Turing takes over the world

Or so it seems at least.

This week has been a whirlwind of Alan Turing related activities - it is all so exciting.

It started with the announcement that the Benedict Cumberbatch movie, The Imitation Game, will open the London film Festival:

Wow! That is just super exciting. I have even been in contact with one of the producers at Black Bear Productions about a special family screening and other exciting film events.

And then I also discovered (via The Turing Years twitter feed, run by the wonderful and incredibly busy Prof Barry Cooper) that the Pet Shop Boys were performing a new Turing-inspired piece of music. Further investigation revealed that it was an opera which was being premiered at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. Wow.

Wednesday evening involved me rushing across London, expecting to stand in a queue for a couple of hours in the hope of getting a "promming" ticket (standing in the arena or gallery). Instead, I was incredibly lucky and managed to buy a returned ticket from the box office.

It's hard to explain the feeling. I grew up being told by my mother that my great uncle had done amazing things and was the father of modern computing, but almost no one had heard of him. Then here I was with around 1500 people (very rough estimate) and a much larger number listening to the live broadcast, witnessing a performance all about his life. Crazy.

The opera/musical biography "A Man For the Future" was pretty special. It combined a full orchestra, the electronic musical style of the Pet Shop Boys, choral singing and a narrator speaking over the music. It focused on his work in WWII and his struggles with authority over his sexuality, hinting at some of his other academic successes and genius.

In other Turing news, there are plays and tribute artwork popping up all over the place. The Duchess of Cambridge visited Bletchley Park (WWII code breaking central) last month too. I can barely keep up!

Mid-week lull and learning good habits

Finally! A week where I'm not chasing my tail or working every waking hour. Loving it.

Of course, you might expect that I've had a better week on the workout front, given that work stress has relaxed. But you'd be wrong. I really am a lazy creature and totally enjoyed doing nothing for a couple of days.

It has taken until Wednesday for me to get out to the gym, and the only way I did it was to get in from work, change immediately and go straight back out the door; if I manage to sit on the sofa or glance at the fridge then that is it for the evening!

It's safe to say that self-control is not my natural talent. It's almost like I have to trick or convince myself to get out the door and workout.

My very first before/after workout selfies :)

I don't really believe the spinning machine when it says I've burnt off almost 500 calories. It might be because (although I tried my best) I wasn't always standing on the pedals when it told me to:

One thing that has been working better for me, especially during the week, is eating relatively sensibly. Yesterday I treated myself to a virgin bloody mary and a salad, before my (light and healthy) dinner.

Right, just need to keep it up...

Fireworks, royal palace, ballet and brunch

Summer's here! Hurrah! And I've even had the time to make the most of  the weather :)

Last Saturday we rigged a firework show at Hampton Court Palace. We drove through the gardens and set up behind a beautiful fountain, unfortunately ruining many tourists' photos of the gardens. One of the most picturesque locations I've fired.

No pictures of the actual fireworks I'm afraid because I was on fire/crowd watch.

Then on Thursday I was treated to a night at the ballet! English National Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall. I loved every second! We were sat very close to the action (about 5 rows back), and because of the venue (and very large stage) the performance was "in the round" and the cast was huge. Wonderful.

And today has been perfectly lazy - brunch at my favourite cafe with a new friend, a spot of shopping (new earrings! Yay!) and sunshine :)

What's your favourite way of enjoying the nice weather?

June weekly round up #2

Alternative title: All stress and no working out

This week really didn't go to plan at all, like some don't. Work took over everything for 4 days and I barely managed to sleep, let alone work out!

I'm stumbling into the weekend exhausted and drained, but have promised myself a full day off anything work-related today :) Might even get a chance to enjoy the sun!

Here are the (fairly rubbish) numbers:

Monday: walk to and from work, 25 min spin interval workout (level 2) + bikini core workout 

Tuesday: walk to work only

Wednesday: walk home from work, 2000m on the rowing machine (11.5mins) - so glad I did this because the exercise helped me get some sleep!

Thursday - walk to work

Friday - walk to work

Apologies for the lack of pictures. I simply haven't taken any this week.

June weekly round up #1

Hmmm... Bit of a mixed bag this week. I honestly thought that the first week would be easy, but never mind. Work pressures got in the way (missed ballet class due to being at work) and a couple of nice unplanned evenings.

On the bright side, I did play with a new gym machine that I hadn't noticed before: a spinning machine with video tutorials. I'm not a cycle-y type normally but this was quite fun - lots of changing pace, not too difficult (I picked level one for the first session) and kept me occupied by concentrating on my "cadence" (speed of legs turning). I'm not sure I believe the calorie burn - it didn't seem as hard work as the rowing machine but it reckoned I'd burned 50+ calories more.

Also, I did do better on meal planning this week which mostly kept me eating sensible food and portion sizes. A work in progress.

All in all I'd say there's room for improvement!

The numbers:

Monday: 3.2 mile walk (in a surprising quick 43mins)

Tuesday: walk to and from work (1 mile each way, trying to keep below 17min) + bikini core workout 

Wednesday: walk to work only (surprise dinner date!)

Thursday: walk to work + 27min level one spin session

Friday: walk to work + bikini core work out (unplanned night out)

Time for some accountability

Some of my recent escapades...

Where did my stamina go? I thought I was staying fairly fit and active, what with the skating and skiing and ocassional gym trips. But then last week I did a relatively strenuous gym session followed by some serious ski practise the next day (by serious I mean continuously up the lift, down the slope with little pause for breath or chat). It totally wore me out! I was soooooo tired afterwards - I practically collapsed into bed that night. And even after taking it gently for the next few days (just some light swimming), my muscles didn't recover forat least three days.

It's time I took my fitness a bit more seriously. How am I ever going to survive a long weekend hiking in the Peak District, a couple of days' worth of surfing lessons in Devon or a winter skiing holiday if I'm this out of shape?*

So I'm going to workout every weekday in June, and post my progress here on the blog. It might not make for very exciting reading, but it's my way of being accountable and committing to improving my fitness. 

For the purpose of this challenge that I've set myself, the bear minimum daily workout will be my favourite core workout session from the wonderful Jess at Blonde Ponytail, which only takes 10 mins so should fit easily into the busiest day. I also plan to get to ballet classes (did you wonder what had happened to the ballet? I've been averaging one class every three weeks recently), definitely get to my gym (it's so close that there's no excuse) and also maybe swim occasionally.

Wish me luck!


What are your top tips for getting fitter and staying motivated? Do you have a short workout routine that you'd recommend?

In other news - I plan to do some more posts about all of the amazing Alan Turing events that are happening at the moment. My twitter feed is full of exciting news from Alan Turing Years, The Imitation game and Bletchley Park Podcast...

* Currently none of these exciting sounding trips are booked, but you never know what's round the corner!

Cabinet of dreams

It took me ages to properly realise the potential of our latest Ikea purchase. But finally I sorted it out so here you go...

Ta-dah!

My make up and hair station :)

It's a great height for me (between elbow and shoulder), in-built mirror, compartment for my make-up... everything.

This is the inside:

It's been a good incentive to get rid of old, crumbly, rubbishy make-up that's been around too much. I don't wear make-up very often and as a result it often ends up sitting in the bottom of a bag for far too long.

The latest (and most genius) addition is the extension lead. For the first time in ages I have a mirror within easy placement of a socket for my hairdrier. It's luxury.

And below, the drawers are also being put to good use:

Hairdrier, brushes, conditioning and heat protection spray, heated curlers, gas curler, hair straighteners, the lot!

Most are only used once in a blue moon - I'm not half as organised or stylish as these pictures would suggest. Now, if only I could manage to organise the rest of the place just as well...