Updates

50 of my favourite songs

These tracks are in no particular order and I’ve tried to list each artist only once… but found it difficult to narrow it down to one track in many cases… never mind…

  1. Kissing a fool or maybe Spinning the Wheel or perhaps Cowboys and Angels… all classics by George Michael… I love the intro to Cowboys and Angels about 45 seconds in and also the smooth mellow saxophone instrumental at the end… Oh, and Fast Love and December Song, Georges ‘other’ Christmas song…
  2. Space Oddity or maybe Fame or maybe Aladdin Sane by David Bowie: legend…
  3. Corner of the Earth by Jamiroquai: awesome track which reminds me of trekking in remote places
  4. Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks: love this… chillin’ summery F*** it kind of song… also like ‘Tired of Waiting for You’… how cool were the 60’s?
  5. Tainted Love by Soft Cell: brilliant and classic 80’s track
  6. Gloria; Sunday Bloody Sunday; New Years Day… I’m a big fan of early 80’s U2 tracks. Oh yes… and Party Girl… silly but fab song!
  7. Could You Be Loved? One of Bob Marley’s brilliant tracks…
  8. Light my fire by The Doors: always been a fave; together with People are Strange…
  9. Club Tropicana by Wham! You can feel the holiday vibe with this
  10. Pass out by Tinie Tempah: love the instrumental bits in this
  11. California Dreaming by Mamas and Papas: bunch of hippies singing about one of my favourite places… love it!
  12. Bohemian Like You by Dandy Warhols
  13. Spaceman by Babylon Zoo… slightly weird
  14. Blue Monday by New Order: reminds me of the 80’s
  15. Valerie by Amy Winehouse: brilliant track… or Back to Black? Maybe Back to Black pips the post of my Amy faves… a bit depressing but Amy at her best…
  16. Happy by Pharrell Williams: a real uplifting song… in fact probably the most uplifting song I can think of
  17. Hawaii 5-0 theme tune: one of my favourite instrumentals; reminds me of Hawaii
  18. Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs: classic… ‘nuff said…
  19. Paint it Black by Rolling Stones: a classic Stones track… closely followed by ‘The Last Time’… love this too…
  20. Echo Beach by Martha And The Muffins: gotta have a beach track or two in here somewhere!
  21. Don’t stop the Music by Rhianna: I like a few Ri Ri songs but this is probably my fave…
  22. Livin La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin: maybe a bit cheesy but I still love this track from old swivel hips!
  23. Smile by Lily Allen… bit of attitude from Lily… Love it…
  24. The Real Slim Shady by Eminem: one of many excellent Eminem tracks
  25. Feel by Robbie Williams: by far the best Robbie track… spine tingly brilliant…
  26. Aint No Sunshine by Bill Withers
  27. Wonderwall by Oasis… classic
  28. Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana; one of my favourite bands
  29. Mambo Italiano by Sophia Loren: love a bit of latino Italiano…
  30. Mucho Mambo (sway) by Shaft… more latino… makes me want to get up and dance about… sorry, one more… also Lambada by Kaoma… want to find a beach bar and do the lambada all afternoon with easy access to a jug of caipirinha… sigh…
  31. Thriller by Michael Jackson: have heard this hundreds of times but never get tired of it… well its either Thriller or Off the Wall… I love Off the Wall too, real boppy stuff…
  32. Black Velvet by Alannah Myles: sultry…
  33. Gypsies Tramps And Thieves by Cher: best Cher track… so original… actually not usually keen on her songs but this is an awesome track…
  34. Age of Aquarius by The 5th Dimension: my birth sign and another hippy track!
  35. Mrs Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel… fantastic classic film! Scarborough Fair and Sound of Silence are more awesome tracks…
  36. She’s not there by The Zombies
  37. The Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune… love this and could listen to it over and over again… fabulous piece of music
  38. Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira: Sassy… wish I could shake and swivel my hips in the manner of Shakira…
  39. Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses… awesome track especially towards the end where it goes… ‘Where do we go… where do we go now…’
  40. Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc: an absolute must have in my list!
  41. Love and Pride by King: not the best vocals but a brilliant tune… another classic 80’s track and really uplifting
  42. Lady Gaga – Telephone ft Beyonce… love this song!
  43. Call Me – Blondie… brilliant 70’s track…
  44. Hung Up – Madonna… what is it with telephone songs??? Am I weird??? No… while I like this Madonna song I think Secret is probably my favourite Madge track…
  45. Ticket to ride; Twist and Shout; Love Me Do… a few classics from the Beatles
  46. Message in a bottle by Police…another real classic
  47. Baggy Trousers; House of Fun; Night Boat to Cairo… love a bit of early Madness…
  48. Down Under by Men at Work… a guilty pleasure
  49. Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, Pink – Lady Marmalade… Hey sister go sister…
  50. Hotel California by The Eagles… another brilliant track which I could listen to over and over again…

 

 

May book review(s)

Book number 7

Book read: Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson

This is the first book by a famous travel writer that I’ve read this year. This book documents Bryson’s trip from the very top of Europe starting in Hammerfest in Norway as he travels across the continent and right through to Istanbul where the east of Europe meets Asia.

This was Bryson’s first travel book which was written in 1991 and I must say that I did read the original paperback version when it was published then, so over 25 years ago.

It felt weird reading this book again as it is nothing like I remembered it! This shows how time can distort the way you remember things… I have since been to many of the places he visited which is great as I can now relate to them. Maybe this is another reason I remembered the book so differently?

This isn’t the best book of my 50@50 challenge year by any means… Bryson does complain a great deal and does paint himself as a stereotypical moany tourist… I found the book funny in places but after a while the jokes become a bit tedious…

 

Book number 8

Book read: Lone Rider by Elspeth Beard

Elspeth was the first female to circumnavigate the world by motorbike and documents this fantastic journey in the form of her book. She is incredibly inspiring as she shares every detail including accounts of her being treated badly, being ill and having to deal with nightmare bureaucratic border crossings.

She did this between 1982 and 1984 so long before the days of smart phones and sat navs… and while in her early 20’s…

I was in the middle of reading of her immense courage and the hardships she overcame on her own while on my recent solo trip to Montenegro. This really put my trip into perspective… the short flight, comfy hotel, things to do, people being super friendly so not even a little toe dipped out of my comfort zone… Elspeth inspired me to do something more adventurous another time…

Elspeth noticed that people in developing countries seemed far happier as she reflected on her journey towards the end of the book:

“It was clear to me how easy it is to take things for granted and forget to be grateful for the basics in life: family, food and shelter.”

This is something I also noticed while travelling around the world in 2016… travelling in developing countries is a humbling experience…

 

FB_IMG_1475959121024.jpg

Always up for more adventures…

 

 

Week 18 and 19 walking progress

20180513_123915-1.jpg
Dorset’s beautiful Jurassic coastline

Week 18 walking progress:

  • Total for week 18 = 46 miles
  • Average per day for this week (46 / 7) = 6.58
  • Running total = 571 + 46 = 617 miles
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 617) = 433

Another good effort for week 18 with much of this being completed by trudging about in London, to and from train stations rather than getting the tube! Sunday of this week was unseasonably hot in England and I walked 11 miles in 28 degrees with one of my local walking groups!

 

Week 19 walking progress:

  • Total for week 19 = 40 miles
  • Average per day for this week (40 / 7) = 5.71
  • Running total = 617 + 40 = 657 miles
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 657) = 393

I had a week off work and crammed two trips in… the first part of the week was spent on a short solo break to Montenegro where I went for several walks around Kotor, Tivat and Budva. While in Kotor I climbed the 1350 steps to the San Giovanni castle which gives you spectacular views of the Kotor and its majestic fjord.

In contrast the second part of my week was spent in Lulworth Cove, Dorset where I had a brilliant weekend as part of a large group of friends. We did an energetic 9 mile hike along the gorgeous Jurassic coastline (past Durdle Door) on Saturday and a 5 mile hike past Lulworth Cove on Sunday. Both hikes were strenuous with steep ascents and descents along the wild and dramatic cliffs.

I’m also quite chuffed that I now have under 400 miles to achieve my target of 1050 miles walked in 2018… go me!!

 

 

May weigh-in

Starting weight (4th December 2017): 10 st 7 lb

January weight: 9 st 10 lb

February weight: 9 st 0 lb (weight on 1st Feb would have been around 9 st 4 lb)

March weight: 8 st 12 lb

April weight: 8 st 7 lb (119 lbs or 54 kg)

May weight: 8 st 3 lb

Total weight loss: 32 lbs

People have started to comment on my weight loss and I’m still losing weight… I don’t want to lose anymore so I’m trying to find the balance and understand how many calories I can eat against how many I’m using up in relation to the exercise I’m doing.

I have an app on my phone called ‘My Net Diary’ which has an apple logo and can help with weight management. I don’t use it although did check that for me to maintain a weight of 8 st 7 lb (I’m 5’3″ or 161 cm), I would need to consume 1673 calories each day. And this doesn’t include any exercise meaning that if I burn an extra 300 calories each day, I would be able to consume 1973 daily calories.

From past experience where I’ve lost weight and quickly become complacent again (resulting in regaining the weight) I’ve realised the only way for me to manage my weight properly is to roughly count my calorie intake each day. It is too easy to ignore the amount of food and as such calories you consume which quickly adds up and the pounds soon begin to reappear. So to stay at my current weight I really do need to tot up the calorie total each day!

As a 50 year old woman I am at the age of the dreaded menopause… I’m not sure if I’m there yet or even if I’ve had the perimenopause (which can start in your early 40’s or even in your 30’s) and is the time leading up to the full menopause. Other than difficulty sleeping most nights I haven’t really had any symptoms (although this might be due to my birth control implant which might be masking things…).

Anyway… the point of this is that getting plenty of exercise and eating properly can help with menopause symptoms by improving your mood, boosting your energy and helping to keep your metabolism faster. One more reason to stay fit and healthy!

 

 

Gym update

Today is 1st May and I’ve now been attending the gym on a regular basis for 5 months (having joined during the first week of December 2017). This is probably the longest I’ve kept up a gym membership for… ever…!

I am still attending the gym 2 or 3 times a week and have got into a routine of spending an hour each time before starting work in the mornings. I vary my routine slightly and haven’t yet missed a session.

I am feeling incredibly fit now and the buzz I feel when I’ve completed each session is huge meaning I feel positive and ready to face anything throughout the day!

FB_IMG_1524419739192.jpg

 

Week 17 walking progress

Week 17 walking progress:

  • Total for week 17 = 33 miles
  • Average per day for this week (33 / 7) = 4.71
  • Running total = 538 + 33 = 571 miles
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 571) = 479

A fairly average week of walking to and from work, a bit extra at the gym and 10 miles with my local walking club on Sunday.

20180429_115010.jpg
Lovely bluebells on Sunday’s 10 mile walk!

 

 

Vegan verdict

Conclusions on vegan diet…

For my last day as a vegan a little reflection on the last month is in order. What has this month taught me?

I do feel incredibly healthy and positive in both mind and body. I have a little personal turmoil at the moment but that’s for another post.

Throughout the last month I’ve managed fairly well to stick to a predominantly vegan diet. Unfortunately I’ve not managed to be a 100% vegan…

  • Chris and I visited a local pub for dinner one evening. There was no vegan option and the only vegetarian option was mushroom risotto… I’m not keen on mushrooms or risotto so decided to have fish and chips.
  • During my recent trip to Oslo with my vegan daughter Zoe, we were able to follow a vegan diet without too much difficulty. The hotel had a massive choice of breakfast enabling me to have soya milk on my cereal, beans on toast, smoothies etc. Oslo has several excellent vegan restaurants including Nordvegan and Funky Fresh Foods. However on the last night we set out to look for something to eat but at 8.30 pm on a Sunday most specialised vegan restaurants had closed. We found an Olivia restaurant but the only vegan option was a bowl of olives! So we had to get a vegetarian pizza…

Lessons learned:

  1. I have no issues with preparing vegan food at home; there are thousands of tasty vegan recipes and I never get fed up with curries and soups. I don’t miss meat at all.
  2. Many restaurant chains now have specific vegan menu’s which is great. However this doesn’t apply to all and going to the two restaurants mentioned above has meant breaking my vegan pledge.
  3. Having discussed veganism with my daughter Zoe she now refers to herself as having a ‘plant based diet’ rather than calling herself a vegan.

Conclusion:

Following a vegan diet throughout April and March’s vegetarian lifestyle have encouraged me to think carefully about my approach to food and eating.

Giving vegetarianism some careful thought I don’t feel its much more ‘animal friendly’ than people who eat meat. It could even be considered worse… I am not an expert but I would assume that killing a cow for its meat means the animal suffers less than a cow who is milked for its entire life. Therefore if someone decides to become a vegetarian and as a result consumes more cheese rather than eating meat, are they in fact being more harmful to cows?

I also believe that a predominantly vegan lifestyle is a healthy lifestyle choice and that eating meat isn’t really necessary.

Taking all things into consideration this is what I am going to do from now:

  • I will cook vegan as much as possible at home although I will revert back to having fish occasionally.
  • I will order vegan food as a priority if it’s available on restaurant menu’s. If it isn’t I’ll go for the most healthy choice.
  • I’m not keen on the way animals are used to produce milk (which is meant for baby cow’s) so I will continue to have oat milk or coconut milk rather than cow’s milk. And have occasional cheese but try to get vegan cheese where possible.
  • I might very occasionally have chicken but only if it’s free range and organic. And the same applies to eggs.
  • I won’t eat pork, lamb or beef again. The only exception would be if I am invited as a guest and someone has kindly cooked it for me without realising my food preferences. This would be extremely rare and might occur less than once a year. However I wouldn’t want to make a fuss or offend my host.

So following my vegetarian and vegan months and discussing the terminology with Zoe, from now I am going to follow a primarily plant based diet! 

 

 

Week 16 walking progress

Week 16 walking progress:

  • Total for week 16 = 44 miles
  • Average per day for this week (44 / 7) = 6.29
  • Running total = 494 + 44 = 538 miles
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 538) = 512

A milestone in week 16… yes, I’ve completed over half of the 1050 miles I had pledged to walk in 2018 already 🙂

Some of these miles were walked in and around Oslo city centre. On Saturday my daughter and I clocked up 9 miles and a further 8 on Sunday. It’s surprising how many miles you can walk by spending a day in a city!

 

 

Visiting Oslo

20180422_154324-1.jpg
Oslo

Having set myself a goal to travel to every European capital city a few years ago, I’ve been fortunate to visit many of them. This has been greatly assisted with budget airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair. In the past I’ve even visited some of them for just a day by taking the first flight out, spending the day exploring and coming back on the last flight home.

Oslo is one of the cities I had never managed to visit… well, until last weekend! My daughter Zoe and I had 3 nights in Oslo, the full details of which are covered in our Oslo travel blog post!

There are 51 European capital cities and so far I’ve been to 32 of them:

  • Vienna (Austria)
  • Brussels (Belgium)
  • Sofia (Bulgaria)
  • Zagreb (Croatia)
  • Nicosia (Cyprus)
  • Prague (Czech Republic)
  • Copenhagen (Denmark)
  • Tallinn (Estonia0
  • Helsinki (Finland)
  • Paris (France)
  • Berlin (Germany)
  • Athens (Greece)
  • Budapest (Hungary)
  • Reykjavik (Iceland)
  • Dublin (Ireland)
  • Rome (Italy)
  • Riga (Latvia)
  • Vaduz (Liechtenstein)
  • Luxembourg City (Luxembourg)
  • Valletta (Malta)
  • Monaco (Monaco)
  • Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  • Oslo (Norway)
  • Warsaw (Poland)
  • Lisbon (Portugal)
  • Bucharest (Romania)
  • Bratislava (Slovakia)
  • Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  • Madrid (Spain)
  • Stockholm (Sweden)
  • London (UK)
  • Vatican City (Vatican City)

 

Still to visit:

  • Tirana (Albania)
  • Andorra la Vella (Andorra)
  • Yerevan (Armenia)
  • Baku (Azerbaijan)
  • Minsk (Belarus)
  • Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzgovina)
  • Tbilisi (Georgia)
  • Astana (Kazakhstan)
  • Pristina (Kosovo)
  • Vilnius (Lithuania)
  • Skopje (Macedonia)
  • Chisinau (Moldova)
  • Podgorica (Montenegro)
  • Moscow (Russia)
  • San Marino (San Marino)
  • Belgrade (Serbia)
  • Bern (Switzerland)
  • Ankara (Turkey)
  • Kiev (Ukraine)