Oh it’s that time again!! Time for another Life Update blog!! This is probably the most mature I have ever felt writing one of these, but my life is also not at it’s maturest state. Weird huh? It is probably very different from my previous life update, but that’s what these are for. To see what progress is happening, what changes I’m going through… and to keep someone out there entertained.
An Unlucky Start
2023 is really throwing me some curve balls. Perhaps I need them? Perhaps they are tests? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m beginning to grow tired of not being able to cut a break. They say things come in three’s though, so maybe my unlucky streak is ending soon with any luck. This isn’t a “woe is me” moment either, as I’m literally passed the point of caring. So much has already happened this year, that my reaction to bad news now is just “cool”. So I’m alright, just having many obstacles thrown my way down every avenue of my life. To mention it, I’ve actually been really unwell this year too, which is not like me at all. I’ve always had a pretty good immune system and not really got sick very often… this year, I feel like I’ve had something wrong with me each month! Perhaps it’s an age thing. I even almost had my Motley Crue experience taken away from me, and I am still actually deeply hurt by that, there’s a lot of anger there, but luckily I am still able to go, and I cannot wait for that! But everything has just gone wrong this year so far, there hasn’t been a month of just nothing bad happening yet.
Apparently the number 23 is associated with change, progress and innovation… so I guess things are ‘happening for a reason’, but they are really tough. It could’ve been a little bit more spread out.
27th Birthday
I promised myself some time ago, that on my 27th Birthday I would visit the grave of Brian Jones in Cheltenham, the age Brian will be forever. It was an incredibly spiritual experience, and I am so glad I got to go. I laid a beautiful bunch of yellow flowers for him, and talked for a while, sat on his bench and wrote in the diary and left him a message too. I don’t want to talk too much about it personally because it is a very private subject to me, but it was a wonderful experience. I am actually going to be writing a blog talking about Brian’s death as it has always interested me, and it might interest some of you too.
Of course I did do a little more in Cheltenham that just visit a cemetery. I went to an escape room and tried to escape a Dalek but was unsuccessful, went bowling, had cocktails at The Alchemist, dinner at The Botanist, a few pints at Brewdog. It was lovely to be away from home in all honesty, breathe a different kind of air, see different people in different streets, different roads, take different transport and not really be so contactable. Cheltenham is actually a really lovely place, and it did in fact make me miss the neck of the woods I was born in, being a girl originally from Oxfordshire.
Shame I have been very unwell since my birthday though… damn those people who don’t wash their hands! Sanitise people! Lurgies are dangerous!
Should also probably mention that I did also get to see the legendary Suede for my birthday as well, and they were on FIRE! And I went for a few quiet drinks at a pub and Costa with my lovely friends Holly, Danielle and Sophie. It was a lovely birthday.
Booking Agency & Manager Work
So, by now you will have seen I did indeed have a booking agency roster, which I’ve added to my website so you can check out www.nozfest.org/booking-agency to have a look! I’m finding it difficult to get replies to emails, so if anyone out there reading this is interested in booking any of the bands on my roster, please do give me a shout. They are all such fantastic bands, and they’d be great on any bill and very professional. You’d be missing out by not checking some of them out.
Being a manager seems to be working a little bit more; so far I’ve been able to book in photo-shoots, discussions about possible endorsements and look into commission work also. Didn’t think I’d be doing any of that, but it seems I’m a bit of a dab hand at emails. It is something I want to concentrate harder on, so don’t lose faith in me, but like I said, I’ve had a heck of a lot of curve-balls thrown my way which have unfortunately held me back on achieving my full potential.
Feelings At The Moment
I feel like I just want to be free for a while. Free to have my own thoughts, spend time by myself, do things that I want to do. This year so far has brought a lot of obstacles and changes to my life, and I’m just at a point where I’d like to breathe for a bit and do things for myself. I basically need time to empty my brain and think clearly. I want to see people I haven’t seen for a long time, I want to go on adventures to towns I love, enjoy exploring, I wanna bake things, cook things, try and get back into blogging properly, making videos too, I want to clean and decorate, go for walks, go out for a drink and see some live music on a smaller scale again. I want to enjoy the season, I want to just find my feet again, you know. I don’t feel utterly lost… but I feel whatever used to make me really happy, just doesn’t have the same affect anymore, and I want to figure out why and also find out what does make me happy now. 27 year is a weird age you know!
Nozfest
I’ve started emailing and asking about 2024, which is a great start. 2024 would be Nozfest’s 5th year anniversary, so I really want to make it a special one.
I’m actually quite touchy about Nozfest this time round, it’s just something I don’t particularly share or speak about with people anymore, I used to love talking about it, and now I just want all my cards very close to my chest. I’m not trying to be rude or off, it’s just a subject that’s not something I want to share with people this year, even though I am running it… if that makes sense. Saying all that, ticket sales are doing very well, so if you haven’t got yours yet then don’t hang about for too long as we are almost down to our last 100 tickets!!
Admittedly, I do feel as if I have lost my confidence when it comes to gigs a little bit – I do totally know what I’m doing, but after things that have panned out since January I have had my confidence knocked. I know Nozzers are very loyal, and I am positive in the fact that I do have a really good festival, because it is on the smaller side it is like a family get together and that’s the vibe I want! I’m very proud I’ve been able to achieve that and so many people love it. I’ll always be proud of how far I’ve come, I’m 27 years old and I’ve been running this festival since I was 22. Feel like a very proud parent!
So YES, please do get those tickets if you’re thinking of coming because it’s really important to buy in advance… and we’re down to the last 100!!
Rats
My gosh, my love for those girls have quadrupled!! I had very severe tonsillitis for around 2 weeks immediately after my birthday, and I was as sick as a dog. It took me a long time to recover and when I say it was bad, I’m not exaggerating or being a baby about it… it was BAD. I wasn’t able to be a good Rat Mum as I was too unwell to get them out, play with them, even change their litter and hammock. I felt so bad, and I hated not being able to be the usual Mum I am for them. I could see in their little faces too that they knew something wasn’t right; luckily they haven’t punished me, they have just given me even more love. They must’ve known I was very poorly.
The day I finally felt strong enough to let them have some proper free roam, I opened their cage door and let them do as they wish for as long as they liked, and we just watched Bake Off whilst they got up to their old tricks… using me as a jumping post, showing off their flexibility trying to drink my tea, playing in my bed, exploring my room, sharing my sandwich. Honestly, I had SO much fun with them that night that it warmed my heart to a whole new level. I get told daily that my rats are gross, they’re not cute, any insult you can think of, I’ve been told it… so it’s nothing new when I hear people being rude about my girls; but, to have that time with them… I am the luckiest girl in the world to have their love. I don’t know what I’d do without them.
Life Changes
With all the health stuff that has also been going on in my life this year, and my weight gain… I’ve decided to make some life changes.
Of course losing weight is massively on the cards, I mean I didn’t expect to lose a stone in 2 weeks because of tonsillitis, and that really sucked, but at least it kicked started some weight loss.
Again, having tonsillitis as bad as I had it, it’s made me also want to avoid certain things and try some alternatives. When I say it was bad, I mean I had it for a month. There were points where I couldn’t breathe or swallow, I tried calling for help from doctors and got refused antibiotics and told to have an ice lolly instead. Some days I was in so much pain I was distressed, could barely walk or stand up, didn’t have much concept of what was going on around me and could barely sleep. It was tough! With that in mind it has made me pretty frightened to adventure out and about much, I am carrying sanitiser with me everywhere, will probably wear a mask if I venture very far away, I’m avoiding fizzy drinks, alcohol and chocolate. So, I have found CBD drinks. I’ve only tried Simplee and TRIP so far, but actually they are not so bad. They are very fresh drinks, it’s sparkling water so it is fizzy but the CBD is pretty good for tackling any inflammation, so therefore shouldn’t irritate my throat. Obviously it’s not a sugary fizzy so you’re not getting the same hit you get from a nice cold glass of cola, but it scratches an itch, and there’s very few calories which is a bonus. It’s supposed to be an alcohol alternative, but it’s more of a relaxant than anything so it’s great before bed time.
Coronation
I’m going to talk about this briefly, because I know what a touchy subject the Royal family is. Some people love them, some hate them.
I’m mentioning it because I’ve decided to do a small family get together for it, purely because I’m really getting into baking at the moment, it’s been a massive help whilst I’ve been unwell, and I’m eager to make some good homemade bakes and actually the coronation is a great excuse because not only is it a bank holiday so it gives me time, but also even if you’re not that fussed on watching it etc, I’ll have made some yummy food!
Despite anyone’s opinions, there should be a lot of fun things going on in people’s towns, so I don’t think people should stay at home being sour or boil over with opinions… just go and have a look around to see what your town is doing, have some fun, see friends or family, eat all the food, and enjoy all the music. Doesn’t mean you support the monarchy, at the end of the day, it’s still a bank holiday and we’re British… we love a bank holiday! So might as well enjoy it.
And that’s exactly what I’m going to do, I’m going to put on a spread of close friends and family, make some alcoholic cocktails, show off my choux pastry skills, maybe put on some music; that’s all I want to do, bake and be with my loved ones.
Hopefully you have enjoyed this Life Update, I feel like I’m getting more and more honest with everything this year! This is definitely an honest blog. Maybe as I’m getting old my perception is more realistic. Who knows!! But I hope you have enjoyed reading this, and I hope my nest life update I get to tell you about things I have done, rather than what I want to do 😉
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Jodie x ❤ x
JodieBowie 