This is the second edition to our blog about our time at Hay Festival. Read our last blog post about our first day at Hay Festival as well and be sure to follow us on social media. So our second day was long and tiring just like our first day but it was definitely amazing. We started off with a morning walk from where we were staying to the Festival to be there for eight where we either wrote our reflections of the previous day or did yoga. Having done yoga before we decided to take the time to do some writing instead even though yoga is quite a good way to relax.
Our first talk of the day was Owen Sheers who is amazing as he is so down to earth as well as being an amazing writer. We highly recommend that if you don't know who Owen Sheers is you go and read his poetry or novels or plays as he is very talented and like us started with the Beacons project. His talk was about the reform of males and was very interesting to listen to as he addressed it as a poem to his daughters and therefore gave a meaningful and sentimental tone to what he was talking about. In the afternoon we were able to have a private Q and A with Owen Sheers who is so lovely and very humble. He was very helpful when answering questions on how he started writing and his advice for us as well as being very cheerful and happy to sit and have a chat.
We also went to a talk about how to write a novel with the BBC's 'The Essay' where they had two novelists, a historian and fictional, talk about how to write a book by reading out Essays that they had done. Both gave great advice and were very helpful for aspiring writers. We also went to see Luciano Floridi who talked about the internet and our society as well as getting into political issues and answering questions about economy problems. Although it doesn't seem interesting to very many people as a writer it was very interesting and gave ideas for fictional writing as well as giving someone's perspective and thoughts of the research that they did.
We also went to Matthew Francis who talked about the Mabinogi and how he translated the stories and wrote them as a poem in English. This was very interesting to us as being Welsh and not being able to speak the language we were able to look at the Mabinogi without needing our teacher to help us understand what was actually happening. It was also interesting as it showed how Welsh culture was important to people outside of Wales as well.
We also went to the BBC live sessions in the afternoon where we got to see performances by aspiring singers as they worked with people like Ed Sheeran in the past. We followed this with the comedy store players, which we were very eager to see as after such a long and intense day we were in the mood for a good laugh which is exactly what they allowed us to have.
The second day was just as good as the first and the last day was also amazing. Read our next blog to find out about our last day at Hay Festival and also follow our social medias at the bottom.
Thanks,
ThePolkaDotDaffodil x
Monday, 5 June 2017
Hay Festival Day One
So last week we got to go to Hay Festival as part of the Beacons project. We stayed there from the 29th of May to the 1st of June. It was overall a fun experience and now we would like to share our experience from Day one of the festival.
We started the day with the interview between feminist writer Laura Bates and Harriet Harman. They talked about feminism and Harriet's experience and her knowledge of feminism as well as answering questions from the audience. The talk was very inspiring and even inspired our writing. We also got to have a one to one Q and A with Laura Bates later in the day which allowed us to pick her brains on how to get into the world of writing as well as her own inspirations for writing.
However, before our one to one Q and A with Laura Bates we also went to a talk with Meg Rosoff who was talking about the book she had finished for Mel P, who unfortunately died before he could finish the book. This talk was also very interesting as she talked about not wanting to copy Mel and not second guess what Mel would do and instead the book became her own and she was proud of what she had written. It was insightful as she explained that with her own experience of writing she prefers to have a resolution and develop each character and therefore she gave an insight into different ways to write like many other novelists did at Hay Festival.
We also went to see Tracy Chevalier who talked about her book 'New Boy'. We have since bought the book and read it and found it to be a brilliant novel. She talked about the inspiration from Shakespeare's play 'Ophelia' and how she put it into a different setting so it was relatable. She interpreted it and set it in a school yard in a time period where she would have been at school and therefore she felt confident with writing at this time period.
We also had a one to one talk with Karla Brading, who is one of the nicest people you could meet. She talked to us about how she got into writing and all the professional details of getting published and how she did it. She gave many anecdotes that we could relate to and was overall a lovely and bubbly person that we hope to meet again.
In the afternoon, we went to see Philip Reeve talk about his book Rail Head and found it to be interesting as he would read from his book accompanied by music which helped with the mood of the story as well as make you feel like you were involved with the story. He was very interesting to watch and listen to and his creativity of Rail Head is intriguing.
We also went to see Roman Krznaric talk about Carpe Diem and were hooked on every word he said. it was interesting to hear the research that he had done into the subject as well as relate it to todays society and question whether we are really seizing the day anymore. He also cleared up the five types of Carpe Diem and provided a very interesting debate on todays society in general.
Our last talk of the day before our entertainment in the evening was with Ifor Ap Glynn who talked about Hedd Wyn. This topic deeply intrigued us as we come from Wales and have studied Hedd Wyn before. Although, it also made us feel bad as we don't know Welsh and therefore found it very intriguing that his work has been translated and interpreted into English and Dutch. Learning the history of Hedd Wyn and the importance of it to other countries put into perspective what it meant to be Welsh and gave us a very patriotic feeling.
Finally in the evening we went to see 'Fat Freddie's Drop' which was an interesting experience. Although. not to ur taste it was still a fun night as we spent the time laughing at all the other people who were drunk as well as just letting go and having fun even if the music wasn't to our taste.
Overall the first day at Hay Festival was long and intense but definitely amazing. Especially as we have never been to Hay Festival before we definitely recommend you go to it next year as well as their winter Festivals.
We started the day with the interview between feminist writer Laura Bates and Harriet Harman. They talked about feminism and Harriet's experience and her knowledge of feminism as well as answering questions from the audience. The talk was very inspiring and even inspired our writing. We also got to have a one to one Q and A with Laura Bates later in the day which allowed us to pick her brains on how to get into the world of writing as well as her own inspirations for writing.
However, before our one to one Q and A with Laura Bates we also went to a talk with Meg Rosoff who was talking about the book she had finished for Mel P, who unfortunately died before he could finish the book. This talk was also very interesting as she talked about not wanting to copy Mel and not second guess what Mel would do and instead the book became her own and she was proud of what she had written. It was insightful as she explained that with her own experience of writing she prefers to have a resolution and develop each character and therefore she gave an insight into different ways to write like many other novelists did at Hay Festival.
We also went to see Tracy Chevalier who talked about her book 'New Boy'. We have since bought the book and read it and found it to be a brilliant novel. She talked about the inspiration from Shakespeare's play 'Ophelia' and how she put it into a different setting so it was relatable. She interpreted it and set it in a school yard in a time period where she would have been at school and therefore she felt confident with writing at this time period.
We also had a one to one talk with Karla Brading, who is one of the nicest people you could meet. She talked to us about how she got into writing and all the professional details of getting published and how she did it. She gave many anecdotes that we could relate to and was overall a lovely and bubbly person that we hope to meet again.
In the afternoon, we went to see Philip Reeve talk about his book Rail Head and found it to be interesting as he would read from his book accompanied by music which helped with the mood of the story as well as make you feel like you were involved with the story. He was very interesting to watch and listen to and his creativity of Rail Head is intriguing.
We also went to see Roman Krznaric talk about Carpe Diem and were hooked on every word he said. it was interesting to hear the research that he had done into the subject as well as relate it to todays society and question whether we are really seizing the day anymore. He also cleared up the five types of Carpe Diem and provided a very interesting debate on todays society in general.
Our last talk of the day before our entertainment in the evening was with Ifor Ap Glynn who talked about Hedd Wyn. This topic deeply intrigued us as we come from Wales and have studied Hedd Wyn before. Although, it also made us feel bad as we don't know Welsh and therefore found it very intriguing that his work has been translated and interpreted into English and Dutch. Learning the history of Hedd Wyn and the importance of it to other countries put into perspective what it meant to be Welsh and gave us a very patriotic feeling.
Finally in the evening we went to see 'Fat Freddie's Drop' which was an interesting experience. Although. not to ur taste it was still a fun night as we spent the time laughing at all the other people who were drunk as well as just letting go and having fun even if the music wasn't to our taste.
Overall the first day at Hay Festival was long and intense but definitely amazing. Especially as we have never been to Hay Festival before we definitely recommend you go to it next year as well as their winter Festivals.
If you want to know more about our time at Hay Festival read our other blog posts. Please follow us on Social media at the bottom and leave a comment with any questions you have for us.
Thanks,
ThePolkaDotDaffodil x
Tuesday, 30 May 2017
Things to do on school breaks
Hiya everyone, hope your all well. For this weeks blog post we decided as we are on half term break from school we thought we would give you some ideas on how to keep busy and things that we enjoy doing.
There are many different things to do around our area whether that is us going for a walk or catching the train or bus to Cardiff as there are train and bus stations not far from our houses. One of the things we enjoy doing is going to Cardiff Bay as there is a range of different things to do like going to the Doctor Who expedition or going for a walk around the Bay or maybe just going for a coffee or a pot of tea in a cafe.
We also like shopping and walking around Cardiff as there are many things to look at and it is a nice interesting walk. One thing we also sometimes do is to go to the Cardiff Museum as there is a new expedition every now and then which are normally really interesting.
Also in Cardiff at the moment there is going to be a big football game being held in the Principality Stadium between Real Madrid and Juventus in the UEFA Champions League and also there is the women's UEFA Champions League between Olympique Lyonnais and Paris so there is a lot of different advertising around parts of Cardiff. The main advertising is as you can see below of a blue dragon holding a copy of the UEFA cup and pictures of different football players from different teams.
Another thing that we like to do is to go to different restaurants and try their breakfast menus when we got to |Cardiff early enough which is nice as you get to try new things and new places. Our current favourite is Bills and The Cosy Club as they both have a selection of different foods and they also have meals for Vegans which is especially good for us as one of us is vegan and there are not that many places that have vegan food or can accommodate for vegans.
We don't always like to go to Cardiff as we are very lucky to have so many different places to go around where we live like there are a range of different beaches and walks and also there are a lot of outdoor activities available.
This is all our ideas at the moment but if you have any don't forget to comment or message us on any of our social media accounts and we will reply. Hope you enjoyed reading this weeks blog, hope to see some of your feedback as we really appreciate it.
Thank you for reading,
See you next week x
Friday, 19 May 2017
Make-up review
Hello,
So we know that we didn't post anything Tuesday but we have been dealing with exams. So we decided to post today so that we could have a break from the exams.
So, today we want to talk about our retail therapy from our exams. We decided that to relief some of our stress we would go shopping.
We went to Boots and decided to buy new makeup which we think is worth trying. We were happy with our new purchases but our purses were not.
Some of our purchases included NYX products, which we highly recommend. Firstly, we bought two lingerie liquid lipsticks in the colours satin ribbon and dusck to dawn. Both were £7 although the colours were so nice that they were worth the purchase. Testing it in the shop the colour was very pigmented and seemed to be compatible for many skin types. We also bought a new foundation and a foundation lightener to match the awkward skin colour. Both were very expensive with the foundation being £14 and the lightener being £8 although we highly recommend both as they give full coverage and have a good consistency. we highly recommend NYX makeup as even though it is more expensive then some brands it is a good alternative to the extreme prices of places like MAC and it gives a professional look.
We also bought the a collection eye shadow palette, eyes uncovered nude palette. As well as a highlighter from collection called pearl sheen. The highlighter was in stick form which we have never tried before but found that it works just as well if not better than powder and therefore it was a quick application and gave an instant glow. The last product that we bought was also from collection was a moisturizing lip cream called velvet kiss. We highly recommend this as it is really nice colour and a substitute for an expensive version such as Kylie cosmetics.
We also bought real techniques expert face brush to use for foundation. There is an offer on in Boots currently which didn't help us save our money where you can buy one get one free. So, we also bought a real techniques expert concealer brush. We also bought real techniques beauty blenders which we know everyone loves so we wanted to try and are happy that we did. Overall, we highly recommend real techniques products as well as going to Boots as quick as possible to take advantage of their deal.
Sorry for the late upload, we hope you enjoyed this weeks post. Check out our social media pages listed at the bottom and we will see you next week with another new post. Don't forget to comment on twitter that you are from our blog and we will give you a follow.
ThePolkaDotDaffodil.
So we know that we didn't post anything Tuesday but we have been dealing with exams. So we decided to post today so that we could have a break from the exams.
So, today we want to talk about our retail therapy from our exams. We decided that to relief some of our stress we would go shopping.
We went to Boots and decided to buy new makeup which we think is worth trying. We were happy with our new purchases but our purses were not.
Some of our purchases included NYX products, which we highly recommend. Firstly, we bought two lingerie liquid lipsticks in the colours satin ribbon and dusck to dawn. Both were £7 although the colours were so nice that they were worth the purchase. Testing it in the shop the colour was very pigmented and seemed to be compatible for many skin types. We also bought a new foundation and a foundation lightener to match the awkward skin colour. Both were very expensive with the foundation being £14 and the lightener being £8 although we highly recommend both as they give full coverage and have a good consistency. we highly recommend NYX makeup as even though it is more expensive then some brands it is a good alternative to the extreme prices of places like MAC and it gives a professional look.
We also bought the a collection eye shadow palette, eyes uncovered nude palette. As well as a highlighter from collection called pearl sheen. The highlighter was in stick form which we have never tried before but found that it works just as well if not better than powder and therefore it was a quick application and gave an instant glow. The last product that we bought was also from collection was a moisturizing lip cream called velvet kiss. We highly recommend this as it is really nice colour and a substitute for an expensive version such as Kylie cosmetics.
We also bought real techniques expert face brush to use for foundation. There is an offer on in Boots currently which didn't help us save our money where you can buy one get one free. So, we also bought a real techniques expert concealer brush. We also bought real techniques beauty blenders which we know everyone loves so we wanted to try and are happy that we did. Overall, we highly recommend real techniques products as well as going to Boots as quick as possible to take advantage of their deal.
Sorry for the late upload, we hope you enjoyed this weeks post. Check out our social media pages listed at the bottom and we will see you next week with another new post. Don't forget to comment on twitter that you are from our blog and we will give you a follow.
ThePolkaDotDaffodil.
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
Summer or Spring Party
Hello,
So we thought as the weather is finally brightening up in Wales, an unusual occurrence, we are going to share with you our ideas for a summer or spring party in your back garden. We don't really have summer or spring parties but as we are so down in the dumps with our exams we thought that a party would be a great pick up on the stress and nerves we have had.
Firstly it is important that there is enough space for the number of people that you are inviting. Therefore your garden needs to be big enough to have a party if you want to take advantage of the sun whilst it is still there.
We take full advantage of having a bar in the back garden and even get excited over a bottle opener on the bar. You can decorate the bar to fit the theme of your party and it is a great way to liven up the party. We find that using solar powered fairy lights is a great effect and a nice setting when the party leads into the evening. Keeping drinks here is good as ours is next to our make shift dance floor and therefore it is easier to get a drink when feeling tired.
The decking is a great little make shift dance floor compared to the grass although most of us end up on the grass anyways. It is a great dance floor when it leads into the night and there are solar panel lanterns creating the party feel but also adding a touch of romance.
If you have any archways into the garden it is good to decorate them as it makes a good photo area and is a nice little entrance into the main area of the party. It is also good to have a lot of small little party snacks that people can just go back and forth to the archway for these and not miss out on any of the party. The food will also not be in any danger of bugs and falling on the grass.
Send us your pictures of your parties on our twitter or tag us in the photos on Instagram which is linked at the very bottom or tweet us some of your favourite party moments. You can also leave us a comment on what you would like to see in the future and if you have any tips from us on our ideas. Don't forget to tweet us that you have shared our blog or that you have read it so we can give you a shout out and a follow,
Thank you see you next week x
ThePolkaDotDaffodil
So we thought as the weather is finally brightening up in Wales, an unusual occurrence, we are going to share with you our ideas for a summer or spring party in your back garden. We don't really have summer or spring parties but as we are so down in the dumps with our exams we thought that a party would be a great pick up on the stress and nerves we have had.
Firstly it is important that there is enough space for the number of people that you are inviting. Therefore your garden needs to be big enough to have a party if you want to take advantage of the sun whilst it is still there.
We take full advantage of having a bar in the back garden and even get excited over a bottle opener on the bar. You can decorate the bar to fit the theme of your party and it is a great way to liven up the party. We find that using solar powered fairy lights is a great effect and a nice setting when the party leads into the evening. Keeping drinks here is good as ours is next to our make shift dance floor and therefore it is easier to get a drink when feeling tired.
The decking is a great little make shift dance floor compared to the grass although most of us end up on the grass anyways. It is a great dance floor when it leads into the night and there are solar panel lanterns creating the party feel but also adding a touch of romance.
If you have any archways into the garden it is good to decorate them as it makes a good photo area and is a nice little entrance into the main area of the party. It is also good to have a lot of small little party snacks that people can just go back and forth to the archway for these and not miss out on any of the party. The food will also not be in any danger of bugs and falling on the grass.
Send us your pictures of your parties on our twitter or tag us in the photos on Instagram which is linked at the very bottom or tweet us some of your favourite party moments. You can also leave us a comment on what you would like to see in the future and if you have any tips from us on our ideas. Don't forget to tweet us that you have shared our blog or that you have read it so we can give you a shout out and a follow,
Thank you see you next week x
ThePolkaDotDaffodil
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
Cute places to go in Cardiff
Hello,
This week we are going to share with you some of our favourite places to go to in Cardiff if you are ever in Cardiff and are not familiar with the area or if you go to Cardiff a lot but need new places to try out.
Our new favourite place to go to is the Cosy Club. At first we were a bit confused about how we get to the restaurant. We quickly found out that we needed to go up the stairs to get to the restaurant. After that embarrassing episode we finally knew where we were going and was pleasantly surprised at how homely it felt. We thought it was cute how there was all different furniture and it didn't match as it gave a more rustic and boho type feel to the place as well as feeling like a home environment. We also thought that the prices for what we had was good as well as having breakfast at 5 in the afternoon.
As it was a typical cold and rainy day in Cardiff, we decided to have hot drinks with a pot of tea and a soy latte which were relatively well priced. The pot of tea was especially good for the price as we were able to have at least 3 cups full before it was empty.
This week we are going to share with you some of our favourite places to go to in Cardiff if you are ever in Cardiff and are not familiar with the area or if you go to Cardiff a lot but need new places to try out.
Our new favourite place to go to is the Cosy Club. At first we were a bit confused about how we get to the restaurant. We quickly found out that we needed to go up the stairs to get to the restaurant. After that embarrassing episode we finally knew where we were going and was pleasantly surprised at how homely it felt. We thought it was cute how there was all different furniture and it didn't match as it gave a more rustic and boho type feel to the place as well as feeling like a home environment. We also thought that the prices for what we had was good as well as having breakfast at 5 in the afternoon.
As it was a typical cold and rainy day in Cardiff, we decided to have hot drinks with a pot of tea and a soy latte which were relatively well priced. The pot of tea was especially good for the price as we were able to have at least 3 cups full before it was empty.
For our breakfast, in the afternoon, we decided to have a vegetarian breakfast but without the eggs to make it Vegan and another one we ordered was pancakes with bacon.
Although it doesn't look like the most delicious thing in the world it was heavenly.
Even though the vegetarian option was the best choice for being vegan and the easiest way to make it vegan the toast did have butter on it so it may be worthwhile to check before and make sure that there is no diary in it for vegans. But if you are a vegetarian it was still nice enough.
|We loved Cosy Club and would definitely recommend going there. They do much more than just breakfast and have a variety of options. Unfortunately we have not been able to try other places like Crumbs Kitchen and another place we found on our walk to try.
If you have any suggestions of where we can go next we would love to hear from you and if you try the Cosy club or go to Crumbs let us know. We would be happy to hear from you about anything and if you have any other suggestions for us let us know. Don't forget to check out our social media accounts and tell us that you know about us from our blog so we can give you a follow and a shout out. See you next week,
ThePolkaDotDaffodil x
Tuesday, 25 April 2017
Birthday Presents ideas
Hello,
This week we have a lot of people that we need to get birthday presents for. So we were thinking about what makes a good present and what is a good present to get someone.
The present you get someone always depends on how close you are too them. Most of the time we fall into the trap of just putting money into a birthday card and letting them buy their own present. Sometimes at a stretch they will get a gift card.
If you are friends with someone but obviously aren't super close to them the safest option to go with is either chocolates or bath stuff. Although, sometimes you can be friends with someone and not be super close but still put some extra thought into their present. If you know something they like then it is a good idea to get them something related to that.
It is also a good idea depending on the relationship you have to get something that means something to both of you. This could be a sweet gesture or could also be a inside joke. Both are good ideas and will make the receiver very happy. A sentimental or sweet birthday gift could be a photo frame or album or even a scrapbook of all the memories and adventures you have shared together. A present related to an inside joke depends on the inside joke, for example one year we decided that everyone on our group was going to get our friend marmite as they were so obsessed with it.
If it is a best friend then obviously you know them pretty well so shouldn't be struggling to think of a present for them. Sometimes it is good to get them something you know they like and is also something that means something to you but sometimes it is a good idea to give them a present like taking them out and doing something for their birthday together, therefore you give them an experience rather than something materialistic.
When we were younger it was often the case that our parents would buy our siblings presents and we would pay them back the money and pretend that we got it for them. This is alright as it is generally something that they have already asked for so is a safe bet. However, we have found that buying for our siblings is not actually that hard. You tend to spend a lot of time with your siblings even if you don't get on with them that much when you are young. Therefore you often learn what they like and often get a lot of inside jokes or trick your parents a lot. Therefore the presents could be related to this and often don't have any use at all after they have it but it is just a constant reminder of what it symbolizes.
When buying presents for parents it is a good idea to stick to something sentimental as it means something to them. Although some parents do like flowers or chocolate as well. Often, we give our parents things like a trip for afternoon tea or treat them to paying for them to go out. It is nice as most parents don't get many opportunities to do this as they are focused on work and their kids.
Sometimes the most simple presents can be amazing. We know that although people feel like chocolate and bath stuff is a safe present it can be an amazing present especially if you get some amazing stuff like a LUSH bath bomb or any other LUSH product as well as some nice chocolate that you know is their favourite. Once we got our friend loads and loads and loads of Lindor chocolates as they are absolutely in love with them.
Some places we go to get most of our presents are Paperchase, Boots, the Disney Shop and Hobby Craft. There are many other places it just depends on what you wan to get for that person.
Thank you for reading and don't forget to follow us on social media to keep up to date and don't forget to comment, see you next week x
This week we have a lot of people that we need to get birthday presents for. So we were thinking about what makes a good present and what is a good present to get someone.
The present you get someone always depends on how close you are too them. Most of the time we fall into the trap of just putting money into a birthday card and letting them buy their own present. Sometimes at a stretch they will get a gift card.
If you are friends with someone but obviously aren't super close to them the safest option to go with is either chocolates or bath stuff. Although, sometimes you can be friends with someone and not be super close but still put some extra thought into their present. If you know something they like then it is a good idea to get them something related to that.
It is also a good idea depending on the relationship you have to get something that means something to both of you. This could be a sweet gesture or could also be a inside joke. Both are good ideas and will make the receiver very happy. A sentimental or sweet birthday gift could be a photo frame or album or even a scrapbook of all the memories and adventures you have shared together. A present related to an inside joke depends on the inside joke, for example one year we decided that everyone on our group was going to get our friend marmite as they were so obsessed with it.
If it is a best friend then obviously you know them pretty well so shouldn't be struggling to think of a present for them. Sometimes it is good to get them something you know they like and is also something that means something to you but sometimes it is a good idea to give them a present like taking them out and doing something for their birthday together, therefore you give them an experience rather than something materialistic.
When we were younger it was often the case that our parents would buy our siblings presents and we would pay them back the money and pretend that we got it for them. This is alright as it is generally something that they have already asked for so is a safe bet. However, we have found that buying for our siblings is not actually that hard. You tend to spend a lot of time with your siblings even if you don't get on with them that much when you are young. Therefore you often learn what they like and often get a lot of inside jokes or trick your parents a lot. Therefore the presents could be related to this and often don't have any use at all after they have it but it is just a constant reminder of what it symbolizes.
When buying presents for parents it is a good idea to stick to something sentimental as it means something to them. Although some parents do like flowers or chocolate as well. Often, we give our parents things like a trip for afternoon tea or treat them to paying for them to go out. It is nice as most parents don't get many opportunities to do this as they are focused on work and their kids.
Sometimes the most simple presents can be amazing. We know that although people feel like chocolate and bath stuff is a safe present it can be an amazing present especially if you get some amazing stuff like a LUSH bath bomb or any other LUSH product as well as some nice chocolate that you know is their favourite. Once we got our friend loads and loads and loads of Lindor chocolates as they are absolutely in love with them.
Some places we go to get most of our presents are Paperchase, Boots, the Disney Shop and Hobby Craft. There are many other places it just depends on what you wan to get for that person.
Thank you for reading and don't forget to follow us on social media to keep up to date and don't forget to comment, see you next week x
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