What I Did On My Birthday

Well I had a completely fab birthday. Having reverted to my usual nocturnal hours with a day off looming I was awake until 4am, re-watching ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’. So that of course meant a nice lie in (always a pleasure). I opened my cards while I had a cup of tea and generally chilled with a couple of presents (2 rings from Annette and Carluccio gold leafed dark chocolates from Kev and Sandra). After a chat to my parents I got dressed and went to Bluewater to meet Mrs H3 for our day of fun.

I received my presents from her before we headed off to see the film - tickets to see JHAB at Half Moon on 21st February (with her obviously) and quite possibly the most fantastic present I’ve ever received in my life – the awesome Moo Dog.

As you can see Moo Dog is a cow. For the uninitiated, the Cow Parade is a huge public art exhibition, which began in 1999 and still continues to this day (recently showing in Istanbul, Copenhagen, Vigo, Milan and Marseille). In 2002 it came to London and at work we all became interested in the life size decorated cow statues that began appearing all over the capital. In fact we became so obsessed with seeing them that when Mrs H3 left us to go and play in pastures new we bought her a china version of the fabulous ‘Beefeater – It Ain’t Natural’ as a leaving present.


In 1999 George Rodrigue (who for anyone who knows me or has seen my New Orleans blog will know is one of my all time favourite artists) sponsored 3 cows for the Chicago parade (shown above). Mrs H3 was trying to get me a china version of one of these, but was unable to do so (due to their rarity I’m guessing) so instead bought a plain paint your own cow and made one for me.

I am completely astonished and touched both for the amazing skill that she’s shown in rendering my plain cow into something fantastically closely resembling one of George’s originals but also for the amount of time and care that she took in doing so. Thank you so much matey for a truly wonderful present.

Once the presents had been opened we headed, complete with large ice creams and fizzy drinks for our second viewing of Sweeney Todd, which I enjoyed even more than the first. Seeing it again gave the opportunity to pick up on the things I missed the first time round and to just let the lush cinematography and sublime Sondheim lyrics wash over me. Apparently the woman next to Mrs H3 had a rather extreme reaction to the film – being terrified for most of it and having hysteria for the rest. I am sure I’ll be seeing it at least once more and the DVD is already top of my want list for the year.

After the film I decided that it was time to finally sort out getting a new phone. I had realised that it was pointless being on a contract when I use so little of the allotted time and texts so was going to switch to pay as you go. However, I really need a new phone as mine is almost 3 years old and having been dropped a few times doesn’t function anywhere near as well as I’d like it to. As luck would have it Virgin (who I am with on contract) had reduced the phone that I really wanted from £90+ to £70 (the beautiful pink Nokia 7373 from the L’Amour Collection) and although I hate the idea of having to actually pay for a phone (yes I know I pay for it through the contract but at least I don’t have a big outlay upfront) even I could see that I needed to switch. Fortunately I got a nice sensible salesman who having agreed that I really did need to move from contract, explained that I could switch to pay as you go without any trouble, keeping my current number and still paying by direct debit, in future just being charged for what I use. He sorted it all out for me and then cheered me further by telling me that my customer loyalty points meant that I got £60 off the cost of a new phone. With another discount it meant that in the end I only had to pay £2.50 for my lovely new phone (which Mrs H3 generously added to my birthday presents) and got 200 free text messages a month for the next 4 months and a years free subscription to Glamour magazine as well. A complete bargain as I’m sure you’ll agree.

We then hooked up with Lynne and did a little window shopping until it was time to meet Andrea and Tina and enjoy a nice meal at that old favourite De Alto. Lynne bought me a bunch of beautiful purple tulips, a big bar of dark chocolate and a crystal butterfly necklace and earring set. Aiden bought me more chocolate (mini Green and Black bars) and Andrea bought me the deluxe version of the Sweeney Todd film soundtrack. From Tina I got a gift voucher and a beaded makeup bag. All in all an excellent stash of presents!

The presents have continued today with a visit from Jane and Leanne. They bought me the UK version of Snow Cake with all the extras (hurrah!), Nanny McPhee, Edward Scissorhands and Bridge to Terabithia. Loads to keep me occupied for a while.

Sweeney, Bramwell and a Bit of Scrapbooking

So I forgot a word – MAGNIFICENT. This is how Jonathan Ross described Sweeney Todd in his review on Film 2008 and it’s a terrific word for it. Yep, sorry I’m still raving about the film especially as we’ve now got our tickets for tomorrow afternoon’s performance at Bluewater. And yes, I am still excited about seeing it again.

However, I have weighty decisions to make. Like should I go to Night & Day to see JHAB’s Valentine’s Massacre. On the plus side Manchester’s only about 5 hours away (a mere stroll compared to Middlesborough) but it’s on a Thursday night, which will mean taking Friday off (sounds like a great excuse for a day off to me!) as I’ll have to stay overnight. The tickets are cheap and there’s a Travelodge only 5 minutes walk from the venue with available rooms at a budget price so it’s very tempting. And as I won't have anything better/more interesting to do on Valentine’s Day it’s even more tempting.

Of course I will be going to see him at Putney the following week with Mrs H3 (thank you once again to her) so I guess Manchester could be overkill. It’s just so nice to go out and not be in the pub for a change, and it's always a pleasure listening to live music, especially the happy, uplifting sound of I Am Kloot!

I’ve been a busy bee in the digi-scrapbooking department too. After a gentle reminder by Jo that I haven’t yet scrapped any of her wedding photos, I suddenly found my mojo and produced 4 layouts in one evening. Being fair I did have a problem with Publisher and it had taken about 5 months to get it sorted (mainly because I’m lazy), but I also hadn’t had the inspiration to do any scrapping anyway. I’ve themed the layouts using the same kit, to give it the feel of an album. There will be more layouts on the way when I get a few moments to do them. For anyone interested in these things the main kit is Melany Violette’s (mjv) ‘Playful & Pretty’ kit and there are elements from her other kits and also from Chain Gang, Bridget Withers and Peggy Bruscher.

Sweeney Todd ... the Reprise

So come on Tracy, how was it? I can hear you all asking. I mean I know you’re all dying to find out after I’ve bored you with talking about it for so many months!

Well it was BLOODY FANTASTIC! Yep Sweeney Todd is truly wonderful. It was at least as good as I was expecting, if not better (actually yes I think it was better than I was expecting), although not quite as gory as I’d been led to believe (I guess Richard hasn’t seen quite as many slasher horror films as me) although it is still rather graphically bloodthirsty by most standards. It is a trademark Burton film – dark, brooding, poignant, funny and melodramatic. The cinematography is visually stunning, the singing is good and Johnny, Alan, Helena and Tim are all excellent. Actually even that fella from Ali G is very good.

Be warned there is a LOT of singing. Almost 99% of the film is sung rather than spoken, which some people might find a little offputting. Not me! Perhaps it was because I already knew the songs, but I didn't really notice that it was all singing until Mrs H3 pointed it out to me afterwards.

A hugely entertaining film, I would definitely recommend it unless you really don't like musicals. Me, I’m off to see it again on Friday for my birthday and I’m expecting to enjoy it even more, picking up on all the little things I missed the first time.


Just wanted to say hi to Kiefer as he's been released from prison today. Well done to him for serving out his 48 days quietly and without fuss.

Excited!

So in exactly two hours and forty minutes Mrs H3 and I will finally be watching the opening credits for Sweeney Todd. I have to say that I am VERY excited now that the time to see the film has finally arrived.

Of course that doesn't mean I'll shut up talking about it. I'm sure I'll be raving about it for a while afterwards, especially as i'll be seeing it at least another two or three times in the next few weeks.

Only 4 days left …

Yep still on countdown and still substituting by watching other dodgy films instead. Today’s was ‘Passionada’ starring the disgustingly gorgeous Jason Isaacs (I’ve moved onto his films now I’ve run out of Kiefer’s and Alan’s (or maybe that should say watched to death), although I am waiting excitedly for a copy of ‘Close My Eyes’ a rare as hen’s teeth Stephen Poliakoff film from 1991 starring Alan which I managed to pick up for less than a tenner rather than the usual mega bucks that it normally goes for (if you don’t believe me check it out here or better still here!)).

Anyway ‘Passionada’ was a pretty cute little film. To be honest the ending was a little too sweet and sickly romantic for me in my current mood, I much peferred the harder edged alternative ending that the DVD also provides, although I imagine I’ll find the mushy stuff perfect on a down day when I want to have a good sob. It was definitely a good use of a couple of hours and a must for anyone who wants to see the nicer side of Jason (and it’s well worth seeing … well at least in my opinion, although I do find him sexier in his nasty roles … Lucius Malfoy anyone?)

What is it with nasty men that makes them so sexy eh?

5 Days and the Tickets are bought!

So we were going to go to Bluewater to see Sweeney Todd on Saturday evening, but according to the website they're not showing a preview (amazingly) so instead as I couldn't bear to wait and see if it changed, I booked my favourite seats at the Odeon in Chatham instead.

Whilst calmly (hah!) waiting for the film I have this evening watched 'The Patriot' a rather fabulous slice of American Civil War tosh starring Mel Gibson and the truly delicious Jason Isaacs. I'm not sure how I managed to miss this film before but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Jason's positively evil portrayal of Colonel Tavington - I can see why he was considered perfect to play Lucius Malfoy. I'm not sure the dear Colonel isn't actually MORE evil than Malfoy.

I've now found out that watching cookery programmes is not a good move when trying to diet and not eat - especially after seeing some scrummy chocolate brownies!

Sweeney's Coming and Other Thoughts

OK so being the sad girl I am I was still debating whether I could make the John Bramwell concert in Middlesborough next Saturday, having worked out that if I left work at 3pm I could be there (assuming all was well on the roads) just after 9pm and he’s going to be on stage at about 9.40pm (I know that ‘cos I asked). Of course that left the decision of either finding somewhere to stay for the night (some kind person recommended a hotel for me) bearing in mind I’d have to leave by 6am at the very latest to get back for work or driving back after the gig (which was likely to be a very late night so I was informed) and then try getting a couple of hours sleep. Anyway I finally decided that I WAS going to go for it regardless, then I found out that unfortunately (for me, not for John obviously) the gig is sold out. However, rumour has it that John has taken pity on me and arranged a gig for 21st February at the Half Moon in Putney (he’s also playing Manchester’s Night & Day on Valentine’s Day) so fingers crossed I’ll be seeing him then – Putney not Manchester obviously, although seeing him would definitely have improved my Valentine’s Day 100%!

On Saturday night Mrs H3 and I finally got to see Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky from Starsky and Hutch for the youngsters in the audience) playing Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley. It was a fantastic evening bookended by a visit to Fred and June’s pub, the Swan and Mitre which is just down the road from the theatre. The pantomime was everything a classic panto should be – dodgy sets, terrible acting (apart from the awesome PMG of course who camped it up magnificently), rubbish songs and stupid jokes. The kids loved it, I loved and I think Mrs H3 loved it. Naughtily, we hadn’t actually bothered to find out who else was in it so we didn't know any of the rest of the cast, but a shout out must go to Andy Ford who played Bosun Smee for being the silliest person I’ve seen in a long time and for making me belly laugh till almost crying on several occasions. Roll on Panto season 2008!

So Johnny Depp won a Golden Globe for his performance, the film won a Golden Globe for best film and Richard at work, who somehow (Arggghhhhh!) managed to see the film last Saturday and was treated to a 30 minute talk by Tim Burton afterwards (I’m not jealous, No, really I’m not - Yeah OK I am, VERY!) says it’s gory as hell and hugely entertaining. High praise indeed! Yes it’s Sweeney Todd that rarely mentioned film. I’m now on countdown as I’m determined to see it on Saturday night. I already know I’m going to love it, which is lucky considering how many times I’ll be seeing it over the next month or so!

6 days and counting ...

I Forgot ...

So with all the excitement of Sweeney previewing early I forgot to mention that Steve and I went to see I Am Legend on Friday night.

The evening started off well enough with a couple of drinks and a meal in the 6 Jolly Fellowship Porters at Dickens World, which was very nice but rather pricey (at least the drinks were). The decor was very nice though and being set inside Dickens World gave a view over the Dickensian rooftops which were covered in snow for Christmas.

And then we saw the film. Charitably, I could say it was tedious. Being honest I would say it was tedious in the extreme. So much so that I fell asleep!

To my mind there are only so many shots of Will Smith wandering around New York talking to himself that you can take … and there were far more than that in this film. Also CGI was seriously overused and badly used. The plot was pretty dreadful and the whole thing ran for about 40 minutes too long. Oh and it isn't in the least bit scary - although maybe I was just too lethargic to jump at the one vaguely jumpy moment. Still the little girls in the audience seemed to find it terrifying so someone obviously enjoyed it ... just not Steve and I.

If you want to see I Am Legend get the Charlton Heston 1971 classic Omega Man – it’s a far superior film in every way!

Having already arranged to go and see the film with Andrew too I had a horrid feeling that this was going to turn into a Meet Joe Black film and I wasn't wrong. MJB still wins my award for worst film of all time, but only because it's longer than IAL. Fortunately, Andrew knows that I saw it and was only interested in going because I wanted to see it so fortunately I don't have to suffer it a second time.

Dilemma

OK so I’ve got a dilemma. As I’m sure you’re aware by now I’ve been waiting for Sweeney Todd to be released (somewhat impatiently possibly) for what seems like forever.

It’s released on 25th January, my birthday, and at the moment my entire day revolves around going to see this film (well actually that is my day). However, I’ve now found out that they are doing previews on the weekend of 19th/20th January.

Now I’m not actually doing anything that weekend. The wonderful Johnny Bramwell (he of I Am Kloot) is doing a solo show at the Knights Club in Middlesborough on the 19th, but as it’s a 5 ½ hour drive to get there even I can’t manage that with work on both Saturday and Sunday (although I have to admit I did seriously consider it until I realised where Middlesborough was!)

So my dilemma is do I continue with my original plans to see the film on my birthday or do I go and see it during the preview weekend?

On the face of it, the decision should be an easy one. After all had I have had the money I would have quite happily flown to the US for the opening before Christmas, so therefore the obvious choice should be to go to the preview. But what do I then do on my birthday? (did I hear someone say go and see it again?).

So I’m torn – go to a preview, go on my birthday … what should I do?

And why isn’t Johnny Bramwell playing closer? Then I could have gone to see him!

It's New Year!

Well Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas is now a dull and distant memory as we head into 2008 (the Christmas tree was taken down on the 1st). I’m hoping lots of good things are in store, but at the moment can’t quite manage to be convinced. Of course there are good things happening – the release of Sweeney Todd (finally), Spiderwick Chronicles and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (go Snape) plus tours by Gary Numan, hopefully a visit to the UK by Blue October (finally) and more by I Am Kloot and My Chemical Romance (surely), but otherwise life seems pretty boring.

Here’s a couple of tracks from the new I Am Kloot Album – I Am Kloot Play Moolah Rouge. The more I play this album the more I absolutely LOVE it. Why doesn’t everyone realise what a great band they are?

‘Ferris Wheels’ (yep it’s a love song – what else with IAK?)



‘Chaperoned’ (also a love song I think)



Unfortunately currently no video of my favourite track from the album ‘Down at the Front’ but should they ever produce one I guarantee I’ll be featuring it on here.

Please note that everyone should buy this album when it’s released officially!

Oh I obviously forgot our trip to the panto, which is now only just over 8 days away. I’m sure it’ll be a corker.

Finally I want to say welcome to baby James who was born at 12.30am on Sunday 30th December weighing 7lb 1 oz.

So On To Christmas

Well it arrived out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly!

Having not been anywhere near ready for it, suddenly the big day was upon us and then it was finished almost before I had a chance to enjoy it. I had a somewhat different Christmas day than expected as Mrs H3 was taken ill on Christmas Eve (get well soon hun) and was therefore unable to come and stay (sending love to Tammie too who was also poorly in hospital over Christmas having had a burst appendix on Christmas Eve). Instead I spent the afternoon and evening at the pub. I didn’t get round to opening my presents until almost 11pm, but received lots of lovely chocolate related things from Andrew, Aiden and Lesley and lots of nice little bits from Lynne.

Yesterday I went to visit Leanne (and her boyfriend Stephen), Jane and Julie at Barbara’s where I got some CDs (I Am Kloot, David Mead and Passenger) and more chocolate (how on earth I’m going to eat it all before the beginning of January so I can restart my diet gawd knows!). We attempted to play the Lord of the Rings Interactive game, but even though all of us are huge fans of the books and the films it was almost impossible. So giving up we instead played our usual round of Uno.

So Christmas is over and all that’s left is the chocolate. I really ought to make the effort to go to see Enchanted sometime before I go back to work and Andrew and I are supposed to be going to see I am Legend at some point too.

So now we’re waiting for New Year, although I don’t expect that to be any more interesting than Christmas was, and then of course depressingly it’ll be time to go back to work.

Playing Catch Up As Usual

Well it’s been and gone (Christmas that is) and once again it’s been over a week since I last posted. So here it is finally, my review of the fantastic I Am Kloot concert that Mrs H3 and I went to on the 18th December (seems like a lifetime ago already).

I have to admit that it got off to a slightly inauspicious start when we got lost trying to find Brick Lane (somewhere we’ve never been any good at finding) and then when we finally got to 93 Feet East realised that the place was completely empty (tickets said the concert started at 7.30pm, doors open at 5pm – we got there at 7pm). Undeterred I remained convinced that things would get going shortly (Mrs H3 less so obviously) and so we went to get a curry from a lovely place called Cinnamon.

We arrived back just before 8pm to find that I Am Kloot were actually due to go onstage at 9pm and there were now at least 10 other people there (yep, I know not the greatest number ever but I remained optimistic). After I bought a limited edition copy of their new album the completely wonderful ‘I Am Kloot Play Moolah Rouge’ we got ourselves a drink and found a seat at the edge of the room and people watched as the room began to fill.

9pm came and went and still there was no sign of the band, but there was quite a mixed crowd growing. When they finally made it to the stage just after 9.30pm there was actually a rather good crowd.

Once again Mrs H3 managed to attract a rather interesting and incredibly rude new friend who kept her entertained for the whole concert (poor girl) whilst I concentrated on the music and John Bramwell.

The set was a stellar one covering all their albums and was a good mixture of their new songs and older favourites from all three previous albums. John’s voice held up well, it was a real relief to see him recovered from the severe throat infection that made them have to cancel previous dates and their European tour. Lovely acoustic numbers like From Your Favourite Sky and the fabulous Ferris Wheels sat happily alongside punchier tracks such as One Man Brawl. Eventually I just had to and stand at the front and get closer to this brilliant band, leaving Mrs H3 with her new friend. It was a real pleasure to hear songs like the emotionally brilliant Dark Star and they finished their set with the always awesome To You.

I had a fantastic evening and I think that Mrs H3 enjoyed the show too, although obviously it would have been improved without the annoying company. I just hope they tour again soon.

What? Not Another Post!

Oh my God Christmas is almost here and I’m so unprepared!

Two more days at work and I’ve written no cards (sorry everyone – Merry Christmas by the way!) and sorted very few presents, not even sent the Sinners CD yet (sorry girls – I will do it a.s.a.p. promise). I can’t even think of anything that I want for Christmas myself apart from a Nintendo DS with Brain Training (but I think that’s only ‘cos I’ve seen so many ruddy adverts for it) or a copy of ‘Beadle the Bard’, but of course I don’t know anyone with a couple of million quid to spare to buy that for me. But then I’m not feeling at all Christmassy even after putting up the tree, decorating my workspace, opening my chocolate advent calendar and finding dodgy Christmas e-mail backgrounds, which seems a bit weird when this time next week it will be Christmas Eve and almost all over. Perhaps it would help if I knew when I was working over Christmas to help me plan what to do during my free time (seeing Enchanted is on my list at some point), although I’m not sure it’ll make any difference – I just have to face the fact my interest in Christmas has been completely overshadowed by my need to see Sweeney Todd.

My poor beloved Kiefer will be spending both his birthday on Friday and Christmas in jail (whilst I agree he deserves his sentence, I’m not sure why he has to do the full stretch just because he’s a bloke and silly tarts like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan get off with doing hours – they should all have done full sentences), although according to the media hundreds of people have written to him so at least he’ll have something to do while he’s there, but the poor darling hasn’t yet had any visitors. Apparently he’s being a model prisoner, folding laundry and working in the kitchens so well done to him. I expect the rest will do him the world of good, but I think he should come and stay with me when he gets out so I can keep him out of trouble!

Tomorrow is the eagerly awaited (by me anyway) I Am Kloot concert at 93 Feet East (just over 24 hours and counting). I really can’t wait to see them and am very excited at the prospect, which was helped by our visit to the Tap ‘n’ Tin on Saturday. It was great to see a concert in a small venue again, something I haven’t done for such a long time and it’s really got me stoked up. I’ve fallen completely in love with John Bramwell and his magnificent lyrics (is he the best (love) song writer ever?) and am hoping that Mrs H3 will enjoy them more once she’s seen them live. She really is completely brilliant for pitching up to something that she really doesn’t want to see (but I do desperately) and then enjoying herself. I am eternally grateful to her (thank you so much Lisa - you really are a hunny) and absolutely dreading when someone like Black Lace (are they still going?) decide to tour because I know I’ll have to repay the favour, and I’m not sure I can do it as gracefully as she does.

Already we’ve planned a pantomime for the New Year. Every year we say we’re going to go then we don’t get round to it but this time we’ve finally booked one. So we’re seeing Peter Pan (one of my favourites) at Bromley, starring none other than good ole’ Starsky (of Starsky & Hutch fame) himself Paul Michael Glaser. I’m expecting great things from him ‘cos I’m sure he can camp it up with the best of them, although he’ll have to work hard to beat Jason Isaacs (Peter Pan) or Alan Rickman (An Awfully Big Adventure). Whatever, I’m expecting an evening of fun and I know that we’ll have a good time however bad or good it is!

Sorry it's more Sweeney Todd ...

So the opening credits for Sweeney Todd are now online



and a new trailer – argggghhhhhhhh! I want to see this film NOW!!!!!



And what can say about this clip but woohoo - gotta love Alan Rickman (well I do, but then we all know that don't we?)

Carry On .. Up the Tap 'n' Tin!

Well I’m pleased to say that my faith in Pete Doherty was well placed. To all the scoffers who said that he wouldn’t turn up – you were wrong! I know he missed a gig earlier in the week, but after all he was going to be at the Tap ‘n’ Tin with the legendary Chas & Dave … how could he not be there?

I thought Pete was fantastic value for money and in my opinion he played a blinding set, gave great entertainment value during Chas & Dave’s set (watching him trying to stay upright was almost worth the cover price on its own) and then to cap it all joined the guys for the last song.

When we arrived Pete had just gone onstage – perfect timing as it meant that we didn’t have to hang around for too long with the Pete look-alikes that crowded the room, although Mrs H3 got some very interesting attention from a couple of Chas & Dave fans *LOL*. There was a lot of waving of Union Jacks as he sang his way through classic Libertines and Babyshambles tracks. Damn that boy is beautiful, and such a gorgeous voice (and I think even Mrs H3 would agree with me). Amazingly he looked completely clean, even vaguely healthy looking and was very focussed and definitely on form. Check out these videos of him in action.





However, in the brief interval which can have been no more than about 10 minutes between him leaving the stage and Chas & Dave coming on he’d obviously taken something. He spent the whole set leaning against the wall trying to stay upright, beer bottle in hand, his eyes rolling and his skin having taken on that waxy pallor that you see in all the tabloid photos. To give him his due he was obviously very much enjoying the show, quite clearly singing along to every track, although he turned down the chance to sing with the band early into the set as I think he wouldn’t have made it to the stage. However, he’d recovered enough for the final number and they finished the evening with Pete singing a barnstorming version of “Ain’t No Pleasing You”.



I was also impressed that although he was completely out of it he took the time to talk to any fans who wanted to chat to him and spent most of the night signing autographs even though this was distracting him from watching Chas & Dave who performed a spirited and popular set.

All in all the evening was amazing and I’m very glad I attended, especially knowing how many jealous friends I now have!

Yep, we were there and we’ve even got the button badges to prove it!

Here We Go ...

Sometimes it's great to have friends on the same wavelength!

Mrs H3 saw my post about the Chas & Dave concert and like me considered that it could be a completely awesome evening - so we've got tickets. It turns out that Chas & Dave were apparently a HUGE influence on the young Pete Doherty and he and the Libertines were forever covering their songs during their early days. Whatever happens the evening is going to be a huge laugh. Will of course report back later!

It's Only Me

Just doing another catch up as it's been a week again already - how the time does fly as one gets older!

Unfortunately I haven't got round to making any more Christmas cards, nor have I actually written any yet. I have sorted out the Sinners Christmas CD but need to find time to get them in the post in time for Christmas, bear with me girls it will be on the way soon (I hope).

Entertainment Weekly’s review of Sweeney Todd has been released and its reviewer, like it appears most other reviewers loves the film. Obviously I was particularly taken with this part of the review:

“It's nice, though, how Bonham Carter's corpse-bride complexion complements Depp's; how Rickman's sadistic Judge Turpin oozes real erotic heat, not just twisted sexual tastes; and how honorably a big studio has, er, stuck its neck out to do right by one of the great American artistic creations of our time.”

Yep, that’s me getting all excited again – especially with Alan Rickman oozing erotic heat (although when doesn’t he?)

I’m still gutted that I’ve got to wait another whole month for it, unless someone nice wants to give me the money to fly to the US to see it (please!) I’m even wishing Christmas away so I can see this film and that NEVER happens! I'm still desperate to see it even though its release coincides with me getting another year older!

I’m also now on countdown to seeing I am Kloot. Only another 4 days till I get to see this fantastic band live. The more I listen to them the more I think they are geniuses. I know Mrs H3 finds their work depressing, but of course that’s my favourite sort of music (depressing love songs a speciality) and I find them strangely uplifting (always a contrary bird I know). I’ve managed to listen to some of their new album too and am really looking forward to buying it at the concert and adding it to my I-Pod for non-stop play over Christmas (well actually slotted in between The Hoff's 'The Night Before Christmas', Alan Titchmarsh's 'Fill My Stocking', this years sinners choice (to be revealed later once the CD has been sent) and Chas & Dave's 'Christmas Knees Up' which Mrs H3 has very kindly procured for me).

Talking of concerts and Chas & Dave, the cockney duo (and their drummer) are playing at the Tap ‘n’ Tin in Chatham tomorrow night (although according to the website they’re not due on stage till 1am!) Now I knew about this quite some time ago as Steve and Terry are going, but at £25 a ticket I felt it a little extravagant, just before Christmas (the I am Kloot tickets were £13.50 in case you were wondering) especially considering my love/hate relationship with the duo. However, yesterday I discovered who their special guest was and now I’m sort of gutted not to be going – imagine, it’s none other than Pete Docherty. Yes, him of the huge amount of drug taking, but also of those fabulousty bands The Libertines and Babyshambles. A bit of a strange guest for them I thought, especially to be playing a venue like the Tap ‘n’ Tin (and of course there’s the ever present possibility that he won't show up), but I understand from one of the commuters on the coach this morning (obviously a bit of a Pete fan himself) that he has played there before back when he started, so he’s revisiting his roots and the fan sites seem convinced he’ll be there. Could be a seminal moment or a complete blow out – is it worth £25 to find out?

So I'm back from our day out at Bluewater. Have had a fantastic day with lots of lovely (and very naughty) food, lots of shopping done and a fantastic film watched.

'The Golden Compass' was everything I was hoping it would be. It stuck more closely to the book than films like Harry Potter etc., there were no major changes only a few omissions really which was great and all the characters were excellent as was the CGI. I have to admit to being surprised by the ending, but that was only because the story stuck so close to the book all the way through so I'd expected the same ending. I loved the film and really hope that they make the second (and eventually third) parts. Definitely one to add to my collection when it comes out on dvd, and Lynne and I both agreed we'd be more than happy to go and see the film again.

The rest of the day was taken up with shopping and eating. We walked round Bluewater about 4 or 5 times stopping for the odd cup of tea, ice cream, cake and sandwiches and finally ended up in De:Alto for dinner.

A great day but now I'm shattered!

I see that Alan Rickman has been placed at number 83 in Empire magazine's 100 sexiest movie stars list. Nice to see him in there. They say "All the girls love a bad boy and no one does bad better than Alan Rickman. It’s the voice that does it, that and a commanding screen presence. Such is his ability to give good evil that he even makes the oily Professor Severus Snape somehow attractive". How very true! No sign of Kiefer alas, but I guess he's more a TV star these days. Interestingly top male was Daniel Craig at No. 3, while the top two places were taken by Natalie Portman (2) and Angelina Jolie (1).

Christmas Is Definitely Coming!

Yep it's official! The Christmas tree is up, the advent calendar is being devoured, the Cranberry Chutney candle has made an appearance, the 2008 Lord of the Rings calendar is on its way from Amazon and I've finally managed to get my arse in gear and make some Christmas cards. Admittedly not many - 18 to be precise (at least that's the Sinners sorted), but it's a start. Hopefully more to follow in a few days if I can decide what to do.

Now is the time for the buying of presents and fortunately for me this year Jo's got her act together and got it all sorted. Thanks Jo! I do still have some shopping to do, but nowhere near as much as usual and I think Royal Mail will be rather pleased about that - they can probably lay off a couple of people with this year's purchases compared to the amount I usually have delivered at this time of year *LOL*

Tomorrow Lynne and I are going to Bluewater for our annual Christmas shopping/cinema/meal day. I was hoping Mrs H3 would be coming along too, but it looks like she might have to work, poor thing. So this year's film is 'The Golden Compass' which I've been waiting to see for ages (next year's will be 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' - nothing like planning ahead eh?) Hopefully should be an excellent although tiring day as usual.

However Mrs H3 and I do have tickets to see I am Kloot on 18th December at 93 Feet East and I'm really excited. The more I hear them, the more I love their work - just my sort of thing, depression and love songs - perfect! Check out this fab video for one of their singles which stars the lovely Christopher Ecclestone. How this lot aren't massive I've no idea - their song writing is sublime.



Also have to show the video for my favourite track by them "From Your Favourite Sky". This is without a doubt one of the best love songs EVER written in my opinion. A truly wonderful track that I can listen to again and again.

Oh Go On Then ....

A bit more Sweeney Todd! No I'm not obsessed ... well there's nothing Harry Potterish happening at the moment so I have to look forward to something *LOL*



Sweeney Todd Behind the Scenes 1


Sweeney Todd Behind the Scenes 2


Sweeney Todd Behind the Scenes 3


Sweeney Todd Behind the Scenes 4 - I just love Tim Burton singing along on this one!



Sweeney Todd Behind the Scenes 5

Did I mention I'm Desperate to see Sweeney Todd?

So here are the official clips that were released at London press day. Am I excited? You betcha! Particular excitement over clip 3 (of course). How can I cope with having to wait another 2 months before seeing it?

Sweeney todd clip 1


Sweeney todd clip 2


Sweeney todd clip 3


Sweeney todd clip 4


Sweeney todd clip 5


Sweeney todd clip 6


Sweeney Todd Clip 7


Sweeney Todd Clip 8


Sweeney Todd Clip 9

And More Sweeney Todd too!

OK so you might just have gathered that I am rather keenly waiting to see Sweeney Todd. A couple of days ago the official London press release took place and a whole rash of new footage came out, including interviews with the cast including the delicious Mr Rickman.

If I hadn’t been desperate to see it before I certainly am now. Lucky America gets the film on Christmas Day but we have to wait a whole month longer. At least I’ve got something mega to look forward to on my birthday for a change.

Here's a behind the scenes featurette, I'll be posting the other new clips as they become available - the 'gandered at my ward' scene with Alan is particularly delicious and one I want to add to my collection.



The same report also said that Nobel Son and Bottle Shock were due for release in January too. I am assuming this is in America as I’ve still heard no news on a UK release date for either, but hopefully that means they could be scheduled for a spring release over here. Fingers crossed.

More Music

Mrs H3 and I have a long history of trying to outdo each other on finding the worst album of all time (usually cover version related as I love cover versions). A couple of weeks ago she gave me a few contenders that I have to admit almost beat anything I've ever come up with (although I still contend that I found the worst album ever ... but more of that in a few weeks - yep it is Christmas related).

One of the albums is 'More, More and More' by Girls Aloud, a band that I've generally managed to ignore until this point. Although their own songs were okay in a generally bland sort of way, being the sort of pop I'm not awfully keen on, their cover versions are absolutely cracking. I was particularly impressed by a live version of 'Teenage Dirtbag' and their musicals medley.

Of course it may be that they actually sound really dire but I had just listened to a double album of various artists doing 'Crazy Covers' and anything bad by Girls Aloud paled into insignificance next to this.

I have to admit that there were a few excellent tracks on that too, such as the Sugababes doing 'I bet you look good on the Dancefloor' and Ian Brown doing 'Thriller' and a strange cover version of 'Young Folks' which I thought really rocked, but generally this album was ODD!

Turkish versions of 'Rock the Casbah' and other songs sung in German or Dutch and some of the strangest cover versions ever heard. I did rather like the Dynamo's Rhythm Aces swing version of The Smith's 'Panic' during which members of the band have a conversation about why they are panicking, musing that if there was a nuclear explosion and everyone got wiped out there'd be no-one left to play George Michael records. Very funny when you hear it and suits my sense of humour perfectly!

Finally there was Paul Anka with his 'Classic songs: My Way' which I have to admit I couldn't face listening to after 4 cds worth of the other stuff. When I listened to it a few days later I found it generally pleasant in much the same way as 'Rock Swings' was. I understand that both the Girls Aloud and Paul Anka were chosen primarily for the Duran Duran cover versions 'Girls on Film' and 'Ordinary World' respectively, and actually both tracks aren't bad.

Talking of Duran Duran (and no not under worst album category ... although it almost could have been) their new album ‘Red Carpet Massacre’ is surprisingly excellent. I was less than enthusiastic when I heard the first single 'Falling Down' with Justin Timberlake and a few more listenings didn't really improve my opinion. The idea of Timbaland mixing it up didn't appeal either and I was truly expecting to hate the album with a vengeance, with the exception of ‘Box Full o’ Honey’ which I adored from the moment I heard it. However, by the time I’d listened to the whole album I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d feared and after the third listen in a row, I found myself happily singing along to ‘Falling Down’ as if it were a favourite song. Many people have said that ‘Red Carpet Massacre’ is like their first self-titled album but I would liken it more to 1993’s second self-titled album more commonly known as the ‘Wedding Album’. Justin Timberlake has said that his favourite song of all time is ‘Ordinary World’ and many of the songs on this album have that flavour about them. I’m still not happy about the way Duran Duran treat their fans but have to admit that they can still churn out a good song – and yes, I’ll go to see them when they tour a place where tickets aren’t £100 each!

As a last thought on cover versions a couple of mornings ago I heard Leona Lewis doing Snow Patrol’s ‘Run’. It was astonishingly beautiful! I was stunned to find that she actually can sing which is something that her current awful single sadly doesn't show too well.

The Long Awaited MCR Review!

Well I’m thinking of changing the title of this blog to Tracy’s music and film reviews as I don’t seem to talk about much else these days. And yep today is no different.

Actually I’m a bit late posting this but what the hell - it's my blog and being rebellious that means I can do what I want with it when I want (yes, that includes not yet completeing the New Orleans blog, sorry)

On 15th November Mrs H3 and I went to see My Chemical Romance at the O2 Dome in London. It was, as I expected a fantastic evening and the guys were on excellent form. As they’ve now been touring for over a year the set has obviously changed a bit since I last saw them so instead of playing Black Parade first and ending with older tracks this time they interspersed the two. And they certainly packed them in. Opening with Stay they powered through the usual suspects – This Is How I Disappear, Dead!, The Sharpest Lives, I’m Not Okay, I Don’t Love You, House of Wolves, Mama , Cemetery Drive, You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison, Helena, Sleep, Teenagers, Welcome to the Black Parade, Cancer, plus more rarely heard songs like Headfirst for Halos and Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough For The Two Of Us, finally ending the encore quite appropriately with Famous Last Words. Highlight for many was their rendition of Desert Song, something that they’ve apparently only ever played live once before. For me it was good to hear the older tracks being played live, but I wasn’t sure whether it was a good introduction for Mrs H3.

She had gamely gone along having only played half of the Black Parade and never having heard any other track by them. She tells me she enjoyed the concert, although was a little disappointed that they weren’t as loud as Chas and Dave were when they played the Broadway Theatre, Catford. I feel it is my duty to now write and complain to MCR for their lack of noise. *LOL*

MCR have had a run of bad luck since before the Black Parade came out and it continued when Bob (the drummer) announced that he was dropping out of the tour on the Sunday night before the O2 concert due to a bad wrist, although apparently he was going to be staying on to help with the pyrotechnics. And then on Tuesday Frank (the guitarist) had to pull out due to a family illness. This meant that Mikey (bassist) finally returned to the fold after his post nuptial break so that Matt could take over Frank’s role. The band are now off in Australia, but I’m hoping they’ll find some time to get back in the studio to record a new album soon, although of course I’d be happy to see them touring back over here again too.

Annoyingly I was offered a free ticket to the Foo Fighters concert at O2 on the Sunday night, but alas I wasn't able to make it. Friends who went said it was ace - definitely a band I still need to catch live sometime. While I'm talking of live bands I found out that I am Kloot are playing tonight and tomorrow in London, unfortunately too late for me to get a ticket. However, they're back on 18th December so I'm considering going to see them. What do you think Mrs H3? Also was very excited to see that Gary Numan is touring with the classic 'Replicas' album in March - definitely got that one in my diary!

Music Time

Blimey, not more Blogging? Yep, it’s true! I’ve almost finished my New Orleans holiday now, only a couple more days to go and it’ll all be over. Hopefully should finally be done and dusted by the weekend. So I thought it was time to do a bit of normal blogging again.

When I’m not watching films I’m listening to loads of new music at the moment as the TV really has deteriorated. And of course, me being me, I just had to share with you. Now obviously I have a real thing for quirky, interesting, innovative and possibly downright eccentric music and so all the following have caught my attention for one or more of these reasons. Now as I only listen to about 15 minutes of music on the radio every day (when the alarm goes off) I don’t actually get to hear much new stuff except through a fluke as Radio 1 isn’t awfully experimental at 5am. So if you already know all about these fantastic artists and tracks I apologise, although not much because I’m happy to showcase their work on my blog regardless of how long they’ve been out. But if not, I really urge you to check them out.

First up is the truly awesome debut album ‘Wicked Man’s Rest’ by Passenger. This album has been on the random playlist at the pub for the last couple of weeks (I believe it was released at the end of September) and every time a track comes on I’ve rushed over to find out what it was. Eventually I just had to own the album. I know that 3 singles have been released from it, but have no idea if any of them made the charts. What I do know is that it is a perfectly crafted slice of skewed pop heaven (listen to the last single ‘Walk You Home’ and you’ll see what I mean). Mike Rosenberg has an interesting and unusual voice and the songs are somewhat darker and stranger than most of the fare emerging these days and is a real breath of fresh air. I LOVE THIS ALBUM!!!!


(Walk You Home by Passenger - Official Video)

While I’m recommending albums I’d just like to mention a few others that are top of my current playlist - Newton Faulkner’s ‘Hand Built By Robots’, Blue October’s ‘Foiled Again’ which is a double album containing their last brilliant studio album ‘Foiled’ and ‘Teach Your Baby Well Live’ a 14 track live album, Mark Ronson’s ‘Version’, Rufus Wainwright’s ‘Release the Stars’, Richard Hawley’s ‘Lady’s Bridge’, Bjorn & John Peter’s ‘Falling Out’, Stephen Fretwell’s ‘Man on the Roof’, Feist’s ‘The Reminder’, H.I.M.’s ‘Venus Doom’, Dave Gahan’s ‘Hourglass’ and Babyshambles’ ‘Shotter’s Nation’.

Now I just love songs from films. I adore the Take That track from Stardust – ‘Rule the World’ and downloaded it as soon as it was available. But my recent Alan Rickman appreciation has unearthed some older mega gems (although not, as I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear, ‘Everything I do (I do it for you)’ by Bryan Adams, although I actually don’t mind the track) that have shot straight into my all time favourite tracks league. Apart from being a funny film ‘The Search for John Gissing’ introduced me to a truly wonderful artist by the name of David Mead. His track from the film ‘World of a King’ is a really catchy little number and after falling completely in love with it led me to checking out his other work. I currently have his last album ‘Tangerine’ on repeat play. Eventually, I will need to have his entire back catalogue and will definitely be looking out for him going on tour.


(World of a King by David Mead - Live version)

From the fantastic 'Snow Cake' (and the more I watch that film the more I love it) there are two tracks, the achingly beautiful love song ‘ Same Deep Water’ by I Am Kloot and the haunting ‘Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl’ by Broken Social Scene (of which Leslie Feist is a member).


(Same Deep Water by I Am Kloot - Live version)


(Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl by Broken Social Scene - Official Video)

And finally it's only 9 days till Mrs H3 and I go to see My Chemical Romance at O2. I'm really looking forward to it.

Oh yeah

Found another trailer for Sweeney Todd



I WANT TO SEE THIS FILM NOW!!!!!!

Blimey I've been blogging like crazy!

Well amazingly I have finally completed my Italian holiday blog and am just about ready to get going on the New Orleans one again - no really, I am (only a year late!)

Bit late with the photos of the after pub party too, but better late than never. What I need to track down is the photos from the actual pub party when people were still in costume. As you can just about see I finally decided to go as a murder victim with two gunshot wounds to the head - and very effective they were too, in fact I had lots of compliments about how good my makeup was (although Davey did tell me I looked like My Chemical Romance at one point - but he was very drunk!). The wig I'm wearing in the photo was part of Tina's witch costume, with which she won first prize in the fancy dress competition. We had a great evening and had a real laugh - gotta love Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

So it’s already been already been another week since I last posted, How quick is the time going? Loads to talk about so it could be a long old post.

I meant to post yesterday and wish my sister Jo a really Happy Birthday, but I just didn't get round to it. Anyway, hopefully she had a good day even without my virtual best wishes.

I have changed the trailer of ‘The Golden Compass’ to a You Tube one rather than the one from the official site as the way it mucked up my formatting really annoyed me and the quick time thing was driving me mad. Now you can choose to watch the trailer rather than being forced to have it on. It’s a slightly different one and the film looks even better in my opinion. Take a look and see what you think.

You’ll remember Lynnie Lou and I went to see “Dark is Rising” last week. I am pleased to report that as a film it is very good – the special effects are excellent and it is an interesting and thrilling story with generally good acting. However, as an adaptation of the book it is truly diabolical. Apart from the title, the names of some of the characters and about 4 lines of dialogue almost the whole film bears no actual resemblance to the book in any way. As a long time addict of the book I spent quite a large part of the movie confused as plot after plot was discarded in favour of a different story. Eventually I gave in and decided to ignore the fact it was supposed to be based on the book and just enjoy it as a film and it worked. For anyone who thinks that the Harry Potter films have hacked the story (and that includes me) they are nothing compared to the butchery that has taken place with “Dark is Rising”. I would definitely recommend the film for entertainment value, but would even more recommend reading the books and getting the full and proper story. To be honest I find it hard to believe that they will be adapting any of the other books in the series, all are far too interwoven with Arthurian and other British legends and the studio appears to not want this type of film. I suppose they could just rewrite the scripts so that they bear no resemblance to the original stories, but the first film seems to have been designed as a stand alone, so perhaps they’re just not going to bother with the others. Perhaps one day someone will make them properly.

OK well Halloween’s been and gone now so I’m late posting as usual. Tomorrow I’ll add some pictures from Saturday night after the pub’s Halloween Party when we all descended on Den and Lynne.

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.