Overheard: Let's hope the Olympians are better at Geography

It's been years since I shared an overheard here [although if you follow me on Twitter you'll be all up-to-date with what my ears have been eavesdropping on lately]. 

It hasn't been quite as long ago as the last Olympics, but it's not far off. So let me rectify that right now with (well, I was going to say "With something suitably Brazillian" ... but, I know you, you'd get the wrong idea. Deliberately.) ... with something suitably topical then ...

Overheard when? 1 May 2013
Overheard where? Boots the chemist. North East England

Two sales assistants were chatting about a third ... and this is how their global themed conversation went: 

Sales Assistant 1: "She thought Brazil was in Spain". 

After which Sales Assistant 2 paused before replying: "Well ... isn't it?"

Let's hope Team GB and the rest of the Olympians (I suppose it's only sporting) have had the foresight to flip through an atlas by now! 

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* Find collections of original vintage maps (pictured)  in my Etsy shop which is stocked full of all kinds of vintage materials to inspire brand new creativity. 

My Month in Numbers 2016: July

Hello hello.

Remember back in June where it appeared that I could only buy a new car if it pandered to my fondness for black and white clothing?  Well things developed even further during July ...

... and now I'll only visit historical buildings if they rock the monochrome look too ...

... this is actually Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire which was built in 1460:

And while yes, it was obligingly black and white and stripey ... we actually visited because, well, while we were on our annual city break in Lincoln I looked up 'things to do in Lincoln' ... and this was one of them.

But 1460!! 550+ years old and still opening its doors to visitors, that's pretty good going isn't it? In fact, the day we visited, they also had a local business breakfast conference running (we wandered into their refreshment area and were tempted to steal their muffins and bacon sandwiches ...) so it's by no means a dusty old wreck inside.

In fact it's all laid out how it would have been used originally -  here's the kitchen:

... where we learned about how smoke was drawn up and out of the roof, and also what a medieval fridge looked like:

 And we knew all this because we embraced the full touristy thing and listened to the guided tour on headphones, here we are wearing them while up on the roof:

BTW: we learned form the audio guide that, when Henry VIII dropped by for a visit in 1541, he was unable to climb the steps to the roof due to his chronic leg ulcers. So there you go.

Never stop learning kids. Never stop learning.

Can you just make out from over my shoulder - no, not the ghost of a disgruntled Henry VIII - but the roofs of regular townhouses?

Because the strangest part about Gainsborough Old Hall is how, unlike most - if not all - the other stately homes I've ever seen, this is not seated in any grounds, no grand gardens surrounding it, no long drive to the front door. This is slap bang in the middle of a small town centre. Opposite a library. Across the road from regular houses. Imagine opening up your curtains to such history every morning.

 Oh and while we're on the subject of historic old buildings ...

We finally got to re-visit the Jew's House in Lincoln which dates back to the 12th Century: 
It's an interesting name isn't it? The Jew's House. And the explanation is as mundane as you might expect ... it belonged to a Jewish owner, as there was a Jewish quarter in medieval Lincoln.

We were pleased to re-visit it because - while it's been continually inhabited for over 800 years - it's now a beautiful restaurant of which we had fond memories from years ago. And while we've visited Lincoln almost each year since, the dates of our summer holidays have always seemed to coincide with theirs so they are usually closed when we're there. But not this time, so we booked up ASAP and as expected, enjoyed a really good meal there surrounded by such atmospheric walls. 

BTW: the name can take some clarification when you're not using it in face-to-face communication; like when you're sending someone the text message: 

• "We're going to see if we can get into the Jew's House for tea. The Restaurant that is. Not just the house of an individual Jew."
• To which came the reply: "Enjoy your tea. It's good to know you don't just choose people of random faiths and get them to cook for you!" 

Although ... for the record ... while we really don't make a habit force religious people to cook for us ... someone who James had been working with in July did share with him several boxes from their Eid feast and he and I ate it for tea. So ... mmmm ... we're not entirely off the hook ... 

We stayed in Lincoln for 5 nights, 6 days, and I took a mix and match monochrome wardrobe: 

 And, similarly to how in June someone complimented me on the skirt I'm wearing in the centre there, I wore the skirt on the right to a restaurant where the waitress offered me the delightful greeting of: "I love your skirt. It's the best thing I've seen all day". Who doesn't want to hear that? (BTW: it's an old one from TopShop.)

While in Lincoln ...

We visited several thousand poppies in the grounds of Lincoln Castle: 

This was the Poppies: Wave installation which once formed part of the the vast display of 888,246 poppies that were featured in the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red display at the Tower of London in 2014 - representing each of  the British/Colonial serviceman killed during WW1.

Certain elements of that huge memorial are now touring the country, which is how we came to visit this poignant site on a bright summer's morning ...

It was tricky to get a good photo as there were many visitors flocking towards it as soon as the gates opened.

 Considering the significance of the display I was a little surprised to find so many people making sure they were in the shot too; there was a lot of shuffling for a good spot and even shouts of "Take another one, I had my eyes shut". Most surprisingly was that these were not young people ... far from it ... I wanted to turn all full-on-Grandma on them and tell them to show some respect!

You can read more about the display, including the other locations it's touring to here.

I read 3 books this month:
That's a pretty low number for me this year, but,  books and me are in an open relationship right now: at the same time as reading 3 books beginning-to-end I've been dipping into several others at the same time.  (Goodness knows I've been chipping away at Thoreau's Walden for months - because it's a classic I'd like to say I've read - even though it's slow going.) The ones I did complete though were:

• Sarah Perry's The Essex Serpent (can't recommend this highly enough. It was a great read.)
• Jessie Burton's The Muse 
• and Jennie Erdal's The Missing Shade of Blue. 

As always, there's links to everything I've read on my 'Books Read in 2016' Pinterest board. 

3 months after that writing day ... I went back and gave it another go. 
You might remember how I wrote about spending the day at a writing retreat .. and how I didn't feel like reading my work aloud at the end ... and how I went home, had a crisis of confidence and cried! Well, the time rolled around and another day was organised ... and I hummed and haaahed about whether or not to give it a second chance; I could tell if I it was going to feel useful for personal growth ... or else like I was tormenting myself! Which is why I left my decision until the last minute and signed up only 2 days beforehand.

However ... I did go. And I was fine. And I not only wrote something during the day I read it to the group too. And I didn't die, or choke, or cry, or trip over my words. And, best of all ... the group seemed to enjoy it and some even asked for more.  Yay me!!

In another visit to an historical building ...

I visited Cragside, in Northumberland,the 1st home in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity: 

There was lots to enjoy here, the amazing interiors, the huge gardens ... the drive through the hilly grounds covered in ferns and bracken which felt exactly like being in Jurassic Park (there may or may not be any truth to the rumour that, in order to enhance this sensation, I found the theme tune online and broadcast it on my phone as we drove round ... )

And there were many wonderful photo opportunities too ...

But no dinosaurs.

And finally ...

When you like interesting old 'stuff' AND you've spent the last 6 years documenting your days with numbers ... how could you possibly miss out on this?

It's a vintage snooker score board (according to the tag) which I spotted it  one of the Hemswell antiques centres while on holiday (one of my favourite places to visit!!).

We didn't know where we'd put it, we hardly had room for it in the car, and it wasn't cheap ... and yet we liked it. So it came home with us and now we're clearing a spot for it on the dining room wall ... as soon as I redecorate (hopefully this will spur me along).

What would you use that blackboard section for? I was thinking less 'shopping list' and more quotes, noteable lines from books I'm currently reading, overheards ... I odn't know ... just fun stuff. Let me know your ideas! 

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So ... that was my July, or part of it at least. I didn't tell you about the cold I had at the start of the month which I thought might linger through my holiday (it didn't), or the brilliant exhibition I saw which made me - yet again - want to start my own collection of portraits (fabulous concept by mystery writer Frances Fyfield - Hannah, if you're reading, you'd have loved it too!). 

And now look!! Heere we are, ankle deep in August already ... let's hope the water doesn't get too chilly too soon. 

If you have a Month in Numbers post of your own - drop me a link when you leave me a 'hello' below and I'll swing by for a catch-up. 

I'll see you soon. 

Julie 

Are 'real' books your escape hatch? (Or are your bookshelves blocking your exit?)

Hi you. 

When was the last time you bought a book? Or, to be more precise, when was the last time you bought a real live book made of paper? You know the kind I mean: 

• they're the ones you can easily flip through to find that amazing paragraph to bore entertain someone with; 
• they're the ones you can easily bookmark using - hey, here's a novel idea - an actual bookmark ... or else anything else you have on hand. [Just tell me you're not a good-for-nothing corner-folder!!]
• and they're the ones that come wrapped in exciting cover designs, and that never run low on power, and don't break when dropped from the bed when you fall asleep mid-sente....

Yeah. Those kind of books. Because, if you've bought one of those gems during 2016 then you're in part responsible for the rise in traditional book sales.

Yesterday, after lunch at my parents' my Dad read out a story from the newspaper detailing how  sales of traditional books rose during the first half of this year while ebook sales have seen their first drop since statistics on them started being kept.

"That's because of you!" Dad said to me. Although to be honest - as I mentioned on National Libraries Day- as, while I do read a lot, the majority of my fodder comes courtesy of a library or three. 

The majority. But not all. And Dad might have a point because I've already bought more books this year than in any recent times. So much so that a few months ago I moved a little vintage bookshelf on to our landing to hold part of my burgeoning personal library:

In recent weeks I've been tempted to start selling off some titles, maybe through Ebay, just to keep things flowing around here; to prevent some books just lodging, on the same spot, forever. Read once, never to be re-read; simply taking up space on my petite little shelf where space is at a premium.

But if I ever begin to feel like maybe I have too many books on there, at least I can say that at least my book collection hasn't quite blocked my doorway ... not like in this secondhand bookshop I recently visited: 

And it's not as if I've had to cut my door down its length and re-hinge it so you can both still use the door while keeping all of the books!

It reminds me of how Stephen King explains that he always has a book with him, another world to visit at the opening of a page, as he never knows when he'll need 'an escape hatch'.

I guess we all just need to make sure that, amid this 'real' book renaissance, all our metaphorical escape hatches don't block our actual exit!  

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To continue the theme ...

• What was the last book you bought? Anything to recommend?
• Where do you keep your books? Shelves? Piles? In front of doors that only Hobbits can squeeze through? 

Feel free to tag me in photos of your latest read or your shelves via social media.

*Can't be bothered going through the torment of leaving me a comment while on your phone? I don't blame you. Just say 'Hi' through a less cumbersome app instead:

• @withjuliekirk on Instagram
• @notesonpaper on Twitter
• @WithJulieKirk on Facebook

Getting out from behind the curtain: a few thoughts on ambition, fear and what we can learn from various random wizards.

I know it’s not just me who, in the face the super-streamlined efficiency of micro-blogging via Instagram, now struggles with traditional long-form blogging. (Crikey, yeah, this kind of blogging has become ‘traditional’, old school, a mere whiff of WiFi away from being as on-trend as a Telegram. Times and technologies certainly do move fast.)

I know it’s not just me who struggles with getting round to completing those projects she started in a whirlwind of inspiration and excitable ‘newness’ … and who now can’t bring herself to return to see it through to the end.

I know it’s not just me who has equal amounts of both the ambition to do more, create more, reach more people … and the sheer gut-knotting, brain-whirring, horror of all that that would involve.

And, because I know it’s not just me who feels like this, I’m sharing a piece of writing today which hopefully will help someone else reading it (maybe even you?) realise that it’s not just them either.

Because it’s me too.

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Background: This piece began life a couple of months ago as a 30 minute timed exercise in response to a writing prompt which suggested talking about: ‘The fear of putting yourself out there. Why do we feel it? What purpose does it serve? And how can we overcome it?’ It’s been edited and titivated-up since.

The photos: aren’t the best I’ve ever taken, but they fit with what I wanted to say today.

Finally: there are multiple, non-deliberate,  references to wizards in this piece ... who knows where they came from. Make of that what you will ...

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Getting out from behind the curtain ... 

‘The fear of putting yourself out there. Why do we feel it? What purpose does it serve? And how can we overcome it?’ 

Sign at Beamish musuem

Two immediate, and sharp, prongs spring to mind when thinking about the fear of putting myself 'out there': The fear of rejection and The fear of failure.

Recently for me the key to overcoming the fear of rejection has been faith in my starting point, the idea, article etc which I’m trying to persuade someone else to look at. I need to wholeheartedly believe in that idea before I begin; partly because it provides the motivation I’ll need to pitch and self-promote with a clear conscience, but also (and perhaps most importantly) because that original confidence can later act as a welcome buffer upon rejection.

Rejection is hard enough to combat without it catching on the tinder-sticks of self-doubt as it stalks past sending them up in flames too.

The idea might well be rejected but did you like it? Was it good work? Were you happy with it before you asked someone else to like it? If not, then come on ... if you had doubts about it too, why wouldn't someone else? But if  you did like it, and it was good solid work then fair enough, you get a pass, you can sail on to the next pitch with impunity. 

Following rejection your self-doubt sensors may feel a momentary hot-flush ... but you needn’t abandon them to the flames while they to burn to a cinder. Although in those initial moments you’ll feel like it, don’t (neither literally or metaphorically) throw your work or your self-belief into the fire, just find another marshmallow to roast on it until you feel strong enough to try again.

Sign at Beamish musuem

For example: J.K Rowling may well have felt the heat of so many rejections but she loved Harry. Believed in Harry. And believed that someone else out there would too. And she was right.

So undoubtedly it’s easier to stay motivated when you know you’re on to something good, but how do you reach this belief? 

Like I say, it must mainly come from the work itself. Surely? But if so then how are we meant to reconcile the fact that something we thought was good was turned away by others? In this case I guess all we can say is that it just wasn’t for them.

Sign at Beamish musuem

That’s how my latest rejection email read at least: “this isn’t going to work for us”. Which, for a short time, was a disappointing answer but at least it was an answer. At least I wasn’t left hanging or pestering, and - because I still like the article in question - I'll find a place for it somewhere else. Another website, another magazine or right here sometime or other. 

And at least receiving a rejection proves I did something.  I put myself out there, once again, and I guess the more times I do it the more I’ll get used to the heat. 

‘Asbestos hands’ that’s how some people explain their ability to pick-up hot things without flinching isn’t it? Well maybe if we're intent on being 'out there' some of us need to cultivate ‘Asbestos self-worth’.

But what if, unlike J.K Rowling, you don’t know if your work is any good? Oh … that’s a tricky one. Of course you can ask someone else for their opinion but then that just takes you back in the realm of subjectivity where whatever it is you’re creating might never be for them; they're not your target audience; they’re just not that into you.

And - forgive me for doubting you but - are you sure you can’t tell if what you’re doing is any good? Surely you do? One way or another?

Maybe you don’t know it every hour of every day. But which of us do? 

(I mean, it’s usually only the people who really ought not to who often hold an unshakable confidence in their abilities, leaving the more reflective among us to do all the soul-searching. Did you ever read about my mini-writing-related-breakdown? If so you'll definitely know that I don't believe in myself 24/7 and I’m certainly no stranger to a crisis of confidence).

But at some point, deep down, under all that uncertainty, you can surely determine the quality of your own out-put. Or you know enough about its worth to keep you going. Or at the very least you recognise that there’s something there ... even if you haven’t found the words for it yet, let alone the confidence to share it with others.

Don’t you?

Don’t I?

Sign from a local museum: a quick refresher course on the purpose of doors ...

As for the purpose of that fear of sharing more widely who we are and what we do then surely it’s related to protection, to safety, to self-defence; all perfectly noble, perfectly reasonable, responses given the circumstances. Which begs the question “Then why do you even want to put yourself out there?”

Why are you contemplating it? Why would you risk it? What do you want to come from it? Why now?

And I guess it would be in taking some time to answer these questions that you ... we ... will unearth the answer to that final question: “How can we overcome it?”

Because once you possess a clear idea of why you’re doing it, what you’ll get from it, what will make it worth the risk then you’ll be holding in your hands the seeds of the revelation on how you’re going to overcome all those fears. Those answers will become the motivations which will keep you moving, in increments, towards being ‘out there’ in whatever form that takes for you.

You, the small, soft, vulnerable Wizard of Oz, easing yourself out from behind the safety of the curtain …  revealing yourself as you really are,  in which case … 

… maybe we both need to just click our heels together three times … the answers have probably been with us all along.

Sticky-note I found stuck to a computer screen on campus during assignment deadline season. 

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I have some interesting projects in the pipeline that will involve me having to put myself 'out there' once again later this year ... and you know full well I'll be sharing it all with your here when I can (chances are I'll be going on about it so much that you might wish I'd stayed behind the curtain). 

For now though, I'm eager to hear your side of things ... 

• Are you struggling to put yourself out there, even though you want to? 
• Do you know what's stopping you? Or daren't you even start questioning the feeling? (No judgement  here ... I'm absolutely just as bad. Nothing like a bit of reading/starting a new project to dampen down those scary deep thoughts ...)

• Or do you have any stories, tips or motivation of your own that you'd like to share in the comments?

Let's start a conversation here* about ambition, motivation, fear, rejection, wizards, ruby slippers ... whatever ... 

I'm all ears (and pointy hat).

Julie x


*Can't be bothered going through the torment of blog-commenting while on your phone? I don't blame you. Just grab me on a less cumbersome app instead:

• @withjuliekirk on Instagram
• @ WithJulieKirk on Facebook
• @notesonpaper on Twitter

My Month in Numbers 2016: June

June. What a wash out.

While there were definitely some good things happening ... there was plenty of rain, grey clouds, and ... everything else too.

If you're like me (and, granted, you won't all be) I won't deliberately try to cheer you up today. Some of us don't want to be cheered up right? Things are difficult and real right now and the last thing I want is to pretend nothing has happened and just get back to posting about pets (come to think of it ... I never do that. Mainly because I don't have pets).

But I might just divert you for 5 minutes if that's OK? Normal despairing-of-the-world can resume later. How about, for now, you join me on a look back at June 2016  ... in numbers ...

How's this for a statistic? 

I spotted this ray of sunshine in York the other weekend. Something to take into consideration if you haven't already booked your 2017 holidays.

Maybe I'm drawn to eschatological signs like this because back in 2001 I called my English degree dissertation - on post-apocalyptic fiction - 'It's Not the End of the World'. Who knew that 15 years later the ability to analyse end times would come in useful again?

I'm 1 of the 48% who voted 'Remain':

I'm not going to talk about it all now. But neither am I going to 'be quiet now and just move on' as many Leavers seem to want us to do. Living in a democracy means that when I don't agree with what's happening I still get to talk about it.

While we're on the subject of the Greeks (they invented democracy right?) ...

We went to see Dan Cruickshank's talk on The History of Architecture in 100 Buildings:

Rubbish photo - better story

If you don't know Dan Cruickshank he's a historian who's worked a lot for the BBC and writes books, his latest of which was the subject of the talk he delivered at Middlesbrough Theatre this month. He discussed the meaning behind all kinds of buildings throughout history, starting with some very early examples from Syria and Greece, covering why they were made, how structural developments were made and what value civililisations have put on them.  

Then .. at the Q&A at the end, after other people had asked various questions, a boy in the front row asked him a very long and convoluted question about the Greeks and how they must have liked architecture because - and non one was quite expecting this particular reason - because in the Percy Jackson books/films the Gods of Olympus live in the Empire State Building so it must be significant to them. 

Cruickshank was very sweet and, recognising there was no simple answer to this, said 'I'm going to come and have a chat with you'  then let us all go home so we didn't have to sit through the kid's entire thesis and came and sat on the front of the stage near him so they could talk. Probably not the end he had planned for his serious talk .. but handled very nicely. It's things like that that leave an impression on people, isn't it, I'm sure many people - not just that boy - will remember his kindness. 

In other cultural news ...

We used our £10 National Art Pass card 3 times, visiting 3 museums/galleries in York, saving £10.50 so far ...

Back in April, I saw Laura Howard (@bugsandfishes on Twitter) tweet about a special offer where you could buy a 3 month National Art Pass card for just £10, which would allow you to get into all kinds of galleries and museums for free (the offer's ended now but there's a regular year-long price too). So James and I both bought one which meant getting into the 650 year old Merchant Adventurers' Hall for free ...

Where, amongst other treasures, I enjoyed this touching detail of how a wealthy woman left money in her will which she wanted spending on teaching '6 poor girls to read, knit and sew':

After that, seeing as how we had the card ... we hopped across town to The Yorkshire Museum (saving another £7.50):

Which is where James learned that he's slightly taller than the backside of a moa (a big extinct bird). 

And they say no knowledge is ever wasted ... 

Our 3rd saving came by visiting the York Art Gallery but, seeing as how I've already written a full review of the place already I won't go into that.  I will however share with you something else that happened in the Yorkshire Musuem ...

James's 1st brush with a bear this month: 

I know, it was a bowler hat last month and now it's a Topper ... I think he might be gradually working his way up to crown. 

And  I say it was his 1st brush with a bear because ... he had another ...

James's 2nd brush with a bear: 

This time it was at the Animal Inside Out exhibition  at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle where, alongside bears, there are 100+ other preserved animals on show. I took lots of photos ... but you're probably having your lunch right now aren't you ... so I won't share any more just yet.

Yet it is a fascinating show about anatomy and wonder ... if you can stomach it. And, to be fair, if I can, you probably can.

The best/worst part was when a tiny girl wandered up to the glass case we were looking in - pointed to a preserved human leg - and asked in her toddler English "Wha tha?".

"You don't want to know " I replied under my breath.

Now before I move off the topic of his heroism (posing with dead bears and all ...) let me tell you about ...

James's hole in 1!
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story ... or so they say.  During a visit to a suppliers who happened to be hosting a sport-themed sales promo one of the reps tweeted a photo of James clutching a golf club and his prize for getting a hole-in-one: a bottle Prosecco. So far, so impressive, except ... rather than making a single clean shot James claims it actually took him about 18 attempts to get the ball in the bucket! Apparently they gave him the prize as it was the closest anyone had got all day! But hey ... free wine!

His main concern afterwards was not that they'd 'embroidered the truth' but that they might invite him on corporate golfing days! When it comes to sport ... he makes me look veritably Olympian.  

On the other hand, if library visiting was a sport I'd be on top form this month.

I read 2 library books - from 2 different libraries - and attended an author event at a 3rd:

• The first book I read was Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant which I really enjoyed. Part mythical fairytale part musing on againg and memory.
• Next was Chris Kraus's I Love Dick which is not quite what the title suggests ... but you can imagine how cautious I was about getting the book down 3 flights of stairs and through the self-service machine without bumping into anyone I knew!
• And lastly I read a memoir of avghost-writing career Ghosting by Jennie Erdal which wasn't from a library, I found that gem in The Minster Gate Book Shop - a 5 floor secondhand  book shop in York. As usual you can find links to all the books I've read on my Pinterest board.

As for the author event, that took place in a library I'd never been to before, involving a journey on 2 buses and memorising the names of the roads/bus stops before mine so I knew where to get off! I'm tempted to write more about this journey in a post of its own, so I'll leave you with photos of the novels by the authors in question, who were very generous in discussing their process and careers.

In unconnected news ...

I re-embraced the 1990s by using those twisty spongy rollers (is there a proper name for them?) for the first time in 20 years! 
The results have been varied - today for example I've had to put it in a pony tail as it turned out soooooo big and fluffy. I'd forgotten the 90s was the decade before frizz products were invented ... and with styles like these we needed them!! 

The first attempt wasn't too bad ... I just pulled on my (fake) leather jacket and pretended I was 14 again:

To complete the look I should have dug out my ripped jeans and my Walkman.

Speaking of my 'look' ...

I paid just £11.48 for these 2 monochrome pieces in charity shops:

The dress was £4.49 while the skirt was £6.99.

I've been completely and utterly re-inspired to seek out charity shop outfits lately and these are just 2 of 6 items I bought during June which in total cost just £32.45! (More on those at some time or other I'm sure.)

On the first day that  I wore the skirt it paid for itself with a compliment ... as she was letting us through the entrance turnstile at the Life Centre in Newcastle one of their staff members leaned in and said "I really like your skirt". How nice was that?

Just the kind of morale boost you need before going to look at the preserved internal organs of a gorilla and the blood vessels in a shark's liver.

Oh and, before you ask if everything I bought this month had to be black and white ... then maybe this will answer your question:

After 16 years of valiant service we finally had to retire our old car and welcome a new set of wheels into our lives. 

The fact that the new car - both inside and out - also obligingly matches my recent outfits is purely coincidental ... 

... probably.

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So, that was my June. If you've got a post of your own to share then don't forget to leave me the link when you leave me a comment.

If you've been meaning to join in on social media then check out this photo by @ikibana_banana on Instagram as Miriam came up with her own clever way to share her May numbers via her IG feed!

And if you fancy joining in casually then simply share a story/photo with a numbery element to it,  use #monthinnumbers and '@' me @withjuliekirk and I'll hop over to see.

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Well then, it's just me and you now July. What've you got for me?

Not hiding a warm summer and a stable government/opposition up your sleeve by any chance are you?

Julie x