This made me cry,

This is so beautiful both in choreography and performance

Wow

A perfect weekend

I saw my first snowdrops yesterday so Spring must be on it's way! This past weekend has given me the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with my husband and my Mum. On Saturday I spent the day Xmas shopping with my Mum in Exeter and no I haven't gone mad I was actually Xmas shopping. I have been so busy since Xmas that I haven't had a chance to spend my Xmas money. It was so lovely not only to spend time with my Mum but also to indulge in a bit of retail therapy, I can't actually remember the last time I went shopping for anything other than food and drink!

I managed to find the perfect pair of election trousers as well as an election cardigan in Jane Norman! I also got two fabulous new underwear sets which do make my top half feel a bit Jordanesque but they definitely compliment my body and are well made and extremely comfortable. My next stop was the body shop as I had realised that my make up bag probably needed condemning, I calculated that one eyeshadow was in fact 8 years old and my mascara was actually just a token effort as it had dried out some time ago, I had read about the new mineral make ups and how great they were so decided to treat myself to some new stuff.

I want to say a huge thank you to the staff at the Exeter branch of the Body shop as they were so friendly and helpful, in particular I want to thank the lady who spent time with my Mum & I and who made us feel a million dollars. Their wonderful customer care paid off as by the time I got to the till I had £56 of products in my hand - Ouch! I can't recommend the new mineral products  or the nutriganics moisturising range enough, they are simply fabulous.

After our shopping experience it was off to Zizzi's for a bite to eat and some more great customer service and I have to say that the food was gorgeous! I would definitely go there again if I am ever in Exeter. My pumpkin risotto was divine and Mum's sea bass was even better. Thank you to my lovely Mum for being the best Mum in the world ever! 

On Sunday my husband and I went for a drive along the South Coast followed by drinks at the Admiral McBride and the Seymour arms indulging in some St Austell Proper job, Sharp's Doom Bar (our wedding ale) and Otter Brewery Ale. More great examples of customer serivce at both establishments. I must apologise to my husband for retiring to bed at 7.30pm but afternoon drinking does catch up with me quickly! Despite my early retirement I really enjoyed our day out and to have the chance to spend time together on our own outside the house.

If you want some expert advice on buying shoes and doing housework in your underwear then look no further than Hayley's recent blog!

More news to follow on the Pole Dance Community and UK Pole Dance Day. If you do have your own pole don't forget to check out this fab article by Tiny from Candy & Chrome on looking after your X-pole! Also thanks to Rebecca Drury from Seven veils productions for featuring the PDC on her blog.

Off to practice my allegra and beast my 6.15pm advanced class.

Stay healthy,

Sam x

Life's funny moments

I wasn't planning on blogging today but I have just had the most delightful conversation with a lady whom I shouldn't really name for confidentiality reasons, so for the sake of this blog we will call her Edith; Whilst trawling through answer machine messages on my business line I came across a message that clearly wasn't meant for me. Edith's carer had obviously dialled my number in error and thought she was leaving a message with a medical practitioner, apparently Edith's medication is not working and needs adjusting, Edith is also getting more confused and needs an assessment. Edith's carer finished the call with an urgent message for someone to call back. I felt obliged to call the number to explain the mistake in the hope that the carer would then call the correct number to get the issue sorted. That didn't happen....

What did happen is that I have just had the loveliest conversation with Edith who was more than happy to explain how badly her bowels were playing up again, Edith was a little confused and obviously thought that I was someone from her doctors surgery, I tried to intervene and explained that the carer had dialed the wrong number but Edith interrupted explaining that it was the right number and then she proceeded with some more very personal medical ailments. Edith seemed quite happy to talk to someone so for a little bit I just listened and then I tried explaining that I ran a dance school but that fell on deaf ears if you can excuse the pun. 

I want to ring back to let Edith's carer know that the right person has not received the important message but I don't want to ring back and confuse Edith anymore! Anyway, the point is that Edith seems like a delightful old lady and it was my pleasure to converse with her even though I wasn't actually the person she wanted to talk too!

The next few paragraphs concern my recent ultrasound but don't worry there isn't too much graphic detail! Basically I had two choices; I could wait 4-6 weeks for a standard ultrasound or I could wait just 2 weeks for an ultrasound plus students? The standard ultrasound takes approximately 15 minutes and the training one lasts for 30 minutes. Well in my reckoning the training option sounded more thorough and involved less wait so, of course, I booked the training session. My husband kindly offered to accompany me for the scan just in case they found any gremlins living inside me, his support waned slightly when he caught sight of me in the hospital issue dressing robe and gown accompanied with my favourite fluffy socks, support turned to laughter!

Once inside the room I was introduced to the trainee by Paul the consultant radiologist who was conducting the training opportunity. Paul explained that he was going to take various internal pictures whilst my husband offered to share some of his own pictures of me taken on his mobile phone.. Ahem! Paul laughed and then shared a story with us of when he visited a friend's house and found they had an entire wall of their house dedicated to sadomasochistic images of their love-making! So whilst my husband and Paul chatted away,  the trainee and I exchanged polite smiles.  I then chose to lie very still whilst the trio happily discussed my innards. Then my husband's humour rose again as he decided to pull his special "OMG - look what I can see on the scan " face, my heart rate quickly returned to normal as I realised he was joking.

Anyway the point is that the procedure had to be done and when I return for my next one I will definitely opt for the training option as not only is it more interesting from a patient perspective but you also know you are helping someone in their training - Win Win! You also get a lovely letter of thanks for attending the training session too which is rather more cheery than the standard hospital letters!

Anyway as it is not meant to be a blogging day I really should go and do some proper work!

Stay Healthy,

Sam x

Life in the world of pole

 picture above of Mia & I at Annabel's Cabaret, Plymouth.

At long last I can finally say that things at the art of dance are running fairly smoothly; the new membership option is proving popular and gives great discounts to regular students. It is lovely to see many old students returning as well as meeting the many new students who have joined us recently. A huge thank you to Cherie Gordon and the Herald team for the wonderful article about the art of dance that was recently published, the article has certainly helped give the business a much needed boost as well as educating people about the wonderful world of pole dancing!

Other news from the art of dance includes the marriage of Hayley's Mum, check out this link for gorgeous wedding pics!

The art of dance team appears to be growing; Burlesque artist Kitty Kane will soon be offering private lessons in the Boudoir (more news to follow), Kitty also teaches and performs at Annabel's and has a great reputation, click here to see her in action. Welcome to Sam & Leila who are using the Boudoir as their practice area for their new Samba routines, I am hoping that the girls wll be joining us at our next social at Annabel's on the 26th February and perhaps giving us a little Samba demo! We have also been joined by our new resident yoga teacher Chloe who trained in India and has a lovely gentle teaching style, click here to book a yoga lesson. We will also be seeing a new pole dancing instructor joining the existing team of Rosanna, Hayley, Tamar & I!

The Pole Dance Community site continues to grow from strength to strength and has some fabulous new articles including this one from Tiny (Candy & Chrome) on how to look after your X-pole. The new X-pole range is looking fab and prices start from just £149.99 (including free UK postage) for the new Xsport pole, the now bottom loading facility means that you no longer need a stepladder to assemble your pole.

Well, time to sign off for now,

Stay Healthy,


Sam x

Minxster!

Just a quick blog today although I promise to follow with a mammoth blog very soon! I stumbled upon this lovely blog about Minxster - see picture above. If you have a dog or have had dogs then you will love reading this blog about life as a Giant Schnauzer. Click here to read the blog.

Big blog to follow on some serious scandal but I will leave you with this link to the Herald's coverage of hypocritical Plymouth Council Chief Barry Keel who has refused to take a pay cut from his existing salary of £167,000.  It seems like another case of them and us; we have to keep tightening the purse strings and making cuts whilst those at the more appealing end of the pay system carry on as normal. I think the comments relating to the story on the Herald website speak for themselves, here are just a few of them:

"If this man thinks he's worth the money and could earn more in private industry-then go prove it. As with all top bosses he has a team and advisors and is never seen to take responsibility."
party, ply

"While 46 employees of Amey (highways in Plymouth) have been told they may be made redundant." Nice one Barry! James Holland, Plymuff

"Council employees that were forced to take a pay cut they had no choice shame on you"
bill, Plymouth

"The arrogance of this man is breathtaking. When other employees have pay cuts forced on them he has the audacity to assume that he should be exempt from sharing part of the burden. As for the "city council spokeswoman" you simply cannot defend the indefensible."
Annie, Plmouth

More stuff to follow!

Stay Healthy,

Sam x

A humanist approach.

On Tuesday I attended my first ever Humanist Funeral, all the other funerals I have been to have been based on the Christian faith even if the individuals who had passed on were not actually Christian so I was interested in how the humanist ceremony would be conducted and  how it would make me feel. I am not really religious, I have my own beleifs but my main concern is how many of the main religions are used and abused in today's society. 

Anyhow, Jean's funeral was lead by Devon Humanist Jo Hawes who despite not having met Jean had definitely done her research. Jean did not believe in God and she believed we were just passing through and was quoted as saying "One day your life will pass before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching". Perhaps the desire for humanism was truly reflected by this story taken from Jean's numerous travels - "When they were in Quito in Peru, on the steps of a cathedral dripping with gold and jewels, Jean was giving what she had to the barefoot children dressed in rags as she always did. Just then a priest came along in his rich robes and Jean, always one to speak her mind, asked him what he was doing for the children and gave him a few suggestions"!

Don't get me wrong I have no problems with anyone who is religious and think people should be able to practice what they like as long as it does not cause harm to others, I also don't want to be forced to pay for other people's religions. For example why should I as a UK taxpayer have to pay for the Pope to visit this country, has the Catholic church not got enough money to fund the visit and what gives some UK christians the right to say that the Haiti earthquake was sent to punish the non beleiving population of the island?

Anyway, back to some more moments from the funeral which I am sure Jean would have loved; The beautiful cardboard coffin covered in a print of yellow flowers and blue skies, the wonderful turnout of so many of her friends and family, the brilliant humanist service, the perfect choice of songs (Matt Munro - Born Free, John Lennon - Imagine and Frank Sinatra - My Way) and the slide show of photos depicting important parts of Jean's Life. Perhaps the funniest moment would have been the sight of us all stumbling along Mutley Plain after the wake to go to one of Jean's favoured Plymouth attractions and the place that she said did the best cheese on toast - GoodBody's. 

I will leave you with the following quote from the funeral as well as this link to St Luke's Hospice who cared for Jean in the final cruel days of her life. Please feel free to make a donation to this marvellous charity or get involved in one of their fabulous fundraising events such as the Midnight Mile. 

Good people do not die;

They do not become ash and smoke.
They leave a trail of light across the sky
And a path for us to follow. (unknown author)

Stay Healthy,

Sam x