26. The Versatile Blogger Award

Despite my best efforts, my plans of regular posting have not materialized.  Life, inevitably got in the way in the form of a sudden job change, and my life was thrown head first into chaos once again. I feel I should elaborate. At the beginning of this year my old company decided they wanted to initiate an office move, and my department was the main one affected. It involved moving down to Devon, which as I'm sure you can appreciate were not part of my current plans being in my late twenties. This period lasted from February until mid May this year, which I have to admit was the most draining experience of my life to date.  I was fortunate enough to be able to move across the company into a completely different role, however in my heart I knew it was not the direction I wanted to move towards career wise. That was when I was given the chance to try something completely out of my previous field of expertise, which brings me to where I am now. 
I'm really happy with my choice, and it has lots of good opportunities for me progression wise. I'm excited to see what the future will hold! 
As silly as it sounds, you don't realise quite how much the emotional toll of things in the above situation take on you. Everything took a back seat up until now, my blog, my writing, my cathedral guide training. Even friends and family at times. I only now feel like I have regained control and have a clear idea of what I want and where I want to go. 
Hand in hand with this comes my blog, which I am experiencing a rejuvenated need to get back into and to work at to make it the very best it can be. My energy and enthusiasm has returned ten fold. 

With this in mind, the lovey Karina nominated me for The Versatile Blogger award over on her blog, accompanied by a really nice comment - thank you darling! Karina's blog is chock block full of interesting posts about history, her latest reads and life in general - you'll definitely be hooked if you give it a peek! She's an absolute beaut.
To accept this award I have to follow these rules:
The Rules for accepting the Award: 1. Display the Award Certificate 2. Write a post and link back to the blogger who nominated you 3. Post seven interesting things about yourself 4. Nominate up to fifteen other bloggers (and why you've nominated them)  5. Inform them of their nomination Here I go!

1. I am not a natural redhead - yes, shock horror! Yet some of my friends forget this fact on a regular basis. I have been ginger since my last year of university (back in 2011) and I couldn't imagine going back to natural or any other colour. I feel it has become an integral part of my identity. 

2. My favourite film is Singin' in the Rain. I am a huge Gene Kelly fan, and this was the first film my Papa showed me one rainy Saturday when I was little. We both share a love of old musicals to this day. 

3. My favourite book is The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. If you haven't read it you really need to give it a go! 

4. I studied Print Journalism at university, however looking back I really wish I had chosen Creative Writing. I realised half way through my degree that I didn't actually want to be a writer in the journalistic sense, reporting news, writing features. My natural inclination was and is to be lost in the far of worlds of my imagination. I think it is so important to be passionate about what you study, as by the end of my degree I really wasn't enjoying it. 

5. I am a big animal lover, and would rather spend time around animals than most human beings. 

6. I consider myself half-Scottish, as my mum is from Glasgow. I grew up extremely close to my mum's parents and when very small even had a slight Scottish lilt to my accent as I was around them so much. Nowadays I can't do a decent Scottish accent to save my life, which is really depressing! Papa is less than thrilled, being a stout Englishman. 

7. I dream of becoming a published author, and for the last few years have been writing and revising the story of Joan of Kent. It is still very much a work in progress however I am loving the experience of developing and adapting my story. It is a real learning experience, and I cannot wait to one day unleash it upon the world. 

I hope you learnt a bit more about me, and found it interesting. 

Now, for my nominations:

1. Meandering Through Time by Andrea Povey - Andrea writes about various different events in history, as well as having fascinating posts on her ancestors from times gone by. I really enjoy getting lost in her blog for a couple of hours. A fellow Ricardian, she is very engaging and has a wealth of knowledge to share. 

2. Matt's History Blog by Matthew Lewis - Published author Matt has been on my Twitter feed and blog radar for what feels like forever. He is a passionate Ricardian, and is determined to make others think of Richard III as something more than the deformed child, murdering uncle he has been painted throughout history. He is as engaging as he is well informed, and I can always count on him to put forward a well thought out and researched argument while taking into consideration the times that the man that was Richard lived through. 

3. Cider With Rosie  by Rosie Chappel - I have been obsessed with Rosie's blog since I first came across it. I love the way she writes, and the photos she takes for her blog. Since getting engaged I have been devouring eveyr post she has ever made about weddings as she got married this year (yay!) it is a beautiful blog! I especially love her 10 happy things lists. 

4. Lauren Johnson by Lauren Johnson - Lauren is an author, historian and costumed interpreter with Past Pleasures, working her magic at various historical sites around the UK. I'm a bit in awe of Lauren, and her talents. I'd love to be able to do her job as it must be endlessly fascinating.  

I do hope you check out my nominations, and that you have enjoyed this post. Let me know what you think in the comments below - are there any bloggers you think I should check out?