my comfort zone

Week 20: ‘Disability Day’

Image ~ ~ Tom Rose ~ 3 Comments

Week 20 of my comfort zone challenge – The Sussex Cricket in the Community Disability Day. A day designed get disabled groups, whether it be mentally, physically or emotionally, active and having fun, through the use of cricket. Disabled groups are invited from all over Sussex, to the home of Sussex Cricket, the BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground, to partake in many activities from throwing, batting, bowling, table cricket, deaf cricket and much more.

I volunteered to help out at the disability day, having shamefully, never done anything like this before. My role was to run one of the stations of activities. I was given the inflatable target throw… They simply throw the ball through the target, making it harder each time.

Disability Day

One of the full time coaches, before the event had started, gave me the advice “Just make sure you are enthusiastic” which turned out to be pretty good advice. Groups aged from young school children about 8 to 80 year olds. The reactions as I ran my station from each and every person varied, all making me smile in a different way, but three people in particular are worth mentioning:

Chaz – A young 11 year old child, in an electric wheel chair. Chaz instantly asked my name, and wanted to keep a tally of everyone’s score to see if they would beat his score of 5. Rather than wanting to win though, he was encouraging all the others in his group to beat him. Which I thought was really refreshing in what seems to be an ultra competitive world we live in! Chaz became my mate over the day, he supports Arsenal and his favourite player was Theo Walcott, he even taught me a new handshake/fist pump combination. To say goodbye, he said “If I don’t see you before, have a great half term”. What a nice kid.

Disability Day 3

Andrew – After being the best in his group at my target throw, he wanted to go even further back to see how far he would go. This sparked a competition with him and one of our coaches from across the other side of the hall. After a few attempts, Andrew managed to win this competition, and as it went into the hole, he ran at my full pace and gave me the biggest of high ten’s as we both celebrated like he had won the world cup. He could hardly contain his excitement as he kept walking around with a smile on his face, and occasionally high five-ing me again!

Chloe – Chloe, was a women with Downs Syndrome, who managed to throw it in the target from the hardest cone, despite her saying she’d never do it. After she did it, I gave her a big high five and told her that was brilliant. She then proceeded to blush and told me I was gorgeous. To my dismay, I found out later in the day, she had already asked out one of the coaches on a date three times!

Disability Day 2

There were plenty more stories, and plenty more characters. All the cliches came through, this really did remind me of how lucky I am and it really was rewarding. Selfishly, making these guys days was making my own. Furthermore, the bonds some of these people had with their carers was really heart warming, and did restore a lot of my faith in humanity. I felt extremely glad I had helped out in this event, and despite rain scares, it was a brilliantly organised event. I just felt bad that I hadn’t ever helped out in anything like this before! I’d strongly recommend this if you haven’t done anything like this before.

Disability Day 4

It just highlights some worlds that I’ve barely even considered over the years, and there are plenty of ways to help people on a small scale, this being an example of one. I’ll finish this post from a good quote from Winston Churchill “We making a living in life by what we get. We make a life by what we give”. A good one to live by I recon.

P.S If you want to see a high ten fail.. watch the Meridian news piece 28 seconds in! http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2015-05-18/cricket-club-opens-its-practice-nets-to-the-disabled/ 

Week 19: Modelling

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

Before I start writing anything, I must say this weeks challenge was ‘Modelling’ in the loosest sense of the word. I think it was more a ‘take pictures of any Tom, Dick or Harry, that is up for wearing a ridiculous outfit.’ I happened to be that Tom. When referring to myself as a model through this, I’ll put it in inverted commas, as it would be an insult to all models in the world to label myself in the same category.

The opportunity came about via LinkedIn, as Kate was after amateur models (not sure I could even class myself as that). Not knowing what I was signing up for, Kate gave me a call to explain what I would be ‘modelling’ for. Wait for it. The Crazy Golf World Championships. Once I stopped laughing, I could hardly turn down such an opportunity.

I arrived to the ‘shoot’ 5 minutes late, to which Kate said to me “Tom, you’re such a rockstar” to welcome me. Believe me, what came about in the next 3 hours was not rockstar behaviour.

Dressed in ill-fitting golfers outfit from the 50’s, I would proceed to pose in some crazy positions around the 3 crazy golf courses. From the windmill, to the pirate boat, to the house, to even on the beach. Simon (the other ‘model’) and I, put on our best picture faces here, there and everywhere. Our photographer, put us in all sorts of poses, and as the morning went on, the poses started to become camper and camper! Maybe we just got too into it. At times I would be lying on the floor, at times crouched down and at times with my legs standing out, and doing my best to look over the top excited.

What have I signed up for here?
What have I signed up for here?

I’ll admit, there were absolutely times where I thought “I’ve gone too far this week”. Especially as the course was starting to get busy, and there were a few looks. All in the name of PR though. Besides, it was absolutely hilarious at times. If you can’t laugh at yourself, then who can you laugh at?

One thing I completely under rated just how long it takes to get some good pictures. I thought it would be a 20 minute, take a couple of pictures, gig and shoot home. Three hours and hundreds of pictures later, I was quite relieved to be finished. Maybe it was more the ‘modelling’ that was the issue. It needed all that time to get the one picture they used.

Crazy Golf Modelling
It’s safe to say I won’t be the face of Calvin Klein anytime soon, but you’ll probably see my face in the local media promoting the World Crazy Golf Championships at Hastings Adventure Golf in the coming weeks. There’s a sentence I’d never thought I’d say.

NOTE: I’ll upload a few of the professional pictures once they have hit the media. I’m not allowed to leak them early!

Week 18: Spinning

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

Week 18 of my comfort zone challenge, I decided to take seat onto a bike, and do a bit of spinning.

As a good way to train for my London to Brighton bike ride coming up, I thought spinning would be a good challenge. I applied online for GlowBike in Brighton, and took up the session with no real idea of what spinning was like. My mum told me I would love it, and the a couple of colleagues left me with the message, to just stay at my level and take water (I ignored both and regretted both, especially the water!)

glowbike spin

I’m not great with exercise, I tend to do as little as I can get away with, just to get me by. I’m brilliant for paying my monthly gym membership and not being seen in months, and when I am seen I’m in the jacuzzi.

GlowBike was a place I hadn’t been to before, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t know anyone there. The glow of the place was quite clear, there was glitter and fake diamonds everywhere. Even the hair dryer in the mens changing room was full of glitter. There was quite a camp feel to the place, but not sure what I expected in Kemp Town in Brighton. I was professionally welcomed and dealt with brilliantly as I went to the beginner session.

Once we were all set up, Tam, our instructor started to talk us through what was going to happen. 20 of us, all different abilities, would start to ride to some disco music, alongside strobe lighting and orders from Tam. As the song would ‘drop’, we would sprint, and as the song started to get slower, we would up the resistance and ride slower. Having ridden a bike in the gym, it’s safe to say this session worked me out harder than any gym session. People around you and music make you give it your all. I definitely felt like a guy that had no clue at points, as the experienced women around me, made it look easy.

We then went onto the floor beside, for floor exercises. Tam told beginners to pick up the pink weights. Of course, by the time I got to pick weights, there were no pink weights left. No problem, I’m a strong bloke.

Yeah, I’m not strong. I did well to make myself look like an idiot with the weights. I had to put them down at points because my whole body felt like jelly. This was a real workout, and for a guy that hasn’t done any real workout for months, I felt the effects. My Gluts (arse) were in pain the next day, I could barely walk.

BROKEN
BROKEN

What must be said, I hate working out, and this was a good way to do so. Everyone loves music, and the effect it has on you keeps you going. On my little training plan for the London to Brighton bike ride, I will definitely incorporate spinning.

Week 17: Networking

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

Business networking is common practice in the professional world. Working professionals meet up, at events, with the intention of purely talking about business, with the hope they make take leads to improve their business in the future. This could be a new customer, a new supplier, meeting a new stakeholder or could meeting key members in the chosen field they work in. It can be whatever people want it to be.

What I have always thought, however, is that you need to be a certain type of person to do it. You know the type, extrovert, confident, suited, businessman. It’s no easy task just talking to strangers, talking about you and what you represent, and then letting the other person decide if it’s of any use to them. I’m terrible at talking to strangers, my usual conversation piece ends up talking about whatever the weather is doing outside.

So over the last few months, I’ve been making a conscious effort to attend our networking at events where I work, called The Boundary Club. My thought being, if I keep chucking myself in this situation where I meet strangers, I’ll get better at it.

A few unwritten rules I’ve picked up early doors:
1) Dress up smart – You’re representing both yourself and your business, first impressions are key. More than 90% of impressions are made within the first 60 seconds of meeting someone by appearance and body language.
2) Be prepared to talk and listen – Communication is a two-way process, nobody likes people who do too much of either.
3) Bring business cards – You’re not living in the corporate world if you don’t bring business cards.

The way the Boundary Club works, is you have a 3 course sit down meal, which also incorporates a guest speaker and sitting and watching some cricket as a backdrop. It feels quite relaxed, and it helps as when things start to get awkward, you have either the speaker or the sport as a go to in conversation.

networking
The environment is made for networking, a mixture of good food, good speakers, a few jokes from the MC, cricket and a few glasses of wine in the room make the environment quite relaxed. It’s common to just say hello to anyone in the room and introduce yourself, I still find this odd, but I’m getting there.

I’m not sure if there is a set way to network, but I just used it to chat to people. Chat to people with some similar interests, if I don’t really know the industry they work in, just ask and use it as a tool to learn. Conversation is much easier when you actually take in interest in what they are talking about. I found myself talking about beauty therapies, the best way to keep my skin great to talking about civil service motoring insurance. I’m still no expert on either.

I’ve always told myself I’m rubbish at meeting new people, and it goes back to last week’s fire walk, you tell yourself something enough your mind sends out that energy. I’m no master at networking, but I’ve had enough random conversations over the years to be okay chatting to new people. The stigma that goes with talking to new people is something that is getting easier, and will only improve as I do more of this. The brain really is fascinating.

Week 16: Fire Walking

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

Week 16 of my comfort zone challenge saw me do a Fire Walk for the Sara Lee Trust.

A bare foot walk over red-hot wood embers measuring around 800 degrees. No tricks, no special effects. Just me and the fire.

Burning Embers

I originally got an email informing me of the fire walking idea. The subject line being ‘BRAVE AND FEARLESS PEOPLE NEEDED’.. of which I am neither. Though, when I read about it, I entered without hesitation. The only time a little bit of fear came around was a couple of weeks after signing up, on a tube journey with my friend who said “yeah, but what happens if you trip up?”… Bloody good point I thought.

I have to admit, I did have the attitude of they wouldn’t let me do it if it was dangerous. It was only on seeing the ambulance upon arrival, I remembered this is dangerous, and the nerves kicked in. Granted, the physics are there. Both wood and the human foot are poor conductors of heat. The time that the moving feet having in contact with the wood isn’t enough to cause real damage, and if your feet sweat, the moisture can help to prevent any burning.

The un-nerving ambulance
The un-nerving ambulance

That said, you are still walking on fire. Your brain still tells you, you should not be doing this. That was until we went through the 2 hour training session that is. This training session had nothing to do with walking techinque. It had no practice on any fire. There was no rubbing the feet with any moisture. This was all about getting into the correct state of mind.

For an hour and a half, we went through a mental journey. Starting from posture , what you say in your mind, to physically shouting. You know that posture you have, when you feel like you can take on the world in the morning. Recreating that. You know that voice, that says you can’t do something. Telling that to shut up. Making sure everything in your power is telling you, you can do it.

Cliff, our instructor, was one of the most motivating people I’ve ever met. Through posture, visualisation and voice he took me to a place where my body was genuinely tingling and I felt I could take on the world. By the time we had finished the training, I honestly felt as if I could take on a round with Muhammed Ali in his prime. I felt invincible and more pumped up than I’d ever been in my life.

By the time we got around to walking on fire, there wasn’t a single nerve in my body. It was just a formality of ‘I’m going to do this’. All I needed to do, was visualise my place of conquer, remind myself I’m doing this, and sing ‘Roll with it’ by Oasis (my personal sound track to my visualised place)

The first five walkers went immediately after each other, and even when Cliff stopped me for what felt like 10 minutes before my go, to heat up the embers, I was 100% walking through that fire. “What’s your name?!” Cliff shouted. “TOM” I belched back and then before I knew it I was on the other side, giving the biggest fist pump of my life.

The release was incredible. It sounds ridiculous, but I felt so alive. Adrenaline flying through the body and it took me a good couple of hours to come back to reality. What’s more, these techniques to over come the fear, weren’t hard. This is something replicable in everyday life, every time nerves take over your body. It’s amazing how much your brain controls what you do. My brain sent out those tingling feelings and the feeling of invincibility, not Cliff. There was no hypnotism, no tricks, just the brain opening up your body.

I challenge you, next time that voice that talks to you in your head says “I can’t do this” put another voice in there to tell it to shut up and tell yourself 5 times that you can. Once you get over your inner demon, half the job is done.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this, and further to this I managed to raise some money to a great cause, The Sara Lee Trust. I must thank all those that have donated and all those that came to support me. I must also mention, Rob Marchant’s stag do which I missed to do the fire walk, many congratulations sir.

For those interested, I did have 3 small burn blisters on my left foot after the walk, a small price to pay for a great experience.

If you would like to donate still please visit my just giving page https://www.justgiving.com/Tom-Rose-comfortzone 

BELOW IS MY VIDEO OF THE WALK (You’ll have to excuse random bits of darkness at points)

Week 14: Radio

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

Week 14 of My Comfort Zone Challenge and this week I delved into the world of radio, by making a guest appearance on Brighton station, Juice 107.2.

Juice 107.2

Before I describe the events of what happened on the day, I will first take you back to my final year at Bournemouth University. My housemate, Andy, and I were offered a radio show on the University radio station. A great opportunity and experience to do something different. We both liked the idea, and even came up with a brilliant name for the show, Bants and Decs (tell me that isn’t genius?!). However, despite there only being 27 listeners at peak times, I bottled it as I was worried about embarrassing myself. I can’t speak for Andy here, but neither of us did the show, and to this day I regret not doing it. LIFE IN THE COMFORT ZONE!

So I was really keen to right a few wrongs, overcome a previous demon. I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to interview on the drive time show, for which, I’m extremely grateful to the Juice team, particularly Hannah and Guy. I was also lucky enough to have something worthwhile talking about for a radio interview, something I’d never have had previously.

It’s fair to say the butterflies were flying in my stomach before this. In an attempt to settle them I went to Nando’s, on my own, with a notebook. I made a couple of pages of notes about all the tasks I’d previously done, as I knew I would freeze on the spot. Honestly, I’ve got a memory of a goldfish at times. I finished my butterfly chicken, and sat there like, what happens if I freeze? I was told it would be set up as a friendly chat style interview. I love a friendly chat normally, I could talk for days, but not under the pressure of thousands of people listening. It was too late by this point to change anything. I have to say writing notes was one of the better ideas I’ve had in my time, unlike eating a phall, as it was my go to throughout the interview.

Radio Interview

Once I was there, everything seemed to go a million miles an hour, about the same speed as my heart. Two glasses of water to clear my throat, a quick run down of how the interview would go, The Kooks and Route 94 later and I’m being introduced on air. I couldn’t really remember what I said until I listened to the interview back. ‘Hopefully I’ll make a few people’s life more comfortable, by making mine uncomfortable’ Where did that come from? Though I was only on air for a couple of minutes, it really did seem like ages. It’s very strange talking about yourself for people.

Myself and Guy Lloyd
Myself and Guy Lloyd

Once I finished on air, I was in a bit of a trance. My phone was going mental with people contacting me, and I just walked aimlessly through Brighton whilst my heart was pumping. It took me a while to come down back to reality. Not sure my heart would have been able to take that on a regular basis if I had have done a show at Uni.

My only regret is that I didn’t request a bit of Oasis Rock N Roll Star or Live Forever to play me out. Instead, I got a bit of Gwen Stefani, Ain’t No Holla Back Girl. I suppose I ain’t no Holla Back Girl, whatever that is.

In all honesty though, I’m glad I went on, and more importantly it was a great platform to promote the money I’m trying to raise for the Sara Lee Trust with my fire walk on the 18th April. https://www.justgiving.com/Tom-Rose-comfortzone

Anyway, have a listen for yourself below. Let me know what you think!

Week 13: The Matcha Challenge (No Tea/Coffee)

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

Week 13 of My Comfort Zone Challenge, and for 10 days, I replaced all Teas and Coffees with Matcha.

First things first, what on earth is Matcha? Don’t worry, I’d never heard of it either, until we received a staff presentation on it. Matcha is a green tea that originates in Japan, and has been used by Zen Buddist monks as a meditational drink for hundreds of years. It’s only recently that the western world have decided to tap into the ‘superfood’, that some people have described as Japan’s best kept secret.

In doing the research before the challenge, the advertised benefits of this powder are actually crazy. Matcha is very high on anti-oxidants, particularly EGCg, which I’m told is recognised for it’s cancer fighting properties. Matcha increases the metabolism and helps burns calories. Match detoxifies the body due to it’s chlorophyll content. Matcha calms the mind and improves concentration due the to L-Theanine, which boosts the alpha waves in your brain that aid relaxation. Matcha improves the levels of serotonine that the brain has, and therefore improves your mood. Matcha does pretty much everything but turn bread into wine. Read them all for yourself here.

That’s all the science stuff behind it, I’m not sure about you, but none of that means anything to me. Will it make me feel better at work in my day to day working life? That’s all I really care about.

So to give this a fair crack, I decided to do the challenge for 10 days rather than 7. I also decided to remove all other tea and coffee from my daily routine, to make the challenge a bit harder. Seeing as I have roughly 7-8 teas a day mixed in with a couple of coffees, this would certainly make my life tough.

Half a teaspoon of Matcha powder, a squeeze of lemon and hot water were the orders from my Matcha expert Katherine. It’s important that the water isn’t boiled as this kills the nutrients, and the lemon not only helps the taste, it boosts the positive effects. I’d have this twice a day, one first thing in the morning, and one just after lunch. The tough part is getting the little bits out of the bottom, so an electric frother became useful to mixing it all in.

I wasn’t too worried about the taste of Matcha, as I used to hate coffee, and nowadays it seems to be nectar down my throat, despite the taste not changing over the years. For what it’s worth, I actually didn’t mind the taste of Matcha at all.

Matcha

I have to admit, the first 3 days were hard. Whether it was a continued hangover from Berlin mixed with less caffeine in my diet, I did have a couple of headaches. After this little 3 day period, like magic almost, I started to feel good. I had one of the most energetic Mondays I’ve ever had, actually concentrating on work, rather than my usual Monday meltdown, where I plan on packing everything in and moving to the Caribbean.

This stuff works, there’s no two ways about it. I’ve gone in with a completely unbaised opinion of this stuff, and it certainly does give you a feel good factor. I’m a big believer in the placebo effect, so I have no doubt perhaps my mind wanted me to feel good, but if I feel good I don’t really care if it’s placebo or science.

What I have really learnt from this task…. Is I BLOODY LOVE TEA. Nothing can replace the taste of a good cup of tea. Waking up hungover on a Sunday and not having a cup of tea to warm away all my woes was tough. I didn’t think I had an addictive personality, but it’s fair to say I’ve learnt I’m addicted to tea. In fact, I’m drinking a tea as I write this.

Which one is the mug?
I’ll be making sure I drink my Matcha on Thursday, as I’ll be heading on the radio, so I’ll need my mind firing on all cylinders. I’ll be appearing on Juice 107.2 Brighton radio station on Thursday afternoon (3.30pm)… You can tune in via http://www.juicebrighton.com/, I’ll attempt to video it for those who can’t tune in live.

If you want to try Matcha, I would recommend giving it a go. I used OMG TEA from www.naturem.co.uk, you don’t need to give up tea/coffee like I did. Just incorporate it in your daily routine, I’ll be mixing the two from now on.

Week 12: A trip to Berlin

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

First of all, I know what you’re thinking… How does a holiday to Berlin with your mates constitute stepping outside your comfort zone? Granted, a fair few elements of this trip weren’t outside of my comfort zone, but there are a few good talking points. I initially planned on finding a ‘one off’ challenge in Berlin that stood out, but I soon realised there were a fair few things to talk about.

Before I start, it must be said what a beautiful city Berlin is. Heaped with years of modern history, amazing architecture and a frightening amount of graffiti (above), Berlin is without doubt my favourite city in the world. Not only for it’s beauty, but for it’s atmosphere. Unlike London or other capital cities in the world, Berlin is in no rush. Everything is so relaxed, you’ll never be caught in the hussle and bussle of Clapham Junction station or Oxford Street. There’s a sense of trust, that is much more apparent in Germany compared to England. There are no barriers at train stations, it is run on an honesty system; there are no closing times in clubs/bars, they simply close “When all the customers have gone”; people smoke in bars; you can drink at football; you can ride around the city on a bike whilst drinking beer. The city oozes creativity and if feels like there is an anything goes atmosphere in the air. My favourite qwerk was without doubt, that no ‘Berliner’ would cross the road unless the green man is showing, even if there’s not a car in sight.

Graffiti
Graffiti

What blew my mind the most about Berlin, is just how fresh some of the history is. The Berlin Wall was only taken down in 1989. There was still a divide between Soviet communist and East German Government and West Germany (USA, UK and France) until this point. That’s less than 30 years ago. The wall is incredible, what’s left of it goes for miles.

Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall

One thing I found fascinating was the Fuherbunker. The place Adolf Hitler eventually committed suicide. A huge moment in world history, yet the today the bunker was now a car park site and is very understated, in fact it was actually very hard to find. I believe this is because Germany don’t want this ever to become a Nazi shrine to Hitler. If you didn’t go out of your way to find it, you’d have never known it was there. I could write for hours about the history of Berlin, I won’t bore you with it, but seriously make sure you visit if you get the chance if you haven’t already.

The Fuherbunker
The Fuherbunker

A visit to Berlin isn’t a visit to Berlin without trying a ‘Currywurst’. This is the food of Berlin, you can’t walk down a street without seeing one Currywurst outlet. Basically, it’s a german sausage, with a curry tomato ketchup all over it. Having not had one before, I didn’t like the sounds of it, but I love sausage, I love ketchup and I love curry. Guess what, I loved Currywurst.

I’m going to take a moment to talk about the nightlife in Berlin. This was probably where I was most out of my comfort zone, believe it or not. The door policy is SO strict. Night one, we try to get into Watergate, as a group of 6 english guys. We thought they’d want our money, apparently not. Split into two groups of 3, the first 3 managed to get in, the second 3, which included me didn’t. The lady bouncer asked me something in German, I replied “Darius” (I was told to say this, as apparently this was the DJ on that night), she turned me away without reason and the other guys had to follow. Berlin is famous for it’s strict door policy, we didn’t even attempt to get into the infamous Berghain (honestly look this up if you’ve never heard of it).

We managed to get into a smaller club called Sky Club, and this may have been the most frightening thing I’ve ever been part of. The entrance was a stone door, without a bouncer, covered in graffiti. We walked in, greeted by 4 tough looking bouncers, pay the entrance, and enter the club. First thing I see, is a guy sitting down just staring at the cigerette machine. Head to the bar, order some drinks, look around. It’s not busy, but there are just a handful of people dancing by themselves, wide eyed, and not talking to anyone. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what was going on in this place. The music was so hardcore, that I started to think what is this noise (am I getting old?). Safe to say, we were very out of place, out of our comfort zones and after having a drink, quickly moved on.

The next day, we went to a few bars, rather than trying to hit any clubs, we got speaking to some local Berliners and asked why it was so hard to get in. They said “Why are you wearing shirts? In Berlin, you need to dress like you are about to dance all night”. I think they were suggesting we looked too smart, which was probably a first time for all of us. It goes back to what I was saying, Berlin is so relaxed. No one cares for dressing up. People are just out for a good time.

With any new city, way finding was tough to begin with, but that certainly was part of the fun. We made sure we found our own way places, and avoided cabs wherever possible. All part of the adventure so they say.

Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher

The final night of the trip, I finally saw my musical hero Noel Gallagher and absolutely loved it. 12 000 people singing songs back at him, and not a single flaw. A few people have suggested I do an open mic night as a challenge. I’ve put it on the list, one that really will take some balls to do. I’ve put it in for later in the year, give me some time to practice.

I’ve put in a little video of some of the stuff we got up to below.

Week 10: Reaching out to the ‘elderly’

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

Week 10 of my comfort zone challenge and this week I would do my best to reach out to the elderly generation. This is something I’m notoriously bad at, often paying little notice to the older generation, whilst getting on with what I believe to be my busy life.

In reading up before this challenge, I knew that loneliness was an issue amongst the elderly people, but I was shocked to read that 5 million older people are affected by loneliness. That’s 1 in 3 of the entire elderly population in the UK. I was also sad to read, amongst many other stats, that 5 million elderly people find television as their main form of companionship. Most of these people won’t have much choice in the matter, often living alone, and potentially widowed.

With these stats in mind, I immediately felt that taking part in the County Ground Cuppa event, ran in conjunction with the Friends of the Elderly, would be something that would be really worthwhile.

The Friends of the Elderly campaign attempts to reach out at those who may feel a bit lonely or isolated. It offers them the chance to get together with a cup of tea and a chat, whilst hopefully building up connections with other local people.

Would you believe it, when I came into the event, I was stupidly intimidated. I thought in my mind, these people aren’t going to want to talk to me. What can I offer them?
Friends of the Elderly
Once I had a conjured up the confidence to sit with them, I soon realised I’d have nothing to worry about. They really did seem to enjoy the company. I ended up sitting with Brenda and Mary, who I seemed to get on with very well. After offering to make them a cup of tea (earning my brownie points), they were very interested in what I did with my life. We got chatting about cricket, which couldn’t be more in my comfort zone, but was a good conversation piece for all of us.

Would you believe it, I ended up playing bingo again! That’s twice in three weeks. AND.. I only went and won again. I’m considering packing everything in, and taking up bingo as a profession. I won getting two lines which, instead of winning me £200,  it got me a packed of biscuits, which I shared with the table (more brownie points). I also was the first to get a full house, but I decided not to call out bingo for this one. I thought I’d let someone else have the winning moment! (I’ve had my fair share recently).

Bingo... Again!
Bingo… Again!

What I have to say, is what a great initiative this campaign is. Everyone seemed to be getting involved, and it was great to see 30 local elderly people interacting with each other.

Having everyday interactions with other people has been proven to combat loneliness and is something that I take for granted. I’m going to make a conscious effort now to at least be more aware of the elderly generation, whether it just be a small chat at the station or helping out where I can. I’m blessed to have an interactive job with amazing friends and family, it only seems right to help out where I can. Fingers crossed, when we are all old, we can receive the same treatment!

 

Week 9: Horse Riding

~ Tom Rose ~ Leave a comment

Week 9 of my comfort zone challenge, and this week I decided to take an interest in my sister’s hobby, horse riding. My sister, Sarah, has been riding horses for 21 years, of which she has had her own horse, Bronte, for 10. Being the terrible brother I am, until this week, I think I have only seen Bronte once in those 10 years. I had been living life so in the comfort zone, I’d never taken an interest in my sisters main hobby. So I gave my sister a text, and arranged a riding lesson.

I arrived at Hyfield Stables, in Crowhurst, and as soon as I got out of the car, the fresh farm smell instantly hit me. It’s like a mix of manure and fresh air up your nose. Strangely, the smell really grew on me.

Being 15 minutes early, I sat by the riding school and watched the lesson that was already taking place. There was a girl, no older than 13, just whipping the horse over jumps, making it look easy. I thought to myself, if a 13 year old girl can ride horses, I should be fine.

The Riding School
The Riding School

Sarah arrived, showed me Bronte and then took me to the horse I would be riding, Oliver. She assured me that Oliver was very well behaved and would be no trouble. I was slightly relieved as Oliver was massive.

Sarah set up both the horses with saddle, stirrups and reins and we were ready to go. I actually thought we may start off in the riding school, but Sarah said she would give me a crash course and we’ll head straight out. Sarah’s crash course to her brother was as followed: “Kick to go, pull back to stop, pull one rein to steer.” To be fair, that’s all I needed to know.

My new pal Oliver
My new pal Oliver

Before we left the stables, Oliver decided he wanted a drink. Who am I to argue with him? He’s bigger than me. Rehydrated, we rode into the Crowhurst countryside, fortunately it was a beautiful day. We slowly went through the gears from walk, into a trott, into a canter. The faster we went, the more fun it was.

I quickly realised, horse riding was all about balance. Sarah would always remind me to keep my heels down. This would help with balance and keeping posture as the horse went faster. It was like riding a bike in a way. You had to kick to move (pedal) and steer with the reins. Without kicking, the horse just wouldn’t move.

The ride itself, was a great mix of relaxation with the occasional adrenaline rush to keep yourself entertained. I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it. On top of that, it was a great way to catch up with my sister.

By the end of the ride, my legs were aching, but there were no ‘pelvic’ injuries that I was previously warned about before. I came out feeling much better for doing something different with my Sunday. Makes a nice change from the usual hungover corpse that lies on the sofa most Sundays.

A special thanks should go out to both my sister, for taking me out, and Sophie North of Hyfield Stables for kindly letting me ride her horse Oliver. Below is a highlight reel of the ride!