SANDS memorial garden in Totnes

As you may know I have been up to a lot of cool stuff and one of those things is helping out with the building of a memorial garden (although I can't say I did a lot of building.) The memorial garden is being built and planned by an organisation called Participate arts (http://participatearts.org.uk/) and they are working in conjunction with an organisation called SANDS (Stillbirth and neonatal death society) and this garden will be a space for bereaved families to remember the children that they may have lost.

My job was mainly to help them get sponsors so that they could build the garden and to make sure that it would be an amazing place for people to visit. I also helped them with some of their social media and the website (like not that much but it counts right?)

It was an amazing experience to be a part (no matter how small) of such an amazing thing. I learnt a lot about how tough it actually is getting sponsors and I have a new respect for all Non-profit organisations. I also assisted in creating moulds for some of the tiles that will be going into the garden. These tiles were made by some of the bereaved families and it was amazing to see how the messages and designs on the tiles were so personal to each family.

This is my work space while I was busy helping with looking for sponsors.

The clay moulds that would be turned into stone for the garden.

Me preparing the tiles so that the moulding stuff could be poured in. 

my hands.

me doing stuff, well, my hands again really.

The clay ready to have the moulding stuff poured in.

sneakily got my feet in there.

peeling off the mould.

Mixing up the stone for the tiles. 

 A look at how the tiles are made and how they will end up. 

I know this post is way overdue but better late than never right?

That's all, Bye! :) x

Film Fridays: Frozen

Seeing as I want to go into the film industry, like with all my existence. I thought it would be good for me to start reviewing movies for fun because, that's what people do nowadays: they do/see/listen to/eat something, and then they immediately have to have an opinion about it, and no surprise, I am one of those.

I know it is a bit late but I recently watched Frozen and can I just say: so many feels! Literally my emotions were not under my control during that movie and I felt like my spirit was in the characters and I could feel all that they felt. I died so many times, and was reincarnated so many times only to die again and at the end I was resurrected.

I have always loved animated films and frozen was like everything that I have ever wanted in a movie and can I just say that the music pieces......  who? What? And how? I always have the soundtrack stuck in my head and it is kind of like the sound track of my life, well my life isn't that eventful and fairy tale like but a girl can dream right. Like they say if you want to be it dream it (this has nothing to do with anything but, okay??)

I give frozen 4/5 because it is possibly one of the most amazing animated films I have seen, but it is not quite The Lion King(nothing can ever compare to The Lion King). Also, Olaf is everything I have been looking for in a snowman friend. Like he is just the coolest dude there ever was and I strive to one day be as cool (please laugh) as he is.

If you haven't yet watched it, you best be watching it at this current instant because you need to and it will enrich your life And yeah. And you should also know that "the cold never bothered me anyway" (a part of me knew that quoting the movie would not in anyway enhance this post but I had to because that is just how I do things)

That's all, Bye! :)

CappuDays #3

On Friday morning, I went for a little swim at the local gym and it was really nice. Although we spent most of the time in the Sauna and in the steam room, I can say that I felt quite accomplished afterwards. After our swim we went into Totnes (a town in Devon, in England, in the UK, in Europe, in the world, in the.... you get the point.)

We went to a place called The Tangerine Tree (English people seem to think that it is called a tangerine when in actual fact its a naartjie.) It is a small restaurant on the high street of Totnes and has the coolest wallpaper imaginable (Spoiler alert, it is a map of the town.)  

So here it is CappuDays 3: The Tangerine Tree.

My extremely horrific picture of the interior.

There was a really cool couch area just below the tangerine tree sign.

I need this wallpaper in my life, except it must be a map of all the places that I have been to.

And obviously, me drinking my cappuccino. 

Rating (/10)

Decor: 7
Cappuccino:7
Bathroom (contrary to popular belief, they're very important):I din't see the bathroom so I'm gonna say 10
Service: 8 (I have come to notice that a lot of places in the UK are self service places, so I'll judge based on how polite the waiters were.)
Overall vibe: 7.5
WiFi: 0 (how depressing?)

I also had some yummy breakfast and I must say I am really impressed with the quality of bread here in England. And I love bread so, yeah it has made quite a great impression on me. 

That's all, Bye! :)

Cappu Days #2

So this post is a bit late and it will result in me having to post several posts straight after each other so that I can post all my cuppa days before they start stacking up. For the second cuppa days I went to a place in Totnes called china blue. It is a pottery place that has a small coffee shop attached to it. Basically people go there to buy and or paint china and enjoy a good cup of coffee.

I have a new rating system for cuppa days which I will introduce in this post because.... Because why not?

So here it is cuppu days 2: China blue (oh my soul it rhymes)

First off, the most amazing bathroom that there ever was. This is literally the only bathroom that it is ok to take a bathroom selfie in.

Some of the decor. I wish that I had taken some more pictures of it because there was some amazing artwork and a whole lot of signs on the walls. 

A half empty cup of Cuppuccino which was amazing and a pamflet, because why not?

And obviously, me drinking my Cappuccino. 

Rating (/10)

Decor: 8.5
Cappuccino:9
Bathroom (contrary to popular belief, they're very important):10 (possibly one of the most amazing bathrooms I have seen in a restaurant.)
Service: 8 (it is self service but the waiters were quite nice.)
Overall vibe: 9
WiFi: 9

Because of the excellent WiFi I was able to get some work done and by work I mean browsing the internet for endless hours. So yeah, that is a little thing about china blue that I have written for you and I am now going to say (you guessed it) toddle doo! I don't know what has happened to me.

That's all, Bye! :)

Craving to be cultured: HMS pinafore

So as you may or may not know, one of my resolutions for this year is to become extremely cultured and this is the first of many experiences which I will label as "cultured".

On Friday night we (me and my English family) went to watch a play by Gilbert and Sullivan (Google it) called HMS pinafore and despite it being an extremely cultured experience (theatres are always cultured) it was hilariously funny (deliberate tautology)  and possibly some of the most amazing theatre acting I have seen I my life.

The cast was all male and it was refreshing to see how some of the female roles were portrayed by some of the men. And can I ask, do we really wave our hands and stroke our hair that much? But they were exquisite and the main female role (which was played by a man) literally had me in a sense of disbelief and awe. He had the most incredible falsetto voice that I have heard on anyone let alone a man.

The transformation of the males into female characters was done with nothing but minimal props and a change in a manner of speaking and movement and nothing more. I could go on forever about how incredible this play was but I think you actually have to see it I order to understand.

If theatre is not really your thing then I can assure you that the eye candy would be enough to keep anyone interested (even some of the fellas out there). I mean some of those guys men (I can assure you they were men) looked like they were carved by Michelangelo, if after he died became an angel and carved their bodies out of gold clay, fairy dust and unicorn tears.

So it was overall an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone and I can safely say that I am one step closer to being more cultured, and boy was it an amazing step.

That's all, Bye! :)

How very English of you

So, as I mentioned, I am in the UK and it is crazy amazing but also insanely cold which means it is the perfect weather for drinking bucket loads of tea and what not. There are certain (what's the right word?) nuances that I have noticed in the world of England and the British. Some of them are quite quirky, others are great and others are just plain weird. This is just a list of the main differences that I have noticed between South Africa and the UK.

1. British people are extremely polite.

I know that usually this is seen as a stereotype, but they really are very polite. And even when they try to come across as rude, you can just tell that it is against their nature to be rude or mean. They are extremely skilled at saying thank you and at apologizing, even when they do not need to. But I guess it is a good thing, except for the fact that for a while I thought that they were just being sarcastic.

2. They all drink so much tea

I really can't complain about this one because i love tea so it is the greatest thing to walk into someones house and to be certain that they will serve you a cup of tea.

3. They Greet Weirdly

The English have a weird habit of saying "you Alright?" instead of "how are you" and the customary reply is "yeah" nothing more, nothing less. This is weird for me because I am used to people asking me how I am am and then I would say something like "Good and you?" and they would reply with information about how they were. Now I just look like an ass because my daily dialogue with people here sort of ends up like this:

Person: You Alright?

Me: I'm good thanks, and you?

Person: Yeah.

*insert a million confused faces because what just happened?*

4. English people never introduce themselves

It just makes things awkward for everyone.

5. the weather is really strange.

DO they even have seasons in the UK? Because it sure feels like they don't. It is spring currently but it is literally so cold, and everyone's like, "what, it's so warm the sun's just come out for a minute and even though it's gone back behind the clouds, it's still warm isn't it?"

There are plenty of other things that are very different about the English, their world and their culture but These are the ones that jumped out at me. 

I'm gonna go and drink some tea, because I have to do things like that now. :)

That's all, Bye! :)