I hate Motorways.

Well I am a little tired today so no doubt my grammar will be suitably poor. My husband and I returned from Greenwich at 2.45am, it was long day but was educational as always. We departed at 10am and I had every intention of buying some nice healthy food for the journey but as usual time did not seem to be on my side. I raced to Tj's sandwich bar to get a prawn and avocado sandwich on granary bread to keep me going for a while, it was breakfast / lunch and it was more than adequate.

As you can imagine a sandwich does not fill one up for the entire day and sooner or later my stomach started to grumble, we stopped at a motorway service station to peruse the menu. As most of you will know service stations are neither cheap nor particularly healthy. For the first time in several years I indulged in fast food!!! The spicy beanburger pictured left was not quite as bad as a thought it was going to be but was hot and was better than starving, I washed it down with a cup of green tea, peppermint and milk thistle in the hope that it would make the bean burger more nutritious (I somehowalways carry a few herbal tea bags in my handbag as motorway service stations will usually give you a cup of boiling water for nothing!). My husband and one of his fighters Mick Kileen (pictured left found time to try the slightly disturbing massage chairs. The chairs are meant to be relaxing yet feel more like someone is jabbing you in the back and neck with a small stick.

The Spicy beanburger was actually a bit of a god send because when we arrived at the venue, Kidbrooke School in Greenwich, there was a very limited amount of food on offer although I have to give credit to the school for the way they looked after us and they managed to offer fresh apples and bananas for sale. I ventured to the local co-op which turned out to be quite a scary experience. Remember this is inner city London, you could have cut the atmosphere in the supermarket with a knife, in fact I worried that a knife may be about to be the exact object in question. A polite man behind the counter was trying to explain to a young man (By just calling him a man I am being extremely polite) that he needed ID to buy alcohol, the 'man' started shouting and swearing trying to intimidate the poor member of staff, I though that the situation was going to escalate but it didn't. Then the next customer was equally abusive to the cashier over the price of sweets for his children. I really wanted to say something but didn't want to aggravate things further. Instead I was just over friendly to the cashier and smiled and made conversation which was not reciprocated. I do worry about the road our society seems to be travelling down, I found this article written in 2003 which highlights few of my concerns.

I returned to the venue happy to be away from said supermarket. I will report fully on the fight night when I get some pictures, it was a very interesting night with lots of memories. It was also strange to be in an inner city London classroom surrounded by GCSE course work and battered filing cabinets, not the usual venue for a fight night.

The journey back was very laborious, 4 and a half hours of motorway, I stayed awake throughout trying to make sure my husband was not too tired to drive but he seemed fine and was far more alert than me.

Nixi and Jo have updated their blogs and Rosanna will be adding pictures to her blog soon from May's Run to the Sun event.

Sorry to cut this blog short but I have just found out that one of my mum's best friends died yesterday, Sue was a lovely woman of whom I have very fond memories. As a young girl I spent many nights with Sue and her family and her lovely three sons. My mum is on her way down to see me so I will stop writing for now and write some more on Wednesday. As I sign off I can hear the sound of guns in the back ground, they are sounding for national Veterans day giving us a chance to remember those who have fought in wars across the world. My thoughts also go out to the families of the soldiers killed n Afghanistan in the past 24 hours.

Stay healthy,

Sam x

Good Health resumes

I'm back on the road to recovery and have beaten the nasty bug! it is great to wake up and not feel like death however my cat did not share my good mood and seems to have been temporarily possessed by the devil, this is quite a normal state of mind for my cat, I think she is feeling like the picture.

I wanted to discuss a recent comment that was left on one of my youtube videos that has upset me quite lot. Click here to view the video and see the comments. The lady concerned is basically saying that I am not a pole dancer and what I do is not art. She chose to describe me as an acrobat(don't have a problem with that bit) and said that I am definitely not a dancer (do have a problem with that bit). her comments got me thinking, I know that everyone is entitled to their opinion but I felt her comments were just hurtful. I have some more to say on this matter but am waiting for a response from her teacher first.

Good news for art of dance students, my Dad's garage, White's Auto Centre , has agreed to give all art of dance students 10% off any services or repairs they have done at the garage. All you need to do is turn up and say that you are an art of dance student! As well as offering the discount my dad has offered his forecourt as a venue for our September fun day to raise money for the Anthony Nolan trust. The event will be held on September 13th - full details to follow.

Tomorrow I am off to London with two fighters from Saints and my husband of course. Hopefully I will be reporting on two wins on Sunday after our return. Monday will not be a blogging day as Jo and I filming a World Class Instructional Pole dancing DVD so will be suitably bruised and battered by Monday evening.

Well now it is time for me to man reception, Rosanna is teaching tonight and we have hen party coming in later too! I have also received a load of new stock for my shop so will be sorting that out tonight. No peace for the wicked.

Stay healthy,

Sam x

Pole star ill tsar

I have my husband's virus and feel like poo, today's events have not enhanced my illness. Firstly it is that time of the month when a woman does not feel at her best and to add to the situation my PC displayed the 'blue screen of death' indicating there was a problem with my hard drive. As I only have the software for the back up hard drive on my broken PC I could not access the back up files either. Luckily Fabrice from NRG telecom came to my aid and restored computer normality whilst laughing at my fear of losing all my files. It is scary how reliant my business has become on e-mails and the Internet.

I have to report that the moon cup (pictured top left) I referred to in previous blogs is simply brilliant, no leaks, no discomfort, no nasty tampons. I cannot praise the moon cup highly enough. I received confirmation of the art of dances attendance at the forthcoming Devon Car show to be held on Sunday 27th July at the Newton Abbot Racecourse. The art of dance instructors will be performing throughout the day as well as having a go at Sumo wrestling in big inflatable suits of course!). Let's hope we get some good weather.

For pictures and info on Glamour Puss's fire walk just click here or here. Despite feeling unwell I managed 30 minutes on the pole with Jo & Rosanna, My strength was a little below par but I still manged to get through my entire tricks training routine apart from my elbow hold handstands. I am looking forward to returning to full fitness asap.

I am now off to wallow in my illness with my husband who is not feeling much better either.

Stay Healthy,

Sam x

A great night.

It is now 3.15am and I have just returned from performing at Club Vanilla. My Husband and I left at 8.20pm expecting to arrive at the venue at about 10pm but thanks to Google maps we took several wrong turns, this was not helped by severe fog and rain! At 10.50pm we arrived at Club Vanilla and I was pleasantly surprised at the surroundings, I was warmly greeted by Jenny the organiser and shown to my changing room, within a few minutes I had done my first 8 minute set, I danced to Kelis -'Good Stuff' and Kylie - 'red blooded woman' mainly because they were on the first CD I picked out of my bag and they were next to each other on the CD. The spectators fell silent before erupting into applause when I finished my first set.

Jenny explained that they were expecting a podium dancer who could do a few bits on the pole but none of them had ever seen 21st Century fitness pole dancing. I just love taking pole dancing to a new audience. Jenny and I chatted abut the stigmas that pole dancing can have and she commented on the stigma of running a swingers club, apparently the local press have given her a very hard time and local parishioners have apparently been praying to cleanse her of her sins.

Anyway, back to the pole, it was a 50mm stainless steel pole - my favourite, I was a bit limited by the height, only 8 foot, but managed to use the t-bar structure at the top to do some interesting variations such as a chin up then drop the the Bat. In total I did 7 sets with 4 costume changes. What made things really tough was the heat, I sweated buckets and did an unintentional shoulder mount death drop - not one to try at home.

If you are going to try a swinging club then this is the place to go, Sid and I didn't partake in any of the sexual experimentation going on in the private rooms but did enjoy the friendly relaxed atmosphere and great DJ. The club also boasts two fantastic Jacuzzis one of which is right next to the pole. It is unusual to be dancing whilst a half naked person bathes beside you. I have been booked for the next party and am looking forward to my return. It was so nice to have the opportunity to perform without the usual pressures and to see what moves I could manage in the extreme heat.

A great night was had by all and I managed to pull two Panthera spin and snaps out of the bag. The only downside, apart from the travelling, was the nasty nylon carpet around the base of the pole, I have severe carpet burns and my right toe is still bleeding. I would like to thank my husband for accompanying me tonight despite the fact that he was feeling a little under the weather. I think that both Sid & I will sleep extremely well tonight.

Stay Healthy,

Sam x

Pending Performance

Pictured left is the stage that I will be dancing on tonight at Club Vanilla, I have just noticed on the club Vanilla website that there will be an exotic floor show part way through the evening, I just hope that they are not expecting me to do it! I will get Sid to take some pictures anyway and will report back to you, should be an interesting evening!

It is looking like me and my other instructors may be exhibiting at the Devon car Show on the 27th July, I will let you know times and dates as soon as we have the Event confirmed.

Other Forthcoming events include a Pole Perfection class with resident Burlesque instructor Georgina Gale . If any of you saw Georgina dance at our last Social at Annabel's then this class will need no explaining but for those of you who missed it Georgina will be showing you how to slow down your tricks and improve your overall performance on the pole, think grace and fluidity.

Our incredibly bendy instructor Nixi will be doing a Flexibility workshop on Sunday 29th June at 12:00. This workshop is non pole based and will aim to help you increase your overall flexibility through some demanding stretches.

On Monday I hope to secure a new art of dance venue in Torquay, I am meeting with the owner of the proposed venue to finalise details so will let you know what happens, we are also looking for an Exeter venue for Georginas Burlesque workshops, we have had some fantastic feedback on the last workshop but need to find another venue.

I had a great training session with Hayley, Nixi, Sue & Rose (Sue's daughter) yesterday but am staying off the pole today to conserve my energy for tonight's performance. I was chuffed to manage some more one handed handstands yesterday as well as some improved shoulder mount techniques, unfortunately I seem to be missing a certain amount of skin from my right collarbone so will have to be careful tonight.

Congratulations to Glamour Puss who successfully completed her walking on fire task, I will link to her blog when she updates it with details of her fantastic piece of work for the hearing dogs Charity. More news to follow on Thai fighter Christi Campbell and our designated Charity The Anthony Nolan trust.

Stay healthy,

Sam x

Setting a bad example

OK, so this is not going to be a blog full of health and fitness advise due to the fact that I drank far too much last night, I spent the evening in the Navy pub drinking St Austell Tribute and then moved to the Dolphin Pub where I consumed some gorgeous pints of Bass (trust me if you are going to drink Bass then this is the place to drink it!). The Dolphin Pub is a proper no frills pub for real people and was a favourite haunt of the late artist Beryl Cook see picture left.

Foolishly I forgot I had a spinning pole lesson today at 2pm which is never a good idea on a hangover but it serves me right. After the spinning pole session I did an hours yoga and now have some more pole practice to do before going out for hair of the dog and curry night at Raffles followed by the Quiz night at the Woodside. Healthy living will resume very shortly promise.

I want to wish Glamour Puss all the best for tomorrow when she attempts to walk on fire! Rather her than me.

Also an update on my cousin Val who has just sent me this comment pointing out that she was not in Jordan but was living in Beirut: "I actually moved from Jordan to Lebanon in April, so the violence and evacuation all happened in Beirut. The situation in Lebanon was really terrible for a few days, but I was fortunate that I was able to get out. I happened to be caught on some of the most heavily targeted streets at the time Hezbollah took over West Beirut. I am glad that I got out safely, but very bummed about the fact that I am no longer living there. Granted it had only been a month, but I was really excited about living there. Beirut is such a beautiful city!, and I had already started making friends, had applied to grad school, and was just getting settled into my apartment. Leaving was really difficult...I had my entire apartment furnished, all of my clothes, books, etc and I just left them all when I evacuated with one suitcase. Now the situation there is "tensely stable" but in all likelihood the violence will erupt again in the fall. Therefore, my work took the decision not to send me back and I will be based in DC again for the foreseeable future. This is not so bad of course, but it wasn't my ideal. I'll be heading back to Beirut in about two weeks to pick up my clothes, close my bank account, etc...so all is not lost :-)" I am looking forward to Val's pending visit in August and am glad that she is safe.

One bit of health news that I thought may interest you is the current database of activity providers in Plymouth, the idea has been set up by Plymouth Guild to help their active for life project. The data base is a work in progress so if you run a physical activity in Plymouth you can contact the guild to add your details onto the database or you can simply use it to find activities to participate in.

News to follow on some masterclasses, check out the video footage of Rosanna's last sequencing class.

Off to nurse my hangover,

Stay healthier than me,

Sam x

Help needed

I had a fascinating meeting today with staff at the Plymouth Family Support Services centre based at Kinterbury House. The Family Support centre provides an amazing array of services to families across Plymouth, they give counselling, provide volunteer befrienders for people who may be isolated or need support in the community, they provide adoptions support services, the list is endless and I think their work is really undervalued. Much of their work is aimed at preventative measures and will help to stop people from developing more serious issues such as depression, addiction and ultimately suicide, by supporting families they are also reducing the number of children that need to be taken into care as well as being able to recognise children who are at risk in their own homes.

As well as supporting local families the Family Support Centre also provides child protection training to various sectors . I have summed their work up in a few paragraphs but have only scratched the service of how much they actually do.

The PFSS was set up as a local charity in 1999 and has been operating ever since. Unfortunately this year their building was bought by a new owner who decided to increase their rent by 50%, the knock on effect of this and other soaring costs have made it increasingly difficult for the PFSS to survive, In addition to this they are getting an increased demand for their services due to rising poverty, anti Social behaviour, unemployment and other such issues.

SO Why I am blogging about this today, Obviously anyone can donate to this worthwhile charity but more importantly we are trying to get people to buy tickets for their forthcoming Charity night at The Waterfront. Tickets cost £15 and include a buffet and entertainment, Local celebrity, model and singer Angel Flukes will be singing at the event and there will be a DJ, the raffle already has some great prizes including a Quad Bike and signed Arsenal Shirt.

You can buy your tickets from the PFSS or you can donate to them by clicking here. Please support this wonderful charity in any way that you can. The PFSS will be our next designated charity, let's work together to keep this fantastic charity working in Plymouth.

As promised here is the information on the mists of time trapeze classes that I blogged about yesterday:
class details: adult (16+ish) static trapeze, Thursday 7-8pm, £3.50, Salisbury road baptist church.
children's classes: 5-6 & 6-7pm, there is currently a waiting list for children.
equipment: static trapezes, corde lisse (rope), aerial silks, rings. circus skills-just for fun(spinning plates, diabolo, poi, juggling balls etc.)
description: quite informal sessions, everybody working together and learning from each other.

More news to follow,

Stay Healthy,

Sam x