Happy 2012

2010

Hanging on for dear life. The lake was freezing at 5500m above sea level (Tibet)

2011

<> </></></></>

The smile hides the fear! (Costa Rica)

2012

?

Westminster Abbey

Another first, as I went to a carol concert in the Abbey yesterday. A stunning setting to listen to the angelic choirboys. A great way to start the Christmas weekend.

Olympic Games Maker

I have finally received an offer regarding voluntary work during the Olympics and Paralympics. I have been offered a role with the Cleaning, Catering and Waste team!Sounds Fab!!!!!!!!

'You'll be working in a team to celebrate the great diversity and quality of British food, delivering it at affordable prices. You'll also also make sure that venues are kept clean at all times, and that waste is sorted properly so that none of it goes to landfill. You'll be part of a huge operation, placing you at the centre of the Games and letting you see all areas of the venue in operation.'

One bright note though I have been asked to work in the Athletes village - yeah!

Royal Albert Hall

Christmas festivities always start with a sing - song at the Royal Albert Hall. This year my daughter and I went to a slightly different one than usual called 'White Christmas'. I realised it was a little different as no-one was wearing silly xmas outfits and hats with flashing lights. I discretely put mine back in the bag and expected a rather conservative concert but once it got going it was fine. By the time we got to 'The 12 days of Christmas' inhibitions had disappeared and the silly hat made another Xmas appearance!

Leonardo Da Vinci

I was lucky enough to get tickets to see the Leonardo exhibition at The National Gallery in London a couple of months ago  www.nationalgallery.org.uk . There has been a lot of hype about it being a one in a lifetime opportunity to see this amazing collection of his work and I must say I wasn't disappointed. Although it was busy it was still possible to view the works quite easily and to get very close to them especially his drawings which are breath-taking. In fact I think I enjoyed those more than the paintings. Also incredible to be able to view both versions of 'The Virgin in the rocks' in the same room. This never will happen again as the one owned by The National Gallery is too fragile to be moved. So a rare event!

(Bucket list London Museums #1)Hunterian Museum

In my quest to visit 5 museums I've never visited in London I went to see a friend who works at the Hunterian Museum(www.medicalmuseums.org/Royal-College-of-Surgeons-Hunterian-

It is not a museum for the faint-hearted as it contains anatomical specimans and you can view operations (choose which one you want at the press of a button). Probably the most interesting exhibit for me was the

skeleton of a 7ft 7in giant!

Olympic Ceremony 2nd audition

This audition was harder than the first. We were split into groups of 30 and were active for a much longer period. It still wasn't made clear for what role we were auditioning. Although this time we were introduced to the man (can't remember his name) who choreographed the movements in the play 'War Horse'. Apparently he is responsible for 2 of the movements in the opening ceremony so I assume that was the reason for the audition. Once we were all involved in the various activities I noticed that Danny Boyle had arrived and was intently watching each group and making various comments. He stayed until the end of the audition watching us very closely! I now have to wait another 6-8 weeks before I will hear one way or the other so it's fingers crossed.