july favourites.

I haven't uploaded one of these for a good few months, however, I've just had my birthday and felt there were actually a couple of things I wanted to share the love for with you (plus the post I was going to upload wasn't coming together and I wasn't enjoying how deep it was going... so here's a light read for you!) Here are five of my favourite things from this month, in no particular order!

1. Billy Elliot: The Musical

I went to see this as my birthday present from my Dad, and boy was it good! I love the film and have been pretty set on seeing the theatre production, as it's one on my 'theatre bucket list'. Yes, I have a theatre bucket list... 

Anyway, it was really brought to life on stage and there was a good mix of everything, funny bits, sad bits, singing, dancing, and acting. I also enjoyed the technical side, from the staging to the set, to puppetry to prop use. Can you tell I did GCSE Drama? Pfft. But still, it was a really good show and one I'd love to see again, and I will be getting the soundtrack on CD, to go alongside Joseph and Wicked, yes, it was that good! 

2. Posters

This may seem like an odd one and thinking about it, it probably is! However, for a fair amount of time I'd left my bedroom walls to become bare, posters, art and photos had slowly fallen and I hadn't put them back up, just left them in a heap on the top of my bookshelf. I've FINALLY sorted out all my posters and everything back onto my walls and it's feeling like 'my bedroom' again, with my maps, doctor who quotes, band and artists dotted around, I have plastered 'me' all over my white walls again. 

3. Inside Out

As part of my birthday each year, it's become tradition to go and see a film, and in more recent years, that has included Toy Story 3 and Monsters University... So keeping with tradition and that, this year I headed to see Inside Out. My inner Disney Pixar nerd was feeling all the feels (excuse the on-topic pun...) It's a great film and again, it's got something for everyone, which is one thing I will always love Disney Pixar for... their ability to target all ages. There's a few scenes, which I feel could have been done better, but then again, isn't there always? Definitely would recommend anyone going to see it, makes everyone understand their brain a little better I think :) 

4. Vinyls

I've done it. I've gone and fallen for vinyls. I loved them anyway, nothing beats the raw and old school sound of a vinyl. But I now own a record player and two vinyls... 'Bon Iver' by Bon Iver and 'Back To Black' by Amy Winehouse, attempting to grow that collection slowly but surely, as I only want certain albums on record etc. but it'll get there :) 

5. Amy Winehouse

From the days of 'Frank' to the days that will never be. Amy Winehouse will always be at the top of my favourite artists and favourite people lists. I recently went and saw 'Amy', the film/documentary all about her and unfortunately all the speculation following her addictions and death. It was a hard watch, and I left feeling even more frustrated and angry at the media and her Dad, which I didn't think was possible, but apparently it is! Another brilliant watch and as I mentioned previously I've now got her second album on vinyl, which has been getting many spins recently, as well as quotes of hers being taped onto my desk as inspiration for projects. *sighs* yet another talent and wonderful person gone way too soon. 

Our Day Will Come - Amy Winehouse (link)

What have you been loving recently? 

my reading list.

I want to set myself a challenge (amongst the others that come with A Levels and general life). Ever since GCSE English and Drama and A Level English Lit, I have despised reading; especially books. 

However, a couple of months back, I started reading magazines more and gradually progressed to Roald Dahl and then 'real' books - as certain people might like to call them. 

So, I've decided to read at least 12 books this year, 15 ideally, a realistic goal - right?! I've got an 'ideal' reading list, which are books I'd quite like to get through this year, after having a growing reading list for a few years. 

That doesn't  mean to say they won't be swapped about for others, but here's the list for now: 

To Finish:

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

After Auschwitz - Eva Schloss

Read & Complete:

Strong Woman - Karren Brady

Field of Shadows - Dan Waddell

Doctor Who: The Monsters Inside - Stephen Cole

Nineteen Eighty - Four - George Orwell

War Horse - Michael Morpurgo

Revolution - Russel Brand

Stig of the Dump - Clive King

Ed Sheeran: A Visual Journey - Ed Sheeran & Phillip Butah

Doctor Who: The Shakespeare Notebooks - Justin Richards

The Machine Gunners - Robert Westall

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window & Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson

Are there any books you want to read this year or any you'd recommend as a top read? 

- evan. :)

an end and a beginning.

In the past week I have taken my camera out on a couple of adventures, they were only small, but it gave me an opportunity to take some photos and rekindle my love of capturing moments. 

I was really happy with how a couple of them turned out and thought I could share them with you in a blog - re-learning that blogs can be chilled, short and not have much depth to them - so without further a do... 

First of all are a few photos from a New Year's Eve trip down to Brighton, it would have been rude not to have gone to the pier and taken it all in. 

Then on Friday, (2nd January), my Gran and I went for a little drive to watch the sunset, which turned out to be pretty colourful... 

How did you finish 2014 and how did you start 2015? 

- evan. :)

Doctor Who Tag.

Seeing as Doctor Who returned to our TVs on Saturday I decided to do the tag, I wasn't tagged by anyone and I probably could have done it before now, but I'm pretty hopeless with uploading at a reasonable time...

1. When and why did you start watching Doctor Who, and what made you become a fan of it?
I started watching it when it returned with Christopher Eccleston, I absolutely loved it and have been obsessed since. I’m not sure what made me become a fan but I watched it every weekend and if I missed it, I made sure I caught up, it just grew as something I loved and couldn’t miss I think?

2. Favourite quotes?

Soooooo many! I guess ‘We’re all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one!’ stands out. These could have a blog post of their own! Haha

3. Favourite theme songs?

This is the worst question for me to answer, I absolutely adore the whole of the Doctor Who soundtrack and am in awe of Murray Gold as a composer, so my top five in no particular order are; ‘Amy’s Theme’, ‘The Pandorica Suite’, ‘The Enigma of River Song’, ‘The Majestic Tale (of a Mad Man in a Box)’ and ‘The Impossible Girl/Clara’s Theme’.

4. Favourite episodes and scenes/moments?

‘End of the World’ stands out as one of my favourite episodes, one of my favourite small characters was in that episode as well (Jabe from the Forest).

‘Blink’ was another episode that I absolutely loved! ‘School Reunion’ – the who’s better battle between Rose and Sarah Jane was brilliant, and the goodbye the Doctor gives her is so much more meaningful now. ‘The Sound of Drums’, ‘The Shakespeare Code’ and ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’ are up there in my favourites too.

5. Least favourite episodes?

I haven’t been a big fan of Moffat’s writing?! I didn’t enjoy many episodes of Matt Smith’s era as the doctor unfortunately, but I loved Matt and Karen Gillan as the Doctor and Amy (and I liked Rory and River) – so that just about made up for it. Yeah it probably be one of those. I didn’t really like Fires of Pompeii either..

6. Favourite doctors (or do you disagree with idea of having favourite doctor and like all of them equally?)

I didn’t even know people would like the doctor’s equally? They all have different characteristics? Erm, William Hartnell because he started it all off and I thought he set a good standard, Tom Baker – not sure why I just loved him as the doctor and David Tennant – but he stands out as my all time favourite.

7. Favourite companions?

Sarah Jane, in old and new episodes. Rose Tyler, because the connection between her and Ten just made the story lines even better. Donna Noble because she added humour to the episodes.

8. Least favourite companions?

I wasn’t a massive fan of a lot of the early companions (in Classic Who) they irritated me too much, from the recent series’ I’d have to say Martha? Her character was a bit whiny?  

9. Characters you relate to most?

That’s a tough one and I’m not sure I could actually answer that one! Hah

10. Favourite villains and villains that frightened you most?

Another tough one to choose, favourite villains? They tend to be the ones that frighten me the most – because they live up to the Doctor Who scare factor… Weeping Angels, Clockwork Robots, Silurians ( I think the actors did an amazing job at being lizardlike etc.)

11. Least favourite villains?

Not a big fan of the Dream Lord, and I thought the Snow Men were the worst villains in the new who, the visuals were fake and awful and the story line was poor.

12. Funniest moments?

Donna and Ten’s moment between the windows seeing each other again makes me laugh everytime. Strax as a character makes me laugh so much as well, so most of his ‘funny moments’. In the episode ‘End of Time’ the Doctor locks the Tardis like a car and at the time, it was hilarious!

13. Moments that made you cry?

Ten before he regenerated… ‘I don’t want to go’.

14. Saddest episode?

‘The End of Time’ because of the quote mentioned above.

‘Doomsday’, I don’t think there is a better Doctor-Companion combo then Rose and Ten.

15. Favourite friendship?

The obvious Rose & Ten (unless you want to call them a couple) but I love the friendship between Strax, Jenny, Madame Vastra, known as the Paternoster Gang with the Doctor. (One of the good things about Moffat’s writing.)

16. Favourite couple?

Ten and Madame de Pompadour. It was only one episode but they were one couple that should have lasted and imagine them travelling through time and space together.

17. Favourite actor?

I would clearly have to say David Tennant, but other than the Doctor, I thought Bernard Cribbins was brilliant in the episodes he was in. John Simm has been great as The Master as well.

18. Favourite Actress

I think there have been better actresses in Doctor Who than actors through the years, Elisabeth Sladen, Billie Piper, Alex Kingston, Jenna Coleman, Karen Gillan and Catherine Tate.

19. Favourite writer?

Russel T. Davies without a doubt. Richard Curtis did a great job with ‘Vincent & The Doctor’ though, Helen Raynor wrote a few solid episodes as well, following Daleks and Sontarans.

20. Actor you’d have liked to play 12?

Erm, either Rupert Grint or Amy Adams – purely for the ginger aspect and I think Amy Adams would have done a good job as a female doctor I think.

Thanks for Reading! 

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