I've been blogging more than you think.

I have a bad habit of neglecting to write 'for myself' when I'm working full-time, hence months of nothingness on here. But I DO write and - as I realised when I tried to pick just 10 12 examples from my work blog posts - I still really enjoy and take pride in it . Below are some of my YHA faves!

(I've also done some wee descriptions so that I can say that I've been writing about something other than hostelling, i.e. writing about writing about hostelling...)

The most scenic hiking trails in the UK
I describe a 183 mile walk as being "for beginners". I think the most miles I've walked is 7. 

10 things to do in Liverpool this spring
Tracey Emin and (amazingly) The Beatles get mentioned. Internationally published, so proud!

Lights-off for Earth Hour 2015
It's not easy being Green - luckily the YHA are forward-thinking so it's eco-warrior time.

The Hosteller's Cookbook
I really wish that I could cook some of these. I did help make the veggie biryani though, woo.

Top 10 mind-blowing novels for travellers
Science fiction, fantasy and pop culture references. This has my fingerprints all over it Holmes.

Bizarre & British: alternative places to stay in the UK
Not-so-subtly destroying the stereotype of hostels being purpose-built and grim. They're not.

Take the Classroom to the Great British Outdoors
Making education sound a lot more exciting than I remember it being when I was at school.

How to get a good night's sleep when travelling
Good tips that I consistently ignore; I am writing this like 5 minutes before I go to bed.

Battle of the Kindle vs Traditional paper books
Well I could hardly admit that I barely use my Kindle could I. Also, "BOOK SNIFFING".

The most beautiful National Parks the UK has to offer
Proving that England and Wales are absolutely stunning. I wish I'd taken those photos.

Why travelling Solo rocks and how to make the most of it
Follow the wisdom of someone who usually goes on holiday in the UK, with her parents.

The ever-changing Hostel of the Week page is also my doing, archived as blogs here.

I promise I will eventually get round to doing a proper update on ME (probably involving Matlock's antique shops and how difficult jogging is) but in the meantime check out my ramblings about the mountains, travelling and adventures that I never see. MOUNTAINS GANDALF.

Yes, I really need to follow my own advice and get out there. *bizarre mix of blatant self-promotion/self-deprecation ends*

Oh Lympics.

Boris Johnson stuck on a zip wire, amazing.

Laughing with Jake about how England’s basically the Mr Bean of countries, bumbling about and getting it all wrong with it’s North/South Korea mix-up.

“No don’t invite Britain, it’s a right useless plonker!”

This whole Olympic thing makes me feel queasy, it’s like a glorified Sports Day, giving me flashbacks of tripping over my own feet and crying in the mud.

Really hope one day us clumsies get a sport of our own, I can’t remember anything more esteem-shattering than P.E. lessons.

Of course being a bit thick or uncreative is fine, it’s just those bastards who can’t catch a ball you’ve got to watch out for, because it’s totally acceptable to humiliate unfit children (Hairy Dieters struck a chord tonight).

Guess I’d be less bitter if schools had an Arts Day, complete with little medals and departments that weren’t falling to bits.

Land of no hope and sorry.

The Jubilee's been over nearly a month, and we're shite at football. Really, you can take the flags down now!

(wouldn't be surpirsed if my BNP-voting village kept them up for the wrong reasons anyway)

Community spirit seems to mean pretending it's the 50s and baking a cake for the neighbours you never speak to, or thumping your chest at some kind of sporting event. Evidently the only way to bring our nation together is by wearing silly hats, and getting together in a pub to slag off other countries.

Although for Eurovision, everyone in my local pub bizarrely decided they were Swedish for the night, right down to the flags. It was like we didn't even come third from last because everyone hates us!

Does anybody care about the Olympics either? There's a decidedly "meh" reaction to it all; billions being spent on something we'll never win at, when everyone's feeling so poor. Maybe I just don't get it, I was always crap at P.E. afterall.

Humming "imagine there's no countries" when I should be grunting and waving an England flag.