I’ll pick up right where I left off: St Paddy’s weekend in Belfast. I spent the Irish holiday with my friends Eleri and Adam, and we engaged in activities such as: recapping our lore across five hours and three locations, sharing a Shamrock shake on a late-night drive and blasting Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, writing emotional music in Adam’s living room, and exploring town centre’s festivities in all green attire. It was good to see friends and have a reset.

Me and Adam jamming out
I’ve been a little tired lately, and I think one thing is to blame—I’ve been running a lot. I mean a lot. In the span of just over a week, I ran two separate races (SPAR 10k and the Bournemouth Bay 5k), completed two long runs of 18+ miles, and tried to complete my midweek workouts. Marathon training has been going well, but it has sucked the life out of me, making it more difficult to be fully present and energized at work and social events.
Despite that, it’s been a full couple of weeks. Workshops have carried on as normal, and I attended my final songwriting workshop. This was a feedback session where the students listened to everyone’s song and gave two things they liked and one thing that could be improved upon. Listening to everyone’s song, I was so blown away by these kids’ creativity and their willingness to try something new. Most of them had never written a song before, and each song captured the spirit and personalities of those who wrote it, which I see as a mark of success. Designing and teaching my own songwriting course was one of my primary goals during my time here, and I’m proud of myself for making it happen.
Beyond workshops, I’ve been carrying on the small tasks that make up the role of Charity Manager: ordering T-shirts, designing our fundraiser poster, compiling data from feedback sheets, scheduling future workshops, writing grant applications, so on and so forth. I love how flexible my job is—no two days are ever the same.

Lydia and me in the Oxford station
My free time has mostly been taken up by trips and social events, some planned and some spontaneous. My friend Lydia was passing through Oxford one Sunday, so I decided at the last minute (literally thirty minutes before the train departed) to spend my evening with her. Over the weekend I visited my friend Maddie, one of the charity’s student volunteers, in her hometown of Bristol. We walked in on a choir rehearsal in Bristol Cathedral, toured the city’s art (including two pieces by Banksy), and watched Puss in Boots 2. The next day I visited Salisbury to have lunch with a few friends from church, and I was so impressed by the city. I got there early to tour the lovely cathedral (home to 1 of 4 copies of the Magna Carta), stroll along the River Avon, and enjoy a pastry in the old market centre. Lastly, I played my last full-band show in Bournemouth!

Maddie and me in Bristol

With my friends Elisha and Isaac in Salisbury on Mother’s Day
Until next time,
Elisabeth