Midsummer: Day 7

It's the final day of our Midsummer celebrations. We had our big night last night, and Rob was at work today, so it was just a few quiet seasonal treats for me to round off the festivities.

Midsummer Tea Break

I enjoyed a nice cup of Sunny Days tea from Tugboat Tea.

The Midnight Feast

A bit of seasonal reading - I started The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley today (I meant to read it at the Solstice itself, but ran out of time!).

Tutti Frutti Nougat

This was a very summery treat, especially because I bought it from the seaside when we were in Scarborough in earlier this month... Tutti Frutti Nougat from John Bull.

Daisy Bath Bomb

And then a nice festive bath with a Daisy Daisy Bath Blaster from Bomb Cosmetics.


And so the wheel of the year turns. We'll be celebrating again at Lammas.

Midsummer: Day 5

It's the fifth day of our Midsummer celebrations this year, and it was a bit of a busy one (with an absolutely lovely trip out in the evening).

Crumpsall Park Summer Solstice Walk

This morning, I led a Summer Solstice-themed walk for Friends of Crumpsall Park, enjoying the natural world and folklore of the season. As one of the participants was blind, I turned it into a tactile, sensory walk, where we explored the summer through touch, sound and smell instead of sight.

Hannah’s Bookshelf Midsummer Special

This afternoon was the Hannah's Bookshelf Midsummer Special on North Manchester FM. I had seasonal flash fiction from twelve writers, plus summer-themed music and some seasonal chat from me. Also... jam tarts!

Cheetham Close Stone Circle

After my show, we headed up to our local stone circle: Cheetham Close in Bolton. We came here last year and just fell in love with the place. Although the stone circle is likely Bronze Age, it was destroyed by a farmer with a sledgehammer in the 1870s. However, some of the stones (or fragments of them) are still there, nestled in the landscape. You have to know where to look, but when you find it, it's truly magical.

Sunny Days Tea

We took a moment at Cheetham Close to enjoy the season, accompanied by a little taste of Sunny Days from Tugboat Tea.

Beltane: Day 4

Our fourth day of Beltane celebrations! And neither of us has got sick this year! Woohoo!

Bakewell

Our little holiday in Bakewell continues! It's the last full day today, so we're planning to make the most of it.

Magpie Mine

We went for a picnic and a wander round Magpie Mine today. We came here a couple of years ago and just loved the place. It's so atmospheric and evocative. There are also a lot of wildflowers growing on the site. I particularly enjoyed spotting mountain pansies today.

Honey Tea

We took a moment to enjoy the season with a nicely evocative tea. This time, it was Honey Tea from Tugboat in Truro.

The Deceit

We spent this evening puzzling over an escape room game called The Deceit. This game was from Puzzle Post, and we really loved the attention to detail in the contents and clues. As always when we play games like these, we were so proud of ourselves for solving it, we considered (yet again) opening our own detective agency.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 16

And we're still on holiday! Woohoo!

Lizard

Another day in our remote little cottage at The Lizard. I don't think I mentioned this before, but there are cows right outside the cottage.

Hannah’s Bookshelf 3 Minute Santas Special

By the magic of technology (and forward planning, of course), I was on air on North Manchester FM today. It was the annual Hannah's Bookshelf Pre-Christmas Christmas Special this afternoon, with festive flash fiction from this year's 3 Minute Santas writers.

West Country Scandals

I bought this little book, West Country Scandals by James Whinray, at a gift shop last year, but I didn't get chance to read it then. Of course, the real West Country scandal is that I drank Devon Cream Tea (from Bird and Blend) when I was reading it in Cornwall. Shocker!

Zombie Cocktails

I know tiki cocktails might not sound very Christmassy, but look how festive these Zombies look!

Escape from the Movie Studio

We brought a couple of little escape room games to play while we're away. Kicked off tonight with Escape from the Movie Studio and totally nailed it. We are no longer trapped in a movie studio.

The Last Snow

The next book I read on holiday was The Last Snow by Stina Jackson. I teamed it with Ceylon Bop from Tugboat. (The bookmark was a little present I bought for myself when I was Christmas shopping at St Ives Bookseller the other day.)

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 16 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Devon Cream Tea!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 16 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a gold joy pendant!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 13

We're on holiday! Woohoo!

Lizard

Another day in our lovely remote little cottage at The Lizard!

Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup

I made Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup today. Most of the ingredients were from our most recent Groobarbs delivery, but would you believe that the mini ghost pumpkin was from our Halloween pumpkin picking at Dunham Massey Ice Cream Farm? It lasted perfectly and tasted amazing.

Cherry and Ginger Banana Bread

I've done some baking! I made Cherry and Ginger Banana Bread this afternoon, and enjoyed a slice of it with a cup of Bird and Blend's Mascarpone and Sour Cherry tea.

Chocolate Pots

Chocolate Pots are a holiday go-to for me (though it's another no-bake dessert). 150g of melted chocolate mixed with 150ml double cream, and then anything festive I can fling at them! Top tip: make them the night before so they have plenty of time to chill in the fridge.

Daisy Darker

The next book I'm reading on holiday is Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney. I bought it for my mum for Christmas last year, and she lent it to me in January after she'd read it. I've been saving it since then, because I really wanted to read it while we were in Cornwall. And I'm having Rose Conjou tea from Tugboat in Truro while I read it.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 13 in my Bird and Blend Tea calendar... Christmas Cake!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 13 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a star pendant!

Imbolc: Day 1

We're beginning our Year of Celebrating the Seasons this week, with seven days of Imbolc celebrations. We've already come up with a couple of (hopefully) new traditions that we're looking forward to, but today was all about enjoying the last bits of winter and some tiny glimpses of spring.

Imbolc Lights

One of our new traditions (we think) is keeping some of the Christmas lights up until Imbolc, to keep the winter darkness at bay. I know some people keep their Christmas tree up and decorated until Imbolc, but that seemed a bit much for us. We've just kept a little corner of festive light to see us through.

The Haunting Season

I wanted something seasonally appropriate to read in the period between Christmas and Imbolc, and so I chose The Haunting Season. This is a collection of short stories that I skim-read for my radio show in December but didn't get to enjoy properly over the Christmas period. It seemed just right for the wintery gap between our seasonal festivities.

Snowdrops

I spent a lovely half hour with a friend today, snowdrop-spotting in our local park.

French Toast

I don't know if this is seasonal or not (since I've happily ordered it at other times of the year), but we celebrated our successful snowdrop hunt with French toast at You, Me and Tea! It certainly felt festive.

Imbolc Earrings

Continuing the snowdrop theme, my first set of Imbolc earrings for the year were a pair of cute little snowdrops. I'm building up my seasonal earring collections, so I don't have quite as many for Imbolc as I do for Halloween and Christmas. I'm getting there though!

Starve Acre

It was actually quite difficult to find a seasonally-appropriate book to read this week, as most wintery fiction is set around Christmas/winter solstice. I've chosen Andrew Michael Hurley's Starve Acre, as I believe it's set in February. Hurley has a story in The Haunting Season as well, so I might have to watch that he doesn't just become my go-to seasonal fiction writer!

Imbolc Tea

I'm not going to go all out like I do for Halloween and Christmas, but I did want to have at least one Imbolc-appropriate tea. I've got Snow Buds, a white tea from Tugboat in Truro. It's a 'treasure of a tea', apparently. I think it's very flavourful for a white tea, which is no bad thing at all.