June 2016

Another month as gone to quickly.

So we're half way through the year....... it'll soon be Christmas!

 June was a busy month on the work front..... our annual AGM, national RSPCA week, national volunteer week, lots of events in the shop to raise extra money, celebrating our 25th anniversary at Little Valley & topped off with our annual Shelter Day at the end of the month.... phew!!

Outside of work we celebrated OH's birthday, I finished my jumper & started my Home Fire jumper. I visited the Dig For Victory show in Bristol,  treated the kids to a new toy, had some time off to spend with the kids & voted in the EU referendum........ what a shock???

Let's see what July brings

May Book Review

When Emma Robinson discovers she is carrying Paul Greenslade’s child, there are harsh consequences after he disappears rather than marry a common shop-girl.

Forced by her tyrannical father to marry Richard Gillows, Emma learns quickly that a jealous husband is a violent one. How can Emma escape the ties that bind her, to build a life for herself and her child?

A customer dropped this trilogy in the shop thinking I might like it, she was so right!!

It was a quick easy read but I couldn't put it down. Another great book set in the 1930's, now started on the next one which is set in WW2.

10/10

Victory In Europe

Today I will be remembering VE Day

I haven't finished my puzzle :-(

But I will wear my Victory jumper & brooch

Have my tea in my special mug

But I won't be celebrating with my boys as they're on a road trip

They're in my shop window display!

I've had so many nice comments about the window display & lots of older people have come in to tell me their stories of VE Day.... as you can imagine I loved that!!

November Book Review

To the student nurses at The Nightingale hospital, the ward sisters are heartless and frightening, with impossibly high standards. But the sisters have troubles of their own... 

Violet

The new night sister is not all that she seems. Who is she and what dark secret is she hiding? As the mystery deepens, Sister Wren is determined to find out the truth. 

Dora

The student nurse is struggling with her own secret, and with her heartbreak over Nick, the man who got away. A new arrival on the ward brings the chance to put a smile back on her face. But can she really get over Nick so easily?

Millie

Dora’s fellow student is also torn between the two men in her life. But then an unexpected friendship with an elderly patient makes her question where her heart – and her future – really lies.

As the nation mourns the death of King George V, it seems as if nothing is ever going to be the same again, especially for the women at the Nightingale.

I finally finished a book!!!

Yippee!!!!

I read the first in this series last year & really enjoyed it. I was so happy when someone donated this one plus the following 4 books to my shop!

Yet another easy read but I really warmed to the characters & couldn't wait to find out what had happened to them since the last book.

If you're looking for a light, easy read set in the 1930's then I would throughly recommend this series.

9/10

July 2015

I've been away too long! 

July seemed to pass in a blur...... remembering the Somme, the wedding of my nephew, a week off from work,  knitting cats, starting my Christmas cardigan, spending lots of time at home alone, finishing my temporary job as a fundraiser, having one last chance to see the rescue cats & the big blue moon!!!

August feels like a fresh new start...... I'm back in my shop full time & feeling much happier, funny how my eczema has nearly cleared up! OH has moved back, we'll wait & see how long that last!

I hope August slows down a bit!

June Book Review

I did very well in June, my first book is actually 3 books in one!!

An omnibus edition of Judith Kerr’s internationally acclaimed trilogy, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, The Other Way Round and A Small Person Far Away, we see the world through Anna’s eyes as she grows up – from her much loved family to Hitler’s holocaust.

Anna was a German child when she had to flee from the Nazis before the War. By the time the bombs began to fall she was a stateless adolescent in London, and after it was all over she became a happily married Englishwoman who thought she had put the past behind her.

This omnibus edition of the three volumes of Judith Kerr’s Hitler trilogy, tells her story beginning with the rise of Hitler in 1933 through to her return to Berlin years after the war.

I found the first 2 parts gripping & couldn't put them down. Such a brave family packing up their lives to move away from the horror that was going to happen to Jews in Germany. I really warmed to Anna & wondered what it would be like at that age to be moved around to different countries when you couldn't speak the language. At that age you don't understand the reasons why & no wonder she felt she had no home.

However the 3rd part was harder going, it follows Anna as an adult after the war & focuses on her mother. I must confess I didn't like her mum...... I can't put my finger on why but I felt she was a selfish, self centred person who didn't think about the impact of her actions on her children. Maybe I was missing something!

I thought this was a great book & would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading books about the holocaust.

9/10

Touching true stories from the heyday of the Butlin’s holiday camps.

‘When I got to the camp I felt as if I’d suddenly walked into Utopia – it was so colourful, so warm, so friendly. There were lights across the roads, there were banners fluttering in the breeze… There seemed to be laughter coming from every building.’

With grey post-WWII skies hanging low over Britain, factories lining the streets and smoke stacks dotting the horizon, there was one way that ordinary families could escape: the ever-cheerful holiday camps of Butlin’s.

When Billy Butlin founded his holiday camps in 1936, they were bastions of community spirit and havens of luxury. Here, for one week, wives and mothers were freed from the toil and drudgery of housework, children ran free through the grounds, fathers and husbands hung up their work clothes. Ever-helpful redcoats were on hand all hours of the day, dinner halls ready with plentiful food for old and young alike, bars stocked to quench any level of thirst, ballrooms waiting to be flooded with shiny shoes, rustling dresses and peals of laughter. And, as the sun went down on another exhausting, happy day, a chorus line was ready to sing holidaymakers back to their beds.

Rich in period detail and highly evocative, Wish You Were Here! tells the story of seven women who worked as redcoats in Butlin’s Golden Age. It’s all here: Knobbly Knees and Glamourous Grannies, the laughter and tears, hardships and heartbreaks, loves and losses of their lives in and out of the holiday camps, and above all the lifelong friendships they formed with each other and those who also worked or holidayed there.

Funny, moving and heartwarming, these are the timeless tales of a community spirit that burned brightly in a much-loved British institution.

I brought this book on Kindle for a bargain price of 99p, I love social history books & I found the cover helped!

Wouldn't we all love a Butlin's holiday in the 1950's??

It didn't disappoint! I read this within a few days & love it!

It's based around peoples memories of working in Butlin's between the 50's to the 80's. 

There are some very amusing stories plus some sad heartbreaking stories towards the end of their lives. It's lovely to hear there's a reunion group that still meet every year.

If Butlin's would like to run traditional holiday's again then count me in!!

10/10

May Book Review

Only 1 book in May 

Struggling to make ends meet, Mary Anne Randall is offered no help by her drunk and abusive husband. A pawnbroking business run from the wash house at the back of her home is the only way she can hope to keep her three kids fed and clothed. 

But, as storm clouds gather over Europe, can Mary Anne break free from her loveless marriage for what might be a last chance at love...?

I wasn't aware this was the second book in the series when I started but I would say it wasn't necessary to read the first one. I enjoyed this book, I warmed to the characters straight away. I really felt for Mary Anne & wanted a better life for her. A lot of the books set in this era are a bit rose tinted which I don't think is strictly true, lots of women in this era had a very hard life & Mary Anne is just one of them. I look forward to reading the next book at some point in the future.

You can find it on Amazon here 

8/10

May 2015

I can't believe May has come & gone.

I started the month getting ready for VE day by making Victory brooches & completing my special window display.

Attended my friends daughter's fundraising event, she swam a mile to raise money for Little Valley Animal Shelter.

Feeling gutted at the election results :-( 

Finding out I have to wear glasses for reading, spending time with my cats, feeling stressed out at work & finishing my land girl jumper (more about that in another post)

When I look back over the month it went by in a flash & I didn't seem to have time to do very much. I'm so focused on our Shelter day at the end of June I think I'm wishing the weeks away. I hope the year slows down after that!

April's Book Review

June 2nd, 1953. The residents of Ruby Street in London's East End are celebrating the new Queen's coronation. It's a day of joy and laughter, a new beginning for a nation still in the grip of rationing, still suffering the aftermath of the Blitz. But for Rose Weaver, the day ends in tragedy when her husband Eddie is arrested on suspicion of theft. It's only the first of several shocks as Rose discovers some unpleasant facts about the man she married eight years before, the man she thought she knew so well. Struggling to provide for herself and her two daughters, Rose realises that she'll need the help of family, friends and the good neighbours of Ruby Street if she's to have any chance of pulling through. And when a handsome salesman knocks at her door, it's hard to resist temptation ..

Only 1 book again this month.

Moving away from WW2 I went for the 1950's instead! 

I did really enjoy this book even though it took a long time to read. Rose, the main character, is a great strong East End women just as you would expect for the time.

9/10

My eyes get so tired when I read & when I went for my eye test last week I found out why..... 

yep I have to wear glasses for reading!

I'm hoping I will find it easier to read now so fingers crossed I'll read more..... don't hold your breath! 

Hopefully they will arrive soon.

November Book Review

Just the one book in November...... like everything my reading seems to be slacking!

I feel like I'm busy all the time but I don't seem to get anything done.... why is that?

Attractive, clever and wilful, Lily Knowles is desperate to leave home. So at twenty-one she escapes to London to train as a nurse, where she gathers many admirers - none more dashing than RAF officer Sandy Redfern, with whom she falls in love.

But the coming of war, with the chaos of the Blitz, brings upheavals and unforeseen entanglements. On hearing of Sandy's reckless affair with a married woman, a heartbroken Lily throws herself into her work. Then further changes in circumstances bring her to a busy RAF hospital in Hampshire, where a faithful childhood sweetheart persuades her to become engaged to him. 

And then fate brings Sandy Redfern back into her life, physically scarred by burns and inwardly embittered. What of their once passionate love and her present commitment? Can the past ever be recaptured?

After reading a Maggie Holt book in October I thought I would give this a go, the writing is really small so I did struggle reading before bed. I wasn't that keen on Lily at the start but felt myself warming to her as the book goes on. It was slow progress but I did enjoy it...... and yes it is another WW2 romance!! 

8/10

October Book Review

Finally I'm back to share my October book..... yes that's right it's just one book!

Once again I seem to have lost my reading mojo, not sure where it's hiding but I'm hoping it will come back soon before I drown in all the books I've got from my shop!

Following a disastrous marriage to a miner, Karen has devoted herself to a nursing career. Rising to the challenge of caring for the wounded soldiers returning home from the Great War, she has resigned herself to putting her vocation before any hope of a romantic life.

However, she finds herself drawn to handsome, troubled Patrick Murphy. But Patrick is also a Catholic priest. Dare Karen risk scandal and her position by falling for the one man she cannot have...?

So without further a do....

In this book I travelled back to WW1. It was the first Maggie Hope book I've read & I did really enjoy it. It was quite dark at times which just added to the story, there were also some twist & turns that I didn't see coming. As with most of these books there was a happy ending which is always good.

Another book that won't change the world but a pleasant read all the same.

8/10

Life has been a bit hectic over the last few weeks. My boiler broke & I had water pouring through the ceiling due to tiles slipping on my roof :(

It never rains but it pours doesn't it?

I've been spending most of my time up & down from the loft emptying buckets & being messed around by trades man.

I think I can see light at the end of the tunnel...... a roofer came around today with a quote, £2.6k..... crikey!!!! But it needs to be done.

I've also got heat!!! The girls are very happy :)

I just need to find a plumber now!

Talking about Crikey...... it's 8 days away!!

I decided to only do one fair this year in the hope I would then have lots of stock to sell.

Well it didn't go to plan & once again I'm in a panic!!!

Do I never learn???

Back soon

October 2014

Hello....... I've been away so long!

My poor blog never gets any love these days, Instagram has well & truly taken over.

Just popping in to let you know what I got up to in October

It was a busy month for me...... catching up with friends, seeing The Beat, getting hooked on puzzles, cracking on with my Christmas jumper, making lots & lots of poppies, celebrating Halloween with the family & of course spending time with my girls.

Only 2 months left of 2014...... Crikey!!!!!

November is shaping up to be just as busy. I have 2 craft fairs booked in..... it's the only 2 I planned to do this year & of course I'm not ready! So I'll be busy making over the next few weeks.

I also have lots going on at work, I've been asked to organise a Christmas raffle for all 9 shops, decorate the charity Christmas tree in the city centre & come up with some ideas for fund raising for 2015...... phew!!

So you can see why I don't have much time for blogging!

September Book Review

Two more WW2 stories read in September.

A family divided by war but united by love. Marianne seems to have everything. She is married to a handsome naval officer, Neil Sheridan, commander of a corvette. They have a daughter, Libby, and a beautiful home near Prince's Park in Liverpool. When war comes, Marianne takes war work and moves into Crocus Street with her mother, Mrs Wainwright, and younger sister. Neil disapproves because the Wainwrights live so near the docks, which are bound to be a bombing target, but Marianne is firm. Meanwhile, Libby is evacuated to the country to stay with Miss Williams, who lives in an ancient house, Tregarth, at the head of a valley in North Wales and Libby, the wheelchair-bound Matthew and Miss Williams assume they can settle down to see out the war in comparative safety. But, Libby is forced to return to the city when her mother suffers an accident and her gran finds herself unable to cope ...

I love Katie Flynn books & this one didn't disappoint. I read this one pretty quick for me, I did see the twist in the story before it came but I still really enjoyed it.

9/10

The much-loved author of ACROSS THE MERSEY tells of Liverpool under bombardment as never before – but the Campion family refuses to give in.

The Campions have always stuck together through danger and sorrow, but even they begin to wonder if it’s time to take their youngest, the twins, to safety away from the bombing raids. The twins have other worries on their minds; having been inseparable, they now realise that they each have different ambitions - and Lou isn’t sure she’ll find what she wants close to home.

Meanwhile, cousin Bella is managing a creche and discovers that life isn’t all about pleasure. She’s the last person her family would expect to help anyone; but when a figure from the past turns up on the doorstep, Bella’s unexpected reserves of compassion are revealed.

From hardship and heartbreak, surviving the toughest of times, the Campions know they can make it through if they have one another.

This is part of a series of book which I hadn't read. I was tempted to give up once I discovered that but I'm glad I stuck with it. You can't beat a happy ending :) 

9/10

I decided not to read anymore WW2 but after 2 days of reading a modern book I gave up & went back to my favourites.

My reading mojo is slipping away again & the book I'm reading is taking forever to finish :(

I must stick with it!

September 2014

I've been away too long & the weeks are marching on :(

So September came & went in a haze!

I finally received my anniversary present from OH...... we've been waiting since Christmas!.... top left corner, it's the new The Men They Couldn't Hang album that OH pledged, look closely & you'll see my name!!!

We remember our lovely Charlie who pass away 6 years ago, I had my 6th anniversary in blogland, started my Christmas jumper, tried to make loads for the November Crikey It's Vintage fair, finding goodies in my shop, a 1940's day out & of course spending time with my beautiful girls.

September was a lovely months & the sun shone lots. I'm getting used to living on my own but not looking forward to February when OH's lease is up on his new place...... I really don't want to move all my junk!!!

Hope I can find time to blog soon.

August Book Review

1940: as war closes in and the bombs fall, on the Homefront, two sisters must find their place in a new world of ‘men’s’ work, in which a telegraph can break your heart and nothing in the future is certain. Growing up in Birmingham, Sylvia and Audrey Whitehouse were always like chalk and cheese. As young women, while Sylvia dreams of her forthcoming life married to fiancé Ian. Audrey can’t bear the thought of being tied down by marriage and children. Instead she jumps at the career opportunities the WAAF throws her way. Joining the ranks at RAF Cardington, she finds these new freedoms come with confusion and irresistible temptations. When she goes too far in one careless moment, the consequences will ripple through the whole Whitehouse family. Meanwhile, Sylvia has come round to the idea of war work and, doing her bit, becomes a railway porter, much to Ian’s dismay. Fetching and carrying are just not feminine, not like Sylvia’s new friend Kitty, who is as sweet and pretty as can be. But Kitty’s innocent, girlish nature hides a far darker secret that no one could guess… As the pressures of rationing, bombing raids and sleepless nights grow, the two sisters must decide what they really want from life and if they’re brave enough to fight for it. A heartbreaking yet inspiring novel, perfect for fans of Margaret Dickinson and Katie Flynn.

Only one book read in August. 

This was brought to the shop by a lovely lady who keeps me supplied with WW2 romance.

It was a great book, with lots twist & turns.

10/10 

Still Here......

'cor blimey where does the time go??

I can't believe I haven't posted for nearly 2 weeks! August seems to be flying by & what with a turn in the weather it feels like autumn is nearly here. 

I don't seem to have done much which is why I haven't posted anything. At the end of July we went to Bridport vintage market.

We found a couple of bargains for my mums birthday & I found some lovely fabric

I did have plans to make a cushion but it's still on the back of my chair, well at least it's not packed away in my fabric box.

I've been busy making poppies for my Etsy shop

I've also been spending time with my girls & of course working.

I was due to have a holiday next week but unfortunately I've had to cancel it as there was no one to cover the shop :(

I've got a 4 day weekend from the 28th to celebrate my birthday then it's back to the grind stone!

My deputy leaves the week after so I'm not sure when my next day off will be, I better make the most of it.

Pop over to see me on Instagram as I find it easier than blogging.

July Book Review

Liverpool 1936

Miranda and her mother, Arabella, live comfortably in a nice area. But when her mother tells her she can no longer afford their present lifestyle, they have a blazing row, and Miranda goes to bed angry and upset. When she wakes the next morning, however, her mother has disappeared.

She raises the alarm but everyone is baffled, and when searches fail to discover Arabella's whereabouts, Miranda is forced to live with her Aunt Vi and cousin Beth, who resent her presence and treat her badly.

Miranda is miserable, but when she meets a neighbour, Steve, things begin to look up and Steve promises to help his new friend in her search, and does so until war intervenes.

I loved this book! It had me hooked from the beginning. I really enjoy Katie Flynn books, a good light read with the back drop of WW2

10/10

Laura Collins, a widow, is struggling to make a good life for her daughters, Tess and Tina.They are living with Laura's sister Millie and her seven children so when Laura is offered a good job, with accommodation, she is delighted.

Life is very different for the Brewsters, living on Manor Farm in Herefordshire.Danny and his girlfriend, Sophie, intend to marry one day so that they can run Manor Farm together but his cousin and best friend, Phil Ryland, feels differently.He longs to get away from farming and intends to escape as soon as he can.

Then war comes and changes everything.Tina is evacuated and Tess joins the Land Army.She means to be true to her boyfriend, Mike, but he is far away.Danny and Phil join the RAF, Danny to pilot bombers and Phil as navigator.They end up on the same airfield and fall in love with the same girl...But Phil has a secret which could end his chance of happiness, and Danny is the only person who knows what that secret is ...

Yep another Katie Flynn book! This time I've moved on to land girls.

Another great book. If you haven't read any of her books I would recommend them...... great for holiday reading.

10/10

More WW2 romance coming in August

July 2014

Another July has passed us by

I remembered the Somme on the 1st, went to another 1940's event with the family, knitted lots, treated myself to some flowers, had a relaxing spa evening, spent lots of time with my girls & remembered Teddy at the end of the month...... can't believe it's been 2 years since he left me :( 

We also celebrated our 1st birthday in the shop.

It's been a good sunny month

June Book Review

2 books again in June

Kathleen Clifford was born in 1909. Her family lived in a tiny flat near Paddington Station and her earliest memories were of the smell of horses and the shrill whistle of steam trains. For a girl from the slums there was really only one option once school was over - a life in service. She started work in 1925 as a lowly kitchen maid in the London home of Lady Diana Spencer's family. Here she heard tales of the Earl's propensity for setting fire to himself, as well as enjoying the servants' gossip about who was sleeping with whom. The Spencers were just the first in a line of eccentric families for whom she worked during a career that lasted more than thirty years and took her from a London palace to remote medieval estates. But despite long hours, amorous butlers and mad employers, Kathleen always kept her sense of humour and knew how to have fun. On one occasion she was almost caught in bed with her boyfriend who had to jump out of the window and run down the drive in his underwear to escape the local bobby.

I wanted to read something different so went for this from my large pile of charity shop books!

I enjoyed it but I'm not going to rave about it.

It was a bit slow in places & took me a long time to read even though it's only a slim book!

6/10

Training in a hospital in the 1930s, Edith Cotterill's long hours on the wards included encouraging leeches to attach to patients (a task much harder than you might think) and the disposal in the furnace of amputated limbs. Although hospital life did have its compensations - it was there during World War 2 an injured sailor who became her husband.

After the birth of their two daughters, Edith returned to work in the 1950s as a district nurse. Whether she was ridding ageing spinsters of fleas or dishing out penicillin and enemas, Edith approached even the most wayward of patients with humour, compassion and warmth.

Another disappointing book. It didn't tell you much about being a district nurse or about living in the 1950's. Again I found it slow in places & sometimes didn't even pick it up for days. It gave a lot of details about her growing up before she became a nurse & went in to much detail about working for a dog breeder..... including some stories I didn't want to read!

5/10

July has seen me back on my WW2 romance books :)

Back soon to tell you about my day out yesterday to the Dig For Victory show