January 2017 and my birthday photo shoot was achieved with tripod, camera and 10 second timer. The day was pretty perfect for this time of year and the setting not too shabby either.
February, and if I could time travel, this version of me would be overlooking the birthday girl below. Blockhouse Castle sits just above that pretty little stretch of beach. Taken again with my timer etc, I felt very proud of the fact that the wild weather didn't defeat my photo shoot, nor was I put off when an out-of-season and thoroughly unexpected holiday maker happened upon me as I sat on the castle steps to change out of wellie boots and into leopard print courts. Not sure who was the most surprised, he or I!
March, and certainly not my most glamorous shot of the year, but one that makes me proud of my sea swimming escapades throughout the winter and into the rest of the year. I love the flushed, ruddy skin that accompanies the wonderful afterglow of my icy cold dip. There's no better way to start the day and once this is done, I pretty much feel I can conquer the world.
April, and this is a bit more in keeping with the glamorous image I like to portray, hehehe! The first exhibition of the season means the start of proper dressing up. This beautifully ornate Italian gown was a charity shop find, causing me immense pleasure indeed.
May, and one of the most joyful of photos - the result of a lovely fresh sea breeze that played havoc with my flimsy skirt. Thank goodness for the fulsome petticoat that protected my dignity! This post celebrated two years of blogging.
June, and the time my husband and I took the afternoon off work as the weather was just too good to miss. We tootled off in our little motor boat to Samson, the nearest uninhabited island and enjoyed our castaway picnic. I posted this photo on Instagram where it was spotted by a PR agency who then approached me to appear in a local campaign to advertise the islands. I kinda like the fact that on this particular day I had decided that I wanted to embrace every opportunity that the blog might present.
July, and the height of the summer means one exhibition every ten days for me and my staff. We all seem to thrive on the adrenlin rush that propels us forward during these crazy, hectic summer weeks. And of course, I revel in the need to find new show outfits almost every week!
August, and another beach day (a bit of a theme going on here, don't you think?). It was my day off and I took advantage of the very low tide and did an inter-island walk between Tresco and Bryher. Despite looking on my ownsome, it was a wonderfully social event with lots of locals and holiday makers taking part in the pilgrimage too.
September, and this was the post where I was featured with Johnnie Walker on his Sounds of the 70's show. A terrifying idea beforehand, but on listening to it, my lovely husband declared it was a great collection of our memories. It was a huge honour and one I'll never forget. Dearest Johnnie, thank you!
October, and I was in London meeting up with some blogging friends as well as helping my husband celebrate his 60th birthday. We had a hectic time, fitting in as much as we possibly could.
November, and the long awaited images arrived and I could finally post the feature about my summer shoot on Samson for the Island Partnership. I loved the whole thing, even though it was quite funny trying to do yoga on the silky smooth sand as well as having a (sometimes vocal) audience to contend with. Another memorable day of the year for me.
December, and this one didn't make the cut for the blog, but maybe should have. I don't have green fingers and unfortunately the Poinsettia no longer looks quite as healthy as this. Over-watering, under-watering, too hot, too cold - who knows? And if you do, please tell me what this darling plant needs to survive.
It's been a great year, one full of work, play, family life, shopping trips and swimming too. It gives me such a thrill to see the readership of the blog grow and know that you're out there sharing in my island life. I love to hear from you with your comments, so do drop me a line if something strikes a chord with you . My "Suggested by..." feature seems to have dried up, but if you have a favourite item of clothing you'd like to see again, then please feel free to send me an email or pop it into the comment box and I'll style it up for you to see once more. Thanks so much for joining me over the past year and I look forward to catching up with you again soon.
Anna x
