I am finally on the last bit of writing up the background history for the War Ditches site. I will spend the rest of the week (& prob some of next week!) getting it ready to hand over to Oxford Archaeology East, who'll then hand it over to the Wildlife Trust. I'm not going to say too much about it all yet as when it is finished I'll be adding some great stuff about it all on here, so watch this space!
I have mountains of great stuff to to add to History Pin and to Cambridgeshire Community Archives Network, literally thousands of photos, stories and clips! So I've a lot to do there as well. Everything I add to those two site is also added on this website under Michelle's Archives so you can make comment and I can add more detail to the item when I get the chance. My main priority now, is to just get the pictures etc. uploaded to the websites. All of the information I add gets copied to the Cambridgeshire Collection for archive and so the public can access the hard material too. Let me know if you would like to add anything yourself and I'll give you a hand :)

Busy as ever! What a weekend, on Friday I did a prom makeover in Cherry Hinton and then did a bridal pamper party in Godmanchester which was all lovely.
A word of warning... if you ever have to take your child to ballet exams, be prepared! You will need food, drink, entertainment and to keep calm. Charlotte had her ballet exams this weekend and they are spead out over the whole weekend so that there is no point going home in between exams, the place is filled with stressed out, hot parents and a formidable but wonderful principle! :)  it wasn't that bad really but it was a lot of waiting about and the hot weather didn't help when everyone was stuck inside for hours and hours. The examiner is very strict and presentation is everything, so the fumes from cans of hairspay abounded. Charlotte did very well, she thinks, we don't get results until the end of September but fingers crossed and she should have her grade 3 now. Now exams are over, the rehersals for the Jan 2011 show begin!
In between that I got out on Saturday morning to give a guided tour of Cherry Hinton Hall for the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, which Tony Kirby had organised. We had a good walk around and I pointed out and explained the features in the grounds from the prehistoric archaeology to the Victorian parkland. We even made a quick trip out of the site up the road to Giants Grave which is the large natural spring pool opposite the Robin Hood Pub in Cherry Hinton.
Saturday evening we popped over to Ely to my lovely friends, Emma and Rob, for their house warming which was great. I love Ely, I used to live there many years ago.
My son was here to visit for the weekend  too, so Sunday - in between ballet exams- we had a great BBQ in the garden and Russ even brought the TV out into the garden so we could watch the England match (no comment on that!).
Yesterday I went to my grannies to sit with her for a couple of hours, then I totally skived off of work and went into the town and spent some money on myself :) haha, it was brilliant! I haven't done that in ages, I was a total girl, I brought some clothes, false nails and false eyelashes, got a bit of makeup and some hair stuff then I came home and gave myself a haircut and stuck on my false nails and eyelashes (I can hardly type now). That was well needed.
Then in the evening, last night, I went and gave a lecture on local archaeology and history to Cherry Hinton Local History Society, it was a great evening and I had a suprise visitor along, Barry Fuller, from the Cambridge Archaeology Field Group - he had been involved with CHLHS 25 years ago and is a great friend of mine, he'd been trying to get the chance to come along for the last year and had finally made it, so it turned out to be a great evening all round :)
I must now finish off the War Ditches work I have been doing and have a week free of appointments to get it done, wish me luck!

I've just been to the Cambridgeshire Association for Local History committee meeting held in Hildersham, Cambridge. We had a great meeting, always friendly and nice and today we had the added bonus of a lovely homemade cake being delivered by the secretaries mother. If all meetings were like this I think most people would be on some committee or other! As usual we covered a lot and got a hugh amount done. Next year will be our Diamond Jubilee year, so keep an eye out for information coming soon about our 2011 Conference, our celebration events, our AGM & Awards, excursions and jam packed programme of events and lectures!

I went to the Friends of Cherry Hinton Hall committee meeting last night. It is so encouraging to see how far we've come since starting the group last year. What a difference people can make when we get together! Cherry Hinton Hall is such a lovely place and one of the only green spaces which seperates Cherry Hinton village from becoming a complete suberb of Cambridge (along with the green expence of Marshall's Airport). The Friends of CHH will be having a stand at this years famous Cambridge Folk Festival which is held in the grounds of the Hall, so if you're there please pop along and see us and find out more. We are also running a great, fun packed open day - Cherry Hinton Community Groups Fair
Saturday 24th July 2010
Cherry Hinton Village Centre 12noon-4pm
FREE admission.
Raffle, tea, cakes, lots of stalls to look at, displays various groups, activities for families...all sorts!
The Friends of Cherry Hinton Hall are hosting the fair and would like to invite all local groups, clubs and organisations to come and have a stall to promote, recruit and generally raise awareness - free of charge! A great oppertunity for all the community to get together and have a fun afternoon!
For further details call Sandra Day: 01223 247639 / email: sandra.day1@ntlworld.com

I had a great day training on Active Citizenship at Cintra House in Cambridge with the WEA yesterday. We learnt a lot about how to include this into the courses we teach but actually anyone can get involved in being an 'Active Citizen', one simple way to do this yourself is to get involved with Cambridgeshire Community Archives or History Pin! It's a really worthwhile and simple way to enhance your community history, if you need a hand, I'm more than happy to help. It doesn't have to be time consuming and you may have just one old picture you could share or just one story but put all together, these things really help create a sense of community and belonging, so why not get in touch :)

I have been working away at writing up the historical backgroung for the War Ditches site which is a prehistoric ring work discovered at the top of Lime Kiln Hill in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge. The site is now a nature reserve owned by the Wildlife Trust and called East Pit. It is a spectacular chalk quarry site and is now open to the public, so if you get chance please do pay it a visit. I will be producing a book about the site later this year once I have finished this initial phase of research, so look out for details coming soon :)

I went to the overall CCAN (Cambridgeshire Community Archives Network) committee meeting in Little Downham, this morning. A lot was discussed and we have great plans for getting our groups together and working on new and exciting ways to keep our archive groups active and interesting. Look out for news on here of events coming up later in the year for groups to part part in, including workshops, training and support! On another note we are very pleased to tell you that CCAN has been nominated for an high profile internet award and has been shortlisted!!!! More news about this coming soon :)
The Cambridgeshire Community Archive Network (CCAN) currently has 48 digital community archives. So far groups have added over 25,000 fascinating records. Explore further by visiting our website www.ccan.co.uk
CCAN Groups are created by people like you and it doesn't cost anything for you to add your material, just get in touch!
If you would like to contribute to any group then click the ‘Apply to be a Contributor’ button to the left of the home page of any of the groups.
You can then begin adding your material to the digital collection. Your contributions will not immediately appear on the site as all contributions are moderated before the site is updated to prevent unsuitable material being published.
CCAN digital collections are created and owned by the communities themselves. Any material added to CCAN collections become available in a digital form on the internet as a not-for-profit educational resource.
The site accepts uploads of images, text, audio (shot sound bites of oral history which can stand alone or be attached to photographs) video and hotspots. Hotspots are a feature allowing information tags to be added to records and links to be made between records.
Should you encounter any difficulties please use the ‘Help’ icon at the top of all pages. If you need further help please contact the group contact found on the Home page or for technical assistance email at support@ccan.co.uk .

On Tuesday 13th July 2010 it is our Mary Kay makeup training and guest evening at Little Thetford Village Hall (just south of Ely) at 7.30pm - about 9.15pm. This is our monthly makeup training night and we need people to come along to be models for us, so if you'd like a free makeover, some free pampering, a free goody bag and an all round good evening spent doing something different and finding out more about what we do, then please do come along. You can bring a friend too! :) The evening is held in the Village Hall in Little Thetford, which is the little village just off the A10 south of Ely, the Hall is straight down the main village road on the left hand side, there's plenty of parking. If you'd like to come along just drop me a note on my 'contact me' page on this website and I'll make sure I save a great free goody bag for you!!! :)

I've had a busy couple of weeks doing bridal makeup trials and pamper sessions, I've been all over Cambridgeshire from Hilton to Soham, Kings Hedges to Ely. It's been lovely to give makeup advice and reassure ladies (especially brides) that just because I am a makeup artist it doesn't mean that they'll get plastered with thick makeup. I always work with my clients to make sure I understand what they have been used too, what they would like etc. Most brides, for instance want to look natural. They would just like any little imperfections covered, skin to look healthy and makeup that will make them feel special not caked! Many of the ladies I see say they'd love to know how to put makeup on properly, most people just give it a go and do the best they can. How often do you spend time, like a kid, playing with your makeup and seeing what works best. The majority of us just don't do that or haven't for years. Many of us just get out of the habit of putting it on - especially when kids come along and life gets really hectic! But knowing how to gently enhance out faces (which is what everyone sees first!) without going overboard is all it takes. A bit of makeup can work wonders on self confidence and poise. Just think, during the War when you'd think the last thing anyone thought about was makeup, lipstick sales shot through the roof! It was known as the lipstick factor. This is because putting on that lipstick had a positive effect and made the women feel good. In my archiving work I have had people tell me that their grannies would always wear their lipstick during the war - even if they were just hanging some washing up. You'll notice in my makeover gallery that most of the makeovers are natural looking ones, now don't get me wrong, I can do glam, goth, drag, theatre and over the top art house style makeup (I went to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert last Thursday at the West End - incredible drag makeup) but most of my clients request a natural look. If you would like some free advice, a makeup party or perhaps you would like a one-to-one or 2 person makeover please do get in touch. We can have a cup of tea and you can play with all the different colours and styles and I will show you how to put it all on to suit your face shape and colouring :) For the month of June & July 2010 I am offering FREE makeup parties (that's where you have up to 5 people max. round your house, I come along and teach you all step-by step how to apply your makeup, you each get your own sets of makeup and brushes to use and will get full makeovers)
For the month of June & July 2010 I am also offering individual makeup lessons for ONLY £25 each! (normally £45) and this includes a FREE £10 makeup voucher for products!!!
If you would like to book in for one of these offers please use the contact me page on this website or give me a ring on 07999 853907. I am mobile and come to you and work daytimes, evenings and weekends. Check out my other makeup & skin care services too!

Last Wednesday I had the great pleasure of being invited to attend the Barrington Society AGM & BBQ. It was a lovely evening held in the beautiful gardens of one of the picture postcard cottages on the village green. The group are now going very strong after finding a new treasurer and secretary which I am so pleased about as anyone who is on committees knows how tricky it can be to get new committee members, especially such key ones! There was a great turn out for the AGM and the group were so friendly and interesting. I got chance to have a chat with several members and the committee and give them information about the other groups and support they can have within Cambridgeshire. Sometimes village groups can feel cut off from what is happening in the other groups, so I believe it is very important that we all stay in touch and share news and ideas. Barrington Society hold lectures and excursions and they also have their own fantastic archives room, which I'll be popping out to see soon. If you'd like more information about Barrington Society please click here: The PREVIEW