Staying Out for the Summer

Eeeee-oop chuffers. It's  me, likkle old Anne Hathaway what plays Emma dooin' me t'Yorkshire accent for David Nicholls Day, t'new incumber... encumber... version of St Swithin's Day. You know, when July 15th comes about and me and t'other actor what plays Dexter from One Day 'as to be seen doin' what we's doin' on account of it being an anniversary of when we didn't properly get together, like... for 40 year. 'Cept David Nicholls got fed up after 20 and ended the booook.

Hang on, it's actually July 16th today... phew! I couldn't keep that up for long. I was in serious danger of sounding less than authentic.

Love, love, love the book One Day... the film's, erm... okay.

But with yesterday's weather being romantically sunny and lovely, if the proverb is correct, we should have glorious sunshine for the next 40 days. What to do with all that sunshine if you're watching the pennies?

Well, I think once I've finished Thinner (borrowed - 0 cost), and Adam Neville's  The Last Days (99p),  I may find time to sit in the park or garden and read One Day again.

But if you fancy doing something a bit more organized, try your local what's on pages and you might find something that will either be low-cost, or won't cost a bean. I'm all for no beans.

I'm aware that the frustrating thing about me is that I let people know about stuff after it's too late for them to join in, so I thought I'd give you my pick of what's going on in Northants and Bucks. This list is not exhaustive, and there is no guarantee that you won't be tempted to part with money at these events (guard against temptation where possible!!!), but access is entirely free.

Northamptonshire:

Bands in the Park: Every Sunday until 21^st September in Abington Park from 2-5pm. Free.

Lots of exhibitions, craft sessions, writing sessions at the various Northampton museums. The guide is here. Quite a lot of the activities listed are free.

19th and 20th July Cosgrove Canal Festival & Craft Fair with trade boats, craft stalls, cake stall. children’s games plus Milton Keynes Play boat. All funds go towards the restoration of the disused Buckingham Canal. Saturday 10am - 6pm Sunday 10am - 4pm. Free event Cosgrove Lock, Grand Union Canal, Lock Lane, Cosgrove, Northamptonshire MK19 7JA

25th July Thurning Feast Mini Fair with Archery hosted by Robins Reach Archery www.robinsreach.co.uk. Games & Stalls. Hog Roast. Food Stalls. Real Ale Tent (Digfield Ales).

Free Entry. Start time 5.00pm with live music starting at 6.00pm till Midnight

Thurning Northants ( 6 miles South East of Oundle) Northamptonshire PE8 5RB

2^nd and 3^rd August – NNestival at Midsummer Meadow – bands, stalls, spoken word, lots of lovely stuff.

We are Most Amused – free comedy at the Victoria Inn, 8.30 for 9, 2 Poole Street NN1 3EX, on the 2^nd Thursday of every month, so next one is 14^th August. Got to plug it really!

Buckinghamshire:

Saturday 19^th July – Properstock in the grounds of Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes.

Features several stages of up-and-coming musicians, DJs and spoken word, with 50 stalls, a graffiti art showcase, food and refreshments to buy, an inflatable obstacle course, jousting and castle and a circus skills workshop. Headlining is Heart of a Coward.

Saturday 19^th The Librarians by Pestiferous perform two free 20 minute sets of physical comedy at Milton Keynes Central library. Performance times 2pm and 4pm. This is part of the festival fringe. Tickets are free, but they would like you to register attendance here.

Sunday 27^th July. World Picnic, Campbell Park, Milton Keynes. This takes place between 1 and 6 and features music, dance and the Scribal Gathering spoken word tent. Go see the fantastic Danni Antagonist and The Antipoet.

Also in Milton Keynes, a number of different arts events between 18^th and 27^th July as part of IF Festival. Here’s a link, filter by free stuff.

All summer, nationwide… Change4Life and Spogo have arranged a load of low-cost and free fitness sessions. Check here to find one near you.

What about you? How are you planning to make the most of your summer in a frugal fashion?

Improv, Caterpillars and Frogspawn Jelly

My first attempts at trying to be Felicity Kendall have hit a wall of fail...

Felicity is disappointed with me.

I've been harvesting salad and strawberries from my garden, and gazing with admiration at the yellow blooms on my courgettes, the beanstalks slowly winding their way round the canes, and the leafy promise of my cabbages. Not hugely impressive, but it was a good start.

Then, woe is me - my rocket got a load of flea beetles. They're not even in my gardening books, what the flip do I do with them? To top that, my cabbages are more shrunken and lacy than Beyonce's latest skimpy stage outfit after some sneaky butterflies managed to get under my nets. And an unknown something has been nibbling at my mizuna. I think it was one of these...

Be More Rabbit.

Oh well... I think we can still get a stir fry out of the pre-nibbled cabbages - a small one. Just got to check extra-carefully for the sneaky green caterpillars - they're not as easy to spot as the stripy, spiky ones.

This week I've not done too much in the garden, besides flinging caterpillars to almost certain bird-related death beneath the sycamore tree. Instead, I had a rather cultural weekend. On Friday, I went to see "A Shoemaker Goes to War" at the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. I learned that the famous Lord Kitchener poster was designed by a Northampton artist - Arthur Leete.

There was a rotating display of poetry by ordinary Tommies that reminded me somewhat of Baldrick's "The Guns of War." Those poor men, trying to find something to make them smile amidst the mud, lice and gore produced these personal writings full of silliness, licentiousness and humour, with bawdy, cheeky language and crude accompanying sketches.  It seems almost unfathomable that the First World War began a whole century ago. They may have been born Victorians, but they still did lad jokes.

It's a good display, so do go and see the exhibition. It's still our museum, even though they've lost their accreditation due to selling off the Egyptian statue - which you may have read about in the news. Some people think they will have made enough from that sale for the accreditation not to matter for the next few years, but that's not the case at all. Selling the statue was all in all, not a good idea, but it's not the fault of the staff there. The museum is still an asset, and the rest of the artifacts must be defended. The Save Our Sekhema Action Group inform us here of why this sets a dangerous precedent and why it's such a bad thing to have happened to the museum.

Also this weekend, I spoke to artist Noah Rose about his forthcoming project in Northampton, Changing Tracks. I am looking forward to learning more about this interesting pan-European public art installation as it develops!

I went to my friend Tom Young's improv night - The Same Faces at NN Cafe and they were just the ticket - extremely sharp and funny.

On Saturday I got to perform myself at the NN Festival, where I kicked off poetry hour along with fellow bards Ruth Harvey Gasson and Peter James Norman, and Bardic founder and stalwart, Justin Thyme. The chilled picnic vibe was occasionally threatened by rain and thunder, but that made for an intimate gig as a load of festival goers dragged bales of straw into the marquee to hear Justin and Peter. It was lovely, and all the acts seemed to go down well. I also  got to hear sets from Leila Jane (gorgeous voice) and the fabulous Retro Spankees.

Spanking good.

My picnic for the occasion was rather less successful... I made some lovely cheese, leek and cumin muffins and a pasta salad with some lemon and berry jellies for dessert. I got the idea from the Co-op magazine, which had the idea of presenting the jellies in pretty glass jars. Unfortunately, the lids seemed to loosen en route, and so I had a sports bag full of lemon jelly. We tried to eat it anyway, after I'd slopped it back into the jars. "Is that frogspawn?" asked a passerby.

Glorious muffins! Just look at the muffins... ignore the frogspawn.

We made a valiant effort, braving the barely set sweet as the only wasp in the field decided he'd like to hang round us. Stupid wasp... it was low sugar jelly.

Anyway, that was all free and lovely... couldn't make it back for day two as I had a lot of work on.

It's been a good week for vouchers, as I made the most of the ones for Morrisons last week, and a couple in the Metro for Subway, Gu and the magazines GQ and Glamour, which I got for £1 each. This was particularly good value as the magazines came with a free razor and moisturiser. Voucher-badgers, look out for the evil Murdoch rag again tomorrow, which apparently has the ones in for free fruit in again. And melons.

Currently babysitting... I've missed Bake-Off as we had to read Asterix and the Olympics. Bloomin' eck... that's more racist than I remembered! Skipped a bit there...

My brother said I could have a glass of fruity home brew cider as a treat. It's lush. Well done, Bro!

On Not Getting Trouted.

I came home on Thursday night after doing a particularly frugaltastic bit of shopping and I felt like this.

Weird, because I'd gone to Morrison's

However, after reviewing my post, seeing some bills that I forgotten all about and not budgeted for, I felt like this.

Yes, I'd put my bags down. They do mask a lot of problem areas.

One of my revenue streams has dried up, and now I have a few extra associated costs - just as we are approaching the most expensive month for us, August, which includes a lot of travel and hotels and temptation.

IwillbuynomorebooksIwillbuynomorebooksIwillbuynomorebooksIwillbuynomorebooksIwillbuynomorebooks

And July isn't a cheap month either.

Oh blimey!

So there's nothing for it, but to try our utmost to cut corners where we can. But there's a catch... we cannot cut corners as far as health is concerned, and our diet must be tip-top to enable me to shed a bit of excess pud, and OH to be event-ready. Him being an athlete and all that.

OH is the fella on the left. When he next sees a finish line, it will be after a much, much, longer race. Eek! Yep, they're holding hands. No, I don't know who the other fella is.

Did you see The World's Best Diet last week? What an eye-opener! As different as the world's healthiest diets were from each other, though, it seemed clear to me where each improved on the typical British diet, including mine. Apparently, the typical British diet consists of three principle ingredients: potatoes, flour and vegetable oil. The three principle ingredients of my diet are flapjacks, cider and any cake going. But that's not better just because flapjacks have super-healthy oats in them, boo.

Will this frugal-ish floozy be able to change her sweet, cheap ways?

Until yesterday, I'd managed to spend mere pennies and got a substantial amount of food in, thanks to some voucher-tastic shopping. As much as I hate the gutter press, as a past-recipient of mucky Murdoch money for my work in publishing, I can't be proud. So it was with just a few qualms that I bought a newspaper that informed me that Jade, 22, has mammary glands, bully for her. I hope they give her some comfort in her dotage, or at least a cranny for secluding her Murray mints. In the newspaper was a voucher for £5 fruit and veg which I happily trundled to Morrison's, along with a couple of other vouchers I wanted to use. I'd heard online about people buying up several copies, being made to leave the shop and come back rather than put through different baskets as different transactions... and it was the first time I'd heard the expression 'trout', a particularly derisive term applied to a checkout assistant - usually female - who hates money-off coupons and tries to find any way they can of not putting it through. Well, my vouchers got queried, but it was no 'trout', just a lovely, polite young girl who wasn't used to vouchers and had been through a bit of a baptism of fire learning the job on a big voucher day. But we were soon able to sort things out with her supervisor and with a spend of just £1.12, I got all this!

mushrooms; YS grapes; multi-grain bread mix; cola; cassava; apples, spuds; turmeric root; peppers; melon; lettuce

We managed to have access to a car yesterday to buy enough cat food and non-food shopping for July and beyond, also, we have in some treats from the Northampton Food Festival. We have spent just under a third of our July budget, so the challenge is on to keep spending as low as possible for the rest of the month.

So, not to dwell on the negatives, here's all the fun stuff I've done this week:

Dawn O'Porter can sod off learn a lot from Vintage Vixen.

Seriously... there is no need to spend so much money on your clothes, lady! Personally, I am always rocking the vintage with clothes that are chazza'd; schwinged or hand-me-upped. As yet another building collapsed last week on top of underpaid garment workers in Chenai, the benefits of buying vintage mean that you can go some way to avoid being complicit in exploitation and corporate manslaughter, as well as avoiding perfectly good clothes ending up in landfill. However, I think it's rather unfortunate that Dawn Porter's programme This Old Thing focuses so much on rich Londonistas who would rather pay £500 for a dress from the 80s than be thought of as cheap. That's not going to sway the opinion of someone who'd happily pay high street prices and buy often, rather than save up and invest in their going out-out outfit. Please can you think of us lesser mortals, Dawn?

Last week, I ended up buying a new outfit from the high street as I needed to avoid wearing black, red, or white for a wedding, I was not confident with what I could mix and match from my current wardrobe, and I'd wavered over some options available in the charity shops. In the end I found this dress in Dotty P, which was entirely made in the EU. Joy! Already in the sale, I haggled it down from £32 to £13 as it was missing the belt and had a small pull. Trying to think like Vix, I accessorised up with DM Dolly shoes in pink and white (£20 from the outlet stall years ago), a silver bolero (£3 in a New Look sale) and my hair slide and clutch from my own wedding. My brooch was made by Lauren of Skulls and Robots for my birthday. My hair started out Goldfrapp-crazy but had calmed down by this point - a mix of ragging on the bottom and pin-curling on top.

Eyes on the Prize

You know those little trader magazines that pop through the door - the ones you probably put straight in the recycling bin? Well, I scanned through the last one and spotted a competition to win 4 tickets to see Horrible Histories at the theatre. I didn't win... but I was next on the list when the winners couldn't take the prize. Yay! I offered the prize to my brother and has family but was able to take the 4th ticket. A great night out - and winning the prize saved us £64. It was an incredibly tight production for the tiny cast of 4, with a few props, and scenery all done as a computer-animated background, which is 3D for the second half. It was so well done, and really, really funny. Age-appropriate, of course. Here is Boudicca with the Romans, who 'beat up' her kids...

Boudicca was awesome - a great singing voice, very expressive and great comic timing

My nephew, who is 5, took off his 3D glasses as there were rather a lot of skulls and bats flying into his face, which he found a bit disconcerting. Great for kids who like spooky and gory. And for not-so-grown-up aunties.

Lovin' Northampton

Yesterday, we were spoilt for choice with good stuff in Northampton. First, OH and I went for a healthy march up to Delapre Abbey where we hoped to learn about the Battle of Northampton.

Medieval people. Sitting about. That's getting medieval on yo' ass!

We went round the exhibition, and an expert was due to lead a walk which we were interested in, but we realized we would miss the battle demo, so we gave it a miss. But with mot much else going on, we decided to head into town to go to the Northampton Food Festival instead in the beautiful Guildhall, totally free entry.

First, we went to a no-cooking cooking demo by Ondine Hartgroves, who despite the venue restrictions, was able to demonstrate how to make ceviche cod, and made us tortilla biscuits to eat that with, and seared beef salad wraps for which she made a gorgeous, fresh and fragrant salsa verde.

We sampled various lovely local ales and ciders.

And we met these lovely people from Beckworth Emporium, happily only  a cycle ride away from us, and an outlet for many local producers, as well as nursery, winter ice-rink, and theatrical venue. They are staging a production of Pride and Prejudice on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd August. Oh, Mr. Darcy!

I have also been doing some baking, which will feature in a follow-up post.

Live Below the Line - Please Sponsor Me!

Hope you've had lovely weather, wherever you are.  

Most of the weekend has been spent trying to sort out the garden. Most people do their tidying in February/March and then sow stuff and about now they're enjoying lovely salads and  things they have grown themselves. Trouble for me is that late winter/early spring is my busiest time (job no.2). So my garden has to look after itself. And it grows brambles and gnarly-rooted weeds and very tall meadow grass.

Well, I'm attacking it, better stuff is growing. Progress picture one shows the garden yesterday. It's a bit better since then.

Whilst tidying the, admittedly invisible here, patio I bumped an old burner and was alarmed when about twenty bumblebees flew out.

Okay, this is just one bee. But there were more, honest!

We moved the burner to another location, which worked for a bit and I was able to get on. However, some of the bees didn't realize their house was not there anymore, and they started coming back and buzzing round me. Good excuse to stop the gardening for a bit and go for a nice walk.

Our excursion took us by the riverside, where the sea cadets were practising.

We then wound our way to beautiful Delapre. People were cooling off in the lake (not sure they're supposed to, but still) and someone was water-skiing. We veered off into the verdant woods, spotting bunnies scrambling away into the brambles. The floor was carpeted with harebells, buttercups and forget-me-nots. Very pretty.

We cut through  to the house. A bawling toddler was being made to stand against one of the handsome trees that skirt the lawns for a photo. He was having none of it! Heading right, we found the ornamental gardens and tea rooms. He, we decided to share a cream tea.

Hooray, just enough change!

On the way home, we foolishly decided to stop for a pint at the pub. It's never one, is it?! And with that, our care was somewhat abandoned. Call it sunstroke... oh well, back on the path to frugaldom now.

Today, OH was taking part in a 100 mile cycle ride as he did the 3 Counties 100 Cyclosportive. A gruelling epic cycle ride that takes in Beautiful Rutland Water. This is one of the awesome sights he will have seen:

the Welland Viaduct

He says it was brilliant. He's very sore now though.

 So, while he was out, I decided to get the shopping in for the Live Below the Line Challenge (link takes you through to my donation  page). OH is supporting me in this challenge, so he will be eating the same meals as me. But he is not taking part himself. So he'll be eating cake at the office tomorrow, and drinking a pint in the pub when I won't be at my next Northampton Science Fiction Writers Group meeting.

 

On OH's advice, I am including some things I already had, but costed them out, so as not to waste food. This included 1kg of potatoes, which cost 66p. Unfortunately, I went bust, so have had to reduce the number of potatoes I was going to have to 700g. 2 meals maybe? Two small meals...The rest of my pears from a multi-pack, which have only just started to ripen came to 37p's worth. OH says we should also include the bananas he won today at the end of his race. Mmm... freebies not allowed! That said, I'm having all the tea and stuff I can at work as that's one of my work benefits. Not birthday cake, though. Boo.

We can include stuff from the garden, so long as production costs are taken into consideration. I'm taking basil as 0p, as that cost me nothing, and if we can work out how to use it, rhubarb. Though, I think that would need sugar! All the nettles and dandelion we want, though. Nom!

So here's the week at £1 per person per day.

 

bread (reduced)	£0.34
cucumber	£0.39
cumin	£0.49
frozen mixed veg	£0.89
gravy	£0.20
ham	£0.61
lamb's liver	£0.74
lettuce (reduced)	£0.20
onions	£0.69
passata	£0.35
pears	£0.37
porridge	£0.75
potatoes	£0.46
rice	£0.40
salmon	£1.49
spaghetti	£0.20
whole milk	£0.85
yellow split peas	£0.55
Total	£9.97

Okay, 3p left over... I think an old chilli and garlic clove from the market can take that up.

Wow, that was hard. And to think, if I hadn't got hold of reduced items it would have been even worse. I think to have been comfortable, another £2 would have been awesome. But of course, what this is about is to raise money for people who really do have £1 - or less -  to live on per day. My charity is Send a Cow.

I'll let you know how I get on each day. Every day an invention test!

Strong, Please, Two Lumps. I'll Try the Other Attachments Later...

Not a lot of cord on it. Imagine how close you'd have to sit to the wall!

This has been the busiest and most stressful weekend I've had for a long time.  A bit of retail therapy was called for.

This was on sale at the antiques market in town yesterday.

Can you tell what it is?

I'm gonna tell you in a second...

I bet you can't stand the tension...

Nearly...

Oh, all right then.

Well my confuddled readers, what we have there is an Edwardian vibrator. OH spotted what it was. I'm not sure the person selling it even realised, as after we had a giggle with him about it, he started parading it round the other stall holders to show them. It was quite late in the day too. Well, let's face it, not the sexiest of toys is it? It looks more like an electric sander than a source of sublime pleasure. Mind, both sorts of implement involve a bit of DIY.

You can ooh it if you B&Q it?

Wickes: it's got our body fluids on it?

Should you be interested in purchasing your very own antique lady pleasurer (for the pleasuring of antique ladies, p'raps?), it comes with numerous attachments with different materials and textures, and has two settings of 'weak' and 'strong'. There's also 'off', but God knows why you'd need that. And given its antiquity, and that dodgy cord, I can only imagine it still has the power to shock.

We bought something else.

 

Frugalistas, please look away now, because to cheer me up, OH took me to the cinema. Full price. 3D!!! Was he mad? I can only assume the sight of a hundred-odd year old stimulator had excited him beyond sense. Anyway, we went to see Captain America 2: the Winter Soldier.

For a while, it looked like we would have the cinema to ourselves. Having chosen seats towards the back, OH was a bit dissatisfied with his choice and suggested we move forward two rows. Then, just before the film was about to start, in came another couple. 

Would you believe it? They'd only bought tickets for the seats we'd moved to.

They were fine, "No, don't worry, we'll sit here. No, tell you what, we'll move to the VIP seats, why not?"

And so they moved, and they giggled, and they chatted through the final trailer. They were funny, and we laughed with them. And then the film started. And they didn't shut up. And they were up and down, fetching more snacks, and missing crucial plot points that they had to discuss. In fact it as commentary the entire way through the film. They were very disappointed with the totally logical character development of Bucky.

And because we'd sat in their seats we didn't dare say a thing.

Talk about karma!

But then they left before the post trailer extra bit. So they missed all that.

Karma bit you back in the butt. Ha!

Can You be Sociable and Frugal?

I imagine a lot of people must take a look at my blog and wonder how the heck I can call mine a "frugal" lifestyle... I am jetting off to all sorts of places, going to things, doing sport, seeing friends... surely frugality is about paring your lifestyle  down to the basics?

A busy social life in the usual sense can be problematic. The truth is, if you have a financial goal or need to save money for any reason, or if you have no money spare at all, sometimes you really do have to say "no" to things you would rather say "yes" to. You just can't do everything.

A case in point, this weekend, there is something happening that I would love to go to and because I can't afford to get there, I feel like I am letting people down. I know OH feels the same.

 

But we can console ourselves that we have done lots of things lately, been as sociable as we could be, and are saving up for an important event at the end of the month - World Fantasycon - where we shall be very sociable indeed. (Hey, SFT - Joanne Harris is going to be there - squee!)

And of course we can still be a bit sociable before then! I am going volunteering at Parkrun again tomorrow, and will enjoy doing lots of cycling and visiting family over the weekend - and that won't cost anything.

Later in the month, I will be attending a talk about the Facial Reconstruction of King Richard III as well... again, for free! I am absolutely fascinated by 'The Cousins' War' and the story of how his body was found - so that should be very interesting indeed. There will also be an exhibition following that at Northampton Museum.

I will probably also be going to the Shakespeare exhibition at Abington before it finishes, and the Susan Macwilliam installation at NN gallery. If anyone wants to join me, let me know!

I am currently doing the Go Sober campaign, which will make attending the odd birthday celebration very cheap (sponsor me, someone, please!)  - and it's high time I had people round for tea and cake (I'll get baking...).

But whatever we do decide to do with our free time,  all our bills are taken care of for the month already. All our train tickets and hotel rooms are paid for in advance. Birthday gifts are covered... and I'm very into my homemade cards, of course. We've done a 'stockpile' order this month to take advantage of a bumper load of vouchers and free delivery options (and due to an inadvertent error by Sainsbury's, I now have even more money-off vouchers to compensate - yay!), so apart from a few fresh things we should cope pretty well.

What the advance shopping has also bought us plenty of is time... and with my extra time this weekend, I fully intend to do some de-cluttering, handicrafts, and a bit of gardening and getting out in the fresh air! I also have a book report to write, and I have time to do this, too.

So, although I'm sad about not being able to do something that would have been really nice, life is good. It really is.


UPDATE: Most people know this already, but OH completed his first triathlon in a very respectable 1 hour, 13 minutes.

I am immensely proud of him!

He didn't want a load of the many photos I took to be uploaded for the world to see without a thorough vetting, but I don't think he'd mind just this one, which happens to show him overtaking another competitor on the second lap of the cycling stage.

A Walk Around Great Brington

We're well into keeping fit this month. This is because a milestone is approaching...

OH has been signed up to do a triathlon, and I'm trying, well, just to do better. I have been planning healthy meals using the library-sourced Rosemary Conley Ultimate GI Jeans diet. I think I can conclude that even though I have been trying to buy my food as cheaply as possible, it is much more expensive for us to do our shopping this way. It costs us twice as much! I've lost weight, mind... Just don't think the budget can keep up.

 

 But, keeping up with exercise is easy enough. I am carrying on with Parkrun - even though my times are getting mysteriously slower - and OH has his gym membership covered right up until the triathlon. And to be sociable, we've spent time walking around beautiful Northamptonshire country towns. This weekend - Great Brington. Church patronised by the Spencer Family (of Princess Diana fame).

"Do you want me to stop?"
"No, carry on.... thanks!"

I love the Dairy Farm building

They had bagpipes, we heard them. I tried kilt-spotting, but they's all gone.

Beautiful church at Great Brington - St. Mary's

Shhhh!

Entrance to the Spencer family crypt

Diana, Princess of Wales's father and uncle are both resting here. But apparently, the famous Spencer daughter is on an island at Althorp House nearby...

 

 

Images from the Bardic Picnic 2013

Once again, my hectic work schedule has meant I am only posting about an event a week after it happened, but it was a fantastic time indeed - the best Bardic Picnic so far! Well done to the Bardic Chair and Umbrella Fair Organisation for putting on such a cool, chilled, family-friendly free community event.

 

Well done also to Peter James Norman who became the 5th Bard of Northampton - my dynasty is strong! Also to Millie who became the second ever Young Bard.

 

 

I have many happy memories of the Bardic Picnic - the one two years ago was the last fun time I had with my mom and my family all together before we knew she was ill. It's important to make the most of your family, friends and life, and the Bardic Picnic is an example of the sort of thing that only happens because someone cares, because they want to put in the effort, and because they are expecting no further reward than the sight of joy in others. Love you, smiley, happy, hippy people!



my friend Alan went in for the Bardic competition

Alan had a contingent of Alan fans, all bedecked in the Alan beards and Alan vests

Jasmine Shadrack - gorgeous voice!

The drizzles cleeared quite quickly and crowds began to gather.

Joolz Denby and Mik Davis were fantastic

Peter James Norman does his stuff

The Anti-Poet succumbed to the crowd's pleas for 'Tights Not Stockings'!

Peter is stuck on the very high Bardic Chair. We've all been there...

 



Someone did take photos of me and put them all over his website, but frankly, yuk. Poetry gives you triple chins. Be warned, young Padawan!

Edge-Lit and Everything After - Undoing the Damage...

The Science-Fiction fan readership of this blog may possibly have taken a look at my latest blog title, and gone, "Damage? What damage? Oh my life, what happened at Edge-Lit? What juicy tidbit could we possibly have missed?" Because, ah, fickle Interwebverse, it seems that barely a week goes by in the world of genre literature without someone writing about something that went horribly wrong, or something that someone else disagrees with. Because books can make people all hot and fiery. As hot and fiery as the crisps at the launch of Spacewitch and Fox Spirit's Noir Carnival... (they were jolly hot).

 I don't really want to get into the fish and chip paper, even if it irks me when I see the term 'victim-blaming' used by a well-intentioned (?) pro-feminist man against a female writer who has very recently bared her soul and come out as a survivor of abuse. Cons are great things to go to, and we can all as fans, as professionals, as influencers, as human beans, use our powers to 'pay it forward'. And by 'it', I mean that lovely, warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you've been somewhere nice and met lovely people you share common ground with and feel all included and happy and glad you went. I appreciate that's not how most of you experience hangovers, but I'm a jammy sod, and that's my privilege.

Anyhoo, the damage I refer to is twofold: yet again, I suffer this week as hayfever contends with the germs circulating round the air-conditioning, it is clear I lowered my defenses by imbibing some lots of pinot grigio. I'm fine, just I start sounding like the penguin from Toy Story if I go on for too long.

Secondly, even though I stayed in a grotty budget room (knocking shop?) by myself and used all my internet savvy to get there cheaply, and didn't drink until it was officially 'evening', and just came home with the free books, it was so hot in Derby town centre, that I probably bought shares in evil Coca Cola. At least the first bottle of the day had my OH's name on, so I could say, "He's here! I just got very thirsty..." Beware my powers!

So what did I get up to? Well, I did what I went to do, and met lots of writers and fellows (who need editors, of course), and met up with friends and colleagues, and nabbed potential event guests and article contributors. And I came back with even more to do...

There were panels I went to on crime fiction, as well as fantasy fiction, and even though it was very warm in the cinema rooms and I had to battle with what I realise is now probably a mild form of narcolepsy (not once in the last 6 months have I managed to stay awake for an entire cinema film, or bus journey of more than 20 minutes.Yes - be glad I don't drive!), they were all very enjoyable. (I kept coming to and seeing Conrad Williams on stage staring at me. Eek! Sorry...)

Going logo...

I went to the joint launch of Spacewitch website for independent publishers, and Noir Carnival by Fox Spirit Books (click the link to see videos of readings at Edge-Lit from their latest anthology - ooh, er, I'm in the audience!!!). They supplied wine, very hot crisps, olives and gorgeous cupcakes. Damien G Walter came up to chat to me while I was trying to get into the butter cream, so I had to hold back a bit to avoid looking like a right butter cream-loving pig... otherwise nom, nom, nom. Schlurp!

Lots of cool books by Fox Spirit.

Del Lakin-Smith launches Spacewitch. My eyes! These photos didn't look so blurry on my phone...

 

All in all, it was a great event, and I loved spending time with friends in publishing.

 

In the morning, I went for a tiny explore of Derby town centre, taking in the outside of the historic market hall, and the cathedral, which was just about to have a service, so I didn't go in. The cathedral has green men on the entrance! I didn't take any pics because my battery was going. See this picture from the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project:

 

 

So, extreme frugaldom is called for, with an added twist: healthy eating. Unfortunately, all the week's budget has gone on the cats, whose little friends have developed immunity to Frontline, damn them. So, for us human beans, I'm using up stuff we have and have spent just £7.30 on the week's shop. Oh yes! Yellow sticker a-go-go.



 

Red Pesto Pollock with Fennel Rice and vegetables

First dinner of the week for 2 comes in for me at £2.71 - so that's £1.35 per portion, and is very yummy and nutritious. Apart from the free garlic, the ingredients were all sourced from shops at non-reduced prices, so most should be able to repeat for the same money. Go to the market at 3 to get more fruit and veg in your £1 bowls, but no later, as the stalls may close or sell out.

Ingredients:
Sainsburys's basic pollock fillets - £2.00
Sainsbury's basic stock cube, half - £0.005
Basic long grain rice (40p per kilo) - £0.04
Home Bargains red pesto, 49p per jar - £0.13
garlic - free from garden
a few fennel seeds - use them if you have them, they're nice!
1 x onion from market £0.10
2 x tomatoes from market £0.05
1/4 bag green beans from market £0.25
half a market pepper £0.13

Very basically, set your oven to 200 degrees for the fish. Meanwhile, chop and  saute your veg in a pot with some oil or a little water if you can get away without using any, and if you have the fennel seeds, add them at this point so they release more flavour. Measure out 50g rice per person and add them to the veg pot and top with cold water to about 2cm above the top. Crumble in the stock cube and simmer away until the rice has absorbed all the water, about 20 mins.

Make 2 foil parcels for your fish, and spoon the pesto on top. Fold the foil over, making a fold to allow for steam. In a preheated oven, they will take 20-25 mins.

Waste not, want not: when everything was done, I added the juices released by the cooked fish to the rice for extra flavour and stirred through. Serve!

 Dinner yesterday was light shepherds pie, made with basic peas, basic gravy, yellow sticker lean lamb mince, yellow sticker swede mash on top, and served with yellow sticker cabbage and a drizzle of mint sauce. Less than £1 a big portion.

I'm joining in SFT with her health kick, as I'm turning 40 next month, and need to be FAB. But until then, can I resist the cider...?