Hello!  How was your Christmas and New Year break?  This is going to be a totally honest and more personal post and one I have been trying to get my head around writing.  I was unwell with a bad cold when we travelled to La Gomera (see my last post) but the sun and rest did me good!  Then when we got back it was full on festive prep but I was unwell again over Christmas with some sort of virus and it totally knocked me out!  Plus we seemed to get bad news after bad news!  And who else struggles to cope when everyone is at home for two plus weeks?  Or it is just me?

First of all my brother-in-law passed away in the early hours of Christmas morning, we got the call at 8.00 am.  Now this wasn't unexpected, Jeremy was downs syndrome, had dementia and had been very sick back in May with double pneumonia and on palliative care when he came home from hospital.  But it is still sad - he had just turned 60 though and had enjoyed pretty good health his whole life.  I had been overseeing Jeremy's care and finances for about 18 years, I've known him for 30 years, fought really hard for him on many occasions and it was an absolute pleasure to do so, he really was a lovely man, a true gent and loved by everyone he met.  I am currently organising his funeral.

Then we had to make the decision to have our cat Pebbles put to sleep on 27th December.  She was 16 and had been the children's childhood pet, it seemed that she had fulfilled her role and as they are now growing up and leaving home it was her time to go.  I can't say I am a cat lover and the last few months had been challenging with litter tray etc but I still felt sad at the end of an era.

I'm heading off to the sunshine for a few days!  It really is only a very quick four night break though.  We are going to La Gomera in the Canary Islands to see our friend off on an epic rowing challenge.  Him and his son are part of a four man team who will be rowing from La Gomera to Antiqua in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.   Their team is called Bucks Buoys and you can follow their progress on their facebook page here.

I think possibly they are utterly mad as it is a very risky row.  But all credit to them, they have trained hard and for Kev it has been something of a midlife metamorphosis to change his health and fitness from er umm very unfit to very fit, lean and trim - turning 50 isn't so bad after-all and it does seem to bring with it life-changing goals.

I was invited to Old Amersham recently to try a couple of beauty treatments at Elle The Beauty Box, a long established salon but with a new owner earlier this year and so a bit of a relaunch with new treatments and services!  Elle The Beauty Box offers beauty, well-being and aesthetics alongside their hair salon.  They are housed in a quaint old building just behind The Broadway in Old Amersham, next to the gardens.  It is easy to find and easy to park.

I was welcomed to the salon by Becci my therapist and Sarah the owner and senior stylist in the hair salon.  The salon is so pretty and the building is full of character.  There is a reception area and hair salon on the ground floor and then above there is a beauty salon and nail bar.  It was all looking very Christmassy when I visited.

There are so many options now to help us look younger, feel younger and give us a confidence boost - and it isn't just about vanity, sometimes the anti-ageing procedures available whilst not considered essential maybe, can make a huge difference to our quality of life. 

Anti-ageing options available to us include - creams and serums, advanced facials and treatments, supplements (tablets and drinks), exercise (face and body) and medical aesthetic procedures.  As a blogger in the 50+ niche I have been very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to try out a few of these and report back on my blog.  But so far I have not considered any 'botox' type procedure, which to me represents 'medical aesthetics' and is about the extent of my knowledge!  

So when I was invited to visit Bodyvie in Richmond - an advanced medical aesthetic clinic and a leader in its field - I saw it as an opportunity to find out more - what exactly is it all about and should I not rule it out?

The Bodyvie clinic was easy to find and is a large, bright and welcoming space.  I was greeted by the receptionist and introduced to Dr Andrew Weber.  We had a really interesting chat and I was keen to find out about the clinic's 'holistic' approach to ageing and menopause and the range of options they offer.