What have you got to be proud about…
Read about what your fellow colleagues did to be proud of…and let’s give them a round of applause!
In the words of Heather Small and a song that usually resonates at any conference that needs its delegates to feel uplifted or the Olympians at the London 2012 games - What have YOU done today to make YOU feel PROUD?
Having done relatively not much I was finding it hard to find anything I had done that I had been PROUD of today.
Sometimes it is the achievements of others that make me feel equally uplifted and PROUD. Anyone who frequents Twitter will be aware of the amazing resource it is and continues to be. Offering advice, experience, ideas, views, help, comfort, empathy, sympathy and even a kick up the backside for some of us.
“It’s good to test yourself and develop your talents and ambitions as fully as you can and achieve greater success, but I think success is the feeling you get from a job well done, and the key thing is to do the work.”
Claire
Quit alcohol and took up yoga. During one week of isolation, I read an amazing book called ‘How to Quit Like a Woman’ by Holly Whitaker, which made me re-evaluate my relationship with alcohol and decided to remove it from my life :) So far, it's been a liberating change to my life: 114 days sober and enjoying it. It has been a little challenging at times (i.e., the Luminous summer party when the cocktails were flowing!) but so far, it's been worth it and an interesting journey.
Greg
1. Learned to bake delicious sourdough bread (I guess I'm not the only one with that one!). It all came together as it was lockdown, plus I absolutely love (nice) bread, so thought why not try? 2. Sold one of my photos to a San Francisco-based advertising agency, to be used to advertise the Adobe Photoshop smartphone app, through Behance, an Adobe-run creative online platform for sharing work (I was contacted by them, haven’t done anything myself apart from uploading work).
3. Became a British citizen. Brexit is kinda scary, so I applied, passed the test, paid a lot of money, and was granted the citizenship.
Richard
Reconnected with people. This was due to the country opening again at last. This allowed me to visit friends and family up north, and to start going into the office on a regular basis.
Suzanne
Being more resilient and adaptable: adapting my skillset in a different environment. I was working in a village store and café during COVID in 2020 – customer-facing and with managerial challenges from both sides due to global uncertainty and hence vulnerability.
Laura H
Lost nearly 20kg. Between December 2020 and today I have changed my lifestyle and mentality on myself and life – I’m at the gym most of my free time and cut out the junk (as much as I can). This came from reading Florence Given’s ‘Women Don’t Owe You Pretty’.
Daniel
Bought my first property by saving up :) I bought it after relocating home from the Channel Islands.
Justin
Got engaged :) While on a boat in Ibiza, watching the sunset over Es Vedrà.
Tracey
Redesigned our garden.
Mark
Learned a new drumming technique – I did this by practising.
Helen
I started boxing.
Halloween How-To
A how-to guide to keeping yourself busy over the spooky season!
Pick your own pumpkins
Here are some PYO farms and pumpkin patches surrounding London that are opening their gates to pumpkin pickers this year. Due to the rural nature of these farms, you're probably going to need a car to get to most of them – and wellies!
Here are some PYO farms and pumpkin patches surrounding London that are opening their gates to pumpkin pickers this year. Due to the rural nature of these farms, you're probably going to need a car to get to most of them – and wellies!
Pumpkin picking at Crockford Bridge Farm, Surrey
Photo: Crockford Bridge Farm
The first pumpkin patch at this Surrey farm opened more than 15 years ago, and it's getting increasingly popular. This year, the pumpkin field’s open to the public again on selected days. Head to the field pick your own pumpkin or take home a ready-picked one (lazy) throughout October, and if you're a huge fan of orange gourds, there's a whole pumpkin festival in the latter half of the month.
Crockford Bridge Farm, Weybridge Surrey KT15 2BU. Booking is essential for PYO, and tickets for the pumpkin festival will go on sale later this month.
Pumpkin picking at Four Winds Farm, Bidborough, Kent
Photo: Four Winds Farm
This small, family-fun farm near Tonbridge in Kent offers all the seasonal goodness you could want – Christmas trees at Christmas, lambing weekends in spring and, of course, pumpkin picking in October. They haven't announced their dates or tickets for this year yet, so keep a watch on their website for more info.
Pierson Agriculture at Four Winds Farm, Penshurst Road, Bidborough TN3 0LL. Advance booking required for pumpkin picking, every October.
Pick your own pumpkins at Secretts, Surrey
Photo: Secretts
30,000 pumpkins grown from 12,000 plants form the centrepiece of Pumpkin Week at this Surrey farm and farm shop.
Pumpkin picking runs this year from 23 till 30 October, when you can pick your own pumpkins from the field. There's also a pumpkin-centric and BBQ hot food menu, and a fancy-dress competition. The entry fee is £3.
Secretts, Hurst Farm, Chapel Lane, Milford, Surrey GUB 5HU. Advance booking required.
Pumpkin picking at Priory Farm, Redhill, Surrey
Photo: Priory Farm
Take a tractor ride out to Priory Farm's pumpkin field on selected dates in October and pluck your own gourd from the ground. Closer to Halloween, other events take place at the farm, including a spooky trail. Tickets for the tractor ride, and pumpkin picking, are £3.50 – and you'll need to book in advance.
Priory Farm, Sandy Lane, Redhill, Surrey RH1 4EJ.
PYO pumpkins at Foxes Farm, Basildon and Colchester, Essex
Photo: Foxes Farm
Foxes Farm has two pumpkin patches in Essex, located close to Basildon and Colchester. They started by growing them for wholesale, before deciding to let the public pick their own. Ready-picked pumpkins are available, but if you want to select your own, you'll need to book in advance.
Foxes Farm, Green Lane, Aldham, Colchester CO6 3PR and Watch House Farm, Wash Road, Basildon SS25 4ER. Advance booking required.
Pumpkin patch at Cammas Hall Farm, Hertfordshire
Photo: Cammas Hall
Cammas Hall is a pick your own farm with a steady stream of crops all summer. But when the soft fruits are over, it's pumpkin time. There are several varieties available to pick here, including the knobbly Knucklehead and the more unusual white Snowman pumpkin. Either harvest your own from the field or choose from the ready-picked pumpkin patch.
There are other Halloween activities, including a maize maze (£5), and refreshments and a farm shop are available on site.
Cammas Hall Farm, Needham Green, near Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire CM22 7JT. Advance booking required.
Carve the perfect pumpkin
1. Choose a large pumpkin and use a sharp, serrated knife to cut off the crown.
2. Using a large serving spoon, scoop out the seeds and fibres and discard them. Then remove some of the flesh.
3. With a marker pen, draw a simple outline of a face on the pumpkin. Use a small, serrated knife to cut out the eyes, nose, and mouth. Always cut away from you in case the knife slips.
4. Pop a tea light inside the pumpkin, light it and replace the crown.
Its apple season this October
Who doesn’t love an apple so it’s a good job there is a season dedicated to them…
Autumn is upon us and that means you'd better hurry to get blueberries and peaches; apples are already in full swing. Some crops continue until frost, like raspberries, blackberries, figs, corn, and tomatoes. In our modern-day supermarket, an apple is something that never disappears. No matter what time of year it is there will be apples. But does that mean there is still a season for apples?
Not all apples will always appear in the supermarkets – you typically will find well-known varieties like Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Gala in the stores all year round. But some varieties only appear for a short time and some only at a local orchard or farmers’ market.
We’re noticing this year that people are picking apples much earlier than usual. Is that because the fruit is ready much earlier, or are people getting anxious and picking too early? Here are some pointers we thought might be useful:
Apples are ripe at different times, depending on the variety. You get early, mid, and late varieties. Discovery is one of the earliest, usually picked in mid to late August. D’Arcy Spice is a late variety, at its best when picked in November and stored until after Christmas. Most apples are usually ready to pick in October.
Different varieties are ready to pick at different times
The time to harvest does vary from year to year, though. It depends on what the weather was like in spring, and how early the trees formed blossom and were pollinated. This year in the south of England, for example, apples do seem to be ready earlier than usual. We have already noticed in London that Discovery was ready in late July. The National Fruit Collection at Brogdale in Kent told us that “everything is ready two to three weeks early this year”.
Crapes Fruit Farm in Essex started picking Arthur Turner in August (normally ready in September), and plan to pick Ribson Pippin (normally late September/early October) by 14 September.
When to pick my apples?
You know when an apple is ready to pick when you cup it in your hand and give it a slight twist, and it comes off in your hand. If you need to give the fruit a yank, or it leaves its stalk behind, or even a bunch of leaves, it is not ready!
You can also look at the pips to check if the apple is ready – they should be brown if the fruit is ripe and will be green if unripe.
Fruit on the ground
Apple trees do shed some fruit early, particularly if they have a codling moth caterpillar or sawfly grub inside. So, the sight of apples on the ground does not in itself mean the apples on the tree are ready to pick.
Beating the competition
One reason people may be tempted to pick fruit early is to beat others to it. This is especially the case if you have a problem with parakeets, which can strip entire orchards. It is also sad that some people strip community orchards of all their fruit before they are ready. You can try putting up signs indicating when the fruit is likely to be ready; and you can ask people to wait until your community harvest day. Of course, if you pick apples before they are ripe, you may be able to eat them or cook with them, but they will not taste their best.
Apple days: The National Trust is hosting a mixture of apple days and festivals this month – here are just a couple of the upcoming events:
Devon: Celebrating the Harvest at Arlington Court, 20–21 October
Hampshire: Harvest Time at Mottisfont, 1–31 October
Too soon for Christmas – is it too early?
Get prepping because Santas is on his way!!!
Once Halloween is over and the nights are getting darker earlier, it means only one thing for Christmas lovers – it’s time to get into the festive spirit!
There are always contentious opinions over Christmas decorations. So, when’s the right time to put them up?
Traditionally, Christmas trees and decorations would go up on the first day of Advent, which is the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. But some people might wait until Christmas Eve, considering it to be bad luck to put them up any earlier or later.
Our research found nearly two-thirds of Brits think November is too early to put up Christmas decorations.
However, shops and TV adverts promote the festive season while we’re still enjoying summer, so it can be difficult to resist getting involved sooner than you'd planned. And many cities and towns across the UK have their official Christmas lights switch-on ceremonies in early November.
Tesco’s Christmas Report has revealed that 2.4 million people plan to have their tree and decorations up before December. If you’re a Christmas enthusiast, you’re not alone this year. A survey on behalf of John Lewis revealed that nearly 40% of customers plan to decorate areas around the house they haven’t decorated in before.
According to the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, you should buy a real tree from the beginning of December – if it’s well looked after, it should last more than four weeks.
Why Christmas is good for your mental health
Before the Grinches start coming for you, it’s worth learning that decking the halls early could be good for your mental health.
Psychologist Deborah Serani says that decorating your home for Christmas early could “create that neurological shift that can produce happiness”. She explains: “Christmas decorating will spike dopamine, a feelgood hormone.”
The past year or so has been difficult for everyone. Getting excited about Christmas and having something to look forward to gives people that positive push through these uncertain times.
Dr Elena Touroni, a consultant psychologist and co-founder of the Chelsea Psychology Clinic, says: “Christmas activities like decorating the house or the tree are happy (and often shared) experiences that provide a temporary break from the reality of what’s happening in the world right now.”
Avoid decorating mishaps
Be careful – if you've got as many as 60,000 LED bulbs to light up, you’ll soon be left in the dark if something goes wrong.
Jessica Willock, head of home insurance at Confused.com, says: "The party season brings with it an increased risk of accidents in the home, with decorations sometimes providing more than just a little extra sparkle.
"Remember to decorate with care to reduce chances of an accident. And don't overload electrical sockets when using Christmas fairy lights, as this could be a fire risk."
You can take out accidental damage insurance for buildings and/or your contents, which could prove to be well worth it if you have a Christmas decorations mishap.
When do Christmas decorations come down?
The date when you should take down your Christmas decorations is less controversial. According to tradition, your Christmas tree and decorations should be taken down by 6 January. This date is known as Twelfth Night or the Epiphany. Some people believe leaving it longer than this could cause bad luck.
National Cat Day 2021 - 29th October
In honour of National Cat Day (29th October), we’re taking time to pay tribute to our friendly felines friends, and what makes them so special!
Cats are awesome creatures and they’re sure to keep you laughing with their antics. Cuddling is also great – but not all cats are the cuddling type!
National Cat Day seeks to raise awareness about the thousands of cats in need of rescue. This day also encourages spaying and neutering cats to help control their population. National Cat Day was created by pet activist Colleen Paige in 2005. It is observed annually on 29 October.
“Time spent with cats is never wasted.” – Sigmund Freud
National Cat Day top events and things to do
Adopt a cat. There are local shelters in most counties that pick up strays or take in animals that have been given up or abandoned. Visit your local shelter to pick up a new companion.
Watch a movie about cats. Some of our favourites: The Aristocrats (1970), African Cats (2011), Garfield (2004) and Puss in Boots (2011).
Donate to one of many organisations that help animals in need. You can also donate blankets, pet food and toys to your local animal shelter.
Volunteer your time at your local animal rescue shelter. Most shelters operate with volunteers. There is always a need for help walking, feeding, playing with, and cleaning up after the animals.
Bake some homemade cat biscuits for your furry companion.
Meet the friendly felines from Luminous…
Sadie Boo - Suzanne
Age: 12
How long have you had them? Since 4 months old
Personality traits: A real madam! Has an imperious look but totally loving & adorable too. 😻
Naughtiest moment: When I’m away she will do a dirty protest in the cat feeder 🤦♀️ and not in her litter tray!! Never does it when I’m around, thankfully.
Misty - Joey
Age: 8
How long have you had them? 6 years
Personality traits: Rules the house!
Funniest moment: Soon after we’d adopted her, we saw a shape hurtle down past our living-room window into a bush – she’d just discovered she couldn’t stroll outside from the bedroom window!
Panther, Checkers and Tabitha - Laura H
Age: Panther is 13+, Checkers & Tabbs are 10 months old
How long have you had them? All rescued as kittens
Personality traits: All crazy but in their own mad ways – and absolute scavengers. Ony have photos of Panther and Tabbs as Checkers is a nijna cat when it comes to getting pictures.
Naughtiest moment: Bringing us dead birds and getting the whole house covered in feathers.
Poppy, Panta and Mawana - Tracey and Andy
“From left to right..poppy, panta and mawana”
Age: 4, 2, 3
How long have you had them: 2–4 years
Personality traits: Mawana is the hunter; Panta is the quiet one; Poppy is my mate.
Funniest moment: Chasing a mouse around the bedroom that was brought in as a gift.
Cheekiest moment: Seeing Mawana sleeping in my next-door neighbour’s window.
Naughtiest moment: Panta pinching the chicken when we weren’t watching!
Cutest moment: Seeing all three sleeping on the sofa together.
Dolly and Nolly - Jackie
Age: 24 and 2
How long have you had them? Both from kittens
Personality traits: Dolly: Elderly, deaf, bit of dementia. Nolly: Not very clever, very sweet, continually purrs.
Funniest moment: Dolly: Falling off my desk when I am on Zoom calls. Nolly: Being my best friend when I let her out of the cupboard, I had shut her in.
Cheekiest moment: Dolly: Milking the sympathy when she had to wear the cone of shame. Nolly: Sitting in the sink waiting for the tap to be turned on so she could have 'fresh' water.
Naughtiest moment: Nolly: Grabbing Dolly around the neck, frightening the poor old girl.
Cutest moment: Dolly: Purring away when she is having her ears tickled. Nolly: Purring whenever you speak to her.
Sookie - Jon R
Age: 10
How long have you had them? 10 years
Personality traits: Loves me, hates everyone else.
Naughtiest moment: At least an hour before my alarm is due to go off, she scratches the cupboard across the other side of the room (and out of reach) until I wake up.
Luminous picks for October
Come and find the teams recommendation for maybe your next read or binge.
Stuck for your next read, or the next tv show to binge or movie to watch with your dinner…
Here are some of the team’s picks of what they have enjoyed…
'Emotional Agility by Susan David
Recommended by Greg
What's it about?
“Essential reading” – Susan Cain, author of ‘Quiet’ Every day we speak around 16,000 words – but inside our minds, we create tens of thousands more. Thoughts such as ‘I’m not spending enough time with my children or ‘I’m not good enough to present my work’ can seem to be unshakable facts ...
'Zero to One' by Peter Thiel
Recommended by Daniel
What's it about?
‘Zero to One: Notes on Start-ups, or How to Build the Future is a 2014 book by the American entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel co-written with Blake Masters.
James Bond: No Time to Die
Recommended by Richard, Suzanne, Helen, Justin and Claire
What is it about?
James Bond is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica after leaving active service. However, his peace is short-lived as his old CIA friend, Felix Leiter, shows up and asks for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond on the trail of a mysterious villain who's armed with dangerous new technology.
The Guilty
Recommended by Sarah R and Greg
What is it about?
A troubled police detective demoted to 911 operator duty scrambles to save a distressed caller during a harrowing day of revelations – and reckonings.
Squid Game
Recommended by Justin & Greg
What is it about?
Hundreds of cash-strapped contestants accept an invitation to compete in children's games for a tempting prize, but the stakes are deadly.
Ridley Road
Recommended by Suzanne
What is it about?
‘Ridley Road’ is the story of the 62 Group, a collection of anti-fascists who stood up against the rising neo-Nazi movement in Britain after World War Two, based on Jo Bloom's book of the same name released in 2014. In the summer of 1962, 20-year-old Vivien Epstein, a Jewish hairdresser from Manchester, arrives in London. Alone in the world, she is looking for Jack Fox, a man she had a brief but intense love affair with some months before. Her search leads her into the fight against resurgent fascism in East London, where members of the Jewish community are taking to the streets in and around Ridley Road.
Luminous Monthly Menu
Stuck for dinner ideas? Look no further…
It is safe to say that we all love food, right?
We would also love to see any pictures of your dishes, so snap away and make sure you share them with us!
We are currently working on a Luminous Cookbook to raise money for Shelter from the Storm, so please keep the ideas coming as who knows, you might see it featured in the cookbook!
This month’s October inspired menu:
The Luminous Bookclub
Calling all book worms, there is still time to join us!
We’re looking at starting a book club!
Our aim is to read a book per month, and then come together to discuss that chosen book!
If you are interested, please email Laura H by 30th November so we can start collating ideas for the first book to read and book in the first official meeting!
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!