My very first Sloegasm!!!!

Oh errr missus  - yes, I've just experienced my first sloegasm - a lovely cocktail of prosecco and home made sloe gin. Apparently you can also make it with Champagne or any type of white fizzy wine.

I'm typing this after 2 glasses and won't tell you how many typing mistakes I have made on this short update!!!!

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!

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!

41. Visited The Tate Britain

Yes, I confess that I have never visited any of the Tate galleries before, but today Sharon, Mum, Irene and myself went and visited the Tate Britain on Millbank in London. 

The galleries are arranged in decades which gives an interesting perspective on contempory artworks through the ages. I now realise how much I like the Pre-Raphaelite style paintings such as the Lady of Shalott!

A word of warning - don't have the Gooseberry, Elderflower and Lemon smoothie in the cafe, it's far too sharp!

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!

38. Appeared on a billboard on Times Square

Yes, if you look closely enough, you might be able to spot me on the left hand side of these photos of the large electronic Revlon billboard on Times Square in New York!

And on the photo below Steven and I are both in the top left hand corner of the shot!

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.

35. Cable Car over the Thames

Whilst in London we took the opportunity to go on the Emerates Air Line cable car from O2 Greenwich to Victoria Docks. 

The journey gives you great views up and down the river including the Thames Barrier and ExCel Centre.

(No, my eyes weren't shut cos I was scared of heights - just the way the camera caught it!)

33. Visit ComicCon

This was supposed to have happened last October, but Libby broke her leg and it had to be postponed. Luckily they hold them every 6 months at the huge ExCel Centre in London.

I wore some Doctor Who bits ( including my specially decorated converse boots) and Libby went as Steve from Minecraft

There were so many other people dressed up - many in rather obscure Japanese Cosplay characters. But we did spot Gandalf, Mario Brothers, Disney Princesses, Darth Vader and a few storm troupers!

The highlight for Libby was meeting Five Nights at Freddies characters

We also saw Sylvester MacCoy, Bradley Walsh and Boyce & Marlene (from Only Fools & Horses).

The stalls were amazing with areas selling original artwork, comics, games, steampunk stuff and Japanese items.

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!

30. Folded Book Art

I stumbled upon this the other day - recycling old books by folding the pages to make different shapes. Most people start with something simple like a heart - but I decided to dive right in and make an owl!

You need a large hardback  book of at least 500 pages - I picked up mine for 20p at the Drinkstone table top sale. It didn't look like anyone had ever read The Crown by Candle Light by Rosemary Hawley Jarman from 1978!

I bought the pattern from a seller on Etsy who has loads of other patterns such as rabbits, dogs and elephants as well as words like Love and Bride & Groom. Why not google imagesunder Book Folding Art and see what others are available?

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!

25. Visiting Battlefields of the Great War

Mum and I really enjoyed our tour of the French and Belgium battlefields last weekend. Driven around by Galloway Travel, we were lucky enough to have the fabulous Mike Peters as a guide to explain what happened, when, how and more importantly why!

Staying in Ypres, the 4 day tour took us to many sites. My favourite spot was Delville Wood, where thousands of South Africans died trying to get the wood from the Germans. The South African Centre is very impressive and a contrast to the surrounding beautiful bluebell woods.

Other highlights of the tour were the spot where the first gas attack took place 100 years ago, the huge Tyne Cott Cemetery, the first place where tanks rolled into battle, going deep into the mines under Arras and the stunning memorial at Vimy Ridge

We also visited many graves and memorials and heard stories of brave men winning Victoria Crosses, the only female killed in battle, footballers and fighting aces - and even the last resting place of  Chief Sitting Bulls grandson - Standing Buffalo. Mike was really a mine of interesting facts with an encyclopedic knowledge of World War One and the Battle of the Somme.

I would highly recommend anyone to go on a similar tour by Galloway Travel - the accommodation, food and attention to detail could not be faulted!

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!