Antics and ramblings of a twenty something

You would think that the wonderful summer we are currently having may have persuaded me to get outside in the evenings and soak up every opportunity, and whilst this in some ways is very true and I do love a good evening-stroll, I have been leaning into DVDs  again and reminiscing over wonderful films.  A big part of romanticising life with limited energy, is finding different kinds of entertainment at home, particularly when I have used my energy for the day and I'm needing to recharge in a way that doesn't involve mindlessly scrolling my phone.  This is actually harder than it looks, as often walking more is out of the question if I want to have any energy to use the next day. I usually start looking at activities that I can do sitting down, whilst still keeping my brain relatively active.  I have been loving wordsearches, keeping an up-to-date diary, and occasionally scrapbooking - as well, of course as reading and writing creatively as much as I possibly can - bu...

Hello, hello, hello,  I hope this post finds you fine and dandy. Today, after returning from the amazing State Fayre festival yesterday evening, I thought I'd do a prequel post to my 2019 penning 'How To Breeze Through Festival Season With A Chronic Illness'. So, without further ado, this is part two - almost seven years later, written by someone with even more disabilities now.  In my previous post, linked  here  I talk about the importance of: - Picking a festival that works for you. - Always requesting additional support where needed. - Going to a festival means going with someone who will understand and respect your needs. - The importance of choosing the right accommodation. - Planning your time wisely. - Staying hydrated. And whilst all of these points still stand, and are important pre-cursers to anything I build on in this post, I wanted to delve into some of these points in a little more detail.  💙Some festivals are more accommodating than others - r...

  Hello,  Gosh it's been quite a while since I wrote for myself over here, and I thought it would be nice to check in.  Since my last post I have started an Instagram account highlighting day to day life with illness and disability, and started volunteering for a Foodbank in their Media and Comms team so it has been quite a writing-based time.   How is your October going so far? I have to say I'm loving the mild and crisp sunny days we seem to be having at the moment. The conkers are falling, the leaves are crunching and everything is preparing for Winter.  I wanted to write about an experience that inspired my yesterday, to think about the word 'community' and to delve into how easy it is to find this, in modern day society.  I think with the normality of smart phones, especially as a twenty-something, I think it can be so easy to move about the world with your face solely illuminated via screen. Even if we wanted to meet others or strike up meaningfu...

 This being our last day in St Ives meant that we got out early to seize the day. After donning trousers and a fleece for the first time this holiday (the breeze is bracing today!) We walked the short distance to Porthmeor Beach with our flasks of coffee and sat and watched surfers battle and ride the choppy waves.  It was lovely to drink hot creamy coffee whilst breathing in the sea air, then try to find more art galleries to peruse.  Since being here we have gone to the Tate (review a couple of posts back) and yesterday to the Barbara Hepworth sculpture garden, where giant beautiful sculptures are dotted amongst flowers. All this art is inspiring and captivating and I wanted to try and see more whilst in the seaside town famous for its art, its artists and its art movements.  We found ourselves in artists studios, each unique and personal, each messy, beautiful and interesting. We found ourselves in multiple galleries and boutique shops, admiring brushstrokes and c...

 On Tuesday 21st of May we trundled the hour and a quarter journey from St Ives, to a place we'd all been excited to see, The Eden Project.  It is a place we went when it first opened, as my Dad knew some people on the project team, but that was back when they only had one biome, rather than two and I couldn't remember anything of our time there.  I must say, it is a fantastic place to visit. There is two biomes, sort of like big bubbles in the rock face (or should I say clay face as it was an old clay pit originally). One biome is Rainforest and the other is Mediterranean landscape. The air is dense and warm and plants, flowers and fruits grow in every direction.   Fabulously, I found Eden super accessible, with a little forward planning. Three weeks before our holiday I booked our tickets with Jack as my disabled companion and I reserved an electronic  wheelchair (that is free!). This meant that on the day, once our tickets were scanned I headed to a frie...

 Tonight I am writing this post from a cute seaside themed room. I am writing on my phone after eating a supper of toast with peanut and coconut butter (my new favourite thing ever, it's delicious). The blind crinkled, with colours of stone and pinstripes in bottle blue showing in the cotton. It is closed, white pillows are stacked and a nautical themed light sits beside me, lighting the pages of Growing Goats And Girls (review to follow on my other book related blog!).  I feel really cosy, really content and really happy. We have been in the small seaside village of St Ives, ('we' meaning Jack, Mama and Pop), since Friday afternoon when our little car trundled from Hatchbeauchamp in Somerset to cobbled streets and fishermen's cottages here in Cornwall. We stopped off at a pretty hotel there to break up the truly exhausting 6 and a half-hour journey from Cheshire to Cornwall and it made our yearly holiday all the more special. I have never been to Somerset before and I ...

  Hello,  Today I thought I'd recount a trip I took with Jack, a couple of days ago.  Jack has been feeling quite unwell and having blood tests to try and find the cause, so it isn't often both of us have the energy to go and do something outside our town together at the moment. Tuesday was wonderful as it was one of those rare days that we both felt well enough to venture out and we decided on visiting Chester. After calling at Wrexham for a quarter of an hour and not really feeling we could see much due to lots of hills which I struggle to walk up, we redirected and called into the beautiful city known for its clock tower, Roman Walls and listed buildings.  We wondered around for a while, finding a market near to where we parked that we hadn't been in before. There were so many stalls selling delicious looking food, cakes, gifts, flowers, even champagne! It all looked amazing and was undercover, with an amazing atmosphere. We were initially drawn in by the life-siz...

 Hello,  Two blogs in two days Molly?! I hear you proclaim,  I know, doesn't write for six months and then writes two posts... Like buses really.  I love blogging and sometimes when life gets busy it's so easy to forget about the joys of writing. I've recently been taking courses in literature and I've been really delving into creative writing for the first time in the past few months. I realised recently how much blogging helps with finding my own narrative voice and just finished a course on BBC Maestro an online learning platform where industry experts guide you in their field. It was incredibly informing and was called  Writing Children's Picture Books  with Julia Donaldson. In that time I have read dozens of picture books, marvelled at the prose and craft and enjoyed the beautiful illustrations that you find everywhere in children's literature. I'm now learning about Writing Love Stories with Jojo Moyes and Writing Poetry with Carol Ann Duffy and I'...

 Hello, I hope whoever reading this is well, happy and having a lovely day.  The sun is out here and although it definitely feels way  too cold to be sure Winter isn't over and Spring is truly here, we are nearly at the end of April.  Today as I walked into town, I felt the warm sun on my face and felt so excited for warmer days. I recently started gardening a few weeks ago and today potted up my Christmas Rose's to bloom in December and some Crocus bulbs alongside my Iris, Forget-me-nots, and Lobelia. I love the feeling of being in the sunshine, my hands in the soil and watching something so small, growing and flourishing through the seasons.  Jack and I recently moved to a pretty Cheshire town, not far from our parents and to have a little yard with a washing line that pulls out, pots with plants and a mini greenhouse is wonderful.  I realise I haven't caught the blog up since last September and I feel like I need to update an old friend. I have been feel...

 Today I'm writing this a little worse for wear whilst recovering from Covid. It's the first time in a few days I haven't been sleeping and as I finished this wonderful book a few days ago, I really wanted to try and muster my thoughts on it whilst it's still fresh in my mind.  - a few hours after I wrote these lines I slept for quite a few hours and struggled to concentrate properly so continued this post later -  In recent months I've really been drawn to nature writing. My love of nature writing really started back in 2021 when on a trip to the Scottish Highlands with Jack, I picked up Lucy Jones's 'Losing Eden' about the importance of nature and protecting it. Whilst good nature writing can make you feel overwhelmed at the climate crisis it can also make you feel overwhelming gratitude at the wonderful planet we have been born into and everything that nature provides. There isn't such thing as humans AND nature, we ARE nature and as is becoming i...

 Hello, Gosh it has been a long time since I wrote a blog post. According to the tracker that tells me when I last posted, it has been two whole years since I wrote a book review on the little separate blog space I created and then forgot about. I thought it may be less confusing for me just to use this blog - Antics And Ramblings Of a Twenty Something - for all posts again (at least until I am a lot less rusty). So much has happened since I last wrote, reader. I moved to a new city, I have moved homes twice, I got engaged, I got married, I've stayed in hosptial three times and been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. I have a new job. I have lost loved ones and I have been to beaches, forests, cities. I have made new friends here and Jack has had two new jobs. So much has changed. I have grown. I have missed writing.  I am currently not feeling very well whilst starting treatment for EGPA Vasculitus and whilst waiting to start other treatment.  I find myself wanting to...

 Hiya! I hope that whoever reading this is well and has had the best day so far 💘. I thought I would sit down and scribble tonight as it's nice to regularly write and it's been quite a while... How are you doing?! The past month or so has been lovely... We went to Devon for a few days with my family. Seeing Toruay, Totnes and Darmouth in beautiful sunshine was so so needed. Being able to walk on the beaches and eat inside cafės just felt so surreal and amazing, we wanted the holiday to go on forever.  Day to day, we have been trying new vegan/vegetarian recipes including tofu and leafy greens, working and trying to go on gentle walks whenever possible. Whilst everyone is resuming a little more normality thanks to the vaccine, I have to say it has made us feel pretty ill and so as soon as we have felt well we really have been enjoying taking my parents' dog out for strolls, and generally soaking up the English sunshine that has made an appearance. That's not to say we a...

 Hello,  How are you doing today? I hope anyone reading this is really well and perhaps curled up somewhere with a book... I have a cup of chamomile tea in hand and a wooly jumper on whilst writing this as it definitely has gone a bit cooler recently. The warm sunny days a few days ago are very much a welcome surprise as we creep closer into May. May is a month I feel very excited about. Mainly because it is the month my Jack turns 25! But also because with it brings the promise of warmer days, and hopefully slowly towards restrictions ending.  I feel prompted to write about this weekend as slowly but surely it has begun to feel ever-so-slightly more 'normal' and I think it's nice to be able to recognise this in the present and look back on these trips in days to come.  I feel very thankful that this weekend has involved seeing my parents, it was nice to be able to see each other outside more casually. On Saturday we went to a farmer's market and it was wonderful to ...

 Hi, Hope whoever is reading this is having a lovely week. The sun has popped up this week bringing with it warm days to hang the fresh washing, eat outside and generally feel better. I thought as we have our 'road map' out of Lockdown slowly but surely making life feel more normal, that I would document five reasons to smile this week. I think it's all the little things that add up to big things and if you don't take the time to appreciate them, they can go unnoticed. 1.  Swimming - I love swimming more than literally anything else apart from my partner, family and friends and so to be able to get back in the water this week was amazing. Jack and I booked a 'pod' as we are in the same household and that equated to an 8th of the pool overall. For some reason I envisioned this being a small section with barely any room for front-crawling, but an 8th of the pool is really spacious and the hour slot we had was plenty of time to get some lengths in (or rather many h...

 Hi,  How is everyone? It feels ages since I last wrote here, in fact I just checked and realised I last checked in in May last year... So much has changed for so many since then. Countless numbers of people have been lost to such an awful disease, and my thoughts go out to everyone affected. This year has been a blur; news has felt bleak, vaccinations have started to be administered, daily updates at one point shaped our lives, we all became so used to working in the same place as we live, TV shows like Normal People and Bridgeton trended for weeks, daily walks with our households took on the a whole new meaning and sense of purpose. So much has been lost and so many who have been on the front line caring for those we love at their hardest times deserve medals. At the same time many of us have felt blessed for the small things, to feel the love of family and friends - albeit from afar - and the simplicity of getting fresh air.  I feel proud that as a world we have all un...

Yesterday was quite something wasn’t it? It was the only day I can remember where literally everybody seemed to gather together to celebrate the same cause (albeit indoors). With the exception of the Olympics, the World Cup and other sporting events, I can’t remember a day in the historical calendar being so well commemorated. The warm weather was perfect for the trestle-tabled picnics that lined gardens, as Union Jack bunting flapped proudly in the breeze. It’s 75 years since unconditional peace was declared, marking the end of the Second World War and it really did feel a special day. There are so many videos from May 1945, where soldiers are seen kissing girls in fountains, massive tables are joined to fill the street and everyone is beaming at the new feeling of freedom and of peace. Never in my life-time have I seen a commemoration of VE Day quite like yesterday. We have always paid respects in our thoughts and hearts for all of those amazing men and women whom lost their ...

Hiya, I hope, as ever, this post finds you really well and maybe even enjoying the lovely sunshine today. Whilst the world is a bit crazy at the moment, at least the sun is shining and the birds are singing. It makes you feel at least some things are normal (though we are in England, is sun normal?) I thought it may be nice to document my day today, for anyone who is THAT bored and also for future me. I’ve realised how I love blogging more than any other sharing on social media because unlike photos it gives me an insight to my thoughts and ideas at the time, and I think that’s pretty cool to look back on. It’s also really calming to write and I do recommend it to anyone wishing to write a diary but doesn’t have the stamina to write daily. You could write it just for yourself and never share it anywhere. Give it a go :) So today started early for me, I woke up actually really refreshed for a change at 7.30am after falling asleep at 9.45pm last night. Normally I’m a getting to sle...

Hello, Hope everyone who reads this is doing really really well and is healthy and happy. I just felt inspired to write today, as we’re about to come out of week five of social distancing and week four of lockdown in the U.K. I feel so so lucky to be safe at home, whilst many risk their lives at work looking after the very ill in hospitals, the only thing I have to worry about is how to keep busy which is the easiest job of all really. I think there’s so many things you could do each day, that you don’t even think about and so many of us probably have these items just sitting around waiting to be used. In the first two weeks I decided to read up on medicinal herbs and how they can be used in beauty purposes. Balms, cleansers, shampoos, oils and scrubs can all be made naturally with base oils, essential oils, honey, and flowers. I’ve really come to appreciate the healing properties of rose, marigold, chamomile, lemon balm and rosemary especially - I recommend Rosemary Gladstar’s...

Hiya, The world is such a crazy place at the moment and my heart goes out to all the people fighting the horrible coronavirus. My heart especially goes out to all the wonderful doctors/nurses/caregivers looking after the ill, and to all the scientists working hard at finding a vaccination. From the people working in shops to ensure people can still get the essentials, the the Police and Fire Departments that still have to look after our country as usual, people really are heroes. In our street a WhatsApp group has been set up to make sure the vulnerable or those unable to get out are helped and for those that still need to go to work, that they’re updated. In the midst of a lot of worry, there is a lot of love being shown. Whilst it is absolutely essential to self isolate for the sake of others and prevent further strain on the NHS, for those that are now having to self isolate as many of us are, it can be a boring time. With the stress of going on in the world outside, it can be...

Hello, I’m going to be honest and say I’m not feeling the best today- the fatigue is really really heavy but writing always takes my mind off it :) so here goes... I thought it’d be nice to write down all the things I’m loving this month as a way to look back on the things that make me smile. 1) “Expectation” by Anna Hope - I’m just over halfway through this book and LOVE it 2) Waitrose assorted teas that include peach and honey and also strawberry and camomile flavours 3) The Body Shop - Chai Latte shower gel - thank you for amazing Christmas gift Katie!! 4) Lush’s  hair shampoo bars - perfect for sensitive scalps 5) Bath bomb’s and body lotions in general - I’m never normally that organised with body care but I’m learning to fall in love with body butters! 6) Having loved ones that are incredibly supportive and want to be there even when I feel rubbish ❤️ 7) Candles! - I don’t think I’ve fully appreciated them until my 22nd year!!  8) A little canvas book bag th...