After February’s endless, relentless rain, it felt like Spring had well and truly sprung in March with a couple of weeks of warm-ish temperatures and beautiful sunshine collectively making everyone feel better. (Sshhh…. we won’t mention the intense hail-and-snow-storm that randomly descended in the middle of the final week). The clocks have gone forwards, the evenings are a teeny bit lighter and my soul feels a little bit more alive than it did – definitely a good thing as it’s been a full-on month.
Here’s a little bit of life lately in March…
BOOKS
First up was The Giant On The Skyline by Clover Stroud. I’m slowly working my way through all of her books – she writes so honestly and deeply about hard-to-talk-about topics. This memoir is all about home, place and belonging, which are concepts I’ve wrestled with for over twenty years now. Her descriptions of both her outer and inner worlds are so distinctive and clear that I feel like I’m right there with her, and reading this has helped me loosen some of the threads I’ve been wrapped up in for so long. It definitely made me think and reflect a lot.
I wanted to switch to fiction for my next read, and I very much choose books based on how I feel in the moment. None of the other ones on my shelf appealed, but when I picked up Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, something sparked, and I knew this was the one. I’ve read all of her other books and it always takes me a while to settle into the rhythm of them – the lack of speech marks takes at least a couple of chapters to get used to, as does the fact that I unfailingly read the prose in an Irish accent in my head.
This novel is set in Dublin, which I’ve visited in real life a couple of times now, so it felt pleasingly familiar and I could comfortably walk the streets alongside the characters. It follows the stories of two brothers, a decade apart in age and both grieving the death of their Dad in their own unique ways. I found them quite intriguing and enjoyed the alternating chapters for each brother’s point of view. The style of writing was different for each of them, which I found fascinating – it really reflected their emotions and thought processes and individual internal voices. The depth of nuanced detail is astonishing – there is so much contained and conveyed in each scene, especially as the relationships between all of the characters developed. The ending was… unexpected, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been.
From Ireland, I travelled to Sweden, and have just started When The Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen. It’s been highly recommended by Fredrik Backman and I love that man’s writing so much that if says a book is good then I’m pretty sure it’ll be good. An impulse buy that I already know I’m not going to regret – I’m about a quarter of the way through so far and am finding myself deeply engrossed in it whenever I get a spare minute. I’ll report back next month.
Books I read in March: ‘The Giant On The Skyline’ by Clover Stroud and ‘Intermezzo’ by Sally Rooney
TV, FILMS & MUSIC
I may have accidentally fallen into the rabbit hole that is White Lotus – I’ve watched seasons 1 and 2 this month. I had absolutely no idea what it was about when I decided to watch it, I just knew that it was supposed to be brilliant. It’s incredibly clever – you know from the outset of the first episode that someone dies, but you have no idea who. I think what I enjoy most about it is how characters who seem so well put together at the start gradually begin to fall apart and show their increasingly outrageous flaws as each episode develops. I’ve always enjoyed shows that have multiple storylines to follow – it keeps me fully absorbed. Not an easy watch by any means, but a fascinating glimpse into human nature. I’m already looking forward to watching season three.
At the very beginning of the Easter holidays I took the girls to see The Magic Faraway Tree at cinema. I read a LOT of Enid Blyton books when I was a little girl (Secret Seven, Famous Five, the Adventure series and more…) but somehow I didn’t ever get around to The Magic Faraway Tree series. My daughters did though and they all loved it, so I knew we had to go and see it on the big screen. I had the added incentive of knowing someone on the costume production team so I wanted to see her name in the final credits. Considering it’s aimed at kids, I enjoyed it – it felt whimsical and light-hearted, which I think is a very welcome balance to the heaviness of the world at the moment. I thought that Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy were fab and the whole film made me feel nostalgic for when my girls (and I!) once had that depth of imagination and far reaching hopes and dreams.
It’s no secret that I am a little bit a lot in love with Noah Kahan – I can’t wait for his new album to be released next month. I’m currently obsessed with his latest single ‘Porch Light‘. This Live Lounge version is incredible:
LIFE LATELY…
At the very start of the month, just a day after getting back from our most recent trip up to York, I travelled in the opposite direction to spend a gloriously sunny, blue-sky day in London. I was there to attend an event in the evening but I headed down early to make the most of having a rare day to myself. I decided to explore some places I’ve never been to before – first up was Battersea Power Station. It’s such a cool area! I spent ages wandering around just taking it all in – the architecture of all of the different buildings, the quirky little shops and cafes in the arches of the bridge, inside the Power Station itself… I definitely need to go back as I want to go up to the viewing point at the very top of one of the chimneys to see the views over London and the River Thames.
From there I made my way over to St Dunstan In The East, an abandoned old church right in the middle of the city that has been taken over by nature. It’s only small, but it was really interesting to see. It was peaceful in there, and it felt very calming. Another one to return to one day as I bet it looks beautiful when all the spring flowers are blooming.
The Barbican Centre was my final stop – the venue of the event I went to. The main purpose of the day was to see Elizabeth Gilbert. I’ve heard her speak before – two years ago at the same place in fact. She was just as captivating this time around – she spoke about creativity and her new book, ‘All The Way To The River’, which I read last month. She has such a powerful-yet-humble presence and has lived a truly extraordinary life so far. I find her fascinating. I also bumped into two colleagues while I was there, which was a happy, bonus surprise.
Exploring the area around Battersea Power Station
At the start of March my wonderful stepdad, Ray, turned 80 years old. I couldn’t let a milestone like that go by without some kind of birthday celebrations, so he and my Mum came up to visit for the weekend; Ella braved the train home from York all on her own; we all went out to dinner as a family; and I bought a cake & balloon for him too. I took loads of photos of everyone and it felt really meaningful and important to have us all together. Eighty seems like such a big number, but he’s nowhere near that in heart, mind or body. He’s been in my life since I was nine years old and I’d be lost without him. He’s a very, very special man and I adore him.
My wonderful Stepdad, Ray, who celebrated his 80th birthday this month
I love this photo of the girls with my Mum and Ray
The middle of March was mostly taken up with Mimi’s final set of Mock exams (before her real A Levels start in May), plus one last uni offer-holder visit day. After a late night of deliberating and discussing lists of pros and cons, she has now made and formally submitted her firm and insurance choices. Now all she needs to do is get the grades, and I have every confidence that she will.
I did a personal branding photoshoot for a writer & artist at her beautiful home in a nearby city. It’s always such an honour to be invited to hear people’s stories and to document them in a way that reflects all the different versions of themselves that they are. I had too many favourites to share them all here! If you are interested in booking a shoot with me – for personal branding, for family adventures, or anything else(!), I do have a few weekend dates still available sprinkled throughout the next few months. For more information you can visit my website, or email me at hello@momentsinbetweenphotography.co.uk
One of the images I captured from a recent personal branding photoshoot
Mother’s Day was peaceful (I don’t really enjoy the fuss of a special day and prefer to keep it as normal as possible), and I was lucky enough to be spoiled with a selection of thoughtfully chosen books and beautifully worded cards. Ella came back from uni for the Easter holidays a week earlier than planned and it’s been so good to have her home with us. We didn’t do much for the first week or so and it was lovely just to spend time quietly together.
Hanging out in the park with coffee and blossom
I ended the month with another day in London, this time to spend the day with my Mum. She and I both love art so we often go to exhibitions and galleries together. I’d discovered a cool exhibition that I thought she’d really enjoy: James McQueen’s ‘A Beautiful Waste Of Time’ at the Halycon Gallery in New Bond Street. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the snippets I’d seen on Instagram, but let’s just say it more than exceeded any preconceptions I may have had. I absolutely loved it, and mum did too. We took photos of everything, and I’ve already looked back through them all many times.
What I liked most was that each piece seemed quite frivolous on the surface but when you got closer and read the words and explored the meaning underneath it, there was a lot more depth and wisdom to it than you first perceived. For me it seamlessly mixed a feeling of old school nostalgia (it felt very tied into the 90’s revival that seems to be going on at the moment) with the modern world, linked through phrases that are inherently woven through both eras. We spent ages in there, looking at many of the pieces more than once. It’s the kind of art I would happily buy and hang on my wall. It was such a fun way to spend a few hours together, mooching and discussing art, and I’m really happy that I got to spend that time with her. I’m already planning our next excursion!
Mum at the art exhibition we went to see. This one – ‘No risk no story’ – was my favourite!
And now, somehow, Chapter Three of 2026 is finished and we are a quarter of the way through the year. That’s crazy to me – it definitely doesn’t feel that long ago that the temperatures were -7° and we were sledding down the hill behind our house. Looking ahead, April is jam-packed – we have a lot going on during the Easter holidays and Mimi & Lola will be ‘locking in’ (to use their current favourite phrase!) to revise most days too.
I hope that you found plenty of little things to love throughout March and that next month holds lots of moments you want to remember.
With love,
Chloe x
