The 22st July is National Hammock Day!  It’s a day dedicated to relaxing and just lounging about in a hammock – to enjoy being in the outdoors, maybe enjoy a good book, listen to the birds around you as they chirp away, and watch any clouds as they float by.

Hammocks go right back to the Mayan civilisation, so over 1,000 – they were great for giving people the chance to sleep off the ground, and later on, sea crossings by explorers not only discovered lands previously unknown, but they also discovered people using hammocks. And the sailors fast found that the hammock saved space on board ship – and were pretty stable in bad weather.  And an added bonus was that you could take them down in the day very easily and put them away somewhere until you next needed them.

Now, of course most people will associate the hammock with a relaxing afternoon somewhere, meant for you.  Amazon has lots of hammocks to choose from, if you’re looking for a gift for someone, and you can give them lots of relaxing times in the garden – and they can take the hammock down after use, too.  You can just imagine having a quiet time to yourself, when everyone else is out, swinging gently in your hammock, really escaping from everything.

Someone else loves hammocks, too!

Give a rescue bear some privacy with a hammock!
Image ©Free the Bears

Bears love them!  And if you’re looking for a gift for someone who loves relaxation and bears, how about treating rescue bears to a hammock gift?

Free the Bears rescue bears being held captive in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and they care for them beary carefully in their sanctuaries.   Many of these bears have been through a terrible time, held in tiny cages with little room to move and be a bear.  They have had awful diets, their teeth may be in a bad state and they may have difficulty moving because of being in enclosed spaces for so long. 

Free the Bears have now rescued over 1,000 bears and the bears receive the best of care – veterinary help, a good diet, water and a space to roam and be a bear. 

Normally, Free the Bears say that the bears are normally solitary but because of space restrictions, they share enclosures.  Enter a  hammock, to give these beautiful bears some privacy – a bear necessity! 

And not only that, the hammocks for the bears are made by volunteers!  Your donation covers the cost of the materials needed for the bears’ hammock, and the volunteers make them up!

You can dedicate this gift to a loved one & email them an e-card with a personal message.  The e-card has gorgeous pictures of the bears.   This is a really meaningful gift to help bears who have been through a very difficult time.  

There are other gifts for the bears too, starting at £8.00.

Find out more here.

I wanted to give a shout-out to the National Garden Scheme.

It’s amazing – it gives visitors access to over 3,500 incredible private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands.  And it also raises huge amounts of money for nursing  and health charities through admissions, teas and cakes.

So how did it the National Garden Scheme begin?

Back in 1887, the Queen’s Nursing Institute was founded to co-ordinate national standards for district nurses. And it had the objectives of giving the ‘training, support, maintenance and supply’ of nurses for the sick poor, and establishing training homes, supervising centres and co-operating with other bodies.

In 1926, a council member – Miss Elsie Wagg – had the idea of raising funds for district nursing, through the obsession the nation had with gardening. 

So in 1927 the National Garden Scheme was founded.  Garden owners were asked to open their gardens for a shilling a head.   Over 600 gardens were opened and raised £8,191.

Why not buy a gift from the National Garden Scheme online shop?
It's a way to give the scheme your support!

Since that time, the National Garden Scheme has donated over £70 million to nursing and health charities.  In 2023, it made an annual donation of over £3.4 million.  Core beneficiaries include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and The Queen’s Nursing Institute.

But the Scheme also believes in the benefits of gardens, too, both physical and mental.

Children go free at most – but not all – gardens so taking the kids to a garden which is part of the scheme could give you a budget-friendly day out, and get the kids outdoors!

They’ve also got online talks so that you can listen to them from home (there is a small charge)!

They’ve also got volunteering opportunities, too! 

Their website has an excellent search facility to help you find the sort of garden you want to visit, so you can look for gardens with wheel-chair access, and which are dog friendly, and those which have refreshments and plants for sale.  You can look to see which gardens are open today, tomorrow, in the next 7 days and the next 28 days too!   And some gardens are open by arrangement.

Visit the National Garden Scheme's website here to find out more.

If you're looking for something to do this summer, especially for children (with adult supervision), you could take a look at Baker Ross.

They specialise in arts and crafts, and their products cover a HUGE range of themes from the seaside to countryside, woodland to flowers, pets to butterflies and the garden to mermaids.   Now, one of the things they have covered are a number of bird feeders.   And they've got everything you need to make bird feeders look really pretty!

This is the Bottle Bird Feeder, one of the upcycled goods you can make.

Their website is very helpful:  for each activity, it tells you what you need, and how to make the item - some have videos to show you what to do.  And - helpful for anyone with children in your care - they also tell you if adult supervision is required.

Or, how about making a Tin Can Insect House?  

Make a Tin Can Insect House!

They've also got a number of upcycling products and activities for adults which may be helpful, and you can get what you need from Baker Ross.   They also have lots of How To Guides which could be very handy for the summer holiday!

Visit Baker Ross here.

What a summer of sport there is on our TV!   From the football and Euro 2024 to the Olympics in Paris (from the 26th July), there's going to be a lot to watch and enjoy (or not, as the case may be!).

Tennis also features, of course, and as I type, Queen's has started and it will be closely followed by Wimbledon (from the 1st July).  

If you've got a tennis lover in your life, whether they enjoy watching it on the TV or playing, Emma Bridgewater have a mug for tennis lovers!  

This is a Personalised Tennis 1/2 Pint Mug, available from Emma Bridgewater - 
something your loved one can drink a hot brew from whilst watching Queen's and Wimbledon,
or take a brew from after playing a game themselves!  
From £26.00 plus £1 per additional letter. 

Emma Bridgewater's pottery is hand-made and also hand-decorated in their factory Stock on Trent.  

Now, if thisn't quite right for your loved one, Emma Bridgewater has a range of hobbies gifts - cycling, golf, and crafts - so you could also look at those.   There's nothing like a brew whilst you're immersing yourself in a much loved pasttime! 

If you're looking for a gift such as sustainable clothing or you want to treat yourself, take a look at Natural Collection who have a wide range to choose from!

They are a green shop, with a huge department store range online.  They have products such as organic cotton and fair trade clothing and accessories, homeware and gardenware, oganic cosmetics, and a lot more.  They check every product so that you can buy from them in eco confidence.  And they support fair trade products to help tackle poverty, too. 

Their philosophy is that small positive choices by many of us can have a huge impact.  

So they've got gifts, fashion, items for home and garden, beauty, cleaning and groceries and each category has lots of items to choose from.

In the Women's Fashion category alone, they've got tops, dresses, skirts, coats and jackets graphic t-shirts and jumpers, trousers, leggings, nightwear, lingerie, soks and tights, knitwear, lounge and leisurewear and bags!

This is the Frank & Faith Party Sloth t-shirt - aloe - for £25.00, 
made from soft GOTS certified organic cotton.

So there's lots available.  They've also got footwear including slippers, and jewellery too - necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings and watches.

This is the Frank & Faith Reef Explorer T-shirt - Ocean Depth!
For £25.95

This is the Frank & Faith Polar Bear T-shirt for £25.95

Visit Natural Collection here.