Which was the best of the 60? This was what a lot of people asked as the year progressed, and I always found it difficult to answer as I'd liked all but one of them, in different ways. It's still really hard to choose. I'd never have thought it, but probably the one I enjoyed most while I was doing it, was no.31 - holding a fundraising dinner, unaided and entirely home-cooked, for 8 people. Considered in advance, it could almost have featured in the Face the Fear section, as I hardly ever cook and I knew the dinner needed to turn out well if I was asking people to pay to eat it. Paying not to eat it would have seemed more likely.
On the night, though, I'd prepared most of it in advance - using what I'd learned on the cookery course - and I was looking forward to sharing the evening with friends. It was also reassuring knowing that their expectations were unlikely to be high. Fortunately it was a success, although my extremely useful reputation for being a rubbish cook has now been dented:
As for the worst of the 60, that's easy - no.7, whizzing down the Orbit giant helter-skelter in the Olympic Park. When I first thought of it, I felt slightly guilty putting it in the Face the Fear section as there seemed a fair chance it could be fun. Being scared of heights was still a factor to bear in mind, but I had visions of cheering happily as I shot past the scenery, arriving at the bottom laughing and punching the air. The reality hit home as I stood at the top, waiting to climb into a sort of black sleeping bag with the front half cut away, and only a loop of rope to hang onto. The tube looked like polished steel, slippery, extremely steep, narrow and totally enclosed. I reminded myself I wasn't really claustrophobic and it would take a mere 40 seconds or so. It's surprising how long that can seem, when you're hurtling along in the dark, feeling increasingly sick, dizzy and dangerously out of control. My exit was not exactly glorious and I never, ever want to do it again:
Are there any of the challenges that I do plan to repeat? Yes, plenty - and two are in the Face the Fear section! The first is the singing workshop, which I was very nervous about but thoroughly enjoyed. It's being held again on 9 December and this time I'm looking forward to taking part. The other is driving to Cambridge and back. Our very dear friends Joyce and Bill moved there a couple of years ago and I now take the wheel when we go and visit them. I haven't yet reached the point where I use the car without even thinking about it, which was what I was aiming for, but at least I now nearly always do the drive home in the evening whenever we're out. It's a work in progress and I intend to keep at it.
Using the satnav is now automatic if I haven't memorised the route - which is pretty much all the time, given my woeful sense of direction - so that will definitely continue. So too will selling things on ebay. I already have a stack of selected items on the settee, ready to photograph and submit, and I've also offered to try selling some lovely Liberty's fabric in aid of the local Shooting Star Chase children's hospice. Why did I wait so long before learning how to do this? It's simple and very satisfying.
When I looked at the list of UK cities, I was surprised that there were a number in England I hadn't been to before, as well as a lot in Scotland and Wales, and all of Northern Ireland. Chester is high on my list, as are Lichfield and Worcester. There are also particular areas I'd like to explore, including parts of Suffolk and Dorset. As for visiting a country I've never been to before, I'm especially keen to go to Denmark (I've spent an hour at Copenhagen airport in transit to Lithuania, but I don't think that counts). Peter is far more ambitious and favours Uzbekistan, Botswana and Malawi. Although it's tempting to focus on "new" countries, there are some I've already visited but would like to spend more time there. We've each been to Russia on business, separately, but never to St Petersburg and that's very tempting. I'd also like to go back to Helsinki and visit Brittany for the first time.
I'll probably grow vegetables again next year, as I enjoyed watching the seedlings appear and develop, and felt a huge sense of achievement when they turned into something edible. I don't think I'll bother with ordinary potatoes or spring onions, as we rarely eat them, so I might branch out into new potatoes instead. The baby beetroots are worth repeating as we use them in the nutribullet and I'll also give sorrel a go, as my friend Edith's is delicious, both fresh and cooked with fruit. While I'm at it, I could give rhubarb a try as it goes well with sorrel in a compote. I remember when it was so widespread it was virtually a pest in the garden and we used to pull it up and put it on the compost. Now it's quite a treat.
I'm determined to bake another carrot cake, as my attempt this year was not a success. Mary Berry may be a wonderful cook, but I defy anyone to use her recipe and produce a cake that tastes even remotely of carrot rather than banana. Moist it may be. Soggy would be a fairer description. Any foolproof recipes would be welcome, so that I don't repeat this failure:
De-cluttering is immensely satisfying and even more so if you have the chance of helping a friend to do it. Decisions on what to discard (and preferably recycle) are much easier to make if there are two of you. I really would love to do it again, so if you have a room - or part of a room - that's bugging you and you're willing to let me work on it with you, please do let me know.
Nordic walking has now become a part of my weekly routine, as most of us who went on the Council's Fit as a Fiddle course (now a victim of the budget cuts) decided to continue doing it as a group. Clearly we aren't alone in having found it an excellent form of exercise, as Richmond Park is full of similar groups, striding along with their poles. We've found routes that can incorporate a coffee stop at the end, which makes it even more sociable. I know we may look daft but I now understand what a difference the poles make in terms of an effective cardiovascular workout, and frankly I don't care if I look a noodle:
Making and painting a papier mache bowl is something else I'd like to do more of. It was a longer process than I'd expected and what I ended up with was not at all what I'd envisaged, but that was partly because I didn't have an existing bowl that would have made a suitable mould. Originally I had in mind creating a large, shallow coffee table type, painted to look like a segmented orange in reasonably subtle colours. Unfortunately I didn't have a bowl that shape, so I had to settle for a smaller, deeper one. I doubted I could make it look as delicate as I wanted, so I decided to go for a completely different design, using several shades of blue with an overpainting of silver. It wasn't brilliant but I enjoyed creating it and I'd like to experiment with different sizes, colours and designs:
I will definitely continue watching all the films nominated each year for the Oscar Best Picture. In the past I only watched those that appealed to me and as a result I'm sure I missed some that were well worth seeing. This year, for example, I wouldn't have gone to see Moonlight as the trailer was so off-putting, but it was an excellent film. In any case all the films have been chosen for a reason and it's interesting to see for myself why other people think they are outstanding.
Visiting museums, especially if they're quirky, is nearly always a pleasure and setting a target of going to five I've never been to before is a good way of ensuring I make the effort, rather than just thinking about it. It was the first time I'd done this and I plan to continue it every year. Of the five I went to this year, the visit to the Irma Stern Museum in Cape Town was unquestionably the highlight, partly because my friend Morag knows the Director and he very kindly arranged a personal guided tour, followed by delicious coffee, sandwiches, scones and cake with him and key staff members. Often the smaller museums can be more absorbing than the national treasures, particularly if the director or curator has time to show you around and talk about the pieces that mean most to them. London has a wealth of such places I should have no difficulty finding five that are new to me - though sadly I doubt any will offer a feast like this one (only the remains are visible, as we'd eaten most of it):
Laughter is an essential part of life and if you see Henning Wehn live on stage, it's guaranteed. He's one of my favourite comedians, with his perceptive reflections on British behaviour and attitudes, and his restless curiosity. He's on tour throughout the UK most of the time and gets booked up months in advance, so I'll start looking now to see if he'll be in London next year and make sure I buy tickets.
As well as continuing all these activities, there are a few more I want to add as a result of the challenges. One, which may sound a little strange as I'm not religious, is to read the Bible. Having now read all of Shakespeare's plays, recognising so many expressions which have become part of everyday life and revelling in the beauty of his imagery and language, I think it's time I read the whole of the authorised version of the Bible, for the same reason. During my school years, one way and another - including doing RE at "O" level and seriously considering it for "A" level - I've covered quite a bit of it, but there are still sizeable gaps. I'd like to read it right through, possibly skimming the "so and so, begat by so and so" sections. Once that's done, I can listen to Desert Island Discs without feeling slightly twitchy about unfinished business.
In the same vein as wanting to see the Oscar-nominated Best Pictures, I've decided to read all six books shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize. The timing is awkward as the list isn't released until mid-September and I'm a slow reader, so it will probably be months before I finish. I just hope that unlike the 2017 selection, it doesn't include any of over 800 pages.
I'd like to continue writing, as I've enjoyed creating these blog posts. The possibility of trying to turn them into a book has crossed my mind, though the photographs could be a problem as the quality is variable and I imagine they would add significantly to the cost. Alternatively writing a novel - crime or general fiction - has long been a dream but so far I haven't come up with a plot or a theme, which is rather an impediment. Ironically, given my lack of interest in cookery, I did approach a few publishers some years ago about the idea of a book on marinades (which were then relatively unusual). The rejection letters were kind. I did, however, win a prize for a recipe published in Family Circle. I sometimes wonder what it was like, as I simply made it up and never cooked it. I've also had a couple of letters published in magazines and newspapers, though as creative endeavours I don't think they really count. If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or helpful contacts, I'd be very grateful to have them.
What have I learned from the 60at60 experience? Above all, it has been hugely enriching and life-enhancing - far more than I'd ever imagined. I can't thank my friend Vivien enough for having given me the idea, though my gratitude is tempered by her suggestion that it wasn't sufficient simply to learn how to do a magic trick; I had to put a video of it on YouTube as well. When I look at the list of all the new things I've done this year, ranging over so many categories, it seems scarcely credible. Instead of glancing at opportunities or activities that look initially tempting and then deciding either I can't be bothered or they might not be as good as they sound, I've shaken off the lethargy and been far more positive. Giant Orbital slides and spiders excepted, I've enjoyed every single challenge - albeit in some cases not until my legs had stopped shaking. It may have taken me 60 years, but I've learned that the sense of achievement is well worth the fear, which is probably true of most things in life.
I've realised how much more I can fit in if I stop wasting time. Although I like playing Candy Crush, there are more constructive and less addictive ways of relaxing. Early on in the year, it occurred to me that I was only going to be able to meet the target of 5 challenges a month if I deleted it from my mini iPad. I steeled myself to do it and haven't regretted it, though I must admit it's still on my old iPad, lurking... Now I tend to reach for a book rather than an electronic game, which is just as well given my reading ambitions for next year.
From the outset, the involvement of other people - Peter, friends and complete strangers -has made such a difference. Discussing the draft list with a few friends before finalising it was interesting, as it revealed elements of their characters as well as mine. Mild sadism, with some (not many) exceptions, was a common feature. The Face the Fear section easily attracted the most suggestions.
Once the list was finalised, sadistic tendencies were set aside and lots of friends volunteered to help with various challenges or to do them with me. Even if they didn't follow the blog, most wanted to know how I was getting on. Their involvement and enthusiasm made the experience great fun and much more inclusive. When I was stuck on how to tackle a particular challenge, someone would invariably come up with a way forward. My friend Jackie, for example, heard me fretting about how I was going to learn a magic trick and said her younger son could teach me. Between them they generously solved that problem. Similarly when I was wondering how to find a suitable singing workshop, bearing in mind I can't sing and always mime in public, my friend Libby told me about one taking place in Ham the following week which sounded exactly what I was after, and came with me.
It wasn't only people I knew who were kind. Once I'd explained what I was trying to do and why, strangers went out of their way to help. I was starting to panic about the vermouth masterclass, as there was only one place in London that offered it and nine months into the year, there still wasn't a date available. When I got the chance to talk to the manager of Mele e Pere and tell him about the challenges and the two charities that would be benefiting, he went to the trouble of running one personally just for Peter and me. Likewise, when the end of the wildflower season was fast approaching and I still hadn't found a guided walk anywhere in England, a local expert willingly agreed to give up an afternoon to take me around the Ham Lands.
As well as their kindness, what struck me was how talented so many people are and how much talent there is in the local community. When I was looking into cookery courses, for example, as my arrangements for attending one in Cape Town had fallen through, I found that one of our neighbours is a professional chef and runs courses from her home. I'd known that the wildflower expert was a leading member of the local allotment society but I'd had no idea that he is Chairman of London in Bloom and on the committee of Britain in Bloom. I knew Jackie's younger son was a police inspector but it never crossed my mind that he was also a member of the Magic Circle. The chances are that whatever you want to do, there will be someone nearby who has the skills and will teach you.
What I never doubted was the generosity of friends when it comes to supporting charities, even if they are not necessarily the ones they would have chosen. That doesn't mean I took it for granted, as I really appreciated every single donation, but I know how caring you all are. So far, thanks to you, the amount raised for Beating Bowel Cancer is £1,275 and for Arthritis Research UK it's £1,215, making a total of £2,490 - and there's still 9 more days to go.
Finally, I would urge anyone thinking about doing their own 60at60 - or whatever age is appropriate - to go ahead. It's been fantastic.
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