Month: Mar 2020

My Favourite Small Businesses

by melissay1, posted in Other

Bit of a different post from me this week, but given the scary, crazy world we live in right now it just feels like that right time to post something like this.

I’m in the fortunate position that I’m still required to work so when I’m needing to purchase something for myself (or as a present to someone as you can’t go to shops right now) I’m really trying to support small online businesses who might need my custom more than ever.

Today I thought I would share with you some of my favourite shops to buy from but if you have a shop or love a small business please leave suggestions in the comments and I’ll check them out!

Alce Harfield Artworks

I have been going to Glastonbury Festival for over ten years now and last year I discovered the Alce Harfield stall at the festival and bought a print to get framed.

If you have a love for Glastonbury Festival then you will adore the artwork they sell, I know I found it a tough decision to pick just one! The art is sold is a variety of formats not just prints, including things such as cushions and mugs so something is available for all different budgets – even more so now a 30% off sale is happening site wide!

The prints are of the highest quality and I’ve just ordered myself the cushion I was longingly looking at during last years festival. The prices at the moment are an absolute bargain and are shop wide so if Glastonbury Festival isn’t your thing she sells so many other lovely things on the site too.

Bear Hugs

Bear Hugs is such a wonderful idea of a company. It basically provides ready made gift boxes (or you can make your own up if you don’t see a premade one) so you can send to people and give them a bear hug gift. It’s the idea that you’re sending a hug in the post to someone who may need it the most. I have a friend whose going through a difficult time at the moment and I’ve chosen to send her a bear hug to brighten her day. The box when opened even looks like a bear with its arms open so it looks like it’s giving a hug and the products inside are always of the highest quality.

Given the horrendous world we live in now, a bear hug is exactly the kind of pick me up that you need to send someone. The company also donates boxes to those in need and offers work to people with illnesses who otherwise may struggle to get a job so buy supporting this company as well as sending a lovely gift to someone, you’re also helping other people who need it the most.  

Emma Warren Designs

I own so many Emma Warren jumpers! I think that she has such different designs so the website has so many designs so something on the website will be to your liking. I’ve only ever bought jumpers from the store and they are such good quality and cosy! However if jumpers aren’t your thing, Emma Warren does so many different embroidered products such as tshirts, backpacks, pillows…so many options!

As a bonus your order also arrives so wonderfully wrapped with a sweet surprise too!

Paperandword

Paperandword is a company I discovered last year at London’s Comic Con. Basically they sell book sleeves to protect your books when you throw them in your bag when travelling etc. 

Although I do use my book sleeves when I travel, when I’m at home I use them to display books on my shelf which makes it look super pretty and colourful. They do limited edition patterns so you know you’re going to get something unique and you have the choice between fitting a paperback, hardback or a kindle. It’s a super practical thing to buy – particularly once we’re all allowed to leave the house again!

Phoenix Copper Art

Phoenix Copper Art predominately makes handmade notebooks but also makes really amazing leather bookmarks too. I am obsessed with them! So much love and care goes into every single piece – it is so worth paying the prices. 

What I love the most about the notebooks is that so many of them are refillable. I have an issue with buying expensive notebooks but never daring to use them, however I happily jot away in all the ones I buy from here as I know I can scribble away, refill and keep enjoying the notebook for years to come. Yes, they are expensive for a notebook compared with shop prices but you just can’t mass produce these kind of notebooks, for me they’re things that I constantly use so are completely worth the money.

If you check out the Facebook page, offers for notebooks come up quite frequently so you can even manage to get a real bargain! If you have an idea of a notebook you want, chances are you will be able to get it from Phoenix Copper Art!

Pops On Stage

I own so many keyring’s from Pops On Stage! They’re really reasonably priced, you have a great selection and new ones are constantly going up. If you like musical theatre inevitably you’re going to see a character you love for sale on Pops On Stage at some point and who doesn’t love keyrings.

Commissions are also available if you want to get a specific character made or you even want yourself or a friend! More info on that though is over on Instagram – pops_on_stage

Support Theatre Performers

I’m not quite sure what the situation is with this right now but West End performers aren’t (or at least haven’t been until very recently) getting paid. So far I have three theatre shows that have sadly but understandably been cancelled, some of which have had the money refunded to me already.

I thought I would try and find a way to try and give some money back to the performers of the shows I was supposed to see. Many West End performers have recently joined up to Cameo which is basically a website where you can request a video from a celebrity. It’s a pretty great idea as you can pay for a video from a performer so they get money and you get a personalised video out of it – win win really!

Many of your favourite performers are on the site now, I booked one video request and honestly it’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever done, the video truly made my day and I hope that my contribution has helped the performer even just a little get through this time.

 

 

The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

After a bad breakup, Tiffy needs a place to live asap and Leon desperately needs extra money. So when Leon advertises a flat share where he lives there during the day (as he works nightshifts) and his flatmate lives in it at night and weekend, Tiffy jumps at the chance even if that does mean they’re sharing the same bed just never together. The whole thing goes through Leon’s girlfriend so with the arrangement the pair never meet.

I absolutely loved the idea of the book. Two people living in the same house but they never meet and communicate through post it notes etc – it sounds such a great idea! Plus by living together both Tiffy and Leon get a real glimpse into their personal lives through their belongings. It’s so strange that they both end up knowing a lot about the other but it took them so long to actually meet in person. I was so excited to read this book as I’ve heard so many good reviews about it, but sadly I just didn’t like it.

My biggest issue was the I just didn’t care about the characters. At no point during the book did I care about what happened to either of them, Tiffy in particularly I found difficult to read about and at times found her borderline annoying. Leon was hardworking and was clearly a caring guy yet I just didn’t gel with him. I felt that both of their lives revolved around other people too much which is fine but I wanted to read about Leon and Tiffy not about ex boyfriends and brothers. I felt at times that I knew more about Leon’s brother than Leon himself which is an odd thing when Leon is the main character.

As much as I didn’t even this book, I do still really like the story idea. I absolutely could see this book working as a film one day. I think even all the outside elements which annoyed me about the book would work super well as a film. I could also imagine the extended part where the pair didn’t meet would also work well on screen.

Ultimately I just didn’t get on with this book. The storyline is different and the idea is an interesting concept, I just didn’t enjoy the characters enough to care about the story. So many people love this book so if you like the idea of the blurb then give the book a read as hopefully you’ll love it, however for me this time this book just isn’t for me.

Synopsis – 

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

OPEN: Why Asking For Help Can Save Your Life – Frankie Bridge

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

Today is International Women’s Day so for todays book review I thought I would write about Frankie Bridge’s book OPEN. I’ve never read a book like this one before so I was a little wary about posting anything about it as I don’t have enough experience but today seemed the perfect reason to post about it!

I’m from the generation that grew up with Frankie Bridge as I’ve been a fan of her since her S Club Junior days, she’s always been someone who I’ve seen magazines from a very young age. From an outsiders point of view Frankie seemed to have the perfect life and although I knew that she had gone to rehab I was never really aware of the full extent as to why. OPEN is about Frankie Bridge’s battles with her mental health over the years and even comes with advice from professionals at many points throughout the book.

What I love most about this book is Frankie’s openness about everything she suffers from and how it impacts her life or did majorly impact her life. Although mental health is becoming a less taboo subject to talk about nowadays, I still was shocked at the things that Frankie discusses in her book. Nothing was hidden and some parts such as how she viewed her position in The Saturdays came as a real shock to me. I also liked that although professional opinions do feature heavily in the book, the way that it’s wrote isn’t for people who know all the correct terms, its super easy to follow the entire way through.

I think that if you choose to read this book you’re likely to be experiencing some difficulty with your mental health so I think that its so important for someone in Frankie’s position to discuss her own experiences. Personally I’ve never read a book like this before so Frankie is really making a whole new audience aware of mental health and that getting help is important. I know I won’t be alone when reading this book in seeing some similarities in things Frankie writes about and how I react / feel about things in my own life. Frankie’s willingness to be open in this book will ring true to many people and that is what makes this book so good, especially when it comes with trusted advice from professionals so you know what is being said is good advice.

I’m sure it took a lot of debating with herself for Frankie to write this book but I know that I’m glad that she did. Frankie is someone who has battled quite severely with different mental disorders over the years and thanks to her speaking so openly about them I’m sure will encourage people to go and seek help if they need it who perhaps may not have even realised they needed help until reading this book.

Obviously this isn’t a book you can read over and over again but I found it very interesting and informative. I liked that it was Frankie’s story too so it was fascinating to read as well as giving facts. I think if you’re still reading this post now then that is a sign that this book interests you and you should buy it and give it a read – you won’t regret it.

Synopsis – 

In OPEN, Frankie Bridge opens up about her ongoing journey from breakdown to breakthroughs and through self-loathing, hospitalization and self-acceptance. Part narrative exploration, part guide, this book will help you to understand the importance of talking and helping each other.

It will also feature guidance and advice from the psychologist and psychiatrist who pulled her back from the brink along with their notes on her and conversations with her. It’s a very simple four-letter word, but one of the hardest words to put into practice, this book will help people to understand the importance of talking out and helping each other.

Top Reasons To See Dear Evan Hansen

by melissay1, posted in Theatre

Its been a couple of weeks since I sat down and wrote a blog post, sadly I’ve just not felt up to writing. To bring me out of the slump I’m I thought I would write about why I love Dear Evan Hansen so much.

Dear Evan Hansen is a musical that I heard about a couple of years ago now. I instantly loved the songs and now that I’ve seen the show both on Broadway and the West End I’m more obsessed than ever. I have so many reasons why I love the show but here is some of my top reasons!

Songs

My number one reason to see Dear Evan Hansen has to be the songs. I wouldn’t be sat here today telling everyone why I think you should see the show if it wasn’t for the songs as they’re what got me truly hooked to the show. I actually heard Waving Through A Window and instantly loved it so then started to look at what show it came from and the rest is history. It’s one of the few cast recordings where you get a tiny idea of how emotional the show is and the lyrics are so relatable at times. Every single song is fantastic and I can guarantee that you’ll only enjoy it more once you’ve seen the show. I have listened to this cast recording probably more than any other album I own so I really recommend you listen more and its only proved how much I listen to it when Ben Platt was my artist of the decade on Spotify. Plus the cast recording is the original Broadway cast which includes now well known names such as Ben Platt, Will Roland and Laura Dreyfuss.

Relatability

I’ve said this time and time again but I relate so much with Evan and that is entirely why the show is so good. I think everyone watching will be able to draw parallels from characters to their own lives. You have a single parent mum working hard to do what she can to ensure her son has the best life she can give, a family suffering a loss of a loved one, a sister struggling to get to terms with the death of her brother, the dynamics of how a school reacts to the events of a suicide, a kid who so badly wants to fit in but every time he tries he worries about getting hurt…the list is endless. I’m sure every single person watch the show can relate to so many moments and that attachment is exactly what helps to make this show so good.

Important Messages

The show features so many important moments. For one, the show touches upon mental health in such a normal, believable way and I believe that it’s so important to have such a popular show that highlights these issues. Then you have moments such as You Will Be Found which reminds you that no matter what you’re not alone and Disappear which shows how no one should be forgotten no matter how insignificant you may feel you are.

Of course you have the popular quote, ‘Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day and here’s why…’ I say that quote in my day to day life more often than I should admit, to the extent that people around me now start the day with that quote without even realising they’re actually quoting a musical. It’s crazy how one line in a show can really hit home to you and personally the last monologue with this in it is the final heartbreak moment in the show but it’s so wonderful.

Social Media

Social media is something that I’m sure most of us couldn’t imagine life without nowadays. Dear Evan Hansen is one of the few musicals that taps so heavily into social media. It launches a whole campaign on the internet / social media and you seen see the horrible side of it when the Murphy family are hit with the backlash from the Connor Project being online. So many of us use social media but Dear Evan Hansen portrays the positive and negative aspects of it so wonderfully. I feel that I don’t post horrible things aimed personally at people online but since seeing the show it’s certainly made me think about what I do share and post online.

I think with everything going on in the world today it’s fantastic that a show does feature something as relevant as social media and focusses on the negative aspects as well as the positives.

Sam Tutty

My final reason only sadly relates to the UK’s London production of Dear Evan Hansen and that is Sam Tutty who currently plays Evan. I’m embarrassed to admit that I judged him instantly when the cast list was announced as I felt he looked far too cool to play Evan, but boy I have never been happier to have been proven wrong. Sam Tutty was truly born to play the role of Evan Hansen and his performance absolutely emotionally destroyed me in the best possible way imaginable. Tears were uncontrollable pouring down my face at multiple points during the show due to the incredible acting from Sam Tutty. His acting skills are second to none and if you’re half familiar with the show already, be prepared for his Words Fail! I may be bias as I adore this show but personally I think his performance as Evan is the best thing you can see on the West End at the moment and if you’re in the area do try to get a ticket to catch him in Dear Evan Hansen. Obviously no matter who you see perform as Evan the show is incredible but personally Sam Tutty is my favourite that I’ve seen in the role.

Have you ever seen the show? If so I’d love to know if you liked it or didn’t and why!