I’m totally stealing this from the lovely Kirsty Marrins! Here are my 10 happy things for February 2020:

Moved into my own home

After a long, long period of saving and working on it, I finally purchased my first flat in December 2019. It required (and still does) quite a bit of work, so I ended up moving in in the first week of February. It was a very tiring and overwhelming week but worth it to have some personal space and my own pad.

Walked from Putney to Waterloo with my friend Rosie

My friend Rosie and I have been friends for quite a few years, ever since she was my editor at Whatsonstage when I was still a journalist. We stayed in touch and meet up regularly for walks and chats. This time was the longest we’ve ever managed! Putney to Waterloo might not sound a lot, but it was a long way. We saw lots of interesting things on the way, plenty of fun architecture, as well the latest situation at Battersea Power Station (it’s funky). We made it all the way to Waterloo, where I bought some soup and peeled off home to rest my weary feet.

Aperol spritz: always an excellent choice

Lovely birthday lunch in Richmond

It was my 35th birthday on February 11, and while I spent the actual day at work, I organised a Sunday lunch at a pub in Richmond called The Ship. We had planned to walk from Kingston to Richmond, but due to the storm we had to call that plan off.

At any rate, it was a really fun afternoon, with lots of my favourite people there, amazing food and, of course, an Aperol spritz. We had quite a dramatic end to the day (long story - attempted car insurance fraud on the way home!) but a delightful day.

Covered a yoga class where 12 students showed up despite the storms at 9am on a Sunday

I taught a really fun yoga class at The Hamptons in Worcester Park just before I went on holiday. The storms were howling and I was fully expecting no one to show up.

At just before nine am, I only had two students, and then suddenly 10 of them flooded through the door. We had a fantastic class too! Love a committed group, and this lot certainly are.

Went to Bird and Blend with my sister and bought loads of tea

My sister bought me a £25 voucher for the brilliant tea shop Bird and Blend for my last birthday, and I still hadn’t got around to spending it by my next birthday, so they kindly extended it, and we spent a lovely afternoon in their Borough shop, sampling and smelling teas, and buying somewhat more than £25 worth of tea. Then we had Wagamama… all in all, an excellent time.

Had friends over for lunch

Just before I went away on holiday, I had some friends over to see my new flat. I’ve known CJ since school and Chris since they met at uni. They, along with their kids, came over and duly admired the new flat. After a lot of running around and playing with yoga props from the kids, we decided to head out for lunch, which was basically an excuse to go to Nandos! Always a good answer to the perennial problem of where to have lunch!

Tried out my tripod for the first time and successfully made some videos

While away in Thailand, I had a go at setting up my new Manfrotto tripod and filming some videos - I have a long way to go but for a start, it’s not bad! I am hoping to share them in the near future… maybe.

It me in Thailand, trying not to sweat out everything I have…

Watched my friend Anna in a concert at the RFH

Very proud friend alert. My lovely talented friend Anna, one of my oldest, is a cellist in the Liverpool Philharmonic and previously was in the Royal Philharmonic, who she still plays with sometimes, and was in a concert at the Royal Festival Hall, so just under a dozen of us made it along. She is a brilliant, kind, talented friend and we were so happy to be able to support her!

Successfully completed a week’s worth of ashtanga practices in the heat of Koh Samui

I went away on my second Find Your Balance retreat. The last time I went, I had badly bruised my coccyx just a week before, so couldn’t really participate physically, and was struggling mentally too.

This time, I’m happy to report I managed all the ashtanga mysore-style practices (this is what I normally practice weekly), and because of the warmth (though I think if I tried hot yoga I’d die of migraine and sweat-loss) my muscles were able to practice in a really fluid way. Proud of myself!

Spent a day tootling up and down the river in Bangkok on the 15 baht boat

I went to Asia for the first time for a yoga holiday, and spent five days in Bangkok to start, which was mad and exhausting but fun. One of my favourite things was hopping on the riverboat, which only costs 15 baht (about 3p!) per ride. On one particularly hot day, I went all the way down the river, then all the way up, then, after two taxis turfed me out, refusing to take me back to my hotel, I took it back down again!