Monday, 16 February 2015

Ribbon flower

In the last week or so, I have been bombarded by sewing/craft inspiration. It started with WestyWrites writing a couple of posts about digging out her sewing machine and trying out some new projects (which you can read here and here). Then I realised that the Great British Sewing Bee is back on, so I promptly downloaded the current episodes in iPlayer to catch up on.

All this caught up with me yesterday whilst I was having a lazy Sunday evening in front of the TV. Out came the ribbons and buttons box...

The result: a slightly wonky but rather charming flower.

Sunday, 8 February 2015

The life of a TV star

Every now and then I have a totally surreal day, and today was definitely one of them.

The agenda for the day was to join various family members for an organised tour of Bletchley Park, the WWII Codebreaking Centre where Alan Turing and thousands of others worked.


I expected to see some exhibitions, listen to some talks and maybe have a few photos with the family and the exhibits.

Alan's OfficeSlate Statue

I did not expect to be stood in front of assorted media, including five different film crews.


I did not expect to be interviewed by two of the film crews.



Very odd, rather fun and completely unexpected.


Bletchley is an amazing place to visit. Over the last few years it has developed as a great museum, and still growing and improving. Notable exhibitions include the reconstructed Bombe machine (which took 12 years to complete), the Turing section (featuring several items on loan from my aunts) and the mansion (including Denison's office and a temporary exhibition of props and costumes from The Imitation Game movie).

Currently, the Bletchley Park Trust is working to raise funds to develop Hut 11A (the very empty looking room we were pictured in above). The plan is to recreate the orginal conditions that Turing and the others worked in, to create a realistic immersive experience for visitors.

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

This Girl Can

There's a fabulous advert out in the UK at the moment which I want to share...


I was reading ChristyRuns this week and she wrote about the throw like a girl advert, which is pretty inspiring:


But I've got to say that This Girl Can is even better!


Most of my readership is US based (according to my blog stats), so you probably haven't seen it. Each time it pops on the TV, I get re-inspired. I'm sure it's actually got me to the gym on more than one occasion in the last month!

This Girl Can...

... make it to a ballet lesson after a tough day at work and push my muscles and flexibility to the edge.

... run every step in a half marathon, even if it is pretty slow.

... swim lengths, and keep swimming, and keep swimming.

... kick it in a karate or kung fu lesson.

... jump on a spinning machine or rowing machine for 20-30 minutes, even on a stupidly busy day.



This Girl Can

Monday, 2 February 2015

Ballet update

A couple of months ago I re-committed to my ballet classes, and I'm so glad that I did.

When I go to class I have an hour and a half of brain switch-off. Sometimes I even dream about work, so this time is invaluable in enabling me to relax and focus on something else.

When I go to class I become much more aware of how I hold my body and my posture improves.

When I go to class I smile and laugh. My instructor is hilarious, providing us with plenty of giggles between exercises, as well as thoughtful corrections.

When I go to class regularly then I'm much more able to work on my corrections. This way my dancing starts to improve.

And now that I'm attending class more regularly, people are being friendlier. I guess it makes sense to wait and see if a newbie keeps returning before you invest in conversation. Classes are starting to feel much more welcoming.


So, goals for the coming months?

Firstly, just to keep going to class at least once a week!

Also, to wear a leotard that I bought 18 months ago and haven't been brave enough to actually wear! It relies on my posture being amazingly good... (If you're interested, it's this one.)

Lastly, to smile during exercises - this was suggested by fellow ballet enthusiast DaveTriesBallet. It should add to the performance factor of each exercise and hopefully trick my brain into thinking it likes the more challenging moves. Simple and sweet.