What Sophie Said

It’s been a quiet two weeks on this little corner of the internet, so it’s time for a life update! The City – London is treating me well. I’ve been here almost three weeks now and the transition has been so much easier than expected. I’ve quickly fallen into patterns of jumping on and off the tube, keeping busy, and making plans. I’m not sure I will ever quite understand the way some people act on the tube (SO rude), or get used to the fact the air just FEELS different here (I’m from somewhere far more countryside-ey), but it’s going well. The Job – The reason for moving down here. I’m not going to go into detail, but I’m working in digital marketing at a company I’ve admired for years, and the first two weeks have gone well. I’ve learned incredible amounts already, and I’m feeling very inspired by the amount of knowledge amongst the people surrounding me daily. Working in the heart of Oxford Street is busy, it’s fast-paced, and it’s exciting. The Room -  I think the r...

Anyone who knows me will know how important this item is to me: Every year I have an A5 diary, with an entire page for each day, and it contains EVERYTHING. The amount of to-do lists I make inside these pages is obscene. You’ll see the spine is taped up; that’s because the cover fell off about four months into the year because of so much opening and closing and being thrown into every handbag. I love knowing what’s coming up, noting down friend’s birthdays. To-do lists. To-buy lists. To-visit lists. To-read and to-watch lists. I’d probably write lists of lists if I had the time and the space. When I was struggling the most with my anxiety, these lists had got what you might call ‘out-of-hand’. I would obsess over their contents, and panic when things weren’t ticked off. I’d feel so overwhelmed by the contents that it would be hard to focus on anything or do anything. So things wouldn’t get ticked off. And so began a vicious circle. Now...

I feel like I open every reading list in the same way, by saying I’ve read a real mixture of things, and again this is the case. I’ve been finding a lot more time to read again recently, having forgotten quite how much it lets me escape and unwind. Before the Poison, Peter Robinson Chris moves to the Yorkshire Dales after the death of his wife. In the same house, 60 years earlier, a man died and his wife Grace Fox was hanged for murder. Chris becomes intrigued by their story and starts to explore the past. I was impressed by this one; it was just a good, easy read. The plot was good, there were numerous twists and turns, and the characters were well written. I enjoyed the movement between past and present, and the inclusion of the court report and wartime journals kept me turning the pages. The Orpheus Descent, Tom Harper Twelve tablets, buried in ancient times, are in museums, and providing the dead with a route to the afterlife. Archaeologist Lily...

On 29 th May, I left my job. Without a new one to go to. There were lots of reasons why, which I won’t go into, but the main one was that the role taught me exactly what it was I wanted to be doing. And it wasn’t quite what I was doing there. I think part of growing up is learning to acknowledge when things aren’t working. Work will never be perfect, all of the time. All jobs have stressful periods. Most jobs have great periods. Throughout my childhood, and on into university and graduate life, I’ve taken huge comfort from stability, from always knowing what’s coming next. I moved through primary school, to secondary school, to sixth form, and straight to university. After university, I got a job, and I’ve been working full-time for the past two years. But when you leave university, or education at whatever stage you leave it, the world is a big place, and there are so many routes you can follow. And part of growing up is sometimes not sticking with so...

As you'll know by now, on Tuesday I made the move to London. I have moved in temporarily with a family friend as I hunt for a room to rent. Today I thought I‘d share 5 things the moving process taught me:- 1. It’s baffling how much ‘stuff’ you accumulate. I had a huge clear-out before the move, and couldn’t believe how many things I’d acquired through last-minute shopping trips, gifts, and things passed on from family and friends. When you have to pack up everything you own to either move with you or be stored, it forces you to take a critical look at what really matters. Bearing in mind I was moving from a spacious flat to a single room, this stage was much-needed! 2. Never underestimate the value of family (or friends) who are willing to help you. My mum helped shift things out of my flat, and with final bits of cleaning. Dad drove Mum, me and all of my stuff the 4 hours to London. My parents then helped unload the car, before pausing for lunch and turning round to...

The big book news this week is I’ve finally set up my Kindle! So tips and book recommendations are most welcome… But in the meantime, here’s the latest wonderfully random mixed instalment of The Reading List: The Russian Concubine, Kate Furnivall 1928. Lydia and her aristocratic mother, Valentina, have been exiled from Russia and taken refuge in China. In her new surroundings, Lydia resorts to theft and is saved from death by a communist, Chang An Lo. My auntie lent this book to me, and I could immediately see why she had loved it so much. The writing is absolutely beautiful, and the descriptions of love and loss are expertly handled. Within the beauty of the writing are some horrific scenes of clashes, kidnap, fighting and an unsettled Jungchow. This was a page-turner both for the plot, the context, and the beauty of the writing itself. Quiet, Susan Cain Non-fiction, now, and it’s a book that was lent to me by my dad. Exploring ‘the power of in...

Well, today has been a long old day. A 4-hour car journey brought me to my temporary home, a ‘stop-gap’ whilst I find a room to move into. I’m unpacked, I’ve learned the ropes and found the nearest tube station, coffee shop and supermarket. So here we go… New city. New room. New job. New routines. It’s here! And it’s time to get started… Just let me have a good sleep first! Zzzzzz…..

Over the last seven months, there’s been one particular train route I’ve done a lot of. Macclesfield to London Euston. The London trips started with work, and before long I was staying through the weekends too. I’ve taken the train there for work. I’ve taken the train there for fun. For day trips to London Zoo, to Guildford, around Canary Wharf. To watch shows. To see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Book of Mormon, Made in Dagenham. To hear music, specifically an intimate Pixie Lott concert at Pizza Express’ Strand restaurant. To visit Wimbledon. To sit in Centre Court and watch Venus and Serena. Federer. Andy Murray. To spend my 23 rd birthday. To eat. Lots. To meet new friends, and re-connect with old ones. And this week, the train journeys will stop (apart from trips home to see the family!) Because this week I’m moving! London is the venue for the next little chapter in my story, work-wise and in my person...

Opposite my flat, there is a park. I’ve done a lot of sitting in it, a lot of thinking. In the six months I’ve lived here a lot has changed, lots of decisions have been made, and lots of thoughts have been thought. It’s only small, a combination of grass and trees and flowerbeds, but it’s the first time I’ve had a regular outdoor space that lets me clear my head. The luxury of having it outside my flat is one I’ve made sure I enjoy. One thing I’ve learnt over the past couple of years is how important it is to lend proper time to thinking, to your thoughts. When you go through a period where your thoughts become ‘out of control’, or ‘disordered’, or ‘unhealthy’, you have to reassess the way you deal with those thoughts. My head would be spinning with a thousand things at once, all screaming at me that they were urgent, and none of which I could switch off. In a previous job, I took the decision to walk the 3.5 miles each way, every day, to wo...

Hello, August. I feel like you’re going to be a great month this year. I’m moving to London. I’m starting my new job. That’s two pretty huge things. Exciting things. I’ll be making new plans, new memories, settling into new routines. Meeting new people, taking on new responsibilities, learning new things. Exploring new places, visiting new attractions, taking in new sights. Visiting old friends, meeting new ones. Finding my feet in the Big City. Swapping hourly trains for tubes travelling minutes apart. Swapping a quiet town for a bustling city. August, I’m excited.