Adams under canvas

I put it down to turning 50, but I’ve recently joined the ‘Camping and Caravanning Club’ having bought a tent earlier in the year after getting the taste for sleeping under the stars again following a couple of exploratory camping trips with friends. Having spent many a freezing wet night in a bivvy bag as a soldier, I must admit the thought of sleeping outdoors again was not on my list priorities. How wrong could I have been!

The emergence of small ‘Hideaway’ campsites which provide an idyllic setting in which to pitch your high-spec tent, the availability of electric hook ups and the close vicinity of glorious out of the way village pubs, makes camping (in my eyes anyway) the perfect antidote to a busy week in the office and the daily Southport to Manchester commute that comes with it. Camping has once again reminded me that some of the best things in life are free – like beautiful countryside, birdsong at 7am, meeting new people and the instant hit of calm and wellbeing which kicks-in the second you arrive!

For anyone who might be interested, the last place we stayed was the Greengill Campsite in the beautiful village of Moreland located in the Eden Valley half-way between Penrith and Shap.

Dave

The big 50

The month of May, saw me turn 50, a fact I’m still coming to terms with, although lots of champagne and chocolate have helped ease the pain of reaching this milestone. I’d like to say a big thank you to all the friends, suppliers and clients who sent gifts and messages of joy and condolence. In particular a big thank you to Paula Gibson at Celebrations and Cakecreations the fabulous Birthday Cake. A purple one of course.

Dave

V***** Monologues

As the sun finally looks like it may be here to stay (for a while I least), the memories of a very long and cold winter are finally being banished. For me however the winter of 2010/2011 is one I will always remember resulting in something so extraordinary, fulfilling and humbling, that the memory will last a lifetime.

One dark night in the middle of December I decided to brave the snow and ice, risking life and limb on a darkened canal tow-path and found myself attending a meeting where the idea of a group of amateurs staging a performance of The V***** Monologues was discussed.

For those of you not familiar with this work, V*****Monologues it’s a powerful and liberating play by American playwright Eve Ensler. It’s been performed all over the world by thousands of professional actresses and yet we, 12 non-acting women, plus a whole host of other non-acting crew, decided that we had the ability to pull this together and in just 8 weeks to perform it live to a paying audience in the Great Hall at Manchester Town Hall.

A tall order? Yes indeed. Each week we braved the continuing snow and ice to attend rehearsals in a community theatre that we were kindly loaned for these sessions and over the 8 weeks a bunch of complete strangers got to know each other and worked together to make this a night to remember. A quiet transformation took place and we went from being a group of nervous amateurs to a very professional cast by the time we took to the stage.

The night itself was a huge success, raising money for a great cause and a night that I will always remember. The Great Hall was packed, the atmosphere electric and at the end of night as cast and crew got a standing ovation, we all wished we could do it all over again!

On a personal note, taking part in V***** Monologues was not just about raising money for a deserving Manchester based charity www.birdhousefund.org but also a huge personal journey at a difficult time, about feeling the fear and just doing it anyway. In the 8 weeks leading up to the performance I questioned my sanity on an almost daily basis about just why I had volunteered to take part in this. I made David faithfully promise that if I ever agreed to perform on a stage again that he would he take me outside and shoot me. I’m happy to report that I’ve now stopped asking David to do this, rather insisting that he shoot me only if I don’t agree to take part in something like this …….

What I was reminded of in taking part, is that in life sometimes it really is worth doing the things that scare us most, as they really can deliver more excitement and fulfilment than you could ever have possibly imagined.

Helen