Tuesday 31 July 2018

Festivals for Free - Standon Calling

I'm exhausted but happy after an awesome weekend at Standon Calling Festival. I got to go for free in return for volunteering, doing 3 stints totalling 16(ish) hours selling programmes. 

Being local did mean that I wimped out and slept at home Friday - just before a storm hit!) instead of in the tent, but only cos I needed respite from the 33 C heat (and it was nice to use a proper toilet. I won't go into details!). Then Sunday I nipped back to change shorts for leggings to prevent frostbite and rust!

We didn't see Paloma Faith on Friday night after a busy and very hot 4 hour shift knackered us out  but we apparently didn't miss much - she allegedly mimed all but three songs. Which kind of defeats the objective of going to see someone perform live...

George Ezra was brilliant on Saturday
Standing there in the crowd of all ages, I felt that calm, happy peace that good music can bring. Yes it may sound hippyish, but there's a lot to be said for feeling happy (no drugs involved!).
night - local boy (Hertford) done good!

Sunday was fabulous if wet. Yeah, thanks everyone who had been praying for rain - we curse you! After striking camp and taking everything home, Hev had the forethought to bring back the chairs. And changed into entirely inappropriate clothing - shorts & flip flops. Senior moment... (Sorry Hev!)

Music-wise, Marmozets blew everyone away (saw them support Muse in Brighton on the Psycho Tour); The Horrors were cool as ****, then the ultimate in cool, Bryan Ferry finished off the weekend with more hits than I thought I knew, such as Slave to Love, Avalon, Lets Stick Together and the heart breaking Jealous Guy.
Thank God I booked today off work to recover!
Despite it's best efforts, Sunday's rain failed to remove my glitter.

Bryan Ferry. He may be in his 70s, but I still would.

Friday 27 July 2018

Book Review: Five Unforgivable Things by Vivien Brown


I am pleased to review Vivien Brown's second novel, Five Unforgivable Things. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, HarperImpulse for the review copy.

You can buy your copy here (other retailers are available!).

The Blurb
Almost thirty years ago, Kate’s dream came true. After years of struggling, she was finally pregnant following pioneering IVF. But the dream came at a cost. Neither Kate nor her husband Dan could have known the price they would have to pay to fulfil their cherished wish of having their own family.
Now, years later, their daughter Natalie is getting married and is fulfilling her own dream of marrying her childhood sweetheart. Natalie knows she won’t be like most brides as she travels down the aisle in her wheelchair, but it’s the fact her father won’t be there to walk beside her that breaks her heart.
Her siblings, Ollie, Beth and Jenny, gather around Natalie, but it isn’t just their father who is missing from their lives… as the secrets that have fractured the family rise to the surface, can they learn to forgive each other before it’s too late?
My Review
Having read the author's first novel, Lily Alone (which, incidently, is a great debut), I jumped at the chance to review Five Unforgivable Things.

The story is told from Kate's point of view, going back to the early days of her marriage to Dan, and then the present day in third person as we go through the preparations for Natalie's wedding, supported by her siblings. 

Throughout the book we learn of the secrets which have had devastating effects on the family. It is very emotive and heartbreaking in parts, as we learn of Kate and Dan's struggle to have a family through IVF back when it was in its infancy. 

The relationship between all four siblings is lovely - they are very close and protective of each other. But there are secrets even between them. 

I love the way Vivien Brown has written the characters. Kate grows from a timid kitten, unsure of herself, into a tiger, fiercely protective of her children.Natalie is not defined by her wheelchair. She is a lovely, warm character without any bitterness, and a determination to succeed in whatever she does - just like any other strong woman. In fact, brother Ollie is perhaps the most fragile of them all.

Five Unforgivable Things is a heartbreaking but ultimately heartwarming tale of secrets and forgiveness, and love and family. I loved it.

About the Author
Vivien Brown lives in Uxbridge, Middlesex, with her husband and two cats. For most of her life she has immersed herself in words - as an avid reader, writer, poet, library outreach worker, storyteller, gifter of Bookstart packs to babies and toddlers, creative writing tutor and crossword fanatic. She enjoys dipping into dictionaries and exploring the meaning of words, and watching and/or taking part in TV quiz shows. In the evenings she loves nothing more than losing herself in a good book, a compelling TV drama or her regular supply of women's magazine short stories - which all help to provide inspiration and ideas for her own fiction. 'Lily Alone' is her debut novel, with 'Five Unforgivable Things' being published on 26 July 2018 by HarperImpulse.