Spice Up Your Summer

Summer of 2019 is finally upon us. No more winter coats and woolly gloves - it’s time to enjoy the sunshine! I think that summer is the one time of the year we should all savour and enjoy to the fullest, because you know as soon as it’s -5 degrees again, we’ll all be complaining once more and longing for the heat. To make your summer even better I’ve come up with 10 Top Tips!

Grab a map of the U.K, flip a coin onto the map and wherever it lands, that is your destination for a day out! As long as it doesn’t land in the North Sea, you should be ok…

New season, new style! A change of whether means cooler clothes. Why not push the boat out and go for a style you wouldn’t usually wear? Take it even further and change your hairstyle. Go extreme, recently I got a perm to freshen things up – wow my grandma would be so proud.

Ok maybe not skydiving, we’re all not James Bond, but do something daring, something that gets the heart pumping and the adrenaline flowing. There are plenty of activities to test your bravery, such as climbing frames at tree top height or fast car experiences. Push yourself!

What could be better than soaking up the rays at a festival which celebrates something that you have a passion for? Obviously you have the big music festivals like Leeds Festival or Glastonbury, but what about visiting one of your local festivals? Hull hosts the ‘Humber Street Sesh’ which is slap bang on the marina and features a variety of local musicians. Festivals don’t have to be all about music, there’s beer or even food festivals. There’s even a variety of local arts and craft fairs to visit, the internet will provide you with all the details of local events.

Are you a keen mountaineer? Probably not but the English Countryside is gorgeous and I’m pretty sure everyone agrees, Yorkshire is the best (definitely no bias involved here). Why not tackle the Yorkshire 3 Peaks? You can scale all 3, or just the 1, but it’s a great opportunity to lap up the spectacular views and the sunshine, not bad exercise either.

Get up early, find a hill, wait a little bit… Tadaa! Amazing sunrise. Beautiful views and best of all you haven’t wasted any of the day and it was completely free of charge.

A BBQ, it’s a staple of anyone’s summer, but why not make it a little bit more interesting, or competitive depending on how much your family like to win.

Invite the full family and all of your friends round and get 2 barbies on the go. Select your two competitors and its time for a Barbeque-off. It’s Ready Steady Cook meets the Great British Bake Off. Your two chosen chefs will individually cook for the full event. You could make score cards which could be passed around at the end of the meal, everyone then scores the competitors on their performance. This could be split into different types of food, like burgers or sausages. Finally, add up the overall score and declare the winner, who will forever be known as the BBQ Master of 2018!

The greatest show of all time is here, the FIFA World Cup 2018. Why not religiously watch the tournament? Build your hopes up that England will finally win again just to be bitterly disappointed once more... Anyway, following the World Cup is a great excuse to throw a themed party or BBQ. If football isn’t your thing, there’s plenty of sport to follow over the summer including the Tennis at Wimbledon.

Has there always been a sport you wanted to try but just never got round to it? Or maybe you’re just looking for a new way to get active? Whilst we have the good weather, do it! Find your nearest leisure centre and see what different sports they can offer. Swimming, badminton, football, tennis, bowls, rugby, cycling, the list is endless!

My final tip – keep a journal. Record each day of your summer and make it one to remember. You could take pictures of your adventures, print them out and insert them into the journal for the relevant day. You’ll then have something to remember all the amazing times you had!