Help! Please, help me!
My body appears to have been taken over by an alien force. Either that or I am very, very sick, indeed.
You see…. this morning I went to Zumba! Yes, you did read that correctly. And afterwards I had a swim and aquarobics workout. Yes, me! The woman who has a severe allergic reaction to physical exercise (well not ALL physical exercise, obviously!). I decided on zumba because I like dancing. I went along with the Sister, who is extremely fit and as those of you who know us can confirm, is half my size. There were eight of us in the class, most of the others my age group and all of them the Sister’s size. Still, Sam the instructor was very welcoming and she said if I liked dancing then Idl like zumba. And then she put on the Latin music – ole ole ole! And off we went!!
Well, we did grapevines and salsa steps and pelvic thrusts and hip girations and cha cha steps all with Flamenco and Sevillana arms and I was loving it. And then the music ended, so I picked up my bottle and water and went to leave, only to discover that that had been only the warm-up! There was another fifty minutes to go!!
Well, I did what I could. Actually, I thought I kept up quite well all things considered. I only had to stop and just mark time twice – once for ten minutes and once for twenty! No! That’s not true! I did mark time twice but when jumps were involved and I actually really enjoyed the cha cha cha to Under the Boardwark, which served as the cool-down.
Sam congratulated me and encouraged by her words, I will return. I then went down to the pool and did another forty-five minutes of aquarobics and swimming.
I am now aching all over – especially my glutes. And when you’ve got a bum the size of mine, that’s a whole load of pain believe me! I had to pop into Tesco on the way home and although I only needed four items had to take a trolley so that I could lean on it to help me round. Still, from little acorns and all that! This could be the start of something big!
And on the way home from Tesco I heard the sad news on the radio of the death of Margaret Thatcher and as I’m writing this I’ve got the BBC News Channel on in the background. Now, I am not really a political animal and certainly am not a political commentator but there are a few things I want to say: The BBC are at a loss, of course. As an institution filled with left-wing, Thatcher-hating dinosaurs they want to show their elation and are trying hard to find those who want to speak ill of her but most people are only making positive contributions. Even Paddy Ashdown has just said she was “probably the best Prime Minister in modern times.” Blair has said “She was a Titan.” Indeed she was; especially against a Pygmy like him. She cared about her country and she wanted people to stand on their own two feet. How different from the Blair years when we had a Prime Minister who saw his position as a way of catapulting himself and his hideous wife into extreme wealth and privilege and when our country turned into the sorry shadow of itself that it is today. You can’t help but wonder if the huge, fragile male egos of her Cabinet – Lawson, Howe and Heseltine – hadn’t been so huge and fragile – I have experience of working with a male with a huge, fragile ego and it’s not easy! – would we now be in the sorry state we find ourselves.
And some of the comments that have appeared on Facebook and the like are sad and sick and sound like an out-dated rant from the Communist Party Handbook circa 1965. The woman has DIED. And these comments say much more about those posting them than they ever could about Thatcher herself.
Whatever you might think about her – love her or hate her – nobody can take from her the fact that she was the UK’s first female Prime Minister and she won THREE landslide elections and was never defeated at the ballot box. If only more women looked upon her as a role model instead of the so-called “celebrities” that we hear so much of now. RIP Margaret Thatcher.
Elaine old friend would I LOVE to have been a fly on the wall…lets see if you make it next week.
Thanks for the call much appreciated at difficult times, yes I did have a pedicure yesterday and defiantely worth it xx
You know, I’ve been thinking quite the same about the amount of hatred being spewed, and simultaneously the amount of progress made by Thatcher, according to reports. However, as I read the commentary, and insults I can only thin k that great people evoke great emotions. If you never do anything big most likely they’ll be nothing to say when you’ve drifted away the final time.
Zumba…cha cha cha… I think I might do some exercise-type dancing this evening.
You go girl! Inspiration for me to get going.
I think there has to be an episode set in the gym or an exercise class in Series Two, Heather!
So agree with the Maggie comments. Good for you on the exercise front, I used to go to Zumba, but the teacher left and only does evening classes now which are no good for me cause after 5 its coming up for my bedtime! x