Yay, it’s the summer holidays! Which means, of course, that the heavens will open and us Brit’s will be heading to the beach to enjoy some soggy fish and chips in the rain. But, that’s all part of the fun and charm of summer in the UK.
Every year since I can remember we have been holidaying in a glorious part of North Wales. It’s not glamping, but we do tend to have more luxuries than just basic camping. After doing it for so many years, we now have a few tricks up our sleeves when it comes to sleeping under canvas.
Unfortunately we had to cancel it last year due to Covid and the Welsh border being closed. I was gutted, my husband not so much. For me its a time to breath in some fresh air, empty my head with time away from daily chores, and marvel at a cloudless sky without the light pollution of a city. For Dave, he just longs to get back home to his pc.
Anyway, Wales is a few weeks away, so I’ll let you know what I’ve been up to in July.
Camp NaNo wasn’t particularly successful. I did do some writing, some editing, and typed up part of a hand written short story I’ve been meaning to do for ages, but I’ve just been too busy in my personal life to hit my target. I will be making an official announcement soon about Sorceress of Flame though, which I hope you will like.
I finished reading Ocean Heart by Ally Aldridge and I gave it five stars in my review, which you can read here. Next up is The Hunted Maiden by Douglas S. Pierce. I’ve decided to take part in the World Indie Warriors Summer Reading Challenge, why don’t you give it a shot? You can find out more here.
The final few weeks of school were all over the place, which hasn’t helped my creativity. After suffering a cough my daughter was asked to isolate (We couldn’t be tested because it was within 90 days of us having Covid.), which meant she had to miss the fun week of outdoor learning and her sports day. We were told she could return for the final four days, which ended up being just two as they switched to remote learning following staff shortages. So, rather than ending with a bang the school year petered out like a deflating balloon.
Every now and then I like to go away for a night or two, just me and Amberley. She learned all about the Romans this year, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to visit somewhere that I’ve wanted to visit since I was young, Hadrian’s Wall.
We had a great time, not only visiting the wall but also a Roman Army museum and their sister site, Vindolanda Fort. It’s a fort archeologists have been excavating for fifty years and, after speaking with one of the ladies at the dig site, they recon they have another one-hundred-and-fifty years to go until it has all been uncovered!
On the way home we stopped off at the stunning Lowther Castle. The gardens are in the original layout from the 16th century! Amberley was pretty impressed by the giant wooden play castle in the woods, though I think she’d become a little tired of history when it came to the castle, so I had to skip past a lot of interesting details. It’s a place I would love to go back to and explore again.
So where does that leave us for August? As I mentioned before, there will be a holiday and there will be reading, anything more is a bonus. I’m hoping to go back to basics, possibly doing some writing by hand and printing off pages to do a manual edit, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I just want to enjoy the family time.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little chat. Let me know in the comments what you have been up to and what you are doing in the next few weeks. Also, feel free to follow me on Instagram, I’m always happy to answer any questions or just chat writing, books, and life.
Take care, Jodie xxx