50 Things to do Before I'm 50

 I've had varicose veins for years, They are itchy, sore and painful, especially at the end of the day: And hideous and unsightly! One of the pitfalls of a lifetime of working on my feet. I did go to the doctors but the NHS turned me down for surgical treatment because my legs weren't ulcerated and rotten so that was that. Private elective surgery is for the posh and the wealthy, not for the likes of me certainly! Or is it? Why the hell not? Once the idea had taken hold I did some research into private surgery and decided to take the plunge. This year is very self indulgent and narcissistic! Obligatory surgical gown selfie!  These photos don't really show quite how horrible and disgusting my varicose veins were. Not to mention how tired my legs became and how desperate I was to put my feet up at the end of the day just to get relief. The operation was scheduled for 9th July. I had a local anaesthetic and was discharged in the afternoon. It was surreal

At the start of my year of challenges, one of the things I was keen to do was share experiences with as many friends, family  members and acquaintances as possible. I wanted to re-connect with people I  hadn't seen in ages. The kind of people who, when you get to my age, you only get to catch up with at funerals. I was truly delighted when my cousin volunteered to join me at the ballet and we managed to set a date. We were never really close as children; victims of overly competitive grandparents, we were foisted on each other at family events, never really given the opportunity to find common ground. Since adulthood, we've had polite conversations at the aforementioned funerals and a couple of other events but never have we gotten to know each other properly. I think we were both nervous meeting up, I certainly was! I really wasn't sure whether we would be able to find anything to talk about although food is always a great ice breaker! As it turned out, we

It seemed to me that the perfect way to recover from the rigours of Tough Mudder would be a cheeky trip to Morrocco. Hell yes and another tick on my list!! I figured that I'd give it a little time for the bruises to fade and then we were off. C joined me for a bit of R&R at the beautiful Eden Andalou Aquapark and Spa just outside Marrakesh. It was a bit isolated stuck out in the middle of nowhere but lush and sumptuous and very luxurious. I love the colourful mosaics and sumptuous fabrics. Absolutely stunning! Probably one of the best all inclusive hotels I've stayed in to be honest. Eating the rainbow A half and half rum and coke  We were only there 4 days which was a great short break. I think the isolated location of the hotel would have made us a little stir crazy if we had stayed longer. Sadly I forgot my phone charger so I only have a handful of photos...... Good excuse for a return trip though!

Tough Mudder. This was one of the first things to go on my list when I originally came up with the idea to do the fifty things I've never done before. I'm not going to lie, I lost sleep over this one. 10 miles and more than 20 obstacles.... What the hell was I thinking? I couldn't even run 5k without feeling like I was going to die. How on earth was I going to manage more than double the distance  with all the truly daunting challenges along the way? I did train for it, I worked hard at the gym trying to get into shape and be strong enough to take on the obstacles. In spite of that, I was terrified I was going to let everyone down, be an embarrassment to myself and all the people around me especially as the oldest one on the team. There were many times when I nearly bottled it. BUT... this list of mine was never going to be an easy cruise, many of the things on it I've never done because I've been too scared. Time to start facing down those fears! Waitin