Written by Eira Hammond
When Tracy put the shout out for people to join her for a coffee in Cardiff, I think the intention was for those that lived locally to meet up as I know there are a few Keto Fitness Club members in the Cardiff area but not too many around where she lives in the ‘Valleys’. Little did she expect such a great response from people who lived further away!
I decided to go along as I’d missed meeting people in person, and when I heard some of the others that were attending it was a no brainer to get a hotel booked and join in the fun. So I arrived on the Friday evening having taken the day off work, and driven from Lincoln. As soon as I walked into the hotel reception, I met Tracy who had a lovely cwtch (hug) ready for me. Then soon after met up with Helen and Steve from Nottingham, John and Nikki from the Midlands, Karen and Dave from Essex and Lee (Mr Cwtch Tracy and Ethan of course) from the Welsh Valley’s and Jen joined us too for the day on Saturday.
It’s hard to believe that it was over a month ago now, as the memories of meeting people at the fun packed busy weekend are still very vivid, especially when I browse through all the photos I took! Covid restrictions were slightly different in Wales from what we were used to in England, but that didn’t hamper our fun at all, and we made sure we all stayed safe and within the rules.
Friday evening began the moment we arrived with a few drinks in the hotel bar (flavour drops made an appearance out of Karen’s bag as a good Keto sugar free mixer option!), and then we all travelled to the centre of Cardiff and enjoyed a fabulous ‘meaty’ experience at Viva Brazil, where the servers carved as much meat as we could manage…. Although we all had a great fill, I think some (John especially!) got more than their money’s worth; sausages were enjoyed by all, but especially by Tracy and I! We ended up back at the hotel and the conversation flowed for a bit longer while we all enjoyed each other’s company.
On Saturday, we walked the short distance from the Hotel to the Bay area, and some of us took a ride on the big wheel, which was fun, leaving the rest looking like ants they were so far down!
Tracy had arranged for us to have a boat trip across the Bay, we had some great views looking back across the Bay to Cardiff and the beautiful ‘Red Building’ that my grandad worked in back in the early 1900’s (although it wasn’t very red back when I used to visit in the 1960-70’s with the black smoke changing its colour completely!)
After the boat trip we had a great walk along the Barrage back to the Bay area, it was lovely to get to know everyone a bit better and enjoy the social element of meeting people which we’ve not been able to do in person for such a long time.
I am so grateful that I not only found the Keto Fitness Club Public Group, but that I took the plunge and soon after joining the member’s group I became a life member. Keto is definitely a lifestyle choice for me now, and I will never go back to the bad food choices I have been making for 30+ years. Through this group I have learnt a lot about a Keto life, the harmful effects certain foods have on my body, but equally important, I have met lifelong friends who continue to support my Keto life in so many ways. Having the opportunity to meet up in Cardiff was the perfect way to celebrate over a year of being in this group and only being able to meet over Zoom. (Although I still love Zoom and am forever grateful for the fun (Keto Café’s, Quizzes and Bingo), education (AOB’s and other Keto Fitness Club member sessions), Mindfulness (Ian’s weekly Monday Zoom), fitness (regular Keto Fitness Club exercise classes which I don’t do often enough) and friendship (all of the above!))
Thanks to everyone that came along to Cardiff and made the weekend really special. I also wanted to give a massive thank you to Tracy for her impeccable organisation, friendship, and support to not only me, but to all that attended. We really appreciate all that you do! If anyone else has the chance to attend one of the Members meet up’s, I’d recommend it!
