101 things in 1001 days - launch party!

[miss_newham]

Now I am done with moving house, being a Scout, turning 40 and other such time-consuming activities, I find myself rather lacking the motivation to do anything much at all. I thought I would make another list of 101 things to do in 1001 days, as the one I started ten years ago was fun, and I'd like to stave off my mid-life crisis for a little longer. I've thought of over 90 things already, so I may as well get started, and add the last few as I think of them.

Behold the list! It ranges from the drearily mundane to the rather unlikely...

1. Grow a lawn. DONE
2. Make a pond. DONE
3. Paint a room a different colour.
4. Grow and eat a courgette. DONE
5. Figure out somewhere for all my CDs to go.
6. Invite 10 different people to visit (not including small children)*. DONE
7. Unpack every box of my stuff and declutter where necessary.
8. Learn a useful DIY skill.
9. Audit my t-shirts and find a use for the ones I don’t want to wear any more.
10. Clean the bathroom every week for a year. (Wooh!) FAIL - ran out of time and I hate cleaning the bathroom!

11. Go to a Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers event.
12. Go swimming in Waddon. DONE
13. Find where the local library is and join it. DONE
14. Go to all the pubs in Carshalton.
15. Register with a doctor. DONE
16. Register with a dentist. DONE
17. Uncover the mysteries of Epsom. DONE
18. Talk to five people in my street (not including people in shops).
19. Cycle to Croydon. DONE
20. Watch five films at the David Lean Cinema. DONE

21. Crochet a toy. DONE
22. Crochet a granny square. DONE
23. Make a large item of clothing for myself (i.e. not just a hat, scarf or sock)
24. Knit an item of clothing for my god-daughter. DONE
25. Learn the magic loop method. DONE
26. Get my pouffe reupholstered.
27. Get my sewing machine taken away by the charity who send tools to Africa. DONE
28. Make something out of wood. DONE
29. Light a fire.
30. Close the Barclays account I never use.

31. Work through all the exercises in my German grammar book.
32. Go to a yoga class. DONE
33. Go to a life drawing class.
34. Take driving lessons. DONE
35. Do an Excel course. DONE
36. Learn five guitar chords.
37. Do a random course at City Lit. DONE
38. Find a new drum teacher and take lessons. DONE
39. Learn 5 poems off by heart.
40. Learn to identify 15 trees.

41. Make a cake with chickpea water in it. DONE
42. Make some jam.
43. Make seitan.
44. Make 5 recipes from each cookbook on my shelf. If I can’t find 5 things I want to make, take the book to a charity shop.
45. Go to the Eritrean restaurant near Clapham Junction. FAIL - it's closed down!
46. Go to an Ethiopian restaurant with Sonja.
47. Try three other cuisines I don’t know.
48. Go vegan for a month. DONE
49. Give up alcohol for a month. DONE
50. Give up caffeine for a week.
51. Give up sugar for a week. DONE

52. Go to Iceland with Kevan. DONE
53. Go camping in Denmark.
54. Visit friends in Aarhus and Odense. DONE
55. Meet up with four UK friends who live outside London. DONE

56. Make a Twitter bot.
57. Play an Xbox game. DONE
58. Play 101 board games. (including card games, word games etc). DONE
59. Back up everything on my computer to a hard drive and then get a new one.
60. Apply for a cat.

61. Go on the Olympic park slide. DONE
62. Go on a duck bus. something else!**
63. Go on the underground train at the Post Office Museum. DONE
64. Go to Abbey Mills Pumping Station.
65. Go to the German pub in Kennington.
66. Go to the theatre in London. DONE
67. Go to a classical music concert. DONE
68. Go to Sir John Soane’s Museum. DONE
69. Go to Southall.
70. Visit the Heath Robinson museum. DONE

71. Walk the Wandle path.
72. Go kayaking. DONE
73. Go to the Lewes fireworks. FAIL but maybe I'll go another year.
74. Climb a mountain.
75. Walk from Rye to Hastings.
76. Go to Dungeness. DONE
77. Go up a high thing (e.g. Go Ape or the Brighton zip wire).
78. Organise a karaoke trip.
79. Go dancing with Goths.
80. Go and watch a sports event. DONE

81. Draw 101 pictures in the 642 Things to Draw book.
82. Draw a cartoon.
83. Read 10 books from the Classics section.
84. Perform in a musical group. DONE
85. Give blood 5 times. DONE
86. Teach a child of my acquaintance how to do a thing.
87. Read a book in French.
88. Get an interesting haircut. Or maybe just a haircut. DONE
89. Go to a Quaker meeting.
90. Do the Crisis food hygiene course and volunteer as a kitchen assistant. DONE
91. Apply for 10 jobs.
92. Run for 1 kilometre (that seems like enough).

Additions:

93. Go to the Half Moon in Putney. DONE
94. Make a Christmas pudding (or possibly some mincemeat).
95. Get some damn curtains in my damn living room, dammit! DONE
96. Drink the following: bubble tea; dandelion and burdock; a lager shandy, Vimto. DONE
97. Make rye bread. DONE
98. Do a thing with my dad. DONE
99. Do a thing with my mum. DONE
100. Try another new sport.
101. Secret thing! To be revealed if I actually do it...



*Small children are welcome too, I just won't count them towards the total.
**The duck bus has stopped going in the water! I will think of another interesting form of transport to take instead.


I started doing some of these things yesterday so my deadline is 19th July 2020. Worryingly, that feels quite soon...

If anyone would like to accompany me on any of these tiny adventures, or has a suggestion for another thing, please apply below! I will post a few updates along the way, so if you wouldn't mind feigning a little interest, that would be very encouraging.

Comments

[nou]

I would love to be involved in the following:

14. Go to all the pubs in Carshalton.
17. Uncover the mysteries of Epsom.
20. Watch five films at the David Lean Cinema.
45. Go to the Eritrean restaurant near Clapham Junction.
47. Try three other cuisines I don’t know.
58. Play 101 board games. (including card games, word games etc).
65. Go to the German pub in Kennington.
66. Go to the theatre in London.
67. Go to a classical music concert.
69. Go to Southall.

[miss_newham]

Noted! I feel you might have some ideas for cuisines I don't know...

Ewan has also volunteered to get involved in #14, #45 and #65. Now I will have to actually do some organising!

[nou]

The RGL list of food categories might be a good start (they're not all national cusines, but many of them are).

[ewan]

Oh yeah I'm also up for Southall. Dunno about Epsom though...

[doseybat]

Yay! I am generally available for adventure events

[nou]

I am extra-interested in events with Bat in attendance!

[miss_newham]

Very well! I will see if I can organise at least one thing before Croydon Fun Weekend plans make you busy all the time.

I can't believe nobody's volunteered to come to the dentist with me yet! Suit yourselves...

[squirmelia]

Good list!

I may be up for:

28. Make something out of wood.
37. Do a random course at City Lit.
45. Go to the Eritrean restaurant near Clapham Junction.
47. Try three other cuisines I don’t know.
48. Go vegan for a month.
Happy to accompany you to try various vegan restaurants!

61. Go on the Olympic park slide.
62. Go on a duck bus.
Unfortunately the duck tours no longer go in the water - they are making an announcement in January though, I think, but I'd prefer to go on the duck tour when it goes in the water.

63. Go on the underground train at the Post Office Museum.
72. Go kayaking. (Maybe.)
74. Climb a mountain. (Maybe.)
77. Go up a high thing (e.g. Go Ape or the Brighton zip wire).
79. Go dancing with Goths.

[miss_newham]

Thank you for the key Duck Bus intel! I might change this to something else if it's stopped going in the water for good.

[squirmelia]

Perhaps wait until January and see if they announce it going back in the water?

[miss_newham]

Yes - and I don't think many, if any of these London adventures will get organised before January! I am too much at work to fit them in...

[shermarama]

(There are always duck buses in other countries, though - Rotterdam has one.)

[miss_newham]

Ooh!

[kittenesque]

Here are some things that I could assist with

21. Crochet a toy.
22. Crochet a granny square.
25. Learn the magic loop method.
48. Go vegan for a month.

I can assist with advice/tuition/suggestions for the above

55. Meet up with four UK friends who live outside London.

You are welcome to visit me in either Coventry or Birmingham (and I have an xbox! and cardgames for #57 #58)

61. Go on the Olympic park slide.
62. Go on a duck bus.
63. Go on the underground train at the Post Office Museum.
66. Go to the theatre in London.

I would like to do all of these but obv being an out of area person will not be offended if you do them without me!

[miss_newham]

Ooh, I like this first suggestion! I was dolefully counting the number of non-London friends who might not mind me coming and bothering them, and concluding that there weren't very many. But I like Birmingham and would also like to check out Coventry, so this could happen! Though probably not till next year - I think all my weekends in November and December are already accounted for.

I will try and include you in at least one of the London jaunts!

[miss_newham]

And yes please to crochet help! Sarah has got me started on the basics several times, but it never seems to stick...

[badwools]

These are excellent Things! I would like to apply for anything that involves going to pubs and museums, and doing karaoke.

[miss_newham]

Very well!

[katstevens]

> Learn five guitar chords.

But there are only three!!!

I would like to come to the pub in Carshalton, and/or do some karaoke :)

[miss_newham]

There are some ones beginning with B, and I can't play them without looking them up first. And as I've basically regressed to my teenage self now I've moved to the burbs, it's time to start playing the guitar badly in my bedroom again! There are still some Billy Bragg songs I haven't mastered!

[mrs_leroy_brown]

I too would like to join you/assist - here are some that grabbed me:

6. Invite 10 different people to visit (not including small children). - Always up for a visit at your convenience :)

9. Audit my t-shirts and find a use for the ones I don’t want to wear any more. - ballgown t-shirt? - ISTR someone (maybe Mel?) made a t-shirt ballgown! I bet you could find some patterns/ideas for some kind of t-shirt based frock or something?

20. Watch five films at the David Lean Cinema - when The Ludoquist opens I won't be lacking for ways to kill time in CR0 waiting for evening funs :)

43. Make seitan - I totally want to do this too - protip: you can get vital wheat gluten from Whole Foods.

45. Go to the Eritrean restaurant near Clapham Junction - if there is vegan stuff I'd love to try this!

48. Go vegan for a month. - happy to share recipes, tips, etc (and also for hosting a vegan meal at mine again )

51. Give up sugar for a week - just out of curiosity, is this added sugar or all sugar?

58. Play 101 board games. (including card games, word games etc). - The Ludoquist will be our friend here :)

70. Visit the Heath Robinson museum - sounds dope!

73. Go to the Lewes fireworks - me and Steve keep wanting to do this and not sorting things in time...

90. Do the Crisis food hygiene course and volunteer as a kitchen assistant - ooh I did not know this was a thing, will investigate :)

Yay for things in days!

[miss_newham]

Hello!

6. Yes, do come and visit - we're at least an hour from everywhere in London, but only a short hop from Croydon! (I have realised that this point looks like I hate small children, which is not the case - they would just make up the number of visitors to ten very quickly!)

45. This is the Eritrean restaurant: . It has a sign outside saying it's full of vegan options! This seems quite a popular choice, so I'll have to try and organise an outing. Oh dear, I hate organising outings.

51. I haven't thought this through yet! Mockduck on Livejournal gave up sugar for all of January once, and I am always trying to be more like her, so that's why I added it.

70. I forgot to mention that the Heath Robinson museum is in Pinner! But it might be possible to combine it with a Tube Walk out that way.

[mrs_leroy_brown]

Ooh and I'd also like to go to a Quaker meeting!

MMM I love injera it is the best! And happy to travel to yours, I know at least half the way there :)

[miss_newham]

I went to one at the big Quaker place in Euston once, it was nice. There's a Quaker place about 15 minutes from me now (and probably some nearer to you) and I'd quite like to investigate... however, it's a little tricky to persuade myself to get up and out to places for 10.30 on a Sunday!

[drummygirl]

What a good list! I can definitely help you with the Wandle Path when you get to my neck of the woods. I was going to say and the Duck Bus too but I can't believe it doesn't go in the water!!! What's the point of that. Keep us posted on how you go!

[miss_newham]

I shall let you know when I'm walking the Wandle Path then!

Thanks for the encouragement. Everyone has been very nice about a fairly boring list of vague self-improvement!

Things!

[braisedbywolves]

Hiya - I would be interested in some or all of:

6. Invite 10 different people to visit (not including small children)*.
14. Go to all the pubs in Carshalton.
20. Watch five films at the David Lean Cinema. [maybe only one though]
45. Go to the Eritrean restaurant near Clapham Junction.
58. Play 101 board games. (including card games, word games etc).
62. Go on a duck bus.**
63. Go on the underground train at the Post Office Museum.
64. Go to Abbey Mills Pumping Station.
65. Go to the German pub in Kennington.
66. Go to the theatre in London.
68. Go to Sir John Soane’s Museum.
70. Visit the Heath Robinson museum.
71. Walk the Wandle path.
73. Go to the Lewes fireworks.
75. Walk from Rye to Hastings.
79. Go dancing with Goths.

Re: Things!

[braisedbywolves]

Also I think Time Out regularly put out a "100 things to do before you leave London" issue, which can provide useful filler if you want it.