April was the month of blooming and blossoming. Mainly in the sense of side projects, but also literally in relation to the outdoors and springtime fun. We took advantage of the beautiful weather at a local fayre soaking up the sun in deckchairs with live music and food stalls (even having a ride on the carousel), and spent plenty of time pursuing more outdoor-based exercises. It was also the month I soft launched my online store properly.
Days Out & Activities:
- Bowling – During the Easter bank holiday weekend, we visited our local bowling alley for a game of ‘Hyperbowling’. Not only was it our first time playing this hyper-variant of the game, but we also opted for the pro edition too. A game where moving coloured lights race up and down the bumper which you must hit before knocking down pins. Each colour represents multipliers of varying quantities, and after each round is the opportunity to level up. Our hour session passed with varying degrees of skill, luck and flukes, yet we somehow managed to walk away with our names on the leaderboard!
- City Centre Treasure Hunt – With a map, clues and a compass we headed into the city of Manchester to find some treasure, organised by The Great Game company. Using the city’s landmarks, signs, and architecture we took to the streets deciphering codes, and solving puzzles to reach our next checkpoint. This was a really enjoyable day out and one which certainly got us exploring the city in a new way! The final aim is to reach a pub after solving multiple clues, but with no official time limit, we instead decided not to do it in one session, but rather spread it out across a few days. As such, we’re yet to finish, but plan to do so in the upcoming months.
- Spunch – A new activity for us this month was that of an orienteering race called Spunch: a ‘satellite punching’ race where you reach a numbered checkpoint on a map, and listen out for your signifying horn (ours was a trumpet jingle!). Being first-timers who also planned to walk, we opted for the longer duration of 120 minutes to allow time to get accustomed to it. The competitiveness comes out nearer the end though as you wonder if you can fit in another 2 or 3 detours on the way back to the start! Despite getting caught in the pouring down rain – and subsequently being soaked through by the end – we had so much fun, and will definitely be signing up for another one. We finished the evening with a homemade curry and a slice of cake at the social club, where they raised over £600 from the event.
- Run for Wildlife – Another month, another mention of animals. This time our nature races took us to Yorkshire Wildlife Park for a 10k Run for Wildlife; supporting the African Painted Dogs. This route was amazing and certainly covered all terrain. We ran through the park seeing polar bears, lions, red panda and even got a glimpse of the cheetah as we weaved our way through the enclosures. The icing on the cake was literally the iced cupcake we received at the finish line – what a pleasant surprise! With our new medal around our necks we spent the rest of the day wandering around Yorkshire Wildlife Park itself, and were lucky enough to see almost all the animals. Our highlights being the maned wolf and the baby okapi!
Hobbies and Interests:
- Deactivating social media – I finally bit the bullet on the whole digital detox thing this month, and said goodbye to all personal social media accounts. Something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but always put off. My last one to delete was Facebook as this was the platform I used to keep connected to those friends I met travelling. Over the years we kept updated on big life moments, supported each other from afar, and reconnected when plans aligned our locations. But as someone who favours more intentional conversation, I wanted to prioritise a different form of communication – that of calling and texting. And so I find myself without the distraction of personal social media to instead focus my time on hobbies and interests.
- Writing – Progress is well underway also on another side project of mine. That of my short story. One that’s only been in the pipeline for about 6 months now, but one I I can feel the plot really coming together. Writing this feels less daunting than the main novel I have in progress; largely due to its length, but also because I can very easily escape to this fictional world I’ve created. The setting and characters are ones I’m enjoying delving deeper into and I’m excited to see this all come together.
Physical and Virtual Media:
- Books – The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.
- TV – Into the Unknown: Making of Frozen 2 on Disney+.
- Film – Project Hail Mary at Vue Cinema.
- Games – Pub-style quizzes online.
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