Gypsy weddings, Tokyo and The Help - Brief Book Reviews

So far I've surprised myself with the amount of reading that I have done since June- I thought I'd share with you my summer reads so far because some have been great and some others... not so great!

 Firstly I read Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker which is essentially the autobiography of the big star of one of my favorite shows ever 'Gypsy Weddings' It was a brilliantly easy and entertaining read from start to finish. Sometimes my jaw was literally on the floor at the hilarity and outrageousness that Thelma comes across in her line of work, but equally it was very insightful and quite a fair representation, I thought, of traveler culture too. This is going to sound really immature, but it had photo pages too- and I just love books with pictures in! It really added to the whole story and I have a new appreciation for how much work goes into one of those insane dresses.

The next book that I read was Tokyo which I must say, was the worst of the bunch. I thoroughly enjoyed that for the most part it was set in Tokyo which is somewhere that I'm desperate to go! But the actual story was hugely anticlimactic, and a little unrealistic, about a girl who goes missing on her travels. I'm still glad I read it for the fact that it felt like I was taking a guided tour around Tokyo but besides that the actual story was on the dull side.

The final book I read was The Help and it was absolutely brilliant! I read it in about 4 days even though it was the thickest book of the bunch. It's a non-fiction book but it's one of those stories that 'could' be real, it's set in the 1960s South America, Post-Rosa Parks but Pre-Martin Luther Kings death. It's written from the perspective of two black maids and one white female writer. At times it really had me laughing out loud as well as making me feel outright ashamed of the segregation that existed not so long ago. While definately having it's sad moments, by the end I felt uplifted. I bought two copies for friends as soon as I'd finished because I want everyone to read this!

A little addition to this list is that last night around 6pm I picked up 'Mummy Knew' by Lisa James, I stopped to eat dinner but then couldn't put it down until 2am when I'd turned the last page, it has over 200 pages. Without wanting to end this post on a downer it's without a doubt the most horrific account of child abuse I've read about in the UK, afterwards I had to watch funny videos on YouTube before I could fall asleep, my head was just swimming!

Gum Girl! The cutest free webcomic

Sundays are for lounging, and I stumblest across the cutest thing to do while lounging...
Gum Girl!!! - The picture book (chic-er way of saying comic)

I saw this on a shelf in a store and thought it looked sooooo cute! I didn't buy it there and then but when I got home saw if I could get it from Amazon, until I realised.... that the Gum Girl website are offering this issue to read for free online, you can read it straight from the website, no downloading needed or anything! How often is it that you get stuff legally for free that you can also buy- almost never- so I was very excited and had to share this.
I read this issue online, it was so so so cute. If Gum Girl becomes popular, I want to dress like her on special occasions, just kidding, on a day-to-day basis.

Here's a link directly to the picture book if it takes your fancy:
http://www.gumgirl.co.uk/p/webcomic_12.html

My experience with a psychic

Seeing a psychic

I went on my first ever visit to a 'psychic' today. When I first booked the appointment back in August, the next available slot for me was December- I couldn't believe the long wait, whether she's true or a fake I thought she must be very busy and have lots of clients!

Many people around me are sceptics about this kind of thing, my friend also who went to visit her on a whim is now converted because she was able to be specific enough to pinpoint the title of the book she was reading at the time (and no it wasn't 50 shades...)

I decided 'Hey, maybe I could benefit from some spiritual guidance' and maybe I have benefited from this, or maybe I havent, but I'll give you a little taster into what was said in the reading.

Maybe this is the weirdest Outfit Of the Day ever, but this was the outfit that I deemed suitable to wear to a psychic reading. I tried to keep it very neautral, not too crazy or bright to give as little away as possible through what I'm wearing.

I walked into the very pretty dining room of the ladies house, she had a candle burning and incense too I think, aswell as lovely music but no crystal ball, which seems to be the #1 question that everyone asks me 'Did she have a crystal ball??'

The reading began with her asking me to close my eyes and imagine a light, the light I saw was like the light at the end of a tunnel that you see in films. Then she said the dreaded words 'clear your mind'

As soon as someone says to me clear my mind, my mind starts getting itself in a mess, furiously trying to clear itself. The conversation in my head went like this:

'okay, deeep breaths, and clear thoughts... think of nothingness...okay relax...clear mind...am I imaginging the right kind of light? Does the light need to be imagined around me or is it supposed to be in front of me? What if she can't get anything from me because my mind isn't clear? CLEAR MIND, COME ON MIND CLEAR YOURSELF OUT! Should I have opened my eyes already? Is she just staring at me waiting for me to open my eyes or do I wait for my eyes to open themselves? Oh my goodness, the reading will have to end right here because I can't clear my...'

"...now open your eyes when your ready"

And that was how my reading began.

Some key things that are kind of funny and that stick to me that she said were:

'you're not snacking, you need to snack more' which was very interesting as I've told a lot of people that are especially close to me that since I've moved away I've stopped snakcing I just eat three set meals a day.

Another funny thing was that she told me my great grandmother is glad that I have her rings and brooches even though she knows that they are not my style. That made me laugh because while true, I have them carefully stored away safely.

She also said that she can see a big 'do' in August, which is the month of my sisters wedding.

It was a 40 minute reading that included tarot cards aswell, and a lot of personal things, aswell as lots of vague things and random names that I've scribbled down but that don't make a lot of sense.

Everyone who I have told the nitty gritty and ins and outs of the reading to has asked me for her phone number, so what I said seems to have convinced them that she's pretty darn good.

My verdict is that she was too specific to be vague, but not specific enough to make me certain I'm convinced- I would certainly visit again in a year or two though!

Staying awake Sunday nights

Who says that I don't know how to have a crazy time on the weekend?

Well.. me, I'm sat on my maybe 4th or 5th hot chocolate of the evening trying to stay awake to get my work finished for Monday morning. I'm not a coffee drinker (coffee breath makes me gag) and I want to make my teeth brighter not browner!

Things that are good about tonight:

I'm not the only one working around the kitchen table

We are all taking turns to play a classical music 'study' song to lighten the mood

I have hot chocolate WITH marshmallows

It's raining while I'm INSIDE

Things that are not so good:

I had to run OUTSIDE in the rain to pick up a longed for library book I had reserved

I've drunk so much hot chocolate I just feel full up and need a nap

I'm concentrating more on being a study DJ than studying

Who even understands what any of the chapter in this book says anyway??

Classroom bird deco!

We went on down to my sisters classroom as the school summer holiday is drawing to a close to sort things out and make it look a little bit cuter! You don’t realise how much effort goes into ‘jazzing’ up a classroom, or at least I didn’t! I don’t remember my teachers making the classrooms I was in so pretty and fun and inviting.

So the theme for this year was birds, last year it was sports (for the Olympics) so we had to bird up a classroom which is easier said than done.
Here you can see me trying to sort out the reading area in the classroom, and make it look kind of like a tropical jungle with birdies sat on top. There’s green netting over the top of the plastic to make it look a little more ‘leafy’

I added painted bird eggs, birds with feathers (that probably look like the kids in the class made them…) and tissue paper tassles, as well as a green plastic sheet along the back to make it feel more secluded.

On another wall was the really fun ‘fancy word’ wall bordered in get this… feather boas! I thought that was just the funnest idea and would encourage me to use the more fancy words...

Nothing is finished yet but I sure hope they like it!

What I am reading (or trying to) for Summer 2012

The only time that I really get a chance to read properly and consistently at all but I'm looking foward to getting my teeth stuck in, so here is my ambitious list!
If you've read any of these and you think they're a waste of reading time or were the best thing you ever read then let me know
or.. If you think something is truly lacking from my list- tell me tell me!

The five people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom, people have told me great things about it!

Can we still be friends by Alexandra Shulman (editor of British Vogue) It sounds a little autbiographal in terms of story but I'm looking foward to it

They Gypsy Dressmaker by Thelma Madine (dress maker from the tv show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding) That show is my guilty pleasure, so reading an autobiography based on the show is just an extension of that!

The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman - This was made into the most incredible movie, I didn't put it on my 'Saturday night Movies' blog post because it's pretty bleak, and I don't want anyone to be put off by me saying that it is a war movie, because we all immediately think that war movies must mean khaki coloured dust. This is much more a personal account of a Jewish man set in World War II and how he's treated and how the tables turn.

The Sea on Our Skin by Madeleine Tobert- Unfortauntely this is a classic case of judging a book buy it's cover, the cover is so fun and tropical, and I wanted something a little light hearted!

 So there you have it, maybe this isn't an ambitious list for you, but for 3 months-ish it's quite ambitious for me but I can't wait to get started! If any of them are close to life changing you bet your bottom dollar I'll do a post on it at a leter date!

I get to live my librarian dream!

I downloaded Good Reads on a complete whim and turned out having the best time although maybe a slight waste of time!

The app had this great feature where if you scan the barcodes on the books that you own, it identifies them and puts them in your 'virtual book shelf'

Then you get to catagorise them in sections like 'to-read' 'have read' and ones that you especially feel like you want to talk about you write a review on!

I got a little carried away with the scanning- it was just so much fun! I always thought the scanning of the books at the library looked like the very best part of the job so I went a little cray-cray
Here's what the fancy tool looks like

If you like the sound of GoodReads then I suggest you get an account, it's like social networking for books, and I'm not even a that big reader, I just do a little when I can and have the chance.

So here's my account: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9834819-alexia

And if you get the chance... I say get the app, it's much more fun than visiting the website- and by that I mean the fun scan-beep feature

Want to go to a festival for free?

I'm not much of a festival go-er myself, I sure wish I could let go of the idea of not being able to shower, and be 'okay' with sleeping in a sweaty cramped tent-
However, I can appreciate the great times of it, the relaxtion the social aspect and discovering new artists, new experiences and new people

Plus, this tent is pretty darn amazing

But it always works out pretty pricey, especially if you're going to more than one this year (or want to)

So if the tickets for festivals are going to burn a whole in your pocket-
Consider this:

Oxfam festival stewarding
The only bad thing: You have to pay a £195 deposit BUT you get it back after you've completed all your shifts.

The great things:
You just being there raises money for Oxfam
You get warm showers for free
Hot food
To see live music for free

A few of the participating festivals:
Reading, WOMAD, WOWfest

if your lil' ears are pricking up at this prospect, visit here for more details:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/Stewarding

Every day may not be good...

...But there is something good in every day

Sometimes the day has been truly against us and we tie ourselves up in knots thinking about how it all seemed to go so wrong.

Sometimes we think about it so hard, that we can't even sleep and let a new day begin because we're wearing ourselves out thinking about yesterday.

Always look for the little things, even teeny tiny things that were good in your day, the little things that bring me joy on a bad day can be as simple as listening to something calm and beautiful like this:



While reflecting on all that has given me joy today, my list goes a little something like this:


The sight of my fairy lights glowing over my fireplace

A bath with so many bubbles

Being able to listen to the same song on repeat

Starting a new book

A mug of peppermint tea

My phone not running out of battery

The wonderfully inky night sky

Share with me something that has brought you joy today!

Sweet dreams (day or night) that allow us to escape to anywhere, if only for a moment!