Footwear this week! 😍 My guest is Stuart Davis, co-founder of Dubs Universe – a sustainable children’s trainer brand. These trainers are inspired by children and designed by parents. They feature iconic sugarcane soles – as well as being made from recycled plastic bottles – how cool is that? 😎 To tell us more, let’s welcome Stuart onto the blog…
Hello!
I’m Stuart, co-founder of Dubs!
Prior to founding Dubs, I was in the advertising industry as a creative producer.
I have an awesome sister, Samantha – who throughout my life, has been the person who inspires me the most. She is heavily disabled; became very ill when she was 3 (I was 4). Despite what she has been through, she is constantly smiling. She keeps me grounded and real.
I’m married to Kirsty, an awesome, smart and funny lady. She’s the best.
And my daughter… my bonkers, supercharged little girl Leila who is now 7 (7!). She’s my best friend.
What inspired the launch of Dubs Universe?
Dubs was inspired by my bonkers, supercharged little girl and her crazy fast-growing feet and the fact that I lost my job during the first lockdown.
As a new-ish Dad at the time, I was gutted when Leila’s feet were too big for her brand-new shoes…that…she’d only worn twice and were now destined for the bin. I actually turned them into flower pots – anything to keep her entertained.
My co-founder and good friend Gary, a graphic designer, and I used to catch up on Zoom weekly for some sanity. During these chats, I would often moan about my day, especially how Leila had outgrown another pair of perfectly good shoes that she had worn only twice. Gary understood this frustration all too well. He recognised that comfort, aesthetics, and sustainability had to go hand-in-hand, but the amount of waste generated by children’s shoes was alarming.
We discovered that 2 million shoes are thrown into landfills every week in the UK alone, with children’s shoes contributing significantly to this problem. This revelation led us to set an ambitious goal: “How do we make the Immortal Sneaker?”
Taking advantage of Leila’s naptime, I dedicated those 37 minutes each day to research, learn, and connect with anyone knowledgeable about shoemaking and sustainability. These efforts eventually culminated in the creation of The Dubs Universe, where we began to address our ambitious challenge and bring our vision to life.
Have you always had an interest in fashion/footwear designing or did you have other career plans whilst growing up?
I’ve always had a love for sneakers. As in, I have favourite styles and brands that I love. But job wise, I spent most of my career in the advertising industry as a creative producer, most recently at M&C Saatchi where I held the position of Creative Operations Director. Ironically, my first job out of Uni was a dustman, at a recycling plant.
As a creative producer, I worked with brands such as Adidas, Coke, Airbnb, producing all types of content from TV adverts, press adverts to those annoying advert banners that appear on websites.
Towards the latter stages of my career, I oversaw production departments and helped agencies and brands navigate the complex world of creative production from an operations POV.
I’m interested in your brand name – Dubs Universe – why did you specifically pick that name? Were there any other contenders?
Oooh great question.
The name “Dubs Universe” comes from two main ideas. First, when kids are just starting to talk, they tend to use the front of their mouths and say words that are simple and easy to say, like “Peppa Pig” or “Postman Pat.” I wanted to pick a word that felt playful and was easy for kids to pronounce, which is how “Dubs” came about.
Second, I wanted the brand name to become synonymous with shoes, like how google and hoover are brands, yet people say: “Google it” or “Hoover the floor.” It’s exciting to hear kids and parents say, “Go get your Dubs on” or “Where are my Dubs?”—it’s a sign the name is becoming part of their daily language, which is really cool.
We did originally start with the name “Bumpers,” but an old shoe brand in Italy raised concerns, so we pivoted to Dubs Universe—and I think it turned out even better!
I love your ideas of using eco-friendly materials to make your trainers – recycled plastic bottles, sugarcane, chrome free leather and recycled foam. I’m struck by the fact you use sugarcane – what exactly is a sugarcane sole and its benefits?
So sugarcane soles are made from a material derived from the sugarcane plant. This material is created by using the sugarcane’s natural sugar content to produce a more eco-friendly version of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate), which is commonly used in footwear for its lightweight and cushioning properties. Our sugarcane is called ‘Braskem I’m green’. It’s a renewable resource, meaning it can be grown and harvested annually without depleting natural resources and it has a much Reduced Carbon Footprint. And what was super important for us, after many, many tests (!) Sugarcane soles offer excellent cushioning and flexibility, providing comfort for little feet during all their adventures.
What is currently the most popular colour & style ?
The Flex, our debut shoe, is still the most popular. And it’s a close call between the All Black, which is great as a school shoe and the Midnight Blue, which is loved by Boys and Girls
As you are based in the UK, are your items available to purchase overseas?
We are! But shipping costs often put customers off from overseas.
On your website, you talk about a scheme to sell outgrown Dubs for cash. What does that entail?
We’ve just launched our pre-loved site, where parents can sell outgrown Dubs for cash (think Vinted, but just for Dubs) or exchange the cash for Dubs store credit, which can be used to get money off their next pair. It’s a fantastic way to keep our shoes on kids’ feet for longer and help parents effortlessly declutter.
Have you got any new trainer styles in the pipeline for 2025?
We have two styles ready to go!
The Dubs Stomp – which is another velcro shoe – but has a big chunky strap.
And my favourite is the Dubs Bounce – which is more of a high-top! We always wanted to design kids shoes that we would wear ourselves. I can’t wait to get these guys in stock!
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
Well, if it’s just chilling, on the school run or popping to the shops – I’m almost always in Nike AIr Max. They are so comfy! But if I need to be a little smarter, then I have smarter sneaks, brogues or smart boots.
Do you have any favorite shops or online sites?
I always try to shop British independent brands where I can.
For me, I recently discovered &sons who I’m really into at the mo https://andsons.co.uk/
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
I love the outdoors and camping – and I really need to upgrade my winter jacket! I hate being cold.
Boots or Shoes?
Boots. They’re more versatile. You can make boots look super smart when required, but can’t walk through the woods in the winter, to a cozy pub in shoes!
For Pinning later
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook/twitter etc so that readers can find out more about Dubs Universe.
Like grandfather, like granddaughter … my guest this week is Leona Cobham, granddaughter of aviation pioneer, Sir Alan Cobham. Sir Alan Cobham was an aviation legend – he was a test pilot, an explorer and the inventor of air-to-air refuelling. Leona shares his passion of flying, travel and aviation engineering. Keen to spread the love of aviation, Leona has written a book series for children aged 7 -12 called, Aeroplane Adventures – a collection of fun stories combined with aeroplane facts and terminology. I caught up with Leona to find out more about her aeroplane passion, her books, her travels and her grandfather…. Welcome Leona 😊
Hello 😊 I’m Leona. I’m passionate about inspiring youngsters. We each learn differently but one thing that does inspire all of us is a sense of wonder. If we want to draw kids off their devices and into real life, they must get a thrill out of real life. So my books are packed with thrilling stuff. I’ve kept the stories fast-paced, easy to follow and full of adventure. I’ve recently become a STEM ambassador so I can go to schools and museums to do presentations around the themes in my books.
You’ve written a book series for children aged 7 – 12 called Aeroplane Adventures. The first book is Flying Circus Takes to the Skies and the second is Flying Circus Through Thick andThin. Who are the characters and what do they get up to?
At the centre we have our fearless Flying Circus quartet: Woody the Tiger Moth, Spif the Spitfire, Vul, the Avro Vulcan, and Tom the F-14 Tomcat. Each talking plane has a life – and mind – of its own. Each plane has its own distinct purpose and personality. Together, they form a formidable team that’s up for any challenge, both on the ground and in the air.
Tom the F-14 Tomcat has this belief that he’s only valued for his speed. He’s determined to win a race to Australia to keep their air show alive but gets distracted by his nemesis, an F-15 Eagle, who challenges him to manoeuvres on an aircraft carrier. This is a great opportunity for me to share the excitement of landing and take-off from an aircraft carrier, engaging the arresting wire and then launching with the catapult.
Woody meanwhile, the wooden biplane, has low self-esteem and feels the other aeroplanes are more capable than him. While he compares himself to Tom, the supersonic F-14 Tomcat, and fears that his relative lack of speed will hamper the team effort in a race to Australia, it’s actually his unique ability to land on a very short, unsurfaced runway which eventually saves the team because he collects the equipment Tom needs to refuel mid-air. Whereas he thought Woody, the little wooden biplane, would be the weak link in this race to Australia, in fact Tom is the one who runs out of fuel and jeopardises their chances. And it’s Woody who helps Tom out. But the friends don’t shame Tom in his moment of humility, so Tom is able to feel that friends go the extra mile for each other in times of need and friendship isn’t conditional on him always being at the top of his game.
When we hear the characters’ thoughts, we feel close to them. The message to young readers is we all have gifts to bring to the table. We are all heroes on a journey.
Who or what inspired you to start your writing career?
I believe it’s important to get children back into reading. Children are reading less than any previous generation; a third of children surveyed said they couldn’t find things to read that interested them. Yet research shows that strong reading skills are key to successful learning. So, I felt compelled to combine exciting fiction, which is enjoyable to read, with plenty of facts. Many children groan at the thought of learning, but I honestly believe it’s possible to enjoy the process. By combining feel-good adventures with facts about aviation, my readers see how aeroplanes pull off the feats they do.
I am also passionate about giving children life skills within the books: how to come back from making mistakes, how to ask for help without losing face, how to feel enough; ultimately, how to develop an inner feeling of significance which doesn’t depend on the approval of others. I do this by creating a world of flawed, lovable characters. This concept that we’re lovable despite our flaws is key for child development. It’s ok not to be perfect, it’s ok to make mistakes. And we need not be ashamed of them. The characters find themselves in situations which generate relatable emotions like fear, embarrassment, and conflict. And through the characters’ point of view, we tackle these situations. We see how they can be resolved.
The two Aeroplane Adventures are collections of fun stories with messages about teamwork and friendship interwoven with lots of facts about aeroplanes. What do you enjoy most about writing for children?
I’m an impatient reader myself, and so are most children. When writing for children, you need to keep up the pace by maintaining suspense and having a pressing problem that must be solved. There needs to be an important ‘why?’ in the story. I enjoy this challenge. Also, Ilike to infuse my stories with humour, adventure, and a feel-good factor. I think these elements are important in children’s literature, particularly these days when there are so many dark stories on the market. I think we learn best when we’re having fun and when we feel safe. It’s comforting to laugh at life’s predicaments sometimes. We are not perfect, and my message to children is: ‘That’s ok!’. I create flawed, lovable characters because grasping the fact that we are lovable despite our flaws is fundamental to healthy child development.
I create scenarios where children can see how our individuality is a good thing. We each offer value in our own way. We don’t want a world where we are all good at the same thing and weak at the same thing! For example, Woody the little biplane, may be slow but he can land on unsurfaced runways which is a pretty handy little skill! It saves the team on a race to Australia in my first book. It also means he can fly slowly without stalling which enables him to guide the Chinook when the team are putting out a forest fire in the second book. All the characters are different, like we are. The message is to look at your unique characteristics and consider what value you can bring to any situation.
Your grandfather is aviation pioneer Sir Alan Cobham – does your love for all things aviation stem from your background?
Aviation has always held positive associations for me. My grandfather was passionate about encouraging people to fly and enjoy flight. I grew up seeing aviation as thrilling and inspirational. I have adopted flight as a metaphor: inspiring young readers to get into the pilot’s seat in their own lives, to spread their wings, and fly.
What do you love most about flying/aeroplanes?
I remember being on flights with my dad as a child. When the aeroplane had taxied to the top of the runway and the captain was seeking clearance from air traffic control, he would always say “look out of the window, we’re about to take off”. And to this day, I get a burst of adrenaline when I’m sitting in an aeroplane at the top of the runway. The pilot opens up the throttles and you can feel the plane trembling; then he eases off the brakes and we go hurtling down the track. The air passing quicker under the wing than over it generates lift and we get airborne. It’s still the most thrilling thing for me. And I’m not even in the pilot’s seat. It’s those emotions I want to pass on to the next generation.
An airshow is a great start for those of us who love ‘things-that-go’. The sound of a fighter jet epitomizes raw power; then there’s the sensation of the blast from the slipstream, the smell of the jet fuel, and as for the sight! Even an airport is pretty exciting. It’s simply awesome to see a 560-ton A380 lift into the sky. I mean… HOW?
You have spent some time working in a forest recuperation project in Brazil and did volunteer teaching in a shanty town. What did those experiences teach you? How hard was it to adapt to life in Brazil?
My experiences in Brazil and working as a classroom reading assistant have given me anunderstanding of different learning styles which I keep in mind when I am writing. I try to cover the visual learners with a plethora of clear diagrams, the contextual learners with background stories where they can see the technology in operation. For example, when Nighthawk gets lost, the other planes struggle to find her because she is a stealth plane and she has a very small radar return. This gives my reader a visual on how radar works. For those who can’t get enough information and love to research stuff, there’s plenty of information in the glossary section. I’ve made it easier by emboldening words in the text that are referenced in the glossary.
I encountered cultural differences when I moved to Brazil, and I realised that accepting differences is a life skill. I write about this in my books. It’s never easy to gracefully accept alternate points of view if they seem to threaten ours, is it? In a story called Hats Off to Spifin Book 2, the Spitfire is challenged to tolerate an alternative take on an episode from history that’s close to his heart. Through his character arc in this story, my readers see how Spif’s flexibility doesn’t weaken him. In fact, his ability to keep calm and remain untriggered elevates him from fine leader to great leader.
Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book?
I am a collector of books and I have had to adopt a rule: if a book comes in, then one has to go out and be donated to the local library. I read a lot of aviation books, mostly non-fiction. I choose physical books because I often underline good sentences. I like audiobooks but end up buying a copy of the physical book as well!
Are your “Aeroplane Adventures” books available to purchase worldwide?
Yes, they are available from to order from bookshops and also on Amazon. I have published US versions of the books for those who want American spelling. The word aeroplane/airplane is the first one that causes confusion!
Growing up had you always wanted to be an author, pilot or did you have other career aspirations?
I am a born researcher. I go down rabbit holes on a wide variety of subjects from aircraft carriers to eighteenth century French textiles! I love looking after living things; I wanted to work with plants and animals from a young age, and I did so, though my work in Brazil with forest recuperation.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
I have discovered ‘history bounding’. I like floaty dresses that take me back to another time in history. I go for natural fabrics wherever possible: cotton, silk, and wool. When I walk my dog, I imagine myself in a Jane Austen novel! Once I am bored with an item of clothing, I get out my fabric scissors and cut it into a new item.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?
I like unusual styles that go with my ‘history bounding’ so I shop from a very wide variety of sources. The clothes I like are verging on costume. But I just wear one element of the costume at a time. I saw a lovely blouse on Sezanne recently with a ruffle collar. That’s the sort of thing I like.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
I’m not very good at wearing heels so I’m looking for some pretty suede lace-up flats which I can convert into ‘going out’ shoes with ribbons instead of shoelaces…
Boots or Shoes?
I go back to wearing boots as soon as Autumn begins. I get on much better with heels if I’m wearing boots. And I think knee boots look great with a knee-length skirt. Timeless.
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc
Great to chat with you Leona! I hope your books will not only encourage budding young aviators to spread their wings and embrace the thrill of travel; but to also discover how to help each other, acknowledge our different strengths and to nurture long lasting friendships.
Linda x
All photographs have been published with the kind permission of Leona Cobham
Who doesn’t love a magical story? As a child, I had a “Treasury “book of magical stories – stories that were better read curled up in a wingback chair in front of a roaring log fire, allowing the magical stories to take my imagination on a journey filled with awe and wonderment. Unbelievable tales of dragons, animals who talked, mystical lands, witches and princesses …. Oh, my imagination did run riot! Being an adult, you don’t often get a chance to read magical stories, so it was an absolute joy to read “Uncle Digit and the Truth About Magic” by Jeremy Hullah. Published in April 2024, this is an updated magical story in the same vain as stories of yesteryear – ideal for reading to younger children, a book for older readers …. And adults too!
BOOK SUMMARY
Confined to a wheelchair, 11-year-old Finn looks forward to the visits of his Uncle Henry and the unbelievable stories of his adventures. When Henry goes to the Arctic to look for his father’s lost ship, the stories become increasingly fantastical, straining even Finn’s desire to believe everything his uncle tells him, until he joins in the adventure himself!
Expect aliens, a wise-cracking fox, singing bears, the most powerful device in the universe and some very peculiar snow.
THE INTERVIEW
Hello Jeremy & welcome to the blog. Please introduce yourself 😀
Hello, I’m Jeremy. I’m a retired IT consultant who used to work in the City. I wrote my first two books on the train to and from East Sussex to London Bridge. I’d like to say that I’ve been able to concentrate more on writing since I retired in April, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, although I am hoping that I will settle into more of a routine as time goes on.
Who or what inspired you to write “Uncle Digit And The Truth About Magic”?
Having twin boys to keep entertained is good inspiration for stories, but when I started writing Uncle Digit And The Truth About Magic, I didn’t have much of a plot – just a few ideas inspired by Letters From A Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake.
Later, after hearing and reading about some of Ranulph Fiennes expeditions, I imagined some conversations between him and his younger cousins, the actors Joseph and Ralph Fiennes. They started along the lines of “Wow! How many fingers have you lost this time Ranulph?”, “Just the one this time, boys.” – eventually ending up with “You’ll never guess what happened on this expedition?” And Ranulph takes his head off and puts it on the table.
It was such a stupid idea, but I started to wonder how I could make something so impossible sound feasible within the context of a fantasy / adventure tale.
The “Truth About Magic” part of the title was added after I wrote the fairytale chapter of the same name. This gave me an underlying focus for the book and sparked a lot of underlying elements, especially Finn’s memory of being taking to the healing waters.
“Uncle Digit And The Truth About Magic ” is a YA book whose magic still enthralled myself and a few other adults I know who read the book. I loved the fact that Finn wanted to believe the adventurous escapades of his uncle, and even if he felt that his uncle’s stories were far fetched, they offered him escapism from his day to day life and his reliance on his wheelchair. And yet, the magic in the tales lures you in…Did you base the characters on you and people you’ve met in life? Which character was the hardest to portray?
No character is based on me or anyone I know, unless you count Uncle Digit as being a wish-fulfilment version of myself (I have always wanted to be a photojournalist)!
Finn was by far the hardest character to portray, as I am not disabled myself and didn’t want to come across as patronising, or using a disabled character lightly as nothing more than a vehicle for the plot (which he is), so I tried to make Finn as real as possible and hopefully have not offended anyone.
It’s important for Finn (and the reader) to wonder whether Uncle Henry is telling tall stories or not – right up to the moment he puts his head on the table. That’s when all doubt is removed and the magic begins. It’s meant to be like the moment in Wizard of Oz when everything turns Technicolor.
What do you enjoy most about writing for the YA/children’s genre?
I like the escapism and the creation of other realities. Making the impossible seem real, if only for a moment, is (for me) highly challenging and creative.
As you have said, though, the appeal of Uncle Digit is not restricted to YA. I would like to think that people of all ages can read and enjoy the book, and I would direct anyone to Katherine Rundell’s lovely little volume “Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Very Old And Wise.”
I have always enjoyed fantasy adventure stories, starting with Alan Garner’s Weirdstone of Brisingamen, on to The Lord of the Rings, via an awful lot of Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance and the like. Even though I broadened my reading as I got older, I never lost the love for fantasy and all my ideas so far (except one) are fantasy related.
If you could visit any country/place in the world, to base a future story in, where would you go and why?
The second Uncle Digit book, which I am writing at the moment, is set in Alexandria. Although the city has been high on my list of places to go since reading the Alexandria Quartet in my twenties, I have never been there, and so the story relies on the rather romanticised version of Alexandria in the Lawrence Durrell books and recollections of other North African cities that I have actually visited.
If I write a third Uncle Digit book, I think it will be set in Venezuela and South America. I have always wanted to visit the Tepuis and might have the big baddie meeting his end by falling off the Angel Falls – homage to Sherlock Holmes’ Moriarty, as Conan Doyle used to live in a house a hundred yards from where I live now.
Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book?
I used to be a bookworm but stopped reading a lot of books sometime in my thirties. When I did read, I tended to like modern classics, and apart from children’s books, I would probably read those over anything else.’
For the last few years though, I have mostly been reading children’s literature and have really enjoyed discovering all the amazing new talents that have emerged in the last ten years, such as Jessica Townsend, Struan Murray, Catherine Doyle and of course Katherine Rundell.
I like reading from a kindle at night, as it is more comfortable and the lighting is so good, but I do prefer to read physical books at other times.
Is “Uncle Digit And The Truth About Magic” available to purchase worldwide?
The eBook is available worldwide, but the print version is only available via Amazon UK.
Growing up had you always wanted to be a writer or did you have other career aspirations?
I had dreams of being a writer when I was young, but never wrote anything worthwhile and gave up when it was time to get a proper job.
It wasn’t until I had children and a long train journey that ideas started to come again, and I had the time to concentrate on developing them over a long period of time.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
I’m mostly happy with jeans and rugby top. I like nice jumpers though and have recently branched out into patterned shirts.
I have a few Crockett and Jones shoes still going strong, from the time when I was a single IT contractor, but now I only wander in their shops from time to time, wondering when I will be able to spend £500 on a pair of shoes.
At the moment I mostly wear an old pair of sturdy half boots or a pair of Vans.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?
I used to buy my jumpers and tops from Banana Republic, before they disappeared. Most of my clothes now come from All Saints, White Stuff or Seasalt.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
Nothing on clothes or shoes for the moment, expect maybe another pairs of Vans.
Boots or Shoes?
Shoes and half boots.
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc
I’m a luddite when it comes to Social Media and Online Trends, so I’ll have to pass on this one. 😀 My website is : www.digitpublications.com
Great to chat with you Jeremy! Thanks to Jeremy Hullah (& Ben Cameron of Cameron Publicity & Marketing) for a review copy of “Uncle Digit & The Truth About Magic”.
Linda x
Photographs have been published with the kind permission of Jeremy Hullah & by Linda Hobden, where marked.
School’s out for summer! How about a spot of cake baking with your little ones, big ones or even just for yourself?? What about yummy Firefly Brownie Bites and Butterfly cupcakes? Well, author Raven Howell has just released her latest children’s book – Blink And Glow – and when she does her book readings she whips up these tasty treats! So, as part of her Blink and Glow Blog Tour, Raven has shared her baking recipes with us…. Over to you Raven 😋
FIREFLY BROWNIE BITES & STRAWBERRY BUTTERFLIES
By Raven Howell
Book events are exhilarating! Even the youngest children in the group are attentive as I read them my new book, BLINK AND GLOW. The plot features fireflies and inspires kids to nurture and appreciate nature.
When I finish the story, the kids happily rush the snack area to grab a Firefly Brownie Bite.
If you like your brownies on the chewy side, and fudgy, this one’s a hit. There’s no need to even decorate them if you’re onlybaking for yourself or any adults. But if kids are around, they’ll appreciate the whimsical look.
You need: (UK /Europe equivalent in brackets)
10 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter
1 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon of cane sugar (200g/ 7oz)
¼ cup of canola oil (rapeseed oil – 2 fl oz/ 4 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
A pinch of baking soda (use more if you want a cakier texture)
¼ cup of any variety of chocolate chips (1oz; 28g)
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, (180°C) rack in the center.
Spray an 8×8 inch baking pan with non-stick spray, line the pan with overhanging parchment paper.
Melt the butter in a pot with a light-colored interior. Use a medium flame, continue stirring for a few minutes until the butter starts to brown.
In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter to the sugar. Whisk together for 1 minute.
Add vanilla, salt, and oil. When it’s combined, whisk in the eggs.
Add the pinch of baking soda and cocoa. Fold in the flour and chocolate chips with a spatula until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 28 minutes.
When the brownie is cooled, use the parchment to lift it out of the pan. By hand or using cookie cutters, cut out whatever shape you’d like for your insect.
Use your favorite buttercream frosting recipe to get the yellowish color of the “firefly”. Fun add-on ideas are pretzel or chocolate covered potato chip wings, long licorice sticks for antennae, M&M clustered bodies, gumdrop heads, sour gummy slice wings, and candy chip eyes.
For non-chocolate “insect” treats, bake these light and super moist Strawberry Butterfly Muffins.
You need:
1 pint of strawberries (12oz – or 12 large strawberries)
½ cup of softened butter (4 oz ; 113g)
¾ cups sugar (5oz; 150g)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup of plain yogurt (4oz; 8 tablespoons)
1 ½ cups self-rising flour (6oz; 180g)
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (180°C). Line your cupcake/muffin pan with 16 paper cups.
Hull the strawberries and dice about half of them. Set aside.
With a mixer, beat butter, sugar and the vanilla. When it’s creamy, beat in the eggs. Add yogurt and the flour on low speed. When combined, use a spatula to stir in the diced strawberries. It will have a dense consistency. Fill the cups to 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes until firm.
When they’re cooled, frost and decorate tops with the strawberries set aside to create bodies and wings. I hope it inspires you to fly off with your own unique, creative baking ideas!
BLINK AND GLOW BY RAVEN HOWELL – BOOK SUMMARY
Lilly and Leo think it’s super to catch fireflies and salamanders—and even more exciting, as they plan to bring their glowing nature finds to show-and-tell the next day. They have a change of heart when Grandma’s wisdom guides the children to respect the freedom and light of the natural life in all living things.
Raven Howell writes stories and poetry for children. Having published several award-winning picture books, she enjoys sharing her joy of reading and literature by visiting classrooms and libraries. Raven serves as Creative & Publishing Advisor for Red Clover Reader, writes The Book Bug column for Story Monsters Ink magazine, and is a Collaborating Author for Reading is Fundamental and I am a Promise Books.
She writes for children’s magazines including Ladybug, The School Magazine, Highlights for Children, and Humpty Dumpty. She’s a storybook writer for educational publisher, Reading Gate, and aims for every child’s opportunity to blossom.
To catch Raven on her blog tour, the list of blogs and dates are below. Many thanks to Raven for her delicious recipes! All photographs have been published with the kind permission of Raven Howell .
In the UK schools are out for Summer and if you are looking for a new children’s book for their summer reading programme then look no further than “Serendipity” by Maria De Fatima Santos. Published on Monday 22nd July 2024, this beautifully illustrated fantasy tale is inspired by nature, Celtic mythology and picturesque Scottish locations.
BOOK SUMMARY
When the Guardian Angel of Nature’s Secrets appears disguised as an elderly musician, a magical adventure unfolds for a little girl called Gaia. Every long journey begins with one small step … This exciting novel for children takes the form of a tale told by a grandmother to her granddaughter. Set in the Traveller Community and against the backdrop of spectacular and mystical locations in Scotland, the book explores the age-old art of storytelling, Celtic mythology, the cultural value of traditional languages, the power of nature and the bond between generations.
THE INTERVIEW
Hi Maria and welcome to the blog!
Hello. I am Maria de Fátima, Portuguese and original born in Angola, a country in southern Africa.
Although Portuguese is my first language, and without devaluing this rich and ancient language, I also fell in love with the English language. When I moved to Scotland for the first time in July 2007, I had the possibility to study Academic English in Stevenson College in Edinburgh for which I am very grateful for the excellent teachers I had that contributed to a huge improvement in my spoken and written English. Just as a side note, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the teachers, Ruth and George – if my memory still recalls their names right.
I felt adopted by the English language that offered me a wonderful medium to find and express my creative voice without social and internal censorships.
Once in Scotland, I naturally felt drawn to the Celtic culture and the natural landscape of the country. I felt “adopted” by Scotland and by the English language… And like Nat King Cole’s song says: “When I fall in love, I will love forever.”
To tell you who I am, I would also like to share what I’ve done. I received training and developed experience in the UK as a carer providing care to different groups of people. It’s appropriate to acknowledge the human richness and valuable professional experience providing care to people with learning disabilities in London. And the second valuable professional experience was providing living in care which allowed me to travel to different locations in England and meet a diversity of realities and lives’ stories. I can transfer all these experiences of care work to my writing too.
Who or what inspired you to write “Serendipity”?
Scotland in the first place. Three real places in Scotland are the scenes of this story, namely: Helge’s Hole in Forres, the Hermitage Forest in Dunkeld and Glen Lyon in Perth. I visited and photographed these places and the illustrations in the book are inspired by the photos.
Love was also a source of inspiration. It is a story of a grandmother’s greater love for a granddaughter, a mother for a daughter and the boundless bounty of the natural realm for each one of us.
In “Serendipity” the grandmother, Julia, telling a story to her granddaughter was inspired by the memory of my own grandmother, – it’s a tribute to her as she was also named Julia.
I was also inspired by a book I read many years ago about the way of life of the Scottish Traveller Community. I still recall the title: “Red Rowans and Wild Honey” by Betsy Whyte. It’s an account of her life as a child born into a traveller family. In this book, I learned also about the Cant vocabulary, the language of the Scottish Travellers that it’s also integrated into the dialogues in my story. What fascinated me, was the strong tradition of oral storytelling, their connection with the natural world and their courage and freedom.
In addition, I was also inspired to write about a little girl of pure heart with a love for nature, like our little traveller girl in the story, that has the gift to save the land of the People of Peace, having in my mind the large picture of the increasing challenges that the natural world is facing everywhere, like for example, the loss of biodiversity and the more extreme patterns of climate change. In this perspective, I do hold a strong faith on the children of this generation to influence their parents to love the natural world and make changes, as they can, to safeguard life in all its forms.
“Serendipity” is a beautifully illustrated fantasy tale inspired by nature, Celtic mythology & 3 picturesque Scottish locations. “Serendipity” reminded me of the fantasy fairytale books I read as a child and read as a mother to my own children. I liked how Gaiaʼs adventures introduce children also to some traditional celtic language spoken by the Scottish Traveller Community. Which character, mythological or otherwise was your favourite to write about? Which was the hardest?
My favourite character to create was the heroine of this tale: the little traveller girl. To build her psychological profile, I was inspired by the universal characteristics of curiosity, wonder, ingenuous and the gifts that children have of believing and trusting that we associate to what is to be a child.
Looking back to my writing process, I feel that the way I conceived the antagonist characters of this story that are the Giants of the Underworld was not hard for me, because I played with the power of the elements to create the needed obstacles to our heroine to overcome them with the help of the elderly musician that is the Guardian Angel of the Secrets of Nature.
In this story, the Giants of the Underworld turned against the People of Peace that are ruled by Queen Titania in the Land of the Young. They displaced the Truth, Beauty and Goodness, the children of the Sun God Lugh and the Cailleach, the Goddess of Creation.
What do you enjoy most about writing stories for children?
Writing stories for children is a privilege and responsibility because allows us to re-create ourselves and the reality of others that read the story. In a children’s book, we have space to create a parallel world with invented personages that can teach us so many things about real life and even become our friends. A children’s story is a gateway that offers us the possibility to be teleported to another realm, escape, sometimes, from our own harsh reality – and coming back to it, inspired and encouraged by what we read. I believe that we can find in real life all the characters we may have in a fairy tale. It comes to my mind a quote of Hans Christian Andersen that I absolutely love: “Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.”
So to sum up, I would say that to write stories for children also allows adults reunite and, sometimes, rescue their inner child. Like the music of Abba, “I have a dream” that goes like this: “To help me cope with anything. If you see the wonder of a fairy tale. You can take the future, even if you fail.”
As you were born in Angola & brought up in Portugal – although living now in Scotland – what are the things you love about Scotland? What are the things you miss from Angola and Portugal?
Well, to reply to this question I am going to start by the beginning. I was born in Luanda, the capital city of Angola. I returned to Portugal when I was 6 months old with my mother, when a political and military upheaval of the Independence Movement took place in the ex-Portuguese colonies in Africa. For this reason, I do not have memories of my life in Angola. However, I did discover Angola when I was growing up in Portugal by reading books, seeing photographs of Angola, listening to life stories and meeting African people in Portugal. I do admire the resilience of the African people and I can relate to the force of nature in Africa – I would love to see in loco the sunrise and sunset in the natural reserves in Angola.I recall a conversation I had in Portugal many years ago with a storyteller that was also born in Angola but he came from there as a teenager boy. I remember I asked him a similar question about how it was to leave Angola and to adapt to a life in a country like Portugal. He replied that what he most missed was there were no walls in Angola separating the back gardens of the houses and also his African friends. Although I did not have that experience because I was a baby when I left Angola, I could understand what he meant about the absence of walls and the freedom of space that the landscape of Africa gives us. In Portugal there are many walls!
Scotland gave me the sacred space of nature to discover and dwell on it. I fell in love with the glens, the mountains and the lochs. This love brought back the wonder of my inner child and that sense of sacredness that my words may not be enough to describe. The nature of Scotland nourishes my well being and my imagination – and I am aware that there is a major call to bring back biodiversity and conservation to the forests, glens and the rivers in Scotland.
Surprisingly enough, I have adapted very well to the rain. I’ve found it very interesting to have rain and sun in the same day with rainbows in the middle – maybe because I came from a country like Portugal where the lack of rain and dangerous very warm summers cause serious consequences to both forests and human beings.
The other interesting affinity I discovered is the fascination for the Celtic culture and the druids that were philosophers and theologians in the Celtic world. I absolutely love how they elevated places in nature as sanctuaries. I did some research about Celts. I learned that they also lived in Portugal and Spain, called Iberia in that time. In Portuguese history books, they are called the People of the Iron Age. The name, Celts, I found only in the books in the UK.Actually, it is still possible to identify traces of the Celtic Culture in North Portugal and in Galicia, a province in Spain that has a border with Portugal in the North. I learned that the Celts went from Iberia to parts of the British Isles and Ireland and not the other way around. I am fascinated by History.
Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book?
I am a long time lover of books and I do prefer to hold the physical book in my hands. I like to underline and sometimes to write quotes and ideas in the margins. I feel we can develop an affectional bond easier with an actual book. However, having said that, I don’t discard the Kindle, because in many situations, it’s also very good to read a book in a Kindle format.I am open to reading books that came to my way. When I visit charity shops in the UK looking for affordable books, I used to say that the books were the ones that chose me and not me to them. I am open to reading any book that motivates my interest and curiosity.I clearly like children’s books, the mid grade ones, and youth literature as well. There are so many authors that I admire, but in a nutshell I can mention two: C.S. Lewis and Kiran Millwood Hargrave.
There is a book that intrigued me and I absolutely loved the story and the original lifestory of the author: “The House Without Windows” by Barbara Newhall Follen. It’s a classic of nature writing written by a twelve-year-old child.
I also love poetry very much. Mary Oliver comes in first place, because it was her book “Wild Geese” that introduced me to her poetry focusing on the natural world. I also love very much David Whyte that I discovered with this poem “True Love” and his book “The Bell and the Blackbird”.
I like historical fiction. In this field, we also have brilliant writers in the Portuguese language, for example José Saramago with the book “Convent Memorial” and João Aguiar, “The Voices of the Gods”, a historical novel about the Lusitanian War.
I like to read real life stories as well, for example “Miracles of the Heart” by Karen Henson Jones.And I like cooking books and garden photography too.
Is “Serendipity” available to purchase worldwide?
Yes, it is. Serendipity is available on the webpage of Palavro Publishing (an imprint of the Arkbound Foundation) on www.palavro.org, available through bookshops and internet booksellers and on Amazon on Kindle format and paperpback.
Growing up had you always wanted to be an author or did you have other career aspirations?
In school I was a very good student in History and Literature. This natural interest to learn about History and the written word is still present within me. To be an author was not a professional goal for me while I was growing up in Portugal. Firstly I was drawn to writing about the history of facts, but along the way I realised that there are stories. The magic of telling a story wrapped by the imagination, that can take us further and touch the hearts and minds of people. I became an author because I had this story to be told.
As a child, what stories filled your imagination? When did you first encounter Celtic mythology?
As a child I was very impressed with Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. There is one in particularly that still speaks to me very profoundly – “The Little Mermaid” . I also read “The Famous Five Collection” by Enid Blyton.
Regarding Celtic mythology, the first book I read was offered by my mother when I was already an adult, maybe I was in my twenties, and she bought me a small book about “The Druids”. She was right with her intuition to offer me this book.Of course, in Scotland, I learned much more about the Celtic mythology.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
I prefer to wear comfortable and flat shoes. I have the same principle for clothes. I like to wear clothes that are comfortable and made of natural materials and from sustainable sources, for example, linen for the summer.I like linen trousers, long skirts and tunics for the summer.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites ?
When I moved to the UK, I discovered the wonders of second hand clothes in charity shops. It’s great and sustainable.Regarding a favourite online shop, I have one that I like very much: nomadsclothing.com. Their motto is “slow fashion that doesn’t cost the earth”.I absolutely love the colours, the design and the material of their clothes with the plus that it’s fairtrade made by women in India. And they do great sales online too.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
Next on my list is to get a pair of Saguaro’s trainers barefoot shoes for walking a pilgrimage.
Boots or Shoes?
Shoes, because they are much more comfy and light.
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc
Oh Maria, I used to read the Famous Five Adventures by Enid Blyton as a child ! Pure escapism indeed. Thank you also for my preview copy of Serendipity.
Linda x
All photographs have been published with the kind permission of Maria de Fatima Santos, apart from the header tree picture which was taken by me in deepest, darkest Suffolk! 😊
The rejection of fast fashion and the heightened awareness of sustainable clothing makes it no surprise that in 2023 crochet clothing has featured heavily on catwalks and in clothing brand collections. Handmade crochet clothing is the only handicraft that cannot be made on a machine, unlike knitting. There was a crochet boom in the 1960s too – the “granny square” came into vogue, as well as a huge trend for crocheted home ware. Sound familiar?
My husband’s gran was a big knitter and she also crocheted granny squares to make enormous throws for our family. They are treasured heirlooms now as unfortunately she died in May this year aged 97. The latest recipient of a “granny square” item lovingly created by gran was my grandson who had a blanket made, but I think it was more appreciated by my daughter in law. Our family throw has been with us a number of years and has featured in many blog photographs over the past 10 years …
Crochet clothing though. I had a crocheted top that I adored in the 1990s and it remained in my wardrobe until around 2007 when it snagged and unravelled and I decided to get rid. It was a camel colour and it was one of those tops that went with everything – an ideal wardrobe capsule item. The current dresses featured in stores at the moment are a mixture of plain crocheted styles alongside those in your face granny square numbers that look like gran’s throws!
The advantages of wearing crochet dresses are that they will keep you cool and comfortable. They are also sustainable – especially if made using organic cotton. The disadvantages – well, they are bulkier than usual summer dresses and crochet uses more yarn than the equivalent knitted fabric.
Joe Brown’s catalogue
So what underwear should you wear under a crochet dress? Well , wearing underwear that matches your skintone will give you a seamless look. Or you can opt for a camisole style slip dress either in skintone or the same colour as the crochet dress. A slip dress not only gives a streamlined look but is also lightweight and you shouldn’t feel overheated. If you are using your crochet dress as a beach cover up , then it really up to you if you want to wear a colour co ordinated swimsuit or not underneath. A crochet cover up dress will enable you to look smart enough to go from beach areas to your hotel room – especially with the new Spanish rules banning the wearing beachwear in public in areas away from beaches and pools.
Crochet dresses, pouffes, bags and accessories I like …. but I’m not quite sure if I like crochet “square” trousers….. however, on Etsy I did spot a digital crochet pattern to crochet some extremely cute black & white skull pattern trousers… they would look fab with a white bikini top – you’ll just need the talent to crochet them in the first place!
Lastly, I can’t let a crochet post go past without giving a quick mention of this adorable crochet animals wallpaper by Anne-Claire Petit, featuring crocheted animals on a cream crocheted background….
I’m so pleased to be part of the Hope And Fortune Book Tour with children’s author, Marissa Bañez.
BOOK SUMMARY
Hope and Fortune is a modern-day fairytale, featuring multicultural, multiracial (e.g., Filipina, African-American, Latina, Asian, Muslim, etc.), multigenerational, and multigender (including a boy) fairies of different shapes and sizes who help a sad little child who has lost her way to find her path. Each fairy represents an ideal – Hope, Innocence and Wonder, Truth and Virtue, Generosity and Kindness, Strength and Courage, Respect and Dignity, Confidence, Imagination, Happiness, Beauty, Wisdom and Intelligence, and Love and Friendship. Although the protagonist is a little girl, the life advice given by the fairies is non-gender-specific and could resonate with anyone facing a difficult situation at any point in her/his/their life.
Hi! My name is Marissa Bañez (pronounced Mar-ee-sa Ban-yez). I came from the Philippines in 1969. I graduated from Princeton University and am a litigator with one of the largest law firms in the world, licensed to practice in New York, California, and New Jersey. At almost 65 and after 40 years of being a lawyer, I’m embarking on a new life venture in my “Third Act” as a children’s illustrated book author with my first book, Hope and Fortune published on February 2, 2023. My second book, entitled “Hues and Harmony (How the Rainbow Butterfly Got Her Colors)”, is scheduled to be published on July 20, 2023.
“Hope and Fortune” is your first published book for children. Who or what inspired you to start writing children’s stories?
My husband was 49 and I was 40 when we got married. As we were both no-longer-young, I did not expect to have a child. Yet, one night during our honeymoon, I had a wonderful, extremely vivid dream. I still remember every detail to this day. In the dream, I found myself in a beautiful, very colorful floral garden, feeling peaceful and happy. Suddenly, singing, laughing, and dancing angels and cherubim surrounded and enveloped me into their midst. Then, a dark-haired cherub kissed me on the lips. I immediately woke up and, still very much feeling the cherub’s kiss on my lips, told my husband that we were going to have a baby. Nine months later, my daughter Angelica was born.
I wrote a book about that. Whenever I read the story to my friends, everyone always got a bit teary-eyed in a good way . . . which led me to think that I might actually be able to write stories that positively affects people.
So, as my daughter grew up to be a little girl, I decided to write other original children’s stories for her and her friends and created puppet shows out of the stories. I made stage scenery and puppet characters using foam board, painted bedsheets, paper bags, popsicle sticks, and just about any available useable household item. The kids, their parents, and I always had great fun and, at the end of the day, what else should matter when you’re a kid?
Did you base the fairy tale characters on yourself and people you’ve met in your life? Which fairy did you enjoy writing about the most? Which fairy was the hardest to portray?
Basis for the characters:
• The protagonist, Esperanza, is based on my daughter (who is the muse for all my stories). In fact, my daughter’s middle name is Esperanza.
• The Fortune Fairy of Hope is my late Filipina mother. The illustration is based on her actual picture from when she was young. The fairy also represents the Philippines. Apart from her physical coloring of slightly darker skin and black hair, the top of her outfit was drawn to evoke the terno, with the distinctive bell sleeves of the Philippine national dress. Her skirt is meant to look like the typical red-and-black Igorot/Ifugao cloths worn by the indigenous peoples in and near Baguio City, where we lived in the Philippines. Like Ifugao women, the Fortune Fairy of Hope wears multiple brass bangles, called giniling.
• The Fortune Fairy of Wisdom and Intelligence is a tongue-in-cheek reference to me as a Princeton graduate.
Favorite fairy:
I love all the Fortune Fairies equally. There isn’t one that I liked writing about more than the others because each one is different, special, and unique. That applies equally to the illustrations. There isn’t a particular fairy illustration that I liked illustrating more than any other. Because children’s illustrated books are usually limited to 1000-1500 words, I expressly curated my illustrations to supplement the text of Hope and Fortune and create a multi-layered story with deeper significance. In writing and illustrating Hope and Fortune, I learned that numbers, colors, and animals represent or symbolize certain ideals and principles that dovetail nicely with what I wanted to say in the book. I then incorporated a lot of that symbolism into each illustration to make the story as multifaceted as possible. Of course, a reader doesn’t have to know (or even care about) all about the symbolism to enjoy the story or the illustrations; they’re there for others who may want a more meaningful experience with the book.
Hardest fairy to portray:
The fairy that was hardest to portray was the Fortune Fairy of Beauty. I struggled for some time with how to represent the ideal of beauty with physical characteristics because beauty means different things to different people, cultures, genders, and races. The concept of beauty defies a universal representation. Then, I remembered a wonderful episode of Star Trek, about a race of aliens that were evolving from their corporeal states into beings of pure energy. That made me think of energy as our spiritual essence or life-force. To me, a beautiful spirit will always win over a gorgeous face with an ugly personality. Thus, the Fortune Fairy of Beauty as a heart radiating positive and bright energy was born. As she says: “Beauty is not what you see with your eyes but with your heart.”
Where did your story idea spring from – your legal background or family background or somewhere else?
For my daughter’s 7th birthday, I wanted to put on a show for her and her friends at her party. She wanted a story about cowgirls, fairies, and her little stuffed horse. She and I brainstormed a bit, and I came up with a story entitled, The Lost Foal. This was the party invitation:
In The Lost Foal, the stuffed horse was the one that got lost in the forest and encountered “cowgirl fairies” played by my daughter and her guests, each of whom wore fairy wings and pink cowboy hats and gave the horse life advice to get it back on the right track.
Fast forward 16 years later to the pandemic and lockdown in 2020. I felt bad for my daughter, her peers and those younger, all of whom faced unprecedented uncertainties in life. I then took The Lost Foal, modernized it with a diverse cast of characters, and created a message that I hope will resonate not only with the very young but also with those less so who may feel rudderless and lost (in however way you want to define and contextualize those terms) at some point in their lives.
Who wove their love of stories spell on you?
My formative years (until age 11) were spent in the Philippines. We were poor. I didn’t have the experience of having someone read stories to me at night. My parents’ primary concern was the feeding and clothing of my nine siblings and me and ensuring that we received formal education. The reading or telling of stories before bed was an unaffordable luxury. Plus, other than the books we used for study at the local public elementary school, we had no storybooks at home. To the extent that we were fortunate enough to get anything to read for pleasure, they were in the form of comic books passed down and well-thumb through by my aunts and 8 older siblings. Even after we came to the U.S., I don’t remember that I had any books just for pleasure reading at home that I would call mine. If I was exposed to such books, they were from the school or maybe the library, although I don’t recall that we went to the library very much at all.
Are you a bookworm? What is your favorite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual books?
A very good friend from way back to the 3rd grade likes to tell the story when we once had an assignment in elementary school to create a “bookworm”, consisting of round pieces of paper onto each of which we had to write the title of book we’d read and then stapled them onto each other to create a worm. At the end of assignment period, I had a much longer worm than anyone else in the class. (Again, I don’t specifically recall where I was able to get those books from except from the school or the library.) So, yes, even back in my youth I was a bookwormand I continue to be one to this day. My current favorite genre is historical fiction, preferably with hitherto unsung female protagonists, such as those written by Paula McClain, Marie Benedict, and the duo, Audrey Blake. However, I read all kinds of books – from frivolous “beach reads” to legal thrillers to non-fiction tomes – and don’t like to be pigeonholed. I like to think that barring anything that requires a deep knowledge of things like super-technical scientific or mathematical equations, I could be persuaded to read any type of novel or story. As between Kindle and actual books, it bears noting that space is a consideration when living in New York City. So, although I’m not adverse to physical books, necessity requires that I read only electronic versions these days.
Is Hope and Fortune available to purchase worldwide?
It is also available through the following online sites:
• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Barong Warehouse
• Thriftbooks
• Books a million
• Alibris
• Sandman Books
Growing up had you always wanted to be an author, or did you have other career aspirations?
If you define “career aspiration” as a fervent hope to be in a particular field for a particular reason, the honest answer is that I held no such ambition when I was young. To be even more honest, good things came my way and I simply took advantage of them, which fortunately led me to a pretty good path in life. I’ve been very lucky indeed.
Growing up in the rural part of the mountain provide of the Philippines and then in the poor section of downtown Los Angeles prior to college, the main goal was survival by being able to put one foot in front of the other from one day to the next. Sure, the idea that one should grow up to do something to make money to eat was a given but dreaming about or visualizing something as lofty as a “career” or “profession” seemed far-fetched. To be an author was not even on my radar at any time. That was just something so beyond what I perceived to be within the realm of possibilities – too fantastical and too idealistic – as to be nonexistent.
As for my legal career, I remember one of my sisters and I were watching a Miss Universe pageant sometime in the early 1970s and the contestant from Japan (if I remember correctly) said that she was or wanted to be a lawyer. An Asian woman at that time said she was going to be a lawyer? Mind blown! I recall my sister saying then that she too was going to be a lawyer. Lo and behold, not only did she become a lawyer, she went on to become an administrative judge for the State of California. I simply followed in her footsteps and went into law as well, mostly because I hadn’t considered anything else. Perhaps more accurately, I didn’t know any better to consider anything else. Medicine (either as a doctor or a nurse) was out of the question as I’m very bad at math and science. But, it had worked out better than okay for the last 40 years as I moved from one good position to a better one along the way so I’m not complaining.
Only after being a lawyer for 40 years did I consider being a published illustrated children’s book author. That opportunity came to me out of left field as well. By happenstance, I learned a former colleague with whom I worked in the 1980s had published a novel. Through the power of the internet, I contacted him to say congratulations. During our message exchanges, I expressed my glimmer of a dream to published one of the children’s stories I wrote for my daughter several years ago. Without knowing anything about my stories, he introduced me to his publisher. I took a fateful leap by re-working and modernizing The Lost Foal and then took advantage of the introduction by immediately submitting it for consideration.
When not writing/telling stories, what hobbies/passions do you indulge in?
I’m a bit of a dilettante. Among my hobbies/passions are traveling, reading, watching Korean dramas and Star Trek shows (not to the exclusion of other shows but those two types are my favorites), designing/sewing clothes, playing a little guitar (especially with my musically talented siblings – the Von Trapp family had nothing on us!), going out with friends to the theater, museums, restaurants, and the like, and just vegetating on the couch or in front of the computer. In short, anything but housework.
What outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
Ah – fashion! Now, you’re talking my true language so buckle up!!!
To me, fashion is a form of storytelling. It is putting on different personas to fit the occasion, place, or other circumstance. Depending on the circumstances, clothing can make you feel confident, powerful, beautiful, sexy, fun, slovenly, depressed, comfortable, etc. Clothing is a very powerful tool in telling the world about yourself or how you want the world to perceive you. So, for me, there is no such thing as what I’d “normally be found wearing.” When I go to court or a business meeting, I carefully consider how I present myself. As a small Asian woman representing big corporations, I need to be taken seriously and heard in a predominantly male and/or White environment where people actively compete to be heard the loudest and the longest. So, I tend to wear clothing that telegraphs competence, confidence, and a certain sense of gravitas like a suit (either a skirt-and-jacket or pantsuit) or a prim but nice dress … and likely with some “kick-ass” shoes (no hose). If it’s a more informal business setting, I’ll still dress appropriately but more casually, like slacks or skirts with tops or dresses in less somber colors or maybe even prints … and likely with some “kick-ass” shoes (no hose). I break out the fancy/shiny/glittery stuff when I go to a gala, ballet, philharmonic, opera, or a fancy theater for a live performance. I have them so why not? If I’m going to an event that others went to a lot of trouble putting together, I’d like to honor and respect that by dressing up. And the atmosphere at any event becomes so much more festive when people take the time to look a little spiffier. For going out with friends? I have some great casual outfits that need to be worn instead of just hanging forlornly in my closet. I tend to have a more enjoyable time when I dress up in something fun and stylish. It also tells my friends that they and our time together are special.
I put my idea that clothes tell a story into practice as it relates directly to Hope and Fortune during a book reading last December. I wanted to wear something evocative of the fanciful fairies in the book, preferably the Fortune Fairy of Hope to pay homage to my mom and to my country of origin. As luck would have it, I found though online shopping a green bolero with the traditional Filipino bell-shaped sleeves with white floral embroidery – not unlike the top of the Fortune Fairy of Hope’s outfit! (My initial thought was to wear a light green dress with it but it was a very cold day, so I switched to black pants, top and booties instead, highlighting the bolero.) Many moms and kids complimented the outfit. When some asked about it, I was able to launch into what the bolero represents and how it relates to the Fortune Fairy of Hope –which, of course, is exactly the type of curiosity that I want the book to generate.
I also think carefully about what outfits to bring on vacation, dictated by where I’m going, what I’ll be doing there, who I’m likely to see and, of course, luggage space. When I travel, I don’t like to just go to a beach. I like to do, see, and experience many different things from the adventurous to the cultural (but always fun), so I try to make sure to have the right clothes for everything.
At home with just my family? I tend to be a slob dresser and even jeans feel dressed up. Depending on the weather, I’m in sweats or shorts and a T-shirt that I likely got for free at some fundraiser or giveaway because I like being comfortable at home and . . . well, who cares?
Do you have any favorite shops or online sites?
I do not shop according to the offerings of a certain shop or online site. I’m also not label- or designer-conscious because I have seen many designer outfits that wouldn’t look good on me.
Instead, I tend to visualize the design and color of an outfit or footwear I want. I then try to find it in a physical shop or online, without any particular loyalty to any vendor, designer or label. Sometimes, I get lucky. If not, c’est la vie, but maybe in my search, I see something else that I didn’t know beforehand I desperately needed. . .
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
Right now, I have no desire for anything (and I certainly have no need for more clothes). If you’d asked me this about a month ago, I would’ve said I wanted something brocade or embroidered with intricate gold designs. Why? Because lately I’ve been watching Korean historical dramas in which the characters – females and males – wear beautiful and elaborate costumes inlaid with gold or silver designs. Of course, I wouldn’t want to walk around wearing those hanboks (actually, I kind of do), if only because it would be impractical. So, I searched around for something more modern but still reminiscent of those fabulous costumes. I came upon a ¾-sleeve brocade topper (i.e., a long jacket that hits a couple of inches above the knee) with an upturned collar in a black background and different shades of gold paisley/curlicue design. Bonus – it has pockets! Quite by accident, I also saw a pair of deep black pants with a gold embroidered paisley-type design on the outside part of the lower leg of the pants. I’m shortening them to about an inch above my ankle bone to balance out the long jacket in a chic way. Paired with some killer stilettos or fun mules and it’s a fabulous “dinner party-ready” look.
When time permits or inspiration hits, I also like making my own clothes from scratch or re-purposing old or barely worn clothes to fit my current “clothes wishes.” For example, a few weekends ago, I was looking through my closet and came upon a forgotten pair of cropped jeans that I’ve had for years but hardly ever worn. I then rummaged through my sewing box and found some fancy ribbon trim and iridescent oblong Czech glass buttons. Spent a couple of hours with a needle and thread . . . voilá – a new and cute pair of jeans! They even go well with my new black-and-gold topper, giving a more casual spin to my wish for a modern take on the beautiful costumes on the Korean historical dramas I’ve been watching .Tip: I like to remove and save beautiful buttons, lace, patches, ribbons and other decorative trims from old or outgrown clothes to sew on to other clothing for a personalized style.
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Boots or shoes?
I have several pairs of both shoes and boots of different styles and colors, so my choice is dictated not so much by an inherent preference of one over the other (which I don’t have) but rather by what goes better with whatever outfit I decide to wear for the day. That said, I’m a little obsessed with mules with kitten or cute/interesting heels right now.
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I’m so pleased to be part of The Witching Moon Book Tour (The Witching Moon by K E Bonner). The genre of this book is Young Adult Fantasy – and normally not a genre I’d go for, seeing as I am a “not so young” adult – but I really enjoyed this fast paced story.
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THE BOOK SUMMARY
Every once in an eon, when the Earth eclipses the moon on a winter solstice, an immortal is born under a witching moon. Anne has always had the strangest feelings—memories she couldn’t place; strangers she inexplicably yearned for. After she rescues the enigmatic Phillip from a shipwreck, her comfortable life on the island of Cusabo is shattered, and the mystery of her destiny starts to fall into place. Anne leaves behind the life she’s always known and sets out with Phillip on an arduous journey to Amaranth, where her ancient family awaits her. But the path is dark and daunting, and Anne’s powers have only just begun to manifest.
Salutations! I’m K.E. Bonner, author, reader, wife, mother, anesthetist, wanderer, gardener, and home chef. Fifteen years ago I found out I was dyslexic, which explained why I was labeled as a ‘slow reader’ in first grade. Note to teachers: never label anyone as slow, it hurts. Having dyslexia has taught me to never, never, ever give up.
“Witching Moon” is your debut novel. Who or what inspired you to start your writing career?
Have you ever heard of the book Twilight by Stephanie Myers? In 2005 all of my friends were obsessed with it, so I read it, loved it, and became determined to see why it was so hard to put down. I re-read it and then outlined the whole book to discover what secrets it held. A year later I met my friend, Leslie Muir, who shared with me that she had just signed with a literary agent. Suddenly being a writer seemed possible. I rushed home and began writing.
“Witching Moon” is a Young Adult historical fiction/fantasy series – although I absolutely was enthralled with the story and it was fast paced enough to keep me engrossed to the last page. I found your descriptions of places, the food, the characters and the even the “smells” very vivid. I loved the main characters, Anne and Philip – and I was mesmerised by their growing relationship! Which character did you enjoy writing about the most? Which character was the hardest?
Anne was the easiest character to write because I could hear her voice clearly and I spent so much time with her. Elodie was the most difficult character to write because she was a person of color and a runaway slave, and I am neither. It was important for me to honor Elodie, where she came from and her experience, so I read Fredrick Douglas’s autobiography, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Color Purple by Alice Waters, and Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. I wanted to get inside of Elodie’s head as much as I could. It was important for Elodie to be a strong character with her own power because I didn’t want Anne to be a white savior. Anne saves Elodie but then Elodie saves Anne and Phillip by securing them a spot on the Underground Railroad. Kindness repays kindness.
The novel is set in 1865 during the American civil war in South Carolina. Living in Georgia yourself, your depiction of the States is believable but I am intrigued by the island of Amaranth, off the coast of France. My mind conjured up a vision of Mont St Michel and the Ile de Ré …. but is Amaranth, the island, a figment of your imagination or based on a real place?
Amaranth is based on Mont Saint Michel, a place I’ve never visited. I’ve been fascinated with Mont St Michel since I saw it in Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers. Cusabo is based on the sea islands of SC. There is no actual island named Cusabo, but the Cusabo people were the original inhabitants of the South Carolina low country.
As this is your debut novel, were there any aspects of writing the novel that surprised you, pleasantly or otherwise?
Writing is both an escape and therapy for me. When I go through a period when I’m not writing I don’t feel whole. There is no doubt in my mind that I was born to share stories. Witching Moon taught me how to write, my following books will share with readers what I’ve learned about how to cope, live, and forgive.
Iceland ….by ETHAN HOBDEN
Hypothetically speaking, if you could visit any country/place in the world, to base a future novel in, where would you go and why?
Iceland. The Icelandic people believe in elves, faries, and trolls, they call them huldufolk or hidden people. In my mind’s eye the huldufolk are leading Anne across a steaming field of moss covered, gnarled volcanic rock. Iceland is a country brimming with magical realism and the huldufolk are calling to me.
If “Witching Moon” was made into a film, what actors/actresses would you like to see cast as the main characters, eg Anne, Philip, Mama Jane etc?
Undiscovered actors should play Anne, Phillip, Elodie, and Rory. I love the idea of giving a talented and hardworking young person a chance. An indigenous actress like Morningstar Angeline would play Mama Jane. I like Mads Mikkelsen for Bello, Idris Elba for Rex, and Kate Winslet for Rowan. My brother, Brendan Murphy, would be my choice of director. He is an award winning video game writer and he wrote and directed the movie Speakeasy.
Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book?
I’m a real book kind of gal. I love the weight of a hardback in my hands, the texture of the pages, and the smell of ink. Few odors are as heady as the aroma of a secondhand bookstore; the dusty, woodsy, aged glue smell gets my heart racing. I adore southern gothic books, and books that introduce me to new places and cultures. Memoir, non fiction that broadens my mind, fat and colorful coffee table books, travel logs, little known histories, romance, true crime, spy-thrillers, short stories, and whatever strikes my fancy. Toni Morrison, Pat Conroy, Rick Bragg, Jane Austen, Mary Karr, and Maurice Sendack are some of my favorite authors.
Is “Witching Moon” available to purchase worldwide?
Yes, On Amazon, Bookshop.org, and Barnesandnoble.com
Growing up had you always wanted to be an author or did you have other career aspirations?
I grew up watching my parents sit at the kitchen table struggling to pay the bills. My goal was to be able to pay my bills and travel. I went into medicine because I knew I’d always have a job. I’m lucky because I get paid to take care of people, but working in healthcare is stressful and hard on one’s body. My dream is to be able to support myself with my writing.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
Comfort is very important to me. Brooks Adrenaline GTS is my shoe of choice, paired with jeans and a sweater or hoodie. I try to hit the gym everyday to either swim, lift weights, or do a spin class so I’m often in athletic clothes.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites ?
I like quality well made clothes that I can wear for more than two seasons. Tori Burch for handbags, Nordstrom for clothes, Athleta, Theory, J Crew, and American Giant. I like clothes that canbe worn with jeans or dressed up and that travel well.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
My dream shoes are the Gucci lug sole loafers with gold bees embroidered on the heel, but they are crazy expensive. Even though I know I’ll be able to wear them for a long time, I can’t pull the trigger on them.
Boots or Shoes?
I love sneakers. I have two pairs of Taos Plim Soul sneakers that I wear with jeans, pants, and skirts that are perfect to travel with. I have a pair of black Born riding boots and a pair of Frye chelsea boots that I feel great in. I like classic pieces. I don’t mind paying a little more for quality clothes or shoes that I know I will wear for ten years.
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ALL PHOTOGRAPHS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED WITH KIND PERMISSION OF K E BONNER , APART FROM THE HEADER PHOTO AND PHOTO OF ICELAND( BY ETHAN HOBDEN). THANKS ALSO GOES TO K E BONNER FOR A COPY OF THE WITCHING MOON FOR REVIEWING PURPOSES.
Born in Beirut , but brought up in the UK , my guest on the blog this week is children’s author Heba Hamzeh. Retaining her love of Middle Eastern adventure tales and myths from her childhood, she regaled her own children with her exciting adventure fantasy stories and now every child can be enthralled with her tales of Prince Zaaki and his kingdom. I caught up with Heba recently to find out more about her Prince Zaaki series of books that appeal to children and teenagers alike. Hi Heba and welcome..
Hi! My name is Heba Hamzeh and I am the author of The Prince Zaaki trilogy. My third book, Prince Zaaki And The Knights of The Altar of Truth was released in October this year and I am excited to share it and the whole trilogy with your readers. I have lived in London for most of my life, due to fleeing my home country, Lebanon, at a very young age because of the civil unrest and war. When my three children were young, I would make up bedtime stories for them and these stories evolved into the Prince Zaaki books.
Your 3rd book in your Prince Zaaki series for children/teenagers has just been published. Who or what inspired you to start your writing career?
My children inspired me to write these books and continue to inspire and motivate me. They love the stories I weaved for Prince Zaaki, especially my son, who, at bedtime, always asked me what is Prince Zaaki doing today and so I would come up with another adventure for Prince Zaaki. Also, my faith and culture inspired the adventures and storyline within my books. As a young child, growing up, I would hear stories of family members remembering their past lives and souls passing from one body to another. One of the beliefs as a Druze is reincarnation and this fascination with transmigration led me to unknowingly write about it in my books, in a fantastical and enjoyable way for children to understand and begin to ask questions about this topic. For me knowledge is power and I like to write something meaningful and thought provoking to put to the readers, although the books are fiction fantasy, they do contain some form of reality.
“Prince Zaaki” is an adventure/fantasy series, that tells the story of a boy growing into his purpose of life and becoming King of his kingdom. It is filled with wizardry, magical beasts and adventure that all good bedtime stories are made of. Did you base a lot of your characters on you and people you’ve met in life? Which character did you enjoy writing about the most? Which character was the hardest?
The protagonist, Prince Zaaki, is based on my son, Zaaki. He is kind and caring and always tries to help others. The two Goddesses are based on my two daughters, Lulu and Ella, who since they were both very young showed wisdom beyond their age. As my father would say, they are old souls. I enjoyed developing Prince Zaaki’s character as he is a young teenager in the first book who is a Prince and heir to the throne. By the third book he becomes King of his Kingdom. His travels across his Kingdom, open his eyes to what reality is like for his people and this changes him for the better. The challenges and obstacles he faces, make him stronger and want to stand up to injustices. He becomes the Knight of Justice. The hardest character to write and develop would be General Scarytis as he is the sly antagonist in the first two books. I don’t want to give too much away but I will say the reader will see General Scarytis’ development throughout all three books and there is a big transformation at the end of the third book for the evil General.
You were born in Beirut, Lebanon but have spent your childhood living in the UK and your love of Middle Eastern adventure tales and myths shows through your writing. However, if you could visit any country/place in the world, to base a future novel in, where would you go and why?
I would love to spend some time in the Buddhist monastery set up by the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala in India. I actually sent my books to the Dalai Lama and he responded very kindly to me, which I am very grateful for.
As a child, my father was the storyteller at bedtime – sometimes from his imagination, other times he read Enid Blyton’s Famous Five/ Secret Seven series… but yes, still adventure stories ! I carried on reading to my 5 children at bedtime & it was a shame when they no longer wanted me to read to them – one of my sons was in his early teens as he enjoyed it!! I know you tell stories to your children, but who wove their love of stories spell on you?
I used to read Enid Blyton’s Famous Five when I was younger as well! But I would have to give credit to my English primary teacher, Miss Gamble, who has sadly passed. She was amazing in all sense of the word! She gave me my first poem to memorise, The Tyger by William Blake and as soon as I read it, I fell in love with poetry and that was the beginning of my journey into the world of books.
Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book?
I love reading and my favourite would be Khalil Gibran who was a Lebanese author, poet, philosopher and painter. His words carry so much knowledge and wisdom. The Prophet is one of my all time favourite books. I also enjoy reading Paulo Coelho’s books and my favourite would be The Alchemist. Call me old fashioned but I love holding a book and turning the pages. The earthy smell of an old book gets me in the mood to sit down and read and read and read.
Are the Prince Zaaki books available to purchase worldwide?
The Prince Zaaki books are available worldwide on Amazon, and other good bookshops.
You taught mathematics at an International school for year but growing up had you always wanted to be an author, a teacher or did you have other career aspirations?
As far as professional careers, I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was at school. Some days I thought I wanted to be a lawyer and some days I thought maybe I would make a good doctor. Most days I dreamt of publishing my own book. Mathematics came very naturally to me and so I took the easy route and pursued that subject. Teaching mathematics for many years, was extremely rewarding and I enjoyed creating projects for my students to see why mathematics is so important to everything in our lives. After having my three children, I found my love of creative writing thus began my journey with the Prince Zaaki books.
You are a successful children’s /YA author but have you ever written for another genre? If not, would you and what genre would you loved to try?
I am not sure. I have been told to write a cook book as I make Lebanese food for my children every day. I call my style of cooking – Lebanese with a twist of Heba. The recipes I use are old mountain recipes from my Gran, mother and Aunty.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
I like to be comfortable so blue or black jeans and a plain black or white t shirt/vest, converses during the spring, Uggs during winter (so now) and sandals in the Summer. For evening wear, I do love a pair of black stilettos – occasionally – accompanied by a black tux with a tie.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?
I do like to go to shops and try on clothes more than shop online. I don’t have a preferred clothes shop. I window shop a lot before I buy my clothes.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
Christmas jumpers for me and my kids!
Boots or Shoes?
Right now – boots! Ugg boots! It’s so cold in London and need to keep my feet warm!
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Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc
Fabulous to chat to you Heba – I’m glad to find a fellow Paulo Coelho fan – The Alchemist is my favourite of his too! It takes pride of place on my main bookshelf with a couple of other favourite classics 😊 Long may Prince Zaaki reign in your mind!
Linda x
All photographs have been published with kind permission of Heba Hamzeh.
Not an interview with me but an interview with Sid Madge, founder of Meee (My Education Employment Enterprise) ! To date, Meee has transformed the lives of over 20,000 people, from leaders of PLCs and SMEs to parents, teachers, students, carers, the unemployed and prison inmates. That is a lot of people! I caught up to Sid to find out more about Meee ….Hi Sid and welcome 😊
Hi, my name is Sid Madge.
What made you decide to launch Meee (My Education Employment Enterprise)?
I started the Meee program after I was giving a talk in a school in Wales to a group of young teenagers. I asked them to describe themselves using one word.
The first lad I asked answered “weirdo”. I smiled and said well what a great word, so creative. And he said, “No I’m bullied, I don’t like being at school, don’t see the point in education and don’t like learning”. I was horrified. I went round the rest of the class andothers used words such as freak, misfit and weirdo.
That session had a profound effect on me, so I did some research on young people and mental health. I started running workshops in schools with teachers and then worked with the unemployed and people in prison. I did a Tedx Talk and wrote my first book and followed up with two more.
My belief that this really could work, grew.
We started working with businesses and we’ve had tens of thousands of people through our programmes. We’re developing specific tools for personal development, and professional development around leadership, around culture. It’s been an amazing journey and I’m very grateful.
I guess your job isn’t an easy one as some people’s aversion to change is not that easy to solve! What sort of reasons hinder their adaptability?
Yes, people have multiple barriers to change. There’s a great saying is there no one likes change, except a wet baby!
Too often we see the process of change as negative and that’s what makes it so hard. We have to accept the situation we’re in and then create change – think of those amazing people who have got through extraordinary adversity, for example, Helen Keller, John Wilson who started sightseers International. It’s those people who have determination and the ability to regard change as positive. Others include Kobe Bryant who sadly died last year, Michael Jordan Ariana Huffington. They embrace change and that’s what Meee does.
What approach do you tend to use to help people believe in themselves?
It’s best to start in safe conversation, exploring values and where our thinking comes from.We’ve got a great programme called Fuel and that’s all about Feelings and Understanding Emotions and Logic and Learning. I think once you start having those conversations around values, purpose and your own performance goals people start to change. They realise that they are their own instruments of change. They may have developed negative beliefs but a process like this can help them change their internal script, and help them change their lives.
What is it about your job (& Meee) do you enjoy or gives you the most satisfaction? The downside?
I love what working both with young people and adults and taking them through a process of change. People of all ages have change their lives, but they do the changing and we’re there to guide and support.
When you listen to the stories of what they’re achieving for themselves, for their families, for their friends, for their communities there is no greater gift.
The downside? I want more people to do the programme but finding the money is often challenging. But we’re getting more corporations involved so that we can then subsidise the education work and work in prisons.
You are also an author of “Meee in Minute” series of books which each offer 60 ways to change your life – work or family – in 60 seconds. What are 5 of your top tips?
• Words matter – think about the words that you use and how they impact others
• Never stop learning – there is so much to learn from yourself, from other people from going places, from doing things e.g., reading, writing, watching films etc, exploring the world. There is learning in everything that we do.
• Remember that we all matter. Every single person matters. We’re all in this together and everybody can make a huge contribution to this wonderful world when you find your purpose and your passion.
• Think about the energy that you have – it’s a finite amount that we get every day so spend it wisely,
• Honour your negative feelings. We all have them in a regardless of who we are. What’simportant is to acknowledge them but not to feed them. If you’re in a bad mood find out why, and what you can do to move the dial and put yourself in a better mood.
Growing up, did you always want a “People related” career or did you want to pursue a completely different direction?
At one point I wanted to be a vet, but I thought I wasn’t clever enough! I discovered the world of branding and design which has been great to work in, but it was never truly fulfilling. When that young lad said the word weirdo that changed everything.
Do you think the COVID pandemic has made a difference in the people’s mindset regarding change and life in general?
I think Covid has changed a lot of things. It has made some people more fearful but it’s made some more optimistic. It’s made us question things and what is truly important. I hope we’velearned that we’re not invincible and need to look after each other and this wonderful planet.
As you are based in the UK, are your services available worldwide too?
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
Trainers shorts and T-shirts mainly. I love being casual but also love dressing up smart too for the right occasions.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?
I love John Lewis and Fortnum & Mason. For convenience Amazon is useful – although I don’t think they aren’t doing the retail world a huge favour at the moment.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
My clothing Wish List is more about the children. I have three young children and I like buying clothes for them. I also like finding second-hand clothes. Recycled cool stuff is good for me especially as since the start of Covid I haven’t had any in-person meetings.
Boots or Shoes?
I used to wear a lot of Jeffrey West boots love love love his boots but now it’s trainers, it’s shoes and I love my slippers.
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