ONGOING: No. 7: 50k/Miles of Weatherman Walks - No. 3 - Cardiff Bay

 

I'm doing really well with moving on with a lot of ongoing, long term challenges but the one which is furthest behind so far is No.7 - Weatherman Walks: 50 miles of Derek Brockway Welsh hikes.  No particular reason for this, just had other things to do at weekends, particularly now the football season has started again.  So, with Stewart taking a couple of days off work this week I decided to join him today and we agreed we'd go out another Weatherman's Walks.

Today we'd be doing the only urban one of Derek's Weatherman Walking hikes, the Cardiff Bay and Barrage circular hike, 5 miles today, bringing my ongoing total up to 15 miles so far.  Unfortunately, Derek's weathermen colleagues got the forecast for today completely wrong - it peed down the entire time we were out walking and we have ended exceedingly damp and steaming!?  Still, we'd said we do the walk today, we knew which restaurant we wanted to finish up in for tea so off we set trying to ignore the rain and the wind.

The actual start point for the Barrage walk is in Penarth but we decided to ignore that bit and started in the Bay and by point No.9 on the route - Roald Dahl Plass.  For those not from Cardiff this is the central point of the Bay with the Millennium Centre and the Senedd (Welsh Government building) and close to the restaurant area.   As it was a circular walk it was easy to start and end here.  Thankfully, I was able to kill two birds today as I am also currently hunting down Cardiff snow dogs and there were a LOT along this route.

From the central point in the Bay, we walked past all the restaurants, past Ianto's shrine (only really makes sense if you are in to Torchwood - filmed in Cardiff just like Dr Who is)

 

and on past St Davids Hotel, and Techniquest to the start of an area we've never been to before, the Cardiff Wetland Area Reserve.

It was very pretty, though the weather was awful by now, but there were birds about, it felt very peaceful and it did have lovely views across the Bay - well I'm sure they would be lovely on any other day when it wasn't chucking it down but at we tried to use our imaginations.

 

We carried on, heading towards Penarth, walking past the ice rink, the swimming pool and Cardiff Whitewater Rafting centre.  The weather was becoming bloody horrible by now.

Heading from the Wetlands Centre over to Penarth we came across this sculpture, it must have been fairly recent as Derek didn't mention it in his Weatherman Walking route -but then again, there was a lot of new building works we passed which have sprung up since he did his original walk.  Anyway, I've just looked this sculpture up online and it's called A Personal View.  I just liked it because I could take selfies of me and me!

Still, if we wanted to get back to Cardiff Bay train station there was only one way now.  Across the Barrage.   Completely open to the elements - the wind, the peeing down rain and the cold.   Thankfully it either wasn't as bad when we walked the barrage, or, we were so numb and damp that we no longer felt the cold. 

Because of the weather, it almost felt fitting when half way across we came across an exhibit about Captain Scott - there because apparently they set off for the South Pole from Cardiff.  Though by this point the wind had died down, it had stopped raining and we were nearly at the end of the walk in any case.   We got back to the main part of Cardiff Bay, caught the train back to Queen Street and we could go for a meal in Stewart's favourite chain restaurant Café Rouge feeling that we had earned the right to stuff our faces.   It would have been nice to do this walk in decent weather och well, cest la vie.

DONE: No.5 Make My Own Soap - Traditional and Melt and Pour

This time last week I was writing up about abseiling from the top of a HUGE bloody bridge.  This week, I was making my own fragrant handmade soap - can you get two more opposite challenges?  Actually, they are more similar than you'd think - soap making, in the traditional form is actually a seriously bloody dangerous activity!  Why?  Well, traditional soapmaking - or cold process soapmaking to give it's proper term involves the use of caustic soda (lye if you're from the US) which is highly toxic and involves a potentially dangerous chemical reaction.  Surprised?  I sure was.

I've actually wanted to make my own soap for some time.  While I was still working in the Film School I had romantic notions of starting my own cottage industry with some sort of craft, and soapmaking appealed.   It's cute, it smells nice and I could just imagine myself travelling from craft market to craft market having a really cute and craftsy soap stall.  I imagined myself smothered in rosebuds and lavender buds and the thought was oh so romantic.  In reality, soapmaking is done in the kitchen and involves 'recipes'.  Me - and kitchens - and recipes - we don't go together very easily, I can seriously screw up salads, so soapmaking has the potential for disaster.  However, I was determined.  I decided I would try two different ways of making soap - melt and pour, which doesn't involve the dangerous chemical processes so should be considered the easy option, and the traditional way which would mean I do have to measure out caustic soda.

I took a day off work to do this so I could give it my full concentration.   The first version I tried was melt and pour.

As I didn't have to mix dangerous chemicals together for this version I thought it would be easy.  Surely you just 'melt' and 'pour'?  I wish.  I actually chose a fairly technical recipe which involved three different layers.   First of all I had to melt the proper soap base which just took a bit of patience as you don't want to overheat. 

Once this base was melted, I had to separate portions out as I would be needing white soap, red soap and green soap - you see I would be making a heart shaped 'rose' soap so need the different colours for the different sections.   It all came from the one pan of melted soap but you then just add red dye and then green dye.  First off I had to do the rose head - which meant pink/red soap -

I then used the green soap to fill in the petals - don't have any photos as it was all getting so complicated by now I had to keep concentrating on what I was doing and forgot to keep taking photies,  Once I had filled in the green petals, over the pink rose heads,  you then just fill the rest of the mould with the original white soap.  It was a seriously messy process and I spent a lot of time frantically using tissue to wipe off spills.  Eventually though I had fairly tidily filled moulds I could put in the fridge to set.  Don't have any pics of these nor do I have any photo evidence of how hard it actually was to get the set soap out the bloody moulds.  I tried and tried and tried and I swore and swore and swore.  Eventually, the soaps came out, not always intact but thankfully I still had some of the initial melted soup left so I could restick rose petals and rose heads back on to the soap.  However, the final versions - they look alright!

 

Then, I moved on to the actually very dangerous traditional 'cold process' method of soapmaking. Again, I have few photos of this process as timing is crucial and you have to monitor temperatures constantly and really it demands attention to detail that I just can't handle!!!!  However, I was at least able to neatly lay out all ingredients that would be required.

The dangerous part of cold process soap making is basically when you add the caustic soda (lye) to water.  When you do this a chemical reaction happens which heats the water to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and also release highly caustic and dangerous vapour.   The safety advice for this stage is that definitely you need an apron, heavy duty plastic gloves and safety goggles - I didn't have safety goggles so instead used sunglasses?  You are also supposed to lock away all small children and pets.  I decided I'd do the chemical wizardy part of the soapmaking outside just in case.  The final elf n safety advice they gave was to 'hold your breath for as long as you can till the vapours disappear'.  Me - I took myself round the corner to the smoking shed for a quick fag and glass of wine!!!

Once the magickal and dangerous chemical process bitty had been done all that remained was to mix the lye with the previously melted oils and then stir.  And stir.....and stir......and stir......They told me not to use an electrical blender but a hand whisk - it took me 50 minutes to get the soap mixture to 'trace'.  I have subsequently seen video tutorials where they use an electric blender and get the job done in 5 minutes!!!!!!

 

Anyway, I did eventually manage to get the soap mixture to 'trace' (basically means the texture of thick gravy' and once that happened I could pour it into the loaf mould where I had to leave it for 24 horus.  Finally, once it had set I was able to cut it into slices and currently the slices are on a wire rack where it will cure for 3 - 4 weeks.  To be honest the best thing about a day of soapmaking has been that our house has smelt absolutely delicious ever since!    Would I do this again - I'll tell you in a few weeks time when the soap has finally 'cured' and is OK to use.

DONE: NO.46: Abseil off the Newport Transporter Bridge

This is the biggest challenge I have undertaken so far - not just for this '50' list - but EVER!  To abseil off the iconic - in south Wales - Newport Transporter Bridge.   It's high, awfy high.   And I would be abseiling from 178 feet!  Over a river....

When I compiled my list of things to do earlier this year I had great fun coming up with fun things and different things to try, like milking a cow, indoor skydiving, baking cupcakes etc.  But I felt I needed a few more extreme things to do, so when checking out things to do for charity I came across this abseil and signed up.   Back in April it seemed like it would be a jolly nice thing to do one autumn day.   However, as the date has been approaching I have been more and more scared.  And, so many times over the last few months we've driven past this bridge and the thought of what I would be doing became increasingly terrifying.

So yesterday, we drove to Newport and parked by the bridge.   This was the first time really that I was up close to it.  It is ominous!

I knew we would have to walk up 278 steps just to get to the platform and thought I would be fine with that but in actual fact, this felt like a task in itself. I'm grateful that I'm nearly at the end of my couch to 5k training as otherwise I think I would have struggled!

However, before I started the climb I had to get geared up - bottom harness, chest harness, helmet and gloves.

 

Finally, I started the climb to the top with the guy who would be doing it at the same time as me - throughout the day approximately 50 people were mad enough to be doing this.  I think we were all driven though by the fact we were raising money for the charity St Davids Hospice Care.   Thankfully, I don't generally have a problem with heights but as we climbed up and up and up I realised that there was no way I really wanted to look down, but, couldn't resist a break half way up to wave down to Stewart. Mam came with us as well and I was also greatly surprised when two friends from our regular Sunday night quiz turned up to support me. Felt great to have folk there to watch and offer support. 

 

As we were climbing up the steps we met a woman who was walking down them.  That could only mean one thing - she hadn't been able to do it.  She was visibly upset and shaken and pretty much just wanted to walk past us but I did put my arm on her shoulder and asked 'are you OK'?  She wasn't.  By the time she had climbed up to the abseiling platform she was already in a state about the height she was up and just couldn't bring herself to do it.   She was gutted.  I felt gutted for her as well but at the same time I knew there was no way I could face going back down - by stairs.  My quiz friend had said to Stewart that she knew I would do it and wouldn't bottle it - Stewart's reply was that he knew I would as well as I was aware how much sh*t he'd give me I copped out!

Once we were at the top, everything happened so quickly, which is good because by now my legs were like absolute jelly and not just because of the 278 steps we'd just climbed.   For weeks I've been trying to visualise myself stepping off the bridge backward and letting go and I just haven't been able to picture myself in that moment.  It's the bit I was most scared off and it turned out to be the bit that I did find most difficult and terrifying.  It's SO not natural to step backwards off a freakingly high bridge and then let go!   Thankfully the guys at the top were exceedingly calm and patient and encouraging.  They had to be!  Every time I was given an instruction - 'duck under the ledge' 'put both hands on the rope' 'take your legs away from the bridge' every single time I repeated the command, questioned the command and made him tell me how I could carry out the command and not drop to my death!!!   Was I being a drama queen - hell yes!

 

The time I had been dreading had come - 'put both hands on the rope and step away from the bridge' I'm disappointed to discover that I screamed - not only did I scream but I really screamed like a baby!

 

 

This photo shows the height a little better:

 

 

 Once I had let go though and was dangling, the rest of the abseil was an absolute dawdle.  I wish I had actually gone faster on the descent and if/when I do another abseil I will!  The video below is seriously shortened - the abseil itself probably took around 3 minutes from top to bottom. I am SO incredibly grateful to Stewart for not only putting up with me this year but also being my chauffeur and official photographer/videographer. 

 

 

 

Overall, I am so chuffed with myself for doing this.   The mental battle I had at the top to climb over the ledge was immense, I really was shaking and had to go into autopilot.  But, I'm proud of  the fact I have survived the 'step off the bridge', I enjoyed the views on the way down and I enjoyed waving to the folk waiting for me on the ground.  It was incredible fun.   If you have enjoyed what you have seen and enjoyed me screaming, then it's still not too late to donate to St Davids Hospice Care via my justgiving page: 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lesley-edge3

 

See you next time!  xxx

 

 

 

DONE: NO.25 - Be An Extra Miler at Cardiff Half Marathon

Very early this Sunday morning, in fact, so early it seemed like the middle of the night,  got up, got ready and got my butt in to central Cardiff to register as a volunteer for the Cardiff Half Marathon.  Volunteers for this event are called the 'extra milers'.  So, at 7.30am today, was sitting in Cardiff City Hall kind of wondering what the hell I had done but then looked at the swag in front of me, and on me.

Don't even like Nandos - much - but managed to get two £7 vouchers to use so it seems like a fair trade off.  I already knew a while ago that my volunteering role today would be as part of the baggage collection point - if this had been part of the recent Cardiff University International Student Arrivals programme I would have been able to call myself part of the Portable Storage Logistics Team - baggage basically.  Wasn't in the least bothered by this as at least we'd all be able to chat to the actual runners both beforehand and afterwards.

The Cardiff Half Marathon is now sponsored by Cardiff University so it felt almost like an extension of work - in a good way.   The Half Marathon starts and ends in Cardiff Civic centre of which the University is an integral part and it is my main stomping ground.  Athletes village was right in front of City Hall and the National Museum.

So, once registered, we had to wander to the baggage area where we were briefed and told that we would all be responsible for our own drop off point.  I was 19751-20000.  We all had our own wee area which we could rule and organise as we please and were totally responsible for and to be honest it was like having my own wee baggage kingdom.  Loved it!

As the runners started turning up, we chatted with them - I was particularly interested to find out if they'd run half marathons before, what their best mileage had been, when and how they started running etc etc.  Basically though, we were to support and encourage and that was pretty easy.   There seemed to be a hell of a lot of bags to store in a fairly small area so a lot of time was spent rearranging, moving and checking and double checking labels and whether my numbers were good and the bags were in numerical order.

 Once the bags were all deposited, the race started and we could chill.  But only after I was confident I had a decent system going and would be able to find the bags easily when my runners were returning.  I did feel possessive about my guys. There were quite a few inspirational stories - in particular I was really interested in the more 'mature' runners and they were seriously encouraging and inspirational in their own rights.  Was dead interesting to hear how many folk started out with Couch to 5k.

As for the actual 'team' I was sharing a tent with - cracking folk.  In particular I was dead chuffed to see how many international students from Cardiff University were taking part.  Our students seriously rock!  The guys on either side of me included one new 'fresher' and one postgrad who has only been here for 10 days.  And yet - already they are involved with events like these.  Stunning - truly!  Here's a picture of the team. By the way - I haven't all of a sudden put on four stone - I had like four layers on underneath the t-shirt.  Promise!

Once the race was over, the runners started reappearing - slowly though.   We kind of got obsessed at staring at runners mid-riffs to see if we could spot our own numbers, it was so satisfying to spot your own runner from a distance and to have their bag ready before they even reached you - as if by magic!  I've done three power walking marathons in my time and know that when you finish you really do want your own kit bag back to get out of cold or damp clothing and into clean, dry and fresh stuff.  But, it was just brilliant to see everybody returning and offer applause.  Think we had one of the most supportive tents going in that we were cheering and applauding most folk walking past.  Let's face it - these guys have just done so well and in the main are raising loads of money for charity.  Loved this day and would happily do it again.  Was great fun, the runners were fab and my fellow 'extra milers' were absolute darlings.