2019

I’ve had a long break from blogging. My main excuse, apart from awfully short, dark, wet and windy days which don’t really encourage outdoors adventures, is the fact that I have been busy turning my fairly recently bought flat into a home. I moved in at the end of July and almost immediately went on a mini holiday to Scotland. Then it started: every weekend I had to be at home waiting for a mattress, a fridge or something else to be delivered between 7 am and 7 pm. I must have been to B&Q a thousand times. I purchased and learned to use a Bosch drill – driver plus other D.I.Y. tools that I could not even name until now. I self-assembled a desk (the IKEA one all beauty vloggers use in their You Tube videos), a coffee table, a TV cabinet, a table, one bed frame, a shelving unit, a shoe storage unit…I put up curtains poles and wallpapared an ugly dark red wall in my bedroom that was giving me nightmares. These were all easy jobs and I am glad I managed to do it all on my own. Then came the shopping for home furnishings, picture frames and other bits and bobs. Fun, but exhausting and time consuming, even though I have a plethora of choice virtually on my doorstep. Last weekend though I decided I did not need anything else for the time being. What a relief.

I feel as if the summer never happened with all of that keeping me occupied. The whole year has been so intense, starting with me changing a job and moving from Surrey to Cheshire. I have visited Dubai, Wroclaw, Isle of Skye, the Basque Country and the infamous Lisdoonvarna in Ireland. I have secured my rights here by obtaining a Settled Status and in a year’s time I can apply for UK citizenship. Everything that has happened in terms of politics, though initially intended to make my life a misery only worked to my advantage. Work-wise, there have been ups and downs, and lately we have been bought by a much larger competitor. What it means for me long term, I do not yet know. For now, it’s business as usual. I am prepared for all outcomes and perhaps this marks the beginning of a career change, something that has been on my mind for a while.

I have already planned the whole 2020 when it comes to holidays. I will visit Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland – we want to explore the South West Coastal 300. I will of course visit my friends in Ireland, itinerary still uknown. They are also coming over here for Easter and I can’t wait to show them our beautiful City. For early May BH I will be once more staying in an awesome Airbnb in the Basque Country. It speaks volumes about the place when I decide to go back again rather then go somewhere new! Last but not least I shall spend a week in Poland, and I am hoping for some micro adventures in and around Krakow. All in all, 2020 does not look too bad at all 🙂

Musically, 2019 has been rather quiet for me. I now steer clear from big, expensive gigs and prefer small, intimate shows such as the deligthul Tide Lines gig at Chester’s Alexander’s club or the equally delightful Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening at Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room, not to mention Anathema concert at Grand Central Liverpool. I wanted to see them for years and it finally happened.