A couple more firsts

Following on from the success of my ice skating I decided to do two more sporty firsts.  On Saturday 20th April, a few miles from home, my two youngest daughters and I spent a couple of hours honing our golfing skills, shooting a few arrows and generally having a good time.

I've never been a fan of golf and on the odd occasions I've tried it, have been fairly rubbish to say the least and to be honest, this was no exception.  But hang on a minute I hear you say, aren't you supposed to be doing things for the first time, Alison?  And here you are banging on about being rubbish at golf when you've done it before.  Yes, you're absolutely right, but the deal was nine holes of pitch and putt or in my case swing, miss, swing, hit ground, search for divot to replace it, swing, miss, swing, hit ball a few feet into water, look for ball, get muddy, find ball, drop on course, swing, miss, swing ... you get the picture!  This was the part I'd done before, although in my defence it was only once and many years ago, and clearly no one would have been able to tell I wasn't a novice.

So then we got to the 'fifty firsts' and after the nine holes, of which the highlight was winning 'Augusta' in four shots, we retired to the club house and stoked up on coffee before heading off to the driving range.  Now I had never been to a driving range before and to be honest, despite the fact that the golf had been a whole lot more fun than I had remembered it would be, I still wasn't hugely enthusiastic.  But actually it turned out to be quite a thrill - there weren't as many misses in between the swings and no divots anywhere in sight, which was a definite improvement and I managed to hit a few good shots, which actually travelled quite some distance.  OK, so they weren't always in the direction I originally intended, but I didn't hit anyone and the club never left my hands.  Oh, and it was so rewarding to imagine the balls were all those little niggles in life that get you down, you know, the people who have made your life unnecessarily difficult at work, the neighbours keeping you awake all night playing the same three songs over and over again at their impromptu party, which is still going strong at 5 am, those marvellous 'computer says no' moments that seem to occur right when you're in the middle of some important piece of work and you've forgotten to save - I could go on.

After the driving range it was the turn of archery.  Now this was the one I had really been  looking forward to.  Yeah, good one - I could barely pull the arrow back, such are my weakling biceps ... and I go to the gym every week!  Then I had problems actually keeping the arrow in the bow and I have to admit I was tempted to go back and ask for a child sized one.  Finally I managed to shoot my first arrow, only for it to nose dive approximately 2 feet from where I was standing into the ground - I kid you not!!  This was definitely NOT my forte!  Anyway I persevered and I managed to hit the target twice, once in the white ring and once in the black ring - not worth counting the points though!  I also mangaged to fire some longer shots with a bit more power, but struggled to combine distance and accuracy.  We just won't mention the fact that the two small children, both under 5, were marginally better than me! 

All in all though a very enjoyable couple of hours and two more off the list, now I've just got to work out what to do next!

Day 1 - First of the fifty things: ice skating

So April 6th dawned and I was 50.  What was worse was that I actually had to start doing all thes things I've set myself up for - somewhat daunting, particularly as the list is by no means complete!

Anyway, first on the list was ice skating and just after 7 pm we set off - me , my three daughters and my new son-in-law, fresh back from his honeymoon with his new wife, my eldest daughter.  It was a fair few miles to our nearest ice rink, Gillingham Silver Blades, and on the journey I felt both apprehensive and excited - like  child going on holiday for the first time.  Of course my younger two daughters had enjoyed winding me up earlier in the day by telling me that when the skates are handed over you have to prove you won't be a complete liability on the ice by walking in a straight line on the carpet.  I have to admit, that although it sounded like complete rubbish, a small part of me worried that it might be true and that I'd fail before even getting on the rink.  I'd also worried about what to wear, how many pairs of socks I'd need to pad out the skates, whether I'd be following up the skating with a trip to the local A & E department, if I'd be the oldest person there and so on.  Also, we'd planned to go to the Disco Skate - surely it was going to be hard enough to stay upright, I wasn't going to have to dance as well was I??

We arrived and parked, paid our dues and exchanged shoes for skates - no going back now.  My eldest daughter confided that like me, she was also an ice skating virgin, so I felt a little reassured that I wouldn't be the only novice, but then she's got 25 years on me and you know what they say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. 

Happily, I'm pleased to report that this old dog did very well thank you!  Oh my God, I loved it, every single second of it!  I wobbled on to the ice and had a few tips from daughter number two ... lean forwards, keep your weight over the skates and for God's sake stay near the edge and avoid the small children!  Luckily there weren't many small children to avoid, but they definitely had it easier with small child sized penguins to push round and hold on to.  Taking one out and stealing their penguin was mighty tempting during the first few circuits!  I was amazed by what good exercise and how strenuous skating is.  When going round I didn't feel tired or like I was breathing any harder, but when I stopped to catch up with one of the family to compare notes on technique or lucky escapes, I was quite out of breath - and I pride myself on being reasonably fit!  

By the end of the evening I was skating round quite happily like a professional novice, if not quite like a professional skater.  I was able to manoeuvre round other skaters and get out of other people's way with a small amount of skill, if not style, and was overtaking in the same vein as on the motorway, although not at the same speed I hasten to add.  I attempted going backwards, but that wasn't happening and I also attempted crossing one leg in front of the other.  That didn't go so well either, the back leg being far too easy to get tangled with the front one, but amazingly I managed to stay upright the entire time!  Well, that's not entirely true.  Yes, I did actually end up on my arse on the ice, although in my defence, it was only once - right at the end of the evening, when i was standing still, about to get off the ice!!  I'm not sure if that's a plus - that I didn't fall when physically skating or actually more embarrassing that I slipped when standing still ... your call!

But all in all, a resounding success.  The next morning I wanted to go again, in fact I'd go every day if I could, yes, I loved it that much!  So when I buy the winning Euromillions lottery ticket (and I'm saving that Fifty Firsts moment until there's a sizeable jackpot) I'll be using the money to build an ice rink here in Folkestone.  Everyone should learn to skate, in fact maybe I could petition the Government to have it added to the PE curriculum ...

The countdown begins!

Less than a week to go now, in fact only 3 more days!  I’m planning to do more regular updates once my year actually kicks off.  I’ll be writing about the events before and after they happen, sharing my thoughts and feelings before I do some of the more challenging items on the list, letting you know how they went and what actually happened and then how I’m feeling afterwards as I cross things off the list.  I’m sure that there will be a lot of mixed pleasures along the way and by this time next year I’ll be feeling quite emotional as I approach the end of my list of fifty.  I’m confident there will be loads of memories to share and treasure, plenty to feel proud of and probably also some that bring back feelings of panic! 

This week I’ve made initial enquiries about skydiving – when’s the best time, how far in advance I need to book, what happens if the weather isn’t obliging and so on.  I’m aiming for July or August for that one, but first I have to pass the medical and get a ‘fit to fly’ certificate from my GP.  Hopefully I’ll pass and get the go ahead.

Ten days ago my eldest daughter got married and despite the weather it was a fabulous day.  I was honoured to be the one who walked her down the aisle to give her away and slightly nervous about doing the parent of the bride speech, but everything went to plan.  I didn’t trip or swear as we made our way from the church doorway to the altar and everyone laughed in all the right places during my speech.  I just can’t help feeling it’s a tiny bit of a shame that this momentous occasion didn’t take place after April 6^th though, because that could have been two things crossed off my list.  Still I can’t hold it against my daughter and her new husband – the date was chosen long before my enterprise had been thought of.

I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with you and I promise not to miss out any embarrassing bits I’d rather forget – you’ll get the whole deal, all the highs and lows of what will hopefully be a memorable year for me!