Day Eighteen - Twenty: Various

A bit of a cop-out, but I've got behind with my blogs and want to catch up, so I'm grouping a few days together. The reason is that it was a certain person's birthday last week (me) and another certain person's birthday yesterday (Tom's) and it was those certain persons 30th birthdays, no less. And so we had a very busy weekend with lots of friends coming and going and staying and leaving, as well as a bit of a shindig on Saturday night with family and friends. Hence why I'm behind with the blog, and hence why I'm bunching together. Do forgive me.

Eighteen - The Newton Social Club
On Friday, the eighteenth day in our challenge, we chose to have people round and do some old-fashioned socialising (it certainly feels old-fashioned these days - it seems ages since we had a house full on a Friday evening playing games and drinking wine and having fun). We had a few people over to watch the Rugby, and fun was had by all. My dear friend Jamie, from the Isle of Man, also arrived for the weekend, so all in all a lovely evening. Note to self - socialise more.

Nineteen - P.A.R.T.Y
As I mentioned above (I hope you were concentrating), we threw a little party on Saturday night to celebrate our 30th birthdays. It was fun.

Twenty - Learn a new card game
Jamie taught me a really good new card game, which is ideal for two people. As I said in a previous post, we struggle to find games that are good for just the two of us, so this one was perfect. It was easy to learn - maybe that's just because Jamie's a good teacher and I'm a good learner - and got me gripped very quickly. I think it's called the Sunday Night Game (not sure why, but I can't tell you how happy I am that we were indeed playing it on a Sunday night), but I am told that it is a bit like rummy.

So there we go, that's the weekend caught up with. Back to normal blogs tomorrow!

Day Six: Beat your Neighbour

Last night's challenge was one like no other. Where before we've been lighthearted, fun, silly, and at times serious and political, last night got real. It was tense, like an episode of Spooks. It was nail biting, like reading a Grisham thriller. It was, upon reflection, full of those life-defining moments where things change irrevocably but it isn't until afterwards that you realise nothing will ever be the same again.

We played an epic and exciting card game, called Beat your Neighbour. I won't explain the premise of the game here, but you can find detailed instructions here. Suffice to say, allow ample time to read the instructions properly, and maybe watch a video or two on YouTube if you can't find anyone to play with who has played before. It's a tricky, complicated game, with dozens of loopholes and twists and turns (think Puerto Rico or Citadels). It is worth putting in the hours, though, to master this immeasurably exciting game.

Our cards of choice were the inestimable Waddingtons Number 1 Playing Cards (linen finish, of course), which I have to say suited the purpose admirably. As the package details, the cards were made 'according to a comprehensive specification,' to ensure 'perfect cutting and dealing.' I would wholeheartedly agree with this description and can happily confirm that Waddingtons have done as well as they set out to do with this particular set of cards.

The game itself was, as I've already hinted at, full of suspense, bitter rivalry, and painstaking strategising. There is a variety of skills required to be a good player of Beat your Neighbour, and I am happy to say that I appear to have those necessary skills in plentiful supply. No sooner had Tom laid a, let's say Queen, than I returned with a Jack, and Boom! I win the hand! It takes perseverance and practice to get to be as good as I am, but it can be done.

I would urge you to take up this game, as I would say it's every man's game. But be warned, it's not easy, and at times it's not fun due to the high levels of stress and tension that playing it can bring about, but I would say it's worth it for the joy of beating your neighbour. We had a wonderful time, but next time might choose an easier option like Snap or Uno.

Day One: Play a goofy drawing game

So our fun has officially begun! Hoorah! We had a very busy day yesterday what with family visiting, and with Tom getting ready for the new term which started today, so it wasn't until later on in the evening (well, my version of later on - it was probably actually only about 8:30pm) that we finally got round to choosing something off our list.

Our first choice was a game, catchily called the 'Drawing with your Eyes Closed' game. In case you can't work out how the game works, basically you close your eyes and draw someone and the other person has to guess who it is. Great fun! I think it was first invented about 15 years ago by my friend Hannah (so if you're reading this Hannah, your game-inventing skills speak for themselves).

Drawing with your Eyes Closed is a very silly game but I will let you judge for yourselves...

I am pretty certain that these samples have barely made you smile, let alone giggle like we did last night, which just goes to show that this is definitely one of those 'had to be there' type games. 

So there we go - that's Day One; done! I wonder what Day Two will bring....

PS. I said some of the items on our list weren't particularly interesting didn't I!

Fifty Things: The Thing Is...

I don't know about you, but I always end up doing the same things in the evening, especially now that I have a baby. Clearing up, sorting laundry, mindlessly checking facebook/twitter/instagram, watching telly, and then bed. You know the drill.

And so, in an effort to be a more interesting person and have a more interesting post-putting-baby-to-bed life, my husband and I have written a list of 50 things, ranging from mundane to fun - via interesting, odd, healthy, silly, yummy, helpful - which we are aiming to work our way through over the course of 50 days.

I like writing, (you can read some of my other blogs here and here) so I thought it would be fun to blog about each one of our 'mini adventures' which is where this new blog comes in! We are starting on September 1st, and by my calculations Day 50 will be October 20th. Perhaps by then we'll have come up with another list of fifty, or maybe we'll be longing for our mundane evenings of yesteryear....

Hopefully you will enjoy reading about what we get up to (feel free to comment using the section at the bottom), and maybe you too will be inspired to do Fifty Things in Fifty Days!