Girl In The Pretty Dress

Last weekend I visited Manchester Art Gallery - one of my favourite places in Manchester. It's not particularly big or prominent (as art galleries go) but it's well worth a visit. The 'Vogue 100' exhibition recently transferred here from the National Portrait Gallery and I wanted to take a look. Vogue is synonymous with fashion but I didn't realise the scale of artistic influence in it's pages until I saw this exhibition. It was fascinating to wander back through the decades and see the work of some of the greatest artists and photographers lifted from it's pages. Sadly photographs were prohibited within the exhibition - so you'll just have to visit it for yourself to see what I mean. (Entry is free.) If you're not in the area, don't worry... you can see much of Vogue's centenary celebrations online. Including it's back catalogue of covers here . I hadn't planned on seeing much else while I was there - but I was directed out o...

I grew up in a part of England that constantly comes alive with quirky traditions. Yanks Weekend is one such tradition. I'm not sure it can be explained all that succinctly but I'll try... In 1979 Richard Gere made a movie called 'Yanks'. It was about a group of American soldiers stationed in Britain and was set in the English countryside. The little villages (where I grew up) played a starring role in the film and for the last 16 years this fact has been marked with a 2-day celebration. For one weekend a year we step back in time to the 1940s. There are fairs, aerial displays and parades through the streets. A lot of people get into the spirit of things by dressing up vintage style - and there's an awful lot of swing dancing. Last year was one of the best and busiest yet - and the first time I've been able to experience it for quite a while so I thought I'd give you all a little taste. You can find out more about this brilliant and bizarre event here a...

A couple of weeks ago we were blessed with a rare springtime blast of sunshine and warmth (you all know by now how much I love the sunshine!) so I decided to take myself off for the day to Lyme Park . I've visited it in the past but I was about 5 at the time and purely there to see Santa - and understandably I wasn't so fussed for the gardens or the house. Lyme Park is pretty recognisable as it's been used in dozens of films and TV programmes in the past (A rather soggy Colin Firth famously climbed out of the lake here, when he was playing Mr Darcy in the BBC's adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice') and luckily it's not too far from where I live. The house and grounds used to belong to an old aristocratic family but after the second world war it was sold to the National Trust - who now manage and maintain it. The National Trust is a charity I am very proud to support as they do a lot of work maintaining hundreds of sites of historic importance. I was so i...

Last weekend I stumbled upon this place, completely by accident. I was supposed to be meeting up with family for a celebratory birthday meal for my sister, but I spotted signs for this place en-route and at the last minute we changed our plans. I'm so glad we did. Whether you have children, or you're just a big kid at heart like me, The Tropical Butterfly House Wildlife and Falconry centre is a wonderful day out. It is a little off the beaten track, but if you ever find yourself in the north of England I would recommend a visit. We didn't have long enough on our visit to explore everything but I will definitely be going back. Here are some of the highlights from our visit: The important bit: I'm an animal lover and always nervous about visiting these kinds of places but I found all the staff to be knowledgeable and devoted to the animals' well being. The enclosures were beau...