southampton | Big Mug Of Tea

Nov 08 2017

October Roundup

October felt like the month of illness. I had a cold and bad throat then started to get better, had the flu jab and got worse all over again!

October started with a visit to Sprinkles in Southampton and as a result, another ride on the Southampton Wheel! We went on it just as the sun was setting so it made for some lovely photographs.

Southampton Wheel

October 7th was parkruns 13th Birthday. They’d asked people to post photographs of them in their apricot t-shirts so they could try and get a picture of every parkrun location. So here is me and my parkrun family celebrating parkruns 13th Birthday and also Kieran’s 50th parkrun and 25th time volunteering! Also worth mentioning we didn’t know the lady with the dog, we just grabbed her for a photo because she was wearing an apricot t-shirt! I think she thought we were a bit crazy!

parkrun

I’ve been enjoying my spin classes at the gym I’ve joined. It’s such a good workout and really makes me sweat. I took a picture of the screen at the end of the class. Just look at that calorie burn!

Spin Class

On 22nd October I was a marshal at the Great South Run. If you haven’t already read my blog post about it, please do: Marshalling at the Great South Run

At the end of October I went on holiday to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. There’s a blog post about that too! My Holiday to Rio De Janeiro

The famous wave pattern on the pavement at Copacabana Beach

In October I worked really hard to have a blog post every other day to take me in to November so I didn’t have to worry about blogging whilst I was away. If you didn’t see one, or want to revisit a post, they’re listed below and all open in a new window:

September Roundup

My Favourite Things About Autumn

Autumn in Scotland

2017 Goals An Update Part Three

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me

If I Were Prime Minister

October Memories Through The Years

What I Don’t Like About Autumn

My Favourite Halloween Movies

My Favourite Autumn Quotes

My Favourite Movie

Marshalling at the Great South Run and Runner Reviews

How To Prevent Getting Sick in Autumn

What I Do When I Get Sick in Autumn

How I Earned My Golden Ticket Medal

How I Earned The Halloween 5K Medal

Halloween Memories

I think that’s the most I’ve ever blogged in a month! Not sure I’ll be able to keep it up in November but I’ll definitely try! Happy November everyone!

Tagged brazil, copacabana beach, great south run, lee on solent parkrun, lee on the solent parkrun, parkrun, rio de janeiro, southampton, spin class, spinning

Oct 02 2017

2 Comments

Monthly Review

September Roundup

September has been and gone. As much as it’s sad to see the Summer over, Autumn is my favourite time of year so I’m not entirely sad that we find ourselves with darker evenings, cooler days and a carpet of freshly shed leaves.

In September I managed to complete 4 parkruns! That’s the most in one month I’ve completed. I’ve gone from starting September with a time of 56:19 after coming back from injury to setting a new PB on the last day of September of 45:25.

parkrun finish token

I also ran my first 5K race in 3 years! I got a PB, beating my 5K PB from 2012! I’ve since smashed this PB at parkrun (see above)

5k bib number and medal

At the beginning of September this fella was still spending his days in the garden but as the month progressed we’ve seen less of him. I guess he’s finding warmer places to hide now the weather has cooled off.

fox

I also discovered a fabulous shop in nearby Wickham called Whiff of Wickham that sells bath bombs, melts, soaps etc. I bought a load of bath bombs by Bomb Cosmetics and Paws for Thought was my favourite. Not only was it cute to look at but it smelt divine too.

paws for thought bath bomb

I also went to Southampton with friends in September to go to Sprinkles. When we got there, there was a huge big wheel so we went on it. The views from the top were awesome. Check out West Quay shopping centre with a huge cruise ship behind it in the picture below.

View from Southampton Wheel

And finally a picture of a tree I took last week. It couldn’t look more Autumnal!

Autumnal Tree

So now we’re in to October and the countdown to Christmas can truly begin!

Missed a post from September? They’re all listed below!

Earning the Run in the Sun medal

Returning to parkrun

I’ve joined the gym

I was shouted at by a race marshal

My New Running Plan

My First Race in 3 Years

What I Read This Summer

How My Week Went From Bad To Worse

I’ve Started Preparing for Christmas Already

Stokes Bay junior parkrun

Tagged 5k race, autumn, bath bomb, bomb cosmetics, british red fox, cruise ship, fox, gosport, parkrun, PB, running, southampton, west quay

Mar 06 2017

1 Comment

Life Style, Monthly Review

February Roundup

Another month in 2017 over already. February seems to have gone by in a bit of a blur! So what did I get up to?

At the beginning of February I went with some friends to the new Watermark at West Quay shopping centre in Southampton. We went to Cosmo, which was my recommendation having already visited the restaurant in Sheffield. Thankfully it lived up to my expectations and we had some lovely food as well as a good catch up. When we got there they had decorated with red lanterns for Chinese New Year.

Red lanterns Chinese New Year

One Sunday afternoon we went for a drive out in to the New Forest and ended up in Lymington. We found the harbour and went for a walk around. It was lovely, and very quiet as it was so chilly. Afterwards we went to Milford on Sea which seems to be the closest point on the mainland that you can get to the Isle of Wight. The waves were huge so naturally I took a picture (which really doesn’t do the waves justice) but you can see the Isle of Wight in the background and also The Needles. One day I’ll get myself over to the Isle of Wight and explore!

Another Sunday afternoon we went for a drive out to Southsea. As we drove along from Southsea to Eastney we saw these beach huts and I had to get out and take a picture. They look a little dishevelled, like the Winter hasn’t treat them well. I’m sure they’ll look splendid in the Summer. I love the colours.