Netwalking - The highs and lows!

Last week Wendy and I went on a country walk in Guildford with a crowd of people.

Wendy and I are members of an online community called Ecademy, and one of the groups led by Tom Evans and Jenny Littlejohn, run a networking meeting with a difference!! A Netwalk!

The idea is that you walk and talk and build relationships whilst you do so. It is a great way to get out and about, exercise, meet new people and old friends.

We met in a country pub near Shere, and walked through the Surrey Hills for about an hour and a half and although is was raining, everyone had a great time!

As I had just returned from holiday, Wendy and I managed to talk the whole time (no change there then!) and to catch up on everything that had been going on.

Unfortunately, I did not take in too much of the scenery as I was too busy watching my feet to make sure that I did not fall over (one broken foot is enough for anyone!) which was a bit of a shame as the Surrey Hills are beautiful.

By the time we got back to the pub, we were soaked through. Most of us had hair stuck to our heads, very muddy boots and trousers soaked up past our knee caps, however, Wendy seemed to come off worse.

Her trousers were ruined, they were not only very wet, but they were also ripped, as she had caught them on a branch on the way round, so when it came to going home, she decided that she would take them off and drive home in her underwear!

We joked briefly about what she would do if she was stopped on the way home and she said it was unlikely.....However, about 5 minutes into the journey, I get a call from Wendy. "You'll never guess what?" she said. "what" I replied. "My petrol light has come on and I might have to stop to fill up!" It was so funny, I could barely see where I was driving for the tears of laughter!!

Anyway, I followed her back as far as Farnham, after which she assured me she would make it home - thank goodness!

The moral of the tale? Make sure when you are going on a walk, dress appropriately and make sure you have a spare set of clothes in the car!!

Kids with Confidence & Motivation!

Wendy and I were really fortunate to be asked to run a workshop on Confidence and Motivation for youngsters between the ages of 12 and 16, recently - and boy did we learn lots!

Hart Development Centre are running a pilot project called "The Get With it Project" which has been set up to get youngsters off the street and to do something interesting over the summer holidays. In particular, it is aimed at combating antisocial behaviour in a positive way by providing activities such as sports tournaments, ceramic painting, health and beauty and team building games.

We had already run one workshop last year for a group of people who had been long term unemployed and obviously, we have kept in touch, as it is a great way to do something worthwhile with the skills and talents that we have, so when Wendy and Cheryl discussed this, it seemed like a great idea!

And it was! I was a little concerned over the age range (12 year old boys and 16 year old girls - big difference in what would keep them interested, as we found out!), however, we managed to choose some great exercises that meant that everybody in the room could get something from - we did a creative exercise, a physical one, one that tested the "little grey cells" and one where everyone had an opportunity to participate - a panel of "experts" taken from the group who were there to answer questions, and let me say now that some of the questions were very though provoking - such as why adults demand respect, and don't always show it?

The feedback we got was tremendous, in that Cheryl said that she was impressed how they all became engaged and how they concentrated for so long.

So what did we learn from that day - as they were as much our 'teachers' as we were theirs? Well that treating these young people like adults, tends to encourage them to behave like one. That they were still very open to puzzles like the 9 dot exercise and solved it much faster than some adults, who naturally over time become more fixed in their way of looking at the world. That anyone with the responsibility of keeping 30+ youngsters entertained needs a medal - it was exhausting!

Fab!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

I have just joined an organisation called Thames Valley Spice and my first outing with them was on Sunday and what a fab introduction it was!

It was a dragon boat race in Evesham.

We were split into teams and the Thames Valley group were then split up by postcode and I was with a great bunch of people! So much so, I am expecting to catch up with some of them again soon

I tell you this because one of the things about being a singleton again, is finding yourself a social life. I for one am very fortunate to have a number of friends, and not so fortunate to have them on my doorstep!

Thames Valley Spice is a great way to meet new people in your area and perhaps to indulge in some activities that you wouldn't otherwise do - activities such as sailing, rally car driving - plus activities that you would - dinner shuffles, theatre, ten pin bowling etc.

And for those of you who are not single? Then rest assured, Thames Valley Spice can still be for you, as over 30% of its members are in coupledom. The key with Spice is creating new friends in a social environment.

My next outing with them will be in a couple of weeks time to a dinner shuffle in Reading, and I am already looking forward to it!