- Master a yoga pose. This may take the full 453 days. I’m not very balanced or graceful.
- Dye my hair blue. I’ve had pink, purple, red and black, but have always fancied having blue hair.
- Hold a séance with a Ouija board. I made my own board when I was fourteen, out of cardboard with felt tip pens. I’d like to attempt to communicate with the dead in a more professional manner.
- Visit the Tower of London. I’ve been to London heaps of times but have never been into the tower, only walked around the outside of it.
- Watch The Lion King. I have never watched this. I feel that I should as I use the phrase Hakuna Matata quite a lot.
- Read ‘Salem’s Lot’ by Stephen King. The TV adaptation with David Soul scared me silly when I was a small child so I’d like to read the book.
- Try Jackfruit. Very trendy among vegan cuisine but I’ve never tried it as I don’t think I’d like it. No basis for that thought whatsoever.
- Crochet something recognisable. I’ve often fantasized about crocheting a whole set of zoo animals but I think this is beyond my capabilities so I would settle for crocheting something simple. Like a scarf. Or a blanket for Neville.
- Invent and draw a cartoon character. Pretty self-explanatory.
- Eat a fresh fig. I’ve never tried a fresh fig before.
- Swim in the sea. I haven’t swum in the sea since I saw ‘Jaws’ as a child and have an irrational fear of being eaten by a shark. I will maybe leave this until the end of the list in case it’s not so irrational after all.
- Paint a self-portrait. I can’t draw or paint people at all but I’d like to have a go at a self-portrait. It may be abstract.
- Hug 50 trees. Not necessarily in one hit, over the duration of my time left, taking a selfie with each one to document the numbers.
- Spend the night in a haunted building. House, pub, hotel, known to be haunted or looks like it could be!
- Try okra. I’ve never tried okra, always wanted to.
- Meet up with old friends. Time passes so quickly and I’d like to catch up with friends I haven’t seen for ages.
- Meet up with new friends. I have made lots of friends in the virtual world throughout the pandemic, and before, and it would be fabulous to meet up to say hello in physical life too.
- Visit Guernsey. Jersey is my favourite Channel Island, but I need to visit Guernsey to either confirm this or move my allegiance!
- Attend my graduation ceremony. My graduation for my Batchelors degree was cancelled due to covid19. I will hopefully be completing my Masters degree this year and pandemic permitting I can have my graduation ceremony for that.
- Learn to tie different knots. I can tie a knot, but I can’t tie fancy knots. I don’t even know what a reef knot is.
- Visit Cardiff castle. Lived in Barry, worked in Cardiff but I’ve never been inside Cardiff castle!
- Visit New York City. I was due to be there on holiday now, I would like to visit before my 50th if and when the pandemic allows.
- Try samphire. It looks like salty grass. I’d like to confirm this in taste.
- Write 50 thank you letters to people who have had a positive effect on my life. I don’t tell people enough how much my life is a better place for having them in it. I say it in my head but as most people aren’t telepathic I’ll let them know in letter form.
- Watch a sunrise while sat on a beach. I’ve watched a sunrise before but from a hotel balcony, then got straight back into bed, and on buses when having to travel early. I’d like to watch one sat on a beach.
- Walk up to the top of the Kymin Hill. I haven’t done this for about fifteen years.
- Learn 50 foreign phrases. Not the same phrase, different phrases in different languages.
- Paddle in a river. I haven’t paddled in a river since I was little.
- Visit Tintern Abbey. It’s only down the road from me but I’ve never walked around it, only seen it from the outside.
- Trampoline for a whole hour. Self-explanatory. I did my usual 20 minutes this morning, today was not the day.
- Make a sculpture out of baubles. Glue, glitter and gaudy baubles, what’s not to love.
- Wear something I wouldn’t normally wear. Either a colour or a style that’s not my usual ‘me’.
- Send a message in a bottle. I always wanted to send a message in a bottle but being environmentally aware now I don’t want to throw a bottle into the ocean. Instead I’ll write a message in a mini time capsule and hide it in a tree or in the ground when on my travels.
- Try a Sharon fruit. Never tried one, always jealous there isn’t a Naomi fruit. Maybe if I try the Sharon fruit and it’s not nice that jealously will ebb away.
- Watch Lord of the Rings. I have never watched LOTR or read the book. I know there are elves and creatures with big feet but feel I should know more.
- Adopt an animal at Jersey Zoo. I always visit the zoo when I’m in Jersey as they do great conservation work so I feel I should give more back to them. And I want to be able to say I’m mum to a fruit bat.
- Plant something, grow it, and eat it. I used to plant apple pips when I was little, but when apples didn’t appear after a week I’d get bored and lose interest. I’d like to plant some vegetable, tend it, watch it grow, then eat it. Although that sounds quite mercenary.
- Try a persimmon. Never tried one.
- Keep writing in my gratitude journal. Writing my gratitude’s for the day helps me appreciate how blessed I am. I want to keep this habit up to keep my serenity.
- Buy myself flowers once a month. Because I’m worth it. I want to learn to love myself more and be kinder to myself.
- Visit Puzzle Wood. Haven’t been since I was a child.
- Write a letter to my 60 year old self. A letter to be opened in 10 years-time by me (if still alive) detailing all my hopes and dreams for the next decade.
- Try a pomelo. Again, never tried one.
- Document my trampoline jogging styles. With photographs, not video. The world isn’t ready for that in depth documentation. (I’m still searching for the best supportive bra.)
- Watch the new Star Wars films. I have only watched the original films, but after visiting Walt Disney World and wandering around Star Wars land I feel I should give the new films a try.
- Feed alpacas. There is an alpaca farm not too far away from me that do meet and greets with the alpacas, when not in a pandemic. I think that would be cool.
- Nurture and not kill a bonsai tree or mini orange tree. My mum is the green fingered person in the family but I’d like to see if I can keep green things alive. I like the daintiness of a bonsai and I love seeing miniature oranges on house plants. I might go crazy and do both.
- Update my funeral plans. I’ve had my funeral plan written out since I was fourteen. I’ve updated it a couple of times but it needs to be brought up to date as I have chosen a new funeral song and I don’t want to be wheeled in to the wrong song.
- Write a book of my dreams. I jot down my random dreams on Facebook and in notebooks but want to compile them all together. Last night I was being kept bound in a cage by Pepe Le Pew and was force fed whole avocados. It wasn’t pleasant.
- Cook a globe artichoke. My autocorrect wanted to change that to architect. I don’t want to cook an architect. I love the look of a globe artichoke but have never eaten one or cooked with one.
Naomi Rettig 