The Reward is the Journey

She was brilliant.  She is brilliant. Utterly brilliant. I had not expected such a nourishing evening.  The Queen Elizabeth Hall has become something of a hot destination for me in recent weeks, having seen two excellent dance performances, and this evening met the charming (and brilliant) Elizabeth Gilbert. She was effortlessly poised in a way that only someone who has really been there (and worked her way through it) could be.   "Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be." - Eat, Pray, Love Without much help from her interviewer with whom she shared the platform, she described her journey, starting as a journalist with a heart who knew she was destined to write fiction. And funny too.  Really funny.  I'd almost forgotten how amusing 'Eat, Pray, Love' was.  I'm tempted to dust off my copy, with it's dog eared pages, and re-read it.   She spoke about how she wrote her way out of the perplexities thrown up by the...

Today I ache.  I woke up feeling surprisingly stiff.  A reminder of those muscles I am apt to forget.  I work plenty of my muscles on a regular basis, but realise now that my usual routine has left a few neglected.  Whilst I have been meaning to get back into Combat, I have not yet re-joined my fellow kicking and punching enthusiasts, and have found an altogether more peaceful and serene way to spend a Sunday morning. It involves getting out of bed, and getting into town.  But good coffee awaits those who get there early.  The hot drinks provided a much needed warm welcome yesterday as most of us arrived sodden from the heavy rain.   Yesterday's agenda was a gentle one.  We began by introducing ourselves.  There will, some weeks, be 16 of us.  We all share an interest in yoga and mindfulness for wellbeing, and were expertly guided through a 75 minute practice taught at a truly mindful pace, followed by some very nourishing breat...

Last weekend was pretty special.  Two people I consider to be very important were running for life.  Simultaneously, but in different events, they ran and they ran and they ran.  My sister, Honor, ran her first (and, she says, likely last) half marathon starting and finishing in Hyde Park.  My best friend, Charlotte, ran the Abington 10k alongside her own sister, Susie. Charlotte (left) with Susie post Abington 10k Honor having just finished the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon Sisters are important.  Ours are, we think, super important.  Honor, Charlotte and Susie all did brilliantly.  The autumn sunshine provided the perfect backdrop for their awesome achievements in London and Cambridgeshire respectively, and I cheered my lungs out waiting for Honor alongside fellow 'Team Bones' supporters, firstly at the half way point, and then again when she passed 9 miles, and finally as she came through Alexandra Gate on the home straight with ...

She put it brilliantly when she pointed out how unusual we were.  Amanda O'Donovan is a fantastic speaker.  She engaged us from the outset, and I was hooked.  In some ways, those sitting in the non-descript room at the OU in London, at Hawley Crescent represented a tough, or at least challenging audience.  We are, as she said in her conclusion, all 'sexperts' of one form or another.  But then that makes us no difference to anyone else.  So Amanda would argue... And I'm with her on this.  The irony is that whilst sex surrounds us, those of us who enjoy talking about sex and are comfortable doing so, are but a tiny minority.  It felt good to be among my tribe.  I wouldn't have missed it.  Meg Barker is something of a legend, in my book.  Anything she puts her name to is sure to be good.  And today was no exception. Training opportunities are one thing.  We all of us have CPD requirements, and my list of would-like-t...