1950s Pin Up

OK...so the photo from my hen party 1950s pin up photo shoot has arrived.

Here it is:

Holly, Gabby & Sarah all have pics...I'll see if I can get my hands on them too!

CS

Van Sun Run 2013

This year I got involved with the Vancouver Sun Run. It's only 10K but it's the largest 10k in North America with more than 50,000 people running. To put it into perspective, 30,000 people typically run the London marathon; 50,000 is a lot of people.

This is a photo, taken by the Vancouver Sun, at the start of the race:

I was reasonably close to the front of the crowd at the start line. I ran the race in 54 minutes (a good effort for me) and was in the top 8000 finishers out of 50,000 (not too embarrassing).

I walked home afterwards and two hours after I'd began the race, some people were only just leaving the 'start' line. That's what happens when 50,000 people run.

It was a fun day & I'm glad I got involved.

Will I do it next year? Perhaps not...I was bashing people with my elbows most of the way round. Having more room & running a greater distance will be my next feat.

CS

UK hen!

My UK hen started as soon as I landed at the airport from Canada. Dad drove like batman to get me to Stafford in time for the antics to begin...

On arrival, I was immediately greeted by eight of my nearest & dearest, along with a glass of champagne, 20 white roses and a glamorous pink cake:

After a quick shower, I was then ushered into 'hair and make up' for a 1950s pin up photoshoot. Sarah, Holly and Gabby also joined in the fun & those photos will be shared in due course...

Sarah - my bestest & Chiefy - then handed me my 'costume' for the evening - a glamorous 1950s dress, and the ladies joined me in getting glammed up for the occasion:

Holly & Gabby were looking particularly fit - check them out:

We then cruised into town in style...in a 'big taxi':

It was excellent to be reunited with my uni buddies, Clare and Rach. I was particularly in awe of Rach who is 4 1/2 months pregnant and was 'game on' all evening. She even braved going backwards in a limo (a bold move!):

Next stop...Pillar, a restaurant & club in Staffordshire. It's was a fun place and we had a private section all to ourselves, in which the conversation & champagne flowed. Mum can be commended for fighting off the flirty waiter, and Clare for offering to 'sell his story' to the media:

We finished by dancing the night away in Red, the club attached to the restaurant. We all noted how the general population in Staffordshire is noticeably smaller than London (bizarre).

Sunday was equally epic. After a lazy morning we hit a local spa and enjoyed the sauna, streamroom, jacuzzi, pool & massage treatments. Kat & Gabby impressed us by going to the gym. Sarah, Holly and I watched.

The weekend finished with afternoon tea and cakes.

A crazy rollercoaster of a weekend that I'll remember forever. Thank you Sarah Spain for organizing it from start to finish, and thank you to the ladies for travelling from London, Leeds, Manchester, Surrey and Buckinghamshire, to celebrate it with me.

Also thank you to my Twinling, Stevo, for the surprise visit and Dad, for putting up with a house packed with hens!

CS

Canadian Stagette

My Canadian Stagette took place last night...and what a memorable occasion.

We began with a snow-shoe session on Cypress Mountain. The weather in Downtown was pretty horrendous, but up on the mountain, it was rather nice.

Nick guided us along the trails, and Clare did a fabulous job of getting the party started:

We then stopped off at Hollyburn lodge for wine & goodies, before heading home to spruce up for the evening.

I'd been given my outfit for the night, which was a beauty. As it's Paddy's Day this weekend, it consisted of a green tutu, green leg warmers, green pom poms, a 'I'm feeling lucky' crown, a pink sash, and a personalized T-shirt with my own face all over it.

The evening antics (and antics is the appropriate word) began at Steamworks, a cool micro-brewry in Gastown. I arrived to see my lovely group of ladies in matching T-shirts saying 'Cheering for Sherry' with my face photo-shopped onto cheerleaders - simply awesome.

The dinner was delicious as always at Steamworks, and I was treated with a great goodie bag (the contents of which I'll keep to myself).

Then the party intensified. Shots were distributed around the table to increase everyone's alcohol levels. At the bachelorette, I also had the pleasure of dunking my face in a bowl of cream to fine the shot hidden underneath. It wasn't pleasant, nor was my face pretty.

Here are some pics from the restaurant:

We then headed to a club called LampLighters. The queue was rather intense, but this wasn't a problem for my clever group of ladies: a bottle of cinnamon whisky was seized (somehow, somewhere) and games of 'Mr & Mrs' and 'I have never' kept us occupied for almost an hour.

I was pleased that the group were drinking as much as me, and we polished off a whole bottle of whisky before we reached the front door. We also all learnt a lot about each other in the process (still laughing at some of the revelations)...

When we made it inside, the shots continued (Sambuca, Jager Bombs) and we hit the dancefloor hard - until 3.30am.

I was also pleased to get home without the aid of an ambulance. At one point there was an ambulance outside, and Helena almost ended up in it after swallowing a straw (who swallows a straw?!)

Thanks to Clare Hamilton-Eddy for organizing such a great day, and to everyone that took part. Despite the drinking, I remember it all...yay!

CS

Team snow shoe!

I had a fantastic team outing this week at work; snow-shoeing at Grouse Mountain.

The snow was deep and the sky misty...it looked rather spooky, and was a great setting for exploring a mountain at night time. Check us out:

Naturally we sabotaged the boss with an unexpected snowball attack, and travelled down any hills on our bottoms.

We had an excellent mountain host as well - no one other than Dan Grima, our good friend from the UK!

Dinner, drinks and good banter followed our snowy adventure. A great way to spend a Thursday evening.

CS

Helena & Paul's wedding

What a wonderful weekend in Whistler, attending the wedding reception of the Helena and Paul!

Here is a glimpse of the magic of their wedding in the mountains (photo credited to their lovely photographer):

It was an awesome evening and an honour to be invited.

The wedding and reception took place in a gorgeous lodge near Whistler Village. There first dance was one to remember (PJ & Duncan are now back in the charts as a result...), and we continued the party long into the evening at a ski club in town.

Congratulations Helena & Paul!

CS

Vancouver Island - part two

On our second day we ventured towards Campbell River.

We had breakfast in a local cafe and watched a pod of dolphins swimming together; an incredible sight to start the day.

We then headed on a two hour hike, beginning at a walking trail alongside Campbell River. We went through Elk Provincial Park until we reached Elk Falls:

On route we stopped off at Fanny Bay (yep, that's it's real name) to say hello to the group of sealions that hang out near the dock. They are noisy creatures & very fun to observe!

CS