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77. Walk to work for a week

The kids have broken up for Easter so no need to do the school run. Therefore, I chose this week to walk to work every day.

For those thinking I chose this week as there are only 4 working days (because of Good Friday), I worked on the Bank Holiday. No rest for the wicked!

30. Have a trip on a steam train

Went to Worden Park in Leyland last week and had 3 short trips on steam trains. They’re not full size steam trains but what the heck, I never said they had to be.

Great park to take the family to, lots to see and do and the train rides are free.

8. Donate 500,000 grains of rice via: www.freerice.com

freerice.com

I’ve finally done it! Half a million grains of rice donated via freerice.com.

The quickest way to complete this task is to change subjects to the multiplication table. I got to the stage where I was answering too quickly and the site stopped responding because it thought I was a bot!

56. Buy a geek t-shirt online and wear it

Bought a t-shirt from The Tees Shop – huge selection, reasonable prices and fast turnaround.

Here is a photo of the t-shirt I bought (taken from the Tees Shop website as I didn’t want to model it!), non-geeks will not understand.

Geek t-shirt

With only around 2 months to go, I’ve been updating frantically these last couple of weeks!

As I write this, I’ve completed 45 items out of 101. That leaves 56 to do which is terrible. Number 2 on the list is to donate £5 to charity for every item not completed so I stand to lose £280 thus far.

Expect updates! I’m determined to rattle off many more.

37. Try to cook a 3 course meal for the family

As today is Mothering Sunday, I decided to cook a meal for the family.

Starters: Pate, crusty bread and salad.
Main: Peppered steak and chips.
Dessert: Profiteroles.

In ‘Come Dine With Me’ fashion, I scored 20. My lad scored me 7, my daughter scored me 8 and my wife a measly 5!

92. Take 26 photos of things around Wigan beginning with A to Z

Appley Lane North

British Heart Foundation

Clock

Dicconson Terrace

Eckersley Mill

Flats, Scholes

Grand Arcade

Haigh Hall, wedding

Ince, Rabbit Rocks

Junction Terrace, Ince

Kittywake, a boat on the Leeds Liverpool Canal

Leeds to Liverpool Canal

Mesnes Park

Narrow boat

Orrell Water Park, my kids having fun

Parsons Walk

Queen's Hall, Market Street, Wigan

Reservoir at Worthington

Spitfire in town

Town Centre

Uncle Joes

VW Camper

Wigan North Western Station

XII on clock

Y letter on Spitfire

Zone H, Tesco car park

31. Buy and learn how to solve the Rubik’s Cube again

Yay, retro time.

Bought a Rubik’s Cube and solved the blighter! It takes me a few minutes to do. When I was around 14 years old I could solve the cube in around 30 seconds flat, no exaggeration! I used to squirt Fairy Liquid into the mechanism to make it slide easier.

Tried to teach my kids the cube but alas, it doesn’t have a screen and it doesn’t connect to the internet so they’re not interested. So I will do my best and post a retro image:

Rubik's Cube

99. Buy something from the Continental Market next time it’s in town

The Wigan Food and Drink Festival 2012 took place in March.

The Continental Market was in town for several days and was superb as usual.

One day I had a kangaroo burger for lunch (as you do!) and another day I purchased a box of hand-made fudge – all good.

60. Object to a planning application

Since the formation of Save Wigan a couple of years ago, I’ve objected to several local planning applications.