HTMW Recaps: May 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. May was the first month in a while that I’ve felt really, properly happy. Like, yes, there are obviously still periods where I experienced other emotions, but the overriding feeling of the month was happiness. Maybe it was all the sunshine…

‘Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.’ – Omar Khayyam.

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.

May was a somewhat unremarkable month. I didn’t travel to far-off foreign lands, or really do anything too out of the ordinary here in London either. But sometimes time spent doing the typically mundane is actually quite nice. I had a lovely weekend in Wales, bathed in the glorious weather and just chilled out. It helped that I felt happier than I’ve been in months for various reasons!

The Highlights

• All the sunshine! It has been a ridiculously sunny and warm month. I’ve become almost blase about the weather, no longer feeling like I need to spend every minute I can outdoors because it might start raining again at any moment… We’ve made the most of it though, having a BBQ in the park over the bank holiday, lounging on Hampstead Heath and taking in as many beer gardens as possible…
• Starting yoga again after years off. I’ve been to two sessions now, and I’m really enjoying getting back into yoga. It’s also free (with a small donation to a chosen charity each week), which is amazing! The teacher is great and it’s a very relaxed atmosphere, where I don’t feel silly if I can’t do a certain move for any reason. I’m pleased I took the plunge to get back into it!
• A family reunion in Wales. I spent four nights back in Wales for a family reunion. It was lovely to see so many of my relations, as well as my immediate family. We ate extremely well, took advantage of the good weather, and when everyone had left on the Monday I had another 24 hours to enjoy some downtime with Mum and Dad by myself, which was great! Plus, i made the best cheese scones I’ve ever baked before and basked in my own success as the compliments rolled in!!
• Some really excellent SEO training. I’m really lucky that work pay for training, and this was the best course I’ve ever done! The content was highly interesting, well taught and really fascinating. To improve the experience still further, the training space was really trendy and there was a great buffet lunch included in the price. I would post a link to the training centre, but our teacher told us that we shouldn’t post outbound links from our websites without it being reciprocated, so… 😉
• Getting into my new role at work. It’s been a few weeks since I started my new role, and now that I’m sitting with my new team and really getting into it, I’m finding it so great!! I’m super motivated again, excited to develop the role and gain new experience for the future.
• Having plenty of downtime. This has been a month of downtime. Chilled days in the flat baking and cooking, strolls around parks, casual drinks in the sunshine and a couple of great nights out. I also had a sleepover at A’s which was, as always, really lovely. I’ve caught up with lots of friends and really just had a generally relaxed month.
• Royal Wedding day. I’m not a huge royalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I do love a wedding. J and I watched the wedding whilst eating brunch and drinking Prosecco together. We then chilled in J’s garden for a couple of hours (still on the Prosecco) and finally spent the afternoon in a pub in Hampstead with P and his sister and brother-in-law. It was such a happy, fun day, and a definite highlight of the month to have such a beautiful, sunny day and to be able to spend it with people I love so much!!
• An unexpected 12 mile walk. After lying around the flat hungover for a day, P and I decided we needed to get out and take a stroll to at least achieve something with our day. We planned to be out for no more than an hour or so, but actually ended up walking 12 miles and spending four and a half hours out, arriving back at the flat just as the last light was fading. It was the perfect end to the weekend!

The Lowlights

• I kind of didn’t feel creative ALL MONTH. I’ve been struggling to get creative all month, with loads of stories to tell from Nepal and plenty of posts in the pipeline about other subjects too. But I’m blocked. I have little to no desire to write much at the moment. I think it’s because the weather has been so great, I’ve been loathe to sit indoors typing… Or maybe that’s an excuse. Either way, the content has been slow in coming this month!
• Getting completely soaked in an unexpected summer rainstorm! If this is the only other bad thing that happened to me in May, then I think it’s safe to say that it was a pretty good month! And getting caught in this heavy rain was only really a lowlight because I was on my way to work and had to sit in damp clothes for the afternoon. But yeah. May was alright…

Posts This Month

• Petra at Night. My experience at the UNESCO World Heritage Site after dark. It is, in my opinion, the best way to see the Rose City!
• End of the Line: High Barnet. I was a little underwhelmed by High Barnet, the first stop in my End of the Line series. Find out why! The next stop is coming soon (probably Morden).

My 2018 Reading Challenge Book of the Month – May.

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!

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

A did warn me that this book might take a little while to get into. She didn’t warn me about anything else though!

This book grabbed me and shook me so hard. At times, it was difficult, harrowing reading and there were occasions when I had to put it down because it all got too much for me. It left me with such a lasting impact that I didn’t pick up another book for the remainder of the month.

It’s the first book of the challenge that I’ve found myself discussing at length with various people. It has left a lasting impression on me, a dent in my soul. Of all the books I’ve read recently, this is the one that will leave an impact that I’ll carry around with me for perhaps the rest of my life. It knocked me for six. I put this book down when I finished and cried my eyes out for about ten minutes. It was that powerful.

Although it’s a tough read, I would not hesitate in recommending this book to anyone. You need to be in the right mindset, and be prepared to put the book down and step away if it gets a bit much at any point. But if you keep at it, I promise that this book could also leave you with a lasting impression and some pretty strong emotions.

I won’t spoil the plot in any way, shape or form, except to say this book is a wonderful example of male friendship, deep, strong, unconditional love and a wounded, life-scarred soul. Whilst you should be prepared for the occasionally graphic writing and some hard reading, you should also be prepared for joy, beauty and, above all, love. It’s a beautiful book. Don’t be frightened to read it, but definitely approach with more caution than I did!

It’s rated 4.3/5 by GoodReads. I’ll go higher and give it a 4.5/5.

Next up in June: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, as recommended by Dad.

In May, I also read:

• Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton. Whilst I was reading A Little Life, I was also listening to this book on Audible at the same time. It started out lightly, and it felt like the perfect antidote to the tough read that is A Little Life. However, this book also ended up leaving a lasting impression on me, and spoke such a truth to me! It was occasionally like listening to someone describing my own life, my own emotions, things I’ve felt and experienced in the past. I completely identified with Alderton and many of her experiences, and found this book to be thought-provoking, emotive and extremely well written. Alderton has the gift of mixing hugely personal and difficult subjects in with light humour, whilst capturing emotions perfectly and locking down in words many things I’ve felt but haven’t been able to write about personally. It was a completely randomly selected book, but I’m so pleased that I chose it. It’s something I’ll definitely listen to again in the future.
• Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor. I also listened to this book this month. I didn’t know what I expected from it, but I completed it and felt mildly let down, especially since it was nominated for several awards and even one a couple. My expectations for it were left wanting, however, and although I enjoyed the sweeping aspect of the writing, the all encompassing feel of the book, I also felt that I wanted that bit more depth. There were characters that I wanted to know more about, situations that arose that I never felt were satisfactorily resolved. The book ended with me feeling like I’d had the opportunity to eat a really delicious plate of food, but actually I ended up missing out and being left with the last morsels on the plate. In short, I was left unsatisfied.
• An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe. Rather bizarrely, given that Christmas is but a mere speck on the horizon (just over six months to go people!), and we are currently enjoying summer, I also read this in May. It is a gently humoured book, with entertaining seasonal anecdotes. It’s a light read, a mixture of memoir, advice and short story all melted into one book and thrown out to make you chuckle. I picked it up not least because P’s good friend I works at the company who published the book, and she gets a mention in the acknowledgements, but I’m really glad I’ve found this book. Another seasonal, possibly annual read to pick up around Christmas and enjoy – much like The Christmas Mouse by Miss Read, another festive favourite of mine!

Instagram Pictures of the Month

My photos this month were taken mainly in London, with some photos from Wales, one from Jordan to go with my post about Petra at Night, one from New Zealand to coincide with booking my flights there for the end of the year and, of course, from Nepal as I continue to reminisce about our trip there in April.

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!

That Wanaka Tree, Wanaka, New Zealand. I booked my flights to New Zealand (I’m going at the end of the year), and posted this image to celebrate my return to my favourite country in the world. I literally cannot wait to go, and of course, I’ll be visiting my 27th new country too, in the form of Australia. I’m planning to spend several chilled days in and around Wanaka, my little home from home on the other side of the world.

Golden Hour, Islington, London. Taken during our 12 mile hike, somewhere in Islington. By this point, I was dying of thirst, my shoes were beginning to rub and I needed the toilet! We made a pit stop at the McDonald’s you can spot in this picture, then continued walking home – past Kings Cross, along the canal to Camden and then north. It was a beautiful barmy evening, we found places we didn’t even know existed along the way and got home well tired and ready for bed! The light just makes this rather mundane scene so much more beautiful and unreal…

A View of Home, Powys, Wales. I haven’t been home during the summer months in a couple of years, and I’d forgotten exactly how beautiful the house looks when it’s covered in flowers. The trees were all in leaf and the grass was vibrantly green, with flowers everywhere like precious, brightly coloured jewels. I know I’m so lucky to have been able to grow up here, in this nostalgic and idyllic place, and love that this photo encapsulates everything I love about having lived, and being able to continue visiting, this beautiful spot in the world.

Coming Up in June

I have a day trip to Bristol planned and an overnight trip up to Edinburgh too. I’m so excited to visit Edinburgh for the first time, and to do so via sleeper train as well! My inner train geek is thrilled to be indulged! Aside from these two brief trips out of London, I’ll be remaining in the city for the rest of the month. I have a couple of leaving drinks to attend, I’m hoping the warm weather will stick around, and I’m beginning my saving proper so that I’ve got plenty of money for my big trip at the end of the year! Oh, how I love a challenge…