Ten Happy Things – July 20

Every month I look back and reflect on ten things that brought me joy and made me happy. July was a good month with lots to be happy about so here’s my ‘ten happy things’ for July.

Completed Couch to 5k!

As soon as the gyms had to close in March, I decided to do Couch to 5k again as the first time I did it, last year, I did it all on a treadmill. And believe me, running outside is very different!

It was tough, I’m not going to lie but I did it! And I can run 35 minutes now non-stop. Even better, I can actually run 5k in 30 mins!

A long weekend in Whitstable

We had holiday booked at the beginning of July so as soon as we heard that we’d be allowed to travel and stay somewhere other than our own house, we booked a staycation! We had the Friday off but we weren’t allowed to travel until the Saturday so we only had three nights away in… sunny Whitstable!

We really enjoyed the change of scenery and Whitstable is such a cute seaside town. Plus I got to catch up with my friends Sally and Gemma who live there! It was ace.

Spontaneous picnic with friends

The weather was fairly nice so my friends Nadia, Jennie and I decided to have a spontaneous picnic one Friday afternoon. We met in Brockwell Park, which I’d never been to before but wow, what a lovely park! It’s huge! There’s a lido, a BMX track, walled gardens, lakes… stunning.

It was so lovely to see Nadia and Jennie as I’d not seen them since my birthday party in February. It was really weird not to be able to hug though… And yes, there was Prosecco!

First swim in the sea!

We were so lucky to have been able to have 9 days away in Italy in July. It was just what we needed! And I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to have that first swim in the sea… glorious.

Returning to Favignana

We first visited Favignana in 2013 and felt it was about time to return! It’s an island in Sicily, which has not only the most amazing beaches but also a Tonnara – which is basically an ancient way of catching tuna. Since the 1800s they had been catching tuna and were famous for it and the Florio family built this plant to process and package all the tuna. We did a tour the first time we visited and did another one this time round as the history is so interesting.

Exploring Castellammare del Golfo

As well as visiting Favignana, we also stayed at Castellammare del Golfo in Sicily. We had passed it last year on the way to San Vito Lo Capo and it looked gorgeous so we decided to stay here for 4 nights. It’s a lovely little town with the best granita! It’s also around 7 km to the Scopello side of Riserva dello Zingaro, which is the most amazing nature reserve with stunning beaches. We had a great time!

Won an Aperol hamper

I entered a photo competition on Instagram run by Aperol Spritz UK and was one of three winners! I found out when I was in Italy, which was pretty apt. The prize was delivered when I got home and consisted of three bottles of Aperol, three bottles of Prosecco and three bottles of soda water. Sounds like I need to organise an Aperol Spritz party!

Back to gym

Gyms in the UK were allowed to reopen on 25th July and I for one was delighted because it meant I could go swimming again! Before heading to the pool, I went for a run at my local gym. I was really impressed with how they are keeping us safe.

They took my temperature upon arrival, all the equipment has been spaced or marked as not in use to enable us to socially distance. There were stickers on the floor to mark out workout areas. Towels aren’t allowed on the gym floor and there are of course wipes to clean all the equipment after use.

Delivered three webinars

In July I delivered three webinars for Media Trust. The first one was for Heritage Digital and had over 200 people! The other two were much smaller which was also nice as it meant I actually had enough time to answer all their questions!

Reading in bed

I’ve said this many times but one of the best things to happen in the last few months is starting the day slowly by reading in bed. I haven’t watched breakfast television in about 5 months – which is good for my blood pressure levels – and I’m definitely keeping this new habit!

It also means that I’m smashing my goal of reading a book a month!

So those are my ‘ten happy things’ for July. How did your month go? What made you happy and brought you joy? I’d love to know so please leave a comment.