Week 17 - London Coffee Festival

Lots of freebies and some really good food and drink, but primarily for the caffeine lover

I've only really started appreciating the power of coffee since starting work at a 'proper' job and I like it as much as the next man, but is there really a difference between different types of coffee? This week I decided to go to the London Coffee Festival to find out.

Week 16 - The Gherkin / 99 Club comedy

Went inside a famous London vegetable and had a bit of a laugh 

This week I got the opportunity to go up an icon of the London skyline - 30 St. Mary's Axe aka The Gherkin Building and also went to a comedy gig at the 99 Club.

Week 15 - Gave Blood / Visited BAFTA

Gave something back, potentially helping to save a life

This week I took the opportunity to give something back and gave blood for the first time. As well as this I also visited the home of the British Academy of Film and Television: BAFTA

Week 14 - International Pillow Fight Day

Completely silly but ultimately a great laugh and excellent stress relief!

This week I was in the centre of London for something a little different - International Pillow Fight Day.

Week 13 - University Boat Race

With the rowers out of sight after only a few seconds, the race over very quickly and the whole bank area of the river overcrowded with pompous tools, you have to question if it's worth it... Yet a surprisingly good time was had by all.

This week I headed down to the bank of the Thames to catch the annual Oxford-Cambridge University Boat Race.

Week 12 - Universal Studios / Seaworld

Still in Florida for this week and most of the experiences have been more different than new, but certainly a lot of fun none the less

As with last week I'm still playing catch-up so again it's more of a picture book this week. 
Second week away in Florida and this week I have been to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Seaworld, and finally tried a root beer float.

Week 11 - Disney World / Discovery Cove

Away in Florida this week with a chance to spend time with family and my inner child and tick one of the things off my bucket list

Busy week of new experiences this week, but since I'm a little behind I'll keep it short and sweet. 
During the first week whilst away in Florida to celebrate my dad's birthday we went to Walt Disney World, ate at the Chef's table in a restaurant and swam with dolphins at Discovery Cove.

Week 10 - Piano lesson

Something I have always wanted to be able to do, so as good a time as any to start. A good introduction that has whet my appetite for more

Not too much to say about this week really and sadly no pictures to share again, but learning to play the piano is one of those things that I always wished I had done when I was younger. This week I took the first step towards this by taking a piano lesson.

Week 9 - Rain Room

Foiled twice in one week trying to go and see it, but an interesting concept that was worth it in the end for the classic picture opportunity alone

Since first hearing about the concept of the latest installation in The Curve space at the Barbican I knew it was something I would like to check out. However it seems that many other people also felt the same, especially in it's final week with queues reaching 12 hours or more to see the Rain Room. 

Week 8 - BBC Radio 4 Extra Newsjack

Classic comedy well worth a listen, even more worth going to see live.

This week I had booked in the calendar for a while having successfully applied for free tickets to the live recording of BBC radio's Newsjack.

Week 7 - Pancake Day Challenge

A cool atmosphere, friendly staff and excellent food (for the first four pancakes or so) set the scene for this "Man vs. Food" style challenge

This week being something to do with some time vaguely related to the death of the alleged son of a god two thousand odd years ago, it seemed the only natural thing to do in recognition of this fact was gorge myself on pancakes at The Breakfast Club's Pancake Day Challenge.

Week 6 - Chinese New Year

So much potential, sadly dampened by the poor weather. However still a great atmosphere despite the rain.

Once again I found myself heading out early on a Sunday morning, this week to catch the Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown to say goodbye to the year of the dragon and hello to the year of the snake.

Week 5 - Science Museum Lates

Just about the most fun you can have in a museum - good crowd, great atmosphere, and science - the science of zombies no less, need I say more?

This week, on a dark winter Wednesday evening I found myself in South Kensington, where there was a strange feeing in the air. Heading down past the impressive Natural History Museum there was a deathly silence as the museum had closed for the evening. Turning the corner and heading towards the Science Museum however, there seemed to be a disturbance - some people seemed to be protesting and trying to gather support for their cause. Getting closer and their cause became evident as the Pro Zombie Action Group (PZAG), also noticeable was a large number of the walking dead waiting to enter the museum for Science Museum Lates - the science of zombies! 

Week 4 - Handball

An intense, fast paced, good fun sport that is much more physical than I realised, but a really nice bunch of guys introduced us to it gently.

This week started with yet another early start (why always early mornings?!) as I headed out for a beginners Handball session with Olympia Handball Club London. This week I dragged my friend Simon along, who was feeling more than a little sorry for himself having hit a few (gay) bars the night before (sorry Simon, couldn't resist).

Week 4 - Zero Dark Thirty

A really intriguing and griping dramatisation of the hunt for Bin Laden that remains full of suspense even though you pretty much know the story and the ending going in.

I also found time to go see Zero Dark Thirty at the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square this week.  

The Idea Part 2

Since I've been doing remarkably well - the furthest I've ever made it into a resolution (admittedly only 3 weeks in), I have decided to raise the bar and set myself a little challenge to run along side my something new every week.

Week 3 - London Eye

Undeniably great views of London, even on a pretty dreadful day. Not something I'd be happy paying full price for, but it's one of those things that has to be done.

This week has been a slow week for me and a particularly busy one at work, so I didn't get much chance to research the different things on this week. I did however stumble upon the fact that the London Eye were giving a free rotation this weekend and having never been on before, this looked like a pretty perfect opportunity.

Week 2 - Ice Sculpting

Lots of skill to appreciate in the final sculptures but something best to do if you are in the area.

Week 2 and I already needed something a little more chilled out in order to recover from week 1, so it was just as well the London Ice Sculpting Festival was on this weekend. 
Additionally, as a bit of a mid week bonus I also tried out a tabletop game, originating from Brazil, called Button Football.

Week 2 - Button Football

A cool game to try, but the endless 0-0 draws whilst conquering the learning curve would likely get boring quickly.

The second new thing I tried this week by chance was the Brazilian game of Button Football. Known as "Futebol de Mesa" ("Table Football") or "Jogo de Botões" ("Button Game") in Portuguese, it is a table top football game similar to the classic Subbuteo.

Week 1 - Parkour

One hell of a work out and an awesome introduction to Parkour that has really made me want to take it up and check out some of their other classes.

So, week one of my new year resolution for 2013 to try something new or a bit different every week. I decided to start big with several new experiences all rolled into one.

Firstly getting up before 7am on a Sunday morning, which is most definitely a new experience for me. Secondly using the Hammersmith and City line for the first time despite having lived in London for 2 years. Finally, what you could call the main event and the reason I was up before 7 and travelling on the Hammersmith and City line was to get to Parkour Generations Winterval.

Calendar

The Idea

I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog for a while now but have never really had much to write about, at least nothing that would make good reading.

I also realised recently that having lived in London for 2 years, I've tried very little that the city has to offer.

So the end of last year I made two resolutions for 2013:

• The first was to start my blog. Job done (easiest resolution I've ever made). 
• The second is to try something new every week throughout the year. Hopefully this will give me 52 interesting things to write about, and maybe inspire someone else to try something new in the process. 

Two birds.

So how am I going about finding things to do? Well, I have a few things planned out at points throughout the year, the rest will be a combination of the grapevine, research and luck. If anyone reading this has any suggestions of things that I can try out please send them my way.

Hopefully you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy trying everything.

Happy New Year!