October 2025
General…
Started October with a bang and headed straight into being a 40 year old! I was utterly spoiled. Rather than doing everything on the same day I spread out my celebrations; I had a facial and beard trim at my favourite barbers, went to FatClay in Southsea to try clay wheel throwing for the first time, ate at one of my favourite restaurants, went to my favourite spa and had a full body massage, then threw a mixture of nice food, trips out, and time with people who are important to me.
This year Min and I have started a new tradition which is to watch 13 Halloween (Supernatural, Witch, Ghost, Haunting, etc) movies within the month. We created a list of movies we hadn’t already watched together and had Google AI pick 13 of those movies. I’ve added these into my Movies & Shows section below.
Last month I had my front garden lawned over with the intention of putting a tree in it. I was considering a fruit bearing tree for the produce, but I hadn’t considered the symbolism of a tree. For my birthday my sister bought me a Rowan Tree (link to folklore and mythology) which made the decision much easier, it was as though the universe had answered my question for me. With the direction of making my home a sanctuary, a safe space for all within, a rowan tree was the ideal tree to grow near my home. While planting the tree I also planted the ‘Mum In A Million’ rose that was given to me after my Mum passed away, so the front garden has gone from being a weedy and glum mess, to something with meaning to me.
When my house was entirely my house I made some changes to the rooms and turned the dumpsite that was the box room into a study, but it was with make-shift furniture that my ex left behind. This month I took it upon myself to actually make my space, my space, with furniture that was ordered with thought in mind and for the purpose I wanted it. I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making my study space a happier place to be and fit my aesthetic better, it’s not quite there yet but it’s getting there.
The 10th of October has become an important date as this year it marked the anniversary of child inviting Min to officially live with us. The situation with Min was was that their primary residence was their van, they were living in their van but using my house for their mail to be directed to, as well as things like a registered place for DVLA, etc. While my child was with their Mum they would spend time with me, and when my child was home they would stay in their van. However, I had growing concerns about this situation with the weather becoming very cold and with their reynaud’s attacks I was worried for them. So it was very welcome when my child invited Min to live with us.
This month Min and I went to see The Wave Pictures perform in Reading, you can find more on that in my music section. As for Reading itself, it has been ages since I last visited and it does look like a very tired town, especially with most of the road markings now worn off entirely! Lovely to catch up with friends for lunch while we were there though.
The Photography Course I signed up for has been very interesting and I’m enjoying the class. More on that in my photography section.
We had friends come down to visit again, it’s so nice that my home has become a place that I can have people visit, for me to host, and have the space for them to sleep here. I feel that lately connections are becoming stronger with people even if the distance has grown.
Min’s health has been deteriorating quite considerably lately and most of the month they were in rest mode, unable to do anything other than conserve energy for events they had to go to our we had committed to do. I really feel for them and know they are struggling to actually stop and rest between planned things.
My child was in the school Singing Showcase which I went to this month, it was so good to hear all the children sing, there are some really talented children at their school. They performed in two full groups, then a group doing the MegaSIX from the Six Musical, then my child did a duet of Heart of Stone from Six. It makes me happy to see how well they are doing and how they are pursueing a life of arts in a world that pushes the academic.
My health took a bit of a turn as some of my fingers went numb and tingly which sparked a few phone calls and trips to the GP. In the end I used my usual private physio for some sports massages which really helped with the knots in my right shoulder, he checked my motion which all seemed fine. I also ended up seeing an NHS physio twice and had my reflexes and motion checked, all good but they gave me some exercises to do to help strengthen key parts. The final one suggested that my migraines may be a different issue so I ended up going to the GP who agreed with the physio and put me on some migraine medication to use when they start - I’ve had migraines all my life and here I am at 40 finally doing something about it!
I also got to play with an air gun which is something I haven’t done since I was a teen, and back then it was a rifle. There’s a photo below of my first time trying a six shooter which I really enjoyed and am rather keen to get into myself. I also discovered that my left eye is my dominant eye, which caught me by surprise.
Once again we celebrated Halloween/Samhain surrounded by good friends at a camping event, it was wet, muddy, but great fun and so wholesome seeing in the Witch’s New Year surrounded by community. So much effort was put into the event and I felt so privilidged to be welcomed to it again.
Next Month…
To Celebrate my 40th and Min’s 50th we’re having a joint birthday party at a swanky posh hotel, vineyard, and spa which we are dubbing the Posh Spa Break; I’m very excited for this and to be able to share such milestone birthdays with somebody very important to me.
I’ve also got plans on going up to London for a couple of appointments I have around the area, I’m looking at slipping in a potential visit to the Tate to see the Lee Miller exhibit.
One of the other big things next month is that I have tickets to go and see Wet Leg perform which I am really bouncy about!
Gaming…
My game time this month has been entirely dominated by Borderlands 4 which I’ve been playing solo (as Rafa) and coop with Min (as Amon), I am loving the game. Even after the main story completion there is still so much to do! There are the odd glitches here and there but in general I’ve loved every moment of the game and still am.
I bought Jump Space as a co-op game to play with a friend and am really enjoying the game. It’s a lot more polished than a lot of released games even though it’s only in Early Access, and it’s doing some of the things that Star Citizen promised many moons ago!
I also picked up Palworld for my child and I to play together. I did look into setting up a dedicated server using my micro PC but that doesn’t seem like it’ll work. It’s been fun playing it with them however they tend to prefer playing Roblox and Minecraft with their friends, it’s nice when we do play though.
Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 and The Outer Worlds 2 are on my radar and the first was going to be a day one ordering for me as I adored the original, however I think both of these games will be taking a back seat while I’m enjoying Borderlands 4.
Movies & Shows…
Halloween (1/13) - Turns out I’d never watched Halloween before, but all these years later it’s a good movie, the acting is terrible in some parts, but on a whole it was a good experience and I’m glad we started our new tradition with this movie. A young Jamie Lee Curtis was astonishing to watch, she looks just the same, only younger!
Nightmare on Elm Street (2/13) - I remember this movie being a little more scary than what it actually was, it was all rather comical but a very fun and enjoyable experience watching this again. Seeing a very young Johnny Depp was fascinating too!
Haunting 1963 (3/13) - Another movie I’d never watched and oh my god it was fantastic! I’d watched one of the later movies and didn’t think much of it, seeing the original though - amazing! It was haunting, chilling, and a movie about a haunted house, not a house that was haunted!
The Mummy (4/13) - Still stands as a great movie filled with a lot of entertainment. It’s like Indiana Jones but without the whip and a bit more enjoyable, in my opinion… A lot more enjoyable than the newer stuff!
Lost Boys (5/13) - This felt very much like I was watching The Goonies with vampires, it was a great movie and I really enjoyed it. So very much of it’s time.
Friday the 13th (6/13) - I watched this many years ago but forgot everything about it until I got into it. It is an absolutely fantastic movie and of the three cult movies (Nightmare On, Halloween, and Friday 13th) it’s my favourite without a doubt.
Tucker & Dale Versus Evil (7/13) - I’d not watched this before and really enjoyed it, I wouldn’t really call it a halloween movie but it was a good movie and I absolutely adored Dale.
Scream (8/13) - This was going to be the second to last movie but we felt like something a bit lighter than what was remaining on the list. The movie is still fantastic and so good to watch, however I kept mixing bits up with Scary Movie (watching soon) so ended up laughing out of the blue.
Scary Movie (9/13) - Light hearted and silly fun, it mocked many of the horror, slasher movies out there, in particular Scream. It was a fun movie to watch.
Blaire Witch Project (10/13) - This was a spooky movie that left you wanting answers. Considering it was made on a $60k budget it’s fantastic! It really did feel like it was a documentary and knowing how much of it was improvised and unscripted, it is a fantastic movie.
Dracula 1931 (11/13) - Fantastic movie even today. It’s full of suspense and iconic moments!
Ghostbusters: Answer The Call (Wanton Version) (12/13) - I loved this movie when it came out and it’s still a fantastic movie with so many call backs and cameo appearances from the original.
Garfield in Disguise (13/13) - Min has a tradition of watching Garfield in Disguise every halloween so it had to be included in the list. It’s a very fresh and enjoyable show to watch… and sums Min up in many ways!
Elfen Lied, Season 1 - My first introduction to anime of my own choosing and it was a little cringe in places with the romantic and sexual stuff, but I really loved the story and I adore Lucy.
Mobland, Season 1 - This has been an amazing show, I’m a big fan of these sorts of shows/movies and this ticked all my boxes. Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren were fantastic in the show with some real chemistry between them, as for Tom Hardy, he killed it as usual. The story was crazy and I am very eager to watch the next season when it comes out.
Wednesday, Season 2 - Finally got around to watching the second season which was fantastic. I was so glad to see more of the family getting screen time, and this season had so much going on. It was a great story and I now need more!
Throughout the month I’ve been watching bits of Grimm and the original Addam’s Family which has been great fun. I’ve not seen Grimm before so the episodes I’ve seen have been rather gripping, while Addam’s Family has been so nostalgic.
Podcasts & Books…
Stag Dance by Torrey Peters - I wanted to finish this book but I couldn’t pick it up again, the first two short stories in it were, and entirely in my own opinion, bad. They both felt like they were painting a bad picture of trans women, painted polyamory in a bad light, and generally felt uncomfortable and wrong on many levels. So, the book is in the charity pile.
The Beginner’s Photography Guide by Dynamo Limited - I’ve been using this in conjunction with my course which I’ve found very useful. The first part of it is about the different types of cameras, lenses, equipment in general, etc. Then it seems (so far) to follow the course, so a chapter on Aperture, then Shutter Speed, so it’s working well with the course. It’s very well written and explains things very easily.
Music…
Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl was released on the 3rd of October which I had a good listen to, she does have a very distinct voice, airy sweet southern American is the best way to put it. I didn’t enjoy this album so much though, it was too lovey dovey for my liking, but with her current state of affairs I guess that’s to be expected.
I went up to Reading to see The Wave Pictures perform at South Street Art Theatre which was a lovely venue, very friendly people there, and Min took their wheelchair which the venue was well set up for - fantastic place.
The Last Dinner Party released their newest album The Pyre which I had on pre-order… Well I had a bundle on pre-order and ended up with two records, I misread that, but I’m happy with both designs of the vinyl. Loving their music, I fell in love with their pre-release This Is The Killer Speaking which sounds fantastic on vinyl!
Photography…
First class was a Photography 101 where we learnt about the different types of cameras; film, DSLR, Mirrorless, etc. followed by the different types of lenses that can be used, as well as an explanation on the lenses and what the figures all mean (this did later prompt a new lens purchase!) then we discussed the direction of the course.
Aperture Priority Mode
The first thing we worked on was Av (Aperture Priority) and learnt how to make the blurred background by walking around the college and taking a few photos at the lowest f level our lenses could, then taking more photos when increasing the f level to see the difference, which was interesting and something that I wanted to learn more about. Homework was set to take some photos using Av mode in an Autumnal Theme, then picking a favourite, this is mine.
Canon EOS R10
Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM
f/1.8, 1/40, ISO 500
