Zine Meet up & Josie Long

It's raining hard outside and I'm sleepy.

Last Saturday a couple of us Midlands Zinesters from We Make Zines had a meet up. We met in the afternoon in a nice Cafe called Browns, which served sparkling Elderflower juice. Win. James and I were the first to arrive, we sat by a window and had some lunch whilst we waited for the others. I was getting a little nervous as I'm not great at coming out with a sentence first, when meeting people for the first time. However, when everyone else arrived it was a breeze. The table was full of glorious zines, everyone was trading and chatting about all sorts of things, mainly Zines/Fairs/Creativity/Tv and Radio. I took copies of Elderflower Tea #2 and was given copies of Larry by Lee Taylor , some mini Comics by Sammy Borras, and some adorable mini Zines and Colouring books by Hannah Robinson. All of these people are incredibly talented when it comes to Illustration.

After the meet up James and I headed back to our other home, Birmingham, to see Josie Long. I was SO excited about this. James got me tickets for Christmas and I had been looking forward to it since. Her show was incredibly inspiring. She talked a lot about Politics, Tory bastards and Activism. It made me think about how I don't always follow politics because a lot of the time it all goes over my head, I don't always know who-is-who or what is happening. Josie made it easy to follow and talked about her passion for Socialism and UK Uncut. Mostly, her message was not to believe that the future is as bleak as the government makes out, that people can make a difference and everyone can get involved.

I met Josie briefly as she was giving out her Zine to the audience. I quickly grabbed both issues of Elderflower  Tea out of my bag and gave them to her. She seemed really touched and asked my name. When she had gone I turned to James and beamed. That lady is rad.

Elderflower Tea #2 Update

I love crappy webcam photos.

Here it is! #2 of Elderflower Tea! I got to cycle into town on Lola which felt great. At the library the guy with the beard and lip piercing was helping me at the copier, he said 'You're not one of those trendy bloggers are you?' I told him no, and that this was my zine. He then said 'Are those the published things? I don't know much about them because I am cool'. I gave an awkward smile then told him I knew what to do with the copier next... 

So, what can I tell you about Elderflower Tea #2? Well, the layout and overall look is much, much cleaner. There aren't many spelling mistakes and nothing has been cut off (YAY!). In this issue I talk about what I did in 2011, and what I hope 2012 will bring. I also talk about a personal subject for the first time which is about sensitivity. I also talk about zines, my bicycle & other fluffy things. 

#2

Somehow I have managed to type up everything for Elderflower Tea #2!
I spent this afternoon banging away on my typewriter non-stop, getting stiff knees from sitting crossed legged so long & made hardly any mistakes. How did this happen?!
I'm happy, because now I can do the most fun part, put everything together and decorate, hooray! I'm not putting pressure on myself to get it put together and printed right away, I think maybe it'll be finished later next week.
I've surprised myself... I wasn't sure what to write about in this issue, then as I started doing drafts everything just came together.
The front and back cover is done, I just need to write my intro.

time for tea, my deer

happy girl, big cup of tea and the doris anthology!