Barnsley Zine Fair February 2026

Saturday the 25th of February was the fifth Barnsley Zine Fair and I again had a table and could sell all my zines! Jason at the Civic has done so well with it and people are now coming from all over the place to table - this time we had people from Fife, Edinburgh, London, and Cambridge! So many people came to buy things, too - there was a steady stream all day which is great. Of the 60 stallholders, thirty of them had never tabled before so that's an amazing ratio! I am so thrilled that it's doing so well.

Lee and I got set up around 10am. I had done loads of copies of my zines in the weeks previous and we had spent a long time putting them together. I had also done copies again of Lee's zine Primark Punks (The Non Punk's Guide to Punk Music) which he made about ten years ago but which we haven't copied for a while. I had some new signs for my stall which I think really helped sales, so that's good. 

As I said there were people through all day. Someone said they had bought the previous two issues of my zine Tracks of My Years so they were pleased to buy the third one! It's always nice to hear that people have enjoyed my zines and want more. I saw some friends like Chris, Gears for Queers from Fife, and Chloe, who has been at each of the fairs too. She's one of Barnsley's young makers, who I LOVE and love to encourage them, so it was nice to see her. A few people asked me to trade, which I also LOVE - it's like a present because you never know what you'll get! I spent way too much money on zines myself, oops. 

When the fair finished Lee and I went to the Market Kitchen for tea. We both had fresh pizzas from Neros which were really good. Mine was olives and feta, dunno. Lee's was just margerita. Then we bought brownies and took them home. We relaxed all evening; I did read some of my new zines! 

I was wearing this new striped dress that I got off Vinted although it's from Shein originally. I got the same one in grey, but I love the peachy colour of this one. I love the fact that the stripes go in different ways, and I of course love the pockets! I think I'll be wearing this a lot this summer especially. It is a teensy bit shorter than I really like to wear with tights, so I will probably wear it with leggings. That's fine, at least then I'll be comfy! 

It was a lovely day, but tiring. 

My stall all set up before the fair started 

Pizza, I love fresh pizza and this was really good

My dress when we got home. Lee had bought a new chest of drawers which is what's in the boxes next to me

Here's everything I bought and traded, including a couple I had traded with my friend Cassian a few days earlier. It was a good haul!

Lunch Out with Philippa

On the 19th of February I went to Sheffield to meet Philippa for lunch. I saw her at the beginning of January so it hadn't been too long, but it was lovely to see her, of course. It was her turn to choose and she chose to go to the Depot Bakery in Hillsborough Park. I've been before but only once, and it's a really cute little place. 

I got there quite early because you sometimes you have to queue for tables, but I managed to walk straight in and get a table. No matter because I had my book with me and I ordered a dark hot chocolate while I read. Philippa arrived soon enough and we sat chatting and eventually ordered food. I went for avocado on toast which had a ton of beetroot on top which I don't like. But I'm a grown up and I did try it to make sure I don't like it. Which I don't! The rest of it was really good. 

We went up to the counter to choose pudding, and I had a salted caramel brownie and a latte, which were both good. We were chatting on and on, like we do. I love Philippa so much, she's one of my favourite people and I'm so glad we're friends!

When we had finished eating we went for a wander in the park, taking it slowly as we're both disabled, so that's okay! We went through the Walled Garden to begin with and saw some plants coming back to life and a lot of friendly birds and squirrels. There was a Little Free Library so I picked up a book from it. Then we walked down by the duck pond and looked at the ducks and geese and so on, and then walked back up to a bench where we sat for a while chatting some more!

We finally said goodbye and I headed back to my car to go home, but I was glad we had had chance to catch up!

Dark chocolate hot chocolate which I always really like, it was nice

Avo on toast, I'm a basic bitch

Brownie and coffee

In the first bit of the park - look at the lovely robin!

A very cute little free library

Signs of spring

And Philippa taking photos of that too. I loved this!

Ducks and swans and geese by the pond - sadly we didn't have anything to feed them

Finally Philippa took this of us, which I love, we're so cute!

Valentines Weekend

On the 13th of February I went across to Huddersfield to see "Wuthering Heights" with Sam and Jodie. We knew we were going to hate it but wanted to see it anyway just so we could get really annoyed about it. We were going to the 4.30 showing so I set off about 3.30 and parked, then went to Wetherspoons where Sam and Jodie had been having a drink. We headed across to the cinema and I got a Tango Ice Blast and we had each taken sweeties. 

The film was in fact dreadful. If you want me to care about Cathy's sexual awakening she needs to be around 17, not 35 like Margot Robbie is. And I love Margot Robbie! But she wasn't right. Martin Clunes was good but in general it was terrible. We all felt the same. 

We walked up to TJ Thai for food. I've been before and it's always nice in there. I had tofu tempura, which there was loads of, and tofu and vegetable massaman curry. It was delicious and I was really full! I drove home and was freezing when I got home so just got into bed. Lee was in Leicester seeing Ross Noble with my cousin Rob (a Christmas present for Lee and birthday present for Rob) so I was by myself until about midnight when Lee got home. 

On Valentine's Day Lee and I swapped presents. He had got me some Lush goodies and some sweeties. I had brought him cake from Slatterys the weekend before but I also had Slatterys chocolate for him which he liked. So we were both happy! We then went into Barnsley. 

I had a ruby ring that I bought myself way back in like 2014 or something, but the ruby was damaged and I must have banged it more recently because the fracture was showing badly. I had talked to Lee about going to the vintage jewellery stall on Barnsley market to see what they had. They had tons of ruby rings and I tried a few on, but I ended up really liking this one, which was actually the first one I tried on. Once I had traded in my old ring for the gold, I only had to pay £50 for this one. Lee was like, yes that's fine, pay it. So I did!

We went in the Lounge for lunch. I really wanted an iced coffee so had one of theirs, which was nice. I had a buddha bowl with Turkish type of flavours; I wasn't particularly hungry so this was perfect for me. It was delicious! We walked back through the indoor market and the Young Makers Market was on again. We've been a few times and it's just so good - there are so many enthusiastic young makers and I like to support them. We bought some curry and samosas from two tiny kids (helped by their mum and grandma) and Lee bought some artwork from a teenager, it's really freaky artwork but Lee loves it! 

We just relaxed for the rest of the weekend but I was glad we had gone out together during the day. 

I wore my new T shirt on the Friday night, I decided I wanted one of these slogan t shirts and picked it up pretty cheaply online. It was made in a factory that is NOT a sweat shop, it is certified and proclaimed on the label, so that's pretty cool! 

Wearing my Sometimes Antisocial Always Antifascist t shirt, it's soft and comfortable too, I love it

Sign in TJ Thai

Tofu tempura 

And my delicious curry

Valentines presents from Lee

The new ruby ring, I've worn it loads since I got it

Delicious decaf iced coffee

And my buddha bowl! 

Brief Trip to Birmingham

A little while ago I joined someone's PhD research, which is about weight stigma in social work basically, so I was happy to join their steering group. I love the opportunity to be fat professionally and to use my experiences of living in a fat body to help shape research and things. We had met online but thenn Laurel, the researcher, wanted the steering group to meet up so they had organised for us all to go to Birmingham. That's not a bad drive for me, so I went by myself. I set off about 11 on the Monday morning I guess, and stopped for lunch at one of the services on the way. I had pre booked parking near the hotel and had to go round a bit to get into it, but I managed eventually. I just had a small case with me but with my coat and bag and everything I had to struggle upstairs as there wasn't a lift in the car park. 

My maps app then sent me totally the wrong way and I had to walk round a bit even though I was so close to the hotel! I did see this pub with Black Sabbath photos on it, which was pretty cool. Even if it was in the wrong direction from where I needed to be... 

I eventually made it, and met Laurel. It turns out we have friends in common so that was cool. A few people arrived then from Brighton, who already knew Laurel and who I had met online, so that was cool too. We each checked in and got our key cards, and then said goodbye for a bit as we were meeting later for tea. 

My room was fine - on the 6th floor and the bed was nice and soft. I had a few hours so I laid down for a rest as I hadn't been sleeping well. I had the TV on and got nice and cosy in the bed. I had brought my book and thought I had about a chapter left, but it turned out there were only a couple of pages. No matter, I had another one with me, of course!

There were ten of us who met downstairs just after 7; including some people I hadn't met earlier, so it was nice to meet some new people. We walked to Nando's as it's accessible and has food for everyone, and it wasn't too far to walk for me. I had the halloumi burger and it was fine! Afterwards we were kind of talking about doing something else, like finding dessert, but generally people were tired so we ended up dispersing and I went back to my room and had a cup of coffee and some chocolate there instead. 

In the morning I was up and at breakfast by about 8.15. I met Laurel and some others there. I wasn't very hungry so I just had some cheese and pastries, they were nice though. Everyone eventually ended up there; Laurel went off to set up the meeting for us, and the rest of us ate and got ready. At 9.30 taxis came and got most of us as the meeting was too far for some of us to walk.

It was in the Friends of the Earth building so there were tons of radical posters around which I really liked. We had our meeting from 10 until 1, and we got a lot sorted. I feel really positive about it! We said goodbye to each other and I and some others went back to the hotel to get our cases which they had kindly kept for us. This time I got back to the car park much easier thankfully, and was soon on my way home. I stopped to grab some lunch and a coffee and got home about 4pm, back to Lee and the cats! 

Black Sabbath photos on the pub. I think there were similar on a bridge nearby and if I had thought about it I would have gone to look on my gap between checking in and meeting for tea, but it didn't occur to me until later

Close ups

The hotel room. I had a quick shower too before I went out for tea, because I was very sweaty and felt gross!

View from my hotel room

I saw this on a building we passed in the taxi on the way to the meeting

And some of the radical posters in the meeting venue

First Week of February

I'll put the first week of February all here as nothing is really worth a post of its own, but there were photos I wanted to share. On the 2nd of February I went to see Jacqui in York because she hadn't been able to come down for my birthday. I just went to hers and we ordere curry and watched Groundhog Day. Nothing special but it was nice to spend time with her. 

On the evening of the 5th my mum and stepdad came for tea. They didn't stay over, although they could have, but we had tea and a couple of glasses of wine and it was a nice time. On the Friday I went off to Manchester to meet my friend Helen. We had booked Slatterys because we both love it and she hadn't been for a while. I had been more recently but never mind, it's always delicious! I had the doorstep rarebit with mushrooms on, which were really garlicky, and the strawberry and marshmallow dippers. And a hot chocolate, of course! I had also promised to take Lee some cake home as an early Valentines present, so I did that, which we ate over the next couple of days. It was nice to see Helen of course!

On Saturday I went for lunch with my friends Gillian at The Dunkirk which is only about ten minutes drive from my house. It's also only about ten minutes from her new house, so it's ideal for us to meet! I had been for Sunday lunch the day before my birthday but hadn't eaten from their main menu, so we decided to go. The vegetarian choice was a bit lacking and I do sometimes eat fish, so I had prawn and avocado on toast which was SO good, I really enjoyed the prawns. For dessert I had orange creme brulee which was again really good. I don't really like creme brulee but I've had it before when it was orange flavoured and enjoyed it. We chatted for a bit and it was really nice! I rested the rest of the weekend though. 

I had been working on this cross stitch for months, since like October or something. I knew I couldn't finish it for Christmas so that was okay, but I am glad to have finished it and will frame it ready to be put out next Christmas. I've done several like this before, from Caterpillar Cross Stitch. I have one for each season and they are now up on the wall on one of our staircases (we have a three storey modern town house) and I love to see them. This one was a joy to stitch, I like the penguin and some of the baubles best! 

Hot chocolate as always in Slatterys

I love a rarebit but never make it, maybe I should! 

And my gorgeous dessert. I didn't eat it all so brought bits home to eat later, as usual 

Prawn and avocado on toast with potato salad and I had chips alongside, too

Orange creme brulee with two shortbread biscuits

And my finished cross stitch, isn't it lovely!

Stockport Noir Crime Festival

 On the 31st of January I headed over to Stockport to go to a crime fiction festival. I saw it advertised absolutely forever ago and bought myself a ticket. I would have been better if Lee had been there with me to carry books and so on, but I didn't want to spend the money on two tickets, so I sucked it up and went by myself. I took my things in a backpack, which did help. I took my lunch and drinks and snacks etc with me too so that I didn't have to leave the venue. I set off really early which meant I did get a space in the car park. Such is life with a disability! 

Even though I was there early I still had to queue a bit to get in. It was fun though, everyone was just really excited to be there. Once I got in I picked up a lanyard and a goodie bag. Inside was a proof copy of a book that I haven't even heard of, so I'll look forward to reading that! 

There was tea and coffee and then everyone went in to the main hall for the first panel. The first panel was debut authors and I think they all did brilliantly. Immediately after each panel were signing lines. I have to say that these could have been better organised. Plus when I've been to other lit festivals, I - as someone who uses a walking stick - have been pressed to go to the front of the lines so that I didn't have to queue. That didn't happen here so I ended up in some pain, which was a shame. After the second panel I even asked one of the organisers if I could go to the front of the queue, and while he did help me he did it with some bad grace which made me feel even worse. If I could give feedback on this to the authors I absolutely would, but I haven't seen how to do that (yet?). It left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. 

The panels were all great though. The moderators asked some really amazing questions and everything was funny and insightful. I really liked the sound of a LOT of the books, so I bought four from the bookstall that was in the venue. I do think their prices were very high, but I had some Christmas money to use so that's okay. 

I ate my lunch in the break out room, which was also where the signings were, so it made space a bit squeezed. I would prefer if they could do that differently next year too! I got talking to a woman I was sitting next to in the main hall, so that was nice. 

The final panel of the afternoon had Elly Griffiths on it. I have read most of her books and have met her twice before, but I hadn't bought any of her new series which features time travel, mostly because it sounds a bit weird. But it sounded interesting so I did buy it so that I could get her to sign it. I wore my Bruce Sprinsteen t shirt especially for her as she's a big fan (which is why Ruth Galloway is also a fan!) so we talked about him and how much we love him, haha. 

I didn't stick around too long after the last panel, and managed to get home in good time so that I could rest for a bit. I had ended up carrying a lot of books and other stuff, by myself, which I'm proud of, but I was tired! 

My freebie tote bag

All the panels, these are backwards in time but not to worry! 

Proof I was with Elly! 

And here's what I came home with! Bad Deeds was the book I got for free. The top right is a chapter sampler but Rebecca was really interesting and her book sounds really good so I got her to sign this sampler for me and will probably buy it when it's out. Everything else just sounded really interesting so I bought them and got them signed!