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!

Fit Inside Out

Last Thursday evening I attended the launch night of Fit Inside Out. This new fitness studio is the brain child of Nikki Ryder, who is also a Mum to 9 month old Jasmine and 9 year old Livvy.

Fit Inside Out is all about giving women the strength they need to get through every day life more easily, and the way to do that? Encouraging women to be fit from the inside out.

Nikki offers personal fitness programmes put together by herself to help women achieve whatever targets they are aiming for. It's about being positive and loving who you are. Her launch night oozed this positivity, and Nikki's natural charm rubbed off on everybody in the room!

After informal mingling, drinking and canapes Nikki made a great speech as her daughter Livvy looked on at her admirably.

A few weeks prior to Nikki's launch night, I also photographed her in action in her studio. Scroll to the end to see the pictures. She invites women into her home for studio work in her converted garage as well as baby/mother stretches in her living room.

It's a great business with a concept that I think many women can relate to. Go check out her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/fitinsideoutltd/

CheltenhamMaman Launch

Last Friday morning I attended the CheltenhamMaman launch event at Pittville Pump Rooms, Cheltenham. 

CheltenhamMaman is a brand new website and events management site established in 2016 by Kate Starkey, local girl and Mum of three.

Kate spent the months following the birth of her new baby watching the social media accounts of London City mummies and grew increasingly frustrated by the lack of local networking, support and events for Mums who just want to hang out with and learn from other Mums but with a difference.

CheltenhamMaman is a parenting site and support network for Mums who are less interested in debating the merits of breast or bottle and more interested in surviving the day without getting baby sick on their brand new funky trainers that they bought with the last of their emergency savings. These Mums love their kids, but they won’t forget who they are. They are unique, true to themselves and just doing the stuff they got to do to get them through the day. Some of them are thriving; building brands and empires, others are just finding their feet and need a little support and that's where CheltenhamMaman comes in!

It was a great event with a fantastic turn out. Coffee and cake greeted people on their arrival and various stalls and fundraisers enticed the ladies to pamper themselves whilst raising money for good causes.

As people took to their seats, the 'Loose Women' style panel entered on stage. They debated a wide variety of mother and parenting topics, entering into discussions between other members of the panel and their audience. Advice was freely shared and given with time at the end for questions and answers. 

If you haven't already checked out CheltenhamMaman then visit their website at http://cheltenhammaman.co.uk/.

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/

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 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!

Suffolk's Street Fair

Mouse About Town's photography studio lies in the heart of The Suffolks; Cheltenham's boutique shopping quarter. So when they approached me about taking some photos of their street party, I was excited to be able to help them. 

The weather was fantastic and people flocked en mass to enjoy the market stalls, children's entertainment, street food, fun fair and of course all the shops, bars and cafes. 

If you haven't visited The Suffolks before then get yourself down there. There really is something for everyone; spas, vintage clothing agencies, independent female boutiques, reto and antique shops, cafes, delis, bars, gift shops. There are new shops are opening up all the time, a reflection of how quickly this small trading quarter is growing in popularity.

I hope to come along to more events at The Suffolks this year, so watch this space.

Ace Cross Country

A few months ago I got a phone call from Lynsey, who had been recommended to me by one of her friends who I had recently taken some family photos for. Lynsey was just about to open a new cross country course and as part of her launch week, was looking for a photographer to capture events. Lynsey had apparently been on my website and loved what she saw! 

Launch day was last week and here are the photos from it. The aim of the course is to offer riders and horses of all abilities a fun and interesting cross country experience. 

For more information about Ace Cross Country please visit their website at http://www.acecrosscountry.co.uk/