Time for a fun one! I've been watching a lot of friends recently, and I decided to use the structure of the best friend test to share a few things about me.
Fears & Pet peeves
I am afraid of needles!
I hate when men's trousers are too small for them. Too short trousers that they bought before their last growth spurt and then they ride up to half-way up their calves when they sit down. It genuinely makes me a little ill.
Literature
Since starting Stories in Books I have read 89 books in total.
I have no problem foxing the pages of my books.
It's all relative
My Grandmother's first name is also one of my middle names.
I have ten first cousins.
Ancient History
My childhood doll was called Lucy. She only has one eye that works; the other one swings down all the way. She's pretty terrifying and currently lives at the bottom of a wardrobe. :(
My first serious boyfriend played the organ!
What's in my bag right now
Water bottle
Diary
2 pens
Book - A Gentleman in Moscow
Phone
iPod
Headphones
Eco-sack shopping bag & plastic bag I reuse for vegetables etc.
Sunglasses
Umbrella (because you never know)
Zendure Battery pack & cables
Lighting round
My nick name is G&T
My favourite movie is About Time
I have never been stung by a bee or fallen off a horse
My favourite food is pasta
My childhood friend now lives in America and works for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
I am an Executive Assistant
Wednesday 25 July 2018
Thursday 19 July 2018
March Reviews
Jean-Dominique Bauby
4/5
Editions Robert Laffont Mar 19917 Hardback
Borrowed from work
It is one of the joys of starting a new job, that is slowly gets around the office that I'm a reader. By my 6th month I had a stack of books on my desk donated from the rest of the office. One of which was this.
I consider this book to be one of those essential reading books it has been on my radar for many years and as communication becomes more and more interesting to me, I was thrilled to have it at my fingertips.
If you haven't heard of it, the story follows Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers from locked-in syndrome after a stroke. Unable to speak or move he communicates only with movements of one eye and moans.
I really enjoyed the book it was poignant and not at all the disheartening slog it could have been. The authors voice is so readable and as a modern classic, I would definitely suggest it.
Mohsin Hamid
3/5
Hamish Hamilton Mar 2017 Hard back
Christmas Present
It is always a delight to get Christmas presents from friends. I opened this well before Christmas because I was ill and dived into the hardback copy.
I can definitely see why it was on the shortlist of the booker prize 2017. I enjoyed the eye opening look at how refugees debate the leave and setting up a whole new life with nothing. It's a very interesting look at life and humanity in crisis and how countries interact.
The writing was very 'novelly' it definitely felt like a Booker book. Perfectly suited for a gift to any reader, however it did not give me the wow factor and is the kind of book I might forget about. A good read but not personally impactful to me.
Thursday 5 July 2018
My Journey with BSL
One of my most exciting projects in the last year or so has been starting to learn BSL (British Sign Language).
After realising that one of my favourite books has a signing character. It has made me think about when I started to be interested in the language and the culture. I was really surprised to find that I had been learning and reading about it for a long time.
The first time I remember actively learning about BSL was at University. I performed in a Student film as a deaf character. I had to learn a few signs for the role and found it really fun. In fact the whole crew and cast went to a mini BSL session together to get a feel for it.
From there I learnt the alphabet but very little else until I moved to London. One friend knew a lot of makaton from working with children, and many others were volunteers with St John Ambulance. Everyone knew a little bit of sign and used it in loud places or across a room, usually "where is so-and-so?", "Toilet". Both very useful phrases to learn early.
Next stage was going along to a free taster session where we learnt the alphabet, numbers, and a few bits of vocabulary for two hours. It was held with St John, which meant I learnt some interesting medical vocab like 1st aid, ambulance, doctor, hay fever and hurt.
From then I started to use signing more and tried to learn a few more bits and pieces from Youtube videos. During a project for a friend's birthday I recorded a sign video. I had to meet up with a friend who knew sign language, who helped me construct a story and taught me the signs. I loved this experience. It was so clear that I loved signing that my sister bought me a basic level BSL course for my birthday!
Suddenly I was in it. Classes were fun and challenging and we raced through the basics in 10 weeks. During the course, I started going to deaf meet ups in pubs and coffee shops, I went to a BSL play, and even a BSL Carol Service for Christmas. I loved meeting people and feeling like I could understand at least some of the conversations and learning new words all the time was fantastic.
I then went on to study BSL Level 1. At the time of writing I am about to do my final exam so we will see how that goes and hopefully I will walk away with the qualification to put on my CV and to go on to Level 2.
I still don't know how BSL will come into my life beyond making some new friends. The dream is to make it part of my career, but I'd have to have a very high level of BSL. Unfortunately, the time and money that I'd need to get to that level is too overwhelming at the moment. Let me know if you have found any deaf characters in books, or books about sign language?
After realising that one of my favourite books has a signing character. It has made me think about when I started to be interested in the language and the culture. I was really surprised to find that I had been learning and reading about it for a long time.
The first time I remember actively learning about BSL was at University. I performed in a Student film as a deaf character. I had to learn a few signs for the role and found it really fun. In fact the whole crew and cast went to a mini BSL session together to get a feel for it.
From there I learnt the alphabet but very little else until I moved to London. One friend knew a lot of makaton from working with children, and many others were volunteers with St John Ambulance. Everyone knew a little bit of sign and used it in loud places or across a room, usually "where is so-and-so?", "Toilet". Both very useful phrases to learn early.
Next stage was going along to a free taster session where we learnt the alphabet, numbers, and a few bits of vocabulary for two hours. It was held with St John, which meant I learnt some interesting medical vocab like 1st aid, ambulance, doctor, hay fever and hurt.
From then I started to use signing more and tried to learn a few more bits and pieces from Youtube videos. During a project for a friend's birthday I recorded a sign video. I had to meet up with a friend who knew sign language, who helped me construct a story and taught me the signs. I loved this experience. It was so clear that I loved signing that my sister bought me a basic level BSL course for my birthday!
Suddenly I was in it. Classes were fun and challenging and we raced through the basics in 10 weeks. During the course, I started going to deaf meet ups in pubs and coffee shops, I went to a BSL play, and even a BSL Carol Service for Christmas. I loved meeting people and feeling like I could understand at least some of the conversations and learning new words all the time was fantastic.
I then went on to study BSL Level 1. At the time of writing I am about to do my final exam so we will see how that goes and hopefully I will walk away with the qualification to put on my CV and to go on to Level 2.
I still don't know how BSL will come into my life beyond making some new friends. The dream is to make it part of my career, but I'd have to have a very high level of BSL. Unfortunately, the time and money that I'd need to get to that level is too overwhelming at the moment. Let me know if you have found any deaf characters in books, or books about sign language?
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