I’m so behind in my blog entries, just the annual July combination of birthdays, end of term events and daily life … oh and an England Euros final. Sadly it wasn’t to be this year, but we had a great night in the pub and fun memories were made, followed by the despair, and the eternal hope that the team is young and one day ‘football’s coming home.’ I did really enjoy the Euros, it felt like the first real tournament post pandemic, with huge crowds and a great atmosphere coming through the television and social media. I love football so tried to catch as many games as I could and there’s not many matches that I didn’t watch a little bit of (except the final group games which are played simultaneously)

These first few weeks of July have been also fantastic for my political geekiness and I have read in depth the analysis of the election and looked with pride and satisfaction on the appointments, priorities and drive of the new government.

I have read a few books, Seven Summers was a fun, YA book which had me hooked and happy, a light read which I needed in such a busy time. I chose Barcelona, a series of short stories, as I am off to the city in a few weeks. I knew it was fiction, but I wanted a story to reflect the ambiance and culture of the city. What I got was a very strange collection of stories with an underlying theme of dissatisfaction and animal cruelty. I did keep on reading thinking it may get better, but not a collection to recommend.

Despite a busy diary I have maintained my parkrunning and have attained my Volunteer 50 award. In all the hustle and bustle, Saturday from 8 – 10am is my special time which I cherish, even if I have to run a lot of hills to get this ‘me’ time!