On the Island (WishWishWish)

Blogger Retreat

I already posted a little snippet from last week’s mini getaway with Next, but here is a bit more of a thorough rundown, ’cause I think everybody involved had a bloomin’ good time.

First up, I have to say a big thank you to Next for inviting us all away for the night – they have always always supported and appreciated bloggers that wear their stuff – in fact, a Next party was the first event I was ever invited to back in 2009! So we go back a long time, and I’m sure all of the other bloggers on the trip would have similar stories!

So, all wrapped up in Next bits and bobs, myself and a group of wonderful girls made our way to Osea island in Essex, occupying an entire house to ourselves. It was probably the best sleepover I’ve ever been to. We sunbathed, cooked, munched on afternoon tea, made friends with donkeys and even partook in a murder mystery. Not bad for 24 hours, eh?

After celebrating my table’s inevitable win at the murder mystery (I’m extremely competitive…), we settled down on the sofas for tea and chats. Whilst it’s not unusual for me to spend my time exclusively in the company of bloggers, having the chance to get to know girls I’d not had the chance to hang out with before was amazing.

One of the biggest conversations revolved around bloggers supporting each other, and how important that is. Not in a tactical way, but just being decent human beings; sharing knowledge, offering advice and helping each other to grow, because that’s the only way that we’ll grow as an industry. I’m probably getting a bit airy-fairy here, but hopefully if you’re a blogger you’ll agree!

Thanks once again to Next for bringing such a fab group of gals together! You’ll find their links below.