Who am I?

So I'm Sarah... a wife, a mum and a businesswoman from West Sussex in England. Brought up with a parent working for an airline, I was incredibly lucky to travel all over the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Cyprus, etc. so I didn't think twice about flying. Then, around 10 years ago, I lost my nerve. Just like that, the thought of flying scared me so what happened in May 2022 feels even more remarkable! I had a couple of days off work and I was twiddling my thumbs. Don't ask me why but I decided to look online at the London Gatwick Airport departures board and Copenhagen jumped out at me. Could I? Could I get myself on a plane having woken up that morning with no intention whatsoever to travel? Well, yes I could and I was on that plane 3 hours later! I even popped to Malmo, Sweden for 40 minutes and did another impromptu trip just days later to Venice. Years of not flying actually led me to travel all over the UK including all of England and Wales' counties (I really loved being a tourist in my own country) but it's now time to get myself out there again.

I'm not new to setting goals, thinking of ideas, planning what I'm going to do next, etc. Whilst this current travel bug links to me turning 50, I also celebrated my last big birthday by creating a '40 things before I turn 40' list. In fact, it ended up more like 50 things! Some of things I got up to include....  

  • hosting my own radio show
  • driving an HGV
  • driving a tractor
  • riding a motorbike
  • milking a cow
  • paying for a stranger's meal (without them knowing it was us)
  • eating lunch in a prison
  • sitting in a police car (unrelated to eating in the prison!)
  • eating cereal at the Cereal Killer Cafe in London
  • driving a Ferrari around Silverstone
  • taking photos of 10 filming locations in London
  • watching the sun rise over London when eating breakfast at The Duck  and Waffle
  • seeing a volcano and glacier
  • finally exploring the Lake District
  • eating lunch at The Bucket List Cafe in Glasgow
  • playing the bagpipes
  • flying a helicopter
  • having tea at Highclere Castle (AKA Downton Abbey)
  • photographing the Traffic Lights Tree
  • watching Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon
  • eating at The Treehouse Restaurant in Northumberland
  • walking through Alnwick Poison Gardens
  • playing the piano at London's Piano Festival
  • doing a stadium tour of Liverpool's Anfield
  • driving to John O'Groats (still need to go to Land's End)
  • doing 40 hours of voluntary work
  • achieving more than 70 post-nominals
  • eating at The Rollercoaster Restaurant in Alton
  • going on the Eurostar from London to Brussels
  • going through the Eurotunnel
  • visiting the Palace of Versailles
  • going to God's Own Junkyard, London
  • visiting all of England's 38 counties including England's smallest city Wells
  • drinking at The Ice Bar
  • pulling a pint behind a bar
  • doing the longest zip wire in Europe
A free trial motorbike lesson
The diner from the film Sliding Doors now in Docklands, London
The Lake District, England
Romeo and Juliet at the RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon
One of my favourite places, Portmeirion in Wales (though it looks Italian!)
On my quest to visit all of England's 38 counties
The Traffic Light Tree in Canary Wharf, London
Through a friend of a friend of a friend, I got to ride this 6 gear tractor at speed

But one other totally awesome thing I did was to visit The Breakfast Club in Spitalfields, London. Breakfast. No big deal, right? Except if you know the password (which at the time was asking the waiting staff if I could "speak to the mayor of Scaredy Cat Town"), I was led INSIDE and THROUGH a Smeg fridge which took me down some steps into a private cocktail bar basement, far aware from the bustling crowds. Each Breakfast Club has its own secret experience and it just felt a bit special.