Hopezine in Happiful by Caroline Butterwick
Staffordshire based writer, Caroline Butterwick, has featured us in Happiful magazine this month
Come fly with me
By Erica Crompton Some years ago, I attempted to board a flight to Ibiza but had to check out last minute due to some mild hallucinations (thinking I could see people from the past). I’ll admit, it wasn’t very well planned on my part – the flight from Manchester airport was on a Friday night […]
Birdsong by writer Eleanor Lees
By Eleanor Lees Birdsong is something my blind friend has come to be able to identify – enjoying being able to tell me which songs are coming from which birds despite not being able to see them. She imagines them in her mind’s eye and describes to me how she sees them. The collective flight […]
A good night’s sleep at the Pentahotel, Birmingham
By Erica Crompton Pentahotel in Birmingham rests just a stone’s throw from the Chinese Pagoda monument and, also, the city centre. I arrived with Paul and we found ourselves pent-up with excitement – the parking just outside left enough change for drinks and its entrance was accessible not to mention good looking. We quaffed an […]
Comfort food at Rosa’s
By Erica Crompton Hungry and in a hurry? Thai cuisine café Rosa’s is unlikely to disappoint as the sun sets over Birmingham’s former Paradise Parade site. Set atop the high and mighty Hill Street, it’s quite the journey to arrive here in a wheelchair, but the Panang curry, Pad Thai noodles and cocktails are worth […]
Accessible Staffordshire by Caroline Butterwick
By Caroline Butterwick North Staffordshire has been my home for over a decade. I love exploring where I live, and I’m still discovering places to visit for a great day out. Being partially sighted and experiencing tiredness from medication I take for my mental health, accessibility is key when planning a trip. Luckily there are […]
A glowing green hotel
By Erica Crompton Hope Street, Belfast’s Holiday Inn lights up green in the evening which makes for an eerie entree. But we don’t mind this at all as we enter as it boasts both steps to the entrance and a step-free entrance for wheelchair users. A bottle of Pinot Noir awaits with a handwritten note […]
Quail birds at Edo restaurant
By Erica Crompton “Is this the Quail or the egg?” It’s only after sampling the vast array of local Belfast beers and whiskeys that I ask this, but the friendly staff take it in their stride: “It’s the bird,” offers the understanding waitress all pristine black shirt, matching apron and compassionate smile. EDŌ, prounouned “aye-doh” […]
Belfast’s Blue Badge Billy
By Erica Crompton Opening a conversation with local residents is how you really get a feel for the charm and elegance of Belfast and a sense of how this UK city has emerged from conflict to become a safe, popular short-break city. Today it stands as one of the world’s top tourist destinations thanks to […]
One way to New York Cheugy
By Erica Crompton In 2002 I booked a one-way ticket to New York City with no plans to return. I took a job at the late Santa D’Orazio’s photographic agency and spent my time eating Burritos in Brooklyn by night, while chugging photographic portfolios around magazines based in Lower Manhattan in the day. With my […]