Christina Hollis: These are a few of my favourite Apps...

Pic by Gerd Altmann via Pixabay

Back in May I asked for app suggestions for my first smartphone. Thanks to you, I'm now on Instagram as christinahollis8664. 

Although I've loved using my  phone's camera from Day One, I haven't posted anything with it yet. I've been snapping several rarities in the woods around here, and didn't want them tracked down. It took me a while to find out how to switch off the EXIF tracker on my phone. 

The Day Job—
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Checking my Twitter and Facebook accounts is always fun, but I try not to do it too much when I'm out and about. There's plenty of time for that when I'm sat at my computer. When I'm away from my desk, I'd rather enjoy the face-to-face company of friends  than stare at a screen.

When I'm walking the dog I (quite literally) dip in and out of BBC Sounds, the radio app. Although I can download podcasts and listen offline, live broadcasts lose the signal beyond about a hundred yards/metres from home. It's a case of miss the end of a radio play, or turn round and start for home!

My top favourite app at the moment is definitely Headspace. This was mentioned during a women's empowerment course I went on during June, which was organised by the University of Gloucestershire. The course was amazing. You can find out more about that on my blog. Headspace teaches mindfulness through meditation. I spend fifteen minutes or so each morning using it to calm my mind before another busy working day. 

It's a lovely way to find some perspective.

Christina Hollis's first non-fiction book, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is published by Pen and Sword Books. You can find out more about that here, catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Christina Hollis: A Lovely Puzzle...

Here's where I'm a student. Isn't it beautiful?

I've been amazed how fast my first academic year at university has evaporated. I now have four assignments to complete within the next two weeks, so my mind is buzzing. 

My poor brain went into overload this morning when my husband handed me a present. "I know you don't care about being the only kid in class without a smartphone," he said, just about managing to keep a straight face, "but you'll need this to keep in touch with the others via WhatsApp over the long vac."

One of the many, many reasons I love my OH is his generosity. Only last week he paid the parking fee at the hospital for a mother who couldn't get her credit card to work in the machine. And now this...a beautiful new replacement for my plain black Nokia emergency phone.

A little light reading...pic via Pixabay

The only trouble is, technology is not my friend. I say that all the time, but it's true! It's taken me several hours to puzzle out how to operate this new device. 

Now I'm set up and ready to go (I think).  I'm trying to decide which apps to install and podcasts to follow. Do you have any recommendations? I like reading and writing (obviously!) gardening, cooking and ecology. I've already signed up for Forestry England's iNaturalist project. 

Can you suggest any others? What things do you enjoy listening to on your phone? 

Christina Hollis's first non-fiction book, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is published by Pen and Sword Books. You can find out more about that here, catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Virginia Heath: Life Through a Lens...

The first time I went to Disney was 20 years ago. I will never forget the experience. My two kids were little and totally believed all the characters in those fancy suits were real. It was, as Disney so often promise, magical.

I especially remember the fireworks. All those twinkling patterns set to music, high above Cinderella’s castle. Next to me was a solitary man who watched the whole display through the viewfinder of his video camera, while his children stood next to him. At the time, I thought it was an odd thing to do. Here he was, surrounded by all this atmosphere, his three children filled with awe and wonder, missing the full experience as he recorded it for posterity. It struck me as a waste of a good memory.

Twenty years later, we visited Anaheim again and just had we had that first time, and on numerous visits to different Disneylands around the world since, we found a spot on Main Street and waited patiently for the fireworks. This time though, we were one of the few spectators in that sea of people not holding up our smartphones and watching the spectacle on the screens.

Back home in London a few weeks later, I was sat outside a café on the banks of the River Thames. To my right was the magnificent Tower Bridge. To my left, the wonderful Tower of London. A group of Japanese tourists walked by, and it struck me that they were all holding selfie sticks, viewing those amazing sights on the small screens of their phones rather than experiencing it in the flesh. Since then, I see this all the time. Every event seems to be so meticulously filmed that the people doing the filming are distanced from the great things happening in their own lives.

My point is this, it is Christmas Eve. A time for sharing all the joy of life with those you love. For the next few days, put down your phones people. Live in the moment. Enjoy it. Those memories will be revisited more often than all those hours and hours of video ever will.  

Happy Holidays!

Virginia Heath writes witty, fast-paced romances filled with feisty heroines and mouth-watering heroes she would want to fall in love with.

The Discerning Gentleman's Guide, is out now.