Sunday 20 July 2014

Seven Things...

I've been nominated for a Versatile Blogger award by two lovely talented
I try to be versatile...
 ladies, Teresa Ashby, and Patsy Collins.

I have to tell you 7 things about myself...

I'm a closet sci-fi fan. My current addictions are Farscape and Stargate: SG1. 
Every weekday evening I turn on the digital channel Pick, and from 7-9 pm I'll be watching...

In the scones debate and the butter/cream and jam order, I do have butter on mine, then jam, followed by a big dollop of clotted cream. That
was how I was taught as a child during summer holidays...

I collect postcards.
Not the black and white type, but of places I've visited, museums and old stately homes, and castles.
I especially like those showing fashion- dresses, shoes, hats etc. I have a few that I bought at exhibitions in my twenties when I lived within easy travelling distance of London. And of course I added a few more during my weekend in Bath.

A few of the postcards
 in my collection
Some people are coffee drinkers, and others prefer tea. I haven't drunk tea since I was a teenager.
When I was about 15, I went on a school trip to Switzerland, and we stayed in a hotel beside Lake Lucerne- well there was a steep path down to the lakeside. And that was when I started drinking coffee. When I came home a week later, the taste of tea was horrid, and although I've tried tea in the years since, it still tastes horrible...

My favourite flowers are roses and pinks.
I'm fortunate to have some scented red roses in my garden, and I love the scent on a warm evening. Sadly I've lost a couple of the rose plants that were in the garden when we moved into our house, so I'm happy to see my pruning is encouraging new stems, and lots of buds on the surviving ones....

I don't like scary/horror films.
It could just be I let my imagination run off into horrible possibilities, but I have never been the same since I saw 'The Fog'. My (now) husband and I were visiting my brother, and while there we watched the film without any problem. It was only when we finally got home- after a drive through dark country lanes- that I couldn't cope with the bedroom light being turned off!
I now never watch a scary film just before I go to bed...

I have a lot of long scarves.
Now this is a new habit I've developed over the past year. Although my muscles have finally healed after the accident I was involved in three years ago, I've discovered my neck and shoulder muscles give me issues if they get cold, or I lift anything too heavy- just covering the back of my neck makes all the difference. So I'm building up a selection of colours, patterns and weights for different times of the year.

So that's seven things. Now I need to nominate 15 people, and as with any of these awards no doubt quite a few will have been nominated before.

Here's 10 for now...

lizy-expat-writer

seaviewwarrenpoint

catchingcottonclouds

mjfrancis

bettyblogs.weebly.com







Saturday 12 July 2014

A Reading Flashmob in Nottingham...

You've probably heard of flash-mobs before- perhaps even taken part in one; well today I was a participant in a reading session flash-mob in Nottingham city centre.

 This was organised by Dawn of the Unread - they're on Facebook and Twitter as well- to show support for libraries.

The meeting point was the statue of 'Cloughie' -Brian Clough (best known for being the manager of Nottingham Forest football club) and the paved area in front of him; this area leads down onto the Market Square- currently hosting Nottingham by the sea- they put in a beach area, a bar, and various fairground rides for the school summer holidays.

Gathering around the Brian Clough statue
ready for reading.. 
NottsTV were there filming the event.  I'm pleased it was a bright sunny day, so lots of people attended.

It was hard to tell how many attended as everyone was spread out - but the early arrivals got the base around the statue to sit on...

The city centre is always busy and noisy, especially on a Saturday, but for 10 minutes there was a quiet haven where we all sat down and read.

I'm sure a few passers-by wondered what was going on - they stood around the edges, but no one minded the readers taking up space.

I sat down and propped my back against the tree to read my chosen book, and I was grateful for the little shade it provided- it was getting very warm by midday.

My reading choice for the event was Julia Quinn's 'How to Marry a Marquis'.

I'd bought this just before I returned home from Bath in May, but not finished it, so in my bag it went.

My flash-mob reading choice
If you're on Facebook look out for the photos that were posted by various
attendees...

Have you ever been part of a flash-mob? If so do tell... :)