Sorry for the absence...

I've been extremely busy lately. I had a birthday, went away for a brief explore of the south coast... which was the fun stuff. Then I got a bit morbid and depressed: my nan died, other people I liked very much died, and a health check from Diabetes UK was a bit of a wake up call. I'm healthy and well, but apparently if I don't make drastic and permanent changes, belly really is going to get me...


Don't worry, I think they give a lot of slightly overweight thick-middled women that news, but if I do try to get a bit healthier, it's not going to, er, kill me.

Another reason I have been absent is probably guilt. I've not been terribly frugal of late. I feel like an addict who's been on a bit of a binge. I have new clothes... from a clothes shop!! That's right - not given to me, or bought second-hand. What's got into me?

So, here's my plan to rectify my sorry life...

• Run 10km. I've signed up to Mud & Mayhem at Delapre this November - eek!
• Face my fears more often: This is me at Adrenalin Quarry in Liskeard last week. Half a mile of quarry over water zipping down a wire at 40mph. I'm petrified of heights, which it very spacey...

• Challenge myself. I climbed this tor on Dartmoor - Sheeps Tor. I was cursing the whole way up the 369m above sea level. I was the Englishwoman who went up a hill and came down an "effing mountain."

It's a panorama from the top of the tor... and yes, you can see my OH twice if you look carefully.

I also went swimming here... Bournemouth beach.

It wasn't quite as calm or sunny as that though. In fact it was not long after all these ships had gone that had come to watch the Air Festival.

... which was a jolly good festival.

 I managed to get on my bike too!
Last Saturday, OH and I watched a race between members of a cycling group who had built their own bikes for a scramble race around the fields, and afterwards joined them for an immensely cool party. I may have had too much cider... I thought I might have worked some of it off with vigorous and stupid dancing and also having a go on the turbo bikes powering the disco... but apparently not. My cycling there though was adequate, which I was pleased with. I pushed my bike home...

I also put my walking boots on last week and walked to the Windhover - a walk which takes us down National Cycle Route 6, and loads of blackberries. So I did manage to do something frugal after all.

 Also in the way of sport, I did some more conventional swimming in the pool this week, shortly before doing a review show for Unseenn radio. I'll put a link up for that next week when it goes out.

• Make good decisions that will benefit me. Learn the power of 'no'.

Yes, I've been taking the advice of Jessie Pavelka on board. I must say, he is rather nice... :-)

Right, back to the grindstone!