50. Alum Bay and the Glass Vase

Well, I spent my 51st birthday on the Isle of  Wight and finished off my 50/50  experiences with a a trip to Alum  Bay and a ride on the rickety old chairlift down to the beach.

Steven then treated me to this beautiful iridescent vase from the glass studios there. It is a tall blue glass vase with green/yellow/purple overlay and looks stunning in the light.

I have really enjoyed the last year and ended up doing some fun things - highlights include not 1, but 2 trips to New York, eating at the restaurant at the top of the BT Tower and amazing  WW1 battlefield tour of Flanders.

I was treated to some great experiences by others such as the Harry Potter Studio tour from Jared, the ride round Central Park in a horse drawn buggy by Mum and an Aqua Massage from Angie!

I also enjoyed learning to crochet from Laura, making my own Christmas wreath, having my DNA tested and even cooking my first home made curry!

I tried to do some good along the way and raised £100 for the Blue Cross, bought a Poppy from the Tower of London and Crowdfunded a charity and a book launch

Although the year is over now, I hope to carry on saying YES to things I might not have done - and have started by being involved in a publicity photo shoot for St Elizabeth Hospice and impulse buying a new car! There is still a long list of ideas that I never got round to doing which I will keep and hopefully cross off  as time goes on.

Thanks to everyone involved along the way and my advice to you all is Give It A Go and Have Some Fun!

49. Visited the Constable Exhibition at Christchurch Mansion

Mum and I visited the free exhibition of John Constable paintings in Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich - which included portraits of his family, many views from his home and of Flatford Mill in Suffolk. They range from small sketches to the huge 6 foot painting of Salisbury Cathedral

Well worth going if you get the chance - exhibited in Ipswich until Jan 2016. I'm nearly at the end of my 50/50 experiences and have enjoyed doing something a bit different over the last year (except breaking my toe!)

Hoping to do the last New Experience on my 51st birthday this Sunday in the Isle of Wight - no idea what it will be at the moment!

48. Fitbit

The proud possessor of a Fitbit Flex and pair of hot pink Skechers Go Walk shoes. Now the only thing to stop me getting fit is my love of chocolate and natural laziness!

47. Learn to Crochet

Last night I went round Laura's and she taught me to crochet - and believe me, it is a bit harder than it looks!

She made it look so easy as she demonstrated the different stitches - but I struggled a bit. It might be as I'm left handed, but my piece of work looked a bit lumpy by the end!

However, her home made sponge cake was light, fluffy and delicious. I must confess we spent more time chatting and gossiping rather than crocheting, but it was a fun evening.  

I am going to practice and persevere as my aim is to make a crochet ladybird like the one above!

46. I cooked a curry!

Yes, I have NEVER made a curry before, in fact the only curry I have cooked has been in a frozen meal! So yesterday I cooked a Chicken Korma from scratch. First I had to buy all the ingredients, as I didn't have any of the spices needed.

I used the 'good food' recipe from Tesco online as I don't own any recipe books either. Jared came round to help me and I was pleased with the result - a very mild, but tasty Korma

In fact, it went down so well that Libby (who had declared she didn't like curry and wouldn't eat it) had a whole plateful!

Update on No 28 - Wacky online bet!

A while ago I won £10.88 on betting on Italian Volleyball games and its been sitting in my account with Skybet. 

 I decided to blow it all on another obscure bet - so chose to wager it all on 2 blokes called Inglis and Jennings to score a try in the Queensland v New South Wales rugby match. 

And guess what they did! So I won £59.84 from my original stake of £10. I've now withdrawn my winnings and going to quit while I'm ahead.

For those who are interested Queensland won 52 - 6!

43. Pigeon Burger

Oh boy, is it hot today! Just the day to sit in the shade in a garden deep in the Suffolk countryside, chatting with friends, sipping a cold drink and eating pigeon!

Today at Clare and Jonathan's BBQ, I tried their pigeon and bacon burgers - which were tastier than I expected! You may not be able to get pigeon at ASDA or Tesco's, but apparently you can get them at your local butchers, including the one in Needham Market!

42. Watch The Jersey Boys!

This is something Mum, Sharon and I wanted to do whilst in New York last September, but we couldn't get tickets for the Broadway show.

However, Sharon found a good deal on a theatre break in London, so last weekend we all went to finally see The Jersey Boys. 

What a great show with fascinating story and all the famous hits from Franki Valli & The Four Seasons to sing along too!

39. Visit Macy's

 This is something we never got the chance to do last visit, as we ran out of time - so I made sure that a trip to New York's biggest department store was fitted in this time!

Helpfully, any out of state visitors can get a 10% discount card for their purchases, so I picked one up. The shop is huge and we only wandered through the ground floor and didn't get a chance to see the other 10 levels!

I did manage to pick up 2 pairs of earrings which were in the sales and then had the extra 10% knocked off - bargain!

37. The Statue of Liberty

On this trip to New York I braved my fear of boat trips and went on a ferry trip around the Statue of Liberty - and it was well worth it!

Not only do you get close up views of this impressive statue, but you also get some amazing views of the Manhatten skyline too!

36.A Memorial to my Great Great Uncles

Whilst on our recent tour of the battlefields of the First World War, we visited the Lochnagar Crater - the site of the largest crater ever made by man in anger. It is 300 ft wide and 70 ft deep

When the underground mine exploded on 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the sound could be heard in London!

It was bought by an Englishman to save it being filled in and now can be visited by anyone. Around the edge is a walkway, and to help with its upkeep, you can pay for a plaque to commemorate anyone who fought in the Great War.

Mum and I, thought it would be a great idea to have the names of our 3 great great uncles who died in the Somme commemorated in one place - as 2 are buried in separate cemeteries and the other has no known grave. So we have paid for Walter, Charles and Frederick Hollingsworth to have a plaque like this one, next to each other.

34. Shaun the Sheep

Whilst in London I wanted to find some of the Shaun in the City Sheep models as they are only around until the end of May. I didn't have time to visit the trail around St Pauls, but did stumble across  3 around  the Carnaby Street area. 

I've only got photos of 2 of them, as the one inside Hamleys came out too fuzzy!

31. Open Learning

I have just completed my first Open Learning module at the Open University - Information on the Web. Laura Hack told me about the free short courses offered through the on-line learning route. 

I've just enrolled on my next course 'War Memorials and Commemorations' and I might try Earthquakes or an Introduction to Histopathology next!

29. Fractured Toe

These 50 new experiences were supposed to be fun and interesting, but I have just broken my first bone, so I suppose that counts!

I stubbed my little toe on my right foot coming out of my craft room on Saturday and I think it must be fractured. After 3 days, the swelling and bruise has gone down, but it still hurts and I can't get most of my shoes on. According to NHS direct, there is nothing you can do apart from rest it and wait for it to heal - not worth going to the doctors or A&E .

I won't bother to put a photo of the toe up, as there is nothing much to see, but I am walking with a bit of a limp!

PS the greyhound came in 4th.

28. Wacky bet online

Whilst I do the national lottery regularly - I am not a  regular gambler and don't think I have every been inside a bookies!

So, I decided to recklessly gamble £10 online and see what happens. I signed up with sky bet because you get a free £20 bet for new customers. I have put £5 on Ipswich to win the playoffs and then looked around what else I could bet on - so I chose Italian volleyball!

£3 has gone on Pomi Casclmaggiore Womens team to win and £2 on Modena mens volleyball - good luck to them both!

Finally I squandered my free £20 bet on a greyhound called Southpaw Outlaw at 4.37pm this afternoon - just because I am left-handed. I have just looked up his form, he has only won three times in his last 30 races, so I don't hold out a lot of hope!

UPDATE ...... The greyhound lost but both the Italian Volleyball bets won and I now have £10.88 - just waiting for ITFC to win the playoffs now!

27. Visit a Village in Suffolk for the First Time

This was suggested on a girls night out - although I am born and bred in Suffolk and have worked for Suffolk County, Suffolk Coastal, Mid Suffolk and Babergh Councils - there must be a part of Suffolk I have never been to!

Well, there was - Drinkstone, just the other side of Woolpit and this weekend they hosted their annual Sale Trail. 

50p buys you a map of all the houses participating in a table top sale and you can walk (or drive) around the village and pick up a few bargains.

Libby and I spent a lovely morning wandering around and ended up buying 2 books for 20p each, a pencil sharpener shaped like a dog, a jar of home made chutney, several packs of foam pads and double sided tape, a plate of delicious brownies and the blue chair for a fiver!

Everyone was so friendly and chatted to us as we walked around - I was very impressed with the community spirit in Drinkstone!

24. Discovering the grave and memorials of my WW1 Ancestors

Mum and I went to find the graves and memorials of my relatives who died in the First World War

This is the grave of Walter Samuel Hollingsworth, my great, great uncle. He was a Lance Serjeant 43144 (formerly 998) in the 7th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.

He was killed in action in France & Flanders on 12 October 1916. He is buried in the Grevilliers British Cemetery, near Arras, France. He was one of 3 brothers who died in the Great War

Me with the memorial to Charles James Hollingsworth, Private 26822 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.He was killed in action in France & Flanders on 19 April 1918. (The CWGC Register says between 9th and 19th April). He has no known grave, but is commemorated with honour on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium ( near Ypres). Pte Hollingsworth was born in Claydon and enlisted in Bury St Edmunds.

His name is also on the headstone of his wife in Bredfield cemetry.

The third brother was Frederick John Hollingsworth Private 43879 (formerly 4578) 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. He was killed in action in France & Flanders on 19 April 1918, the same time as his brother Charles. He is buried in the Suffolk Cemetery, La Rolanderie Farm, Erquinghem-lys France (near border with Belgium).  Pte Hollingsworth was born in Claydon and enlisted in Woodbridge.

We have no photos of these brothers but we do have a set of wooden bricks which they owned and which have been played with by all of the family since!

On my fathers side of the family we found the name of Arthur W Whiting, 4^th Battalion Suffolk Regiment , who died 15^th July 1916 at The Somme, no body found, but commemorated at Thiepval (near Arras)

We also found the name of a distant relative James Jolly Norfolk Regiment Lance corporal (3^rd cousin 2 x removed) on the Menin Gate at Ypres

23. Last Post at the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium

Every night at 8pm precisely the last post is sounded in Ypres to remember the dead of the Great War. It has happened every night since 1927 - the only exception was during the German occupation of the town in WWII. Traffic is stopped and silence falls on the crowds.

It is a moving ceremony where anyone can participate and lay a wreath or tribute to those who died. The names of nearly 55,000 men who died before August 1917 and whose resting place is unknown are inscribed in the memorial. I attended on Sunday 19th April 2015.

Further details are on the Last Post website

22. Memorial Benches of Christchurch Park

Walking around Christchurch Park yesterday, I casually noticed that many of the wooden benches had names carved in them, I thought there must be some stories behind them, so today I went back to the park and started to make a list and photograph them. 

After an hour I had covered about 3/4 of the park and taken over 40 photos! Obviously that would be too long for a post on this blog - so I have set up a new blog to catalogue them all called Memorial Benches in Christchurch Park!

21. Exotic Meats

I'm not much of a meat eater, but when I saw Kangaroo meatballs and Ostrich burgers in the freezer at Iceland I had to try them out!

And the verdict? 

Well, Libby and I both liked the ostrich burgers, Jared and Lydia preferred the kangaroo meatballs and Steven wasn't impressed by either!