365 Days of Happy – Month 3

Another month gone by already! Here’s how I got in on month 3 of my Instagram challenge (number 29 on my 30 Before 30 list).

Day 63

I love photographing moody skies. Note the Dimona is wearing Wilhelm’s pyjamas, which don’t quite fit!

Day 64

Reward for a hard day’s toil.

Day 65 – Part 1

A brief lie-in with coffee and YouTube videos, including this one of Lee and me flying the Dimona (with a small camera mounted on the wing).

Day 65 – Part 2

I did some circuits in Wilhelm, trying to get back up to speed after work and the weather have prevented me doing any solo flying for ages. I really need to make the effort to fly him a lot more often, though the recent strong winds haven’t helped.

Day 66

To Oxford, for a successful client meeting followed by lunch with my sister in the gardens of my college, St John’s.

Day 67

A lovely day with my friend Emma, mostly spent wandering around Hidcote Gardens.

Day 68

More circuits in Wilhelm, trying to get used to the difference between grass and hard runways.

Day 69

It poured with rain all day, but I had a productive day working at the airfield with Lee, and the rain was starting to ease by the time we crossed the bridge back into Stratford.

Day 70

An absolutely splendid day at RAF Brize Norton doing the training required to add another rating onto my pilot’s licence! Read about it in full here.

Day 71

A solid day’s work, with the occasional brief break to wander into the sunny garden, where I took this picture of a beautiful dandelion clock.

Day 72

Really busy day with my second advanced driving lesson and lots of work to do, so I didn’t have time to take a picture. However, my mind was still preoccupied with my day at Brize, so I took the opportunity to post another photo from that splendid day!

Day 73

A productive day’s work at the airfield, with some spectacularly brooding skies! This pic looks a bit grainy when viewed at this size. It looked a lot better on the mobile Instagram app!

Day 74

Wedding open evenings = free Prosecco :)

Day 75

My entire life has been consumed by a gargantuan proofreading job, so I bought this to reward myself for a hard day’s work. As you can see, we have new dinner plates (these are the small side plates)!

Day 76

Another very long day’s work, which started at 7.30am and didn’t finish til gone 6pm. This was my reward. I know it’s the second boozy photo in a few days, but it was the only real highlight of the day! This Rioja was an Aldi bargain – just £5.39.

Day 77

After another long, hard day’s work, I enjoyed the therapeutic benefits of cooking delicious Italian food – washed down with some more Rioja! (This pic also shows the new dinner plates.)

Day 78

Another day working, but Lee and I had a little potter over Stratford in Wilhelm to finish up the day. Spot the funfair, and also the red balloon I inadvertently chopped in half on this pic!

Day 79

We went for a lovely bike ride down Stratford’s Greenway.

Day 80

A boring photo, but I’m afraid this is as exciting as my day got! It was delicious. NB: the reason it looks out of date is that it had been in the freezer!

Day 81

I’ve been working so damn hard recently, so after a productive morning I thought I’d better treat myself to a little time away from my desk before I spontaneously combusted. I went to the garden centre, the farm shop, and another farm where we get our eggs from. I stopped to photograph this gorgeous country scene on the way home.

Day 82

I made barbecue pulled pork. The house smelled amazing all day as it was cooking!

Day 83

I’ve been working really hard lately, so I treated myself to a little spree at M&S Food at the end of the working day. I was delighted to discover the addition of this new section in the cheese aisle. I resisted the temptation to buy something of everything and just bought some Port Salut – a childhood favourite.

Day 84

I’ve recently discovered asparagus. On the advice of Grandad, I baked it in olive oil for 15 mins and served with some balsamic vinegar and Parmesan for lunch – delicious!

Day 85

It was a nice flying day so we flew both aircraft down to Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire for AeroExpo. Note the Dimona’s new registration! She’s now called Gwendoline – Gwenn for short! (Try saying “Golf Whiskey Echo November November” on the radio though. It’s a bit of a tongue-twister!)

Day 86

De-stressing with this beautiful colouring book for adults.

Day 87

The first flower is out on the blackberry bush in the garden. Not a well-focused pic as it was so windy that the flower kept moving!

Day 88

I went into Stratford for a haircut and a trial of the hairstyle I’m having on my wedding day. The hairdresser was right next to this beautiful old building.

Day 89

It was lovely to meet my friends from Guide Dogs at the garden centre for coffee, and it was even warm enough to sit outside!

Day 90

A gorgeous day for aviating!

Day 91

We went to Chipping Campden for lunch in the sun – me in my new sun hat!

Day 92

We went to Throckmorton Airshow and enjoyed the Vulcan’s first display of her final flying season. Hear the incredible sound of her engines in my video here.

Day 93

Another lovely sunny day – alas spent working – and the roses in the garden are starting to bloom!

As always, you can follow me on Instagram here :)