A Shocking State Of Affairs

Dear O'H dear and Lovely Tea Jenny,

A while ago, my brother asked if I would like to join a team of people (idiots) entering an obstacle course.

My brain got very confused and instead of my intended response of 'No, I would rather stick pins in my eyes', I heard myself enthusiastically agree to take part. I decided that denial was going to be my mental preparation and resolved not to read any information about the event so it would be a 'surprise'.

The day of reckoning arrived…

Total Warrior has 30 obstacles over 10 km. I waded through thick mud up to my neck, had to get completely submerged in an ice bath to get under a beam, jumped over fire into a deep, cold muddy pool, scaled walls and slid down a water slide amongst loads of other obstacles.

It was AWESOME. It was REALLY hard but my main memory is that we all laughed through it. We had a brilliant team. Some of the obstacles weren't possible without people helping each other. All dignity went out of the window in favour of complete gratitude at near strangers pushing my bum up to help me get to the top of the high walls.

My least favourite was running through dangling live electric wires. There was a lot of involuntary swearing at that point. I could have lived without experiencing how much better wet skin conducts electricity,

Once more, my brain betrayed me and I'm sure I heard myself agree to do it again next year. Those flipping shocks must have rewired my brain.

In the evening, I jumped in a train to visit the lovely Shuvly in St Boswells to celebrate her birthday. A couple sitting opposite me kept me entertained on the way down. They polished off a bottle of vodka during the 55 min journey and decided that I was their new friend! It was one of those great nights where time seems to speed up. Shuvly is a very gifted storyteller who can keep people entertained for hours. I came home a little tiddly on the last train and was the only person on it for most of the journey. I considered having a little dance but didn't fancy seeing the cctv footage on You Tube.

C