I’m a big fan of February as a month, not only is it my birthday month but also usually its peak summer time too. This year since we’re living in the northern hemisphere it’s a little bit chillier than I’m used to. Despite the cold, it’s still been a highly enjoyable month.
Birthday
First of Feb saw me become a quarter of a century. Wow! That’s a biggy. I was actually pretty excited about turning 25, it seems like a pretty good age. But it was a bit of a shock when I realised I was in the second half of my twenties, ekkk!
Since I only work four days a week, I reworked my day to ensure I had my birthday off. So sleep in and a run were the only things on my to-do list and it was lovely.
James and I had a nice evening in London, starting with cocktails. After our cocktails, we remembered that beer is just as good. Then we went to the Covent Garden Comedy club where our pre-allocated seats had us in the front row where James could touch the microphone. I was crapping my pants, with my cackle of a laugh I’m sure to be called out by the comedians. By the end of the night, I was actually the only person in the front row NOT to be called out. James thinks it was because I was laughing and enjoying the jokes so much that they appreciated me and my laughter too much to call me out. I’m happy with that. Also, I highly recommend checking out the comedy shows in London. The Covent Garden one was particularly good. Its held in the arches under Charing Cross, the comedians are different each time but it was a total crack up. A great evenings entertainment for less than twenty quid each.
Immersive Great Gatsby show
The Immersive Great Gatsby is one of the coolest shows I’ve been to. It was so different, unique and highly entertaining. The whole show was down to about 10 actors/actresses. They perform the story of The Great Gatsby, all the while characters take portions of the audience away and tell do monologues of their character, while other characters come in and out. The performance area was set up like Gatsby’s house with multiple rooms, a dance floor and a piano. Depending on which character takes you away you’ll see different parts of the story. You don’t miss enough to not understand what’s happening, you are still able to follow along. We were asked for some marriage advice from one of the characters, tasted some very strong gin, and tried to learn the Charlton dance; I was terrible, arms and legs flailing but Mel got the hang of it. No photos allowed so you’ll have to take my word for it, or go yourself: https://immersivegatsby.com/event/the-great-gatsby.
Museums
We were on a bit of a museum buzz this month, exploring the British Museum and the Churchill War Rooms. The British Museum is so massive that it wasn’t until the end of our visit that we realised we’d actually been there before. There is such variation throughout the exhibits everyone is sure to find something they’re interested in.
The Churchill War Rooms were a good insight into wartime England and the Blitz in London. The audioguide takes you through the maze of underground rooms Prime Minister Winston Churchill used as his base for planning convoys, battles, alliances and movements from May 1940 to August 1945. Its definitely worth coinciding your trip with a Winston Churchill movie of some description, perhaps Darkest Hour, something to assist with picturing the situations that took place there. The museum on Churchill’s life was very in-depth and interactive. I’d recommend to people interested in Winston Churchill, war or politics, even if you’re vaguely interested, I’m sure you’ll still enjoy what it has to offer.
Bulgaria
Man, skiing holidays are just the best! We had an awesome five days in Bansko in the Bulgarian mountains shredding snow on our snowboards. I’m not going to lie I probably spent more time on my butt than on the board but I eventually got the hang of it and bloody loved it! Bansko was great because there are blue (beginner) runs right from the top of the mountain, so we could ride all the way down and not feel like we’re going to die on the much harder and steeper tracks.
Carnival
After Bulgaria, I flew to Germany for the weekend to celebrate Carnival with my German family. I had such a fun weekend at Fasching, we have absolutely nothing to compare in New Zealand. It makes me wish I had some musical or dancing talent to join in. I am very grateful to my exchange hosts Family Höra, who I am still close with and have let me join in with Fasching the last two years. You can see my blog post on last year’s show here. The show is five hours of fantastic entertainment, it doesn’t feel that long at all and you definitely don’t want it to end. The show is broken up into different dance, music and singing groups with comedy sketches throughout. I only understood half the jokes and still found it hilarious. There was a whole lot of conga lines, clapping, singing and swaying. I tried to take the sounds, the smells, the joy of it all in, as I knew this would be my last carnival for a few years. But I have to make sure I go back again one day, because it’s such a fun, joyous and friendly event. Nothing compares to German Fasching.
Favourites of the month
Movies
Vice – having not seen the ‘Big Short’ (by the same director and some of the same actors) I didn’t really know what to expect, but this one was a goodie. It tells the story of Dick Cheney, Vice President to George Bush from 2001 to 2009. The story is told with sarcasm and wit, it’s completely random at times to get the point across. I quite enjoyed it, it’s not your typical political movie.
Books
Like last month I’m still flying through books, which is crazy. My goal this year was to read ten books, at this rate I’ll have reached that goal before I get back to New Zealand.
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen – a good thrilling book. I’ve always been a fan of thrillers in movie form but never actually read one. This was the first thriller I’ve read, so now I’ve got a new genre of books I can tackle. Similar kind of story to ‘The girl on the train’.
This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay – a great insight into doctors lives or lack thereof (as they’re always at work). Hilarious, heartbreaking, raw and witty, I very much enjoyed this book, its also attainable for not medical folk, as anything that needs a bit more explaining is in the footnotes. Highly recommend for anyone interested in looking into the life of medical staff.
You can add me on GoodReads to follow along with the books I’m reading and we can swap recommendations: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/80389979-ashleigh.
Podcasts
Slow Your Home Podcast – shout out to my sister, Han, for recommending this podcast, such a good inspiring podcast, covering all topics from zero waste, meditation, anxiety, nutrition and minimalism.
Well, that’s another birthday month over for the year and I’m officially done with this grey dark winter stuff! Bring on Spring!
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