Sostrene Grene Store Opening

International Danish retailer, Søstrene Grene, is the home of beautiful homewares and creative DIY inspiration at very affordable prices. I was hired for 90 minutes to take photos of the grand opening of their brand new store in Cheltenham, and what a busy occasion it was! There was a 4 piece orchestra, the town mayor, an interior designer from TV series This Morning! plus a massive queue stretching all the way back through the Brewery Quarter.

My brief was to capture natural shots of the crowds, the queue, shoppers, the interior, the check outs, plus of course the ribbon cutting and various group shots of staff and managers. Below is just a small selection of shots.

If you have an event coming up that you require a professional photographer for then please get in touch using my contact page or send an email to info@mouseabouttown.co.uk. Alternatively, give me a call on 07983 465414. Thanks!

Prostate Cancer Ball

I was recently asked to cover a prostate cancer ball in Cheltenham. It was a charity event so I wavered my fee. I was booked for an hour to capture the arrival of guests and some mingling before they went into sit down for the meal and silent auction. There was a Prosecco bar on arrival, followed by canapés and the opportunity to enter the raffle. Everyone was dressed to the nines and I could see they were going to be in for a good night.

If you have an event coming up and would like to book something similar then please get in touch using my contact page or send an email to info@mouseabouttown.co.uk. Alternatively, give me a call on 07983 465414. Thank you.

Energist UK

This is the second time I have been asked to photograph Energist UK. It was a very similar set up to before - I was booked for thirty minutes to take some informal photos of company employees enjoying dinner together. They had booked a private room at The Ivy, Cheltenham. Towards the end of the session they requested a couple of group shots.

If you have a company event and need some professional photographs then please get in touch using my contact page or send an email to info@mouseabouttown.co.uk. Alternatively, give me a call on 07983 465414. Thank you.

Lilliput Concert 2018

It had been a while since I was last at one of Kate Skeet's fabulous Lilliput concerts so it was lovely to be invited back on Monday and soak up the wonderful music along with all the other parents and children in the audience. 

Kate was playing and did a super rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, which everyone joined in with. Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes was another hit! There was the usual clamour and chaos as the little ones danced, laughed and sang along. Really super to see them enjoying the music so much.

If you have an event coming up that you would like professionally photographed then please get in touch. I can price according to budget. Just get in touch using my contact page or give me a call on 07983 465414. Thanks!

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Babel Babies Italian Fiesta

In March I joined my friends at Babel Babies for their second Fri-yay Fiesta! They had teamed up with Babel Bar in the Brewery Quarter in Cheltenham, which hosted this wonderful event where families could relax, enjoy lunch with their friends, and practise a bit of Italian in a sociable setting.

The event began with a Babel Babies multilingual music family session at 11am, with songs and stories in languages from around the world aimed at parents with babies and children from birth to school age. 

At 11.45am everyone sat down and ate lunch together around a long table. It was just like a convivial family gathering, with sharing platters of Italian cuisine, and everyone chatting about languages. 

Cate Hamilton, founder of Babel Babies, invited me along to capture all the fun. I've worked with Cate on numerous occasions and her sessions are always vibrant and full of energy. That's what I try and capture in the photos. It was lovely to observe the little ones and see them engage so well with the music and the languages. It was even funnier watching them try some of the food that was served up afterwards!! Scroll down to see some of the highlights from the morning.

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Babel Babies French Fiesta

A few weeks ago I joined my friends at Babel Babies for their first Fri-yay Fiesta! They had teamed up with Babel Bar in the Brewery Quarter in Cheltenham, which hosted this wonderful event where families could relax, enjoy lunch with their friends, and practise a bit of French in a sociable setting.

The event began with a Babel Babies multilingual music family session at 11am, with songs and stories in languages from around the world aimed at parents with babies and children from birth to school age. 

At 11.45am everyone sat down and ate lunch together around a long table. It was just like a convivial family gathering, with sharing platters of French cheeses, charcuterie, bread and olives, and everyone chatting about languages. 

Cate Hamilton, founder of Babel Babies, invited me along to capture all the fun. I've worked with Cate on numerous occasions and her sessions are always vibrant and full of energy. That's what I try and capture in the photos. It was lovely to observe the little ones and see them engage so well with the music and the languages. It was even funnier watching them try some of the food that was served up afterwards!! Scroll down to see some of the highlights from the morning.

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Mulligan's VIP Night

I was recently booked to cover the VIP night of the new Mulligan's Adventure Golf Course that has just opened in the Brewery quarter of Cheltenham. It was a super fun night. I spent the first hour capturing the setting of the golf course and the remaining three hours photographing people in full swing, (excuse the pun) enjoying the different holes and tees. No flash was used in any of the pictures.

If you have an event coming up that you would like professionally photographed then please do get in touch using the form on my contact page. Alternatively please call me on 07983 465414. Thanks.

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High School Prom

Last Tuesday evening I was at Manor By The Lake for St Andrew's High School prom. I'm more accustomed to photographing weddings at this lovely venue in Cheltenham but it's always nice to get a job that's a little bit different.   

If you have an event coming up that you would like professionally photographed then please do get in touch using the form on my contact page. Alternatively please call me on 07983 465414. Thanks.

CDS - Alex Chalk Presentation

This job was for CDS, a Cheltenham based defence support service company who were awarding a member of their staff a scholarship award. Local MP Alex Chalk was there as special guest. I've never met him before but he came across as a very nice chap. He was well rehearsed with his speech and took the time to meet each member of staff. I was impressed. After the 60 minute presentation coverage, which combined some formal and reportage shots, I was asked if I could stay on a bit to do some head shots for their new website.

If you have an event that you would like professionally photographed then please get in touch using my contact page or give me a call on 07983 465414. Thanks!

Village Show 2016!

Last Sunday saw the return of the very fabulous Cheltenham Connect Village Show! It takes place once every two years. This year it was held at The Exmouth on the Bath Road. This is always such a fun event that gets the whole community involved. If you're chuffed with your chutney or proud of your punch, then you should have got your entry in for a chance of winning top prize and Best in Show!

There was heaps to entertain young and old! Hook the fish, bobbing apples, story telling, face painting, wood fired pizzas, a human fruit machine, guess the weight of the pumpkin and of course the ever popular dog show!

I took my whole Mouse family down and we spent a lovely afternoon in the sunshine with friends. I was half on duty too as the organisers of the event had asked if I could come along and take some pictures. They also invited me to judge the 'Home brew and Horticulture' category! After all the entries were dropped off, (including my own mini mice paintings and selfies for which they won joint 3rd and 2nd and 3rd!) the judges began the difficult task of picking their favourites.

The dog show took place towards the end of the afternoon and as usual it was a riot of wagging tails and boisterous barks! I was particularly proud of our own dog, Remy, who won 1st prize for best 'Golden Oldie'!! She is 10 years old  and still going strong, despite the many children and animals that have joined her along the way!

The Big Saturday

Last Saturday I attended a very special music festival at my son's school, St James Primary, Cheltenham. 

This epic event was the first in St James' history. It was a massive fundraising effort, held to support Natalia Spencer, who is  currently walking the entire coastline of Great Britain to raise money for the Bristol Children's Hospital, and to remember her daughter, Elizabeth, who was a pupil at St James and who tragically died last year.

The festival was a huge success. The sun was shining and the air was filled with the wonderful sound of children's chatter and laughter. Happy faces beamed with rainbow smiles that dazzled in the sunshine. It was a vibrant and colourful carnival of fun that has created wonderful memories for all those who came along. Elizabeth would have been very proud and I think her smile was felt on each and every one of us.

Big thanks to all those who helped to organised the event and to the many local businesses who donated equipment and raffle prizes, (myself included). As you'll see from the photos below, there was a main stage with school productions going on all day followed by live music in the evening, (I sadly had to leave at 6pm to go onto another job) but I still captured lots of the action! School children ran their own stalls, there were ukulele workshops, reading work shops with the fabulous Tracey Courdroy , willow weaving, crafts and so much more!

If you would like to find out more about The Big Saturday, Natalia and her story or make a donation then follow the links below. Thanks!

The Big Saturday:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/951098191665676/

Elizabeth's Footprint:

http://elizabethsfootprint.com/

Donate:

https://www.justgiving.com/remember/257357/Elizabeth-Spencer

 

Lilliputs Christmas Concert 2015

Just before Christmas I had the absolute pleasure of catching up with Kate at her Lilliputs Christmas Concert. Kate had invited me along to capture all the fun! This is the fourth time I've taken photos for her. Check out the links below to view some of my previous work with Lilliputs.

Lilliputs Christmas Concert 2014

Lilliputs June Concert

This Christmas Concert was fantastic! Cotswold Brass got young and old on their feet and into the festive spirit with their brilliant renditions of many well known Christmas classics. At the end the children even got to try a few of their instruments out too! 

For more information about these fabulous, toddler friendly classical concerts check out their website at http://lilliputconcerts.blogspot.co.uk/

Lilliputs June Concert

On Monday I went along to photograph the always fabulous Lilliput Concert - a classical concert series especially for adults and babies.  

This is the third time that Kate Skeet, the brainchild behind Lilliputs, has asked me along to photograph her wonderfully relaxed and child friendly concerts. Previously I have photographed their Christmas concert, (click here to view the photos). It's always such fun. There is heaps going on, with little ones often clambering onto the stage and clapping along to the music.

Concerts take place on a monthly basis at St Andrew's Church in Cheltenham. The music is proper grown up classical, but in bite sized, toddler attention-span friendly chunks. Each concert lasts for around 40 minutes. For more information go to http://lilliputconcerts.blogspot.co.uk/

If you would like to book me for an event you have coming up please send me an email using my contact page or give me a call on 07983 465414. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!

Playhouse Theatre Family Day

On Sunday 22nd March, The Playhouse Theatre held a family fun day, all in aid of Cheltenham's community theatre.

I managed to get down there for an hour or so, despite having my cake smash marathon event on the same day, (pics from that event being uploaded soon) and I've been so busy ever since this is the first chance I've had to get some photos on the website. 

I hope you like them, it was great fun!


Lilliputs Christmas Concert 2014

This is the second time that Kate Skeet, founder of Lilliput Concerts, has asked me to come along to photograph her wonderful child friendly classical concert. 

Lilliput's Christmas concert was truly magical. 

Concerts take place on a monthly basis at St Andre's Church in Cheltenham. The music is proper grown up classical, but in bite sized, toddler attention-span friendly chunks. Each conert lasts for around 40 minutes. For more information go to http://lilliputconcerts.blogspot.co.uk/

“Gill is the regular photographer for Lilliput Concerts, taking great pictures for us. She is always friendly, discreet & efficient, getting great shots of performers & audience alike whilst respecting the wishes of those who don’t want to appear in photos for our publicity. Whenever I publish a selection of Gill’s photos, our concert page hit rate increases.”
— Kate Skeet, January 2015

Cheltenham Connect Show

Cheltenham Connect is a highly successful local community initiative that was founded in 2009 and that has gone on to be one of the fastest growing and most active initiatives in Cheltenham. It was set up with the aim of strengthening and empowering the residential and trading community of South Cheltenham ( Leckhampton, Naunton Park, The Bath Road, The Suffolks, Tivoli and The Park). Anyone in Cheltenham can become a member, especially if you are interested in supporting the area.

Over the last few years, Mouse About Town has formed close connections with this organisation. I shot their 2012 village show, which was held in the Bath Road Market at the time, so I was thrilled to be invited along this year to document their 2014 show!

Bakers, makers and growers were all invited to come along and exhibit their talents, and maybe even win the 'best-in-show' award for their pumpkin, cake, jam or needlework! There were children's categories and a fancy dress parade too!  

It was a great afternoon with lots going on. I hope their next show will be as big a success.

Paws In The Park 2014

Last year Mouse About Town was invited along to cover Paws in the Park, a dog festival of enormous magnitude that takes place in Pittville Park, Cheltenham, once a year in August.

It was my usual documentary style of photography; capturing candid moments by simple observation. A few other factors play key parts too, of course, lighting and position being two elements that spring to mind instantly. 

It was a great morning. A fantastic variety of characters, and that was just the owners! Being a dog lover and owner myself, it never surprises me how often the dogs look like their owners. Some similarities were scarily uncanny! 

I hope you like the photos in this series. I hope to be back there again this year. Watch this space!

Montpellier Day

Last weekend, Mouse About Town popped down to Montpellier Day; a celebration of our talented local traders, who with their passion and craft, are what make the Montpellier District of Cheltenham so very special. 

Montpellier is a bustle of quirky, independent shops. From the cavernous vintage treasures in Pink Vintage to the cool and contemporary delights in Pod, there are home stores, children's clothes boutiques and fabulous kitchen houses. 

The Montpellier association are always putting on local events, so I hope to be involved this year in some of them.

The Big Lunch @ The Junction

The Big Lunch is a very simple idea from the Eden Project. The aim is to get as many people as possible across the whole of the UK to have lunch with their neighbours annually on the first Sunday in June in a simple act of community, friendship and fun. Since starting in 2009, thousands of Big Lunches have taken place in all types of communities. 

This photographic coverage I took is from the big lunch that was held on our street, at the junction between Commercial Street and Gratton Street in Cheltenham. It was a terrific afternoon, spent with friends and neighbours. The children had the most fun I can ever remember - racing each other on scooters down the road, playing 'drivers' in Daddy's van, writing all over the pavements in chalk, eating huge wedges of cake. Just a total blast!