april round up
How’s it going out there in lockdown? We have found a sort of rhythm to our days. But my productivity isn’t at an all time high, that’s for sure! Time is a strange stretchy band, weeks flying by but sometimes I can’t believe how slow it goes from 3pm until 7pm. Despite this I know how much harder it is for so many people. I have done some boring photo backing up which I feel very proud of as it has been something that I have been meaning to do for about 8 years. Generally though, this is survival mode.
What I Read This Month
1. The Most Difficult Thing by Charlotte Philby
2. Mindfulness & The Natural World by Claire Thompson
3. All The Birds Singing by Evie Wyld
4. Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
5. Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue
I enjoyed Charlotte Philby’s debut novel, an espionage thriller. I have followed Charlotte on instagram for a long time and she is a beautiful writer. This month has been entirely about enjoying nature and seeing signs of Spring emerge so Claire Thompson’s book was a lovely read and had some nice ideas on how we are one with nature, we breathe it, we drink it, it nourishes our body and how much nature benefits us (in every single societal way; health, happiness, creativity, perspective). We are lucky to have the South Downs ten minutes drive away so that is where we have been every day watching huge, sleepy bumble bees coming to life, lambs tottering on new legs and butterfly spotting. We have seen brimstones, peacocks, green hairstreaks and large whites.
MONTHLY FAVOURITES
Watched… Feel Good the writing was brilliant and I felt all the feelings that these characters had; happiness, love, confusion, anxiety, shame and despair. I hope they come back with a series two.
One of my favourite books from 2018 got made into a series. I was so worried that they weren’t going to do it justice: Normal People. Connell was exactly as I had imagined him and I was sold on Marianne from episode two. Those feelings of first love and the confusion of trying to figure out who you are and move towards happiness in your early twenties were so well depicted. I loved it.
Unstoppable is a documentary about Bethany Hamilton, a surfer from Hawaii who lost her arm in a shark attack when she was young. She is an absolute badass who goes on to surf some of the biggest waves the world has to offer and to compete against the top surfers out there (no disabled category for her). Really blew my mind.
Listened to… The High Low is back, but also so is Where Shall We Begin with Esther Perel. She just released 3 one off counselling sessions of couples forced together in lockdown, from New York, Bavaria and Sicily. I find these so utterly fascinating because I am very nosy about people’s relationships! My beloved Water People podcast is back with Helena Norberg-Hodge, who talks so well about local economy movement.
Turned up online for… How did I ever not know about Yoga with Adriene? I am sure you do because she has 7 million followers! I have been doing her classes every evening in my sunny garden, squashed next to my recycling bin. I have also been enjoying Madfit, when I can get motivated to do it. Kids-wise we have been doing Arthub almost every day.
Just to be lockdown foodie cliches we ordered a veg box from Sussex and a meat box from independent suppliers, baked The Anna’s Edit cookies and I bought a new pot to cook in, I now look forward to making the porridge in the morning!
