It’s been three weeks since my last entry and it’s been a strange period. It’s difficult to explain the past weeks, there have been some real highs, football features prominently here, some family matters which I’m trying hard to understand and respect, high work demands and then a general malaise brought on by the awful weather, dark nights and doing some boring but necessary household jobs.

One thing that I have been mindful of recently is a reliance on social media to escape. I made the decision at the start of the new school year to delete those apps I have, from my phone. I have an exception that I reinstall them on Friday evening until Saturday evening to allow me to check in with activities I do over the weekend which generally post more information on Facebook and also to keep up with some of the accounts I have followed for many years. I have had a social media account ,always anonymous, for more than 12 years now and like to check in on the OG from the early days. This approach has definitely helped my wellbeing and I have filled this gap with more reading. I have already surpassed my Good Reads challenge for the year and this may end up being my best year (in adulthood) for books read. I have read some excellent books in the past few weeks. Perhaps those I rate highest are the non fiction which resonate with me most in this period, A Year of Nothing by Emma Gannon and How to be Hopeful by Caitlin Moran. Both have helped me to reflect and focus.

There is a lot in the news about AI and I have mixed feelings about the new technology but it has helped me find a book that I loved and lost with the briefist of details. I couldn’t remember the exact title or author, knew it was essays on simple pleasures by a French author and could remember the front cover. I also remembered there was an essay about a croissant. Within seconds Chat GPT had found me the book and I then found it online on a 2nd hand book site for the grand price of £3.50 p&p included. That might be the best £3.50 I spend this year. It has been such a delight to have the book again. It came out just as I was staring my career as a French teacher and I was such a Francophile, and this book with its minutiae of daily life, the box of cakes from the patisserie, the fresh croissant, podding peas is a beautiful homage to French life which will leave you warm and cosy.

In the past few weeks, football has been such a highlight. Our team have played their first home games in the Europa league and as it coincided with the first weekend of half term we went up to Manchester for an away game. I took our son to the first home Europa game and my husband the second game. Given the points system we can generally only get 2 tickets hence the alternation. The first Europa game was spine tingling, the pre match entertainment just right, flags, music, montage, a Tifo and fireworks and then a 3-0 win, a perfect autumn evening. This was followed up with the same result the week after against AC Milan, the stuff of dreams. Whilst it’s difficult to get home tickets for the three of us, it is possible in the larger away grounds hence our trip to Old Trafford on Sunday. I’ve been a football fan since my childhood, at secondary school in Reading I was given the nickname Newport by a cool year 11 boy who had seen me at an away game, Newport County hence the origin, when I was a new year 7 pupil. He always looked out for me on the bus we took together, football has always brought connection. Old Trafford has always been on my list of special grounds to visit. I remember reading a book about the Busby Babes in Munich when I was in my teens and it’s a story which really stayed with me. Then in my 20s you had the new generation, Beckham, Giggs, Scholes etc.. which won the treble. Whilst I’ve never been a fan, there are certain periods when I’ve respected the club. I did feel the history and culture at Old Trafford, a real contrast to Man City’s ground which we visited for a game in August which felt corporate and soulless. It was important to see the Munich clock and memorial, a full circle moment for teenage me. However we were there to cheer on Bournemouth and we had an excellent game, a much deserved 3-0 win which could easily have been 5 or 6 – 0. It was well worth the 3.30am alarm call although I was very grateful to be on half term and to have a lazy day on Monday.

On a couple of times this weekend I got such a strong feeling of connection and belonging in a time that has been quite hard. Saturday’s parkrun was run in very poor weather conditions but it seemed to make the post run breakfast just more chattier and wholesome as we all dried out and warmed up. At Old Trafford I bumped into a friend’s family whom I hadn’t seen for a while and messages have been flowing since the chance meeting. It’s so easy to hide away but connection really does enhance wellbeing.

This week is half term but it is full of life admin and finishes with my mum’s 75th birthday celebrations. In the last year, I’ve had big birthday celebrations for four of my immediate family. I do loving planning but having the birthdays all so close has been intense. I am the party planner in the family but do feel it’s someone else’s turn now …