Countdown to Christmas: Day 1

It's the first day of our Christmas countdown! Lots of festive things to look forward to before the big day!

Advent Calendars

We take advent calendars very seriously in our house. Rob has his wooden winter village calendar, which I fill with teeny tiny envelopes each containing a chapter of a teeny tiny story I've written for him. And I've got a Bird and Blend Tea calendar (from Rob) and an Avon jewellery calendar (that I bought for myself in last year's sale!). It's not in the picture, but the cats also have an advent calendar.

Christmas Earrings

I wore my first new pair of Christmas earrings today... sparkly holly leaves from 22 Jewels.

Santa Cupcake

Got a festive but kinda trippy cupcake from the local shop.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 1 in my Bird and Blend Tea advent calendar... Brighton Rock!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 1 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a silver chain!

Events in December 2023

Bailey's Wood Festive Winter Walk and Talk
Wednesday 6th December
11.00–12.30pm
Friends of Bailey's Wood
I'll be leading a gentle, social walk in the woods with a festive theme
Booking Link

Virtual Writing Retreat
Sunday 10th December
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

Winter Solstice Walk in the Woods
Friday 22nd December
2.30–3.30pm
Friends of Bailey's Wood
I'll be leading a sociable walk in the woods to enjoy the changing seasons
Booking Link

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

My Year in Books 2023: November

Just one book on this month's list. Oops. Like last month, it was a bit of a busy time, so I guess that's my excuse!

In case you're interested, here are my reviews from the rest of this year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October

The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware (2018)

This book was a library book, and it looked so interesting that I started it the day I checked it out (which almost never happens!). I’ve read one of Ware’s other books – One by One – and I quite enjoyed that one, so I had a rough idea what to expect. The thing that appealed to me most with this one was the setting: a creepy and dilapidated house in Cornwall. Hal Westaway is a young woman eking out a living reading tarot cards on Brighton Pier after the death of her mother. She receives a letter from a solicitor informing her that her grandmother, Hester Mary Westaway, has died and left Hal an inheritance. The problem is… Hal’s grandmother wasn’t called Hester. Hal decides to risk a bit of deception and, instead of letting the solicitor know they’ve made an error, she travels to Cornwall in the hope of passing herself off as an heir. What she finds at Mrs Westaway’s crumbling old mansion is a dysfunctional family with Agatha Christie levels of secrets and resentments, and a Mrs Danvers-esque housekeeper (it is Cornwall, after all). Hal is out of her depth. For all her claims of being good at cold reading, she misses various hints that would help her avoid trouble, and she frequently gives herself away by forgetting her cover story. The final revelations are quite easy to guess, and some of the characters are kinda OTT, but you cannot fault the eeriness and atmosphere of this one.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 31

It's the big day! Wow! I can't believe it's been a whole month... because it feels more like years. Can anyone actually remember when I started celebrating Halloween? I know I said I was going to do it properly this year, but I think I may have gone above and beyond. Anyway... here's what we got up to on the actual day itself.

Pumpkin and Ginger Tea Bread

The perfect Halloween breakfast.

Samhain Tea

Samhain Tea break! Chai with ginger, cinnamon, orange and clove (with pumpkin sprinkles) from Raven Mystic!

Ghost Pumpkin Frappuccino

Work meeting in Starbucks. So... Ghost Pumpkin Frappuccino it is then. Lot going on in this one. Lot going on.

Halloween Dinner

Halloween Dinner at my mother-in-law's... Potato Pie followed by Pumpkin Pie. So much pie! And ghosts!

31 Halloween Films: Death Line

We brought one of the films on our list round to my mother-in-law's to watch tonight. MIND THE DOORS!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 30

Thought I'd take advantage of a sort-of day off to do some Halloween cooking to use up leftover veg before our next delivery. I think I went a bit overboard. There were no clean spoons left in my house. No spoons at all. But there was some nice seasonal food.

Pumpkin and Pepper Soup

I called this Pumpkin and Pepper Soup, because there were four different types of pepper in it! Red pepper, green pepper, a little bit of chilli and quite a bit of black pepper. Plus pumpkin, of course.

Apple and Pear Crumble Cake

I don't want to sound too arrogant, but I think this might be the greatest cake anyone has ever made.

Halloween Notebook

New notebook!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 29

A slightly quieter day today, but still chock-full of Halloween goodness!

Samhain Forest Bathing

Just perfect Samhain forest bathing session this afternoon with Natalie Rossiter Wellbeing, finding beauty in decay, sycamore for protection and messages in the trees, then soul cakes, mulled apple juice and reflection by the fire.

Autumn Charm

One of the things we did on today's Samhain forest bathing was to make up our own plant folklore. The idea of let-go leaves and holly to prevent the holding of grudges seemed particularly apt, so I collected some up and made myself a little autumn charm.

Halloween Cupcakes

Halloween cupcakes!

31 Halloween Films: Resident Evil

Back to our film list this afternoon, and the random number generator has decreed that we are watching Resident Evil this evening!

Halloween Dinner

We had our traditional Halloween Dinner tonight... Pumpkin and Sausage Casserole!

Halloween Gifts

And after dinner, we exchanged our traditional Halloween gifts... the final two whiskies for our seasonal tasting sets that we'll have in December.

31 Halloween Films: Dracula: Prince of Darkness

There is a small chance we won't make it through all of our list by the end of October, but for tonight, we have Dracula: Prince of Darkness.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 28

Very big day today, with several outfit changes. So much Halloween. So much.

Bailey’s Wood Halloween Litter-Pick

It was the Friends of Bailey's Wood Halloween Fancy Dress Litter-Pick in the woods today. So I went dressed as... Bailey's Wood.

Hannah’s Bookshelf Halloween Special

This afternoon, it was the Hannah's Bookshelf Halloween Special on North Manchester FM, when I played the shortlisted stories for this year's 3 Minute Scares competition (and revealed the winner, of course). As is tradition, I was in fancy dress for the show, and I decided to go monochrome this time.

British Library Weird Fiction Subscription

I've signed up for a monthly British Library Tales of the Weird subscription, and the first one arrived this weekend. It's The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson! (Can't promise my hair will match the cover for every month though!)

Halloween Dinner

Halloween dinner with my parents tonight... autumnal stew and dumplings, followed by apple cake.

31 Halloween Film: Urban Legend

S-S-S-SOMEONE'S IN THE BACK SEAT!!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 27

I had a day off today (partly to catch up with my sleep after all the events this week!). Plenty of time for Halloween stuff in the evening though!

Library After Hours

We had an amazing evening at Chetham's Library tonight for a Library After Hours tour. Love this place!

Fancy Dress Cluedo

Fancy Dress Cluedo is back for the third year! Woohoo! And the third year of me having to Google how to tie a cravat!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 26

Today was a long day. And even though there was only one Halloween event, it was a big one (and one I've been looking forward to/nervous about) since we came up with the idea at the end of the summer.

A Nightmare on Nelson Street

Tonight was A Nightmare on Nelson Street, our Halloween event at the Pankhurst Centre. I led visitors on a spooky walk up Nelson Street, sharing weird history stories (including bodysnatching, a medical museum, and a surprising story about the past life of 62 Nelson Street), then we came back to the Pankhurst Centre for hot cocoa and Tales of the Spookiest Suffragettes!