Fancy a coffee and a catch up?

Pull up a chair, let's chat.

Dec 01, 2024

Hello friends,

How have you been? It’s felt (once again) like quite a while since I last wrote to you, so I thought we could grab a virtual coffee together and catch up.

I’m sitting in one of my favourite cafes at a wooden table with a just-stirred cup of mocha next to me. It’s busy today. Next to me are a couple of people also with laptops, studying (or working) silently together. To my other side it seems like a gathering of old friends and they have the cutest chocolate brown dog with them.

I’m imagining you’re sitting at my table, opposite me, with a beverage of your choice (what are you having?). I’ll go first with the catch-up and imagine you’re asking the following…

How are you?

I am… OK thank you :) I would love to say I’m great, but in all honesty I’m coming off the back of what I think was the flu (or possibly even covid) which came off the back of a different sore-throat/cough. I feel like I’ve been swallowing razor blades for weeks and while I am very much on the mend and feeling so much better than I was, I’m also a little tired and weary from it all.

This sickness has meant I’ve missed a couple of personal events and a few days of work, and I would be lying if I said that wasn’t slightly stressful. I’m trying to be kind to myself though and recognise that I can only do what I can do, and it’s OK if I don’t get everything wrapped up in a tidy bow before the end of the year.

Thankfully I have a wide open weekend ahead of me so I can rest up even more and get back to 100%. I see lots of Sims gaming sessions in my future.

Outside all of that, Dan, my partner, started a new job recently after being made redundant earlier this year and it feels like the plans we made at the start of the year can start coming back into play. And that feels really nice.

How’s work going?

Work is going well. I honestly am in such a good place with it at the moment. I’ve settled into the promotion I got back in February (to a senior position) and after quite a full-on few months for our little content team, it feels like we’re getting in a good groove.

I just constantly feel lucky that our team is full of talented and lovely people.

It’s still stressful at times, but I’m getting better and better at stepping back and reminding myself of the bigger picture.

My volunteer work with Beat (the eating disorder charity) is shifting gears as the programme I currently volunteer for is closing down. I’m looking forward to some different types of work with them and continuing to support a wonderful charity and team.

How’s therapy going?

You may (or may not) remember that I started therapy earlier this year. I could feel myself slipping, with anxiety and low moments, so I reached out to a professional before I fell.

We had sessions every other week for about six months and a few weeks ago we came to the decision that it was time to bring our sessions to a close.

I think the premise of knowing when to stop therapy is an interesting one (and one I’ve discussed on the Happiful podcast) so perhaps I’ll write a separate letter about that. For now - I’ve finished my sessions, am eternally grateful for my therapist and am in a much more solid place mentally.

What are you reading/watching/listening to?

So, so much. I’ve been on a real streak with what I’m consuming at the moment and love a good book/TV/film/podcast chat so, let’s go.

Reading-wise, I’ve given a couple of recent reads five stars on Goodreads, mostly because of the multi-faceted characters. These two in particular cover quite intense topics, so check your trigger warnings:

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors. This book is such an interesting look at sisterly bonds, the complexity of family and the impact of both addiction and grief. Each chapter swapped points of views between the sisters, helping us get inside their heads and understand their actions.

This approach also made me desperate to keep turning the page. Once I knew how one sister saw a situation, I was keen to see the others’ thoughts. A beautifully written book.

Bear Town by Fredrik Backman. I finished this last night and thought to myself ‘I don’t want to leave this town or these characters’, and, thankfully ,I then discovered it’s the first of a trilogy (don’t you love it when that happens?).

The book settles itself in a small town that revolves around its hockey team. We start the book knowing something awful is going to happen and spend time watching it slowly unfurl. I was both enraged and raptured. I can’t wait to continue the story with book two, Us Against You.

If you’re looking for something lighter and less trauma-focused (I get it!) I also enjoyed my first Emily Henry rom-com book, Book Lovers and a cosy fantasy prequel, Bookshops & Bone Dust (prequel to Legends & Lattes which I read last year).

TV and film is the medium I turn to when I really need to switch off, and it saved me when I was too sick to read or play the Sims. Here’s what I’ve been loving:

The Great British Bake Off (always a cosy watch)
Grey’s Anatomy (can’t believe I’m still watching, but here we are - a comfort watch at this point)
Dark Matter on Apple TV (loved the book and thought this was a decent adaptation - one for for sci-fi/thriller fans)
Shrinking on Apple TV (heartwarming, funny and nuanced)
My Old Ass on Amazon Prime (this film made me laugh and cry, so good)

Podcast-wise my tastes have changed dramatically since closing my business down in 2022. I used to be all about the business or wellness podcasts. Now my listening habits look wildly different. Here’s what’s in my regular rotation these days:

Handsome (three comedians being hilarious)
The A24 podcast (a recent discovery, actors and directors getting together to chat art is fun to listen to)
Ologies (an accessible, fun and fascinating science podcast, I’ve especially enjoyed recent episodes on psychedeliogoly, coffeeology and funology)

What are your plans for Christmas?

I have got two and half delicious weeks off for Christmas and I can’t wait. I have a couple of festive parties in the diary, one with work and one with friends, and a new sparkly top to wear at both.

Dan and I always try and have a bit of a ‘couples Christmas’ before the day too, swapping gifts and eating canapés, so we’ll get that in the diary soon too.

On the day itself I’ll be doing my usual, spending the majority of the day with my family, playing with my niece and eating tasty food before heading to Dan’s in the evening for a second desert (wonderful), a glass of bubbly and a chilled evening with his family.

What are you excited about next year?

One of the first things I have in the diary for 2025 is a tattoo appointment, my first one in years. It has been inspired by a sad event; our lovely family cat, Sanka, passed away a couple of months ago.

He was such a character and it sounds cheesy but I always felt a particularly strong bond with him. So, I’m getting a cat tattoo to keep him close. I’ll no doubt show it off to you when it’s done.

Aside from that, I’m excited for more travel! Dan and I have three travel plans already in the works for next year, one for a gig and two for overseas weddings. What beautiful reasons to travel - music and love.

We’re also hoping to get the ball rolling with our move so we can find a place that allows pets. Here’s hoping we can make it happen in 2025.

OK, the dribble of coffee left in my cup is getting cold, so I’ll leave it there.

I would love to hear your side of the conversation - of course, don’t worry about answering every question (unless you want to of course!) but I’d love to hear your answer to one of these questions in the comments, let’s catch up.

Content, Actually

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