Blog Review: A Little Piece Of Me

A Little Piece Of Me
http://crpitt.blogspot.com

Appearance:
Blogger standard Tic Tac template in wisps of blue.

Organisation:
Neatly organised. I like the way Claire provides a regular hello message to her new readers.

Navigation and Functionality:
Sidebar links, blog archive and tags.

Advertising:
Google AdSense and a few other directory/blogging circle advertising buttons are located in the sidebar. Nothing too garish.

Comments:
This is a requested review that has been sitting in the in tray for a few weeks now. Apologies to Claire that it has taken so long to get this thing published.

A Little Piece Of Me begins in October 2006 with a short opening post and pleasant photo of seaside panorama. The setting is a beach in Scotland and Claire's nephews splash about in the water – they must be hardy lads because the seas around Scotland in October are very, very cold! Claire also includes a photo of herself, but the background lighting is low making the detail difficult to see (although she looks kind of cute). Claire has just had a heavy session at her sister's Halloween party and judging by the gory photos in early November it seems they all entered into the spirit of things. I can't quite decide if that's a very large pumpkin or a very small kitchen table – have a look and decide for yourself. Another permanent fixture in November is Guy Fawkes night, which provides the ideal excuse for fireworks and another family get together. Claire also uses the opportunity to tell us a little more about her home life – her openness is refreshing. Claire's on a steep learning curve in mid November as she desperately tries to juggle all her future arrangements (mostly parties) and experiences her first taste of haggis. For any non-Scots readers who don’t know what haggis is, it's a mixture of ground mutton, barley, spices and seasoning traditionally encased in a pig/cow intestine, although it tends to be in a synthetic casing nowadays.

Every now and then Claire poses counselling homework questions for her readers to ponder on, which is a solid continuous theme throughout her writing although a bit cerebral for me. Something I did find very interesting was the article on Barriers to Good Listening. The Christmas period is packed full of things to do. To begin with Claire heads to Scotland to see her sister and nephews and deliver the family's presents. Next off down home for a few days before hitting London for a Hawaiian party over the new year. The new year heralds the return of some of the bloggernity's old favourites – Wordless Wednesday and Thursday Thirteen. Two other memes that are new to me – Funny Monday and Friday Feast – make their debut. January is also a very in-depth month for counselling homework, but a few light discussion points also crop up: the great Bum Bags/Fanny Packs debate springs to mind – since I'm from the UK too I side with Bum Bag because you don’t crease up with laughter quite as much when you hear the name! The final point I want to mention in Claire's journey to date is that she's a hiker and beer drinker, which rates highly with me. Her first hike in six-months takes her to the beautiful Peak District. She visits Derwent Dams, famous for the old black and white Dam Buster’s movie and Baslow.

This is a solid blog and Claire is commended for her regularity of posting, which far exceeds me at the moment. Another noteworthy point is that she has a loyal following of comment leavers, most of which are already known to Soapbox – Erika, Skittles, Ruth et al. There is a lot of counselling content which won’t appeal to everyone, but there’s also plenty of light-heartedness and vivid imagery. I wish Claire continued success with her blogging.

Rating:
8/10

Reviewer:
Tom