My Life as a writer - When I'm not scribbling

On this day, the 24 March 1944 my Grandfather Joseph Robinson climbed in to the small and cramped tail gunner post of his Lancaster Bomber with his crew. The Wedding of Joseph Robinson to Irene Baum  Joining the RAF when war broke out and worked his way up for Flgt. Sgt.  He had been flying for a year by this point.  Married one day shy of six weeks he lift his wife at home in his native Sunderland and returned to his squadron at Elsham Wood. Joe was ideal as a tail gunner, a strong man, a confident man but he was short enough and small enough to fit in to the plexi-glass turrets of Lancaster Bomber.  The problem with being a Tail-end Charlie, wasn't just the cramped conditions where many couldn't wear the parachutes or even boots if they wanted to fit in, neither was it the loneliness of being so far removed from the rest of the crew, but the real kicker would be if you needed to escape. The tail turrets while the most important defensive position carrying the heav

So, there are times in  life when things happen that disappoint you for whatever reason.  As human beings and individuals we all have ways of reacting to those things.  This week for me has been one of those weeks where I've had to deal with a Work Life disappointment. I'm a novelist, first and foremost, but to pay the bills I also have a full time job in a 'professional' environment.  It's in this job that I've found myself disappointed this week.  It's been building for a while, with the current economic climate all business are looking at how to save money and stay profitable.  The industry I work in is no different and they have been making plans, changing things and consulting with personnel on how/why they should do things. This week they made their announcement of change and parts of how this was managed was disappointing to me.  The detail isn't important for this post, the point is how I deal with that issue. 1. Be Professional You have

Okay, I know right now it hardly feels like summer - I'm still wearing jumpers and a coat!  But I do have some summer make up loves that I wanted to share. My first is the Clarins Lip Oil, this has been out for a while but there is a new flavour out now called Red Berry which I'm loving.  I leaves my lips with a light reddish tint, feel gloriously rich when putting it on and last ages.   My lips which can sometimes feel dry especially at the moment as the temperature is all over the place feel moisturised and soft when using this.  one bottle (0.23 fl oz) is lasting me around three months.  At £19 this may seem a bit excessive for a lip balm but it does go a long long, gives a great summer shine and tastes lovely.  The sponge applicator is soft and swipes the product on evenly and doesn't leave a sticky residue. My second Clarins product is the Summer bronzing compact.  I've been using this for the last two months to give a subtle glow, partly to convince my very

I've seen a lot of 'What's in my handbag' vlogs on YouTube, now while I'm good with words I'm not so good on camera - I guess it's one of those areas I need to build confidence in, anyway, back to the point, I thought I'd do a written a version for my spring handbag. So, I have just got a new bag, my last one was taking a bit of a battering, so it was time for a change.  Coming in to spring you'd think I'd go for something light, bright etc. but well I'm practical a lot of the time.  I didn't want to spend a great deal on a new bag, I wanted to keep the price below £20, so I decided to look at some of the sales which are still ongoing. Now, just because I was looking in the sales doesn't mean there wasn't an array of choice and colours, but as I said practicality comes in to it.  I'm not just a blogger and I'm not just a novelist, I also have a Monday to Friday job as a PA.  So, my bag needs to be many things, Dura

Life is hectic, stressful and chaotic, it can play havoc with your skin, your health and your general wellbeing.  Sometimes you just have to say stop and take a little time for yourself to give your body a treat and recharge your batteries for the days/weeks ahead. After going through periods of stress and anxiety I found that taking some time to have a mini pamper session could lift my mood, help my skin and lower my stress levels.  I try at least once a week to give myself a mini pamper session to relax and refocus my mind. This is currently my pamper routine; As we move in to Spring I'm exfoliating my skin with Calcot Manor Body salts, this is refreshing my skin and leaving it feeling smooth after months of being hidden under long sleeves and jumpers. I apply to damp skin using a circular motion starting at the feet and working my way up. CALCOT MANOR SCRUB I then shower off the salts which do leave a bit of oil on the skin, I tend to follow up with Treacle Moon

I am writing this a few days after attending the screening for the new Matthew Vaughn (Marv) and Dexter Fletcher (Director) movie Eddie the Eagle, my excuse is it's been a rather busy week! Anyway, so Tuesday night I went to a pre release screening of Eddie the Eagle staring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman.  The film is loosely based on the life of Eddie the Eagle Edwards who took part in the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988 and became a huge personality for really embodying the true meaning of the games.   The film follows a young Eddie who is told by everyone including his dad played by Keith Allen that he will never achieve his dream of being an olympian, always the underdog Eddie never looses sight of his goal.  After his leg brace is removed, and his dad repeatedly tells him he will never be an athlete no matter what sport he tries Eddie switches his goal to the Winter the Olympics and skiing.   As Eddie trains he becomes part of the British team in contention to