No 10 - Go to the top of The Shard (6)

This challenge was completed on my Birthday with friends and family. We stayed in a hotel next to London Bridge after my party and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do this challenge.

It was a beautiful sunny day and London was looking good! I was a little surprised to experience vertigo though. Never having had an issue with heights before I wasn't worried about looking down, in fact it was amazing seeing the full 360 panorama! Stepped out of the lift and the dizziness and nausea set in - very strange I must say but I had a great time and did complete the challenge!

Getting ready to go up

Tower Bridge

Started to get vertigo!

HMS Belfast

Ooh very whooshy now!

The London Eye

At the top - it was amazing!

No 9 - Write personal letters (42)

I wanted to make this challenge a very special one. I originally thought I might write a letter for each person on their Birthday, but then I realised that it would only be a surprise for the first couple of people. I thought then to maybe do it for Christmas, but then there would be so many other things going on and other gifts that it might be seen as just a Christmassy thing, and I wanted it to be a something from me thing!

When I decided to give golden goody boxes as a little something for my Birthday guests I realised it was the perfect opportunity to pop a note/card into each box of the people I wanted to write to. This would mean it would be a surprise for everyone at the same time and also give me a lot of pleasure spending some time thinking and writing about all the people I love and the wonderful quirks and traits they have!

So I popped each note into the goody box and it was such a pleasure to hear how much they were appreciated. I loved this challenge as it was all about everyone else and not me!

Coloured notes and dinky envelopes!

The golden goody boxes

No 8 - Make my own Birthday Cake (20)

This was always going to be a good challenge as I am not a baker! I can make lovely savoury dishes but cakes, always a hodgepodge!  Still, I have 2 facts about my cakes: 1 - they always taste lovely, 2 - they always look as if they are about to fall over; and this cake did not disappoint!

First thing to do, make an extra large cake board as I was going big! An old cork board and some cardboard boxes did the trick....

Just a simple cork board!

Ta da! 

 Then I found out that too much chocolate dries out cake and also that ganache can curdle!!

Oh dear....

Curdled ganache - yuk!

 If it doesn't stick together then try kitkat scaffolding as a support structure, tasty and effective. Then if it looks a bit like it might just all fall apart, bring in the fondant icing!

Starting to look like a ship

Kit kat scaffolding!

Cover it up, lol.

It might still fall over but I discovered that a garden brick covered in gold tissue paper holds a cake up nicely and can even add to the overall effect!!

Secret support wall..

 

Let the decorating commence

Yummy chocolate...

Time to get creative

Ta da!

No 7 - Have coffee in Harrods (50)

Believe it or not, despite spending a third of my adult life in London and another third visiting London, until today I had never been to Harrods! I have driven past many times at Christmas time and the shop front windows always look so magical and I remember as a child seeing on the news the crowds queueing over night for the January sales. So I was been looking forward to my visit with the added bonus of having a coffee and a pastry.

I did the challenge with my daughter Chloe and we arrived on a lovely sunny afternoon, except it was a Saturday and there were so many people it was hard to move around the store! There are very few signs in the shop so it is difficult to find out where you are and where anything else is. I asked a male shop assistant where the Tea Room was and after following his directions we ended up going round in a circle and back where we started! I then asked a female assistant where the nearest place to have a cup of tea was. She laughed and said there were loads of places in the shop and I eventually pinned her down to where the nearest one was; so I thought!  It took asking another assistant who told us to go downstairs to the Cappuccino cafe before we found somewhere to actually get a drink, can you believe it!!

The cafe was very sweet, small but nicely laid out. We made our order including some water as it was very warm.  It did look lovely when brought to our table, minus the water. We had to ask 3 times in total to get the water and when it arrived it was warm, that was disappointing. Especially as the coffee was a very small cup and not very hot either.  The pastries were yummy though and CHloe had a large pot of hot tea which I shared too. She actually ordered ice tea and was given a hot pot and a glass with ice - didn't expect that!!

Both of us thoroughly enjoyed our pastries and we took our time eating them as they cost so much!!  They were very sweet so we did have pauses, especially as we were waiting for water.  Chloe didn't manage her all her tea but I definitely drank every drop of the coffee.

The prices were going to be high, but I knew that before I went and as a one off treat for a challenge, but I was a little surprised just how much a coffee and a pastry would be in their little coffee bar!

No 6 - Go to a lovely place for a beautiful sunset (38)

This challenge happened by accident! I was taken for an early Birthday treat by my son George. He kept it a surprise until the last minute. What an amazing evening, we were at Blenheim Palace with Ludovico Einaudi!!  As the sun started to set there was a silence amongst crowd; the stunning location in the Great Courtyard, the beautiful sky with the setting sun. The only sounds we could hear were the birds singing whilst swooping low over us to the magical melodies of the piano and glorious strings.  A lot of people sit and watch a lovely sunset and put Einaudi on in the background - I HAD HIM WITH ME for my sunset - how much more amazing can you get!! Thanks George!

No. 5 - Become an NLP Practitioner (43)

Well I passed my certification in March and have been accepted by the ANLP which is the governing body in UK. I am working towards my advanced practitioner so watch this space for a No 43 update in a few months!

No. 4 - Drink some expensive champagne! (13)

Woo hoo! Another challenge and a tasty one at that. Unexpectedly at my granddaughter's christening my folks turned up with an expensive bottle of champagne they had been saving for a special occasion!  A magnum no less! So of course I was the first one to down my glass completing a challenge and wetting the baby's head at the same time - what a fantastic day!