Thursday, May 25, 2006
As usual, time flies, so thought I’d better write a new post before the end of May!! Now, what have I been up to since the end of March? This could be a mammoth blog!
Shagging
Well, the Shag workshop was fun, but exhausting – fast music, and lots of hopping around!! Have got the hang of the basics though, and fairly easy to do a bit during freestyle dancing…
Feet problems
My feet were hurting a lot at the end of March – I couldn’t actually last an evening at dance without being in pain, so decided to go and see a podiatrist – that’s a man who knows a lot about feet – and a word I never knew before! And the cause of my foot pain: pronation! I don’t have much of an arch, which doesn’t help, but basically when you stand in bare feet, your feet will lean inwards (or if you’re really weird, outwards!) and this is pronating. Normal people have about 2° of pronation – I’m not normal though (no comments!!) and mine pronate by approx 11°!!! The podiatrist said that anything over 4° could cause problems, so he was amazed I wasn’t suffering more!! So now I have footbeds to put in shoes to raise the arch and correct this. Unfortunately these footbeds can’t go in all shoes – e.g. my dance shoes, or sandals or pretty high heel girly shoes, so I’ve been wearing trainers and “sensible” shoes a lot lately – but it has made a difference and I can once again dance pain-free!
Visit to Suzanne
Claire & I had a lovely visit up to Harrogate to see Suzanne, Mia and Chris - Chris managed to escape for the weekend though, on a boy’s night out, and left us girls to lunch out, then dine in. It was a rather cold weekend, with a bitter wind, but we did make it outside for a couple of walks! And Claire did an excellent job of entertaining Mia!
More skiing
After a quiet Easter weekend, I went on a brief work jolly to France – 1 day travelling, 1 day skiing in La Rosiere, 1 day skiing in La Plagne, then home the next day. It was a great trip as the snow was fabulous, and so nice to go back to La Plagne again – it still feels like home!
Hen party on the loose!
The 29th April was a hen weekend for Clare (my boss from Delta) who’s finally getting married to Jon on the 23rd June – after over 10 years together, and with 2 boys to show for it! We had a nice day in the spa, including a fab massage, then a fantastic meal in the hotel restaurant before hitting the town – and the 80s club!!
Camber Sands
For my birthday weekend, Claire & I headed off to the jive weekend at Camber Sands – it was a great weekend, and we did loads of classes during the day. My poor feet could only last til 1am before the pain set in, but considering the problems I was having, that was pretty good! And as I’d taken Monday off work it was great to stop for lunch with Claire near Tunbridge Wells, before taking a leisurely drive cross county back to Chi.
Birthday lunch
Kate, Dunc & Megan made the trip down to Chi on Tuesday 9th and we all went out for lunch with Laura – so an extension to my birthday weekend, and fab to take a 2 hour lunch break! Had to be v good and limit myself to just 1 glass of wine!! And then in the afternoon the office spoiled me by getting a chocolate cake!!! Oh dear, the diet must start tomorrow!!!
More dancing – Balboa
I did a Balboa workshop the next weekend, which is rather difficult to describe, but is a good dance for quicker music, in which you slide your feet across the floor rather than taking steps (to cut down on the effort required!). However the man’s lead is a very subtle movement in his upper torso/shoulders so the guys weren’t finding it easy to pick up, and the girls really had to concentrate to feel it!! Must practice this!
Relatives day
Sat 20th turned into a bit of a relatives day: You all know I met Jeremy through dancing, and we’ve been going out for a while now. His niece (Laura) was in an Amateur Dramatics performance of High Society in Camberley, and as her mum (J’s sister) was on holiday, other family members were attending to support her. So I went with Jeremy, and met his mum Janet, her partner George and J’s aunt & uncle, Gill & Mike. Everyone was very nice and I was actually fairly relaxed about meeting them! Then, as my folks had just returned from 4 weeks on the boat, J & I went to Addlestone for dinner, before popping round to see Kate & Dunc – and Megan, who was still up, despite it being gone 8pm! – and watch a bit of Eurovision – well done Finland by the way!! Everything went fine and Jeremy seemed to survive the experience!!
Dance Marathon
So that brings me up-to-date, and I can end by telling you about the dance marathon I’m doing on Sat. The Swing dance company is holding 4 workshops on Sat, which Jeremy is teaching: blues, dips & tricks, then 2 lots of double trouble (1 man dances with 2 girls). I’m attending the dips & tricks workshop, and then helping Jeremy demonstrate the double-trouble in the afternoon. And then in the evening there is a proper dance!!! Good job it’s a bank holiday – will need a couple of days to rest my feet!!
Shagging
Well, the Shag workshop was fun, but exhausting – fast music, and lots of hopping around!! Have got the hang of the basics though, and fairly easy to do a bit during freestyle dancing…
Feet problems
My feet were hurting a lot at the end of March – I couldn’t actually last an evening at dance without being in pain, so decided to go and see a podiatrist – that’s a man who knows a lot about feet – and a word I never knew before! And the cause of my foot pain: pronation! I don’t have much of an arch, which doesn’t help, but basically when you stand in bare feet, your feet will lean inwards (or if you’re really weird, outwards!) and this is pronating. Normal people have about 2° of pronation – I’m not normal though (no comments!!) and mine pronate by approx 11°!!! The podiatrist said that anything over 4° could cause problems, so he was amazed I wasn’t suffering more!! So now I have footbeds to put in shoes to raise the arch and correct this. Unfortunately these footbeds can’t go in all shoes – e.g. my dance shoes, or sandals or pretty high heel girly shoes, so I’ve been wearing trainers and “sensible” shoes a lot lately – but it has made a difference and I can once again dance pain-free!
Visit to Suzanne
Claire & I had a lovely visit up to Harrogate to see Suzanne, Mia and Chris - Chris managed to escape for the weekend though, on a boy’s night out, and left us girls to lunch out, then dine in. It was a rather cold weekend, with a bitter wind, but we did make it outside for a couple of walks! And Claire did an excellent job of entertaining Mia!
More skiing
After a quiet Easter weekend, I went on a brief work jolly to France – 1 day travelling, 1 day skiing in La Rosiere, 1 day skiing in La Plagne, then home the next day. It was a great trip as the snow was fabulous, and so nice to go back to La Plagne again – it still feels like home!
Hen party on the loose!
The 29th April was a hen weekend for Clare (my boss from Delta) who’s finally getting married to Jon on the 23rd June – after over 10 years together, and with 2 boys to show for it! We had a nice day in the spa, including a fab massage, then a fantastic meal in the hotel restaurant before hitting the town – and the 80s club!!
Camber Sands
For my birthday weekend, Claire & I headed off to the jive weekend at Camber Sands – it was a great weekend, and we did loads of classes during the day. My poor feet could only last til 1am before the pain set in, but considering the problems I was having, that was pretty good! And as I’d taken Monday off work it was great to stop for lunch with Claire near Tunbridge Wells, before taking a leisurely drive cross county back to Chi.
Birthday lunch
Kate, Dunc & Megan made the trip down to Chi on Tuesday 9th and we all went out for lunch with Laura – so an extension to my birthday weekend, and fab to take a 2 hour lunch break! Had to be v good and limit myself to just 1 glass of wine!! And then in the afternoon the office spoiled me by getting a chocolate cake!!! Oh dear, the diet must start tomorrow!!!
More dancing – Balboa
I did a Balboa workshop the next weekend, which is rather difficult to describe, but is a good dance for quicker music, in which you slide your feet across the floor rather than taking steps (to cut down on the effort required!). However the man’s lead is a very subtle movement in his upper torso/shoulders so the guys weren’t finding it easy to pick up, and the girls really had to concentrate to feel it!! Must practice this!
Relatives day
Sat 20th turned into a bit of a relatives day: You all know I met Jeremy through dancing, and we’ve been going out for a while now. His niece (Laura) was in an Amateur Dramatics performance of High Society in Camberley, and as her mum (J’s sister) was on holiday, other family members were attending to support her. So I went with Jeremy, and met his mum Janet, her partner George and J’s aunt & uncle, Gill & Mike. Everyone was very nice and I was actually fairly relaxed about meeting them! Then, as my folks had just returned from 4 weeks on the boat, J & I went to Addlestone for dinner, before popping round to see Kate & Dunc – and Megan, who was still up, despite it being gone 8pm! – and watch a bit of Eurovision – well done Finland by the way!! Everything went fine and Jeremy seemed to survive the experience!!
Dance Marathon
So that brings me up-to-date, and I can end by telling you about the dance marathon I’m doing on Sat. The Swing dance company is holding 4 workshops on Sat, which Jeremy is teaching: blues, dips & tricks, then 2 lots of double trouble (1 man dances with 2 girls). I’m attending the dips & tricks workshop, and then helping Jeremy demonstrate the double-trouble in the afternoon. And then in the evening there is a proper dance!!! Good job it’s a bank holiday – will need a couple of days to rest my feet!!
