May 2025 - FIVE good things
in the hands down best month of the year
I love May and yes I am massively biased because it’s my birthday month. Ideally, I like the celebrations to last the whole month if possible (not to milk it whatsoever) so I usually book some nice trips, meals, gigs, get-togethers, etc. But to be honest 2025 has excelled itself without me having to do that much. There have been festivals, live music, comedy, pubs, sea swimming, seafood, camping, and dancing. All my favourite things rolled into a month.
In amongst all the fun stuff I’ve managed to get my head down and deliver the last two episodes of series 2 of Breaking Boundaries and present an episode of The Aberystwyth Book Club in front of an audience at Hay Festival. But there is a catch! I’ve been ill twice this month and this lurgy is lingering. A warning that I need to slow down in June. But until then there’s one last push to deliver The Aberystwyth Book Club Hay Special which goes out on Friday (6th June - eek)!Â
So before I get back to the edit, here are five good things, apart from Race Across the World, that have helped me get through May:
Big Dingle Energy
The month began with a trip to Dingle for my brilliant friend Stacey. She invited a whole crew of us to celebrate her 40th and there aren’t enough superlatives to describe how life-affirming this short holiday was for me. I find it amazing how sometimes 3 or 4 nights are all you need for a complete refresh and invigorate. We stayed in the coolest Air BnB (an old pub with bar still intact) during Féile na Bealtaine. The weather was insanely good, which definitely helped, but mostly it was all about the chats, the laughs, the singing, the dancing, the cold sea dips, the Guinness (with a dash of blackcurrant), and spending time in the company of the best group of women. I will have the happiest memories for a lifetime. 😊
Birthday day off
I know celebrating their birthday month isn’t everyone’s style but I do think it’s important to at least give yourself the day off if possible. Even when I worked in an office I always booked my birthday off as annual leave. But now, one of my favourite things about being freelance is I don’t even have to ask. This year we took a road trip down to Bristol to go to my friend Teleri’s 40th birthday party, stopping off in Aberteifi on the way down for a Pizza Tipi lunch and then at my favourite Welsh beach for a swim on the back. Well worth the effort!
Make something for fun
This is quite a specific set of circumstances so I’m hoping you can think of your own equivalent! I’ve always loved tree houses, mazes, stepping stones, hammocks, and rope swings, and as our son is 5, I’ve been trying to think of cheap ways to make the garden more fun. We don’t have enough room for a maze (!) but we do have lots of ideas, which I hope will emerge over the next few years but here is my first. Made possible by my lovely neighbour Kerrie who sadly lost all her trees in the winter storms. The trees are now logs and she kindly let me have these to create our brand-new stepping-stump path, which I am ridiculously proud of (and it only took me a morning)! Aesthetically pleasing and great jumping practice. 😉
Stage fright
They say it’s good to do things that scare you and I get scared before going on stage. When I was first in a band the nerves used to kick in 3 days before a gig! By the time we were due on stage, I’d have been back and forth to the loo about 20 times. It was pretty crippling but I kept doing it because once I was up there I loved it and afterwards the adrenaline kick was amazing. It’s the same with presenting at Hay, even though this was my fourth year, I still felt sick all morning. I have to keep reminding myself that if someone told me I couldn’t do it I’d be absolutely gutted. I’ve also learnt some good breathing techniques. This year was the first time my hands didn’t shake and I felt very proud of myself! What makes you nervous and how do you manage it?
Steve’s Lava Chicken
We took our son to see the Minecraft Movie at the end of April and this Jack Black tune is so catchy it has been my (and my son’s) earworm throughout May!
WILL IT EVER LEAVE OUR HEADS?!
BONUS!
In case you missed it, here’s the beautiful new artwork for The Aberystwyth Book Club programme image on BBC Sounds, designed by local Aber artist Harrie Fuller.
Blue has been the hands down favourite but I have a soft spot for the burnt orange!
