Blogs

New Year – New Memories to Make

It’s the beginning of a new year, and I’m full of enthusiasm and optimism for fun, frolics and future adventures. But I’m also feeling a tad pensive (not in a bad way) about how quickly this New Year came around, and how quickly last year flashed by. Am I really getting older!!? I certainly don’t feel it.

But time has a way of catching us unawares. It really does seem just like yesterday that we bought our first house together, bought our first old ‘jalopy’, welcomed our children in to the world. Where on earth did all those years go? I have to confess that it’s caught me a bit by surprise that I’m now considering retirement. I'm also shocked that I sound just like my mother when she said exactly the same thing 😲.

I remember seeing older people through the years, knowing that I was ages away from being ‘older’. And now here I am.

Of course the great advantage to all this, is that I’m entering a new season of life with my sons grown up, my beautiful daughters in law that I hadn’t yet known when I was younger. And then of course my completely gorgeous, delightful, perfect grandson, who I watch in awe as he grows 😍😍.

So if you haven’t reached this new season yet, let me just remind you that it creeps up on you faster than you can imagine.

And if one day we don’t remember, we need our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to remember for us. To put all the things that make us ‘us’ in a beautiful box with treasured photos of wonderful memories. This is how our memories live on with future generations.

So let 2024 be the year that you accomplish what you set out to do, don’t put things off, and don’t make excuses.

Live well. Enjoy today and every day. Be happy. Make memories.

Inspiration of the Day

There’s a poem by Mario de Andrade, which I love because of his philosophy on life. Recently I read an interpretation of this poem by the actor Anthony Hopkins, who just happens to be one of my favourite actors 😊

‘I know that I have less to live than I have lived.

I feel like a child who was given a box of chocolates. He enjoys eating it, and when he sees that there is not much left, he starts to eat them with a special taste.’

‘My soul is in a hurry. Too few chocolates left in the box … I’ll eat all the chocolates I have left, and they’ll taste better than the ones I already ate.’

What a wonderful way to look at how we should relish our lives as we grow and mature. He has little time for those who might make his life less happy, and wants to surround himself with those who ‘know how to touch the hearts of others’

While we’re all racing around in our busy lives, dashing to work and rushing home again; doing the weekly shop; picking up and dropping off the children at whatever club or class is this week’s favourite; busy, busy, busy – do we ever stop and take the time to consider what’s truly important? I don’t know, because I’m being ‘busy’ just like everyone else!

Maybe we just need to take the time to really appreciate what we have – to make sure we don’t waste any of the chocolates we have left, and to make sure we leave a little of ourselves for others to love and remember.

As Anthony Hopkins put it

‘This is what living is for…’

My Soul is in a Hurry by Mario de Andrade

https://ukagp.org.uk/my-soul-is-in-a-hurry/

Our Beautiful Garden Studio

Have you ever been to a professional photography studio? They can be quite diverse in their appearance, and here at Hoss we like to think we're a bit different, in the best possible way! 😍 We're not the big and glitzy type of studio where you'll be passed from pillar to post. Nor are we too rustic, tucked away in a converted garage. Instead, we believe we have found the perfect environment that combines relaxed comfort with professionalism.

Nestled at the bottom of our garden (I'm a keen gardener 😊), our studio offers the ideal blend of easy informality and a touch of class. As one of the leading photographers in the UK, we've equipped our studio with everything you'd expect. But it's so much more than just the equipment. It's about YOU, your unique experience, and the incredible memories we'll create together for you and your loved ones.

Step inside, and you'll feel immediately at ease. The inviting atmosphere puts you in the spotlight while ensuring you're comfortable and relaxed throughout your portrait session. We understand that capturing your essence requires not only technical expertise but also a genuine connection. That's why we prioritise building a rapport with you, so your true personality shines through in every photograph.

But don't just take our word for it! While you're here why don't you take a tour of our website and see for yourself what we have to offer. From family portraits to individual headshots, we provide a range of services tailored to your needs. You'll find stunning examples of our previous work, showcasing the beautiful moments we've had the honour of capturing.

The Joys of Family

So here I am approaching my next birthday – I’m at that age where I can reverse the numbers and it sounds much more attractive! And I’m reflecting on my lovely family – the only problem is the older they get, the more I have to admit the older I’m getting.

Hoss, my ever-supportive husband is also ageing at exactly the same rate as me (albeit he’s trailing behind me by six months). He’s creative, aspirational, a bit quirky – and dare I say increasingly forgetful. And I love him to bits 😍

Then there are the boys. Daniel, reserved, generous and fiercely loyal to those he loves; married to the lovely Niamh our stunning Irish daughter-law, who is kind and gentle and worries far too much about everything.

Oliver is a different kettle of fish – confident, gregarious and a bit of a madcap – very ‘out there’ (well that’s how it seems to his behind the times mother!). He’s about to marry the gorgeous Bea, who we are blessed to welcome in to our family. Where daughters in law are concerned, we’ve definitley hit the jackpot.

And so we come to Sebastian. Our totally gorgeous, delightful, clever, perfect grandson (cut me some slack here - I’m his grandmother, and I’m allowed…). And last but not least, Dylan. I never thought I was a ‘small dog’ person, but Oliver and Bea’s dog is a Chihuahua with the biggest personality – he’s adorable (I swear he thinks he’s a mountain rescue dog or something).

To use one of my Dad’s old phrases, they all live within 'spitting distance'. Or to put it more plainly - within child and dog minding distance. Or, “we were just passing, and thought we’d pop in for lunch” distance! My life seems to be one long round of child minding, nursery runs, dog minding, picking up, dropping off…

Anyway, that’s the clan. They’re my clan and I wouldn’t have them any other way. My only worry is that these days won’t last forever, and one day soon these will be just distant fond memories.

Disclaimer: I know my children will be mortified by this blog – but what are mother’s for if not to embarrass their offspring!

Remembering My Dad

It’s a year since my Dad died, and I think about him more often now than I did when he was still alive.

I have the time to sit and muse – to remember all the best times, rather than the frantic last few years of his life, when his ever increasing needs took up every spare minute of my time and thoughts.

From shopping, cooking and cleaning, to haring up and down the A1 to visit him in a 200 mile round trip – and that’s not to mention the extra journeys we made just to ‘fix’ his television remote (which wasn’t actually broken – just complicated!).

When Mum died some 13 years ago, Dad’s grief was the most heart rending grief I’ve ever witnessed. He ‘visited’ her each and every day at their special spot by Rutland Water, and sat for hours on her bench drinking coffee from a flask, and tending a little garden he’d made for her there. He had countless photographs of her pinned all around the house. He grieved, and remembered, and yearned for the days when they were together. Now, when I see all the photographs taken chronicling their life I can begin to get an idea of the love they had and the memories they made together.

They met on 10^th Augsut 1952 at the age of 15, when they were on holiday in Mablethorpe with their respective families. Coincidentally, they both kept diaries and had each recorded the day they met! And they had their photograph taken by the ever-present photographer on the prom.

Later, Dad’s job with the Foreign Office saw them travelling abroad together for 25 years, before they returned home to retire. And now we have the pleasure of sifting through boxes and boxes of photographs, seeing and enjoying memories of Mum and Dad as teenagers, of our family as we were growing up, and getting a glimpse of their adventures abroad. What an absolute privilege.

We live in a digital world now, but I fervently hope that our lives don’t remain locked in our mobile phones. What a terrible loss for future generations if we don’t give them boxes of gorgeous photographs to wallow in when we’re gone!

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