A Brilliant Birthday Week

I had a brilliant birthday week, possibly one of the best. I always try to make it special somehow, and my other half usually takes me out for the day (apart from during Covid years of course)

This year, I started by attending the wonderful WHQ Weekender, in Brighton. I had lots of fun writing flash fiction with friends, coffee and cake, and it was amazingly accessible. I was able to unstick my science fiction epic, and one of the pieces I wrote at that weekend is being published soon. I was also able to spend some time by the sea on the Saturday morning, which I find really helps my mental health, and will be returning soon. I had the best time, and would definitely go again.

Not even engineering works on the way home spoiled my mood, and I had excellent passenger assistance at London Bridge to help me out.

On the Monday and Tuesday I went into the office for some training. These sessions were around personal development, and I found them really useful and helpful. I was able to get some more suggestions for things I struggle with, such as confidence and giving/receiving feedback. We also went for a lovely meal on the Monday evening, an Italian place which I really enjoyed. Between the session and the meal I wrote some of the science fiction epic in a Costa, making it creepier and more mythological based, which was fun.

On the Tuesday, we had to give a small presentation. I was a little nervous, but a writing exercise and meditation relaxed me and made me less anxious. I was able to give a really good presentation, and was praised highly for it, which was a super boost to my mood and confidence.

On the Wednesday, I went to the best music concert I’ve ever been to. Although Hans Zimmer Live last year comes pretty close. We went to London for the day, and even tried out the Elizabeth Line, doing some shopping before finding the hotel. We had a bit of a trek around Green Park due to an underground strike, but I really enjoyed our unexpected adventure, plus there were lots of daffodils, and we did get there in the end.

My other half took me to this black tie jazz concert in the evening, and it was incredible. I have a soft spot for jazz, and it was a night to remember, made for jazz lovers.

There was this clarinettist who played Benny Goodman like a dream, like nothing I’ve heard before, just wonderful music, and this saxophonist who played Gershwin as if it was summer. There was this stunning soprano, who welcomed you into her swinging jazz club, and some dancers on the stage, plus a trumpet and trombone who played off one another with improvisations, just pure genius. They had some of the best cider I’ve ever tasted, with excellent food, and I loved every minute.

On the Thursday we went to this tiny Museum, in Forest Hill. We mainly went for a Lego dinosaur exhibition, which was fun. But as we walked round, we found a mini music museum. And that was my favourite. It was a secret haven of instruments, with signs large enough to read, even for me. And the best bit was the woodwind wall. In display cases was a whole wall of instruments. A whole array of flutes. Oboes. Clarinets. Bass Clarinets. Saxophones. It was just wonderful, an unexpected surprise, a home of friends, of instruments dear to my heart.

On the Friday I went for a lunch with my mum, for a coffee and a cake, to end the week. I also received a copy of a publication of one of my mini micro stories, about the moon, which was a perfect present. My writing group has a weekly writing challenge, and I was selected to read my piece for the week in the evening, which was lovely.

All in all, I had a brilliant birthday week, full of writing and music, and I really enjoyed it.