Don't ask how or why, but with only a few minutes notice, today I found myself sitting behind the controls of a Boeing 737 learning how to take off and land. Ok the fact it was only a simulator made it slightly less dramatic, but no less of an unexpected turn of events for me.

I never had any intention of ever doing such a thing and as soon as I realised I would be doing so I realised why: simulator or no simulator, put me behind the controls of a vehicle and I start to panic. Add in the fact of doing this under the watchful eye of an experienced pilot, plus having the imaginary pressure of killing a plane full of travellers if I make a wrong move, and this is not really my idea of fun.

But I strapped myself in and took off from Gatwick and before I knew it I was landing at Paris, before moving onto the more advanced night landing at Kuala Lumpar.

And you know what- I enjoyed it. It was like a strange puzzle or challenge and I enjoyed the test of seeing if I could do it. You live and learn. Literally.

My other first of the day was visiting Westfield. Since this shopping centre opened in October 2008, millions of people have passed through its doors and up until today I was not one of them. I'm not really much of a shopper and the thought of spending hours in a shopping centre is not my idea of fun. But having only ever heard good reviews of the centre, and read many media reports recently of how this centre, and its sister one in Stratford, have become a popular attraction for children to visit because they feel safer there than on the streets (I can't even begin to express how sad it makes me feel that children wander around shopping centres to feel safe), I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And I was to say I was won over, kind of. Admittedly I didn't actually go into any of the shops, but the atmosphere was nice and there were plenty of places you could just sit, plus it was clean and huge. Really, really huge. My main wants for a place like this is not many other people, and even though that can't be guaranteed, the fact there is so much space and the walkways etc are so wide makes it seem pretty empty. if I am ever in the mood for shopping on a big scale I may actually find myself entering one of the shops one day.

One of the main things I had heard about the centre was that it had a good range of places to eat. Having built up an appetite flying the skies it was time to choose a place and indulge. After considering some of the choices we settled on Wahaca partly because it was the nearest to us and partly because eating Mexican food made me feel closer to Tucson and Kate McKinnon. Again I had heard only good things about Wahaca and we weren't disappointed.

In the absence of tamales as an option (I still haven't managed to track any down here in London unfortunately) we ordered guacamole with pork scratching, frijoles & tortilla chips, a steak dish and Queso Fundido ('The Mexican fondue' - tangy cactus, caramelised onions and lots of melted cheese, served with corn tortillas). On this cold and dark night it was everything we hoped it would be: hot, tasty, fresh and filling.

I also ordered 'The Tequilla Experience' which featured 3 tequillas and sangrita and the main thing I learnt was that I am really not bothered about tequilla.

Oh and I promise I'm still beading behind the scenes.