Countdown to Christmas: Day 3

It's the third day of our festive celebrations, and it was another cold one today. The snow settled a little bit overnight, and the temperatures didn't get up to much today. We had some festive missions today though, so time to wrap up warm!

Crumpsall Park Litter-Pick

Freezing cold litter-pick with Friends of Crumpsall Park, followed by mulled apple juice and mince pies in the park.

Christmas Earrings

I wore my lovely new Christmas earrings today... a pair of mince pies from So Berry Crafty.

Mulled Apple Juice

I had a little bit of the mulled apple left from this morning, so we took it round to my mother-in-law's for a little festive drink.

Christmas Trees

Today's main festive mission was helping my mother-in-law put up her Christmas trees. My mother-in-law takes her Christmas trees very seriously, so this is a big job. We were rewarded with the second roulade of the weekend.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 3 in my Bird and Blend Tea advent calendar... Candy Floss at the Fair!

Avon Advent Calendar

And behind Door No. 3 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a pearl pendant!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 25

Today was a very big day, with three separate (and very different) events on the cards. We also did some festive stuff at home afterwards, as we moved into the final week of celebrating.

Crumpsall Park Halloween Story Walk

I led another Halloween Story Walk this morning, this time for Friends of Crumpsall Park. This was such a fun event to do - loved working with the kids to come up with a spooky story about the park. The Crumpsall kids did come to a different conclusion than the Blackley kids on Monday though... they decided I must be the werewolf! One of the kids drew a picture of me as a witch, being transformed into a werewolf by a tornado and it's my absolute favourite thing.

Castlerea Halloween Film Afternoon

We had our annual Halloween Film Afternoon at Castlerea Care Home this afternoon. This year we watched Frankenstein Created Woman, with spooky movie snacks of course. I also did my traditional dramatic reading of 'The Raven' for the housemates (with audience participation)!

Green Quarter Weird History Walk

I led a Halloween weird history walk for GRUB MCR tonight, taking walkers from Angel Meadow to Red Bank and telling tales of bodysnatching, swimming baths, ragged schools and railways along the way.

Samhain Candle

We lit our Samhain candle from Chalice Creations tonight. Rose, sandalwood and orange to scent the season.

Pumpkin Lantern

Rob carved our pumpkin lantern tonight! And what a fine lantern he is too!

Little Gem Squash

Another lovely recipe for our Groobarbs Autumn Squash Box... South African Style Baked Little Gem Squash!

31 Halloween Films: Saw

Tonight's film from our Halloween list was the one we were sort of thinking would come up last Saturday! But it was so good to watch Saw again after seeing Saw X!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 14

Still working on my manuscript today, but I did get out to run a writing workshop (with a special seasonal flavour). And we did have a nice autumnal tea as well, so I guess we did do a bit of celebrating after all!

ParkWrite Spooky Season

Really enjoyed running this seasonal writing workshop for Friends of Crumpsall Park. This was the final workshop in a series I ran in the park throughout summer and autumn this year. This one focused on the changing seasons, but with a bit of a spooky twist. Parks are such great places for inspiring creativity.

Uchiki Kuri Curry

We started on our Groobarbs Autumn Squash Box tonight... Uchiki Kuri Curry, made by Rob and absolutely delicious!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 3

Yay! Day 3 of Halloween month! More festive shenanigans!

Halloween Soup

I made this yesterday. It's Beetroot and Red Pepper with a touch of ginger and surprise fusilli.

Library Visit

I went over to Abraham Moss today. Partly to have a nosy at the new library, and partly to look for some more Halloween reading. Score! I found Grady Hendrix, Anna Mazzola, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Joël Dicker!

Halloween Cookies

Carrying on its famed disregard for the calendar, the Spar Shop near me has completely bypassed Halloween. Think you can best me with your Christmas displays? Ha! I will run around your shop like Challenge Anneka until I find some sort of snack with an orange and black label. You're not getting away with not selling me something tonight, Spar Shop.

31 Halloween Films: The Thing

The next film on our Halloween list... John Carpenter's The Thing.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 1

After a thoroughly horrible, brutal and bruising September, I've emerged with one plan and one plan only... Halloween. We're celebrating all month again, as is tradition. We've got quite a few things planned this year, as well as hoping for a few surprises. And our first day of festivities was a pretty good one. Here's to more fun in October!

Crumpsall Park Litter-Pick

This morning started off with the monthly Friends of Crumpsall Park litter-pick. Not very Halloween-y, but certainly autumnal as we were rained off. I did spot my first mushroom in the park though, so that's certainly seasonal!

Ghost Earrings

New Halloween earrings! Got these little ghosts from Pure and Simple (aka Gillian).

31 Halloween Films: Trick ’r Treat

We made a list of our top 31 Halloween films to watch this October, and we're going to choose the order of them at random. The random number generator didn't steer us wrong though, as we started off with Trick 'r Treat, which is a pretty perfect place to begin.

Halloween Gingerbread

Halloween gingerbread movie snack! (From Morrisons, not homemade!)

31 Halloween Films: Scream

Next on our Halloween list was Scream. What's your favourite scary movie?

31 Halloween Films: Hostel

Bit of a change of pace with our next Halloween film... Hostel!

Spite Crumble

We've got a bramble in our back garden that is utterly impossible to control. It's taller than most of the trees, and as sinister as a triffid. It seems determined to grow in a way that blocks the back door and we've both nearly lost eyes to it on more than one occasion. Well, enough's enough. If the evil bramble is here to stay, it can work for its living. This year, I harvested every last berry from the evil bugger out of spite, and Rob cooked it with flour we got from Walk Mill at Lammas. The bramble grew a weird tentacle last night as some sort of retaliation (probably nothing to worry about), but tonight we dined on Spite Crumble!

Ghostwritten

I started off my Halloween reading this year with Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi. Books, apparently, can be deadly.

Events in October 2023

Why Isn't Failsworth in Manchester?
Tuesday 3rd October
2.00-3.00pm
Failsworth Townswomen's Guild
I'm giving a local history talk on the history of Failsworth and incorporation
Members Event

Park Write - Spooky Season
Saturday 14th October
2.00-5.00pm
Friends of Crumpsall Park
I'm hosting a spooky creative writing workshop in Crumpsall Park, using the park as inspiration for creativity
Booking Link

Virtual Writing Retreat
Sunday 15th October
10.30–5.00pm
Hannah's Bookshelf
I'm hosting an online writing retreat for creative writers with writing exercises and structured writing sessions
Members Event

Bailey's Wood Ghost Stories Walk and Talk
Wednesday 18th October
11.00–12.30pm
Friends of Bailey's Wood
I'll be leading a gentle, social walk in the woods, telling some ghost stories along the way
Booking Link

Bailey's Wood Halloween Story Walk
Monday 23rd October
2.00-3.00pm
Friends of Bailey's Wood
I'll be leading a spooky, creative walk in the woods, suitable for all ages
Booking Link

Crumpsall Park Halloween Story Walk
Wednesday 25th October
11.00-12noon
Friends of Crumpsall Park
I'll be leading a spooky, creative walk around the park, suitable for all ages
Booking Link

Green Quarter's Eccentric Past: A Weird History Walking Tour
Wednesday 25th October
7.00-8.00pm
GRUB MCR
I'll be leading a weird history walk from Angel Meadow to Red Bank, sharing stories of the area's dark and peculiar past
Booking Link

A Nightmare on Nelson Street
Thursday 26th October
6.30-8.00pm
Pankhurst Centre
I'll be leading a weird history walk along Nelson Street, before returning to the Pankhurst Centre for cocoa and tales of the spookiest suffragettes
Booking Link

Interested in booking me for an event? Click here to find out more.

Events in September 2023

Virtual Writing Retreat
Sunday 17th September
10.30–5.00pm
Hannah's Bookshelf
I'm hosting an online writing retreat for creative writers with writing exercises and structured writing sessions
Members Event

Booth Hall Before the Hospital
Monday 18th September
2.00-4.00pm
NHS Retirement Fellowship (South Manchester Branch)
I'm giving a local history talk on the history of Booth Hall (the house, not the hospital) in Manchester
Members Event

Autumn Equinox Walk in the Woods
Friday 22nd September
5.30–6.30pm
Friends of Bailey's Wood
I'll be leading a sociable walk in the woods to enjoy the changing seasons
Booking Link

Park Write - History Writing
Saturday 30th September
2.00-5.00pm
Friends of Crumpsall Park
I'm hosting a history-themed creative writing workshop in Crumpsall Park, using the park as inspiration for creativity
Booking Link

Interested in booking me for an event? Click here to find out more.

Events in August 2023

Virtual Writing Retreat
Sunday 20th August
10.30–5.00pm
Hannah's Bookshelf
I'm hosting a online writing retreat for creative writers with writing exercises and structured writing sessions
Members Event

Park Write - Place Writing
Saturday 26th August
2.00-5.00pm
Friends of Crumpsall Park
I'm hosting a place-themed creative writing workshop in Crumpsall Park, using the park as inspiration for creativity
Booking Link

Interested in booking me for an event? Click here to find out more.