The Friday Five - Good Reads

This weeks five are ‘good reads’ in this case novels that I have really enjoyed and either have read, or plan on reading, several times. Two of the novels I have only on my kindle, so I have included it in the phhotograph!

The List

 

The Detail

First up is The  Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris. This is the middle book of a trilogy which begins with Chocolate (book better than film which is a constant refrain in this post) and ends with the recently published Peaches for Monsieur Le Cure. I enjoyed all three but Lollipop Shoes is my favourite, perhaps because of the ending.

Next is The Help by Kathryn Stockett which after a slightly slow start becomes a real page turner - again the film was good the  book if even better

 Number three is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson published by the wonderful Persephone  books.  A delightful fairytale guaranteed to cheer you up if you’re in need of a duvet day again far better than the film

At four is Home Leave by Libby Purves who is also a well known broadcaster on BBC Radio Four. I love all her books except the last two which are understandably much more sombre in tone, due to a change in the author’s personal circumstances. The early novels are laugh our loud amusing and its hard to choose a favourite.

Finally its Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand  by Helen Simonson. No relation to Miss Pettigrew, this is a gentle but insightful book about growing old  in an English village - again it made me laugh (noticing a theme here?)

I hope you will give at least some of them a try and that if you do you will enjoy them as much as I did.

The Friday Five - Kitchen Gadgets

Hi, this week it's five of my favourite kitchen gadgets

The List

 

The Detail

1. Sweet Corn Stripper
2. Kitchen Aid mixer - this is the model I own on at a good price today!
3. Strawberry huller
4. Kitchen Aid ice cream bowl
5. Pineapple Peeler and corer

The Friday Five - Einstein Quotes

Hi there! This week's Friday Five comprises quotes from Albert Einstein. Initially it was just going to be 5 assorted quotes, but as I started to look at my favourite Einstein quotes I soon realised there was no need to search any further. For me these quotes are profound and inspirational - I hope you find something in them that speaks to you.

Winchester Celebrates!

Couldn't resist popping into town with my camera at lunch time on Thursday when at last there was a sunny day to capture  the colourful flags celebrating at the olympics. I was bemused at first when they started to take down the Jubilee flags almost straight after the event, but was relieved when they replaced them with these colourful gems. Winchester was one of the cities with a big screen so I think they must have got a bumper allocation of flags that they used to good effect!

The Friday Five - Happiness

This week the Friday Five is about happiness and websites that are focussed on this topic. I have been interested in the art and science of happiness both personally and professionally for the last couple of years and have looked into some of the different resources out there to help you lead a happier life.

The List

The Detail

Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project is a blog and website with loads of ideas about how to increase your happiness. I would recommend her current book as an enjoyable and useful read and I am planning to buy her new book which is out next month. 

Authentic Happiness is the website of Martin Seligman the grandaddy of the positive psychology movement. Here you will find lots of questionnaires you can do, together with information and links to other sites.

Appreciative Living is Jackie Kelm’s site. She has taken a tool called Appreciative Inquiry normally used in organizational development and applied it to everyday living. Guess what! It works! I am a huge fan of Appreciative Inquiry in my work and am now trying to apply some of its principles in my everyday life

Action for Happiness is a movement for positive social change. They are aiming to  bring together people from all walks of life who want to play a part in creating a happier society for everyone. Again lots of Resources to download here plus events to attend if you live in the UK 

With her Positivity Ratio website and book Barbara Fredrickson ‘gives you the lab-tested tools necessary to create a healthier, more vibrant, and flourishing life. She discovered that experiencing positive emotions in a 3-to-1 ratio with negative ones leads people to a tipping point beyond which they naturally become more resilient to adversity and effortlessly achieve what they once could only imagine.’  Another one from the positive psychology movement