Disney you say...

So how did my love (some may call it obsession) of Disney come about?

When I think back Disney has always just 'been there' in my life. I remember as a child growing up in the UK we would watch 'Disney Time' a movie clip compilation show that would appear on the TV at special times of the year. 

I have a vague memory of one of my very first trips to the cinema being to watch 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks', although I can't be sure this was during its initial cinematic release as I would have only been about 4 years old. But growing up in the 1970's and 1980's Disney was simply a part of the pop culture we were exposed to.

I very recently re-discovered an album that I still own to this day and which was probably bought for me as a child, it's dated 1975.

Then in November of 1990 during a trip to London we made a point of visiting the then brand new Disney Store on Regent Street; it had only opened that month and was the first Disney Store outside of the US. I have this photo of me wearing the Mickey ears that we had bought. I remember them being of a very hard, shiny plastic and that they dug into my head so hard it meant wearing them for anymore than a few minutes just wasn't doable! Oh how times, and ears, have changed!

Then in 1991 Simon and I made our first trip to Orlando, Florida which was kind of by accident. We had originally intended to go on vacation with my parents who were planning a trip to Austria but I'd gotten the dates mixed up and had booked the wrong weeks off from work. It was also the time of the Gulf war and the rumours were that flights to the US were 'going cheap' so we decided to take advantage and book a Florida vacation. However, when we came to make the booking we soon found out that the rumours of cheap flights were just that, rumours! But as we had chosen where we wanted to go we decided to book the vacation anyway staying in a hotel on International Drive.

On 30th July 1991 we made our way to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World for the very first time and stepping onto Main Street USA I just knew I was 'home'.

Taken 30th July 1991, waiting for the fireworks.

Since then there have been numerous trips to Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris, one trip to Disneyland, one Disney cruise and Simon has been lucky enough during work trips to visit Tokyo Disney Resort. I have lots of books and memorabilia, handbags, clothes and just the odd one or two Disney themed tattoos! Oh and I co-host a Disney theme parks podcast with my very good friend Michelle, called the Disney Dream Girls.

So yes Disney plays a big part in my life and I think it always will. 

There is something in the ethos of Walt Disney and the company that he created that draws you in. But it is still hard to explain what it is exactly that drives this love of all things Disney and the indiscernible magic that it creates. It's in the story telling, the attention to detail, the characters, the customer service, the ability to leave the real world behind for a little while and for everyone no matter what age or background to enjoy something together. 

Some will look at Disney and the theme parks and assume it's 'just for kids' but it is so much more than that. And to use a quote attributed to Walt himself from the opening of Disneyland in 1955, and then immortalised in plaques at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom...'here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy'...oh and remember 'adults are only kids grown up anyways'!

Time for an Overdue Blog Post - Part One!

Well it's been a while since my last blog post at the end of October so figured I'd better put finger to keyboard and get writing!

Thankfully I've had the presence of mind to make a few notes over the last few weeks as I'd really like to try and keep the diary approach to writing going. So what's been happening and where to start?

Let's kick off with a bit of Disney travel news. For the first time since 2019 I can now say we have a Disney holiday booked but this time it will be a first for us as we have booked a cruise! Not only will this be our first Disney cruise but it will be our first cruise ever!

After a lot of debating and being swayed by friends who have this year experienced both Disney and non-Disney cruises we have taken the plunge and booked ourselves a place on the Disney Dream sailing out of Southampton, UK next September. Our 7 night cruise will see us venturing north as we take in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Sandnes in Norway. This does mean lots of research ahead for me not only about the ports we will be visiting but also all about cruising Disney style.

Since the end of October we have continued with our early morning walks getting out most mornings although we have now resorted to wellies when we venture out over the fields. 

Our cold showers each morning are now embedded in our routine and I have now joined Simon with the Wim Hof breathing method. I have surprised myself by being able to let myself 'indulge' in this 10 minute practice and this in turn has resulted in me giving meditation a try. I have always been reluctant to try meditation as the thought of 'giving in' to something really didn't sit very well with me at all...the act of 'giving up control' felt very alien to me. But after getting used to the calm of the breathing I have now started with some simple 10 minute meditations and have surprised myself with how easy they have been and how I have actually been able to 'let go' and simply 'be' in the moment.

At the end of October we were able to join a Star Wars troop with our Joker Squad buddies at Leicester Comic Con. This was the first time trooping with Joker Squad in over three years! And although we were small in number we were still able to entertain and make people smile. 

Then in November we hooked up with our East Midlands Garrison crew at a local pub's Sci-Fi quiz night which helped raise money for the charity PASIC. 

Not sure how good Stormtroopers are at pulling a pint!!

We had hoped to attend PASIC's Christmas Party earlier this month but as we both had a very slight cold we decided to stay away as all the children attending would be immunocompromised and we didn't want to risk passing anything on.

At the beginning of November Simon had a week off from work and we took advantage of the time productively. We dragged Ethan out shopping with us for a day, luring him with the promise of food and coffee and while he came home empty handed Simon did pick up a couple of shirts.

Next I had a day booked with Saint Heywood at Acadia Tattoo for my latest round of Disney ink. This time it was combining my love of the attraction 'It's A Small World' with the art style of Jerrod Maruyama...

Work in progress

Line work done and colour just started

Finished result

It was then time to take a trip 'up north' for a few days. We started by having a couple of nights in York staying in an old fashioned style of hotel which kind of evoked 'Fawlty Towers' type vibes! But York was as lovely as ever; we walked for miles, drank lots of coffee, had some lovely meals out (great to find a Byron Burger restaurant and a fab tapas too!), more walking, chance to play with my new camera, shopping and more coffee! A short trip which resulted in new shoes for Simon and new jigsaws for me courtesy of the York Outlet mall.

After York we moved a little further north to visit Stockton-on-Tees for a couple more nights. The reason for visiting here was to revisit an area that is very familiar to both Simon and I. For me this is the part of the country where I was born and so consequently I still have lots of family members who live in the surrounding area and who I hadn't seen in a fair few years. For Simon he had spent around 5 years working in Stockton, and living there during the week as it was too big a distance from home to commute. We both have lots of great memories of the area, and of the people, and so it was great to get the chance to re-visit after a lot of years away.

We were able to see quite a lot of my relatives over the course of a couple of days and we have vowed to return when the weather is kinder (it was rather wet!) and the days are longer so that we can explore further.

Throughout the last couple of months I have been trying to clear stuff from my dads house and as a result have become quite skilled at using Ebay! Consequently there has been lots of cataloguing of items, photos taken, items listed, sales made, items packed and trips to the local post office. And every time we get a delivery it means that boxes and packing materials have to be saved; thank goodness we have a shed for storage!

Ready for a trip to the post office

And with it being the run up to Christmas I decided that a review of my Christmas decorations was in order, particularly my outdoor lights. I knew I had a couple of sets that were not working 100% so I decided to invest in some new sets; this resulted in three sets of string lights and a light-up tree!

Obligatory testing of lights!

This did then mean a few days tidying the garden (in the rain) to get everywhere ready as well as planning out how to get everything plugged in. Having had some new outdoor sockets installed over the summer I had the power but needed to make sure that we had sufficient weatherproof boxes for all the cables, plugs and extension leads. Plans were drawn so that when it came to putting them all up it should be a relatively straight forward process.

And we have reached mid-November so let's leave it there as I make a start on a new post.

See you soon.
xx

Day 491...Ink Day

Day 491...

...and day one of my summer break from work. Working in education I am extremely fortunate to get six weeks off over the summer months and thankfully Simon has been able to book a couple of those weeks off too.

But I couldn't have started my summer break any better as today was ink day! I was due to have a tattoo back in April 2020 and this became one of the first victims of the initial lockdown. When restrictions were lifted this time last year I debated whether to get re-booked but with all the uncertainty and subsequent lockdowns I never got the chance.

So this morning I drove the 48 miles to see my favourite tattoo artist Simon Saint Heywood at his studio Acadia Tattoo in Macclesfield. It took me about an hour and forty minutes to get there but it was another beautiful, sunny and warm day and it is a stunning route to drive across the Derbyshire Dales.

Simon has been responsible for the majority of my Disney sleeve along with my Star Wars Rebels tattoo and my Disney Carousel thigh piece and today it was time to add some more Disney...well what did you expect?!

Today's tattoo was inspired by a dream that my Simon had a while ago that involved Peter Pan & Wendy flying together. I wanted the design to represent Peter Pan flying slightly ahead encouraging and supporting Wendy to fly along with him. This very much represents Simon and I; Simon as the ever youthful Peter guiding, encouraging and supporting Wendy (aka me). Providing me with the confidence and self belief that I struggle to maintain but with Simon by my side and pulling me along to achieve what I may not always realise that I am capable of.

A few hours of lying down and keeping still and I was able to take this awesome creation home with me...

...and now I have the ink bug once more and need more ink!!

I arrived back home to a fresh pot of coffee and once refreshed I had to pop out to collect a prescription for my dad. The pharmacy is still adopting a policy of only one person in the shop at a time and so I joined the queue outside to wait my turn and prey that the storm clouds didn't deluge me with rain. Thankfully the rain held off until I was at my dad's house, although it didn't last for very long and the few rumbles of thunder didn't do much to clear the air.

By the time I got home again Simon and Molly were in our 'gym' lifting weights...I decided to give the weights a miss tonight using my freshly inked skin as an excuse.

And with all of that Thursday was done, now it's time to chill and watch this week's RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars!

See you tomorrow.
xx

And some more Disney ink!

Anyone who has visited this blog in the past knows that I love my Disney ink and this week saw the addition of some more...but not to me!

My daughter took her first step into the world of tattoos by getting herself a Disney themed tattoo - like mother, like daughter!

So we took a trip over to see my favourite tattooist Saint Heywood over at his new studio Acadia Tattoo. And there Molly sat like an absolute pro. She went for a decent sized tattoo after chatting through with Saint about placement and detail, deciding to 'go big or go home'!

I reckon the tattoo must have taken about 5 hours or so to complete with only one short break about half way through. Saint was his usual lovely self and made sure Molly knew what was happening and making sure she was involved in the whole process to get exactly what she wanted.

Initial outline complete

Sitting like a pro!

And in goes the colour

And the final result is this awesome piece of artwork

But of course I couldn't spend the day in a tattoo studio without getting a little something done on me! And while this one isn't strictly Disney it does have a nod to Disney in it.

Earlier this year as part of a routine mammogram I discovered that I had breast cancer. Thankfully it was found at a very early stage and was very small but I still needed to undergo a lumpectomy operation to remove the bad stuff and as I type I am waiting for a course of radiotherapy to make sure we've done as much as possible to get rid of it! It therefore felt right to get a pink ribbon tattoo to symbolise these last few months. When the cancer was discovered we kept referring to it as some 'naughty pixie dust'; it therefore seemed apt to get the words 'Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust' worked into the tattoo. After all having faith and trust in those around me has certainly helped me get through this whole experience; Simon, the kids and my friends have been amazing and I feel truly blessed to have them all in my life.

Thanks to Simon (Saint Heywood) at Acadia Tattoo for looking after us girls and doing an amazing job as always. The only problem now is what to have done next...

More Disney Ink

Well here we are again to chat about my Disney ink!

It really is true what they say about having tattoos; you can never stop at just the one! I had never thought I would be the one to be adorned in ink, in fact growing up tattoos were one of those taboo subjects and always associated with 'certain types of people'!

Well here we are and I have fell in love with having tattoos! I remember watching 'Miami Ink' on TV a fair number of years ago now and gathering a whole new perspective on tattoos; it was hearing the stories behind the tattoos, watching the artists at work and realising that people of all types and backgrounds could celebrate the art-form together that got me intrigued.

Once I'd made my mind up to have a tattoo I had two conditions; first it had to be something designed by my husband, Simon, so I could have a piece of his artwork on my body and second it had to have a Disney element to it. I'd also decided that my first tattoo would be somewhere 'hidden'...I don't think at that point in time I was overly comfortable with the idea of showing off the fact that I had a tattoo...Oh how times have changed!

So my first tattoo was on my lower back; designed by Simon and tattooed by Gray Silva at Rampant Ink, Nottingham. It comprised of a Mickey head silhouette at it's centre before spreading out in a graffiti style. Simon even managed to incorporate his and the children's initials into the design.

Next I decided that my foot and ankle would make an ideal spot for a bit more ink...not one to shy away from choosing areas of the body that can be challenging to get inked. Rachael Huntington was my tattooist of choice and was very patient with me as every now and then I would twitch involuntary as the needle moved around my ankle bone area!

I thought I'd choose somewhere a little less challenging for my next tattoo and went for this Mickey design across the back of my neck. This was taken from an initial design by Simon that Rachael then embellished.

The next one I had was also taken from some of Simon's artwork. Simon had undertaken a project called '365 Mickey's' where he drew a Mickey a day for a year. One of these drawings was a take on my ankle tattoo, so Rachael took the design from his artwork and came up with this tattoo for my inner wrist.

Four tattoos in and I had the idea of a complete Disney inspired sleeve! This was started by Rachael, but with the majority of the ink completed by the ever lovely and talented Saint Heywood (now running his own studio - Acadia Tattoo)

These photos taken by my talented daughter (Molly Phipps Photography) show my fully completed arm, this was completed over a number of months and mainly 6 hour sittings with an odd 3 hour thrown in!

Then we decided to move over onto the other arm, for a Star Wars inspired tattoo - see my previous Disney Sleeve blog post which details the reasons behind this one!

And that brings us up to now...and my latest tattoo. Now this has been a work in progress that lasted about 4 months and was completed back in October of last year.

The inspiration this time came about while watching a burlesque show. One of the performers, the amazing Chi Chi Revolver, had a tattoo of a carousel around her thigh and I fell in love with it. As everyone who loves Disney knows it was watching the merry-go-round at Griffith Park in Los Angeles that is credited with inspiring Walt Disney to develop Disneyland. This gave me that connection to Disney that all my tattoos have. A carousel, around my thigh, inspired by the carousel at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, with horses like those seen in Mary Poppins! An idea was born!

The carousel at the Magic Kingdom, once known as Cinderellas Golden Carrousel but now named Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, was themed...obviously...after the film Cinderella. So with that in mind, plus Mary Poppins horses, plus Disney and plus a garter style tattoo I once again paid Saint Heywood a visit and after about 20 hours or more of tattooing my newest tattoo was complete. The whole tattoo was completed over a number of sittings most of which were 6 hours with a couple of 3 hours thrown in for good measure and I absolutely love it!

A big thank you to Molly once again as it proved a little tricky to get photos of this one!!

So what next? Well...I have just booked in to see Saint once again and this time it's going to be a mother and daughter affair! Molly has her heart set on her first tattoo being a Disney one while I actually have a couple of small pieces in mind...

If you'd like to know more about my tattoos and how they came about please have a look at my previous posts;
Disney Inked
Disney Ink Update
A Bit More Ink
My Disney Sleeve

Disney Inked

One of the ways that I keep my love of Disney going, as well as expressing how much Disney means to me, is through my tattoos.

Every tattoo that I have has a bit of Disney thrown in somewhere...some more obvious than others!

It all started a fair few years ago when Simon & I became intrigued with the world of tattoos after watching a number of 'ink' related TV programs. We loved the artistry involved and the stories behind the tattoos and soon we were talking about getting our own and what we would have done and why.

My reasoning was very simple - it had to combine the loves in life (family and Disney) as well as be designed by Simon.  The thought of having a piece of his art on my body was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned.

So the first tattoo I ever had was at the base of my spine. It spans across my lower back with a tri-circle Mickey at the centre; this was designed by Simon, and tattooed by Gray Silva at Rampant Ink Tattoo Studio. It also incorporates Simon’s initials and those of our two children (if you know where to look!)

Photo taken at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Dinoland USA after riding Primeval Whirl, 2008

My next tattoo carried on the Disney theme and once again incorporated the classic tri-circle Mickey at it's centre.  This was designed by Simon along with input from tattooist, Rachel Huntington who also worked at Rampant Ink Tattoo Studio.

Photo taken at Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty's Castle, 2010

My third tattoo is around my ankle and foot and has flowers with tri-circle Mickeys at their centres flowing off an abstract tri-circle Mickey.  This time I took Rachel some designs of tri-circle Mickey’s that I had come across on our previous visit to Disneyland, explained where I wanted the tattoo and that I wanted cherry blossom type flowers as well.  I told her all about ‘hidden Mickey’s’ and love the fact that she was able to get so many into one tattoo; between the main ‘Mickey’, the flower centres and tiny hidden ‘dots’ there are 11 hidden Mickey’s!  I also love the fact that those in the know see the 'Disney' element straight away but for others I have to point it out, and when they realise they are completely awestruck!

Photo taken at the Magic Kingdom, Main Street USA, 2011

My next tattoo was based on a drawing that Simon completed as part of his 365 Mickeys Project; the drawing celebrated the day I got my original foot/ankle tattoo!

Simon's 365 Mickeys Project drawing for 8th July 2011

The tattoo version is almost the same but with an extra flower and a total of seven hidden Mickeys. This tattoo has since had a small star added to represent my mum who recently passed away.

Freshly inked Tattoo by Rachel Huntington - May 2014

So what to do next....well it's true what they say that you can never stop at just one tattoo and the idea that started bubbling away in my head was that of a full sleeve...a full Disney sleeve of course.

So in February this year the first part of my sleeve was begun. Now this sleeve is still a 'work-in-progress' and will contain a mixture of images of all different kinds that help to signify what Disney is all about for me personally; favourite movies, characters as well as representing my Disney home - Walt Disney World. The tattoo was started initially by Rachel while she was working at Rampant Ink. We started with Cinderella's castle (to represent the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World) and then the rose and bell jar from Beauty & The Beast as well as Scrump from Lilo & Stitch...

...next came some words, colour and a classic Disney blue bird...

...this was followed by more words, tinkerbell and some fairy dust...

 ...oh and the genie's lamp from Aladdin.

Now this is where I had a change of artists as Rachel decided to take a break from tattooing. Luckily for me Rampant Ink also employs the amazingly talented Simon 'Saint' Heywood who agreed to take on the rest of my sleeve for me. My first 6 hour session with Simon included lanterns from Tangled...

 ...colour and enhancements to the rose and bell jar as well as filling in around some of the words...

 ....there was also the apple from Snow White along with Cinderella's glass slipper...

...and then moving onto my lower arm...

 ...a movie clapper board to represent Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.

I have now had my second 6 hour session with Simon which has resulted in seven new pieces to my sleeve. So continuing on my lower arm...

...on the front I have Figment, the purple dinosaur from the attraction Journey Into Imagination which represents Epcot. I then have the Simba cave drawing from the movie The Lion King which represents the Animal Kingdom. So that's all four main parks at Walt Disney World represented!

On the back of my lower arm there is...

 ...Mrs Potts, from Beauty & The Beast, and of course that means that...

...Chip had to be included too! Also on my lower arm there is...

...a classic Disney butterfly as seen in the likes of Bambi. Moving back onto my upper arm there were a couple of smaller pieces added...

...a silhouette of Mary Poppins and a couple of 'Mickey' balloons which are synonymous with any visit to the Magic Kingdom!

But I still have plenty of space left to fill and plenty of ideas of what I'd like to fill those spaces with...but I won't spoil the surprise and will leave the reveal to another post after my next inking session later this year!