Monthly Archives

March 2016

Monthly Memoir – March

So the month kicked off with the Oscars. (Ok, strictly speaking that was February, but I’d already written February’s memoir by the time we watched them on the evening of the 29th. Despite our best efforts to avoid spoilers during the day, we were all unable to avoid the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio had won best actor. This is great news as we’re with the popular opinion that it was about time! It was difficult to judge the winning choices without having seen ninety-five percent of the films, but I still find the event enjoyable to watch. The fact that all the creative people in the film industry are being celebrated, I find really inspiring and convinces me that my next writing project should be a screenplay!….

Hastings Pier – The story of the photograph (and photographer!)

Welcome to the first of a new regular feature I’m starting on this blog! I began a keen interest in photography about twenty years ago, and when I was seventeen I spent a stupid amount of money in credit interest buying my first SLR from a catalogue! I practiced a lot and took five GNVQ courses in photography at college in the evenings when my babies were little. I thought I’d go over some of my favourite photographs from back then and more recently, and tell you a little about how, when and where they were taken. The first is this one of Hastings Pier, which was in my very first exhibition….

Avalon Fairy Fair, Glastonbury, Spring 2016

I couldn’t believe it was time for one of these fairs again. They’re only twice a year, but they seem to rock around far more often than that! They’re in Glastonbury town hall and I usually go to every one if I can because it’s so full of such interesting stalls…

Spring Equinox and Handmade for Easter

Easter is the main festival we celebrate in England that I feel most uncomfortable about because I am not Christian. I feel that Christmas has evolved to mean something different to people – often it’s about celebrating time with family; however Easter is purely and simply about Jesus. For the last fifteen years or so I’ve done a mini easter egg hunt for my kids at Ostara, the spring equinox, which this year falls today. The Pagan religion interests me and resonates with me, although if pushed to label myself I’d say I was agnostic, bordering atheist with leanings towards Paganism, Buddhism and Christianity! So anyway, whatever your beliefs, I’ve put together a selection of handmade items that would be lovely as gifts at this time of year….

How to age paper quickly + Spellbinders distressing tool review & ink review

Every now and then my workroom floor gets completely covered with crafting paraphernalia while I make some books. By that I mean either plain journals where I just decorate the cover, or complete wedding guestbooks where every page is decorated with places for the guests to sign their name or leave a message. Well this has been the case for the last couple of weeks. At the moment I’m making a large steampunk themed guestbook, which, when finished, will be an example for others that can be made to order with the couple’s names and wedding colours etc. So, I thought I’d tell you how I age my paper to give that lovely distressed vintage look….

Butlins, Minehead

I’ve just been looking through my saved drafts of blog posts, and came across this one that I wrote four years ago! I think it’s worth publishing because the tips will still be useful, but the prices will be out of date now. My friend Traci and I took our village Youth Club kids to Butlins in Minehead, Somerset for the day… Well, first I have to say I was pretty impressed with the place. There was a friendly atmosphere and it was spotlessly clean. It was also well laid out and difficult to get lost in, which is useful when you’ve got 10 kids to keep an eye on….

Victor Frankenstein starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe

This review is coming from the point of view of someone who has never read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or seen any other film about it, and first thing I can say is that I don’t think that mattered at all, and may have even been better that way. I mean, Mary Shelley wrote the book in 1818 where-as the film was set roughly 1870s I would say, judging from my recent in-depth research into the late Victorian period. I couldn’t find any definitive information on this online either, so perhaps the film-makers deliberately kept the date ambiguous. It peaked my interest though; particularly as the beginning is set at a circus…

A Classic Evening with Rebekah Smith in Pilton

Pilton Parish Church kindly left the heating on all day so that it would be warm enough for us to watch this classical recital last night! My husband and I have talked about going to something like this for a while, and when the opportunity fell into our laps (or rather, into our village), it was a chance not to be missed…

Vintage Fair, Wells + tips for vintage clothing sellers

Conveniently situated right next to a car park, so you can carry your vintage haul easily back to the car before looking round the shops in Wells High Street! It’s a small vintage fair organised by Vintage Somerset (A great website by the way, full of vintage shopping info), and takes place in Seager Hall on Union Street. My daughters and I visited on Saturday, but I think it’s on at other times in the year too. It’s a cute little fair – to be honest, too small for my liking. I do like to go to a vintage fair knowing I’ll definitely come away with something, but with only about twelve stalls, your chances are fairly limited with this one. And I wasn’t impressed with the £1 entrance fee, given the size….