The remains of my list of thirty things

oh yes. I had a list of thirty things to do before I was thirty. Turns out I only did half of them. Oh well.

Here is the write up of the last few things I got done. 

Number 8 – get the Eurostar to France (Or Belgium)

I’ve actually done this twice now. In October I went to Paris with Amelia, and for three glorious days we lived in Montmartre and ate (gluten free) galettes and spoke terrible French. We went to Versailles and went rowing on Louis and Marie-Antoinette’s lake which has got to be up there with the most awesome and surreal things in my life (It’s a varied list, and included the memory of committing to memory the feeling of running down the stairs at the Sydney Opera House in my long pink dress to meet up with someone I thought I was in love with; walking a long a road in the middle of the Italian country side in 2009 in my pyjamas and hoodie drinking tea and going to Aldo’s cousins’ dairy to get fresh cheese and being struck with longing for Northern Ireland while half way up a mountain in Wales).

Paris was great. If I spoke better French and had an EU passport I’d go live there for a while. I’d hang out in Montmartre pretending it was 1890 only with better hygiene facilities and that I was much more arty and creative than I really am.

Then in December I got back on the Eurostar and went Lille with Gemma, and ate more galettes, more cheese and more wine and basically had  great day out shopping and getting my Christmas on. Such Fun.

Number 16 – Watch 5^th November Fireworks

Yes I did this one too. On one of the first truly cold evenings of the autumn, or maybe it just felt extra cold because it had been particularly mild before, I don’t remember, Amelia, Cathryn, Gemma and I made our way to Wimbledon Park and stood around in the dark and cold and the mud… oh yes, so much mud, and froze our toes off and watched some fireworks and saw a bonfire being lit and watched some more fireworks and then went home again. 

Speaking of fireworks, the other thing I did which was quite cool (literally and more colloquially/metaphorically) was go down to Westminster Pier on New Years Eve and watch more fireworks. That was amazing. It was stressful. There was a much, much panic, and stress and impending new years eve tears through out the day, but once I got there, and met up with some friends, it was amazing how quickly the four hours or so just dwindled away until all of a sudden 2012 itself was gone, and there were bursts of light and colour dancing through the sky heralding the announcement of 2013, and Big Ben did its thing and then thousands upon thousands of Londoners slowly, orderly and methodically dispersed to various tube stops and went home and got on with life.

Number 28 – Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant or some such thing.

So, I like to try and be classy. But the fact that I finished the above sentence with the words “or some such thing”, suggests that even after living in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for a year, there is a certain level of class, that still eludes me. Anyway. Point is I like food and I’ve long wondered whether the whole multi hundred dollar/pound degustation thing is worth it. So I got together three of my classiest, richest friends – well possibly just the loveliest, most loyal, London based ladies I know – the afore mentioned Amelia, Cathryn and Gemma and convinced them to spend a lot of money on dinner in celebration of my thirtieth birthday. We Went to Viajante in Bethnal Green, and ate lots of delightful little things that all came with complex names and back stories. I don’t remember what half of them were now, but there was some amazing bacon infused butter which I ate on some really decent gluten free bread, and possibly that was the highlight of my meal. The roast celeriac was also delightful. Which maybe proves that £100 meals aren’t my thing. Or maybe it was the moment when eating Mackerel topped with ground coffee, when I leaned over and surreptitiously hissed to Amelia “Is it raw?”

…Things that didn’t quite get done

Number 5 – visit the Lake District and Beatrix Potter House

The first time I booked time off work to go to the Lake District I ended up going to Paris – so its not all bad. However, I have now booked a holiday house in Windermere, so its on the way to getting done.

Number 12 – Ride a bike on the towpath in Newry

Well, this is a hangover from my former existence in which I had some connection to Newry. I don’t see any reason why I’ll be back there anytime, though I am going to Belfast in March… However, the real point behind this was that I actually learn  how to ride a bike. Where I ride the bike doesn’t really matter. Now, I did try. The wonderful Ben Jenkins took me to Hyde Park and got me sitting on a Borris bike and kind of balancing on one for a second or so, and managing to get the pedals round about one and half times before putting my feet on the ground and repeating the process over and over. But it turns out my stubbornness is greater than Ben’s ability to teach – so I resolutely sat on the ground and let myself be convinced I couldn’t ride a bike, and never would be able to, and would probably never be able to do anything, because I never can, and actually it would probably be best if I just stopped then and there, and never attempted anything ever again. I kid you not, that is pretty much exactly what I thought. Perhaps that abseiling instructor had a point after all (that will mean nothing if you haven’t read the mountain climbing post). So, yes, I tried to learn to ride a bike, but I suppose I didn’t try very hard. Perhaps one day, I’ll learn this elementary life skill. You never know.

And all the other things on the list…going back to Prague, going to Lyme, to Dover, to the Cadbury Factory, hearing proper folk music, reading A Vindication on the Rights of Woman, actually finising some of my writing projects didn’t happen. I’m trying not to be too dismal about this. Because while I still can’t ride a bike, I did climb a mountain. And though I didn’t go to Prague or Lyme or Dover, I did go to Lille, Cornwall and Dorset. I’ve sung in my church choir and made a lot of cakes for afternoon teas and cake stalls and sold second hand kids clothes and taught Sunday school a few times, so perhaps that counts as 29 and 30, which were to be involved with a charity and serve at church. Additionally, I went from being a casual to fulltime on Les Miserables, watched the Les Mis film premiere and I went back to singing lessons and reauditioned for opera courses, though once again did no better than a call back at Royal Northern, but I did get to be a naughty French Maid for Dorset Opera, and my 4^th draft for writing project one, though still not complete, is 35 000 words, so at least I’ve done something. I’ve also discovered Downton Abbey and Miranda (yeh, I was living under a rock) and started learning French. Speaking of learning, I’ve also learnt so much about God’s love and forgiveness and I’m so, so grateful for that. So, I say, onwards, 2013.