So, after beating Nano and writing a huge chunk of my first novel (using none of the ideas I had previously been working on…), it’s time to switch my attention to the business of selling. As well as my Dainty Dora shop on Folksy, I have a whole weekend of selling lined up. Yes – me in person, selling. It’s been a while.

First up, Make Do & Mend at Platform, Easterhouse on Saturday 3rd December from 11am – 3pm. A super fantastic venue, a vintage vibe, a production of ‘A Victorian Christmas’, a vibrant cafe and a multitude of stalls selling wonderful wares – a top day out for sure.

Find me with my oh-so-popular handmade button brooches, vintage domino brooches, corsages, fabric necklaces, maybe a fascinator or two…AND a selection of beautiful hand knitted baby blankets, cardigans and booties by my very own Mum:) She is always in demand for her knitting!

Oh yeah. See you there for some crafty chit-chat and a chance to bag some unique, handmade gifts for that Christmas stocking.

All the deets are here. Ooh, nice stand, who made all those amazing items? I wonder….

 

*** AND IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH ***

 

The following day – Sunday 4th December – will find me setting up stall for the very first time at the brilliant Little Birds Market at Sloans off Buchanan Street/Argyle Street. That’s INSIDE out of the rain and the wind, in the stunning ballroom upstairs. It’s a regular indoor market and I’m very excited about my debut, just in time for Christmas. There will be some amazing goodies, surprise gifts and treats on the day. Fabulous. 12noon – 5pm.

Hope to see you at one of these events next weekend, which both have totally FREE ENTRY!

Rebecca x

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I knew I’d enjoy it, that I’d relish every second and wouldn’t want to leave. It was like the pinnacle of self-actualisation, where thoughts and words and worries and dreams cease to exist as the body transcends reality and your soul plunges and soars with the jets of the Hydro Pool.

Being a 5-Star Spa, the moment the elevator transported us to minus one and we emerged into the sparsely lit vacuum of mood-lit elegance, the trigger to relax seeped through our veins. As I devised a secret code for my personal locker equipped with water, towel and robe, I could only begin to conjure the experiences that awaited us beyond the wooden door.

The Thermal Spa Experience: Birthday Treat for Mr J.

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After an inspiring and thought-provoking day at the Write Now Writing Conference at Strathclyde University - complete with delicious home-baking and coloured badges – I felt compelled to share this little gem that I ‘found’ last year using random words from my husband’s favourite computing magazine, Linux.

Found Poetry is such an interesting subject and a clever, accessible intro to the world of poetry which can sometimes seem an elitist club for the few who can master Haiku and Pantoums and the inexplicable ins and outs of rhythm, rhyme, assonance, alliteration and allegory.

The concept was first introduced to me when doing an online evening class in Creative Writing, also at Strathclyde.

The idea was to pick words/phrases at random from a magazine you wouldn’t normally read, and shape them, mould them and form them into something resembling a poem, all without thinking too much about it. It’s the ‘freeing up’ of the mind that is the focus, the process, rather than the end result. Though the end result can actually be rather interesting in itself…

The Back-Up

The back-up.

It’s exactly unclear. Rubbish!

Two connections I have witnessed:

Reboot. Gesture. Reboot.

Unclear? Exactly.

Make voice calls. Gesture. Reboot.

The foot won.

I have witnessed the back-up.

Two connections made me

think it’s exactly unclear.

The back-up.

No Comments | In: Lifestyle, Trends, Writing | tags: creative writing, creativity, found poetry, glasgow, linux, linux magazine, magazine, poems, poetry, random words, strathclyde university, university of strathclyde, words, write now, writing. | #

On a recent visit to my Dad’s in the wilds of the Cairngorm National Park, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when re-discovering a certain piece of household equipment which is almost deserving of a place in a museum. Or at least the Christmas table.

Perhaps it could feature in a display on ‘The Way It Used To Be’ or a humorous retrospective of ‘The Domesticity Of Yesteryear’?* Either way, I don’t think they make them like this anymore.

The item in question is a Hoover hoover (or Vacuum Cleaner to be properly PC), all wired-on blue bag shaft, scuffed ceramic face and original red Hoover logo. It is a classic; a true vintage relic!

As Dad relays the story again of how ancient this (working) Hoover really is, I marvel at the manufacturing mavens who produced such a quality piece of equipment. I mean OK, he doesn’t vacuum everyday, or live in a palatial mansion with endless corridors of oosie carpet…but it’s still impressive.

Purchased for £14, it was already second-hand; a reconditioned model my parents bought when they were first married and setting up home together. As in before I was born. I am thirty.

Every year Dad takes it to a special Hoover Man for a service and had the foresight to stock-pile the relevant dust bags some years ago when extinction of said bags was a threat on the Hoover Horizon. His faith in the Hoover’s longevity is comforting and nice; a metaphor for a generation of trust in quality workmanship. 

This unassuming, slightly battered appliance is ripe for retirement in my opinion, but maybe it will have to carry on for another few years? Here’s to the next thirty!

So when I told Dad about the Make Do & Mend vintage market that I am attending on 21st May at Platform in Glasgow, we both came to the conclusion that ‘making do and mending’ is obviously in my blood. How marvellous.

*If any museums are interested in the purchase of this fabulous example of Hoover history, feel free to make us an offer!

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