It’s been a rough few months for everyone around me. I’ve been advancing with my physical recovery and my family has been dealing with a few private matters that are challenging us all.

These testing times, combined with the fact that I’d not been able to visit my motherland for almost a whole year, meant that I boarded a plane to Manchester with more gusto than ever before. A short flight later, I was reunited with my parents and sister for a few days of relaxation and quality time together under a rare and much appreciated bout of English sunshine.

I did have to work remotely for a few days, but the nationwide power cut in Spain meant that I had one of the afternoons off. Despite the chaos that ensued across the Iberian Peninsula, it came to me as a blessing: I had even more time to spend with my family.

I also made time to catch up with two friends I hold very dearly. Amber took me for lunch in a very sunny Towneley Park, and then the next day I picked up some fish and chips and pottered down to Jemma’s house for a catch up after she visited me in Madrid just before my accident.

Saturday then saw me head out with Abi and Danni for a day at one of our favourite places in the world: Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It was a day full of rides, food, and some absolutely stellar people watching. Blackpool is a gem of a place and a true cultural phenomenon. I will not have anyone tell me otherwise.

But most of all, it was a day full of laughter, and that was just what I needed. I’ve had my physiotherapy, my hydrotherapy, and my psychotherapy; I was just missing the joy of laughing myself hoarse and —in doing so— losing my train of thought completely. I needed this all-consuming elation, the type that makes all preoccupations and anxieties dissipate.

This day with friends topped off a week spent with the people who know me the most: my family. This trip was just what I needed.