When Darren contacted me via Instagram to ask to review his e-book of poetry, I was more than happy to read the works of an emerging poet! Clown is his […]
Book Review: the Lies She Told
Paula Johnston’s debut novel the Lies she Told is a wild ride – think Love Island but way more conspiriorital and dangerous. Johnston’s split narrative tells the story of orphaned […]
Cooking Bucket List #4 – Cinnamon Buns!
Cinnamon rolls ended up being the perfect treat for me last week. It was a sunny, warm Sunday. My partner was away for the night for a friends’ wedding, and […]
Movie Review: Freaky 2021
I‘ve been so excited about this movie for ages, so it was a joy and a thrill to finally get to see it, especially after reading really positive reviews about […]
Book review: Daisy on the Outer Line
The unbridled excitement I felt when I found out that my home town of East Kilbride is one of the supporting locations in Ross Sayers Daisy on the Outer Line […]
you don’t have to like me – poem
Thank you for visiting hol7ly.co.uk ! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading today. If you REALLY ENJOYED your visit, I accept donations via my Ko-Fi account here. Any donations are massively […]
Cooking bucket list #3 – Brigadeiros!
I bought the ingredients to make brigadeiros a few weeks ago, planning on making some the same day I made my strawberry cheesecake. Well, the cheesecake was an undertaking and […]
Things to keep in mind when writing reviews
No one told me that writing reviews would be difficult. It’s a very intimidating form of writing, I think. In each niche of reviewing, you’re contributing to discourse in established […]
Film review: Nobody
Bob Odinkirk stars in the fun and hugely entertaining Nobody, released in 2021. He is Hutch Mansel, whose background is very largely shrouded in mystery – all we know about […]
2021 reading challenge check in
We’re officially half-way done with 2021 – where has it gone? This year I started a new job and, as lockdowns and restrictions are constantly easing and going back into […]
Restaurant review: Number 2 Montgomery Street, East Kilbride
Ayyy new brunch place just dropped, and it’s only a fifteen minute walk away from my house! Number 2 Montgomery Street couldn’t stop cropping up on my partner’s Instagram, and […]
I made a cake look decent! The Cooking Bucket List #2
In my cooking bucket list, I said I wanted to decorate a cake and make it actually look good, since cake decoration seems to be beyond me. I’ve made many […]
Film Review: A Quiet Place Part II
Film Review: A Quiet Place Part II Welcome to the first film review posted to hol7ly.co.uk in a whole hot minute! In our first cinema experience in a year, my […]
Returning to the gym – good intentions and affirmations!
Returning to the gym – affirmations and good intentions! In late April, COVID-19 restrictions lifted just enough to allow us all to get back to the gym – YES ! […]
NaPoWriMo 2021: reflection
National poetry writing month April has come and gone. This years’ challenge was the same as ever: every day of April, write a poem. Work from a prompt or exercise, […]
how do i measure a week – poem
I made blueberry muffins! The Cooking Bucket List #1
I posted my cooking bucket list and over a FULL MONTH later, I finally tackled one of the foods I wanted to try making for the first time! I chose […]
Review: four writing apps
Since embarking on a 9-5 and keeping up with writing for SNACK, I’ve been struggling to find time for prose. I spent weeks in the summer writing a novel that […]
The books that shaped me & my writing
I’ve been a reader and a writer for a long time, and it’s no shock or secret that these two aspects of my life shape each other massively. The best […]
A day in the life of a new PR
Hello. Recent graduate of English, Journalism and Creative writing here, in her first Big Girl Job as PR Executive for Bradfords Bakers. When I got the opportunity to apply for […]
Book Review: the Immortal Soul Salvage Yard
The Immortal Soul Salvage Yard (2021) by Beth May is a collection of deeply vulnerable poems that expose the ugly but intimate aspects of mental health, recovery, and all sorts […]
My Mother’s Day Gift Box
I don’t mean to out myself as a shitty daughter, but I’m not usually one to make a big fuss over Mother’s Day. I usually forget which day it falls […]
What Journaling Does For Me
What journaling does for me On the 22nd of January this year Nicola Thorp told the Metro that she was turning her ‘to-do list into a ta-da list’. The article […]
2021: my cooking bucket list
Ever since Oliver Babish started posting his recreations of amazing meals and foods from my favourite movies and TV shows, I’ve been incredibly into home cooking. I’m an ex-fussy eater, […]
Book Review: Bitterhall by Helen McClory
Set for early April release, Bitterhall will be the newest instalment in Helen McClory’s bilbliography, which includes Mayhem & Death, On the Edges of Vision and of course, the Goldblum Variations. Bitterhall takes the form of a […]
How we spent our Valentine’s Day at home
Valentine’s was obviously different this year – that goes without saying. We’re used to dinner out at either a new, or well-loved restaurant with cocktails, and maybe a movie or […]
plant – poem
Book Review: Love and Other Thought Experiments (2020) by Sophie Ward
(My Book 2 of the Year!) Through the lens of philosophical deliberations, Sophie Ward explores one story of many loves in her 2020 novel, Love and Other Thought Experiments. Over […]
Book Review: Expectation (2020) by Anna Hope
Anna Hope’s Expectation explores close female friendships, motherhood and infertility, infidelity and adapting to a life that isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It follows Hannah, Cate and Lissa, […]
What I watched in 2020
WARNING: Minor spoilers ahead for each show mentioned. Proceed with caution Bojack Horseman (2014-2020) What seems like years ago, Bojack Horseman came to an end. Season 6, part B went […]
2021 will be lived in books
I read constantly when I was younger. In the summer I’d walk to my local library a few times a week, sat in my friends bedrooms and read with them, […]
devotion – poem
OCTOBER ROUND UP
October is my favourite month of the year – I love the autumnal vibes of leaves turning red and brown and yellow, falling from the branches and crunching under my […]
Happy Spooky Season! Halloween and Horror Recommendations Master List
Halloween is almost upon is – it looks like this one will be spent indoors with a plethora of spooky content from Netflix and other streaming services, from our bookshelves […]
flowers for carol – poem
inspired by my favourite podcast dungeons and daddies!
Movie Review: Onward
Onward (2020) is the latest dose of proof that Pixar knows how to make some goofy shit be honestly and genuinely gut wrenchingly emotional. Directed by Dan Scanlon (Monsters University), […]
Book review: I’ll Give You the Sun
I’ll Give You the Sun (2014) by Jandy Nelson is pure sunshine – from its bright yellow cover to its colourful, vivid cast of characters. Mid lockdown, it was just […]
Movie Review: Ready or Not
In preparation for Halloween and also getting married, I watched 2019’s Ready or Not and I really loved it! I honestly didn’t see much wrong with it and found it […]
Book Review: Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
There’s something about Sally Rooney’s writing style that feels like home. It’s familiar and welcoming. I have thought before that the way she writes can be a little objective, like […]
Food review: Sicily at Six by Nico
The other night we tried Six by Nico’s Sicily menu! I saw that the first course was going to be three different types of arancini and just like that I […]
I grew up here
Please don’t give Normal People a second season
Hi. Not to be a stereotype but I binge read Normal People in just a few days, despite being an obscenely slow reader. I found it super hard to put […]
your body is – poem
Fool Around
Something Dangerous
Your Body Is
We tried cooking with HelloFresh for a week, here’s our thoughts
HelloFresh seems like a great way to plan healthy, tasty and varied meals when you’re having a busy week, but obviously the whole country is still living through a lockdown […]
Free Muffin
An adaptation of BoJack Horseman’s episode ‘Free Muffin’, some thoughts from the not so grieving widow Beatrice Horseman Judy from supper club stopped by earlier today and told me all […]
Half-baked mess – the Perfect Date review
Here is a truth about me: I love bad things. I’d take a cheap Chinese takeaway over an expensive gourmet meal any day, I love a book that’s so terrible […]
Cute family movie – Dumbo (2019) Review
For a late mother’s day outing, my family went to see this year’s Dumbo reboot. Dumbo was (and is) my favourite Disney movie as a youngster, but when it comes […]
Henna Brows at TLC
As someone who didn’t know that eyebrows were a part of the face people put makeup on until I was 18, I am perplexed and amazed by all the different […]
Burned Out – the blog that’s taken me over a month to write
When I was in primary school, when I was like eight, I think, I wrote what my school friends considered to be a novel. For a creative writing assignment, […]
How to Overcome Writer’s Block in Five Really Hard Steps
Step one: admit that you have it. Look at the block in your head, familiarise yourself with it. Study it, examine it, and take stock of what is stopping […]
Slime
Authors Note: before you read Slime, read its predecessors! Hydraulic Press and Industrial Shredder It’s no gone too far. No yet anywey. A’ll tell ye when hings have gone too […]
Our wee flat
On the second Friday of February this year, my boyfriend Matthew and I got the keys to our first ever place together! It was something we’d been planning for a […]
2019 Book 3 | the Long Drop
I just finished ‘the Long Drop’ by Denise Mina and I really loved it! This book focusses on the story of real life 50’s serial killer Peter Manuel and […]
hol7ly.co.uk is one year old!
On February 3rd 2018, my new blog went live! Hol7ly.co.uk came alive when I was in second year of university and wanted to get back into doing journalism-y things, […]
the first thing i know about journalism
I studied journalism for two years and I study it still at university and the whole experience over the past five years has been a…mixed bag. The past five years, […]
Grass
In a world where traditional superpowers did not exist, Mani knew he was special. No one in his world possessed super strength, or had the ability to take to […]
2019 Book 2 | Heart of Darkness
Part of studying modern literature and twentieth century texts involves reading Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness for me, but I couldn’t even finish it. When I’ve got so many […]
2019 Book 1 | ‘No Mean City’
Every time I brought out my copy of ‘No Mean City’ around my partners gran, she would remark that the book gave Glasgow a bad name, and I can see […]
The Best Damn Cookies I Ever Did Bake
Baking tasty treats for my friends and peers is my chief source of confidence and self-esteem, so the fact that I make pretty shit cookies is a big let-down for […]
Game of Thrones season 8: most anticipated reunions
When HBO’s fantasy hit Game of Thrones comes to an end in just a few months, so will Jon and Dany’s sexy cruise ride and Jaime’s long ride North. When […]
Addictive but eventually repetitive – Netflix’s You
Instead of being reading all day, writing a ton and going to the gym, I binged Netflix’s new hit show You and I don’t regret it. You is a […]
2019 – Resolutions and Goals
Setting New Year’s resolution is a really, really fun thing to do. Grabbing nice, lined paper with good and fine coloured pens and writing out all my goals for the […]
RePlayable: South Park: the Stick of Truth
I am so slow when it comes to getting and playing video games for two reasons: the first is that my only game console is an Xbox 360 (since my […]
An attempt was made: lemon drizzle cookies
I hate to be that baker posting her whole life story before writing out a recipe for cookies but it’s a pretty short story. So, endure it. Deal with it. […]
types of cold – poem
What’s in my continue watching? Challenge type thing
I’m pretty bored. Let’s do a blogger challenge type thing. How long is your Continued Watching list on Netflix? Is it made up of one TV show you haven’t finished […]
Laura & Lowell
Darren and Laura were sleeping in bliss indeed, but the cosmos was scheming.
While the world slept, alternate
realities came together and mixed and matched mischievously, playing with the
lifeforms inside.
The Boy has a seriously unexpected* twist
*I’m a little thick so seriously unexpected to me may have been extremely expected for other viewers. I decided to have a little me night, planned to double feature […]
NaNoWriMo 2018
This year, thanks to NaNoWriMo, I finished the first draft of my novel! I’ve started writing countless novels, but I haven’t finished a single one. Something’s always happened and it’s […]
FFF: Riverdale
Summary: 2017 teen drama from the CW exploring an outwardly bright and innocent’s town descent into its true, dark nature following the mysterious death of golden boy Jason Blossom. […]
Industrial Shredder
Don’t get it? Read Hydraulic Press here and it will aaaaall become cleeeaaar A’d had enough of Mikey’s shite by the time a met wee Scott, who appeared to […]
28/11/18 – We played Dungeons and Dragons!
I’ve never played Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve always wanted to and two years ago, I made a character who I really liked but I ended up losing my character sheets […]
Faves Fall Flat: BASEketball
SUMMARY: 1998 sports comedy written and directed by David Zucker, starring South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker as two waster best friends who accidentally create a whacky hybrid […]
The Phenomenon at Stevie’s Restaurant
Stevie was starting to get very, very frustrated with all of this. He spent days and nights awake, trying to explain the unexplainable. He paced around his bedroom, his living […]
Cookie Clicker in2018 – 11/09/18
22 hours and 20 minutes ago I started a new Cookie Clicker game for the first time in like, I don’t know, probably a few months. Something always brings me […]
A bit spooky but ultimately generic – thoughts on the Nun
My bae from American Horror Story Taissa Farmiga was in this year’s instalment of the Conjuring anthology, the Nun, and I wasn’t going to see it but my sister really […]
Websites I loved as a kid – 28/08/18
I’ve always been a computer addict and a big fan of memes – but when I say memes, I mean like the old school rage comic memes with the Troll […]
Clownin’ Around
A love ma wee Gordy tae bits, right, so am really worried about this funk he’s gotten himself intae. He spends aw his time, lately, sittin’ aboot, mopin’, no dain […]
8/8/18 – Approaching the (first) end
It’s taken many full to the brim and colour coordinated notebooks (that could be interpreted as being the journal of a complete madman) but I’m actually SO BUZZING to say […]
Fun for the whole family! (except Colin Firth) – Thoughts on Mama Mia! Here We Go Again
As expected Mama Mia 2 was TONNES of fun set in a breath takingly beautiful place full of gorgeous folk! In comparison to its predecessor, I thought the singing and […]
Metiks Fade Trilogy Book Two Title and Blurb Revealed
Only months after the publication of debut novel Anna Undreaming, Thomas Welsh has announced the title and revealed the blurb for his next book, the second instalment of the Metiks […]
Oogi Boogie Bear Goes on a Rampage
“What the fuck is that?” I spit at my manager. This is a cosy wee job. Doesn’t ask too much of me, isn’t particularly strenuous…in fact, it can be quite […]
Let’s not give Trump too many ideas – thoughts on The First Purge
So, I saw the First Purge last night and it was pretty good and very woke! The First Purge gives insight as to how the New Founding Fathers of America […]
A non-stop adventure through an artful world that meets our own – thoughts on Anna Undreaming
Check out my interview with Thomas Welsh about Anna Undreaming before its release here Thomas Welsh’s debut novel Anna Undreaming was fantastic and because of its intensity, action and creativeness, I am […]
Creeping, lingering and haunting – thoughts on the family drama that sunk down into a nightmare
Welcome to my first film review!! Hereditary is a terrific but terrible film about a family of sacrificial lambs unknowingly awaiting the slaughter, and losing their heads. Literally. Despite mixed […]
Gordon Ramsay Visits Heaven’s Little Slice
Camera crew behind him, Gordon braced himself for what was to come. The day was grey: with thick, low hanging, dull clouds trapping him in the globe. The paths […]