General…

What a way to start the month! I caught some sort of stomache bug which had me in a lot of pain/discomfort for a few days, fortunately it passed relatively quickly, but has had me being even more vigilant about my diet and keeping records of everything I eat!

I celebrate Ostara rather than Easter and I’d already done that, but my child does do Easter (what child wouldn’t; an excuse to get and eat lots of chocolate!) so I put on a little easter egg hunt around the house for them when they got back from their Mum’s. There was a lot of laughter in regards to some of the hiding places, and although there wasn’t much meaning to it, it was a good time.

My child has been wanting to do an Escape Room for so long and they requested going to one for their 13th Birthday Party so I booked one up at The Real Escape to do The Western Job. From the outside the venue doesn’t look like anything special, but once you’re in it is fantastic and really well put together. I stood back as a supervisor (as they were all under 16) while my child and their friends went ahead with solving the puzzles, they did really well working through it all and (with a little guidance and some extended time) managed to rob the bank; they then had the choice of blowing up the bank which they opted to do. It was so much fun to watch them all interact in this sort of environment.

Another BBQ this month where I cooked off some burgers and bacon, but also made some tortillas with the press from fresh. Tortilla burgers are really growing on me, they are gluten free and they don’t fall apart like gluten free bread! It was a really great time as we had two good friends over to chat too. It’s much easier to chat with people in a quiet environment as I do really struggle to hear people in crowded places. It makes me happy having people over, hosting for them, and connecting with the people that visit - sometimes I feel rather alone in Portsmouth but things like this remind me I have some really strong friendships.

During the separation back in 2021 I bought a cheap bed and mattress to go in the front room which I turned into my bedroom, it was my little sanctuary. Over the past couple of years I’ve been working on parts of the house but haven’t really invested time or money into the bedroom so I decided it was time to get a proper bed and a decent mattress. I ordered myself a sturdy bed from Revival Beds, I used to have a stunning four poster with them which I loved, so they were an obvious choice. Then I picked up a Flaxby mattress from Dreams which is such a huge improvement on my deteriorating cheapo mattress. Min and I have been waking up with some very uncomfortable backs lately and after half a month of sleeping on this new bed and mattress a lot of that has eased. It feels good having something more permanent rather than the previous temporary bed.

I had a fantastic time in the New Forest with the new Vern 3. Min is unable to do our old backpacks or hikes so we’ve decided to try something new; car camping. With car camping we don’t need to worry about the weight we’re carrying so much, so the Vern 3’s massive 5.1kg was easily handled by the car (definitely not a tent I would carry solo!) and gave us a very spacious camp. We pitched up at Hollands Wood (a special campsite to us) and settled in. I went for a 5.5km walk around Balmer Lawn following a cycle path. It was a lovely day so I had some very clear skies, but it wasn’t too hot. I took my camera with me too and managed to get a few photos which I really liked, I haven’t edited them all yet (saving that for when I’m bored and stuck in my photography class) but the five I have you can find below in the photography section. We took the mini weber with us, I cooked off some meat and Min tried to make tortillas on the cast iron skillet… It didn’t really work but it was fun to experiment with. Unfortunately it got quite cold at night and Min felt quite unwell, but it was a good test and with some pacing it’s a viable way of doing some tent camping together.

I went up to London this month with my child who for the first time in years tried the underground - they found it highly overwhelming but pushed through, I was so proud of them as I gave them a bug out option half way through our planned journey. They also had a physio appointment and did exceptionally well through it, there is obvious movement in their face now and they can manage to curl the paralysed side of their lips, so it’s all hopeful! After this they had a psychology session which they did without me present - they opened up about some of their worries and fears, such as their needle phobia. Hopefully going forward this will be a safe environment for them to open up with somebody. We snuck off to My Old Dutch for our traditional pancakes before come home where they fell asleep on my shoulder. They really pushed themselves mentally and physically but I am so very proud of what they did.

Next month my child is going to Portsmouth Comic Con as Hatsune Miku, so I’ve been working on some of their old trainers to bring them in line. I have to say I really enjoyed painting the shoes and found it quite relaxing, it took me back to my Warhammer days.

The website is currently undergoing some changes; I have to admit I was inspired by what Juliet Angus was doing in Ladies of London and the format she took, obviously I’m not interested in fashion but I liked the way she organised her blog, so I’m working towards something along those lines, but more my style and interests. I’ve also signed up to the Amazon Affiliate program so you’ll find some links with [aff] after, if you use them for anything it earns me a tiny commission at no cost to you.

In March I had an old friend come out of the woodwork and reach out. We went for a drink, caught up, and I heard why she vanished, why it took her over a year to provide the photos she took in a private shoot at my house (still haven’t got them over 2 years later!) This month she went quiet for almost a month, obviously people get busy, but it doesn’t make you feel like much of a priority when you see them active on social media in that time. In any case it’s made the relationship clear as more of an acquaintance relationship than a friendship. On the flipside Nev and I started talking last month and have had the odd back and forth which has been really nice as I was concerned that was lost forever.

Rum Club…

In April I tried the Kraken Roast Coffee which was the perfect rum for a coffee lover, the link will take you to a deeper review.

In May I will be trying Kraken Dark Caramel and Cornish Sea Salt [aff] feel free to join me!

Game on…

Guild Wars 2

I’m still playing Guild Wars 2, although not playing a huge amount at a time, I still pop in at the very least to do my homestead gathering and sometimes the daily quests. However I did set myself the task of unlocking every class specialisation and I just about managed it. It was slow to begin, especially with classes I hadn’t unlocked waypoints for, but by the end I had a good route in place.

I had a nice session with Tryggr this month where we spent some time grinding out the Silverwastes for spades. Slowly we’re upgrading the guild hall. It’s nice to come together to build something like this and in time will benefit us all.

Sims 4

I started playing the Sims 4 again, it has been years since I played it. Initially I enjoyed playing it and it made for a nice time sink, however I found myself growing bored (as I always have with this game) as I progressed and became massively skilled and rich. So I parked that, it was a nice distraction for a time.

Windrose

I’ve always enjoyed a pirate game; combine it with a survival crafting game and you’ve got my interest. I picked up the demo and played so much of it, so on release day it was a day one purchase.

I have no regrets! The demo offered a lot but the released version had so much more content and I dove straight into it. I set up a tower by a mine to begin with as my base of operations with a small wharf then began my exploring further islands. Ship combat is quite fun although a bit of a challenge until you get a few upgrades in place.

Shows & Movies…

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Season 15 - Click Here For Season Review

Ladies of London, Season 3 - I really enjoy Ladies of London because of the diversity in it, it’s a very different kettle of fish watching different countries come together and seeing the difference between the two. I’d seen Juliet in Real Housewives of London and liked her, but in this show she’s absolutely terrible. Caroline S is such a diva and I really couldn’t stand her. I adore Caroline F, she’s my kind of crazy!

Ladies of London, Season 4 - A fantastic change up to the ladies from last season with a much more diverse cast. The show steps straight into drama and by episode 3 one of the ladies has left the show! I am absolutely adoring Mark Francis in this, he is a refreshing addition to the Ladies and offers a very different perspective.

SNL:UK - I am so glad they started an SNL in the UK and the first two episodes were fantastic with Wet Leg and Wolf Alice performing, two of my favourite bands at the moment! The entertainment was more familiar which made it a lot more fun to watch. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes.

The Madison - A piece of art, fantastic filmography and acting. All the actors really showed their emotional grieving throughout the show, Michelle Pfeiffer was absolutely amazing throughout this and I really felt her emotions. There was a lot of welling up throughout this.

The Godfather - There’s a reason this movie is iconic, it’s still a fantastic movie even today with so much going on throughout it. I adore this movie and will happily watch it again, and again…

The Godfather, Part 2 - Just as good as the original. I remember snippets of it so it was good to re-watch. I really loved seeing Vito growing up and his origin which I remembered some of, and some I remembered completely wrong!

Music…

New Vinyls;

Electric Six - Fire: Buy Vinyl

I love so many of these tracks, the artists are so wacky and weird which really vibes with me. Their music is so upbeat and active which I adore. I only wish their show down in Southsea wasn’t on a Sunday night as I’d love to have been able to watch them perform live!

girli - Matriarchy: Buy Vinyl

Next month I am going to the girli pre-launch at Pie & Vinyl which I’m very excited for, so I felt this month it’d be good to pick up another album, unfortunately the album I really want is a limited 500 print, so I grabbed this as I listen to it on digital quite a lot.

girli - Odd One Out:

This was rather difficult to find as it’s not in any of the major retailers, but I managed to get a hold of the original girli album. It’s a fantastic album. It’s very raw and unpolished which is fantastic, and also contains Hot Mess which is one of my favourite tracks - bonus.

Photography…

Below are some of my photos from my walk in the New Forest done on my Canon R10 and edited in Lightroom.

April 2026