6. Watch a rugby match in New Zealand

Out of all the challenges on this list I knew that this one was going to be tough. With less than 12 months to go until my 30^th birthday I knew I would not make it to New Zealand however when I heard New Zealand were playing Tonga at St James Park for one of their group matches for the 2015 Rugby World Cup I knew I had to try and get a ticket. Not only would it be an awesome experience to be part of the World Cup but in my opinion it would act as a worthy substitute  for not travelling over to New Zealand before my 30^th (and there is no doubt in my mind that I will get to New Zealand at some point in the future).

I didn’t fancy going to the match alone so I bought a ticket for my dad as a birthday gift because even though he doesn’t like the All Blacks it was the opportunity to watch some world class players and I had a suspicion that the All Blacks would end up winning the whole competition. The week before this match St James Park played host to its first world cup match between Scotland and South Africa and the city was electric. The local news reported that 200,000 fans had descended on the city to be part of the event and when I was watching the match in the fanzone at Science City there was a lot of love for both teams in the atmosphere which just made me more excited to watch the New Zealand v Tonga match.  The highlight of being in the fanzone was watching the grown men attempt to play rugby after far too many beers and a man in salmon pink trousers being tackled and splitting them right in the crotch!

Getting to match day and there are only 2 words to describe it. Frickin awesome!!

The atmosphere was awesome.

The haka was really awesome.

The Tongans bringing it to the All Blacks was awesome. 

Richie McCaw as water boy was awesome.

The seats were ridiculous (Me and dad even had a fleeting appearance on the telly).

Witnessing Ma’a Nonu scoring a try and achieving his 100^th cap was awesome (apparently if you are from the South Sea Islands then you get tinsel as a symbol).

All in all I think this has to be one of the best experiences on the list thus far!

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30. Complete my Woobadge training

Unfortunately this has not happened and will not be happening before I’m 30 (if ever).

In January 2015 I came to the tough decision that I would leave my leadership role within the Scout Association at the end of the Spring term in March and would therefore not complete my Woodbadge. I think I stepped into the role without knowing to the full extent what was expected of me and how much of my time and energy I would have to commit to this voluntary position. Without a doubt I gained valuable experience in leadership, organisation and the opportunity to try new things but I decided that I wasn’t getting out of it what I was putting into it which wasn’t fair on me or the young people in the scout group.

Among my highlights were taking the troop climbing and seeing the determination on their faces, raising money through a cake sale for mynoma cancer charity and seeing them achieve badges when they didn’t even realise they were working towards one. The young people were great (if not trying at times) and it was extremely rewarding getting the opportunity to know them and see them progress through the section.  Don’t let this deter you from volunteering with a uniformed group because in all sections there lacks adult helpers however don’t run before you can walk. I would suggest if you are interested in helping out then have a trial for a month or so to get a feel of what it is like to assist running a group and don’t feel pressured into a role unless you’re comfortable with it. Never say never but for the moment this is the end of my scouting journey (and for the record Bear Grylls makes it look a lot more glamorous that it actually is…) 

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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…

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8. Visit Loch Ness and hunt for Nessie

It has been over a year since my last post. I haven’t got any excuses I’ve just been lazy oh and I’ve taken on a mortgage and bought a house. Back in August 2014 after I conquered Ben Nevis and slept in a castle we took a detour on the way home to Loch Ness to hunt for Nessie.

We went in The Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition which opened over 30 years ago. Today a hi-tech multi-media presentation leads you through 7 themed areas and 500 million years of history, natural mystery and legend revealing the unique environment of Loch Ness and the famous Nessie legend ...Using a mix of lasers, digital projection and special effects the Exhibition charts the history of the monster by exploring Scotland's geological past, its folklore and the various research projects carried out on the loch. It also reveals the discoveries of some of that research including the environmental fingerprints left in the loch's sediment layers by both nature and mankind.

It was a beautiful day so after the visitor centre we went for a walk round part of the lake and I even packed my binoculars to stand a better chance of spotting the legendary creature. Here are some fun snaps from the adventure:

In the end we didn’t spot him however I did bring a wee souvenir home to remind me of the trip. If you haven’t been to this beautiful part of the world then I would definitely recommend it but we did have the weather on our side!

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28. Sleep in a castle

After the trauma of sleeping in a tent for two nights and climbing Ben Nevis my reward was to sleep in a castle, a much deserved belated birthday treat. The castle of choice was Tulloch Castle just outside a town called Dingwell in the Highlands. 

The view from the road.

Before becoming a hotel and conference centre the castle believed to date from the mid 16th century served as a (not too shabby) family home for members of the Bain family and Clan Davidson, as a hospital after the evacuation of Dunkirk, and as a hostel for the local education authority.

Can you spot me on our rooms balcony?

 

Putting my stamp on the castle

I would say the three main features for a castle are a turret, a dungeon and a moat. Now this castle didn't have a moat but it was placed on top of a massive hill as a strategic defence and you can see the turret in the above picture and after a wee bit of exploring we found the dungeon!

My favourite part about the castle was that the décor inside was in keeping with its heritage, very medieval esq, a lot of wood and rich colours and quite frankly somewhere that could be used as a set for Game of Thrones.

Could see this in King's Landing.

Me trying to fit in the surroundings.

I would not be cold here in the winter with that bad ass fire!

A dining area reserved for private functions.

A door in to the grounds.

Sooo much better than a tent!

And this is my ABSOLUTE favourite thing in the castle, who thought to put a crown on a deer trophy head pure genius!

Bambi rocking the bling

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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 :)

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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

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