Why am I starting a blog...at the end of the pandemic

It might seem a little odd to be starting a blog now. After all, I have missed the high point of blogs, the excitement of the pandemic is over, and things are finally settling down.

On a personal level, Violet is now 17 months, so I can't record every moment/every worry and try and pitch this as a lifestyle/parenting blog…but why would I? There are thousand already, most of which are better written and more well-researched than I could possibly do.

This is my personal blog; to be honest, it's closer to a journal and a therapeutic exercise. It isn't really about Shoreditch (the site was originally called After Shoreditch...). It's supposed to be a bit of a metaphor to reflect change and moving on.

At the very start of the pandemic, my partner and I had our first baby in April 2020. Having a baby is always going to be life-changing. But, having your first child, late in life, in a pandemic, during a nationwide lockdown and being trapped in a tiny flat has been an experience…and not all good.

I thought I'd use the blog to try and record some of the experiences. I don't think I'll come up with anything genuinely profound or new, and I will not publicise it. However, if it's helpful to another new parent even in the slightest, that will be nice.

Violet is lovely, but it has been very hard; we have been trapped in a small flat, there has been ill health (but I don't feel ready to write about that yet) and a lot of stress. Plus, we are both trying to work full time. Just to add one more thing we are selling up and moving to another part of London. I will try and record some of the experiences, mainly for myself. But I am also going to include other things.

I suspect that the blog will be sporadic and cover a wide range of topics. I realise that we are all supposed to find a niche and write religiously in that area… but I don't want to. It's my blog; it's my exercise; I'm not trying to sell anything, just use it as somewhere to record and maybe help another dad facing similar issues. It may evolve and change; I have already got some ideas.

It's not really about Shoreditch, but there may well be quite a bit about Shoreditch and East London; part of the moving on is about leaving that area of East London. So I am going to include material about this - Some might be deep and emotional (!) some might be about the joys of selling and buying properties in London, and I have a whole set of posts drafted to take you through the fun of doing a big refurbishment of a flat…will I get any readers.

Anyway, here goes…