Competitions and Reviews

Romeo + Juliet – Are You Mad!

September 12, 2019 by Anne Sweet 4 Comments

Last night I went see the Ballet, Romeo + Juliet at The Birmingham Hippodrome. However, it was not your usual story or ballet though because it was a Matthew Bourne production.

The cover of the program for Matthew Bourne's Romeo+Juliet featuring the two young lovers in an embrace.

It was not the first Matthew Bourne ballet I have seen, I wrote a post on Cinderella last year. It was the familiar(ish) story but set in the 1940s during the war. The Prince was actually a soldier and the ball was an underground venue that was heavily bombed. You’ll have to read my review if you want to know more.

Romeo And Juliet

This reveiw comes with lots of spoilers so be warned. However, it doesn’t matter how much I tell you, it will be nothing like actually seeing the performance!

The Music

The score was Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, one of the most well-known ballet scores. When it was written Prokofiev had a lot of trouble with it as the music was considered un-danceable due to it’s symphonic nature.

Mathew Bourne chose to create his version on a more intimate scale than usually found in traditional ballet. The score was re-created for a smaller chamber ochestra of 15 players. This new version was not a reduction of Prokofiev but a re-imagination of the orchestration.

One of the things my friend and I noticed was that it was not the usual musical perfomance of Romeo and Juliet but it really did work with the dancing.

The Dancing

Which brings me to the dancing. This was a New Adventures Production and includes a young cast from local dancers. It’s definitely more of a modern style of ballet, if you are expecting the twirls and lifts like in the Nutcracker you will be surprised. If you think more along the lines of the dancer in the video for Sia’s ‘Chandelier‘ You’ll be closer to the mark.

The Story

Act One

The ballet begins in the Verona Institute (for the mentally unstable) in the not to distant future. We see the inmates both behaving and mishbehaving and the guards keeping them in order.

Juliet is one of the patients in the institute and she is picked out by one of the guards, Tybalt, and taken away and raped. (this happens behind the scenes but it’s quite obvious what has happened.)

Then we are introduced to Romeo who is brought into the institute by his parents, the Senator and Mrs Montague.

My friend and I were confused as to who where the Montagues and the Capulets but we concluded that the Montagues were represented by Romeo, his Parents and the guards, whereas the Capulets where the patients in the institute. (a bit different, eh!)

The ball is actually a disco set up by Rev. Laurence complete with disco ball. This is the first time we see the patients of the instute in other than plain white clothing. They party all night but the main focus is the meeting of Romeo with Juliet.

After the party there is a really romantice dance seen with just Romeo and Juliet. I found this pretty emotional, beautiful and amazing. My heart melted and I’m not really a romantic type.

Then Tybalt the guard gets angry because he wants Juliet to himself. He sets about killing Romeo with a gun but during a scuffle, partly off stage, it’s Mercutio that gets shot and killed. Then Romeo retaliates along with the other inmates and strangles Tybalt. End of Act One and a stunned audience.

Act Two

The instute wants to get rid of Romeo so his VIP parents are called in. But they don’t want to take responsibility so write a cheque for them to keep him in. Romeo doesn’t want to leave his precious Juliet so he’s happy to stay.

Meanwhile we see Juliet distressed and feeling suicidal because she believes she has lost her beloved Romeo. She is hiding a knife under her pillow but is thwarted from her suicide attempt by the arrival of a guard to check on her.

When Juliet realises that Romeo is still in the instute The Rev. Laurence arranges for the young lovers to spend the night together, and we believe we are in for another romantic scene.

It starts off romantic but as it gets more heated Juliet has flashbacks to her rape and Romeo is replaced by Tybalt. She grabs her knife and stabs him. It’s only when Romeo is dying that she realises what she has done so she stabs herself. The show ends with the two dying lovers and lots and lots of stage blood.

Final Thoughts.

Matthew Bourne’s ballet is not for everyone, but it’s a truly stunning experience to go and see one. He’s not afraid of expressing a lot of taboo subjects and throwing them straight at you, homosexuality, sex, violence, mental health, rape etc. And it’s all displayed by the form of dance in a captivating perfomance. He takes a traditional story with traditonal music and puts a completely different spin on it all.

I can’t wait to see The Red Shoes next year.

The program comes with a disclaimer.

If youre affected by any of the themes in Matthew Bournes Romeo and Juliet, you may find help and support form the following organistations: Mind at mind.org.uk or call 0300 123 3393. Young Minds at youngminds.org.uk or call 0808 802 5544. Childline at childline.org.uk or call 0800111. For further information and signposting visit Heads Together at headstogether.org.uk.

This is a review because I wanted to record my experience. My friend paid for the tickets.

Shop the Unique, My Pick from the Etsy Design Awards.

August 12, 2019 by Anne Sweet 2 Comments

Etsy Design Awards

The Etsy Design Awards are Etsy’s first-ever global award program. Honoring the work of creatives from around the world, #TheEtsies will highlight the best of Etsy and celebrate the talented people behind the winning products.

Selected from thousands of entries received from around the world, 160 global finalists are in the running for the $15,000 USD Grand Prize or the top prize in one of five categories: Inventive Decor, Signature Style, Festive Celebrations, Earth-Friendly, and Creative Collaborations.

A selection of items that have been selected for the Etsy awards, personalised pictures at the top, in the middle, a girl with a handmade frock, a smiley colourful armchair, a miniature painting of three houses, on the bottom a swall decor with plants, a wedding and engagement ring and some glass straws. — *Some Etsy Design Award Entries*

My Picks from the Awards

Where do I start? There are 160 items to choose from and I don’t envy the judges one bit!

I’m going to pick one from each category and then a few more (Because I’m not a judge and I can.)

Inventive Decor

This was the most difficult to choose from. I loved so many items but I guess the one that stands out the most for me is the Smiley Armchair, Scarlet Love

You have to admit it really does stand out with it’s vibrant colours and patterns. It’s lovingly made with vintage fabrics and red velvet. It would definitely be a talking point in any home. But most of all, it makes me smile and it’s so inviting, I’d just have to sit on it.

Signature Style

Again, such wonderful pieces to choose from but this one caught my eye. It would be perfect for any pasta lover or chef. Farfalle Pasta Necklace Sterling Silver by Delicacies Jewelry

It’s so pretty and unique, I’d definitely wear it even though I’m not a big pasta lover. Other pasta pieces of jewellery are available from the seller.

Festive Celebrations

From printable wedding invitations to backdrops and dresses. This selection celebrates weddings. There are some lovely items but I fell in love with this unusual ring set. UNGLEICH & Rosé – Engagement ring wedding ring

Now, if only I was not already married!

Earth Friendly

I’m all for sustainability and we were only talking the other day while eating out, that it was good the straws were paper, but what a shame the coffee cups had plastic lids. It’s something we need to think about so I loved this section of sustainability made finds that look great and help the planet.

My choice has to be this lovely Bee Hotel

Not only is it pretty, it offers a lovely safe place for the bees visiting your garden.

Collaborative Creations

These are a selection of personalised hand crafted goods, made to order. Again there is so much to choose from but the one that I have chosen is this lovely family portrait made from paper cuts. Personalised family portraits.

I love the detail that’s put into each one, and they can be made for any family with details and photographs provided. You can tell a lot of care has gone into making them special.

Bonus Choices.

Personalised Love Stories illustrated Maps Imagine having your story lovingly presented in a map form with adorable illustrations. Magical!

2020 & 2019 DIY Printable Typewriter Desk Calendar How cute are these! And you can print them off and make them yourself. I’m so, so tempted.

Kids Doodle Design Dress Oh my, how adorable. This lady takes your kids drawing and reproduces them as decorations on a pretty little dress.

Do you Etsy?

I could spend hours (and I do) browsing the Etsy stores. There is so much to choose from and so many things that you just wouldn’t find anywhere else. I love shopping for those difficult to buy presents, those relatives that have everything already. But most of all, I love shopping for me, in particular the jewellery stores.

The girls are Etsy fans too as it’s a great place to buy the most unusual and fabulous slime creations. I don’t think they will ever grow out of slime. I have a ‘slime’ shelf in the fridge which is probably not like any slime shelf you would think of. (Yes, they all have their own little containers, they are not just dripping all over the food 🙂 )

I am working on some products myself so I can stock my own Etsy shop. I’ll let you know when it’s open and maybe you can take a peek. I can’t wait to join all the other creative Etsy shop owners.

In the meantime, please do take a look at this years entries for the Etsy Design Awards and let me know in the comments which you would vote for. (n.b. sorry but our votes don’t count.)

Disclosure: I am an Etsy affiliate and the links in the post have my affiliate codes.

See my previous Etsy Posts here: Gift for Mums from Etsy and Christmas Shopping with a Difference from Etsy

Sock Shop – Tips on Looking after Your Feet.

August 7, 2019 by Anne Sweet 1 Comment

Now that the summer is here we love to show off our feet, but we should still be thinking of taking care of them. The socks we wear are most important and in a moment I’m going to tell you about the lovely socks you can get at The Sock Shop and give you a discount code.

Tips for Foot Care.

These tips I have adapted from the NHS site.

Wash your feet often, but don’t leave them to soak for too long
Dry your feet well as this prevent fungus from developing.
Moisturise your feet to prevent dry skin
Keep your toenails cut short and straight
Limit time wearing high heels
Change socks daily to avoid foot odour
Wear socks that fit
Visit a podiatrist if you develop foot problems

Socks

My children rarely go without socks, they don’t like the feel of shoes on barefeet and the only time socks come off is when they are wearing sandles. I choose their socks carefully. I make sure that they fit well and wash well. So many socks shrink after washing. Boo, my 12 year old, likes pretty socks like these from The Sock Shop. They are a pack of three super soft and super pretty socks for just £4.99. Click through to see the different designs available.

School socks

I’m already stocking up on my school socks. Star and The Little Man are so fussy with their socks. They do not like toe seams at all and the socks have to be really soft. I have been buying them on Ebay but then I found these at the Sock Shop and I think we will be changing over.

These socks come in sizes from age 1 to 14 years (or baby to size 5.5) and in 8 different colours. They are made from pure natural bamboo which is soft, silky and very kind to sensitive young skins. It is antibacterial and anti-fungal, so feet stay fresher and healthier. They are £1.99 a pair but if you buy more than 5 pairs they are reduced to £1 a pair.

The Smelly Feet issue

Keeping your feet clean and making sure you dry them properly should be enough to stop them from smelling. But occasionally you need a little extra help.

Here are some facts about bamboo socks;

bamboo socks are purely and naturally better for your feet
they have 3 times the absorbency of cotton
breathable bamboo keeps our feet fresh, dry and comfortable
for sensitive skin bamboo is unbeatable it has soft, gently rounded fibres that don’t irritate and give fabric it’s soft, silk-like touch
Bamboo is kind to the environment, the plat is sustainable, needs very little water, uses no pesitcides and gives out more oxygen than it’s equivalent in trees.

men's bamboo socks in grey — *Men’s bamboo socks in grey*

These colourburst socks come in 18 different colours and cost £3.99 or you can buy 3 pairs for £9.99. I’ve been buying another branded bamboo sock for £9.99 a pair, so this is a no brainer swap for me!

Discount Code

Just for my readers I have a 10% discount code for you to use at the Sock Shop. Just use the code RAISIEBAY10 to claim your discount.

What sort of socks do you like? Are your kids as fussy as mine? Do you know someone with stinky feet?

Jibbergiggle – the Fun New Game from Gamely Games

July 31, 2019 by Anne Sweet 1 Comment

When Ordering a complicated Coffee Sounds just like Explaining Rocket Science

Jibbergiggle is the fun new game from Gamely Games. We’ve reviewed games from them before. For instance, Randomise and The Pretender.

Jibbergiggle

Jibbergiggle takes everyday scenarios and challenges you to act them out using only ridiculous nonsense words and your own expressive face.
Can you calm down a bear using only the words ‘wimmy wozzle’ or propose to your partner by saying ‘patootie’? Master the art of spouting nonsense in silly noises, as others attempt to guess what exactly it is you’re trying to do!
Just as good for travel and holidays as your home board game collection, Jibbergiggle is super compact (the size of a double pack of cards) so you can easily pack it and play it anywhere.
Perfect for games night, family gatherings and parties, this fun family-friendly game is quick to set up and takes two minutes to learn but will keep you smiling for hours.
Loved by children (age 8+), teenagers and adults alike – Jibbergiggle will get your friends and family laughing. 3-8 players.

Our Thoughts on Jibbergiggle

We have loved playing the previous games. Boo, 12 years, in particular, finds them great fun. This game arrived just before her 12th birthday so we had lots of fun playing with her friends.

The game rules are simple and it takes about 2 minutes to read the instructions. It’s so easy to pick up and fun to play. With practice you can learn to be really good.

Take a look at my first picture – when you play you have 9 scenarios to choose from. In this picture I’ve picked just two, ordering a complicated coffee, and explaining rocket science. As well as the scenario cards you get a card with 3 nonsense words. At the beginning of the game you choose whether you are going to use the first, second or third word on the list. The nonsense word cards are drawn for each round, so you always get a different word.

Now, see if you can explain ordering a complicated coffee using just the word ‘coddiwomple’ and maybe some facial expression. You can say the word however you want, even split it up, and use it as many times as you like. Now, see if you can explain rocket science using only the word ‘coddiwomple.’ We found this example hilarious as they can sound so similar.

A Video Example

I made a little video of Boo and her Dad playing to show how it can be done.

When you know what scenario is being acting out you need to call Jibbergiggle and then take your guess from the nine cards. If you get it wrong, the other players get a go at guessing. If no-one guesses the card is discarded. If someone guesses correctly they win the card. When the card is removed, it’s replaced by another card from the pile. The winner is the one with most cards at the end of the game.

There are 8 different collections of scenario cards to play with, some are a harder than others. There is only one pack of nonsense word cards, but to mix it up there are three words on each card.

Conclusion

The game comes in a little box that can be taken anywhere. It is quick and easy to pick up and for ages 8- 108 years. (Boo, did say what if you were 109, would you still be able to play?) The Little Man is 8 years old and he was able to pick up how to play easily. A younger person could play with a little help. You do need to be able to read the cards, although you can start the round by reading all the cards aloud to those not so good at reading. But then they will have to remember them so they can pick up what the player is trying to portray with their nonsense word.

We’ll definitely be taking this game, along with The Pretender and Randomise to play on our caravan holiday.

disclosure: We were sent this game for free in return for our honest review

Winnie’s Picks, Painting By Numbers – competition

June 28, 2019 by Anne Sweet 4 Comments

Today I’m bringing you a fabulous competition where you can win a paint by numbers kit of your choice from Winnie’s Picks.

When I was a little girl, I remember my Mum had a few hobbies, she liked to knit, jigsaw puzzles, complete word searches and paint-by-numbers. I don’t really know how she had the time to do any of this, she was always so busy. I figure she’d worked out the importance of mindfulness and taking care of herself way before it became popular.

Painting By Numbers

A few years ago, Adult colouring books became popular. People wanted a way of doing something creative to ease the stresses of everyday life. I remember buying my first colouring book while I was in hospital, it helped while away the days and helping to take my mind off what was happening to me.

image of a hand painting a paint by numbers cat picture

Painting by numbers was popular many more years ago, as you can tell from the story about my Mum. Just like colouring it gives you a way of creating something beautiful just by putting your mind to it. You don’t need any special skills or creativity. Winnie’s Picks have brought paint by numbers back to the market with their huge selection of kits and options of personalised paintings

The pictures have an outline with little numbers in them. The numbers correspond to the colour of the paint you need to fill that part of the picture. Each paint pot has a number that corresponds to the number on the picture.

The kit contains everything you need, the canvas, paintbrushes, paint and a finished print. The kits are adapted to suit adults and kids aged 10 years and above.

contents of paint by numbers kit, the canvas, paints, paintbrushes and a photograph for reference

Winnie’s Picks

Winnie’s Picks offer a wide arrange of gorgeous pictures for you to paint, from animals to flowers, still life to landscapes. You can also choose a precious photo and have it turned into a painting by numbers kit.

Prices for these all inclusive kits start at under £20 and up to under £40. You can add a little more for a frame. They would make a wonderful gift, either as kits or painted. Just imagine painting a picture of your children to give to their grandparents.

girl with dog painting by numbers taken from a phone photo

Winnie’s Picks have kindly offered to give away one of their painting to kits to one of my lucky readers. You can choose one of their pictures or one of your own. Just fill in the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions

competition open internationally
competition starts on 28th June 2019 and ends 26th July 2019
winners will be contacted by e-mail
I will collect no personal information except to contact winner
competition details will also be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
The winner can choose one paint by numbers from Winnie’s Picks including custom canvases. We will pay shipping as part of the prize
Winnie’s Picks are responsible for the distribution of the prize

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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