June in Pictures

Hey Owlets,

I genuinely can't believe I'm writing my June in pictures and it's already half way through July. Someone told me to make the most of everyday because it goes so quickly as you get older, but I didn't expect to blink in March and open my eyes in July; I genuinely don't know where the time's gone! I'm kind of conscious that the last two months have had some amazing parts to them but also I've been at home a lot doing admin, so I'm determined to fix that over the months to come - I don't want to be one of those people that spends their entire life working rather than out exploring, plus I don't feel like this Month In Pictures is nearly as jam-packed as previous posts.

We start this month off with the reason I'm not thin - review meals! We somehow ended up with two meals out in one day. This photo is from the beautiful Cosy Club on Corn Street (if you've not already caught up on that one then click here) which was one of my favourite review meals I've ever done. 1st June was definitely a day of two halves, as the second meal we had to review that day was afternoon tea at a super posh brasserie. It's somewhere I'd wanted to visit for ages but the meal ended up being awful, more down to the attitude of the senior staff than the food itself, but I decided not to post it as the PR for the restaurant was shocked by what happened, and as they're a small brand I didn't want to trash their reputation by posting about one bad incident. Sorry for the only half cup of tea!

2nd June kind of isn't a lot to talk about, but this is such a ridiculous photo that I had to include it just for you to have a laugh at my expense. Last month we gutted the radio studio in order to refurbish it and for the first time in the station's history build actual REAL walls - it's amazing what you take for granted, isn't it? Anyway, our poor sofa had seen us through a few moves and definitely better days, so we decided it was time to say goodbye. In true BSR fashion, everything is a photo opportunity - what you can't see just out of shot is the ladder, my shoes, and Dad ready to help me back out the skip. Yes we're idiots, but it was fun.  I didn't have room for the photos in my Month in Pictures, so if you want to see what our new studio looks like, have a scroll through BSR's photos on their Facebook page.

9th-11th June was festival weekend in Bradley Stoke, which is both one of the most stressful and most enjoyable weekends of the year. For some reason this year was especially manic and it wasn't until I sat down at the end of the day that I realised how much I'd enjoyed my weekend. This photo represents a first for the festival - a local resident organised a colour dance (rang barse) on the Saturday afternoon which was basically a powdered-paint fight, and it was amazing. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure it comes from the Hindu festival of Holi, although this was more about getting everyone together and having a great time, and it was incredible.

After the festival madness I needed a bit of a break, so I didn't actually do anything other than admin until 13th June, which was the annual Woodlands Memorial Service. Every June the Memorial Grounds hold a service to commemorate everyone who's given their lives in service after the year 2000, and it's always a very special and moving day; it's nice that half way through the year you get to take time with your thoughts. There's no phone signal, the buildings are in the middle of huge grounds, and after the event the manager always encourages the guests to go for a walk and enjoy the space, so it's almost like you're taking a day out from existing - it really is peaceful. The thing that made it extra special this year is that we were invited back again even though Dad isn't the mayor anymore. Last year the photographer took a photo of us that's become Dad's go-to photo of us when he was mayor, so we had a repeat of the photo this year, but as I write this the photos haven't been published yet, so keep an eye on my Twitter or Instagram for that.

On 15th June we attended the annual Stars of The Stokes evening which is an awards ceremony to recognise the people in our town that have gone above and beyond, either for their family or the community. It's one of my favourite evenings of the year, and this year was even more special because a teacher from my old school was nominated for helping students, and she was one of the two people that actually got me through school - I definitely wouldn't have passed anything without them constantly pushing me, so it was nice to see her receive some recognition for everything they do.

Photo: Under a Pewter Sky

On 20th June I took a few days out for myself - I was actually invited to an event in Birmingham and it would've been close to catch the last train so I absolutely "had to" book a hotel and spend a few days having a mini holiday with my friends. This is probably one of my favourite photos from the month; as per usual I'm not ready for the photo and pulling a face, as Naomi looks effortlessly glamorous which is equally normal for her - don't you just hate people like that? If you don't know who Naomi is I highly recommend you read her blog - she's one of those people that just radiates happiness wherever she goes, so I feel very lucky to call her my friend. On the first evening I met a few friends at a blogger event in the city - let's just say the drinks were as freely flowing as the chat was and it was a bit of a late night! I swear I didn't drink until I met the Brum girls!

The next day I was perhaps a little unwell so I ended up getting a coffee and sat in the sunshine in Brindley Place - I actually found this little square behind the main part of Brindley Place, and I don't know how it's taken me 6 years of being in Birmingham to find it but it's now my new favourite place to sit after the library roof. After my coffee I took a walk into town to meet Tracey - she's an amazing friend who has rescued me on more than one occasion (she even put up with me crying into coffee on the roof of Park Regis one day, so you know she's a keeper!), but she can also drink anyone under the table. I walked in to Las Iguanas at 12pm to find her with two cocktails on the table, so we had a good catch up then went to Bar and Block for lunch (check out my review if you haven't already). 

After lunch I was overfull and still feeling a little under the weather, so we jumped in an Uber and went to this tiny little tapas bar in Edgebaston called El Borracho - we were some of the only English people there, with all the guests and staff being Spanish, so it must have been good. We sat in the sunshine drinking sangria and putting the world to rights - it's been a good two months since we last met up, so after 8 hours of chatting we still hadn't run out of things to talk about! It wasn't intended to be a holiday, but stepping on the train back to Bristol I couldn't have been anymore relaxed so I definitely needed it.

23rd June was the Heartful Dodgers charity fun day - if you don't know what that is, it's the charity that helped Dad get better after one of his "holidays" as Dad's cardiologist puts it, and since he was referred to cardiac rehab the Heartful Dodgers team have become like family, all be it a bit of a mad one! Of all the photos I have from the day, this has to be my favourite; I genuinely don't know if we got a bouncy castle for kids or the adults, but we all felt deprived every time a child wanted to go on the bouncy castle, so that probably answers the question. It's a shame this is a photo not a video though, because about 5 seconds after I took this, someone (ok, it might have been me) sat close enough to Dad that he rolled onto the floor - can you blame me?!

26th-28th June I went on my first ever press trip, which was really exciting! I got to spend a few days exploring a city that I thought I knew well but apparently didn't at all and I met some other bloggers that really inspired me, and gave me the metaphorical kick up the ass I needed to start being more motivated again. I won't spoil what I got up to - if you've not seen already then you can follow me to Bath here.

Love and Feathers, 

 The Owlet 💜 

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