August has been a busy, busy, busy month full of good things. We haven’t gone away on holiday anywhere this summer (either in the UK or abroad) for various reasons, and I was feeling quite sad and a bit guilty about that, but actually, even though I’ve had to work a fair bit and there have been many slow days at home, we’ve still done quite a lot and made some good memories together.
Here’s a little bit of life lately, throughout August…
BOOKS
Where last month was full of non-fiction books, in August I switched back to fiction, simply because I wanted to dive into someone else’s made-up world for a while. First up was The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. I’ve read several of her books (she’s most well-known for Big Little Lies, which got made in to a TV show). They’re all set in Australia – usually in or around Sydney, which has a special place in my heart – and I really like her style of writing. In particular I love the way she structures her books. She introduces each key person one by one in a different chapter and as the book goes on you start to realise how they all intertwine and connect in ways you would never have expected. They’re relatable characters in lots of ways too, and there is always a plot twist at the end that I never see coming.
I’m currently a few chapters in to The Story Collector by Evie Woods. I haven’t read anything else by this author, though I know she has written a couple of other books. This one is set in Ireland (which also has a special place in my heart) and I picked it up purely based on the title, the front cover and the short blurb. So far, I’m intrigued. I’ll report back next month.
‘The Husband’s Secret’ by Liane Moriarty and ‘The Story Collector’ by Evie Woods
PLAYS & FILMS
I adore going to the theatre, whether it’s a West End musical, a local pantomime, a school play, or a more ‘serious’ professional production. Immersing myself in something happening in front of me live on stage brings me a huge amount of joy. I’ve been lucky enough to have two London-based theatre trips this month, both Shakespeare themed and both very different from one another…
At the start of August I went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge Theatre in London, with one of my best friends. It’s becoming a bit of an annual thing for us to do together now and I very much hope it continues – we went to see Guys & Dolls there last year. It’s an incredible theatre – if you buy standing (‘promenade’) tickets, you become part of the show – the stage is in the centre of the performance area and the actors move in and out of the audience. I’ve only ever seen this particular play once before, about 25 years ago at Regents Park Open Air Theatre, which was magical. I couldn’t really remember the storyline though so I had to re-familiarise myself with it before I went.
The show was, quite simply, spellbinding. The acrobatics were breath-taking, the costumes and set designs were beautiful, it was hilariously funny and the actors were phenomenal, particularly Puck and Bottom. It was, of course, primarily performed in Shakespearian English (how on earth they learn all of those lines I will never know!), but there were modern twists with music and film references which I really liked – it made it more accessible to those who maybe haven’t studied Shakespeare. I found it easy enough to follow along with.
And at the end of the show, the stage disappears and everyone is invited to the main floor, where there’s a big party for about ten minutes as the grand finale! It was so much fun to be a part of.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed at the Bridge Theatre in London
The afterparty!
As a last little treat for Ella to say “well done” for her A level results, we spent a day in London together – the last chance we’ll get before she moves to uni next month. She wanted to visit the National Portrait Gallery (specifically the Tudor Galleries) and I wanted to find another photobooth. Then in the afternoon we headed to Wyndham’s Theatre for the matinee performance of Born With Teeth – the main reason for our trip. I didn’t know much about the play at all and actually, that made it even more interesting as I had no idea what to expect.
Born With Teeth is based on William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe (another playwright of the time) and is an imagined account of their alleged rivalry and relationship over the course of three years. What made it extra special were the two actors who were involved: Ncuti Gatwa (from the TV show Sex Education and the most recent Dr Who), and Edward Bluemel, who Ella was VERY excited to get to see in real life. They were the only cast members, which sounds crazy but it worked – it was insanely good. The unique structure of the play also helped make it even more interesting: ninety minutes; no interval; three acts. The entire show was dramatic, intense, intimate, provocative, challenging, and unexpectedly funny too. I think I held my breath the whole way through – the performances from both actors were incredible. We both loved it.
(There are no photos from the play itself – I was too busy applauding at the end of the performance!)
Ella enjoying some of the portraits in the Tudor Galleries at the National Portrait Gallery
Found one! This one was in the lobby of The Hoxton Hotel
I am very much enjoying making the most of the gift of a free cinema ticket every month through my Vitality insurance (aff link). I watched the trailer for The Life Of Chuck last month and instantly knew that I needed to see it. It’s based on a Stephen King novella. I’m not a fan of horror so I was a little bit apprehensive, but I’m pleased to say that this was a whole world away from that genre – no horror at all.
I don’t really know where to begin with describing the film or trying to explain what it’s about. It was wonderful. A story told backwards, and interestingly, it was also in three acts, just like Born With Teeth. The Life Of Chuck is about dying and living and dancing. Stars and maths and the artistry of it all. It’s about moments that matter, and people who touch our lives in ways we don’t even realise, and the universe that each of us holds inside our head. I cried – so much so that I had to wear my sunglasses to walk home to hide my red eyes. I’m not even sure what it was that got to me. What I do know is that I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it ever since, and every time I do I get goosebumps. Go and see it, immediately.
LIFE LATELY…
In addition to all of the above, we squeezed a lot of other stuff into this month too, even though many of the days in-between have been very slow and/or I’ve been working. That paradox never ceases to amaze me – how things can feel slow but fast at the same time – and our ability to hold both simultaneously really is quite something.
Ella and I had our annual trip to the Shropshire Petal Fields. Mimi doesn’t come with us because she struggles with severe hayfever, and Lola opted to say home to keep her company. We pre-booked (essential) and visited on the penultimate day – this wasn’t our original intention but the opening dates got changed due to the flowers peaking earlier than predicted thanks to all the hot weather throughout July. It was incredibly busy there, which is wonderful for all the local businesses who have stalls in the hub area at the entrance, though I have to admit that we didn’t enjoy the experience quite so much as other years we’ve been on days that were a little quieter. Still, the flowers were in full bloom and the fields looked glorious in the sunshine, and I’m sure we’ll attend again next year when they re-open (keep an eye on their website for date announcements closer to the time).
Ella’s favourites on the left, and my favourites on the right!
Petal confetti covering the ground in amongst the flowers, which were still in full bloom
I am a cat-person, not a dog-person. Dogs are smelly and slobbery, you have to pick up their poo and they chew all of your shoes. And yet… when my friend asked if Mimi would like a little summer job dog-sitting for her while she and her family were away on holiday for 11 days, I had to say yes. Mimi has been begging for a dog pretty much since she could talk, and she lit up in a way I’ve not seen her do for a long time when I agreed. To cut a long story short, we both fell a bit a lot in love with Jasper. Mimi definitely earned her money – she picked up every poo, and did all the feeding and walking – I just had the pleasure of accompanying her every day. Getting to spend precious 1:1 time with her was wonderful – as the middle child, it’s not something I ‘ve had an opportunity to do with her before. I loved all of the conversations we had. And getting to know Jasper and all of his little personality quirks was really fun too. I’m still not planning on getting a dog, but I am happy to borrow one every so often 🙂
Mimi and Jasper
We spent a day at Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds – both Ella and Lola love the Tudor era and there is a lot of history to do with Henry VIII and his various wives there. His sixth wife, Katherine Parr, lived and died there, and you can go and see her final resting place in the Chapel. Sudeley Castle is more like a stately home than an actual castle, so the name is slightly misleading, but it was really interesting to visit. Part of it lies in ruins, and part of it is still intact – the family who own the estate still live there. The room displays were very cool – there were so many artefacts and trinkets, and vast amounts of information to take in. Mimi and Lola got a little bored but Ella was fascinated. The gardens and grounds were beautiful and there was an absolutely fantastic adventure playground too. (Apparently even teenagers still love playing on an adventure playground!).
Sudeley Castle was fun to explore
Some parts of it were intact, and others were in ruins
My beautiful Mum came up to visit for the day. We don’t really do much or go anywhere when she’s here, we’re just content to spend time with her. I managed to convince them all to have some photos in the garden this time though, which I’m very happy about.
My Mum and my girls – I love this photo
And a selfie of me and my Mum 🙂
The main focus of the month has been the build-up to A-Level Results Day for Ella. The nerves definitely increased as we got closer to the date. Of course, she did absolutely brilliantly, and got into her first choice of university to study the degree she wanted. We are all thrilled for her and incredibly proud of her. We celebrated with a family dinner out a few days later, and I managed to persuade them to let me take some more photos, which made my heart very happy.
New favourite photo of the three of them together <3
Speaking of uni, Mimi attended her first uni open day at Keele University, which I’d not visited with Ella so it was new to me too. We all really liked it there – the campus was lovely and she was very interested in the course she’s thinking of studying – so it seems like it might be a contender if she does decide she wants to go to uni once she’s done her A-Levels. We have several more open days lined up over the coming months as well so it’s going to be a busy season of visits in the lead up to the end of the year.
One of Lola’s best friend’s came to stay with us for a weekend towards the end of August. She moved away from our area last summer, so they don’t get to see each other very often any more and it’s always a happy reunion when they do get to meet up. She was a delight to have here – they went swimming together and I even managed to get three out of the four of them to come out for a long walk (Ella chose to stay home this time).
l-r: Zoe, Lola and Mimi out on our walk. Cannock Chase really is one of my favourite local places to explore – I feel very lucky to have it so close to us
And finally, a large amount of time has been spent doing uni shopping and preparation to get ready to move Ella next month. There is an ever-growing pile in the corner of the bedroom! We’re almost done now I think – we’ve got all the big and important things, it’s just the little details that are left.
And just like that, chapter eight of 2025 is now finished. Even though we didn’t have a proper holiday this year, I’m still looking back over the summer months and seeing that they were good. Part of me wants them to continue – I quite like the slower pace. And part of me is ready for a return to some kind of rhythm. September always feels like the start of a whole new season of life (and it also happens to be my favourite month of the year). With Ella moving out and going to uni, Mimi transitioning back to sixth form instead of college, and Lola moving up into Year 11, there are many big changes ahead of us, and lots for all of us to adjust to after a year that has already been full of big changes. Hopefully it will all go smoothly.
I hope that you found plenty of joyful moments throughout August and that you’ve got lots to look forward to in September.
With love,
Chloe x
