Samantha Humphreys

Breathstealing (26 June 20262026)

I need to write this down while all the words are here in my brain and the elation is still bubbling away in my heart even though I fully intend to keep it there.

I am, as you will know, an advocate for creativity as a powerful tool to celebrate the small moments in life. By employing mindful practices, I have learned not only to recognize but also to appreciate those little snippets of time when my heart feels joy. These fleeting instances inspire me to capture my experiences in my journal, where I employ a range of media, from sketches, and watercolours to words and poetry. Through these creative expressions, I find a sense of space within which I can process my emotions and deal with them accordingly. I also teach these methods of how to harness and apply the powerful combination of mark-making techniques.

However, there is one particular experience that consistently overflows my heart with an abundance of good feelings, positive vibes, and sheer elation for a whole two-hour stretch, every couple of years or so. It transcends mere enjoyment; it is the excitement and shared love of something profoundly special that has the unique ability to unite many people. At said times, the world around me fades away, and I become immersed in a collective outburst of love. I am of course talking about Take That and the breath ‘stealing’ shows they put together. It’s not just the two hours that spark joy but the anticipation leading up to it, the overwhelming camaraderie shared with fellow ‘Thatters’, and the echo of laughter and smiles that linger long after the concert has ended.

I happened upon my first Take That concert in 1993, I was twenty one and of course, life felt tough. I was at the Chelmsford Spectacular at Hylands park which I went to every year, there was always someone good on. From that moment on, life just felt better and this was down to the pure energy and good vibes those boys gave to their audience in abundance. They gave a convincing impression of happiness and it was absolutely infectious.

This unified experiencing of music and the memories that are being stirred up with each word, each dance move (for me its Pray) and each smile from the stage makes the stadium a large scale, high intensity enrichment experience for those within. It’s like a workout for the brain, only it’s a wellbeing workout rather than a physical fitness type of exercise. I have always encouraged my girls to see their favourite bands because of the impact this had on me and now they are adults, they are seasoned concert goers like their mum and we have a shared understanding of the powers they can hold. This was the first time I have been to see Take That with one of them. It will now be a new tradition. One night with my long time friend and fellow Thatter Rhiannon in seated and another night standing with Ruby,

This is the most powerful example of the enormous power creativity holds to forge bonds and harness lasting memories that soothe our lives. Each encounter becomes a cherished memory, a reminder of how vital it is to seek out and celebrate those moments that fill us with joy, reminding us of our part as the embroidery in the shared fabric of humanity. But these are moments that need no documenting for reasons other than to be able to rewatch. This is not a safe method of retaining these memories. we all know that these records can disappear off up into the ….cloud….thingies or whatever. The documenting of these experiences are internal and our emotional responses are there for all time. We just need to make sure we hold on to them (on the lovely fluffy cloud that is living very nicely in my head right now).

Whilst I was waiting on both my trips to Stratford this weekend, I started a series of drawings of the little pockets of togetherness that was happening during the wait in the queues. I have also included in this series, people who were standing or sitting alone a the time I captured their image because they were part of the collective togetherness.

P.S In case you were wondering…Mark Owen from day one.

The End of The Night (27 June 2026)