May 2025

The start of this month was spent at Max’s Garden, a Naturist Campsite which we’ve been to a few times over the years, mostly for events with friends, but this was our first time going to a naturist campsite in a public capacity and… it wasn’t that great of an experience. The venue itself is a lovely place, tucked away and secluded from the main regular campsite, hosting a heated swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna, in that way it was fantastic and we both got a lot of water therapy while there. However the naturists there were so anti-social and all in their pristine white just off the lot campervans, they just laid around all day taking in the sun which felt so very boring.

It was my own fault and I ended up with heat exhaustion while I was there, which did involve me throwing up later on the second day, it had me and Min worried, and triggered Min’s Long Covid fatigue as they had to take care of me as well as Pip. The whole idea of this trip was so that Min would do the drive there and back, the bit in between they could relax and recover while I did the cooking, looking after, etc. but that didn’t pan out. So that was the bad; but there was some good!

On the first night we met some friends, I brought the mini-weber and cooked up a barbecue, then we stayed up quite late (for us) chatting and drinking, it was so good getting some time to connect with them. Unfortunately after the drive Min’s spoons were low so we didn’t see in Beltane as we had hoped, but spending Beltane with good friends was a wonderful way to celebrate.

On the second day I was up and out of the campsite by 6.30 climbing up along the South Downs Way up to Chanctonbury Ring Fort which was quite a climb (even more of a descent!) but had some absolutely beautiful views that early in the morning from the ring fort itself. It felt so good to get a decent walk in and to tackle a small stretch of the South Downs Way, I did a write up and pictures over on Chanctonbury Hill if you fancy taking a look, I also added some videos of the view.

For the longest time I’ve wanted a hot tub in the garden, but the idea of getting one has always felt like more work rather than a relaxing experience. Recently however it was brought up by Min in a serious thought for their health, as well as my own. After some thought and talks the plunge was taken. In my current situation the maintenance and cleaning of the hot tub wouldn’t fall entirely on my shoulders which was one of the big negatives previously, we would both be taking care of it so we could both enjoy it. So this month has involved quite a bit of chemistry in trying to maintain the right levels for the tub, which has been educational and I feel I’ve started to get the hang of it.

Minus the learning curve of having a hot tub, it’s been really fantastic sitting in it in the evenings with the cold air hitting us while our bodies are toasty warm. It’s made for some forced quality time where we are without our phones or distractions, purely there in one another’s company chatting about the world and life, or being forced to float among the bubbles. Although I’ve been doing a lot of labour around the garden and house, I’m feeling much more relaxed and comfortable in my body, with a lot less aches than I used to have. So, fingers crossed it’ll mean for a better lifestyle.

This month I have been dabbling a bit with an additional blog dedicated to my gaming, which is something I do a lot of. At present it’s mostly centric to Second Life, which is a game I have been playing on and off for about 19 years! Currently the blog is ‘off menu’ but if I decide to keep up with it then I’ll bring it onto the menu, or I’ll delete it.

I’ve been trying to run a polyam board games night each month, although it’s been put off the past couple of months due to my child’s recovery and operation, but this month we got to it and enjoyed a session of Legend of Drizzt, I think campaign 3. It was lovely to get together to play a game and even more fun to catch up with some good company.

While my child was off school for recovery I took advantage of this and got them out of the house to go and watch the new Lilo & Stitch movie at the cinema; we had the screen entirely to ourselves which was fantastic! The movie was very true to the animation, which I was somewhat concerned about as in most cases the live action Disney movies have been rather trash, but this was good fun. I laughed out loud and even had tears as I saw the connection between Lilo and Stitch develop and the Ohana form. With it being a real Lilo it felt like the connection was stronger and more relatable. The cast were really well selected and it all felt so true to the animation. I absolutely loved this movie.

I also treated my child to a trip up to London without any hospital appointments or operations, purely a visit to London to do some fun things. The big fun thing that they wanted to do was to watch Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre before the performance came to an end, so we did that. It was the second time that they went to watch it and my first time, and I absolutely loved it, the whole show was fantastic, but I fell in love with Damien and Janice, especially with the I’d Rather Be Me number. After the show we went to Stage Door where my child got some signatures on their program, they were in a buzz that they got Georgina Castle’s who they completely idolise and is who they want to be when they are older.

This month my car has started to show her age (18 years old) and is developing a few growing issues here and there, fortunately she passed her MOT with a bit of work, but I feel it’s getting to the point that I’ll be saying goodbye to her soon. So I’ve spent some time looking into a replacement car. I’ve danced with the idea of an EV and a plug-in Hybrid, but I don’t think the tech is fully there yet and if I can get a car that can last me another 10+ years then I feel the tech may be there (or hydrogen will be the new thing), so I’m looking into a full hybrid car. If you know me, you’ll know I don’t care much for cars, however I’ve rather enjoyed going through the lists of cars and compiling data on them (yep, data entry, it’s an addiction) and I feel on paper I have a good idea of what I’d like; VW Golf, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Corolla, or Renault Clio. As it stands the Corolla is top of my list, but I need to visit some second hand dealerships and actually get some hands on time with the cars.

Games

Second Life - I’m always doing something in Second Life and this month I’ve been experimenting with fishing games to make Lindens, which has ticked my data collection itch.

SteamWorld Build - Cutesy little world builder as robots, with a bit of a storyline that I’m rather enjoying as a casual game.

Honkai Star Rail - My child has recently started playing this again, and watching them play has rekindled my interest with it, although at the moment I’m just trying to get back to grips with how to play the thing. Good fun game though, my favourite of the Hoyoverse games. My only issue with it is all the cinematics!

Red Dead Redemption 2 - I couldn’t stand this game on the Playstation as it felt so awkward with a controller, however I finally took the plunge on the PC and am really loving it.

Podcasts

Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Tina Fey - So many levels of brilliance that had me in laughter throughout. It was so lovely to see the two of them and their connection, as well as their history.

Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Martin Short - I had a few laughs through this episode but am seeing Martin in a different light in regards to sexism, I don’t know if it was part of the tease, but it felt really awkward at points.

Movies & TV

Poker Face, Season 1 (Show) - I remember watching this when it came out, but I don’t remember much of it. Watching the show again it all came flooding back and was a fantastic show to watch again. Looking forward to the next season.

Raiders of the Lost Arc (Movie) - A fantastic movie that is still so good to watch. I’d been concerned that the latest Indiana Jones and game would tarnish my views, but it was very enjoyable to watch after all these years.

Hellboy (Movie) - Such a fantastic adaptation of a comic book and as a stand alone movie. Following on from the Nazi theme of Raiders.

Hellboy II (Movie) - And if you’re going to do the first, you must do the second (but not the third), a superb movie and a lot more fun than the first

Police Academy 5: Miami Beach (Movie) - Full of cheesy fun and silliness, as to be expected from a Police Academy.

Andor, Season 1 (Show) - Slow burn to start but becomes a full on story and character rich season by the end of it. It has restored my interest in Star Wars!

Andor, Season 2 (Show) - Such a great season and show on a whole, the lead up to Rogue One was fantastic.

Rogue One (Movie) - I had to follow on from Andor Season 2. With all the character building through the two seasons this made the movie have far more impact.

Lilo & Stitch Live Action (Cinema) - I was skeptical about watching this as in most cases the live action versions of Disney movies have been terrible, but they really stuck to the animation and the casting was superb. It gave me a lot of feels watching this with much more of a connection between Lilo and Stitch.

Mallrats (Movie) - I had a craving to do some Jay and Silent Bob and this movie was as idiotically fun as I remember!

Clerks (Movie) - A continuation into Jay and Silent Bob, I thought I loved this movie but after watching it I couldn’t stomach it to completion.

Star Wars (Movie) - I felt I had to go on to this after Rogue One and I didn’t really enjoy it in comparison to watching Andor then Rogue One. Somebody told Min that those were their favourite Star Wars Trilogy and… I have to agree - I’d gladly watch Andor - Rogue One again!

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (Cinema) - A great action movie that didn’t dissappoint, however a lot of the flashback scenes (like in the submarine) felt like fillers rather than productive. The choreography of some of the scenes was breathtaking though, such as the water in the submarine and the on the bi-plane.

Cheers Season 1 - This show has aged surprisingly well and such a wholesome and fun show. Lots of laughs throughout. I adore Coach.

Clerks II - Better than the first, but utter stupidity. I don’t really like the main characters but watched it for Jay and Silent Bob.

Deadwood Season 1 - I recently discovered Min hasn’t seen Deadwood, so I’ve dragged them to Deadwood to start the marathon!