Holidays are comin'

As we enter May, the sun is shining and some of us are looking forward to our summer holidays. No doubt some of us booked it months ago, although some of us favour spontaneity and book ‘last minute.com’! As someone who works a lot of the time at hours which some would find unsavoury – evenings, weekends and stepping off stage at 10 pm, I thought about how much I enjoy work. In fact, I feel a bit lost without it. However, I still need a break. So, what do holidays mean to us, and how can we make the most of them?

 

Sometimes you just have to stop. In our hectic world, we must find a way to genuinely switch off the noise, as tempting as it may be to find the hotel with the fastest internet connection. For me, it’s difficult to separate home and work life because I mostly work at home. There’s always the ironing pile looming like an undiscovered mountain range, or the depths of the dishwasher to dive into; housework often squats at the back of my mind threatening to de-rail the writing of the next chapter in my book. And even if I am flying to sunnier climates, I usually take a notebook with me to jot down chapters or ideas. I suppose the solution would be to take a writer’s retreat, but I suspect that this would be the very time I suffered from writer’s block for a fortnight and then returned to be fully inspired with creative genius whilst working on something else. For the last couple of years, we have taken city breaks – Edinburgh, Liverpool, The Lakes, Amsterdam. So, this year I am determined to fly away and use the time doing absolutely nothing. I can’t promise I won’t do a bit of work on my novel, but I fully intend to spend most of the time round the pool with a cocktail and return evenly tanned and rested. 

 

For some people, a ‘lazy’ beach holiday is a nightmare. They say they prefer to explore and drink in the culture rather than the sangria. For years, I was one of those people – I mostly holidayed in the UK or cities abroad and spent the time learning about everything I could by visiting all the museums, galleries and tourist spots. My first ‘all inclusive’ was in my 30s, and while I am still a huge fan of the intellectual retreat, I found an unexpected pleasure in doing nothing. Maybe the reluctance to do this earlier was due to some sort of guilt; maybe I felt it was a waste going somewhere and not exploring, or maybe I just felt I should be busy? But we all work so hard these days, that we should never feel ‘doing nothing’ is a waste of time. 

 

Being busy doing nothing is the most wonderful, hedonistic release. It is the abdication of all responsibility and a surrender to pleasure for a short time. It allows us to re-charge, heal and rest minds and bodies. In short – we deserve to indulge our right to do nothing! In fact, if you are a creative person, I believe you need to be able to switch off that creativity once in a while in order to replenish your creative mojo.

 

Since the end of 2024 and the start of 2025, I have hardly slowed down – I released a poetry book, appeared in three plays, launched my novel, given talks and performed poetry, and I have been working with prisoners. AND – in case you’d like to join me – here are a few events I am taking part in to entertain you in May and June:

 

MAY 10^th FELIXSTOWE: VE DAY CELEBRATIONS information HERE

 

MAY 23^rd 2025 TWO SISTER ARTS CENTRE: James Domestic and Virginia Betts are putting on a spectacular Poetry show which promises to be comic, serious, musical and visually stunning. We’re supported by Pushcart Prize nominated Sci-fi and Fantasy poet, AJ Deane, and ‘Neuroshiny’ author and poet, Dawn Vincent. Tickets HERE.

 

JUNE 14^th 10-4, FRAMLINGHAM, Castle Community Rooms, Church Street, IP13 9BQ A Showcase of Suffolk Authors Book Fair spectacular! (FREE)

 

FELIXTOWE BOOK FESTIVAL 25^th – 29^th June : Lots of brilliant authors and events! I’m appearing twice – as book of the week on 26^th June and as a poet with musician, Paul Armfield on June 27^th. Tickets and Info HERE

 

And that is without mentioning the tuition work that I do on a daily basis. I have two books almost complete to launch by the end of Summer and I am working on a new novel.

 

So, for one week in May, I am going to make absolutely no apologies and no excuses – I am going to do absolutely nothing and I think I deserve it. 

 

And so do you!

 

Cheers, and enjoy your break, whatever it may be and however long or short it is. Let me know in the comments what sort of holiday you prefer and how it fires up YOUR creative energy. 

 

Virginia. xx