Things to do before you're 30: Task 4 COMPLETE

As previously mentioned, task four of my 'things to do before you're 30' was to spend a maximum of £5 on an outfit to wear at Jake's house warming party. I had a good look around Kenilworth charity shops on Saturday afternoon, and I was struggling to find clothes cheap enough. That was until I stepped into the 'Cat's Protection League'. I knew I had struck gold when I saw a perfect pair of brown cords (every charity shop's flagship product) for £2. After trying on a few different tops, I settled on a long sleeve t-shirt for just £1.50. That left me a whole £1.50 under budget, so I decided to accessorise. I found a fantastic scarf and belt for just 50 pence each, the perfect additions to my great new look. So I went to the party in my £4.50 outfit, and nobody said a word. Task four accomplished.

Silverstone

Yesterday Dad and I went to Silverstone to race Lotus Exiges around the southern part of the grand prix circuit. It was a wet and windy day, but it didn't stop us from having a great time. We did two sets of 4 or 5 laps with an instructor telling us how to get the most out of the car. We then swapped seats, and the instructor took us around for a lap each. He was rather quick. I now really really want a Lotus. My 30th birthday is coming up!



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Things to do before you're 30: Task 4

I have based the February task on one of Joe's ideas. The plan is to go to Jake's house warming party on Saturday wearing only clothes that I have purchased from charity shops using a very limited budget. So the question is: What should the budget be? Should the budget extend to cover shoes and underwear? Should I look for a particular theme of clothing? I'll be shopping on Saturday, so if you have some ideas, add a comment!

Livin' La Vida Loca

I'm currently living the 'crazy life' working in Spain for a month, travelling back home at the weekends. However last weekend Clare came out to visit, and we spent a couple of days wandering around Madrid, eating lots of bad food and having a few cervezas. Scorchio!

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Things to do before you're 30: Task 3 almost COMPLETE

So at the weekend Dan and I attempted the 3rd of my 'tasks to do before I'm 30' (going down the deepest cave, and up the highest mountain in England). Well we didn't get all the way down to the bottom of Peak Cavern, and we didn't get all the way to the top of Scafell Pike (it was snowing, and we were tired from doing a bonus climb up Mam Tor - and we did get very close - and we didn't really get enough time - and to get to the bottom of the cavern you need scuba gear).

But we had a great weekend, and certainly achieved the spirit of the task if not the physical displacement. Rather annoyingly my camera ran out of batteries, so I wasn't able to capture the blizzard conditions in the lakes, but for a close approximation watch the begining of 'Empire Strikes Back'.

I've not decided on the precise nature of the next challenge, I'll keep you posted.

I'm in Madrid now (well a suburb nearby) for a month, although I'm home at the weekends!

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Admiral Morris

Inspired by a series of Dog Portraits by Thierry Poncelet I decided to paint morris dressed as a 18th Century admiral. The result is a 1m x 1m portrait painted with acrylics (and white emulsion) on canvas. I'm quite pleased with the result as it is the most ambitious painting I have attempted.



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Can you spot the obvious mistake?

PS - happy new year.

Things to do before you're 30: Task 2 COMPLETE

The December 'thing to do before you're 30' was to make a short video with Morris (thanks for the suggestion Josh). You can see the result below! Unfortunately Morris had an accident with a barbed wire fence, so we weren't able to complete filming. His condition is improving, after having had a few stitches at the vet.



The January challenge is to go down the deepest cave and up the highest mountain in England in a weekend (as well as stopping off at a youth hostel and a having a few pints in the local) so if you want to come along come along, you're very welcome.

Weekend in Wales

We spent last weekend in Wales, which was great fun. We climbed a mountain, saw a lot of sheep, and got very wet - just a typical day in North Wales. It started to snow at the top of the mountain (Cadair Idris) so we took shelter in a small hut, which was filled with men offering us tea from thermos flasks. We politely declined after being made to feel rather poorly equipped:

"Don't you have any gloves?"

And no, that's not my dressing gown.

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Things to do before you're 30: Task 1 COMPLETE

In the middle of Tuesday night, under the cover of darkness, I ran all the way around Kenilworth castle in nothing but my pants (and a hat, and a pair of trainers - which I think is allowed as it's a harsh winter night). I decided to take Morris for support (he would be running virtually naked as well). I also thought that if anyone approached us we could both bark at them, which should keep any weirdos at bay.

Fortunately nobody saw me until right at the end, when I was stopped in my tracks by a pair of bright headlights beaming directly at me. I hurriedly got into the car, so Clare could drive us away at high speed (after she'd taken a few photos and laughed a lot).

So there you go, I am eagerly anticipating a nice cheesecake promised by Clare, and I'm already thinking about December's task: to make a short film with morris.

Craggz and Parallel Forces

There's a great video of Craggz and Parallel Forces playing a live session at Maida Vale on the 1Xtra website. It's worth a watch just to see The Jungle Drummer in action.

Watch here