FunkyOllie

Had a lovely Sunday beach day! The tide was coming in, making the sea feel warm, but the waves were getting bigger, which made getting out of the water a bit tricky (though body surfing was fun!). It was surprisingly quiet, just a gentle breeze and my sketchbook. Now feeling recharged and ready for the week ahead. 🌊📓

Teenage ferry trips to Dieppe came flooding back too... snogfests with mademoiselles, cheap wine, and grape hangovers... and those rough seas on the return ferry, making the "delicate feeling" even worse. The world felt so different then.

The last to bloom but always the grandest! This peachy pink rhododendron is blooming late this year, and its blossoms are impressively large compared to the others in the garden.

Yay, it's the weekend! First up: bike maintenance and hedge cutting. The gears took a serious beating on my last hilly ride and need some TLC before I can get back out there. After a week glued to a screen, I'm excited to finally bond with nature today. Happy Saturday, everyone! Let's go! 💪✨

Another rhododendron is bursting into bloom. It's not the most popular shrub in the garden, but I think it is bloomin' beautiful.

A peaceful pause during my cycling route at Sheffield Park, where the vibrant red maples and blooming rhododendrons offered the perfect dose of nature bonding.

The stage is empty. The audience never really left.

Stopped in Newhaven for lunch, then napped on the pebbled beach while the sea hummed nearby. Another perfect day cycling through the countryside.

Wrote a thing about being a self-aware social media user. Specifically about how you can completely understand the manipulation, write about it, be genuinely furious about it, and then spend two hours scrolling anyway. The platform doesn't mind if you see through the curtain. It just needs you to keep staring.

Took a stroll around the garden and found my Berberis dangling tiny golden bells, hosting its own spring party. The guest list? Just me and the bees.

I've been enjoying a gorgeous day on the High Weald trails. The gorse is blooming brilliantly in the afternoon sun, offering a clear, panoramic view across the Sussex landscape.

Wrote a thing about leaving the big social media platforms. Or rather, about the weird middle ground most of us are living in – still technically there, not really present, and vaguely tired. Also, I said some things about LinkedIn that I absolutely stand by.

The red tulips in the garden have come back from the dead and are looking dazzling in the morning sunlight.

Bluebells are finally blooming in my garden! 🌸 While early Anglo-Saxon and Celtic folklore linked these flowers to the arrival of spring and fertility, they also carried darker pagan superstitions. Because the bulbs are toxic, they were once called 'death bells', and disturbing them was thought to summon misfortune. By the Victorian era, however, the narrative shifted entirely. They were romanticised as whimsical fairy bells, now symbolising humility and everlasting love. 💕

Spring has finally arrived in force; my garden is waking up, and everything is growing fast. Some of my tulips are already in bloom, and the woods nearby are carpeted with bluebells already, a truly magical sight when the sunlight hits them. With all the fresh greenery around, it’s a divine time of year.