Smelly Memories

Posted on May 25, 2015 by Elaine Spires

I am a ‘perfume-person’. I have always loved wearing perfume and I have always tended to find a perfume I really like and then wear it for years. This was the case with Mary Quant’s Havoc, which I wore all through my teens and early twenties, until they discontinued it. I also wore Lancome’s Poeme for a long, long time, until I tired of it and it became hard to find as it is being discontinued, too. So, I’ve been on a quest to find something I like. Today I took myself off to Lakeside – Why???? Half of Essex … Read the rest »

Wonderful Vaginas, Psychic Slimming and Into the Woods

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Elaine Spires

So, after all the weeks of hard work, rehearsing through Skype, promotion, nerves, tears and belly-laughs, Melabeau Productions’ show, The Vagina Monologues is over.

I had a wonderful time. It is one of the most empowering, eye-opening, liberating pieces of theatre and I am so glad that we did it. I give myself a huge pat on the back for my casting decision; Anna Karen, Julie Barker, Feyi Babalola and Teresa Cole formed a formidable team, each very different yet with an almost tangible rapport on and off-stage. Working with them was truly delightful. It would have been nice … Read the rest »

Christie Barlow

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Elaine Spires

A huge ‘Hooray!’ As I introduce Christie Barlow, author of the fabulous A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Year-Life-Playground-Mother/dp/1495288773, who is going to share her Hot Holidays! with us.

In her own words, Christie is ‘a 5ft 5 brunette born in the county of Cheshire. Now at the ripe old age of 42 I lead nothing but a glamorous lifestyle, ironing, mucking out chickens and horses and chasing the mad cocker spaniel that has usually pinched my shoes.
I’m a mum to four, wife to one and have more animals than the local zoo. From the young … Read the rest »

VE Day and Election Observations

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Elaine Spires

I love the eccentricities of a British General Election. I love watching the results being read as there is always the candidate that’s dressed as the Mad Hatter or one with a colander or some weird and wonderful construction on his (or very occasionally her) head. The Returning Officer manages to keep a straight face while reading out the names of the parties, such as Give Me Back Elmo Party; Vapers in Power, whose candidate Billy Marsden got 103 votes in Barnsley East; Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol Party, who fielded 32 candidates, all of whom lost their deposits. Quelle … Read the rest »

Nostalgia

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Elaine Spires

I had a lovely weekend with the Daughter, made better by a huge dollop of nostalgia.

The Daughter came over late Saturday afternoon. I picked her up from the station and we went to book a table for an early dinner. Our restaurant of choice – Shish Meze – could only take us if we went in there and then and were out within the hour. Given that it was only quarter past five, we decided against it. We spent the next twenty minutes driving round Hornchurch trying to sort out dinner. Austerity? Recession? Not many signs of it; we … Read the rest »

Caroline Mitchell’s Hot Holidays!

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Elaine Spires

I could not be more pleased today! We open our 2015 Season of Hot Holidays with my fellow Essex-girl writer……. Caroline Mitchell. And……..drum roll…..her book Don’t Turn Around is published TODAY!!! HOORAY!

Caroline, a detective, lives with her husband, four children and two dogs in a pretty village on the coast of Essex.

Three years ago, Caroline encountered true paranormal activity from an unknown entity in their home. A writer at heart, Caroline documented her experiences and wrote a book in the hope of helping others. She discovered a passion for writing and based her fiction thrillers on the two … Read the rest »

CALLING ALL YOUNG PERFORMERS!

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Elaine Spires

YOUTH THEATRE GROUP
AUTUMN PRODUCTION: INTO THE WOODS (Jr)
BRENTWOOD THEATRE 6-10th October 2015

We are pleased to announce that we have formed a youth theatre group to celebrate young talent. Auditions for our first production, INTO THE WOODS (Junior), will be held on Saturday 2nd May at the Village Hall, 65, North Road, South Ockendon, RM15 6QJ.

We are looking for STRONG SINGERS with STRONG ACTING SKILLS, aged 11-20, to cover the following roles:

FEMALE Witch
Little Red Riding Hood
The Baker’s Wife
Cinderella
Cinderella’s Mother
Cinderella’s Stepmother
Florinda
Lucinda
Jack’s Mother
Red Riding Hood’s Granny
Rapunzel

MALE Jack… Read the rest »

Antigua Clothes in Essex

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Elaine Spires

What a beautiful day it was today! I ventured out in the afternoon to post my tax self-assessment 2013-2014 (I know! Very late!) and it was glorious, with tomorrow being even better if the weather forecast is to be believed. I actually wore cut-offs and a thin blouse that are usually left behind in Avocado Cottage. They found their way into the suitcase last week by mistake, but very glad I am, too, that they did! I bought myself a bunch of beautiful daffodils. I think in a previous life I must have been Welsh because although I adore the … Read the rest »

It Droppeth As The Gentle Rain From Heaven

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Elaine Spires

It was lovely lying in bed the last two nights listening to the rain. Sometimes it was gentle, barely audible, just rustling the leaves of the big plants around my bedroom window and others is was loudly hurling itself against the roof in a furious tattoo. Either way, it was very welcome as in the twelve years I’ve been coming here I can’t remember ever seeing Antigua look so dry. The ‘lawn’ in the garden was so hard there were cracks in places and some of my lovely plants and flowers were beginning to look quite sorry for themselves.

So, … Read the rest »

Blame It On Angela!

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Elaine Spires

Well, Dear Readers, following your requests for more books I’m working hard on Holiday Reads 2 with my next novel not exactly on the back boiler; it’s been worked on, too. Sort of. Oh, all right! I’ve been waylaid. Side-tracked. Something’s got in the way.

And it’s all Angela Marsons’ fault!!

I started reading Silent Scream. I could not put it down. It’s one of those books where you get to 3am yet you’re still scrolling the iPad and muttering ‘Just one more chapter! Just one more chapter!’ And then as soon as you wake up you decide to just … Read the rest »

The Journal of Elaine Spires

Novelist, playwright and actress