Sunday, 28 April 2013

Looking for Auntie Eunice, can you help?


Eunice Roberts



I've had an email from well known comedy writer Alan Stafford about my Mum's half sister Eunice Roberts, he's writing a book about the glorious sand dancers "Wilson, Kepple and Betty" and came across my previous blog entry where I tell the family rumour that Eunice took over as a Betty for a little while when the full time Betty fell ill. 

Alan has been kind enough to share his finding with me. He told me a little more about Eunice’s connection with Wilson, Keppel and Betty. 

They were all involved in a revue called Hello America! which toured the country for over a year, between June 1941 and July 1942. One of the items in the show was a sketch called "On The Home Front" and he found a cast list in a theatre programme for the Ipswich Hippodrome, which reads as follows: 
Private Everyman – Nor Kiddie, 
Capt. Thingmebob – Arthur Carvey, 
Bill Basher – Bill Berel, 
Charlie – Charlie Brown, 
Victim of Circumstances – Eunice Roberts, 
Stranded Lady – Betty Knox.

Betty Knox was the original Betty, so we now know that for over a year Eunice toured with WK&B and was in a sketch with Betty so it seems very likely that the family rumour is true!

Alan would like to talk to Eunice as there is now only one other person living who had direct contact with the trio, there are no living descendants either. 

My Mum would also like to re establish contact. She lost touch with Eunice years ago, she was last known to us in the Blackpool area. My Mum and Dad went there to try and find her with no success. Can you help please?

Eunice Roberts was her stage name, her real name is Eleanor (Nelly) Heads.
We think her married name might have been Hill
She had a daughter called Melody, with a middle initial of D, we think she may have been born around 1952
Eunice will be in her 80's now if she's still with us

If you've never seen Wilson, Kepple and Betty feast your eyes on this, they never fail to make me smile!


Thank you, for reading this far, if you have any information you can email me allysonx@hotmail.com

Saturday, 20 April 2013

So long, farewell....

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight...I hate to go and leave this pretty sight!


Yes, we are moving. When we took this house we had 3 teenagers in residence, 2 have flown and it's too big for the rest of us, so we're going to have a crack at being urban dwellers. Friends and family are wondering how long I'll last but town has it's many compensations, our new view is equally as good if not better! I can't sit out with a coffee looking at the Roman Wall and listening to the Curlews but I can walk to The Sage, The Baltic, The Cluny, the Free Trade Inn and I can get rid of my dratted gas guzzling car, need I say more?



Moving from a farmhouse with a workshop to a small apartment means I needed to find somewhere to make my lovely handmade soaps and luscious pots of skincare, after much searching and driving around I found this beauty only 300 m from my front door! What a novelty...going out to work again in this fabby building in the Ouseburn Valley overlooking the quayside!


I've got two rooms with plenty of sockets, lovely arched windows that look out onto a park and freshly laid sparkly red flooring that won't show the dirt, it's a messy business this working with plant oils and nut butters! I should start to move in at the beginning of May.


I need to change this sink, I have a huge catering one in storage so hopefully that will get taken down to town next week to be plumbed in. I can't wait to get my stuff in and make it pretty!


I'm starting to get excited now, trips to tip and charity shops have already started, a lot of my precious things have been sold on ebay and I've begun to pack up my china. If I miss the countryside I can go for a drive out or take a trip up the canal on our old boat http://www.facebook.com/NbBirmingham...so all is good! 

Thank you for reading this far, I know I witter on so as a little thank you here is a DISCOUNT code, just enter MOVING2013 at the checkout to get a 15% discount, valid until 27th April.

You can click on the "Our Products" tab above or follow this link http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk








Wednesday, 17 April 2013

New Soaps Listed

I've listed some new gourmet artisan soaps today, made with pure essential oils and natural colourants they smell delicious and are mild and bubbly.

A sensuously decadent soap with Patchouli and pure unadulterated Rose Otto essential oils, this mild and bubbly soap is coloured with henna and madder root, a truly exotic treat!


A lovely delicate soap fragranced with a blend of Rosewood, Labdanum, Geranium, Patchouli and Sicillian Orange it has a light floral scent with subtle woody undertones.


A lovely lemony soap with hints of Rose Geranium. Naturally coloured with Lemongrass essential oil, Rose clay and Rose Madder this is a beautiful soap with definite sink appeal!



You can see more of our unique and unusual soaps here  http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk/ourshop/cat_579697-Gourmet-Soap.html 

Monday, 15 April 2013

Rust and Rivets Part Two

Our old boat is coming along nicely, if we are lucky we might get to some historic boat gatherings over the summer. It'll probably take more than a year to get everything done that we would like to do, I can't wait to get stuck into making the back cabin cosy.

The old masonite board on the cabin sides has been removed and is being replaced with steel, the work is being done by Streethay Wharf.


Cabin side off and wood being treated for rot


Mark the welder in front of his handiwork



All new back deck and cants


Only one spot where the rot has gone through...we have been very lucky.

You can keep up with the progress of Birmingham No 121 here Linky

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Courier Kerfuffle!

As you may know Royal Mail put up their prices on the parcels that I send out from £2.20 to £5.25, I decided to give "Collect +" a go they are only £3.99. I took my parcels to the drop shop in Hexham after I'd paid my £35 and the bloke in the shop refused them saying it was a health and safety risk having so many parcels behind the counter, I said he had to take them as I'd paid (and driven a fair way) and he just went in for the kill...I've never had anyone be so nasty and aggressive to me when I was trying to use their service, to top it all this bloke was about 6'4" tall and about 4' wide, he looked like a nightclub bouncer and had the attitude to match. I managed to tell him that he was rude and I left. I burst into tears in the car! I phoned Collect + to report him and the girl I spoke to on the phone was a treasure, they've promised to refund my money and look into it.
In the meantime my parcels are all very late, I have tried to get other couriers to take on my business but they won't I'm either too small or too far out in the countryside, I'm going to try MyHermes next to tide me over until I move to town, this has been a nightmare of a week.

On a more cheery note, I've changed my website again...it would seem that the pink wasn't popular with my customers so now I've opted for pale grey, charcoal and white...let me know what you think, is that better? http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk

I have a new soap. I'll be listing this tomorrow, I need to think up a name...it smells gorgeous, a light floral with delicate woody undertones..

Friday, 22 March 2013

Shadowlake Handmade Soap

Newly listed on the website today Shadowlake handmade soap, fragranced with the pure essential oils of Lavender, Patchouli, Lime and Vetiver. Naturally coloured with Alkanet, Madder root, Green clay and Moroccan Lava clay this beautiful soap smells as good as it looks.

100g bar wrapped in natural cellophane.






Friday, 8 March 2013

Warming up for Spring?

What a winter we've had up here on the Roman Wall, snow, snow and more snow!



Heating the house has been a challenge, I'm not a big fan of being cold and the price of heating oil is criminal! I'm very lucky that a chum of mine has a son that cuts and sells logs for pocket money so it has been cosy in the lounge when the log burner has been lit but with the heating off the rest of the house has been Arctic!


On one particularly chilly day I was taking a break beside the stove drinking coffee and browsing the web, I clicked on my website (as you do) and thought it looked bleak, I'd gone for a simple monochrome theme so as not to detract from my products but in the cold grey light of winter I realised something had to be done to make it more inviting, It's taken me a few weeks but now I'm finished...take a look and let me know what you think?

You can see the new look in all it's glory here HERE

This is what it looked like before.

Keep checking back, we have some super exciting news coming up, there will be pictures x

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Rust and Rivets

My partner and I recently sold our modern narrow boat and bought an ex working boat to restore, we have long wanted rust and rivets and that is exactly what we have got! We fell in love with "The Birmingham No 121" affectionately known as "Brum" as soon as we saw it, lot's of work to be done but it will be a labour of love. We are detailing the restoration on a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/NbBirmingham the works starts in January so pop along and like the page to keep up with the progress.



We had a lovely visitor a few weeks ago, this is Ted Jones, his Mum and Dad had The Birmingham from new, he used to steer her when he was a lad, he's a sprightly 84 now. The bottom picture is Ted sitting on Brums first butty boat "The Bordesley" moored up alongside, what a canny little chap.






Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for placing an order with http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. YOU keep me going ♥



Monday, 3 December 2012

On Saturday our lovely POP UP SHOP will make it's annual appearance in the unused shop next door to the conservative club in Hexham to coincide with the Christmas Market on 8th December 9am-4pm
In our bijoux one day emporium you will find artist Gwen Ridley, Sweetly Wrapped with their quirky wallets and purses, me with my soaps and a nice lady called Caroline with Vintage and antique jewellery.

Gwen can paint anything but is most famous for her fairies and pet portraits http://www.gwenridley.com



Sweetly Wrapped have great unusual gifts which include purses, wallets and passport holders. http://www.sweetlywrapped.co.uk/about.html


Lisa sells rather nice antique and Vintage Jewels (pic for illustration purposes only) and her prices are very reasonable.



Of course I will be there with my natural soaps and skincare from http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk

Come in for a natter and a warm up xxx

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

Coming soon

I've been a busy little bee! I'm waiting for these lovelies to finish curing, the smell is heavenly!


They are...Heaven Scent (bottom left) Dark Star (top right) Into the Woods (middle bottom row) and Out of the Earth (middle right column) 
The "Heaven and Earth" collection, available soon from our website http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk 



Thursday, 19 April 2012

15% Discount!

THIS WEEK ONLY we are offering our lovely customers 15% discount on our yummy products with the code APRIL2012 Just enter at checkout to get the money off!

We have now added our extra special Gourmet soaps to our own website, they are strictly limited edition so get yours now at a great price before they are gone.



FREE Postage on all orders over £30

Monday, 5 March 2012

FREE Delivery on all UK orders over £30

We offer FREE Delivery on all UK orders over £30 on our website http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk


Perfect for Mother's Day our Lavender Spa Bag has everything you need for a relaxing soak, see this and more in our "Gifts under £20" section.


Sunday, 20 November 2011

Not on the High Street

We are very proud to have been asked to sell on NOTHS, they claim that 90% of all applicants are rejected so we are chuffed big style!

Here is a picture of our storefront, we hope you like it. Click on the picture to go to the page.


You can still shop on our own website too http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk 

Saturday, 5 November 2011

We are very lucky to be part of a wonderful Christmas gift showcase featured alongside some gorgeous bears, jewellery, fibre arts, toys, candles, cards and much, much more!
Please take a look and consider buying from a small producer this Christmas many of whom are keeping families afloat in these hard times.


I love to get handmade gifts, they demonstrate more care in the making and more effort with the choosing...they are special and make me feel special too xxx

http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk

Sunday, 23 October 2011

New Soap for Craft Fair

We will be displaying our wares at the Allendale Forge Christmas Fair 12/13th November, we have made some very special soaps to celebrate!


All natural colours and fragrances


Made with 50% olive oil and lashings of shea butter


Please pop in and say hello, it's open 10-4 xxx

I have now listed them in my NOTHS shop http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/bellinghamsoapcompany


Thursday, 18 August 2011

I'm watching you.....Moo!


I dashed out today while it was dry to take some product shots for an upcoming magazine article, I thought it wise to include one of my best sellers, the very yummy Rose Madder handmade soap, I'm happy to say it has been a customer favourite for years.

I remember when I first made it, I had been experimenting with madder root for about a year previously, tweaking and honing the recipe until I got it just right...I made the final "ready to sell" batch on the 3rd of November 2007.

It was batch number 2345, I'm onto 2699 now, I make 62 bars in a batch...I'll let you do the maths!

It is a legal requirement for soapmakers to keep meticulous written records which have to include a batch number, the date of manufacture, method (if differing from the norm) and every ingredient used, we must keep them on file for a minimum of 7 years, I have mine back to the very first recipe I ever concocted in 1997...Trading standards come round every year to check my documentation and test my scales...if you break the rules it's not just the cows that are watching!

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

Amazing Deal on Guest Soaps

Our natural handmade guest soaps are fragranced with pure essential oils and cost £6.00 for a 500g bag containing 25-30 soaps depending on the bar weight, this is roughly 20p each, but now you can get them even cheaper....

If you buy 3 bags I will send you out a fourth bag absolutely FREE while stocks last!


I always send out a good selection of fragrances.

The soaps are unwrapped and packaged in a recycled paper bag. They will be despatched Royal Mail parcel post, this will take around 5-7 days, the package will need to be signed for so please make sure that someone is in, if you miss the postie you will probably have to collect it from the PO.


To buy follow this link

Our new site http://www.workingwithnature.co.uk/ please bookmark

This offer has now ended due to low stocks, keep checking as I will probably put it back on as soon as stock levels return to normal


Ethical Soaps and Skincare

Ethical Soaps and Skincare
This blog is mostly about our "Working with Nature" range of ethical soaps and skincare, occasionally I do throw in extra little bits of interest or madness