Lou’s Mars Bar Cake

My lovely friend Lou was a massive help when it came to closing down the shop. She came in every few days arms with sweet treats and emotional support to get me through even the worst days. She even came in when she felt poorly and run down as she didn’t want to let me down! I wanted to do something special for her as a big thank you. One of her fondest memories as a child was visiting her grandmas on a Sunday for tea. It always consisted of tinned salmon sandwiches followed by the most delicious and moist … Continue reading “Lou’s Mars Bar Cake”

He who must not be named

Ive got this friend, who has a little bit of a problem…. And she doesnt like to talk about it. She has a rat! Having read one too many Harry Potter novels she knows that referring to it as ‘He who must not be named’ will only exasperate her fear in this creature, and as Voldemort has already been taken she has affectionately named him Brian. Over the weeks Brian has inherited a personality. Brian is a social creature, with intellectual friends who like nothing more than calling round for an evening of fine dining on cheese and red wine, but … Continue reading “He who must not be named”

Suicide awareness month

This month is suicide awareness month. A month for opening up and talking about mental health. A month for letting those who are scared and lonely know that they are not alone and that there are people that can help. A month to not sweep this epidemic under the carpet. Every other post on my Facebook feed has been telling people that there is help out there and they are not alone. I have seen the Samaritans number so many times in just one week that I know it off by heart, and I think its great we are sharing … Continue reading “Suicide awareness month”

A little bit of Christmas spirit

Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a fan of Christmas. You could say I’m a bit of a bar humbug. There are plenty of reasons I hate Christmas, maybe one day I’ll write them all down, but my biggest bug bear of Christmas is the pressure of making that one day perfect. I’ve been very lucky that for the past 10 years I have been able to hide behind my work and blame the shop for the lack of Xmas spirit. It always started way too early in the shop. I’d spend every weekend in December running workshops, mossing … Continue reading “A little bit of Christmas spirit”

Its all shits and giggles

After 14 days of working round the clock to clean out the premises I was down to the last few days before handing my beloved shop back to the landlords. The business is gone. All thats left is just the shell of what used to be. My husband offers to take a couple of days off work to help me get it all finished. After the first day of his help I was so shattered when I got home I passed out for 2 hours on the sofa. When I finally woke up the last thing I wanted to think … Continue reading “Its all shits and giggles”

An early Thanksgiving

So my business is closed. I hand the keys back to the landlord on Saturday and I hate it. My shop has been my baby for nearly ten years. I’ve had 10 days of hard graft getting the place gutted. Trying to sell and clean out everything that’s not pinned down. Last Friday I had a proper melt down. The fight had gone, the pains were sky high and I just couldn’t paint the smile on another second. I got to the shop early and all I could see was the mountains of what still needed doing, rather than how … Continue reading “An early Thanksgiving”