Climbing Week 3

Climbing last night was sooooooo good! I was a little worried because I did so badly the previous week but I think I may have had some kind of bug because I kept going lightheaded even when I was standing around doing nothing, so it wasn’t ideal!

This week my energy levels were up, I was feeling confident and determined to succeed! I clambered up a grade 3 climb in seconds so spent the rest of the evening attacking grade 4-6 climbs which offered a bit more of a challenge. I discovered I’m rubbish at smearing (sticking your foot flat against the wall and pushing yourself up) so will have to practice a bit more in that department, but really got to grips with shifting my weight around for optimum manoeuvrability, keeping my arms straight taking less weight on my muscles and more on my old bones, and managed to use some ridiculously small nooks and crannies to cling onto – at one point I was balancing on 1 big toe whilst reaching for a decent hand-hold! Ethan Hunt eat your heart out! ;o)

For the last 10 minutes of our class time we took to the bouldering walls where we were able to clamber around without ropes and harness. The bouldering area has a really deep squishy crash mat for a floor, so if you do happen to fall off it absorbs some of the impact and you won’t hurt yourself as much! As our instructor pointed out though, it isn’t completely hazard free – if you land on a funny angle injuries can still occur, so it’s always best to exercise a little caution and not fling yourself around with wanton abandon! It was whilst bouldering that I received my first climbing injury – I grazed the back of my hand and an elbow – extremely minor but in my mind, a momentous occasion as it marked the beginning of a whole string of dings I’ll receive having fun on the walls!

Unfortunately one of the members of our little posse had a mountain biking accident earlier in the week and wasn’t able to join us for our final class so the night wasn’t quite as good as it should have been, but we all did really well on our climbs and all felt a massive sense of achievement. We all passed our assessments and are now fully fledged members of the Harrogate Climbing Centre – yey us!

Our plan now is to carry on practicing for a few weeks, do the leading course and then take to the great outdoors!

This week...

After having a pretty eventful weekend with friends and family, the beginning of this work week was a bit of an anti-climax and by Tuesday morning I was just totally bummed out! That evening I could have hidden myself away at home eating ice-cream whilst watching a chick-flick, but since I’m trying to regain a little bit of my social life and be more active, plumped for an evening of swimming with a friend instead.

Going swimming is always interesting when you’re a people watcher...

The middle-aged women who turn up in little groups and spend 95% of their time huddled against the wall “ooooing” and “ahhhhing” about the latest scandal amongst friends and discussing the plot of Emmerdale always make me smile. Then there’s the sporadic 2 minute spurts spent actually swimming when the flock simultaneously launch from their wall, conversation still in full flow, parting the paths of other swimmers who’d been quite happily doing lengths uninterrupted.

Then there are the lane swimmers – the beautiful buff people with near perfect swimsuit bods, coveted by mere mortals such as myself, who cruise effortlessly up and down the pool in their designated lanes, blissfully unaware of the middle-aged women posse causing havoc metres away.

The loved-up couple – another breed of wall hugger that spend their time lip-locked in a corner, giggling and cavorting, with a few lengths of flirty swimming thrown in. Other swimmers throw disapproving glances their way but I wonder how many of them secretly wish they were in a similar position.

The familiar face – someone who obviously recognises you, says hi and may even instigate a conversation – all the while you’re thinking “who the hell are you?!?!” whilst keeping up the facade that you know exactly who this person is as they reel off their life’s story and tell you how much little Timmy has grown... Little Timmy?!?!?

Then there was my friend and I... 1 hour of non-stop lengths, merrily splashing around, trying hard not to get in anyone else’s way but inadvertently kicking a few people in the process, my mate checking her hair hadn’t turned green in the chlorinated water, quietly appreciating the token buffed-up lane swimmer as he exited the pool, and weighing up whether or not we’d get away with doing a few handstands in the shallow end (we decided the Tuesday night crowd probably wouldn’t approve of our arses protruding from the water like a couple of demented ducks, so behaved ourselves). I laughed so much I got a stitch and bid adieu to the work-week blues!

Tonight’s activity – week 2 of my climbing class! Today we’ll be practicing falling. I personally am well versed in falling – do it regularly although in fairness never from anything higher than my loft and without ropes to get tangled up in – so tonight should be interesting!

Climbing Higher!!!

I'm scared of heights. Absolutely petrified. Just looking at a picture of something 'high' gives me sweaty palms and palpitations! I haven’t always been like that – once-upon-a-time I was the loon dangling off the outside of the bridge spanning Howstean Gorge tormenting my boyfriend at the time who was terrified I was going to kill myself (sorry by the way).

Howstean Gorge

When I became a mother 5 years ago, life just seemed more precious. My son was born with a rare heart defect and had to undergo major heart surgery. Having to face the harsh reality that I might only have a few days with the gorgeous little bundle I carried for 9 months really opened my eyes to just how fragile life is.

My post-op baby

My gorgeous bundle!

This resulted in the emergence of a few fears – going too fast in the car (especially if someone else was driving!), heights, the dark, and being home alone. Some were short-lived – I love star gazing, seize any opportunity to blast out the cobwebs on a motorbike and cherish my alone time. The fear of heights has lingered though.

Yesterday I took a massive step towards conquering my fear. I attended my first beginners climbing class! I wore my Muse concert t-shirt because it conjures happy thoughts from their concert in Springfiled, which I thought I might need several metres up a wall! Our group of 5 beginners began by learning how to tie a figure of 8 knot, attach ourselves to the rope properly, set up the belay and manoeuvre our hands to belay effectively without our partners plummeting to their untimely demise...

Then we climbed!!! My feet felt like lead, my body was fighting against my mind refusing to move my feet onto the first foothold and I felt like a potato – a lump incapable of movement! Then a 10 year old kid flew up the wall next to me and my pride hit me over the head like a breeze block! Can’t be having a munchkin outdo me!!! I focussed on UP and in no time at all was at the top!!! Yey me! I looked down, saw a few faces looking up at me, felt a bit wobbly and tried to face the inevitable getting down bit...

Releasing the death grip and taking your hands off the hand holds that are keeping you stuck to the wall is the most unnatural thing in the world. I had to prize my fingers off the pink and yellow knobbles, place them around the rope that dangled me precariously above my team mates’ heads, stretch my legs out and walk down the wall as my partner lowered me down. The squashy floor was a sweet relief to my feet! The buzz was amazing – I was physically shaking and my palms drenched with sweat, but I was so pleased with myself!

We spent 2 hours climbing various walls with little challenges thrown in, getting higher and I improved with every climb, gaining confidence and conquering my fear of heights.

The class was fab, the staff professional and friendly, the facilities spot on – all highly recommended! I’m looking forward to my next 2 lessons and then regular visits to the wall for lots of climbing shenanigans!

If anyone's interested in indoor wall climbing in the Harrogate area, click here for info about Harrogate Climbing Centre!

Operation Christmas Child

This year I asked for the help of work colleagues at DNS Arrow's Harrogate office, old co-workers from Capita Surveys and Research office and my family to put together some gift boxes for children less fortunate than ourselves through the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child.


We managed to put together a total of 12 boxes filled with goodies for boys and girls of various ages.  My son and I had a lovely family night shopping for gifts, wrapping a shoe box and filling it with gifts.  It was great fun wandering around the supermarket trying to find little bits n bobs that would fit into a shoe box.  In a way I think we may have failed miserably - there was a gorgeous teddy which pretty much filled the box in its own right without all the other bits and bobs I wanted to include!  Still, I was determined to fit it in...


I'm a stickler for gifts not only being fun but also having some educational value and practical use.  We bought a variety of gifts which probably only totalled about £20 but would hopefully bring a smile to a little boy's face somewhere in the world.  

From our little activity I gained a sense of making a difference - granted, filling a shoe box full of goodies isn't exactly a miracle cure for disease or going to end wars across the world, but I'm still satisfied that if I can make 1 person happy if only for a moment, it's worth doing!  I also learned that my gift wrapping skills totally suck and I need a great deal more practice before Christmas!  Having said that, if I'd chosen a shoe box with detachable lid, that may well have made life a lot easier... (note to self for next year's box wrapping - Timberland boot box pain in the butt to wrap and is really not suitable for Operation Christmas Child).  


My son imagined that the gift box we put together would go to a little boy he named George who lived in Africa.  He made up a story about George not having much money for nice things like toys and books, and really got into the spirit of giving.  He really wanted the little boy to have a happy Christmas and said that the teddy could keep him company and keep him safe at bed time.  My son also decided to say a prayer over the box (without any prompting from me at all which stunned me a little!) asking God to make sure the box travelled safely and would make George happy.  It was so sweet - we really felt the true spirit of Christmas in our household that night.