Alison

~ Activities and Hobbies – What are yours? ~

This week’s WQ topic is activities and hobbies. Marsha at Always Write hosts this challenge every Wednesday. All you need is a quote relating to the topic and a poem, photos or a general post to go with it. Also by co-incidence Terri at Second Wind Leisure’s challenge is “Something to Do”. 

I’m not sure what category travel falls under hobby or activity! My dear husband thinks it’s my hobby but I prefer to think of it as more of an activity. 

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving”
Lao Tzu

The above quote does not quite ring true for me as I like nothing more than arriving at my destination, especially if it’s been a long flight. 

In the last few years I’ve acquired some new hobbies and activities. 

My favourite hobby after travelling is Bridge. I took a course a few years ago and have attempted to climb the ladder and join more advanced classes. My mind is totally focused during the four hours of play and time goes so fast. I’ve met a completely different set of people and twice a week we greet each other like old friends.

“No matter where I go, I can always make new friends at the bridge table”
Martina Navratilova

The above quote is so true, there is no need to worry about what to talk about, someone will always have a story to tell about a past game they have played. Absolutely boring for anyone who doesn’t play Bridge.

Blogging is also a recent hobby of mine. This fully took over my time at the start, trying to set up the website and master the way WordPress worked. I’m sure many of you agree how frustrating WP can be at times. I feel extremely pleased with myself when I’ve mastered something so simple as the menu and widgets. 

I started blogging because I took so many photos and wanted to do something with them and also I was writing many reviews on Trip Adviser. Blogging has changed my life and it means I now have something to do all the time and again made many new friends.

“The first step in blogging is not writing them but reading them.”
Jeff Jarvis from BuzzMachine

I believe the above quote is very true, I often take inspiration from the bloggers I follow.

My exercise abilities are sadly limited! Although I do go to Zumba and Aqua Aerobics. Also I’ve started line dancing again. I have met a wonderful group of ladies who are welcoming and so friendly. We often meet outside Zumba for outings like the cinema or theatre. I feel so blessed to be part of such a fantastic group.

The empty pool before 50 ladies jump in for an aerobics session

In December our lovely Zumba teacher hosts a Christmas party for around 60 people and it’s always such fun. I’ll finish with a small video I took of all the ladies having the best time. 

I believe having a hobby or an activity you enjoy is essential to your well-being. It stops the blues and those down days everyone has on occasion. It’s important to enjoy it though and not feel as though it’s a duty or a chore – what’s the point in that!

A question to my fellow bloggers. My media gallery is now 92% and the next step is upgrading. If you don’t have a paid website how do you manage with all your photos? I always forget to downsize my photos which would go a long way to resolving the issue.

I look forward to reading your responses.

29 comments

  1. Wonderful hobbies. My dad was quite interested in playing cards.

    Thanks for reminding about media gallery space. Actually I am not really interested in upgrading my blog and hence I have deleted images from the beginning years. I may have do it again. Also I reduce the size of images before uploading them. Good luck.

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  2. We certainly have some hobbies in common – travel, blogging and aqua aerobics! I don’t play bridge or any games however. To my list of hobbies I would add photography (I’ve recently joined a local group) and cinema 🙂 On your question about media capacity for your blog, I have a paid self-hosted site and do downsize my photos before uploading (to around 400-500 KB) bu nevertheless recently reached the limit of my relatively low-cost plan and had to upgrade to a premium one!

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  3. My husband is a bridge player but I’ve never been very good at cards. He started playing with his parents when he was young. I do have other hobbies and agree with you that so much of it is about the people and friendships that arise from them. Reducing photo sizes helps. I have the same issue with my phone 🤗🩷

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  4. Oh, Ali, you are living the retirement dream! Travel and seeing new places is high on my list…I suppose it’s a hobby, but it opens the door to huge lifestyle benefits as well.

    How cool you play bridge! So another leisure concept is something you described. When you play bridge you are in “flow,” where the skill level meets the challenge. As you concentrate, you are so focused that time passes quickly as you enjoy the process. Hope you’re not tired of reading my leisure educator stuff 😁 in any case I LOL’d at the bridge cartoon!
    Thanks for sharing your hobbies for Sunday Stills and WQ!

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  5. Apart from travelling the world? Well….football….cricket….hiking….but really the way travel has taken over, with all its attendant occupations like planning, research, logistics… and of course writing the blog posts…means that travelling in all its guises dominates the hobby scene with us. Everything else seems to come a distant second!

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  10. I love, love, love your dance video. How adorable are the ladies? My mom was a bridge player. After most games, she would tell me about her good hands and bidding even though I was yawning inside. LOL, I knew how to play, but not well enough for her friends. One of them told me I needed to practice more before playing with them. My husband is a poker player. He does the same thing. I tell him he should never go all in with two Jacks, but he never listens to me. Your video inspires me to find a line dancing class somewhere. A friend of mine in CA went to one class like that and had a ball. It seemed like other things got in the way. Fun post, my friend!

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      • At the moment our trips are not that long and also once you start dancing or Zumba it’s easy enough to follow the steps. With Bridge I tell my partner I’m away and they can find a fill in.

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  12. I love the video – it’s great to see everyone having so much fun. As for travelling for a hobby – the dictionary definition of hobby is ‘an activity someone does for pleasure when they are not working’. So if you travel for pleasure whilst you are away from one, you can absolutely consider your travel as a hobby. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day. Aiva xx

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