Strange Political Stories from the 2015 UK Election Campaign

*BOOKMARK THIS PAGE - I WILL BE UPDATING AS I FIND MORE STORIES.*

As we head in the direction of May we will see a huge amount of political wrangling. There will be a huge amount of mud throwing. So I will attempt to find the laughter in all this.
I will keep this updated as I find more awesome content to share.

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25th March 2015

Although not quite as funny as the Harry Potter Uptown funk - this is a great (and slightly cringeworthy) attempt by the Liberal Democrats. It's funny purely because of the attempt to "get down with the kids".

Liberal Democrats | Facebook


27th March 2015

This video popped up on my Facebook feed - a mix of Conservatives and UKIP quotes. Very cleverly done.



29th March 2015

A little old lady makes unlikely rise to fame with her likeness to the Queen.
Shame for UKIP the Queen can't vote....

why is the Queen canvassing for UKIP in Bromley? pic.twitter.com/sd62baNYys
— Calum S (@CalumSPlath) March 29, 2015

30th March 2015

With parliament being dissolved for the general election campaign Transport For London helps to quell the rising panic.

Hope it worked...

SKY news decided that the best way to attract attention to the election was forming a new boyband. The editing is rather amazing...

What do you think of this new boy band in our #BallotBallad? Watch Sky News for all the latest general election coverage. #GE2015
Posted by Sky News on Monday, 30 March 2015

The BBC also decided to give us a bit of help in telling us what an "ordinary young voter" looks like in the UK. I must be entirely abnormal in that case. But I did know that already to be honest....

Loving the BBC's 'ordinary young voters'. pic.twitter.com/k1K1vZhUQ7
— Duncan Golestani (@DuncanGolestani) March 30, 2015

31st March

In what I can only presume was an attempt to "seem cool with the kids" the news that Cameron is 13th cousins with Kim Kardashion made it back into the papers. Don't know what this is such big news. At that point you are pretty much related to everyone....

Found on ITV News

8th April 2015


This was a great day of funny on the political trail. It was from all round. Some purposeful.... some completely accidental.

Al Murray (Leader of FUKP) has officially handed in his nomination papers....
I'm slightly concerned by this...

What would he actually do if he wins?

The fire-engine is a great idea though!

It's official, handing in nomination papers #VOTEFUKP
Posted by Al Murray on Wednesday, 8 April 2015

This parody video from the Green party is priceless. Interesting how UKIP is compared to the other 3 main parties.

Nigel Farage must be please that the Green Party see him as a threat!

 I wonder if they will attempt to make a reactionary video?

Did anyone else see this picture of a little girl reflecting our view on the prospects of this elections? The choice is just ridiculous. 

From the Independent

There was also a photo fail for Nigel Farage this morning. Opps...

See the full Mirror article here. 

9th April 2015

In a bid to encourage the newest generations of voters to engage with the election - Maisee Williams has taken the helm.

Notice the photo of her fictional dad Ned Stark on the desk? Nice touch.

To be honest, I think there are probably more people talking about the upcoming Game of Thrones series than the election. 

10th April 2015

This rather interesting concept website was spotted by Buzz Feed's Saraj Datoo. The idea is to play the system to effectively attempt the conservatives from gaining enough seats to form a government. There is a few disagreements as to whether this has been primarily done to benefit labour.  Personally, I would not have thought these two as likely bedfellows. I also have no idea how this works if both don't honour the agreement? 

Personally I think the entirely ridiculous idea. But I doubt it will be the only variation that will appear in the next few weeks. Click here for their info and how they think it will work. 

I currently have no idea who I'm voting for. But this is the recommendation if I was a labour supporter: 

13th April 2015

Today has been an interesting day of political stories.

For UKIP - Their Southampton PPC has been arrested for suposedly bribing voters with a sausage roll.

Would that win your vote? He was question by the Police today and came armed with some Jaffa cakes.

Presuming the budget for bribing is limited?

Armed with JaffaCakes; #Southampton UKIP PPC Kim Rose shows up to be questioned by police on allegations of treating pic.twitter.com/ylQDxeeWVs
— Jessica Parker (@MarkerJParker) April 13, 2015

In another rather bizarre UKIP story - Nigel Farage has been challenged to a duel with swords by a Polish Prince.

If all political bouts where cleared up in this fashion I'm sure the interest in the political system would be higher.

Watch the video here.




While all of this was going one, The Telegraph was asking the important questions.

"Can you trust a man with a cat?"

Because when you are choosing who to vote for the politician's pet is an important debate issue.



In a rather unexpected move this morning, the government also added in new guidelines to crack down on health tourism. They want you too show your passport when using the NHS.

I was rather surprised at this. In the 7 party leaders debate no-one seemed to want to admit it was an issue. Can also see issues with the system of showing your passport? Doesn't feel very thought out and doesn't explain how it will proove you have been living and paying into the system for 6 months.

You can see the full article from the Telegraph here.


15th April 

There was a serious fail by one of the Conservatives this morning. She made a controversial suggestion that those with mental illness should wear wristbands so that the legal system understand what they have and so can deal with them appropriately.

I don't think anyone was convinced. There is still stigma surrounding mental health and making people wear a tag for something that is no fault of their own is cruel.

Tory @whereis007 says @LibDems are not putting up enough candidates to form a Government « Obviously wrong! pic.twitter.com/ljkRtfqdCR
— Richard Taylor (@RTaylorUK) April 13, 2015

Today the Manifestos started launching.

The Lib Dems rather oddly decided to launch their Manifesto in a nightclub.... Most journalists were a tad confused....

Slightly unexpected funky nightclub feel to Lib Dem manifesto launch #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/dRkm0LpqNZ
— Arif Ansari (@ArifBBC) April 15, 2015

The Telegraph obviously has not realised how difficult it is to buy home as a first time buyer now. We end up self employed as therefore can't get a mortgage. Any jobs are low paid and even with both me and my husband working full time we can't afford anything except a 1 bed flat.

Rant over.... but they are being a bit unfair here...

Ed Miliband could stop first-time buyers getting a home, Zoopla warns http://t.co/JhfnxkZKo3 pic.twitter.com/d20R2fK7nf
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) April 15, 2015

In a rather strange move the BBC have decided to try and encourage engagement through the use of poetry.

Interesting move.....

Your reflections on the election in poetry and verse http://t.co/om66VFRhg3 #GE2015 https://t.co/MyyB7rwKru
— BBC_HaveYourSay (@BBC_HaveYourSay) April 15, 2015

In another important bit of political news - Al Murray released his manifesto. Nicely present - stuck onto the back of the cigarette packet. Perhaps a hint to one of his party sponsors?

We are pleased to announce the #FUKPmanifesto
Posted by Al Murray on Wednesday, 15 April 2015

In a slightly odd - but highly creative - turn "knit for peace" are offering craft days where you can knit yourself a politician to use as a pin cushion....

No sewing collection is complete a Nigel Farage pin cushion... Here's the leaflet for anyone interested....

16th April

I know that the Monster Raving party has a large following. So I thought it was important to include this interview with them on the BBC.

On an interesting note - a bit of subliminal messaging from the BBC by only linking them to UKIP and non of the other major political parties in the UK....

I'm not insinuating anything.... honest....

For those that are interested they even have their own twitter account!

BBC News - Election 2015: We'll lose votes to UKIP, say Loony Party http://t.co/UXNL2DxRzv
— OFFICIAL M.R.L Party (@Official_MRLP) April 16, 2015

If the video doesn't work click here for the BBC website. 

I don't know about you, but I still need to catch up on the TV debate. However, Cameron did actually have the time to watch it - which makes you wonder why he wasn't just there in the first place?

He also thought it would be a bright idea to tweet along.

The independent has been and found some of the best responses from the twitter sphere....

Screen shot from the Telegraph article above. 

17th April

I'm pretty sure the election stories are getting weirder as we head closer to the election. There has been some completely bizarre stuff on my Facebook News feed today....


For instance, this now assessed UKIP flyer has gone viral today. A teacher got it through the door and decided to mark it....

UKIP Flyer - Found here

In the morning after the TV debate, the country decides that Ed Milliband now has a Sassy Face.

Ed Miliband listening to Nigel Farage is maybe the most sassy thing of all time http://t.co/dDGhtBCG9G pic.twitter.com/gN311uwYrQ
— BuzzFeed UK Politics (@BuzzFeedUKPol) April 17, 2015

It appears well on it's way to becoming a meme.

when you realise there's another six hours of work to do before the weekend pic.twitter.com/KDH3iTaO6d
— BuzzFeed UK Politics (@BuzzFeedUKPol) April 17, 2015

What the internet gave to me - Episode 4

1) Funny stories of cheaters being exposed. 

Being married myself, I could completely imagine the anger and hurt at finding that your other half has betrayed you. These adulterers have been exposed on facebook. Although it seems a bit cruel to some, I personally find these rather amusing...


Cheaters Exposed On Facebook

2) A story of the phone returned. 

This was another story I found this week. Some random dude had his phone nicked. He then had some pictures of a dude from china appearing on his cloud storage. This led him to becoming a minor celebrity in china. It is such an odd story you have a laugh a little.

Read more here 

3) Queen is canvassing for UKIP. 

This startling look-alike of HRM the Queen made a startling climb to fame this week while she was canvassing for UKIP. Gave UKIP some positive media with a slightly funny twist. The story definitely made me smile.

My main query is that is the balloons part of the new UKIP campaign strategy? Because I think this could really catch on... :)

4) The history of the houses we live in 

I love this story from the Guardian by Tanith Carey about the discovery of the history of her house. While clearing out the dirt from her basement she found a collection of "rubbish" left by the previous owners of the house. 

Craft Ideas that I would love to try

*Bookmark this blog - I will be adding to it as I find new amazing projects throughout the internet* 

Crochet Ideas

DIY Crochet Flowers

This design is one of the reasons I would love to be able to Crochet. Such a beautiful pattern idea.

Can somebody please make one for me?

The pattern is here

Funky Up Your Wine Glasses

Name your wine glasses

Hate getting your wine glasses mixed up? Why not turn the base of each glass into a chalk board. Name each glass at your gathering and you shouldn't get so confused! 

All you need to do is get some of that paintable chalkboard stuff and dip your wine glass into it. I have some of this at home - so I will update when I have had a go at it. 

This idea was found on: listinspired.com






Sewing Projects

Butterfly Pot Holders

I love butterflies - we used them as a theme at our wedding. I'm also going through cheap oven gloves at a stupidly fast rate. So this project caught my attention.

The finished project looks beautiful!

This project was found on: diy.tag

Upcycle old denim into Storage Pouch

I have loads of old jeans at home that I plan on keeping for denim related projects....

This is a fab idea for a pouch. I have one of those wooden beds with a headboard. Because we have it pushed right up against the bed, I don't have enough space to be able to have a shelf or table beside the bed.

This idea is meant to be for a pouch to hang on your door. But it would be super useful for me to hang on the posts on my bed.

This idea was found on: listinspired.com

A denim Recycled Apron

This has two major positives - really easy craft project and refuses a set of jeans. What would you accessorise yours with?

Get the instructions here. 

Quilt & Blanket Ideas

Harry Potter Book Blanket

This super awesome design is by Happy Hooker and can be found on her blog here. It is a pretty funky idea and would be easy enough to knit. I'd probably do this without the numbers at the top...

Projects to use up old buttons

Button Bowl

If you are looking for a storage bowl or something a little different - take a look at this. Personally, I have hundreds of buttons at home I could use up. Alternatively, they are also really cheap to buy if you want a specific colour scheme.

I found the idea and you can find the instructions here.

Display Idea

Display memory box

I love keeping hold of tickets and passes from trips. It allows me to relive the moments when I rediscover the memory box.

This is a super cute idea that allows you to display and keep updating your frame.

This idea was found here.

Recipes that look amazing.

Just a quick note before we start: This blog will be updated as an when I find mouth watering recipes. 






Pudding

Cinnamon Apple Strudel Pull-Apart Bread

Just the picture of the recipe looks amazing. I really need to give this a go! Please let me know if you do. 

The recipe can be found here

 

Crafting and Homeware ideas from Social Media that work

*BOOK MARK THIS PAGE - I WILL UPDATE AS I FIND NEW IDEAS* 

I love Pinterest, It's an app on phone that streams hundreds of ideas to me every single day. Makes me feel like I'm being productive.... even if I don't do anything with them but pin them to one of my hundreds of boards.

In addition to this, there are a huge amount of Craft pages on Facebook I follow which offer me up hundreds of ideas. Some of which I love to have a go at and try out.

This is a blog that I will publish but keep updating with any ideas that I do actually implement and their actual effectiveness/awesomeness.





Craft

Quilting Projects

I am always on the lookout for amazing ideas to recreate. Eventually I had enough quilt ideas that I couldn't help but start a new project.

Follow Kirsty's board Quilt inspiration on Pinterest.



This was the pattern that caught my interest.

This pattern only works if you draw yourself out a line pattern to organise your fabrics. Trying to work this out freehand and sewing together isn't worth the time spend unpicking. Trust me. Here is the one I drew out:

I scribbled a name of each fabric cross I could make with the fabric I had onto here. It gave me the chance to ensure that the colours wouldn't clash. 

Ideally, I want this to have a decent thickness. So I'm going to double up some wadding between 2 white sheets. This will allow me to secure the wadding and have something secure to sew the patchwork too. I have another piece of fabric for the back that I brought on holiday in Portugal in June 2014. Any excess white fabric can be used as a border. 

Photo update 1

Currently it's looking like this - I'm slowly adding some length. It's going to be a double size quilt I think when it's finished. Which is exactly what I wanted :)

Apart from the shape there is absolutely no theme to this quilt! 

Easter Bunny (Knitted)

I saw this adorable pattern on my Facebook feed this week :) Now my husband has challenged me to knit 10 to hide around his safe-zone at Drone Airsoft. So that is my evenings sorted for the next week :)

Also has the perk that he is buying the wool and I get to knit something. So that is definitely a win.

Will update when I have completed them!

So this is my first attempt at a bunny. Colours were my husbands choice. 

This has given me a chance to work out the pattern.

I'm using double knit wool with 3mm needles. 35 stitches across. 62 rows. Knit stitch. Finished with a 2.5cm pom-pom. Then sewed on eyes an nose with white stitches. 

Black seems a little dark.... possibly also put a little too much stuffing inside.

UPDATE: All bunnies are now finished :)

Any thoughts on the colour scheme? 

Knitted Blanket

Having finished the bunnies, I found myself with lots of spare wool - and some cool ideas for colour combinations.

Recently I've found this idea for knitting a blanket on a set of circular needles.




This idea was from: purlbee.com
If you want to try this blanket pattern and have no wool - check out their website. She recommends so wool she describes as washable :)

The original pattern is for a child size blanket. But this comment discussion got me thinking.

Having now had some experience with knitting on larger needles I invested in some 7mm circular needles with 120cm length. I'm about 8 rows in and they are working really well for me.

You can buy them from amazon here. 

The chunky knit blanket lengthens a lot faster. Ideal if you are looking for a relatively short term project.

I'm creating an adult size blanket for the lounge. I cast on between 170-185 stitches (I didn't count and just kept casting on until it looked long enough.....). I'm hoping when I finish it will be a couple of meters wide.

Picture Update 1

Picture Update 2

Currently it's looking like this:

Home-wares + Improvement

Bathroom

I use mouthwash every single time I brush. So a plastic bottle of which ever mouthwash was on offer is always sat on the shelf above my sink. The only trouble is that it is not very pretty.

Then I saw this:

It's so simple and much more attractive than the current arrangement. I also remembers that I have a couple of beautiful and unused whisky decanters that I picked up for £1,99 in a charity shop. The pourers and shot glasses were brought off amazon. So I spent less than £5 extra and ended up with this: 

Much more attractive than a plastic mouthwash bottle.

The best Harry Potter Content on the Internet

*BOOKMARK THIS PAGE - I will be adding to it as I find new content!* 

I am a huge Harry Potter Fan. The perk is that the initial upset on finishing the books is quickly over with the stream of amazing content on the internet.






= This video parody of Uptown funk has been floating around the internet - with very good reason. I love the original of the song - but this video and song parody is amazing.



= Here is a list of alternate castings for the Harry Potter Movies. Some of them work better than others....

Take a look here

A potential Alternative for Barty Couch Junior. Thoughts?

= The other really popular Harry Potter video this week has been this interpretation of the friends theme. Total genius.



= If I was getting married again I would draw inspiration from this amazing Harry Potter inspired wedding article. But (hopefully) I won't be.... so might have to steal some ideas for my next birthday party?

= One very clever person has put a video together that puts all the story plot of Severus Snape into chronological order.If you didn't understand the value of Severus within the plot, this is the video that will explain all. It literally had me almost sobbing at my desk at work this morning.




= If you are looking for further Harry Potter music videos - I discovered "Not Literally Productions" on Youtube completely by accident. They have got some absolutely amazing parody songs. This one about Gryffindor pride is one of favourites.









= Then this series of cross over truths appeared on my Facebook feed the other day. Mind = Blown.

= If you are after some inspiration for a fan fiction plots this article on a range of fan theories could be worth a look. 

10 Strange Fan Theories That Will Change How You View Harry Potter

= Confessions from JK. Rowling

15 times JK Rowling shocked Harry Potter fans

= You will love this article on Hypon.com. It is 17 facts that Rowling has told us about the gang after the books finished. It's a great resource if you're writing an in-canon post book fic.

= I need this quilt in my life. Where do I get one???

= This similarly beautiful selection of signs from a Facebook store. I would love something similar to this in my bedroom! The boxes would also be an amazing box to store my crafts in. 

= An art student designed these amazing illustrated Harry Potted books. Take all my money and make me one please! Find more images here. 

Hope you enjoyed my blog! Don't forget to follow me on twitter to stay updated. 

Are you looking for #home #inspiration ? Here are some blogs I've written and other ideas --> http://t.co/a0aycD2fUV pic.twitter.com/sJWKHdI1EO
— Kirsty Holloway (@MrskirstyHoll) March 24, 2015

Storage Related DIY Life Hacks

KITCHEN

1) Use tic tac boxes to store your dry herbs. 

This actually makes me want to buy a multi pack of tic tacs to do this. It is way cheaper to buy your dried herbs in bags. You can store these in a cupboard and use this tiny boxes to save space on your worktop. I have a silly small amount of space - so this idea could be super helpful. 

Running short of space? These units are a fabulous way of effectively using the space without having to build in units. You can find out more information about them here.

BEDROOM/LOUNGE

1) I love books and have thousands of them on my shelves. This would be a beautiful was on making some use of some old books. really useful. It's such an easy way of hiding your nic-naks and it looks beautiful.

This was found on: sewingbarefoot.com

Funky Interior Design Inspiration

For nearly a year now I have been working with an amazing lighting company called Shine Lighting. This has given me an amazing insight and appreciation of interior design. To celebrate this, here is some of my favourite interior design related articles/idea that I have found circulating around the internet at the moment.

Articles by me 




If there is time, I try to put together design related blogs inspired by my favourite design trends. Here are some of my favourites...

This was inspired by my love of reading and a lot of inspiration from Pinterest.

What to do with unused space – Reading Nooks

The next article was written based on a number of discussions with customers. I thought I would put something together that might be useful. 

10 Steps - Bathroom design made simple

Moroccan style is something that has completely blown my mind. I completely adore the combination of fabrics and colours and lights.

Living room inspiration - Moroccan design in 10 easy steps (or less)

Ideas by others

Another perk of managing the social media for Shine Lighting is that I get to see some amazing interior design articles.

My total love and huge collection of books quickly helped me fall in love with this article:

GET ORGANISED: STYLISH BOOKSHELF IDEAS

This is less of an article and more of just an amazingly clever idea for a coffee table. If you don't like fish, or water, then look away now.

About the only problem I can see with this idea is if you need to move your coffee table occasionally.... I'm thinking a sturdy frame with wheels? Personally, this idea does 2 things for me. It solves the problem of having no space for a fish tank and gives me a totally amazing dining room table. 

Aquarium Coffee Table

To continue the theme, this kitchen island is amazingly beautiful. If you have a passion for fish, the size of this tank will allow you to create an amazing collection. 

Aquarium Kitchen Island

Today the internet gave to me: Good News Stories - Episode 3

When you're feeling down, there is always something on the internet to bring you back up again.
It can be tales of hope, or love or something that is just plain funny.

So to perk you up on this sleepy Saturday afternoon....







Love has no labels

This video has a beautiful message that I completely support. Take a look....



Uptown Funk - Bruno Mars - in the voices of Family Guy and American Dad

This is an amazing song. In family guy and American Dad voices in is even better. Take a look if you need a bit of a laugh.



An Adoption Story

This is a beautiful tale of love and family. Shows that family is who you choose, not just a genetic relationship.



Transformation of an empty, abandoned Walmart into a Library

There are tales all over the UK and USA of huge supermarket chains abandoning huge buildings as they close shops. When they initially take the space they are often accused of destroying communities and local shops.

This is a fantastic story about a community reclaiming the huge abandoned Walmart left empty. They have created a fantastic community space for everyone.  I definitely think this would be a fantastic idea to use in the UK.

A Magical Book Review - The Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Book: 

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Part 1 of the All Souls Trilogy

Length: 

688 pages

Published: 

2011

Diana Bishop is a descendant of the Bishop witches - a powerful witch lineage. After her parent's murder when she was a child, she has gone out of her way to deny her supernatural heritage. She is now an academic visiting Oxford university. She is putting together a study about Alchemy - the point at which magic starts to become science.

This is a world where Witches, Vampires and Deamons exist in a universe with humans. They are part of the society around them, but also have their own separate existence.

Talking of vampires, Matthew is a 1500 year old vampire with a mixed and intriguing past. He is also an academic and studying genetics. He specialises in looking into the origins of witches, deamons and vampires and their interlinked genetics.

The problem starts when Diana summons an ancient manuscript from her study paper. This is an manuscript that has been lost for centuries. Suddenly, everyone wants to know what it says and denying her heritage starts to become more difficult.

This book can be read as a modern, supernatural, Romeo and Juliet story.  There are hints within the novel that this was a foretold match. However, their love is not as simple as it originally seems.

One of my favourite plot concepts in this novel is the use of genetics. I studied some genetics at university and I fully appreciated (and enjoyed) the integration between genetics, Darwin's theory of evolution and supernatural ideas. If you like science and supernatural stories this book is worth taking a look at.

Around 2/3^rds of the way through this tale I began to realise that the story would not be finished by the last page of this novel. Which was slightly disappointing. However, it is exciting to have the opportunity to spend more time with the characters. Deborah definitely leaves you wanting to know what happens next.

Overall, the book was something I was really looking forward to reading. It definitely lived up to my expectations. 

Reading Challenge Points

-          A book with more than 500 pages

-          A book with non-human characters

-          A book by a female author

-          A trilogy (Part 1)

-          A book with magic

-          A book by an author you have never read before

-          A book you own but have never read