Cocktails, Brunch and Bookshops

So the other day me and my family headed down to Bath for a cute little day trip out. From previous posts, you'll all know that I love going to Bath because its just so bloody lovely in so many ways! 

On our way down to Bath, we decided to take a detour to Hallatrow to a place where I've been dying to visit for some time now.. The Book Barn. Ok, so basically The Book Barn is honestly the biggest book store that I have ever stepped in and for a bookworm like myself, it was an absolute dream. As soon as I stepped through the doors, I was surrounded by books; bookshelves from floor to ceiling brimming with oh, so many books. What I loved though, is that they're all second hand, vintage books, you know them good ol' books with broken spines, that smell like moth balls, well..I love them!  For me as much as I love going into the likes of Waterstones to buy a new book, there is nothing I love more than purchasing ones that are previously owned. There is just something so lovely about flicking through the tea stained, worn, moth eaten pages of a second hand book; title pages scrawled with notes from previous owners; the musty aroma, I just love everything about them! It just feels so nostalgic and romantic to wonder about who this book in your hands used to belong to and what this meant to that particular person. I know, I know... you're probably thinking, it is just a book right? Well not to me!

Ok so as well as housing the most books I've ever laid my eyes upon, they also have the most charming little coffee shop in there which means you can sit down and have a cuppa whilst having a read of one of the many books that you're surrounded by. We ended up having coffee and brunch before we headed into Bath and it was just oh, such a lovely setting to sit and enjoy my cup of coffee.

We shortly headed into Bath to do a bit of shopping and later on ended up going to Turtle Bay for food and cocktails. But overall, it was just such a lovely little day out, full of book shopping, cocktails and Caribbean food and I forget to mention I also picked up some of my favouriteeee flowers (peonies) from the cutest little florist in Bath. I'm definitely a happy chappy now we're in peony season as it means that I can have lots of cute little jam jars full of them in my room!

On a final note, you should definitely check out Bath if you haven't done so before and if you have already, I'd love to hear about your favourite shops, restaurants and places to go there!

The Clueless Blogger

A Must Have Book For Your Shelves

Just Kids Patti Smith

Ok, so this is a book that I've had sitting on my shelf for quite a while now amidst the hundreds of other books that I'm yet to read and it's been one of those books that has been staring at me begging me to read it since the day I picked it up from one of my favorite record stores a year or so ago. I mean I've been wanting to read this ever since I bought it but having so many books means that I'm always spoiled for choice and with my reading game being a little bit off recently, I've just not gotten round to sitting down and having a good read in such a long time thanks to university life being so hectic.

But anyway as I no longer have to suffer the traumas of university for three months, it means that I can happily get back to reading and oh am I so so pleased that I started off my summer with this absolute dream of a book!

Some of you may or may not have heard of Patti Smith so for those of you less familiar, I'll give you a quick run down of who she is, what she has done and why she wrote this book. Ok so basically Patti Smith is predominantly a singer-songwriter however as you'll find out from the book, in her earlier years her road into music led from her love of art and her incorporation of poetry within it. Without telling you too much as I don't wish to ruin it for you, what the book really reveals is the way in which her journey leads her from art to poetry to music, all with the help of her muse and soulmate Robert Mapplethorpe. It is a beautiful tale of love, friendship, identity and progression with the perfect backdrop of life in America in the 70's but also the harrowing and subliminal consequences of growing up around the very liberal, drugs, arts and rock and roll scene.


Anyway the reason I fell oh so in love with this absolute work of art is due to the pure poetic style that Patti Smith has in her narration of her odyssey both in terms of her journey towards her music career but also the ethereal and pure relationship that she held with her soulmate Robert Mapplethorpe. The book tells the harrowing story of how she left home, got wrapped up in art, how her and Robert helplessly battled with poverty and scraping by through the help of selling their art; the rock and roll scene and for me what absolutely made this book was the way Smith and Mapplethorpe lived in the centre of so many artists and musicians stomping ground so the likes of Andy Warhol and Jimi Hendrix. An absolute favourite scene of mine is when Patti Smith travels to Paris to pay her respects to one of her heroes Jim Morrison(Lead singer of the Doors) and the way in which she illustrates and captures the moment she visited his grave is captured in such a heartfelt and powerful way.

I absolutely fell head over heels in love with Patti Smith's elegy to Mapplethorpe and the beautifully sad tale of their intertwined lives. It is such a beautifully raw piece of Literature and Patti Smith's storytelling is unparalleled. Throughout the memoir, there are photographs of both Smith and Mapplethorpe but also of their art and photography which just adds to the beauty of the book. It is a book that is a perfect read for your Summer days and one you can completely obsess over. This is for sure a book that will be remaining on my shelves forever more, one that I will never be parting with!

The Clueless Blogger

Escape to the Sea

As you all know by now, I absolutely adore Cornwall; this is something I feel goes without saying as you can tell by my copious amounts of blog posts on the place. Cornwall is honestly like a second home for me or well I guess a third home as I now live in Manchester also but anyway as I was saying I love the place and after spending so much time down there along the years, it is certainly a place that I resonate with completely and somewhere I feel completely at home. Anyway, me and my family decided to make an impromptu getaway down there at the weekend as its been such a long time since our last visit.

After a mad rush packing on friday evening, literally chucking everything into my bag not knowing whether I had remembered everything, we hopped in the car and began our four hour long journey down to one of my favourite places. Despite our journey being extended by two more hours due to rush hour traffic, it wasn't all that bad as it meant that I was able to spend the entire journey both there and back with my earphones in listening to my absolute favourites Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Doors, Nina Simone, Patti Smith.. I think you get the picture. It was absolute bliss, there's just something so ethereal about listening to Dylan playing his harmonica as you drive along the country roads. For me car journeys are the absolute perfect way to have a little thinking time but it also allows me to do loads of writing and reading, I love it!

Ok, so this post turned out to be slightly more rambly than precedented but ah well! We basically spent the whole weekend roaming around the shops, streets and alleyways of the town; taking photos of the sea; indulging in cake on the beach in the rain and admiring all the quirks that Cornwall has to offer. Although, the weather was pretty miserable on Saturday and it rained the whole time we were at the beach, this didnt bother me in the slightest as there is nothing I lve more than sitting on a drizzly beach, a conception that a lot of people probably find a bit strange ha ha. I also spent my days roaming aimlessly round all of the little boho shops that were full of crystals, dream catchers, incense and the most amazing quirky clothes, I was completely in my element!

Overall it was a great little getaway! Cornwall is an absolute gem if you want to getaway but still stay in the UK and if you're like me and love Cornwall too, let me know some of your favourite places down there, I'd love to know for my next visit! Or if you're planning on going to visit, then feel free to ask if you'd like to know anymore of the best places to visit when you're down there, I'd love to help!

The Clueless Blogger