Well... what a year it has been for us all.
As I sit here this evening at my kitchen table, having just walked the dogs on the beach and having lit a candle for the thousands and thousands of people who have been affected by the pandemic, I am writing this blog post and reflecting on what has happened to us all - and it still just beggars belief.
I don't think anybody could really have ever thought that what has happened to the world during the past twelve months would ever happen in our lifetimes.
And I am not even sure that this time last year, when the UK went into its first lockdown on the 23rd March, any one of us would think we would still be in a lockdown situation one year later.
But still in a lockdown we all are.
What the lockdown has meant though, at least for Lee and I, is that we have never spoken to as many of our lovely customers as we have - and forgetting chat about skin types, or skin conditions, or what is the best skincare regime I would recommend - these chats have been a barometer to life - the difficulties, the tragedies and sometimes, the hilarious situations we have all been through because of the pandemic.
Families missed. Families lost. Businesses struggling. Businesses booming. Friends via Zoom! Too much bloody Zoom thank you! Clapping for the NHS. Feelings of isolation. Neighbours being there for us. Discovering the joys of walking. Appreciating our gardens.
So many different emotions and every single one of them, an absolute honour for us to just be able to listen.
For Lee and I, we have been very, very lucky. To start with, we have each other (even if we do drive each other mad sometimes!). We have a garden in which to sit in, or to look at, or to tend.
We also live near the sea so have been able to walk down to the beach to get a little exercise and fresh air with our doggies - and of course we have our little business to keep us busy and our lovely customers to talk to on a daily basis.
As for our little business, we of course have had a lot of issues to deal with along the way and they have not relented unfortunately - ingredients are still hard to come by, packaging stuck in customs, delivery companies struggling under the strain - not to mention our facilities closing down.
This has meant from time to time, certain products have been unavailable - my natural facial exfoliator, scrub up is the best example, with it being out of stock for nearly six months as a key ingredient just wasn't available anymore.
It has also meant a lot of parcels going missing as the Royal Mail try to cope with the huge upsurge in online purchases.
But you do what you need to do, don't you? And thankfully, our customers have been absolutely amazing in their patience, their understanding and, in some cases, their forgiveness for the delays.
As a result, we are still just about open - and we are very, very grateful.
Twelve months down the line from what has been probably the worst year most of us have experienced, we are still here helping as many customers as we can with their natural skincare regimes - something that most of us can agree just makes things that little bit better, looking after ourselves and our skin.
So this is really just a long winded way of me saying once again, thank you thank you thank you.
Thank you so much for the live chats, the calls, the emails, the Facebook Messages, the Instagram posts and on very rare occasions, the face to face.
We've loved it - and we are still loving it.
If you need any advice on what is the best skincare regime, need some info about a particular organic skincare recipe of mine, or if you'd simply love a chat - I'm here to help.
Email me at [email protected]. Call us on 01348 811711. Message us on our live chat.
Whatever your plans, I hope you have a lovely, peaceful weekend.
Angela x
