I genuinely thought that August would be a bit quieter than the previous summer months but it’s ended up being just as full-on as every other month so far this year. There have been a lot of uni and sixth form shopping trips, and I’ve been flat-out with working with therapy clients too in between all of the things I’ve shared below.
Here’s a little bit of life lately from August…
Watching the sunset at Lake Padarn in Llanberis, Wales
BOOKS
I was absolutely determined to make up for July’s distinctly unusual lack of reading! I think I did pretty well – it’s been a month full of excellent books.
First up was The Names by Florence Knapp, which I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. I loved the concept from the very first time I picked it up in the bookshop and read the blurb, I thought it was a genius idea. Essentially, it’s three stories in one – the alternative parallel lives that would have been lived if the main character had been given a different first name, and how the trajectories of his life would have been altered as a result. Or would they? That’s what the book explores and it’s such an interesting concept – imagining the answer to the age-old question ‘what’s in a name?’. I’ve always been fascinated with how someone’s name shapes them as a person and helps to create their sense of identity. I was originally going to be called Zoe, until my Mum changed it to Chloe right at the last minute. Sometimes I wonder about who I would have been if I’d grown up as Zoe instead – would I be the same as I am now or a different version of me?
What I hadn’t realised was that the book is set within the context of domestic abuse, and I felt quite shocked by that as I hadn’t been expecting it. It’s so very well-written: quiet observations; sensitive and delicate descriptions; and an incredibly clever timeline and structure – each chapter from the perspective of one of the three different names, advancing in seven year increments. What I really loved was the subtle interweaving of characters between the different stories, people showing up in other storylines in different contexts. Some things were consistent throughout all three threads as well, which brought into question the concept of fate and destiny, and nature vs nurture. The whole book really made me think. And feel. It was on my mind constantly in between the times I was actually reading it and in the end I became fully immersed. I finished it in five days and I’m still thinking about it now. A must read.
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans was another book I’d been keen to read for quite some time. The format intrigued me – it’s written entirely as letters and emails to and from the main character. It’s such an interesting way to structure a book and build a story, and it really worked. It made it easy to dip in and out of too. The style of the letters and emails changed from informal to formal depending on who she was writing to, and the further into the book you got, the more you understood the character, as little snippets of her personality, her memories and her story revealed itself bit by bit. I definitely grew to care about her as time went on. The whole book spans several years – you have to pay attention to the dates of the letters and messages, and to whom she’s writing – she forms relationships with really unlikely people but you fully understand how and why and all of it makes sense in the end.
I’ve noticed that I’m thoroughly enjoying reading books with an older protagonist – usually a generation ahead of me. I’m still trying to figure out why that is – perhaps to help me try and understand my own parents better, the thoughts they’re thinking and feelings they’re feeling. I used to write letters all the time as a child – thank you notes for Christmas and birthday gifts of course, but also just newsletters to grandparents, cousins, penpals and friends who had moved abroad. I loved doing it and loved the thrill of a handwritten card or letter landing on the doormat in return a few weeks later. I still love getting ‘real’ post now. I’ve been wanting to re-introduce letter writing into my life for a long time, and up until now I’ve always said that I don’t have time – which we all know is an excuse and not a proper reason because I can, realistically, make time if I really want to. I follow some letter writing accounts on Instagram (The World Needs More Love Letters and The Sunday Letter Project to name just two) and every time I see a post from them it ignites something in me. This book has done the same. *Heads off to buy some letter writing stationery*
I ended August with Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall. It was honestly unputdownable. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the page. From the very first chapter I could feel that it was going to build into a crescendo and I knew it was going to leave me emotionally exhausted afterwards. I kept going anyway. They are the best kind of books, when you feel you’ve been through everything the characters have been through, and you’ve experienced everything they’ve felt. Heart-wrenching, devastating, brilliant. Read it.
I read three fantastic (and very different) books this month: ‘The Names’ by Florence Knapp; ‘The Correspondent’ by Virginia Evans; and ‘Broken Country’ by Clare Leslie Hall
MUSIC
I have been hearing a lot of Audrey Hobert all month, because Lola and her best friend went to see her perform live at a gig in Leeds at the end of August. They had a brilliant time together. ‘Sue Me’ and ‘Shooting Star’ are the songs I like most, though they’re all pretty catchy. I’m so happy that all of my girls understand and love the unique magic of going to live music concerts, even if it is a somewhat pricey passion. We all have ‘concert money’ savings accounts set up to fund our obsessions!
The Family Roadtrip Playlist (which gets updated constantly) also featured heavily as we’ve done so much driving throughout August, going here, there and everywhere to Wales and York.
Meanwhile I’m still obsessing over Noah Kahan and probably will continue to do so until the gig in London in November.
LIFE LATELY
At the start of the month my wonderful Mum came to visit for the afternoon so she could see and spend time with Ella & Mimi before they move to uni in September. Train issues meant it took her four and a half hours to get here instead of the two hours it should have taken, so we had less time with her than usual. We didn’t go anywhere or do anything, we just kept it simple, stayed at the house and chatted. It was really lovely to see her – I hate living so far away from her and my Stepdad and am doing my best to go and see them more often. The next time she sees the girls will be during the Christmas holidays, which seems utterly crazy but I imagine it will be here before we know it.
Mum and the girls – I try and get a photo of them all together each time she visits us
The highlight of the month, for me, was heading to Wales for a few days in the middle of August. Mimi’s only wish, when she turned eighteen back in May, was to climb a mountain – and I was determined to make it happen. I knew straight away that it had to be Snowdon, and spent weeks and weeks researching it – which route to walk, what town to base ourselves in, what we’d need to take with us, which Airbnb to stay at… I will be writing a detailed separate post all about climbing Snowdon, but for now let’s just say it was an absolutely brilliant, exhausting, challenging, exhilarating, bonding, memorable experience. I’m so proud that we did it, it felt like a real achievement and seeing Mimi’s joy made every single sore muscle one hundred percent worth it. Plus, it’s one more thing ticked off my ’50 Things Before I’m 50′ list.
Stopping for a rest and to admire the view
Me and my girl
Three quarters of the way up. I love this photo of her.
At the summit!
I still can’t believe we were at the very top of the mountain you can see in the background of this photo!
Not long after we returned from Snowdon, we had both A Level and GCSE Results Days in quick succession. Both girls did brilliantly and I’m so proud of how hard they worked to achieve what they did. They both did more than they needed to do to be able to move onto the next stage – university for Mimi, who got into her first choice of uni, and A Levels at Sixth Form for Lola.
Meanwhile, the wanderers returned – Sophie and Jack came home after spending the last three months travelling around South East Asia. The time seems to have gone very fast – it doesn’t feel like that long ago that we were wishing them safe travels and waving goodbye as they headed off on their big adventure. They came to visit us (and collect Sophie’s car, which she left on my driveway for safekeeping whilst they were away), I made a big buffet dinner, grandparents came round to see them too, and over the course of the afternoon/evening they filled us in on all of their stories and showed us all of their photos (well over 1000!). It was really good to see them both.
I, of course, was fascinated – it’s a part of the world I’ve not explored at all (unless you count three very jet-lagged days in Bangkok on my way to Australia 23+ years ago) so I was asking tons of questions. It sounds like they’ve had some incredible experiences – they visited an ethical elephant sanctuary (which was Sophie’s absolute highlight of the whole trip), hiked to temples, climbed ‘sticky’ waterfalls, drank coffee in apartment cafes, braved quad biking in the jungle, spent time at historical sites, explored markets, swam with turtles, used just about every form of transport that exists and so much more… They were both glowing from the inside out whilst re-telling us everything. They came back with a souvenir tattoo each (which didn’t surprise me in the slightest, and no, they’re not matching ones!), and their favourite cities were Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney. Overall, Sophie really liked Thailand (once she’d got over the culture shock when they first arrived), and Jack enjoyed Vietnam the most. They seem to have adjusted to being back in England ok for now – there are no post-holiday blues yet (though I’m wondering if that might happen in a couple of weeks time when they both go back to work).
Sophie and Jack returned from travelling – they experienced so many things and had so many stories to tell
In the same week as all of the above, we moved Ella back up to uni and spent a couple of days in York helping her get settled into her second-year house – a cute (and surprisingly roomy) bungalow she’s going to be sharing with five friends. I miss her enormously already of course, but knowing she’s happy to be back there, and is enjoying arranging & decorating her room so it feels all cosy and homely, and is spending time relaxing & reading & watching movies & seeing her friends before the hard work of lectures & seminars & assignments starts up again next month brings me a little bit of comfort. We talk on the phone each week and message every couple of days so I know she’s doing ok.
I LOVE this photo of me and my girl
Finally, I spent an afternoon in London with a very dear friend of mine who was over from Ireland with his family for a long weekend. We hadn’t seen each other in person for two years so there was a lot to catch up on. We spent a happy afternoon wandering around the London Bridge / Borough Market / South Bank area of London with our cameras, stopping for lunch and hot chocolate before heading to Leake Street graffiti tunnel near Waterloo.
Me and Peter (I was delighted to have finally made it to this heart mural wall!)
I have been all over the place (quite literally) this month and chapter eight of 2026 seems to have gone very quickly. September is upon us and even though it’s one of my favourite months of the year, I am definitely not ready for the summer to be over. Next month is going to bring a lot of changes that we’re all going to need to navigate and it feels like we’re stepping into a whole new era.
I hope that you found plenty of little things to love throughout August too, and that September is whatever you want and need it to be.
With love,
Chloe x
