The Alphabet Travel Game

Having a week off between teaching and my next internship (so excited - editorial and rights!) means I have lots of time to ride and gym and generally be outdoors. This also means I get to experience the weather in all its glory - yesterday, Ernest and I were lucky as it was sunny and pleasant. I only had four layers on top, not five! Today, who knows. It's very grey outside.

Coupled with the dismal weather and the stresses of job hunting, my mind has been wandering. I have a list of things I will do once I'm employed, from trivial things, such as getting a monthly beauty treatment of some sort, to the much more important saving for a mortgage, but one of the most common daydreams of mine is where I would like to travel to next. I've already visited quite a few places, such as Rome last year, but there are dozens more places I would love to visit.

When deciding where we would like to go on holiday last year, I invented (I say invented, but I'm sure someone will have done this before) this little game to see where Maxx and I would both like to visit, and to see how many of the places were the same. Then, as the years draw on, we can cross off where we've been.

• You need a piece of paper, with A - Z written in a column, and possibly a list of all the countries in the world.

• Write down a country you would like to visit next to each letter. You can only choose one!

• If you have a partner, ask them to do the same on the other side.

• Compare afterwards. If you don't have a partner, it doesn't matter, you can do this with whoever you normally go on holiday with!

Here's my list (in bold are my top 5 places):

Austria 

Belgium

China

Denmark

Egypt

Fiji

Germany (I've only been there for one day, so that doesn't count. Same for Greece)

Hungary

Ireland

Japan

Korea (South - to see my lovely ex-students! They can be the teacher this time)

Luxembourg

Morocco (this was extremely hard to decide)

New Zealand

O... (there's actually only one option and that's Oman - not sure if I'd want to visit this area right now)

Portugal

Q... (same as Oman)

Russia

Sweden

Thailand

Uruguay

Vietnam

W... (no places begin with W)

X... (as above)

Y... (same as Oman)

Z... (two options here, but not sure I'd want to visit these countries right now)

Where would you like to visit? Have you been to any of the places listed above? If so, would you recommend going there?

xxx

Book review: Dissolution, by C.J. Sansom

Firstly, let me explain how no amount of adjectives can truly describe how gripping these books are - I would exhaust my Oxford Thesaurus (that sounds like a breed of dinosaur... I digress). In addition, they are factually accurate, believable and well-written, with a brief author's note at the back describing where authorial liberties were taken and why. The Matthew Shardlake series is my favourite book series ever, so when I finished it in December I was genuinely lost. Well, I'm hoping he'll write a sixth story but there's no word of it yet on his website.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to write a review of each book, thus giving myself more space to gush over each one than if I posted about all five now!

Dissolution

10/10

I was given Dissolution by my friend for my birthday last August, but didn't start reading it until one annoyingly sleepless night in Rome in September. Prior to this series, I'd not read much crime fiction before. 

Set in 1537 during the dissolution of the monasteries, the protagonist, lawyer Matthew Shardlake, travels to Scarnsea to investigate the murder of Robin Singleton, one of Thomas Cromwell's commissioners. However, his investigation reveals far more than he bargained for...

Shardlake is a fascinating character, partly because he is a hunchback; the reader is constantly made aware of his disfigurement, through his own references to it and how characters react to him. Hunchbacks were symbols of bad luck during this period, and many characters whom he meets throughout the series are very rude and judgmental. I like Shardlake, because he can be ill-tempered and makes mistakes, experiencing the frustration of his cases rather than solving them with ease. Perhaps this is why the books are so gripping - there are so many revelations and surprises, it's impossible to predict what is going to happen.

Sansom successfully recreates Tudor England, with it's bleak sights and unpleasant smells. The brutality and fear are palpable, making the story even more engaging as Shardlake uncovers the truth behind Singleton's murder. The ending is cataclysmic, cleverly combining the fate of Mark Smeaton and Queen Anne Boleyn (executed in 1536 after 3 years as Henry VIII's second queen), as well as the monks of Scarnsea. I gasped when the murderer was revealed, as I really could not have guessed who was guilty.

Although I said earlier that many of the characters are unkind to Shardlake, Dissolution introduces one man who features in the rest of the series: Guy Malton. As a Catholic monk from Malaga, he is also treated with fear and suspicion due to his dark skin, but he proves to be a gentle, kind and intelligent friend to Shardlake. Interestingly, many of the characters in this series are outside of society, through race, religion, health, gender or sexuality; I appreciate how Sansom encompasses the people whom history has tried to 'write out'. 

I cannot recommend this book enough; I read it solidly for four hours, and have been raving about it ever since. I felt truly transported to Shardlake's world, completely absorbed in the story until the very last page.

xxx

Gym Story #1

Do you know what's better than a productive day? Nothing. Nothing is better than a productive day. I've crossed off no less than 10 things from next week's 'to do' list, and I feel great.

But I'm not here to talk about my day. I'm here to talk about Tuesday. I was pumped to hit the gym after finding a new workout from Bodybuilding.com to aid me in my muscle-building quest (post coming later this week - they even have printable workout logs! Amazing!), so I arrived at 8.30 pm feeling optimistic, and not a little excited to pick up some barbells and put them down again several times. 

However, arriving at this time meant I had to go into the mixed gym. I don't like going in here, because I actually feel quite intimidated; when I started going, one of the trainers did an excellent job of making me feel like a complete imbecile because I didn't know what every machine did. Torn between going another day and my desperate desire to play with the barbells, I decided to man up. 

After a successful and sweaty workout whereby I caught a couple of admiring glances for deadlifting 30kg (4 sets of 10 reps, yessss), I stepped confidently on to the treadmill to cool down. When I was finished, I stepped off the treadmill and walked to the exit.

I forgot there was a step down from the treadmill area. I did one of those awkward, fall-but-not-falls. My arms flailed. I did what any human would do in this situation - pretended to find it really funny and quickly left, hoping nobody had seen. 

But I have to go back... The barbells...

This week, the redesign should commence, so I'm planning lots of regular features I want to start including on my blog. Gym mishaps will definitely be one of them, as will interesting tales from my life with Ernest. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

xxx

Culture: Weald & Downland Open Air Museum

On Saturday, I went on an excursion to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in Chichester with my students. This was the trip I was most excited about on the Winter School, as I haven’t been here for 14 years. One of my most vivid memories is of visiting the museum and being chased by a goose down a small slope when I was at primary school; I re-enacted this event to my students earlier in the week, to their great amusement.

The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum is a collection of buildings, from the 16^th to 20^th century, which were saved from the surrounding areas in the 60s when these precious old buildings were being torn down. The guide, Ken, told us that the museum has just been granted lottery money, which is going to be used to put up more of the buildings they have in storage.

I was really grateful to be able to ask Ken and the other guides lots of questions, as I learnt many interesting facts; for example, if a house was built after the Tudor period but in the Tudor style, it would still be called a Tudor house. This may sound obvious, but I assumed that if a house was built in 1610, it would be called a Stuart house – however, if it is built in the Tudor style, it would be called Tudor, even though the Tudor reign ended in 1603 when Elizabeth I died. Historians are also able to tell what people did, depending on whether the house had a plot of land attached; so, if there is no land, we can assume that the owner was, for example, a cobbler, as he would not have needed land for his trade.

Until this trip, I’d never really thought about how our livelihoods are portrayed by the houses in which we live. It makes me question what the future generations will conclude about the way we live now.

It was fascinating to go inside these old houses, which are furnished with real artefacts as well as realistic, recreated furniture from the appropriate time period, including beds, a toilet, chests and tables. For someone with a zealous interest in the Tudor period, I was extremely excited to look around a house from 1540; it fed my imagination about who would have been living here and what was happening at the time (in this year, Henry VIII married and divorced Anne of Cleves, then married Catherine Howard on the day Thomas Cromwell was executed for treason). I find that when I visit old houses and historic buildings, I like to touch the walls and woodwork; it probably seems really strange, but I like to imagine the people who have been there hundreds of years before me, in the very same place I’m standing.

Unsurprisingly, I was also excited to see the animals. There was a beautiful Shire horse, Mac, who was pulling a cart around the farm to collect the used straw in the other animals’ pen, as well as very friendly chickens, sheep, and cows, but my absolute favourites were the geese. They all waddled over to us in a line, with one very curious goose sticking his head through the fence to see if we had any food. I was really happy to see geese still at the museum, but also glad not to be chased this time. There was also a lot of ducks, which followed you if they suspected you had any treats for them!

Overall, I think this is an excellent trip out for any age group. They have plenty of helpers who are open to you asking as many questions as you can think of, as well as a café selling delicious, homemade food and a well-stocked gift shop (I bought a wooden duck). It’s important to note that many of the helpers are actually volunteers, whom I really applaud for being so passionate about the museum and so helpful if the students or I had any queries.

xxx

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

I've been looking for delicious, clean dessert recipes and hit on these protein balls. The recipe comes from Tiffani Bachus of Oxygen magazine, but I found it on Fitsugar on this page.

They're described as a pre-workout snack, but I think they're suitable for any time of day. I've been increasing my protein intake as I'm trying to build muscle, so these are handy hits of protein that also happen to taste delicious.

My ingredients, and yes I lick the spoon. Don't act like you don't.

They take around 10 minutes to make, and you need:

1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder (I use GNC's soya protein)
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed (good for omega 3)
3 tablespoons dark chocolate chips (I think if you use milk chocolate they will be too sweet)

The advice is to put everything in a bowl, mix together, roll into little balls and refrigerate. I found that roughly mixing the dry ingredients together first, then adding the (microwaved) honey, made them mix together really easily. They do taste better refrigerated.

Three stages to yumminess.

Depending on the size of the ball, they contain around 105 calories and 4.5g of protein - not the highest amount, but higher than your average go-to snack. I found the sweetness was perfect for a dessert as I didn't want another one after - a miracle for me! The sugar content is a little high, but I suppose to lower it you could substitute the honey for water. I think these would be great for long-distance runs and I've noticed that just one ball does fend off hunger until I'm able to have a proper meal.

xxx

January Round Up

Yes everyone is writing about January and what happened during the wettest month on record, blee blah bloo. But it's a good time to evaluate the goals you optimistically set 31 days ago, so I'm writing about it too.

My aims (detailed list here) were:

1. Get a career job
2. Don't dye my hair
3. Compete in SJ
4. Run another half marathon
5. Improve my French
6. Visit a new country
7. Lower my body fat.

I've certainly not been lazy in my pursuit of finding a career job, and I have been shortlisted for an editorial assistant role. I'm nervous and excited, and crossing all my digits that I get through the first round - if not, I'll have to be stoic, but at least I was actually shortlisted rather than completely ignored this time! Cross your everythings for me...

Not dying my hair has been painful, especially since one of my students has beautifully vibrant red hair. Oh the temptation... 

Last week was my first showjumping lesson of the year, working on turns rather than height. We've actually been doing excellently with our dressage, finally finally achieving medium trot which I believe would get a good 7/10 in a test. His medium canter is his strength of the two moves, but now I'm pumping him with energy-giving nutrients, it's just transformed his movement (I know that sounds really dramatic but trust me, I've been blown away by how much better he's training and how much more energy he has to do the harder work). It's been like riding a rocking horse in the canter, all up in front and bouncy like a real dressage pony. 

When you think of a pony trotting, that's working trot. Medium trot is when you ask for a lengthened stride. It's often mistaken for going faster. Extended trot is an even bigger stride, when the leg is really extended out in front.

I've been for one run this year so far. Given the weather, I'm not too worried about this, but I do need to start scheduling a weekly run. Self-kick up butt.

I've not been actively studying French so I probably haven't improved, but I would like to take up lessons again once I start working full-time.

Maxx has told me he's taking me to Berlin for our next holiday! So excited! We just need to decide when we're going. 

Last month, I ate better consistently and worked out more, and can definitely see that I am getting more slender. I've started cooking more and researching healthy dessert recipes, so look out for my attempt at making peanut butter protein balls!

This month, I would like to get out to a competition and get that job!

How was your January? What are you hoping to achieve this month?

xxx

PS - get a copy of Men's Fitness, March 2014 issue. Not only is it a great magazine and you should buy it anyway, but some of my work is in there! My big feature on road running shoes comes out next month... so buy that one too.

First ever HIIT workout

For some reason, I've never done a HIIT workout before, even though it became quite a craze and a few friends have told me I'd enjoy it.

I hit bodyevolutionoc on Instagram to find a workout I could do at home, and found one which looked suitable for a first timer. Two things: not only is this page amazingly full of HIIT workouts using a variety of equipment and moves, but it also features some delicious clean recipes. I would strongly recommend following this page!

So, I picked a workout described as suitable for doing anywhere, anytime, as no equipment at all was required. All I had to do was 3 sets of:

Mountain climbers, 1 minute

Push up/elbow plank, 15 reps (I could not do this in full plank)

Jumps, 1 minute (she jumped on to a wall, but as there's no wall in my garden I used my bosu ball instead)

Split squats, 15-20 reps each leg (actually these were Bulgarian split squats, as she had one leg resting on the aforementioned wall)

Holy wow, this was hard. I was sweating and panting and sweating and panting, and I had a brief break in between sets! I really was amazed at how such a short workout could make me feel so exhausted, and will definitely be doing more HIIT!

xxx