New things I tried in 2001:

1) Singing. In January I went along to an Open Day held by the Basingstoke Choral Society, and never looked back. It has been wonderful to make music, not just listen to it. Over the year we did 4 concerts: Mozart's C minor Mass, "Friday Night is Music Night" on Radio 2, Faure's Requiem, and the Brahms German Requiem.

2) Blogging. 19th April saw the birth of "nimrods". I originally saw it as a way of reviving the wargames scene in Salisbury, which I suppose it has done in a small way. But it rapidly became a habit-forming way of talking to myself about myself. Is anyone else listening? Do I care? I'm hooked anyway.

3) Dancing. In early summer I hit the Ceroc dancefloor in spite of my remedial dancing abilities. This is now an indispensible part of my social routine. I've paid my dues in Beginners class and at long last I'm teetering hesitantly on the brink of Intermediate status.

4) Sailing. August saw me on the "Irene Jack", a traditional gaff-rigged lugger, fulfilling a long-held ambition to learn to sail. But I didn't anticipate this: it's actually quite boring.

5) Canoeing. My friend and canoeing fanatic Fiona took me on the Thames at Shepperton to learn how to paddle. Very good fun, but don't tell her I said so.

6) Paragliding. Well, a training weekend at ParAvion on Marlborough Downs was booked and turned up to, but stymied by the weather.

7) Trekking. In Nepal in December. The worst loos I've ever seen outside France. Massive mountains, a childhood dream to see the Himalayas fulfilled.

8) Gelling. A throwaway comment by a hairdresser led me to try this out....once. It didn't stick.

That's a lot of new experiences isn't it? Looks like a full-blown mid-life crisis to me.