On Tuesday evening, a lovely group of 22 of us got together to walk the back streets and dark corners of Lymington, being entertained and spirited into many a ghoulish tale by "Haunted New Forest's" historian and ghost hunter Hugh.

I first met Hugh back in the summer when my elder daughter and I joined him for a ghost hunting walk at Rufus Stone  and I was so impressed with his story telling, knowledge of local history and and how he made it fun and inclusive.

When I moved my classes online all those years ago (5 years and 7 months to be precise) the social side of our online life was so important to many of us for companionship and a regular check in with friendly faces. Not least those of us who live by ourselves. This is a large part of my business that I take very seriously and really value and to that end, I organise various social events that are always so well supported. Those of us who may be exclusively online really enjoy the social side of getting to know "the person away from the mat" and I take huge pride in the amount of friendships that have formed and how we have grown. Occasionally online members message me to say that they are not well or are recovering from something but will still log in just to be there, to see everyone and to feel the company of their fellow class mates - a bonus of being online and accessible!

With our socials in mind, I am always thinking of things that may be a bit different and entertaining and with the exception of our upcoming Christmas lunch, this was a super way to wrap up a very busy 2025. 

Hugh told us some fascinating stories about how pubs got their names, famous smugglers and ruthless kings of the dark ages. I think we may have scared the spirits away as there were a lot of us but there is no doubt that Lymington is steeped in history and has, over the years entertained many a royal as well as noblemen, temptresses, ruffians and ne'er do wells - some of whom may still be lurking in the shadows.

Most of us met first to eat before setting off into the dark night and it was a really fun and lively evening. It was a pleasure to see you all.