May has been a very, very full month in every way possible. Two birthdays, three trips to London in three consecutive weeks, an evening in Birmingham sandwiched in the middle, followed by a few days up in York too. I have spent a grand total of approximately 21 hours travelling on trains this month, which is mad. It’s also exam season for everyone – Mimi and Lola have 27 GCSE and A Level exams in total between them, which is, quite frankly, utterly ridiculous. We’re almost at the end of them now, but it has been intense, with emotions running high and insane logistics to make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be at the right time.
I’ve barely had time to breathe, especially as I’m still working full time with my clients in the midst of everything else going on. I’m absolutely not complaining – I feel so very lucky and grateful that I get to live this life and do all these things – it’s just felt like a lot all in one go this month. The half term heatwave was glorious and my solar-powered little heart was very happy to soak up the warm sunshine whilst it was here (please come back!). The week off school was a very welcome break, and it was wonderful to have Ella home for a few days too – the girls spent lots of time together shopping in town, playing board games and watching movies (in between revising and writing uni assignments). We’re all counting down the days until school and uni are finished and we can officially relax and enjoy the start of summer.
Here’s a little bit of life lately in May…
BOOKS
Because it’s been a non-stop month, I’ve had less time to read than I usually do. I finished The Life Impossible by Matt Haig, just in time for seeing him speak at an event (more about that later on in this post). It’s honestly made me want to visit Ibiza, which has never really appealed to me as a destination before. Not for the clubs (not really my scene, although it could be fun to experience at least once I guess), more for the culture, the lifestyle, the environment, the scenery and the vibe. I enjoyed the way he made maths and magic collide, there were good life lessons sprinkled throughout the story, and it was easy to read even though it covered challenging topics.
‘The Life Impossible’ by Matt Haig (and my ever-growing TBR pile in the background!)
Next up was The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly. I have read a couple of her books before (quite a few years ago) and I remember ‘He Said/She Said’ being particularly good. Her novels always have a brilliant twist – I know this and yet I still never see it coming and it always takes me by surprise. It’s hard to place her books into a genre – I suppose they would be categorised as thrillers. But what I really enjoyed about The Skeleton Key (other than it being set in London) was the slow build-up of the backstory and the careful revealing of the different layers within each character. It kept me intrigued throughout and once I got to about halfway through, I couldn’t put it down. The characters themselves were excellent – some were likeable, some were not, and you were kept guessing the whole way through. You think you have an idea about where the story is going and then it abruptly shifts direction and takes you somewhere else instead, before the story descends into chaos and everything & everyone falls apart. It’s very, very clever and I have a feeling I’ll be reading more of her books in the not-too-distant future.
I loved ‘The Skeleton Key’ by Erin Kelly – such a clever concept for a story and it kept me guessing the whole way through
MUSIC, EXHIBITIONS, FILMS, SHOWS & TALKS
Music-wise my current obsession is Noah Kahan’s new album The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs. It’s literally been on repeat all month – in my car, in my headphones, keeping me company whilst I’m editing images and sending emails – and honestly I don’t see that changing any time soon. I love every single track, it’s definitely a ‘no skip’ album. There are 21 songs in total and my favourites are ‘Orbiter’, ‘Lighthouse’, ‘We Go Way Back’, ‘Doors’, ’23’, ‘Porch Light’, and ‘Willing & Able’.
I’ve been to two photography exhibitions in London – one solo and one with my Mum. The Wildlife Photographer Of The Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum has become a bit of an annual tradition for me now – I go every year around my birthday. There are so many incredible and beautiful images to explore by such talented photographers, though the photojournalism section will always have my heart. The powerful storytelling and the importance of raising awareness about the topics being covered, as well as the quality of the the images, astounds me every single time.
A week later I was back in London again, this time to see the Legacy Of Light exhibition with my Mum. She discovered this one – a carefully curated collection of 100 images celebrating two hundred years since the first ever photograph was taken in 1826. It was on display at the Atlas Gallery, which I’d never been to before, and the stark white space showed off the photographs perfectly. It was really cool to see so many iconic images up close. We topped up our energy at the Wallace Collection cafe and then I took Mum to have her first ever photobooth experience (and got to tick another one off the list I’m slowly working my way through!).
One of my most favourite buildings in the whole of London – the Natural History Museum – which hosts the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition every year
A new photobooth strip to add to my collection! Love these pictures of my Mum and I.
Whilst she was home for a few days over half term, Ella and I went to see ‘Finding Emily’ at the cinema. I knew very little about it and actually I think that made it even better, so I’m going to resist putting too many plot-spoilers here. It’s set in Manchester and is a gritty, modern, slow burn sort-of-rom-com (that somehow managed to not be cheesy in the slightest) with a good soundtrack and superb acting. I really enjoyed it and Ella declared it to be one of her new favourite films. Worth a watch!
From cinema to theatre… I spontaneously booked last minute tickets for Lola and I to see The Percy Jackson Musical at our local theatre. A couple of her friends were performing in it through the Musical Youth Theatre group and she wanted to support them. The opening night happened to fall on my birthday so it was a fun little thing to do instead of staying at home. We both thought it was really good and thoroughly enjoyed it!
I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d been all over the place this month. On a random Tuesday I headed to Birmingham to spend an evening with Matt Haig – he’s on tour discussing his new book ‘The Midnight Train’ (which I am yet to read). He was very interesting, and opened up about a lot of personal things too, sharing about his mental health struggles, neurodiversity, his writing process, and how much of himself he’s put into each of his books. I found him to be an engaging and funny speaker, and it made me like him even more than I already did.
‘An Evening With Matt Haig’ in Birmingham – the first of two author talks I got to attend this month.
I’ve mentioned before that Fredrik Backman might be one of my most favourite authors, so getting the chance to be in the same room as him felt really special. Ella is also a huge fan of his books (it was her that introduced me to his writing in the first place!) so when I found out that he was going to be offering a talk in London I booked us both tickets immediately. Let’s just say he lived up to, and exceeded, every expectation I had – he’s just as funny in real life as he is in his Instagram posts and his books. He was also honest and vulnerable and inspiring and wise – genuinely one of the best ‘In Conversation With…’ author talks I’ve ever been to. The talk was in the evening but we made an event of it and spent the whole day in London together – I gave her the choice of where she wanted to explore that she hasn’t been to before. She opted for Notting Hill so we spent a fun few hours searching out pastel coloured houses, mooching through Portobello Market, visiting bookshops & vintage stores and I got to show her where my Dad used to live too.
Seeing two very distinct authors speak in the space of three days was an interesting experience. They have completely different writing styles and yet so many similarities. Both shared candidly about how suicide has impacted them, both spoke about their own mental health struggles and neurodiversity, both opened up about how hard they find it to exist as a human. And both also talked about how beautiful it all is (even in the midst of the challenges they’ve faced) and how their deep and intense emotions are exactly what makes them the writers they are. It was wonderful and I left both events feeling… uplifted. Even thought the topics were heavy at times, it ultimately felt hopeful.
Listening to Fredrik Backman speak was an experience I’m going to remember for a long, long time.
Exploring Notting Hill with Ella
So. Many. Bookshops. We were in heaven!
LIFE LATELY
I turned forty-three at the start of the month and, as always, I’m grateful to have completed another trip around the sun, and to have the opportunity for another to begin. I really don’t like any kind of fuss being made on my birthday, so I ask for things to be kept very low-key. I went for a long walk in some new-to-me bluebell woods, and I received exactly what I’d asked for gift-wise (a bundle of books and some skincare*!). It was lovely.
(*affiliate link – you get £5 off your first order if you use my link! This stuff is honestly working wonders for me)
Me, at 43. These birthday self portraits in the garden have become a bit of an annual tradition…
There was a far more important milestone to celebrate this month anyway – Mimi’s 18th birthday! She and her best friend went to see Conan Gray (one of their favourite solo artists) perform live at a gig in Manchester; Ella came home from uni for a few days so she could celebrate with us; my Mum visited for the day; and we all went out for dinner as a family. We all love music in this house (it’s literally never, ever quiet – there is always some kind of music playing somewhere!), so where Ella (our resident bibliophile) was gifted eighteen books for her 18th birthday, Mimi received 18 albums on CD & vinyl and she was absolutely thrilled. I still can’t quite believe that I now have two adult children…
The birthday girl opening her gifts – she was so grateful for all of them
Eighteen!
Sophie and Jack left the UK mid-month to go travelling around South East Asia for three months. They came to spend the day with us before they headed off on their adventure and couldn’t contain their excitement about it – they have an impressive list of countries that they want to visit. They’d been talking about doing it for a while, but only started making proper plans when a bit of serendipitous timing happened – Jack got unexpectedly made redundant just as Sophie finished her Masters degree. With both of them at a bit of a loose end and no important commitments or responsibilities to keep them in one place, they decided they may as well take advantage of the opportunity that had been presented to them, and went for it!
I wholeheartedly support what they’re doing – I honestly believe that travelling (and navigating the challenges of it as well as experiencing the awe and wonder of new places and cultures) is one of the best things anyone can do to learn more about who they are and how they want to live. Having the freedom to explore even just one corner of the world, after a tough and stressful couple of years for both of them will, I think, be a very good thing. They started off in Thailand and have spent a couple of weeks there. So far they’ve visited Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, and they are currently (at the time of writing this) in Bangkok. Next up will be Cambodia. They’re keeping us updated with WhatsApp messages, photos and videos and it’s really fun seeing what they’re up to.
Sophie and Jack are currently exploring SE Asia for three months
Finally, right at the end of the month, I spent a couple of days up in York with Ella during half term. I stayed at Roomzzz, an aparthotel, as there’s no room for me to sleep over in her little uni room! It was a good base and I’d happily stay there again. We went inside York Minster (which is so beautiful and impressive); she gave me a tour of all her favourite bookshops; we rode buses to and from her campus; wandered through the Museum Gardens; and I’m pretty sure we traversed every street in the city at least twice – we even discovered parts that she hadn’t been to before! – before going out for dinner at Pizza Express (the giant hot honey mozzarella sticks will forever be a favourite). It was wonderful to spend some extra one-to-one time with her. In between, when on my own, I chased the sunset, unsuccessfully dodged a thunder and lightning storm, discovered an intriguing note on a park bench and even managed to get a little bit of work done. A really lovely few days.
Wandering through the Museum Gardens
Chasing the sunset through the city
In a blink of an eye chapter five of 2026 is now closed and we are almost halfway through the year. Next month is going to be divided in two – the first half is full of exams, and the second half is full of fun stuff we’re doing to celebrate exams finally being over.
I hope that you found plenty of little things to love throughout May and that June is filled with joy and memory-making moments.
With love,
Chloe x
