Midweek Mumblings

So it's Wednesday and once again Lynne and I are off to the cinema. Tonight we're going to see 'Dark is Rising'. Yes, I know I said I didn't want to see it and that I know I'll be disappointed, but part of me can't help but need to see it. I am intending to try and view it as just another entertaining film rather than horrible mangled adaptation of one of my all-time favourite books. Wish me luck!

I'm trying to decide what to wear for the fancy dress party at the pub on Saturday. So many choices and I can't decide. If anyone wants to suggest something please feel free - the blog doesn't bite you know ;)

Update

After an emotional evening watching the rugby I have finally updated my Room With A View blog. Be prepared for loads of wedding photos, although eventually blogger got fed up of uploading them and refused to add any more. There should have been one of the guests in the courtyard before the wedding (but I accidentally deleted it when I was formatting). I also wanted to show a couple of pictures of the contrade fountains in the following days post, but hit the same problem. Hopefully tomorrow I should be able to add those and also upload the rest of my selection of wedding photos that need to be seen in my opinion.

News (again)

Well I got so excited about 'The Golden Compass' that I completely forgot the news bit of my title. *LOL*

Firstly, I want to congratulate my friend Claire and her hubby Adam who are expecting a baby. Well done guys!

Secondly, the next installment of the holiday (the wedding day) is almost ready to be posted. I have sorted through 4 cds worth of fantastic photos to find the perfect ones. Of course there are far too many still so once I have chosen the ones for my blog entry I will be posting the others on here as I think they should be seen.

News and Views

So 'Stardust' was absolutely brilliant. Funny, sad, romantic, and visually beautiful with excellent performances from everybody and Robert de Niro as you've never seen him before. Mark Strong was fantastic as Prince Septimus, although he bore more than a passing resemblance to Severus Snape so I might have been a little bit biased. Having said that, Charlie Cox was gorgeous as Tristan (especially once his hair grew a bit) and I've always had a soft spot for Nathaniel Parker so it was good to see him as well. A perfect fairytale and well worth seeing. It will definitely be finding its way into my collection when it's released on DVD.

While at the cinema we saw the trailer for 'The Golden Compass' better known in the UK as 'Northern Lights' the first book in Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, unlike 'The Dark is Rising' this film looks like it's stuck to the story and I have to admit to being VERY excited to see it. The characters seem to be perfect, certainly Sam Eliott fits my vision of Lee Scoresby as does Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra and Eva Green as Serefina Pekkala. If you haven't read the books you really ought to do so as they are first class.

Just so you can be as excited as me here's the trailer:

Just a few quick words ...

After that long rant about scrapbooking (glad that's outta my system) I just wanted to mention a few little things.

Where's my questions for the tag thing? C'mon someone out there must have one (or more) burning questions to ask me. Don't be shy to post - it won't kill you. Although don't ask me about Saturday night 'cos I don't remember and I don't really want to talk about it either!

My other blogs will be updated shortly. The diet blog is currently silent due to a complete inability to get through a day without carbs at the moment. Mainly because of crappy excuses on my part, but I am really having trouble getting back into gear and cravings for marmite on toast really haven't helped. I meant to get the Italian blog finished by now (sorry Jo who is waiting for an update). Lack of time, due to other writing commitments (plot bunnies and muses whirling around in my brain like dervishes recently) have slowed things down but I promise to get back to it soon - hopefully posting by the weekend. As soon as 'A Room with a View' is done I will finally take the time to finish my New Orleans odyssey (thank God I kept notes for that one!)

It seems that Amazon have cancelled my DVD order for 'Dark Harbor' for some reason so it'll be a while longer before I get to see that as I need to reorder it and then wait for it to arrive from the US. However, tonight we're off to see Stardust on preview so I'm pretty excited about that.

Finally, I just wanted to send sympathy to my friend Diane whose husband Alan recently passed away. Unfortunately, I hadn't seen her for a while since he became ill and only found out about it this morning. My thoughts go to her and her family.

The Cutthroat World of Scrapbooking!

While perusing UKS this morning I was alerted to a blog which has apparently been causing a bit of a stir recently. Called Scrap Smack UK (I understand there is a US version too) it appears to be a chance for scrap bookers to anonymously slander each other and generally bitch. I have to admit that whilst originally disgusted by the idea I have found myself reading the comments and having a good old chuckle, seeing with interest (and in some cases being able to recognise) the people that have been offended by the site. I am aware that some of my friends have been mentioned in dispatches (although I haven’t got that far yet and will probably be most upset on their behalf when I read the snarky comments about them). Fortunately, I have the sort of friends who laugh off such inanity without resorting to snide remarks in return. On one hand I can understand the need for such a place (and the hundreds of comments left on the site show this to be the case) – it is hard to criticise the industry when you know that you will receive the scrapping equivalent of the horses head in the bed for saying anything. However, as has been shown to be the case on UKS in the past, freedom of speech soon degenerates into a personal slanging match that leaves everyone disgruntled and allowing anonymous comment does nothing to diminish that. So here’s a few thoughts of my own on the subjects raised in the blog:

I understand that one of the trains of thought on there is a major criticism of the UKS cyber crops (I have yet to reach this). My view is that they are a fun weekend which gives you a chance to try out things you may never have otherwise thought of. My only criticism of them is that they are no longer competitive. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was in the Jiggly Jellies for the current 5th birthday celebration cyber crop, but haven’t mentioned it since. Sadly, I only tend to find time to scrap during a cyber crop and found that the complete uncompetitiveness of it put me off even taking part this time, in fact I haven’t even downloaded the classes yet. I personally preferred the out and out competition of crops like the ‘Saints & Sinners’ and ‘Star Wars’ where there were only 2 teams and it was all out war. I have never uploaded what I consider to be a substandard LO just for the points as apparently some people have. I just find the competition to be stimulating rather than oppressive. Bring back the fighting I say!

I no longer read Scrapbook magazines as I got fed up of seeing the same old faces week in week out (although now of course I get to miss the occasional entries of my friends) and the same old techniques touted everywhere. Whilst I would agree with the comment that the same people are used far too often, I personally can’t be bothered to submit to a magazine or enter competitions (I have a hard enough time trying to actually scrap in the first place) and so can’t really complain when the people who do bother end up all over the place. Also these ‘elite’ few are surely only elite if you think of them as such. Personally if I consider them at all, which I rarely do, they are just scrappers I have either spoken to or not spoken to. They are no better than me and their work is no better either, just different. My pages are the perfect style for me because they are made by me for me and I don't care whether others like them or not.

One interesting thing to come out of the blog is the link to another called Scrapbook Stuff That Sucks. I haven’t yet had a chance to look at it properly, but it occurs to me that this blog is a brilliant idea. I have hundreds of rub ons that I bought that are completely crap and don't rub on and I’m sure every other crafter must have similar stuff in their stash. What a great idea to be told about stuff that is rubbish before you go and waste your money on it.

I have not posted on the blog (no need to after all that critique) and do not intend to do so unless I feel I have a constructive point to make – but if I do post it won't be anonymously!

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Jen 1 (thanks mate).

Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. 2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird. 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). 4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Unfortunately at the moment I'm having trouble thinking of 7 interesting, weird or even boring things to say about myself (actually that last bit is untrue, I can think of LOTS of boring things to say about myself). So I've decided to do this one differently. Leave me a comment (yep I'm trying to get you lurkers to actually post something for a change) asking me anywhere between 1 and 7 questions (however stupid) and I'll answer 'em.

Oh yes and I have to tag 7 people (some of these have already been tagged but haven't done the challenge yet so have been caught again - tbh I don't really know many people that blog, let alone regularly!)

Shazzer
KJ
Fairysparkle
Kat
Dolly
TJ
Jen 2

You're it!

Film Time

This week has been a good one for films, and still my Alan Rickman fest continues, thus the reason for not having time to update my blog no doubt. On Wednesday night Lynne and I went to see the vigilante movie 'The Brave One' starring Jodie Foster. It was a much better film than I was expecting, and Jodie does a fantastic job. It does have a pretty obvious in plotline and I thought the ending was a bit of a cop out. However, I would still recommend it if you have a spare evening.

Another film which I really enjoyed was the offbeat comedy 'The Search for John Gissing' which finally arrived from the US. It is entertaining, very funny and well worth watching just to see Alan Rickman dancing like a complete nutter at the end. There is more dancing in the outtakes as well. Unfortunately, not readily accessible as it is only available direct from the director and star Mike Binder, the price of postage is likely to put off most people from seeing it (unless you can borrow it from someone). However, rumour has it that due to its underground popularity Mike wants to remake a revised version of the movie under a new title for general release and is hoping that Alan will once again take on the role of John Gissing. We shall see, it would be good to see it finding a general release - if only Nobel Son would get one I'd be even happier!

No sign of 'Dark Harbor' yet, but I did get 'Judas Kiss' which is a crime thriller set in New Orleans with Alan and Emma Thompson taking the starring roles. Quite enjoyable in a low budget sort of way, with the chance to see Alan and Emma doing very dodgy southern American accents, and of course a chance for me to soak up the New Orleans scenery.

Finally this week I saw Rasputin the HBO bio pic. Alan gives yet another first class performance as the enigmatic and strange monk, creating a tortured and brilliant character, at turns mesmerising and enthralling at others disgusting and creepy. Definitely another one to recommend.

I'm still waiting for Stardust - everything I've seen about it tells me I'll love it, but before that arrives at the cinema in a couple of weeks we're going to see Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent in 'When was the Last Time you saw your Father?' which I've also heard good things about. Below is the trailer for Stardust and also for Sweeney Todd - no need for me to repeat how excited I am about that I'm sure!

Alexandra Palace Review

Well it's taken me a little longer than intended (lack of time as usual) but here's a review of our recent weekend at the Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show at Alexandra Palace. It was a busy weekend but we did lots of good stuff, bought some great stuff and had a lovely Chinese meal as well.

Saturday started with an early start and a train ride to Charing Cross. I soon met Shazzer and we made our way (complete with big heavy bags) to Ally Pally, stopping en route for a much needed cuppa and bacon roll (nope my diet was definitely NOT in effect this weekend). Pausing only to drop off our bags at the cloakroom we headed into the main hall for some shopping or browsing in my case as I was definitely not shopping. We stopped for a quick drink in the attached pub (the smallest white wine & soda in the world, ½ pt of lager and 2 bottles of water cost £8!) and then it was soon time for us to head off to our first workshops. Shazzer had picked the sakura pens class, Twinkle Twinkle during which they decorated a card. I did the Vintage Elegance class which was a collage stamping class during which I also made the rather nice card above, although disappointingly there was nothing given away, which I thought was a little harsh considering the price of the workshops. The shop running the workshop did sell very nice stamps and they were a decent price, but there wasn’t even a discount for having taken part in the class. Back to the main hall for some more browsing, trying to find inspiration (and a fireworks stamp) for Shazzer’s November ATC swap. Several ideas later and the ATCs had changed (as they are wont to do). I then broke my no buying rule when I spotted this magnificent stamp that ‘I just had to have’. Obviously I was immediately attracted by the fleur de lis background pattern, although the whole stamp is just gorgeous. However, I was feeling slightly virtuous because it was about the only thing I bought that day.



Next was the water colouring workshop with Gina from Sir Stampalot. This class was interesting but also disappointing. Yet again there was nothing given away apart from the actual card that was made. It was during this workshop that I realised that my attention span (assuming I am actually busy) is about 30 minutes. In this class it was about 5 minutes. This stemmed from two problems. Firstly, instead of having 1 set of paints etc. between 2 they made it 1 between 3. This meant that at some point there was always someone not doing anything as it was impossible for all 3 people to reach and use the paints at the same time. It also left the person in the middle worrying that the water was going to end up all over their work every time the tub moved backwards and forwards. On top of this the class was so large that not everyone could see the demonstration properly. Now water colouring has never been one of my strong suits and having to keep stopping and waiting for the other person to finish before I could have a go quickly began to affect my work. Boredom makes me slapdash and being slapdash means I make mistakes. Once I make mistakes I then get annoyed because of the mistakes and lose all interest in what I’m doing. So here’s my imperfect card with the water stains round the fairy lights that shouldn’t be there. However, I was really pleased with how well the lambs turned out! I should also mention here that to recreate that card would have cost a heck of a lot of money – there were 5 stamps involved which would have cost well over £25 alone. Then there was the cost of the Marvy La Plume’s (if I didn’t already have them). Although there was a slight discount given if you bought the stamps I didn’t feel that was much recompense for the price of the class.



Back to the shopping hall for one finally sweep, where we tracked down some rather snazzy glue and embossing pens before we finally made our way across Alexandra Park to Muswell Hill where we were spending the night. I have to admit I thought that Muswill Hill sounded like a dodgy area, a bit run down and possibly dangerous. It is of course actually the home of many famous people and far from being run down is a select area full of shops like space nk and all those bijou little boutiques. The hotel was serviceable, although extremely warm as the heating seemed to be on permanently and Shazzer and I soon found our room (which was of course right at the top!) After a cup of tea, a bottle of bubbly and much stroking of stash we made our way out to find food. Stopping en-route in Sainsbury’s where we bought more wine (which we didn’t drink in the end honestly) I bought a wig (don't ask) and Shazzer bought some olives, we eventually decided on Yien Chinese Restaurant (mainly cos it was the first place we hit and we were starving). It was a very nice place and we had a lovely set meal with lots of wine, although disappointingly we weren’t given our starters on a bridge (it was one of those places that has the themed plates) although we did get the carrot carved into the shape of a bird.

After a night spent with very little sleep due to the noise out on the road (we were on a major junction – and NO Shazzer I did not sing Oasis’ Wonderwall in my sleep, that was definitely your dream) we made our way back to Ally Pally for the second day of fun (not so much shopping as we had workshops all day). We headed straight for the glitter stall where I could have spent a fortune. Instead I spent a fiver and got a lot of lovely dark glitters – black, midnight blue, deep red as well as some more wintery colours which may be destined for Christmas cards if I ever get round to making them.

Soon it was off to our first workshop of the day ‘Festive Fun’ which was card making with a stencil. The stencil we had was for a gift box and we’d soon both made a very impressive looking Christmas cards with it. And better still, we got to keep the stencil (which would have cost £4.99). Unfortunately, due to a mix up between shop and organisers the class was only 30 minutes long instead of the hour it should have been, but we felt that it was the best class that we’d had so far. Of course some people are never satisfied and several people complained to the organisers that the class was too short but we decided to compliment them instead. After a quick visit to the shop to get another stencil – a tree shaped one this time (I was sold after seeing the lovely flower fairy birthday card they had made with it) we were back to the workshops.

The next workshop was My Fav Thing by Banana Frog and I personally found this class probably more disappointing than all the rest. We were given a cute little tag book to decorate and were given stamps, felt, shrink plastic and embossing powder to create a Christmas themed book. I wasn’t keen on the snowflake stamps, hated the felt and disliked the effect of the shrink plastic, so my attention wandered badly. I did colour the pages of the book and I did emboss one of the pages. The rest of the stuff I discarded. There were absolutely no freebies with this class, not even a technique sheet and neither were we offered a discount on future purchases. We made our way down to Mei Flower where I bought a few little bits and bobs for some cards. We’d been trying to get there all weekend as it sold lots of unusual little things.

Then we were onto Christmas Pearl Delight with Blonde Moments. I have to say I really enjoyed this class. The idea was to make Christmas tags using papers, embossing and painting with pigments. There was loads to do and it kept my attention for the full hour, actually the painting took me that long. Of course the scrummy new papers helped, and although they didn’t give away anything they did offer a 10% discount which Shazzer and I felt we had to take advantage of. I bought mini pads of the Blonde Moments including the new Christmas ones and some lovely purple pigment which I used in the class.

Finally it was time for the final class of the day and the exhibition, Hitting the Bottle. This was an alcohol inks class producing a collaged canvas. Not really my cup of tea to be honest, and the colours weren’t to my taste, but it was a fun thing to do and once again kept me busy for the whole hour. We were also given the stamp set that we’d used – probably the best freebie of the weekend. So then it was all over and we just had to make our way home. My personal view was that it was a good weekend, although at £10 each some of the workshops should have provided a bit more in the way of freebies. Not sure I would rush to the next one, but if I go again I’ll definitely drive there. Lugging heavy bags around was a chore and the journey home for me was a complete nightmare, and there appeared to be plenty of parking.