This Week I Was Grateful For #4

I’ve posted a similar picture of The Vines in Rochester before, but this is the park seen through new eyes. It all feels wonderfully similar, and wonderfully different since my Australian jaunt.

The path in this photos reminds me of the journey I’m on at the moment. I’ve got a few professional challenges coming up this year, and instead of freaking out about it, I’m choosing to be grateful for the opportunity to stretch my comfort zone.

I hope you all have a great start to the first week of March 2015. Do let me know what you’re getting up to in the comments!

The Hendersons Will All Be There

Last weekend I had the pleasure of singing an old favourite Beatles tune for about 30 minutes after visiting the newest addition to Rochester High Street. Reader, I give you:

Situated in the wonkiest shop in Rochester, possibly the world, The Hendersons is a treasure trove for vintage lovers and discerning shoppers alike. I know the shop well, by which I mean I know the physical shop, as I used to live in the tiny flat below!

I had heard rumblings of the shop opening as The Hendersons have held a stall for months at the Rochester Flea. Mr H and I are known for a deep and enduring love of a good rifle about for treasures, but we’re so overwhelmed with charity shops in Rochester that a bit of careful curation makes a real difference to my mental state, and therefore my likelihood to have a proper look around.

 

See? Happy as Larry.

 

There was a rather fabulous orange sectional sofa in the store that looked decidedly 70’s, but I didn’t manage to get a picture, because there was someone purchasing it!

The reasons that I am chuffed to bits about The Hendersons opening in Rochester are thus:

• Small entrepreneurship (especially where women are employed in key roles) is ace
• The Hendersons is run by a young couple – see, the youth of today aren’t too bad after all!
• That shop gets so much attention because of it’s unusual shape, that there should be something in there to benefit from it all!
• Their stock and styling is so deliciously on point that it makes me feel excited for Rochester. The more design-y and bespoke that Rochester gets, the better, in my book.
• Stores like this breed other stores like this, which makes people like me want to stay in Kent. We don’t need to go to London to get fabulous homewares, or to find that perfect gift for that friend that likes things just so.
• I bought a candle from there that smells good and though it cost a lot more than I would usually spend on a candle I didn’t feel remotely guilty because I am supporting a small business. Altruism for the win! (not sure it actually counts as altruism but I don’t care)

Mr H and I had a good all poke about, we got lovely attentive (but not too attentive) service and afterwards we got a delicious piece of cake from Bruno’s French Bakes to celebrate.

All in all, not a bad Saturday indeed.

The Everyday Rhythm

Week 2 of my return to England is imminent, and so I thought a little catch up might be on the cards to let you know how I’m settling in. It’s been an up and down sort of a week to be honest, but let’s start with the positives because that makes us all feel better, no?

UP:

• Actually making it through Customs at Heathrow. Despite the fact I am doing absolutely nothing illegal, somehow the powerful stares of the Border Agency staff make me regret every decision I have ever made, particularly in the lead up to the moment when I’m asked to plonk my passport on their tiny desks. I made it through, as you may have guessed, and it was a GREAT MOMENT.
• Home. Bed. Cats.
• Wandering around Rochester and feeling both the foreigner and the local. An odd yet pleasing sensation.
• Picking up long awaited packages from the Post Office. Hello engagement present vouchers and Liz Earle Skincare. Nice to meet you.
• Having time to make dinner in the evening. I love to cook, so this is fun for me!
• Catching up with dear friends and feeling as if nothing has changed. Em, I adore you.
• Snuggling with Mr Hello in the morning for five more minutes before walking him into work.
• Getting excited for phase 2 of Operation Finish The House Before the Wedding. The phase where we freak out, that is.
• Exciting meetings with exciting people about future potentially exciting jobs. I may very well soon be an employed teacher! EXCITING.
• Catching up with Mr Hello’s folks. They are totally delightful and indulged my loves of their son, eating lots of delicious food, and looking at old photos. A Sunday well spent.
• Sitting in our study (above) and watching people walk past our house as I type.

DOWN:

• Turns out it’s not that much fun not having a job. On the one hand, there is more time for Parks and Recreation viewing, but on the other there is more time for getting the guilts about being a burden on society, and more to the point a burden on Mr H. Plus it’s a bit boring.
• No Polish passport as yet, which means no working until it arrives. A couple more weeks, but then hopefully I will have that burgundy booklet it my hot little hand!
• Missing my family. Goddamn it, why do I have to feel the feelings?
• Extreme hair has arrived. Something in the British water takes a while for me to adjust to, and in the meantime my hair freaks out in an unmanageable way, making me feel more self conscious than I already was. Thanks Life!
• To top it off, I am having a particularly bad skin phase, hence the timely arrival of the Liz Earle goodies.
• I have a wedding to co-plan in six months. How, where and why did that happen? Last time I checked, it was over a year away. God preserve me.
• It’s effing cold here and I am a delicate flower who has become accustomed to a certain level of UV radiation every day.
• This may well be the most boring thing in the world to approximately everyone, but last night I had a dream that Hannibal Lector (yep, that one) was showing me his latest victim, and opened up a hole in the ground to reveal a naked and screaming Jodie Foster within. I was subsequently stabbed. Got a bit freaked out by that one, I must admit, and it was only worsened by the fact that when I checked the time it was only……11:57 pm. Not even midnight, shamefully. I then had to calm myself down by reading blogs and looking at silly gifs on Tumblr until 2am. Whoops.

Hope all is well in your lives. Seeing as I am currently a member of the unemployed, I suspect I will be dropping in to HSGS Headquarters on a semi regular basis. Here’s to seeing a bit more of you!

9 Superficial Things I’ll Miss About Australia (No, it’s Not the Weather!)

But the weather ain’t half bad, just sayin’

It’s a truth universally acknowledged by a certain resident of Kansas that there’s no place like home. There are just some certain comforts that make you feel safe and secure, and while many of these are now available thanks to globalisation, there are a few silly things about Australia that I know I wistfully think of when back in Ol’ Blighty. Let’s get listing, shall we?

• The Size of Avocados – Being a part of the avocado lovin’ family that I am, this is *quite* a significant thing. Avocados in  Australia are deliciously bloody huge, creamy and ripe. On several occasions in the past I have had the misfortune to buy several avocados in England that have proceeded immediately from rock hard to completely rotten, totally bypassing any edible stage. This is important, you guys.
• Availability of Great Coffee – Look. It’s a lot better in Kent on the coffee side of things now, then it was in 2010 when I first came here. There are still many crappy tearooms selling crappy dishwater style coffee, but you can actually get a flat white here now, Lord be praised. But it’s just not quite as easy as popping down the road to Mooba, Lawley’s or Milkd, like I could in Perth. Heaven is a coffee flavoured place on earth. That’s a song, right?
• Grill’d & Jus Burger: 

Click for Source – Chi (in Oz)’s Photo Stream

 

Don’t know if there is much more I can say. Burgers. Delicious delicious burgers. Chunky chips. Before you say it, no, I         don’t live in London and no, Byron Burger is just not the same. Suitable replacement suggestions very welcome indeed.

• Cheap Public Transport – The People of Perth might disagree with me, but public transport is sooooo much cheaper there than in England. In the Motherland there is no such thing as a grace period, meaning you need a new ticket  every time you jump on the bus. For a non-car-owning citizen such as myself, this becomes rather problematic. Terribly interesting too, don’t you agree?
• David Jones Foodhall – I’m not saying that there is no equivalent in England. There is. It’s a tiny little shop known to the locals as Marks & Spencer, the greatest English shop of them all. But M&S is missing one crucial thing in my book, which gives my beloved DJ’s the advantage. That crucial element is the World’s Greatest Sushi Bar. I don’t know what it is about David Jones Sushi, but it’s bloody delicious and quite cheap really. It shall be missed.
• Frosty Fruit Icy Poles – Also known as quite a depressing icy pole if you’re a normal person, but the WORLD’S GREATEST SWEET TREAT when you’re trying to watch what you’re eating and are desperate for some kind of cold sweet treat on a hot Australian Summer’s day. It’s the little things you miss, you know?
• Tax Returns – Stay with me here guys. We don’t have to do these in England, but in Australia if you earn over X amount (I’ve forgotten how much because it’s been too long since I had a proper job :-/) you need to do a tax return, and if you’re lucky, it ends up that the Government owes you money and you get a nice little deposit into your bank account. A form of enforced savings, if you will. Luckily I’ve never had to repay any tax, although I know people who have, and that’s not fun in the slightest. But when I was saving for my travels, I worked three jobs and paid a lot of tax, and ended up with a $4,000 refund waiting for me come tax time. Thanks very much!
• No Electric Showers – Just typing out ‘electric shower’ makes me go a bit funny. Water pressure in Kent is technically known as ‘a bit shit’ and so if your bathroom is on the first floor or above you need an electric pump to get your shower on in the morning. In Australia I had the full force of outback water blasting me in the face every day, and by golly I’ll miss it. My English shower feels like a combination of being spat and weed on at the moment, and let me tell you, it’s not as fun as it sounds. Unless you’re into that sort of thing. I’d also like to point out that in England you’re not allowed so much as a powerpoint in the bathroom (you are in Australia!) but you can have an electric shower? MADNESS.
• Knowing How to Do ‘Life’ Stuff – Now this isn’t quite as superficial as the rest, but it’s something I’ll certainly miss. When you’re a local or a native citizen to a country, you end up just somehow knowing how life works, as if you’d picked it up by osmosis throughout your life. When you’re an immigrant, you forfeit that knowledge and so it just takes you that little bit longer to work stuff out. How to get a driving license, why you need a TV license, who pays council tax, what the hell council tax even is, who can vote and where. Having lived here for a few years, I’m much better than I used to be, but there are still times where I feel like a stranger, and I make the odd misstep. But I guess that’s life!

I returned to Rochester at about 9pm on Tuesday night, and it was incredibly surreal. I haven’t yet quite consolidated the fact that I’m back in my own house, with my own cats and my own fiancé. I haven’t yet begun to miss Australia too much, although I’m prepared for that to hit me when I am least prepared, as I’m sure those of you who have travelled will recognise.

9 Superficial Things I’m Looking Forward to in England

Rochester Cathedral & Castle in January 2013

You may or may not have suspected there are some rather important reasons why I can’t wait to get back to England. I’ve built a life there, and there are lots of lovely people I’ve missed hugely while I’ve been back in Australia. But I thought today, I’d focus on the trivial things, those little stupid things you notice are different when you move to a different country. So without further ado, here are the 9 Superficial Things I’m Looking Forward to in England:

• Buying wine in the supermarket – Look, rumour has it this is possible Over East in Australia, but it hasn’t caught on yet in ye olde Perth. It’s just so darn convenient to pick up a bottle when you’re getting your week’s veg as well. This is definitely a plus point of English Supermarkets
• Having a bazillion supermarkets to choose from – In Australia we have Coles, Woolworths and IGA as the three biggest food markets. Even then, I’d go so far as to say that IGA is more like the UK Co-op, usually smaller stalls and can be a tad more expensive. It is a co-operative of smaller outlets though, so you don’t feel too bad spending the extra $$$. In England, you’ve got your M&S, Sainsbury, Morrison, Waitress, and Tesco, not to mention online shopping through Ocado. I just love the variety. What can I say, I’m just interesting like that
• Boots – Oh my god Boots. Not the footwear kind, but this kind. There is no equivalent in Australia. Let that just sink in for a moment. There is no equivalent in Australia. I would say that Priceline would be the nearest, but it’s nowhere near the ‘institution’ level that Boots has reached in the UK, plus it’s a lot less common and much smaller stores. I’m looking forward to having several aimless wanders around my local, contemplating all of the many potions and lotions they stock. Oh yes.
• Getting post on Saturdays – I’m pretty sure getting post is quite exciting for most people these days, even if a lot of the letters I get aren’t handwritten letters. But it’s definitely handy having that 6th day to receive mail. It means if one is a bit slack on the old card sending side of things, one has an extra day’s leeway that one simply wouldn’t have out in the Colonies!
• Netflix – Oh my god Netflix. I do know you can get it by some strange hocus pocus in Australia if you are into that sort of thing, but in my lovely Kentish house, it’s hooked up through our Apple TV and my god if that isn’t dashed convenient. I’m looking forward to awkwardly draping myself over Mr Hello on the sofa while we watch some BBC Drama (preferably a period piece ploise) when I get back.
• TK Maxx – What more can I say? If you’ve never been to TK Maxx you haven’t lived. It’s an outlet shop for a wide variety of brands, but I mostly go there for the homewares. The best way to describe it is like an Op Shop/Charity Shop, but filled with new things. You aren’t guaranteed to come out with anything useful every time, but some times you may stumble across an Orla Kiely bedspread for a third of the price. Just saying’.
• Jacket Potatoes in every single café – Evidently if you don’t serve jacket potatoes on your lunch menu in England you can GTFO. As a potato loving Pole, I see no problem with this. No delicious cheesy potatoey problem at all
• Tuna & Sundried Tomato Baguettes from Tony Lorenzo – Now this is particular to my little neck of the woods in Medway, but I have to say, this is the best sandwich ever. I always get this when I visit. It’s just the tastiest, most satisfying thing. Apart from jacket potatoes of course. 
• John Lewis – It really is the stupidest thing, but I truly believe John Lewis is my happy place. I feel so much more calm walking around the store, and it’s homewares section makes me feel like all is right with the world. I very rarely actually buy anything there, if I’m honest, but it’s calming white walls have an exquisite effect on me. See I told you it was superficial.

There are many reasons to celebrate returning to the UK. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the stupid things that make you happy though. This list is definitely going to make the transition from 40 degree summer madness in Perth to a nippy 4 degree England a little bit smoother.

I’ll be posting my list of trivial things I’ll miss about Australia very soon, so if this kind of thing is your jam, stay tuned!

Make. Build. Repair. Play. MacGyver Club at coFWD

Instagram images courtesy of Nat at coFWD

To kick of the last bank holiday weekend of the year, yesterday I went down to the coworking space in Rochester for their MacGyver Club, which was an opportunity to have a play, to make something or help a pal out in the company of the excellent coworkers.

My task? build a blackboard screen for our bunting stall at the upcoming Creative Brides Vintage and Unique Wedding Fair at Scotney Castle (that sounds rather impressive, doesn’t it!). I’ve been a bit worried that our stall wasn’t looking its best, and so I’ve been putting some energy into a redesign. I even jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon and pulled together some stall design ideas.  I’m generally a bit hesitant to make things that involve drilling, but in the end, I bit the proverbial bullet and thought I would lean on my pals at coFWD for a spot of moral support.

Other coworkers and friends were down playing with Raspberry Pies. I have no idea what they are, but it’s some sort of computer geekery, and they all seemed to be having a lot of fun. I got scared that I would spill blackboard paint over the lot, but this was thankfully avoided. I did manage to spill paint all over myself, but hey, no real surprises there!

The vibe at the space is always really fun, low pressure but supportive. I’m chuffed to bits that I can get down there every Wednesday, and it’s great to have something social on a weekend that doesn’t always involved getting on the booze.

I haven’t finished the screen yet, but I’m hoping I’ll get it done in the next few days, Stay tuned for the results!

Woah Nelly…aka The Weekend That Was Medway Open Studios

I ain’t half been a bit busy, Miss! Just coming off the back of one of the busiest weekends of the year in Medway, I’m taking today to pause, and reflect on what a weekend it was.

Medway Open Studios is a festival launched by the wonderful Heather Burgess (also of Sun Pier House fame), to raise awareness of the artists and makers that practice locally.

Now in its second year, I happily took part in the Maker’s Market at Sun Pier House, Chatham in my alter ego as bunted! fairy. We had a stall over two days, and used the opportunity to get to know more creatives in the area, and to visualise how we want our BRAND NEW STUDIO to look. Did I tell you we have a BRAND NEW STUDIO IN WHICH TO WORK? Not sure if I’ve mentioned that before.

The first weekend of the festival coincided with the Rochester Lit Fest Garden Party, and happily with about forty thousand other craft fairs, so when I wasn’t manning the bunting stall, I was skipping merrily about poking around looking at other peoples’ art. In particular, the lovely Ben Cameron of Strange Paul Fame (more on him later!)

Don’t it half look impressive with a black and white instagram filter on?

The above print is by local printmaker Heather Haythornthwaite. I’ve been looking for ages for a print of something distinctly Rochestarian, just in case I ever leave this place. I want something that reminds me instantly of where I came to live, and how much this place has come to mean to me, but without being too realistic. I wanted something emotive.

When I saw this, I realised it captured almost everything I love about this place. It’s wonky, it’s old, it’s a copy of a copy of a nicer, richer city. But it’s also totally charming, and I want it for my own.

Look, I know I go on and on about how bloody marvellous this place is. It must be tiresome. But I feel so passionate about what’s happening here, that I just can’t help myself.

Community engagement is SO where it’s at.

Roundup: Projects for Twenny Thirteen…

Part of me doesn’t even want to acknowledge that 2013 is just around the corner. It will be the year that I turn 25 – and we all know that means imminent existential quarter life crisis.

The other part can’t wait – new year, new you! I’ve decided that this will be the year I make things happen. Things that challenge me, excite me and make me happy. Things that take me back to the enthusiastic person that I know still occassionally lurks somewhere within the empty wretch 2012 has finished with.

So in light of the newly rediscovered joie de vivre, here is a sample of projects I’m hoping to undertake in twenny thirteen:

Make an AMAZING Quilt:

I think a simple pattern with some amazing fabric is in order. I’m torn between two loves: some 60’s inspired Scandinavian print, which would have been amazing in our old apartment, or something a little more traditional which would suit the new place better. It’s hard to tell. Part of me says “let it go Sam” and is longing to slap myself in the face – I’m still clinging to the bliss of our last place a teensy bit.

Image courtesy of the Purl Bee – original post here

But apart from that – yay! I’m going to make a QUILT. IT’S GOING TO BE GREAT GUYS!

Do Something Amazing at Fuse Festival

Fuse Medway Festival is a local arts festival running over a weekend in Summer. They offer one five thousand pound arts grant every year to local performers and I think it’s about time I stopped talking about art to everyone and started making it. Performance art makes me happy, and gives me a sense of satisfaction that I don’t often get from other endeavours. It’s been two and a bit years since I’ve really put myself out there in terms of performing, and so 2013 here I come! Brace yourself lads…

Host Another Rochester Vintage Society Event

Our March soiree last year was kind of delicious, and I am really longing to get back in the saddle and host something even more spectacular! We’ve now initiated a bi-monthly Vintage Literature Book Club hosted at the heavenly Little Coffee Pot Cafe on Rochester High Street (email rochestervintagesociety@gmail.com for more info!), but I think it’s well and truly time for another fabulous, exceptionally well dressed knees up.

Be a Better Blogger

This is a two tiered goal. Number one is to be a better blogger by writing more. It’s the darndest thing with writing – of you call yourself a writer, you kind of need to write. Like all the time. I miss writing when I’m not doing it much, but I am yet to make the committment to incorporate it into my daily routine. Like eating. Imagine how great a writer I’d be if I put the same amount of energy into writing as I did into eating!! Can you write yourself into a word coma? Write so much that your brain is straining against your skull, rather than your stomach straining against your jeans? It doesn’t bear thinking about! QUELLE HORREUR.

The second tier of being a better blogger is to give out the blog love that I’d love to get. I’m a total sponge when it comes to blogs. I read a lot – every day I read what other’s have put out there, but I very rarely comment. I’m hoping to put that energy into other people’s work and to foster some better relationships with some of the truly great bloggers I feel I already know!

No doubt there will be many more things I’d like to achieve in 2013. I’m already thinking of a few, and cooking up some ideas to show you in the next few days. Hope you all had a great Christmas and look forward to more blogging in the new year!

Merrily We Stroll Along

It’s Autumn therefore coat, hat and brooch weather! (Taken with Instagram)

Rochester Lit Fest Garden Party

A couple of months ago, down in Kent we had a sunny weekend of truly remarkable proportions. It was a delight, and the hot-and-sweaty-ness made me reminisce of the days of yore back in the colonies. It was that very weekend that the launch party of the Rochester Lit Fest took place, in the gardens of Eastgate House. What fun!

The day was utter bliss to be honest, with readings by Philip Kane and Bill Lewis (two relatively well known Medway poets), and an open mic session where many members of the public – including the BF above – were able to perform their work in front of the audience.

There were a couple of lovely stalls, bunted! were there as well as the lovely illustrator Ben Cameron (more exciting news on Ben very soon!!) and we all got to sit in the sun, listen to music and sell some wares. What more could a girl want on a Sunday?

What was most exciting of all was seeing the reception to the Lit Fest. It’s being run by three of the writers I respect most in Medway – Philip Kane, Jaye Nolan and my beloved editor Emma Dewhurst. I have complete and utter faith in them and look forward immensely to the events next year. I helped out on the day, and we all felt that there was this surge of interest in local literary events – over 100 people came to the event, and the majority of them stayed all day! Unheard of!

I felt so inspired, and so utterly pleased that I’ve found this lovely glorious vibrant nest of people on my doorstop who love literature and their community as much as I have grown to love them. I may even have jumped on the bandwagon and started a little literary event of my own….more on that soon…..