Shoe a day...

READ THIS!!

Do not delay. Another moment cannot be lost. This book needs to be in your hands now! 

This is exactly how my friend Lizzie felt when she ordered 'Me Before You' by Jojo Moyes from Amazon. See now she's recently gone over to the dark side.. The Land of the Kindle that is. Having been my fresher friend who first introduced me to the likes of Paige Toon and Marian Keyes at university, Lizzie would often hand deliver me bundles of books which "I just HAVE to read!" Having announced my mourning that I would see the end to our unofficial book-club and  my very jammy rental service, my passionate bookworm of a friend upped the ante!

Delivered to my workplace, the delivery note read: "This is amazing. Get cracking!"

Having been in a bit of a book slump (I often have these after finishing an amazing read - I feel I need to give myself time to digest the story and jumping straight into another one would be like cheating on the last!) I did as I was told and got cracking that very day on the commute home. 

Moyes was a new author to me but her tone of voice was easily readable and the words just flowed off the page. Within the first chapter you know this is going to be a powerful story which is what elevates this book above others in its field. You get swept into the lives of a young girl who has become, rather by chance and slightly ill-prepared, the carer for a quadriplegic. You fall in love and feel every emotion on the spectrum. Buy it now. 

And if you have any reservations, I recently discovered that quite by coincidence my mother was reading this with her book club. Usually struggling with some epic biography or non-fiction textbook type read, she's always pulling all-nighters to finish the book the day before her club meets. However at a family gathering recently, you could not pull my Mum away from the pages of the book. Whenever the hosts left the room to put on the kettle or something, she would sneak back into the pages.

This is a perspective eye-opener. Get it now. 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

A Windy Wednesday

A case of right place, right time on Wednesday evening as I was invited at the last minute by my Aunt and Uncle to see The Wind in the Willows at the Duchess Theatre. 

Standing outside waiting for them to arrive just off the Strand, I happened to spot Will Young arrive with friends for the performance! So I was in good company. We had amazing seats in the Stalls!

The performance, starring Tony Robinson as the narrator and the beautiful Will Kemp (inset; pic from programme) it was a clever combination of dance, mime and story-telling. Starting at 7pm it was pitched perfectly accessible to younger members of the audience whilst still captivating us adults.

A very clever use of props and staging, combined with the most incredible facial expressions of Ratty, Badger, Mole and, of course, the infamous Mr Toad, it was lovely to be reminded of this famous childhood story. 

I would highly recommend going!!

Festival of Trees

Wanting to get wrapped up in the festive spirit, I could not turn down the offer of a Festival of Trees service at St Bartholomew of Burwash church last Sunday. Set in a beautiful little village, the entire church was filled with Christmas trees. 

Local community groups had each chosen how to decorate their tree - the knitting society, the brownies and school classes from a nearby school for example.

We walked in to a school group playing Christmas carols on the handbells. Squeezing in around a Christmas tree, which was on the end of every pew, we took out seats armed with a Carol hymn sheet. For the next hour we (a rose between my mother and my aunt) sang some of the classics whilst a choir offered beautiful harmonies. 

The smell of pine in the air and twinkling lights was certainly kicking up the Christmas excitement levels. After a walk around at the end of the service and seeing this beautiful nativity scene...

...we ended the evening with a drink next door at the The Bear (view out the back of the pub in the summer is phenomenal!)  to surprise my cousin. Lovely family Sunday indeed! 

I'll have a pint of your finest...

Monday night, I walked down the Thames river footpath to the George & Devonshire pub in Chiswick to sample a special brew of St Nicholas' finest. The local brewery had created approx 160 pints as a fundraiser for the local parish church.

Not being much of a beer drinker, there was no benchmark to meet, it just had to go down and not make me wretch. Which it didn't. Oh yes, high standards. It had a lovely fruity aroma and quite a bitter taste. I'm glad I only had a half pint but I did enjoy that I have to say. 

First of my antics this week and it had a lovely festive feel. 

Brilliant Bangs

This makes me miss my fringe...

Despite a brief dalliance in 2011, which involved a switch to contact lenses and permanent room in the handbag for a comb and hairspray, the love af-hair ended bitterly in a war of kirby grips. Just a shame you require a permanent hair stylist to make it look as good as Olivia Wilde!