In a month where we said our final goodbyes to my Auntie and the Queen, it’s been hard to get on with life as ‘normal’.

Although it’s been a difficult month, it has gone by so quickly. It doesn’t seem like five minutes since the August Bank Holiday weekend, yet here we are in October.

There’s a chill in the air as Autumn begins to shine. 

Despite the sadness that September brought, there have been some good moments too. 

Here’s a look back at some of those moments. 

Kingston Carnival

At the beginning of the month, it was the return of the Kingston Carnival. I had never been before, but I was looking forward to going along. 

A couple of weeks before the carnival, I heard they were looking for volunteers. As I still don’t know many people in Kingston, I thought it might be fun to apply to volunteer.

So I got in touch with Kingston Race and Equality Council and signed up. 

On the day, I headed to the Guildhall to collect my volunteer t-shirt. I helped with signing people in before being introduced to the group who would be joining me in the Ancient Market Place once the parade began. Our role on the day was to keep an eye out for any problems and to answer any questions the general public might have.    

Being located in the Ancient Market Place, I could watch the carnival parade as it passed by and listen to the music on the main stage.

The sun came out, I met lovely people, and it was a fantastic day, all whilst giving something back to the local community. 

Dorset

The week leading up to the Queen’s funeral, we headed off to Dorset for our annual family trip away. We were one brother down this year as Sam couldn’t get the time off work, but I was buzzing to get away. 

We were staying in a caravan in West Bay, an area of Dorset I hadn’t had the opportunity to explore much before. 

I headed down separately to my family and arrived in West Bay in time for lunch. After Scampi and Chips on the pier, I headed off for a cliff-top walk before everyone else arrived.

We were super lucky with the weather while we were away, with sunshine and warm temperatures almost every day. On the only rainy day, we headed to Weymouth for a wet and windy walk before visiting the Tank Museum at Bovington. You can always rely on Weymouth for some fun activities, whatever the weather!

Whilst in Dorset, we also spent a day in Lyme Regis, which I would love to return to one day. As my brother is in a wheelchair, we are always a bit limited to where we can go, and as Lyme Regis is quite hilly, we had to stick to the promenade. But I would love to go back and explore the town beyond the seafront one day. It was all very Instagrammable!

It was lovely spending time with family and switching off the laptop for a few days. 

It was a great place to take photos and allowed me to get some more practice with my new zoom lens. 

Friday Street And The Shining Reflections Flotilla

It had been five months since I had been out walking with my Meetup group, and although I had been on the Friday Street walk before, I was excited to meet up with my walking friends again.

Friday Street is one of my favourite walks. Getting to the starting point is an adventure in itself. The roads are narrow and winding with tree roots sticking out at head height! Think Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, and you’re close to imagining the landscape!

It’s a lovely time of year to walk in the Surrey countryside, and it’s even more special when you can enjoy it with good people with similar interests.

Straight after the walk, I headed back to Kingston for a quick turnaround. That evening, the Shining Reflections Flotilla on The Thames was to play tribute to the Queen. I had missed the opportunity to visit Buckingham Palace and Westminster Hall during the official mourning period, and I felt the flotilla would be my opportunity to pay tribute to her majesty.

I abandoned my car at home and jumped on a train to central London. We ended up having our own mini adventure en route! Me and my boyfriend were travelling separately, although our paths merged before we reached Vauxhall, where we were hoping to catch the flotilla. We were both running late by the time we caught up with each other, so we drove alongside The Thames, trying to get ahead of the flotilla so I could at least jump out and take some photos!

Thankfully, we ended up ahead of the flotilla, and I managed to jump out of my boyfriend’s car at a set of traffic lights so I could go and take pictures while he parked up.

By the time he had parked and reached Vauxhall Bridge, the flotilla had finished…

It was a fun little adventure, even if the evening hadn’t gone quite to plan! And it was great to see the flotilla and pay my own little tribute to the Queen.

Catching Up With Old Friends

My social life is sometimes drier than a drought. At other times, I can barely keep up.

The last week has been super busy with lots of lovely catch-ups with people I haven’t seen for far too long. 

It was nice to reconnect with friends over brunches, walks in the woods, and dinner in the city. 

They ranged from a former colleague to a local friend to my roommate in India, who was visiting London from Paris for a few days.  

It’s been a full-on week, but I’m so grateful to have these amazing women in my life. 

Despite the circumstances, September was another busy month. How was September for you?