There have been times during the last two years where I have felt pulled along by the current of life and unable to pause to catch my breath. The last three weeks has been one of those times. Since starting my new job my days have been about trying to get through as much of my 'to do' list as possible whether that is work related or things at home like the washing, preparing meals and food shopping. Trying to squeeze in exercise and me time has been difficult. Having some time to relax and do something that I want to do is really important to me and important in keeping my moods balanced. This is why I try and press pause at the weekend, even if I am only able to do it for a short while around preparing for the new week ahead. My last few weekends have been really great in giving me some time and space in between one week and the next.
About three weeks ago now I went to see Tom Odell. I struggled to summon feelings of excitement when my friend picked me up and during the journey to the venue because I was so tired, I was almost asleep. I had seen Tom Odell once before at V Festival a few years ago and loved his set so I really wanted to see him again when I heard about the gig, the second thing that drew me in was the venue. I have never heard live music in a forest before and thought it could be amazing. My feelings of excitement bubbled to the surface as soon as I stepped foot in the venue, past security checking our tickets and bags and seeing the open space and the stage. It was the same feeling I get when I arrive at festivals and I felt a little sad that I did not go to the Isle of Wight Festival this year. The main reason for not going to IoW this year was simply because I wasn't very interested in the line up. The first time I went was two years ago primarily to see Bastille and last year it was for Biffy Clyro who were amazing! It was also an awesome line up last year and I got to see Passenger, Kings of Leon and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers as well as many others. I love the atmosphere at the IoW Festival, there are lots of different genres of music in a variety of different tents and it welcomes people of all ages. One of my favourite things to do is to see live music, I particularly enjoy it when I feel a connection to the music, when it excites me and often when I know the words and can sing along.
Anyway, back to the Tom Odell gig. I loved the venue and the support acts, The Beach and Rae Morris. I think what I loved about the venue was the atmosphere, it was chilled and laid back, perfect for a Sunday evening. The acts and the music that was played could have also contributed to this. We chose to sit a little way from the stage and relax rather than getting pushed and shoved nearer the front, I just didn't feel it was that kind of gig, I was just happy to listen in my own space. Some songs were very simplistic, Tom Odell and his piano, beautiful. It was a lovely evening, a bit chillier than the rest of the week but luckily no heavy rain just a few spots which was a pleasant surprise as it had been quite wet in the morning so I went prepared with my wellies!
Last weekend I spent most of last weekend with my Grandad while my parents were away. This is a great excuse to crash out in front of the tv and eat rubbish food. It allowed me to take a break from the list of things I felt I should be doing and gave me some time to rest. On the Sunday I went to see Magic Mike with a friend and got my Channing Tatum fix, he is just gorgeous. Afterwards we met up with another friend for dinner. These are two of my closest friends and we all have quite busy lives at the moment so finding time to get together is often difficult. It is so nice when we can get together and have a good catch up, usually with us there is food and sometimes cocktails involved.
This weekend has been a productive one. After about a year, I finally got around to re-painting my kitchen. Last year I had a water leak which caused damage to my ceiling, luckily the ceiling got fixed but I was left with a patch that had been plastered. Me being me, was too lazy to re-paint, until now. I left work Friday afternoon motivated, I stopped off at B&Q on my way home about bought the paint, I washed down the walls and done the first coat of paint over the plaster before going to bed. This meant that all I had to do Saturday was one coat of white on the whole ceiling and two coats of Mint Crisp on the walls. I was pleased to finish Saturday so that I felt I had some free time before beginning a new week. I'm really happy that I was free today because I ended up going out for the afternoon with my parents and Grandad. We spent a few hours walking along the beach in Great Yarmouth, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather as well as freshly made doughnuts before stopping in Beccles on the way home and eating a picnic by the river as the sun began to set. Perfect.
