july + august + september
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
It's been over a year since I last sat down to recap my life in monthly chapters. The truth is life is so damn good these days that I've rarely been capturing it at all - I'm just floating, blissful, absorbing as much of it as I can. Being as present as I can. It's been a fuckin delight, tbh.
But I'd still like to share something, at least. I do wish I'd taken more photos this summer, especially whilst in Brighton, but I was so present in the experience that I didn't want to waste a second. It's not a bad problem to have, really.
I started the summer with receiving my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and then proceeded to catch corona from a colleague several days later. Wouldn't recommend Covid on the whole, lads. Not a pleasant experience. S looked after me beautifully, though, and my mama-in-law dropped me round some peonies.
After the dreaded Cove and our period of isolation, S and I took a trip down to Brighton (after many lateral flow tests on both of our parts.) We visited Brighton with some friends last Summer but I didn't love it on the whole. This time around I fell in love, hard and fast, and had the best holiday of my life. Everything lined up for us perfectly - the weather, our Airbnb host allowing us to spend another night, our train getting cancelled at 2am the day of and us rebooking so we could stay longer... and then we realised S's favourite artist was doing a show at the Concorde 2 and there were tickets avaliable for the Wednesday night...
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We spent our days wandering the Laines, dipping in and out of independent pubs and cafes and shops, and our evenings reading in our Airbnb. I went in the sea for the first time in my adult life and I adored it. The weather was warm, the sky a wide stretch of clear blue. Bliss.
At one point Bimini Bon Boulash walked past me and I genuinely had a meltdown. My body and mind could not comprehend what was happening. I was utterly star struck.
I can't pinpoint a single part of the trip that was my favourite but I can list several: watching a shrimp swim past us in the ocean, purchasing my first ever vinyl record (Rumours by Fleetwood Mac if ur interested), demolishing a scoop of chocolate + hazelnut gelato from Boho Gelato, hearing S sing his heart out at the Frank Turner gig (he was phenomenal btw, as were Pet Needs who supported him), connecting with Jess Guise over a song about her brother, the fuckin divine strawberry + banana smoothie from Coffeetzar that was so good I bought one every morning on our way into town, playing multiple rounds of Dobble with S whilst sipping a cloudy lemonade, the vegan shortbread from Infinity Foods. I genuinely could go on and on and on forever.
If you're planning a trip to Brighton I recommend checking out the following:
• William the Fourth, an excellent pub that's a mix between classic pub decor and modern touches ie moons and fake ivy handing above the bar.
• Coffeetzar for fresh smoothies and the chorizo + brie foccacia.
• England at Home for cute indie decor pieces.
• Resident, the number one place to shop for vinyl in Brighton.
• The Vurger Co for deliciously filthy vegan burgers and sides. I went for the 'crispy chicken' burger with a side of 50/50 fries.
• Infinity Foods for freshly baked vegan treats and snacks. I tried the shortbread and it was divine.
• Boho Gelato for the best vegan gelato in town.
• Purezza for delicious and well priced vegan pizzas and sides. I had the margarita with added crispy potatoes and S went for the Friarielli with a side of dough balls and GOD it was good.
Once back home I came down with a severe case of the post-holiday blues as I tried to navigate life back in Bristol. I felt incredibly connected to myself and my wants/needs whilst in Brighton and I found it hard to connect those things to my life at home. I realised a lot of the things that were important to me, especially regarding climate change + environmentalism, as well as the general little details of life, and spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to tie those things into my 'real' life whilst mourning the trip itself. It was a hard few weeks, but at least I have this delicious lunch to show for it:
Garlic ciabatta, sweet potato fries in a polenta crumb, a mini tin of beans and some Asda mature (vegan) cheddar to top it off. Christ alive.
The end of July also kicked off the start of Drag Show Season as S and I went to see the United Kingdolls at the 02 Academy and weeks later my mama and I saw Crystal Methyd at The Fleece. I fucking love drag.
I was struck with a sudden spark of inspiration in the middle of August and decided to arrange my books by colour - a very ~out there~ idea for me. I'd always organised my books by genre but my bookcase was looking a little sad and uninspiring so I mixed shit UP and now I'm suddenly reminded of all the books I own that I'd forgotten about.
Towards the very end of August S and I went on a day date into town to see the giant moon hanging from the ceiling of the Bristol Cathedral. We also crossed the river and visited the M Shed so we could see the Colston exhibition. I was incredibly pleased to see it was heavily focused on the timeline of his life (and slavery) alongside information and footage of the BLM protests. I had no idea of his history and it was unsettling to see it all in print but that's what we need! We need information like this to be featured and I thoroughly support any cause that brings down people in power who exploit those around them. And in case anyone here needs reminding: Black lives matter.
August slipped away into September faster than I could wrap my head around and my PTSD reared its ugly head bang on time. Autumn has been a severely triggering time for me for the past 4-5 years but this year my life is so wildly different that I'm trying my best to embrace the season and leave old memories behind.
We did enjoy some last snatches of sun before the rain came to chase it away. My early morning walk to work one Sunday was blessed by these pretty lattices of cloud.
Finally (I'll share my London snaps in another post) I was introduced to the most intriguing thing: chocolate sourdough. What a concept! It's vegan and delicious when toasted and slathered with vegan butter, fyi.
And that, in a nutshell, was my summer 2021. What a strange and eventful few months, my friends. I always feel like I've done nothing of note until I sit down to write and suddenly an hour has gone by and I still have things to say. I hope your summer was a blissful one, despite any bumps along the road. Here's to a restful + festive autumn. x
Currently playing: nothing but the sound of my keyboard tapping and the rain pouring outside the window.