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Back in March 2020 when life looked very different and we were all confined to our homes, my husband came up with the idea of the ‘cleaning jar’. He’d written the names of each room of our house on little scraps of paper, along with three extras with ‘wildcard!’ scrawled on them. The pieces were folded up and put into a glass jar. Each day, or every couple of days, we would pull out a piece of paper at random and whatever it said on it was the room you had to clean.

The concept was to make cleaning our house into some kind of game, while also making sure we didn’t do too much cleaning in one day and leave ourselves with nothing to do for several days.

Yes, it was 2020. Yes, we were short on activities. No, it didn’t last long.

My problem is that I’m an ‘all or nothing’ kind of cleaner. I either spend an entire day cleaning everything, unable to focus on much else (except maybe an audiobook I’m listening to during the cleaning), or, I do nothing for weeks on end until I realise the filth we’re living in.

In the previous house we had a cleaner who came weekly and, I admit, it was a joy to come home from work to find everything sparkling and ready for the weekend. But that was back when I had a proper job!

We then moved and bought a complete wreck, which was barely worth bothering cleaning pre-renovation, spent over a year renovating, and then it was the pandemic. The intention had probably been to get a cleaner again, but that wasn’t possible during a global pandemic and we suddenly had a lot of time on our hands.

So, the cleaning jar was the answer. And it worked for a while. We would each clean a room, it wouldn’t take up the whole day and within a week or so the whole house had been cleaned and the cycle could begin again with all the slips of paper returned to the jar. I seem to recall that we went through phases of sticking to the cleaning jar but generally during 2020 and 2021 our house was quite clean.

Post-pandemic the schedule slipped but we never pursued the option of employing a cleaner again. Instead we would clean before visitors came or suddenly realise that the bathroom was a bit disgusting and just crack on.

For most of the past year, our house was up for sale (to no avail) and so we were in a perpetual cycle of tidying and cleaning for the sporadic viewings. One of the few good things about that year was the house being clean and tidy. Since September, it’s no longer for sale and we are enjoying living here. Needless to say there isn’t a lot of cleaning taking place.

And so, we agreed the weekend before last that the cleaning jar must be re-instated.

I think it’s for the best, but unfortunately the first slip of paper I pulled out was ‘upstairs bathroom’ which we both know is the worst. I did it while listening to American Fantasy by Emma Straub on audiobook which was pretty good escapism.

The problem for me is that cleaning is an insight into my personality. Even when I’m only cleaning one room and it shouldn’t take me longer than 45 minutes, I get sucked in. Hyperfocus kicks in and I’m hoovering out every little nook and cranny, polishing every bit of metal and getting annoyed at any imperfections. I can’t seem to give it a quick wipe and move on. And then, because I’ve devoted so much energy to cleaning one room, I’m tired and can’t be bothered to do anything else.

Since that weekend, I’ve thought about the cleaning jar, but I haven’t dipped my hand back into it. Neither has my husband, so far as I know.

Maybe we should get a cleaner.

I’m Hannah. I’m 41, childfree and live in London. I left teaching behind to pursue a more creative approach to work. I earn my living from interior design, writing and creating things I’m passionate about including the Creative Career Change podcast. Listen to the latest episode with here:

If you like what I’ve got to say, you can support my creative work by upgrading to a paid subscription. For £3.50 per month you will receive all of my newsletters as well as invitations to Create Ensemble online writing/creating sessions.

The next session takes place on Monday 9th November 19:00-20:00 (UK time) via Zoom. Paid subscribers will receive the Zoom link a few days before.

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Life is a bit hectic right now. Mostly all good things, which I will write about in more detail soon once I’ve come up for air. Last weekend we went away to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary and despite Storm Austen’s best efforts we had an excellent break. This coming weekend we’re heading across the Channel with my parents for a sojourn to France. This is all wonderful stuff but it does reduce my working hours a little. Turns out that’s the challenge of being self-employed!

This post is mainly a reminder that you’re all invited to Create Ensemble this afternoon at 3pm (UK time).

Usually this is a paid subscriber perk but I’ve opened today’s session to all, and it would be lovely to see you there. An hour on Zoom for some journaling, writing, drawing, reading, sewing or whatever you’re in need of. Use it as an hour to refill your creative cup in the middle of the week.

To join, click the link and click ‘register’. You will then be emailed the link to the Zoom meeting. https://luma.com/ul0btrvv

I’ll leave you with a few highlight photos of last weekend.

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Back in 2023, not long after I’d left my teaching job behind, launched my interior design business and was starting out here on Substack, I came across the wonderful Lucy Werner. As a newly initiated business owner, Lucy was the PR guru I didn’t know I needed. I became a member of her paid community almost immediately and haven’t looked back since.

Lucy has been through the mill - not least when she lost her entire Substack publication and rose like a phoenix from the ashes with a newer, better version over on Ghost.

You will have to listen to find out more!

Links and Mentions

• The Hype Newsletter: Lucy’s newsletter and community for self-employed creatives, founders, and freelancers who want to get seen and get paid, in a way that feels good. I absolutely love Lucy’s strategies, live sessions, directories, pitching guidance, real opportunities, and complete honesty. I highly recommend!

• Hype Yourself: A no-nonsense PR toolkit for small businesses - Lucy’s first book

• Brand Yourself: A no-nonsense brand toolkit for small businesses - Lucy’s second book which she co-wrote with her husband Hadrien Chatelet

• No-Nonsense PR by Lucy Werner

• Lucy Werner PR on Instagram

• Lucy Werner on LinkedIn

• Lucy Werner PR on Pinterest

(some of the links above are affiliate links which mean I will earn a small amount of commission if you purchase 🙏🏻)

A note from Hannah

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers.

I hope the conversations may inspire positive change and the pursuit of creativity and balance. I’ve created the resource that I wish had been available to me several years ago when I felt trapped by my job.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, researching, recording the conversation, editing and mixing. I even composed the intro and outro music myself.

Upgrade to paid: support future episodes

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

The past hour has been spent planning dates for Create Ensemble online sessions between now and the end of the year and I thought it an ideal opportunity to remind you that you are always invited.

I started Create Ensemble in January 2024 with three aims:

• To build a supportive community and get to know my subscribers better

• To carve out time for creating something; writing, sewing, drawing or something else fun that isn’t easy to make time for

• To encourage creativity in all its forms with no rules or judgement

It began as one monthly session on a Monday evening, which has now expanded to 2-3 sessions per month. These sessions are predominantly for paid subscribers, but from time to time I open them up to all.

To sign up for a session, click the registration link and click ‘One-click RSVP’. After that you will be emailed the video call link and sent reminders in the lead up to the session. And you can cancel at any time if you need to.

Upcoming dates & times:

• Wednesday 28th October 15:00-16:00* - open to all subscribers (register here)

• Monday 9th November 19:00-20:00* - paid subscribers

• Wednesday 18th November 15:00-16:00* - paid subscribers

• Monday 30th November 19:00-20:00* - paid subscribers

• Wednesday 9th December 15:00-16:00* - paid subscribers

• 🎄Monday 21st December 19:00-20:00* - open to all subscribers (register here)

*times are all UK

Scroll down to below the paywall for all registration links (paid subscribers).

The cost of your subscription (£3.50 per month or £30 per year) helps to cover the cost of my Zoom subscription and the time that goes into keeping these sessions running. Thank you to those who currently support this and perhaps you might consider upgrading so you can come along and get creative?

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To read more information about exactly how Create Ensemble works, click here:

Connection

Thinking back to my three aims when I first launched Create Ensemble, it’s perhaps the connection and community that I value the most. There’s a core group of people who regularly attend as well as new faces who appear - all are extremely welcome and it really is very friendly, so please don’t be nervous about coming along.

I love to find out what you’re working on and to have a little bit of chat. Most of the session is in silence while we’re getting on with our creative work, but I like knowing that when I look up at my screen there are others there working away

Reluctant as I am to mention the ‘C’ word just yet, I do want to draw your attention to the Create Ensemble session I’m hosting on Monday 21st December from 19:00-20:00 (UK time). This will be a festive session where Christmas and holiday themed creative projects are very much encouraged and you can come with a festive tipple if you’d like. This session is open to all subscribers (register here) and I’d love to see if we could make this the largest Create Ensemble session to date.

So please get the date in your diary!

That’s it for today. I’ll be back next week with a new podcast episode. Paid subscribers will find the registration links to all Create Ensemble sessions below, and please do consider upgrading so you can join all sessions too!

Hannah x

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It’s been a funny week. I came back from a wonderful holiday in Cornwall (albeit after a slightly rocky start) and then immediately got a nasty cold which put paid to my plans for diving straight back into work with renewed, post-holiday energy.

Instead, I answered a few urgent emails and then read books on the sofa while chained to a box of extra-soft tissues.

While I haven’t got through anywhere near the amount of work I was hoping to, I have read four physical books in the past two weeks which is a lot more than I usually manage.

I decided that this week’s post would take the form of some recent great things I’ve seen/bought/read/eaten and a few of the less great things that have been going on, because I’m all for balance and reality!

Books

Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger - I got a proof of this in my goody bag at the Women’s Prize Live in June. I’d read The Time Traveler’s Wife years ago when it came out and was worried I would need to re-read that first, but I didn’t need to. It requires concentration with all the changes in date and ages of the characters, but once I got into the rhythm I enjoyed the characters and the deeper sci-fi elements compared with the first book. The hardback is out tomorrow.

Whistler by Ann Patchett - I’d saved this hardback to read on holiday and I finished it in a couple of days. It’s a gently unfurling story about complex family relationships and I loved it. I think Ann Patchett has a gift for taking a story in a direction you would never had imagined.

Moveable Feasts by Chris Newens - My husband bought me this for my birthday and it’s a non-fiction book about food in Paris via each of the twenty arrondissements. I told him that reading it would make me want to go to Paris and it did exactly that. I’d imagined it would be about restaurants, but really it was about people and it was wonderful - really great writing and journalism.

John of John by Douglas Stuart - If I had to pick a favourite of everything I’ve read recently, this would be it. It tells the story of the members of a crofting family on the Isle of Harris. They are terrible communicators, repressed in many ways, some are God-Fearing, and all of them very complex. Yet, I found myself unable to stop thinking about them for days after I’d finished reading.

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig - I haven’t finished this but it’s on my desk and my go-to when I need a little break from work for a few minutes. It’s a series of short anecdotes and thoughts by the author and it’s perfect for a short burst of positive self-care.

TV

I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge TV watcher but we have just finished watching the newest (third) series of The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow and it was just so brilliant that I had to write about it. This series was written in response to the writer strikes in LA in 2023. Lisa Kudrow’s character, Valerie Cherish is cast in a new TV sitcom which it turns out is being written by AI. It’s funny, cringey and poignant.

Speaking of AI…

A few weeks back I went to a talk with Emma Gannon and Daisy Fancourt as part of the Chelsea Arts Festival. I’ve read both of their excellent books that they were there to discuss (A Creative Compass by Emma Gannon and Art Cure by Daisy Fancourt). I found myself feeling a little annoyed when the interviewer said “I have to ask about AI”.

Why do you have to ask about AI?

Yes it exists, but in that moment we were talking about two brilliant women and their wonderful books on the power of human creativity. There was no need to bring AI into it. It seems to me that it’s exactly what these huge AI tech companies want the narrative to be and yet I kind of think that if we largely ignore it and carry on doing and championing what we love creatively, it might diminish in these kinds of conversations? Basically I just don’t want to draw any attention to it.

I also got to catch up with two lovely subscribers afterwards for coffee and chats. Thanks and !

AI reared its head again when I went round to my next door neighbour’s house to pick up a parcel last weekend. “So do you use AI in your work?” he asked me in a conversation about how my interior design business was going. He was taken aback when I said no.

I went on to explain that the human connection, seeing a space with my own eyes and learning about the needs of the inhabitants are far more important to me. He told me that ChatGPT had chosen the colours of their kitchen-in-progress and it made feel a little sad that they were missing out on the joys of really engaging with colour and instead letting a robot do it.

New(ish) Stuff

This may be a little bit too much information but for the past six months, every time I wash my underwear I think “I really must buy some new pants” and then don’t. Until last week when I saw these by Stripe & Stare and ordered a pack. Who knew pants could be so joyful.

Last Autumn we went to an exhibition at the National Gallery which featured many fantastic neo-impressionist and pointillist paintings. I fell in love with Théo van Rysselberghe’s Coastal Scene and J bought me a print of it for Christmas. We needed to get it framed and mounted but put that off for many months because we thought we were moving house (see this post if you’d like to read about that saga). A couple of weeks ago I started looking for frames and because this is large, it became clear that it was going to be expensive if we took it to a framer and perhaps not quite right if we ordered something online.

Instead, we decided to look for a second hand frame and we were in luck when we went to our local tip shop where I bought two large frames for £3 each. One was the perfect size for the van Rysselberghe with a mount. They were both good quality, solid wood frames with glass rather than perspex. My plan was to paint it, not quite in a Seurat style, but in a bold colour that complemented the print.

I used a tester pot (of which I have hundreds) and painted the frame in a bold blue. I cleaned up the glass and ordered a mount. Now I just have to decide where to hang it.

I don’t wear much makeup these days but I was in the market for some light foundation that didn’t feel heavy. I was in Wimbledon on Thursday and I went into Elys - a large department store - and visited the Trinny London counter. The assistant was very helpful and we tried a few products before I settled on this skin perfector cream. It was exactly what I was looking for and gives my skin a little extra glow.

An Exhibition

While in Cornwall we visited the exhibition of Lithuanian-American artist Aleksandra Kasuba at the Tate St Ives and it was brilliant; a wonderful mix of art, architecture and design and a whole new take on the dwellings we live in and the materials they are made from. Sadly the exhibition finished on 4th October, but hopefully Aleksandra’s work will be popping up elsewhere.

After visiting the gallery we had a blustery walk around pretty St Ives, an excellent seafood lunch and then a trip to the Leach Pottery shop. (If you go to St Ives and like ceramics, it’s unmissable!)

We bought a pair of little coffee cups. I’d like to get an espresso machine at home now that we both work from home most of the time, and these cups are the perfect size. Tell me in the comments if you have any coffee machine recommendations.

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Good Lunches

Is there anything better than a good lunch? I’m not sure there is. I think I prefer eating out at lunchtime to dinner because there’s less expectation and it often feels more casual.

Since we’re not moving house anytime soon, we’ve decided to make an effort to go out for lunch on Friday lunchtimes when we’re both working at home. I’ve got a working list of local places to try and since starting this research I’ve realised that many establishments offer special lunch menus in the week. So far we’ve tried Iro Sushi which recently opened a new branch in Worcester Park and on Friday we had Thai food at Khao Kho in North Cheam. All walkable, tasty and excellent value. As we get deeper into this research, I will probably write more about it. The aim is to look deeper around our local area and notice the interesting things that are going on.

When we were in Cornwall last week, we ate quite a few pasties (it would be rude not to?) and really there’s no better feeling than eating a pasty while perched on a rock on a beautifully wild beach mid-way through a long coastal walk. Our favourites were from Gear Farm.

On Thursday I met up with a friend for lunch. We’re both self-employed and therefore have the freedom to enjoy a long lunch mid-week on occasion. It was great to catch up and once again there was a very good value mid-week set menu to be had. We ate at The Black Lamb in Wimbledon and I highly recommend. The white wine comes from their own vineyard - Nutbourne - and is delicious!

Not (yet) edited my podcast

There’s a new episode of the Creative Career Change podcast on its way, I just need to finish editing it. It’s a really fun episode with a guest I’d been hoping to interview for a while so I was very happy when she agreed. Now that I’ve told you there’s a new episode coming, I really do need to crack on and edit it.

In the meantime, here’s a previous episode from the archive that I really enjoyed recording with the amazing

I should add that everything I’ve mentioned and linked to here is something I have sought out myself and enjoyed. Nobody has paid me or offered me freebies to say any of this. There are a few affiliate links which simply means that if you were to click and buy something, I may get a few pennies back.

That’s it for today. Please do come and say hi in the comments!

If you’d like to join my online writing/creating session tomorrow evening, why not consider upgrading to a paid subscription? More Create Ensemble info and joining link for paid subscribers is here.

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Back when I was a teacher, holidays could be exactly that - a full break away from the stresses of work. The start of the long summer holiday was the best time to go away - the whole school had shut down for a few weeks (at least until A Level results came in) and nothing became urgent until at least mid-August, even in the high-pressure private school I worked in.

Yet, what I didn’t have then was any flexibility on when I could take my holidays and so our trips were always during school breaks and my husband’s annual leave was taken to work around that.

Fast-forward a few years and we now have complete freedom as to when we take our holidays. We don’t have children and my husband’s job is flexible in when he takes leave and he can work remotely too. This has enabled us to go to France for a month to combine work and leisure and allowed us to escape to Cornwall at the end of September as we did last week. It’s a revelation to my previously institutionalised self.

But as with anything, there is a trade-off. Whilst during the teaching years I could switch off completely from work when on holiday, this isn’t quite the case any more.

I now run my own business - Hannah Ashe Interior Design - and it’s just me in that business. It’s exactly how I like and want it to be, but it does mean that there is only one person to deal with whatever arises, whenever it arises. And that person is obviously me.

So how do you switch off and have a break but also keep things ticking along?

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I’m having a crazy busy week so this is very short and sweet.

Today (Wednesday) at 3pm UK time I’m hosting Create Ensemble on Zoom. It’s an hour of co-working/creating/writing - your choice!

It’s a calm 60 minutes to reset and do something you’ve been putting off. I really need that today as my work has gone a little wild this week and I need some time to sort my thoughts out!

Join me by registering here to get the meeting link:

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For a while I’d been thinking that I would go away by myself for a couple of days, but for some reason it took a long time to build up the courage to actually do it. I’m not sure why, as I’m quite happy to do things by myself but perhaps I was concerned by what other people’s reactions would be?

As September came into view, I knew I needed to mark the occasion of not going ‘back to school’ with something special. It had to be something I wouldn’t have been able to do if I was still teaching, even part-time. And so a 2-night break, Monday-Wednesday, by myself was booked.

Travel

I live in SW London and so I wanted to go somewhere I could get to fairly easily by train. I’d set my sights on a coastal town because I love the sea, and since my living by the sea dreams have been thwarted for the time being, I needed a fix.

Plenty of research was undertaken and I consulted the guru of solo travel - who recommended some lovely places, including a hotel in Eastbourne which is where I ended up. More on that shortly.

My train ticket cost £45.80 for an off-peak return from SW London with one change at Clapham Junction. The train was delayed by about 20 minutes which meant I could claim some of the fare back.

The delay was no problem for me as I’d planned to get to Eastbourne before the hotel check in time anyway. I arrived around 12:45 and headed straight for the seafront. I always do this whenever I’m near the sea. I want to see it and smell it before I do anything else, just to prove I’m here maybe.

I had a small carry-on size suitcase with me so didn’t want to venture too far from my hotel for lunch. I spotted Glass House which is right next to the beach and ordered a half pint of beer and a burger and watched the world go by. The chicken burger was tasty and came with far too many chips which I somehow managed to eat.

Where I stayed

Emma recommended Port Hotel for the sea views and she wasn’t wrong. I did explore a few other options in other seaside locations but this came out top for my priorities. Being as close to the sea as possible was important for this trip. But I also was looking for a hotel room I wanted to spend time in and with a space for writing that wasn’t just the bed.

I booked a Sea View Room. I was tempted by the sea view with a bath, but decided I couldn’t justify the extra spend for the bath. I think I made the right decision as my room was on the second floor and had a beautiful three-sided bay window with incredible views. I think (from my detective work) that the rooms with baths are on the floor above and don’t have bay windows. The views would still be great and the bath is next to a small window meaning you’d have a sea view from the bath. I would of course be willing to try it…next time? The hotel does also have studio apartments which I think are on the first floor. Those bay windows are even more spectacular so I’d be interested to try one of those rooms too!

But, back to my room (no.10)! The decor was spot on - plaster pink was paired with almost black woodwork - windows and door frames. If I had to guess the paint colours I’d say Setting Plaster and Templeton Pink (both Farrow & Ball) on the walls and Lamp Black by Little Greene Paint Company on the windows and door frames. The bed was huge and wonderfully squishy with gorgeous pillows.

The curtains and roman blinds were beautifully bespoke for the windows and made from a favourite fabric of mine - a pink and beige stripe. I’m pretty sure the fabric was Ian Mankin Candy Stripe in Pink. It’s a very subtle stripe and I love that this hotel has not gone down the clichéd seaside blues and greens route. It’s very, very tasteful.

In the adjoining bathroom with a clever pocket-sliding door, the shower was a powerful, hot rain shower with a hand held attachment too and there were plentiful Faith in Nature products for hair and body which I like. The large sink was made from dusky pink-coloured concrete (Kast, I think).

A mini-fridge in a hotel room is a must for me and I don’t mean an expensive mini-bar. Here I had a small fridge which came with four complimentary bottles of water which I appreciated as the tap water always seemed to be very warm. At reception they gave me a little bottle of milk (for my tea) and there was room in the fridge for some snacks and a bottle of wine I’d picked up in M&S. I wasn’t planning to go out much in the evening on this trip, so I was happy to have somewhere to keep my wine cold!

There was also a kettle and a Nespresso coffee machine. I’m a tea drinker first thing in the morning but I was glad I’d brought a couple of tea bags with me because the only tea here was Earl Grey (which I like, but only in the afternoon) and camomile. I’m sure I could have asked for different bags if I hadn’t brought them as the reception staff are nothing but delightful every time I passed through. The mugs were a decent size and pretty which I also appreciated.

The absolute joy of this hotel room was the sea view. It was just delightful.

I left the windows open a little overnight because I wanted to hear the waves crashing nearby. This did mean I also heard the sound of traffic, but it was worth it for the sounds of the sea. As soon as I woke up, I made a cup of tea and opened the blind so I could see the sea from my bed. Perfection.

Food and drink

So where did I eat? Well, eating is one of my favourite pastimes, so I had done a reasonable amount of research prior to this trip. Quite a few very nice looking Eastbourne restaurants were not open on Monday or Tuesday evenings which limited my options. So, I decided to eat breakfast and lunch out and then have a ‘picky bits’ tea of nice things from M&S (a 15 minute walk away).

On Monday lunchtime I ate at Glass House which I mentioned earlier and I also stopped by there on Tuesday evening for a beer and a plate of calamari as I’d gone for a walk and it was a particularly pleasant evening.

Dinner was a few things from M&S which I’d stored in the handy mini-fridge. The little bay window table was perfect for this.

For breakfast on Tuesday, I ran along the promenade to Meads (just outside of Eastbourne) and ate a delicious avocado toast with poached eggs at Ren’s Kitchen. It was very rainy when I arrived but they didn’t seem to mind my sogginess at all and the flat white went down a treat.

For lunch on Tuesday I ducked into Café 32 to escape the rain (after I’d had to buy a new rain coat from TK Maxx as I was woefully underprepared for the weather). The welcome was warm and I ordered the soup of the day (carrot and satay sauce) and a warm buttered roll with a pot of tea and it was truly delicious.

On Wednesday morning I headed to Foundry Coffee on Grove Road. I tried to order the Green Eggs but they didn’t have that so instead I ordered the ‘Foundry Eggs’. It was tasty though I found the brie butter sauce a step too far for breakfast! The coffee was excellent.

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Culture

Eastbourne feels like a place with many faces. Yes, there’s a very standard shopping centre and a lot of open-topped buses filled with pensioners. But, there is also some fabulous art to be seen.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to Towner Eastbourne, a purpose built gallery overlooking the lawn tennis club. I went with no pre-conceived ideas of what it would be like and left in awe of the art I’d just had the privilege of experiencing.

The main exhibition (The Ravilious Collection) is free of charge. I was planning to go there too but I paid for the temporary exhibition Comrades in Art: Artists Against Fascism which cost me £5.50 with my Art Pass. I had no idea what to expect and I was blown away and was in there for way longer than I imagined. This is on until 18th October 2026 and if you have the opportunity to go, please do. There were many inspiring female artists featured and my favourite was Pearl Binder. I urge you to look up her work.

I’m certain that there is much more culture to be had in Eastbourne than I had time to consume. I walked through the bandstand several times and thought what an impressive setting for a performance. It reminded me of the kinds of venues I would have been excited about my students performing in when I was a music teacher and organised international tours. We dreamed of venues like this!

The Verdict

Would I return to Eastbourne? Absolutely.

I had an incredibly relaxing stay, with the sea as the backdrop to everything I did, which was exactly how I wanted it to be. I got lots of writing done and spent a lot of time reading too.

In my head, Eastbourne has a reputation as a place people retire to, but it made me think that retired people are very lucky to live in a place like this!

I loved my room overlooking the sea and I don’t think I would be happy if I couldn’t see the sea when staying in Eastbourne in the future. I’ve spoiled myself.

Have you ever taken a solo trip? Where would you recommend for my next trip?

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I’m Hannah. I’m 41, childfree and live in London. I left teaching behind to pursue a more creative approach to work. I earn my living from interior design, writing and creating things I’m passionate about including the Creative Career Change podcast. Listen to the latest episode with Jennie Godfrey here.

If you like what I’ve got to say, you can support my creative work by upgrading to a paid subscription. For £3.50 per month you will receive all of my newsletters as well as invitations to Create Ensemble online writing/creating sessions.

The next session takes place on Wednesday 23rd September 15:00-16:00 (UK time) via Zoom. Click here for more info and to register.

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Just over three years ago I quit.

I was 38, and I’d been a secondary school teacher for 16 years. I was very good at it - by age 29 I was at the helm of a 20-person music department in a large London independent school. I was earning a salary of £75k and on paper I had everything I wanted: a beautiful house, nice holidays, a decent car…

Except I was unhappy.

My home life was great, but every single morning that I had to go to work I would wake up with a sinking feeling in my stomach. The cycle must continue - up at the crack of dawn, leave the house before 7am, sit in traffic for 45 minutes, arrive at work and wade my way through whatever today’s challenges were.

The school I worked in was nice. The kids were great, my colleagues lovely, but as anyone who has ever managed a large team will know, there were always challenges.

I was (am?) a musician. I studied saxophone and composition at university and music college, and for a few years after graduating from my master’s degree I taught part-time while pursuing freelance work as a composer. It was hard, but that was when I remember feeling most creatively alive.

And then over the years I got more and more sucked into teaching. The money was always tempting and I was good at my job so I continued to be asked to take on more and more, which was flattering.

Gradually my hours increased to full-time and before I knew it I wasn’t composing any more.

Then the opportunity to lead a department arrived and I took it, completely leaving behind the creative dreams I may have once had for myself. Blinded by money and status, I was off.

Nine years passed in that role. In the beginning I worked all the hours, was extremely focused and was always trying my best to make my department a huge success. I wanted to please everyone.

Then the pandemic came and seeds of doubt started to creep into my mind. Teaching from home didn’t work particularly well, but all the admin and non-teaching tasks I spent 60% of my time doing could be done from home and I started to realise that I loved my home (we had renovated it pre-pandemic and it had been a labour of love) and I wanted to spend more time there.

Lockdowns ended and we returned to school and I buried the feeling, until every so often the twist in the pit of my stomach would return and I would look for other jobs. Maybe I could do something education adjacent or in the charity sector where I worked from home some of the time? I’d look, but nothing would quite seem right.

And then in January of 2023 I returned to work after the Christmas break, doing the daily commute each way in the dark and thinking to myself is this it?

I’d come home and mope around, moan about how annoying everything was at work (and I mean all the normal things I had to do) and burst into tears, bewildering my husband.

This went on for a while.

I didn’t know it at the time but this was, I think, the beginnings of burnout. I was constantly tired no matter how much sleep I had, I was cynical and negative about everything relating to my work and I didn’t really care anymore. Not ideal as a teacher. I avoided work social events and was gradually becoming more isolated, not knowing new staff who had joined the school because I didn’t make the effort.

Around the same time I had embarked upon a part-time, online interior design course. I’d long been interested in this and the most recent house renovation had sparked something. This too had been put off for some while as I went back and forth in my mind over whether it was ridiculous to do a course like this when I was a music teacher. What would people think?

One dark January day I paid the money and signed up for that course and it was the best thing I ever did.

At the time I thought it would just be a hobby and something to distract me from my feelings about work, but quickly I realised that this was the catalyst I’d been looking for.

Starting that course did give me a focus, but it also started to show me a new path. Could I really become an interior designer?

Several people had asked “have you thought about doing this professionally?” after seeing our newly renovated home. I’d started an Instagram account in 2017 to document the renovation of our ‘edwardianhouserenovation’ (that was the original name of the account) and had been surprised by the popularity of it. These things gave me confidence.

One evening after getting home and bursting into tears, I told my husband I needed to leave my job. Ok, he said, let’s think about some ways you could do that. So we sat down and thought about the finances.

Finances were the thing that scared me the most when contemplating leaving my job. I was used to earning a good salary and there was no way I was going to be able to match that, at least not immediately, if I left education.

I’m fortunate that my husband has a stable job and so there was some buffer room and a huge amount of emotional support coming from him, which I am forever grateful for.

The plan we came up with was for me to look for a part-time teaching job in a different school, ideally 2-3 days per week so that I could take some time to figure out what I was going to do. It would also give me time to get on with my course and perhaps gradually start to do some paid interior design work. I could pick up some GCSE and A Level tutoring and piano teaching to supplement my income too.

I took a risk and handed in my notice before securing a part-time teaching job. I had to give a full term of notice and I didn’t want to be stuck for any longer than I needed to be, so in late March 2023 I resigned. My risk paid off and a few options for part-time jobs appeared in May. I was offered two (on the same day…) but took the one nearer to my house because it meant I could walk there.

For just over two years I taught for 3 days per week while I completed my course and set up Hannah Ashe Interior Design.

Teaching part-time was much better because I had separation and two days every week that were my own. I used them to explore many different things including writing here and going on creative retreats, alongside interior design work.

In early 2025, I started to imagine what it would feel like to teach a little less. The school I was working in was looking for ways to save money and so I approached my boss and asked if I might be able to reduce my hours to 2 days per week from September. I went back and forth over this in my mind - could I really afford the pay cut? I still wasn’t making very much money from interior design at this point and it felt risky. Yet, I knew I was becoming stagnated and not hugely enjoying the teaching. Once again I was feeling paralysed by finances. The reduction in hours was agreed in principle, and I just needed to say when I wanted to do it.

And then in July 2025, my husband and I went on holiday to Cornwall. We were swimming in the Jubilee Pool in Penzance on a drizzly day when we started talking about the possibility of selling our house and moving somewhere nearer to the coast. We both loved the sea and perhaps we no longer needed to be rooted to the SW London area we’d lived in for the past 11 years. I could (hopefully) get a part-time teaching job somewhere else and he just needed to be able to get to his London office 1-2 days per week.

We started looking at locations that fit the criteria. We wanted to reduce our mortgage in this move and allow us a bit more freedom. We settled on Kent - ideally Faversham, but possibly Whitstable. We visited several times and viewed houses. We were excited and decided to put our house on the market. Perhaps it was time to leave behind our Edwardian House Renovation and take on something new?

But, once again, I had a teaching job which required giving a term’s notice to leave. I didn’t really want to be commuting from Kent if the move overlapped and so I decided to take another risk and quit again.

My boss was shocked. We’d talked about me reducing my hours but he really wasn’t expecting me to just go. But to me, it felt right.

I’d worked through the various possible outcomes - the worst case scenario being that we wouldn’t find a buyer for our house and I wouldn’t have a teaching job from January. I would either have to make a full-time go of interior design or look for a different teaching job/take supply work.

Our house went on the market in August and the agent was enthusiastic about it selling. We were too - after all we had lovingly renovated it and knew it was a great place to live.

Viewings happened. No offers came in.

We reduced the price. More viewings happened, but still no offers came in.

By Christmas 2025 we were despondent and fed up of the house constantly being on high alert for viewings (cleaning, tidying…), often to have them cancelled at the last minute or with no warning at all.

But in the midst of all of this I’d been plotting and planning and working on my business. I was going to go all in with Hannah Ashe Interior Design regardless of what happened. I’d saved some money as a buffer and I’d been working hard on my marketing. I was excited about this opportunity and surprisingly not panicking that I’d made the wrong decision. I’d taken a risk, yes, but perhaps it was a risk I needed to be pushed into otherwise I would never have left teaching?

We took the house off the market over Christmas to give us time to review and regroup. In late January 2026 we went back on with a different local estate agent, who was also confident that this was a great house that should sell.

There was a house we loved in Faversham that we’d viewed twice and were ready to put an offer in on as soon as we had a buyer for our place. The new estate agent held a launch day and called me in the afternoon to excitedly tell me about a couple who had viewed and were very interested. “I think this is the house for them” he told me.

And sure enough, an offer followed. It was lower than we’d hoped so we declined. They came back saying they would like a second viewing before increasing their offer. The second viewing happened and immediately afterwards the agent phoned to tell me they’d put in an asking price offer. We’d done it! It had taken a while, but we’d found the right buyers and could now put in an offer on the house we loved. We offered, there was some negotiation over a few days and then it was accepted. We couldn’t believe it was all coming together - we poured a glass of celebratory wine and messaged our families sharing the details of the house we were buying.

And then my phone rang. It was Tony, our estate agent.

“How are you?” he started

I began to tell him I was good but was hastily interrupted with “Well you won’t be in a minute because your buyers have pulled out.”

Ah. Silence on my end.

Whaaaaaat?

They’d pulled out for ‘personal reasons’ which have never been fully explained with anything tangible. And so that was that.

The sold sign had only been up for a matter of hours before Tony had to come round and remove it.

The house went back online and there were a few more viewings, but the momentum had gone. We had one more offer of asking price but it was from someone who was unproceedable because they hadn’t yet sold their place. By the time they did sell their house the offer was reduced by £50k which we said no to.

In the meantime, the house in Faversham sold to someone else and we were back to square one.

What naivety we’d had swimming across that pool in Penzance thinking this would actually happen!

We’d been very happy with Tony and his team, but in the UK once your home has been for sale for a few months, buyers start to question ‘what’s wrong with it?’ and the chance of getting anywhere near the asking price diminishes.

I should add that we probably picked the worst year in recent history to sell our house, with mortgage rates at an all-time high and little hope of change anytime soon.

In the background to all of this, I’d been running my interior design business for four months now. I was free from the shackles of school and a lifetime of institutionalisation, and I was doing ok. I was doing better than ok, I was working with interesting clients, earning steadily more each month and learning so much along the way. I was thriving.

I did a three month ‘Hatch Enterprise’ scheme from January - March where I learned huge amounts about running a business and also met lots of interesting people.

My writing was continuing to develop and I took myself away on a four-day writing retreat in Cornwall hosted by Penny Wincer in January - something I’d never been able to do while teaching because of the term time dates.

I was making friends in my local area and I was exploring it more than I ever had due to working directly in it.

Money was a bit tight at times, but I could see how things were progressing and it was generally looking positive.

But the house and plans to move were once again at stalemate. We continued to have many long discussions and thoughts on what to do next.

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We decided to go for one final try but this time do it a little differently. In May we went on the market with The Modern House - a design and architecture focused estate agent. Their fees were considerably more than the other agents we had used (in the UK the fees are only paid when the sale goes through, so we had paid no money to anyone so far) but we decided to go for it and assess the situation if and when we got an offer.

There were viewings, but it continued to be slow. When we were on holiday in France in June an offer came in but it was £70k under the asking price. Given that we didn’t have to move, we weren’t going to give away our pride and joy, so we said a firm no.

As we headed into July, there’d been no viewings for a few weeks and so we took advice from the agent on what her thoughts were short of reducing the price, which we weren’t willing to do. She knew we were thinking of coming off the market but suggested one last marketing push towards a ‘viewing day’ in early August.

I should add that by this point I was so weary of the whole process and was on the fence about doing this, but my husband reasoned that we’d come this far and perhaps we should do this final thing before moving on. The viewing day was scheduled for Saturday 6th August, so theoretically by the end of the following week we would know what was happening. Either no offers and we would take it off the market, or an offer or some negotiations which could be positive.

Ha! Such optimism of a cut and dried answer.

What happened was that only one viewing was booked in on that viewing day. There was interest from other people but they couldn’t make the Saturday and so were booked in on the following Wednesday and Friday. This already made me feel uneasy as it pushed the time frame back further, but we didn’t really have much choice.

And then, one of those viewings showed a glimmer of hope. The couple that viewed were very keen, but they were first-time buyers and wanted to come back with their parents, except their parents were away on holiday for the next three weeks.

I wanted closure one way or the other, not a glimmer of a possibility that was likely to lead to nothing for the next three weeks. We expressed this frustration to the agent and reinforced our feelings towards wanting to come off the market. The people agreed to come back with some other relatives a bit sooner (although cancelled at the last minute and set it back a further week). We tried to remain positive.

The viewing eventually took place just before the bank holiday weekend so we spent an anxious three days going through possible scenarios in our minds. Should we keep next Saturday free to go and view some properties just in case?

There was once again a glimmer of hope and excitement.

Tuesday morning came and went with no word. And then a WhatsApp message (never a good sign) from the agent. They wanted to come back for a third viewing with their parents the next day…

Once again we swallowed our disappointment of no further progress and tried to dig deep. We still kept Saturday free ‘just in case’.

The 3rd viewing happened on Wednesday afternoon and on Thursday we were anxiously checking our phones. Surely we would hear something. It was clear these people loved the house, but could they afford it?

Another WhatsApp message - they needed more time to look at their finances.

It had been almost 4 weeks since the first viewing and our patience was now non-existent. I couldn’t live another day with this waiting to know what the fate of my living situation was going to be. We needed to take action ourselves.

So we did. We phoned the agent and asked for the house to be taken off the market. We ended it.

I feel so much lighter now knowing that I don’t have to keep tidying up and hiding things in cupboards. I’ve got plans to refresh a few rooms - I really want to paint the skirting boards in our kitchen/diner a funky colour.

I am sad that we won’t be starting a new adventure just yet, but in many ways I’m on an adventure with my business.

If we had not taken that decision to try to sell our house last year, I would certainly not have left my teaching job. I’d be plodding along in the same way, scared to drop down to two days per week of teaching.

Today, I am in Eastbourne. Yesterday would have been the first teaching day of the new academic year and for the first time in almost 20 years, I am not part of that world. To celebrate, I booked a very nice hotel room with a sea view for two nights. I’m here alone to write, to think, to read, to walk, to reflect on the past year. I’m also here to think about the next year and what that might hold.

There’s no way I can predict what will come, but that’s ok because I know that sometimes you have to try things, put yourself out there and give something a go. Even if it doesn’t work out how you imagined. But what we imagine isn’t always the best scenario anyway.

If you’ve stuck with me this far, thank you. This was a long piece but one I’ve been wanting to write for a while.

I really hope you haven’t been through something similar with a house move, but it’s likely some of you have. Please do share in the comments. It’s always helpful to share these stories - which is why I’m sharing this - because we feel less isolated when we know others are going through it too.

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I’m Hannah. I’m 41, childfree and live in London. I left teaching behind to pursue a more creative approach to work. I earn my living from interior design, writing and creating things I’m passionate about including the Creative Career Change podcast. Listen to the latest episode with Jennie Godfrey here.

If you like what I’ve got to say, you can support my creative work by upgrading to a paid subscription. For £3.50 per month you will receive all of my newsletters as well as invitations to Create Ensemble online writing/creating sessions.

The next session takes place on Wednesday 23rd September 15:00-16:00 (UK time) via Zoom. Click here for more info and to register.

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I hope your week is going better than mine. The will they/won’t they house move back and forth has been going on all week and it’s driving me completely insane. I wish I could tell you more than that, but despite our very best efforts for closure we still don’t know the answer. One day I will hopefully be able to share.

In more positive ne…

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Foolishly, I thought that by the end of August I would know definitively whether I was moving house or not, but it seems the universe has other plans and limbo is here for a while longer. More on that later.

Before I get into those August feelings, here is the most recent episode of my Creative Career Change podcast with author ICYMI. It’s a great reminder of how/why taking creative risks can pay off.

This past week in previous years of my life would have had a ‘last week of the holidays’ feeling to it, but I’m pleased to report that it feels nothing like that. In fact, I checked to see when I would have been going back to school and the INSET (training) days are on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this coming week.

I’ve seen quite a few teacher friends recently and we’ve talked about that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach as the end of August approaches - do you know the one I mean?

We’ve all agreed that it’s a bit ridiculous when you’ve had 4-5 weeks off prior to this feeling kicking in, but that’s the ‘all or nothing’ nature of teaching, and I honestly am not missing those extremes.

The flip side is that I’ve been working all summer.

I had two weeks in France in June and since then I’ve been working, occasionally taking a Friday off to visit family or go away for a long weekend - those are the perks of running my own business! Apart from the heat, I’ve enjoyed working during the summer. There have been pockets of very quiet times (first two weeks of August, for example) but that’s been when I’ve been able to get my head down and immerse myself deep in design work without the distractions of new enquiries.

There was a point in mid-August when I was a little worried about earnings, but then over the past two weeks things have picked up considerably and August has been a surprisingly good month.

Which I’m relieved about because I’d taken the decision to book myself a short escape to the sea in early September in celebration of not going back to school and there was a moment of ‘can I afford this?’. The truth is that making that decision was not just about money, it was about affording myself some time and space to reflect on how far I’ve come this year as well of the unpredictability of life.

Which takes me back to the house move limbo.

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Jennie and I first met back in 2023 at a creativity retreat with and . Jennie’s debut novel ‘The List of Suspicious Things’ was not yet out in the world and I had just left my 16 year teaching career behind. Change was afoot.

Since then, Jennie’s world has turned on its head and she is now a Sunday Times bestselling author of two books and is currently writing her third.

I was delighted when Jennie said yes to sharing her career journey here on the Creative Career Change podcast.

Links and mentions

• Jennie’s brilliant Substack, The Crow’s Nest :

  The Crow's Nest

  A personal perspective on writing and creativity and life from a writer who is mostly all at sea, trying to make it to land.

  By Jennie Godfrey

• The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

• The Barbecue at No. 9 by Jennie Godfrey

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

• On Writing by Stephen King

• Follow Jennie Godfrey on Instagram

A note from Hannah

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers.

I hope the conversations may inspire positive change and the pursuit of creativity and balance. I’ve created the resource that I wish had been available to me several years ago when I felt trapped by my job.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

Upgrade to paid: support future episodes

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

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A quick check in from me today because despite what I wrote about last Sunday -‘Is it the end of limbo land?’ - it turns out that the house-move rollercoaster is still going. Albeit very slowly, stuck at the top unsure whether it will remain there for weeks (forever?) or suddenly whizz down the slope with no warning.

I can’t really say much more at the moment, but I am looking forward to getting to a point when I can write candidly about this relocation journey because writing helps me to process the range of emotions I’ve experienced over the past year.

On Wednesday, episode 3 of the current series of the Creative Career Change podcast will drop. I’m chatting to the inspirational about her career journey from HR Director to Sunday Times bestselling author. And it’s quite a route!

There are now over 30 episodes all sharing the career change journeys of women in mid-life. Listen here:

And the final thing to mention is tomorrow evening’s Create Ensemble session taking place from 7-8pm on Zoom.

I don’t know about you, but I’m in need of an hour of calm creativity where I can lose myself in a mindful activity. Join me by clicking on the link below.

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I’m writing this from my very warm studio. The fan is on full blast and it currently displays 32 degrees as the air temperature. It’s also 7 minutes in to the Create Ensemble Zoom session I’m hosting on Wednesday afternoon. It’s the first time I’ve held a session on a Wednesday afternoon and it’s popular! Upcoming dates at the bottom of this post, including another Wednesday afternoon.

If you’ve been reading my words here for a while or know me personally, you may remember that almost exactly a year ago I wrote about the drizzly day swimming in the lido pool in Penzance with my husband, when we made the decision to put our house on the market.

It was a huge decision - we’d bought our Edwardian house in 2017 as a wreck and over the years lovingly renovated and restored it into a beautiful home that we adored. But there was a nagging feeling, a desire to be near to the sea and closer to our beloved France.

We put our house on the market, I handed in my notice on my part-time teaching job and we started house hunting. Our plan was to move near to the Kent coast.

It was all very exciting.

Until it wasn’t.

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I don’t usually write on a Tuesday, but I’ve got two time-sensitive things to say, so here I am!

The first is a reminder that tomorrow is Create Ensemble and I’m trying out a new time/day of the week. We’re meeting at 3pm on Wednesday 12th August for an hour via Zoom and I’d love you to join me. I know that the early mornings/7pm evening slots don’t work for everyone depending on your commitments and time zone, so I thought I’d add a mid-afternoon slot and see how it goes.

In case you have no idea what I’m on about with Create Ensemble, it’s a co-working/co-creating online meet. The concept is that you use that hour to work on something creative that might otherwise get overlooked in your busy life. You don’t have to share your work, we just chat briefly at the start and end about what we’re using the time for. I host 2-3 sessions per month and you can read more about it here.

Create Ensemble is a perk of being a paid subscriber which I hope you might consider upgrading for, because it’s always such a lovely hour and a great way to get into the ‘zone’ for your creative project.

The second thing I’m here to do is announce the winner of the Interior Design Consultation giveaway. I launched this at the end of July after winning a competition via Substack myself and deciding I was going to pay it forward in a similar way.

The prize is a 1-hour Rapid Revamp Interior Design consultation with me where we solve a design challenge for a room in your home. In just an hour, I can plan a furniture layout, put together a colour scheme or give you an accessories shopping list. You’ll leave the call feeling confident to move forward with making changes in your home.

The winner’s name is announced below the paywall and I’m also offering 20% off a Rapid Revamp consultation using the code (also below the paywall).

…..(drumroll)…..

and the winner is…

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It turns out that there are downsides to going on holiday in June.

Obviously there’s my envy towards everyone who is currently on holiday enjoying these unusually balmy days on British beaches or exploring foreign cities and sharing their fun times on Instagram.

But more than that is the lack of anything happening.

As I thought it might be, my work is very quiet right now. Even some of my favourite Substack writers are declaring a break for August which means fewer things to read.

I’ve got a few interior design projects still going but there hasn’t been anything new coming in for a few weeks and the enquiries have gone rather quiet too.

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I’ve always been happy in my own company, but one of the challenges of that is constantly having a mental to-do list rolling in my brain. I’m not very good at switching off and doing nothing.

Combine that with founding an interior design studio which, as any other business owner will know, can take up every single bit of your mental energy, leaving little room for ‘switching off’.

On Thursday last week I’d blocked out in my diary what I was referring to as a ‘Hannah Day’. I’d booked a ticket for an exhibition I’d wanted to go to for a while and reserved a table at one at one of my favourite London restaurants. The booking of these two things meant that there was no backing out and no excuses (from myself) that I was ‘too busy’.

There was something different about the act of taking a single day off mid-week to go and do things I wanted to do on my own. Different to a weekend planned collectively with my husband or a day out with friends or family. These choices were mine alone with no compromises.

One thing I was determined to not do, was any work.

That might seem easy, but the urge to check emails or ‘just do a bit on that kitchen project’ or message a client are extremely hard to resist.

Hannah Day

My ticket for Paint! Pattern! Print! The Textiles of Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell at the Fashion & Textile Museum was booked for 11:30am. This meant no great rush in the morning and I could start my day with my usual early morning walk & podcast listen followed by journaling. I’m on week 7 of The Artist’s Way and this daily practice of morning pages is something I look forward to when I wake up. It’s a very good way to start the day.

I got the 10am train to Waterloo which takes about 25 minutes from my house and then walked along the river as far as London Bridge before heading down Bermondsey Street.

Bermondsey Street is one of my top places in London because it has many of my favourite things: great bars and restaurants, galleries (White Cube and Fashion & Textile Museum), a gorgeous bookshop (Morocco Bound) and several other independent shops which are great for a browse. There’s even a fancy charity shop.

My first stop was coffee at Chapter 72 almost opposite the F&T Museum. The coffee was outstanding and the cinnamon bun disappointingly dry (tasted like it would have been good yesterday…). I paused to read a little of my book and then headed over the road.

The Fashion & Textile Museum is small enough to cover it all in an hour or two without drowning in information. The prints and sketchbooks were wonderful - full of life and colour and I found the story of Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell’s pioneering business enterprises as fascinating as their work.

In the gift shop afterwards I picked up several postcards, with a plan to write and send them later. I couldn’t resist a new note/sketch book (can you ever have too many?) and a pencil. It was a bit like being on a school trip.

I had a little time before lunch to wander. This included a visit to Morocco Bound bookshop which has a beautifully curated book selection. It’s also a bar/cafe and live events space. I bought Joan Didion’s ‘Play It As It Lays’ to add to my never diminishing TBR pile!

Lunch was at Cafe Murano. It has tasteful decor and exquisite food and the irony wasn’t lost on me that only that morning had I found out that I’d won tickets to an event there on Sunday evening. Some kind of synchronicity, perhaps?

I decided to be brave with my lunch choice and order mussels for the starter. I’ve always believed I don’t really like them, but felt it was a good day to give them another try and see if my tastes had changed. I enjoyed the flavour - less so the texture - but I did eat them all. It’s good to challenge ourselves with food every once in a while.

The main course was a giant plate of delicious broccoli and spicy sausage pasta which I couldn’t finish because I wanted to save room for dessert. Stephen, my excellent server recommended a lemon meringue and it was divine! In between courses I took out my notebook to journal and jot down interesting observations. The staff are so friendly at Cafe Murano and kept coming over to chat to me which was nice.

Very full from lunch, I decided to walk along the river and head for the roof garden on the top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre. Although the riverside bars and restaurants were brimming with tourists, I had a feeling that the roof garden would be quieter and I was right. I got myself a drink and sat with a riverside view to write postcards.

Writing forced me to override the urge to reach for my phone and instead focus on what I was doing in that moment. I couldn’t help listen a little to conversations nearby, as well as watching people walking along the river below me. I could see and hear boats, large and small, on the water. I was calm.

The postcards were deposited in a post box in Waterloo Station and I boarded the train to head home for a chilled evening in the garden with J.

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I know that I am in a position where I don’t have caring responsibilities and so it’s easier for me to have a day like this. But, if you have any way of doing something similar, I 1000% recommend a day/morning/hour to yourself.

It doesn’t have to cost money. It doesn’t have to be in London. But the focus is on not working, doing something creatively enriching and spending time with your thoughts. It’s an opportunity to do things exactly your way.

wrote a beautiful piece on something similar last week. She has walked the entirety of the Saxon Shore way alone. This is a national trail of 163 miles which she completed in 12 stages. Sarah writes about both the practicalities and the mental processing that goes on during such an adventure. Read about it here:

At My Own Pace....

The Saxon Shore Way?

Last year I made a crazy plan to walk the Saxon Shore Way, from Gravesend in Kent through to Hastings in Sussex. 163 miles through all sorts of terrain, along rivers, canals and along the coast. Thanks for reading At My Own Pace....! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work…

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3 months ago · 3 likes · 6 comments · Sarah Manley

What’s Next?

I will definitely be blocking out more days like this in my calendar. In fact, for September I’m in the process of making this into an overnight stay to mark the occasion of not going back to school. For the first time in 20 years I will not be attending an INSET day on 1st September.

I’d like to book a night in a hotel by the sea and I’d love your suggestions!

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And finally, a reminder that I am giving away an online interior design consultation to a paid subscriber. All you have to do is comment on the post linked below. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your subscription, this is the perfect time!

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Last week an email newsletter dropped into my inbox from with the subject title ‘Hello, a giveaway, and see you soon’. Now, I always enjoy reading Mark’s writing - a combination of food, culture and writing about writing - so it was no hardship to read. But I’ll be honest, it was the word ‘giveaway’ that most got my attention on this occasion.

I’m an absolute sucker for a competition.

Mark was giving away two tickets for the next Cafe Murano Book Club on Sunday evening. A pair had been returned, and rather than re-sell them, he had decided to kindly give them away to a paid subscriber who was available. Mark would be interviewing whose food-focused memoir ‘Hungry Eyes’ had recently been published. I love Dawn’s books - Cat Lady and So Lucky amongst recent favourites. And we’d been to two Cafe Murano Book Clubs previously: and . Both fantastic evenings all round.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a paid subscriber to Mark’s Substack before the giveaway email, but as Mark wrote “If you aren’t a paid subscriber and have been pondering taking the leap, now might be the time”. I had and I did!

After upgrading my subscription, I added my comment to say I was available and would love the tickets.

And guess what?

I was chosen! (Thank you Mark)

So, yesterday evening was spent sitting at the beautiful terrazzo bar counter of Cafe Murano, eating delicious food and listening to the inspiring career journey of Dawn, prompted perfectly by Mark. It was just brilliant.

I bought a copy of Dawn’s new book which she kindly signed when she came over to chat to us, and I can’t wait to read it.

As someone who has stopped taking the ‘easy’ route in terms of work, I loved hearing about the twisting path that Dawn’s TV and writing career has taken over the years. I loved hearing how she takes opportunities as they come rather than meticulously mapping out a future. I loved hearing her say that after Masterchef she now wants to do something in food.

I left smiling, thinking and dreaming. The best way to end a weekend, I’d say.

And so, now I want to pay it forward in a similar way. I’m borrowing the ideas from Mark to offer a giveaway to my readers.

The Giveaway!

I’m an interior designer in my day job, as most of you know. The most popular design service I offer is Rapid Revamp, an hour long video call where I do my very best to solve your interior design problems, remove some of the overwhelming feelings and give you a clear plan of action for a room in your home.

Last week I helped someone navigate the minefield of curtains vs blinds for an awkward shaped bedroom window. The week before I was casting a professional eye over bathroom plans and advising on tiles and brassware. I love these calls, and I love problem solving and sharing my ideas and expertise to make homes better places to live in.

I’m giving away one Rapid Revamp video consultation (worth £265) to a Chez Hanny paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

On Sunday 9th August I will pick a name at random and email the winner to let them know. This is open to everyone, wherever you are in the world.

If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, this might be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for!

I’m Hannah. I’m 41, childfree and live in London. I left teaching behind to pursue a more creative approach to work. I earn my living from interior design, writing and creating things I’m passionate about including the Creative Career Change podcast. Listen to the latest episode with Carolyn Boyd here.

If you like what I’ve got to say, you can support my creative work by upgrading to a paid subscription. For a few pounds per month you will receive monthly invitations to online writing/creating sessions, in-person events and honest writing.

The next co-creating session for paid subscribers takes place on Wednesday 12th August 15:00-16:00 (UK time). Click here for more info and to register.

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When Carolyn Boyd’s book Amuse Bouche: Eating Your Way Around France came out a couple of years ago, I felt like it had been written just for me. It was the coming together of several of my interests - France, food, culture and writing. I hoovered it up.

And then, a couple of months ago I saw Carolyn post on Instagram about her 10 year anniversary since going freelance. What did she do before? I wondered, before sending her a message and straight out asking. Carolyn’s response had me inviting her to be a guest on this podcast and here it is!

Links and mentions

• Carolyn’s excellent Substack :

  France Traveller Newsletter

  Tips and inspiration for travelling and eating your way around France from expert writer and author Carolyn Boyd

  By Carolyn Boyd France Traveller

• Amuse Bouche: Eating Your Way Around France - buy it for the Francophile in your life.

• Carolyn’s website: www.carolynboyd.net

• The Roux Scholarship: www.rouxscholarship.co.uk

A note from Hannah

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers.

I hope the conversations may inspire positive change and the pursuit of creativity and balance. I’ve created the resource that I wish had been available to me several years ago when I felt trapped by my job.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

Upgrade to paid: support future episodes

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

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Hello Friends,

I’m having one of those weeks that four years ago I often daydreamed about.

Nothing huge has happened, I’ve mostly been beavering away in my little studio at the top of my house, but my time is mine to use exactly how I wish and I no longer have to do things I don’t want to do. As long as I can pay the bills, of course. Which does seem to be happening.

Instead, I choose when I work, how I work and who I work with. This week has been excellent so far because it’s been varied. I’ve been getting deep into designs for several rooms ready for a presentation, I’ve had calls with potential new clients who are becoming more and more aligned to my design ethos and I’ve prioritised exercise and journaling each morning. Writing this post, scribbling and posting some more postcards and editing podcast episodes (a new one dropping on Sunday) have peppered the days and I had the loveliest conversation with the inspirational on Tuesday for my Creative Career Change podcast (watch this space).

Tomorrow, I’m taking the day off (because I can!) and I’ve got a ‘Hannah day’ in London planned. I’m so excited.

On Friday I’m hosting the next Create Ensemble online session via Zoom. It’s for co-working/writing/creating something and most important of all, feeling connected to a community of like-minded people.

This is an early one if you’re in the UK: 7:00-8:00am, but you can join us from anywhere in the world. To join, you just need to be a paid subscriber.

It’s £3.50 for a month (you can join for one month and see what you think!) or £30 for the whole year. I run 2-3 sessions like this every month and write pieces specifically for paid subscribers. Below the paywall today you will find the link to Friday’s session and I also reveal my ‘Hannah Day’ plans for tomorrow.

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