It has been a while. Quite a long while, actually. The last time I posted I told the world how I wasn’t going to be so hard on myself for pulling out of the Berlin Marathon last September. Pulling out wasn’t fun, especially as we had booked flights and accommodation – but rather than face limping around the course, my boyfriend and I decided to go and spend a few days splayed around the pool at the incredible Soho House Berlin instead.

So, why haven’t I written for a while? I’ve had this blog for almost a decade – yes, 10 years! When I started tapping away on my now vintage white Macbook all those years ago, the new age bloggers and what have more recently become termed influencers, were probably still getting grazes on their knees in the playground and eating lumpy custard and vanilla sponge in the school canteen. It makes me feel old, but not in a bad way as you might expect.

Truth be told, when Instagram took off I was having a year out from life, across on the other side of the world. A year and a half later, when I returned to the UK, I really felt like I had been left behind. Gone were the Twitter accounts I had once followed and interacted with, replaced with a new generation of visual stylists, creating their very own ‘shop window’ via one of the most exciting social media platforms ever to have been invented, Instagram.

My true passion is writing, and although I do love the visual element of Instagram, I have never really felt the same love for it. But the decline of written blogs and increase in visual platforms, including Instagram and Pinterest, to name a couple, made it hard for me to know what route to take. Do I carry on writing, or do I try and do what the masses are doing and attempt not to get lost in the content noise? Or, do I just get my head down at work, focus on my career and take up another hobby instead?

This is when I decided to run my first marathon – London in 2017. I had grand ideas of how to create content for Instagram and try and build a loyal following of fellow marathon and fitness lovers. But something just didn’t feel right. What I wanted to do just didn’t feel creative anymore, and more to the point I had entered into my 30s and the goalposts for what success looked like to me had changed. A free meal, or even free holiday (yes, I had a few of those) didn’t seem to cut it anymore and it didn’t feel like I had achieved anything, for myself or others. So I stopped. And I vowed I would stop until I found something that would become meaningful to me.

One thing that has always excited me is music. So when my friend (ex NME journalist) approached me to start a new music podcast, Demo Tapes, I jumped at the chance. For a few months we spent our time interviewing musicians and getting their stories and it was fun – just the creative outlet that I needed. We managed to put out a series of 12 episodes in 12 weeks and are currently preparing for the second season. And when I get my act together, I’ll post in the currently empty ‘Demo Tapes’ section of this site.

I also signed up to run London Marathon again, which this year takes place on 28th April. Training sadly hasn’t been nearly as straightforward as it was last time. After having to have 4 weeks off running to recover from hamstring tendinopathy, I was struck down with the flu and bronchitis, which I’m still recovering from now. I have only done two outdoor runs this year (one 10 mile and another 5 mile), and even though I have been WATT bike training and sort of enjoying mammoth cross trainer sessions, with 7 weeks to go until race day, I’m slightly terrified! On the plus side though, I am fundraising for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and have already raised over £1,000!

But the most exciting idea I’ve had in a while is one that I’m going to be working on with a friend over the coming months. We’re both in our 30s and have had one hangover too many recently. We’re not going to stop drinking (because where’s the fun in that), but our mission is to bring Londoners the opportunity to have fun, meet like minded people and explore a range of things without the booze – because boozeless fun is limited in the capital, particularly at night time. Keep your eye out for more info on this – I hope you’ll be able to join us on our quest for sober and hangover-less fun.

This blog has evolved over the years. It houses recipes, stories of previous lives and old relationships. It includes guest posts from friends, info on Demo Tapes, lots of reviews of haircuts (random, I know – especially since they were all the same) and soon to be my new project. It is a place for ramblings, ideas, and inspiration. And I hope that those who have stayed with me since the beginning will continue to enjoy reading, just as much as I enjoy writing.

Much love. xxx