Ten Random Facts about Me

Hi everyone out there!

It's after midnight as I write this and why am I still awake at such an unattractive hour you may ask? Firstly, it's pretty stormy outside and I cannot sleep with the ferocious howls of the wind as it hits against my bedroom window. I am most definitely not a fan of storms and unfortunately they hit Scotland fairly regularly.

Rather than tossing and turning in my duvet as I spend hours on end trying to drift off I thought “why not do something productive?”. I honestly believe that for whatever reason I am most creative at night, the words seem to flow effortlessly. So here I am writing this post for you my lovely readers to enjoy.
Before I go any further I want to let you all know that I have created a Facebook page and a Twitter account where you can find all of my latest news and keep up to date with my most recent blog posts. I want to say a huge thank-you to each of the lovely people who have liked/followed my pages so far-you have no idea just how much I appreciate it! So if you haven't already, please pop on over and click the all-important "like" and "follow" buttons on the following links https://www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog and www.twitter.com/thehathippie .
Now getting to the main point of this post; as you'll already know, I've written a bunch of posts here on this blog, but if I'm being completely honest I don't think that I have really told you a lot about myself. From what I can recall, I've only given away little dribs and drabs. Personally speaking, I feel that it's nice to know a bit about the person hidden behind each post. On that note, I've decided to share with you ten random facts about me.

Here it goes...............

1. I play bass guitar and have been learning to do so for the past year and half. During my primary school days I had weekly guitar lessons in school and privately every Friday evening. However, after undergoing knee surgery a few years ago I began to suffer from chronic pain which affected my right leg and eventually spread to my right hand. This caused difficulty when playing guitar so I decided to call it quits and hope that one day my condition would improve and I'd be able to play again.

Let's just say it's difficult to keep me separated from music and instruments for any length of time. I had the opportunity, as part of my home schooling, to work with a professional musician who for the past year and a half has taught me to play bass guitar. Although it can be sore and tiring, it doesn't take as much a toll on me as acoustic guitar did due to the different finger and plucking techniques I use when playing. I am so grateful to be able to play as for a while I thought it would never again be possible. Having been through that period of doubt, I've really learned to appreciate and make the most of every minute that my hand allows me to play.

2. My favourite refreshment is Starbucks’ strawberries and cream Frappuccinos! - Mmmm!

3. I am a major animal lover. My sister and I have two hamsters one named Floyd and the other Hope. They are such wonderful little creatures and have the most amazing personalities! I would also like to get a dog one day as they make such loyal friends and I enjoy spending time with them. More recently I've also decided that I'd quite like my own cat. I've always liked cats but, after reading the book "A Street Cat Named Bob" by James Bowen I realised just how incredible they are. If I am being completely honest I'd happily own a farm filled with animals!

4. My all-time favourite musical is Wicked which I've seen twice. The first occasion was in London's West End with the amazing Rachel Tucker playing the lead role of Elphaba. I saw the show for a second time last year in Glasgow during its tour of the UK. Hopefully, it won't be too long until I'll see it again! 

5. When I'm older I'd like to be a journalist as well as an author. Both careers will require a lot of hard work and effort but I'm doing my upmost to get the relevant experience such as writing these blogs which allow me to learn the necessary skills and techniques.

6. My favourite Disney film/fictional character is Peter Pan. Around a month or so ago I wrote a post about my fascination with Peter Pan, if you'd like to read it click here.

7. You may have already guessed thanks to my blog's name that I have a bit of an obsession with hats! Last time I counted, my collection believe it or not consisted of around twenty-four different hats. Perhaps I might even write about my hat collection in the not so distant future. 

8. One of my hobbies is photography. I love to take a varied range of photographs but, my favourite subject is flowers. After shooting my latest selection of photographs, I upload and edit them on my laptop's photo editing software. Although thanks to me being such a perfectionist, the editing process is often a lengthy one!

9. I am a terrible singer-but it doesn't stop me from "singing" along to songs on the radio at the top of my voice!

10. My favourite actress is the lovely Audrey Hepburn, who starred in some of the most iconic films to ever exist. My personal favourite would have to be "Funny Face" in which she stars alongside the actor Fred Astaire.

So there you have it; Ten Random Facts about Me.

Hopefully, you will have learned something new about me and the madness that it is my life. I should probably bid you all farewell for now and try and get some rest.

Lots of Love,
Robyn xx

My Love for the Story of Peter Pan

Today, I thought I'd write about something that has held a special place in my heart ever since I was a little girl. I'm sure there is something out there that makes each of you feel the exact same way, something that puts a smile on your face and brings back all of those happy memories. For me, the story of Peter Pan the boy who never grew up does just that! The well-known classic has always captivated me and taken me away to the wonderful world of Neverland-it's simply magical!
As I've probably mentioned in one of my previous blog posts I have spent a lot of time in London over the years at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital having treatment for the physical disability I was born with. Some of you may know that J.M. Barrie gifted the rights of his book Peter Pan & Wendy to GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital). This meant that all of royalties whether they came from book sales or a stage production of Peter Pan & Wendy would go straight to the hospital's funds and help make a big difference for each of the children under the care of GOSH. I really admire that J.M. Barrie for doing this, as his kind gesture has helped make such a positive impact. Whilst his story has brought so much joy to so many of us; it has also played a big part in Great Ormond Street Hospital's history and helped make it the special place that it is today.
Hospitals are not the most pleasant of places for anyone to find themselves in but as a child it can be extremely daunting. However, in this instance there was always a little bit of magic around every corner at GOSH thanks to the help of J.M. Barrie and of course the beloved character he created, Peter Pan. Inside GOSH there are numerous Peter Pan memorials hidden around the hospital. These small touches always helped make my hospital experience and I'm sure many other's who have also been under the care of GOSH a little easier to endure.
At the hospital's main entrance there was a little patch of greenery on the left hand side just before you reach the main doors. Hidden amongst the greenery is a life-size statue of Peter Pan and a miniature statue of his trusty pixie friend Tinkerbell, resting on the tip of his finger. If you didn't pay much attention and walked straight ahead; it could easily have been missed. Whenever we walked past the statue, despite how rubbish I sometimes felt during my time spent in hospital, it never failed to put a smile on my face and cheer me up.
Up until a few years ago I never knew that like me, J.M. Barrie was actually born here in Scotland. I discovered this in primary school when my class studied Scotland as our class topic. As a part of our topic we were each asked by our teacher to produce a personal project on a famous Scot of our choice as homework assignment.
I then found myself in great deliberation on who exactly I should choose to conduct research on. Me being my usual self didn't want to pick one of the popular Scots that a lot of pupils in my class had already opted for. With this in mind I spent hours searching the internet browsing through lists of famous Scots in hope that inspiration might struck. Eventually, I spotted J.M. Barrie's name hidden amongst one of the lists and was surprised to discover he was actually born here in Scotland. So in the end it only seemed fitting to choose to write my project on J.M.Barrie's life as his work has had such a major impact on my life.
As a young child I remember being absolutely mesmerised with the 1953 Walt Disney production of Peter Pan. It brings out the child in each and every one of us! Just like each of the Disney films we all know and love; Peter Pan is a classic. It's timeless and I'm pretty sure will be loved just as much in coming years as it is today!