Simone Reddington

Evenings are getting lighter, the days feel longer and it’s warm enough to go outside without a jacket on. Summer is here and after the year we’ve had, everyone is ready for it. I have just returned from a staycation holiday with friends, and I feel so rejuvenated after enjoying a slice of normality again. So without further ado, here are the things that I’ve particularly enjoyed in May.

• Black Hole– Last month saw the return of the BRIT awards, after the music awards evening was postponed by 3 months this year due to the pandemic. I used to love watching the TV coverage of BRITs when I was younger, as not only was it exciting to watch spectacular performances from the biggest artists in the planet, it was also fun to see which pop stars would get too drunk on free champagne and make a tit of themselves on telly. Over the last couple of years, however, I felt that that the ceremony has got a bit stale and predictable as it was the same artists who won the awards every year who were seemed more bothered about their image and record sales than making great music. This year was completely different, as everyone in the world has missed live music and dancing to music this year. We were treated to some fantastic performance from the world’s biggest artists such as The Weekend and Elton John, but I think my favourite performance of the night was from Griff, the critic’s choice for the Rising Star award, who sang her debut single Black Hole. I’ve listened to it non-stop ever since. It’s an unusual blend of a sad break-up ballad over a catchy dance beat that works perfectly with the clever lyrics. Griff really captures that melancholic feeling when things don’t work out the way you wanted them to with that special someone, and even when you think you’re over them after a certain amount of time, you still feel a bit empty.

Over-sized collar top- After getting my hair cut for the first time in 9 months, I had a browse on my local high street. This year I have really cut down on buying fast fashion, but I did treat myself to a couple of new pieces from New Look. I particularly love this blue gingham top I picked up, with an oversized collar detail. They’ve been in trend for a while now and I think they are so cute. It’s still available on the New Look website; a gorgeous little spring/summer top that is perfect for work, trips to the beach and for drinks at the pub. I took it on my holiday in Blackpool and it was perfect for covering up on my sunburned shoulders on the last couple of days.

Line of Duty– As the weather has been so nice recently, I haven’t had as much time to watch TV but one series I have enjoyed watching has been Line of Duty. I think I might be the last person in the country to watch it, as I had so many other programmes to watch when people recommended it to me, but I finally started watching it from the beginning on the weekend of the series 6 finale. I know that every man and his dog raves about it, but wow it really is that good. I’ve never seen a show so action-packed; every single episode has me on the edge of my seat. Fantastic stuff.