What Sophie Said

The fifth month of the year has already joined us. As I always say, the past month has flown by. April began with the most beautiful, sunny weekend in Hertfordshire. I finally went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour , and had a day out at Paradise Wildlife Park . De Vere Theobalds Park Hotel was the setting for the weekend, and I had the most relaxing, wonderful time. Later in the month, my wonderful friend Laura  RAN THE LONDON MARATHON. I'm so, so proud of her, and was tracking her throughout the whole course, getting a little emotional when she'd done it. I also saw Disney's stunning new adaptation of The Jungle Book , and had plenty of lovely, relaxed meals out. It was an action-packed month, as usual, with these things joined by a busy month at work, and the final appointment of my 6-week intensive counselling course for my anxiety. In amongst all that, the month has just slipped by. May looks set to be a good one, too. I've got a few plans and evenin...

I'm glad you're here, April. March seemed to last a really, really long time. I've had a little blog break, just because I felt like I needed it. One of the most recent posts I did, Sticks and Stones, took a bit of courage to publish. It had been ready, waiting, for months but pressing publish meant telling people, including those close to me, how much that event had affected me. I'm glad I pressed 'go'. I think I needed to get it out. To make it clear how important it is to think before you speak. After that, I stepped back a bit. I wasn't feeling particularly motivated to write, so rather than force anything I just took some time to breathe. That's the luxury of having a space that is all mine. March was busy, as ever. Work has been busy, and theatre trips have featured, of course. The Maids was pretty spectacular, and Avenue Q was the delight I remembered from first seeing it about four or five years ago (reviews on both to come...). The...

It’s a new month and that means it’s time for a new challenge. Yet again, I’m a couple of days late posting about my challenge, but the bonus is that means I can give a bit of feedback on my first couple of days. The challenge: walk to and from work, don’t take the bus. I should probably mention that this walk is 3.5 miles each way… I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks now, since moving to the new house, and have made it my April challenge to make sure I keep it up. Here’s the bonuses I’ve noticed so far: - It gives me a great slot of thinking time. As someone who has been struggling with panic for the last 6 months or so, I’ve heard it’s a good plan to give yourself some thoughtful time, which you can then block off and set aside and continue with your day. So far, that’s working. - It’s great exercise. A brisk walk at both ends of the day can never be a bad thing. I’m doing a fast walk for about 45 minutes each way, which is no bad thing. It leaves me feeling energ...