Chocolate is not the only fruit

As *Farah talks about her family threatening to kill her and the out of control drinking that has stopped her from achieving her ambitions her stunning smile remains. When talking about her drinking with friends she apologises for an accidental swear word and we laugh until she also mentions the self harm and violence that ensued. Farah's face is perfectly made up and we are mesmerised by her precise eyeliner and smooth skin. When she tells us she is hoping to start a successful beauty business we all admire what a superb advert she is for her own skills. It's only when she mentions the serious sexual assault for which her attackers were not punished that her eyes are downcast and she admits that whenever she's talked about it before she's cried. Today I feel the skin on my face tighten and my eyes prickle as I hold back the tears that are desperately close to cascading at how honest and brave she has been in telling us about her life.

Hazz pictured with fellow bloggers: Liz, Penny, Afra and Marissa.

Farah has just come out of a women's group session at New Horizons Youth Centre in North London. She has attended the centre for over a year having first come with a friend who needed to use their services. Now she is a regular here and the women's support worker Hazz - who is funded by Comic Relief - tells us that at times Farah has sought reassurance that people believe her because surely the case would not have been dropped if they didn't think she was lying. It is so unfair and difficult to explain why a lack of evidence can lead to her attackers walking free when she still carries it around with her. Without New Horizons Farah would still be in a spiral of self harm and drinking that has led to unsafe behaviour and robbed her of every opportunity that has come her way so far. The aftermath of the assault and the lack of justice could have sent her back to drink, but with the one to one and group support offered at the centre she is able to open up and share her experiences instead.



The New Horizons Youth Centre offers a non-judgemental place for young people where they can eat a meal, do laundry, talk to support workers if they want to and hang out with peers. On the afternoon we visited one young man was doing a magic trick in the lounge area involving a playing card and an orange. The reaction he got was fantastic and would honestly give Dynamo a run for his money !

A friendly face at reception is vital to reassure young people they are safe.

We observed the women's group session in progress and noted the empty Haribo and Monster Munch packets on the table as the women took nail varnish bottles out of colourful make up bags. While they painted nails Hazz asked them questions ranging from light hearted to deep and emotional. At one point a woman was talking about wanting to wear a sari then another described how drinking made her feel 'invincible.' It's this approach that makes the women feel safe and it's takes skill and sensitivity to work as effectively as it does. It made me smile when they talked about a future session being Bollywood themed and one of the young women softly enquired, "we can still have Monster Munch right ?" It is so disarming to be reminded that however mature they appear these women are still so childlike.

Later we talk to the young women who facilitated this afternoon's session, *Polly and *Lucy. They are users of the centre and when asked where they'd be if they weren't here Lucy answers that she'd be on the streets or doing drugs. At one point she was coming to New Horizons every day and it was her stabliity in a life where she had none. Now she has a timetable and attends on specific days to give her a chance to develop other interests and she is feeling confident about seeking work. Both talk to us about how the centre staff are more like family to them than their actual families. This is an aspect of the work here that cannot be measured, but clearly is a major contributor to improving the lives of the young people who come here.

picture cards to help young people communicate when they arrive

Any young person can access support from New Horizons, especially those who fall through the cracks. The young people who the local authority cannot help or who have moved from elsewhere in the country and therefore are not entitled to housing. They will be supported until the age of 22, but are not entirely cut off at this point. A worker will help them work towards independence from New Horizons so that they are not just left with no support once they turn 22.

In the years I've been fundraising with Team Honk I've been proud knowing that we're raising money for great causes both overseas and in the UK. It's wonderful to see first hand how the UK grants are being used to make such a profound difference to the lives of young people who would otherwise be left in difficult or harmful situations. One thing that really struck a chord with me was that all the young people we met have family relationships that have broken down. They do not have the safety net of support that my children do if anything goes wrong. As we left the centre I looked at the young men and women standing outside smoking just before it closed for the day. To a casual observer they seem just like anyone else. The best thing we can achieve by supporting projects like New Horizon is to instil in these young people the belief that they deserve the same chances as anyone else. I am grateful that New Horizons exists for vulnerable young people and has done for 50 years.

We are raising money again this year to support Red Nose Day and Comic Relief.
If you could donate any money it would be absolutely wonderful.
Thank you: https://my.rednoseday.com/sponsor/Swazi

Thank you to Ali at Comic Relief and Stella at New Horizons for making this visit possible. Special thanks to all the staff and young people we met and talked to on our visit. You are all amazing. 

*The names of all the young women have been changed to respect their privacy.

Having fun during a riding lesson

It's not a matter of public record, but I am a big fan of the Archers. It was while discussing this shared interest that the topic of the RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) came about. You see while the Archers storylines often feature horses and stables there is no mention of any riding by or for disabled people. It was this in mind that I was delighted to be invited by Comic Relief to visit a project they fund, East Park Riding for the Disabled Group in Surrey.

I've been a bit under the weather this week and as a result I've been unable to do any of my usual things. I haven't been swimming, or walking as much as I usually do and I missed Clubbercise last night. I've also not felt up to blogging which is why I've been a bit quiet. I am resting up in order to be up to full strength for next week and my big plans with Team Honk. You might recall that in past years I've scootered round London to the locations on the Monopoly board dressed as a burglar - 'get out of jail - geddit ?


Last year was the most challenging when I took part in a 6 hour danceathon at Wembley Arena surrounded by fellow Honkers. I learned plenty of new dance moves and had a great time. It's always great fun raising money with Team Honk.


This year is no exception an on Saturday (19th March) I'm going to be joining the lovely Nell Heshram who came up with the idea of a museum dash and Penny Alexander who is one of the founders of Team Honk. Our aim is to visit as many museums in London as we can in one day. The museum dash is going to be full on and I suspect we won't get to take in much culture, but we'll do our best to share on social media as we go along. I need tonnes of energy for both days and more importantly sponsorship to help motivate me to keep going.

I've been very lucky that the lovely folks at Wayfair are sponsoring me as part of Team Honk for Sport relief and I'd like to equal their generous donation. If you can give anything that would be fantastic. If you can share my progress on social media as I take part on Saturday that would be brilliant.

Donate here: Swazi's Sightseeing at Speed

Share on Social media using the hashtags: #SR16 #teamhonk 

An epic finale to an amazing day

Yesterday I was in Wembley with 2000 other people - mostly women - dancing non-stop to raise money for good causes and whenI returned home I was tired, but with such a feeling of having done something that was both great fun and had achieved some good. Today I felt disbelief that it was over already. This event that I had been thinking about for so many weeks and that is now done. We did it !

Next week I will be a stallholder for the first time at my lovely friend Yasmin's Mother's Day Pamper Event. It's one of my favourite events of the year with so many wonderful therapists offering treatments to pamper and relax as well as lovely stalls selling wonderful gifts and treats. I've been preparing for months now, buying stock and photographing the gifts I'll have for sale. This is my first attempt at being a saleswoman and I'm hoping it goes well, but I'll be honest I'm nervous. I'm not averse to trying new things, but it doesn't come without some cost to my well being.

I don't deal well with change. Whenever I've moved house I've at some point been crying in a heap over the sheer enormity of it all. This was not good when I moved house about ten times over a period of five years. I was actually becoming convinced I'd never find a place to call home. When I did buy my flat I was still all over the place - mentally - and my friend Neil observed that I was living surrounded by boxes and that I was becoming distressed by the temporariness of it all. Once I unpacked - he surmised - I would feel better. I did, he was right and it was ok, but you get the point. I don't do change.

When a big change is coming I keep busy and I make lists and I set myself an impossible amount of work to do before everything will be ready. This is what I do. Not because I want to, but because it's how I deal with change. Well, I don't deal with change actually, I try to control how things will change and that's not always within my control.

We have a big change coming soon - a good thing - and I'm a bit of a mess. I have stumbled on for months knowing this might happen and not letting myself believe it will. I've tried to organise and plan myself into being ok with waiting when I really am nothing of the sort. Slowly I've become more and more unbearable so that now I am virtually incoherent when I'm around Hubbie and our boy. I am so easily thrown into a state of exasperation at that pencil not being in the right place or those tomatoes being the wrong shade of red or - heaven forbid - someone not reading my mind and doing that thing I didn't say I wanted done.

I can't explain anything right now. It's all a bit too awesome. If I was a creative sort I'd make a movie out of lego about it, but I'm a mere scribe tapping my random thoughts into this space and hoping that it makes sense to someone. It surely doesn't to me right now.

If you haven't sponsored me yet it's not too late: www.my.rednoseday.com/sponsor/swazirodgers

So it's been a pretty eventful few days.

On Monday night I went to the first night of Anything Goes at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley and it was absolutely fantastic ! I know all the songs (you probably do too) and it was just so vibrant and fun. It was a really great start to the week and seeing all the lovely dancers in their vintage outfits gave me some inspiration for my danceathon outfit next week.

It's been London Fashion Week - an event I used to take great interest in before it became entirely out of the realms of my reality - well since the Clothes Show stopped being shown on telly really. I always loved watching the catwalk shows (of course now it's called a runway instead which is part of the reason I stopped caring) and seeing what the designers had in store for the rich and thin. I am neither so you can see why it's less of a thing for me now.

To demonstrate how far I am from being a fashionista I got all discombobulated about a tweet I saw telling me that Krispy Kreme were giving away free doughnuts to celebrate their 1,000th store opening. I discreetly did up my cardigan (I said about the fashion thing didn't I ? I wasn't kidding !) and left the office. I did that fast walk that looks like you need the loo really urgently all the way to the shop on High Holborn and the nice man handed me a lovely and nutritionally questionable foodstuff in a bag. It made my day that did :)


Then Madonna fell off a high stage in a wardrobe fail that looked terribly painful and caused all sorts of reactions - from claims that she had done it on purpose to those leaping to her defence by claiming that she has super human powers. I don't envy the person who had done up her cape at the neck. While I've always been an admirer of Madge it's no secret that she is not a fan of failure. It reminded me of her on stage during the blonde ambition tour and thinking how hard she worked to get fit so she could dance and sing for hours. That is a woman who works hard and it shows. I'm pretty sure if it was me I'd have stayed down and actually cried.

I almost did cry on Friday actually. During the end of the week assembly at school my boy finally received a special celebration certificate and badge at school for writing. It is so heartening for me to hear that he has been writing pages and pages of words. His teacher even quipped in the assembly that he must be 'writing a novel." I hope so. That would make me even prouder - as if that's even possible.


On top of all of that my biggest surprise came today when I checked my Red Nose Day fundraising page to discover that I've smashed the fundraising target I set for the Danceathon I'm taking part in with hundreds of others - and a fair few Team Honkers - at Wembley Arena to raise funds for Comic Relief. It has been an amazing and kind of so many lovely folks to sponsor me to take part in this. I genuinely appreciate every donation and I know it's not easy for everyone to give so thank you from my heart for doing so.


It's not too late to give if you still want to. I will share plenty of pics from the event itself and I haven't forgotten that I promised to do and film a happy dance when I reached my target. Keep an eye on t'internet as I expect it's going to make the whole gold dress/blue dress thing pale into the distance when it goes live :)

Disclosure: The lovely folks at the Churchill Theatre invited us to see Anything Goes free of charge. 

Wow is it the end of 2014 already ? I've been out this afternoon with the boy and when people were saying, "Happy New Year," I kept catching myself thinking, really ? It's so hard to recall how one year compares with the last - apart from the ones where momentous things happen like getting married or having a baby - so instead I've been looking back at what I did in 2014.

Early in the year when there was still a hint of Winter in the air it was time for yet another Team Honk challenge. This year it was the Lands End to John O'Groats baton relay where bloggers used any means possible to take part. In London we were fortunate to have a lot of participants and we chose to do 'Honkopoly' visiting places on the Monopoly board. I got jailed at the Tower of London and rode a scooter dressed as a burglar. At one point Honkopoly was trending on Twitter which was a highlight and a massive boost as the day wore on. When I was on the train back home in the dark I was too tired to explain my clothing to onlookers and had no phone battery to call Hubbie, but hey what an achievement !

Honk Honk ! It's me not yet in jail.

We finally took our son on a plane for the first (and second) time. After a few years of 'staycations' we finally took the plunge and had holiday abroad with our son. He loved the flight and met the pilot and sat at the controls going out to Lanzarote and back. It wasn't plain sailing (when is it ever with small children ?) but it was a positive experience and we decided it would be ok to do it again. He also enjoyed telling everyone he had been on holiday to Spain.

As well as having a birthday in May, I also did the Moonwalk with my lovely pal Soraya who is a breast cancer survivor. I could not believe I was doing this as I remembered that it's the single most difficult challenge I've undertaken in my life so far and for some reason I chose to do it again !  Anyway, we were overwhelmed with support (mostly for Soraya really) and it make being dressed like an idiot totally worth it.

Post moonwalk celebration

This was the year of my celebrity interviews with a run of them - I talked to Mark Steel about his love of sport - he concluded that we were probably married without knowing about it. Then I interviewed Mark Thomas who was fantastic and shares a love of the Fall with Hubbie. I met him again recently and he was kind enough to say he remembered. I also interviewed Andy Kershaw who I last met when we were both in Sierra Leone.

My lovely friend Lesley launched her new business venture Glow, in the Autumn and as part of that she organised a World Record attempt with around 30 of her colleagues. It involved a lot of us taking part in a fitness routine all at the same time across the country while adjudicators from the Guinness Book of Records watched to verify we had done it correctly. We found out later in the evening that we had indeed set a new World Record - with me dressed in a bright orange hula skirt. Oh well, it's not worth doing if you don't make an idiot of yourself is it ?

I'm moving so fast I'm a blur :)

In September this year my boy started school which has been a big milestone for all of us. At one point we didn't know if we would even ever have children so the fact that he is in school now and can write his name, is learning Spanish and is doing simple maths is just astounding. I went with both of his grandmothers to buy school uniform and at the Early Years nativity this month I was amongst the proudest parents fighting for a seat at the front of the hall.

In November I fulfilled a 2 year goal of chairing a session at the Mumsnet Blogfest about diversity and inclusion. It was nerve wracking and I was worried that no one would come or there would be nothing to say, but it was great and I hope that it's the beginning of something that will truly move things along in the world of blogging.

Not long after this - well 2 days later actually - I started a new job. It's the first time I've worked full time since my son was born so it's been a bit of a shock to the system waking up so early and always rushing to make sure I'm back to pick up my son from school. It is also, however, really challenging and reminds me that I have a brain that can do more than plan meals, wash school uniform and plump sofa cushions.

No really, he does know I'm there honest

So, in case any of you didn't already know I met Russell Brand when he advertised a couple of small shows he was doing in trendy Hoxton. He was talking about his plans for revolution and the giggling girls in the front row seemed very keen on political change from what I could tell. It was interesting to hear his ideas and to witness how he thinks. The attention he's had since then has been something else though. I share this photo here as it got such a strong reaction when I put it up on Facebook.

And finally I fulfilled a long held ambition by going away this Christmas. We had the most fabulous holiday in Cornwall in the Summer and stayed at Coombe mill which is perfect for a family like ours with a small boy who loves animals, tractors, trains and generally being outside with other kids. It was so much fun that we went back for Christmas and if you've read my last few posts you will have seen we had a wonderful stay with Fiona and her marvellous family.

My happiness jar - can't wait to read it :)

It has been a big year for all of us in the family and sometimes it's hard to remember everything so I'm delighted I have this jar. At the start of the year my sister shared this idea of keeping a record of the things that go well or make you happy and putting them into the jar to be read on New Year's Eve. I look forward to reading this aloud so I can recall all the best things before the next year begins.

I wish you a Happy New Year and hope that 2015 brings plenty of fun, happiness and joy.

This time of year seems to be one where we become acutely aware of good causes and giving to others. I get plenty of charity appeals through the post and having written a lot of them in my previous life as a fundraiser I usually cast a professional eye over them and donate to the ones that I particularly feel an affinity with.

At Christmas I have a few causes I always give to including donations of clothes and blankets to homeless shelters. This year we have given to food banks all year round and I've recently been popping in mince pies and fruit cake and the odd bag of chocolate coins too. Everyone deserves special treats at Christmas don't they ?

We also found out about a toy drive to give toys to looked after children at Christmas which has been organised by the Met Police. I shared this with a few people and was amazed when some reacted really negatively to 'supporting the police.' That level of cynicism really disappoints me and it made me think about some of the campaigns that have captured the imagination in the last year and whether it's really about being 'charitable' or something else.

Fairly early on in the year we saw the phenomenon of the no make-up selfie which was not charitable in intent at first, but became about breast cancer. Plenty of women I know (and some men) posted selfies for this cause and I'm sure lots of them donated to breast cancer charities too. It really was a bit baffling to me.

More recently we saw the internet taken over by the ice bucket challenge. Celebrities, family members and pretty much everyone (and some pets) did this one. It was one of those, 'well they've done it so I will too' things, but I did admire Matt Damon's approach. He used toilet water to undertake the challenge and used the massive international interest in it to raise the issue of wasting water. As patron of a charity he highlighted how so much of the world does not have access to clean water to drink and wash never mind to tip over their heads for fun.


You probably already know how I feel about Movember, ie. men not shaving for a month to raise awareness of male cancers. Does looking like a hipster or a porn star (depending on what facial hair does for you) really improve the provision of health services for men ? Do more men check themselves or seek medical help as a result of this month long abstinence from shaving ? I genuinely don't know the answer, but if it's doing some good then why not ?

On my radio show this morning I shared some virtual postcards from Annie Spratt containing stories about the work funded by Comic Relief in Tanzania to support women running their own small businesses. Annie was in Tanzania with Tanya Barrow and Penny Alexander to visit women who are supporting their own families and bringing a helping hand to others who they employ and supply goods and services to. This is part of my involvement with Team Honk and the wonderful fellow bloggers who are currently carrying a baton from Lands End to John O'Groats to raise money for Sport Relief.

I've never bought into this idea that Friday night is for going out and getting hammered. When I was a single lady (oh oh oh, oh oh oh... thanks Beyonce) I used to spend Friday evening in the gym as it was quiet and I could watch telly while on the treadmill and not have to deal with sweaty people working at a maddening pace to achieve the body beautiful. If that sounds a bit sad to you please be assured that I did really enjoy it and preferred to not wake up with a massive hangover on a Saturday morning.

Of course now I'm a parent my Friday evenings are spent at home bathing the boy and getting us ready for a weekend of toddler activities. Often I'm preparing for my radio show - Are We Nearly There Yet ? - that is live on Saturday morning or talking to listeners during His & Hers - the radio show that me and Hubbie do together that goes out every other Friday evening. This is what we consider to be a Friday night in our house.

The new thing that we do on a Friday night is swimming. Since we joined the pool just down the road I've been swimming 4-5 times a week and often me and Hubbie take it in turns to have a swim when he's back from work. I used to go swimming with my siblings on a Friday evening when we were kids so the exercise on a Friday night thing is pretty traditional in my family. Tonight, however I was paddling up and down the pool in serenity and bliss ie. no one else was in there so I could pretend it was my private pool. I often do this and in my head I'm singing Julia Fordham 'Happy Ever After.' I recall she gave an interview where she said she swam every day and it helped her stay happy. It makes me happy too.

As I swam tonight though I was very aware of how much my body ached and hurt from walking all day on Wednesday for the Team Honk Baton Relay. It was a wet, windy, cold day and at one point when I stopped to get a cuppa at St Pancras with the lovely Gretta from Mumsdotravel I saw flashing lights in front of my eyes - this is not a good sign is it ? By the time I arrived in Fleet to handover the baton to Mummy Barrow I was very tired and hungry and my phone was down to 2% battery. I sent Hubbie a text saying what time I'd expect to get home and settled back in the quiet carriage with the half filled pizza box for the long journey back home. As I arrived at my station I saw my bus leaving so I took the tram instead and in a last flourish of energy scootered back home.


So you can imagine how chuffed I was to catch up with social media - once I'd charge up my phone -  to find out that while we were making our way around the Monopoly board in real life the hashtag #honkopoly was trending !! A few of us were taking photos and posting them as we went round and there was an army of social media helpers making sure that the attention was firmly on our efforts.



And if that wasn't brilliant enough we've also found out that not only are Team Honk top of the team fundraisers for Sport Relief, but our London team are top of the Freestyle Fundraiser category too !!

Totally worth it to ache all over, have bruises on my ankles and getting a bit wet and cold.

Now that's my happy ever after :)

Thanks again to micro-scooters for kindly providing scooters to so many member of Team Honk. 

If you've been living in a cupboard under the stairs without internet access you probably haven't heard that I'm taking part in Honkopoly as part of the Team Honk Baton Relay on Wed 5th February. I asked the nice folks at Micro-scooters if they would help me out and they sent me an adult scooter to help me whizz round London with my fellow bloggers visiting points on the Monopoly board.

So last weekend my boy (who is three) took me and Hubbie out to practice riding a scooter. He took the lead and we followed in his (very fast and accomplished) wake. We live on a very steep hill and when we got back home I was very, very tired indeed.

A grown woman on a scooter. Honestly, that has to be worth sponsoring ? Sponsor me




This post is part of Mummy Never Sleeps All The Small Things linky :)

From Sunday 12 January – Sunday 23 March, over 250 bloggers from across the country will come together as Team Honk to take part in a baton relay from Land’s End to John O’Groats.  Between us we will cover over 3,000 miles and hope to raise £20,000 for Sport Relief to help change lives at home and abroad.

The baton arrives in London from the St. Albans team on Tuesday 4th February, and the following day over 25 bloggers will be taking a Monopoly themed route round London landmarks with a camera following us. We start at the Comic Relief HQ in Vauxhall and take in various points on the Monopoly board as we walk, scooter, cycle and push buggies for 15 miles. In the evening a few of us will be taking the baton to its next handover in Fleet, Hampshire, where Mummy Barrow has promised us pizza - I've been dieting so I'm really looking forward to this the most of all :)


With the bossiness that only Mums can muster a route has been decided upon, meeting points, flyers and posters arranged and outfits agreed. Packed lunches are being planned and travel is being sorted. It's like a massive school trip with all the girls who used to sit at the back of the bus twirling their hair and giggling only we'll be wandering round London looking like a monopoly themed hen party - yes it's Honkopoly !!

Top hats have been purchased, Sport Relief onesies ordered (and taken up as they come up big apparently) and various bits and pieces that make up monopoly are being assembled in preparation for our jaunt around London a week today. I'm going to be the one in the striped onesie lugging a bag marked SWAG as I'm "Go to Jail" - a humorous take on the job I did before I had my son working with the prison service. Clearly I don't like to keep things simple as I'm also going to be riding an adult scooter kindly donated by Micro-scooters from point to point. This might prove tricky in all that get up so that has to be worth some sponsorship surely ?


We went to spread the word about what we're doing, so this Saturday morning my radio show is all about Honkopoly and I'll be interviewing two thirds of the London organising committee: Sarah (Grenglish) and Sophie (Franglaise Mummy) and one third of the the Head Honkers: Tanya (Mummy Barrow). You can listen live online at www.croydonradio.com on Saturday morning from 10am.

There will be social media covering our antics all day on Wed 5th Feb so keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook as well as on the local news (just in case !) or you might spot us around London somewhere. If you do come up and say hello and please do consider sponsoring our efforts.

I'm delighted to announce that we've already beaten our London sponsorship target of £500, but we're aiming so much higher than that. Any amount donated will make a difference to the lives of those in need and here are some ways in which the money could be used:

•  £1 could provide a hot meal for a child in the UK living in extreme poverty

•  £5 could pay for a mosquito net to protect a mother and her baby in Africa from contracting malaria while they sleep

•  £10 could enable an older person in the UK who just lost someone they love to attend a group activity

•  £25 could run a sports session for disabled children in the UK, giving them the chance to play with other young people

•  £100 could feed 200 children living on the streets in India for one day

•  £300 could provide a water point in the slums of Tanzania, giving hundreds of families access to safe, clean water

•  £500 could provide six months of support for a young person in the UK with mental health issues.

If you would like to sponsor our efforts you can do it online here: Honkopoly

Or if you prefer you can donate by text: Text HONK to 70005 and donate £5 to Sport Relief


The first ever Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games take place from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd March 2014. The public can join the fun and games by running, swimming or cycling their way to raising cash at over a thousand venues around the country, including the landmark events at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

As one of the biggest fundraising events, Sport Relief brings the entire nation together to get active raise cash and change lives. The money raised by the public is spent by Comic Relief to help transform the lives of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people both at home in the UK and across the world.

I've decided that I'm not making resolutions. It's always the same thing anyway, lose weight, win the lottery, get a real job, etc. so this year I've decided that it's far more productive to make plans rather than resolutions. There's a built in failure with resolutions that I am just not going to entertain any more. So, this time I'm being pro-active and setting myself goals with proper time stamps on them. I've made a decent start on the nuts and bolts ones:

January: There is a part time job and a training scheme that I am going to apply for that both represent things I am interested in doing and that I think I can do.
This is instead of 'get a well paid job.' I can also use the make up and nice clothes ones for this.

February: Team Honk Blogger relay from Lands End to John O'Groats. I'm part of the London leg and there is talk of four person cycles being an integral part of our section of the challenge. My dodgy knees will have to be up for this one as I am not going to wimp out and be the one that carries the water bottles !! Bring on the t-shirts ladies (and Spencer), I'm ready !!
This is to replace the usual, 'lose weight' as the other bloggers include very glamorous ones who I refuse to look lardy next to !

May: I did the full Moonwalk five years ago and I've signed up to do the half Moonwalk with my lovely friend Soraya this Summer. We're going to have such a laugh, not least as we can talk constantly for hours so the time will just fly by ! From memory it's pretty tough going, but I loved training for it and it got me very fit indeed doing all the walking.
This one is instead of the generic, 'get fit.'