See An Opera 04-12-09

On the 4th December I got my glad rags on and went to the Theatre Royal Plymouth to see the Glyndebourne Opera company production of Cosi Fan Tutte.
Oh how proper posh I felt!
"Così fan tutte is now regarded by many connoisseurs as perhaps Mozart’s finest opera: a wickedly seductive comedy of erotic manners and amorous deception (and self-deception) by both the sexes."
It was musically sparkling and at the same time hilarious. I can't say that the subtitles didn't help, but it was great how when it was moving everyone was moved and when it was funny everyone laughed.
I instantly became a new opera fan and want to see more and more!

The Natural History Museum 15-05-09

What better place to start.. the history of the world I live in just as I set out to make my own history.













I love museums, they always seem so peaceful, so full of mystery.
The Natural History Museum was fantastic - I'd travelled up to London on the Megabus that morning and walked from Victoria through Kensington and various other places in search of the museum that seemed so much closer on the map!!
It's a beautiful building, stunning architecture, great atmosphere, sense of endless majesty.
I couldn't begin to say what my favourite part was.. the stone monkeys climbing the walls up to amazing ceilings, the HUGE dinosaur fossils (which I always expect to come alive), the coelacanth (one of my childhood fascinations), the dodo (sadly without Alice), the cursed amethyst, Darwin himself (in marble of course) or 'Tree' the inspirational ceiling artwork bu Tania Kovats, or all these things put together to create a mindblowing day to mark the first in my list!

The List

1. See the Aurora Borealis
2. Buy a Cuban Cigar - In Cuba

3. Complete a Half Marathon *
4. Dance Naked in the Moonlight
5. Meet Someone at the top of the Empire State Building
6. Get back to a size 16
7. Launch Spiralcrafts
8. Make a patchwork quilt
9. Go to Paris for a week of culture
10. Make a pilgrimage to St Nectans Glen *
11. Raise money for charity *
12. Stand up to a bully *
13. See an opera *
14. Go snorkelling *
15. Go to New Orleans - the French Quarter - The Ghost Tour
16. Visit the Natural History Museum in London *
17. Grant someone else's wish
18. Exercise regularly *
19. Send a message in a bottle
20. Spend the night in a haunted hotel or castle *
21. Eat caviar in Harrods
22. Make my own artwork and hang it on my wall
23. Have breakfast at Tiffanys
24. Be an extra (edit) Perform Random Acts of Kindness
25. Bury a time capsule
26. Take a breathtaking photo
27. Make a snow angel
28. Have an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party *
29. Go to the Obby Oss festival in Padstow *
30. See a production at the Minack Theatre
31. Go to Shakespeare's birthday celebration
32. Spend £10 at a Car Boot sale and double it on eBay
33. Stay at the Burgh Island Hotel and pretend to be Poirot
34. (addition)  See more live shows and music *
35. (addition) Fall in love
36. .......
......to be continued, added to, edited as I wish......

The Decision

In April 2009 I hit my 29th Birthday and suddenly realised that the following year I was going to be 30!
I had achieved a lot by some people's standards - a home, a career, a partner, pets, mid-twenties belly spread, and a few grey hairs. But I wanted more, and I needed a reason to go out and get more - and strangely enough without setting myself personal goals beyond bringing home a paycheck each month, I started to wonder where I would drive myself.
A wonderful person mentioned to me that they were starting something where they listed things they wanted to do before a certain milestone, and it got me thinking. 30 was too close, what could I do that was memorable before 30?... No 40, 40 would be good and 40 things. I would list 40 things I wanted to achieve before I hit the age of 40, so here they are... come with me on my journey and see where it takes me.