View to sea from rock

Green Book, Sea Swimming, A Weekend Away and A Leavers Assembly – Little Loves

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Little Loves, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , 6 Comments on Green Book, Sea Swimming, A Weekend Away and A Leavers Assembly – Little Loves

If I could describe June in one word it would be this one: whirlwind. The last month of the academic year here literally flew by, with all sorts of end-of-term activities, and transition arrangements for my eldest moving up to High School after the summer break. It’s also been an emotional time, with a series of…

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Reading Lately – June 2019

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Books, Reading Lately, Uncategorized, , , Leave a Comment on Reading Lately – June 2019

June has been a unusual month for me in that I’ve probably spent more time watching TV and movies than I have on reading. What sort of sacrilege is this?  you may well ask book lovers – in my defence, there has been some very good TV on offer lately (more on this in my next instalment of Little Loves, next week). I’ve also…

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The Summer In Between

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Family, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, , 8 Comments on The Summer In Between

Over the last few days, I’ve found myself returning time and again to the same question: how on earth did we get to the point where our eldest son is just about to leave primary school? The second half of the academic year has literally flown by, and it seems only a blink since I wrote about our year of small goodbyes as…

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Sea View, Caithness, 2018

On Trying New Things and Embracing Your Inner Mermaid

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Health & Lifestyle, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , 4 Comments on On Trying New Things and Embracing Your Inner Mermaid

If you follow me on social media (I’m mostly on Instagram), you might have noticed that I’ve been trying out a potential new hobby this week – sea swimming. Spurred on by the enthusiasm of a friend – who’s been willingly flinging herself in the Pentland Firth for several months now – I was curious about the…

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Reading Lately – April and May 2019

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Books, Uncategorized, , , , , 2 Comments on Reading Lately – April and May 2019

* This post contains a gifted item. I didn’t do a reading round up last month, thanks to the time I spent enjoying a digital detox in April. That means I have a bumper load of books to get through this time, covering both April and May (and the tiniest little bit of June). People often…

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Castle of Mey 10K 2019 Medal

Running My First 10K Event at the Castle of Mey in Caithness

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Caithness, Health & Lifestyle, Scottish Highlands, Uncategorized, , , , , 6 Comments on Running My First 10K Event at the Castle of Mey in Caithness

At the weekend, I completed my first official 10K running event, at the Castle of Mey here in Caithness. I had decided to sign up to the event only a week before, in an eleventh-hour decision after our regular Saturday morning Parkrun stint. I had a feeling I might regret not entering, having convinced myself of my…

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Bluebells with sea in background, Caithness

Spring Blossom, A Mini-Break and Outlander Again – Little Loves

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Uncategorized12 Comments on Spring Blossom, A Mini-Break and Outlander Again – Little Loves

It seems like a while since I last wrote a Little Loves update (which of course it is, as in April I was enjoying the benefits of a digital detox). We’ve had a lovely start to Spring here, with some beautiful weather, a campervan trip to Beauly, and all the usual May offerings like cherry blossom and…

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Picture of Vitality Parkrun sign at Caithness Parkrun

Parkrun, Anxiety and Saturday Morning Rituals

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Health & Lifestyle, Uncategorized, , , , , , , 8 Comments on Parkrun, Anxiety and Saturday Morning Rituals

In the Autumn of 2018, I decided to try my first Parkrun. I’ll be honest though: I only planned to go the once. I had an upcoming stint on BBC Radio Scotland to discuss outdoor activities for families and I thought the free, 5km running event happening weekly at our local riverside might make for…

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Dog Friendly Places to Eat and Drink in Caithness

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Caithness, Dogs, North Coast 500, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, Travel, Uncategorized, , , , , 4 Comments on Dog Friendly Places to Eat and Drink in Caithness

Among my many passions in life, the love of dogs, family and a good cup of coffee rank highly. And as any dog owner knows of course, the first two of these are exactly the same thing. Add in the coffee (and perhaps a nice bit of lunch or dinner) and you have a wonderful kind of alchemy…

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A scene from Thurso, Caithness, in summer looking out to sea

Digital Discipline: A Modern Mental Health Necessity?

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Health & Lifestyle, Self Improvement, Social Media, Uncategorized, , , , , , 6 Comments on Digital Discipline: A Modern Mental Health Necessity?

Recently, I decided to take a month-long break from social media. This was partly prompted by books and articles exploring the benefits of ‘digital detoxing’ (like Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism) and partly due to reservations that had been rumbling around inside me about my use of social media platforms for a while. Although I wouldn’t call myself an…

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