General

Heading out shortly to interview for Chichester Harbour Conservancy’s News & Guide. I discovered this fabulous area about ten years ago and, with views like this on my doorstep, no wonder I absolutely love living and working here! 🙂

If you live near the harbour too, you’ll know what I mean. If you don’t, then come along and visit this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. I can guarantee that it will be worth it.

Good weekend? Hope so. In between taking to the water during a new venture at Chichester Harbour (more on that at a later stage…), dog walking at West Wittering beach and a hard day’s shopping with my teenage daughter (her word, not mine! :-)), I finally managed to grab a few minutes to sort out some shots that I’ve been meaning to post for a couple of weeks.

These photos were taken in BoConcept during our recent family break to Paris. When I booked the holiday, I’d no idea that we’d be staying just a stone’s throw from one of the largest shopping centres in Europe – honest! It was truly vast but, sadly, a little lacking in interiors stores.

OK, so it wasn’t the quaint brocante I’d been secretly hankering after, however, on a contemporary tack, BoConcept at Val d’Europe is pretty cool…n’est-ce pas?

P.S. I particularly liked that dining table…wow!

Good morning. Hope your weekend was as action packed as mine turned out to be. Bit of a whirlwind but great fun.

Have to confess that I’m quite looking forward to writing captions in the office this morning since, apart from needing to crack on with the rest of a feature, I could actually do with sitting down for a few hours!

Lovely to read these words from fabulous homeowner Minnie Craske’s Facebook page, The Vintage Home Shop, this morning – what a great start to the week. ‘Just sat down with my cup of coffee and to look through my magazine 25 Beautiful Homes and this is what I found! Our house is going to be featured in next month’s issue (October 2013) of 25 Beautiful Homes and this issue comes out 29th August 2013….very exciting! :))) x’

Minnie, who recently launched The Vintage Home Shop, is passionate about all things vintage and this love, as well as her impeccable eye for detail and colour, is reflected in her stunning home, situated in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Actually, I can’t wait to see Minnie’s feature in print myself…

Bonjour…just getting back in the swing of things here after a magical action-packed break in Paris.

I’ve visited this beautiful city several times in the past and, having regularly spotted Parisian images on various Facebook pages over the last while, I felt an overwhelming urge to return this summer.

Well, the city certainly didn’t disappoint and the weather was perfect, with sunshine and blue sky every day – ideal for plenty of photo opportunities. I’ve attached a small selection of our holiday snaps below. 🙂

Think the smiles say it all…well done to everyone at The Martin Sewell Building Company for competing with gusto in The Great Sussex Bath Race 2013.

The crew would like to say a big thank you to all the individuals and companies who sponsored them so generously, helping to raise much-needed cash for Sussex-based charities, Lifecentre and the Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice.

View more photographs of the day’s action below.

Good luck to all at The Martin Sewell Building Company who are taking part in The Great Sussex Bath Race 2013, this Sunday, July 28. The MSBC team will be competing in this fun bathtub race in a bid to raise much-needed funds for two inspiring Sussex-based charities, Lifecentre and Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice (part of St. Barnabas Hospices Sussex Ltd). To find out more, view www.greatsussexbathrace.co.uk. To help with sponsorship, go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/TheMartinSewellBuildingCompany

A while ago, I mentioned that I’d received a surprise phone call from a homeowner in West Sussex who was keen to have her home featured in a magazine.

Well, the good news is that 25 Beautiful Homes snapped up the charming house and it’s going to be appearing in a forthcoming issue of this super magazine that’s always jam-packed with inspirational houses and ideas.

The West Sussex mews house is truly delightful, with a wealth of character features including an attractive stable door (not dissimilar to the one in this kitchen shot) and a stunning knapped flint wall.

Fortunately, the weather for the shoot was perfect – a sunny blue-sky day that was ideal for opening the stable door. Photographer colleague Bruce Hemming took a fabulous selection of shots with several looking out from the contemporary kitchen into the secluded walled gardens.

I’ve just filed the copy today and will keep you posted when the article appears in 25 Beautiful Homes. Friendly homeowner and another stylish and much-loved property.

If you’d like to see your own home featured in a magazine, drop me a line at mail@janetmcmeekin.co.uk or browse www.janetmcmeekin.co.uk for more information.

Photograph courtesy of Brent Darby/www.narratives.co.uk. Thanks to both! 🙂

Morning all! What a weekend – partying ‘til the wee small hours, finally finding the time to finish reading my latest book, watching the Red Arrows putting on another spectacular show at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and coming almost face-to-face with the most gorgeous little deer during an adventure cycling home from a wonderful afternoon at Chichester Harbour.

If you’re also making the most of this superb spell of good weather and fancy chilling out with a magazine at some stage, why not pick up a copy of Coast?

The August issue is jam-packed with summery features, including my ten-page spread about Vintage Scoops – a fabulous mother and daughter team who are, against all odds, living the dream of running their ice-cream business from a delightful vintage-themed van.

A couple of months ago, I popped over to East Sussex to interview Victoria McMullen and her mum Jo – a really lovely pair of ladies who are just so warm and friendly. Their openness definitely helped when it came to writing the feature.

I was thrilled with photographer colleague Richard Gadsby’s vibrant selection of shots and incredibly touched when Victoria emailed with this comment.

Hi Janet,

Just had a read of your lovely article, love, love, LOVE! Thank you so much for putting our story across so beautifully, you’ve done a really great job!

Love the pics too!

Best wishes

Vic

How kind is that? Makes my job even more worthwhile! 🙂

If you’d like to book Vintage Scoops for your event, email info@vintagescoops.co.uk or call either 01273 400416 or 07758 133650.