Photo diary: weeks 46 and 47, project 365

 "All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey" - it's just about right, when you look out at the garden. Most of the leaves are on the ground, dried and shrivelled. There is some greenery though, from the evergreens, like the huge cypress, or blasted climbing shrubs, taking over the stone walls. 

We have a big garden, which borders five different gardens, and only one set of neighbours is keeping their wall clear. 

I tried to chop up some of the overgrown shrubs on the stone wall next to the house, which are hanging from the neighbours' side. One big wheelie bin is packed full, and there is still a lot to chop off. I have collected some of the leaves in the bin bags, and they are waiting for their turn to be emptied.

And while I was working in the garden, I kept singing to myself, All the leaves are brown. Which reminds me, that a while ago, when I was singing California Dreamin' to myself, Eddie asked me, Who is Lisa Brown. So from then on, this song is Lisa Brown for me.

I haven't been taking photos for Project 365 every day, as I'm utterly lacking in motivation. Most of the week I am staying at home now that my big boy is going to college only twice a week. When my husband is around, he takes Sash out. Otherwise, we are doing activities at home, and have some fresh air in the garden.

Some of the days I would have several pictures on the go, some - nothing at all.

We had some beautiful sunsets in November, the colours always make me think that Nature is the biggest artist of them all.

And while we had a relatively mild weather, my brother sent me several photos of their wintery landscapes, including this lion who looks frozen amidst all that snow.

I did a few more pen and ink challenge prompts on Insta, including this little drawing of Sasha. The theme was Picnic. I used an old photo of Sasha from when he was around three years old. He loved boxes, and whenever there was a box big enough for him to climb in, he would do it. In the actual photo he's sitting in a toy chest, but I put him in the picnic basket from F&M.

On Tuesday we watched the semi-finals on GBBO, and were left aghast that Jurgen was voted off, as he did so well in the technical challenge, while Chigs made a total mess with his bake. I have a feeling Paul and Prue didn't like the German baker very much, especially Paul. He gave three contestants his shitty handshake, and left Jurgen out. I could never understand this handshake business, to me it feels super patronising, like a king dispensing a largesse, and the peasants tugging their forelocks in excessive deference. I would be mortified if Paul tried to give me a handshake (you can say, I'm not a fan).

More ink and pen/brush sketches from that week... for no particular reason, just trying a new paper pad, which is supposed to be good for inks.

Another cheeseboard picture... with British and Irish cheeses, like Cashel Blue, Cornish Yarg and Ash Goat's cheese. 

We popped into the lighting shop to get a bedside lamp for Eddie's bedroom. It happened that the choice was made for us, as they only had a sloth lamp left (which was my favourite all along). I took it out of the box to check if it works, and in it went back in the box until Christmas.

My husband looked at it, and commented that it was horrid. Well, Eddie and I like it. Are you camp Husband or Camp Eddie and I? I do know it is pretty kitsch, but also unusual and cute.

So far all the Christmas gifts I bought for Eddie, were bought in his presence. I need to get him some surprise gift too. 

A quick visit to Costa on Sunday: I tried a new After Eight muffin. Don't know why I thought it was a good idea, I don't even like the After Eight chocolates. The chocolate muffin would have been lovely, if not for the mint toothpaste inside.

On Monday my friend Jen took me to the Burford Garden Centre. It was packed full. Too crowded for my liking. I did buy a few sweet treats for Christmas, including some of our favourite Italian chocolate.

Talking of chocolate, don't miss my annual 12 days of Chocolate giveaway, starting on 1 December. Some lucky person will get over 1kg 200g of chocolate with other lovely festive treats. I always enjoy choosing different chocolate bars for each day of the giveaway.

I find Instagram an exciting source of discoveries. A post from BeeHype Honey has appeared on my Insta feed, and being a big honey lover, I checked out their site. 

I ordered a Salted honey (utterly delish!) and a lovely Ultimate Honey lover box, which includes Special Acacia single source raw honey, Dreamy Creamy spreadable raw wildflower honey, Lavish Lavender pure raw honey, It's Nuts mixed nuts in honey, Jammin' Strawberries in acacia honey, a cute mug, a candle, lip balm and beeswax food wraps. The box costs £49.95.

So, if you're looking for more unusual Christmas gifts for a foodie in your life, this artisan raw honey would be perfect. Don't forget to subscribe to their newsletter for their 10% off first order. The postage is free for orders over £30. 

It was the GBBO final the day before. The best baker won, I'm delighted that Giuseppe was crowned the winner, though I wish they kept Jurgen 'til the final, as that would have been an even more competitive event.

Were you pleased with the result (or disappointed)?

When they had to bake the Belgian buns without any instructions, I couldn't even remember what they were supposed to look like. I never buy them, and certainly never baked them in my life. The next day I bought two Belgian buns out of curiosity. They were OKish, but not something I would rush to buy again.

Our little Windrush river is very polluted, as Thames Water keeps dumping untreated sewage in the river. It is slowly dying, and you see less and less wildlife, as their habitat is being poisoned. The locals protest, write petitions, appeal to the local authorities, but nothing is being done. 

If anything, our local Conservative MP (I didn't vote for him) voted down an amendment to the Environment Bill which sought to stop Thames Water and other greedy companies who only care about profit from dumping sewage in the local rivers.

I love this old gate in Puck Lane. It feels like the path might take you to some fairytale destination.

Heritage was one of the prompts for the pen and ink challenge on Insta. As we live in a town with the origins in the Anglo-Saxon times, I decided to do a drawing of King Edgar the Peaceful, trying to imitate the illuminated letter, as in the medieval manuscripts. I used several Diamine inks, with a fountain pen and brush, as well as some markers.

On Saturday we finally had a chance to watch Shang Chi. I would watch anything from MCU, but it's not my favourite MCU film. Surprised to see how much praise it received on Twitter, with some people claiming it to be the best MCU film ever. What? Not the Avengers Assemble, or Endgame, or Thor Ragnarok, or any Spidey movie?! 

It's not that I don't enjoy martial arts films, if anything, I love The house of flying daggers which has an astonishing choreography and stunning scenery, and very beautiful actors. But Shang Chi left me unimpressed. Have you seen it? What did you think?

We woke up to see the first snow of the season, it was dancing in the air in big fluffy clusters, but melted on the ground. 

Eddie and I are still reading The Enemy by Charlie Higson, which was recommended to us at the local book shop. It's the first book in the zombie horror series for pre-teens and teens. Very gory, savage and brutal, but also well-written. I can see why it reached the cult status. I'm not even a fan of zombie books or films, but I am hooked.

At bedtime I am reading See Them Run by Marion Todd, the first book in Detective Clare Mackay series. I bought the kindle book quite a while ago. It's a clever police procedural, with an intriguing plot and a gutsy main protagonist.

Hope you are all keeping well.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Carnovsky Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle

 

 If you are super organised, you might have already finished buying gifts for Christmas. If you're like me, you are beginning to look at the gift guides and online gift posts in autumn.

Carnovsky Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle (500pc) is a stunning unique jigsaw puzzle and a work of art in one package.  

I haven't done a jigsaw puzzle in over a year, and forgot just how much I enjoy them. My younger son was keen to help me, but I wanted to assemble it solo. I worked on it for a couple of days, on and off, and enjoyed every moment of it.

It's quite tricky (not totally fiendish but not super easy either), as the images in different colours are superimposed over each other. 

The beautiful artwork is created  by Carnovsky, a Milan based art and design duo - Francesco Rugi and Silvua Quintanilla. They are best known for their RGB project, which was first presented at Milan Design Week in 2010, and since then appeared in numerous international exhibitions.

RGB is an ongoing project that experiments with the interaction between printed and light colours. It's all about exploring "the surface's deepness".

This splendid puzzle comes with three pairs of coloured glasses, which highlight different images underneath. The images are interwoven, the lines and shapes are not clear when you look at the mixed scene, but put on the glasses and gasp with admiration, as layers re-emerge with clarity and sharpness of detail. The result is simply mesmerising and captivating.

This is a view through green glasses.

Red glasses' scene:

It was not easy to take the image with the blue glasses, as it wasn't as sharp as red and green through the camera of my iPhone.

As usual, I started with the border, finding pieces that will build the "frame", and then worked on the designs inside. Sometimes I looked at the design, sometimes at the shape of pieces.

Attention to detail here is something special. The sea creatures are drawn in the style of the old encyclopaediae. 

As you can see from close-ups, the graphic design is intricate and elaborate.

You can also scan the QR code to turn your device into a magical viewing lens.

The puzzle measures 50x50cm (19.7x19.7 inches) when complete.

One more thing worth mentioning: the puzzle pieces come in a paper bag inside the box, so there is no plastic to throw away. 

This wonderful puzzle is suitable for ages 8+ (not suitable for children under 36 months due to small parts which present a choking hazard).

It will make an excellent gift for any jigsaw puzzle lover. If there is such a person in your life, Carnovsky Ocean will make someone happy - be it for Christmas, birthday or any other occasion. 

I know I would be delighted to get a new puzzle for Christmas.

Disclosure: We received the jigsaw puzzle for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are our own.

Christmas at Moonshine Hollow by Angela Britnell

"Oh, it's beautiful." She stopped after they'd crossed the road. "If someone asked me to draw a picture of my vision of small-town America, this is how it would look". The tree-lined road of classic Victorian-era buildings glowed with white fairy lights and, halfway along the right-hand side, the Franklin Cinema's neon-red frontage looked like something from an old film.

"Yea, it's Leiper's Fork on steroids".

On these dark winter evenings there's nothing better than to snuggle up with a cosy Christmas book. Christmas at Moonshine Hollow by Angela Britnell is a festive, sparkling treat, filled with romance, family secrets and Christmas miracles.

There's not many books where the main romantic interest is running a moonshine business, is there?! Meet Cole Landon.

We first encounter Cole at Landon Hollow Distillery, being told off by his mother, for not looking friendly during the tours around it. Cole might be a gruff, unpolished guide, but he sure is committed to his business. He is a workaholic. "He basically lived in the distillery. Ever since he'd chucked in his job as a corporate lawyer in Washington DC a decade ago".

He also believes that "his great-grandfather, the notorious moonshiner "Lightning Landon", would laugh at the idea of conducting tours to show off the handmade copper still he used to make his illegal moonshine."

Cole "was the sort of man people would always notice - tour guide or not... it was his air of suppressed energy that couldn't be ignored".

Cole's family lives nearby. His relationship with his mother Sylvia and step-father is complicated. And then there's the extended family, with the bossy matriarch who loves to meddle. 

The drama is brewing at the distillery, as Sylvia and her husband have been profligate with the money and sold shares of the distillery to an unsavoury local businessman, who also happens to be Cole's competitor. Not everything is merry and bright with the Landons.

Jenna Pendean has travelled to Tennessee all the way from Cornwall, but she is not here for the sightseeing or other touristy delights. She has a hidden agenda. There is an old family document in her possession which might alarm the current owners of the moonshine business.

"As a child, Jenna had spent endless happy hours listening to her Grandpa Jimmy's stories when her parents were busy at work in their family pub." She plans to spend her time in Tennessee checking out a few facts, then confronting the owners of the Landon Hollow Distillery. Only the fate decides otherwise - Jenna didn't count on meeting Cole and his family. There's an immediate attraction between the two.

Jenna's English accent seems to fascinate the locals, and she's given a job at the distillery on the spot, without checking out any of her credentials. She enjoys hosting tours for the distillery, and feels apprehensive.

"If his [Cole's] family discovered the truth about why she was here, they certainly wouldn't put out the welcome mat."

"His family couldn't be friendlier towards her, but that's where the trouble lay."

Jenna doesn't want to shatter the bubble of good will and confess why she arrived to Tennessee in the first place. Her own parents have a toxic relationship. She craves the warmth and good humour of Cole's extended family. How can she be honest with them, now that they've accepted her into the bosom of their family? Everything spirals out from control. And how will hot-head Cole react, when he finds out her secret?

Can Cole and Jenna have a perfect Christmas together?

Christmas at Moonshine Hollow is a heart-warming story about love, family and Christmas. Perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley, Tilly Tennant, Milly Johnson and Sue Moorcroft.

The cover design deserves a special mention. I loved the traditional red house and barn against the background of blue mountains. And all that snow reminded me of the very long winter we had in Massachusetts 18 years ago, when the little college town we lived in was completely snowed down. It was my older son's first Christmas, and our lovely neighbours took me to buy a Christmas tree. Wonderful memories.

Purchase Link  - https://tinyurl.com/yyn5c56k  

 

Author Bio – Angela grew up in Cornwall, England and returns frequently from her new home in Nashville, Tennessee to visit family and friends, drink tea and eat far too many Cornish pasties!   

 

A lifelong love of reading turned into a passion for writing contemporary romance and her novels are usually set in the many places she's visited or lived on her extensive travels. Thanks to over three decades of marriage to her wonderful American husband she's a huge fan of transatlantic romance and always makes sure her characters get their own happy-ever-after.  

 

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, the Romance Writers of America and the Music City Romance Writers. Her first novel ‘Truth and Consequence’ was published in 2006 and she’s now had over 30 novels published internationally and several short stories in women’s magazines.  

 

If you'd like to find out more of what Angela gets up to (Advance warning: this may include references to wine, dark chocolate, Poldark and the hunky Aidan Turner) check out www.angelabritnellromance.com  or follow her on 

www.facebook.com/angelabritnell , 

www.twitter.com/angelabritnell and on Instagram as Angela Golley Britnell.  

This post is part of the blog tour.

Many thanks to Angela Britnell and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!

Let It Snow by Sue Moorcroft

Trundling through a whitening landscape the minibus coped without missing a beat and the singing began again, this time their favourite: "Let it snow". Lily joined in. It was good to open up her throat with a jolly winter song and wash away any lingering bad feelings... The white flakes danced and tumbled around them, magically creating fluffy blankets on fields and roofs.

Festive book releases at this time of the year are plentiful, how to decide what to pick?
It depends on what you enjoy the most. I do love a good mix of Christmas crime and Christmas romance (not at the same time, I hasten to add).
I enjoy looking at the jolly festive covers, often glittery and colourful, or creepy and atmospheric, depending on the genre.
For my Christmas reading, I bought two romance and three crime paperbacks.

Let It Snow by Sue Moorcroft is a heart-warming read, and a perfect escape from the seasonal panic. It's a story of secrets revealed, family bonds being tested and a romance unfolding along the travel adventures.

Lily Cortez is very protective of her family. She grew up with two mothers - Roma (a freelance photographer) and Patsie (a lawyer), and her sister Zinnia. For many years they were a tight unit, and couldn't have been closer.
But a secret from the past makes a big crack in the unit.
As it happens, Lily's father, who she knew nothing about, just died - she wasn't a one-night stand as Lily was made to believe. Her mother had an affair with a married man, who never knew she was only in the relationship to get pregnant.

Lily is in a turmoil. She feels betrayed. "It's just tough to find my father and lose him in the same instant". Determined to find out more about her late father, Lily discovers she has two half-brothers, one of them the landlord of The Three Fishes pub in a village called Middledip.

Fast forward two years, and Lily is working at The Three Fishes, keeping her identity from Tubb, her half-brother, who left the pub for Switzerland to be closer to his family as well as recuperate from the heart attack. His health doesn't allow him to work, and the pub is left in hands of a newcomer, Isaac.

Handsome Isaac lost his own restaurant, through not his own fault.
His highfalutin girlfriend who left him after his business collapsed, suddenly re-appears in his life and asks him to look after their dog Doggo. Isaac, who missed their dog more than he missed his ex, immediately agrees. Isaac is drawn to Lily, but he has a conduct code not to get involved with his co-workers. Yet Lily is uber-attractive.

Lily is planning to go to Switzerland for Christmas with her singing group the Middletones. Lily's part-time job at the pub is supporting her other ambition, to be an exhibition designer. She has designed the stands for British Country Foods at the Christmas food show in Switzerland. The Middletones are going over to sing at the events and "lend an air of Britishness to things".

Everything is set. That is until Lily's immature and rather unpleasant sister Zinnia storms into The Three Fishes, raging at some imagined crimes committed by Lily. In the ensuing argument, an accident happens which takes Lily to A&E. The worst part is - the trip to Switzerland is now looking doomed. Lily cannot drive the bus with the singing group across Europe.

And who comes to the rescue but Isaac?!

It's a festive book, so you rather expect it to have a warm romance. Along the main love story, there are several sub-plots and different love developments (from teenagers to mature lovers).

Sue Moorcoft has a talent of creating a background scene in a sentence or two. An atmospheric landscape is sketched out of a few precise lines.
It was the same with the sea scenes in A Summer to Remember (set in Norfolk), when you could immediately smell the sea and hear the waves.

She conjures up the snowy landscapes of Switzerland with a few masterful strokes, like:
"They drove towards black-and-white peaks that wore clouds around their heads like scarves." (such a poetic description)

"...pausing to catch his breath, shading his eyes to look back over the snow plain punctuated with lines of dark jagged conifers, snowy peaks rising up behind. they were so clear that Lily felt as if she could reach out and touch them..." (a vivid scene which reminded me of our very long winter in Massachussetts, on the border with Vermont)

"She thought of the snow in Switzerland on the day they'd left, filling the air as if it couldn't wait to erase all the colour in the world." (and again, so true, like the snowdrifts of Russia, this immense whiteness which erases all the other colours)

It so happened that I was reading this book, when I felt quite low. I've mentioned already on my blog that for family reasons, we are spending the coming Christmas, split in pairs. I will stay at home with our elder son, while my younger child will travel to Italy with his father to stay at the grandparents' house. It feels me with gloom and even despair. This book allowed me to escape in a world of snowy romance. It is like a big warm hug in a time of sadness.

I'm not a dog person (we always had cats when I was growing up), but you cannot but fall in love with Doggo, who's boisterous, silly and endearing.

Evocative snowy landscapes, a beautiful romance story, second chances, tasty food galore and an adorable dog - Let It Snow by Sue Moorcroft is a marvellous festive read.

Cosy up with a book this Christmas - pull the duvet tight around you, get a cup of something hot, be it tea or cocoa, maybe a box of your favourite chocolates by your side, and enjoy a festive story!

Photo diary: week 50, project 365

What a week it was: for the country on the whole, and for our family. Dashed hopes, stress and disbelief. I also realised that I must be living in a big bubble as on social media, among friends and people I follow, most people did not vote for the party which won.
As the Tories showed very clearly their attitude to people with disabilities, I worry for our son's future. He will be 18 next spring, and the future is bleak.

I understand that my blog readers come from all walks of life, and while I appreciate your views might differ from mine, please allow me to feel sad.

Rather than that, everything around seems to be set on Christmas. My photos reflect that as well.

Last Sunday Eddie finished the last pages of his Tudor project, and in the evening we decorated the Christmas tree. Ours is an artificial one, from John Lewis, which I got for reviewing about five years ago, if not longer than that. I miss the smell of a live tree, so bought a big pine tree branch to put in a vase in the hall.

We don't have a theme or colour scheme for our tree, it's full of memories of the Christmases and new year's eves past, and every toy tells a story. We were hanging toys, and saying This toy is from when Mummy was a baby, This one was bought when Sasha was born, This one is a gift from a friend who's no longer with us... We also have quite a few decorations, which my boys made in the nursery and school, like this clay Christmas tree.

On Monday I spotted people started posting their Top Nine for 2019, and of course, I had to check which images of mine were counted as Top Nine. As every year, I'm slightly miffed with the choices, as they are mostly not what I would consider my personal favourites. I mean, that selfie in a Harry Potter pinny was posted as a joke, why on earth was it deemed worthy of top nine?!

I liked the contrast of the red holly berries against the wet black railing in town.

One of the Christmas tree decorations from my childhood. I look at it, and think of my late Dad, my little brother, Mum decorating the tree with walnuts in silver wrappers... And I want to go back, just for five minutes, and feel the magic again, when everything seemed possible.

The austerity policies brought the closure of many shops in town. Debenhams is closing down next month, and it already looks like a ghost shop, with the naked mannequins.

I managed to dig out one box with Christmas lights in the attic, but cannot find another one, with twinkling lights. As I was trying to take a photo of our Christmas tree, Eddie kept jumping in front of me, laughing his socks off.

We popped into the Game shop today, just to have a look at what new Funko Pop toys they had, and I saw this Lego Friends set. I'm definitely not buying it. Eddie's never watched Friends, and doesn't care much for this set. But I thought it would make a great gift for someone who loves Friends.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Now That's What I Call Christmas Music (Now 100 Hits Christmas & Now 100 Hits Sing-A-Long)

Gifts wrapped, festive menu planned, shopping done, anything else to tick off the list of things to do? What about music? When you're decorating a Christmas tree or planning a party, only Christmas music would do.
Sing your way to a very merry Christmas with Now 100 Hits Christmas and Sing-A-Long!

Now That's What I Call Christmas Music/Now 100 Hits Christmas (RRP £10.99) is the seventh best-selling album of all time in the UK with 4.5 million units sold, isn't that impressive?!
NOW's 100 Hits series is very popular, and their Christmas music selection is one great belter after another.

From golden classics like Bing Crosby's It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Tony Bennett's Winter Wonderland, Eartha Kitt's Santa Baby, Frank Sinatra's Jingle Bells etc to the best modern festive songs like Justin Bieber's Mistletoe or Pentatonix's version of Mary, Did You Know? this album "will get everyone from Rudolph to Frosty to the big man Father Christmas himself in the festive spirit and counting down the days until 25th December".

This year, NOW has released a cracker of a compilation with more tracks than ever before. Whether you're enjoying a mug of hot chocolate, snuggled on the sofa, or are busy wrapping presents for your family and friends, adding more booze to your Christmas cake or getting the office ready for the big party, NOW has you covered, with 100 Christmas hits to suit all tastes.

Elves from NOW were spotted interviewing the Christmas HQ to find out what they think about this album.

According to Santa, Now 100 Hits Christmas is "cooler than Mrs C's ice lollies".
Mrs Claus said: "Aside from Christmas cheer and spirit, it's the only thing that gets Mr Claus out of bed on these cold mornings (and sherry)."
Rudolph said: "Every year I like to see if I can get some PBs dashing around the world to give the kids their presents - so NOW! Christmas is perfect for the stretching and warm up first thing, the heavy cardio when we're flying, and the warm down when we land back in the North Pole. It's essential listening for such an intense workout!"
Dasher said: "Santa's always jingling his bells to this one".
Santa's Little Helper (second in command) said: "We play this compilation in our workshop every day, there's something for every elf, some of the younger elves prefer to bop around to Justin Bieber's track Mistletoe but I'm a big fan of Nat King Cole and the crooners, it's very relaxing when we're gearing up to the big day".
Santa's Little Helper (anonymous) said: "It's packed full of more bangers than Santa's sack" (Boom-Boom, that's as far as I dare to venture with the risqué jokes).
Frosty the Snowman said: "My favourite is Peter Auty's Walking in the Air, which was actually written about my Great Grandad - The Snowman. It brings back some real memories, that one!".

Bad jokes aside, this album was a trip down the memory lane for me as well.
Boney M and their catchy tune Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord first blazed through our TV screens in the late 1970s. And the hearts of the Soviet people were conquered.
In those days the new year's eve TV schedule was progressing the following way: first it was all the Soviet-style singers, then in the early hours of the night there would be a long slot dedicated to the Soviet bloc performers (Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany etc), and only then when you were half-asleep, around 4-5am, they would show the "Western" music, which of course, was also heavily censored.
Boney M visited Moscow and Leningrad in 1979. This was one of a few rare occasions when the Western group was invited to the Soviet Union officially. Their music blasted at the discos across the country. Boney M became one of the symbols of the Western freedom.
I was only a child then, but I remember the first time I watched Mary's Boy Child on TV, and how much I loved that song. It's still one of my favourite festive tunes.

To keep the party going, there is another 5 CD box set - Now 100 Hits Sing-A-Long.
It has tracks to please all generations and ages, from the classics of the 1970s (Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive, ABBA's Mamma Mia, Blondie's Sunday Girl, etc) to 1980s and 1990s hits of my childhood and youth (Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart, Karma Chameleon by Culture Club, etc) to the latest songs (Justin Timberlake's Can't Stop the feeling, Pharrell Williams' Happy and One Direction's Story of My Life).
You will sing along and dance (a good exercise after all those seasonal calories).

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by one and only Cyndi Lauper never ceases to bring a smile to my face. I've been known to sing along (rather quietly though) in the shops whenever this catchy tune is played. It brings back so many lovely memories, one of them, dancing in the deserted bus stop with a German student who was visiting England, while we were waiting for the bus and feeling quite cold. It's one of those happy memories I keep tucked in my heart and mind. I was young, carefree and enjoying myself.

Listening to Now 100 Hits Christmas and Now 100 Hits Sing-A-Long is made easier with the NOW Music app, where subscribers can access all the NOW compilations plus even more playlists and music for only £4.99 a month with no contract or adverts.
The NOW Music App is the easiest and most enjoyable way to access music on your devices.

These CDs will make a perfect Christmas stocking filler. Santa, take note!

Disclosure: We received two CDs for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are our own.

Harry Potter gifts at Paladone

There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.

Gifts inspired by JK Rowling's world of magic are selling like hot cakes. Wander around any gift shop, and you'll spot some merchandise based on the much-loved book and movie series.
Oxford, for example, boasts not one but three Harry Potter-themed shops. But if you cannot visit any shops dedicated to the wizard boy in person, do not despair.

Paladone, the UK's leading company for gift supplies, has a section devoted to the fans of Harry Potter - Harry Potter Merch - which is filled with truly magical gifts.

If you are looking for Christmas (or birthday) gifts for a Harry Potter and Wizarding World fan, Paladone offers a wide selection of gifts, from iconic mugs to gadget decals, from stationery sets to night lights.
The only problem you will encounter is deciding what to pick.

We were offered a £30 credit to choose anything from the Harry Potter range for the purposes of reviewing, and we found it quite a difficult task, as there were so many tempting goodies.

If you follow my blog, you might know that my younger son is a big Harry Potter fan. We have already bought lots of the Wizarding world gifts, like a Harry Potter costume, several wands, soft toys, LEGO sets, hats and scarves, pyjamas etc.

Eddie was thrilled to be able to add to his HP collection. We looked at six pages very carefully, comparing the merits of each gift, and finally, decided to order a Hogwarts backpack and a Hogwarts stationery set - both of which my son can take to school.

Ordering online is easy and straightforward. You will get a free delivery with any order of £30 and over.

Let's have a closer look at our choices.

Take magic with you anywhere you go with a Hogwarts backpack (£19.99). Carry your school books and pencil cases to your own "Hogwarts".
This nylon backpack is made in the Hogwarts colours and features an embroidered Hogwarts crest.
It has a PVC backing, metal zip pulls and is approximately 42cm in height. This spacious backpack is an officially licensed Harry Potter product.

Eddie loves his new backpack. He can store all his school things inside.
It is instantly recognisable as a Harry Potter-themed product, and will make an excellent gift to fans of all ages.
Our only request to the makers of the backpack would be to make an external pocket for a bottle. There is a pocket on the back, but it is not shaped to hold a drinks bottle. Carrying a bottle inside the bag could be hazardous for any papers or books, in case a bottle is not leak-proof. Most of the school backpacks have a specially assigned outside pocket for a bottle.

Hogwarts Stationery Set (£9.99, currently on offer at £3.99) will delight any Harry Potter aficionado. It comes in an elegant and stylish case with a transparent lid.

It includes a mini notebook, with a portrait of Dumbledore on the cover, three pencils with spells, an Obliviate eraser and a set of three giant sorting hat paperclips.

This set is perfect to use at school, or at home, and will make a lovely gift for any occasion.

Eddie was much taken by the pencils, as he enjoys sketching and is learning the basics of calligraphy. Sorting hat paperclips are my personal favourites.

When we browsed Paladone's Harry Potter section, we also loved the sight of Hedwig mini bell light jar, Hogwarts toiletries bag, gadget decals.

Last year I wrote a post Christmas gifts for Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts fans, and two of the gifts featured in the gift guide - Harry Potter mini bell light jar and Harry Potter egg and cup set - could be also found at Paladone.

What would you choose?

Disclosure: As mentioned above, we received a £30 credit to spend on Harry Potter merch for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are our own.