The bond between people and their pets is an incredibly special one.   Pets give us unconditional love, and joy.  They make us laugh, they cheer us up, they comfort us during difficult times.  And they are cherished members of the family.

So how about capturing and celebrating your cherished pet with a pet portrait?

Activity Superstore have the opportunity to do just that, with a professional photographer who is skilled in capturing the essence of animals.  

Have your pet's photo taken by a professional photographer! 
(Woof!  It's for pets on their own or with their owners, if preferred at no extra cost!)

The focus is on the pets themselves, but owners and family members are also welcome to participate. 

There are many studio locations around the country, so that makes it easier for you to find one. 

Whether you’ve got a canine companion, a feline friend or even a hamster, you’ll all be looked after during the session and viewing.

The experience includes a one-hour portrait session for you and your pet, with a complimentary 10” x 8” image that you can treasure forever.  A £35 deposit is required to secure your booking and this is fully refunded after the experience. 

Within a week of your studio session, a separate viewing appointment will be arranged so that you can choose your favourite image.  You can also buy additional portraits.  And about four weeks later, you can collect your image(s) and take them home to treasure!

Within a week of your studio session, a separate viewing appointment will be arranged for you to choose your favourite image. Additionally, you will have the option to purchase additional portraits. Approximately four weeks later, you can collect your images and marvel at the timeless beauty captured in each one.

Fetch more information here

This experience is for pets on their own or with their owners, if preferred at no extra cost.  It's available through Activity Superstore – they've got a list of locations on their website - and it’s on offer for just £24.00, instead of the usual £39.00 which saves you £15.00!  (That’s a 35% saving!!)

Fetch more information here – this could make a great gift for anyone with a pet!

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.

The RSPB has a lovely new collection in its shop with some very pretty roses in their Power to Pollinators collection.

They would make fantastic gifts for anyone who loves roses and also wants to encourage pollinators to the garden.

This is the RSPB Rose climbing Bridge of Sighs

There are rose shrubs and also rose climbers; in all there are nine possible choices, each costing £30.00.  Of course one of the nice things about giving somebody something like a rose Bush or a rose climber is that they can enjoy it for a number of years to come. This means your gift will last and give pleasure over the years.

This is the RSPB Rose shrub Simple Gold 3L-4L pot

Another lovely thing about buying a gift from the RSPB is that of course you can support nature through your shopping!  

The RSPB say that for each rose sold in the Power to Pollinators’ collection, a £2.50 donation will be made to them to help fund vital conservation work to save the UK’s wildlife - win wins all round, as the roses will help wildlife too!

And this is the RSPB Rose shrub Simply Sally 3L-4L pot

You can take a look at the rose shrubs here and the rose climbers here.

By the way they also have this rather gorgeous and fun frog planter which I couldn't resist adding here.  The frog is suitable for indoor and outdoor use; he's weather-resistant!   And you could use him for plants or flowers or succulents.  He measures roughly 19 cm by 25 cm.

Here's the Frog Planter for £15.00