Hello Hello,
Here we are, the leaves are starting to turn and the temperature is cooling. Before we bring out the wellies and rain coats, let me give you an update on what the team have been up to in the latter part of Summer 2026..
My family and I travelled to the Norfolk/Suffolk coast staying just outside Southwold – it’s official I’m in love – Southwold is a truly beautiful seaside town. It’s filled with lovely shops, historic pubs and cobbled streets. My son had his first experience of crabbing and caught no less then 12 crabs – not sure how pleased the crabs were about this but I can confirm – no crabs were harmed in the process. We enjoyed fish and chip lunches, the arcades games and playing in the sand. We even managed to dodge the showers! Southwold is also home to Adnams brewery who famously make ‘Ghost Ship’ Ale and many more. This just gives my husband and I more reason to return. We took our dog Ted, who relished the chance of a boat trip along the Broads. He didn’t mind his little life jacket at all and was happy hopping on and off at pubs for lunch / drinks.
Whilst away we also visited Africa Alive and had a really great day exploring and showing the children the animals. We would definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area. We took a picnic lunch and we’re so glad we did, there are plenty of places to sit and enjoy a view of various animals. As it was Summer holidays they also have lots of additional activities for children including a foam party!
Closer to home, Gabby and I spent a lovely day in Richmond, London. Firstly we had a fresh and filling lunch at Ottolenghi. We both had a chicken dish with a choice of 2 salads each – we were full for hours! After lunch we walked to Richmond theatre to listen to ‘My Royal Life: An Audience with Lucy Worsley’. Richmond theatre is a true piece of history in itself, built is 1899 it has retained much of its original character. A fabulous setting to listen to Lucy talk about life as chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, peppered with her knowledge on 3 Queens of England.
Sticking with the historical theme, my local town of Towcester has a small museum, focussing mostly on the Roman occupation of Towcester (Lactodorum). They were participating in a ‘Heritage day’ so entry was free on the day we visited. I took along my little ones, who enjoyed doing their very own archeological dig and exploring the museum’s dress up section. It was great fun. If you are in the area and looking to fill a couple of hours, it is a great little place to explore. https://www.towcester-museum.co.uk/
Laura and her family have been especially busy this summer…
The George family returned for their 3rd year at Potters Resort, Hopton-On-Sea. Where they enjoyed a wide variety of activities, including tennis, badminton, lots of bingo, many quizzes, a silent disco, keyring making and Scalextrics.
Laura’s eldest son, Max, turned 6 in August and celebrated his birthday in Legoland. Then, her youngest son, Liam, turned 2 in early September – keeping Laura very busy present shopping.
Why have one UK break when you can have two – During the last week of the school holidays, Laura and her extended family holidayed at Hoburne Devon Bay in Paignton. With 12 adults and 5 children, the holiday was a busy one. Laura would highly recommend Paignton as a UK holiday destination, it was clean with a lovely large play area on the beach front for children of all ages to enjoy, there were even a couple of pubs with play areas (important!)
Nick and his wife Martina spent some time holidaying in Rome, where September still served up 36°C every single day. That did not stop them clocking 20,000 steps a day as they tried to see as much of the city as they possibly could.
They did the underground Colosseum tour, the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, and St Peter’s Basilica, along with all the main sights around central Rome. A standout for Nick was the Domus Aurea, Nero’s Golden Palace, which is well worth seeking out if you are ever over there.
Nick loves his history, so the Roman Forum was always going to be one highlight, and they ended up walking round it twice. Even after all that, there is still enough left on the list that they will have to go back!.
The food was the other highlight. They stayed just north of the Vatican and ate in the small family-run restaurants near where they were staying, here they were often the only tourists in the room. Fresh traditional cooking, good wine and service that made them want to stay for another course.
Josh and Gabby enjoyed a wonderfully sunny day at Ashridge House celebrating the marriage of Clare (one of Gabby’s close friends) and her husband Gus. They extended their stay and enjoyed a couple of nights at Ashridge House and the walks around the grounds and woodland were amazing. There was also the best little coffee shop with delicious home made cakes to enjoy.
Gabby also enjoyed a lovely girls weekend break with her two mums (Tracy and mother-in-law Linda). They jetted off to Portugal and enjoyed a very relaxing few days, filled with lots of sunshine, amazing seafood and plentiful rose!
Keith, Linda, Josh and Gabby also enjoyed a lovely long lunch in Marlow spending time with some of the more distant Butten family, who were visiting from Canada for Linda’s birthday.
Riah and Harry had the most amazing honeymoon to Kenya and Zanzibar. A totally dreamy combination of places I think you’ll agree.
They spent the first half of the trip on safari in the Maasai Mara where we were lucky to see the big 4 (unfortunately the 5th of the big 5 – the leopard, evaded them this time) and a whole host of animals we’d never even heard of before!
The highlight of their trip was waking up to an elephant and her baby just feet away from their tent at 5am in the morning – a memory that I am sure will remain with both of them for the rest of their lives. Although this wonderful experience was followed closely by a sunrise hot air balloon as the flight path along the Mara river which meant they saw an abundance of wildlife.
They then headed over to Zanzibar where they spent the rest of their honeymoon relaxing on the beautiful beaches of the island and swimming in the bluest water Riah had ever seen. A well earned break after exploring on safari and Wedding planning. What a wonderful start to life as a married couple and they have both said they are feeling very lucky to have experienced something so amazing. Let’s not forget Riah’s target of 30 countries before she is 30 (December!) Kenya and Zanzibar were countries 27 and 28…
Riah didn’t stop there, she made country 29 and visited Tallinn with a friend. Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. They has a girly weekend to celebrate their 30th birthdays. Rayssa’s birthday was June and Riah is in December so a good middle ground going in September! Tallinn was a very beautiful city and they enjoyed their time eating and drinking their way around the city. One of the highlights was a trip to ‘Olde Hanse’ – a little touristy, but they ate some authentic Estonian food and got to listen to some old Estonian folk music.
In other news we have had not 1… not 2… but 3 new boossties join the ranks – Robyn, Emma and Michael.
Meet Robyn –
Robyn has worked in financial services since she was 18 years old. She holds a wealth of experience working at Insurance and Pensions firms. We welcomed Robyn to boosst in August as part of the Client Relations team working along side of Dawn and Nicola! So very soon, I’m sure you’ll get to say hello on the phone.
Robyn and her fiancé, Matt, bought their first home together and moved in with their 2 cats, Nigel and Keith(!). What great names for cats!
Robyn and Matt got engaged last year and are planning their wedding for September 2027, so lots of planning to do and a lot of DIY to get started on, how exciting! Robyn is trying to think of the perfect honeymoon destination (apart from Riah’s) so any ideas or suggestions please let us know!
Robyn has a love for arts and crafts in her free time, she is currently working on some diamond art! But is also partial to painting and drawing, another very creative brain.
Before starting with boosst Robyn and her family went to Toronto in Canada, where they had the best time watching the Ice Hockey, Baseball and Basketball. She would highly recommend going to one the games if you ever get the chance – the atmosphere was electric!
Meet Emma –
Emma is delighted to have joined boosst in August as Client Relations Team Lead having worked in financial services in several guises for nearly 30 years. Emma’s role is to provide paraplanning and technical support, alongside providing oversight, coaching and support her fellow boossties. Emma has already met a few of our wonderful fans already and is looking forward to meeting many more of you in the coming months.
Emma is married to Martin, and they have two daughters, Lydia and Hattie… and a cat called Nora! In her free time Emma loves to cook for her friends and family, take long walks – and she is also an avid reader.
Emma’s Dad lives in the Highlands and she enjoys visiting several times a year, which provides great opportunity for some of those lovely long walks with the bonus of having Dad and his dogs for company.
Recently her mother-in-law’s had her 80th birthday and the entire extended family had a few days away in the summer in a house in Kent. It was great fun and fantastic to be all together for a few days in such a beautiful location!
Meet Michael –
Michael has a Bachelors of Science and Masters degree in Psychology, which led him to a short stint in Market research before he found his true vocational calling in the world of financial planning, an industry he has been in for just over a year and a half now. He has joined us as a Trainee Financial Planner, where he will learn from the team you all know so well, hoping to become a fully fledged financial planner one day here at boosst!
Michael moved to Woburn Sands the Sunday before he started with us, with his partner Masie who runs a local events and floristry business. It’s the first time he has lived away from his identical brother, so plenty of change to adapt to!
Michael is a huge Arsenal fan, frequently visiting the Emirates and always finding time to watch their match on the telly (in between revising for his exams!). He also loves going on holidays, and before he joined us he had just been to a wedding in Italy – what a beautiful place to get married.
Having only started here in the middle of September, Michael has settled in well. The team has made him feel so welcome and he is extremely excited to see where his career at boosst takes him!
Off we head into the Autumn to create more memories and experiences, we can’t wait to share these with you soon,
Bye for now…
Katie x