#LIKEACHALLENGE 

Wow.. it’s been a while since I wrote a blogpost about my French challenge and it uddenly hit me that the 90days deadline is tomorrow! Yikes. To keep my promise and prove to you that I’ve actually learnt something, I’m currently planning a trip to France in May, where I’ll do a bunch of fun, cultural activities ONLY using French. And of course I'll aim to speak French for the whole time I’m there (well, most of the time...there will be some sign language involved I'm sure).

A vlog introducing you to my amazing grandad, whose Toyota Corolla I'll be driving all the way to Monte Carlo in July and racing funds for the Help for Heros charity. He was a WWII veteran and also my personal hero. I miss him loads, but I hope he's going to be proud when he sees his beloved car in front of the Monte Carlo casino! : )

Find out how me and my dad are getting on with the prep for the Monte Carlo or bust rally. We've been testing our car in rather extreme weather conditions... and do enjoy my dad's beautiful English accent ;)

It's over half way through the French challenge, so where am I at? Well, I can finally talk about the past as the last couple of days have been about learning 'passe compose', the basic past tense in French. I did future tense a couple of weeks ago, so in theory I know all the verb forms now, but I have to practise, practise and yet again practise to feel more at ease using these in conversation. I had two French lessons this weekend as I wanted to catch up after a busy week

So, first ever blog is finally up. Very humble beginnings, random bits filmed on my iPhone & laptop :) Summary of my first month mastering French pronunciation and memorising basic phrases. And an opportunity to see me with barely any make-up on, wet hair straight out of the shower, sitting in the kitchen. Think I sold it to you..!

Week 5 has been a lot about ‘forcing’ myself to do those 15min of French when I know I’m losing momentum in my challenge and can’t find the same motivation I had in the first week. I did two 1:1 lessons in week 5, so that’s good, but I had to find new, interesting ways of learning in order to not get bored. I guess it’s easier when you just learn French in France and then you’re surrounded by the language all the time anyway. But doing it in London, I have to do (at least) 15

I know a bit more than 'une baguette' by this stage..just finished week 5 of my learning French challenge, but still writing a blogpost about week 4. My only excuse is that...I’ve been learning French plus doing the Vicky’s Secret challenge. So no sitting around for sure! Week four was when I had my first 1:1 lessons and that gave me a massive boost of confidence when it comes to actually speaking the language! You can learn from books, internet or listen to tapes / apps / y

I’ve had some moments of doubt this week pondering if I can ever get past only being able to name things and memorise whole sentences. It’s speeds up the learning process at the beginning, but at some stage you want to express genuine opinions or say how you feel, naturally, rather than delivering a script. I think I haven’t reached that stage with French yet. I’m getting to the point of ‘Tarzan French’ (a name used in the ‘Language hacking’ book), where you simply use whate

As it was an extremely busy time for me work-wise, my second week has mostly been about trying to fit in at least one minute of French whenever I could. On the train, in the cafe, between phone calls, listening to the app when standing in a queue or at 11pm at home before going to bed. This is the reason why a lot of people give up their challenge a few days into it, they just don't find the time. Or rather, they don't even TRY to find the time. We've got work, daily erran

It’s the beginning of week two and I was thinking that I need to organise the ‘words of the day’ which I do on Instagram and have some French inspirations for every week. Apart from constantly talking to myself on instastory, I introduced you to a few French words for clothes and colours. So, this week I’ll continue with that, but here on the blog I also want to explore the French minimalist wardrobe and the basic items you need to look like a proper Parisian! I’m a big fa

Pas mal! Not (too) bad. I was very excited the first day and then it got a bit slower towards the end of the week. Luckily, with the help a salted caramel cheesecake, I got back on track at the weekend and did my reading and speaking exercise like a diligent first class student. (I was far from that during my Uni days, so not sure what being a 'diligent first class student' actually means, but... I’m doing fine, by the way.) I’ve yet to have a one to one lesson. I’ve asked a

There's been heated discussions with my co-pilot (dad) in regards to the car we should take for the Monte Carlo or bust rally . We initially thought about getting a very cheap convertible as it does get really hot in the summer around the Mediterranean. Later on, we were wondering if we should go with a more ‘Polish’ car. Something like this... This is the FSO Polonez. Clarkson referred to this as one of the worst cars in the world and 'The Telegraph' says it should never ha

It’s not that easy to find those 15min where I solely just focus on learning French. I mean, I’m not doing too bad considering it’s been a busy week overall and I had a long list of boring admin stuff which I had to be sorted out. I did manage to 5-10min each day so far (a good hour on day one!), but it’s still the bare minimum. I find it really tough to suddenly zone out, forget about everything else and.. speak French. There’s so many things to do each day and then it’s so

I’ve certainly had a lot of fun with my ice skating outfits during the pirouette challenge. There’s been some funky sparkling berets, long taffeta skirts and polka dot dresses. I took a lot of inspiration from old photos: back in the days people used to merrily skate in Royal Ascot hats, fur coats and Oscar gowns. I didn’t quite reach that level, but not far from it. Most of the items come from my local charity shop (God Bless this British institution) and flee markets. Day

Back to business. I'm kicking off 2018 with yet another amazing challenge: starting on 15th January I'll have 90 days to master French. For the grand final (and to prove I've actually learnt something or not), I'll head across the English Channel / la Manche for a 48h weekend where I'll only be allowed to speak le Francais.* *Everyone laughs. Especially the French I've asked a good friend of mine to join me on that final trip and film the drama of ordering a coffee in Paris

Just to be absolutely clear, you can wear whatever you like! But here’s a few practical tips, whether it’s regular practise or a one-off xmas excursion. Depending on if you’re skating indoors or outdoors, I normally put a white vest or T-shirt and some thermals on top, plus a coat if it’s really freezing. Mind you, it can still be fairly cold even at a covered rink. For the bottom bits, leggings work best for me, just like the once you use at the gym. Defo no jeans, unless t

If you’ve read my previous blogpost, I was giving myself another few weeks to complete this challenge. I was stuck at three revolutions and struggled to do more. I just couldn’t quite get the ‘feel’ for the right speed and body position that would allow me to spin for longer. I went for another practice yesterday. It was an ice rink at the Polish National Stadium, normally used for football matches and concerts, but during wintertime it becomes the biggest skating venue in W

The moment of truth. It’s 31st December 2017. A few hours till the New Year. Where am I at with the spin after 4 weeks of training? I’ll be honest, even though I’ve been practising several times a week, I’m still on three revolutions. I did manage four a few times. I’ve even started doing it on one leg if that’s any consolation. Trust me, it’s REALLY HARD to do five turns and I frankly didn’t realise how big of a challenge I’ve set myself here. I’m still learning how to get

London offers a fine selection of xmas ice rinks every year. Whether you’re a skilled figure skater or a complete beginner, the atmosphere of the capital’s ice-rinks is enchanting. Here’s a round-up of my top 5 places to twirl around. On the practical side: they all cost between £14 and £17 for an hour of skating. From what I remember, Somerset House was the most expensive at £17,50 and Hampton Court the cheapest at £14. All prices include a pair of ice skates. I booked my t

Straight to the point... after two weeks I’m still at around two to three revolutions in my two foot spin. A lot of ‘twos’ in that sentence, but these are the current figures. I’ve been practising a lot of other ice-skating moves last week, which will eventually help me improve the spin. I wrote it in the previous post that without solid basics I won’t be able to go much further with my pirouetting. I was obviously hoping (wishful thinking..) that it would all happen a bit q