Review - Vintage Fair at the Boileroom, Guildford

The Boileroom in Guildford is a Music/Arts/Creative venue in an old pub, on Stokefields just off York Road.  I've been to gigs there, and performed there, several times over the last year.

In December last year they announced a Vintage Fair, with stalls provided by several different stall holders.  I popped along and to be honest, I was a bit disappointed.  It seemed a bit disorganised and to my mind, 1990's C&A doesn't count as 'Vintage'. (Snob that I am).
However, a few of us Ukejammers were asked to play at their 11th February event and agreed.  I am pleased to reveal that The 2nd Fair was much better organised, with a great vibe, and a lot of really lovely vintage clothes & accessories. 

Vintage hair-dos were being provided by Lucy Hayward from Hair That Turns Heads.

The various music acts that were on throughout the event really added to the ambience (including the band I am in - 'Genevieve & the Zut Alors!')

Genevieve & The Zut Alors!  Photo By John Hudson.

The Boileroom has obviously decided that 'Vintage' means 'cakes', so they weren't serving their usual noodles and had only dainties available.  I think this is a shame - I for one was hungry and a chocolate brownie didn't really cut it for me.

It would be helpful for them to provide a changing room with a full-length mirror.  currently you have to try on clothes in the loo and there are only small mirrors in there.

The space at the Boileroom is very small, and with lots of stalls it is very cramped. If a band is performing on stage you risk becoming the centre of attention as you squeeze past them to get to the stage-based stalls.  In general you will have to be prepared to do some squeezing and rummaging to hunt out your vintage (nothing new there really).

However, there is FREE entry - unlike a lot of these non-London based vintage fairs, which is a welcome benefit.
One stall that caught my eye was selling Iphone covers, Kindle covers & Ipad covers made from vintage Tweed fabrics, with clasps made from vintage brooches.  They have a shop here, but these particular items aren't on there at time of posting.  Keep an eye out and maybe they will be added.

The vintage costume jewelery on offer was great quality, and very reasonably priced.

There were some extremely high quality offerings in the high price bracket (i.e. upwards of £100), including furs and 1930's embroidered silk jackets.
Also there was menswear - something often lacking at small fairs.

Unfortunately I was on a training course for the day (I performed & shopped in my lunch hour), so I wasn't able to really get dug in (though I did manage to bag a beautiful coat).

I believe the Boileroom are making these Vintage Fairs a regular event every few months, and so long as they maintain the quality of stallholders I would recommend a visit.  If you're local keep an eye on their website for the next one and pop along.  It seems they have the next one booked for 7th April.

(Knit &) PurlJam, aka Stitch 'n Bitch

For a few months I've been hankering after some lovely vintage-style cardigans.  Finding original vintage knitwear that's in great condition AND fit's the modern woman, can be a trial (as anyone with 'a bosom' will know!).

I received a wonderful Christmas present from Mr G of a book of vintage knitting patterns, re-written for the modern knitter.  How exciting! Except I don't know how to knit.

I investigated getting some lessons, but the local knitting teachers were asking more than I could afford (which is nothing, basically). Quel domage!  Mr G had bought me a basic 'how to knit' book, but it's just not quite the same as having someone show you.

Fortunately I have got to know a lovely lass called Gemma through UkeJam, who is a knitter extraordinaire.  She gave me a lesson over dinner a few weeks ago, and we got to chatting about setting up a local Stitch and Bitch group.  I believe these groups started in the US - the premise being a bunch of people who get together in a pub or bar, to knit and, erm, chat.  There are already a few local-ish groups, but none in my hometown.

Our inaugural meeting was yesterday, 20th February, at The Snug Bar in Godalming (chosen for it's lovely atmosphere & even lovelier 2-4-1 cocktails).  We invited several twitter friends and people already known to us.  These included experienced knitters, those who had knitted a little bit, and complete beginners.



I hope to be able to make a gazillion jumpers like the one I'm wearing (which is wonderful and is available here from Rocket Originals!)



Gemma oversee's a new knitters first lesson



My first time using 'little' needles! The training wheels are coming off.

Cocktails were drunk, knitting was erm, knitted, chatting was chatted, and I learned to knit 'in the round!'


Check me out! I can now make tubes, not just squares!

Being an inclusive bunch, we were not at all sexist and invited my mate @Timato_ along, ostensibly to record our first meeting in photographic form.  Gemma managed to get him knitting too (his first time!), and this is his offering:



Tim knitted his first item - a blanket for a slug.

We intend to meet every 2 weeks at The Snug Bar (who were very accomodating and hardly raised an eyebrow at us, even when I lost control of my wool ball which shot across the floor leaving a wooly trip wire in it's wake).  I believe that setting aside this time to knit will really help in the completion of projects, which otherwise could get 'left behind' in the busyness of life.

Our next meeting is on 5th March, 7pm at The Snug Bar in Godalming.   We have a facebook group if you're interested in coming along to join us https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/379762208716375/.  Knitters, crocheters, sew-ers & cocktail lovers all welcome!

Land Girl Chic

I'm currently snowbound and freezing in my little wooden house, because I've run out of heating oil.  This has become a yearly event for me.  Every year I think 'oh, I'm low on oil, I must order some more', and then I forget about it... and then it snows... and then my heating goes off...and then the oil supplier can't get to me for over a week.

This does actually bear a striking resemblance to my home, though mine is a bit draftier...

However, in the true spirit of 'make-do', I've simply piled on layers of cashmere and shoved a cat down each trouser leg, and I'm toasty warm again (if a little scratched from the cats).  I've got to thinking a bit about how I'm going to 'make do' over the next 12 months, which lead to me thinking about my garden, which led to thinking about Land Girls, which lead on to thinking about Dungarees, natch.

You already know about the Land Girls, so I'm not going to re-hash this over and over again.  Suffice it to say that I'm totally on board with their spirit.  It's time to stop complaining about the rising price of food and get out there and grow something.  Of course, if you can do it looking fabulous then more's the better.  I've been having a little lookie on the interweb to see what's on offer and here's a few ideas:



Cord Dungarees by Freddies of Pinewood, £55




Cotton drill reproduction landgirl dungarees by Apple Tree Lane, £49




Land Army Dungarees by Tara Starlet, £68

I'm a bit in love with all of the dunga's I've shown here.  Despite the fact that whenever I mention the word 'dungarees', my husband looks at me as if I've gone mad.  "Just look how pretty they are!", I cry.  He appears not to share my enthusiasm & still glowers.  But I don't care.  I envision myself digging away in my plot looking totally marvellous.

I have to say that, although the Tara Starlet dungarees are my absolute favourite, I can hardly see myself actually gardening in them.  They are far too nice to cover in mud.  Probably a bit too tight on the old bottom to make bending over practical too.  The Freddies of Pinewood ones look pretty hardwearing, and the Apple Tree Lane ones probably the most practical, and the most historically accurate (and the cheapest too).

As I take another look at the original Land Girls, I realise that what they were wearing probably didn't feature very highly in their minds as they dug.  Most of them are wearing mens trousers that are too big for them and their oldest wooly jumper.  So long as it was practical, kept them warm and meant they could grow potatoes, they probably didn't care.

I guess the real spirit of the Womens Land Army lies not so much in what one wears, but what one does.  I hope to make 2012 a 'Land Army' success, as I venture forth and conquer my veg patch.  And nevermind what I wear whilst doing it.

But maybe I'll still save up for those dungaree's anyway.....just to help me get in the mood!

We're (Uke) Jammin'

I'm sure you've noticed by now that my profile mentions I play the Ukulele.

Betty Page was partial to a bit of Uke, it would seem...

Interestingly, the Uke seems to have something of a following amoung us vintage loving types.  Perhaps it has something to do with wearing tiki dresses & pretend one's in Hawaii....whatever, I feel it's time I tell you how the Ukulele has taken over my life in the last 12 months.



Performing last Friday at The Boileroom music venue in Guildford - 24 Ukuleles on stage with singing!  Far left, @Timato_, 4th from left @claz0r, 3rd from right me, over my right shoulder @PirateMagpie, 2nd from right @missukulady (Penny Fazackerley), and far right @skifflefella (Adam Wolters). Pic courtesy of Philip J Mitchell



Picture the scene - In February 2011 I was happily minding my own business, wittering away on Twitter, when some crazy lady named @claz0r (now one of my best friends) started following me.  She lived in my home town, she said, and would I like to meet up at some event called 'UkeJam', which was being held in a local pub?  It also turned out she was a fan of a skiffle band which a friend of mine is in (The Charley Farley Sunday Four). After some discussion with Mr G, it was decided we would go along to this 'UkeJam'.  I walked in the door of the pub to be faced by an assortment of 15 or so locals from young to old, all clutching teeny tiny guitar-like instruments.  One was thrust into my hand, along with a songbook & chord sheet, showing me where to put my fingers, and away we went.  By the end of the evening, I was hooked.  It was so easy to play.  And lets face it, who doesn't want to meet new people, drink beer, sing & play a Ukulele?!

Within a week I'd purchased my own Uke.  On ebay. For £12.  Yes, a decent Mahalo uke will sent you back LESS THAN £15.

The Uke and the Jam thereof has become a huge part of my life.  We meet every 2 weeks in a local pub to Jam together.  UkeJam is organised by Adam (@skifflefella), a music teacher, and Penny (@missukulady), a wonderful vocalist.  It is FREE.  We currently meet every other Monday at the Royal Oak Pub in Guildford, and our numbers are swelling with each meet.  At last count there were 35 of us strumming & singing away.  Penny & Adam are constantly adding new songs to our Hymnbook, and organise gigs for us to play.  Just last year we have played Guilfest, supported Hayseed Dixie, and the Charley Farley Sunday Four multiple times.  We have regular 'dressing up themes', which always serves to get the party going.  Last Friday we supported the CFS4 & Josh Kumra (fresh from his number 1 with Wretch 32), at The Boileroom in Guildford.  Here's a little vid of us on You Tube at our latest gig (there's more on our YouTube channel too).

Would you like to see some more photos?  Well, of course you would!

UkeJammers dressed as Pirates, for National Talk Like a Pirate Day, of course!

Dressed as people whose songs we sing - Paloma Faith, Slash & Lady Gaga. Pic by Rachael Lowndes



At our 1st Birthday last week.  Look how many people love the Uke (there were many more behind the photographer)! Pic by Rachael Lowndes

  


Al Murray (of pub landlord fame), played Drums for us at our latest gig, Pic by Mr G




@claz0r & I...blasting out a bit of Johnny Cash, (in all probability!) Pic by Philip J Mitchell

We've been asked to provide, by forming several smaller groups, short sets at a Vintage Fair being held at the Boileroom in Guildford on 11th February.  If you drop by on the day around 1pm be prepared for a little bit of 3 part harmony & a whole lot of ukes while you browse the stalls.

Or, just meet us in the Royal Oak, Guildford & play/sing/drink along!  Next meeting is Monday 30th.  See our website for details,or like our Facebook page!

And what do you know? It turns out the Ukulele is an excellent accessory to a Vintage Frock! (or just the undies, if you're Betty!).

Nails Inc 3 Week Manicure/Biosculpture Gel Review

I really love a nicely manicured set of nails.  However, I am properly rubbish at maintaining my own.  I have a little ceramics company that I run on the side of my husbands business, and this means a lot of wear & tear on my old fingernails.  They get dried out by dipping glaze, chipped on pottery, and covered in clay.  Additionally I play the Ukulele, so I'm constantly chipping manicures on the strings.  Add to that housework & gardening, and well, you get the picture I'm sure.

In the run up to Christmas my nails were pretty woeful.  I tried to keep them nice, but ended up having to cut them all right down just to make them look passable.

In the knowledge that I would be visiting my mother in law & grandmother in law over the festive season, both of whom have beautiful, long, manicured, natural nails, I decided to treat myself.

I popped into the Nails Inc bar at my local House of Fraser, and plumped for a 3 week manicure.  This entails having layers of Biosculpture Gel built up on the nails, which are then set under UV light.  The claim is that this manicure should last 3 weeks.  Now, I am not normally able to splash out on manicures, and at £55 this was extremely expensive.  I viewed it as a Christmas present to myself.

I had the manicure done on 9th December, the hope being that it would see me through Christmas.

Here are my nails on Day 1:

You can't really tell from the photo, but the gel does build up into quite a thick layer.   I could see clearly that there was a thick layer on top of my own nails.  However, this doesn't really detract from the overall appearance - other people don't inspect your nails closely enough to notice this sort of thing.

Over the next 3 weeks I lived life as normal - working, peeling potatoes, grating cheese, playing my Uke, and generally treating my nails as if there were no manicure there.

It was brilliant!  No chipping, and only marginal loss of gloss with a few scratches.  I could probably have popped a layer of topcoat on to combat this should have I been minded to.

By 1st January, a little over 3 weeks later, my nails looked like this:

You can see clearly how much my nails have grown in this time - there is a large 'moon' between my nail bed & the edge of the manicure.  Noone noticed this until I pointed it out to them.  The colour had held up brilliantly - and still looked glossy.

Should I  have plumped for another 3 week manicure (at another £55), removal of the gel would have been free of charge.  Without another manicure, removal costs £30 at Nails Inc.  After spending so much on the original manicure, and being broke after Christmas, there was no way I could afford this.

I had asked the manicurist about home removal, and she told me to soak cotton wool in acetone nail varnish remover, and wrap this around the nail with baking foil, and let it soak in.  I did this...for ages...it took me almost the whole of 'Treasure Island' part 1 with (with Eddie Izzard) to get the gels off.  The edges peeled up pretty easily, but the centre was more difficult.

After removal, this is what my nails looked like:

I'm uncertain whether that is little bits of gel left on my nails, or damage to my nail from removal of the gel.  I'm pleased with the shape & length of the nails,which felt very strong, with no tendency for breaking, so I think it's probably mainly bits of gel I haven't been able to get off.  It's now a few days after this and I've painted my nails myself.  They remain strong with no splitting, so no complains from me:

Pros:

• nice colour choices
• great glossy finish
• chip-free Manicure for 3 weeks even with 'heavy use' of hands
• my nails grew nicely under the manicure without breaking

Cons:

• Price - £55 is too much for me to shell out on anything but a special occasion.
• home removal is a bit of a palaver and again price prevents salon removal for me.
• after 3 weeks your nail regrowth is obvious.
• you are committing to one particular colour for 3 weeks. Not so great if you like to change it up!

Overall, I would have this done again, particularly were I going on holiday and wanted a manicure that would last.  I personally can't afford to spend £55 even on a monthly basis (or 3 monthly for that matter!), but you can find biosculpture gel manicures from people other than Nails Inc for considerably less - I've since discovered a friend of mine uses a local lass who charges £30.  I'll be hunting her down come holiday season!


UPDATE: 3 weeks on, I can definately see that there has been some damage to my nails.  They are weak in places & prone to breaking, But, keeping them manicured has helped considerably & it wouldnt put me off having this done again for a holiday or special occasion.  I do wonder whether, had I had 'professional' removal of the gels, the damage would have been less.  However, I still wouldn't be willing to pay the extra £30 for removal!

Welcome to 2012!

Welcome to the first of (I hope) many posts of 2012! 

I hope you had wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations.  I spent the festive period with my beloved and our respective families.  Both Mr G & I were under the weather, as is our annual custom, but we managed to have a wonderful time.  Although cooking Christmas lunch did send me over the edge a little....



Mr G & I also celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary, so congratulations to us!

I must confess, I'm not much of a one for New Years resolutions.  I get very 'bah-humbug' when people tell me they are categorically never again going to *drink wine/eat chocolate/go out with that bloke again/go up another clothes size.  *delete as appropriate

However, it has occurred to me that my adverse reaction to resolutions may just possibly have to do with my tendency towards procrastination.  Don't make any resolutions, don't have to actually do anything about keeping them.  You see my logic, I'm sure...

So, here are a few things I would like to achieve.  There's 10 of them, coz it seems like a nice number. Some of them are purely selfish, some hopefully not so much.  2012 seems as good a time as any to start doing them:

• I will be continuing to persue dressing in a way that pleases me, makes me feel like a woman (which I am, gosh darn it!) & expresses my personality.

• In the spirit of the above, I shall also be looking to add a repertoir of 'things to do with my hair' to my everyday look.  I have long hair that, to be honest, I don't do much with.  Practise makes perfect.

• I will do more exercise.  You will note that I haven't said I will lose weight.  Frankly, I don't like the latter as a goal.  When a teenager I was obsessed with my weight to the point of danger.  Therefore I refuse to obsess about it again in the interests of my health.  Regular exercise however, is something we should all be doing.  It's good for our hearts, our minds, and our appearance.  My regime over the last year has been erratic at best.





• I will get more sewing done & learn to knit.  I've made a couple of lovely items over the last year since I started sewing properly.  My aim is to set aside one evening a week as a 'crafts' evening.  I get enormous pleasure from creating new garments and learning new skills.  For Christmas Mr G bought me some books on knitting including some lovely vintage knitting patterns for modern knitters.  I'm really looking forward to sharing my creations with you.

• I will sort out my vegetable patch & grow some decent veg this year!  'Nuff said.

• I will not take my old friends for granted.  Some of the people who know me best see me the least.  This is really a great shame and is something it's so easy to change!

• I will set aside 'special' time to spend with my old Ma & Pa.  Who live really locally yet whose house I seem to hardly ever visit as they always come to me.



• I will pay my VAT & NI on time.  It's so easy to set aside a little bit of money each month, and yet I'm properly rubbish at doing it.  My poor accountant barely has any hair left.

• I will finish reading through the Bible.  A lot of people have told me a lot of different things about what the Bible says & means. Quite frankly it all got quite confusing. I decided it was probably better to read it for myself so 3 years ago I bought a 'read through the Bible in one year' reading plan.  I got stuck somewhere around Jeremiah....

• I will strive to be a better Wife & continue to fall in love with the wonderfulness that is my husband as we embark on our 9th year together.  I can't wait to grow with Mr G and continue to find out more about the man who asked me to be his wife 10 years ago.



Say Yes!

Following on from my last post, I thought I'd put in a very little post about the wonders of social networking and what can come from it.

I'm sure you have heard about Cointreau Privé .  If you haven't they are a series of themed salons, designed by Dita Von Teese for Cointreau.  The salons are opened sequentially in a series of cities around the world, with the London one having been opened by Dita herself on 29th November.  It was open for just 3 weeks, with limited tickets being made available.

Directly because of meeting my online friends in the flesh at 'Dirndlfest 2011' (see my previous post),  I was invited to attend a private cocktail party at Cointreau Privé London, hosted by the lovely Dita von Teese herself.  I shall say little about the actual event, other than to say it was a thoroughly lovely evening in truly fantastic company with fun and cocktails had by all.  The important point is that, without the wonders of social networking, and without saying 'Yes!' to meeting up with my wonderful online friends, I would never have had the opportunity to attend such an event.  What do you think might happen to you in the next year if you say 'Yes?'