Typecast

It's been just over a year since I joined Blackburn Road Runners . It's a decision that took me a long time to make but during the past twelve months I've come to realise that there's a time and a place for everything.  After my first race wearing a BRR vest (the Windmill 10k in Lytham) I decided to take a year for myself, attempt some challenges, say "YES" more than saying "no" and see if I could push myself beyond what I thought were my boundaries. Challenge 1 : Lose weight Challenge 2 : Run 1000 km in a year Challenge 3 : Run a long distance race Challenge 4 : Break 1h 10m in a 10k race Photo Credit : Gemma McAuley Photography Losing Weight The losing weight bit was separate to the running but was always going to compliment it.  I joined Slimming World and have lost almost 2.5 stone over the course of the year.  It's not as much as I hoped but its been steady progress. I could have stayed right on plan and possibly lost ...

It's round about now that I start wading through the bajillion choices that I have available for next year's diary.   Last year I was all over the leather diary from Hope House Press and this year I was about to update my Filofax/Bullet Journal set up but then I received an email from Jofelo asking me if I wanted to have a look at some of their leather journals. Leather journals can always seem like an expensive option when choosing a diary but you are paying for quality and for the leather to patina and become even more unique with use.  It's one of the reasons that I love my Malden Filofax and my Fossil Sydney Satchel handbag - they are both getting better with age. Also, journals are to be used for creativity and to hold your thoughts, plans and dreams. You want to own something that's going to 'grow' with you. I've decided that the Jofelo journal that I'm going to use as my diary for next year is the " Trekker ". It...

For new(er) readers, or those not in the know, Soundtrack To My Life is an irregular music series that appears on my blog from time to time.  Over the years, I've had guest posts from people who documented songs that transport them back to a specific moment in their life and I've generated playlists for a variety of reasons ( click here to scroll through the 100+ entries).  So, moving on from an entry earlier this year of Songs You Should Never Play On Hospital Radio , there was only one way to go... Songs You Should Never Play At A Funeral.  I've collated a few here but please feel free to hit me up on any of my social media channels and suggest your own. TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Your loved one has just passed away and the family are gathered around paying their last respects.  The last song you want to hear is Another One Bites The Dust softly playing in the background on the kitchen radio. It's now time t...

I'm not a great photographer.  Most of my images are taken on whatever mobile phone I have at the time and I've recently bought a Nikon D3300 camera, on which I am (unsuccessfully) attempting to move from auto to manual. But I've notice a pattern in my holiday snaps over the years.  Yes, there's the usual scenery shots that mean nothing to anyone else (or have been seen a hundred times before in other people's holiday photos) and then there's the pictures of your fellow holidaymakers, all smiling away at the camera whilst squinting into the sun.  But my preferred shot is either the sunset or the planescape. Here's a few favourites I've taken from over the years...  This sunset shot was taken from a hotel balcony in Albuferia, Portugal and it now hangs on my landing at home on canvas.  Coincidentally, we are going back to the same hotel at Christmas this year and I'm looking forward to seeing what winter sunsets are like!  Albufer...

One of my favourite photos of me - credit : Gemma McAuley Why do I always feel a bit lost when I need to write something about myself? I started writing a list of "I am..." type lines but it was veering into Steve Miller Band, The Joker territory and I'm definitely no 'gangster of love'!! So what I usually do is to direct people to one of my two mini biographies that I tout about on social media because they are short and snappy and, hopefully, a little bit witty.  Plus they can be conversation starters... This is my Twitter bio which stems from a lifetime of living with a car trader! 1972 model, good condition (large scratch on bodywork), one careful owner since 1990. Genuine mileage. Full history available. And this is my blog bio which gives you an overview of who I am, what I write about and some of my hobbies! Teenage mum | "granny at 36" | social media addict | stationery lover | blogger | podcaster | slow runner Anyway, t...