Adventure 1/52 Pierce My Nose (In Edinburgh). 

The great thing about getting your nose pierced in January (In Scotland – ball achingly cold Scotland) is that after the initial nerve-melting sensation, being shoved out into a cold Edinburgh Street is a pretty good antidote to the eye watering pain.

Actually, in all fairness – I’ve had my nose pierced three times now and this was no more painful than the rest. Sensation bleeds out across the face, intense but oddly blunt. Like steely cotton wool filling the sinuses. What was different this time, was that the second the piercing artist (correct term!?) pushed the tapered cork up into my nostril, my left eye began to weep uncontrollably.  Huge fat drops streamed down through her cupped fingers . In seconds though, the feeling of tearing cotton was over and my new oh-so-iridescent stud was in place.

My first Adventure was over. Although it was relatively simple – pierce my nose in Edinburgh, the city itself is over 370 miles from my home.  And right now the UK is covered by about 8 inches of frost, ice sheets and snow flurries. So, the actual piercing was prefaced by 6 hours on a coach, 3  hours in a car, 20 agonizing minutes on a bus followed by one slippery sprint up Calton Hill, making it to the piercing shop 20 minutes before closing.   Epic. Epic and fantastic. 

I could have had it pierced in Oxford, in fact I could have had it pierced anywhere in the world but unfortunately, I have fallen in love with Edinburgh.  Quite strangely, I have found myself in this city whenever I’m in transition. Eras have begun, ended and rebloomed in the city and right now (having just moved back to the UK from Japan) I felt the cities’ pull. Plus – this is the year of 52 Adventures! Surely, now more than ever, it’s time  to jump into life, race 400 miles and arrive breathless and thrilled wherever our stories take us.  

Let’s just say I’m getting  used to this kind of thrill in my life.  Here’s to 51 more adventures!