Category Archives: Life & Style

Perfect For Summer: The Thumbs Up Roller Wheel | Fun For Children

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fun for kids, roller wheel, rolling wheelFrost loves this roly-poly wheel that is perfect for summer. This inflatable kid-sized Roller Wheel has been designed with roly-poly fun in mind! It’s the perfect size for youngsters to climb through or roll around in and is suitable for use both indoors and out.
Complete with a collection of colourful balls inside that jiggle and bounce around as the wheel rotates, this interactive toy really captures kids’ imaginations. What’s more, because it’s made from durable inflatable plastic, it’s suitable for use both indoors and out – just be sure to use it on the grass if you’re outside to avoid any potential punctures.
As well as being brilliant fun, the Roller Wheel also helps children sharpen skills like coordination, cooperative play, physical strength, visual and auditory stimulation and more. Plus, because it comes with pump that makes inflating it easy, you won’t get out of puff before the playing begins!

 

  • Inflatable Roller Wheel is designed for kids to climb through or roll around in
  • Suitable for use both indoors and out
  • Holds up to 80 pounds (approx 5 stone 7pounds / 36kg)
  • 39 inch inner diameter
  • Do not use on or near public roads
  • Do not use on or near to water

The Thumbs Up Roller Wheel Costs £33.18 from Amazon.co.uk

TAKE FOUR WRITERS: RECOVERING, COMPLETING, REVIEWING, CHARTING

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ANGELA PETCH… RECOVERING

I spent time with my characters on their bench by the sea and they told me the rest of their stories. I’ve 95% finished the first draft of “Mavis and Dot” and very soon the editing slog will start. Beta-readers and illustrator are on board and deadlines are in place with blog tours and an author week arranged for mid-November. I’ve also booked a December 1st launch in Worthing (the location for my book) and contacted Cancer Research for support – (I am donating profits to this organisation, so fingers-crossed I make some.

In the midst of all this planning, I ended up in hospital with a warning. My memory disappeared for a few hours; a stroke or tumour was suspected. However, a brain scan revealed all was well (some would disagree!) I need to slow down. My writing is for fun – anything else is a bonus.

“If you listen to your body when it whispers, you won’t have to hear it scream.”

 

JACKIE BALDWIN… COMPLETING

Hello. This month I finished my line edit and answered all those squirmy plot questions. Things are starting to gather momentum now. I’ve been told that my cover reveal will be happening on the Killer Reads page at 8pm on Sunday 29th April which is exciting! I’ve had a few days off as I wait for the copy-edit to arrive. Once that is finished the book will be in its final form.

Tasting freedom, I’ve been gallivanting in the Lake District and up visiting The Kelpies near Falkirk.

I’ve also started planning my blog tour with Love Books Group. It will start on 15th June when the book is released and last two weeks. I’ll need to prepare guest posts and Q/A’s for that. The day after it ends I’m off to a Greek island to stitch my shredded nerves together with my long suffering husband.


CLAIRE DYER… REVIEWING

So, after the launch and after the blog tour come the reviews!

I’ve long thought that writing is an odd thing to do. You spend a year or two writing a novel, editing it, rewriting it, editing it again, doing copy edits, checking covers, planning the PR and then there’s one glorious day when you hold the book in your hand and think, ‘Crikey, it’s a real thing and it’s going to go out into the world and (hopefully) be read by others.’ It’s a bit like hoping people will like your kids when they leave home and strike out on their own.

And, as much as we don’t like people passing judgement on our children, authors do need reviews of their books. I always do them for novels I’ve enjoyed and it’s a wonderful way to support authors and their publishers. Doing shout-outs on Twitter, popping up a 5* on Amazon and/or Goodreads is a lovely way to show support for the writing community. And, if I didn’t enjoy a book so much, I tend to keep quiet. Not because I don’t believe in freedom of speech, because I do, but because I don’t think giving a negative review is helpful. Reading tastes are so subjective, after all.

I would, however, like to thank all the lovely people who’ve left reviews of ‘The Last Day’ and who’ve messaged me privately to say they’ve enjoyed reading it. These are, naturally, the judgements I do like!

 

LUCY COLEMAN… CHARTING

It’s been a month of celebrating and being grateful for reader power. Amazon is only one of the online market places but it’s a useful measure. An eye-catching cover and a tantalising book blurb are essential, but reviews are a major influencer.

A reader apologised to me recently for the fact that she only writes very short reviews. Always five stars and a simple statement of appreciation. I wish I could have jumped through the monitor to hug her, because EVERY positive review is a blessing.

This month ‘The French Adventure’ soared up the charts and peaked at a dizzying #81 in the overall Amazon UK Kindle chart. Having passed that top 100 magical number before, I always wonder ‘Will the readers take me there again?’

As a reader, never underestimate YOUR power – your voice counts, so let your favourite authors know that and they will keep on writing.

At last, a taste of summer: a wine review by Michael Rowan

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Image courtesy of Michael Rowan

When it comes to wine I have to confess to being something of a traditionalist, reds from autumn to the end of winter and whites for spring and summer. This year the winter has seemed endless, until somewhat unexpectedly, we enjoyed the hottest day in April for some 70 years.

Such hot days call for the crisp green notes that are to be found in a glass of Sauvignon blanc, because what else speaks more of summer than freshly cut grass, Asparagus, Gooseberries and crisp green apples?

With this in mind I did not need any further encouragement to try three Sauvignon Blancs from Villa Maria.

Also as a traditionalist, it will come as no surprise to learn that in my opinion New Zealand, Marlborough has consistently produced some of the best Sauvignon Blancs currently on the market.

Villa Maria Private bin 2017 is a beautifully crisp wine, where juicy acidity is balanced with flavours of melon, passionfruit and ruby grapefruit.

At a RRP of £11.85 this is a bit of a steal and would be perfect with grilled seasonal vegetables or perhaps a mild creamy cheese.

I then tried the Villa Maria, 2017 which is part of the cellar selection and the somewhat modest label belies a wine bursting with aromas of passionfruit, melon, nettles and fresh herbs. The palate is powerful and juicy, displaying vibrant grapefruit notes and has lively yet balanced acidity on the palate.

The RRP for this wine is £13. 85 and I would have no hesitation in taking this to a posh picnic or simply enjoying it with fish and shell fish.

Like children one really shouldn’t have favourites and I would profess to liking each of the wines equally, for their different qualities. However, if I could only take one of these to my desert island I confess that it would have to be the Villa Maria Clifford Bay Reserve 2017.

This is classic Sauvignon Blanc with powerful bouquet of blackcurrants, nettles and grapefruit. Dry and flinty with hints of melon and fresh summer herbs this is a wine to refresh the palate and would match pretty much any food that you might associate with summer.

It has a RRP of £15.95 so maybe best drunk on a desert island, sitting on a beach under blue skies and blazing sun. Best of all you wouldn’t need to share

 

 

 

JANE CABLE VISITS THE KILLING FIELDS

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“Listen – the birds are singing. I’ve missed that.”

She’s right. All through Vietnam there has been hardly any birdsong, but now we’re in Cambodia, at Choeung Ek, the most famous of the hundreds of killing fields, there is.

Perhaps we hear them because our normally ebullient group is stunned into silence as our guide explains the process into our headsets, his tone without emotion. He was a tiny child when this happened. He is only alive today because his father saw what was coming and prepared accordingly. Even so, the family barely managed to keep their heads below the parapet until it was over.

In three years, eight months and twenty days from 17th April 1975 Pol Pot’s regime killed somewhere north of 1.5 million people. No-one was safe, least of all the children of between 10 and 15 years old who were brainwashed into carrying out the killings. The regime figured they would tire of it but couldn’t afford for them to talk. After eight months or so they joined their victims in the mass graves.

At Choeung Ek no-one survived. They were very careful. The victims arrived by  truck, having been told they were being taken from prison to a new life. Shackled and blind-folded they were held in a wooden shelter and taken one at a time to the edge of the graves then hit over the back of the head. Then their throats and wrists were slit. Particularly sadistic killers would use the serrated edges of palm fronds instead of knives. All of this while music blared from speakers hanging in trees to drown out their screams. For children and babies the process was simpler – swing them by the feet and bash their brains out on a tree trunk studded with nails.

Why kill babies too? Simply because the regime believed they were born with their parents’ beliefs. And the regime wanted to restock Cambodia with only the genes of 40,000 carefully chosen party members. Everyone else would die. The population of the country at the time was around 7.5 million.

Had I been born in Cambodia I would have been one of the first to go. I wear glasses, you see. And glasses were a sign of wealth and education. Education was a dangerous commodity. Even 20,000 Cambodians studying at universities abroad were lured back to the country to be part of a brave new world then imprisoned the moment their planes touched the ground. Imprisoned and killed – the same fate as any foreigner who had the mischance to be in the country at the time.

The killing field at Choeung Ek pulls no punches. The memorial at the centre contains shelf after shelf of skulls, many gazing out through the windows over the lumpy ground. Enough graves were excavated to demonstrate the scale of the atrocity and the rest left in peace. But even so as you walk around you spot the odd bone near the path or under a tree. Some of the graves have been fenced in and to these fences are fixed hundreds of friendship bracelets. They also adorn the tree where the children were killed, as far up the trunk as a human arm can reach.

The idea is to tell people, make sure the world knows so that nothing like this can happen again. But in Cambodia children are no longer taught about it in school. Perhaps because some of those associated with old regime have returned to positions of power. What seems inconceivable to us is not to a country which is fundamentally Buddhist – you do not seek revenge, you forgive. Because punishment will be dealt with after this life and is not the preserve of mortals.

While I applaud this approach it worries me that it leaves the country vulnerable. The real safety valve is probably that Cambodia is looking to build its future in large part on tourism so needs to remain an attractive destination. Which recent history aside it most definitely is.

Paisley Shirt by Gail Aldwin

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Flash Fiction is a relatively new but growing phenomena and Gail Aldwin is a master of the craft. Her latest book, ‘Paisley Shirt’ is a fascinating collection of 27 stories that explore many facets of life in the 21st century. They reflect a wide range of emotions and experiences that we may all be familiar with, even if only observed from afar.

The stories may be brief but every word counts, creating vivid images and strong characters with few words. A perfect example is Stone, barely a paragraph but quite perfect in its expression of love. The characters and settings throughout are vividly drawn and the expressive use of language a tell-tale sign of the poet.

If you’re not a lover of poetry then flash fiction may be the perfect alternative for a short but satisfying read. The brevity it offers gives the reader the ability to devour one in spare moments but to be left thinking about them long afterwards.

Paisley Shirt is published by Chapeltown and is available from www.bookdepository.com

 

Gail Aldwin is a prize-winning writer of poetry and short fiction. Chair of the Dorset Writers’ Network, she works with the steering group to support writers across the county. She is a visiting tutor at Arts University Bournemouth and her work can be found online at Ink, Sweat & Tears and Slamchop and in print anthologies including What I Remember (EVB Press, 2015) Dorset Voices (Roving Press, 2012) and The Last Word (Unbound Press, 2012).

The Room by the Lake by Emma Dibdin

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Caitlin never meant to stay so long. But it’s strange how this place warps time. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, it’s easy to forget about the world outside.

It all happened so fast. She was lonely, broke, about to give up. Then she met Jake and he took her to his ‘family’: a close-knit community living by the lake. Each day she says she’ll leave but each night she’s back around their campfire. Staring into the flames. Reciting in chorus that she is nothing without them.

But something inside her won’t let go. A whisper that knows this isn’t right. Knows there is danger lurking in that quiet room down by the lake…

 

Most of us have wanted to do this at one time or another, haven’t we? When life got too stressful and there didn’t seem to be any way you could find a happy ending. So what if we could  pack a bag, buy a ticket to anywhere and disappear until we sorted ourselves out? Caitlin doesn’t just think about it, she acts on it and sets off for New York.

Dibdin gives the reader a sense of the desolation and confusion Caitlin feels after the loss of her mother as she wanders the streets of Manhattan, filling the endless hours, and introduces Jake who takes advantage of her vulnerability and whisks her off to the Lake House to meet his family. Except the reality of his family was not what Caitlin had imagined.

We immediately get a strong sense of Caitlin’s fragile mental state that leads to her making the choices she does – it is all so  plausible, and as we read we are unsettled by a growing unease that all is not as it seems.

A gripping thriller that explores how vulnerable we can all be given the circumstances and how easily it is to fall prey to false appearances.

The Room by the Lake RRP £7.99

 

Emma-dibdin

AUTHOR

Emma Dibdin grew up in Oxford, and now lives in New York. She is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in Esquire, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and Total Film. This is her first novel.

 

Catherine Walker Couture – Two Never-Before-Seen Outfits Added To Diana: Her Fashion Story at Kensington Palace

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From April 26th 2018, visitors to the existing Diana: Her Fashion Story exhibition at Kensington Palace will be able to view eight new outfits, including two by designer CATHERINE WALKER.

The CATHERINE WALKER fashion house designed a number of Princess Diana’s outfits, with the chief designer, Catherine Walker sharing a mutual trust with the People’s Princess over a 16-year period.

After her death in 2010, Catherine Walker’s husband, Said Cyrus, (who co-founded in the company) continued in the capacity of Head Designer and has recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the brand.

Frost Magazine was recently invited to a private viewing at the Spencer family’s London residence, Spencer House, of some of the iconic dresses worn by Diana, that saw her through the pomp and formality of state occasions, along with a number of classic outfits, carrying the Catherine Walker label.

Exhibition images:  Shane Finn at VOUZ! Photography

“To have a piece of clothing made for you is one of the most intimate things you can do, both intellectually and physically. Intellectually, because what you choose to wear says everything about you, so to let someone design a piece of clothing for you is to allow them to tell your story to the world. Physically, because, as you stand semi-naked in front of the mirror, you are exposing yourself, literally. This is why a deep trust is so essential in the relationship between the designer and the client. You must trust that the designer sees you, listens to you and seeks to understand you…”

Kate Reardon

Editor, Tatler magazine

DIANA: HER FASHION STORY exhibition at KENSINGTON PALACE

One of the new outfits being shown at the Diana: Her Fashion Story exhibition at Kensington Palace is the light blue silk Catherine Walker day dress which was worn on an official tour of New Zealand in April 1983.

Also on display is the stunning Catherine Walker black and red evening gown worn to a Pavarotti concert at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Red Cross 125th Birthday Appeal in 1995.

Diana:  Her Fashion Story exhibition will be closed between 16th to 25th April 2018 and will re-open on 26th April 2018, running until 6th January 2019

Kensington Palace

From 26th April (peak)  Adults: £19.50, children: £9.70, concessions: £15.50, members admission: free.

Book online…

Corinne Tuddenham-Finn at VOUZ! Magazine and Frost Magazine

Exhibition imagery:  Shane Finn at VOUZ! Photography

 

 

Amazon Announces Return of Literary Prize, The Kindle UK Storyteller Award

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Winning author to receive £20,000 cash prize and be recognised at central London award ceremony later this year

Amazon UK announces The Kindle Storyteller Award 2018, a literary prize recognising outstanding work by authors, independent of genre around the country. The prize is open to all authors who publish their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk from 1st May 2018 to 31st August 2018.

Readers will play a significant role in the competition with the award shortlist compiled based on a number of factors that measure customer interest in the titles, followed by an esteemed panel of judges made up of book and publishing industry experts who will select the Kindle Storyteller 2018 winner.

The prize will be announced at a central London ceremony in the Autumn, with the winning author awarded a cash prize of £20,000 and a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon.co.uk as well as the opportunity to have their book translated for international sales.

David Leadbeater, the winner of the 2017 UK Kindle Storyteller Award said, ‘Winning the 2017 Storyteller Award has been a dream, and its enabled me to go further in my career than I ever thought possible, taking my readers along with me. When I started publishing independently in 2011, Kindle Direct Publishing changed my life. I can’t wait to see what tales and stories authors come up with for this year’s competition’.

The Kindle Storyteller prize is open to submissions of new English language books from eligible authors and genres, and entries must be submitted using Kindle Direct Publishing. Titles must be previously unpublished, with a minimum of 24 pages in paperback. Readers can access all titles entered into the prize in print or in the Kindle store on any device with the free Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, PC and Mac, and on Kindle e-readers and Fire Tablets.

For the Kindle Storyteller Award, at least five books from all submissions will be selected for the shortlist. The shortlist is ultimately chosen by the readers themselves, as positive reviews are a focal point of the shortlisting process. The judging panel will then select a winner.

The Kindle Storyteller Award 2018 opens for entries on 1st May 2018, and titles must be entered into the KDP Select programme and remain there for the duration of the competition. For further information authors can visit www.amazon.co.uk/storyteller.