It’s my B-Day V-Day!

V-Day = VLOG-day: In other words, I’ve littered the Youtubes with more rubbish and put out another video.

This one has a special focus as today is my birthday (B-Day!), which I share with Steve of SteveSays. And I’m really bad at sharing anything, so he should feel honoured. 😉

Anyway, we thought it would be fun to send each other gifts (which had to meet certain rules) and unwrap them ‘live’ on camera! So, if you can manage to sit through ten minutes of my nonsense, you’ll find out what I received…and if you want to find out what I sent Steve, click THIS LINK and check out his blog!

Ready to press play? I even sing for your pleasure…

Wednesday Lensday: Medieval Meanderings

A couple of weekends ago, we decided to visit the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Not only is it a fabulous, free museum packed full of weaponry and armour dating back from Anglo-Saxon times to modern day, but it is situated down by the river, which allows for some nice photography.

Aloada Childhood Nostalgia 4: The Toy Story

I know I’m getting older, as we all are, but always considered my age bracket to fall into the ‘retro’ category, rather than ‘vintage’. That was until last week when we visited the Vintage Tea Shop, full to the brim of mismatched 1950s china tea sets, frilly aprons and vinyl records from days gone by.

Oh, and Pacman set up to play on a black and white portable TV, alongside a stack of these fellows for children Haylee to play with…my drawing skills have not improved with age!

The Etch-A Sketch used to be a staple in my creative arsenal, despite generally only being able to achieve a dodgy house shape.

I’m sure most children these days would look at them with utter bemusement, wondering why these ‘old-fashioned tablets’ didn’t have sound, or colour…or access to YouTube! But as one of these was a huge part of my childhood, and with the Moodle Army theme this week being ‘Look Back’, I thought it was time for another edition of Nostalgia with a visit to my toy box.

(Hmmm, I realise this sounds like a euphemism, don’t get unnecessarily perturbed…)

Wednesday Lensday: Looking back at 2016 snaps!

It is Wednesday, right? I get ever so confused when I’m not at work and it’s this in-between holiday period!

As was lucky enough to get a new camera for Christmas (a Sony CyberShot),  I thought I’d look back over some of my favourite photos I’ve taken in the last year with my iPhone… although I’m sure they won’t be the last ones I’ll take with it, it’s so flippin’ convenient!

I’ve wanted a new ‘point and shoot’ device for a while (much to Sam’s dismay) because I’ve just never really got on with the DSLR, admittedly being too lazy to master the controls and finding it too cumbersome for my little fingers. Yet, as much as I love using my iPhone (and I’m happy with the results), there are just some things you can’t do with it, so hoping my new present will bridge the gap.

Many of these snaps you’ll have seen, although some were Instagram only entries. All were taken this year and each one I hope you enjoy looking at again. They’ve certainly helped to remind me that there have been some good parts to a pretty awful year for most. Keep smiling and stay positive everyone. 🙂

Wednesday Lensday: Poppies and Propellers

A repost from last year, but I feel it’s more important than ever to remember those that fought for our freedom, soldiers from all races, nationalities, religions and backgrounds, in a battle against hatred.

So here, again, is my small tribute to those who have protected and fallen, a commemoration of Remembrance Day, Armistice Day and Veterans’ Day being observed by many nations around the world today, on November 11th.

Lest we forget…Love Wins.

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Close to my home is an old airfield, Lissett, which during World War II was the home to RAF 158 Squadron, Bomber Command. It is now the site of a windfarm, where each of the turbines is named after one of the 11 aircraft that flew from the base as a memorial to the airmen lost.

Outside the entrance stands a metal sculpture, designed by local artist, Peter Naylor, which depicts a team of airmen emerging from the mist. The sculpture is inscribed with the 851 names of people who lost their lives on active service from Lissett airfield and stands as the only Bomber Command memorial in the UK.