new things for a new year

We've spent the past 2 weeks driving up and down the country seeing family and friends over Christmas and New Year... It's been good, and now we're both somewhat spent and looking forward to playing hermit for the rest of the month. (Apart from the Vann family Christmas next weekend...it never stops!) Despite being extremely grateful to see our own bed again, being able to simply get in a car and drive a few hours to see loved ones is still immensely satisfying and still feels somewhat novel.

Here's a few fun things that our trip included, aside from good time catching up with folk:
1. We took a day trip to London, as a Christmas gift from my parents, and spent the day bumbling around art galleries, coffee shops and cobbled streets and soaking up the vibe (and the rain) of London. As part of the day out we made a point to find Seizure, an art installation in a dilapidated council flat in Elephant & Castle into which the artist poured 70,000 litres of copper sulphate solution, creating an incredibly beautiful crystallized cave. Very blue. Very amazing. Very London.

2. We drove to a small village in North Devon and watched my very dear friend Josie get married to her life's love. The day was sunny and crisp and blue, and the bride didn't stop smiling once :)

3. On our way back, we went for an extremely bracing but beautiful walk along the beach at Woolacoombe, where Andy spent his childhood holidays. We shimmied down sand dunes, took pictures of our shadows and wrote dreams for a new year in the sand.

Here's to a year of new adventures...

Thanksgiving II

Last weekend we threw our second Thanksgiving feast for our northern friends, bringing some stateside tradition that we got love over to the UK. Thanksgiving is one holiday that I feel like I can really go in for - its all about sharing good food with family and friends, which in my books sounds like a pretty great combination. It feels weird and really good to be able to officially call something "our annual...(event)"; there's something about establishing traditions that makes you feel connected and rooted to a place and its people, which is something that I am slowly beginning to feel here.

It felt like an appropriate and timely celebration as well - near the end of what has been an often tough and bumpy year, I do feel so incredibly thankful for our lives here and the people in them. It was awesome to share a feast with the people that have seen us through our first year of transition to Manchester and in a small way return the favour!

We chowed our way through an enormous turkey (that had a very happy life!), homemade stuffing, candied yams, bacon-beans, mash, creamed corn, apple cabbage...and after a break which included a quiz (do you know how fast a wild turkey can fly?), we went on to a dessert of mostly pies: pecan, apple, cherry and of course the star - pumpkin pie! (Thanks to Sarah who smuggled a can through from the US last summer!).

It was a great day, and are still working our way through the leftovers...We're looking forward to carrying on the tradition every year, connecting past traditions with friends we meet and walk with on our journey...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pass It On

A brief blog entry for World Aids Day. Having spent over 3 years working with persons living with HIV in New York, it's great seeing my bro Dave doing HIV awareness work in a totally different context with Samaritan's Purse. Check out what they do, and if you are based in the UK, it is SO SO easy to make a huge difference in helping to raise a) awareness and b) funds for those living with HIV in the 3rd world. Seriously, watch how easy:

Step 1: Get out your mobile phone/iphone/crackberry/etc

Step 2: Text the word 'EPIDEMIC' to 60999.

Step 3: Hit 'send'.

That's it! The whole pound goes to AIDS work done in collaboration between Samaritan's Purse and local groups. I bet you anything you'll never even notice it on your bill this month. Heck, why not hit send a few more times? What are you waiting for?

Today reminds me of how much I learned during my time in NYC working with people whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS. For one, the enormous slap in the face it was to realise that this is NOT something that is solely a third/developing world issue. And secondly, just how much misinformation there is about HIV and AIDS, even in our ostensibly well-educated, well-developed society. I know at times I felt that there were never-ending mountains to climb in responding appropriately to the issue on a personal, local and global scale. We have a long way to go with education and justice around this issue...

Pass it on!

lull and laud

Both of us have been very much immersed in our work this past month; time feels like it is free-flowing and already Christmas seems but an arm's length away. I hate it when someone, as they did today, asks what we've been up to, and I end up scratching my head in wonder and with total lack of recall. Um...went to some lectures? Read books? Ate, slept?

That's okay I guess, some weeks are just like that. Andy's been buried in work and I've been buried in ploughing my way through the final year (eek!). There have been some fun different things to break up the routine, such as a Halloween reunion with some dear friends from university (above), where I went all-out as a lego person. I rocked second prize! I'm also still loving my weekly life drawing classes (above), relishing the total contrast to the rest of my social-work-theory- laden week.

Because I haven't been up to much excitement, I thought I'd take the opportunity to give a shout out about some people in my life who have been doing some more amazing things! Firstly, my friend Kenneth is officially my hero for running the New York marathon, in an incredible time. He trained for what seemed like forever, including during when we met up in Spain this summer, where he would get up early and run up the Sierra Nevadas in ungodly heat. Now that's dedication. Way to go, KP.

Secondly, my sweet friend Cory passed the bar and can now practice law in New York City! I met her at the beginning of her journey and let me tell you, the law degree is no picnic. I think she probably had some of her toughest times doing it it, but she did it and I'm totally proud of her and in awe. Finally, in the next 8 weeks, three separate friends: Bekah, Joanna and Josie will tie the knot and start the adventure of doing life with someone else - this too I believe deserves applause as one of the most crazy, brave, challenging and worthwhile things someone can choose to do in life.

Here's to knowing some incredible people...

cotton couple

On October 1st Andy and I celebrated out 2 year anniversary (by collapsing in a tired heap on the couch, clutching a whiskey glass each) and on reflection, it seems that some standard cliches hold true - on the one hand it feels as if we've always been doing life together, while on the other hand I can't believe two years has flown by so quickly.

Apparently year two of marriage is for cotton, and for anyone who knows me and my cold-natured self, I officially got THE BEST cotton gift I could possibly have wished for - an electric blanket!! I love love love it. Andy found it on ebay and knew a good thing when he saw it...No more climbing into a cold bed with ice cubes for toes, and getting up in the middle of the night to add towels and dressing gowns to the pile of blankets already on top of the 15 tog duvet on my bed (no word of a lie - that's how I roll). Two years in and my husband knows me :)

I won't get too deep and soppy cos I still haven't figured out how to prevent this from streaming into facebook (just come read the blog, KP!), but suffice to say that this year has given each of us some challenges and the more time that goes by, the more I come to understand the magic, mayhem and mystery that is involved with walking through life with another person. I was trying to think if marriage was meeting my expectations/assumptions so far and I have to say it really does exceed anything I imagined - for one, in some ways it's easier than I thought - I don't mean to say it's always smooth sailing, and I know we're only 2 years in, but I just love doing life with my best bud. I love knowing and being known, and realising how much more of that there is to come as we navigate life together.

Plus, if the electric blanket breaks, I can always clamp my cold feet on his for warmth. :) Here's to more adventures to come...

the final countdown

My second and final year of my Masters started this week - if last year flew by, I sense that this one will go just as quick, and I'm determined to savour it this time around. Looking back, the first year seemed like a blurry dream and I really want to feel like I've sunk my teeth into everything possible while I have the privileged (and globally, relatively rare) experience of higher education. I love learning and am looking forward to learning more about my chosen elective in mental health. We'll see how my 'takes one to know one' philosophy works out... :)

Also, today I met with an agency who have agreed to take me on for my second year practice placement, to start in January; they're called the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and they work with asylum seekers who have experienced torture, assisting with everything from clinical and legal documents needed for their asylum claim through to case work and long term counseling to help them deal with their torture experience. I'm REALLY excited about this placement - they do such vital work with a client group that the government offers virtually no assistance to. If you get a chance, have a look at their website. I'm really impressed with their ethos and holistic approach to helping people who have come through such horrors to navigate their way to healing and a new life.

In other news: the life drawing is going well - I'm still churning out fairly bizarre interpretations of limbs, but am enjoying every last scribbly minute of it. It also gives me a funny new way of seeing bodies - suddenly I'm grateful for that sagging boob or find myself longing that the model would only have a few more rolls of chub to work with!

Tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary! Perhaps I'll do a separate post on that..I also realised/remembered after my last post that this blog is somehow linked with facebook (no doubt something to do with Andy's clever computer hijinks), but I think I'll try to take it off if I can - that way hopefully only the people who really know me and want to hear about the random ins and out of life will read it and I won't clog up people's feed with my ramblings. So, in future if you want to read this find it at www.andyandmillay.com !

seasonal advice

I can't believe the summer is drawing to a close; I was so sure this one would stretch on forever...Regardless, I'm actually really looking forward to the challenge that this coming year will bring. I'll be diving into the final year of my Masters in Social Work, focusing on mental health and potentially getting my second placement with refugees and asylum seekers (watch this space).

Speaking of mental health, I'm currently trying to lay down some groundwork for my own mental health survival for the coming months. Last winter was long, and cold, and (deep breath) hard. There, I said it. I spent a lot of time over last winter and beyond feeling really rather cold a lot of the time (thanks Manchester), pretty tired and generally not on my A game. None of which is great for maintaining sanity during the final year of my MA, so I'm trying to put some things in place to keep my cool over the next year!

Here's my plan so far:
1. Actually get out of bed/off the couch and go to the gym. Exercising gives you energy. And endorphins. And better circulation, which will in turn hopefully help me combat the cold. Please feel free to pester me about this.
2. Keep going to the life drawing class I started last week. Two blissful hours of focusing intently on putting pencil to paper and forgetting absolutely everything else that happened that day/week/year. Nevermind that I end up with something resembling a missing evolutionary stage...it's escapism and that's what counts.
3. Good music, good books. I have some recommendations for you on both counts: Go take a listen to Susan Enan's brand spanking new album 'Plainsong'; I promise that you will not regret it. Beautiful, haunting, poetic, uplifting. Once you've done that, go read Ali Shaw's debut novel 'The Girl With Glass Feet'; he is an incredibly talented story-teller and this story is deeply creative and does a fantastic job of transporting you to another world - more great escapism.
4. Even if it means playing truant, take every available sunny day, cold or not, and get out into some scenery. Sun on face+green things= happy heart.
5. Drink good coffee, take deep breaths and hot baths, and never underestimate the power of a good nap.

Here's to a new season...

cold tents, warm hearts

We just got back from the Greenbelt Festival and have the feeling of well-earned exhaustion. It was my first Greenbelt experience and I wasn't disappointed - much, much mellower than my last big festival experience at Glastonbury, Greenbelt had a huge variety of stuff going on that really catered for any age and any walk of life. I drank lots of tea in hippified tea tents, saw some great comedy, music, engaging speakers, and ran into a great deal of old friends.

Particular highlights were sneakily getting the best seats in the house (up on the sound desk with Andy's mate) for Ockham's Razor, an 'aerial theatre' group who put on a heart-stopping and beautiful performance (pictured above). Other memorable shows were Foy Vance, Susan Enan, (buy her new album, you won't be disappointed) and an incredible performance by Duke Special, complete with 7-piece band, costumes, lights, wine, the works. Stunning.

I also got to meet several of Andy's old friend who I'd not yet crossed paths with - it's cool to continue to piece together the past of the person who you're sharing your present and future with. During one of these encounters I was alerted to the fact that some people actually read this blog (!), which I have to say I was vaguely surprised about...as a response to a direct request I shall endeavour to be little better at updating it. You better be reading this, John! :) Incidentally, even though this page has really just turned into my sporadic injections of events and tidbits, if you want to get a feel for some of the stuff that Andy has going on, check out his microcosm at indielab .

sun for the soul

We've recently returned from a much-needed break in Spain. At one point in the chaos that preceded the holiday I though it wasn't actually going to happen, but we made it off the island, Andy lagging half a week behind me, and enjoyed doing some serious relaxing in a remote mountain valley in the Sierra Nevadas. The region is called Las Alpujarras and was just so tranquil and beautiful - our little rustic cottage was in one of the tiny whitewash villages dotted throughout the mountains. With a balcony and rooftop with an incredible view, we spent our days reading, sleeping, hiking, and sampling our fair share of the local chorizo. I had the first three or four days as a solo retreat (long story) and to my surprise I lapped up every last peaceful, inert, sleepy minute of it.

Our good friends Sarah and KP happened to be staying a few hours away and so the following week, we invited them for a night in the mountains with us where we found the most incredible vegetarian restaurant in this teensy village, run by the immensely talented Frenchman Jean-Claude, who treated us single handedly to a gastronomically divine evening. The following day we all drove to Granada and stumbled around the breathtaking Alhambra palaces, slack-jawed, taking in the incredible Moorish designs and architecture.

The final few days we spent in Atequera, mainly sitting in the sunny town square reading papers and eating tapas, with the occasional random element thrown in like a blues festival and food poisoning. What holiday is complete without it? Though it feels like it was over all too soon, the sunshine and nature did some serious good for my soul and helped both of us let the dust settle on what's been a somewhat tough and draining few months. I tried to store up as much sunshine in my bones and in my soul to make in through the rest of this grayer Mancunian summer!

buddies, baldies and bagpipes

The past week our very good buds Sarah and KP were in town visiting us from Missouri as part of their European summer tour. We had loads of fun showing them around a few particularly 'English' sights, including small Yorkshire villages, the cobbled streets of Oxford, curry on the Manchester curry mile, and of course lots of real ale in some fine pubs.

By far the highlight was an impromptu meeting with an eclectic acoustic music group as we were enjoying a pint in the Peveril of the Peak in Manchester. Halfway through our first pint in strolled a bald, totally tattooed, fishnet-clad northerner brandishing a set of tartan bagpipes and with an equally random mix of musicians in tow. You really can't make this stuff up. Needless to say we hung around for a few more beers to enjoy the Irish music and generally soak in the randomness of it all. What this man does as a day job is anyone's guess...