WOOOHOOOOOO - the sun's out, it is August tomorrow and we have completed 20 weeks of pretty successful online classes. I cannot believe how my lounge became a site for running a studio and how well it has actually all turned out. I do keep hitting the light fitting when I lift my arms up, Bertie does occasionally interrupt barking and my non slip mat invariably slips away towards the garden doors. However, it has been my pleasure and joy to meet new clients, continue with so many existing as well as reconnect with those of you who have moved out of the area and abroad. We have all learned so much and while it is not the same as seeing you all face to face and having the energy and personal contact of a class, the online ones have been certainly pretty successful and very convenient really -  to be able to throw a mat down in the kitchen, do a full class and be back up and at your usual life within an hour has given us an idea of making different options work. It has been my pleasure to see so many of you "in my lounge" over the last few months and I do thank you for your support and commitment. 

There are lots of posts on social media about things we have learned during lockdown. I have been reflecting and here are a few of mine.. 

1.  People don't read their emails 

2. You would be amazed at how many ways I can configure the furniture in the lounge to provide a space to zoom from.

3. None of them work as well as the first attmept. 

4. None of them allow me to stand with my hands to the ceiling on screen no matter how much I try. 

5. The light fitting was above me and totally in the way in March. It still is. 

6. People don't read their emails. 

7. Dismantling a superking bed single handedly and dragging it and it's mattress out of a spare room to try out a better home studio space will almost certainly produce inappropriate language and tears. 

8  Zoom is an amazing platform to transfer pretty much my entire business online. 

9. Zoom is a total pain in the proverbial when it doesn't work. 

10. You can just fall out of bed and roll down the stairs with sticky up hair and no make up and pull it off by the skin of your teeth in front of the camera. 

11. Eating your own bodyweight in pizza and prosecco for most of locodown whilst binging on Netflix will make you very fat and when you go into rollover you will think you are going to suffocate. You will also have limited wardrobe choices. 

12. I know it says locodown.. that was my deliberate attempt at being hugely funny and sharp... play on words and all that

13.. Doing every single class every single day is utterly exhausting.   

14. Doing 21 consecutive days of live online classes for free at the start of lockdown is insanely exhasting. Joe Wicks deserves a medal (or the several million £'s he is going to make) 

15. Doing Pilates and Prosecco for several of those classes is tremendously funny and fun. 

16. BT customer services operators can be a bit senstive. 

17. People have gone a bit mad

18.  I always was

19. . Paint can sometimes take several coats and several days to dry to it's true colour. Do not throw a tanturm at this. 

20  Doing every single class every single day has made me so strong. You too - you have shown that. Some of you have been doing classes every day and you are ROCKIN - I am so proud of you in a creepy and weird " I am not actually even your mum" kind of way

21. You are all absolutely amazing. You have given my every lockdown day a purpose and a shape. If I hadn't had to run a business and share all your energy, humour and hard work and receive your wonderful support I might have gone as mad as everyone else... 

21 That previous commment was tongue in cheek

22. The one about me going mad, not about how fabulous you all are

23. I think the tiredness has actually finally felled me. After a two day fitness charity event last week, (why not?!)  I what's app'd a friend. I meant to say "in the bath with Prosecco" but what they actually received was "In Bath with Priscilla". It was 11pm on a Saturday and they were intrigued. 

24. That actually isn't my worst typo. I once messaged a friend who had recently experienced a very messy relationsip break up after a relationship of many years. Hoping to wish her a very, very lovely seasons' greetings, I actually messaged her to wish her a very, very lonely Christmas. 

25  I have the most amazing clients/friends and feel very lucky to have seen you all every day to keep ME going!!! 

26. Did I mention that people don't read their emails?

So onto August. Next week, I will be running a scaled down schedule and really hope to see you. We are going to meet at Roundhills campsite which is between Beaulieu and Brockenhurst for real, face to face classes. Please bring your own mat, water, anything else you need (flask of coffee?) and I shall bring cake! I cannot WAIT to see you in person. The campsite is closed but there is enough space to park just for the time we are there. I will set up near to the. pond. I hope to see as many of you as possible and will be zooming some of the classes to those of you further away. Will you let me know if you intend to come to the outdoor class? Just so I know if it is going to work?

I have a library of over 30 classes that I will be loading up for everyone who subscirbes for August. For £20 you can have next week's classes and plenty of recorded classes to keep you fabulously fit until September. Payment please by Sun 2 Aug so I can send you all info. 

I will keep an eye on proceedings of course and will be taking a view to our starting to return to face to face classes in halls in October. That however, is not guarnateed as we all know that this is an ever evolving situation. I will of course keep you updated but I can once again confirm that I will not be back in face to face classes in halls before then. While the weather allows, garden classes have been a huge success so do let me know if you would like to arrange something in Sept.

Garden classes have been a huge success and I have been seeing a lot of you regularly and let's hope that can continue in September until such a time as.

If you have loaned small equipment from me, I am now doing a round up as I have a waiting list of people who would like to purchase so please let me know asap. 

I am turning my laptop off on Friday 7th August. Please get all enquiries in by then. 

I really hope to see as many of you as possible next week and in the meantime, you know where I am if I can help and have a great weekend. 

Classes next week

Monday - no classes 

Tuesday - 9am - Mixed ability. Roundhills campsite. Zoom code will be sent on receipt of payment for the new block for those not attending in person. 

Wednesday - no classes 

Thursday -  9.00 am  Mixed ability. Roundhills - details as above

Friday - 8.30am - advanced and 9.30am Stretch and relax - online. Zoom codes will be sent out. 

If the weather turns, all classes will of course be online. Please do not try and access classes via the weblinks here. I will send every subscriber codes by Monday.