I have never... been waxed

Now before you get excited it was only my eyebrows.

My children were away with their marvellous grandparents and I had a bit of a time and a spa voucher that was miraculously still in date. As I was going to a wedding at the weekend I treated myself and booked a pedicure and, well, whatever else added up to the right amount. Eyebrows it was then.

You may remember from my other blog that I once had my eyebrows plucked. I'm still trying to forget it.

Waxing was less terrible I guess. Certainly not as terrible as the images I was left with when the beautician finished talking about all the hairy men she has helped to become shiny. Shudder.

Apparently I did well considering it was the first time I'd had it done. Which made me wonder how other people react. Surely it wasn't appropriate to scream and call for your mum in these circumstances?

It was warm, then like having a plaster pulled off quickly. Not that I can be accurate about that because I've never applied plasters to my eyebrows before. It was definitely a bit...ouchy. It was also over quite quickly and the fastest £12 I ever spent even if it was with a spa voucher.

Between treatments I sat in the relaxation room but I didn't find it very relaxing. It was creepily dark. There was floating ethereal music on just a bit too loud. I got a coffee and then by the light of my IPhone read a sign indicating that it should have cost £1.50. I didn't pay. I sat in the dark feeling guilty trying not to scratch my eyebrows. Two women came in and simultaneously their beauticians sold them expensive skin specific treatments slightly too loud so as to be heard over the ethereal music. I'm sure I'm not really supposed to know that one of them had oily skin. I resisted the urge to tell them to pop into John Lewis and get a free arm massage.

I went back in the room after my pedicure - this time on my own which was even weirder. I decided I'd had enough and tried to leave. I went through a few doors, up and down in a lift, found the swimming pool and some sweaty fit people. I tried to look like I'd meant to go in the gym and convinced no-one. Eventually I found my way to freedom and breathed a sigh of relief. I had red toenails and beautiful smooth eyebrows. It was all worth it.

Of course no-one could tell I'd had my eyebrows waxed. That is until my skin decided it needed to retaliate and gave me spots. I'm fairly confident I've never had spots on my eyebrows before either.

I have never... had that expensive a hair cut

Obviously I have had a hair cut before, but not one that should have been £50. You have? Really? Wow.

So this is what happens when you haven't planned anything and have a need and window of opportunity for a haircut. It's also what happens when you work opposite an attractive quirky hairdressers and covert a life of being cool.

There was no-one else in the hairdressers. Apart from a young handsome man who washed my hair (again not something I've ever experienced), and two stylists - one with the obligatory large glasses and bushy beard which seems to go with 2014 cool.

My stylist was a lady. She was quirky, beautiful and probably the same age as me. She had one of those hairstyles that meant she couldn't quite see but I wasn't unduly concerned. The Tamper coffee was so good I was distracted.

The hair cut that followed was a lovely experience it has to be said. If tempered a bit by my underlying worry that it might be a bit pricey. I got that impression from the fact that the furniture was industrial chic and the floor concrete. Of course I hadn't checked the price before I got there - that would have been too organised and would have made me look like I wasn't the kind of clientèle they wanted.

So I learnt that straighteners are no longer really in. Which is a worry because my hair is mental.

I also learnt that I need leave in conditioner. Which was useful advice.

There was a quite a lot of touselling. During and after the hair drying. The sign of a great hairdresser presumably.

I left and they told me how much it was. I tried to look nonplussed and presumably failed as they then heavily discounted it because a)it was my first visit and b) I work across the road. Which was very nice of them, but probably not enough to get me back through the doors. Which is a shame because I loved every minute. 

I've never had a £50 hair cut before. I expect I never will again. Shame really.

I have never... seen Choir Invisible

Some weeks the new thing I end up doing is just downright lovely. This week went with my very good friends to watch a choir in Lincoln. We had cava by the river (which might actually be illegal) and a posh picnic on a park bench.

Then we sweated buckets watching Choir Invisible sing beautiful African harmonies. Some of the songs are ones we do in our workshop on a Wednesday. Several were fronted by a somewhat enthusiastic singer who used to be in the Lion King and who must spend his whole life smiling. One was a Nina Simone song. I've been listening to her on repeat ever since.

We came away with  a love (and respect) for the Click song and smiling at yet another lovely evening.

I have never... been to an evening of burlesque

So body confidence workshop turned into cocktails, turned into pizza and finally ended up in the Leadmill watching Burlesque. This included the world's worst magician, several burlesque acts who varied in ability but who mostly had flapping wings of some sort, a woman who not only undressed she ended up lying on a bed of nails and a main pole dancer who had painted himself blue. Why had I never seen anything like this before?

In some acts we could clearly see the art and beauty. It certainly is a skill and often an elegant one at that. There is an air of being on a fringe and alternative in some way. Of course we weren't because we were sitting at the back and weren't wearing 1950s head gear.

Violet Blaze was a pretty astonishing compare with an amazing singing voice and an outfit more shiny and purple than you have ever seen before. Plus we were sitting at the back so she never came and sat on our knees which was a bonus.

We managed to dodge winning anything on the raffle. Which was tricky to do since the audience wasn't very large and we had daringly bought tickets. Never have we wanted to win anything less. It wasn't the prizes although I wasn't sure I could pull off a skull fascinator, but more the fact that you have to go up on stage to collect it. Our fellow body confidence workshop goer won the lat prize. we cheered raucously. Just not raucously enough for us to be noticed.

A fantastic evening and I know follow Violet Blaze on Twitter. I'm not sure why. I just want to be supportive.

I have never... been to Bamboo Door

I'd never heard of a tiki bar so clearly hadn't been in one. I still don't really know what the difference is between that and a cocktail bar. By the time I'd got halfway down some kind of mango cocktail with a flower in it I didn't really care either.

Beautiful place - I love Leopold Square in the sunshine. Just for the people watching alone.

Gorgeous cocktails mixed by people in Hawaiian shirts. What's not to like?

Mason jar glasses I am now coveting.

It does get busy of course. We had to pounce for an outside seat and sat there longer than we should have making the most of the sunshine. A man and his family sat down next to us. He felt the need to assure me that even though he was drinking a cocktail he wasn't gay. I wasn't entirely sure what to say.

In short idyllic holiday like gem of a bar in Sheffield. With just a touch of Sheffield.

I have never... had body confidence

When I suggested going to a body confidence workshop with a Burlesque dancer I was rather surprised by the uptake amongst my friends. Which is a bonus because otherwise I would have had to go on my own.

We were asked to bring a favourite item of clothing and some comfortable heels. Which is clearly an oxymoron.

There was a bit of sharing about our insecurities. We also got to share in Violet Blaze's bosoms in all their glory. Suddenly I had a new insecurity about the size of my breasts.

So we shared. We ate chocolate. Some of the ladies got dressed up and changed shoes. I secretly wished I had brought an exciting girly top then realised I couldn't have done since Idon't own one. I strapped on my pair of heels, although I'd lost a bit and secured one of them with a loom band. Fortunately Violet's favourite shoes were secured with sellotape so I didn't feel quite so bad, but hers were a lot more sparkly than mine.

We did a lot of laughing, some dancing, some singing, some strutting and some pouting. And then I took my first ever selfie and didn't really know what I was doing. I was trumped by my friend who didn't know how to take one at all and hadn't realised that her phone didn't have a two direction camera.

Several of the lovely ladies in the group were due to do their first Burlesque performances imminently. It was at this point I realised that there is a limit to what I'll be prepared to try for the first time. There is no way on earth I'd ever be brave enough to do that.

Later I was asked if I felt any differently, in a body confidence sort of a way. well no. But I do sometimes remember to walk with my back straight and my chest (what there is of it) more forwards. Because Violet Blaze would have wanted me to. I think it's unlikely that I'll get much use out of my purple body confidence sash though but you never know.

The best thing about all of it was the joy of spending the afternoon with friends who had never met each other and yet who all had great fun larking about. That and the promise of cocktails, pizza and an evening burlesque show to follow. I love this trying new things malarky.