PROMISED IMAGES FROM SUNDAY'S VINTAGE FAIR

A lovely 'nippy' reminding us of Lyons Corner House introduced in 1925

Clever Michele in home knitted outfit

1940s' outfits reminding us how colourful and attractive our grandmothers' must have looked

And last, the Hairaid Shelter girls with our make-up expert Sharon pictured centre

Following yesterday's popular Vintage Fair at Brentwood School Sports Hall, I've now downloaded just a few of the photos of vintage enthusiasts wearing clothes I remember from 50+ years ago. There was music (listen to clip), entertainment and of course, lovely 'nippies' serving up gorgeous cake.  I've included the hairdressing team who styled the girls' hair magically into 40s coiffure and Sharon, make-up expert  who knows a great deal about using make-up through the ages.  When Stephen and Michele Marck visit your area, do go to see what they have to offer - a brilliant team!

Thousands of freelance journalists choose to be on the JournalistDirectory which offer you a free profile including photos, biography and cuttings, which are public to give you a higher profile, while your contact details are kept private. Editors can offer you work and PR subscribers can see your contact details only if you allow it. You'll get daily media news, and can subscribe to relevant press releases.

Many colleagues and editors regularly use this service and it has been an interesting experience to realise (from today's calls and emails) just how many professionals have read their latest showcase (me!)  

BRENTWOOD WELCOMES THE VINTAGE FASHIONISTAS

Fashion is a funny animal – like a chameleon, it is fleeting, moving, changing constantly.  However, suddenly it reaches full circle and what fashionistas wore in the 50s and 60s, are now considered to be extremely trendy.  Of course, many older fashion enthusiasts have known this over preceding decades, but now that vintage styles are tripping along the catwalk, frugal shoppers are happily embracing this latest fashion trend.

Now - for the fourth year running, Brentwood welcomes the VINTAGE FAIR this Sunday, 29 April.  Once again VINTAGE VOGUE comes to the BRENTWOOD SCHOOL SPORTS HALL and it's going to be the best ever!

Michele and Stephen Marck are the best in handling vintage merchandise which comes from the periods 1920s to 1970s.  Everything is pre-vetted and there will be some vintage inspired merchandise for those customers who like to mix old with new.  And it is not only clothes that will be on offer.  There will be additional Lifestyle items, home-wares and some furniture, too, perhaps adding peppy style to your home.

A selection of traders has been invited along, who will bring their unique quality vintage attire, designs, and wares to Essex, so there will be an opportunity of seeing some modern ideas to keep everything fresh and interesting for everyone.

If you have visited Michele and Stephen’s Vintage Fairs before, you know what to expect and if you are new to the Vintage Vogue experience anyway, you will be pleasantly surprised on Sunday April 29^th if you can make it.

This message from the dazzling duo gives a little more information:

We pride ourselves in being the first ever Vintage Fair in Essex, appealing to all generations. Our passion for vintage fashion is now yours.

• "Hair Raid Shelter" will be back to bring some glamour to your look and to help you find a hair style and make up those suits you ladies.
• We have the best Vintage Tearoom in the South East of England with our own 1930s style Nippies to delight and tempt you with all the wonderful pastries and cakes baked especially for Vintage Vogue by Petite Patisserie.
• There will be special musical entertainment by "Two for Tea", two Essex-based Jazz Divas who will get you all in the mood for nostalgia and shopping.
• Resident DJ "Fascinating Rhythm" playing the best in 20th century jazz, R&B, lounge and rare vintage music to enhance your shopping experience.

Doors open at 10.00am until 4.00pm Free parking

Admission: £4.50 / Concessions £3.50  (Children over 5, Senior Citizens and Students with ID).

Venue: The Brentwood School Sports Hall, Middleton Hall Lane, Brentwood, Essex  CM15 8EE.

STILL MAD ABOUT STAMPS

Love the latest Royal Mail mint stamps celebrating 14 landmarks of the UK.  Have popped some on to Paul Wallace's birthday card to remind him of his ancestors in Stirling.  Take a look at this great line-up.

 

Current views for fellow enthusiasts show Manchester Town Hall, Narrow Water Castle, Old Bailey, Portmeirion, Queen's College Oxford, Roman Baths, Stirling Castle, Tyne Bridge, Urquhart Castle, Victoria & Albert Museum, White Cliffs of Dover, Station X Bletchley Park

BILLERICAY QUIZ SEASON

HEARING HELP ESSEX

CHARITY QUIZ NIGHT

Saturday 16th June 2012, 7.30 start

In aid of

Hearing Help Essex

Billericay Rugby Club, Stock Road, Billericay

UP TO 6 PEOPLE PER TABLE

@ £6 PER PERSON
Bring your own drink and nibbles

CONTACT Heather Stuart at Hearing Help Essex

ON 01245 348440 for tickets

(heather.stuart@hearinghelpessex.org.uk)

All proceeds to Hearing Help Essex

BOOK CLUB ON PHOENIX 98FM PRESENTED BY MICHELLE WARD

Michelle Ward - Presenter and Musician

Really look forward to taking part in Book Club at Radio Phoenix 98fm based at the famous Brentwood Centre. Michelle Ward presents her daily programme EAT MY LUNCH from 11 until 2pm.  She works hard to research the background of her many guests in the studio. Travel was on the menu on Thursday and it was a joy to meet publisher/authors Malcolm Burgess and Heather Reyes, whose popular City-Lit Books have taken the travel world by storm. Recently, they appeared on Radio 4's Excess Baggage and the reviews of their books in the national dailies were excellent.  Here is a little piece I pinched from their credit list.

“We were on the hot slopes of the Acropolis and wanted to read a selection (not too big) of writing about Athens. We didn’t want another guide book. We wanted fresh, exciting writing that illuminated the city. There wasn’t anything. Not in Athens, London or New York. So we – I’m ex-UK HarperCollins – decided to create our own titles in 2009″.

The result is Oxygen Books’ innovative city-pick series featuring some of the best-ever writing on favourite world cities. It’s alreadybeen called ‘superb .. like having your own iPad loaded with different tomes’ (London Times), ‘wonderful’ (London Guardian) ‘sublime’ (The Sydney Morning Herald) and praised for its ‘super-relevant destinations’ (Lonely Planet Magazine)

Each paperback book includes over fifty writers, fiction and non-fiction, past and especially present, including newly translated writing. So far we’ve published titles on New York, Berlin, Paris, London, Venice, Amsterdam and Dublin – St Petersburg, Istanbul and Jerusalem/ Tel Aviv follow soon.  More details are on www.oxygenbooks.co.uk     Next month on Book Club, we will be looking at the theme of Horror and Ghosts.

WATERSTONE'S SOUTHEND TIMELINE

Recently enjoyed meeting Carole Wells at Waterstones at 49-51 High Street Southend.  Happy to say they stock my books, at least a few of them.   I was in the Southend area researching the town’s history and couldn’t have found a better person to help me than Carol, who has  created a superb  local TIMELINE which you can see displayed up the staircase wall in the bookshop.  

Carole also told me about a rather special  evening that is taking place on Thursday 26 April at Waterstones, Southend (details below) from 7pm-9pm at which my colleague in the Society of Women Writers and Journalists, Dee Gordon, will be speaking, along with local authors Ken Crowe and Roy Dilley:  Subject: Southend and its ghosts.  Refreshments will be available and this event looks as if it will be a really great evening. 

Contact:  Carole Wells 49-51 High Street Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1HZ   01702 437480

Sylvia Kent: ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH AT COLCHESTER

Sylvia Kent: ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH AT COLCHESTER
A great author and thinker. A favourite with our book group.

 A huge benefit in living near London is a chance to meet some of the most notable folk who are part of current media. Have met and am currently reading Kate Adie's books.  I am enjoying her writing style. Her presenting skills on BBC Radio 4 Saturday mornings From Our Own Correspondent is also not to be missed.

Adie is also a best-selling author; she published her autobiography, The Kindness of Strangers, in 2002. A second book, Corsets to Camouflage: Women and War, was published in 2003. In 2005, Adie published her third book Nobody's Child, which covers the history of foundling children and questions of identity. A fourth book, Into Danger: People Who Risk Their Lives for Work, was published in September 2008.