Hanging By A Thread

I'm a little bit excited tonight! As you know, pre-baby45 I did a fair bit of climbing - it's one of the things I miss most since he arrived. Husbando is a total climbing fanatic however and owns many books on the subject, including Mark Reeves' `How To Climb Harder`.

Tonight on twitter I spotted that Mark is actually in London on May 12th giving a lecture on The History + Technology of Climbing. Tickets are £10 and the talk commences at 7pm. As he normally spends most of his time in Snowdonia this is a real one off opportunity to hear one of the world leading experts in climbing and mountaineering speak.

Want to know more? Well here in Mark's own words is the background to how he came to write Hanging by a Thread - the book that forms the basis for this talk..... 

Fun with Me - hiking/climbing and general silliness in Chamonix

I know that you all like a good laugh and plus you know that I'm a wimp when it comes to heights. Anyway, here are some pictures of me looking pretty stupid (but mostly) having a good time on holiday in Chamonix.

First of all, climbing in Les Gaillands:

Faffing around at the bottom putting my shoes on...

Getting started....

Almost there!

Finishing and rewarding self with hot chocolate + cake. Sorry about the helmet hair also!

Some more pictures where I don't look too sweaty....

Yes, I realise in this last one i look like I'm going to the bathroom. But I'm not.

I did just however, have a candy bar, hence the expression of extreme ecstasy!

That's all for now - just one more photo essay in this series for you guys - trees and other green stuff. Then no more mountains for awhile I promise :)

Thank you and goodnight

Stupidgirl has left the building

Switching Round - Word of the Week

(Perception n: becoming aware of something/The process, act, or faculty of perceiving. Ety: late 15c., "receiving, collection," from L. perceptionem Meaning "intuitive or direct recognition of some innate quality" is from 1827)

Okay, I'm about halfway up a rock face. The ground is approx 12-15 metres below me and I've got around another 6-8 metres to climb. After that climb I have to abseil half way down to a small ledge and wait for husbando to join me. Then I have to use various gadgets to pull down the rope, re-attach it to me, husbando and the rock and then abseil down again. But in the meantime, there's those remaining metres of rock to climb.

Graded at around a 3/4 in the book - well within my capability - the climb is closer to a 5+, something I've just mastered climbing inside, without the added complexity of more than one pitch and knowing I've got to abseil down after. The foot and hand holds are tiny pinches mainly, and my nails (and nerves) are shredded. Although you can can't see my face, I'm crying and tearfully sniffling my way up, inch by inch. After what seems like several millennia, I finish the climb and make it to the ledge husbando is on.

"Well done!" he beams at me. I am not impressed "That was so fucking scary" I am snivelling but he insists on taking a picture. "Didn't you see me crying?"

"What?! No, I didn't. You climbed that really well. There was a lady at the bottom taking pictures of you all the way up, seriously."

I think my facial expression reads WTVF. "Are you sure? Wasn't she taking pictures of the kids?" There are a bunch of them below me, climbing at what I am sure is at vastly higher grade and with a great deal less fuss.

"No, she was taking pictures of YOU because YOU climb really well".

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Huh, even several weeks later, now, my brain is just starting to compute this. Right, it says to me, you think that you're crap and you were crying, but some lady, who couldn't see your face, thought that you climb well and took pictures to prove it. Is this what perception is all about? 

Fear and Flying - My Holidays Part 1

Sorry for bastardizing the classic Erica Jong novel title but it seems particularly apt for this post on my holidays and generally the last couple of weeks. I wanted to pop in and say hi to you all before a proper blog post and photo essay on the holiday later this week. Anyway, I'm a bit tired and literally just back from Geneva as of two hours ago, so on with the post!

1) First, a picture.....

This was the view from my sunlounger. Yes, that *is* Mont Blanc up there, behind the Aiguille de Midi and some other tall pointy things. I really should draw some little arrows in to show you which is which. But I might get it wrong eeeep. Anyway I was on a sun lounger because of....

2) The Injury
I fell off a mountain.

Well to be more accurate, I tripped on a mountain path when I was going too fast down it after husbando threatening to catch him up and tickle him. Sexy as that sounds, it was wasn't quite as sexy as going ass over tit and spraining my ankle. Fuck me does that hurt!
I'm glad there's no photographic evidence of me, face down in the dirt, screaming. Not a good look. I feel I should point out that a) I fell over on the safest part of the hike and not the bit with the precipitous drop - if I'd fallen there, I'd be writing this from beyond the grave and also b) I then had to walk back down the mountain for 2.5 hours on said ankle.

Circus Acts - Word of the Week

(Juggling verb: To keep (more than two activities, for example) in motion or progress at one time. Ety: mid-15c., from O.Fr. jogler, from L.L. joculare (cf. It. giocolare), from L. joculari “to jest”)

This morning I write to you from a very stinky SW London - a water pipe has burst on Brixton Hill and it seems that most of SW London - all the way out to Croydonia is sans water. It is times like this when there are people who are really sensible and keep bottled water etc for such emergencies. Clearly, I am not one of those people - instead I am lying in bed in my pajamas in my duvet blogging. I am also debating when might be the best time to dress my smelly self in clean clothes and after chewing gum in lieu of toothbrushing, head out to the shops in search of bottled water and baby wipes. In fact here is a picture of the reason why I have no water - under that is a road. And no, it's not a burst river, it's a burst water pipe. Crazy huh?

So, a WoTW after a month of no WoTW-ing.....and juggling seemed the most appropriate. I've not written much in that time either, despite much encouragement - I've just not felt like it. Anyway, that's a long-winded way of saying sorry if this post is entirely crap - I'm hoping writing is like riding a bike - you just have to get back in the saddle (fnar). Oh, and hello to all the new followers out there - of which there appear to be a few of you judging by the views in the last few weeks - thanks so much for coming by! If you're wondering WTF WoTW is, check this out

Juggling might not be something that you actively do 'in' your writing, but it's certainly something that we all have to do in our lives and sometimes it seems like it's impossible to keep all the plates spinning without going slightly crazy. Here is what I have juggled in the last 6 weeks:

Two have Fun in Dorset - A Top List *and* a Photo Essay

So this post has been a little bit delayed due to the sad news I had on Friday, and then yesterday just being crazy-ass busy (mainly playing with a puppy + going to a house party I hasten to add). Anyway as you know, after the Easter weekend husbando and I went down to Dorset for a week of rock climbing, hiking (him) and sleeping and eating (me). We managed to combine both without having a huge amount of rows which I consider a huge achievement given that I believe that the definition of compromise means "when neither of you are happy".  


Here beginneth the list....


1) LOCATION
For those of you who don't know where Dorset is, it's in South West England. Go past London, Surrey and Hampshire. If you get to Devon you've gone too far. You could just look it up on Google maps. We went to a little island called Portland. It's not technically an island as it's connected to the mainland (Weymouth) by a famous spit of land called Chesil beach which is part of the Jurassic coast *and* a world heritage site. You can see some nerdy interesting info about it here. Anyway Portland is basically a gigantic bit of limestone that rises out of the sea and hence is quite good for rock climbing. Here are some photos of the view....

2) ACCOMODATION
There are, surprisingly, for such a titchy place, lots of places to stay on Portland. However at the recommendation of husbando's friend we stayed a very incredibly wonderfully lovely B+B called Queen Anne House. I cannot recommend it highly enough. 
The house is GORGEOUS. The garden is GORGEOUS. The rooms are GORGEOUS. The food is DELISH (full cooked english every morning with perfect poached eggs). The baths are huge and lovely (I'm tall, this is important). Oh and it's very romantic too. And they have cats which are not allowed in the rooms but you can play with in the garden, they are very talkative and purr-y and cuddly. 
Finally Margaret, who owns the place is absolutely the hostess with the mostess. Nothing was too much trouble plus she was uber-cool and stylish. We will be going back for sure. I watched the Royal Wedding with Margaret too :) And here is a picture of the place...

(copyright © 2010, Designed by: Daniel Longhurst Design queen anne house)

Those who *can*, teach - Word of the Week

(Teacher n:  one who teaches, Etym: from `Teach` to show, point out," also "to give instruction," from PreGermanic. *taikijanan cf. Old High German. zihan, Ger. zeihen "to accuse," Goth. ga-teihan "to announce")


So, er, this post is going to be a little bit dedicated to my husband. And to all the people who teach us - not just in school - but anywhere in life.


Last week, when I was (ahem) rock climbing in Dorset, it occurred to me how miraculous it was that I was, in fact, 18 metres above the sea, attached to a rope, balancing on the corner of a cliff edge with just my hands and feet. How on earth had husbando persuaded me to do this I wondered? 


And I wondered it again when I was 10 metres up another (seemingly) sheer cliff face. And again when we were on a 1 foot wide scrabbly, rocky, stinging nettle-y path with a drop down to the sea on one side. And also when I tripped over and pricked my finger on a bramble bush and might have burst into tears.


And then I realised how bloody amazing it was that I was doing all these amazing, cool, challenging things that I never, in a million years, thought I would ever be able to do. Especially given that I am terrified of heights. And bugs, and generally beings more than 2 mins from hot and cold running shops/coffee/water/civilisation.


So it got me thinking about how I've been able to do all this and who taught me to have the strength to do it. I know I've bl0gged about motivation before, but this post is more about the people or books or movies or songs or other things that have taught you do things you never thought you could do.


For example with the climbing and also writing, husbando has taught me, weirdly, to trust. He has taught me to trust him, that he won't leave me alone when I'm scared or give up on me when I've given up on me. He won't laugh at me when I look like an idiot or fuss about peeing outside. He didn't get cross when I had a full on tantrum half way up a rock face and called him an asshole He just stuck in there for the long run. 


It might sound sappy or naff but he's taught me what it means to love and trust someone - leading by example I guess. No matter how many times I want to give up my writing or climbing, he always tells me that I can do it, he has this unwavering belief in me. It's incredibly powerful. He's teaching me to believe in myself and my abilities - but also about loyalty and perseverance. 


It's not just husbando who's taught me these things - I don't have the space to list all the lovely people (internet weirdies some of them) who have held my hand and taught me to believe in myself - but I think it's important to take the time to remind ourselves of these lessons that are learned outside of the classroom. Some of these lessons are invaluable when it comes to new ventures - whether it be writing, blogging, climbing, creating, working etc


I guess the biggest lessons I have learnt, therefore, when it comes to challenging myself are:

• Trust: in yourself and what you are doing
• Honesty: own what you do, whether it's good or bad, it's still yours, who is anyone else to judge
• Love: if you don't love it, why are you doing it? Remember though, that the line between love and hate can be fine sometimes! But if it puts a fire in your belly, you should keep going.
• Humility: you're not perfect and you're not going to get it right all the time. So what!
• Kindness: go easy on yourself, sometimes there are no rules or guidance, sometimes there's too much guidance and you just have to figure it out for yourself.
• Belief: it'll be okay - it's not brain surgery after all!

So, who are your teachers? What have you learnt from them? And are you reminding yourself of these informal lessons when you need them - you might be surprised by how comforting these can be on dark days. Here's to all our teachers, whoever and wherever they might be. And specially to my husbando, he's a bit of a star :)

Thank you and goodnight

Stupidgirl has left the building

PS I wrote this blog listening to the Juno soundtrack. It's lovely and I highly recommend it :)


PPS I have refrained from taking the medication for my muscle spasm until I have finished this blog post, after last night's debacle! You may be amused to know that last night I forgot the word `serious` and laughed like a drain when reminded of it. I also laughed hysterically at pretty much everything everyone said. In the morning I had much embarrassment. DRUGS ARE BAD KIDS.

More Carrot, Less Stick - Word of the Week

(Achievement n: Something accomplished successfully, especially by means of exertion, skill, practice, or perseverance. Ety: noun of action from O.Fr. achever early 14c.,  "to finish, accomplish, complete," from phrase à chef (venir) "at an end, finished")


You know what? I think that we, as writers, bloggers or generally as PEOPLE, do not blow our own trumpets enough and share our achievements with others. Over all the previous Word-of-The-Weeks (WoTWs) I've talked a lot about learning and growing and developing, not just as a writer (well, my journey as, er, a writer/blogette type person) but I don't think I've really posted enough about just `owning` what you do. And no matter how big or how small, if it's an achievement to you then it should be celebrated - and that's what this week's WoTW is all about.


First of all, I want all of you, every single person reading this blog to give themselves a pat on the back (or if that's too hard, have a bit of chocklit, that's good too). I want to you to do that to say thank you because the first thing we are celebrating, in the name of achievement is that this week, we passed 10k views of this blog since January. Yes, wow, yikes etc - more than 10 thousand individual views of this blog (and not all of them were me or my mum). So big THANKS  to all of you who read this blog, who comment, who say lovely things to me on Facebook/Twitter etc etc, it is so very appreciated and I could not have done it without you. I'm not sure where this blog is headed or what the end purpose is yet, but I think that 10k views in 3.5 months is not to be sneezed at and I have so loved blogging - so all you guys are kind of, holding my hand, encouraging me to continue. That to believe that just maybe, I can write for some kind of audience. So keep on with that pat on the back/chocklit eating - pretend it's from ME!


Secondly, achievement - as I said, nothing is too big or too small. I think we spend far too much time beating ourselves up and stressing about things, and forget that sometimes, on bad days, even getting out of bed is an achievement. In fact, depending on my mood, all of the following can be achievements for me:

• Getting out of bed
• Looking at people when I'm wearing my glasses (can't bear to do this because I think I'm so ugly I don't want them to see)
• Making it to the top of the climbing wall
• Blogging
• Pitching to clients
• Running for ONE MORE FUCKING MINUTE (past 5 minutes...!)
• Not having Maccie D's for lunch
• Scrambling down to the crag when climbing (this can be scarier than climbing)
• Killing spiders
• Sleeping when I'm home alone

So if you've done anything today that involved confronting a fear, doing something you didn't want to do, doing something nice, writing, blogging, creating and just generally being you and being fab, I want you to take the next 5 minutes and just celebrate that. Be happy, you rock. 

Finally, please make sure that every day, you just take time to think okay, you know what, I'm not so bad, in fact, I'm doing pretty well at this - whatever it is that `this` for you is - being it writing, climbing, creating - even just living. I definitely don't do this enough - and I'm not saying we should all be big headed - but sometimes you can beat yourself up when instead you need to be your inner cheerleader (especially if she looks like Santana or Brittany from Glee).

And that's all for this week's WoTW - just a short one as I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired after doing lots of climbing on real rock including an 18 metre sea cliff climb (check this out for a pic - tho it's not me in the pic). Hope it was okay - let me know your thoughts below, as ever :)

Thank you and goodnight

Stupidgirl has left the building

Fun with Climbing - A Guest Photo Essay from Gaz Parry

Hey everyone, happy weekend! Hope you're having a great one. If you didn't catch yesterday's interview it's here, and it was with SIX time British climbing champ, Gaz Parry! Amazingly Gaz kindly submitted to my request that he also do a photo essay. So here you go!

Great memories from competitions. My first international podium. 3rd at Birmingham in the World Cup and in front of a home crowd.

The first time I ever sport climbed abroad was here, Buoux in France. 15 years later I returned to climb this classic route, Chouca.

My first expedition took me to Greenland. We climbed the World’s highest sea cliff. The Devils Thumbnail 4490ft. Sadly my friend and team member Mathew was killed in an abseil accident.

Another expedition to Madagascar. This is climbing near Diego Saurez in the north of the island. An area called Montagne Francais in reference to Madagascars French Colonial past.

Madagascan children prepare the days rice at 6am in the Tsaranoro valley.

The last climb of my Madagascar trip. A first ascent of the hardest route at the time in Mada. Naufrages Du Rhum.

France again doing what I enjoy. Hanging out in holes in the Ariege valley of Southern France

My 2008 expedition took me to Pakistan in an attempt to climb Trango Tower. Bad weather meant we didn’t make the summit, but an amazing trip was had by all.

France again. This time Christmas Day near Briancon. Climbing in the morning and snowboarding in the afternoon. We were on our way to Spain.

Our new home in Spain, we came for a few months at the end of 2008, bought a house and are still here.

Outside our front door with Kate, Joseph the horse and Blackie the cat. We have another 3 cats and numerous dogs

 Sandi Sox. Our first dog and our absolute pride and joy. She was only with us for a year, the memories she left are amazing, sadly she died last month. It has been the saddest month of my life. We now have another Spanish Podengo. We rescued Morgana after she spent 8 years in the Kennels. She now lives happily in an armchair.

Thanks Gaz, that was awesome!

I'll be back tomorrow with my top 10 songs to write to and lots more stuff coming up in the week.

Thank you and goodnight

Stupidgirl has left the building

This Much I Know Is True - An Interview With Gaz

Tonight’s interview is in a rather special location and has a rather special guest! As some/most of you know, I do a fair bit of indoor rock climbing with my husband. Recently husbando has been training for a trip to Spain under the auspices of a rather exciting climbing coach Gaz Parry.

Gaz has won the British Climbing Championships SIX times, he is on the British Climbing team and has climbed the world’s highest sea cliff! He is also a climbing coach, lecturer and currently resides in Spain with his girlfriend Kate where they run Epic Adventures – a climbing and Adventure Company.

During one of Gaz’s many trips back to the UK to route set* for various climbing walls, I was honoured to interview him at The Castle, an indoor climbing centre in North London. So, Gaz is eating a pot noodle and I am eating a piece of yummy chocolate tiffin and drinking a smoothie – we are also, briefly, joined by women’s climbing champion Leah Crane. I am, needless to say, a little star-struck by both. This interview is a little different and I hope you enjoy it….on with the show!
Me: Firstly, thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be interviewed. As with all the interviews, I always start with a tough question! Could you tell us what the best piece of advice you've received is?
GP: Hmmm that’s a tough question! Probably “don’t do as I do, do as I say" my dad circa mid 1980s!

Me: Hah, such a parental thing to say!! Can you tell us a bit about how you got into climbing?
GP: Well I was always quite sporty – played a bit of rugby – but I started climbing when I was12. I’d done a fair bit of walking and hiking with my dad so it just stemmed from there really. I never climbed with my dad mind it was with my mates from school.

Me: And, although you’re a professional climber/coach now, did you study/have a career before that?
GP: I left school when I was 17 - I just wasn’t in the right place to study at that point, I just wanted to have fun and climb. I went back to college when I was 26 to study Countryside Management – it covered stuff like lambing and building walls and also business theory. I really enjoyed the combination of learning and also getting my hands dirty as it were.

Then I worked as a sales rep for North Face - I enjoyed it, getting out and meeting people – although presenting to senior management at a major account can be a little nerve-wracking! The company went through a few changes – being bought out etc and I just decided one day to resign. My obsession with climbing was pretty much taking over my life anyway – I was doing a lot of competing!

Me: Tell us a little bit about competing and how you focus/prepare for them – was it harder when you were younger?
GP: Focus is a combination of the physical + mental. I don’t think about other people/competitors– it’s all about getting into the `zone` as you hear many athletes talking about. Getting into the `zone` is not something that can be taught, it is individual and takes discipline to learn to do it. When I was younger it didn’t come so easily but now I can slip into it without effort.

Also with climbing there are so many variables to take into account – you can be at your strongest but you also need to be able to problem solve + route read. For example in 2007 I was very strong + fit but just before the European Climbing Championships, all the skin fell off my hands The fresh new skin was impossible to climb with – and yet nothing I did could have prepared for that.

Me: That must have been frustrating. I’d love to know - does anything scare you at all – rock climbing can be seen as an extreme sport?
GP: Not inside on plastic but outside yes, of course - heights can be dangerous and scary it’s all about getting to be familiar with an alien environment, and learning to trust yourself and your rope work/safety skills and developing a mindset to go with that.

Having said that, on one occasion I was competing in a major championship and my head just completely went and it was very scary then. Had a total meltdown in terms of being in the zone and being focussed – having the mental strength to climb is important to combat the fear.

Fun in the Sun - A Photo essay

Morning all, hope it's lovely where you are - it's semi-sunny here. Anyway, just a quick blog post this morning. Last September husbando and I went to Sorrento in Italy for a week of hiking and relaxing. We stayed in a fab hotel - and had a great time! Here are some snaps for you.

So thats it, hope you like the photos!

Thank you and goodnight

Stupidgirl has left the building

Driving Me Crazy...Word of the Week

(Motivation noun: desire to do; interest or drive/incentive or inducement. Psychological definition:  the process that arouses, sustains and regulates human and animal behaviour. Etym: From Latin `Motare` to move/shake/stir, from proto-IndoEuropean meuə-)


I've been climbing for nearly two years now. I've been to most of the indoor walls in London* plus climbing in the Peak District, Portland and the Alps last summer. I even went hiking everyday bar 2 days on my honeymoon. I should now add that I'm terrified of heights. Yes, that's right, I'm petrified of being more than about 3 foot off the ground.


So a) how did I end up climbing and b) what the HELL has this got to do with writing I hear you ask. Good questions - and there are two reasons, both questions in themselves - and they revolve around that rather cheesy, management speak-esque word `Motivation` which is the WoTW. Why did I start rock climbing and in what universe could it possibly help my writing!?


Well, the answer to the first question is around what could drive me to the extremes of paying to scare the shit out of myself on a weekly basis. I have one word for you - husbando! Yes, he and I, are complete polar opposites when it comes to interests and personality types. I'm loud, lazy and un-athletic, he, quite frankly, isn't! At some point in our (now) nearly 9 years together, this was going to bite us in the ass a little in terms of our relationship - after all we'd started to lead almost entirely separate social lives outside of work + spending time together. It suddenly seemed to be rather a concern, particular as our wedding was looming at this point. 


In April 2009, H decided that he wanted to try rock climbing and by jove we were going to do it together. I'd like to tell you that I was incredibly enthusiastic and supportive about this suggestion. But that would be an outrageous lie. Still we struggled on, past our `taster session` at The Castle, onto a 4hr intensive climbing course + eventually began weekly climbing sessions. By the time we'd been climbing for 3 months, I think i'd feigned every possible injury bar none in order to attempt to wriggle out of going. These excuses included such gems as "I need to have long nails for the wedding, so I can't climb in case I break one" and also "I have period pain so I can't climb, it's the LAW". Husband was not fooled, and continued with his cause, manfully facing up to the prospect of endless public domestics + coaxing a tearful histrionic wife down from the top of the climbing wall. "Hold on to the rope" and "Let go of the wall" became regular phrases in our conversations. I think The Castle think of me as `that screaming maniac`.  Oh yes, did I mention the fear of heights?


So anyway, fast forward to 2011, we're climbing away, I don't mind getting up early, *and* last sunday I climbed my hardest climb yet (a 6a for those who have a clue about climbing grades) - for which my lovely long-suffering husband rewarded me with Chanel make up!


So what the fecking feck has this bloody got to with writing, can hear you all hoping I might be getting to the point soon. To recap, my motivation for scaring the shit out of myself was to get closer to my husband. And when you're all that stands between your loved one and if not certain death, but at the very least the strong possibilty of broken bones, then trust is at the very heart of your relationship. Learning to let go + trust someone with not just your heart but your entire physical being is the most extreme way of offering yourself to someone. I can absolutely say that husbando + I are closer because of climbing - because he's seen me test myself to my very limits for him (see more on this below) and because I've learned that despite all my fears, I can trust him. So a very powerful driver is love.


The first lesson then, which can be applied to writing therefore, is learning about what motivates and drives you. Look for motivation outside of writing. What motivates you at work, what motivates you and gets you excited generally in life, why do you do what you do? What makes you think hey! that's cool, I want in on that. That's where you're going to find what motivates you beyond all else and will keep you writing when you want to give up. 


My motivation is love and making people happy so that's what keeps me writing! I love entertaining people with my blog, if I've made one person smile or think or most importantly, value themselves a little more, then I am so incredibly happy - that's my job done. And maybe it sounds twee but sometimes that's the only thing that lies between me and not getting up in the morning when the black dog bites.


Second lesson about motivation from climbing is just bloody putting yourself out there/facing your fears. I know I bang on about this - and maybe I'm just really trying to convince myself of this but what's the worst that could happen when you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. It's fucking scary writing + doing this blog + putting myself out there for criticism but how else do we grow + learn? And you know what it's bloody empowering. No one is going to reach out and say `Yes, you're special, I'm going to tell everyone about you + your writing` you need to be your own helping hand. I'm not saying be an arrogant prat but just dare a little more, push yourself a little harder. Add a new, crazy character, put a random plot twist in the book - I ended up with a pivotal scene in my book as a result of this. Have fun, live a little - it's meant to be enjoyable. If you're bored of your writing, chances are your reader will be too! Every time you're scared writing, just think about what drives + motivates you and then ask yourself, "what's the worst that could happen", chances are, it's not going to involve a broken bone!


I know that's been a long post so if you got this far, thanks so much, I hope at the very least it was interesting - I've put myself out there for your judgement. I've enjoyed writing this anyway! Don't forget to tune in on friday for an interview with the lovely Siren of Brixton, plus another guest photo essay, this time from Graffiti Living. Plus I am thrilled to announce that I will be featuring an interview with Gaz Parry - 6 time British climbing champion in a few weeks, check out his blog here.


Thank you and good night


Stupidgirl has left the building


* My fave climbing walls are West One in Marylebone, The Westway in Shepherds Bush and obviously The Castle! Other good places to try are The Arch and Mile End. Enjoy - and let me know if you check them out.

Fun With Stupidgirl - A Day in the Life

As I've been promising for awhile, here are a bunch of pictures that I snapped whilst I was out + about, doing my daily stuff. There's tube signs, alcohol, food, books, my laptop, shopping, bath stuff and one of me doing karaoke.... enjoy :)

Doing my bit to save libraries down in Brixton (more info here)

A few arty buildings

At the climbing wall!

Eating, drinking + getting out and about

My stuff!

I know the pics weren't quite so arty this week, but thought you'd like a little glimpse into my life - especially the climbing pics, as a lot of you ask me about that. Watch out for some special, climbing related posts coming up in the next few weeks!

Thanks also for all your lovely comments + views of yesterday's poetry list - hope you like next sunday's top 10 just as much.

Thank you and goodnight,

Stupidgirl has left the building