My weeks .. the one with the indomitable Lemn Sissay

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There are some weeks when there is plenty to write about and others where I do my entries fortnightly as there is less. Our life recently has consisted of work, school meetings and the humdrum of everyday life. We’ve done proper adulting on Sunday afternoons, and have sorted our finances and pensions, written a will and researched and renewed insurance policies. It may not be exciting but at least its given us clarity and peace of mind. Also it seems all our household insurances and plans, and car servicing, MOTs and insurance are due at a similar time, so our work is now done for another year.

Life is just ticking over, we are planning on transforming the children’s playroom to a more adult type of snug for them, so I have been looking at possible colours and home furnishings. We need to wait for the roof repair before we can proceed further. I have also been getting very creative at school so have been trying a few arts and crafts at home first. There are a small amount of stones in our garden which may have been accidentally spray painted white and silver with my experiments! I have continued with my weekly parkruns and am delighted to be running my fastest 5ks of the year. In pure coincidence, I was 80th on my 80th parkrun, of which I liked the symmetry.

My highlight of the fortnight was my first ever visit to a Literary festival to see the poet, Lemn Sissay. I follow Lemn on social media and have read his previous anthologies and his memoir, My Name is Why. I recommend this book to everyone, it is a tough read, but contains threads of hope. When I saw Lemn was appearing locally, I really wanted to go and see him, so got two tickets for me and my daughter. I wanted her to see someone who had come out of the care system and had been able to follow their passion to make a successful career. I wanted her to see a positive story. The timing could not have been better as she had had a really difficult week at school. The evening really was perfect, we went over early and enjoyed a girlie dinner date where we were able to talk honestly and openly about the week. Lemn was amazing in his sell-out session, we were all enthralled by him, he was very witty, thoughtful and entertaining. Halfway through the evening, my daughter just turned around and said I love this man and when he read a very poignant poem on being placed into care, she whispered ‘that hit hard’ I am so pleased that we got to see Lemn, in the words of Gretchen Rubin, live the bigger life.

My weeks .. parkrun tourism, Quentin Blake and Bake Off

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I am now into the rhythm of autumn and my weeks seem to follow a pattern, full time work Monday to Friday. Saturdays start with a parkrun and mum taxi duties which take me around the county, followed by a late afternoon cooking in the kitchen and listening to the football, before settling down to watch Strictly. Sunday is a day for a family walk, little jobs around the house and prep for the week ahead. Its a life which brings comfort and contentment.

Over the past few weeks, there’s not much to report on. I have a new silver ring, a belated 50th present from my parents, its an unusual style, more an oval than round but I love it and its totally me (well I did choose it!) I have done two local(ish) parkruns, both are near the ‘big town’ where I have needed to drop my daughter each week. The deal is we go early so I can do my run. Last week we returned to my old ‘home’ parkrun, where I have still done the majority of my parkruns although this stat will only last for a few more weeks. By a lovely quirk of fate, I had friends running there and the event was also celebrating its 250th event, so it was a wonderful morning in the autumn sunshine. This week, I ended up at a venue I had not been to for nearly 4 years, it has an amended post Covid course and I so much more enjoyed the new course, it was my fastest time for a year. It is also really well located so I got to have a shower at the neighbouring sports centre and could feel a little nicer pottering around town. I took the opportunity to visit a Quentin Blake exhibition at the arts centre. It was well worth a visit.

As the autumn draws in, television is so much better, Bake Off and Strictly are my must watches. We have also watched a miniseries, the thriller Safe by Harlan Coben, it was a decent watch, even if the plot line was a little stretched at times.

Our Sunday walks have been lovely, warm, sunny walks in the woods and fields. I do feel that the sunshine on my face and breathing in the autumn air is therapy to me, a walk clears the head and focuses on the present.

My week .. with the shades of autumn

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Every autumn, I play a little game on how long I can keep wearing my summer wardrobe. With the random weather we have been having, I have packed my summer dresses away one weekend only to have to get them out the next!

This past week we had some terrible weather during the week, only to be blessed with a stunning weekend. Saturday morning at parkrun was beautiful, near perfect running conditions and then a relaxed parkfaff outside on the café terrace, with warm sunshine on our faces. There was also just a super friendly atmosphere, some lovely visitors and our community whom all made a joyful morning. Sunday was another mild day and we enjoyed a long family walk, with the bonus of warm pasties at the midway point. I nicknamed it our berry and nuts walk, because as we walked through the countryside, nature’s signs of autumn were all there to see. As we approach autumn, I am also back to Saturday night is cooking night, this week our recipe was a delicious savoury crumble. It was also my first homemade soup of the season for Saturday lunch, fresh soup and bread from our local bakery is the best lunch.

At this time of year, the start of a new academic year, my weekdays are very work focused, so I do really appreciate my weekends. I’m relishing being outside and every evening have been taking a walk around the block for 30 minutes, it helps to reflect on the day and to relax ready for the evening (and also to calm after the stress of asking my Year 11 daughter to do just a bit of schoolwork) On Monday evening, I did watch the live Chanel presentation from the V&A with Justine Picardie as an introduction to their exhibition. I am counting down the days to our trip in half term. I do like having something to look forward to. On Sunday we were also doing some planning for our Med cruise next summer, I’m very excited for the trips we have booked so far, Segways in Marseille and a Gaudi tour to Park Güell and Sagrada Familia. I am the sort of person who will research and learn all about Gaudi in the preceding weeks to really embrace the visit. The children and Mr S are off to a water park on the same day and I am secretly delighted to be a visiting it alone (albeit in a guided party)

Next week is a quiet week, the boys have a couple of football matches, so some quiet time for me, which is always appreciated.

My weeks … back to school, heatwaves and bugs.

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Much as like in the first days of last September when I didn’t have a new Prime Minister and King on my September bingo card, this September has started unexpectedly too.

Firstly, we have had an amazing heatwave which lasted for 10 days and gave us the hottest and sunniest days of the year. Unfortunately this also coincided with the return to school, which seemed a little unfair after the wet and grey summer holidays.

In these first few days back at work I presumed the extreme heat was what was making me feel really rough and needing early nights. Whilst I did a bit of parkrun tourism, I felt so poorly that on my return home I fell into bed and didn’t get up for a few days. As someone who is never off work sick, it was a shock to have to take two sick days so early into the school year. I thought it may have been Covid but repeated tests and a trip to my GP concluded it to be bad flu. It was awful and as soon as I can, I’ll be getting my vaccination as I do not want to feel so ill again.

In between sleeping, my bed rest meant that I was able to finish the Winners. Blackman is a genius writer and I sobbed at the ending. I have also read nearly half of the Chanel book. I am signed up for a webcast next week with Justine Picardie and have tickets for the Chanel exhibition in half term so my cultural life is Chanel inspired at present. Coco Chanel is certainly an interesting character. I watched the Greatest Days too, it was an easy, light way to rest and relax but its not making any top ten film lists. Mr S and I have also finished Who Is Erin Carter, a great concept with a strong start but a series which had too many action scenes for me to believe and rate the plot.

As I’ve been back to work for a few days now, we had a family day out today as the boys have football tomorrow. We went to a big seaside town for a beach walk, lunch and a few jobs. The town was buzzing with athletes for the Ironman tomorrow and it made me remember that we had come over the same day last year to do the parkrun. I had been surprised by the number of really fast runners last year until I saw the Ironman signs. The sand sculpture of King Charles we saw on the beach seemed poignant as we had a long weekend this weekend in 2022 for the Queen’s funeral.

I’m looking forward to a livelier few weeks now, I’m feeling so much better and healthier. Autumn, I’m coming for you …

The final days of the summer holidays.

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Despite these sunny photos, the summer of 23 has been pretty grey and wet and the final days of the holiday were again huddled under umbrellas. This summer I used a one page holiday planner to help give us focus and organisation and really appreciated this as it gave me time to fit in all i wanted to do. With the exception of one day during the weeks, we had plans, some big, some small every day.

On our first day back from holidays, my son and I enjoyed a coffee with his old primary school TA, they were paired up for all his primary years and there still remains a very strong bond. When our son started school. he was a tiny little dot, due to being a summer baby and a development delay because of a really tough start to life. Today he towered over his TA in a photo we took. He didn’t stop talking, again he spoke very little when he started school and hearing him describe his school, friends, football was wonderful for us all. I am so grateful we have kept in touch and that his TA gets to see the impact of all her hard work over many years on a young person’s life.

This summer has been the one of £2 bus fares and extra routes and we have enjoyed lots of days out. We live in such a rural location that we get lots of value from the £2 fare, none of our trips have been less than an hour’s travel time. Pre the £2 fare, a single was £5 with no return reductions, so at £10 per adult, public transport was prohibitive in cost. The routes we have taken this summer are all open top buses as they are notable for their scenery. We have seen some stunning views and visited lovely local places. Our most regular has been to the big town but this week, we went to a local beauty spot where after a walk to a beach for lunch, we ended up in the bar and sipping on our drinks in warm sunshine and nibbling on chips on the beach. Life is all about simple pleasures.

Later on this week, after the first home football game of the season , we met my parents at a midway point for them to take the children for a couple of nights. This was the first time in 13 years that we had a night away from the children. In all their time with us, residentials, family visits, sleepovers, cub camps etc.. we have always had at least one child with us and it felt so odd (but also rather nice) to be a couple. As it was bank holiday weekend, we had simple plans. We popped into a ‘big’ town on our way back from the rendezvous point to purchase school uniforms and then picked up fresh ingredients to make a special dinner (we had looked for a restaurant but were left uninspired by the menus so headed home) Even prepping dinner relaxing to some music and the luxury of a late meal seemed exciting! The logistics of the final week of the holiday meant that I had to go and stay with my parents for the final night as we had a 7am departure for our next adventure. Rather than rush down, I went to Clark’s Village on the way. However it wasn’t quite the occasion I had hoped for, the weather was awful and the stock in the shops was summer clothes when I was looking for more seasonal attire. However I did like the Lindt and Haribo shops and bought some treats for supper for us all. I also popped in the Emma Bridgewater shop, and got a bowl for Halloween, which I felt showed remarkable restraint! I will return to Clark’s village, its a lovely setting, just not for me on the day. Our early start was to allow me to get the children to an adventure day near home, kindly organised and financed by the Masons. Whilst my son is always up for action and adventure, my daughter was more hesitant, however they both loved the day and could not stop talking about all the activities they had done and the people they had met. I am always so grateful for the time and effort given by members of he community to provide amazing opportunities for young people.

This summer has been one in which we have had to adapt to the weather. Initially the last day of my holidays (I went back to school on a Friday?) was to be spent at the air festival but the weather was so poor we postponed this to the weekend and headed to the cinema. We saw the film Gran Turismo and it was excellent, I enjoyed the true story. This was a great decision as when we headed to the air festival (of course on the £2 bus) on Saturday the weather was amazing and we had a spectacular day. I always get great pride when I see a spitfire flying wondering if that was one my Gramps had worked on. There was such a variety of aircraft flying and there was so much to do on the beach and prom too, a prefect finale to out holiday.

Due to the change in my job, this was the first time in nearly 20 years I had six weeks summer holiday (in my previous job we got the same 13 weeks’ holiday but more equally shared) It was also the first (and likely, only) time that all four of us had all the time off together. It was the coldest, wettest summer for many years but amazingly on the days when we had outdoor plans the weather was perfect. We had great days out and I really enjoyed exploring North Wales and the North West in our holiday. There are so many lovely memories of our holiday but my favourite times include my 50th birthday breakfast and trip to the pier, Liverpool – the Beatles bus tour, Ferris wheel, the boys joy at Anfield, the Blackpool Tower and Pleasure Beach, a cycle ride in North Wales, the Lowry Collection, the Fashion museum and Air festival. Summer 2023, you may have been soggy but you were fun.

My week .. Blackpool and the North West

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After the wholesome week in North Wales, week two of our holiday was loud, fun and busy. Blackpool rocked and we made very happy memories.

The first day was a bit of a nightmare, the weather travelling to Blackpool was awful, biblical rain and wind and with petty arguments in the car, we were all pretty fed up by the time we arrived. We then walked into a filthy caravan, which took all afternoon to sort as it was so bad it had to be fully deep cleaned by a whole team of staff. We did receive a decent compensation for the inconvenience but it was just a rubbish day.

Fortunately, we had a week fully planned and on Tuesday, we started with the Blackpool Tower. We did the Blackpool Eye experience which involved a 4d cinema introduction to Blackpool and then a trip to the top of the tower. It was so much fun and I thought the glass floor was a brilliant touch. The day was so bright and clear that we had amazing views all across the town and sea. We then went out for a meal, we have joked that the week was sponsored by Tesco as the tower trip, Bella Italia meal and Pleasure beach were all paid by our Tesco points, its a great little scheme which helps gives the sparkles to special times.

By using our Tesco points, we had to book all activities in advance and as the Tower and Pleasure Beach were weather dependent we became avid forecast followers for the preceding two weeks. Amazingly, the weather all week was great, with the best day being Pleasure Beach day! The Pleasure Beach was brilliant, the children loved the adrenaline filled rollercoasters and did so many rides. I joined for a few, Valhalla which was wild and wet and had me crying with tears of joy, the Ghost train and Wallace and Gromit. Mostly Mr S and I loved just watching the children having so much fun and simply embracing the family time.

When we had been planning our week, we had not known about the water park but discovered it on one of tram journeys and booked a trip. It was another brilliant session, there are so many slides and features, including the longest inside water slide in the world. As you can read, Blackpool was pretty full on!

Another highlight of our week was a trip to Manchester for the girls and a return to Anfield for the boys on Saturday. In an amazing stroke of luck, my son’s team were playing Liverpool away and they got tickets to the match. It was such an experience for them both, a truly memorable day to be treasured. As we had been to Liverpool the previous week, my daughter and I decided catch a train to explore Manchester. I was keen to see the Lowry exhibition and the new Media city. I love to plan, so organised our train travel, sorted the tram routes and our day’s itinerary. The Lowry exhibition was brilliant, it started with a 20 minute film which explained so much about the artist and his work and then the opportunity to see the pictures referred to in it, made them so much more interesting. There was also an exhibition adjacent on the work of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, we did pop in and saw some of the original notebooks and sketchbooks and learnt about the creativity and process of writing. After the Lowry, we walked over to Old Trafford and posed for a few photos to send to my football mad son before returning to the city centre. I did find the city centre mighty impressive with its grand old buildings (and Emily Pankhurst’s statue) but also felt it was such a contrast to the works of Lowry we had just seen with their depictions of poverty. We also visited the shopping area too, but there was less on the shopping list after our Liverpool trip and it was more browsing. My daughter was keen to go to Selfridges and was in awe of all the designers and being able to see Chanel bags, Laboutin shoes etc on display, she has a wish list for when she is older! As a treat in Selfridges, we lunched in San Carlo Bottega and had a delicious meal in a delightful setting. I did buy a lip gloss so my daughter could have an ionic yellow bag as a memento of our trip. As the boys were later than us in getting back to Blackpool, we explored party Blackpool on a Saturday night as we waited for them to get back in, my daughter loved it and is planning a return trip with her friends in a few years time (scarily she’ll be an adult then)

Our final full day was Sunday and we were in Blackpool early to watch the Women’s World Cup final, sadly it wasn’t to be this tournament but the Lionesses have achieved so much. It was lovely to see the pubs busy with everyone tuned in to the match and such a positive atmosphere. We then did a final walk along the promenade and bought rocks and gifts for family and friends before heading back to the caravan and packing.

I loved exploring north Wales and the North West on this holiday, its been so different to other caravan holidays and the trips to Manchester and Liverpool were brilliant. It’s made me want to do more city trips around the country and my planning has started.

My week .. exploring North Wales and Liverpool

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Over the past few years we have visited a number of Haven holiday parks around the country, Cornwall, East and West Sussex, East Anglia, Kent and Tenby and shown our children some of the beautiful beaches and countryside the UK has to offer. This year we decided to do something different and combined stunning beaches with some city trips too. We spent our first week in North Wales, for the outdoor experiences and then the second in Blackpool for the explosion of fun, fairgrounds and bright lights.

As it is a long journey we stayed a night at Trentham Gardens in Stoke. This was a lovely stop with easy access to the shopping and dining experiences, a beautiful warm evening walk and conveniently close access to the motorway. It was the best en route stop we’ve done and helped us be fresh and ready for our caravan stay. We had an early check in and started the holiday straight away, whilst I collected our food shopping the children were already in the pool, exploring and making new friends.

When we were planning our holiday, one of our priorities was a trip to Liverpool as our football made son wanted to do the Anfield tour, this needs to be booked in advance and the date available was the first full day on site, Tuesday. It did feel a little strange to unpack and then spend the first whole day away on a little adventure, but boy was it worth it. For me it was one of the best days of the holiday. We travelled through to Liverpool on the train, it is really simple and took about 90 minutes. This may seem a long trip on a holiday, but for us, who live in a very rural part of the country, its a typical journey time for a day out. Nothing is close to home! Whilst I am a football fan, I knew it wasn’t the ideal itinerary for my daughter so after breakfast together, the boys and girls split up, with the girls heading off to do a walk to some of the key sights in Liverpool before doing the Beatles open bus top tour. The bus tour was amazing. When I was planning our day it was the trip which kept on being highlighted for its 5 star rating and I had booked us on. My daughter was initially bemused by the trip, but was won over within minutes. We had a brilliant guide, who not only showed us the sites significant to the Beatles story but gave an excellent social history of the city too. Beatles music is played throughout the tour, with the guide playing relevant songs and also taking requests from the passengers, it is the ultimate feel good trip with lots of singing. We also alighted the bus at Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields for the tourist shots! I had dressed to complement the tour too, wearing my favourite long, pink and red skirt and strawberry straw bag, it was a fun thing to do and sometimes I think you need to embrace the moment. Following the tour (for which I did do a trip advisor 5 star post) we headed over to the Liverpool Eye, another great and enjoyable activity. The views on the eye were amazing as we were treated to blue, clear skies and could see lots. My daughter was keen to hit the shops and spend her birthday money, I was really impressed by the shopping in Liverpool and a very successful shopping trip ensued! We then met up with the boys who were so happy with their day too and headed back on the train. I loved how happy we all were about our Liverpool trip, it really was the best day.

After the busy day in Liverpool we then took some days to enjoy the holiday park. There were lots of activities swimming, the ‘Big Jump’, crazy golf and on Saturday we hired bikes to ride from Presthaven to Rhyl, a 13 mile return journey along the prom. I liked the simplicity of the holiday, wholesome activities enjoyed outside in the sunshine. We were so lucky with the weather, after the most miserable start to the summer holidays, we had two holiday weeks of blue skies and sunshine. Although we stayed mainly on the park, we popped through to Prestatyn a couple of times, headed into Rhyl on Friday night for a cinema trip to see the Haunted Mansion and then on Sunday drove through to Llandudno and Conway. Llandudno was gorgeous and I liked the cuteness of Conway with the castle, the smallest house in Britain and delicious Welsh cakes.

As the children are now older, we did use the evening entertainment too, the highlight being a stunning Tina Turner tribute. We also discovered that the local fish and chip shop did battered Mars bar and we surprised the children with one as a supper treat. I chose not to try it but the verdicts were positive!

I found North Wales to be a stunning place, the beaches were wild and natural and there was lots of outdoor activities to enjoy, a peaceful first week of the holiday before the fun of Blackpool.

My week .. the one with some fun.

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After last week’s dull but essential holiday activities it was time for some fun. The weather continued to be really poor but we made the most of it and adapted our days.

Sunday was carnival day but sadly also very wet and windy. We were prepared for the parade to be cancelled but then there was a sudden break in the weather and it was on. It was a much better parade than last year with lots more floats. My favourite part of carnival is simply catching up with everyone and there were so many people I got to see whom I haven’t seen for ages. A very satisfying afternoon.

On Monday, we visited the fashion museum which I’ve written a separate entry on and it has definitely inspired me. I’ve signed up to a V&A webinar and have been reading articles and books on fashion and style.

Tuesday was our 20th wedding anniversary, again the weather was mixed so rather than a lazy day on the beach, we walked along the next stage of the coastal path we’ve been walking this summer. This was more fun than it may seem, we were on a busy, vibrant part of the path and it was great to people watch. We also stopped in town for lunch where the children managed to take a photo of the two of us just sitting next to each other, a quiet celebration of our anniversary.

Wednesday was again horrendous weather. As I knew I needed to spend a day at work this summer, and had to take my son to football training in the afternoon I combined the two. My thinking was better to work on a miserable day than a lovely day later in the holidays. My son came into help me .. help is quite a loose term! He did paint my blackboard but then was keen to explore the school and my resources. I was quite exhausted by the end of my trip. I did wonder if the football training would be on because of the weather but it was and we went along to a very soggy session. I had promised fireworks and chips on Wednesday night, but again it looked unlikely due to the weather and I was looking forward to a quiet night in after a very busy day. However the weather cleared again and we headed down to town for the fireworks. We had an amazing view and they were spectacular. I was choked up when the announcer spoke about the little girl for whom the fireworks were in memory of, the line I hope these look good from heaven made me very emotional.

Thursday and Friday were spent packing and prepping for holidays. I am organised and prepared by nature, but spend a lot of these pre holiday days reassuring Mr S, he does find these days quite stressful when everything really is under control.

Finally, Saturday was parkrun day and one of the wettest ever! I only volunteered as I was taking my son to football and needed to be home quickly. In addition to a very wet parkrun, the football was so wet too. We came home damp and cold so went for an early night before our holiday on Sunday.

We are all excited for our holiday, we have a night in Stoke and then a week in North Wales before Blackpool for a second week. We have lots booked and planned, it’s time to make happy memories.

Finally the fashion museum

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Today, I finally achieved something that had been on my Gretchen Rubin inspired lists from 19for2019, a visit to the Fashion museum. This was my third attempt, as due to staffing issues (its run by volunteers) and a leak, my previous two visits were unsuccessful. However it was third time lucky and it is an absolute gem of a museum.

It felt that my visit to the Fashion museum was in the stars today, as even my morning Wordle puzzle had a fashion inspired answer. I absolutely loved the museum, housed in a Georgian period house. I went with my daughter and we not only admired the clothes, the tailoring and craft of the clothes but talked about the social history and of course chose our favourite outfits. For me the pale pink dress was my choice, whilst my daughter appreciated the dress designed by Bruce Oldfield. I took a photo of the 1950s navy outfit as my daughter noted it was very similar to the outfit I was wearing, down to the straw bag.

In addition to the museum, there was also a wonderful tea room and shop, so after our tour, we stopped for a pot of tea. The museum had such a lovely atmosphere and ethos that I joined up as a friend of the museum and look forward to many more visits, there are talks and workshops in addition to the exhibits. I am so pleased that I have finally visited the Fashion museum, its inspired me and is a truly wonderful little museum.

My week … the one with my 50th birthday

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This week saw the start of the school summer holidays. I have been so looking forward to the holiday but in reality this was a pretty dull week prior to my birthday. It was a week to catch up on lots and do the essential life admin, there have been visits to the doctor, dentist and hospital for routine appointments, a couple of football training sessions which mean a 40 mile round trip and holiday nails and treatments. The weather was also pretty poor, grey and drizzly so not the most inspiring way to start the holiday. I was feeling a little despondent with my week but then listened to a teacher podcast and it seemed my week was pretty normal for most teachers.

The highlight of the week was my birthday, as I celebrated my 50th. I’m not someone who gets stressed about my age, I’m happy who I am and how I am, and there’s no desire to try and be a younger me. I did feel a pressure from some parties to do something for my birthday when I was really quite comfortable with a quiet day with loved ones. I am the organiser and planner in our family and really did not want the stress to do this for my own celebration so left all the planning to my husband. I appreciated my day, it was me and who I am today. We started with breakfast at my favourite cafe in town and it was dry and warm to be able to sit outside in their colourful courtyard. It was here I was presented with my present, a certificate of ownership of a personalised plaque on the pier. Of course, our first stop after breakfast was to find my plaque on the pier. It is in a lovely spot and I am so made up with my gift. My husband did tease me that he knew I would question the u instead of you, but did explain there was a character limit and he couldn’t write the full word. I am so happy with my gift, I have been saying that I have been immortalised on our town’s pier. I love the thought of my grandchildren finding my plaque in the years to come, or friends passing and seeing it and thinking of happy times together. After our visit to the pier, we then walked the length of the beach, the sun on our faces and just chatting together ‘en famille.’ After a lovely al fresco lunch, I sat in the garden whilst friends and neighbours popped around, flowers were delivered and many messages exchanged. My neighbours bought me a rose in my name so Mr S planted this for me in our garden. As he did this, I also found the time to finish my book in the sunshine, these simple pleasures made my day. In all of this we also had a visit from Dyno Rod as we had discovered a significant leak the day before, happily it was easily fixed. The day finished with a Chinese dinner.

As it is now carnival week, there was a party feel at our parkrun on Saturday morning and I dressed up. I did keep my birthday quiet as I don’t like the fuss but had such a lovely morning with the carnival atmosphere and community fun.

Following our week of life admin, our future weeks look so much more exciting and fun, now we just need the weather to improve.