Sunshine and Shauns in Bristol

On Saturday, we found ourselves in the city of Bristol!

Having nervously checked the weather forecast, we were confident that we would not get caught in any downpours (although we obviously packed an umbrella - you know, British weather and all that) We found our comfiest Converses, slapped on some suncream, and grabbed our cameras, ready for a day wandering around one of the UK's most vibrant and exciting cities.

We did have a major reason for visiting too: Shaun in the City. This summer, 70 giant sculptures of, you guessed it, Shaun the Sheep, are dotted around Bristol, and they each have a different design. The designs have been created by a huge range of famous artists and celebrities, all in aid of The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children's Hospital Charity. Not only can you buy the merchandise to support this fantastic cause (download the Sheep Spotter app for just £1.50, and 'tap the app' each time you find a Shaun - very satisfying), but these sculptures will be auctioned off for charity later this year.

So let's see some of the Shauns! 

A Day in the Life of M.E.

Today's post comes after, admittedly, a hard couple of weeks.

I have chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, or M.E., and I'm not very good at dealing with it. I don't mean that I'm a bad patient and difficult to live with (well, my boyfriend might disagree!) but that I really struggle to accept the fact that I have this condition.

You see, before I was diagnosed (and perhaps even still now a little bit?) I used to scoff at people who said they had CFS. I used to think that they were just making a fuss, and were simply tired like the rest of us but looking for a medical label to put on it. I'm ashamed to say that in my head, I saw it as a made-up disease.

So when my GP told me in 2013 that I had CFS, my reaction was mainly one of horror. How on earth could I have a condition that I didn't even believe was real? The horror was swiftly followed by embarrassment - I couldn't tell my friends that I had M.E.! They felt the same way I did - they'd laugh, tell me to stop being so silly, we all knew that M.E. didn't exist.

I was referred to a specialist chronic fatigue centre, and visited them in the summer of 2013 with my parents. It was clear, my doctor said, that I had CFS - I was suffering with 10+ of the symptoms commonly attributed to it. I was told that I would need to take it easy - that no, I probably shouldn't think about starting tennis back up again in the autumn, and that I should lie in until 10am every morning if I wanted to. Did they not understand? Did they not understand that as a young woman in my twenties, I wanted to go and play tennis? And that with a full time job, I didn't really have the option to lie in bed all morning? I'd made a decision; I was going to carry on as normal. It was mind over matter.

This Week's '-ings'

It's been ages since I've written one of these posts! It's the weekend, it's sunny outside, and I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with my family - all in all, I'm in a pretty good mood and I hope you are too. So grab a cuppa and a few biscuits (I'll take a bourbon, thanks), sit back, relax, and take a look at what I've been up to this week...

Watching: Gossip Girl. I am a little bit addicted to this show, having only recently discovered it on Netflix. One of my good friends has always raved about it, and on a recent trip to New York was extremely excited to be able to see those famous steps at The Met. At the time, I had no idea what she was on about... Now I get it! Plus, I will never get tired over lusting after Serena and Blair's gorgeous, beautiful clothes.