Newcastle Photographer and Content Creator, Mandy Charlton, Always on a quest for adventure, often seen on buses, trains and planes. On a quest to be happier and healthier. Lives in Newcastle with her 3 cats, Iris, Maggie and Arthur. Loves good vibes, musicals and cakes. Full time professional wedding photographer in the north east of england alongside content creator on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook

Sunday, January 31, 2021

Some thoughts on my 47th year, my personal history of Coronavirus

Mandy Charlton, some thoughts on my 47th year, my personal history of coronavirus

When I was 16 I felt 35, I've always felt 35 and now I'm coming to the end of my 47th year on this earth and I still feel 35, I wonder if I will always feel 35, even when I am 65?  The truth is, my 47th year is one that on the face of it, I'd rather forget and this is my personal history of Coronavirus and how it affected me.

This time last year, I threw a party for my friends, you know I usually have an annual Christmas party, well last year for some reason I decided to also throw myself a birthday party.  I love parties where I can feed people, give them drinks, where we can all be together dancing in the kitchen.  We even went to Rise, it was, I think my first time in a nightclub for years.  We had the best night, 15 people in my kitchen all singing "Let It Go" at the top of our voices.  It's strange that it seems like a lifetime ago right now.  yes, Covid was a thing but we were only just hearing about it on the news, and actually, on the 31st of January the first 2 cases were recorded in the UK, people travelling to York who would later be taken to the RVI in Newcastle.  It was still another 7 weeks before lockdown would begin on the 23rd of March.  


I've become a bit of a hermit in the last few years, I have a small circle of friends who I adore and I work really hard, travel as often as possible and it doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else, although I've had occasional pangs of loneliness I'd only really decided last year that I might start to look for someone to share my life with, I'd even started going to the pub more regularly and would occasionally spot someone I liked over the bar.  By the end of February, I was back to shooting weddings, Stacey and I shot our first  small wedding of the year up at the South Causey Inn, it was horrible weather, freezing cold, rainy and we didn't get outside to do portraits but it was a beautiful wedding, the buffet was immense and 50 or so people on the dance floor throwing shapes not suspecting what was just around the corner although, that was late February and there had been some talk of social distancing.  We really didn't quite understand what that would involve and Boris was still shaking hands with coronavirus patients claiming we'd all be fine.

March happened and I shot a few pre-wedding shoots for my upcoming 2020 weddings, we had just started sort of social distancing and I remember saying to clients on the 7/8th March how sad I was that I couldn't hug them, March 8 turned out to be the last time I shot a portrait session until July 24th, partly because of the lockdown but then, of course, I broke my arm.  At a time when we were supposed to not use the NHS, I managed to break my right radius bone completely in half and had to have a plate fitted.  Badly timed too because at the same time I'd decided to start my own gift boutique, Philomena's Boutique, yes, that was me bouncing back with the help of a government loan.  My plan was to invest what I made from photography now that the country was starting to open up again and my little boutique would grow and thrive into something wonderful whilst making people happy with lovely gifts and things for their homes.

I'm pleased to say that Philomena's Boutique has thrived and I reached order number 1000 just before Christmas thanks to the love and support of an entire community, it's not been easy but I've found the joy in the most wonderful of small businesses.  Photography did sort of restart in September and in total, I shot 5 weddings and 50 portrait sessions, in a normal year I'd shoot over 300 portrait sessions and 20-25 weddings. I rescheduled something like 23 weddings in total last year and you know, when that happens, your life falls apart a bit, weddings have always been the constant in my life for the last 14 years, the only things to never get rescheduled and only in exceptional circumstances cancelled.  I thought it would be okay but now as we get to 4th and 5th times for rescheduling I am starting to lose hope of ever being financially stable again.

I worked so very hard to become financially independent, it cost me so much emotionally, to be in the mess I'm in now, well it's heartbreaking really.

In July August and September, I also managed to travel, assuming that things we're never going to get bad again, I spent some time in the Lake District emotionally healing myself and I spent nearly 2 weeks travelling the Scottish Highlands visiting places I'd always wanted to go and completing life long ambitions.  When Abigail told me that she was taking me to Gdansk in September before she went to Uni, it was the highlight of my year, we flew without issue feeling safe and noted that Poland really did seem to be recovering more quickly than the UK.  I couldn't imagine another lockdown happening ever again.

Some thoughts on my 47th year, a personal history of Coronavirus by Mandy Charlton, photographer, writer blogger


Thoughts on my 47th year, a personal history of coronavirus, mandy charlton, photographer, writer, blogger

In September and October I shot portraits, I did a rescue weekend in October to try to make it to the end of the year with all of my weddings rescheduling again as the numbers of guests were cut from 30 to 15, I did shoot my last wedding this year in October and I will say, the weddings I shot in 2020 were so full of joy that I cried after every single one that just for a while, life had seemed normal and I'd fulfilled my purpose.  Whatever other business I run, I will always, be a photographer in my heart.

In October half term we knew something was coming, Looby and I went to Durham to see Abigail, I later went back the very next week, the day before we went into lockdown 2.  I sold gift certificates and my shop was thriving with Christmas orders and I was building up to having Abigail at home for Christmas so my mood was pretty joyful considering, plus of course the fact that Christmas is my favourite thing of all!

Christmas was spectacular and everything I wanted, just me, Abigail and Looby, I didn't need anything or anyone else, to me it was perfect and whilst people were struggling with not being able to see their whole families, I had everyone I needed with me.  It's taken me so long to have a good relationship with my beautiful children but I am so very grateful.

I knew January would hit me hard after having Abigail home for a month but what I didn't expect was that the day she went back to Uni, that evening we would be put into lockdown 3, the hardest lockdown of all.

This last month has been dark, gloomy and without hope, I have no money left, I can't pay my bills and couples are rescheduling to 2022, I can't plan for Mother's Day or Easter photoshoots because we have no idea when we will come out of lockdown again.  Abigail is trapped at Uni not allowed to come home, Looby is at her father's and is only able to come over on Sunday's because of her school/horse schedule and so I have spent mostly every day of January completely alone.  Sometimes when I'm lucky I get to see one or two people a week but for someone who thought I was a hermit, I've learnt now just how much I need people.  So much so that I'm giving myself a year to meet someone and I don't know how but I plan to put some effort into it because I just can't spend the rest of my life alone.

Tomorrow, I will be 47 and we still have no idea when lockdown will end, Abigail will be home for Easter in Mid-March and I can tell you I am holding onto that one hope that I have.  I still have few ideas about how to financially survive but I am stocking the boutique when I can even if it's a much smaller range until some kind of help comes.  The way I see it, the government who sold us bounceback loans as the answer must not help us further because we are so very far from bouncing back and I will be lucky to be debt-free anytime in the next 10 years.  We have so many vaccines now, I keep holding onto that and thinking, surely, by summer, most of us will be vaccinated, they have to let us go back to some kind of normal life, don't they?  I keep thinking, this is my lowest ebb and therefore it means I will, myself bounceback.  Each day we are one day nearer to spring, 3 minutes closer to the lightest part of the year and hopefully, just hopefully, one step further towards a normal life again.




Ways to support my writing


If you have enjoyed this article or found it useful and would like to support my writing I'd love a virtual coffee
I also have a lovely Facebook group I'd love you to come and join 
You could also come and follow me on Instagram to keep up with my adventures, I really am grateful for all
of your love and support.
Oh and of course, you could just treat yourself to something lovely from Philomena's Boutique, my gift boutique
which is diverse, sustainable and totally lush!
Share:

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

How to get the most out of your lockdown walks


How to get the most of your lockdown walks, mandy charlton, newcastle photographer, blogger, writer


It's Wednesday (I think), it's dull, damp and dark and I'm here to tell you how to get the most out of your lockdown walks.  "Now hang on Mandy, we don't want to go for a walk, we have no energy"  I hear you say and really, I get it, I am not even contemplating getting out of my pyjamas today but most days when the light is a little brighter (and even some days when it's not) I try to walk around 5 miles a day for my daily exercise.  Of course, there was also that time when I walked to the Pedestrian Tyne Tunnel and did 12 miles but that was extreme even for me.

Newcastle town wall, how to get the most out of your lockdown walks, mandy charlton, photographer


Look up Some History

I'm incredibly interested in local history (some would say obsessed) when I go somewhere I want to know all about the local views, interesting buildings I should see and I'll often google things like "prettiest streets in..."  Now, I think it's probably more of a challenge in your local area as you've probably walked around it hundreds of times by now, especially during lockdown 1 when the weather was better but you might just come across something you've never seen before.  Over these last few weeks I have, myself, been walking all around Newcastle city centre and have found all kinds of things I've never seen despite living in Heaton for the last 24 years of my life.

Newcastle is a city first established in medieval times and there are parts which still exist from then such as the town walls, if you want to read more about their fascinating history and then visit the remaining parts, Co-Curate is a wonderful site for the local history of the northeast of England.

Newcastle quayside in the sunshine, how to get the most out of your lockdown walks, mandy charlton, newcastle photographer



Find Interesting Landmarks

Google maps are your friend here,  They're filled with millions of photos, I'm a level 7 google guide and have had my photographic contributions viewed over 7.5 million times, google guides take photographs of the places they've been so you can access them from the maps and find out what places are like before you go there, also consider using the street view if you want to know what the local area is like.  I'll give you my favourite example which is the Cramlington Spoon, it's actually a sculpture called "Eat for England" and who wouldn't want to take a walk to a giant spoon in the middle of a field?  Sadly I can't walk to it from my house (well I could but it would take some time) but if you're in Cramlington, it's definitely somewhere different to take the kids for a walk, I'm sure if your children are about 5 or 6, the promise of a giant spoon will make them run immediately to put their trainers (or probably wellies) on.  There are photos of it on Google Maps just to tantalise them.

Use Published Walking Routes

The internet is a wonderful place and you can bet if you're thinking about taking a walk in your local area you'll be able to find already published walking routes, I like the Komoot site which has 10 great walks around Newcastle upon Tyne but other sites and Facebook groups are available.

View from st michael's mount, newcastle, how to get the most out of your lockdown walks, mandy charlton



Think like a Tourist

When we see our beautiful towns and cities through the eyes of a tourist we see things we never imagined we'd see, we go for walks in the most unlikely of places because we've researched in advance rather than just walking out of our house down our own trusted routes.  For example, yesterday I went in search of one of the best views of Newcastle and I found it at St Michael's Mount deep within the Byker Wall but never would I have ever decided to take a walk in the Byker Wall which can, at times (particularly after dark) be a very salubrious and downright scary kind of place.  If I didn't live in Heaton I probably wouldn't know about it's reputation and strided with joyful abandon but the walk was 100% worth it for the view.

I guess it's all a giant example of life is what you make it and how we can find beauty and optimism in the most unlikely of places/times.  I'm struggling with my mental health on a daily basis during this most recent lockdown, I feel like the first one was sunnier and a little bit easier to bear but this one seems to be without promise of an end. Walking is one of the few free things left which keeps me sane and taking my camera along adds an extra joy.

Ways to support my writing


If you have enjoyed this article or found it useful and would like to support my writing I'd love a virtual coffee
I also have a lovely Facebook group I'd love you to come and join 
You could also come and follow me on Instagram to keep up with my adventures, I really am grateful for all
of your love and support.
Oh and of course, you could just treat yourself to something lovely from Philomena's Boutique, my gift boutique
which is diverse, sustainable and totally lush!
Share:

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

A 12 mile walk to the Pedestrian Tyne Tunnel


Inside the Pedestrian Tyne Tunnel, a 12 mile walk, mandy charlton, photographer, writer, blogger

It's just after 10pm on a dark, gloomy Tuesday evening and I've walked 12 miles today, a round trip to the Pedestrian Tyne Tunnel without stopping.  It's the furthest I've ever walked in one go and everything from the waist down hurts, many bits above the waist hurt too but I'm feeling like I just scaled Everest.  If someone had said to me, "do you fancy a 12-mile walk today?" I would have said "erm, no, why?" but I'd said to my friend Steph "oh let's walk to the Pedestrian Tyne Tunnel, it's only about four miles away, I didn't think that sounded like much...

So, dear reader, just to write this in case you're some years into the future, currently, we're allowed to leave our home for 1 type of exercise a day and we can go with a friend as long as it's only 1 person from another household maximum.  I could count on 1 hand the number of people I've seen since Christmas and walking has become something of a must for my sanity.  If I can get someone to accompany me on walks then even better as it definitely would have hurt more if I'd tried to do it alone.

On the way from Heaton going towards the Pedestrian Tyne Tunnel we took the Shields Road route which took around 1 hour 30, the way back via Hadrian's Cycleway was definitely a longer route but that's the one I'd go with on a better weather type of day as it's probably lovely in summer.  Not so much today in the driving rain.

I like to choose big challenges for myself and I'm always curious about our local history so I'd wanted to go to the Pedestrian Tyne Tunnel since it reopened in 2019, for anyone who doesn't know, it still has 2 of it's 4 original wooden escalators which were at one time the longest wooden escalators in the world.  I didn't realise that the wooden escalators don't actually work so you have to either walk down them slowly (with a slight feeling of vertigo as it's so steep) or you can take a lift, we took the lifts on the way up and went down the escalators.  

historic wooden escalator, a 12 mile walk to the pedestrian tyne tunnel, mandy charlton photographer, writer, blogger


I am really glad I didn't do it on my own as I'd always thought it would feel quite creepy in the narrow tunnel under the tyne and it really does, it feels weirdly sinister.   I can only imagine the history of all of the shipyard workers walking out of the tunnel after travelling from Jarrow and going down to Swans shipyard where Segedunum is now.  I think it's a place to go with a friend and not on your own though it's perfectly safe.  I don't know what it is, but there's definitely an unusual feeling down there.

Over the last week I've taken to walking every day, most days it's just 5 or 6 miles which never feels too bad but I think I felt every step of the last couple of miles today.  I don't mind the aches though, I could never have thought that I was capable of walking so far without stopping.  Had it been a sunny day and not illegal to have a picnic that would have been a great idea but the most we did was take water and chocolate along for emergency sugar need and really, it was so cold and wet today, I don't think I would have gotten through it without that little square of chocolate that I carried in my pocket.

To tell you how wet it was, I popped my coat in the hall cupboard when I got home and ten minutes later wondered why there was a puddle on the floor outside of the cupboard, for a moment I thought I had a leak from the hall radiator but no, that's just how wet my coat was.

I will always remember this big long walk I did quite unexpectedly on a rainy winter Tuesday and if anyone ever asks me "Do you fancy a 12-mile walk today?" and I shall reply "yes, yes I do" but only if it's not throwing it down in the middle of January and you're actually allowed to sit down for rests on the way.


Ways to support my writing


If you have enjoyed this article or found it useful and would like to support my writing I'd love a virtual coffee
I also have a lovely Facebook group I'd love you to come and join 
You could also come and follow me on Instagram to keep up with my adventures, I really am grateful for all
of your love and support.
Oh and of course, you could just treat yourself to something lovely from Philomena's Boutique, my gift boutique
which is diverse, sustainable and totally lush!
Share:

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Is there any end in sight? The ugly side of Lockdown

is there any end in sight, the ugly side of lockdown, mandy charlton photographer, writer, blogger

Abigail messaged me last night to ask why I'd stopped blogging, she said when she reads my blog, every post is like a letter from the inside of my mind.  I explained that right now, I don't feel like I have any craic at all, my mental health is not the best during this current lockdown and during every day I go through so many emotions that it's hard to just sit down and empty my mind.  I think I lost my blogging mojo sometime around the first lockdown only to get it back when we could travel again and then so swiftly it was taken away again and now here we are, almost locked into our houses, some of us, completely alone, whilst others juggle life/work/kids/marriage.  I don't think anyone has it easy, to be honest, we're all dealing with something.

I've taken to dehydrating fruit this time around, yes, my life, really is that exciting, now I could write a blog all about the joy of dehydrating fruit but it sounds about as exciting as repeatedly sticking pins in my eyes, there's nothing even slightly salacious about a jar of dehydrated grapes, which, by the way, if anyone knows why grapes suddenly change their identities to become raisins during the drying process could you get in touch and tell me, dear reader?

January has no highlights to it, I am in the middle of being divorced (still haven't got my head around that one even though I've been single for over 5 years) my income is scary/hilarious due to having no income.  Well I lie, the boutique on its own doesn't bring in enough, and especially during January when retail is at it's quietest.

No one is booking weddings or photoshoots, I mean, who could blame them, we don't even know what's going to happen next week, never mind in 3 months.  I can't plan for a day of Mother's Day sessions or Easter photoshoots.

There's so much un-fun stuff going on that even I, someone who's good at finding small pockets of joy, have nothing to get excited about, my birthday is coming up and I'm dreading it, Abigail is trapped in Durham (the uni not the prison) and I only get to see Looby once a week.

I try normally to be a paragon of positivity but I'm running on empty, let's just say, I'm glad I won't have a tax bill this year because I'd be paying for it in dried fruit!!

Originally this blogpost was going to be called "Ten ways to survive January" but I gave up after the first two sentences, I do still post a happy or funny thing in my Facebook group every day and it's as much for me as it is for others as I go purposely searching for happy, funny, cute photos and videos, it's a small thing but it's something I guess.

The first lockdown was hard but the sun shone, I taught photography and I spent the rest of the days in the garden, the second was time limited and I knew Abigail was coming home from Uni for Christmas.  This one, well we know there's a vaccine and that's about as much as we do know.  I've heard easing of restrictions being mentioned for mid-February, late February, Easter and then someone the other day said, Oh we'll have restrictions until summer.  Plus every interview you see with an MP, they just say, the NHS is overwhelmed, we can't make plans until that lessens.  Let's not get into the fact that if more financial support had been given over the years to the NHS then this might not have happened.  Let's also take a moment to think about New Zealand, an island, just like us, where they've ended all restrictions, NZ is free of the virus, Jacinta Ardern is the prime-minister we all need.  I would rather have locked down earlier and for longer than be in this current state.

So I'm sorry this isn't a more positive blog and Abigail, when you read this, just know, one of the things getting me through this is the thought of a huge hug with you at the end of lockdown whenever that may be.


Ways to support my writing


If you have enjoyed this article or found it useful and would like to support my writing I'd love a virtual coffee
I also have a lovely Facebook group I'd love you to come and join 
You could also come and follow me on Instagram to keep up with my adventures, I really am grateful for all
of your love and support.
Oh and of course, you could just treat yourself to something lovely from Philomena's Boutique, my gift boutique
which is diverse, sustainable and totally lush!
Share:
© Mandy Charlton - Photographer, Writer, Blogger | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Designed by pipdig