Well. Despite the efforts of leap-day to destroy me completely, we have made it to the end of February. I thought January was extra-January this year, then February came along screaming HOLD MY BEER, to really test my resolve. 

I could succumb to the temptation to wallow in all the ways that this month has been, well, a bit crap, but I won’t. Nobody wants to read that, for a start. Suffice it to say that it’s been a month of two halves: it started very well – brilliantly, in fact – and then fell apart in the middle, and stayed that way. 

Despite that, I’ve found, and done, and visited some things I loved. It’s been a month of building on things I’m rediscovering, and rediscovering some more (more on that, and my long, long road out of burnout, in a future post): 

Life (St Martin-in-the-Fields, London). 

February kicked off with my first Friday-night trip to London in a very long time (and my first trip to Trafalgar Square in even longer). I was there to see Life, a one-weekend-only, light-and-sound projection display at St Martin-in-the-Fields which I very nearly missed completely. I’m glad I didn’t. 

It was mesmerising. It was thought provoking. It was weird, in places. But overall, it was beautiful – there’s something about the way the light projections and soundtracks played with the already-beautiful spaces (the church’s exterior, the crypt and, finally, the main sanctuary) that created something greater than the sum of its parts. 

If it hadn’t already finished (sorry), I’d absolutely recommend it. It’s a follow-on from a similar installation that happened in 2023, so I’m very much hoping it’ll be back next year. 

Emlyn: Suck it Up and Cry Yourself to Sleep (Oslo, Hackney)

Continuing February’s theme of “First-time-for-ages”, I went to an actual, real-life, gig. It’s been a really, really long time – but I picked a great show to re-enter the world of live music. 

There’s something about those sweaty, small gigs in tiny rooms above pubs and bars that I love. They’re different from the massive stadium shows where everything is a spectacle, and the mid-sized venues where there’s plenty of people just there ‘for the vibe’. When you’re one of – at most – a couple of hundred people, all there because they love the artist, love the music, there’s a special kind of intimacy to it. And it feels even more unique, even more special, when it’s the artist’s first ever headline show in Europe – which was the case here. 

Despite being a solid decade older than most of the crowd, it was an EXCELLENT evening. I’m a fan of Emlyn’s music anyway (not many things could persuade me to trek across to the other side of London on a Monday night in February, but she could), and the mix of feminine rage and raw emotion that she’s known for was an incredible thing to behold in person. The energy in the room was electric – I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room during What Happened to Maggie, I sobbed my way through 10, 20, 30, and screamed along to Temporary Funeral so hard it made my tummy hurt. 

If I’m truthful, I screamed along to everything – I took so many videos during the show, but it wasn’t until I was watching them back on my way home that I realised my vocal additions had ruined every single one of them. Ordinarily, I’d link to a little clip here – but absolutely nobody needs to hear that. 

Was it worth the covid that I caught at some point that night? I’m not sure, but probably, yes. 

A short month, this month, and not all that many things to write about. But here’s hoping that March will be better, for all of us. I’ve got some fun plans, at least…