Things to try in 2010

Get the decade off to a flying start with SoGlos.com’s ten things to try in 2010, including some New Year’s resolutions you might actually stick to.

Exercise regularly, drink more water, save the pennies and cut down on the pies might be some of the resolutions highest up on your New Year’s list, and you’re not alone – with losing weight and saving money being the biggest priorities for more people living in the UK than anything else at this time of year.

But, for an even fresher start to the fresh new decade, see if any of SoGlos.com’s ten things to try sound like a more novel New Year’s Resolution this 2010.

Whether you’ve always been meaning to start a new hobby, learn a new skill, want to get out of your comfort zone or give something back, there has never been a better time to get started.

Get steaming

Whether it is planes, trains or automobiles you’ve always wanted to get behind the steering wheel (or levers) of, you can do it all in Gloucestershire. One of the most unusual opportunities is at Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, which will be running both diesel locomotive driving courses as well as steam firing and driving courses in 2010, for a action-packed way to spend the day on the tracks.

Get snapping

The University of Gloucestershire’s popular short courses will be returning for another chance for all abilities to take better pictures – among other creative topics – whether it’s on the beginner, intermediate, or creative photography courses starting in February 2010. With a point and click in the right direction, you’ll be one step closer to achieving any David Bailey ambitions brewing.

Get volunteering

January is the perfect time to start volunteering in Gloucestershire, with an array of free and fun ways to get involved and lend a helping hand. From ushering and selling ice cream at The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury; bricklaying and driving dumpers while restoring the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal, to helping in the duckery and leading guided walks at Slimbridge Wetland Centre.

Get motoring

The Driver’s School at Prescott Speed Hill Climb is decidedly different from many experience days. It’s a must if you’ve always dreamed of racing on the most prestigious, and challenging, Hill Climb course in the UK and following in the exhaust fumes of Stirling Moss, of course, but it’s also a fantastic way to hone your motoring skills whatever your driving skills, all whilst sitting behind the wheel of your own everyday car. New driving school dates for 2010 have just been announced.

Get competing

If you’re keen to get the competitive juices flowing in 2010, join the brand new squash league at Leisure@Cheltenham starting in January to give your game an invigorating work-out. Oxstalls tennis centre in Gloucester also holds informal tennis ladders, with sociable games played every week day.

Get dancing

Try your hand, well feet, at the smouldering passion that is Tango Argentino every Wednesday at Gloucester Guildhall, move to the sexy Latin sounds of salsa at Apres in Cheltenham every Thursday; or make like a Strictly contestant with a bit of ballroom in Bredon with Dance at 8, just for starters. There's also flamenco, jive, belly- and line-dancing all listed amongst SoGlos.com's Gloucestershire dance classes.

Get tasting

Become a wine expert that Oz Clarke could only dream of sniffing at, with an informative wine tasting tour at Gloucestershire’s very own Three Choirs Vineyard. The tour, and chance to get a very different taste of the Forest of Dean, is topped off with a two course lunch, so even if you don’t become an oenophilist in one afternoon, you’ll at least be well fed.

Get knitting

Proving that needles and wool aren’t just the accessories of bus-pass-wielding pensioners has been a stream of knitting celebrities in recent years, with a handful of new knitting groups in Gloucestershire springing up thanks to a renewed interest in the ancient craft. Whether you know your knit from your purl or have been casting off for years, join the Knitters With Attitude at Gloucester Guildhall every fortnight from January 2010. The Knit and Natter group meet weekly at Cheltenham Art Gallery while the knitting group at Prema Arts Centre in Uley meets monthly.

Get flying

With not one but two fantastic airports right here in the county – Gloucestershire Airport in Cheltenham and the newly-named Cotswolds Airport near Cirencester – there’s no better time to take to the skies than in 2010. SoGlos.com had the pleasure of trialing Rise Helicopter thrilling trial flights, while the online magazine plays host to listings for dozens of plane, helicopter and gliding Gloucestershire flying schools.

Get thinking

Gloucestershire’s very own The Edward Jenner Museum will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox in 2010, with the Berkeley venue’s popular series of monthly talks providing the perfect opportunity to quash your culture fix cravings. Plus, don’t forget to check out SoGlos.com’s full venue listings of Gloucestershire museums, Gloucestershire attractions, Gloucestershire art galleries and Gloucestershire stately homes.

Michelle Byrne
4 January 2010