the final tan would be because you have to wait 8 hours to shower to then take off the top layer so I did feel like I looked like someone who had a very bad home tanning experience. But I got home locked myself away and waited until the morning when I could see the final results.

Me with the spray gun

That's a lot of tan coming off!

What I was most worried about was looking like I had done it myself and it looked like a crap tan but I was very happy with the results. The only patchy areas were where my eczema was so if I got another one it would depend on how my skin was behaving at the time. As you can see from the Ladies Day snaps it looks really good and would recommend anyone wanting a spray tan to try out Luma’s in Gosforth.

Ladies day 2014

x

29. Sing in public

In my adult life I have done karaoke once before but I have no recollection of it and apart from singing in church I generally don’t do it hence why it’s on my list and knowing that I don’t have the sweet vocal chords like an angel this is a big deal for me.

If they say a picture speaks a 1000 words then how many does a video clip say? This is going to be a short post because I have two video clips of me “singing” my heart out for you to treat yourself too.

The first is from a netball social (4 July 2014) and this is the netball team GALS I play with. I think my experience of going Back to Netball 2 years ago has been made all the more special to me not just for my love of the sport but because of these ladies and the friendships that have been built along the way, I hope we have a good many more years playing and socialising together. This karaoke really was public because even though we were in a separate room in Poons Chinese restaurant I am fairly convinced that the walls weren’t soundproof and when we went in there the restaurant was full…when we came out it was empty, coincidence?

http://youtu.be/rphiCFqfIp8

Obviously it HAD to be Britney

This clip is from my good friends Lucy and Mark Fenwick’s 30^th birthday (12 July 2014). It was an evening filled with great food, drinks, ping pong, the not so great bowling and karaoke – my second helping in under two weeks!

http://youtu.be/XCB3OHzUq_I

I’m sure we’re all in agreement that I will not be appearing on X Factor any time soon but I should get points for trying. I did enjoy my helpings of karaoke and maybe from now on I’ll be quicker to the microphone if the opportunity presents itself again

x

19. Have a pint of Guinness in Dublin

This is an overdue entry but better late than never!

 

The view of Dublin from the top of the Guinness Storehouse. You can see the Aviva Stadium on the right hand side.

 

On Friday 15 November myself and Laura Fenwick (who is becoming somewhat of a regular travel companion) flew from Newcastle to Dublin. The opportunity for the trip came about when we learnt that our friend and fellow archaeology graduate Mandi Henderson was being swept away by her husband Neil to Dublin to celebrate her 30th birthday. This came up in conversation and you express an interest that it's somewhere you'd always like to go so Mandi suggested we come along too (much to Neil's initial horror) so we did.

 

From left to right; Laura, me and Mandi

 

Everyone I've spoken to have said how friendly the Irish are but I actually think that it ius THE MOST FRIENDLY place I've been too. When you land at an airport you're prepared  for the miserable but at passport control who barely grunts at you...not it in Dublin. [Insert gorgeous southern Irish accent] "Well good morning Kathryn, welcome to Ireland. How are you today, did you enjoy your flight?"

 

We also had a very friendly cab driver who took us to our hotel (he gave us his mobile number in case we needed him over the weekend...) And then met up with Mandi and Neil for a few, which turned out to be a lot of drinks and one of their best burgers of my life. I had never considered putting smoked cheese on a burger before but I'd do it again. I resisted having as pint of the black stuff because I wanted I to 'save myself' for the Guinness Storehouse.

 

 

 

I think Saturday 16 November will definitely feature in the top 5 days of 2013 and here's why;

• Amazing all you can eat breakfast to start the day
• Visiting Trinity College and the Book of Kells
• Indulging in bog bodies and Ireland's prehistory at the Museum of Archaeology
• Eating nachos and drinking bulmers in the Hairy Lemon
• Visiting the Guinness Storehouse and experiencing a pint (and a half, because that's all I could manage) of the black stuff
• Watching Ireland v Australia in a pub packed full of Irish men

The library at Trinity College

So in one day I had culture, archeology, rugby, nachos and beer coupled with brilliant company and another thing ticked off my list. I think Dublin was a fantastic city, yes a little pricey but I will definitely go back. I wasn't to fussed with the Guinness Storehouse, far too many tourists for my liking, but the views from the top bar were incredible and the Guinness was smooooth.

 

 

 

x

14. Have a surfing lesson

Let me first start this post by apologising for the lack of images. This was through no fault of my own. Firstly, the nominated photographer, Lyndsay Airey was still on a train up from London because she'd left her bank card at home and had to go back for it. . .and then the photographer from the Chronicle Live on behalf of NCJ Media who approached us and asked to take our photos for the paper, who we were so willing to oblige (especially considering a wet suit is not the most flattering outfit to have a photo shoot in) did not publish our pictures in print or online therefore apparently I am not able to get a copy of them, queue a strongly worded email back.

Barry's surfing van

Anyway back to the event. It was the afternoon of Saturday 25 May 2013 and I was 27 and a day. The sun was shining and the waves were rolling. Now a seasoned surfer would probably tell you that they were actually tiny little waves but let me tell you that when you are waist deep in the water getting prepared to fling yourself on your board to ride a wave then they look pretty damn big!

Looking good ladies

My partners in crime were Laura Wilson, Sarah ‘Buttness’ Butler, Victoria Lowery, Laura Fenwick, Catherine Mullen, Hannah Kerrigan, Gemma Beggs, Eileen Hoey and Alex Johnson. Our instructor for the day was Barry from Longsands Surf School, who was awesome. A ‘hands on’ instructor who was in the water with us at all times and had some good banter. If you fancy trying you hand at surfing then I would definitely recommend booking a lesson with Barry to give you a few pointers and then you can hire the equipment and go it alone. http://www.longsandsurf.com/

I did find that the basics of surfing are fairly simple:

1. Get into wetsuit
2. Attach surf board to leg
3. Get in the sea (it’s pretty frickin cold even in a wet suit)
4. Climb on surf board
5. Lie down on surf board
6. Await a wave

10 minutes later. . .

I think everyone managed to do the above which I think is quite an achievement. The most challenging part of the day for me was getting myself into my wet suit (lol) and when I got on my board not rolling off the other side straight away. . .the next step was to try and stand up on the board and ride the waves. We tried this on dry land first to make sure we knew was position our bodies had to be in. For this the instructions were as follows; when you see a big wave coming at ya then paddle (like crazy) with your arms for 5 strokes, and then 2 more for luck. At this point you should be ‘riding the wave’ so push yourself up with your arms on to your feet, your legs should be wide apart on the board and your body should be in a squatting position that should resemble, to quote Lyndsay Airey “like you are about to drop the kids off in the pool” and voila you should be surfing. In reality this did not happen for me, I got up on to my knees but then my arms gave up so I just went with it. It’s no surprise though that Hannah Kerrigan and Alex Johnson were the two up on their feet catching the waves.

All in all I had an awesome time, apart from the two occasions that I got wiped out by the waves and swallowed half the North Sea, but don’t just take my word for it, get yourself down to your nearest beach for a lesson. Here’s to hoping that the next thing I tick off my list is as fun!

x

4. Learn to cook a Sunday dinner

As a woman in my mid twenties I feel that I should know how to do this. Not that I like to conform to the female stereotype but one day I may have a husband, possibly two children and I will want to whip them up a roast dinner on a Sunday from time to time. Now this won't be happening for a long while yet so if I start perfecting my technique now then I can enjoy the outcomes of my cooking attempts with myself and my friends in the process.

I asked my three BFF's who I was sharing a post Christmas hot tub and cabin in the woods break with if they minded being taste testers for my first ever roast dinner; they were very obliging! I can categorically say that the only help I got from them was instructions on how to make cheesy leeks and a little help setting the table. The rest of the time they were enjoyed drinks and snacks in the hot tub. However I documented their post dinner feedback in my phone while we were sprawled on the sofa (which is a good job because I proceeded to get pretty merry to celebrate the success.) The food tasters were pretty wrecked at this point too but their feedback was as follows:

Laura (a seasoned chicken connoisseur)
Comments: "is this what food tastes like in heaven because if it is kill me now"
Improvements: "more leeks and a bigger chicken" - there will never be a bird big enough

Lyndsay (a notoriously picky eater)
Comments: "I wish my boyfriend could do to me what this dinner has"
Improvements: "Thicker gravy" - this was down to the lack of gravy granules and corn flour!

Buttness (a sausage fiend)
Comments: "Holey hell life will never been the same again"
Improvements: "Sausages" - someone should set up a sausages anonymous group

So readers if you would like to get these kind of results follow my methodology below:

Step 1
Preparation.
Read Delia Smith's roast dinner recipe and compose a shopping list and instructions for cooking a roast.

Step 2
Go shopping for your ingredients (I don't have a photo of this step because apparently you get kicked out of supermarkets for taking photos. . .

Step 3
Prep the chicken by massaging butter under and over the skin.



Step 4
Chuck the bird in the oven on top of some veg.



Step 5
Have a drink to take the edge off. My chosen drink of choice Cava and Disoranno.



Step 6
Par boil the veg and chuck in in a pre oiled roasting try, whip up some cheesy smoked bacon leeks, make the Yorkshire's and check the chicken!

Step 7
Take the bird out the oven to 'rest' and make the gravy 

Step 8
Carve the bird

Step 9
Plate up



Step 10
Eat





Here's to the next one *raises glass*

x

15. Paint a canvas

I'm writing this blog entry at 3.00pm on Thursday 27 December 2012 with a glass of wine in my hand (there are few exceptions apart from Christmas time when you get away with cracking open a bottle this early!)

I have a very creative personality and I've always been partial to a bit of artwork – though this was not always encouraged by my art teachers at sixth form (I won't name names but they know who they are), so having never painted a canvas I thought I would add it too my list.

I knew I wanted to paint a landscape to reflect my love for the outdoors but I wasn't sure about how to present it, so I visited a few galleries in the Toon and was finally inspired by an exhibition at the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle upon Tyne by Julie Dumbarton (http://www.juliedumbarton.com/) - at this point if anyone would like to buy me one of her prints then I'd be a very happy person. Although trained as a fine art painter the exhibition could be described as a series of abstract landscapes, I was particularly attracted to her use of bright colours. I do like traditional landscape artists such as Turner and Constable but I don't think my talent is up to scratch yet to try and replicate the style in their paintings. 

I used acrylic paint to make sure I got vibrant colours and the thickness of the paint allows the addition of texture to the canvas. As far as technique is concerned there was none. I just whipped my brushed out, squeezed some paint onto a plate, started mixing and slapping it onto the canvas (and not necessarily thinking about what the picture would turn out like.) After a series of painting sessions, normally on a Sunday afternoon when you don't have the work demands of a weekday or the stresses of sorting your life out on a Saturday (or having to be a bouncer for Santa!) I finally finished and decided to give the title of “the path of dreams” to the painting - as a testament to my friend who will hopefully always follow her dreams.

Now at this point I would love to say that the canvas is no hanging up pride of place in my house but its not. I really appreciated receiving a painting from my friend Laura Wilson for my birthday about three years ago so I wanted to give my painting to a very important person in my life. Now there are three very important people in my life who I do secret Santa with each year therefore this year I decided my lucky secret Santa would receive a Kathryn Wilson original – I think all three of them would appreciate the gesture (or they would at least have the courtesy to at least pretend to like it in my presence, the test will be when I turn up unexpected on her doorstep one day to make sure its hanging on her wall!) This is the moment she opened the painting.

Anyways watch this space, you never know it might be a series of my paintings hanging up in The Biscuit Factory one day and yes I am available with very reasonable rates for commissions if you would like some of my work in your life.

x