Hi there,
It’s somehow the middle point of the final month of the year. How did we get here and where did 2023 go? If like me, you’re reflecting on your year and setting intentions for 2024, I hope you’re being kind to yourself and finding balance at what can be a very busy or challenging time of year!
I’ve titled this email “wow, wow, wow” because this week, I smashed my £1,000 target to raise money with winter sea swims for homeless charity Catching Lives. I started with a target of £250 and kept raising it thanks to people’s generosity. Thank you so much to the two anonymous and generous donators who took the total to £1,000 and beyond on Wednesday. I don’t actually know who you are but I appreciate you and everyone else who has supported - by cheering me from afar, donating or joining me on sea swims!
As this email arrives in your inbox, I’ll hopefully be doing a sunrise swim. If you’d still like to support me and the charity as I continue cold dips, you can do so via my JustGiving page. It’s all going towards the Catching Lives Winter Appeal, which is aiming to raise £50,000 to keep people experiencing homelessness supported and warm this winter.
Uplifting News Stories
Woman gains PhD after vowing to become expert in illness her mum died of | Twitter
Cats purrfectly happy to play fetch, research finds | BBC News
Pilot Announces in a Heartwarming Reveal That Young Passenger is Now Cancer Free | Good News Network
Christmas knitted postbox toppers are popping up around the UK | Prima
Features Worth Sharing
Sukh Ojla: ‘When I was on the dating apps, I never told men that I did comedy’ | The Guardian
‘I thought care would be chaotic like Tracy Beaker – but I found a family’ | The i
Things That Have Brought Me Joy In The Past Week Or So
Swims including a sunrise swim at Shoreham (pictured above)
Receiving a massage from the brilliant Sarah Witch Therapy
Discovering new art that speaks to my soul - Brighton-based artist Esther Rushton. I treated myself to one of these prints.
The loveliest service station ever - Pease Pottage had a sign by Mind and the Moto Foundation encouraging people to connect and chat and also a stall by the Moto Foundation with an affirmation wall.
Seeing friends and babies in Buckinghamshire, Stroud and the Forest of Dean
Stroud Christmas Tree Festival
Seeing Fern Brady, Jen Brister and Ed Gamble at the Theatre Royal, Brighton
Going to my favourite Brighton restaurant Abysinnia for the fifth time
Looking for treasure on Brighton beach with a friend
A Few Recommendations
I’ve been doing a lot of wandering and exploring in Brighton. One of my favourite shops is called Hi Cacti. It’s so beautiful and last week organised a late-night shopping event in Seven Dials. Here are some pics I took a few weeks ago. It’s looking more Christmassy at the moment.
There’s a really cute volunteer-run free museum/gallery about the West Pier, right by the West Pier. Great for gifts. More info here.
I spent a lot of money on lovely cards and wish I had more money to spend on art at the STUNNING treasure trove that is Atelier Beside The Sea.
Also, loving this: Brighton and Hove Centre for Empathic Reparation. Books here have their covers covered with labels such as “This book is for a neurotypical person” or “This book is for a white person” for people to read different experiences in a bid to close the empathy gap.
OK that’s it for now. Do you have any favourite spots in Brighton & Hove and beyond? Please let me know in the comments below. And if you enjoyed this newsletter, please click the heart.
Thanks for reading,
B x
joy and wow reading your words and watching your blossoming unfold. xxxx