April 2025:

How have we already come to the end of the four month of the year! I always find that January and February seem to drag and then before I know we are counting down the days to the start of Summer! ☀️

With spring in full swing meant there were lots of beautiful sunsets of an evening, and you know me well enough by now to know that when there is a sunset, I have to capture it. And if there’s some good lighting, might as well grab a little selfie or two!

Then came the first outing to the theatre of the month – this time it was to Nottingham to see Murder on the Orient Express 🚂 I think I was the only person to snap a picture of themselves inside the cardboard carriage advertisement they had in the lobby (not surprise there really 😂). But overall the show was brilliant! We had front row seats for the performance, I will say the only downside with that was because the train was placed upon a revolving platform meant that everything was that bit higher up so you felt as thought you weren’t seeing the whole stage; and it also meant we had to deal with neck ache driving home! But other than that, the show was amazing. Having already seen the film of this, it was interesting to see how elements of the story were adapted for the stage, or even little elements were changed ever so slightly so you even if you had prior knowledge of this story and knew the outcome, it still had you guessing up until the very end. The actors were fantastic and played their roles extremely well. If the show is running near you, please go and grab yourself some tickets!

From one event to another! Mum and I then spent a week down visiting my Aunt. Which meant we got to see little Archie again! (I will be sure to include all those photos of the pup towards the end – save the best till last!) But whilst we were down there, we took an evening trip to see The Drifters! I feel as though I don’t need to say too much about this, because you already know my thoughts 😂, but it was another amazing performance from the band as always! And I am already counting down the days to the next one (16 days from as I’m writing this!) We also took a trip to a garden centre or two and bought a few plants (not that we need anymore plants) and saw some small Christmas trees! 🎄And yes, that made me very excited for Christmas!! But it was so lovely spending time with them both, another week filled with laughter – looking forward to seeing you again soon!

After our mini break away, we spent the next week or two getting back into a routine and doing general day to day things. Which for me meant trying to build as much motivation as possible to keep writing! I captured snippets of a day in my life trying to write for a TikTok (which you can go and watch by clicking the logo at the top or bottom of this website!) You can slowly see the progress of my writing over the pictures 😂 I can proudly say that I have finished chapter four and I am now starting chapter five… but, we still have a long way to go!!

I put my DIY skills to the test once again when Mum and I helped my Aunt put down artificial grass in her garden 🪴. It’s a new skill I never thought I would learn, but what’s the harm in trying something new! A tip from a novice: Don’t use scissors to cut artificial grass, use a Stanley knife – it’s so much easier and less painful!! 😫😂 But here is the before and after:

We took a quick trip to a nearby farm that was selling lots of delicious goodies – so of course we had to go and have a look and pick up a few for ourselves. And whilst we were there, we treated ourselves to a little sweet treat. The whole place seemed so peaceful and relaxing – we’ll definitely be making a trip back there again! I know one person who is enjoying spring and the warmer weather coming in, and that’s Bertie. He’s loving the fact that we take him for two walks a day (one in the morning, one in the evening) and he loves the longer walks. Whilst we were taking him for a walk one day, I noticed this row of cherry blossom trees. They looked so vibrant and when the petals floated down in the wind just made it all the more beautiful, so I had to snap a picture! 📸🌸

And then came the event we had been counting down to… My Birthday! I have officially reached a quarter of a century – I’ve made it to 25! I had a really lovely day and was spoilt rotten by my family! Mum decorated and added some extra sparkle to my cake with a lovely cake topper, and we headed out in the afternoon with my Aunt for a spot of afternoon tea. It was delicious, and needless to say from looking at the amount we were giving, we were very full afterwards! 🧁

(Also, yes I have had a haircut – and very much kicking myself that I didn’t do this earlier!)

That same weekend, my friend Dylan came up to visit for a belated birthday dinner. We had also become inspired by how good the artificial grass turned out in my Aunt’s garden, that we decided to do the same with our own – especially as the majority of it seemed to be weeds which the lawn mower wouldn’t cut. So with the help of my friend, we managed to take up all the grass and we’ve laid some artificial down! We are just waiting for some sand in order to level out some of the dips in the ground and then the back garden will be complete – so stick around for next month’s blog post where I will be sure to include snippets of the finished product! For dinner we went to a rib place Mum and I know and love (which was where we went to celebrate my birthday last year!) and it did not disappoint! 😋 So here’s some snippets of our weekend:

As with all my posts, there’s always a puppy section! So here are some snippets of how Bertie has spent the last month (with a little helping paw from Archie) – Enjoy!

I thought I would end the post with an exciting update. I recently discovered and celebrated the fact that I have sold 50 BOOKS!!! 🤯🤩 To break it down, I have currently sold 30 copes of book one (‘Academy Assassination’) and 20 copies of book two (‘Roses are red, Murder is too’). I am beyond thrilled and proud of this achievement. 50 copies may not sound like a lot, but to think that there are that many copies of my books out there in the world, being read by both people I do and love and complete strangers is amazing to me. I saw that the last purchase of book two was made from Germany – WHAT?!

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who has supported me by buying a copy of my book (whether that be one or both) and have shared my work with other people. I am truly grateful for your love and support! So I had a little slice of cake (yes my birthday cake) and some blew out the candles (yes I bought candles) to celebrate this milestone – hopefully this is the first of many!! 🤞🏻

So if you haven’t already, you can order yourself a copies of my books on here! Available in the shop section of my website. You’ll receive a signed copy of the book, along with a handwritten thank you note from me and a free bookmark!

Comments Conversation: What’s been your highlight of April 2025?

Until next time!

See you soon!

TTFN – Love Hannah ❤️ x

Written: 30th April 2025.