Me!

I am Gianna, mum of 5, 2nd time wife, working full time in a inner city secondary school. I have 2 dogs Frankie the Frenchie and Betty the Boxer. 3 cats - Willow the maine coon cross, Smudge the ragdoll and Tom the 3 legged stray who moved himself in after falling in love with smudge - I kid you not - they love each other! Oh and my rescue chickens that I keep adding to the clan.

I love all things bumpkin! The simple life. Where I live we are off mains gas and not on mains sewerage! Fortunate to have electricity which enters in the house off a pole. We also feed hamsters to run the wheel for the internet to run which has only just improved upon dial up! We also have poor mobile phone signal, 3G is ok 5G is non existent!

I take my family camping and leave the iPad at home. I love cooking from scratch and ready meals do not come into the house. I attempt to grow my own vegetables and fruit - although I really am an absolute novice! You are welcome to join me on my gardening journey which I will be sharing with you.

I enjoy regular walks with the dogs, long summer days with the BBQ on, wine (lots of alcohol) flowing with toasted marshmallows on the firepit. The cold winter nights, with the wood burner roaring, hot chocolate and squirty cream, snuggled under a blanket watching films.

I am a huge lover of all things Christmas, I plan all year round and play Christmas music in August.

I grew up in the village down the road and attended the local primary and secondary school, followed by the college we had at the time, where I studied Leisure and Tourism.

I am still close to many of my childhood friends.

I am an only child, my parents divorced when I was just 5 years old. My Step Dad and his children were introduced soon after, never fitting in with them, growing up was hard. I was an unwanted accessory to a new marriage and spent many weekends staying at my Godparents house. It saved me, my godparents were my heroes, they taught me so so much.

Growing up in a very toxic, negative house, a very materialistic lifestyle always wanting to 'keep up with the Jones' I am proud of myself that I am nothing like that - much to my mums disgust!

I love nothing more than going braless, no make up and wearing hoodies, joggers and trainers. I have had good times and bad times throughout my life. All of which I will be discussing in my blogs. I am far from pretentious, I am who I am and love all that I have, after all I have been through. 

I absolutely love where I live, I am so fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of England. The Forest of Dean is nestled between the River Severn and the River Wye. The area has played host to numerous film and TV sets over the years including Sex Education and Star Wars and most recently The Change which is rather ironic for me.

I enjoy visiting many of the tourist attractions in the area and trying out the numerous restaurants. All of which I will be telling you about in my blog posts.

I like to play a large part in community, organising lots of events throughout the year that help to bring people together.  I also enjoy long walks where I can take in the breathtaking views we have around here, fortunately there are many to be found here.

Love Gianna x