1. Daft Punk Video

1.  Daft Punk Video

Picture the scene: it's the day after Boxing Day.  On Boxing Day I returned to the flat to find a bottle of tequila still wrapped under the tree (from "Santa" Anett, to Anett) and a wifey keen to invent a drinking game.  Needless to say I was happy to oblige and we ended up staying up until 3am watching Pitch Perfect 1 and 2, drinking every time anyone sang (double for a mashup).  For those of you (boys) who haven't seen those films, that's a surefire way to finish a bottle of tequila.  At 3am I patted Jose on the head and we went to bed.

We were meant to go to the zoo the next day but shockingly, I overslept.

In a bid not to waste the day, Anett turned to the to do list and started reading.  The first option sounded good!

The basic goal was to recreate the viral "Daft Bodies: Harder Better Faster Stronger" video that was all over the internet back in the day when that song was recent.  Being us though, it wasn't enough just to copycat - we were going to have to find a way to step the whole thing up.  We saw two opportunities to do this: costume and location.

Initially our costume idea was to wear stormtrooper helmets but when we got to the Party Superstore they didn't cover the back of our heads and that just wouldn't do.  We needed full head coverage for what we had planned.  Fortunately we spotted something even better: emoji heads for the Whatsapp generation!  And since they were yellow, we wore our ever-functional Tough Butter neon yellow shorts to match.

For our location, we chose ALL OVER LONDON.

Next up: mastering the routine.  We started by making a map of the lyrics to the song as written on the girls in the original video and then grabbed an eyeliner pencil and started writing, taking photos of ourselves along the way so we'd be able to do it quicker next time.

Super helpful diagram

Standard Sunday activity

Then we set about learning the dance.  At first the song moves pretty slowly and we were feeling pretty confident until we got to the fast bit and realised we had to do the same superfast sequence of moves perfectly, 7 times in a row.  Ouch!  After 3 hours of dance practice we managed a passable attempt at three quarters of the song and called it a day.  After another hour the following day we'd nailed the final quarter and the fast bit was starting to feel a bit easier.  On day 3 we finally nailed it!

Steve had kindly volunteered his services as cameraman and the plan was to start in Hyde Park on New Year's Day as I'd signed up to run a 10km race there at 11am.  On New Year's Eve, Jose came back to town in the guise of some very strong margaritas and as a result, shockingly, I did not make it to Hyde Park for the race.

Not to be put off though, after a bit of a later start than planned we picked up a whiteboard marker (eyeliner rubbed off too easily) and started writing.  Steve armed himself with a camera and our mop handle ("to standardise the camera angle between takes"); we armed ourselves with emoji heads and layers we could put on and take off in a hurry.

I thought we should film in 3ish locations and cut the three takes together.  Steve and Anett thought we needed more locations than that and used tequila shots and the promise of a burrito to TRICK ME into shooting the video:

1.  Inside our flat
2.  By the windmill outside our flat
3.  On the platform at Brixton tube station
4.  On the tube
5.  On a patch of grass near the London Eye
6.  Outside the Houses of Parliament while the New Year's Day Parade went past
7.  Trafalgar Square (in the rain, the music kept skipping and people kept asking for selfies with us so we got no useable footage)
***TEQUILA BREAK***
8.  Covent Garden market, where a crowd of what felt like thousands of people gathered to watch and a security guard asked us to leave because we didn't have a permit to put on a performance)
***WAHACA BREAK - TEQUILA, MARGARITAS, TAQUITOS, ENCHILADAS, TEQUILA***
9.  Between a bunch of urine-scented phone boxes and a Pizza Express somewhere in Covent Garden
10.  On the tube (from Steve's new camera angle)
11.  Inside our flat (this time in the kitchen because Steve said "there's more going on in there"

It was cold.  It was rainy.  People kept wanting photos with us and to know what we were doing.  At various points Anett and I both had to go to that special place inside ourselves where we felt no cold or shame.  Steve left our mop handle in wahaca.  I threw a strop in Trafalgar Square with my emoji head on and it's all on camera.  Needless to say we considered the day a total success!

Lean, mean, party machines!

Afterwards there was nothing to do but drink more tequila.  We called in the cavalry and Lotti arrived in pyjamas with a bottle of Jose and a bag of Doritos.  We got out the Tequila Game my brother Andy gave me for Christmas last year and that we're sure can't be legal and spent the next few hours drinking shots, margaritas (OK, tequila and tonic because we didn't have enough limes) and beers while throwing bobble hats, corks and SOFA CUSHIONS (Steve) at each other every time there was a 'border war'.  

The Tequila Game: margaritas in Mexico, beers in Texas, shots everywhere

Steve passed out at midnight, at which point Anett, Lotti and I stayed up for a few hours performing hand puppet karaoke and crying our eyes out at the episode of Glee where Finn's dead.

El Directo

El Puppet Show

What a day!

So anyway, you're probably thinking: where's the video?  Well dear friends, you'll find the link to the video right after...

Daft Punk Video List Trumps!

Originality: 4/5 (Someone else did it first, but we put our own slant on it)

Cost: 4/5 (cost us £20 each for the emoji heads and one mop handle - plus tequila and dignity)

Fun factor: 5/5 (after the event - you'd have got a different answer in Trafalgar Square)

And without further ado, here's the link!  

The To Do List - Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger

42. Day Out Saving the World / 50. Calendar

42.  Day Out Saving the World / 50.  Calendar

Choosing a theme for a calendar is a difficult prospect and it's taken slightly longer than anticipated to agree on a theme so the 2015 calendar is now a 2016 calendar...  In the end we found the answer hidden on our own to-do list - a superhero day out!

The plan was simple: dress up as superheroes and run around London finding things to save and climb and stuff, taking photos for the calendar as we went.

Having acquired costumes (from the Party Store in Clapham Junction - definitely recommend trying before you buy as the pre-made costumes seem to only fit the lady on the front of the packet and no other humans), borrowed a decent camera from Paula from the gym and bribed Alex into being the photographer, everything was ready to go until my hangover from Louise and Lori's Christmas party threatened to ruin everything.  It was a hangover worse than even the one I had from my work Christmas party; I could barely open my eyes and the idea of climbing anywhere past the sofa seemed completely unachievable.

But suddenly...

Anett uttered the immortal words guaranteed to force me to man up in any given situation:

"This is our last chance to do this"

So I made an epic Spanish tortilla and two rounds of very strong coffee and we started face painting and pulled on our tights.  Despite the availability of a photographer and a decent camera, we still had to spend a couple of minutes taking super-selfies before we left the flat.

Ready to save London

We'd made a list in advance of a few different photo ideas and locations but we started close to home at the ping pong table around the corner.  It has to be said that some ideas translated better into photos than others; the 'super-slamming rubbish into a bin' concept did not execute quite as well as anticipated!

As we mounted the bins, Anett wished her costume came with gloves too.

It's fair to say that our antics (not just the far from impressive bin climbing stunt) drew some attention and there are probably a few confused tourists out there still wondering what it was all about.  At the cinema, people found it hard to believe that we were just there to see a film...  The truth of the matter is that we just hadn't had time to go home and get changed!  Fortunately Victoria didn't mind having some slightly unconventional film/dinner buddies and even took a couple more photos for us.

Uh oh!  Looks like a chick flick!

Superhero day out / calendar list trumps!

Originality: 5/5 - safe to say we were the only people out doing this
Cost: 4/5 - just the outfits and a travelcard
Fun factor: 5/5 - hilarious AND helped clear the hangover

Anett's busily editing the photos so the finished calendar will be ready for 2016 - let us know (and give us money) if you want a copy!

26. Hint Hunt

26.  Hint Hunt

First, a promise: no spoilers!  The nice people at Hint Hunt really don't like it when you talk about Hint Hunt, so we'll keep this to the information we were given before the game started.

Hint Hunt is an 'escape the room' game - there are a few of these around but Hint Hunt has *probably* been going the longest.  The basic idea is that you are locked in a room and you have an hour to get out, before........................ they let you out - but trust us, when you're in it, getting yourself out seems like an important thing to do.

We were our usual team of three but every team is also assigned a "game master" - a benevolent individual who watches everything you do in the room and has the power to help you should they feel so inclined.  Think "Hunger Games" without having to kill each other.

Our game master told us that the success rate for Hint Hunt is about 50% and we were also surprised to learn that the record time for getting out of the room was something in the region of 54 minutes - all of a sudden this sounded like a real challenge!

After an hour of ransacking, clue solving, crazed shouting at both each other and the message screen from the game master ("WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!") we made it out with a very respectable 1:37 on the clock.

Hint Hunt list trumps!

Originality: 4/5 (OK there are a few of these around now but it's generally accepted that Hint Hunt were there first)

Cost: 5/5 (My lovely work colleagues from Mount Vernon Cancer Centre bought the ticket for my birthday - but it really is good value for money)

Fun factor: 5/5 - definitely raising the bar for the rest of the to-do list

http://hinthunt.co.uk/

2. Candlelight Club

2. Candlelight Club

First, a couple of updates: we actually have covered loads of the to-do list but got too busy doing stuff (mostly inventing and promoting the now international weekly festival that is Tequila Friday) to update the blog!  Expect a gentle trickle of half-remembered, half-made up anecdotes and reviews over the next however long it takes.  Also it's not 2014 anymore but let's face it, that's not important.  What's important is more wifey fun times and tequila.

So the Candlelight Club: it's a 1920s themed monthly event with a secret central London location, lit entirely by candlelight.  Anett and Lotti had been once before and actually the secret venue was the same both times (can't remember where) so it came recommended (not sure the Candlelight Club felt the same way about Lotti) and we chose their Halloween event so we could put in a good costume effort, with Lotti on makeup duty as usual.  

We dressed as three ex-wives who had been viciously murdered by one treacherous individual who we won't mention again.  But he was there with us and he took some good photos so thanks for that.

Upon arrival, we popped upstairs to put our coats in the cloakroom and found that there was a tarot card reader hanging out.  Lotti was keen for a reading; Anett and I were keen for a drink.  After two drinks (pricey but strong and tasty), we had worked out which barman was making the strongest cocktails.  After three we had run out of money!  The live band were dressed in theme and worked the crowd well.

Anett was still recovering from a beach ultimate-related concussion and we were all in end of the month mode so it's fair to say that we kept this night fairly tame - there also weren't many single people there which limited our potential to mingle.  We lasted until the end of the night when the lights were unceremoniously turned on and headed back to Clapham favourite the Clapham North for a little more dancing before bed.

Candlelight club list trumps!

Cost: 3/5 (good for a treat, would be better if there was one drink included with the ticket price)

Originality: 4/5 

Fun factor: 4/5 (closed at midnight which felt a bit early)

http://www.thecandlelightclub.com/

16. Rooftop Cinema

16.  Rooftop Cinema

One of the nicest things about London is the fantastic range of activities on offer - and there are a range of great options for cinema.  Unfortunately one of London's major drawbacks is unpredictable weather and the clever people running all of these lovely outdoor activities would never make any money if they cancelled every time it rained a little.  Or a LOT.  

Guess how rooftop cinema went down?

Yep, you guessed it.

In true British spirit, we showed up despite the weather - desperately hoping there would be some shelter, heaters, maybe even hot drinks...  We got blankets and ponchos.  The seats had been kept reasonably dry at least but up on the rooftop there was very little respite from the wind and rain - we huddled for warmth.

Fortunately, there were cocktails.  Unfortunately, they were a bit summery and all contained ice!  Anett says this is the only time in her life she has ever cried into tequila and I believe her.

The film on offer was Casablanca - a total classic that we could definitely just have watched at home.  The weather did not ease up but by the time we were walking back to the tube we were so cold and shivery we were a bit delirious so at least we had a laugh!  Like true Brits, we left with a sense of achievement from having gritted it out and will almost certainly try again another "summer".  Fuck it, let's just book for February.

Knitting on the tube home like proper grannies

Rooftop Cinema List Trumps!
Originality: 3/5
Cost: 3/5 (all weather, no refunds policy really screwed us)
Fun factor: 1/5 (but to be fair, would have scored much higher in better weather - but this is London)

37. Speed Dating

Speed dating!

Jewel, Covent Garden

When we were making our to do list, we both admitted to being curious about speed dating so it had to go on the list.  I'm not sure what we were thinking and I'm fairly sure that we were seduced by American rom-coms into believing that attractive people really do speed date.

As the day of the speed dating approached, our doubts gradually crept up on us and by the time the day came around, we'd decided we needed a good amount of Dutch courage before we could actually go through with it.  So off we went to Benito's Hat in Covent Garden for naked burritos (yummy) and a couple of margaritas while we practiced our 'interested' faces.  Not sure either of us really pulled it off...

Interested / horrified

Interested / not listening at all 

Anyway two margaritas down and it was time to go and scope out the speed dating, so off we went to Jewel which was conveniently just down the road and also had a happy hour on.  There were no cocktail menus in sight so we opted for classic mojitos.  Cocktails in hand, we retreated into a corner to try and work out where the speed dating was without having to ask anyone.

Round three (ding ding!)

It seemed that everyone was headed downstairs so down we went...  only to discover that everyone down there already had a scorecard and name badge and it STILL wasn't obvious who we should ask.  After standing awkwardly for a while, one of the girls sat next to us put us out of our misery and revealed that she was one of the organisers and they were 'looking for two girls'.  Name badges issued, all that remained was to grab another margarita each and occupy our dimly lit bar stools.

Unfortunately getting the margaritas took a little longer than the 5 minutes they allowed us so by the time we sat down we were already a couple of minutes into date number 1 - oops!  Not to worry though, there were 15 more to come...

... and come they did.  16 dates total and not a single one either of us found even remotely attractive.  Some at least were relatively normal, a couple even managed a little banter - but most were strange and some positively depressing.

For our part, Anett mastered the art of 3 minute dating much better than I did and came away with some interesting details about some of our dates.  I stuck to small talk and as a result had to explain my job 16 times in a row.  I did, however, manage to fill out my score card in a little more detail... but only a little.  I also got the first guy's name wrong.

Score cards: probably more useful when you have time to fill them out

As soon as the event finished, we found ourselves in the middle of the strangest gang of single men that has ever been assembled.  A couple of them were good fun and we would probably have stayed on for another drink were it not for the appearance of Super Creepy Spanish Guy who spent the whole of my 3 minutes staring at my breasts and then went on to tell Anett she was the only attractive girl he'd met all night and he 'wanted to take her home and make her a proper margarita'.  There was no choice but to escape via the bathroom - but not before one of the more normal guys took a photo for us.

Post speed dating smiles of relief

Clearly we needed a drink.  We headed across the road to the Porterhouse and before we had finished our first beer, boom!  We were approached by a young hipster from Brighton who had just moved to London and was there with his two friends.  All three boys were the right side of 30, in good jobs and most importantly...  not weird.  We had another drink with them and then it was very definitely time to go home.

Unfortunately we'll never know how many matches we could have made that night as you have to like someone in order for that to happen.  The people at Speed Dater Online do operate a guarantee so we are now entitled to a free ticket for another session of speed dating in the next three months.  We won't be taking them up on that particular offer!

Ooooh...  popular!

Here's my rather drunken review of the night:

Speed dating list trumps ratings!

Cost: 0/5 - we paid £20 and bought our own drinks when normally we get into bars for free and other people buy us drinks.  Not good economy.

Originality: 4/5.  Never before.  Never again.

Fun factor: 2/5.  Good burritos, good margaritas, some laughs but ultimately a traumatic and terrifying experience.