April 2020: the round up

Well would you look at that - we're still in lockdown, so I haven't got much of a round up to share. I can't wait until life is back to normal and we can all get back to doing the things we love and holding our friends & family close to us. Anyway, I did still want to post a monthly round up so without further ado...

I've been reading loads of books while we've been in lockdown, and I love to read so that's definitely a good thing. I always post my 'recent reads' on here so if you fancy it, you can have a look at what I've been reading and what I thought of them! The best books I've read this month are No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter and Messy, Wonderful Us by Catherine Isaac.

I wanted to watch some films during lockdown, but I haven't quite got round to it. TV series on the other hand - I've watched loads. Since getting Disney+ (see my recommendations here) I've watched the entirety of Girl Meets World, and then I watched Press on Netflix as well as watching episodes of the Vicar of Dibley and the new series of Friday Night Dinner. I've also re-watched Feel Good, and started a show on Prime called 'Please Like Me', which I'm loving.

One great thing that happened in April was the #youtubers4NHSheroes campaign, started by Saffron Barker. On April 11th, loads of YouTubers uploaded videos & all of the ad revenue from that video will go to the NHS charities. While I firmly believe that the NHS is not a charity and correct government funding would go a long way to making things better, this is a great way to feel like you're making a difference from your bedroom. I stayed in bed all morning and watched loads of my favourite creators' videos without skipping the ads, and a few more pennies went to the NHS charities because of that. How nice is that?

I hosted a fantastic family quiz on Zoom, and I even wore a bow tie. We've then carried it on weekly with different hosts, and it was a lot of fun! I hate video calling but you know, needs must. It's a great way of connecting with your loved ones at this trying time. My household has also been loving the #virtualpubquiz on Thursday nights, which we follow up with a Spotify sharing session. Such a lovely way to spend the evening!

The one time I did my eyebrows in April x

Thankfully, I picked up a new freelance client during April which was amazing - it's just a little weight off my shoulders to have some extra money coming in while I'm out of work in terms of my other job.

I also posted a new poem during April - that's two months in a row I've actually shared some of my creative writing on here! Will we make it three?! Stay tuned to find out - and do have a read of April's poem, because it's short and sweet and hopeful. Also related to writing, I attended a virtual lunch with my favourite author (Sophie Hannah, you'll find loads about her books on here) organised by Gliterary Lunches; it was so fun and definitely a nice way to spend an hour.

So all in all, April's been a strange little month - we're in lockdown for the foreseeable future, and I for one can't wait until things start returning to "normal". Hope you're keeping well during these crazy crazy times!