I interrupt this slowly progressing upload of travel related posts to bring you an important announcement – news of a new game for The Troublesome Traveller for 2017!

That’s right, it’s cheesy, it’s cliché, it’s… cutting it fine!

This year is the big three-oh for me, and although I still have plenty of travel related posts to share with you, I am going to have to side-step that flow just briefly for several reasons:

1. I stepped on my laptop and now I can’t access the three half written blog posts I was almost ready to deliver (I’m working on fixing that).
2. It’s April, which means I have only 5 months left until I reach my PRIME.
3. I am currently in the UK and unemployed, so I need a new project to keep me entertained (hopefully not unemployed for long, of course).

It hasn’t been easy to come up with these.  I don’t mean to toot my own horn too much, but I have been doing a small amount of research this morning and realised that most people’s “30 before 30” lists contain things I’ve already done *small toot*.  I have already bungee jumped, skydived, snorkelled, travelled, started a blog, got a tattoo, volunteered and dyed my hair every colour of the rainbow, so to add those to this list would seem like cheating a little bit.

I already have a lifelong bucket list, which is logged here (and recently updated if you’d like to have a look), so I can maybe use this new list over the next 5 months to progress with a few more of those.  Is that allowed?

I have put an entire 45 minutes of thought into this and I intend to fulfill my promises! I will be putting everything I have (although preferably not financially) into completing the following list by 8th September 2017.  So without further ado…

1. Run in a 10k race
2. Play one song right through on guitar
3. Hold a controlled handstand, to the same standard as I can hold a headstand
4. Cook a 3 course meal (successfully…)
5. Host a dinner party
6. Attend a fashion show
7. Watch 30 classic films (suggestions welcome)
8. Learn to put on my make up properly, not like a 5 year old
9. Take a UK road trip (maybe Scotland? Who’s with me??)
10. Hit 1000 followers on my blog (you WordPress users can definitely help me out here!)
11. Get another tattoo
12. Finally decide on my all time favourite alcoholic drink and remain faithful to it
13. Learn to ride a motorbike (officially, with a license)
14. Master the ‘Iron-X’ move when pole dancing
15. Spend a day at a shooting range
16. Wear a morph suit in public
17. Test drive a sports car
18. Have a brief conversation in French
19. Attend a gig of a world famous band (still considering Coldplay this year if anybody has cheap tickets)
20. Go fully manual on my SLR camera, never use ‘Auto’ again
21. Make my own fresh pasta
22. Sew some clothes out of all of the material I’ve bought travelling
23. Have my teeth professionally whitened
24. Go to a gin tasting (this could easily be incorporated into number 9 and may help me to achieve number 12)
25. Volunteer in my local area
26. Take part in a colour run
27. Donate blood (if I’m allowed)
28. Learn to make something impressive (or just something) from origami
29. Attend the Stonehenge summer solstice
30. Teach both of my nephews to clearly say my name before their other aunt and uncle (because I’m competitive like that)

I think each item on this list is perfectly achievable before September, I’m just not sure how achievable ALL THIRTY of them will be.  Any help you can offer with these would be greatly appreciated.

Wish me luck!