Welcome To Herbie's World!

Herbie AKA Janine Hopkins was born in the “Witch Capital of England” and grew up in Northeast London before relocating to Wales in 1988 and comes from a family of Artists, Musicians, Actors, Dancers and Writers, most of whom have been on the stage at some point in their lives. Watching family members perform gave her a passion for the theatre and music.

She has been drawing and painting for so long she doesn't even remember when she started, Art has always been a part of her life.

Although her Great-Great Uncle was understudy to Joseph Grimaldi, Janine grew up with an intense dislike of clowns.

Her Great Aunt toured Europe with a Ukrainian Dance group, playing Balalaika and Accordion, also played piano at The Royal Albert Hall and believed that every child in the family should learn music theory. She taught Janine to play the piano when she was 5, and insisted that she and her brother learnt duets, which they played and sung at family gatherings.

As a child Janine learned Tap, Ballet and Modern Dance, Which she performed on stage at a young age and often found herself placed in the school choir.

She owns a Bass, Electric and acoustic guitars, a ukulele -Banjo, a piano and a glockenspiel, and is currently learning to play guitar.

She is a keen photographer, has recently completed a Fine Art Degree course and plans to train as a Secondary School Teacher in the near future.

In recent years Janine has been inspired to write 2 comedy scripts, stories, several poems and has, in the last few months, been spending her time writing lenses on squidoo, articles for helium and hanging out on bebo.com or dollsMoredolls.msn.

Janine is planning to write a book on the Iconography of Welsh Victorian Graveyards. Her spare time is spent researching this subject and taking phographs for inclusion in the book.

Her love of nature leads her to devote much of her time to her duties as Educational Sub-Group Secretary of Ynysdawela Nature Park.

She also Collects and Customises Dolls, which she plans to start selling soon, reads tarot, crystals, runes, draws up Birth Charts and does crystal Healing, and has contact with spirits and ethereal beings.