Susie, Author at Allison & Busby

Getting that Christmas feeling

7 December, 2009

This weekend we took my little nephew to the Winter Wonderland fair in Hyde Park for his first experience on a merry-go-round. This was followed by an electric Reindeer ride, video footage of which will no doubt be replayed incessantly to family members over Christmas – what with me looking ecstatic on the back of […]

Simple pleasures

4 December, 2009

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now but last week I finally ordered my first organic food and veg box. There are a few companies to pick from but I opted for Woodfield Organics and their standard Fruit & Veg Mix. I stepped out to work yesterday morning and there it was […]

Judging a book by its cover

30 November, 2009

I’ve been reading The Man from Saigon, by Marti Leimbach (and if you followed the Currently We are Reading section last week, you’ll know I’m throughly enjoying it) and noticed that on Amazon the cover appears as pictured here – featuring a man wearing a Vietnamese hat. However, on the actual printed version of the […]

Available for weddings, bar mitzvahs…and environmental portraiture.

27 November, 2009

Our talented Art Editor, Christina Griffiths, has had her photography reviewed by The Guardian. Never one to toot her own horn, she did not broadcast the news (I only found out today), so I feel compelled and delighted to do the tooting for her. Her ‘portofilio of environmental portraiture’ is described as ‘stylishly executed’. The photos are praised for being ‘wonderfully […]

Life’s funny little coincidences

23 November, 2009

Last night, I had dinner with my mum, and our conversation veered onto my late American grandmother – her life and upbringing. Of all the titbits of information I learned, I was astounded to hear that my great grandmother had packed them up (my gran and her siblings) and taken them to Europe for a […]

Maria-Xuan designs

20 November, 2009

Last night I attended a private sale of a new collection of jewellery and accessories by a young designer, Maria-Xuan. We were invited through some old friends and it was an absolute delight to be privy to this girl’s talent. I can’t add cut and paste any of the pictures of her designs on this […]

Vampire mania hits again…

17 November, 2009

The new Twilight film New Moon premiered last week which saw screaming fans flock to Battersea Evolution – most of them, no doubt, there to catch a glimpse of heart-throb Robert Pattison (or R-Pat to use the current teen lingo…) The movie hits cinemas across the country this Friday 20 November – and so yes, […]

Need a (dance) kick this Monday morning?

16 November, 2009

Here is something that’s bound to bring a little ounce of joy on a Monday morning, when we could all use an extra boost. I came across this video over the weekend, which took me down memory lane. I’ve been a Fred Astaire fan since I was little. I used to record his films on […]

Creative marketing

13 November, 2009

I´ve been thinking lately about creative marketing – the kind that gets people talking or forwarding on the message or video or whatever to everyone they know, without it being an obvious sell of the product. I loved, for example, Honda´s “Hate Something, Change Something” advert – and I couldn´t stop singing that tune for the rest of […]

Finding inspiration in mundane things

9 November, 2009

The other day came across this quirky blog, Shopping Losts, that turns people’s shopping lists into a little gem of design. As I admired these small pieces of work, I couldn’t help wondering who had owned each shopping list. Did it belong to a man or a woman? What kind of person likes pizza, frozen […]

Stuart Pawson saves the day! (Well, sort of…)

6 November, 2009

This certainly tops my list of unorthodox reviews for one of our books… In this week’s issue of Pick Me Up magazine there is a story about a woman who was attacked by some machete-wielding robbers who locked her in an industrial container for nine-hours… How did she pass the time? By reading the book Shooting Elvis, […]

Should I go for an Apple Mac or PC?

5 November, 2009

I’m planning to buy a new laptop, and whilst I have always been a PC girl, I am seriously considering going for a Macbook this time. The main reason is the virus issue. Apparently Macs just don’t get viruses – whereas my previous laptop, well, that’s exactly what killed it. Death by Trojan. I had […]

Think you can write a killer read?

4 November, 2009

(There’s never a lack of puns when it comes to talking about crime-fiction books. I’ve tried my own take on the CWA website’s headline which reads “Fancy a stab at crime-writing?” Another option was “Would you murder for a chance to win the Debut Dagger?” The possibilties abound. Feel free to suggest others.) But I […]

Think you’re any good at carving a pumpkin?

30 October, 2009

Think again. Check out Scott Cummings’ amazing pumpkin sculptures. He’s a junior school teacher in Texas who just does this in his spare time and apparently it only takes him one hour, maximum two. If this inspires you to try your hand at something similar, atleast you’ve got two days till Halloween… For a pumpkin […]

This Is It movie

28 October, 2009

The movie This is It hits cinemas today (for two weeks only). It’s the footage of Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for the 2009 concert tour he never got the chance to perform. The trailer claims that it’s the movie “the world has been waiting for” and that would normally pass as the over-hyped-up spiel of blockbuster […]

Applying work tactics to life

27 October, 2009

The alarm on my mobile has just gone off (and scared the hell out of me, I might add) with a reminder that it is one of my friend’s birthday today. Brilliant! I have now dutifully emailed her a Happy Birthday e-card and proved myself to be A Good Friend. Left to my own natural […]

A caboose?

23 October, 2009

My sister used the word ‘caboose’ yesterday. The conversation went something like this: Sister: “I had a dream last night where I was in the caboose of a train and -” Me: ‘I’m sorry…a caboose??’ Sister: ‘Yes, a caboose’ Me: “A caboose. What era are you from?? “Sorry I’m late, terrible commute in – the […]

Have you got the Fever?

22 October, 2009

Hi Sushi in Camden certainly had when it hosted the launch party for Cosplay Fever on Tuesday night, and I can honestly say it was a first for me – sipping my wine and chatting to a griffin … The book is the latest venture from cult graphic novelists Pete ‘The Artist’ Lumby and Rob […]

Social media helps the fight against cancer

20 October, 2009

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a few days ago Everywhere’s #Beatcancer Campaign set a new Guiness World Record for the distribution of the largest mass message through social media. In the space of 24 hours (between16 – 17th October) they recorded 209,771 social media messages (tweets, facebook updates and blog posts) that included […]

In need of fashion advice.

19 October, 2009

Winter is definitely here. Today I woke up in the dark, fumbled my way to the shower (still in the dark so as not to wake my other-half) ,and attempted to find something suitable to wear to work which didn’t make me look like (quoting said other-half): “a 60-year-old spinster”. I’ll refrain from sharing my […]

Am I the only one who doesn’t like House?

16 October, 2009

A friend lent me the entire box set of House recently (I was grieving over the fact I’d just finished the complete series of The West Wing on DVD and would now have to rely on standard TV viewing…) And I have to say I was really looking forward to getting into a new series. I […]