Inspired by Lil, who was inspired by the tragic early death of our friend Kim…In no particular order (yet), here are 50 things I want to do in my lifetime. Well, probably not 50 quite yet, but I’ll add more as I think of them. Items crossed out have been achieved since I first published it in early 2005.

1. Write (and have published / widely distributed) a novel
2. Stand on a hawaii mountain-top at sunrise
3. Learn to play an instrument. Well.
4. Go sledging in the snow
5. Skate on the Central Park ice rink at christmas - Done, but not at christmas.
6. Visit the arctic / antarctica
7. Go on a safari
8. Learn to fly a plane
9. Visit a bioluminescent lake
10. Bungee jump
11. See the aurora (borealis or australis, I’m not fussy)
12. Thank Richard Dawkins, in person (or as close as possible)- Done, in person.
13. Parachute jump
14. Ice-skate on a frozen lake
15. Take a long train journey - one where you have your own compartment for a couple of weeks
16. Scuba-dive comfortably (I’ve done it, but the suit didn’t fit properly and I nearly froze)
17. Use a telescope to see Saturn, a comet, all of the planets
18. Make a short film of decent quality
19. Learn to juggle five balls
20. Perform in a play on stage for the paying public
21. Sleep in the ice hotel
22. Take up magic again
23. Get a physics degree
24. Learn to twirl a baton
25. Try my hand at presenting a radio show
26. Dance for an audience - Done
27. Sell a photograph I’ve taken to a genuine stranger
28. Become proficient at origami
29. Be an authority on something
30. Conclusively win a political debate using logic only
31. Play in a band on stage
32. See dolphins in the wild
33. Become assertive enough to cope in the real world
34. Build a house
35. Write a poem that makes people cry (in a good way, obviously)