At the end of the year last year I decided that it would be a nice idea to do a bit of a round-up of what we’d been up to at the end of every month. I managed the first few months with no problem but I missed April and May after losing my Dad and another much-loved family member.

We spent that time coming together as a family and trying to get over our losses and if I’m honest, we (especially me) were a little bit broken and at times, just getting through the days felt like a huge achievement.  We had to make a conscious effort to spend time together because at first, it was too easy to just all retreat into our own spaces and dwell on things which wasn’t doing any of us any good.

It hasn’t been plain sailing but I feel like we’ve picked up the pieces and put ourselves back together and June has been the month where life has got back to normal.  It’s a different normal but I know we’re going to be OK.

Visiting Pinterest HQ in San Fransisco

The month started with a trip to San Fransisco for me to visit Pinterest HQ and to many people’s surprise I went completely on my own and spent five days on the other side of the world totally on my own (other than the day and a half that I was at Pinterest).

I’m going to share a little bit about my trip over the coming weeks but there probably isn’t as much to tell you about as I usually have to share when I go away as I used the time to completely relax.  I spent almost a full day in Golden Gate Park just literally wandering around the Japanese Gardens with my camera and reading my book which sounds really geeky I know but it was just what I needed.

I’ve been so busy since I came back that I haven’t had chance to get the things I learned written down yet but when I do, you’ll all be first to hear about it.

Ed Sheeran at St James Park

I got back from San Fransisco on the Friday and on the Sunday, I had tickets to go and see Ed Sheeran at St James Park in Newcastle with one of my friends.  We booked it about a year ago and have been looking forward to it ever since – and it was absolutely worth the wait.

He’s a brilliant entertainer and sang loads of his old songs as well as his newer ones and I sang along to every one of them!

Beyonce and Jay-Z at the London Stadium

Losing my Dad hit Miss Frugal harder than I thought it would and when I was trying to cheer her up one day I somehow ended up booking tickets to go and see Beyonce and Jay-Z – neither of whom are my cup of tea in any way.  The Concert was the Saturday after I went to see Ed so early Saturday morning, I took her and her friend to London where we spent the day shopping in the Westfield Shopping centre before heading to the London Stadium for the concert on the night.

I’m presuming that the concert was good because other than me, the whole stadium including Miss Frugal and her friend were literally on their feet singing and cheering from start to finish.  I spent my time sitting down hoping that the stands weren’t going to collapse when everyone jumped up and down and the same time and contemplating the use of certain words throughout the concert that I thought were absolutely NOT socially acceptable. 

I liked the last couple of songs though and can definitely see how both Beyonce and Jay-Z are born entertainers but their music just wasn’t for me.

The Script at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

And wrapping up my concert going activities this month was a trip to see The Script at Scarborough Open Air Theatre the Thursday after we went to see Beyonce and Jay-Z.  It’s ridiculous that we had three concerts so close together when we so rarely go to one but it’s purely coincidental that they all came at once – these tickets were a Christmas present from Mr Frugal for me and Miss Frugal and because they were a present, he splashed out and got us front row seats which turned out to be front row dead centre.

We’re not huge fans of the script although we do like them and most of their songs but I’m not sure I would have gone out and bought tickets to go see them live if they hadn’t been a gift.  But, after seeing them live I can say for sure that next time they’re playing nearby I will most definitely be there!

They were amazing and I know I use that word a lot but genuinely this was the best concert I’ve ever been to.  The venue itself was amazing, the seats we had were super amazing and the show itself was simply brilliant.  Danny O Donohue is a fantastic showman who involves the crowd from start to finish and at several points he just lef the stage and sang from the crowd.

Because of where we were sat, he actually came and stood literally right in front of Miss Frugal and sang part of a song which made it even more special.  He high fived and hugged his way along our row of seats and then ran back to the stage, only stopping when he realised he’d just ran by the disabled seating area.  I was so impressed that you could see him stop and realise and then he ran back and did the same to them.

So that’s why I’ve been a bit quiet this month, between this little lot, working full time and trying to cram in as much family time as possible there’s been very little time left for much else.

I think it’s been just what we needed though as we’re all feeling much more positive and ready to hit the second half of the year running!

I hope you had as good a June as we had!

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