Wednesday 21st October 2015
Just the word ‘bootcamp’ was enough to send a shiver down my spine. The idea of a would-be Drill Sergeant barking orders at me whilst I IMG_2495struggled to knock out just one decent press-up was certainly not high up on my to-do list. So when Gill at Looker HQ suggested trying Binseys Bootcamp over at Sycamore Farm, I did wince a bit. Run by Dave Binsy O’ Hara, she told me how he was getting a very good reputation for getting results, really?..Knowing I had a family wedding coming up in a couple of weeks and thinking I’m going to need to shift these few pounds somehow, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.
What surprised me most was, firstly, Dave is not at all scary, in fact, he never raised his voice at all. He was encouraging and jovial, in fact his witty one-liners had me in laughing so much I didn’t notice how many squats he was making me do!..This is certainly no fancy gym, but it’s like having your own personal trainer, at a fraction of the cost. Best of all, was the camaraderie with the other ladies in the class, being a newcomer is always daunting, but with their help I pushed myself to the limit. Great workout and I’m actually really looking forward to the next session.
Talking of boots, I just acquired my long, fringed suede boots from River Island, which have been getting some very admiring comments recently. Of course you can’t have new boots without a matching bag..so thought I’d check out Cherubs in New Romney High Street where I found the ideal bag for just £20..I snapped it up..only after an agonising choice between 4 others I really liked.
IMG_7961Now my knowledge of Pink Floyd is limited, as they were a bit before my time , but not ones to pass up a night out, David and I accepted the invite from Robert Boutwood to Odo’s Barn in Bilsington to enjoy a tribute to ‘The Floyd’. Set in a beautiful converted barn, we danced the night away and chowed down on the delicious hog roast. The band were great, especially the second half full of rock classics (any woman who can belt out AC/DC’s Highway to Hell as good as that, is a legend in my book).
Last Wednesday we visited our friends in Dover, the very talented Graham West and Kylie Barnes, otherwise known as’ Just Two’ and finalists at the Kent Wedding Awards no less, perform at Dover Town Hall with the Railway Swing Band whose members all perform for free for local charities. David and I love big band music and to hear all our favourite songs played by such an enthusiastic band whose ages ranged from 13 to 88! was really heart warming. Seeing Graham et al dressed as a nun was also quite unexpected too!..(Their take on Sister Act, I might add)
Saturday was jam-packed with items we wanted to cover for the next edition of The Looker. Firstly, we headed up to New Romney High Street to Santa Fe Restaurant to see the lovely Maggie and John, who have recently returned from Johns native Ecuador laden with genuine, authentic Alpaca goods. I was so impressed with Maggie’s knowledge of the region and discovered she does all the cooking at Santa Fe. Really cannot wait to try her food, especially now they are including some Ecuadorean recipes to the menu. Though it was the alpaca products that really took my eye. I’ve been after a poncho for a while now, and had been hard pushed to find anything I liked, until Maggie pointed out one sIMG_8044he’d brought back with her. I couldn’t believe it, it was just what I’d been looking for..Think that was the quickest sale she ever had!..Real Alpaca poncho for £30.Bargain! It’s so warm and cosy that I might need the gloves to go with it??!
Then, quick dash over to Lydd to see Debbie Mckenna and take a couple of photo’s at Lydd’s new monthly community market at Hardy Hall. It was bustling with people who obviously saw it advertised in The Looker!..Some great craft and jewellery stalls and particularly loved the cupcakes I bought. Lydd has a great community spirit and good on Debbie was organising these markets. I’ll definitely be at the next one to get some Christmas presents sorted.
From Lydd we headed over to St Mary’s in the Marsh for the historic second stage of signing the Twinning Agreement with St Andre, a small town near Lille in France. After the formalities in church with the French and British contingent, we all headed over to The Star Inn for a fantastic buffet lunch and free bar!..Yes, there are some perks in being the Deputy Editor of Shepway’s favourite free newspaper and I know it helped me in the rousing renditions of Great British sing-a-long favourites that the whole pub joined in for. I’m really looking forward to the trip to Lille in the Spring to report on the benefits of the two towns being twined.
Finally, in readiness for our dance class at Len Goodman’s dance school next weekend, I trawled the internet and found the Railway Club in Ashford. It was just what we wanted, a bit of teaching and plenty of social dancing..So long as David’s back holds up, I’ll make a dancer of him yet!

Until next time
Annabel x