HTMW Recaps: June 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. June has been the sunniest month I can remember in a long time – endless days of cloudless blue skies and soaring temperatures. It’s been a time to enjoy lying on the cool grass, seeking shade under wide spreading trees and enjoying beautiful sunsets from my bedroom window each night. So the quote this month is for summer, the sunshine and the long hot, restless nights.

‘Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds.’ – Regina Brett.

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.

With one quick day trip to Bristol and an overnight trip up to Edinburgh, I managed to get out of London twice in June. Aside from that, it was a reasonably quiet month, largely spent enjoying the weather and spending slightly too much time in work. Less of that in July I hope… The work, not the great weather!

The Highlights

• A day trip to Bristol. I went last year for P’s birthday, and this year decided to have a long day out and do Bristol and back in a day. Luckily, there were no transport delays, and I had a lovely few hours eating a roast and spending some time with P. I like being able to go and see her on her birthday, and knowing the trip is doable in a day makes me feel happier about going more often in the future, if she’ll have me!
• Overnight on the Caledonian Sleeper. My inner train geek was fulfilled and I spent a happy night sleeping off a hangover on the sleeper train up to Edinburgh. The staff were so polite and friendly, the couchette was super comfortable and the whole experience just great. Definitely one of the best sleeper trains I’ve been on yet!
• Exploring Edinburgh. What a gorgeous city! I managed to fit a lot into my short trip, and thoroughly enjoyed my first time in the Scottish capital, despite a downpour that got me soaked! I’ll definitely be going again sometime, and writing more about my experience. When I start writing again… See below…
• Seeing Flight of the Conchords at the O2, VIP style! When J messaged our Nepal group chat to ask if K, P and I wanted to join her in her VIP box at the O2 to see Flight of the Conchords in style, we of course all said a huge ‘HELL YES!’ They were hilarious, I had the best evening. I literally can’t remember the last time I cried with laughter, but cry with laughter I did that night! So funny. If you’ve never seen or heard of them before, check out some of their work on YouTube.
• An excellent breakfast picnic. J and I headed to Hampstead Heath early on Sunday morning with a proper continental breakfast – coffees, fruit juice, pastries, bread and cheese. We set up camp near the dog swimming area, which was wonderful (we got to watch cute dogs enjoying a swim in the sunshine) and awful (one said cute dog drenched us AND stole a bread roll, AND their owner was an arse!). It was a lovely way to spend a sunny Sunday morning, and something we will definitely repeat in future… Maybe further away from the dog swimming area though!
• A weekend of fun drinking and parties. To round off the month, I headed to a great house party with P and S, then spent the Saturday day drinking in my local beer garden before enjoying a second party in Finsbury Park. I had such a good weekend, full of laughter and friends and fun. Sometimes, spontaneous house parties and drinks in the sunshine are just what’s needed!
• SO MUCH SUNSHINE. Like, every single day. I can’t remember the last time we had such a long, extended period of sunshine. I love it, but part of me wishes I could enjoy it elsewhere, like at the seaside or in the countryside. Being in London does sometimes have downsides!

The Lowlights (I’m not even sure if this is a lowlight this month!)

• I still didn’t feel at all like writing in June. More strangely, I didn’t even feel guilty about not writing, which has never happened before. Whenever I’ve taken breaks from writing, I’ve always felt guilty about it in the past. However, this unscheduled and unexpected break from writing is accompanied by a distinct lack of… well, guilt. I think I’m just rolling with it. I know I’ll want to write about more in the not so distant future. It’s so warm out, so sunny, so SUMMER that part of me thinks absolutely why not have a break. And I can be creative in my new job role too, so I wonder if that’s impacted my creativity somewhat outside of work. All I can say is bear with me while I post next to nothing on this blog… It’ll come back, but at the moment, I’m actually enjoying the break!

Posts This Month

• Hitting Reset in Nepal. A brief but quite personal post about how our trip to Nepal came just at the right time for me, and spending time completely disconnected from the world was exactly what I needed to recharge and reset after a difficult few months.

My 2018 Reading Challenge Book of the Month – June.

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.

Well. Man, am I struggling with this book. It is the 2nd July and I am only 65% of the way through. It has been an uphill battle to keep persisting.

The main reason I’ve struggled is simply the fact that it’s not really my thing. The book is an alternative history of England, involving magic and fairies and other worlds interwoven into the story. Whilst I love Harry Potter and other books about mythical lands, such as Lord of the Rings, the style of Clarke’s writing and the general long-windedness of this book have combined to create something I’ve really not been enjoying.

However. It has improved the longer I’ve read. And I will finish it. I am determined to. It would be unfair to completely ditch one book on my challenge list but read all eleven others in their entirity. I want to discuss further with Dad why this is his favourite book over all others, how he can have read it twice… There must be something in it.

So far, I would give this book a 2.5/5, which is much lower than the 3.8/5 rating on GoodReads. This is now, 65% of the way through. I’ll be sure to update and provide a final review after I’ve finished the book in July’s recap post.

Next up in July: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, as recommended by P.

In June, I also read:

Zero other books. Honestly, no writing and a lack of reading as well! Mainly because I struggled with my challenge book recommendation, I felt like when I did read I should pick that up as much as possible. And I’ve still not even finished that! July will be better… More books will be read!

Instagram Pictures of the Month

My photos this month were taken mainly in London, with some photos from Edinburgh after my day trip there and a couple from Nepal.

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!

Walking in the Clouds, Himalayas, Nepal. We had already been walking since before dawn, watching the sun rise over the Annapurna mountains before breakfast. A sight that had overwhelmed me, overjoyed me and been one of the best moments of my life so far. Now, we were above the clouds, or among them, and the path wound endlessly ahead of us through the trees. The vibrant pink flowers on the rhododendron bushes cut through the green, grey and brown hues, adding a splash of exotic colour to the eerie world as cloud wafted around us. We had many more steps to take, many more miles to cover that day, but in that moment, when we’d already achieved so much, we took a moment to enjoy the heavy silence only cloud, trees and a lack of technology can bring.

Down the Alley, Edinburgh, Scotland. I arrived in Edinburgh before 8am and strolled along the Royal Mile before the hoards of other tourists awoke, finished their breakfasts and headed out for the day. My only companions were joggers, delivery drivers and, once, an alcohol imbued man stumbling past, hopefully on his way home to bed. The Royal Mile was largely deserted otherwise, and I took the opportunity to enjoy the quiet of the early hour. To my left, at various points, narrow, twisted alley ways ran downhill, vaulted and often dingy, mostly uninviting. I snapped this view through one doorway and then continued on my way, determined to hike Arthur’s Seat before breakfast.

Picnic by the Eye, South Bank, London. I value my precious time with A over time spent with many others. She is and has been my rock and a constant, steady and wonderful friend for nearly ten years now. We’ve seen each other through thick and thin, been separated by great distances for some years and only now, in the past two years, have lived close to one another again. We don’t need much to have a good time together – just some space, maybe a spot of food and occasionally, some alcohol. Our conversation flows, we laugh together freely, we know each other inside out.

In the middle of the heatwave, we ate pasta salad and home-baked pasties on a square of ragged grass in the shadow of the London Eye and caught up on each others news. Afterwards, we walked arm in arm along South Bank, stopping for endless minutes to discuss important topics like love and life and gazing over the Thames as the sun sank behind the buildings opposite. We parted ways at dusk with our usual hug and ‘love you’ thrown over our shoulders. I went home brimful of happiness, acutely aware that there are few people who can make me feel like A does. She breathes life into me.

Coming Up in July

Another reasonably quiet month, and the first for a while where I have no plans to leave London at all, as yet. Perhaps I’ll build in a day trip later in the month, but there’s nothing fixed right now. I do have three birthday’s to celebrate and I am still trying to be sensible with money, so sticking around in the city is probably a good thing! Hopefully, I’ll feel more up to writing this month, and I’ll definitely pick up on the reading too! I also have plans to fix some things on the back-end of my blog, including completing the lengthy and somewhat daunting process of adding an SSL layer to my site for extra security… Wish me luck!