Reflections from June
Yoga, Heatwaves, Wuthering Heights and Theatre Plans
June has been one of those months where I had every intention of doing lots of lovely, considered things, and then life happened.
When I started this blog, I had such grand plans for all the things I was going to do and share with you all. I wanted to indulge in cultivating a space that relates to my business, my interests and the things that bring me joy. But the reality is that life is busy, and June has been exceptionally busy, hot and slightly chaotic.
There have still been plenty of good things in amongst all of that, though. I have started teaching my Tuesday yoga classes in High Heath, been to London for work, picked tiny harvests from the garden, failed almost completely to finish a book, and somehow managed to fill July with even more plans.
Yoga in June and July
I am genuinely honoured, and still a little blown away, that people would choose to practise with me. When I first put my tentative Facebook post out to the local area inviting people to join me, I could never have imagined that the classes would fill up so quickly, let alone that there would be a waiting list.
In July, my Tuesday night class continues, and I have also started a limited four-week Wednesday series, which still has some spaces available if you are interested.
In The Garden
I have really struggled in the heat this month, particularly during the most recent heatwave. I find that not only can I not do anything when it is too hot to move, but I also cannot think. I have been thoroughly unproductive in this time and have barely been in the garden.
I am harvesting a few things here and there. I have started to plant out my tomatoes, although I still have more tomatoes that need to go out. I have been harvesting radishes, fresh herbs, little bits of lettuce, spring onions, the odd strawberry and one solitary cherry.
Harvested all the blackcurrants and raddishes
I harvested all of the blackcurrants. Normally, I would make them into jam or jelly because I love being able to open a jar of homemade jam in the middle of winter and taste the summer and the effort. I will do that again with these blackcurrants, but for now they are sitting in the freezer because it has simply been too hot to contemplate making jam. Making jam is hot work.
I have not sown anything in June, and this is going to be a real problem in a month or two when I run out of things to eat. But it is quite typical of how I garden. I get super enthusiastic about the allotment space in the spring, and again in the autumn, but I am not a summer person. I find summer exhausting, so I tend to let the garden slide at this time of year and just do the bare minimum: keeping on top of watering and harvesting the things I was able to prepare earlier in the year.
There is still plenty of time to sow crops up until at least mid-September, so the garden will get my attention again eventually. In the meantime, I am just trying to survive, which feels like a perfectly reasonable gardening plan in a heatwave.
I have not really thought about what I am going to do with the garden in July either. I am not making commitments to sow anything, although I probably could do with some lettuce and fresh herbs. Dill, coriander and basil could all do with replenishing, and that is probably about as much commitment as I am putting into the garden in July.
If it is going to be hot, I am not going to be spending huge amounts of time out there. Even though there is quite a lot more you can do in July, and it is a good time to start sowing crops for autumn, winter and overwintering into spring, I am not putting myself under pressure to do that. There will be time in August and September, which are often referred to in gardening terms as the second spring, when things start to cool off just a little bit.
Reading: Still with Wuthering Heights
The garden is not the only thing that has slowed down in the heat. I also have not finished any books. I am still reading the same book that I started in May, which is Wuthering Heights. I chose to read this before I knew they were making the film this year, and I picked it up because I made a commitment to myself that I was going to read one book from every Brontë in 2026. I was also not allowed to reread Jane Eyre for the eleven millionth time; I needed to read something new from Charlotte.
I started with Wuthering Heights because I couldn’t remember if I had ever read it. I am very familiar with the story and have watched various adaptations on TV over the years, but I genuinely could not remember whether I had read the book. Based on my experience of reading, I think I may have started it as a teenager but never finished it, because I am in pages that feel unfamiliar.
I typically read in the early mornings. As an early riser, I quite often have free time in the morning, and as a morning person I always feel as though my brain works better first thing, I can take in information more easily. But, again, summer is busy. Hot days mean that I am getting the dogs out for walks super early, so that time to read has just evaporated.
I am really enjoying Wuthering Heights, and I am finding it incredibly easy to read. It is not complicated or full of archaic language. I was worried that going back to a classic literature after so long would be challenging, but it really isn’t. I will submit my review to you whenever I finish it.
I am making no reading plans for July because, on the current trajectory, I would only miss them anyway.
A Day Job Detour: Speaking in London
Away from the garden, the books and the yoga mat, June also included a trip to London to speak at a conference for MemberWise. This was part of my day job and is very typical of the kind of public speaking work that I do. It was a lovely day. Conferences and exhibitions can be exhausting, but this was a different format. It was quite small, and it was a good opportunity to have some deep and meaningful conversations with a targeted group of people.
I was there supported by my colleague, who had never done any public speaking in that context before. She was super brave to get on stage and speak in front of quite a large audience for the first time, and she absolutely smashed it.
We spent quite a bit of time together working through what we had to say and how we wanted to say it. Practice and preparation really do make a difference when you are speaking formally in front of a large audience.
If you follow me on LinkedIn, I have spoken a little bit more about it over there. I don’t want to blur the lines between my full-time job and what I am creating here, but if you are curious, you are welcome to pop over there and have a look.
Looking Ahead: Theatre, Yoga and Hoping Not to Melt
July continues to be a busy month. I will be teaching two yoga classes on top of everything else, and I have a lot of trips to the theatre booked in, which is very much the joyful part of the calendar.
I love going to the theatre more than almost anything else, and I made a commitment to myself at the beginning of the year that I would prioritise theatre trips as much as possible. Instead of going maybe once a year, this year I have perhaps taken it a bit too far. I don’t know if you really can do that, and perhaps that just is not a thing, but I am going to the theatre four times in July alone, including a couple of outdoor Shakespeare productions.
I’m hoping for some good weather, but perhaps just not as hot as the heatwave at the end of June. The sweet spot is warm enough to walk around without a jumper on, but not so hot that I want to melt into a puddle on the floor.
I am sure I will give you a full report on all my theatre adventures at some point between now and next month.
Thank You for Reading
So that was June: busy, hot, slightly unproductive in places, but full of good people, new experiences, small harvests and things to look forward to. Thank you for dropping in to catch up with me. I hope you had a beautiful June and have an exciting July ahead. I would love it if you would drop me a comment and let me know.
