Well obviously you could sit for hours in the lovely sunshine we are having at the moment but a) that isn't practical and b) it's not good for your skin ... so instead I am getting started on my tan using St Moriz self tan products.  Do you fake tan?  Or are you still nervous of it going wrong?  I thought I'd share a few easy tips on getting the best fake tan because I am pretty happy with my results every year.

I used to steer well clear of self tan as I just wasn't brave enough but in more recent years the products just seem to get better and better and with so many options available it is possible to find just the right self tan for you.  But it can get expensive trying them out!  In all the years I have been using self tan I have only ever used St Moriz, yes I have tried others, but I have still ended up going back to St Moriz.

This year St Moriz gifted* me a few of their products which seeing as I use them anyway was an extra bonus and it has given me the opportunity to try the different self tan products they offer.

In July 2018, I travelled to Sri Lanka with my husband and daughter to visit family who live there and run an animal charity in Negombo.  It was a big deal for me, a long flight and a holiday in a 'developing' country that I wasn't at all sure I would cope with.  And our daughter was going to do some voluntary work to help with writing her personal statement for her application to Norland College. 

We had an amazing holiday, I coped, in fact I more than coped and I'd love to go back one day.  It makes me feel quite sad though at how travel and tourism in Sri Lanka (and around the world) has changed since that trip in 2018.  Sri Lanka suffered hugely from the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019 and tourism that year hardly recovered only to be hit in 2020 by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.  It seems unreal and I often think of the wonderful Sri Lankan people we met during that holiday.  So friendly, so welcoming but so in need of the income from the visiting tourists.

Back in December we spent a night at The Lygon Arms in Broadway with friends.  Although it seems ages ago now, I still wanted to write about it on my blog and share what we did, we had such a good time and I wanted to share my recommendations.  The Cotswolds are a lovely destination, easy to reach from London and the Home Counties and so pretty whatever the weather or season.  We often visit and I will share below my other blog posts about other trips we have done.

Me and my girlfriends planned this night away back in the summer when we had a girls weekend nearby.  It was during the hottest weeks of Summer 2019 and it seemed mad to be thinking about Christmas Markets but that is how it came about.,  We popped into the Cotswold Distillery Shop in Broadway and ended up booking a tour of the Distillery and a night away with the husbands.

On the 12th December 2019 we were in La Gomera in the Canary Islands to wave our friend and his son and two further team mates off on an epic row across the Atlantic to Antigua, billed as the world's toughest row, I thought they were mad!  But off they went, and they have just completed it!  Exhausted and looking pretty tired but they rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in all weathers, with no proper rest, a lot of technical problems but also having seen some wonderful sights like whales, dolphins, sharks and stunning skies.  It took them 45 days, 4 hours and 13 minutes.  Amazing achievement - you can read more here and make a donation to their chosen charities.

I have never been too keen on the Canary Islands but when my husband suggested we go and see Kev, Rhys, Frankie and Nic off, I couldn't resist a bit of winter sun.  We arrived on the Tuesday and departed Saturday.  The journey takes all day as you fly into Tenerife then have a few hours to wait for the ferry over the La Gomera, we had lunch on the seafront and a little walk but it's not the nicest of towns to wait in.