Summertime in Brighton is great. It's so different to be living by the seaside when the weather is nice. Surprisingly we have had nearly a month of hot summer weather! We took advantage of the warm weather to spend lots of time outside either at the beach, at a music festival, and a weekend away in Cornwall.
Work life has been good but busy as of late. In my main role, as a domestic abuse caseworker, I'm settling in and have been here for about 4 months. Working as an outreach worker is really different than my previous roles and I have a lot to learn but I'm liking it a lot. As this role isn't full time (30 hours a week) I'm doing a few bits on the side. I'm working as a relief worker (someone they call to cover shifts if someone is sick or one leave) at the young person's homeless hostel and also at a young mothers homeless hostel. I've been getting more shifts lately which is positive and there is not a lot of pressure as I am a casual staff member :) I am also doing some small shifts at a community centre in Brighton but am still feeling out if I like it and want to stick with it or not. I've found it interesting to do a couple different roles rather than just one full time post and am enjoying the flexibility of it.
A big change for us over the past couple of months is that we moved house. It was kind of a stressful time for us because we weren't finding a place that was perfect for our needs in our price range and we had already given our notice to the flat we were living in. Although a bit nerve-racking with finding places and missing out of them for one reason or another... we eventually found a pretty perfect place for less than we were paying before. We're now living very centrally in a flat with a lot of character. We are still trying to get settled in and need to buy bits and pieces but are really liking the process of making it our own. It's a different, and loud, experience living in the centre of town but we are really liking being so close to everything and only a couple of blocks away from the beach!
We recently went to Cornwall, England for a long weekend of cycling, camping, tipis, and to attend our friends' beautiful wedding. It was our first time in Cornwall and we enjoyed being out in the countryside and going to the seaside. I'll write more about our trip later with more pics!
We also went to the Gentleman of the Road Stopover festival in Lewes, a few miles away from Brighton. It was a two day festival that Mumford and Sons organized. We had great weather and there was a really great atmosphere at the festival. We definitely enjoyed the music and all of the quirky bits that they had around.
Now I'm looking forward to Brighton Pride tomorrow. It's our first time being here for pride since we moved down! I'm going to be walking in the parade with a young peoples' LGBT organization I volunteer with and it will be a blast :) My first time walking in a pride parade! and we're also getting really excited about going to Wisconsin and NYC in a few weeks!
So there's our quick update but I really hope to be updating more regularly and sharing photos and creative things as well! don't be afraid to leave me a comment :)
love
Becky
