'There will be more sunny days!'

This was something my wonderful pal Sarah said to me on one of our recent working FaceTime chats. We were talking about the pressures of always feeling that with good weather there had to be good days, and- especially in the UK, the unspoken pressure to always make the most of a sunny day.
 
It sounds silly typing it. Of all the things in life to bring pressure, surely bright blue skies and sticky temperatures shouldn’t be something to concern ourselves about. Truly, nothing beats rolling over in the morning and seeing the glint of light that the sun brings peeking through the curtains, so much so that before you’ve even opened them you know it’s going to be a bright day. But sometimes not everything aligns- you might be having ‘one of those days’, feel exhausted, have a pile of admin and work to do- and feel like surely, sitting marking, writing or filing accounts isn’t the best way to soak up the sunshine. The unbridled joy of a temperature above 24 degrees isn’t supposed to bring Zoom meetings, spreadsheets and anxiety- it’s supposed to come with gingham tablecloths, juicy peaches, sticky fingers and melting ice creams- all twinged with a sunglassed-saturation and warm skin.
 
…but there will be more sunny days. And I love this because I think whichever way you read it, it rings true. Whether you’re stuck inside, or even taking it as something more metaphorically- things will be lovely again. You'll feel the glorious back sweat of a humid day once more, I promise you! And especially in the throes of lockdown and a global pandemic, gently reminding ourselves that it will be sunny again is the kindest way to let ourselves off when things aren’t always as bright and warm as we think they should be- and remembering that as much as we enjoy them, we will enjoy them again too.

 
So whether you’re able to enjoy the weather (or not) this weekend- I hope you have a lovely one (ice creams can always be eating with Word up!)

 

x

(Lovely lovely graphic by @byhapppyal)
 

This week I've been thinking about my isolation-friendly belated summer bucket list. Every summer I put together a little list of things I'd like to tick off- and although we're already in August, and things are rather (rightly) limited- I still thought I'd share a handful of lovely things that are giving me small glimmers of excitement to look forward to (and might inspire you too)!

- Go to Jolene. I'm a sucker for a 'cool' looking spot (I know, sue me) and perhaps with lockdown the air of something well branded that serves warm foccacia and pasta is all the more appealing (cool sentence, Liv), but this, Lizzy's on the Green and Juliet's are all very much on my radar- and I am ready for the buns and coffee, sir! 
- Have a boat ride in London. I've seen Go Boat floating around where an on-deck picnic is very much a possibility, but have also been dreaming of a little rowboat on St. James' Park since last summer. Swans on the lake feels like the kind of quaint my lockdown has been craving (or maybe it's just too many period dramas again?)
- Make homemade scones. The Londoner shared a painfully simple recipe (60 second scones people) and if I'm not having clotted cream in abundance whilst watching Wimbledon this will give me a good excuse.
- Can socially distanced rounders be a thing? I'd like to try that- what is the minimum number of players? Friends- this is a call to action!
- Spend a night by the sea. I'm not fussy- any sea! I'd quite like to just watch the sun go down by the coast, eating fish and chips and then wake up to the noisy squawk of seagulls (which I've mentioned before so I won't go into again)...