Thursday 10 October – Officially England Netball

Current location: Somerset
11.11am, At a team meeting. With my new team of England Netball employees. Although Monday is officially my first day as Netball Development Officer for Cornwall, today I went to a team meeting and it was fab! Lots and lots I don't understand yet, and it's slightly overwhelming, but I can't wait to get my teeth stuff into it all.

Monday 7 October – Aussie visits

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Coming home from the Meadery. Andy's awesome 18-year-old cousin Deccie came to visit so we went out for a drink, and then took him to the meadery for lots of fried goodness. So ace to see him (and eat scampi).

(Pic taken from Love Penzance)

Tuesday 1 October – Netball and injuries and achievements and a whole lot of thoughts

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Back home, getting into bed and feeling all the feels. Injuries are SO WEIRD. While I know it can be a lot worse than the knee injury I bang on about, what is weird about them is how long and how much hard work it takes to get back to what was once normal. Yesterday I jogged for 30 minutes, which was a big old achievement for me after a year of not being able to. Today I ran a Walking Netball session, and then ran an injury-prevention workshop with my incredible physio and surgeon, for our netball club. It was so good to see them and have them there speaking about how to prevent knee injuries in the sport. In all honesty, it's unlikely any of these things would have happened if I hadn't ruptured 2 ACLs in 3 years, but all 3 of them gave me a HUGE sense of pride. So basically, I'm conflicted about injuries (mine in particular), as they've brought good as well as bad, and I am so eternally grateful to the people like Tim and Ioannis, who know how to fix weird little ligaments in the knee that cause so much trouble!

Saturday 5 October – 45 Queen Street

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Working. Our lovely friends Hannah and Sam who own Tinkture (rose gin) have opened a bar, 45 Queen Street, and it is amaaaazing. Everyone who comes in is so grateful/impressed somewhere like this exists in Penzance, and Andy and I have quickly grown to love it. Tonight they were a bit short-staffed so I jumped in for a shift. I forgot how much I like bar work!

(Picture of their gin, in front of a big aluminium picture of Andy's that hangs in the bar)

Friday 4 October – Work meal

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Getting home after a work night out. We went to Mermaid Alley, and the food was so good, then onto 45 Queen Street for gins and chats. I love the little crew that work at Wed Magazine, it was a fab time of laughing and catching up, and hardly any talk of weddings.

(Pic taken from Tinkture)

Monday 30th September – Paints and pressies

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At The Vault Kitchen. We were having a coffee with Laura and co for her birthday, then I zoomed back to the flat to do more painting. We are nearly done with that part of DIY! A quick trip to the industrial estate (we spend a LOT of time there at the mo) for lights, bench tops and other such excitement, then a trip to the gym, followed by sausage and mash and wine.

Sunday 29th September – Watching paint dry

Current location: Newlyn
11.11am, Painting the walls! It was actually really fun, painting the walls and floor. I enjoyed it! We did that all day, and then went up to Ruth and James' for a roast, which was delish and lovely.

Saturday 28th September – Rainy afternoons

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Packing. We're moving next week to our new flat and while Andy has been a superstar in working to get it ready, I'm meant to have been packing up our old flat... I haven't done much yet. In the afternoon I popped to the Pyrah and it was such a rainy, tipping-it-down day, we stayed in and played scrabble and ate banana bread. In the eve I worked at La Sirena with Andy, and it was very chilled!

Friday 27 September – Firsts first game

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Back home, buzzing. The 1st team had their first match of the season tonight, against Storm 2. In the team are Kate, Tamara, Lauren, Jaz, lots of my close friends, so I went up to support them. It was an ace game, as they were in front by a few goals and kept the lead, but it was close, so it kept it exciting. By the end (and thanks to an epic last quarter), they won 62-42, and the best bit was they all looked totally at home there, after a lot of nerves about being in Div 1. Loved it.

Thursday 26 September – Bookaburras book nook

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Home after Book Club. We've started meeting at the Cornish Barn; the back room is so cute and cosy. I arrived to Pip on her own drinking wine, and soon we were all there. It was such a good chat tonight; we read Educated by Tara Westover and it prompted SO MUCH good discussion!

Sunday 22 September – Hitting Ikea hard

Current location: Exeter
11.11am, In Ikea! Thanks to having bought a new flat, we have an excuse (and a need!) to go shopping! So we went to Ikea, sat on sofas, measured wardrobes, ate meatballs, and got outta there.

Saturday 21 September – Weddings in Devon

Current location: Hittisleigh Barton
11.11am, Having coffee on our little verandah. Can you call it a verandah when it's a shepherd's hut? Last night we drove up to Devon and stayed in this lovely little hut, before a wedding we have today, Shelley and Lee. I say 'we' but Andy is taking the photos, and I'm basically flitting around organising a little bit. He definitely does the hard work! What was lovely about this wedding is that Emma and Brodie, two of our besties, were there so we got to hang with them!

Thursday 19 September – Shoot day at Pentillie

Current location: Pentillie Castle
11.11am, Helping to co-ordinate wedding styling shoots. In reality, taking photos and uploading them to Insta stories! I love shoot dates, and today was fab; we had such a fun team (always ace working with Suzi), and the model Merilin and hairdresser Lisa brought a great vibe too! We got home late, went to Pico Rico for dinner, they'd sold out, so we went next door for a curry; they were super busy so we ordered takeaway, went to Queen St for a wine while we waited, and finally ended up eating dinner at about 10pm, tired and happy.

Tuesday 17 September – Walking Netball begins!

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, I honestly cannot remember. At work, doing some work, hopefully! So instead I'm going to write about Walking Netball, which I have just started up at the leisure centre. Tonight was the first session, and we had 15 people, and my lovely friend Kate to help. They were such a great group of ladies, and the first session went well, I think (well enough for Kate and I to celebrate with pizza and wine at the Jubilee Pool Cafe afterwards).

Sunday 15 September – Go the Swifts!

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Can't remember. I woke up at 4am to watch the netball team I support (NSW Swifts) in the grand final. They were massive underdogs, having lost to their opposition (Sunshine Coast Lightning) 3 times so far this season. But MY GOD they came out firing. They were simply magnificent, and long story short, won the grand final 64-47! When I had come out my celebration mania/sleep-deprived daze, Andy and I had a walk to Perranuthnoe and chilled on the beach for a bit.

Saturday 14 September – Queen St hangs

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At  45 Queen St. It's a new spot that's kind of a gin bar, kind of a great hangout, owned by the people who make Tinkture gin. Andy and I have made friends with them, and this morning we went to eat yummy bircher/bacon rolls, listen to music, read the paper and generally have a lovely morn. I went to clean Mum and Dad's apartment after that, and then to our new apartment, and then in the eve, I went back to Queen St to work and help them as it was suuuuuuper busy. So much fun!

Friday 13 September – Long but lovely

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Coming home from coffee and a walk. I woke up at 4.30am for some reason, so spent the next few hours trying to sleep, giving up, getting up, doing some work, catching up on blogging (only 180 posts to add pictures to, eek!*) and then going to the gym. I met my sister for a walk, and Ruth, and then showed them the flat. Exciting times!
In the afternoon I met our netball Head Coach for a coffee to go over some netball admin, then in the eve, I went for a drink with my lovely boss/friend Rebecca, to 45 Queen Street,

*EDIT: Have since decided I'm not going to. I don't have the time, so with the toss-up of not publishing them at all, or publishing them without pictures, I'm going with the latter. I'll make up for it in the future! x

Wednesday 11 September – Double big news

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Getting an awesome phone call. Today I found out I got a job that is the dream. Netball Development Officer for Cornwall. It's a part-time maternity cover contract, but I am so excited and so proud. I applied for a similar job last year, and didn't get anywhere. So I've spent the past 18 months getting more qualified, putting myself in a better position in case the role came up again, and when it did I just went for it. It's shown me how far passion and good energy can get you!
Another amazing thing happened today. Andy and I completed on our first property! We are now the very proud owners of a cute two-bed flat in Newlyn. It's hotpotch and full of character and needs some work... but we love it! What a big, beautiful day.

Sunday 8 September – Recreating the loveliness

Current location: Mousehole
11.11am, Walking home. After yesterday's loveliness, I had another gorgeous morning. I met my friend Carly on there beach at Newlyn, and it was so sunny and lovely, we had a swim (I was more prepared this time, with a bikini). It was freeeeezing but so nice! Then I bought a coffee and a pastry and walked to Mousehole! I love that walk and haven't done it for months thanks to my bung knee. The sun was shining and it was just gorgeous. In the afternoon I had a barbecue at Ruth's mum's house in Porthgwarra. So much of lovely Cornwall today.

Saturday 7 September – Mornings with mates

Current location: Prussia Cove
11.11am, Having a lovely morning with Ruth. Her sons were with their dad, so we drove to Prussia Cove, took pastries and coffee and sat on the cliff having the best chats. Then we decided to swim (but were unprepared, so in we went in our pants). Ahhh dream morn.

Friday 6 September – My lovely mum

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working from home. At lunchtime I went to The Honey Pot with Mum for coffee, but we ended up eating lots of cheese scones too. She's had a mad summer with house renovations etc, and they're about to go on holiday. It was lovely just to take an hour out to catch up, laugh and relax.

Tuesday 3 September – Trek to Truro

Current location: Truro
11.11am,  Arriving in Truro after going to exchange on a flat this morning! Eek, exciting. Then in the afternoon I had a job interview for the dream job... It went well, I think. The only oho I took was of my yummy lunch.

Sunday 1 September – Day of fun

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Meeting some friends for a coffee. It was actually a couple who Andy took wedding photos for last year, but they have become friends, and it was ace to meet their new baby girl!
Afterwards, we went to Kate and Matt's for lunch, then the 4 of us and their 2 gorgeous boys went to play Football Golf and Crazy Golf... turns out I'm rubbish at both, but it was fun!

Saturday 31 August – Dream visitors

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Waiting for Emma to arrive! She and her 1-year-old Jesse came to visit for the day/eve, and we made the most of it! We went to Mousehole for a swim/play on the beach, then headed to 45 Queen St for a gin while Jesse had his dinner. Then home for fajitas and alllllll the chats (and all the wine). Just perfect.

Friday 30 August – Girls and guys

Current location: Zennor
11.11am, Having coffee and long-overdue lovely chats with the girls, and pushing their kids on the swings. I love these ladies and their babes.

Monday 26 August – Bantham and back

Current location: Bantham
11.11am, Packing up our tent to go and have brekkie on the beach. We went to Bantham, and Andy made standard omelettey and coffee, of course.

Sunday 25 August – Once Upon A Time in the Westcountry

Current location: Bantham
11.11am, Sitting by the side of the football pitch in the sunshine. We were at a football festival with lots of Andy's friends, having a great day, playing football (not me), having beers, eating tacos and generally having a lovely bank holiday weekend. In the eve, we all sat around a giant bonfire and drank red wine out of enamel mugs, and I loved it.

Saturday 24 August – Magic morning moments

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Getting back from a walk with Carly. We walked out towards Mousehole and drank coffee and are banana bread, and it was divine. In the eve, we drove to Devon to go to a football festival, called Once Upon a Time in the Westcountry. We pitched up our tent, ate crisps for dinner and went dancing!

Friday 23 August – So much walking

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At Penwith College, getting my hair cut. In the afternoon I met Terry and Lindy and we walked out to Marazion and back - it was a beautiful day and I was so proud of my knee for letting me walk that far! In the eve, we went for a gin at 45 Queen St (new fave) and then for a curry at Taj Mahal.

Wednesday 21 August – Lunchtime not swims

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Planning a lunchtime swim with Mum. We met, decided it was too cold/choppy, and went for coffee instead. In the evening, Andy's cousins Terry and Lindy arrived, and we whisked them off to Sennen to eat pizza on the beach!

Sunday 18 August – A good reward

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Rewarding myself. I got up just after 6am to start work (more freelance stuff) so I'd got a good few hours done by this point. I rewarded myself with watching netball and eating a sausage sandwich; it wouldn't have been better! I worked all day, then in the evening Kate and Matt came over for an import drink, to look at the exhibition, and have a little sunny walk to Battery Rocks.

Saturday 17 August – Early starts and busy days

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working. This morning I got up and went for a workout with Kate and Lauren, then had a yummy granola brekkie after. Then I came home and started work, and worked all day! I have a lot of freelance eon at the moment, as well as press day looking for Wed, so it was a busy one.

Friday 16 August – Murmurations

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Having a very late-night curry, after Andy's show. Tonight his first solo UK photography exhibition opened – and it was the most amazing opening night. There were so many people, all loving his work, and he was just in his element. He loves these birds, and his photos and video are simply stunning; I loved seeing how impressed everyone was, and I am eternally proud.
xx

Thursday 15 August – Porthleven pubs

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Home after a dark and late drive back from Porthleven. I went to meet my gorgeous friend Rhian, and we met at the Ship, ate yummy dinner and had proper chats. We talk talk talk when we meet up, and she always has the most refreshing incredible outlooks on life; so driven and so impressive.

Sunday 11 August – Lovely mornings and sad goodbyes

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At Jubilee Pool. Claire and I went for a swim while Mum hung with Megan, then Andy and Val met us, and we all had a coffee and a chat. Then it was time for Val (and Claire and Megan) to get the train... It's been an amazing, busy, fun-filled few weeks, thanks for the visits lovely Val!

Friday 9 August – Brunch dates

Current location: Wendron
11.11am, Having brunch with my lovely friend Fern. We had such a good chat and the most amazing food at Slice of Cornwall – very highly recommended! In the afternoon we went for a walk and a cider at Zennor, then in the eve, Val and I went to Andy's restaurant, La Sirena, for delightful margaritas and Mexican food!

Wednesday 7 August – Lovely Lovetts

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Back at home, getting ready for bed after a gorgeous night drinkinnglovely wines at Lovett's. I love it there, the atmosphere is fab and I hope hope hope it becomes our new local!

Tuesday 6 August – Working remotely

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At work. Then at lunchtime, Val and Andy picked me up, and we went for lunch at the Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens (I love it there, especially eating the croque monsieur!). Afterwards, Val went for a look around the gardens, and Andy and I climbed to the top of the hill and worked for the afternoon. Not a bad spot!

Monday 5 August – Pizza party

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, At home, after a lovely evening eating pizza out at St Just. The sun was setting and it was just gorgeous, then we went for a wine at the golf club (also gorgeous!).

Sunday 4 August – Exploring the coastline

Current location: Rinsey
11.11am, Having a little walk at Rinsey and admiring the lovely coastline. Andy, Val and I then went to Porthleven, had a wander and say down for some AMAZING mussels at the Mussel Shoal and a nice cold glass of white wine. So perfect.

Saturday 3 August – Barbecues and barn dances

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Getting home from a barn dance. Kate's family had put it on as a charity fundraiser, so Val and I dressed up, and off we went. In the day we went to Ruth's for a barbecue with Nicky and her kids too, and it was just gorgeous. Molly came too so I got to meet her gorgeous newest baby, Eben.

Friday 2 August – Lovely lunch breaks

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At work. I had Monday off to hang with family who were visiting, so I worked today. I spent my lunch break across the road from the office, eating a salad pitta and admiring the blue sky.

Thursday 1 August – Pinch, punch

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Getting ready for bed. Tonight we went to a pub quiz with Val and my parents – and Andy and Mum won, while Dad, Val and I came last! How's that for the full spectrum?!
Other exciting things that happened today included being in Stylist magazine for my commitment to netball, and seeing some friends and their gorgeous boys at lunchtime in Morrab Gardens.

Tuesday 30 July – Go knee!

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At work. But feeling happy. This morning I went to a cycle/spin class at 7am, which I used t do every Tuesday but haven't gone back to until this week. It was so hard but really good to push myself again. Then afterwards I was doing my stretches and exercises, and without thinking too much about it, I got my heel to bum! It's 10.5 weeks since my op so this isn't particularly early or impressive, but was a great result as I feel like I'm plateauing a bit, and this shows I'm not!

Sunday 28 July – Gwithian gang

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Making our plans for beach hangs with the Harrisons, Pyrahs and Mum and Dad. We went to Gwithian, and spent the afternoon eating, swimming, playing, digging and having great beach times!

Saturday 27 July – Busy, fun day

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Back home from the gym. I went for a workout with Kate and Lauren and it was so ace to get back to doing that sort of thing again. Go knee! Kate's got a new puppy, Dougie, so I got to hang with him briefly, and then headed back home to see Andy and Val. We went to Mousehole for a beach afternoon with the Harrisons, Pyrahs, and Ruth and her boys, and then Claire and Matt went swimming at Cape Cornwall while Val and I were babysitters extraordinaire (which actually consisted of Louis watching telly, Anna doing some drawing, and Meg sleeping – easy!).

Friday 26 July – Beach bums

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Hanging at home with Val. In the afternoon we went to Marazion and met the Harrisons and had a lovely swim and play at the beach for a couple of hours. It was so much fun! Then we all went to Sainsbury's for our tea – I love hanging out with kids – then the Harrisons came back to ours for doughnuts, baths and to do some washing (they're camping, it's necessary!).

Thursday 25 July – Val's here!

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Fast asleep, but with one other person in our flat. Val, Andy's mum, is here! She arrived tonight for 2.5 weeks, and we celebrated with a G&T, a dinner out at Pico Rico and the beginnings of lots of chats.

Wednesday 24 July – Harrison hangs

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working. At lunchtime, the Harrisons came over and we went down to see Andy's group exhibition, Atlantic Observations, which was so beautifully brilliant. After work, we headed over to Hayle to have dinner at the Harrisons' campsite and play with the kids.

Tuesday 23 July – Back home

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At work. So tired. We got up at 5am yesterday to drive back home in time for work. I was shattered. After work I had a netball meeting and then took summer training. Then bed.

Monday 22 July – Uncle Den

Current location: Wales
11.11am, Today is my uncle's funeral. It's so sad, he was the coolest. Lovely Uncle Den (although I called him Auntie Den, and Uncle Pat) was one of the most vibrant, fun, giving and loving men to ever have lived, and certainly one of the kindest and most generous men in my life. Such a huge part of our family, and so devastating he's not here anymore.
His funeral was so sad, but it was lovely to be around his precious family. His four grandsons (my cousins' children) are wonderful young men, in large part thanks to the influence of their grandad. I loved seeing them, and my godmother and father (my cousins, Caron and Andrew) and my aunties and uncles. Family bring so much joy, and Den was the epitome of that.

Sunday 21 July – What a day

Current location: Liverpool
11.11am, Having coffee with my friend Paul. He was one of my besties when I lived in Liverpool, and it was so ace to see him and meet his wife and son; it was like no time had gone by at all, and we just clicked back into hanging out like normal. Such a great guy.
Then it was time for a quick burrito, before we went to the stadium for the matches. First up was the bronze medal match, England v South Africa. The atmosphere was incredible – everyone was so pumped and so loud. The game itself was a funny one – we didn't start that well, and SA have been so strong so it was a bit of a nervous first quarter. Then we pulled away and it was clear we had the game in the bag. One of the best bits was when everyone started 'We want Dunn' regarding Rachael Dunn, one of the oldest players in the squad, who was on the sidelines. The coach - and the players - heard everyone, resulting in Jo Harten calling time, taking herself off, and Rachael Dunn getting to play in the final! She shot 0/1 but she didn't care, she had the biggest smile. It was an ace end to the game!
Next up was the final: Australia v NZ. Wowzers, what a game. It was so close the entire way, and although Australia were probably the favourites, New Zealand came out firing and did not relent. They took the win by 1! It was insane!
We had the best time, I absolutely loved being there, and getting to see professional netballers walking around, it was just my absolute happy place. And I also saw some girls from the team I used to play in Liverpool, as well as a friend from my Cardiff netball uni days, so it was just a really cool event to remind me how much I love this sport (as if I could ever forget).
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, the other girls left, and Kate and I had a very chilled evening with salad, a wine and a lot of netball debriefing. This World Cup has been incredible and I feel so lucky to have been here and been so involved in watching the matches, and soaking it all up. The best.

Saturday 20 July – YTG

Current location: Liverpool
11.11am, At the Netball World Cup! This morning we got up, had some brekky and then headed to the stadium to watch the first semi-final, South Africa v Australia. It was amaaaaazing. The atmosphere, the excitement, the organisation, the passion, it was so good! I loved it. South Africa pushed Australia the whole way through the match, with Aus only taking the win by 2 goals. It was actually really emotional and humbling watching South Africa at the end of the game, such incredible sportspeople and they have come SO far in international netball.
For lunch, Ri had booked us into the Brunch Club, and it was so delish! I had smashed avocado on toast (my second of the day) and a smoothie, then it was onto the Fan Park to watch the England v NZ semi-final. Now, this was a stressful watch. I feel like I can't remember a lot of it as I was so tense and stressed watching it, it's a bit of a blur. Without going into it too much, sadly England lost by 2 goals. So gutted. They didn't look like the England team we were all expecting, and it was a tough loss to take. We were pretty sad; most of the girls went back to their Airbnb for a nap, and I met my friend Anita and Shane for a couple of drinks. It was so lovely to see them and have a gin in the sunshine.
I went back to our hotel and Kate and I got ready then went to meet the others, and we headed to Alma De Cuba. It was quite a weird night, as it was basically a nightclub that we were eating our dinner in (which took aaaages to come, so we were eating dinner in a nightclub at about 11pm) but it was a really fun night. The bar/club was ace, with Brazilian dancers, fire dancers, a saxophonist, all sorts!

Friday 19 July – To the Netball World Cup!

Current location: Cornwall
11.11am, On the way to the airport. My friend Kate and I were on our way to Liverpool (well, flying to Manchester), to go and watch the Netball World Cup and we could not have been more excited! We got to the airport, checked in and had a coffee, then had a funny flight involving bad rose wine, and yummy tapas-style snacks. Not bad for plane food. When we reached Manchester, we got a train to Liverpool - and then the heavens opened! We tried to get to our hotel in the crazy rain and got absolutely drenched... so once we were checked in and changed, we went to Primark and shopped up a storm! There were heaps of netballers in Primark too, including Sam Wallace, superstar GS at the Swifts, and she was lovely.
With new clothes in tow, Kate and I headed back to the hotel, had a G&T and then went to our friends' Airbnb, which turned out to be around the corner, about 90m from our hotel. Total coincidence but very convenient! We had some drinks, chatted netball, ate some burgers at 10pm, and got very excited about the matches we'd be watching the next day.

Thursday 18 July – Netball on the big screen

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Coming home from the pub. I'd been out to watch the Netball World Cup (England v South Africa) – England won but only just! Then I went to the Cornish Barn with Pip and her friends. I love that places have started to show netball on the telly and in the pub now!

Tuesday 16 July – Summer training starts

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Making some vague plans for what to do at summer training tonight. It was a beautiful evening so everyone did some fitness and games on the field, and then played netball in the dome. I am missing it, but I am enjoying this side of running sessions.

Monday 15 July – Adios amigos

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working and making a plan to see Charlie and Lou. This evening they left to begin their camper van adventures around Europe – we will miss them heaps. It's been such a treat having them here.

Sunday 14 July – One of those proper good days

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Deciding where to go. I've been getting up at 6am (ish) every day for the past 2 weeks to get some extra freelance work done, life admin, get myself a bit more sorted before the properly begins, and it's been great! It means that by mid-morning both Andy and I had got all our work done and were free to go and enjoy the sunshine. We went to Sennen and had a chilled hour on the beach, reading, drinking coffee and eating brownies.
When we came back into town, we went to the Cornish Barn, for the dream set-up. We were outside in the sunshine, drinking cold beers, eating a roast (which is weird in the sun but was all they had on the menu, and it was yum!) and hanging with our beautiful friends Lou and Charlie before they leave tomorrow to go on their adventures in a camper van. It was the most gorgeous afternoon, followed by us going home, watching the Netball World Cup (which I am LOVING) and then heading down to Battery Rocks for an evening swim. It wasn't even very cold! I had a lovely hot bath when I got back through, climbed into clean sheets, clean pyjamas (the trifecta) and ate beige dinner with Andy. The dream.

Saturday 13 July – Pretending we're on holiday

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Helping Dad with some bits at Seasalt (their holiday home), and then I came home and Andy and I jumped in the car and drove to a gorgeous little wedding venue near Launceston. Andy was shooting a wedding there, so I read my book for a few hours (my services were not required at said wedding!) and then we went for a drink to decide what to do with the rest of our evening. We'd planned to stay in North Cornwall or Devon for an evening but ended up deciding to come back home, via Porthleven. We ate fish and chips and drank wine on the harbour, and watched a beautiful sunset... a good decision!

Friday 12 July – All the social stuff

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, In the Benbow. I was having drinks with my friend Thom and his girlfriend Sofie, and before that I had been to the Meadery with my sister, dad, niece and nephews. And before that I went to the Workbox 1-year birthday party! What a lot of fun social stuff.

Thursday 11 July – My 8 week check-up

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At home, working. I had heaps to do today as I was zooming up to Truro in the afternoon for my 8 week post-op knee check-up (haha only just realised what the header makes it sound like, but no babies here; knees only!).
My surgeon was really pleased, said my progress was "excellent"and now I just have to work on my strength. I can do that! I had a rainbow T-shirt on, and matched the Pride decorations throughout the hospital. Love it.

Wednesday 10 July – One of those quiet drinks

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Sitting on the sofa. We'd been out for 'one' drink with Jimmy and Cherish, and then bumped into Charlie and Lou, and here we were, still having some drinks. I went to bed and left them to it!

Tuesday 9 July – My lovely home

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working, and looking at the sun. Luckily we live right by the sea so at lunchtime I went to Battery Rocks for a swim. Then after work, Andy and I went to my parents' house and sat in the sun in their garden, then went to Sennen to cook sausages, drink a beer and languish in total loveliness.

Monday 8 July – Old Cornwall

Current location: Redruth
11.11am, At a photoshoot for Wed Magazine. We were at a site of lots of old tin mines and the scenery was just so cool – as were the dresses! I love shoot days.

Sunday 7 July – Football and barbies

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working. I've got a lot of freelance work on at the moment, so I've been getting up mega early every day (even with minor hangovers!) and smashing it out. After about 8 hours work today, I went to Ruth's for a proper Sunday – watch the Women's World Cup final (USA won) and eat a barbecue.

Saturday 6 July – Penzance Netball Club end-of-season awards

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Home from the end of season awards. And what a season it's been. My favourite season of netball, which is remarkable when you consider I only played 3 matches and did a pretty hefty injury! But it's all down to the club and to my team; I have been so involved in netball this year and I have LOVED it. Tonight I won Clubperson of the Year, and I was so touched and delighted by it, and by the bunch of flowers I got from the 5th team I've been coaching too. Plus, my oldest lovely friend Kate won Player of the Year (she's a big deal) - we were so happy and humble (of course). Dancing and drinking and celebrating ensued.

Friday 5 July – The best of Cornwall

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, On the way back from St Ives. A while ago, one of the girls said they wanted to go to the Porthminster Cafe to eat squid, so we made a plan for tonight, and managed to almost all make it there for white wine and squid, and so many laughs. I always have the best time with these girls, my Cornwall crew. It was a beautiful sunny day and I had loads of work to do, but instead I had the BEST morning: I met Kate and we went to our favourite beach in Hayle and had a smoothie from our favourite cafe, and I had a swim!!! My first one in 2 months and it was SO DREAMY. Afterwards, I went to Ruth's and played in the garden with her and Laurie and their boys in the sunshine. It was the best of Cornwall today.

Thursday 4 July – Asleep and zen

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Asleep after the most relaxing eve. Andy went away this morning, and today I had work and physio, then went to drink a beer with Lou and Charlie at Battery Rocks in the sunshine. Afterwards, I went home, read my book o the sofa with lovely music playing and just felt totally relaxed.

Wednesday 3 July – Lunchtime beach hangs

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Making plans. I was going over to meet Helen and Kate at the beach at lunchtime, and the sun was out and it was just gorgeous.

Tuesday 2 July – Football!

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Home, feeling sad. I'd been at my sister's, watching the Women's World Cup, and England were knocked out of the semi-finals by USA. So sad. It'd been a sunny eve, so Tamara, Lou and I had a cider in the Yacht beer garden before heading to my sister's for so many good snacks.

Monday 1 July – Kit-sitting

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working from home. It was a nice morning, then at lunchtime Ruth dropped baby Kit over and we hung out for a bit. He ate some food, got a bit cross and then fell asleep.

Sunday 30 June – Quay day party

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Heading back down to the bar. It's Quay Day today, part of the Golowan celebrations, and they're all around the harbour and the prom – basically, right around where our bar is. So today was BUSY. It was such a sunny day too, so everyone wanted to be outside drinking. By about 5pm, we had sold out of everything except wine (no more gin, cider, lager, IPA, rum) – well, actually we had 10 gins and a can of cider left, so we auctioned them off to some drinkers, then closed the doors, cleared up and went to begin our own Mazey! We went home for some drinks with Charlie and Lou, then into the tent, and did a lot of dancing for a lot of hours, and then came home and ate a chicken tikka roll with them. Us four have had so much fun while they've been here – they leave in a week or two and I am downright devastated! What a great weekend this has been though.

Saturday 29 June – Mazey Day madness

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Heading down to Pz Gallery, our pop-up bar. We opened at about midday, and spent the day serving drinks, playing Ping-Pong, going out to see the parades, hanging with friends who were around, looking at the sunshine, eating the most amazing chicken... It's fun working in a bar with your friends!

Friday 28 June – Mazey Eve

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Having a little dance. It'd been a busy evening, but a really fun one, with it being Mazey Eve. We managed to watch the fireworks, but before that we had set up shop in Pz Gallery, where Lou, Charlie, Andy and I were running a pop-up bar. It was pretty quiet actually for most of the eve, but a steady trickle of people (thanks everyone we knew who came along!) and then we closed up, went to watch the fireworks, had a little boogie and went home, ready for a big day tomorrow.

Thursday 27 June – Pretty lunch

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At work, at home. AKA working from home. Continuing with the theme of 'the weather is too nice to stay indoors at lunchtime', I picked Pippa up and we went to Mousehole, to the Rockpool for lunch. It literally could not have been any more beautiful. I drank a turmeric latte, ate mackerel on sourdough and looked at the sea. In the eve we had book club, which we tried to have in a pub beer garden but it was so windy, we relocated to Alice's house, which is always a delight.

Wednesday 26 June – My queens of hearts

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Getting home from St Ives. I'd had the most brilliant evening with my beautiful 4th team (aka as the Queens of Hearts). We met in St Ives, where it was sunny and gorgeous, and then went for dinner at Pizza Express. It was funny and lovely and quite simply a gorgeous evening, with them all making me laugh and then making me and Laura cry when they presented us with beautiful phonebooks to commemorate our season. After dinner, we went to the arcade, naturally.

Tuesday 25 June – Getting outside

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working at home. It's been beautiful weather but I'm still slightly anxious walking out and about on my own as I'm still in the brace/crutches. But today was too hot and lovely so at lunchtime I went over to Battery Rocks and read my book.

Sunday 23 June – Sport sport sport

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Watching netball. Today I watched about 7 hours of sport, what with round 9 of Suncorp Super Netball, and the Round of 16 of the Women's World Cup. I absolutely love watching women play sport.

Saturday 22 June – My girls

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Coming home from Pip's. I had been to the skate park with Andy and the Pyrahs (minus Pippa) then we went back to theirs for a brownie and a coffee in the sunshine. Love Saturday mornings at their house! In the afternoon I met Nicky and her two gorgeous children Lorna and Ralph and we went to Morrab Gardens for a picnic in the sun. It was an old haunt of ours as teenagers so it was funny to be back there with her kids! They are so gorgeous, we had a fab time and ate a lot. In the evening, Ruth came over and we went up to Pico Rico for a really good dinner, where we ate loads (common theme of today) and had some proper chats and just loved it.

Friday 21 June – Busy Fridays, just how I like them

Current location: St Erth
11.11am, Eating croissants. I was at Ruth's sister Nomes' house, a beautiful big converted barn with lots of land, chickens, gardens, etc. It's gorgeous and when we got there, she gave us coffee and croissants and all her kids were there and it was just so wholesome and lovely! Ruth and I had been to Blackwater for her to look at (and buy) a pram, and before that I went to the gym with my friend Mich, where I sat on the floor and did my exercises.
In the afternoon, I ended up back at the gym where I met a new friend, Rachel. She and I have many many mutual friends, and she also happened to recently have ACL surgery (2 weeks before me). She plays netball in Cornwall for another club, and she did her knee on the SAME NIGHT AS ME at her club's training, in the same way. So we thought we'd better meet! She was absolutely lovely - I feel very lucky that this injury has some definite good points.

Thursday 20 June – Minack munchies

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Getting home and saying bye to Lou and Charlie, who'd dropped me off. Lou, her visiting friend Meegan and I had been to the Minack. We took an epic picnic with us, and it was a gorgeous, still, sunny evening, so we were having a fab time before the show even started. We went to watch Ali Baba, which I wasn't that excited about, but it was brilliant! Only 5 people in it, and they were so funny. We had some good seats (thanks so being on crutches and it was quite comedy getting allllll the way down the steps on them) and it was just a totally gorgeous evening.

Wednesday 19 June – My sister the gig-rowing superstar!

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, saying bye to Lou and Charlie. I had been in the pub with them, watching football (England won, yay!) and before that I went over to Marazion. My sister Pippa was in a gig race, and... they won! It was a beautiful evening, but as it was all a bit later than expected, we only managed to stay for her heat (which she won)... super exciting! Such a gorgeous spot, and so impressed with my sister who has never rowed before!

Monday 17 June – Work break

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working. Before work I had physio, and at lunchtime I decided to go for a little walk across the road to Battery Rocks. I've been a bit nervous about doing that sort of thing so far, as walking takes so long and is a bit hard, but it was so sunny and gorgeous, I really enjoyed it.

Sunday 16 June – Walks and woods

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Hanging with the Pyrah kids, Dad, Claire and Meggy. We met in Newlyn to watch Pip and Mum gig-rowing, but they were long gone and we couldn't see them, so we walked to Jelberts instead, had an ice-cream and then went back to Mum and Dad's. In the afternoon, Andy, Claire, Meggy and I went to Trevaylor Woods to try and catch a friend Immi, but we couldn't find her so we ended dup heading home after a play in the woods

Saturday 15 June – Cute visitors

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At home, waiting for Claire and Megan to arrive. They got here lunchtime-ish, and we all went to Pip's for a cream tea in the garden. Meggy was so sweet, and we all just gave her lots of attention, laughed at her being cute, and relaxed in the sunshine. In the evening, Claire and I went to the Union for a drink, then for a Thai with her friends Jessie and Marie. It was so fun, and so nice just to hang out with each other.

Friday 14 June – Lifted

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At the Old Coastguard. I was with my lovely friend Helen, who had picked me up from my hair appointment and taken me out for a coffee. I still can't drive at the moment, so my friend Wade had dropped me to my hair appointment in the morning! I am so lucky with my nice friends.
In the evening, Charlie, Lou and I went to the pub to watch the women's World Cup – England v Argentina, and England won, woohoo!

Thursday 13 June – Cinema dates

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Arranging to go to the movies. In the eve, Lou, Charlie, Ruth, James and I went to watch Rocketman at Newlyn Cinema... some of the film was amazing; some was awful and ridiculous. Overall... pretty good, and nice to do some sociable things and drink wine and eat Maltesers in the dark.

Wednesday 12 June – Chinese and chicks

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At work (at home). In the eve, my gorgeous friend from netball Jaz (who was in my team and is a star goal shooter) came over and brought me some Chinese takeaway and we had some big old catch-ups. It's so nice to see the netball girls again; when you're used to seeing them every week, it feels aaaaaages when the season ends before you see them again! Then Jaz, Tamara and Hattie met in the Longboat for a quiz that another local netball club (Bayside) were hosting. It was so good, and we were doing pretty well for the first couple of rounds... but then we were rubbish, and ended up pretty near the bottom. Heaps of fun though!

Sunday 9 June – Call me Coach

Current location: Truro
11.11am, At a netball coaching course. This is day 2 of the course, and as I am less physically able, I had to bring Lou to do the movement elements for me! She was fab, and I was adequate (some bits I was good it, but I messed up others quite substantially) - but good enough to pass! My favourite bit was being told I was the "rare combination of enthusiastic but non-threatening". Haha, I'll take it. And now I can coach, kind of. I am proud of this, as I really wanted to get some more netball qualifications, and I'm especially proud that I have done it with only one working leg!

Saturday 8 June – On the sideline

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Prepping for a netball tournament. Obviously I wasn't playing, but I helped with scoring, timing, cheering - all the things I do now instead of playing. I convinced Lou to play, and she smashed it! It was a fun day, and we went for a cider afterwards in the sunshine, then Lou, Charlie and I decided to go to La Sirena (where Andy works) for a dirty burger. It's starting to feel the buzz of spring/summer now, and I love it!

Friday 7 June – La fiesta!

Current location: Hayle
11.11pm, On my way home from Kate's. When I couldn't go to Madrid, my beautiful friends decided to put on a Spanish night for me, so we went to Kate's and ate amazing paella and listened to Spanish music and drank Spanish wine. There was even a piñata full of sweets!

Thursday 6 June – Doorstep delights

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Making a plan with Lily. She came over at lunchtime and brought me a pasty, some cookies and Toby to play with. We sat on the doorstep in the sunshine and it made me very happy! I've been frustrated not being able to get outside, but this helped.

Wednesday 5 June – Normal life resumes (kind of)

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At work! Well, at home... but working. I went back to work this week and it's been pretty tiring, even though I do it all from the couch. I haven't really done anything in the evenings as a result, but this evening I went to the gym to do my exercises, and have a sports massage. It was so nice to be in there again, after almost 3 weeks (it feels like longer).

Sunday 2 June – Amazing parcels

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Eating snacks. Realllllly good ones, which Sha and Tristan had sent from Australia. They included lots of Aussie treats, plus a t-shirt from a convenience store we are all obsessed with (it has its own massive social media following). I messaged them (the store) to tell them how ace it was, and they made me Customer of the Day. Obviously I messaged my friends too, to say a huuuuge thank you!

Saturday 1 June – A normal Friday night

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Asleep. I'd had a pretty quiet day, I am still getting so tired even when not doing very much, but by the evening I was a bit bored. Pip and Jo were going tot he Cornish Barn for a cocktail and as it's so close to my house, I joined them and it was lovely!

Thursday 30 May – Sunny strolls

Current location: Marazion
11.11am, On the beach. As becky was leaving this afternoon, we squeezed in a quick trip to Marazion this morning to show her the mount, eat a pasty and have a coffee before she jumps on her train. She is remarkable, I can't believe she came down to see me. Feeling very loved, and also in awe at how 6 years apart can feel like literally nothing at all.

Wednesday 29 May – All the things

Current location: Newlyn
11.11am, Having coffee with Helen and Kate (and their boys). Kate took me to her mum's for lunch afterwards... I grew up spending a LOT of time at Kate's house, and her mum's egg sarnies were always my favourite. She's been making them for me at opportune times ever since, and today I ate about 5 of them! In the afternoon, Andy and I picked up my lovely friend Becky, who I used to live with in London. She's from America and I haven't seen her since we went to the States to visit her in 2013. I can't believe she's come down to see me, for 24 hours! We had a very quick half a pint (of soda water for me) and then I had a hospital appointment, where my surgeon said I was progressing nicely. Not too much to report. We came home, then Becky and I went to the Turks Head for dinner, and then to the Cornish Barn for a cocktail, where I bumped into my lovely boss!

Tuesday 28 May – Starting to heal

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Not doing a lot. In the afternoon I had my staples removed... my skin is doing well! Nice work, knee.

Monday 27 May – My beach babes

Current location: Sennen
11.11am, At the beach. We went out there, sat on the sand for a couple of hours (I couldn't convince the girls to go swimming) and had a coffee and a pasty, before they had to go back and get their train. I appreciate them coming SO MUCH; it has been tiring but so amazing, and has been so good for my emotional and mental wellbeing!

Sunday 26 May – Beyonce brunch

Current location: Chyenhal
11.11am, At Ruth's house, where the girls are staying. We sat around chatting and drinking tea, and then we came back into town and went to Mermaid Alley, for a Beyonce Brunch! It was so funny – none of you could say are Beyonce fans (except Catdog, maybe) – but we fully embraced it, and unsurprisingly came last in the quick (despite Cat's best efforts!). Afterwards, we took some Prosecco and crisps to Battery Rocks and hung out there, before coming home for snack, wines and more chats.

Saturday 25 May – Pasties over paella

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Waiting for my friends to arrive. I was supposed to be flying to Madrid today with three of my best friends, but due to surgery I wasn't able to go. Obviously I encouraged them still to go but as they are amazing humans, they changed their tickets and instead have come down to visit me. After the arrived, we went over to Mousehole, drank some Prosecco on the beach and then went to Lidl to get Mexican dinner ingredients. We had a gorgeous evening and I felt so appreciative they're here!

Thursday 23 May – Bending and books

Current location: Hayle
11.11am, At Physio. Afterwards I went to see my lovely friend Kate, whose husband Matt is having his ACL surgery next month. We sat in her garden (as I can't get up her stairs at the moment!) and had a coffee and a chat. In the evening, lots of the lovely Bookaburra girls came over for book club; they all did everything for me, while I sat there with my leg up and let them host around me!

Wednesday 22 May – Getting outside

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Sitting on the couch. I do that a lot at the moment! At 1pm, Mum came  to pick me up and sit outside at the Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, which was lovely in the sunshine! My days are very slow at the moment, and I get tired quickly, but it's nice to be tired from something fun.

Tuesday 21 May – A coffee reward

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Sitting on the couch. In the afternoon, I had physio and then to reward myself Andy and I went to the Godolphin for a coffee. The day was beautiful!

Sunday 19 May – Leaving the house

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, On the sofa. Pip (and Nancy) came to visit today, which was lovely. I spent most of the day asleep or on the sofa, and then in the early evening, Andy took me to the Old Coastguard. It was nice to leave the house (and drink a kombucha) but it tired me out so much. It's so weird!

Saturday 18 May – First day on the sofa

Current location: Hayle
11.11am, Leaving St Michael's (I think). This morning was slow and sore, with a visit from a lovely physio helping me walk with my crutches, and the surgeon and nurses letting me know what to do for the next couple of weeks (or more specifically, what not to do, haha).
I came home, settled myself on the sofa, and then basically did not a lot for the day. Andy went to work in the evening, and I went to bed.

Friday 17 May – ACL reconstruction 2.0

Current location: Hayle
11.11am (and 11.11pm), In hospital. Today I had my ACL surgery! And also some extra surgery (more on that later).

The day started with an early arrival to St Michael's Hospital, a lovely small hospital in Hayle, which specialises in orthopaedic surgery (and a couple of other things). On arrival, I was told I'd be the last operation of the day, and sent to the waiting ward, where I made friends with a lovely woman called Vikki (waiting for meniscus surgery). We had heaps of time to chat, read, etc, and then she went down for her surgery. In the meantime, my surgeon came around, I got asked lots of questions about my health, my knee, etc, and had to give consent for them to do whatever they deemed necessary when they got in there. I thought this was a standard thing, but as time would tell, I think they knew there was more going on in my knee than I realised!

Anyway, I got called down for my surgery at about 1pm, but when I got down there, they couldn't get the needles in for my anaesthetic as I was too dehydrated and cold (I hadn't been allowed to eat or drink anything since the night before). So it took quite a long time to get that sorted, and then... we waited. I wasn't sure why but there was a bit of whispering going on, and then the lovely anaesthetist told me there was a problem with the surgery kit. It had a hole in so wasn't sterile, and there weren't;t any more. So I went up to the waiting ward again to find out if they'd be able to get one taxied down from Treliske Hospital. About an hour later... they were able to, so I was called back down again and within about one minute, I'd been given my anaesthetic, and I was out!

When I woke up... uhhhh. It sucked. I woke up in recovery and everything hurt (well, I guess only my  knee hurt, but it hurt me so much it felt like everything was broken). I think I slept for a while, and then they took me back up to the ward. A lot of this time was blur, but I was just pretty tired and felt pretty sick. One major thing that happened was my surgeon came around and told me they'd found more damage, my meniscus was also torn (which didn't show up on my MRI as it was hidden!) and so that had to be repaired too. The result is I woke up in a brace, which I am now going to be wearing for around 6 weeks. Ugh.

Anyway, not long after, Andy and my parents arrived, and then the physio tried to get me up and moving and to go for a wee. It was scary and sore and made me really dizzy so afterwards I got put back in bed with some oxygen and some more painkillers. Haha. Rock and roll Friday night.

Andy stayed for a while, and then when he left I dozed on and off for a bit, ate a sandwich, spoke to my lovely ward-mate Harriet (a fab 16-year-old who had shoulder surgery), and then slept on and off all night, with wake-ups for more painkillers. It's such a wonderful hospital, the nurses were so amazing and I felt so well looked after.

Thursday 16 May – Pizza with a view

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Asleep. Tomorrow I have my ACL surgery (with a 7am start at St Michael's Hospital in Hayle) so it was an early-ish night for me. But as a lovely last evening before I stop being able to go on cliff walks etc, Andy and I got a pizza from The Square in St Just, and went to the cliffs to eat and drink non-alco beers. It was the perfect eve, and I loved it, and am feeling pretty good for tomorrow. More nervous in some ways, but excited to start the road to recovery.

Wednesday 9 January – Rooftop cocktails

Current location: Ettalong Beach
11.11am, Working from home. In the afternoon, we cooled off with a lovely swim. I love this relaxed life here. Val and I have been trying to find a good margarita (the drink, not the pizza) so tonight we tried Frankie's, a rooftop bar in Woy Wow – and the margaritas were good!

Tuesday 8 January – My physio gang

Current location: Rose Bay
11.11am, At physio. My friend Lara was with me (we have the same physio and we adore him so we like to go to appointments together). Afterwards I went for lunch with Sha, Jess and Bree, and it was just magical. These girls are so important to me! I met my friend Kristie for a coffee, and in between all these things (and in the afternoon), I worked. I love how flexible my job/bosses are – today I worked from a friend's house, a coffee shop and a train, as well as Val's house.

Monday 7 January – Dinner party

Current location: Sydney
11.11pm, Going to sleep at Sha and Tristan's. We'd been for dinner, and they'd made a yummy vegan stew (they're going vegan until March!) and we had wine and played some meme games and just bloody loved being together. I adore these two so hugely.

Sunday 6 January – An unexpected day

Current location: Sydney
11.11am, At Una's! It's Andy's fave breakfast spot, an Austrian joint we love that just happens to now be at the end of Nick and Bree's road. We had a tasty brekky and then Andy and I had a lovely day in Sydney hitting the shops. We bought ourselves some awesome stuff from Gorman, picked up some pressies, had a yum Thai lunch and then headed back up the coast for a cinema trip... But the film was sold out. So we went home and watched Black Mirror and ate pizza and drank wine. So even though we were super disappointed not to be in Melbourne (going to visit family and friends), we ended up having the loveliest day together.

Saturday 5 January – Eight hours of nowhere

Current location: Malabar
11.11am, At the beach! Andy and I came to the beach with Rachael today – and its was sooooo hot. The sea felt incredible to dive into, and fixed my mini-hangover from the night before (which I made worse by going to the gym, then tried to make better by going to Bitton). After the beach, Rach dropped us at the airport, where we were supposed to be getting a flight to Melbourne. Sadly, it was delayed, so we killed some time, waiting. Then we got on the plane about 1.5 hours after we were supposed to have left. Then we sat on the plane some more. Then some more. It was because there was a storm, and the flight couldn't take off with lightning around (fair). We sat on the plane for three hours before they decided to cancel it, and we all got off again. Then the real fun began! Thanks to the storm, most flights had been cancelled, meaning the airport was FULL of pretty angry/disappointed people, and the queues to reschedule flights was hours long (literally... there were still so many people waiting to be seen when the airport closed at 10pm). Andy and I tried online and on the phone (on hold for 1.5 hours) to try to figure out flights, eventually finding out we couldn't get a flight for the next 2 days (until after our return leg left!). The end result: we couldn't go, and eight hours later we finally left the airport and went to Nick and Bree's, where they made us beans on toast and gave us a bed for the night.

Friday 4 January – Rooftop party

Current location: Alexandria
11.11pm, Drinking on Mia and Gaz's rooftop. After work I went back to Yee's house, then we headed to Mia's for a barbie on her incredible rooftop. It has such a cool view, and it was a beautiful evening with some absolute corkers of friends.

Thursday 3 January – Back at it

Current location: Sydney
11.11am, Doing some work for a magazine, with Yeezy, one of my best friends who I used to work with at New Idea. It was ace to be with her, and in a busy office. After work I met Breezer and we went for a delish dinner with a beautiful view – we ate chicken and cauliflower and pork and corn and chips and quesadilla and it was all sooooo good!

Wednesday 15 May – End of the challenge

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At work! I have a couple more days and then a week or two off, and I have my ACL surgery scheduled for Friday!! As I only found out a couple of weeks ago, I had a very short period of time to get fit and strong (last time, I had a 7 month wait and spent the last 7 weeks of that on a very strict prehab regime). I've been a lot more relaxed this time around, but still doing as much as I can to lose a bit of weight, put on muscle and get my legs super strong. Anyway, tonight I went for my fitness testing and found out I've lost 7.3% body fat, and 2.2kg (and reduced my metabolic age by 11 years!). I celebrated by doing a kettlebells class, having a sports massage and then coming home and eating dinner and drinking wine. Feeling good, strong, prepared and ready.

Tuesday 14 May – Fajitas and wine

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Home from Ruth's. I went there to eat Mexican food, have a glass of wine and a catch-up with her and James. It was chilled, delicious and just really relaxed and nice (I brought my dressing gown with me, it was that relaxed!).

Monday 13 May – Focus group

Current location: Portreath
11.11am, At a focus group I organised for Wed Magazine. We had such a lovely group of brides-to-be (and one groom!) who gave us such insight and so much useful feedback! Then Brendan, Rebecca and I had a debrief lunch after, then I headed to the gym. Productive day!

Sunday 12 May – Getting qualified

Current location: Truro
11.11am, At a netball coaching course. It went allllll day, but was pretty fun and I met some lovely people. Now I have lots of netball homework to do, and then hopefully I pass my assessment!

Saturday 11 May – St Ives Food Festival

Current location: Cubert
11.11am, Meeting little Ralph! He's Nicky and Rambo's new son, and he is absolutely scrumptious. I got lots of lovely cuddles, and some gorgeous time hanging out with their daughter Lorna too, and some lovely catch-ups with Nicky and Rambo. What a fab family!
In the afternoon, I went to St Ives Food Festival with Kate, Tamara and Stacey, and it was amazing! The weather was beautiful, so I parked at Carbis Bay and walked from there and it was simply stunning. The food festival was ace – we ate wraps the size of our heads, plus fudge, brownies, sausage rolls, cider – the lot!

Friday 10 May – Where shall we go?

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Heading home with our friends Charlie and Lou, who stayed at ours. We'd met after work, had a few drinks at home, then had plans to go to Pico Rico for dinner, then to the Old Coastguard fr board games... we didn't make either of them! Pico Rico was full, so we decided to cook at home instead, and then we opted for the Lamp & Whistle, which was awesome!

Thursday 9 May – Bottom of the hill

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Home, asleep. In the eve, Ruth and I met for an impromptu wine at Lovetts, which is at the other end of the prom for me, and the bottom of the hill for Ruth. Perfect middle ground! What a lovely, spontaneous, delicious catch-up.

Wednesday 8 May – 2nds last game

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Making driving plans for tonight's netball match. It's the 2nds last game, so I went to watch and cheer. Jaz, my friend from my team, was filling in, and it was ace to see her playing amongst such a good standard. The girls ended up winning by lots, so proud of them!

Monday 6 May – Kids parties

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Doing a few bits at home. In the afternoon we went to Pippa and Jo's, for Bea's 6th birthday party. It was so sweet and fun, they played games in the garden, did some colouring, made some bracelets and ate party food. Simples. I love this little girl, happy birthday lovely Bea!

Sunday 5 May – Beach rounders

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, At home, pottering. After a late-ish start, we went over to Porthchapel with Ruth, James and their crew, and it was absolutely beautiful down there. Proper beach day! We took a picnic and played rounders and had a swim (it was freezing!) and just totally loved being back on the beach. Roll on summer.

Saturday 4 May – Backyard barbies

Current location: Chyenhal
11.11pm, In Ruth and James' back garden. They were having a party for James' 40th, and the afternoon had been so amazing. We'd had barbecued mackerel, loads of amazing salads, delicious wines and then played lawn games (Kubb) and chatted and milled around in the cool breeze and the dappled light. It was so relaxed and lovely, and then when the evening came around, the lit a bonfire and we played Charades (a version Tim made up called Nigel Farades) and ate marshmallows and had the loveliest time.

Wednesday 1 May – Firsts finishing strong

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Looking at the league ladder for the 1st team of Penzance Netball Club. They needed to win tonight to avoid relegation (by 1 point!) and were playing a team a few places above them on the ladder. Well... they went out nervous but absolutely smashed it, the team playing so well together and ending up winning by 20! It was great match, and they were all buzzing after. What a rollercoaster sport is, and how much I love it!

Tuesday 30 April – 5ths last game

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, getting home from Wadebridge. The 5th team, who I help to coach sometimes, had their last game tonight. They knew they'd finish 2nd and be promoted, but they were desperate to end the season with a high. Well... what a game. It was so close all the way through, with Wadebridge getting ahead, then we'd catch them. We couldn't quite manage to put our foot down and pull away, and I made some changes to try to make it happen. This young amazing team soaked up the pressure and kept battling, managing to keep a really cool head, and draw even in the last minute, then go ahead by two to take the win! It was such an incredible end to a very strong season for them, and I have been totally honoured to get to know this group of hardworking, talented and kind young women.

Saturday 27 April – Porthleven Food Festival

Current location: Porthleven
11.11am, Walking down to the food fest. It was s sunny morn, so Andy, Charlie, Lou and I went to the Porthleven Food Festival, and moseyed around in the sunshine. I had a very yummy elderflower beer, then Lou and I found some delicious treats including pulled pork, halloumi fries and cake! The heavens opened so the boys sheltered under a gin bar (as you do), then the sun came out again, and Andy and I headed home to have a drink with James, as it's his 40th birthday today!

Tuesday 23 April – Our last game

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Coming home from netball. My amazing girls played their last game of the season tonight, against St Agnes, who we lost to when we played them at home. We were all so amped for this game, and the girls went out absolutely firing. Such fluent and passionate play, and ridiculously accurate shooting, saw us win 50-35! This meant we finished the season 3rd (a bit gutted as top 2 go up, but super super happy and proud of these girls). Afterwards, we went to celebrate at McDonald's, like all good elite athletes.

This team has buoyed me up so much this year. Making friends with them, playing alongside them (for 3 games), coaching them, cheering for them, it's been nothing short of an absolute pleasure. The teenagers in our team have given me so much love and spirit, and their attitudes totally inspire me, and the 'grown-ups' have been the epitome of support, fun and friendship. I am so, so lucky to have been able to captain this team.

Monday 22 April – Very slow Monday

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Sitting on the couch watching Grey's Anatomy. Today I was hungover, from all the drinking  and dancing of last night. But it wasn't a bag hangover, it was just a good one to indulge. So I ate yummy food and watched telly, then Charlie and Lou came over and I dropped them at the Johns household to get their car. We hung there for a bit, taking weird hungover photos, and then I came home and went to see the Ley-Stephens at the Old Coastguard. I loved it, the sun was out, Ruan and Kit were being gorgeous, and some other friends were in the gardens too. It was a gorgeous afternoon, before I went home, had a bath, watched some netball and finally went to bed.

Sunday 21 April – Happy, sunny Easter!

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Chilling at home, eating chocolate and crisps! Lent is over (they were the two things I gave up!) so I was making up for lost time. In the afternoon, Andy and I cycled over to Perranuthnoe to have a lovely beach hang with Mum and Dad, then we came home and I jumped in the sea at battery Rocks, before Andy, Charlie, Lou and I headed to the Johns household for a barbecue. The sun was out, the food was amazing, all the delicious cocktails were flowing. It was ace! Then we walked to the Packet in Rosudgeon (well, we walked for 10 minutes, then Say drove us the rest of the way) where there was a DJ playing, and we danced all night long, and chatted and had an all-time funny night.

Saturday 20 April – Beach and babes

Current location: Sennen
11.11am, I was heading to the beach with Mum and Dad. The Pyrah were already there, and Andy came to join us later. I'd already been to Hayle for a gym session, and been to town to buy Easter-related things, so after a day of sunshine and ice-cream at the beach, I was expecting a quiet night in while Andy went to work. But in a great twist of fate, my gorgeous friend Christina was down visiting and staying about 10 metres away from my house, so I took her and her sister Ellie for some wines at The Old Coastguard, and it was SO cosy and nice.

Friday 19 April – Sunshine and senoritas

Current location: Marazion
11.11am, At Lily's. I walked over in the sunshine to see my schoolfriends who are (almost) all down for Easter, with their gorgeous boys. We ate biscuits, played with the kids, drank tea and caught up; I loved it! In the afternoon, Andy and I headed to Sennen, where I hung with Lou and swam in the sea and lapped up the beautiful sunshine. In the evening I met Ruth and Nicky in Lovett's, a new wine bar, and absolutely loved being with my girls. Such a special eve.

Thursday 18 April – Games night

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Playing poker (I think). We were with Lou and Charlie, having a games night, which involved a jigsaw, Monopoly Deal, Poker and then a funny accent game, plus lots of wine/beer and pizza. Excellent lols.

Wednesday 17 April – Some sort of netball

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Working from home. At lunchtime, Andy and I had a wander down to Battery Rocks (in my AMAZING new shoes), then in the evening we'd arranged a netball friendly between the 4ths and 5ths. Sadly only 3 of our team could come, but we had a lot of fill-ins, and it was great fun!

Sunday 14 April – Seal and Leas (some sort of anagram)

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Hanging out at the home with the Leas. As the day progressed towards lunchtime, we decided to head to Godrevy and have a walk to see the seals. They were out in force, playing and swimming. I love it there! It was pretty blustery and cold though, so we bustled little Jesse inside to the Rockpool, where we had a long and yummy lunch, before those guys headed back to Devon. Andy and I went to see Charlie and Lou, and watch some football in the pub, and then I had a gorgeous evening out with my schoolfriend to the Meadery. I adore those girls.

Saturday 13 April – The Leas visit

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Getting the house sorted for Emma, Brodie and Jesse to arrive. When they got here, we had lunch (I made soup) and then went to Sennen for a walk on the beach and a beer in the pub. Andy had to go to work then, so the rest of us went home, my parents came over for a drink, and then after Jesse went to bed, us three had some drinks and made dinner. Andy came back just in time to eat it, and we all had a nice, albeit a bit late, night.

Wednesday 10 April – Escape Room

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, At home. Thankfully! I'd been to an escape room with some netball friends, so I'm glad I wasn't still locked in there! It was so so so much fun, and thank goodness I was going it with those girls, as I was not very helpful. But it was ace!

I had today off, and Andy and I had a financial meeting (boring) then went for a GORGEOUS walk at Loe Bar with our great friends Charlie and Lou who have moved over from Oz. I am so glad they are here!

Friday 12 April – My wild Friday night

Current location: Penzance
11.11pm, Asleep. Tired and happy. I'd spent this evening mainly at the gym, which actually does make me really happy. I sat on the bike for almost 2 hours, watching netball and getting some kms through my legs, and it felt good!

Thursday 11 April – Cake and book club

Current location: Penzance
11.11am, Making plans for later. Today is my gorgeous nephew Vinny's 12th birthday, so I went over after work for cake and pressies and cuddles. (We got him breakdancing lessons!) Afterwards I went to Alice's house for Book Club - even though there was only 3 of us, it was a good and fun one, with some deep chats and some flowing wine.

Sunday 7 April – Camel Studio wedding venue launch

Current location: Washaway
11.11am, At a photoshoot. Andy (in his wedding photography business of South Weds Wedding Photography) was taking pictures at a styled shoot, and I was part helping him, part helping the venue for their launch event. Camel Studio is such an amazing spot, and I would love to get married there (if I wasn't already!). The shoot went so well, despite wind and clouds, and heaps of that was down to the wonderful team. The photos are going to be epic!
In the afternoon once it was done, we drove home and spent the evening with Marie and Daz. We randomly ended up at the amusement arcade, where we won lots of tickets on the 2p machine and laughed a LOT, then came home and ate homemade lasagne and drank loads of wine. We had the best chats, I am so happy these guys are in Andy's (and therefore my) family. Good for the soul.