About 8 or 9 days ago, certainly some recent time in August, a friend and reader of this blog slapped me around the face with her glove and then threw it on the floor glaring defiantly.
As you may or may not know, this blog and its humble host enjoy the occasional challenge – either self inflicted, as incremental word month, the ground breaking alphabetic guide to San Francisco or the filmed advent calendar hopefully bear witness; or issuing forth from others –as improvisation week attests.
So I’m not one to shirk.
Her exact words were, and I quote – “Top 10 things to do with one's lifetime”
Now I confess that it was unclear whether she was challenging ME, or MY READERS - but since, at the moment we are few I think it is down to me to answer.
However contributions along the way are welcome.
Normally I would like a couple of months of summer and no distractions other than swimming to give such a challenge its due, but – even though this summer has been the longest in my memory and seems happy to continue into September – I fear I have not such luxury and need to start before I am accused of cold feet.
So, you are probably asking, why don’t you get to it?
Patience my friend – I need to gather both inspiration and literary back up otherwise it will simply be a ten line list.
And that’s way too easy isn’t it.
So I guess that means ten posts then?
Er, yes so….
You need a structure?
No it’s not that, the problem is the 10 – if I do ten consecutive posts there is a problem with The Digestive, which for the moment appears every seven days, and if I interrupt the ten then they won’t be consecutive will they?
Who are you talking to?
You.
Ah.
So it could be one a week, ten weeks – but do we have a significant 10 weeks?
What about the last ten weeks of the year?
Hmm, nice idea – how many weeks are there to the end of the year?
Well, it’s week 35 now so there’s plenty of time.
Shame, we would have to wait – hang on, last week was The Digestive Number 10, so let’s say The Next ten Digestives?
Cool – a sort of special issue serries?
Yep.
And what’s it going to be then – a sort of Ten Things to do before you die?
No way – it will be a “Top 10 things to do with one's lifetime” practical guide.
Pictures?
You bet.
What’s going to be in it?
No idea.
But it starts tomorrow.
Posts
7 comments:
Look forward to reading your "Top 10 things to do with one's lifetime" and also to seeing the pictures that you choose.
One of my top 10 is to volunteer to do something beneficial to society at least once in one's lifetime. The satisfaction it generates is priceless.
Thanks Janet - good choice and i think the "at least once in your lifetime" is going to be a key feature of this mini-series.
What has been your volunteer history so far?
ps don't expect too much for the pictures as i have no idea that they will be anything different than what i usually take.
My volunteer history so far is doing 19 years service for the Cancer Research Fund charity shop in Headington, Oxford.
Every Saturday morning from 9am - 1pm, without fail, bar times off for the usual hols, I used to serve customers, price up bric a brac/bits'n'bobs/ do steaming of clothes /chat to customers / tidy up the racks of 2nd hand clothing, and much, much more!!
It was a real change from full-time teaching during the week and I loved every minute of my time spent in the shop. I was happy that I was contributing a very small bit towards more research into cancer prevention and cures.
Janet, that is immense!
A thousand hats off to you.
When was this?
Thanks for your kind words:)
To me, the Saturdays and the years flew past from 1989 - 2008. The Headington Cancer Research UK shop is amazing, as quite a few of the original volunteers from when the shop opened in 1988 are still there, donating their time and skills. A thousand hats off to them, definitely!!
When I stopped working there on Saturdays to prepare for my move to Abruzzo, I really really missed the camaderie and solidarity of my wonderful co-volunteers. I still keep in touch with them though, and I pop in to say hello whenever I'm back in the UK.
Hi Chris:
I am writing on Sunday at around 6 pm. Baseball season is finally finished for another year -- spent the last 3 days in cold and rain watching my son play in the Ontario regional championships. They made it to the semi-finals.
I was glad to see that you have taken my challenge and have, in fact, started without me.
I thought that this challenge could include BnB's readers - a small but discerning group. Janet has certainly set the bar very high. Can't wait to read more.
Mx
Personally Mary, i reckon that standing for three days in cold and rain watching people hit balls with sticks also counts as voluntary service!
Hats off to you to.
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