Another one bites the duck ?

Bon soir!

I'm back again to declare that I've completed another one of the items on my list .. hurrah!

18) Go to a Michelin star restaurant

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to be treated to a night out with the EPK/Publicity from Snow White and The Huntsman.. Little did I know that it would also tick off another item from my list..

We went to Hakkassan in Hanway Place (http://www.hakkasan.com/hanway-place/) for one of the most amazing meals I've ever eaten. It's a beautifully decorated restaurant in the basement of Hanway place, with romantic lighting and perfectly groomed waiters and waitresses... a place where you know you'll be treated like royalty, even if you're a common northerner like me..

I started with vegetable Dim Sum and anything else that was offered my way (we went a bit crazy with the starters menu..), followed with some incredible duck and rice ... and finished with a lovely coconut themed dessert! (Although I did get food envy when I saw what the others had.. much to their delight..).

I had a great night full of great food and great martinis... and did I mention the great company? ('Great' usage overload?)

If you ever get the chance to visit the restaurant (or beg your significant other to take you there) then I would highly recommend it. xx

Films, Films, Films..

Hello again ..

Don't be too shocked that I've posted another entry within six months of the last one.. I just happen to have a bit more time on my hands at the moment it seems :)

Since we last spoke, I've watched a further three films from my list...

Three Colours: Blue (1993)

The Three Colours Trilogy, directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski, are based on France's national motto.. Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. 'Blue' is the first of the three themes, focusing on the life of Julie who loses her husband and daughter in a car accident. It is a dark and depressing film as a whole, as Julie hides herself away from the world and lives in solitude, away from people and life itself. The film is shot well (apart from the initial car crash, which is pretty appalling) with the theme of blue running throughout. Juliette Binoche plays the role superbly, and as a viewer you really feel for her as she deals with her loss. The use of music, as her husband was a famous composer, is powerful within the film. I can't say I came away from the film feeling good, but it is well shot, and well acted.. so would have to give it 4/5.

North By Northwest (1959)

North By Northwest follows a New York advertising bod (Cary Grant) as he is mistaken for a secret agent by a group of foreign spies. It's a classic old-school comedy with terrible 'fights' and the obvious love interest being a secret spy too... I can't say it's a barrel of laughs, but I can appreciate why it may have been fun back in 1959. Someone I spoke to about it said the film was more about the slick suit worn by Grant than the actual storyline.. and never have a seen a film with so many endings!! It was fun though, I'll give it a 3/5.

City of God (2002)

All I can say is EPIC. I don't think I've ever seen that many people get shot in one film before! One for those people who can sit through a whole film of subtitles and not switch off. Based on a true story it follows two boys from a violent neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, Li'l Ze who grows to 'own' the city, killing any rival gangs that get in his way, and his best friend, Benny who tries to keep him on the good side of sanity (though I'm not sure how good he is at this!!). The narrator is Rocket, an aspiring photographer, who has watched the two friends across the years and wants no part in the violence, but somehow ends up part of it throughout. It shows the harsh world of drugs, gangs and violence... where you either kill, or get killed. A brilliant film with great performances.. and rather a lot of blood! A definite 5/5.

So I'm getting there...!! Have put the rest on my LoveFilm list and will try and track down the ones that I can't find on there...!!

I've also been told I need to watch 'Into The Wild' at some point... so have added that to the list too :)

xx

Frying Pans Get Everywhere..!x

Hello again ... told you I'd be back!

I hold my hands up to say how useless I have been at updating this blog in the past I don't know how long.. but I am here to amend this.. starting with a swanky new layout... hope you like it..

As I mentioned before, I've had a crazy few months working on 'World War Z' ... although I think my job has been the least of my worries having dealt with heartbreak and a my family life being flipped upside down. Then again, this isn't one of those blogs and last time I checked I'm not called Bridget!

So... Frying pans? I hear you cry..

A Night At The Opera (1935)

I am referring to the use of said appliance in 'A Night At The Opera' ... the latest film from my blog list. This 1935 classic has been hailed as one of the best Marx Brothers films in existence, and I have to say I rather enjoyed it... particularly the amusement of watching crazy characters wielding frying pans... (watch it and you'll understand). A smile inducing film, I can safely recommend this black and white gem to anyone who wants to feel nostalgic and remember how film used to be before VFX/SFX/CGI and any other letters you want to add.. A definite must-see now that we're in the colder months.. with a cup of tea and a pack of digestives to accompany it. It's a 5/5 from me.

Frying Pans seem to be a common theme in my film choices this week. In Disney's 'Tangled' Rapunzel carries her ever-useful pan to defend herself against any nasty things she may come across.. and having been bumped in the face with the aforementioned appliance, I can safely say the it is a worthy weapon (I was 8, and my father was trying to sell one at a car boot sale ... Walking behind him whilst he swung it around probably wasn't my most intelligent move at the time... !).

In other news... here's a few brief updates on my list..

10) Watch a match at Wimbledon

This year, I've finally managed to enter the ballot for tickets... so watch this space, bring on Wimbledon 2012..

11) Visit Australia

Dependent on work .. this might be happing in January, get a shrimp on the barbie, sheila! (Of course, they all say these things.. *ahem*)

14) Go to a music festival

Unfortunately due to WWZ taking over my life, this didn't happen in 2011.. fingers crossed for 2012!

17) Book List

I am reading two at once, which can be rather confusing, yet rewarding! Catch 22 and 1984 are my books of choice .... so watch this space readers ;)

22) Take Part in a charity event

Again, thanks to WWZ taking me off to Budapest, I missed my half marathon :( ... so on the look out for a new challenge to complete.. suggestions welcome?

23) Write something ..

Obviously I'm writing this blog.. but I've decided to write some form of book as well (which may one day be adapted into a script, if I feel inspired enough!). I've only managed 2000 words so far... but will definitely keep it up if I stay unemployed for months on end like last time...

I'm also working on the rest of my list, in the hope that I can complete a few things before the year is out, otherwise I will feel a bit of a failure... uh oh..

If anybody (if there are people that read this) can help with any of my list wishes... it would be AMAZING. I can repay you in tea and biscuits and northern cheer :)

Until next time ... x

I Promise I've Not Forgotten You...

I feel terrible... it's been five months since I've updated this blog... how bad of me!

I've been sucked into the world of WWZ ... which has taken me all over the place with the shoot.

However, the more I work, the more pennies I have to spend on completing my list.. holiday at the end? Yes please!

I'll come back and write a real update soon..

xxx

Drip, drip, drop, little April showers..

... I say showers, but it's been remarkably dry lately! Nice to see the sunshine finally after months of miserable weather.

As I am feeling lethargic and slightly hungover today, I thought I'd write a little list update .. exciting, I know!

So here's what I've been up to ...

1) Write for a Paper/Magazine

I know I've already ticked this off my list, but as I've written another article recently, I thought I'd share... enjoy.

5) Print all of my online photos and make real albums

.. I am on the hunt for some nice albums to put my photos in! I want the big chunky ones with plastic covering, so I can make them look fancy.. but no joy as of yet. Watch this space..

6) Get my Canadian Citizenship

.. Application has been filled in, photos taken, and all sent off. Slight hitch in the fact that my lovely father gave me the wrong version of his Birth Certificate, so I'm delayed in my application at the moment. Panic not readers, the correct form is on it's way! One that's been taken to the Commission it's fingers crossed that they process me asap...! ..

9) Visit every stop on the Bakerloo line and take pictures

I picked this line because it seems to have the most interesting stops... lots of historical whatnot. I've spoken to a friend of mine who has agreed to come along for the day and take some photos (I'll have my trusty iPhone camera personally!) .. we just have to pick a nice sunny day!

14) Go to a music festival

Looks like this could be happening this year... for my 25th Birthday! If I go to V it's the week before, but Reading is on my actual birthday weekend... so tempting! I am determined to go though .. (alas it depends on whether I a) have a job and b) can get the time off!)

17) Book List!

I've finished another one ... which means I've read 18/50 .. 32 to go. My most recent read has been 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath. 4/5

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. Not only because I bought a 1p copy from Amazon, that someone had used for their exams and was full of annotations, but also because it's really well written. The story follows a young female socialite who slowly has a breakdown and is put into an asylum for treatment, and we live the emotional turmoil with her. Plath uses the rhetoric and metaphorical world to take us along the roller coaster that she lives through throughout her life. Having come across people with depression and mental insecurity before, it was easy to relate to her story which I think made it a lot more powerful to me as a reader. I would definitely recommend the book, but don't expect to feel great about life!

22) Take part in a charity event

After much deliberation about my stupid feet and ankles, I have decided to sign up to do a half marathon with a twist. I'll be walking the London 'Shine' walk for Cancer Research along with Beth in October. Nice people can sponsor us here.

So there you have it for now ... there are more updates to come, but I'll leave you with what you've read so far for now...

Hope you've all had a good weekend, back to the grindstone tomorrow!

xxx

List Updates ... x

So here we are again ...

I am currently unemployed, which in theory should mean I'm finishing books left, right and centre.. but apparently when I'm bored I have the attention span of a goldfish.

This means I've been a bit feeble when it comes to doing my list..!

I did mentioned back at the beginning of February that I've started to read Memoirs of a Geisha.. and I am happy to say that I finished it today!

Memoirs of a Geisha

I have to say that this is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

I think the reason it has taken me so long to read it is the sheer amount of description used by the author, and the fact that I wanted to make sure I was completely encompassed in the book with nothing to distract me from the writing.

It follows a young girl through her life as she meets different people that will help shape her life as a Geisha. It's a really moving story, full of emotion, that I found hard to put down when I had a spare moment to read it.

I didn't know much about the lives of Geisha before I read this, and I must say it has opened my eyes to their world. I particularly like how the author handles intimacy and sex within the book, as he shows how differently viewed it is by this culture.

I have to give this a 5/5 as anything less would be an injustice. I might have to watch the film soon, so I can see how well the Director manages to capture the story on a big screen.

The Apartment (1960)

What a lovely old romantic 'comedy' ... I can't really describe it as a comedy as it wasn't laugh out loud for me... but perhaps it was at the time of release.

Baxter gets promoted at work as he lets people use his apartment to meet up with their 'other women' without their wives finding out and as a cover for their real addresses.

This eventually becomes too much for him and he demands that they stop using his apartment, but not before his boss brings back the woman that Baxter has wanted from afar to his apartment .. on Christmas Eve! He then proceeds to break her heart and leave her alone to attempt suicide..

Baxter comes back to his apartment to find her, and nurses her back to health..

I won't tell you any more of the plot as it'll spoil the story, but it's a lovely tale of romance.. more so than comedy!

I will give it a 4/5 as it didn't quite go the way I'd have liked... but a great film nonetheless :)

So there you have it.. two more strikes on my book/film list...

I have just spent a whole 3p (I know, pushing the boat out!) on Hamlet, The Bell Jar, and Catch 22.. so looks like they will be next on the agenda.

I've also convinced a friend of mine, Beth, to write a list of her own to do before she's 35 and she's taken up the gauntlet... will keep you posted!

xx

The Oscars 2011

Hello all,

This is a bit of a non-blog related post.. just wanted to say a HUGE congratulations to Rick Baker and Dave/Lou Elsey who won an Oscar last night for their work on The Wolfman :)

I was part of their team for the film and so happy that they won... they even thanked everyone on their team in their later speech, which I thought was really nice of them.

Click HERE to see the Thank You speech. I'm there about two minutes in...

SO proud, and hopefully they'll win another one in the future, lovely people.

Congratulations also to John Midgley, who won for his sound work on Inception and Chris Corbould who won for VFX on Inception.. I have worked with both of them on different projects and they are very talented men indeed!

xx

The Ladykillers...

So in my time off, I have done plenty of things!

I have created wall art for my room, some nice new curtain ties... rearranged the rest of my room to make it a mini lounge.. and other such things!

I have also been keeping to my list, and looking into what to do next this year...

I have started reading Memoirs of a Geisha (which I will blog about once finished.. ) as part of my list of books to read.

Wow, so all of those sentences started with 'I have..', thought I better break the trend!

The Ladykillers (1955)

The Ladykillers (1955) was my latest viewing treat! I have to say I am always partial to a classic Ealing comedy... and this one does not disappoint! Not only do I love old ladies, but I also love the style of old comedy, which is almost slapstick...

A great film with lots of classic moments (which I won't mention and spoil for you..) that kept me chuckling for the mostpart of the film.

I'm not quite sure why they remade it a few years ago, the original could still stand alone... perhaps they just thought that the 'youth' of today (haha .. not that I'm much older..) wouldn't want to concentrate on something with actors they didn't recognise, which is madness as there are some amazing actors in this version.

Overall, the film gets a 5/5 from me.. definitely worth a watch!

As well as film watching, I've now managed to print all of my online photos and they are currently sitting in a box waiting to be put into albums. This part, however, has been put on hold as I am lacking severely in funds and think it's time to save the pennies for food until I have a job and can splash out on luxuries such as photo albums..!

For now, I shall go and read some more of Memoirs and decide which film from my list to watch next...

Au revoir xx

Hi Honey... I'm Home!x (Number 19!)

I'm finally back in The Big Smoke.... hello!

This time I at least have an excuse for a late entry ... I have been completing another item from my list... take a trip round America :) with a friend of mine, Kelly.

The trip was made up of three parts... New York, a road trip across the desert, and Los Angeles..

Part One - New York, New York!

We left on the 29th December from Heathrow Terminal 4 .. I think someone must have been on our side as we only had a few hours delay, unlike the people before us who had flights cancelled for days thanks to the snowfall.

We landed at JFK in the afternoon and headed to our first hotel, Hotel 99 at the top of New York which had a pretty cool room.. As you can see from the photo, we went exploring in the snow.. which ultimately ended up in the purchase of some wellies thanks to the amount of snow!

Day two meant moving down to the bottom of New York to the East Village, where we were staying in an apartment of a friend of a friend. It was a lovely studio apartment, which I could imagine myself living in if I ever moved to NYC.

Once we'd moved, we headed to Central Park to board our tour bus for every girl's idea of fun ... a Sex and the City tour! Three and a half hours of sex, swearing, men, chocolate and cocktails.. what could be better? Followed by dinner near the flat where we met two local New Yorkers who took us for drinks afterwards, perfect end to the day..

New Year's Eve was good fun... we spent it at the AMC Theatre in Times Square. VIP Red Carpet Access and met some really nice people from across the globe. We also may have slipped our numbers to the hot barmen.. haha. Lots of drinking and dancing, and some rather good chocolate brownie to eat!

New Year's day we moved down to the Meatpacking District to Hotel Jane, which is probably my favourite NYC hotel that we stayed in.. as it's decorated like the inside of a train. Look it up : www.thejanenyc.com .. it's definitely worth a visit. They also have a cafe/bar attached to it which is lovely, and all of the staff dress in french stripes, my favourite!

That evening, we walked along the high-line which is an elevated park in the district that gives you a different view of the city from above. I can imagine it's beautiful in the summer with flowers and grass, but was still pretty impressive in the snow. We ended the evening by drinking cocktails at The Boom Boom room at The Standard Hotel. Expensive, but definitely worth it as the bar offers a 360 degree view of the city at night.. just beautiful.

We spent the next morning moving hotels to The Empire, a four star hotel next to Central Park... which is amazing but with rather pretentious staff. The rest of the day we visited Times Square and the surrounding areas before meeting a friend of Kelly's, Cameron, for drinks. We discovered the joy of Shake Shack burgers, which are officially my favourite American Burger, before sniffing out an Irish pub for beverages before heading back to the hotel to sleep our last sleep in NYC...

Our last day in New York consisted of Tiffany's, Serendipity's signature Frozen Hot Chocolate and a walk around a frozen Central Park. A great ending to a great week in the Big Apple before heading to the airport to catch a plane to Phoenix... or so we thought..

Part One A ... Houston, we have a problem!

So thanks to a joyful drive to the airport full of traffic and hold ups.. we arrived at the airport 55 minutes before our flight to be told that we were 5 minutes too late and couldn't get on it. At first we thought it was an amusing joke, but in fact it was reality. This meant that our night was spent in JFK Terminal 4 as the next flight was a connecting one the next morning...!!

Part Two - Jump in my car!

Once we finally got to Phoenix, we picked up our Chrysler Sebring and headed to the hotel to finally get some sleep! It's amazing how well Kelly managed to drive after only 20 minutes of sleep in the airport, she did a lot better than I would've!

Our route took us from Phoenix, through the desert to Yuma then across to San Diego and up the coast to Los Angeles..

En route to Yuma we visited Goldfields, a little Gold mining town in the middle of the desert next to the Superstitious Mountains. It was a great day involving a visit in the mine, panning for gold, riding on the Goldfields steam train and defying gravity in the Mystery Shack. Our stomach also defied gravity when we ate the most awful food at the Saloon... not something to repeat!

Yuma's excursion was the Territorial Prison, which was also an interesting day out.. nothing like a piece of history to keep the brain cogs turning :) We drove from here so San Diego, ready to check into the Hard Rock Hotel!

Once we'd checked into the hotel, we had a lovely visit to Victoria's Secret for about two hours... oops! Many dollars later, and we left the shopping centre vowing to not spend any more...! Instead we went to drink rather powerful cocktails and eat various chicken related snacks at a bar in the centre, which was gooood!

Our second day in San Diego was great fun. Award winning pancakes in the morning, followed by a trip to Mission Beach and the Marina, followed by tipsiness at a local bar.. Next came a makeover at MAC, before having a true 27 Dresses evening. We started off by drinking locally, before going to see a live band at a little bar not far from our hotel. After the gig, we headed back to the hotel to get our glam on and go dancing in the VIP clubs followed by a late night/early morning burger at Mary Jane's Cafe... yum!

Part Three - Hollywood here we come!

After our bender in San Diego the night before, we made the most of our 12 o clock check out time and left at midday. It was a lovely scenic drive along the coast, with a stop at Crystal Cove (they filmed Beaches there don't you know!) and an amusing attempt to find petrol in the middle of hillbilly land..!!

We got to Los Angeles by dinnertime, by which point we'd eaten nothing really, so went to treat ourselves to dinner at Asia de Cuba at The Mondrian Hotel (which is where we stayed, courtesy of some lovely people on X-Men). A snip at $200 ... for two starters, one main, one dessert and a bottle of vino (and we shared.. ouch!) but definitely worth it.

The next day we wandered along the Sunset strip and had manicures/pedicures before heading to The Comedy Club, which is where many great comics have started their careers. Three hours later our stomachs reminded us that we'd not eaten, so we walked further up the strip to a lovely italian restaurant which served the BEST salad I've had in years... yum!

The following day we had a fabulous tour of LA, courtesy of my friend Suzanne. We visited Rodeo Drive, saw The Ivy, and saw some incredible houses in Beverly Hills / Bel Air. This was followed by a lovely dinner and a game of ice hockey between LA Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs. We also met a group of crazy Canadians who sat behind us and bought us all drinks at the end of the game, result!

After the game we headed Chez Winther for a couple of days, during which we were taken for breakfast and had chance to look around Hollywood.. we saw the stars, toured the Chinese Theater, had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and ended our day watching Black Swan at the ArcLight Cinema. A most worthy choice to say we were in the land of film!

Wednesday marked our move to Santa Monica Pier where we visited Bubba's Shrimp House, walked along the Pier, rode the famous ferris wheel and sat on the beach for a little while... before hitting the famous 3rd Promenade shops..! What fun! This was followed by dinner at a sports bar, and dessert at a seafood restaurant on the seafront ... fabulous!

Thursday we moved to Venice Beach for our final leg of the trip. Two days in one of the most varied places I've been in LA... from street performers, to local stalls, to a whole load of stoned people. Never have I seen so much weed in my life... it's literally offered to you every few steps... there were definitely some characters to see/hear! We also tasted our first In and Out burger, of which Kelly was a convert, but I'm afraid I still prefer Shake Shack.. Sorry Americans everywhere!

The rest of our American trip was spent relaxing on a beach, watching skaters, drinking wine and generally winding down after a lot of walking and driving (for Kel) ... and what a lovely time it was!

So there you have it ... number 19 is complete... sorry for the cut down mini version ... I have a lot more to say, but right now it's staying in my little head and in the photos I will be turning into a rather fabulous album...!