Jake Orr

Oh that sounds delightful. You have a great time too.

Really good thanks, much more settled and feel like I am finding my place again. Plus I am just on my way to the airport for a 10 day holiday!

A plate with a fried breakfast on it. Veggie sausages (3), sliced mushrooms, baked beans and scrambled eggs.

Breakfast for dinner? That’ll do.

Thank you so much for these recommendations. Exactly what I was looking for as I’ve done the majority of the big places and don’t know the knowledge of some of the more specific museums. Also never heard of the Tenement Museum - fascinating!

Ah. Well it’s always good to step out of your comfort zone.

I was looking at the Frick but I tend to lean more contemporary.

Heading to New York on Thursday. Any recommendations for must see exhibitions I should be trying to see? Or experiences beyond the tourist attractions?

Jake in a luminous green jacket, a green hat and green glasses standing in a wood looking at the camera.

Light can be seen between trees. The beginnings of a sunset. Moss covers the ground.

A long gap in trees stretching into the distance. The air is Misty, it’s winter in the woods.

A large puddle reflects the trees in the background creating a striking mirror image within the woods.

Been spending a lot of time walking around the woods close to my partner’s house in my free time. It’s gorgeous no matter the weather and makes me feel alive.

Feel like there has been a big influx of spam accounts in the past week. Quite annoying indeed.

I’m intrigued by the rest of that headline…

Gotta keep watching until episode 3 and it all changes. I mean, sexy yeah but definitely brings heart and really emotional.

Doh. But hey, onwards!

Nah, it’s actually just a little birthday person for him.

A blue surgical glove that has been blown up and turned into a doctor complete with a face mask as a head cap, a smiley face, arms and its holding a syringe…

Having a Dr as a boyfriend sometimes means you find things like this in his house and you just accept it.

Returned to the LGBTQ+ youth group I volunteer with after they closed for a bit and it was so great to connect again with some of the service users that I’ve known for 3 years now. They seemingly have grown up so much in a few months. How did that happen? Is this what it’s like being a parent?!

Third week of the new job done and I am finally feeling like I am starting to make progress and understand what the hell I am doing being an Executive Director of an arts charity, ha!

Hamnet, what an a complained film with such heart. It’s testament to Maggie O’Farrell’s original novel that her depiction of loss resonates so strongly on film. Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal absolutely soar. I was a blubbery mess at the end.

The sound of midnight last night was punctuated by the screams of Duolingo users losing their streaks having got too caught up in their evening plans and not practicing…

I like how people now write essays instead of blogs.

Marty Supreme is a brilliant film with a centrally flawed and unlikeable character that makes it so difficult to feel anything towards him but banal hatred. Maybe that’s the point. Timothée Chalamet is quite something though, even if I loathed him.

A pontoon in a marina. Some sail boats in the background. A life ring in the foreground and a brilliant blue sky with clouds. The sun is breaking through the clouds and shining across the water.

Whenever I visit my parents it feels like a holiday. Their apartment overlooks the marina and it’s just gorgeous on a clear day.

Jake sits at a table holding a knife and fork. A plant in front of him. He wears a Santa hat and is dressed in a suit with a bow tie. There are candles on the table.

Happy Christmas 2025

(Every year I make my own Christmas cards featuring me with some plants. Here is this year’s tradition continued.)

I like the idea of lapping the gods though, if only as a concept.

None of us are easy to be with Sometimes the hardest person to be with is yourself.

My relationship is really difficult at the moment, but reading this was a good reminder that relationships are messy.

“None of us are easy to be with because none of us were raised in a perfect emotional environments.”

open.substack.com/pub/hasifff/...

I don’t want end of the year lists of the best of this or that. I want survival guides for getting through 2026. I want strategies for hope. I want joy subscriptions and suggestions on peaceful living.

I never have actually. Across any games. Mostly because I would suck at it!

I don't want a job I want to make art

Really enjoyed this writing on the need to make art and not have a job that isn‘t fulfilling.

„I refuse to accept that the majority of our time must be spent doing shit that does not light us up.“

open.substack.com/pub/amiemcne...

Maybe I need to give it more time but I just found the shift of the ages to really be at odds to what Civ has previously been.

I started with Civ 2 and have played everyone since. Bought myself a gaming laptop last year just so I could play 7 but not the biggest fan of the 3 stage process of gameplay.

Such a difficult thing to strike a balance with, without a doubt. I hope you do manage to find a way through it.