Hannah King Photography

Dear Readers,

Hello, how are you today?

I have been thinking about this post for quite some time now. This is my 500th blog post (since starting runningforgrace), and that number feels like a little landmark. I thought it would be nice to celebrate in some small way and the first thing that came to mind was that I would like to do a giveaway to say a big thankyou to those of you who come & visit my little space. 

I started blogging when I first moved away from home as a means of keeping in touch with my family in a way slightly more interesting than e-mail. Back then, those who knew me were my only audience. I wrote for them, and quite honestly, I was a bit embarassed to tell people that I had a blog. I suppose I thought people would wonder what on earth did I have that was interesting enough to share with the world & anyone who cared to visit my tiny spot in cyberspace. 

But then I got a digital camera, and this blog became something more of what I wanted it to be. I love the way a photo can silently speak a thousand words, shedding light in a way that my words cannot. I have always loved photography as a form of documentary, and before I had a digital camera, I always felt my blog posts lacked the colour they needed to make them complete. 

Little by little, I feel I have found my feet in the way I write & share on my blog. Last week I was talking with my dad about blogging and he said, 'the photos you take and post are just so you.' This was a big compliment - I often wonder if people really want to see yet another photo of a bowl of soup or the latest cake to be born out of my oven, but baking is what I love to do, and that's want I want blogging to be about - sharing the things in life that I love.

Every now & then I wonder if I should stop blogging. In all honesty, it can feel a little disheartening and vulnerable to put my voice out there in the enormous ether of the internet, and feel like I often only hear my words echoing back . I have been asking myself the question, 'do you blog because you want people to read your words, or do you blog because you love it?'  The answer to these questions is a bit of both really. I suppose at the heart of every writer is the desire to be heard, and that is ok. But writing because you hope deep down that someone will listen is not enough. You have to do it because you love it; because there is something in you that finds a simple yet great satisfaction in allowing the words to flow onto the (proverbial) page, and to get that satisfaction alone is enough, without the feedback from readers. And I am realising more and more that I do love it, and I hope that my desire to keep documenting and writing will continue for a good long while.

So, to say thank you to you for coming to my blog - whether it is your first time or you have been kindly reading my words for a long time - I am going to give away a couple of treats - as a small way of saying thank you. 

Seeing as I love to talk about food so much, I'm going to give away a brand new copy of Bill Granger's fabulous book, Bill's Basics. It is full of wonderful ideas for breakfast, desserts, and almost everything in between. 

(This brown sugar shortbread is seriously yummy - the shortbread photo on my sidebar was made using this recipe)

I'd also like to give away a packet of my favourite sweet treats - almost completely natural & made from real fruit juice.

(I may or may not have eaten 3 packets of these while waiting for dinner to cook last night...sorry John!)

If you would like to win these treats, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post, telling me what your favourite food is and why you love it. It doesn't matter if you have never commented before, or where you live in the world - I would love to hear from you and I will happily ship these goodies anywhere - I love to send post and the prospect of it going abroad is even more exciting. The giveaway will close on Friday 11th November at 6pm GMT, and one winner will be selected at random. I'll announce the winner on Monday. Oooh, I am excited!