July’s Best Bits – Amazing!

If you have seen us on any social media platform, you know that we like to give thanks and praises, we like to give credit where credit is due and we also prefer to focus on positives rather than negatives. So this should come as no surprise that we are choosing to share some of our blessings for July.

Word of the Week – Amazing

One of the things we are most grateful for is to be able to join in with a linky with other bloggers. This gives us a chance to sum up our week in a word or phrase. Regardless of the challenges we face at times, we also prefer to give positives rather than mope, groan or complain. July has been no different. We have chosen this week to title our week ‘July’s best bits’ or ‘amazing’, or in fact both. Read on to see why we have summed the whole month of July in such a way and definitely tell us if you agree.

Amazing YouTube Growth – Amazing

We have had a YouTube channel for some years now and the growth on it has been relatively slow. Since December 2020 we decided to learn how to edit videos and thus revamp our YouTube channel to be able to do this. So we produced and edited a video every day of Christmas. We loved it so much, learned so much and so we decided to continue uploading videos because there was just so much more to learn in terms of editing. We have seen slow but steady growth in terms of subscribers since then. We post general lifestyle videos, home and family content, a series on cooking Jamaican foods and baking desserts from international cuisines, and also a series on Day-Date Wednesdays.

Come July 2021,  we had a brain wave and decided to do a series of interviews. We have a number of people we would want to interview. The first on the list was Miguel Smith from Colaz Smith TV. Well, we asked him and he kindly agreed to sit down with us and answer our questions. The interview was just what we had imagined it would be like. It was full of vibes, jokes, and fun.

Our kitchen was transformed into a proper studio complete with Joleisa personalised props. Man, it was so good! Well the great man himself promoted the video on the community tab of his YouTube channel and the response has been phenomenal! That one video has seen almost 5,000 views and our subscribers have grown by almost 150! For this growth, we are very grateful. We have since done a number of other interview-style videos and so our confidence with this is growing too.

A visit to Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Stratford Upon Avon – Amazing

‘To be or not to be, that is the question’.

‘Cowards die many times before their deaths’.

‘Et tu Brute’.

‘Beware the Ides of March’.

Those are some of the most famous quotes from the famous poet and playwright – Willian Shakespeare. He lived in Stratford-Upon-Avon in the UK. We are privileged to live not too far from the area which is a tourist area in the UK. So both of us took some time off to spend a few days in the area. It was not our first visit, but as the area has so many places of attraction we try each time we go to visit somewhere new.

One of the attractions there is the Butterfly Farm. We had not been before and so we took the opportunity to visit. If you are a nature lover, you would love the farm. It is a beautiful area which simulates a tropical rainforest which is just such a contrast to the weather in the UK. It was lovely. If you do get a chance to visit Stratford then this is certainly a recommendation from us.

Joleisa at Premier Inn in the town centre of Stratford Upon Avon

Whilst we were there, we also popped in to see Helen who is an amazing art and craft specialist, having done it for many years, most of which she spent as a teacher. She is a very good friend and she hosted us and got us doing glass work! Yup, you heard that right. We made candle holders, coasters and brooches all out of glass. We loved that we had a chance to learn new skills. She fed us well too and we particularly loved the fruit salad with some delectable mango sorbet. Yum!

Wednesday Day-Date – Amazing

We take time out on Wednesdays to go on a date. If we have errands to run, we do those first and then we sit down to enjoy a meal together. In July, we missed one date because it rained so much and we did not want to leave the comfort of home. However, all the others have been fantastic and have seen us doing really fun things including chasing elephants in Worcester. Our favourite meal so far has been from a Turkish restaurant called Anatolin Palace in Worcester. You must check them out if ever you visit Worcester and also check out all the other day dates so far.

Football Extravaganza on TV – Amazing

Generally speaking, we are not football fans, not strictly speaking. But if ever a country is playing a match against another country, we are football supporters then. Is there anyone else like that? Anyway, we had endless joy when European football was live on television. We watched all the matches, screamed with excitement or sunk to the sofa in dismay as the goals were scored, or missed. It was an awesome experience.

The excitement was up a notch when England made it to the finals! Oh, my word! There was joy and excitement as we really did think, the trophy was coming home. It didn’t, but oh well! There is always another time. The winning country deserved it and we applaud them as we are not sore losers.

Olympics – Amazing

We are loving the vibes of the Olympic games in July. Free entertainment from the comfort of the sofa. So glad it is on now. The world really deserves something that we can all look forward to and this is definitely it!

YouTube Live – Amazing

We have discovered that one way to grow your tribe on YouTube is to host lives on the channel. We have been doing this every chance we get and are really loving it. We enjoy spending time with the comrades who come on. You must come check us out sometimes too. We aim for round about 2:00 pm UK time.

We hope you have enjoyed July as much as we have and are able to reflect on things you are grateful for and can find positive ways to sum up your week. As always, thanks to Anne for allowing us to join in with the word of the week linky.

Love