Just a quick one...

Est-ce que vous regardez ma photo, sil vous plait? 

It's right here...

Basically I have finally got round to getting more actions for my Photosho Elements, and this is the first results I have. Feedback will be highly appreciated, and I will photoshop any photos  you want! Just let me know if you're interested - I'll give you my email.

F xx

"The Spice Girls have a lot to answer for..."

First of all, let me apologise for a number of things.
Uno: I have not written since 31st May.
Zwei: This is going to be long. Like, Trojan War long. I seemed to stop blogging when I started doing things. In hindsight, that sentence seems ridiculous. That's the rubbish you're in for today - you have been warned.
Trois: Most of this will be nonsensical to most of you.
Pedwar: I have forgotten most of what I was supposed to write about...


Last weekend I went to The Hop Farm Festival and had a rather dandy time. Et je vais vous dire pourquoi.


It started with queuing. Lots of queuing, but that's no fun to write about, so I'll skip to the fun and games. Actually, it didn't start with fun and games, it started with the Bruce Springsteen look-a-like and the nondescript one (more on these names later) having deep conversations about war and the ethics of killing. I am of the view that killing other people is wrong, and that there is better defence than killing those attacking you. I know it's not that straight forward, but you've got to have basic principles, and those are mine. This meant I quickly ran out of things to say, and so sat back and drank Pimms.
Next up was Feminism. As you may have already read, I have some pretty strong views on this subject, but due to the fact that both boys had already read mine on here, I had drunk my share of the Pimms and it was quite hot, the best I came out with was 'I think all men and woman are equal, and anyone else who does is a feminist'. I told them about seeing Germaine Greer on the plane from Rhodes, and was so tempted to shout 'Germaine Greer! Get your tits out!' - a phrase my sister and I like to swap from time to time, though I can't remember why.
I  have since started reading 'Votes for Women' and am searching for my copy of 'The Female Eunuch'.



There is nothing like the smell of home-marinated salmon sizzling on a BBQ to get you friends. It was salmon that first made us the most popular bunch of Hoppers in the camp. Soon we had  Glaswegians, Brighton ex-sex-shop workers and two very charming, if slightly intoxicated, ladies in our little dwelling. I liked these two girls - they were there only briefly, but in that time they pointed directly at me and said 'She has a flawless face, hasn't she? And you [To the Welshman] look like Bruce Springsteen'.

I'm assuming she meant young Bruce, which I can sort of see now, if only slightly.
Nothing was said to the Englishman. He is therefore, known as 'The nondescript one'. Shame!


The Glaswegians were a riot! In both senses. Their Turkish absinthe was apparently, to die for. Or die from. Everyone had really raspy voices after so it was hard to hear what they were saying. (I would like to add I was perfectly content with Pimms and wine). The security guards were also Scottish, so juxtaposed with Sigur  Ros playing serenely in the background, it was pretty surreal. Like a Jonsi/Glas Vegas mash up. Even that was better than the Drum and Bass I had had to put up with earlier. Apparently this attitude will not do at Swansea, but if they expect me to enjoy D&B they can stick it in their pipe and smoke it!


Saturday was far more fun, apart from only having two hours sleep and lying there listening to Scottish men talk about football into the wee small hours of the morning and accumulating a hangover that could barely justify itself.
Ok, so maybe I was a bit grumpy, but I couldn't help it. I do feel bad about it now, but to be honest at the time I couldn't care less if everyone around me had wanted to grab me firmly by the shoulders and shake until all vital signs faded. But then, that's one of the traits of being moody I suppose.


Those of you that have spent more than an hour with me over the last six months would have noticed I rather enjoy the music of Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn. They were all playing Hop Farm - I still get super-excited whenever they come onto my playlist and will tell anyone around (mostly the dog) that I have seen them live and they were amazing. They couldn't have been anything less than immense in my eyes. This may be because I love them all. True, incontestable love. Ok, maybe not but it runs deep.
Words cannot describe how good they were, partly because I can't remember details, but I remember being giddy with happiness. Or dehydration. Perhaps both.


We had time between acts so decided to sit in the shade for a while. Yep, we paid over £180 to spend an hour and a half sitting against a metal sheet. I sat, the nondescript one and Bruce lay with their feet against it, giving me a lovely dusty/festival foot smell to match the hairy/scrawny legs in my peripheral vision. It was lush!


I feel I should mention The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, because Bruce and the non-D One loved them, and they would accuse me again of not liking them out of stubbornness. I did not like them, and I am stubborn but surprisingly, these things are not related. 

The first weekend of June was also amazing - my sister, her boyfriend and I went to the Isle of Wight. Luckily they didn't tell me to blog about it, so I'll save you that...
We did, however, see a band fronted by Devendra Banhart. He was great live - really connected with the music and the crowd. He even managed to make me dance to a Justin Bieber song, which technically goes against my morals.
Banhart was also playing Hop Farm, and though his set wasn't as exciting as IOW, I was in the front row for his performance and touched him. That looks very perverted.
He was singing 'Lover' (a very catchy tune by the way), stood on a speaker and leaned back, giving the front three rows the perfect excuse to grab him, which we did with pleasure.


It's quite late now, and I have just woken from a 5minute daydream about a goat tattoo and Notting Hill, so will wrap it up.


I have been asked to take some photos for a wedding - this simultaneously makes me very happy and very nervous, lots of butterflies in my tummy.
Also the legendary Mad Cows Hockey Festival is coming up in August, and I have therefore, started to go running again.
Finally, I am getting a good guitar for my birthday this year. Hoping this will somehow make my playing a bit better, but I guess it'll really be the hours of practise. Such fun. I have tried song writing, but everything sounds  perverse when in song form so I have a notebook of very good sentences, should you ever need any.


TTFN
F xx

Things I have done:

Saturday was a very weird day.

It was the village book and plant swap - I was helping mum with the plants, meaning I had to stand in the pouring rain (the only day it rained). My hair went very curly, my shoes were soaked, and trying to make polite conversation with villagers I had never met. 

It wasn't all bad though - I went into the hut (village hall, but small so it really is lovingly called the hut) with Ma Baillie to look at the books. Most of them were Richard and Judy's Summer Read types, but there was the odd other book, such as a collection of dictator's biographies. My favourite was an erotic vicar/vampire book with the subtitle 'They came at the same time, but only he was alive', and a picture of a busty vampire-type and a dashing Vicar. Someone bought it. Mum has her suspicions. 

I bought Long Way Down because a few people have been talking about it recently, and when we watched it I managed to miss out a third of it. I also bought a Discworld book for my sister.

Things started to get a bit different when I was invited to go to an art studio/gallery to help interview the artist Andrzej Kuhn. The gallery's owned by a lovely pair of artists, who love music as much as their art. Kuhn was interviewed (he is such an interesting man and artist), the other three artists were at their easels and Mrs Kuhns sat on a sofa with the 2nd most adorable dog in the world. She really fascinated me - she was the type of woman that authors find so physically interesting, they use pages to describe. She looked like she had a hundred stories to tell, and she probably did. I liked her very much. I have just realised this is probably because she reminds me of Ms Deborah Jenkins.

After lunch, I was fetched the most amazing guitar and asked just to play. And I did - for hours! My fingers were aching and I was pretty sure everyone had noticed that I'd been playing the same things over and over again, but every time I stopped a shout came from behind one of the easels to 'Carry on, carry on!' Also, I couldn't move because Mrs Kuhn was drawing me. Unfortunately I had to leave before it was much more than a sketch, but I was still incredibly honoured. I have just asked my sister to draw me. She laughed. I'm going to draw her instead. 

There's something about rain that makes me tired. I love the rain - as long as it's proper rain, none of that misty stuff, but after a while I just want to snuggle up with a cup of tea. 

So when I finally got home and discovered a mother's meeting in the living room, I chose to sulk in the kitchen. Not really being in a sulking mood, I chose to get rid of my excess energy by playing hockey in the kitchen.

Saturday night was Eurovision. I am not going to say anything else about it. 

Almost forgot - I went to work with mum's friend at the cookery class. It was rather amusing - lots of loud, characterful women (aged around 60 and dressed nicely) who would not stop giggling. I can't remember most of it, but I do remember laughing in the pantry a lot. Amazingly, they asked me back.

Um, that's pretty much it. I think.

F xx

Things that make it summer:

The dozen or so of you that read this (if my hit counter is right) may have noticed that true to form, I have started to forget about my blog. In fact I am considering abandoning it all together - 'just throwing things into the void'.

But I am not sure. I may just do it intermittently. Yeah I know, but I'll be doing it intermittently on purpose so I won't feel guilty about it.

Well now I just feel like I'm talking to myself. Justifying it to myself. 

Whatever.

Whatever. Sometimes I like to act like a stereotypical teenager because:

1: People assume teenagers are clichés anyway 

2: It's fun to be grumpy sometimes.

So, we've had summer. A scorcher of a weekend. I'm tanned, freckled, and slightly pink on my nose - all signs that it's sunny! According to old English folk-lore, it's summer when you can place your foot over ten garden daisies - we just had our grass cut so I can't check this out...
 The weather's also brought out the salad plants - you can see them growing by the hour! The chilli I stuck in the pot did not grow. Instead, one of the neighbours who heard of my gardening expertise, gave me a started chilli plant. Lovely.

The same neighbour offered me a job for an afternoon helping her at a cooking school, which I'm rather looking forward too. Probably because we watched Julie & Julia again, and I want to stride around booming 'BON APPETITE' (not ape tit) á la Julia Child. On the night we watched it with my Mother, I managed to set the grill on fire with a Linda McCartney Vegetarian sausage. Apparently I won't be allowed to do any actual cooking at the lesson now! 

Talking about summer (well, I was a bit ago...) I am SO excited about seeing Mumford & sons, Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn at Hop Farm Festival this summer! Thinking about it is almost making me hyperventilate... *Dooph* - that was the sound of me momentarily passing out.

I should probably do some photography soon, but all I've been doing recently is manual labour (I'll explain in a mo) and lazing about in the sun. Guessing it's not something people would be interested in seeing.

Those of you that know me probably don't see me as the best candidate for manual labour. I am a 5ft 4, 8.5stone 19-year old girl. I am not a brute. Yet I manage to uproot 5 tree stumps single-handedly. That's a lie, I used two hands and a fork. A gardening fork, not a kitchen fork - I would have to be a brute to it with a kitchen fork.
Therefore, I do not feel quite as guilty as I did before about not hitting the gym as much. My biceps are not starting to resemble iron girders, and I do have a funny twinge in my shoulder, but it feels so good to use my muscles again! (That makes me sound like a body builder... I'm really not)

I'm off to do some bench presses  eat some cake!

F xx

Things I did this weekend:

After recovering from my exhaustion I went on an adventure. It was supposed to be pretty simple – I drove to dad’s flat in Windsor, stayed the night there (and ate three Krispy Kremes... One of them for breakfast. Oops!) Then set off the next morning for Marlborough to visit my adorable friend known as Gandalf (for reason I cannot begin to explain here).  The journey was, uh, interesting. My normally trusty sat nav (named Miss Deborah, my car is Mr Holbrook) decided the best route was cross country, which I could just about handle. Imagine this: Driving through the beautiful Wiltshire country side, windows down, as a Laura Marling album playing softly against the gentle summer breeze. The single track road leads you to the top of a hill, where you are surrounded by beautiful patchwork valleys. Miss Deborah’s shrieking tone breaks the silence; ‘Arriving at destination, on left!’

My beautiful summer-drive dream was shattered. I’d only been to Marlborough a few times, but I was pretty sure in the last two years it hadn’t been raised to the ground and replaced with a field. Yet my sat nav was adamant that I was in Marlborough High Street. Tits. I did what any self-respecting young woman would do and panicked, phoned Gandalf to say I’d be a tad late and grabbed a handful of Haribo.

I eventually made it, despite traffic jams and the lack of parking in Marlborough. Amazingly I was early. Gandalf was late. Lunch in Ask was pretty normal, except for the restaurant filling with smoke every ten minutes (the only advantage of sitting by the door – asthmatic Gandalf could breathe)

Strange moment - a man in his late 20’s came up to Gandalf and started a full-on, but friendly conversation about her knee (she’s on crutches), he was so comfortable in the conversation I assumed she knew him – she didn't. Turns out neither of them knew the second man that joined the conversation, though they all seemed pretty animated in their knee-focused conversation. I have a bad knee, but am not on crutches nor having an impending operation so was not permitted to join the conversation. Didn’t want to take part anyway. Pah.

I eventually made it down to my old school for a BBQ and a trip to the pub. Most of the old pupils were old, though there were a few ‘youngsters’ there. I spent most of the night being embarrassed in front of the Headmaster and his wife by the old pupils that had attended a wine-tasting evening when I was a Prefect – that was an epic night!

I was supposed to be camping in a field in the village with two boys that were in my year. I say boys - they are both over 6ft, individually weigh more than three of me and are generally a bit boy-ish. There was only one tent so I was intending to sleep in my car. Luckily, whilst at the pub, an old pupil, who happened to be my old biology teacher, and now house mistress of my old house offered me her sofa. I could not have been more grateful! I skipped the cricket on Sunday – it started to rain and I wasn’t in the mood for sitting in the rain whilst old men got far too excited by the prospect of standing around for hours.

I cannot think of anything more lovely than sleeping in my own, giant bed. It is the most comfortable bed in the world. That’s not an exaggeration, it really is! Strange how home-sick I got just by going back to school for a day. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it when I was there, but I love being at home more.

Mostly because I get to play guitar all day and eat real food. 

Fxx

PS. If any of the above seems a little German in it's grammar, apologies, but for some reason that I cannot fathom, my Germanic heritage seems to be showing itself in my written language...

I haven't written for ages because:

1: I'm ill

2: I'm rubbish at sticking at things. 

Will write when I have energy again. 

F x

I am a domestic goddess and an impatient mess all in one.

So I'm still obsessed with cooking stuff - especially bread and cakes. I know. As mum already put it 'You're going to be the size of a house'. I'm trying not to become such a monstrosity, though it is hard when everything's just so delicious! I'm going to start sending my bread and cakes, if only so I don't devour them. Let me know if you want one!

This morning I made what I believe is the greatest home-made bread known to mankind. But I am biased.
Here's a little picture of my yummy bread: (there were 2 more rolls, but I ate them. Nom nom nom)

Ok, so they may not be perfectly formed, and yes, that one is heart shaped but the just so good! Maybe I was just light headed from all the kneading.... 

Unfortunately the carrot cake was not so successful. The last one turned out ok, this one was far from it.

It started once the mix was made and I poured it into the tin. There may  have been a huge clue, as the mix stopped millimetres from the top, but as I watched it in the oven it reached the top and stopped. Perfect! 

Mum put a quiche in below it, and the carrot cake got its 10 minute poke test. Still liquid in the middle but bound to get better. 

10 minutes later, I take the quiche out and see a grotesque growth on the back half of it. 

Then I see it. All down the back of the oven are stalagmites and stalactites of carrot cake - Cheddar Gorge has nothing on the inside of my oven! 

I cleaned most of it out before I took this picture:

                              

The rest of the cake has now sunk. One onlooker has made the suggestion of heating it up and eating it with ice-cream. I shan't. I don't want to balloon.

In other news, I have planted a salad mix in a pot for summer:

                                                  

Yum. 

I also tried  to plant some chilli. I did very well, until it came to putting the seeds in the soil - they were no where to be seen.  As you can imagine, that made planting them rather tricky. Now, as some of you may know, I do not  have the patience of a saint, so instead of looking for them in the 'barn' I went into the kitchen, grabbed a chilli out of the cupboard and shoved it in the soil. I think the sign says it all really:

                                  Grow Dammit

Yesterday (possibly the day before) my dad's brother and his family came round for tea. Whilst Aunt, sister, cousin #1 and #2 and I were in the kitchen, eating carrot cake, uncle and mum were in the Well Room trying to change the light bulb in the well (our house used to be the village pub, and there's a rather deep well with a 2inch thick glass plate over the top of the old well...).

Imagine, if you will, a loud Glaswegian scream: 'CASSIE, CAAAAAAASSIE!!' 

I should explain Cassie is my cat. My cat that had taken a running jump into the open well. 

Cue further panic and my uncle, who is  luckily a fireman, lean into the well and pluck her out. I say pluck, yank out by her neck is probably more like it! She had clawed her way up part of the wall and was headed towards the over-spill pipe before he got her. 

She was then flung at me, so I rang out her tail and got her a towel.

I have never laughed so much at a poor helpless animal!

Actually that's a lie. When she was a kitten she was in the garden, leaping through the grass, dancing in the breeze, pawing at a passing butterfly. She sprung into the air, caught the butterfly, and landed with an almighty splash in the pond. 2/9 gone.

F xx 

Things that are inspiring/need inspiration:

Look what my lovely mother bought me instead of petrol money: The Self-Sufficiency Bible!

I love this book. If I could marry a book and live on a small-holding raising chickens and growing carrots, it would be with this one. That's a bit weird, but you get the point!

It's not only that it's about self-sufficiency, it's just written so well! Unlike rather a lot of books on the subject, it's not over-complicated, doesn't assume you know the difference between a cucurbits and a Solanaceae and lets you get involved on any level - 'From window boxes to small holdings'. You can read it from cover to cover, or flick to the bit you need. Bloody fantastic.

Also, it has great recipes for all your produce (I've already made a batch of cupcakes, banana bread and a carrot cake).

There is a slight problem - because we're moving house, I can't justify going into the allotment and planting lots of  fruit and vegetables, so I'm just using everything up! I am using eggs from our chickens though, so that's something! 

All this baking, together with Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Child in Julie & Julia, has given me inspiration in the kitchen. Grilled mushroom served with spicy Moroccan cous cous, spinach and peppers made a delicious lunch, even if I say so myself (I'd never cooked a mushroom before and was bloody proud!)

I buy/eat a stupidly vast amount of salad, but most of it goes all soggy and gross within a day, so mum bought a living salad. Basically, it's fully grown lettuce, rocket etc. that you can keep on your windowsill and trim when you need salad - fresh! Because it's already grown, it'll only last 10 days though, so I'm going to plant my own salad and chillies from scratch. As Julia would say; 'BON APPETIT!' 

 (Apparently appetit has two P's... otherwise it says Ape Tit.)

So I'm guessing I've bored you enough with all my country bumpkin talk... Photography it is then!

I need ideas for photo shoots I can do own my own - lots of people do 365 (a photo a day, duh) but I don't have the ability to keep stuff like that going! Some people do F-friday, (take a pic of something beginning with F every friday), I was going to try and do some including sign language, or  use one object in a series of shoots... I don't know. Let me know if you have any ideas!

TTFN 

F xx

ps. Sister just put Bridget Jones on, I could not be happier!! Even if my legs do only go up to here...

Burghley House:

Burghley House is lovely. Went there for a picnic today, which was also lovely. They have deer which are allowed to just roam free around the grounds, which is pretty cool! Um, yeah - the excitement of it all has made me rather tired and I can't think of what else to write...

Regarde le photos: Flickr

Just to let you know, I think I may have given myself food poisoning - yoghurt must be kept in the fridge and not in the car/pantry. I thought it tasted weird because it was supposed to be healthy...


F xx

Things that probably won't change your life:

I've been thinking a lot lately about things I have to do, not want, have to do before I get too old or kick the bucket. It's not my bucket list though -  I don't want to do these things because I'll die one day, I want to do them because I'm alive!

I want to go on an adventure. A real one - not base jumping or swimming with sharks (hell no!). Two of my friends and a randomer have separately told me that they want to travel through Africa á la Long Way Down, and the more I think about it, the more I want to do it! Alternatively, I would really love to travel through Mongolia, if only for the Gers (Mongolian for yurt) and the landscape.
Maybe I'll take a few months off after uni and do it then. Not on my own though - I'll have to find like-minded people to make sure I get back...

I want to be as self-sufficient as I can be - I'm making a start on that already, but can't wait to do it for real.

I want to live on an island. Not forever, but a year or two, perhaps in a crofter style cottage or something.Self-sufficiency should help here... If an island is too problematic, the coast will do. I love the sea!

I want to see the Northern Lights. I just have to.

Think that's about it... They're not all  my aspirations in life - they're just things that I want to do.

F xx

Ps. Desert island songs please!!

Things I built:

Yesterday was a strange day.

In the morning we said goodbye to our lovely guest, and as she left she said something that made me feel warm and very loved. I'll not tell you because it'll take away from it, and make me seem egotistical.

Then it got a bit surreal. We were invited over to the neighbours' for a BBQ lunch (they didn't have a barbecue, so technically it was an AGA lunch...) and some sort of lemon/lime take on Pimms. Marvellously refreshing!
I know, that doesn't seem weird - it was the building of a trebuchet that was surreal. Before I knew what was happening, I was stood in a field with my Pimms, waiting for a golf ball to be flung at me by a huge trebuchet!
The first three attempts didn't make it out of the sling. The fourth did, but only just! Five hours later, it worked perfectly!
I should probably explain why we are building the trebuchet. It's for the World Egg Throwing Championship that is held in our village and one of the events requires a trebuchet of sorts. Not a catapult, they're not within the guidelines... It's going to be messy!

So after that rather tiring afternoon I went home for a (much deserved) rest. Just as I got comfy, Mummy B phoned, asking me to go back and take some pictures. It wasn't until I got there that they handed me a bee keeper's suit and told me I was photographing them and their bee hives. Tits.
It wasn't too bad. Except my hair was in my eyes, I couldn't see through my camera, and apparently my hair smells good to honey bees. Then they opened the first hive, and the lovely little bees started to get a bit pissed off! One landed on the net visor right in front of my left eye, and stared at me until I flicked it off.
I'm guessing this didn't make it happy as it proceeded to land beside my ear and buzz so loudly, that I didn't hear the bee keeper telling me that bees apparently love stinging ankles, if you're between them and their hive.
I took as many photos as I could and ran!

Photos are on Flickr.

I have one question: What would be your desert island disc? 
That question has been bugging me for over a week now. I want to know other people's for a project-type thing I'm thinking of doing...
Answers on the back of a postcard please. 
Or in the comments, or via text. 
THANKS!

F xx

Things I'm telling you now:

Firstly, I am going to have a little rant. Just a little one.
You know I've been excited about Hop Farm Festival, well now they have announced Van Morrison is playing Friday night! Only thing is, this isn't included in the weekend camping and Saturday tickets I've already bought. The only tickets on sale up until now. With not even a hint that there would be another line-up and more tickets to buy. In all fairness, they have said there will be 'entertainment' in the campsite for those that don't want to buy another £45+ ticket. Though I can't help but imagine a begrudged Festival rep doing lame card tricks while the 20 die -hard Van M fans scream in the next field... I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed in you HFF.
I still love you though.

In the UK, it's the run up to election, and while I am taking an interest (first time voter! Woo!), I am getting a bit tired of all the catty media comments and it being the top trending topic in twitter. I know, I know, it's important but when it comes to choosing the worst of a supposedly bad bunch, it's hard not to lose morale. I like Nick Clegg though - he has nice eyebrows.

When we lived in Australia, we met a lovely family. They are, if you will, our best friend family. They have 2 sons, my parents have 2 daughters. Wedding plans have always been going on - one point it was a hindu wedding in a tub of vaseline... I don't know how that one occured!
But now we're all grown up, and no longer share baths, I no longer get 4th hand clothes. I do, however, have a shopping soulmate! The mother of said family, who I have literary known all my life has the same taste in clothes, style, shopping ethic and she encourages me to buy lovely things! Oh, and she bought me the sweetest,softest, most beautiful jumper from White Stuff - I love it!

I may have made a very real, very stupid mistake. I think I may have taught myself the guitar wrong. Not everything, but a very large portion. And before you think I'm a fool, it's not as stupid as it sounds. Actually, it might be - I have no idea about the extent to which I have messed it up. Tits.

A quick YAY! for sunny weather, planes brining people I like back home, M&S elderflower presse, Lincoln's Vegetarian cafe/irregular choice shoe shop (it really is my heaven!) and being one step closer to learning to surf this summer!

Fxx

Things that I shot this morning:

I've done a quick shoot!YAY!
Basically I was lying in bed last night, listening to Laura Marling's first album (I'm trying to learn most of it on guitar - quite hard!) and I thought This music conjures up so many images in my mind, I wonder if I can capture them on camera. I can't. Not on my own anyway.
I had fun doing these though, so I posted them and included the lyrics that prompted the photos.
I think I shall redo this when I have more people/time/technique!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fionafbaillie1_photography/

F xx

Ps. Hope it doesn't look too teenage angst/'myspace'... Let me know if it does.

Things that made me paranoid:

Ok, so I really am starting to suck at writing posts.
Because I'm crap.

I'll make you read about this weekend anyway!
So I went to London, and experiences all those horrible things I wrote about last time, (except I wasn't stood on nearly as much this time...) but the sun was shining,so I was H-A-P-P-Y!

Shopping in Windsor was quite fun, though I bought more things for my dad than I got for myself - I'm sure it's supposed to be the other way round...
One of the things I bought him was the Truman Show dvd. I've seen it a few times before, and always go away feeling super-paranoid. This time was no exception! I should explain that there was a lot of things 'coincidentally'  happening in the run up to watching it this time.

Firstly, less than a week ago  my sister and I were sitting in my room, and for some reason I can't remember, ended up talking about the movie and how I sometimes think my life is a tv show (how dull it would be!) and made her promise to tell me if it was true...
Not sure I believed her, there's just far too many coincidences!

So when dad and I walked into HMV and he asked me for the name of 'that movie where the guy is in a giant dome and his life is a tv programme and people try to tell him but he doesn't understand his life is a tv programme... doesn't get it' I got a little paranoid! But we bought/watched it anyway. The rest of the weekend was filled with little things like the train arriving just as we stepped on the platform four times and meeting some very chatty Americans (one of them kept pointing her button-covered bag at me. Bet one was a camera.). There are more things that support the secret camera theory, but I came back from London today so am tired and therefore I can't be bothered to think.

But enough of my irrational paranoia.

My sister has gone back to university now, and I am sad because I like my sister and miss her already.
But this means I can sing whatever song I want without annoying her - particularly this one. Actually, I'm going to go one better and figure out the tabs for it! Mwahaha!

I realise this isn't a very interesting post. If you've read this far, you've got further than I did!

My deepest, most sincere apologies.

Yours, F xx


*UPDATE - I just choked on my toothepaste in the bathroom - really  choked and no one ran to my help. I am therefore sure that either I'm not on a tv programme or they really didn't mind if I snuffed it whilst brushing my teeth* 

I am going to London for the weekend. You know how much I just LOVE London! 
Post when I return.


Fx

Things.

There's a bit in scrubs where Turk has an 'awesome' ringtone, and defies anyone not to dance to it, and as you can see, nobody can! My sister has a ring tone like this - perhaps with a little less bump'n'grind and a little more finger clicking, foot stomping (hear it here). As you can see, it's from Disney's The Princess and the Frog, which my sister loves in a way that no 21 year old ever should! You can find her posts (yes, multiple) here and here.

Don't get me wrong - I liked it - there were the jokes for older audiences, the occasional catchy tune (as you now know) and the most lovable Cajun fire-fly called Raymond!

But I do not love it like my sister does.

There are few things that can tear a sisterhood apart. This isn't one of them, but I wasn't willing to risk it. So in a bid to show my sister that I too find this film  'a beautiful return to the classic Disney' and 'lovely. Just lovely', I chose my favourite line from the film made her a picture: 

( View in Flickr for better quality)

This took all of ten minutes, whilst also chatting on Skype, so as you can guess - not the picture I'm most invested in. It is, however, the most popular image on my Flickr, and has the most views in recently uploaded. Hmm. I was told if I got rid of the little crown and words I could sell it. I think that misses the point slightly, but thanks for the advice! =] 

My darling mother bought me a gift - a really beautiful Birdcage candle holder. I love it! Expect to see it in future photos...

In other news, I'm still playing the guitar. After years of biting my nails, I have finally stopped, only to have to constantly file them so I can play. Pah.

I've learnt some Laura Marling (The Captain and the Hourglass is my favourite at the mo) but have also got the tabs for Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah. (By the way, I've loved JB for years. He blows my mind!)

I'm not the nimblest at picking, and with the capo on 5th, it makes it difficult for my stubby fingers, so I play it at a quarter of Buckley's speed. I call it real speed because I don't want to call it stubby-finger-slow.  I think I may have driven everyone here mad. HAHA!

I forgot what else I was going to write - I got distracted by Hop Farm's amazing playlist. 

Oh well! 

F xx

Things that I did yesterday/last night:

Ok, so I didn't go for that really long bike ride. I did end up cycling to the farmshop for lunch with my mum, sister, friend and dog though! The weather was so good that I even managed to get a little burnt on my nose... and one new freckle!

The weather was so good we lit the brazier (not brassiere), invited the neighbours round and  got out the vintage cricket set. The light was fading by eight, so cricket became a bit dangerous... (I was out on my first bat, but got five runs! Yeah, I don't know what that means.) and we have a bit of a pro cricketer for a neighbour, so it was a bit short lived!

Camp fire shenanigans continued - we had a few rounds of Chinese whispers;
'I went to the market and bought butter and bread' became 'I went to the market and pounded/powdered my breasts'...

Next game was Slap, Click, Clap... I can't describe it, but all you need to know is our neighbour can read my mind and steal my thoughts.

The rest of the night consisted of tipsiness and frivolity, a quick rendition of Christmas songs on the piano, a debate on vegetarianism, and a house tour that ended in the first room. Such fun!

And eventually bed.

I did wake up at 5am to check the garden wasn't on fire. It wasn't.

F xx

Oh, and I've uploaded some new pics onto Flickr. I'm not happy with them, but thought I should load something!
Ps I've swapped one of the pics for a better edit - Check it!

Things that make me think it's Spring:

Just to let you know, as I write this I am touching wood...

Yay! I think Spring may be here, and I'll tell you for why (practising my Welsh lingo) :

Today I wore a T-shirt and shorts! Ok, so I had tights under the shorts, but still, a T-SHIRT! I was too hot at one point too. Flip flops were the shoe of choice, until I got downstairs and realised driving is not fun in sandals!

I took this as a hint to get the bikes out of the sheds and completely fix them, which was no easy feat! That's done so I'm planning a super-long bike ride tomorrow ending at the village brewery/farmshop/café...
We'll pretend I'm doing it for the long, healthy ride - not the yummy lunch at the end!

Also I have my freckles back. They're not like they will be in summer, but they're definitely making their comeback!

You can probably guess my sister and I didn't do a shoot the other day, but I'm planning to take the camera on the ride tomorrow, so we'll see! I'm going to try and find an old photo in Elements and fiddle with it a bit so I can post something!

F xx

Things that I may or may not do today:

So scrabble wasn't such a big success. I was on a team with my very clever mum, and a very clever (and seriously competitive) man, so there was no room for fun on our team! This, juxtaposed with the hilarity of words being conjured by my sister's team (more than half were unusable on grounds of decency), was enough to dampen my spirits. Therefore my only used contribution (because it used a triple word and a double letter) was 'Lovebunny'.

The Ben and Jerry's was good though. I had half baked in a cone! Yum yum yum.

My sister and I might do a photo shoot. I would write about the ideas I have for the shoot, but as I said, it may never happen - I wouldn't want to get your hopes up! If we do one, I'll write a post tonight to make up for this crappy excuse!

Not much to say, apo-logies! (Seen that episode of Blackadder?)


Fxx

Ps. Had a dream I was a naturally amazing, world-class surfer... Nice!

Things I am doing aujourd'hui/hier

Ok, so I don't have any idea what to write about today, though feel I should. 

Today for breakfast I had warm chocolate pudding and ice cream! Before you think that's gross, it was 12:30ish and I had been awake for hours, so not first thing in the morning. And it was yummy.

Oh, I also sat outside and played the guitar for quite a while, before I realised that the neighbour was in their garden and probably didn't want to hear me playing the intro to Laura Marling's 'Failure' twenty or thirty times - my short, fat, immovable fingers make it tricky to play guitar sometimes! 

Scrabble. With my imaginative spelling, you can guess that it's not a game I can excel in, unless I'm playing with dyslexics (luckily for me, a rather large amount of my friends have the magic D, though I don't play them at Scrabble nearly as much as I should). Tonight, the Baillie clan is heading East, by about 100m, to play the neighbours at Scrabble. You may think that sounds a little villagey, perhaps a bit dull, but I can guarantee it'll be one of the most competitive, entertaining nights that Lincolnshire has ever seen. Ok, so maybe that won't be hard, but I certainly hope it's true!

Also, we have bought 6 tubs of Ben & Jerry's, I'm happy.

F xx

Things that I'm not doing today:

I am not in Scotland. You may have seen the horrendous weather conditions on the news, and together with the fact that my car is made of plastic, meant that we decided it was too risky to attempt it! Shame, but we'll go soon. Also means I don't have amazing photos of a family reunion. Oh well.

Today I am playing guitar. Lots. I have been listening/writing tabs for Laura Marling's 'Failure'. I know there's good ones on Ultimate Guitar, but I find it fun/therapeutic! I am rubbish, but will (hopefully) improve!
Oh, I am also looking for a super-sexy cut away acoustic (not jumbo) guitar... Lovely!

I wasn't really planning to write this post, but thought I should put something here. That's why it's a bit incoherent and about nothing in particular. Apologies!

I promise to write better in the future, (x heart, like in 'UP')

F xx

Things I am getting super-excited about

Festivals!
Yesterday I finally bought the Isle of Wight festival tickets for Sarah, Jack and I. That is, what I call, EXCITING! (Get the nod to Miranda? I love it!)
Also, have found an amazing festival called Hop Farm Festival, in Kent. It has Mumford and sons and Laura Marling playing. I don't think  I could be more excited! Also playing is Bob Dylan, Peter Doherty and Seasick Steve. Amazing, huh?
So I'm waiting for a friend to get back to about tickets, but I'm pretty sure I'll go with or without them!

Scotland!
The Baillie girls are heading up to Scotland for a few days! We haven't seen the relations for years so it'll be great to see them - though I'm sure things will go swimmingly once I whip out my amazing Scottish accent! Imagine Billy Connelly meets Shrek, make it even more absurd, then you have my take on the beautiful Scottish tone. I have also learnt to play Loch Lomond on my guitar, though I have been informed there is no room in the car for it. I think there's a conspiracy...

I'm not sure if I'll be taking my camera. I know I should, but we're minimalist packing.
Also not sure that I'll have the internet. I'll have my phone, so twitter and facebook, but probably not access to the blog =[

F xx

*BREAKING NEWS - HAVE JUST BOUGHT HOP FARM TICKETS!*

Things I did yesterday

Before I tell you what I did yesterday, I want to tell you something I realised today. It's going to sound like something you say when you're drunk and have a thought that blows your mind -  though I wasn't drunk when this thought struck me.

Have you ever realised that everything will be 'yesterday' at some point? EVERYTHING in your life has, or will happen yesterday. And for that matter, everything was once tomorrow. Mind blowing. Maybe not. Impressed me though!


Ok, Back to business.
Yesterday I went to London with my dad. I hate London. I always forget that, and look forward to each trip with anticipation, that is, until I get there. Then I remember...

A list of things that make me dislike London:

1. The underground. It smells, it's dirty, it's busy, everybody's really rude and I can't work out (in less than 5mins) how the hell it works. I know I should expect those things - there's even a rather rude song depicting all these traits. But it never ceases to disgust me
2. It's very dirty. I literally had trouble breathing at one point, just from the lack of clean air. I'm a wimp and a country girl, I know. 
3. Everybody's in a rush. I can do rushing, no problems. I just think people can be polite about it. You stand on someone (bad thing about being small - you get stood on a lot) there's no loss in saying 'sorry'!

I could go on, but I have realised that my posts seem to be rants more than anything!

Well that significantly cuts the amount of things I have to write about.

I love 'Alas I cannot swim' by Laura Marling. It's an amazing album that I have become completely infused by (strange use of the word, but it's the right one. And I'm sorry if my brackets always seem apologetic, but I'm just being polite and explaining myself.)

If you like Mumford and sons, Amy MacDonald, Noah and the Whale etc. then you should really check it out! (She also has just released another album, 'I speak because I can')

Lovely.

Also on the music front, I am one step closer to getting Isle of Wight tickets! Exciting stuff. 

Um, my pathological inability to keep this blog going is starting to kick in, but I shall do my utmost (not upmost) not to abandon it. 

F XX

Have been in London all day, and am therefore achy, tired and stressed. Will post tomorrow.

Things that make me a little bit angry:

Feminism: 
Not feminism itself - Just some of the things that go with it...


I should start from the beginning. Not the beginning of feminism, I wasn't there, ( though I've heard it was a riot!) but from the beginning of my experiences with feminism.
(If you carry on following this blog, you will soon realise I have a seriously bad memory - to the point where I can't remember if that conversation was yesterday, last month or a dream... Yep, it's pretty awful!) So remembering my first brush with the big, sometimes intimidating F is a bit of a feat. Either that or I've simply forgotten any previous encounters.


I'd obviously heard of Feminism before this, but studying Jane Eyre at school was the first real connection for me. Jane Eyre is my idol. If anyone from my English class reads this, they will probably be guffawing (it was a private school) and recalling my perfect ability to quote all the key quotes, as well as references. I was besotted. Not with the woman (she was fugly) - but with what she stood for. Maybe it stems from my being a romantic, and knowing that her being an independent woman is the only way for her to be with the scrumptious Rochester  and also letting her feel the freedom she deserves after years of oppression- I figured every woman should feel as good as she did when she knew they were finally equal. Though preferably without blinding/disfiguring their prospective hubby... (I've realised this is turning into a bit of an essay, so shall skip some bits!)


Less than a year later I was doing some background reading for some English coursework, and being the cool kid I am, started reading Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch.
I was on an airplane flying back from Rhodes and being a night flight, most people were sleeping. I wasn't I was trying to get my jet-lagged, rather hungover head around Greer's ideas when someone walked towards me, but stopped at the bathroom.


Guess who it was. I bet you can't. Yep, it was Germaine Greer. And she looked at me. Unfortunately she looked at me like I was an  idiot.


I was reading her book in the dark, on an airplane, reading a french quote to someone and saying 'what the hell does it mean anyway?!'
I looked like an idiot.


Recently the BBC has been showing a mini-series called 'Women' about the mighty F (feminism, not the other mighty F word). I quite enjoyed it, but I have been very bored, so a programme about the inside of a plastic cup would excite me. But these programmes have ruffled my feminist feathers (at last, I'm getting to the point!)


I'm just going to blurt it out.
I think the majority of feminists are calling for too much positive discrimination, and that really gets on my tits (I don't like that expression, but think it's rather appropriate). One person said 'anyone that puts on make-up is objectifying themselves'. I'm not going to get angry (I'm too tired, and in a surprisingly good mood today), but isn't it anti-feminist to say 'you shouldn't wear make-up because men will see you as an object' when wearing make-up and looking nice as a woman can be done for yourself? I wear make-up and nice clothes because I like it!  I see them as pieces of art (well, sort of. I'm no Lady Gaga), and an expression about who I am. 


And also some groups not allowing men into their meetings, public marches etc. Surely that's being hypocritical! If men want to support your cause, let them! You can't expect to be treated as equals if you treat the other party with hostility.


All this typing is making my head woozy, and so my views may not make sense.


The other thing that makes me a bit angry is the fact that this is my photography blog, and I have yet to post anything about shoots or results. I've only myself to blame for that though! 


F xx


*Disclaimer - other things make me a little bit angry too! This is not a comprehensive list.*

Things I forgot that you should also know:

Seeing as this blog is meant to be about my photography, I thought I should elaborate on what I do.

I am in no way professional, and the phrase 'keen amateur photographer' makes me think of old beardy men... I don't know why! I see people's pics on Flickr and feel insanely jealous that they are so amazing! (I'll post links to my favourites later)

SO WHAT AM I?

I'm on my gap year, and decided to spend a lot of money on a decent D-SLR (I'm not going to use loads of camera jargon on here, but shame on you if you don't know what a D-SLR is! Google it!)

Once I had this uber-amazing camera I thought it'd be a good idea to know how to use it - I signed up for an OU course, which was pretty intense but a lot of fun (have got results from end exam, aparantly I'm excellent. I can live with that).

Since that finished I've not had a lot to photograph, though have spent days at a time orchestrating/conducting/editing shoots. I still have a box of ideas - I just need people! On my Flickr (link on the right!) you can see some of my photos, (apparently not spelt photoes... potatoes is right, photoes is not.)

A LIST OF THINGS I LIKE TO PHOTOGRAPH:

1. People, but I can be picky! I'd rather take my camera somewhere and shoot people that happen to be there than tell someone 'Be here and I will shoot you... with my camera.' 
2. Vintage things, or things that look old. For example, on  my Flickr there is a pair of brogues that I am particularly proud of! I also like to give photos a vintage feeling when post-editing.
3. Old buildings - I'm a texture junkie!

Other stuff:

I'm a bit patriotic, not in the three lions on the shirt way, but the what lovely green hills and beautiful trees. I love this country way. I also love tea. One of my dreams is to open a tea shop - not a tea room, but a shop that sells tea... every kind of tea. I shall call it Quinteassential. 

I love adventures. Call anything an adventure and I'm there! I may be scared and refuse at first, but whip out the 'A' word and I'll do it!

I really want to go to the Isle of Wight festival this summer. I will, just as soon as I buy our tickets!

I also really want to learn to surf this summer. This is slightly  hampered by the fact I have a huge irrational fear of sharks. I mean huge. 

That's all I can think of today! Please check out my Flickr, and feel free to leave comments here or there - I'm very nice and always appreciate them =P

TTFN xx

Ps. Haven't abandoned the blog yet! GO ME! 

Things you should know:

1: Ok, so I'm pathologically crap at writing blogs. I can't keep them going for more than a week.

See, I'm crap.

So I'm setting out with low expectations, and am therefore less likely to feel guilty when I abandon this.

You've been warned.

Don't get too attached - it'll end in heartache!

2: I have a tendancy to spell words with my imagination. Whilst being fun, it can lead to a lot of confusion(I'm sure there'll be plenty of examples in future posts).

I have also begun to realise that a lot of words I think are words, aren't words... like upmost is utmost.

Not the greatest qualities for a girl about to study English and Media at uni!

3: I like photography. I did a short course in it and have started this blog so I can write more about it, as well as show some of my pics.

I think that about covers it! (For now anyway!)

F xx