Week 9 Book 11 – Swimming Home (Mary-Rose Maccoll)

Louisa Quick is a career focused Surgeon who has fought extensively for women’s rights and worked past many prejudices to build the success of her East London clinic.

Her brother Harry, also a doctor, suddenly looses his life and here is where our story begins. Having already lost his wife previously, Louisa’s niece Catherine is now an orphan and is living on an island off Australia where she has been raised. She is uprooted from the island and forced to live under Louisa’s care where she is to partake in the education her aunt deems suitable.

However Catherine isn’t like Louisa. She has been raised by islanders and is used to feeling free and doing her favourite thing, swimming, as and when she pleases. This creates an interesting clash between aunt and niece and especially so when Catherine’s swimming gets her into trouble at school. There seems no resolution where both can be happy – until Mr Black arrives on the scene, with an attractive proposition.

Black is known in the British media as the ‘crazy American’ who is publicising his enthusiasm for travelling by aeroplane. He has big ideas, and two of which include Louisa and Catherine moving to America to follow both their passions. Medicine and swimming.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and as the events in America pan out there are a few shocking and unexpected twists, which I shall not reveal but certainly kept me enthralled. Maccoll’s writing is beautiful and she uses lots of sensual imagery which take you right there, from the island Catherine grew up in to the hustle and bustle of New York City.

The book is set in 1925 – I particularly adore this era. It was refreshing to read about strong-minded and forward thinking women, with a strong reference to the women’s right movement. It was especially interesting to read about the organic beginnings of women’s competitive swimming and the scrutiny from the press they endured. It seemed to be that the initial interests were based around the amount of flesh on show, something that surprisingly enough wasn’t discussed about their male counterparts. An issue that I feel is still present in women’s sport today.

 

Week 8 Book 10 – Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (J.K.Rowling)

Whenever I am feeling ill, or down I always seek comfort by stepping into the world of Hogwarts and magic in the Harry Potter series. The books have played such an integral part in my childhood – I feel as though I grew up with Harry Ron and Hermione and in times of trouble they have always provided me with hope.

Hermione is a character whom I immediately related to, I’ve always been a book lover so we had something in common straight away. She also likes to work hard in school and is a bit of a know-it-all, which can be one of my worst traits. Her fierce determination towards schoolwork enabled me to indulge in being a geek, and feel it was ok. That being the most popular  doesn’t matter and that it’s perfectly fine to prefer to read than shop!

This book sets the scene for the whole series and is a great introduction. Its our first glimpse into J K Rowling’s magical world and although it is the least detailed of all the books I quite like this and how we learn more and more as the series goes on.

I remember first reading this book on holiday when I was 10 years old. It was the summer in between year 5 and year 6, 1999. It completely consumed me and I remember not wanting to do anything but read this book, there was one day on the holiday when it poured with rain and I felt full relief that I could read my book in peace inside.

From that point onwards I was completely hooked and an instant Potterhead.

I would have to say that my favourite aspect of the first book is the beginnings of the friendship between Ron, Harry, Hermione and of course the reader.

Becoming a Better Consumer

Sustainable and ethical fashion and beauty has been something that I have been interested in for a very long time. For the past 3 years I have been making a conscious effort to only purchase skin care, make up and beauty products that are cruelty free as much as I possibly can. Ethical and sustainable fashion is a new interest of mine and something that I have wanted to learn more about for the past 6 months. In the past I have had very unhealthy shopping habits, from paying crazy amounts for the latest designer gear to grabbing the cheapest possible disposable fashion of the moment. Neither have ever satisfied me or felt comfortable.

I would describe my current style as a mix between bohemian 70’s inspired patterns with classical, timeless pieces. Therefore making a switch to having a sustainable and ethical wardrobe should be relatively easy. Now I’m not planning on throwing my whole wardrobe of clothes away and starting from scratch – that would be completely bonkers and in no way ethical. I have decided that going forward every fashion or beauty purchase I make should be well thought out, researched and as ethical as possible.

The first thing I have done to help me is organised and sorted through my wardrobes and clothes, this has helped me to see exactly all the clothes I have – rediscover some pieces not warn in a while and what I need, if I actually need anything!

 

I have also had a tidy out of my makeup and skin care, again this has provided me with some clarity of what I have and what is close to running out or even out of date!!

I’ve had some serious problems in the past with my skin care and cosmetic spending. Since school I have had many issues with my confidence regarding my skin and I’m constantly looking for a quick fix product that will get rid of every single black head (my problem area – big pores) and when it doesn’t I just toss it aside and look for the next product. I am ashamed to think about how much I have wasted on skincare over the years. After taking a pay cut last September in order to get some school experience to fulfil my dream career, I no longer had the extra expense to fork out for all this skincare. So I decided to use everything I have up, and I’m slowly getting there!

So now I’m all organised and I’ve done my research I have decided upon some ground rule of which to apply when I am making a new purchase.

Fashion

Firstly I need to ensure there is a genuine gap in my collection before I make any more purchases. Quite often if I have an event or night out planned my initial thoughts are ‘I need a new outfit’, but do I really need a new outfit? Is there anything in my wardrobe I haven’t worn in a while that will suffice? I can guarantee the answer will be yes! I quite often panic that people will recognise my outfit from a previous night out, but I just need to adjust my attitude not to care or view this as a chance to explain and promote sustainable and ethical fashion 🙂

Ok so say there is a gap, I can’t mend or adapt anything and I do need to make a clothing purchase, my first port of call will be to buy vintage or second-hand as I believe this to be the most sustainable way. I’m extremely fortunate that firstly there is brilliant vintage shop a few doors up from my home, and Manchester (where I currently work) is a well-known vintage clothing hub. Buying vintage is a completely new thing to me but I’m very excited to start this journey.

Now I know that some items I will not want to buy vintage and I will want to buy new in order to ensure they last and fit correctly. For these items I will do my research (mainly online) and source out the best ethical brand possible for the piece that I require that fits in my budget.

Unfortunately, saving for a wedding, new kitchen and being a student again next year means my budget is lower than I would like! So for some items, such as tights, I cannot afford or justify the price of the ethical brands. In cases like this I shall again do my research and support companies and high street shops that either produce locally in Britain , have ethical morals and a ‘give back’ attitude supporting charities or are sold in local boutiques. I’m a huge supporter of shopping local.

If I fail to find companies, brands or boutiques that fit into either of these categories then I will ensure that I invest in statement pieces of the highest quality I can afford to ensure that I get maximum wear out of the item.

Beauty

The rules for skin care and make-up should be a lot easier. Firstly all products must be cruelty free, that is a must!! For skincare and make-up I would like to ensure that the products are as organic and natural as possible, this is something I need to research further. There are also many companies such as the body shop who promote fair trade, again this is something I need to explore.

I have also been investigating the process behind homemade beauty products and when I have spent some time learning all there is to know about natural beauty I do aim to have a dabble in this, providing it suits my skin type.

I am going to blog about each of my purchases to ensure that I share my journey with those who may possibly want to start their own – wish me luck 🙂

B xxx