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Libby Page

Author / swimmer / optimist

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Due to the current health crisis all events are postponed for now, but I HOPE TO get back out and meet lovely readers again soon!

Libby x

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Today we’ve headed to our local park to sit under a tree and have a picnic, something we haven’t done in a very long time. I must admit I felt VERY anxious leaving the house, worrying that it might be busy, but thankfully everyone here seems to be keeping their distance and it does feel so nice to just sit under a tree, something I hope I’ll never take for granted again. It’s also a chance to wear my new (but old, from the 1960s) dress bought from @retrouvevintage - the fab local vintage shop where I bought my wedding dress! They are selling via Instagram and it made buying this dress feel extra good to know I was supporting a small business!

Simple things I have enjoyed today: homemade madeleines glazed with orange icing, roses cut from outside our building, a ride on my bike in the sunshine with Bruno, watching the birds through my window. What about you?

I didn’t do any writing or editing today but I did make this Harry Potter bunting so... I realised today that since lockdown I’ve been forcing myself to try to work pretty much every day. I’ve felt so grateful for the distraction but I’m also feeling exhausted, and today I twigged that A) it is incredibly emotionally exhausting living through a global pandemic and B) normally I would have taken a holiday by now in the year, if even just a few days visiting family. With nowhere to go it’s so easy not to take time off, but my friends reminded me they are all still being encouraged to take annual leave in their jobs, something you often forget about when you’re self-employed. So for the next few days I am downing tools (unless those tools are a needle and thread / cake mixer / cocktail shaker). I feel so lucky to have a job I love but breaks are so important too.

Using indoor time to get Bruno to take some new photos of me in my writing room! It’s quite handy living with an excellent photographer. If only he could learn hairdressing too as my hair is getting LONG! I’ve been busy at work these past few weeks (days / months / years, who really knows what time is any more?!) editing my third book. I must admit I’ve been finding it HARD. I’ve really tried to challenge myself to write something (hopefully!) quite emotionally complex but it’s taking it out of me. I also just never enjoy editing as much as writing from scratch, it feels much trickier and also when self-doubt is able to creep in even more than normal. Reading back through the same thing over and over and trying to make it as good as you can is liable to make you doubt the whole thing / yourself. Even when it’s hard though I feel so grateful to have my work as a distraction right now, and for this colourful little workspace. 👩‍💻 📖 🖋 🌈Photos by @bruno_jg

Wedding confetti. Our wedding may have been postponed and it still may be uncertain when we’ll be able to celebrate with our loved ones, but I’m still drying petals whenever I have flowers in the house and adding them to my collection for our wedding. I’ve been doing this ever since we got engaged last January, as have my family, my friends and some of my mum’s friends. When the day finally arrives I think we will have a LOT of confetti but that is OK. We will dance in a cloud of petals. I’m finding it hard to think too much about other wedding things but collecting these petals feels like a little act of hope. It’s about a balance right now for me - I find it very hard to think about anything in the future or to try to make any solid plans. But I also feel the need for things to make me feel happy and hopeful about the future. For me these petals are one of those small things. They’re tucked away in a drawer in my office for now and I don’t know when we will use them. But I’ll keep adding to them a few petals at a time.

I don’t know about you but reading is even more important than ever for me right now. A good book is such a great escape and can be a real comfort in difficult times. I am so excited that The Lido has been chosen as the first book in the @feelgoodbookclub - a new subscription service of uplifting reads and cheering goodies that supports @samaritanscharity and the amazing work that they do. They very kindly sent me my own box so here’s a little peek at what’s inside this month’s book. I think the club is such a great idea and would be a great gift for someone who needs cheering (and it’s also totally ok if that person is you!). It’s an honour to have my book launch this initiative. ☀️#feelgoodbookclub #samaritans

Blog

Why I’m proud to be a Pirate
My colourful life (or why I dress like a rainbow)
Winter swimming – what’s all the fuss about?
My writing journey (and how I got published)
Birthday swimming in the Lake District

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