Turning 50 is a milestone to be celebrated!
When Shelle turned 50 in July 2021, she wanted to do something memorable to celebrate her half century, so she launched an initiative to complete ‘50 Challenges at 50‘, all in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Visit the JustGiving page for further details here.
“My family have travelled a difficult path with dementia; it’s an awful illness, which robs people of their dignity, their relationships, and their soul, and there is currently no cure.
- Dementia is now the number one cause of death in the UK
- For every four cancer researchers, there is only one dementia researcher, worldwide
- One in three people born today will develop dementia in their lifetime
- The annual cost of dementia to the UK economy is circa £26bn, which is greater than the cost of cancer and heart disease put together
“Research is absolutely critical if we are to understand more about the causes of this awful illness. Alzheimer’s Research UK is on a mission to bring about the first life-changing dementia treatment by 2025, hence they are my charity partner for this initiative.
“All 50 challenges have been set for me now and I’m working my way through them. You can still donate, however, and every penny counts! Thank you.”
Browse blog
#43 All about that bass
My interest in the bass guitar began when I was a hormonal teenager and had the world’s largest crush on John Taylor from Duran Duran. I’ve dated a few bass players over the years and always kind of thought of it as a sexy instrument, but I never once gave any though...
#42 Boo!
When my mate Simon set me a challenge to spend a night in a haunted house, I told him he’d have to come with me as there was no way I would do that alone! So, on a fairly mundane Saturday evening in September, we set off for the picturesque village of Finchingfield in...
#41 Up, up and away!
Having jumped out of a plane at 15,000 feet, I was pretty pleased that challenge 41 involved a plane I could remain firmly seated in, even if it didn’t have an engine… Fellow musician Ashley Benjamin phoned me up one day and said ‘I challenge you to meet me down at...
#40 Fat bottomed girls
Don’t panic - it’s the title of a song by one of my favourite bands! It may also be a category I’d put myself in 😆 But, as the song goes, “I like to ride my bicycle.” Sadly, I don’t own a bicycle and I’m not a confident road rider, so when Simon Barker...
#39 In a world where you can be anything, be kind…
“A random act of kindness is an unexpected act of charity or helpfulness and is often done for a stranger.” Whilst on the stand-up comedy course in Kingston, I met fellow funny person Harry Manley, and he set me a challenge to carry out 20 random acts of kindness in a...
#38 A walk on the wild side
I think it has to be said that I’m not a natural guitar player, but there is something very satisfying about being able to play music people know just by strumming a few strings and singing a simple melody. I mentioned previously that I’d been set four challenges...
#37 One year out?
I’ve been a fairly passive fan of Ken Bruce and his PopMaster music quiz on BBC Radio 2 for several years now. I find my knowledge is very hit and miss; I tend to know really random things, and then forget something that should be obvious. In a moment of inspiration...
#36 Make mine a strum and coke
As a singer, I’ve always liked the idea of learning to play an instrument so I can accompany myself. I’ve dabbled with the piano, and of course my tambourine playing is legendary (J), but I’ve never really got around to studying an instrument enough to get proficient....