It's back, and I had forgotten how much I love it. The opening soundtrack of Love Island, with the little glitter filled glass heart still gives me butterflies. I watch it with T, and we mostly agree on who is good and who is not. She likes Amy, whereas I prefer Lucie, but otherwise we are pretty much in agreement. Mr C hates it, although he has never watched it, and gets very grumpy when he hears the music, stamping about before retreating into the sitting room to watch a documentary on wood turning. He is very vocal in his opinions, but I cannot help but think, if he sat down and watched a couple of episodes, that he would be just as hooked as we are, and not dismiss it out of hand. It isn't about bikinis and makeup and sex. I am fascinated by the changing relationships and dynamics; how everything appears to be on fast forward and how situations, groups and individuals are manipulated . I would like to think that the reason I enjoy it so much is because I am so interested in people, and that this is all tied up with being a writer and studying people, relationships and situations under a microscope. It often makes me feel uncomfortable, and there are elements that I really dislike - the cruelty of isolation, the closeups when contestants are left feeling jealous or anxious or betrayed, and the spite and back stabbing. I cannot for a moment imagine why anyone would want to take part, to lay themselves so vulnerable and exposed. I hope that they are all made of tough stuff and that they will all emerge undamaged by the experience.
I dont take too much notice of the outfits but I am however delighted to see the underboob making several appearances again this year. I have been rocking that look for a while now, and I am finally on trend. I do still get a few funny looks in Waitrose, but what do they know? Next year I am praying to see some crepey neck skin and the odd bingo wing. It could happen! I have my audition photo ready just in case.
It has been great having T home from Uni, and not just as a Love Island ally, although she does still think she is 6 years old and this is her Summer holiday. She keeps asking me "what are we going to do today?", expecting to be entertained. I have suggested that perhaps today "we" could look for a job that would enable us to save money for Uni next year, but that's not exciting enough. If anyone knows of anywhere hiring temps, please give her a shout. She apparently worked her way round the employment agencies in Northampton yesterday but was cross because they only had driving jobs available. Give me strength!
She has agreed to join in with the lifestyle choice, and has had a couple of very successful weeks. Yesterday she and I jointly won Slimmer of the Week, and got to take home a bagful of goodies as our prize. Having her just starting out has really helped me to stay focused, and to think about what we are eating. She seems to be enjoying the food, although sometimes gets a bit cross, shouting "why won't you let me eat a yoghurt woman? You're torturing me!", when in fact I am just supporting her (and simultaneously keeping the yoghurts for myself ). I am trying hard to teach her how to cook but chopping vegetables is "boring" and she is really only interested in the finished product. I suspect she might be living on slimming world ready meals when she returns up North in September. She is very interested in my skin at the moment, and said that she was struck by how different I looked after not having seen me for several months while she was away. (back to the crepey skin I think). The first two questions she asked me when she first came back home were "can I touch your skin?" and "can I pick you up?" There is no room for the easily offended in our house. At least I don't get to take myself too seriously.
And onto Game of Thrones news - I am slowly getting into it, although it makes me feel very uneasy, and I am reluctant to commit to liking anyone in case they die. I still watch it in bed before I go to sleep, on my tablet without my contact lenses, so I can't see the bloody bits of which there are many. I have tried watching it in daylight whilst wearing my lenses but it was just all so dark that I could only really see the scenes with The Mother of Dragons which are filmed somewhere hot. I am still not addicted to it, but I do find that it sometimes pops into my head when I am least expecting it. For example, when I was watching the Trooping The Colour for the Queen's birthday parade with all the livery and flags and horses and swords, I had to find the remote control and turn it over quickly because it made me feel quite anxious, expecting that something bad was about to happen. L has got really into watching Friends and as I am working my way through GOT, she is ploughing through that. She has tried to interest Paddy but he's strictly Paw Patrol.
Running continues, and is still a challenge, particularly as something has happened with my music and I can no longer listen to my downloaded Northern Soul playlist offline as I run. No musical accompaniment during my last couple of runs, and a surprising. outcome has been that I have speeded up a little - completing my usual run which I think is 5K or thereabouts a minute faster than usual. I'm not sure what has changed with Amazon Music but T thinks I'm going to have to pay for it from now on. It is a different experience, running without music, and I'm not sure whether I like it, but I am going to have to lump it until I can work out how to fix it, if it can be fixed at all.
Writing in my den can get a bit lonely sometimes, so I am always pleased to welcome visitors, even if they are a bit on the cheeky side. I do waste a lot of time when I am meant to be writing taking selfies on Photo Booth, and when L hears the beeps, she does like to jump in, shaming me back to work, and away from the camera.
I have been working on my book this week, rewriting some sections, and adding new ones. There is still some way to go, and I change my mind about whether to start a new one or focus on Magpie most days. I wrote a short story this week, but it all turned a bit too dark and so I cut my losses. I read an interview in The Guardian with one of my favourite authors, Kate Atkinson and she said that you can't write stories about happy people living happy lives, and I totally agree with her. No matter how hard I try to write happy, it always turns dark, and I think I have to resign myself to the fact that whatever I write, however well it starts, sooner or later black clouds will appear on the horizon. And such is life, or at least my life. But that's what keeps it interesting. You just have to learn to dance in the rain.
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