New Year

Just wanted to say happy new year and thank you for reading my blog. I've got a lot of blog of posts up my sleeve so watch this space over the next couple of weeks.


Hope you have a great night.

Christmas past, presents and future.

I always seem to do well at Christmas, I get quite spoilt but I appreciate what I receive and love it.




It all started when I was younger. Me, my mum and sisters used to stay at my Gran’s, along with my aunty and cousin. I think my mum felt as if she had to compete with my aunty who always bought my cousin loads, more often than not far too much for a young child to take in, so I think my mum felt as if she had to get me and my sisters loads as well. Obviously as the years have gone on we do get less presents than we used to, we stay at home now so there is no competition, also we are older and wiser, but we still get a lot more than most people. This year was no different, I got loads of cds, books and dvds.


If you had read this blog at all in December you will know that I love Christmas. Not because I get loads of presents, I love the whole day, I love giving presents, seeing people's faces when they receive that thing they have wanted since their birthday or a surprise gift that they go 'Oh my God! How did you know?'


I have spent six Christmases with my boyfriend and every year the presents he gets me are fantastic. In the past I have received a Swarovski necklace, Christian Louboutin shoes, a Thomas Sabo charm bracelet and a Marilyn Monroe framed poster.


This year I think he has surpassed all these with a gift which is well thought out and amazing. At first I was a little shocked, I may have seemed ungrateful, but when you really don't know what a present is and you open it and go..... 'eh?' it takes a little while for it to sink in but then it hits you: ‘this is a well thought out amazing present that pulls at the heart strings and is just amazing.’ So my main present this year from my fantastic boyfriend was a Imperial typewriter. It is one of those gifts that I will cherish forever.


I love the thought behind it; I am a trainee journalist, I love vintage especially the 40s and 50s. I am also a very inquisitive and love the story behind things; if I watch Antiques Road show I love the story behind the items.


So now I am looking for the story behind my typewriter. It says on it by appointment of the late King George V, which I googled and he died in 1936, so I know when abouts it is. I am going to see if it has a serial number on it, to trace its history. Now my search continues to see if this has come from a news room, something to do with the war or an office desk. How exciting even if there isn't a story I still love it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's Christmas Movie Time

I love Christmas and I love movies so when the festive season comes around the corner, I can get the old favourites out of the cupboard and watch them repeatedly, as everyone knows a good Christmas film never gets old.


I hate to admit this being a movie fan but the other night was the first time I had watched It's a Wonderful Life, the Christmas classic that I have always wanted to watch but never got round to doing so. If you have not seen this film you have to, it is by far one of the best films I have seen, it has a feel good factor with the right amount of drama, comedy and romance to make it a perfect film, let alone a Christmas one.

It is true that a Christmas film never gets old, It's a Wonderful Life came out in 1946 and it is still as fresh and relevant now as it was then. Another great Christmas film is Elf, Will Ferrell and James Caan in a Christmas comedy, yes please!!! The way Buddy the Elf feels about Christmas is the same way I do!

Then of course you have both Home Alone 1 and 2, which can be watched throughout the year but the morals and message are clearly more relevant at Christmas. You also have your other classics such as a White Christmas with the legend that is Bing Crosby singing White Christmas, it’s enough to make you want to get a Santa style outfit and make snow angels!

There are newer Christmas films that I do love, Jingle All the Way is fantastic and so is Christmas with the Kranks. Another favourite is The Santa Clause with Tim Allen, BRILLIANT!! Disney + Christmas= a fantastic Christmas movie.

This blog post is very different from my other ones but its Christmas and if you can't do it now when can you!

Happy Christmas everyone!

The Bees, The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth, 16th December 2010

For the last gig of the year you can't get any better than The Bees.

From the Isle of Wight, I hope this band will be big in 2011.

This is the third time this year I have seen the band, first at Summer Madness on the Isle of Wight, where the line up included Brand New Heavies, The Coral and Paul Weller. Then the second time the band was supporting Mr Weller again. This band can hold their own on stage and do not seem fazed by the bigger names playing after them. They can command a stage and get the audience singing and dancing.

I do love this band. They seem to play musical chairs, in which it seems every member can play every instrument; Tim Parkin who plays the trumpet, can play guitar or bass. The lead singer Paul Butler plays sax, drums and sings, it is refreshing to see a band that love what they do and are fantastic on stage. Other band members include Aaron Fletcher, Rom Gardner, Warren Hampshire, Kris Birkin and Michael Clevett.

The surprising thing is you have probably heard The Bees songs. They have four albums in total and their songs have been used in adverts, such as Magners and Citroën. The fantastic Chicken Payback (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq7ASMbOpmo) has been used in a Sure deodorant for men advert. And Wash in the Rain was used in a Sainsburys advert.

I would say there songs are a mix of The Coral and The Beatles with their own edge.

The latest single I Really Need Love (http://www.youtube.com/user/thebeesmusic), is an upbeat, happy tune and makes you feel warm inside. My favourite song is Who Cares What the Question Is? sung by Aaron Fletcher it is reminiscent of a Beatles track, I defy anyone not to dance when it comes on.

When you look back over the bands history it is very surprising that not more people know about them, but everyone should this band are fantastic and are amazing live!

Check them out if you can, hopefully even bigger things will come for this band next year.

I am a Football Widow

Most girls like to think they are their boyfriends one and only love, however, this maybe the case at the beginning of the relationship, but after a certain point another love will raise its head, and you will find yourself sitting there on some afternoons or nights right next to him with his attention elsewhere, thinking of someone else. Or in my case 11 men, running around a field kicking a ball or as most people know it football.

Don't get me wrong I know my boyfriend loves me very much and would do anything for me, I also know that I have strong competition from Manchester United, who has been in a relationship with him since birth.

I do enjoy football and I know a lot about it. My dad used to work at Portsmouth Football club, where I used to go to games. I love watching live football the adrenalin, the atmosphere, it is immense. I enjoy watching my boyfriend play football, although I do get a little tense especially if there are any dodgy tackles, I have to stop myself running on the pitch and hitting the offending player.

But alas I am a football widow. If United are playing I have to sit on the side-lines, watching my boyfriend getting more and more agitated and annoyed if Nani or Anderson are mucking up passes (by being too slow or not passing at all). I see his body tense up when the opposition gets too close to the goal or Fletcher seems to think if he kicks it really hard he might break a habit of a lifetime and score a Rooney-esque wonder goal. And then I see him jump around with his dad like an idiot when they score, when two seconds before, for example, they were demanding Giggs should be subbed as he is crap and does nothing for the team, for him to score and be the best player in the world.

I do understand that he has to watch every United game. However, I do tend to lose it when he also has to watch every Liverpool or Chelsea game, just to see how they get on, you don't have to watch the whole 90 minutes though do you?? THAT IS WHAT MATCH OF THE DAY IS FOR!!

I love the theatre of football and find it very funny. All those men paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a week and yet one person breathes a little too heavy near them and they drop like they have been shot. Grabbing their leg, no their chest, sorry groin... because the pain must be so severe that it shoots all over their body, but then a free kick is awarded and it's a miracle they are not only up but can now can take said free kick.

It's not just football that leaves girls boyfriend-less but practically any sport, I have friends who are rugby, hockey or even running widows.

I can't complain too much as he isn't too bad and could be a lot worse. Also some of the footballers aren't bad to look at which helps a lot. However, when we have to re-arrange a lot of things because of the football that will probably be when I throw my toys out my pram Tevez style.

Reality Bites

Our television screens are cluttered with reality shows. Be it the obvious such as the X-Factor, Strictly Come Dancing or The Apprentice, to the more obscure, Channel 4's Seven Days or The Family.

The face of television is ever changing and even soaps are getting in on the act. You could argue that screening a live episode, ala Coronation Street's 50th Anniversary episode tonight, is tapping into the reality style format of everything happening as you watch and unfolding on screen, with endless possibilities of what could happen.

Reality shows, love them or hate them, are everywhere and every other show seems to be one. 

There was a time when these shows were innovative and interesting, when Big Brother started in 2000 it signaled a change in television formats and was seen as more of a social experiment rather than a form of entertainment. However, as it had its 11th and final series this year,  it makes me wonder if this marks the end of reality shows as we know them? The idea of watching people's lives on a weekly basis and then voting for who we like or don't like to go home, could this be taken over by more docu-soap shows such as Seven Days? 

I know shows like the X-Factor are still proving popular and hitting the million plus mark for viewers, however, the backlash to contestants this year is probably the harshest it's ever been. When before have we seen so many column inches of poison aimed at contestants like there has been over Wagner, Katie Wassiel and Cher Lloyd. Even Jedward didn't get as much hatred as these people and to be fair they were far more annoying.

I think in many ways the hatred aimed at them, is that these contestants are given the chance of a lifetime (for fame or a job in the case of the Apprentice) and most of the public do not find them worthy of being able to receive that privilege. Who hasn't thought that Stuart Baggs should not still be in The Apprentice, when he comes across as arrogant, and immature. If you interviewed him for a job would you give it to him?
I think in the current climate of people losing their jobs left, right and centre, most people probably think they can do a better job than him with no business experience. Last night when he was touting outside the ticket office and trying to get customers from Joanna and Chris, his behavior was shameful!


In addition, with the X-Factor the audience does not decide who gets to the live finals, but we have a say in who stays each week, and sometimes it’s the best of a bad bunch, would we have chosen Wagner as our wild card over one of the other contestants in Louis' group?


I must admit I do watch reality shows, but feel the format is tired and boring. We need something else to entertain us, more dramas about either real people or fictional worlds, comedies or documentaries about interesting things. Please for the sanity (and phone bills) of the people of Britain can someone come up with something new and innovative that we can all enjoy.

The wheels on the bus....

Now I know that moaning about buses is not a new thing, but as someone who very rarely gets a bus I was really annoyed with the service.


Due to the frost and snow I decided to get the bus to college. Getting there was fine. It was a big, new bus that could fit a lot of people in, my only gripe was the fact that people wouldn't make room for others getting on and those who got off just barged through, almost as if the people in front of them were not there. Inconsiderate and rude people are just so frustrating!


Now getting home, the bus going from the town centre to near where I live comes just three times an hour, THREE TIMES!! When  I was younger and getting the bus to town it came every ten minutes, so this got my back up immediately as it meant I had to wait twenty minutes with a large queue forming. When the bus eventually came it was like something from the fifties and had hardly any seats, and the British queuing system went to pot with annoyed people pushing old ladies out of the way to get a seat. Common courtesy seems to have gone out of the window, to be honest I know that public transport is better for the environment but it was awful!


Given the choice I would chose my car over annoyed, frustrated people with no manners any day!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

As with my first ever post I'm having another snow day.




The snow is one of those things that you really want to happen but when it does you regret wanting it so much. It may look pretty but it causes loads of headaches.


Again, as with the beginning of the year the people and country can't cope. Public transport comes to a halt and everyone is surprised, it does annoy me a little though people moaning about the country going to pot. But then, ok, this is the second time this has happened but the country is not used to this weather. Unlike American and Russia, where this happens every winter, and I know the weather people were on the money with their forecasts, however, on the MET office website yesterday, we were be prepared not take action so I'm sorry if I don't always believe the weather.


I've just seen on the news that the army are helping the police in Portsmouth today, helping them get about. That is the nice thing about the snow; it brings out the community feel in people. Everyone is more willing to talk to neighbours to make sure they are ok, or if people are stuck on motorways in their cars everyone is more socialable.


As I look out the window the snow is still falling I must admit I am still in the happy mood, it is the 2nd December and it just makes me feel Christmassy!! Ask me again in a couple of days though when the cupboards are bare and I'm fed up of not being able to go anywhere.




The big question now is when do I go out, I'll probably take the dog out for a walk, well drag her as she refuses to walk.


Stay safe people and enjoy the snow!