This Northern Gal

03/12/2023

A strange post I never thought I’d write but… my blog is closing down! Yup, after 30 days thisnortherngal.co.uk is disappearing.

Thank you to everyone who read, commented and shared over the years - it truly did mean the world to me.

But, in the quest for a bit more privacy and due to some amazing opportunities that I couldn’t share online, I fell out of love for sharing longer form posts with the world. So I’m starting the new year not as a blogger ( for the first time in a decade) and I’m so excited to free up some brain space as a reader, writer and general person. The social media is staying but the site is going so if there’s anything you want to read one last time, here is your warning.

Thank you for reading my ramblings and making my little corner of the internet so lovely.

Love,
This Northern Gal x

31/10/2023

I was gifted two tickets to this production in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion. I've made no secret of my love for Opera North on this site: I truly believe they one of the most accessible and most entertaining opera companies around at the minute. They consistently breathe fresh life into some of the most classic operas, drawing new audiences to the art form....

This Northern Gal reviews Opera North's production of Falstaff.

23/08/2023

If you've been following along on Instagram, you may have noticed that I recently got back from a long weekend in Porto with my mum. It was fantastic and the perfect remedy to looming dissertation deadlines. Plus, it looked like this for most of the weekend so how can I complain? I haven't been able to stop recommending it to people in real life so I decided it was time to collate some of the details for people online too while it is fresh in mind....

20/08/2023

More cheese? Yes please!

17/08/2023

It's summer, my dissertation deadline is looming and I have been buying books, obviously. Who is ready for another book haul? Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee. I know this is a classic but I've never read it! I've heard some good things about it though so when I saw this copy secondhand in a museum, I thought I would pick it up....

This Northern Gal shares a recent book haul.

13/08/2023

13/08/2023

So proud of .2023 who is absolutely smashing it at

07/08/2023

Oh my. Oh my, oh my. You know a book has to be good for me to crawl out of my dissertation edits to write up a review. Yes, Fourth Wing is one of the most hyped books around at the moment and yes, it is 100% worth that hype. If you have somehow managed to not know anything about this book, let me start with a quick summary....

This Northern Gal reads Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

08/05/2023

I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinions. I am so excited to announce that today I am part of the blog tour for Straight Expectations, by Calum McSwiggan. It has been a long time since I've agreed to a blog tour as they're quite a big commitment but when I found about this gem of a book, I just had to come out of my retirement and say yes!...

This Northern Gal reviews Straight Expectations by Calum McSwiggan.

19/04/2023

I was kindly gifted two tickets to this production in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of the show. For most of us, Grease requires no introduction and rightfully so. I remember watching it many a time while I was growing up, as I gradually appreciated some of the lyrics and jokes a little bit with each viewing....

This Northern Gal reviews Grease, the latest production by Darlington OS at Darlington Hippodrome.

26/03/2023

Hello, hello! I'm back from a little trip around Wales and I thought I'd share it with you all. It has taken me a little while to pull this together as we a) travelled over 1000 miles on this road trip b) saw a lot of family while away and c) had to dive back in to a busy period of work when we returned....

This Northern Gal shares some highlights from her road trip in Wales.

25/03/2023

I was gifted two tickets for this show in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinions in this post. We're back! And what a show to come back with! I was recently invited back up to Newcastle to see the latest production by Opera North at Theatre Royal: Ariadne Auf Naxos. You know I had to say yes to that....

This Northern Gal reviews Ariadne Auf Naxos by Opera North