#144: Visit Bletchley Park (Code breakers)

One of my more geeky items on my list was to visit Bletchley Park, home to Britain's WW2 code breaking operation where agents sought to break Hitler's Enigma codes and which until the 1980s had been kept top secret. The movie Enigma was based around the work done at BP. Security was so great there that a story is told that a married couple – sworn to secrecy - never knew until the 1970’s that they were both code-breakers at Bletchley Park at the same time.

#142: Go Rambling

When I first moved to the UK I found it strange how many English people spoke of going for a walk or 'a Ramble'. As an American, I thought that they meant going for a casual stroll, maybe around the block or something. It took me a while to understand that 'Rambling' is a past time for many people and that instead of walking, it's closer to what Americans would call hiking. The law in the UK allows for a Right to Roam which means that there are many public footpaths/trails across much of the country, including along the coast, where the public can walk across private land.

While in Cornwall, I took advantage of the dramatic coast line and rambled along the cliffs. I even had champagne as the sun set. Very nice.

#141: Go Pitch and Putt

My golf game stinks, particularly my short game. So pitch and putt, while frustrating, is probably what I should be doing to practice instead of going to a driving range. Overlooking Bude's two main beaches, this particular course had amazing views. If only all places had views like this, my golf game would be much better.

#140: Go Body Boarding

The surf in Bude, Cornwall where I went Body Boarding
One of the last things I did with my Ex before we split was to go surfing in Bude, Cornwall. While I never quite made it to standing on a surf board (and found surfing a little too tiring), I did come away from the weekend vowing to get back in the sea more often, and specifically, to go Body Boarding.

Fast forward 11 months and I made it back to the sea complete with wetsuit and Body Board. I had forgotten just how much fun body boarding is. It brought me back to my childhood on the New Jersey shore, jumping to clear waves and paddling furiously to try to make it to the sweet spot where the wave would take me all the way in. (The downside of which was that I had to labour all the way back out to the breaks again...it was so much easier when I was younger!) I'm thrilled to have come back and done this. I highly recommend!!!

Ready to Body Board

#139: Go to Pride

Photo credit: Marc Bruxelle / Shutterstock

Having lived in New York City and London, I have a wide and diverse set of friends (myself included) and so while I've certainly heard about big Pride celebrations, I had never really been to a proper all day Pride festival before. Having been told Brighton Pride is one of the best and welcoming to gays and straights (and everyone in between), I decided to join some friends for a festive 24 hour summer party and tick this off the list.

Photo credit: Alice Bell

It all started around 11am with the start of the parade, then moved to Preston Park for an all day concert, followed by everybody and their dog going to the Village Street Party on St James’s Street and on to some dance club to be taught how to dance by a group of gorgeous gay men.

There were feather boas and rainbows aplenty. And cake. And even yummy rainbow cake:

And so on this day everyone was gay (as in happy).

#138: Have a Picnic

Reaching the halfway point of summer, I realised that the British weather being what it is, I should tick this one off my list sooner rather than later. And what better excuse to have a picnic than going to watch a(nother) movie outside!

This time it was Top Gun, in Kensington Palace Gardens run by Luna Cinema. 80s cheese at its very best. A brilliant evening!