Blogtober16 - Happy Halloween!

I'm going to keep this post brief because I don't have a lot to say if truth be told.

I feel like it's controversal to say but I actually dislike Halloween. Apparently I did do trick or treating, but don't remember it. I just remember dressing as a witch every year and hanging out with other family/friends. I might have tried to carve a pumpkin with my Mum and Gran a few times too, but that's as far as it goes.

Why do I not like Halloween?
1. My birthday is the 26th October, so Halloween served as a constant reminder that the presents, kindness, good food, cake and surprises was over.
2. I hate dressing up. I've done my fair share from dressing as a daffodil for Marie Curie to dressing as an easter bunny for my fundraising efforts to climb Kilimanjaro

3. I've never found any horror films that I've enjoyed or that scare me.
4. I don't understand why people want to find ways to be scared.
5. I can't really think of further reasons, but it seems like a pointless event

That being said, I genuinely wish you a "happy halloween" whatever you're doing. I'm guessing the majority of you might have enjoyed it over the weekend. I have friends who love to curl up watching horrors, or dressing up. Just because I don't doesn't mean I can't appreciate why it's popular. It's nice to see kids dressed up or carving pumpkins, which has filled my current facebook feed.

I'm going to try to embrace this occasion watching a few horrors including: Case 39, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, then perhaps Leprechaun, Return of the Living Dead and Poltergeist II. Unfortunately they are the best selection on Netflix, and not seen that much worth seeing on TV. Any better recommendations to be found on TV are much appreciated! Keen to watch something I've not already seen.

What are you doing this halloween?

As this is my final post, I'd like to say thank you to Hex Mum for getting my creative juices flowing. It's been great, but think I will be glad of the break. For those bloggers, who wished to get involved, Hexmum and Me Becoming Mum are doing #AlphaBlogBites this November too. To get involved, you write the following types of posts:

Further rules are available on the Facebook group here. Unfortunately I think this is too much for me to do! I have come across of blog ideas recently that I hope to write, and hope you will enjoy reading! I'm also thinking of taking up another blogging challenge, which I hope more people wish to take part in.#dreamandsparkle is weekly posts displaying positive posts detailing things you are proud of, achievements, milestones, or any type of post that makes you feel good. I hope to do a post every Sunday starting this week, so if I don't blog for a while, it won't be until then.

Blogtober16 - Meaning behind my blog name

Almost half way through the Blogtober challenge, and time to tell you the story of how Planetjodie came to be!

It is a relatively short story.

I decided to write a blog about 3 months ago, after failing to find something to entertain me after being unemployed for a while. When starting up, I remembered I had set up a blog called "Planet Jodie" and only posted one thing. I deleted the post and started from fresh. It seemed perfect.

I chose not to write about a specific genre, and write ideas that came to me. An opinion I wanted to share, review, diary of travel, just anything that came to mind. My Dad always jokes that I'm different and from Planet Jodie, so I think the name sums it up there!

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow to show you the timeline of my day as part of blogtober.

Old Diaries - 2009, Part 2

I decided to look further over my souveirs box, and look over my diary. From this, I can't believe what a silly 16-year-old I was. Some entries are just too funny not to share. If you like my blog, you might have already read embarrassing diary entries from a few weeks ago here.

So here goes...

2nd March 2009

"Finally, I had media. After P.E., I felt so icky and hated being around Aidan and Kelsey, but only because I thought I felt that I smelt of B.O. I kept thinking about it - I think I was paranoid. They didn't seem to notice, but they may have thought it! How annoying is that? I was proud in Media though because I found out that I was like 2 marks off an overall mark of a B."

Some of this makes little sense, but I can't deny how funny it is. To me at least.

4th March 2009

"Lessons went well. Media was funny - it always is with Kelsey and Aidan combined. Aidan prodded me in the eye (accidentally) and it managed to send me in hysterics - it hurt at the same time as making me unable to stop laughing. I had no attention in science because I really can't be bothered. Finished bouncing ball coursework though."

This doesn't make sense in parts either, but...bouncing ball coursework? WHAT?

3rd April 2009

"Today I used my debit card for the first time. It was a great experience. I know it's just a card, but it made me feel more grown-up. It made me feel more independent and like I'm handling my money in my own way. I like that. The way my parents give me money to get what I like seems shameful. I want to stand on my own two feet and be able to do things by myself. It would be nice to have a job and pay for the things I need - without them  doing so."

6th April 2009

"I've been trying to read Lord of the Flies, so I can finish it by the end of the week. I don't think I will though. I'm a very slow reader, but I am determined. When you're determined you can do anything!"

Wow! 

8th April 2009

"I can't stop thinking about the dream I had last night: I had moved house and lived in a countryside. There was a sea not far, where a killer whale lived. Black and white print. It was a danger that mentioned when I met our neighbours (it was all very close-knit in that department). The problem was a whale bit me and I had scarring all around my mouth. It was horrendous, but I learnt to be happy with myself. I learnt to accept my imperfections and I know it wasn't real, but I can't help thinking: 'Why can't I stop caring about what others think? Why can't I accept myself ? Warts and all!'"

My dreams aren't any less weirder. I've dreamt about a street of people in different jeans and not able to see their faces. I've dreamt of giving birth to a labrador; I think that was weirdest.

24th April 2009

"Girls Aloud was amazing tonight...It felt so surreal in my fresh experimental environment. I was up high and it seemed so scary at first. Girls Aloud did so much  - dancing, singing and spectacular stunts. It was a long enough wait. The support acts weren't too bad. They did need to ditch the crap dance routines though. Some of the routines frightened me senseless...I bought a programme and laminate necklace for souveirs. I'm proper thrilled at the thought of putting it into my scrapbook, so I remember for life."

My first ever concert and it was a great experience. I'm kind of embarrassed to have loved Girls Aloud.

23rd May 2009

"I stayed up to watch the film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It wasn't too good; mainly due to the fact that it was old and created in the year I was born. It had Hilary Swank in before she was famous and others that I didn't recognise."

I find this so funny since some of my favourite films are old including Breakfast at Tiffany's.

2nd June 2009

"The heat is suffocating. I'm too hot with even a t-shirt and can't wait to get home, so I can strip off my clothes to be frank"

I can guarantee it wasn't as hot as living on the island, where the fan is almost always on. Even when it rains it is kinda hot and often sweating from doing very little!

26th June 2009

"I started the day by waking up to no parents. I ate 2 bowls of cereal to discover that they had gone plant shopping. Mum and Dad expected me to get dead excited about plants. Why? Mum knows I have no interest in gardening, don't care and why ask?"

I didn't know I could be so self-absorbed. I still love my two bowls of cereal but try to save one so I can have it for my supper instead.

15th August 2009

The rest of my entries seem to be written in bullet points, which is harder to find the funny stuff, so my final post isn't as funny, but I thought I'd include this post anyway:

• Woke up at 10ish
• Glad to get my cartoon that I bought. Cheered me up [Ronnie from Porridge]
• Got showered
• Enjoyed Penny [my dog was a puppy]
• Penny had her first walk in a place called...[no idea why I didn't complete this]
• Tried a deep fried mars bar. I was pleasantly surprised
• Enjoyed 3 Only Fools and Horses, French & Saunders best bits and 2 Criminal Minds. I hope I haven't missed anything
• Hope to get called by Gino's soon for details of starting work [forgot about working there - horrendous]
• Penny has started chewing on the coffee table
• Dad got us a lovely new rug in the lounge
• Not long before results where I'm excited to know, but then I have no findng out the results [waiting for GCSE results, where my best marks included 3As, 2Bs and 3Cs. Not bad]
• Penny cried at around midnight
• Wrote a bit towards the letter I hope to send to Roseanna until the pen ran out that is [after moving to Aberdeen, me and my best friend, Roseanna at the time decided to keep in touch with occasional letters as well as the usual Facebook, email and text.]

Hope you liked this. Has anyone else got any embarrassing and funny diary entries to share?

New hair don't care!

I've already flaunted my new hair, but I thought it was time to kind of review it.

Getting your hair done is a big thing for women. I've known some women to cry after having their locks chopped. Luckily I've never experienced that, and hope I never will. My hair has never been excessively long or shorter than a bob in length. I always think hair grows, so worse comes to the worse it'll sort itself out. Don't get me wrong I've had bad haircuts. While at college, I got my hair on the cheap by a trainee hairdresser and it was great. When I went back, I got a girl who took a ridiculously long time to then cut my fringe way too short. That grew in about two weeks though, so I couldn't get too annoyed!

I'm not someone who uses a lot of hair products either; mainly because I don't know too much about what you're "meant" to be doing. I only do the bare-essentials - shampoo, conditioner, maybe heat protection when straightening my hair. I've recently started to enjoy Philip Kingsley's Elasticiser, which was used by one of my heroes, Audrey Hepburn. It is cheapest to buy in bulk which I would suggest getting from Feel Unique. The main point to use is I don't use hairspray, many hair treatments or know if I need to do much else. I no longer use expensive hair products and rely on Tresemme. I used to use the latest salon shampoos and conditioners, but think they cost too much and all you're really paying for is the fragrance. I'm sure someone will tell me I'm wrong!

When I went to get my hair done, it looked flat, dull and was just not well-looked-after. I hadn't had it done since January, so I think nobody's hair would have been entirely great. However I left feeling truly beautiful. I've never had my hair done and felt so confident. Unfortunately I don't have a before picture, but the marvellous after picture is above.

My mum has been using the same hairdresser, Chelsea and has been singing her praises (is that the phrase?), but I thought she might be overexaggerating. She is the same age as me, but is truly talented at what she does. Chelsea knows what she is talking about when advising people about what to do, and I would trust her advice. She curled my hair which was fantastic because I can't do it.

The hairdressers is right by the Red Funnel in Cowes. K&H Hairdressing is well decorated, but very simple too. I loved the smell of the shampoo there. I think it was Tigi. Not sure! I think my hairdresser, Chelsea is an asset there. While there, I didn't see anyone else who could do colour. I was interested to see that holidaymakers from places like London visited there. It must be cheaper than London prices I suppose. I paid £100 for my cut, colour and blowdry.

Since having it done, here are a few of the styles I've had. I will try to experiment and curl it myself, and keep you posted.

Thinking of describing my fast skincare regime, but time will tell if I enjoy writing more beauty blogs. Let me know what you think.

Selfies and a tad of eyeshadow

I'm not a big fan of the selfie. In fact I would go as far as saying that 99.9% pictures of myself are either with a friend, family member or animal. Those that don't are for special occasions such as my graduation or holidays. Although I must admit those holiday pictures suck too. I will show you those at the end if I can put you through that! Only now am I taking selfies as a way to convey the different eyeshadow looks I've got from a lovely eyeshadow palette my friend got me.

For a long while, I've stopped wearing eyeshadows except for the rare occasions that I can be bothered. However with the fact that I'm so pale...I can't help, but think my eyes have an air of Donald Trump about them. By this, I mean to this day I have not found the foundation for me. It's always too dark, so I can only hope for a match that is a light orange. Is it me that thinks they are all just different shades of yellow? Or if they do suit they make my skin come out in spots, dry my skin out  or is just itchy. Maybe I'm too fussy! However to make my skin not look too bad, I put foundation on my eyelids when not wearing eyeshadow which is often a daily occurence. Because it doesn't need as much coverage, I think it can look white by comparison, and that's why I say I have the "Donald Trump effect". You know the orange face and white rings round the eyes. Here is the visual (I hope it's not quite as obvious)...

Now that I've shown you a picture of a detestable man (who is not just racist, but an arrogant, egotistic and selfish businessman who has moved people out of their homes just to build a golf course), I take you back to the subject of eyeshadows before I go into an inappropriate political rant!

I fell in love with the Makeup Revolution Redemption Palette in Iconic 2. I'm so thankful for my friend who gave it me in a wee package of items as you might remember from my post here.

As any woman who gets something new will tell you, you test ALL the shades! At initial look, I thought it would only be neutral or gold colours to use. Don't be fooled, I was happy by this; however, I am more happy that with a mix of different shades it can be more than the metallic or natural look. Here are pictures of some of my favourite looks.

As I have green eyes, I also tested darker shades in the palette, as I believed they had a plum look to them. I know that plum suits green eyes. However it was just too dark. In true Jodie style, I tested this colour when I was getting ready for an interview. It was dark, my mother even commented and had to correct it!

Eye primer is meant to be essential if you wear eyeshadow, but because I don't wear it, I don't have one. I don't even know which the best ones are. Instead I used the primer by NYX that I've been trying (maybe I will review that soon). I think it still works. With darker shades, I think it stays despite me being someone who picks off my mascara a lot throughout the day. With the lighter colours, I photographed it and noticed it fades a little but still stays put. Here is the picture taken shortly after it was put on:

And here is a picture shortly after I was ready to take off my makeup:

Admittedly, I haven't tried the truly neutral shades, but think it would be nice to have. Thanks Lisa!

This is where my blog post ends, but I did admit that I would include some bad selfies from holidays and graduation. However if this bores you, I won't be offended. I give you enough notice to skip the frankly embarrassing pictures... I think the first picture is the best selfie I've taken. No double chin, no visible huge spot and even my eyebrows look ok. It is also hard to master the smile while avoiding a thumb or missing the shot.

Me before putting on my graduation gown. I can't believe I took this with the mess in my room

Got to love that expression!

Enjoying pizza in Florence. Granted this was taken by someone else!

Somewhere in Italy. A typical picture for me with the double-chin!

When in Venice, you have to take a gondola selfie. This one isn't too bad though.

I think this was taken in St Goar. Not sure. So out of focus above other things!

Another wonderful out of focus picture on the bus of my tour in 2014.

The worst of the bunch. Since you can't take pictures in Anne Frank house (and it's the best place I've been), I wanted one as I leaving. Shame about the lighting. I had to take a picture with one of the bravest teenagers in history though! Anne Frank's diary is probably one of the few publications I've read more than once when growing up.

Isle of Wight life

Recently I moved to the Isle of Wight and feel like I'm still adjusting to it. It's very different to any of the Northern part of the UK. It's funny how much. I thought I'd dedicate this post to showing you a bit of the sights I've seen on the island, and describe some of the key changes and adjustments to living here. Hope you enjoy!

1. It is so hot!

Some of the pictures don't do it justice, but it's mostly bright blue skies with no clouds in sight. Even when it rains, it's like rainforest showers. I moved in April, and my parents moved in January; they said even in the winter it was warm. My mum got sunburn then, and has even had sunburn with clothes. This week will experience temperatures like 34 degrees. Nothing I wear at the moment is sun friendly. I'm prepared for warm, but this is like being in France or Spain. As my mum kindly reminded me, we are closer to France than Scotland now. I'm not moaning really. I want to enjoy it, but I think my holidays will be cooler climates. Maybe Norway? Iceland? North Pole? At least my ghost white complexion might change!

Picture: 1) The sun outside my garden 2) I got my hair done today, so thought I'd model in the fine weather! 3) Nearby park in the fine weather 4) My phone's hourly temperatures yesterday, although I think it's highest was 34.

2. Big on using Wight or island in every item

From businesses to products made here, the majority of things include island, isle or wight in the name. Island roads, Wight bay, Wight drones...these are just a few that come to mind. They can also refer to the mainland as the big island.

Picture: Gin that I spotted in Osborne House.

3. Different parts of the island are big on farming

When I first moved to the island, my parents were living in a part called Gurnard, which felt very remote. It is a town outside of Cowes. There wasn't much pavements where we lived, and I often went on walks with my mum and the dogs; this is where I'd take lots of pictures from the nearby farms and fields. I have lots of pictures of cows, el pacas, and anything I could come across.

Pictures: 1) Cow I named Priscilla 2) Alpacas that cared for chickens nearby 3) Raven the cow, who appears to be up the duff! 4) Tractor

4. The pub grub

Here is a picture from a nearby pub when I was living in Gurnard. I had macoroni which is one of my favourites, but it had fish in it too. It was quite nice, but my favourite macoroni to date is in Dundee! Ham is popular here instead of gammon which I love to have when I go to pubs.

Picture: Mac and cheese with garlic bread and roast dinner I believe?!

5. Shanklin

This is hugely popular for tourists who visit the island. I've only been once with the folks and had lovely ice cream. Here are a few pictures I took whilst there!

Pictures: 1) Shanklin 2) Shanklin 3) Ice creams!

6. Newport

This is the main town of the island where most of the retailers and businesses can exist. For a small island, it has most of what you'd need - Card Factory, Cineworld, Topshop/Topman, Monsoon/Accessorise, Pandora, Poundland, H&M, New Look, TK Maxx, Next, Peacocks, Boots, Superdrug...They even had a BHS, but that seems to be closing. Islanders are hoping it turns into primark; I hope it does because I think it could do with Primark or a good department store. Newport is also where the Isle of Wight festival takes place.Most activities including crafty things and exercise is good here. As I discover more of the island, I hope you find out more about this bigger part of the island.

Pictures: Only picture I've taken in Newport, and it is of the swans outside Quay Arts.

7. Yarmouth

We visited Yarmouth, but we weren't sure we visited the right places because there wasn't a lot there. I've since seen that there is Yarmouth castle that people might wish to see there.

8. Ventnor/Godshill

This is another popular place with tourists, and is beautiful. I would definitely recommend visiting this lovely part of the island. Here are more pictures that caught my eye. It has a miniature village which I didn't visit in Godshill but had lovely specialist shops including those that sold handcrafted ciders, fudges and chocolate. I got my Dad some lovely cider fudge for his birthday.

Pictures: 1) Cider barn in Godshill 2) Dinosaur outside miniature village, Godshill.

9. The Needles

Again, I've only visited once. It is busy during the summertime/ peak season. I think that is why we will probably choose to avoid it now. I got my lovely sand elephant from it. This is where Queen Victoria collected the different colours of sands. Such good fun to do! Some people got more conventional containers like little pots, heart-shaped pots, but what's the fun in that? There are also bear, cats, rabbits and other animals...I can't remember them all. There are like fairground bits for kids to do. I also missed the time but you can watch like glassblowing being done. There are huge amount of souveirs there to buy because this is popular with tourists too.

Picture: Sand elephant I got from the different colours of sand.

10. Osborne House
This is one of the first places I visited when moving. It is the palatial holiday home on the IOW for Queen Victoria and Albert. It includes a tour of their private apartment, bathing beach, children's play cottage and amazing views. There are often events on, so it's worth going for that too. Food is so overpriced though! (If you're peckish after looking round, I'd suggest going to the Lifeboat which is also in East Cowes. Lovely there). My grandparents wanted to see it, so my mum and I occupied them, while my Dad was working. It is well worth a visit!

11.  Windmill

Little to be said here, as this is only really interesting to me. I love windmills, so I forced my dad to drive and look at the only windmill I'd seen on the island! This is in Bembridge. It is owned by the National Trust, so it will cost you to visit. I didn't get to go inside.

Pictures: Both the best pictures I could get!

12. Ryde

Again I've only visited this place once, but it is lovely. It has a pier and a few shops like Newport in some ways. It has the Liz Earle shop (which originates on the island), New Look and a few independent shops worth giving a look. We went on a Sunday, so a lot were shut. I would recommend a mooch round though!

Pictures: 1) Liz Earle shop in Ryde 2) Ryde and view of the pier.

There are still so many things to see and do, that I haven't and hope to explore here. I'd love to see more animals and wildlife for instance including the Butterfly World, Donkey Sanctuary, Isle of Wight Zoo, Owl & Monkey Haven and perhaps more. There are also arts and crafts I want to try (I love creative stuff but I'm not very good) such as pottery barns and Quay Arts which seem to be popular. I've also mentioned going to the Garlic farm, vineyards and there are  festival or two I wish to see. Cowes week is popular, so I hope to go during that next month.

I will keep you posted if and when I visit anywhere else. Or there might be a more updated post to this in a few months time when again I'm more settled.

Old diary entries - 2009

I was looking over old diary entries, and find them so funny. Just for a laugh I thought I'd share extracts of the funniest ones. I have to say glad my writing has improved as couldn't understand some of what was said...

5th January 2009
"I knew my eyes looked fab because I paid enough attention, but since developing so many spots, I'm very self-conscious...I noticed after being late and checking a mirror that I applied over-the-top amount of foundation. I looked orange. Jodie was not impressed."

Not much of this entry makes sense, and I was never good with grammar. This was when I liked referring to myself in third person too!

19th January 2009
"In P.E., we chatted, revised (Roseanna educated me; she's a good teacher because now I feel a little more prepared for media) and laughed. Beth was funny. She reminded me of the time she fell out with Josh after he killed bob-osaurus. He ripped off his head and never forgave Josh completely. The funniest is she is deadly serious and because of it, she never gave him the drawing of Josh-osaurus for him. On the back of it, it says something like "I was going to give this out of kindness until you killed Bob! I have missed Beth. There's not anyone who can make me laugh so hard."

Beth was a great friend, who I lost touch with after moving. She used to draw dinosaurs. She drew me a jodie-saurus for my birthday that year which I loved.

25th January 2009
"Today was ace; Roseanna came round and we had so much fun. I tried poptarts. The first two were crap, but after trying the next ones they were yummy. Another wonderful american food! I also love oreos and actually haven't had them in a while. I miss them. Enough about food: me and Roseanna did a lot of good stuff.

We went on msn, myspace and watched Gilmore Girls (she even took  my boxset - I hope she loves it too). We also went out - saw the peaceful river, danced around (well I did - she just laughed), drank pop, she got hyper at one stage (as usual) and even choked on...bru, visited morrisons, where I got vogue and pop tarts (I had to try them)."

Roseanna was my best friend through most of primary school and all through secondary school. We used to hang out a lot. I've not had pop tarts since then, but still love oreos!

26th January 2009
"I want crutches. Emma wore some. I tried them out, but people laughed. They said I looked funny because I couldn't walk in them. I've decided I'm falling down the stairs tonight! Mum won't push me, so it's my only option. I want crutches."

No idea what was going through my dumb head when I wrote this!

30th January 2009
"Roseanna text me. She apparently got her english mocks. It sounded like she did well. Of course she wasn't happy. I'm glad I wasn't there. It would be scary to see my paper or know how I did. I don't want to know. Rather die. Well maybe not, but really don't want to know. I can basically guess. I did proper crap."

I don't know why I was dramatic. I put it down to being ill and off school that day, and obviously feeling sorry for myself.

3rd February 2009
"Today was my last day off. Still snowing, so I took advantage by ticking another ambition off; run barefoot in the snow - for something so cold, it was so fun."

2009 was when I started to write a bucket list, and added some silly stuff as well as the obvious travel, career and obvious aspirations. Don't know why I added this to my list though! No wonder I had a cough and cold if I did stupid things like this...

4th February 2009
"Today I thought it would be better at school. It seems that I forgot how shit school was. It started with science - the worst; it felt like a day had passed by the time was over. So dull. I felt bad for Roseanna; I couldn't help, but complain though. Science is my idea of hell and especially this lesson. It was so boring - copying off the board and answering questions. Shit. It's normally shit and I didn't think it could have got worse."

I really hated science. I had to do double science at school, which meant doing it every day. Nothing they did in science would interest me. Even experiments bored me!

14th February 2009
"Today was actually kind of fantastic. It was valentine's day, but it wasn't shit (honest). We (mme and parents) went to Stockton, and it was great - I got Of Mice & Men, Gilmore Girls Series 2, grey cardy, sweets, irn bru, and was also allowed to see some fab shops (H&M, River Island, New Look, WHSmith and HMV). I kind of felt sorry for Dad though; he didn't go in any shops he liked, but he was amazingly patient. I think Mum and I were lucky in that instance...

We came back and watched six nations - Wales Vs England and Wales won. I'm surprised Dad didn't cry. He said they did well though. At least he's positive."

Always fun having a parent shout at the TV when rugby is on!

24th February 2009
"Pancake day - I love them. Even when I've had a bad day. It's something that can easily put a smile on my face. This year I ate 6 pancakes (3 lemon and sugar, and then 3 golden syrup). Yum! Today wasn't bad, but I just can't wait for tomorrow - the last day of school for the week and before I head on my wonderful travels to Aberdeen. I just can't wait for the joyous occasion. Excitement is overwhelming."

Some of my entries are funny as I try to write like I'm an author instead of how I might be feeling. Who says "I just can't wait for the joyous occasion?" Me, I guess! Still love Shove Tuesday.

25th February 2009
"Dad became furious, when I accidentally sat on some chocolate buttons and they smeared on the seats. I'm sure his face was a blasting red. Now I think about it, it was funny, but at the time it was scary. I warned him and he was still angry. He had said it couldn't be too bad and was reassured."

I needed to travel down to Aberdeen for my college interview, so that Wednesday involved a lot of driving. I still remember the chocolate buttons incident - hilarious!

I could bore you with more, but I'm not going to. If you like it, let me know and I can write more entries in another post. Hope you found them as funny as me! I tried to not include too many dull entries (as each day of the year was filled and I wrote on A4 pages. Surprised I had that much to about much to talk about). It was difficult time for friendships due to plans to move from a small town in Yorkshire to Aberdeen in the summer.