Counting the days until my early December birthday and it was 65, I was going to be 52. Could I do the trip 52 times before I got to that age? Wouldn’t leave me many free days but I decided it was worth trying.
Angela
As part of our Meet and Move campaign, we’re delighted to bring you Angela’s physical activity story. Angela is a member of the CAFM team at Calderdale council, and is also one of our Active Champions.
The story is a great example of how meeting and moving with your friends, family and colleagues can bring people together, even during lockdown, give people new experiences, and create lasting memories.
Angela’s Story
It was the end of September, we’d been in local lockdown measures since summer, both my kids had left for university and I was faced with a long winter working from home and living alone under continuing restrictions.
Walking had been my exercise and my sanity during the first lockdown, so I knew I needed to keep going despite the approaching shorter days and colder weather. I briefly considered a dog to make sure I left the house each day, but the demand for rescues and puppies made me put that plan on hold.
One of my favourite walks and views has always been the trip up to Beacon Hill. It’s a lovely 5km circular from my front door that I’ve done loads of times, I started idly wondering how to set myself a target to ensure I left the house every day.
Counting the days until my early December birthday and it was 65, I was going to be 52. Could I do the trip 52 times before I got to that age? Wouldn’t leave me many free days but I decided it was worth trying.
An appeal via my Facebook page and on our CAFM team newsletter for people to join me (appropriately socially distanced) led to loads of friends and colleagues coming along to see the best view in Halifax* some for the first time!
It was all going very smoothly, I got to 49 with 5 days to go and then BOOM “you’ve had a contact with someone who tested positive for Covid 19 and you must self-isolate for 2 weeks”. So, I almost did it, but in the end I made it to 52 years before 52 trips – but I finished shortly after my isolation ended.
I walked with 28 different people, 7 dogs and 1 very small child (in a sling joined to her Dad).
*other views are available, but they’re not quite as good
Find your own way to Meet and Move
If you’re interested in making movement a part of your meetings, then there are lots of options open to you. You could change meetings that you already have at home or at work, or set up a challenge of your own. Visit our Meet and Move campaign page to find more inspiration.