Babi a Fi

Here are my resolutions for 2016...   Get Fit   I really need to lose weight and generally improve my fitness levels. We (I say we because Anthony has no choice in the matter!) have been making plans for a much healthier 2016. Eating better, being more active, and setting a good example for Marianna.   Be More Organised   So much to do, so little time... I've got some planners for the various aspects of my life, and we've drawn up some household rotas to help stay on top of the cleaning and stuff like that. Calendars have been filled out, and my email inboxes cleared. It all links in to the healthier living, and reducing the stress levels.   Level Up My Blog   2015 was a good year for the blog, don't get me wrong, but it was all about finding my feet. In 2016 I want to build on these foundations and really make something of this little corner of cyberspace. I'm aiming to post everyday again, and have already written up dozens of general and magazine

I spent way too much time yesterday updating my linky page ready for the new year, but it did mean I had chance to rediscover what I actually had on there. I keep meaning to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge, hosted by fromthissideofthepond.com , so here goes... 1. Share a favourite moment/memory from the week of Christmas.  Marianna learning how to use her new toys - putting the shapes in the right slots, and rolling the ball down the 'Roll n Swirl' ramp. I can't believe she's going to be a year old on Friday! Everyone said she would only be interested in playing with the box - so Anthony cut out the middle man! 2. If someone wrote a book about your life based on the past year, what genre would it fall under? What would the title be? Horror! Haha, no, probably coming of age or family saga. I feel like becoming a mum has done more to make me an adult than anything else in the last 27 years of my life. 3. What made you feel patriotic this year? 

Most weeks I upload scans from my vintage magazine collection. Whether it's Lillian Gish in a 1920 Picturegoer or Robin Williams in a 1979 My Guy, you can find them all listed  HERE . This week I'm running a little giveaway instead for the Best of Jackie Annual. Launched in January 1964, Jackie quickly became an ubiquitous companion to Britain's teen - or pre-teen, at any rate - girls. Agony Aunts Cathy and Claire responded to readers' problems, providing they weren't too risque, and pull out posters of David Cassidy, David Essex and Donny Osmond graced many a 1970s bedroom wall. The magazine retained strong sales through most of the 1980s but, by the end of the decade, tastes were changing. Circulation fell and the title folded in 1993, making way for new titles like Sugar (launched in '94) and Bliss ('95). If you want to relive, or simply live, the joys of Jackie you can get up to five entries for the giveaway by filling out the Gleam form below:

A/N: On a previous blog wrote a whole series of posts on British life, explained for American fiction writers. As today is a bank holiday, it seemed the perfect opportunity to bring the one on 'holidays and celebrations' back from the [virtual] dead . The people of the UK celebrate all manner of religious, cultural, and completely random holidays and observances. This post will concentrate on nationally (or near enough nationally) recognised holidays. The kind you get time off work for, or have to complete projects for at school. After the calendar of events, there is a section on life cycle celebrations - birthdays, weddings, funerals, etc. A note on bank holidays: Bank holidays are public holidays, so called because the banks shut for the day. Although there is no automatic right to time off work on bank holidays, schools will be closed along with large swathes of non-essential services. Public transport will run reduced services, and many employers will offer employee

I thought that my old blogs were long gone, lost to all but the wayback machine, then I discovered a Dreamwidth account from 2012. The posts were mostly about music, randomness, and fandom stuff. I sent the blog to the big recycling bin in the sky, but I saved a sampling of posts for your delectation. I used to be much more... excitable. I am on a major Austen kick right now, something I blame entirely on the Lizzie Bennet Diaries . If you haven't seen it yet, why not?? Jane (so beautiful!) and Lizzie Bennet. In other news, I've found my fave 50 Shades spoof, ' 50 Shades of Newport Chav ': I asked Dwayne about his children. Their names were Bettws, Lliswerry, Somerton and Alway. When I asked why he had named his children after places in Newport, he explained that each child was named after the place where they has been conceived, like all the celebrities do these days…this guy is so sentimental! I instantly felt an emotional bond with Dwayne. He went on to

It was Christmas! My family all came round for dinner (bar my brother who had drunk himself into too much of a stupor the night before!) and we had a really good time. Marianna didn't understand what it was all about, but she liked being the centre of attention and getting new toys all the same. Today we went to see Anthony's family and Marianna was doing very well until she violently threw up all over Anthony's cousin... Not really the way to make friends, is it? Somebody must have been a very good girl! ☆ READING:   27 - Howard Sounes . It's about the main figures of the so-called '27' club and was pretty interesting, especially for its coverage about fan theories and the like which grew up around each of them. ☆ WRITING:   A Brief History of Paper . ☆ WATCHING:  The Downton Abbey Christmas special. I'm sad it's all over but it was probably the right time to end it, they were really struggling for story lines. 

Merry Christmas from all of us and our Elf on the Shelf (on a dinosaur!), McGinty. To celebrate the season of giving, I have a Science4You Candle Factory up for grabs. Its RRP is £19.99 and it's recommended for ages 8+. You can earn up to five entries by filling out the Gleam form below. Science4You Candle Factory Giveaway