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Sunday 28 July 2013

More Bakelite finds


I have been very lucky on eBay recently and snagged not one but four Bakelite bangles at amazing prices!

The first set of 3 bangles were not listed as Bakelite but as 3 green stone bangle set from 1980s. From the picture they looked like marbled 'Green Spinach' bakelite and so I made a seller and offer which they accepted. When the bangles arrived I knew my hunch was correct and when I tested them they showed as positive. 3 bangles for under £7, that is a bargain!

My next purchase on eBay was a carved bangle featuring concentric circles in 'Apple Juice' that had been Simichrome tested but did not state that it was bakelite. The bidding started under a tender and I decided to bid and I won!
When I got the bangle I did my own test by placing the bangle under hot water and giving it a sniff and was satisfied by the smell of formyldehyde coming from the bangle.
Some Internet searching has found a similar bangle but in 'Butterscotch' for sale at $85!

My four new bangles to add to my collection!

Thursday 25 July 2013

A dog gone year!

Can not believe it has been a year since little Keijo (Kay-o) the Finnish Lapphund has come in to our lives!

Having a dog really has changed our lives and I can't remember a time with out him now.
On the day we picked him up.

So small!

   Growing bigger!
Such a comedian!
Hello handsome!

He even likes it when I drum.

We have had many ups and down with him, which I think is typical for most dog owners. He is such a handsome boy but he sure likes to bark, especially when the door bell rings.
Also today we had to take him to the vets because he kept itching his ear. He was given a sedative and the vet found a nasty grass seed that had worked into Keijo's ear canal.
     Nasty!

At least he is ok now.

I love having a dog!








Sunday 21 July 2013

Oh, what a lovely War....and Peace Revival!

I had seen signs all over Kent advertising the War and Peace show, which was once held at the Hop farm near Maidstone but had now changed venues to Folkestone Racecourse but I didn't think about going.

On Monday I visited my Nan with my family and we took her to the sea side town of Hythe.
In the town centre, I found a shop call 'I like that' selling vintage repro clothing. In the window was a beautiful vibrant 50s style red dress with white buttons and I fell in love with it. Unfortunately the shop was closed, however also in their window was posters for the War and Peace show, saying that they would be trading there from Wednesday onwards.
On the way home we drove past the venue to be met with a army encampment! The military tents went on and on and looked massive.

My mind was made up. I had to go to this show and lucky for me it was on for five days so I could go in the week and not miss work.

With my Dad and my boyfriend with me, we went early on Wednesday. The sun was shining so I took my red parasol with me and wore my toadstool tie top by Collectif clothing and my black Alice skirt by Miss Fortune.

The event ticket price was £18.50 which I thought was a bit steep but now I think that the event was worth the price to get in. 

There was so much to see! First we headed towards the vintage area, which was set up with classic cars, replica Spitfires and little tableaux of life in war time in the 1940s.
Just the car for me!




The main arena had displays on all day including military vehicles and tanks and  choreographed battles.

There is a war on you know!

We retreated in to the Vintage marque to get a refreshing (if a little on the expensive side) drink and to watch the vintage fashion show.

Vintage vs Repro!

Love the yellow shoes from Rocket Originals


Love the plum dress by Heyday clothing

Beautiful dragon print on this original vintage dress.


Hair pins are a vintage gals best friend!

During the show there was a demonstration on how to create victory rolls and a leaflet was handed out with a lucky number on it. Who ever had their  number called out would then be whisked off to have a vintage make over and £100 to spend on vintage or repro clothing by Heyday!
My number was 2 away from the number called but the lucky lady who had won was very pleased indeed!
After the fashion show there was music by the wonderful 'Jive Aces' featuring the lovely 'Satin Dollz' from the USA. That show was worth the entry price alone! It was great entertainment.

Lot of Ukulele love!


There was so much going on in the marque that we could have spent the whole time in there but there was shopping to be done so I headed to the vintage stalls. I found the stall holder who has the shop in Hythe and the red dress that had stolen my heart. Needless to say I made a purchase!
In my new H and R of London dress!

Time was ticking on and after a bite to eat we watched more vehicle and tank displays in the main arena before setting off to see the hundreds of living history encampments on display.
Suffice to say we only saw a quarter of the groups there. I think we would have needed a further 3 more hours or more to see it all, there were that many!


I really enjoyed the show and was glad I made the decision to go. The weather was glorious, if a little too hot when trying on dresses.

More photos can be seen on my Rockabilly pagan page on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheRockabillyPagan










Sunday 7 July 2013

3 Wishes and Cornwall camping

Finally I have found time to write up about my time in Cornwall and 3 wishes faerie festival.

Yes it is that time of year again where we pack up Penny the smart car with all our camping equipment and festival gear and set off west to my spiritual home of Cornwall.

As in previous years we headed to stay with family in Plymouth, who took us for a lovely walk around Stover nature reserve on the Thursday.





On Friday morning we had a hearty breakfast before setting off towards the ferry port and then on to Mount Edgecombe for the 3 Wishes Faerie festival!


Unlike last year, where we just went for the one day, I brought tickets for the whole 3 days plus camping as I felt I really missed out last year.


Soon our little camping village was set up and we went around to meet up with friends, some who I had not seen since last years 3 wishes!



The weather was glorious and everyone was in great spirits. In the evening the fire pit was lit and I was gifted the privilege to play two wonderful shaman drums of horse and buffalo by two lovely ladies. I wish there was enough room in the car so I could bring by own drum.

Fireside drumming. Bliss!
(Thanks Bekki for the photo)


Unfortunately Saturday's weather was a bit bleak but that did not stop us from having fun and dong a bit of shopping at the vendor's.


This year there was the wonderful Eartheart bar which served yummy food and also played host to some amazing DJs and musicians. One such was Sika, whose mix of didgeridoo, chanting and electro music had us all in the mood to dance.




The evening was the pirate and mermaid party!

Me and Esther ready to party


 But the rain put a slight dampener on the nights proceedings and some of the acts had to be cancelled as the stage was at an angle so all the rain (which was quite torrential at some points) was going on to the stage.The Dolmen, the main headline act, was not to be put off and after an hour delay they were able to play with the help of a huge net to stop most of the rain. We danced and the rain held off a little and we were awarded a wonderful glimpse of the super moon.




Sunday for me, was the best day. The rain held off and along with a few other of my friends we went for a Sunday Carvery at a local pub. The looks we got from the other patrons was priceless.


I attended a talk by Terry English, a gentleman and creator of wonderful armour as   seen in films Excalibur, Clash of the Titian and Harry Potter.
What a handful!



 I also went on a tree walk and faerie spotting hosted by Laura Daligan, which was very enlightening and enjoyable.The evenings entertainment was 3 Daft Monkeys who put on a great show. We concluded the night by sitting around the fire pit to drum and sing.
Monday morning came and we packed the tent away and said our goodbyes before journeying off to Bodmin Moor and to South Penquite farm for the rest of our holiday.



Smart packing!

After setting up the tent again with (no) help from the Farm cat, we went for a walk around the area around the camp site. 


Our new tent came with a free kitty!



Soon we came upon the standing stone we went to last year and so we retraced our steps from the stones, past the beech trees, the rushing river and the quarry. A short stroll which ended up being about two hours long!

River on our evening stroll





Tuesday saw us going back to Mevagissey to the lovely Lavender Pillow and the pirate shop to purchase some wares and had some pasties down by the harbour. Afterwards we then went on to Truro to see the funky vintage shop we went to last year but unfortunately it didn't have anything that fitted me :-( 


Wednesday was a brighter day and so we decided to go to Tintagel and do our annual coastal walk to Boscastle which we always enjoy and treated ourselves to a cream tea and got the bus back to Tintagel. I brought myself a lovely turquoise ring.

Thursday we packed up the tent and went to see friends near Penzance and stayed the night with them. We also went to see the mermaid chair in Zennor which was something I wanted to do last year but ran out of time.

Friday came and before going home we went to have breakfast down by a lake and then on to Porthleven, a quaint harbor town with a fantastic shop with local creative artisans. I purchased a beautiful fleece skirt and gloves from feeline clothing. Check out their website: http://www.feelineclothing.co.uk/

Soon we were on the road home, which turned out to be a bit of an adventure in itself,  it is amazing what people do instead of just driving in their cars!