HTMW Recaps: July 2018
I normally add a quote to the beginning of each post that sums up or enhances my writing. However, I’m going to use my monthly recaps as an opportunity to sum up the month – be it the mood, the weather, my feelings… Anything really. This month we were swept up with the World Cup football fever and as England progressed through the tournament, I wasn’t immune… There was a good atmosphere in London, the excellent weather and the football combining to create a happy vibe that permeated the city. The quote this month sums that up.
‘We have a great sense of togetherness. It is our team spirit that has taken us to this World Cup.’ – Robbie Keane.
In January 2017, I announced I was going to start monthly recaps on my blog. If you missed last month’s recap, you can find it here.
July felt both extremely busy, and also reasonably quiet. Let me explain. It was busy because of work – my new job really picked up this month and I’m still finding my feet, so it was bound to impact me. I’ve been in earlier and working hard to try and ensure I come up to scratch. On the flip side, outside of work, my life was reasonably easy-going in July, with a couple of day trips out of London, a few birthdays to celebrate and a shopping trip or two (my credit card hates me!). The hot sunny weather stuck around for another month too, which is both wonderful, but also a little draining after several nights with little sleep…
The Highlights
- The Football World Cup. I daresay this wouldn’t make my highlights except that England got through to the semi-finals. I got sucked in the further along their campaign England got! Combining the football with the good weather meant we had a particularly fun day celebrating J’s birthday. We we ate brunch together before all of us headed to the pub to watch England thrash Sweden in the quarter-finals to reach the semis. The atmosphere was amazing, the sun was out and it was a really fun day. I don’t think I’ve ever known there to be such a good vibe in the city!
- A day out in Kent visiting Ightham Mote. When A rang to suggest a day out, I leapt at the idea. We ended up at Ightham Mote and I’m so glad we did. It’s a beautiful Tudor house set in the quiet Kent countryside and surrounded by gorgeous gardens. We ate a delicious picnic lunch, explored the house from top to bottom and spent a bit of quality time together, which was lovely.
- A trip to the seaside. After a quiet Saturday in, I decided to visit Whitstable on a whim one Sunday. I booked cheap train tickets and headed out early the next day. Whitstable was crowded (there was an oyster festival on that I’d not accounted for) but beautiful, with the old clapboard houses backing onto the seafront, an array of colourful beach huts and of course, the beach itself. I walked quite a way along the boardwalk to escape the crowds and had (another) picnic lunch before pulling out my DSLR for the first time in ages and taking some photos. Expect a Postcards from Whitstable post coming soon!
- Getting a haircut! Sounds silly to add this as a highlight for July, but I rarely go and get haircuts, so I always love my new look when I do make the effort. In addition, the same hairdresser cut my hair as last time and she remembered me! We had a good chat, she did an excellent job and she even persuaded me to consider balayage next time I go!
- Pushing out a blog post, even when I didn’t feel very creative. Honestly, this is perhaps the longest period of writer’s block I’ve yet endured. But I pushed out a single blog post this month, and was half pleased with it. Most of the other writing I’ve done this month I’ve discarded as rubbish. Enjoy my post about sunrise at Poon Hill. The link is below.
- Trip planning! That quiet Saturday I mentioned? I spent it planning my trip to Australia and New Zealand and getting excited about what I’ve got lined up! I literally can’t wait to go back to New Zealand and see my old haunts once more, as well as spend a bit of time exploring Australia, a brand new country to me. The planning only served to make me even more anxious to get going!
The Lowlights
- Some really early mornings. As I mentioned, I’ve been working hard! This has meant some early mornings, and I’m not a morning person. So that has sucked a bit. I’m getting used to them, but definitely couldn’t do without my ultra-strong coffee each morning to see me through!
Posts This Month
- Sunrise at Poon Hill. In which I outline one of the toughest challenges I endured on the five-day Nepal trek, but the stunning sunrise that followed served to be the best reward I could have asked for.
My 2018 Reading Challenge Book of the Month – July.
NB: The list on my reading challenge post is constantly updated as I tick off books that I’ve read and add new books I want to read, so flick back to it from time to time to keep up to date with where I’m at!
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (continued from June, completed beginning of July).
When I posted my June recap, I was 65% through this book and I was struggling hard. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that I did finish the book and, surprisingly, I actually even enjoyed the ending!
Honestly, if this book had been about 200-300 pages shorter, I really would’ve gotten on with it better. There is just far too much information in it, and I think it could’ve done with some stronger editing. However. Without giving too much away, I thought the last 300 pages or so were really good. The pace went from sluggish to fairly rapid, I liked that the two magicians kind of turned out to be anti-heroes, and I thought it was excellent that one of the other characters (maybe third or fourth down the list in terms of ‘main’ character) became the actual hero of the story.
Would I recommend this book to people? Not as freely as I’d recommend some of the other books I’ve read this year. And if I did recommend it, I would warn people that it’s a slow burner and a really long read… But overall, yes. Possibly. To the right sort of person. And I’d increase my final score of this book too, to a solid 3/5. A whole 0.5 higher than where I left my review at the end of June! So that’s something.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.
After two long reads (one of which left me feeling emotionally drained, the other of which was just LONG), I needed a quicker book to pick up in July. Eleanor Oliphant turned out to be the perfect book!
Considering its size (I finished it in about two days), this book packs a serious punch. I loved Honeyman’s character development and the unique voice that narrated the book and came across beautifully throughout the story. I began the book wondering if I’d like Eleanor very much as a character, and finished the book thinking she was pretty bloody awesome.
The other characters are good too: warm, bumbling, kind, generous people who feed warmth and life back into Eleanor and help her begin to recover from the traumas of her past. And I’m grateful that Honeyman didn’t go too saccharine on us and try to push Eleanor and Raymond’s really beautiful friendship into anything more than that. It would’ve been highly unrealistic, and I would’ve completely lost faith in the author if this had been the case.
The reviews on GoodReads definitely echo my thoughts, feelings and opinions on this book. It didn’t wreck me emotionally like A Little Life did back in May, but it touched my heart, made me smile and I really cared for Eleanor by the end of the book. GoodReads rates this a 4.3/5, but I’m sliding in a little lower and going for a 4/5.
Next up in August: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, as recommended by J.
In July, I also read:
How to Keep a Secret by Sarah Morgan. This is what I’d class as a ‘summer read’. Not too tough, but a tight story line, some good character development and a bit of romance thrown in for good measure.
Largely set against the backdrop of Martha’s Vineyard in the USA, I particularly enjoyed reading about three generations of women (grandmother, her two daughter’s and her grand-daughter) who are forced back together during adverse periods in their respective lives. It turns out that all of them have been keeping secrets from one another, and as the story unravels, the secrets begin to come out…
The result is that the book covers how they deal with their secrets as they are revealed, and how the family come closer together again once the truth comes out. I did really like this book, it was another nice, easy read for me in July. I’d recommend if you’re going on holiday and want something fairly light, but with a bit of substance to keep you going.
Instagram Pictures of the Month
My photos this month were taken in London, a couple of locations in Kent and there were two posts from Nepal as well, corresponding with my post about climbing Poon Hill.
I choose these three images based on which got the most likes on Instagram and then tell the story behind the picture. Disclaimer: They are not necessarily my favourite photos!
From the Roof, Southwark, London. July saw a few balmy summer evenings spent on the rooftop above our office, enjoying the heat and the fact it was a Friday. Time to celebrate the weekend! I never grow tired of the view from the rooftop, overlooking the rest of the city. As the sun sinks and the rays turn orange, the buildings and office blocks glow and the glass reflects the light, beaming it back out across London.
Sunset over the Tate, Southwark, London. Another night on the rooftop, overlooking the Tate Modern this time. It was the perfect moment to catch the sunset, the sun itself almost central between the Switch House and the Neo Bankside apartments. At times like this, I feel lucky to work in an area like this in London. There is a beauty everywhere if you just look for it (or happen to be there for sunset!).
Orange Blooms, Ightham Mote, Kent. I wanted a different angle on the building, so got down low and started taking photos from among the flowers. A bees eye view, if you will. I loved these beautiful orange blooms, shining out like jewels from the bed they were planted in. The colours popped nicely against the building in the background, the gently glowing yellow-orange stone and the red roof. It really was a lovely place to visit for the day!
Coming Up in August
Well, having not even started adding the SSL layer to my website (as I planned to in July), this is something I maybe should focus on in August. I’ve also got a couple of things to remember to do around the domain name as well! Besides this, I’m out of London a fair bit this month, kicking off with a trip to Wales over a long weekend, then an escape to Essex and Suffolk to visit my grandparents and finally, another day trip into Kent to visit Leeds Castle.
