July 2025

The lovely weather we had in spring and early summer has continued into July. It didn't seem that one heatwave had finished before we were in the throngs of another, and whilst there was a short break between them, we were on another unexpected holiday which you can read about in my last post. We've had some rain too this month, we were desperate for it, a hosepipe ban in our area came into force on the 11th and other water companies have introduced hosepipe bans since.

July has seen some big changes for us. Eleanor has returned to work after her maternity leave so we're looking after Jack for her. Well, I say we, Mick's at work himself, though he works from home more often then not so he's around most days, but it's me who's supplying the childcare really. Eleanor's gone back part time, working Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and she's already back into the swing of things, she enjoys what she does which is good. Jacob works shifts so some weeks I won't have Jack all three days, or I may have him for less hours, it just depends what shifts he's on that week. It's started off well, Jack's such a happy little boy so he's a pleasure to look after, but my goodness, he's a live wire and keeps me on my toes. I'm trying to think of nice things to do with him while I've got him so we took him to feed the ducks and swans at Roundhay Park one day, though he was more interested in the pigeons which were gobbling up all the dropped bird seed on the side of the lake.

We haven't had many days out again this month but we did manage a trip to my beloved Yorkshire Dales last weekend. It would actually have been my sister's birthday so we took some flowers to put in vases at the memorial stone we have at the crematorium, which is on the way to the Dales, so we decided to carry on with the journey. It's a while since we've wandered around Grassington so that's where we headed.

I've read four books this month.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the Woolworths Girls series but it's with sadness that I came to the end of the latest one, New Horizons for the Woolworths Girls, as this will be the final book in this series. The author, Elaine Everest, died last year and this was her final novel. My mum was a Woolworths girl and met my dad when the firm he worked for at the time was doing some refurbishments to the store where she worked. I liked how Elaine Everest captured the mood of the time in which she set her books, and there were some great characters whose lives evolved throughout the series. I'll definitely miss these stories.

I took The Bookshop of Secrets by Kerry Barrett on holiday with me but I didn't get very much reading done, I might have read a chapter a day, if that. Set during WWII but with a difference as the location in this book is Lisbon, quite unusual when reading a WWII story. Very lighthearted and rather far-fetched, but I did enjoy it. I liked the characters who were all quite different from each other but all united in their endeavour to do their bit for the war. An easy read.

My Darling Boy by Helen Cooper has a good storyline, two boys who had grown up as best friends with one ending up killing the other. It's billed as a psychological thriller with twists and turns a plenty which you won't see coming. Well, I did see them coming and I guessed every one of them, and even though the book is written with each chapter taking you to a different period in time which could be confusing, I still enjoyed it. Not fantastic but okay.

Someone on Instagram recommended Anna O by Matthew Blake to me after I'd read The Silent Patient last month. A similar storyline, a medical murder mystery, guilty or innocent. The two books are also quite similar in how they're written, short, punchy chapters. Anna O delves more into the psychology aspect and sleepwalking, if a person can be held accountable for their actions whilst unconscious. On paper, this is right up my street, but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would, just a little bit long-winded.

My niece got married four years ago and her mum and auntie grew and arranged all the flowers for the arrangements at the venue. The main theme was sunflowers so packets of sunflower seeds were given out at the reception so that each guest could grow their own. I added them to my seed tin and forgot all about them until I was going through everything in there earlier this year and came across them. I wasn't sure they'd still be viable having been stashed in a tin for four years but I gave them a go and they've been a success. There's two different varieties, both yellow which are my favourite. The hoverfly seems to be enjoying this one too.

I didn't go and see Wicked when it came out at the cinema but I loved the stage show when I saw it back in 2014 so I've been looking forward to it being shown on Sky. It was released on Sky Cinema this month but I was a bit disappointed in it, I found it overly drawn out to the point it was getting boring. The live show lasts for about two and a half hours whereas the running time of the movie is two hours forty minutes, and that's just the first part, the second part is released in cinemas later this year. I definitely won't rush to watch it at the cinema but I shall watch it once it's released on Sky, purely because I've watched the first part, but what I've seen so far wouldn't make me want to watch it a second time.

I've finished off the first section of my Vertices Unite shawl by Stephen West this month and even though I haven't been doing very much knitting just lately, I've managed to get the second section completed too. The stitches from this section have to be kept live and put on hold, but I shall be starting the third section now with another colour change. There's lots of crafting I'd like to be getting on with but I just don't seem to have the time, I'm busy with other things just now. I'm making the most of the lighter evenings, there'll be plenty of time for crafting once the nights start drawing in again.

I'm pleased to say that after coming home from our holiday in June and discovering that she was being made redundant, Jasmine has found a new job and she starts next week. Her employment with her previous employer ended yesterday so there's only two days that she won't have been in employment. She and Daniel are heading off tonight to meet friends at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Both Mick's and Jacob's birthdays fall in August so those celebrations are coming up, and there's a bank holiday in the month ahead too. Lots to look forward to.