What I’ve Loved In August

It’s September! How did that happen so quickly? Is it just me or has this year felt like the fastest one yet? Before we know it there will be Christmas trees popping up and festive parties happening all over again. The past few months have been super busy, particularly August and as a result, I have so much content that I can’t wait to share with you. Despite the busyness, I didn’t want the month to go by without sharing a few things I’ve enjoyed and what I’ve loved in August.

Days Out

We were able to enjoy a few days out in August while the weather was nice. One of my favourite days was strawberry picking at Cairnie Fruit Farm in Cupar. I remember going strawberry picking with my Gran when I was a little girl. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do again for years.

We finally decided to give it a go and what a great day it was. There are lots of fun things to do at Cairnie for kids so my nephew had a great time. We went straight into the corn maze when we arrived, which was a lot of fun.

It wasn’t exactly wheelchair accessible, but we made it work. The determination not to get lost in the maze kept us going. It felt like being in a movie when the characters are lost, hiding or running through a cornfield. Thankfully there were no aliens or killers after us.

Strawberry picking was also not particularly wheelchair accessible, but again it worked and was great fun. The strawberries were placed on top of tables so it was easier to reach them when picking them. This was the perfect height for me to spot the biggest and juiciest strawberries.

Read more: Strawberry Picking In A Wheelchair | Cairnie Fruit Farm

TV and Movies

There hasn’t been a great deal of TV shows that we’ve watched this past month. Although the few we have watched have been really good though. The type that got us binge-watching the episodes every night until the series was completed. The two TV shows we enjoyed the most were both on Netflix, they were ‘Diagnosis’ and ‘I am a killer’.

Diagnosis is a seven-part documentary series that follows Dr Lisa Sanders and is based on her successful column for The New York Times Magazine. Each episode follows Dr Sanders (who inspired the hit show House) as she tries to help patients with very unique and sometimes mysterious illnesses find a diagnosis and cure by ‘crowdsourcing’ and using the knowledge of people all over the world.

It is a fascinating and incredibly interesting show exploring the many medical mysteries. We felt like detectives trying to figure it out and put the puzzle pieces together.

I Am a Killer is a ten-episode series following ten death row inmates convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in America. If you love true crime then this is one for you as it had us gripped each night. In each episode, the killers reveal what happened in the lead-up to their crime, what made them do it and how they feel about it now.

What we found watching each episode, was that there really are multiple sides to every story. A split-second decision changed these killers’ lives forever. Sometimes difficult to watch and often see why their childhood leads them down the path they went and consequently led them to death row.

Festivals

August was shaping up to be a brilliant month for live music. We were getting to see two of our favourite bands, The 1975 and Kings of Leon. It couldn’t get any better than that. If you are a regular reader, you will know how much we love these bands and how we have travelled around the UK to see them.

First up was The 1975 at Glasgow Summer Sessions. We have been to Glasgow Summer Sessions a few times over the years and really liked the accessibility last year. This year was so much better, from access to the festival grounds, the viewing platform position, accessible toilets and service on the platform itself. It was all brilliant.

The 1975 was outstanding as usual. They are honestly so good at performing live. Despite having just been in Tokoyo a few days earlier and coming straight from performing at the Leeds and Reading festival, Matt Healy (lead singer) said he was absolutely exhausted, but he still put on a full energetic show. It was so good. Blog post coming soon.

Then there were Kings of Leon in Liverpool at Fusion Festival. If you follow me on social media, then you will already know the major issues we had at this festival. Put simply, it was an utter shambles for disabled people. I wrote a full review of Fusion Festival Disabled Access & Wheelchair Accessibility Nightmare.

We also spoke about the Fusion Festival disaster in the Liverpool Echo: Disability blogger brands Fusion Festival ‘shambles’ for ‘lack of disabled access’.

I also covered the story for my monthly Falkirk Herald column: Fusion Festival facilities for disabled were a complete shambles!

I don’t want to go into much detail here as this post is supposed to be about the things I loved. So make sure you click the links above to read all about it.

However, it was difficult to directly focus on the performance, but what we did see and hear, Kings of Leon was superb as usual. They really are Kings. If you haven’t seen them live, what are you waiting for?

You might also enjoy

Sheffield Arena Wheelchair Access Review
The 1975 were Better than chocolate at The Hydro | Venue Access Review
M&S Bank Arena Liverpool Disabled Access Review
Utilita Arena Newcastle Disabled Access Review
Rocking and a ‘Rolling’ good time at BST Hyde Park 2017

Beauty Products

It’s no secret that I enjoy trying out new beauty products. One of the reasons I signed up for a subscription to TheVeganKind beauty box. I love finding new vegan and cruelty-free products.

One thing I’ve been experimenting with lately is shampoo. For such a long time, like so many, I’ve been consciously trying to reduce my usage of single-use plastic. So the logical next step was eliminating plastic shampoo bottles.

My big sister recommended a Lush packaging-free shampoo bar so I decided to give it a try. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would actually work on my hair, but I am loving the results. I just wish I had tried shampoo bars earlier.

The one I’m currently using is called ‘Seanik’ and it’s made from seaweed, sea salt and bar. It smells so good, adds shine and completely refreshes my hair.

Oh, and it lathers up amazingly well. I have a small reusable tin for the shampoo bar to sit in, which cost £2.50. It’s really handy for travelling and I took this away with me on my recent trip to Liverpool and Wales.

The shampoo bar costs £8 which does seem a bit pricey, but if it means no plastic waste, better for the environment and my hair then it’s a price I’m happy to pay.

Lush recommends that each shampoo bar will give you around 80-100 washes, which I think is pretty good. I’ve just made another Lush order for two different shampoo bars and a conditioner bar. Excited to try them.

Another new eco-friendly item I’ve been using is my bamboo cotton pads. These have been great for removing my make-up instead of cotton pads, which get binned after each use. With these reusable bamboo cotton pads once I’ve used them I pop them into the little mesh wash bag that came with them. When the bag is full I put it in the washing machine and they are good as new again. No more single-use waste. Thumbs up from me.

Music

I’m not 100% sure, although I think I have featured this artist before in a previous favourites post. She is so good I have to mention her again. It’s the amazing LÉON, a Swedish singer and songwriter born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden.

She is an incredible talent and listening to her music gives me all the feels and makes me want to dance. Haha. She was the soundtrack for our recent trip to Wales. I’m impatiently waiting for her to announce a UK tour. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

What did you love in August? Anything you’re looking forward to in September?

You May Also Enjoy

What I’ve Loved In March
What I’ve Loved In April
What I’ve Loved In May
What I’ve Loved In June
Slowing Down To Smell The Flowers

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