Out & About November 2017

Foxy Lady creations S arah Mackfall, aka Foxy Lady, has been a ‘water gypsy’ for the last 10 years, living an idyllic existence on her boat moored on the Kennet and Avon canal, with her partner and seven-year-old daughter. “I have become much more

“There’s plenty of amazing 60s and 70s style fabric out there, with really vibrant colours that can be reused. “I don’t recycle just for the sake of it – I’ll only cut a garment up if it clearly can’t be worn again as it is.” Part of the fun is going round places and seeking out the fabric, but where does she stow it all on a boat? “It’s amazing how creative you can be with whatever space you have,” laughs Sarah. She then goes on to show us cupboards tucked under shelves and in corners, where she keeps the fabric in vacuum-packed containers.

environmentally aware since we started living on the boat. You become more sensitive to how wasteful we are as a society and I try to make full use of everything,” she explains. “I used to work in the fashion industry and I have always worked in textiles. I took a break when my daughter was born, but I have never stopped sewing.”

Now her daughter is at school, Sarah has more time to devote to her craft.

“I love re-using old fabric. I go around the charity and shops and search on eBay and start to imagine what I could create.” Vintage doesn’t necessarily mean that old, says Sarah.

Pictures: Phil Cannings

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Finding Love on a Farm Trudy Smith

All’s well that ends well. From the beginning we know that Trudy Smith has an amazing daughter and a passion for life. Remembering this makes it easier to read of the trials, injustices and abuses she went through in her life. And yet my past still weighed heavily and dragged me down… and kept me there, because it was never far away. Smith allows the reader to meander with her through her life against a backdrop of the South African veld with colourful imagery and descriptive prowess. We all have so much

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to learn, not only from our own past, but from the lives of others. To take comfort and strength from the success and happiness of those who have struggled and won. Her debut novel is a reflective look back over her life in South Africa. It still resonates today on a personal and global level. There is something for everyone to take away from Smith’s debut novel.

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“I lived in Newbury for about ten years and thoroughly enjoyed walking in the countryside and along the river. I was so fascinated that it went through the town and couldn’t resist feeding the swans and ducks. Retirement came around suddenly, and it was then that I decided to gather all my thoughts I’d stored for a lifetime and write my memoirs.”

Biography: TrudySmithwasborn inPretoriaand lived themajorityofher life inSouth Africa. In this, her first novel of a trilogy, Smith paints a portrait of life in South Africa in the 1970s. As readers we can picture the landscape and almost hear the wildlife as we are transported back to a different time and place, into Trudy’s childhood and early life. Now living in London, Smith is retired from a career in the cosmetic industry, and has time to reflect on a life filled with uncertainty and self-doubt. There is something for everyone to take away from this thought-provoking and evocative debut novel. 186 pages, ISBN 978-3-99048-805-8 £13.30 Trudy’sbook ‘FindingLoveonaFarm’ isavailable fromAmazonand www.novum-publishers.co.uk

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