Readers... I have a plan.  It isn’t particularly cunning, but it enables me to keep focused on what I want in life and where I want to be.  My plan is haphazardly divided into three parts; Plan Part A is to be a published novelist (which I rambled on about last time I blogged), Plan Part B is to pursue my other creative pursuits and Part C is to sort out the rest of my life.  Keeping them separate stops me getting too overwhelmed and, most of the time, they bumble along quite nicely without bothering each other.  But the other week my desire to buy a flat (a la Plan C) inspired my dream to create things for a living (see Plan B) – and escape the rat race.

You see, when I last looked into it, I discovered that I could just about afford to buy a flat in Walthamstow.  Having already explored it a month or two ago, I recently returned to have a look around the Lloyd Park area.  I was pleasantly surprised – the surrounding streets looked nice enough, the park itself had a lovely community feel and, to top it off, it was the home of the William Morris Gallery.

I admit that, unlike my mum, Mr Morris’s designs don’t really excite me, but what I love about him and his contemporaries was their creation of the Arts and Crafts Movement – the rejection of mass production in favour of carefully crafted wares made by skilled artisans.  It’s a concept I very much admire – and one that I feel is having a bit of a revival at the moment.  However, these days, your average person has more free time than the working class Victorian and many of us are embracing craft into our own lives.  

Whatever the reason, I will not be defeated!  I have already created accounts on both the aforementioned websites and shall be getting some of my stuff on line for people to buy asap.  So, if you need a little bit of something different to stuff your stockings with, watch this space... or, if you see something you like on the site, just drop me a line via my contact page and I’ll see what I can do! 

and very cool vintage decor.  I am tempted to go back just to enjoy the ambience over one of their super thick hot chocolates and a good book - or even for an afternoon of writing.  And, if I want a change of scene, I can always pop over the road to Canterbury Court which apparently has space for creatives to get down to business.  For a spot of pub grub and a bit of liveliness after a productive day, you could do worse than an evening in the Brown Derby on Clapham Road, too.
So, if you are passing through south London on the Northern Line, stop off at Oval - and,whilst you are there, take a walk down Caldwell Street and say hello to my old flat!
Have a great week everyone - maybe I'll see you at Battersea Park's Bonfire and firework display on Saturday night...