August: the busiest month of the year in Edinburgh, with thousands of people visiting my city for the peak festival season. I, on the other hand, usually avoid the crowds. But this is not the year for that!

This month, I attended my first-ever comedy show at the Monkey Barrel, a famous comedy club in Edinburgh. Very uncharacteristic of me! Then, I decided to join a union. Another unexpected turn of events. And lastly, I tried coastal rowing with the Catterline Coastal Rowing Club.

#7: Attend a comedy show at the Monkey Barrel

Going to see shows – be it comedy, musicals, plays, or anything else – is just not really my thing. I’ve been to a few Fringe shows over the years, but it’s never really captivated me. But what a bore I am!

I’ve heard a lot about the Monkey Barrel, and so it was about time I checked it out. It’s an independent comedy club in the Old Town. The comedy show I went to see was ‘Things my Mother Did’ by Tatty Macleod, a WIP (work in progress) she was developing to later bring around Europe.

Just like me, this comedian grew up in France and had a bilingual upbringing, and she bases a lot of her comedy on this. Her show is about her mother’s life, following on from a viral video she posted of her mother digging a trench. This video brought back memories of my own childhood living in Tourrette-Levens.

At the start of the show, I felt nervous. I don’t know why. I’m just an audience member, right? But I felt out of place. A hardcore fringe-goer next to Andrew sparked conversation. She asked how many shows he’s been to this season, to which he replied none, ever. She doesn’t believe him and asks where he’s travelling from, but he’s local. She went on to talk about a shrek burlesque parody show but the conversation quickly died down.

When the show started, I didn’t feel nervous anymore, and I had a good laugh. I’ve never really enjoyed watching stand-up comedy on TV, but it’s different when you’re in an audience.

The show made me reflect on how impressive comedians are, and performers in general. Is comedy a skill you build? Does it come naturally? I was having all these thoughts and contemplating things I’ve never thought about before – the whole point of new experience, right?

#8: Join a trade union

So this is a cool one. I joined Unite the Union, Britain’s biggest trade union. I am still learning all about it. But a few benefits include legal advice and support, protections, and representation. I work part-time in hospitality and I find that workers in this field tend to put up with so much: irregular hours, long shifts, harassment, and exhaustion just to name a few. If you’ve worked in hospitality before, you know what I mean.

The union is there for support if I ever have a workplace issue. And I feel really good about supporting a union that does such good work. For instance, they started the ‘Get Me Home Safely’ campaign in 2021, which called for late-night shift workers to get reliable, safe, and employer-paid transport home after 11 pm. This campaign was backed by Edinburgh City Council in 2022. You can read more about all of their campaigns here.

#9: Try skiff coastal rowing

Now… enough laughter, enough of the serious, it’s time to enjoy nature again. Andrew and I were visiting my parents in Aberdeenshire for their birthdays, and they took us rowing in the North Sea with their club in Catterline. Skiff rowing involves a hand-built wooden boat with wooden oars.

This boat is called the ‘Spirit of Catterline’ and holds four rowers and one coxwain. The coxwain (who controls the rudder and gives us instructions) is an important role as we are actually rowing facing backwards.

The oar was heavier than I expected, and you really have to concentrate to row correctly. At the start, I caught a crab, which is rowing speak for getting your oar blade stuck in the water mid-stroke, which caused the oar handle to hit me because the boat was still moving. I recovered and it didn’t happen again.

Andrew and I may have been newbies, but we had a team of pros. Dad was the coxwain, and Mum and Judith were rowing with us. Basically, we had to keep the same rhythm as Judith at the front. Dad was shouting commands like “give way” to row and “hold water” to put the blades in the water to stop. In rowing, “port” is the left side when facing forward, while “starboard” is the right. So, Dad was also saying things like “give way port”, which means I had to start rowing. Luckily, I could just copy Judith.

We rowed for an hour before heading back. We seen lots of seals: heads bobbing in and out the water, following us. I tried to catch a photo of a baby seal but I was told off by the coxwain – you can’t stop rowing until you’re told to! Especially in difficult areas along the coast.

This experience fulfilled the aquaphile in me as I’d only been in the water once this summer. There was a bit of everything: excercise, teamwork, and fun. It is so peaceful to get into a rhythm of rowing out in the ocean. I also used all my muscles: legs, core, arms, glutes. It was a great workout.

I’m nearly a third into my challenge. Honestly, reflecting and writing about my experiences is just as fun as doing them. Also, not only am I doing new things, but I find myself picking up old hobbies too. I’ve been playing my fiddle regularly for the first time in years. I’m not sure what’s changed other than novelty doing wonders, or perhaps I want to return to a time when I had more hobbies. In any case, all good stuff.

That’s all for now,

Kayla