Introduction

Hello everyone, (cue the crickets and tumbleweed; oh, and hi mum), welcome to my new blog, ‘Aimee’s Angle’. On this platform, I will share my passions, life experiences, travels, adventures and random stories in the hopes that I’m not completely alone with the feelings or situations I’ve experienced. From the trials and tribulations of working out who I am and want to be, I’d like to share my experiences from love, loss, lockdown and anxiety to my travelling adventures and the inconceivable situations I somehow get myself into. For instance, has anyone else ever been bitten by a spider monkey whilst holidaying in Turkey? Anyone? That’s a story for another day… I promise to include photos!

Writing has always been somewhat of an outlet for me, particularly in times of stress or upset, and throughout lockdown, it has occurred to me that maybe I would’ve felt less alone or perhaps could have even tackled some of my problems more efficiently if I’d come across other people who had experienced similar situations (let’s face it, most of us have had ample time to overthink and come up with some crazy ideas lately). As I’ve gotten older and life has naturally dealt me with some more complicated, challenging and sometimes even painful hands, writing has also become somewhat therapeutic. If any of my stories and experiences were to give even one person an ounce of reassurance or comfort, or inspire them to open up to a person they can trust – ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’, as the saying goes, then throwing my own secret thoughts and feelings into the courtroom of the Internet for scrutiny is worth it.

I think most people can agree that the past year has been full of unprecedented challenges, obstacles, disappointments and even losses – holidays, jobs, and most tragically, loved ones. That’s why I believe now is the time to try something new, such as learning a new skill or starting up that hobby you’ve ‘never had time’ for. Personally, I have struggled on and off, particularly in lockdown 1 due to the complete disruption of my whole routine (along with the rest of the UK, and many other parts of the world), and also some other personal reasons which I will elaborate on in separate future posts. Now we’re in lockdown 54823915 (officially, lockdown 3.0), I have decided to embrace my fitness journey – thanks to having the social life of a hermit crab, I’m actually closer to my goal than I’ve ever been. I’ve also been experimenting with cooking healthy-ish new meals to give myself something to look forward to each day – because who doesn’t look forward to each meal time, especially if you know it’s scrumptious! If there’s any interest, perhaps I’ll share some of my healthy-ish but delicious recipes in future posts. (Another side note, I use the term ‘recipes’ loosely – I’m more of a free-pouring-random-ingredients-and-hoping-for-the-best kinda gal but it’s always worked out well so far – if it ain’t broken and all that…).

The main hobby I have picked up throughout the pandemic though has been hiking – and for any fellow Scots reading, more specifically “Munro-bagging”. My dad and I started venturing out for long walks in the local countryside areas during lockdown 1.0 because it was the only way I could see my family at the time, and it got us out in the lovely weather. Once the restrictions were eased, we started travelling further afield and bagged our first 7 Munros between September and December, as well as some Grahams and a Corbett or two. We fell more and more in love with the stunning views, nature and wildlife, enjoying to stop and photograph them. I actually believe I’ve become slightly addicted to the rush of accomplishment when reaching the summit – perhaps also because that means it’s time for food… (And perhaps the relief of reaching the car again at the bottom – I’m only human! Plus, the last few have been completed in our horrendously typical Scottish weather; you know, the rain that exfoliates your skin through your 8 layers and the gale force winds that chill your bone marrow).

As I said, why not try something new during these dreary winter days in lockdown. If the last year has taught us anything, it should be that life is precious and time ain’t stopping for anyone – including all of us who have decided we aren’t aging until we’ve completed the global pandemic level (I really do think we should be pleading with Australia for the cheat codes…). That’s why I decided that lockdown 3 would be the ideal time to start writing my blog as a means of documenting some of my adventures, venting about the lockdowns, sharing my bizarre stories and life lessons I’ve perhaps learned the prickly way. If anyone else can learn from my mistakes then that’s great (at least someone will have!).

I’d love to hear from anyone who reads this who wants to share any interesting stories, their lockdown experiences (particularly interested in all the lockdown hobbies others have picked up, ways in which you’ve coped or struggles you’ve faced/ overcome), answer any questions and take suggestions for content you’d like to see incorporated in my posts.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you very much for reading.

Sending lots of love, hope and laughter,

Aimee x

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