A one hour shoot with Julia, a fertility and pregnancy mindset coach and founder of Pineapple Coaching, who supports women with the emotional and practical challenges of trying to conceive.
When Hannah Munnings, health coach and Iyengar yoga teacher, got in touch telling me about her dream to run wellness retreats and needing some soulful brand photographs for her new venture Lelou, I jumped at the chance to work with her.
Author Tania Ahsan’s dream was to take her bright pink armchair to the park, so we did! I love it when a client has an unusual idea for their brand photos and we can collaborate on bringing their vision to life.
Every summer for the past three years I’ve had a Soulful Shoot with Ann, florist and founder of Double Happiness Studio, to celebrate her son Kiran’s birthday and also her incredible floral art.
As we entered week three, hackers attempted to steal new Covid vaccine secrets, we were told not to hug our grannies at Christmas, London finally got its first frost and Mother Nature was showing off at her absolute finest with some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
Week two arrived with news of a new Covid vaccine on the horizon, whilst Dominic Cummings finally left Downing Street and most of number ten (Boris included) were self isolating… again! London was wall to wall grey skies, darkness falling by 5pm, the mood heavy… even the dog’s depressed!
Lockdown two arrived in England on Guy Fawkes Day, as the whole world awaited news of whether Trump or Biden would be residing in the White House. The collective energy felt heavy and a dense early morning fog lurked over London.
Isolation stories: week eight
Stay alert, go to work, don’t go to work… wtf Boris? seriously WTF?! We were all very confused about lockdown and what we should and shouldn't be doing. Matt Lucas summed it up perfectly with his spoof that went viral.
Everyone is desperate for a haircut! On BBC 6 music, Lauren Laverne dedicated one of her morning shows to people’s hair dilemmas, and in our house Michelle got her hands on Charlie’s fringe! Headscarves seem to have made a bit of a come back and I’m personally loving all the time I’m saving not washing my hair, or wearing makeup everyday for that matter. In fact, according to this Huffington Post article the average woman spends 55 mins per day on her appearance (that’s two weeks per year!) and £47,000 on her hair in a lifetime! That’s obscene. All hail the natural look.
This week the parks were jam packed… Clissold Park in Stoke Newington was full to the brim with people eating ice cream and having picnics from 2m apart. I met up with my amazingly talented (and very funny) pal Jenni Sparks to catch up and receive a belated birthday present… an Aries print she’s illustrated! Jenni is working her way through the entire zodiac (illustrations that is!), so go take a look at her Instagram as this woman has some serious drawing skills!
Extinction Rebellion were back on the streets of Hackney, flying their flags with a socially distanced bike ride to highlight that as lockdown eases, traffic levels are rising sharply and affecting London’s air quality once again. I stopped to chat with a mother and her two cute little girls, plus a couple of ladies gave me some sunflower seeds to plant in the garden! Lots of lovely community vibes going on.
I enjoyed a coaching session with the brilliant Melissa Maouris… it never fails to amaze me what comes up through a powerful coaching conversation. Some of you might not know, but I’m also a qualified transformational life coach and I have a couple of coaching spots becoming available soon. So if you’ve been feeling like you’d benefit from some support during this time, or perhaps you’re considering making some changes in your life and need to gain more clarity, or maybe you just want to find out more about coaching then do drop me a line… I’d love to hear from you.
In exciting news, I received a handwritten reply to the letter I sent last week! So it’s official… I have a new pen pal and we shall be sending letters back and forth just like the olden days. Highly recommend buying some stamps and giving it a go, totally made my week!
In our house, the aroma of Sauerkraut drifted through the air as Mike was putting together jars of his immune boosting fermented cabbage. Keep an eye on his Instagram over the coming weeks if you fancy getting your hands on some, it’s super tasty! We also discovered that Eira (the pup) is a total sun worshiper… wherever there’s a small sunny spot on the floor, she’s guaranteed to be lying in it. She’s Maltese, so I guess it makes sense!
We ended the week with some (very strong) Margaritas in the garden… and the rest is all a bit of a blur!
Week eight in photos... I’d love to hear what you think so please do like, comment or share any thoughts below and thanks so much for taking the time to read.
Isolation stories: week seven
Remember when the school summer holidays seemed to go on and on forever? Can you believe we’ve already endured seven weeks of lockdown? Seven weeks!!! It came as no surprise to see that some people had started gathering together socially over the bank holiday weekend when it was 25 degrees in London.
In other news, the UK recorded the highest death toll in Europe last Wednesday yet the tabloids focused on the Government’s scientific advisor who broke lockdown to see his lover. Oh and Matt Hancock told Dr Rosena Allin-Khan to watch her tone… there was nothing up with her tone and it sparked outrage across social media.
I was very happy to get my morning routine back on track. I’ve been doing the Five Tibetan Rites (or the fountain of youth as they’re also known), meditating, journalling and facilitating my own Transformational Breath sessions… something I started training in earlier this year which I’m super excited to share once I’m qualified. Watch this space.
I also got back on the yoga mat and joined a “sun flow” class with Becky Hicks, a combination of movement, dance and yoga which I absolutely adored. Moving my body, eyes closed to one of my favourite tunes by Bonobo transported me back to those festival days dressed head to tail in sequins frolicking about on a dance floor (miss you!).
Getting out and about, I cycled to Epping forest and explored Tottenham marshes (which are beautifully overgrown and dreamy for photos) and came across some guys from Forgotten Circus School who were just hanging upside down in trees. Wish that could be my daily exercise!
Keeping creative, I started making a macrame plant hanger (still in the early stages so far) and also put pen to paper to write an actual letter… something I haven’t done properly since the 90s when I exchanged letters with French pen pals and a boy from Devon. Lets see if I get a reply.
On Thursday it was the full flower moon (the last supermoon of 2020) and wow the energy was high… I woke up at 5.30am totally wired and ended up going for a 5km jog in the early morning light. To celebrate, we lit a bonfire in the garden and attempted to harvest some of this Scorpio moon’s energy with a ritual… deciding what to let go of and setting some intentions for the future. According to an article on Vice, you can use your sexual energy (in other words go have an orgasm) for manifestation. Apparently sex magic is a thing, who knew?!
Living with two therapists definitely has it’s advantages and Michelle received an Acupuncture and Tui-Na treatment from Charlie, to get her feeling back on top form. Go check them both out, they perform wonders on people.
Another highlight of the week was receiving a box of Italian organic goodies from Fattoria La Vialla, a beautifully rustic estate where a group of 95 family friends stayed last summer in the Tuscan hills (thanks dad!).
Here’s week seven in photos. Thanks so much for taking the time to read, I’d love to hear how you’re finding lockdown so please do leave a comment below.
Isolation stories: week five
As we entered week five of lockdown, people seemed a bit restless and lockdown fatigue was definitely setting in.
Boris was still nowhere to be seen... did he actually have Coronavirus or was he just hiding away from his responsibilities? Bit like that time he hid in a fridge to avoid the media? Retailers were really suffering and Cath Kidston closed all of its shops, plus loads of Brits were getting pissed!
It was a dreamily warm week, filled with long sunny days. I ventured out on my bike cycling over 40 miles in a week… exploring an eerily quiet central London, taking a peek in Soho and Hyde Park, finally realising where the Royal Albert Hall actually was (after living in London for 15 years!) and even stood at the gates of Buckingham Palace (never been there before either). My bike has been a total lifesaver and lockdown has actually given me an opportunity to discover new places and enjoy London’s roads which are so quiet.
The BIG news in our house was that the puppy escaped! After ten minutes of frantically searching for her, we heard a voice outside shout “we have your dog here, in the end house”. Eira’s first big solo adventure! She didn’t seem phased.
We went for a house jog together one day, relaxed to Michelle’s fully immersive and beautiful online sound journey (she’s doing them every Tuesday at 8pm if you fancy it) and joined a new moon ceremony manifesting all kinds of good stuff.
I took some socially distanced portraits of my pal Laura who has written this beautiful article about living with MS, enjoyed the NHS clap from my mates front stoop and finally finished reading A New Earth which is a book i’m gonna treasure and read over and over.
Week five in pics (click to enlarge the images). Thanks so much for reading.
Isolation stories: week four
Lockdown was extended by another three weeks, Boris was recovering at Chequers and a YouGov poll reported that only 9% of Britons wanted life to return to ‘normal’ once lockdown was over… oh and a bird poo’d on my head (but I’m taking that as a good omen!).
The weeks are flying by… once I’ve done my morning routine, prepared breakfast, gone out for some exercise, eaten lunch, done a bit of work and then cooked dinner… well there’s not much time left in the day is there?
In between meals (really recommend trying this tasty root vegetable pilau), I spent time exploring on my bike, climbed some trees in Hampstead Heath, practiced Wim Hoff’s breathing technique and dropped by Bill Murray’s place for a chat. I also bought a cool NHS social distancing scarf with all profits going towards providing food for health workers… shame it’s a bit too warm to wear it.
As a house, we did our fortnightly trolley dash in the supermarket, cooked a big family nut roast, started what must be the hardest jigsaw in the world and the puppy found herself in the kitchen sink having a bath.
Week four in photos, thanks so much for reading.
Isolation stories: week three
As we entered week three and the age of Aquarius, under a pink super moon, Boris was admitted to intensive care with Coronavirus and it felt like the world had gone mad. Was he gonna make it? This was the question on everyone’s lips.
I started jogging. Who hasn’t? Ate three massive bags of salt and vinegar crisps in a week (hence the jogging) and crafted Easter bunny ears for the puppy. I walked barefoot through the park, sat and listened to birdsong amongst the trees, waved at friends through their windows and got ready for an online date… applying makeup for the first time in days, choosing a cool shirt yet wearing jogging bottoms on the bottom, because well he wasn’t gonna see them was he?
At our place we hosted an online fire sound journey in the garden under the full moon, celebrated Easter with a BBQ, indulged in six loaves of tasty free sourdough from my sister and binge watched Unorthodox on Netflix… there’s a scene in a Berlin nightclub where everyone’s dancing, sweating and slithering around skin on skin. Wow I miss that! I miss human touch. How long do we have to wait until we can snog someones face off in a club?
I tried my best to tune out of the news all week and remain positive, but it wasn’t easy, especially when we were all wondering if the prime minister was going to survive (not that I’m a Boris fan fyi, but no one wanted him to die, apart from a few absolute horrors on social media).
I’d actually been holding it all together pretty well, until Good Friday when I was approached by a warden as I was stretching on Hackney Marshes; “we’re asking everyone to keep moving this weekend please” and that was it, a sadness suddenly overwhelmed me. A sadness about not being able to meet up with friends, go out for dinner, to a gig, sit on a picnic table (they’re all covered in police tape) or even stretch in the park.
Although I don't want the world to go back to how it was (something needed to change) and I’m enjoying this slower pace of life, I'm really missing the simple things and the freedoms we once took for granted. Grieving for parts of my old life and missing my pals, yet staying hopeful that something amazing will come out of all this. Plus it’s spring, the blossom is in full bloom and the sun is warm on our faces so it ain’t all bad.
Week three in photos below, thanks so much for looking.
