Weekly Music Challenge #9- A Song I Can Dance To

Hey readers, it's Music Monday so I'm continuing the challenge, & I have to admit this week's task is rather a silly one, if I do say so myself.

This week I have to share a song I can dance to, but if I'm being completely honest, I feel that I, along with all other humans on this planet, can dance to any song. I mean, music's music & if it has a beat dance to it! I dance to pretty much anything on my iPod, or anything not on my iPod for that matter! I recall during work experience in year 10 dancing to Michael Buble in the shop I worked in, then the assistant that I was working with asked if I liked Michael Buble, to which I responded, "No, I just like dancing," (Although I'll admit, I don't actually mind Michael Buble, but at that time I was at that alt-kid phase where I kinda refused to admit liking anything mainstream.)

Anyway, enough of my rambling, let's get to the song sharing, because although dancing can be done to any song, I am going to share with you tonight a personal party tune. Well, I'm not a party animal myself, but if I were a DJ, I'd definitely play this at a house party/club:

'I Came 2 Party' by Cinema Bizarre ft Space Cowboy

Well what I can I say, a party tune! This should definitely be played in clubs, it's such a great song to dance to & would fit right in with the atmosphere & culture!

So how about you readers, what song do you think is good to dance to? Comment below!

Thanks for reading, & good night! :D

"A Lovely Bit Of Squirrel!"

Hello readers, you're probably wondering why tonight's post has such a weird title. Well, for those of you out there that do get the reference, you'll (hopefully) agree with what I'm saying in tonight's post. For those of you that don't, sit back, relax & read on, as tonight I have a recommendation for you all, which is this:

'Friday Night Dinner'

Now those of you that don't know, you're probably wondering, again, what I'm on about. Well, 'Friday Night Dinner' is a comedy show that has aired on Channel 4 & has just finished it's third series. Yes, it may seem odd that I'm giving a recommendation on something that's finished, but thanks to the wonders of the internet I'm sure you'll be able to find all 3 series of this brilliant show online, either on 4OD, Netflix or some streaming site somewhere. However you choose to watch, I do hope you enjoy it as much as I have! Allow me to elaborate on what it's about:

'Friday Night Dinner' is a sitcom that centres around the mishaps of the Goodmans, a Jewish family, when they get together for their traditional dinner on a Friday night. The mother, Jackie (Tamsin Greig) is often unamused by the mishaps of her family, although does side with them in certain moments. The father, Martin (Paul Ritter) is deaf, enjoys being shirtless & has a somewhat eccentric personality (& is also responsible for the quote I've used as a title). The sons are Adam (Simon Bird) & Johnny (Tom Rosenthal)- both in their 20s, Adam is the eldest & is a musician, whilst Johnny is an estate agent. The boys often prank & make fun of each other & their parents, despite their ages. Then there's their neighbour, Jim (Mark Heap), who is very odd & has a fear of his own dog, Wilson. Jim appears every Friday night, becoming more involved as the series' go on.

The Goodman family- Jackie, Martin, Adam (Bottom left) & Johnny (Bottom right)

The reason why this show is so great is because it has an excellent sense of pace & humour to it, with in-jokes that the audience learns & can recognise as the series' progress. When it first aired a couple of years ago, as much as I loved it I doubted it would be able to go on for another series, let alone two! But I'm glad it has, & to this day there's always something new to make you giggle of laugh out loud. I personally have rather an odd sense of humour, which is something this show appeals to as a lot of the comedy is based on silly things. Not to mention the characters are great, especially Jim! You'll know what I mean once you watch it. 

Jim, such an excellent character!

So folks, there's my recommendation. Friday Night Dinner = AMAZING! :D

For those of you that do watch, I hope you enjoy, & to you all, thanks for reading tonight's post!

Note: Images used are not mine & I take no credit for them.

Weekly Music Challenge #8- A Song That I Know All The Words To

Evening readers! Here's a random fact for you- this post marks my 20th on this blog- hooray! Which means this blog has been up & running for just over two months now- oh how time flies!

Well enough of my rambling, let's get on with tonight's post. Again, it's Music Monday & I continue the challenge, this week I have to share a song that I know all the words to. There's a good amount that I do know, but for tonight's challenge I'm going to pick on that's a favourite of mine, which is:

'The Simple Art Of Making You Mine' by Blowsight

I know I had a post on favourite songs & this wasn't mentioned, but this is definitely one of the songs I'd call a "tune". Love it, got such a good vibe, plus it's amazing live! :D

So, my good readers, there's my song, what's yours? Feel free to comment below! :)

Not So Fun In The Sun- Reasons Why Summer Can Be Annoying

Hello there readers! We're now mid-way through the delightful season of summer & seeing as the weather has been pretty good the vast majority of this week, I'd like to dedicate tonight's post to said season.

Now usually, summer is a season that's praised when it's spoken about in blogs & articles, where the author states how to "have fun in the sun" before listing reasons why summer is great & ways to take advantage of the nice weather. And as much as I do enjoy summer, what with the decent weather & opportunities to go out & about, I have to admit that it isn't my favourite season. That's why in tonight's post I'll be talking about the more annoying aspects of summer, well, for me anyway.

Local beach, a favourite hang-out spot of mine over summer. :)

So, in no particular order, let's get started:

• High Street Fashion

To me, summer fashion for women in high street/mainstream shops is pretty awful. It seems as though as soon as it hits summer, the stores seem to think that every woman wants to wear either garishly bright colours, pastel colours, flowers or a combination of all of these points. Which makes it difficult for people like myself, who own a predominantly black/dark colour wardrobe, to find anything they like. Another thing is finding decent women's shorts, & by decent I mean shorts that are actually shorts & not denim underwear. (Although I have learned that they seem to sell the proper shorts just before summer, so for those of you out there with a more modest fashion sense best stock up then!)

Now not all of it's bad & there are certain things that I have seen in high street shops that I do like, such as the little black skull vest-blouse in H&M (which I own). But most of it really isn't my cup of tea, not even during the other three seasons, although I'd definitely say that this fashion is at it's worst during summer!

• Vanity

If summer is the season for anything, it's the season for vanity. Which isn't a bad thing, I mean, everyone's vain to a degree (including myself), but in summer everyone is more so than the rest of the year, what with wanting to get tanned &/or striving to achieve a "bikini body". Which, again, isn't something I'm saying is bad, if that's what makes people feel better & enjoy themselves more then that's fine. I personally don't get why people like being tanned, I don't really understand the appeal. I can understand the bikini body though, & those of you that are motivated enough to get fitter to achieve this, I commend you! 

But to me, the most annoying thing about vanity in the summer is shaving. Thanks to society telling women that hair in certain places is disgusting, the opportunity that the good weather brings to bear more skin also means having to shave more regularly, which is a pain in the arse! Come on ladies, let's admit, when it isn't summer & we don't have to show our legs or armpits, we can leave it for a couple of weeks. But as soon as summer rolls around it has to be done every other day or so in order to avoid potentially being judged by anyone, & having to do it so regularly is rather tedious, in my opinion.

• Temperamental Weather

If there's one thing that you get used to being British, it's the temperamental weather. Well, mainly it's the bad weather, but it's even more annoying when Mother Nature won't make up her mind what to do, especially over summer. One minute, you look outside & it's actually a nice summer's day & you start to pull more summery attire from your wardrobe. Then the next minute it's all overcast, then back to sunshine again. The reason why this is even more annoying when it's summer is that what you decide to wear & plans depend on it. Nothing worse than thinking 'the weather looks naff today, better dress for the cold' & it ends up being too hot! Which leads me onto my next point...

• The Heat

Now this point is probably the worst for me. I don't mind it at first, in fact it's more than welcome after a few months of cold, but for me it gets to the stage where it's just too hot. Sometimes I can bear it, for example last year I managed to as I was anticipating going to New York at the end of August (where I thought it'd be a lot warmer than the UK, I was indeed correct). But sometimes it's just too much, like yesterday, even though I decided to take advantage of the nice weather & sit in the garden & paint, I found myself going inside at intervals as it did get too hot.

The problem with it being too hot is that it can be difficult to cool yourself down. It's fine in winter when it's too cold as you can add more layers & warm up, but in summer, you can only strip down so much, unless you're in the confines of your own home (& even then you may not want to strip down that far). Plus being too hot can make you lethargic & irritable which is never good, & also sweaty, which isn't very nice. And then there's also sunburn, which hurts.

Perhaps now we'll rethink the phrase "sun-kissed" skin?

There we go, the factors which I feel make summer a rather annoying season. Aside from these points, I do enjoy it, I mean, summer is BBQ season, & who doesn't love a good barbie? :)


So readers, what aspects about summer do you find annoying? Do you agree with any of the above points? Or if you like you can leave a comment about what you like about summer. :)

Thanks for reading! :D

Illustrations done by Me :)

Weekly Music Challenge #7- A Song That Reminds Me Of An Event

Good evening readers & welcome to tonight's post. Tonight on my Music Monday challenge I have to find a song that reminds me of an event. So without further ado, I present tonight's song:

'Extraordinary Girl' by Green Day

This song reminds me of the first time I went to see a Green Day tribute band live. I remember when they played this song, they changed some of the lyrics slightly, singing "Somedays I feel like dying," rather than "Somedays he feels like dying," They also substituted the third for first person in other moments in the song & this is something I tend to think of whenever I hear this song, which is why it reminds me of this particular event.

And there we are folks, tonight's song. Do you have any songs that remind you of events? Feel free to comment!

Thanks for reading! :D

Crossing Counties, Clans & Social Encounters- A Week In Review

Hello readers! Didn't today start out lovely, eh? Much like yesterday, the sun was shining, it was a lovely day, a perfect morning for a kid to play! But now look at it. The weather is dull & typically British once more. So much for summer!

Seeing as I haven't done so for a couple of weeks & my last post was on the more negative side, I thought today I'd do a week review, as it's been a nice & social week. I did start another blog post earlier, but I think I'll save that until next week, unless something else crops up.

So let's get started, shall we?

My socialising started last Friday, when I went to my best friend, Laura's house to have a catch up & give her her birthday card & presents. It was lovely catching up as we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks, also we started to watch (& for Laura, rewatch) the first series of Supernatural, which was good.

My next event was on Sunday, when I went to the pub quiz with Tom, Georgia & Berry, which was fun. We didn't win, but we didn't lose either & most importantly we had a good time, had a laugh & was great seeing them again!

Monday took me into another county (I'm from Hampshire), something I didn't become aware of until later that day, as I ventured into Chichester (which I discovered is in West Sussex) to meet up with Olivia. I'd never been to Chichester before, & it was a half-way point for the both of us. We had a wander round the Cathedral, high streets & the canal. Again, another nice catch up! I also finished the book 'Zom-B Clans' that night, which I got on Saturday, & oh my god it was good! Especially the ending- even though when a certain character spoke I knew who it would be, it was tense reading & finding out!

Clock Tower/seating area in the centre of the high streets in Chichester, a very nice structure. :)

Such a good book, roll on book 9! :D

I had another catch up Tuesday with my friend Reema, which again was really nice. We also learned that day that the other had watched Utopia, the rather weird series on Channel 4 (which returns on Monday), to which we both had a slight almost fangirl moment!

Next meet up was yesterday, where I met with my friend & old housemate Jess for lunch. We ended up going to a small cafe that neither of us had been to before, which was nice, that & having a good old natter! Also, while I'm here, I'm going to give you all a blog recommendation, which is Jess's blog-
Vanilla and Owls
Jess started her blog before I did, & it was through reading hers that inspired me to create this blog here. It's a very nice & well-written blog- Jess talks about various things in her life, does product reviews, & it's very Jess!

Which brings us to today, where I did housework, watched Friday Night Dinner (which is AMAZING!) & now am about to watch series 2 of Hemlock Grove.

And that's been my week. Been lovely seeing my friends & I can't wait to see more of them as the summer holiday goes on!

Thanks for reading, & good night! :D

Weekly Music Challenge #6- A Song That Reminds Me Of Somewhere

Hello there my good readers! I almost thought this would be a delayed post due to internet issues, but thankfully said internet has returned & I can post tonight- hooray!

So, this week in the music challenge I am asked to find a song that reminds me of somewhere, & that song is this:

'Walking Back To Happiness' by Helen Shapiro

Now here's an interesting fact, up until a moment ago when I was looking the song up on YouTube, I was not aware that Helen Shapiro was the artist! A reason why I find this particularly interesting is because I have heard of her prior to this discovery, as she once was in a band with Marc Bolan.

Anyway, enough music history & back to the subject. This song reminds me of Thorpe Park, in particular, the area in which the ride Stealth is situated. For those of you that don't know, Stealth is themed to be a 60s speedway, so whilst in the queue for the ride you're treated to a nice mix of 60s music amongst radio broadcasts made for the ride & announcements from the ride. This song is included in said 60s playlist & is one that sticks in my mind, it reminds me not only of being in the queue line but also walking through that area of the park (which also includes Tidal Wave, which also has a 60s looking theme). Plus it's the lyric about happiness that sticks with me, & it's always a happy time for my at Thorpe Park. :)

Stealth at Thorpe Park- image is not mine.

There we go for now, I hope you've enjoyed tonight's post- thanks for reading! :D

An Interruption Of Freedom

Hey readers, happy 4th July! Right now in America people are celebrating independence & freedom, meanwhile here in England, the glorious freedom of summer has been slightly interrupted for me by the receiving of a summer project.

Although this is something I was expecting, it's not something I'm pleased about, seeing as in the past summer projects have practically been ignored by my tutors. Not always a waste of time, & up until this point in my life they've actually been ok, but actually putting the time & effort in & having it go to waste does annoy me! I personally believe if lecturers are going to set something, they should pay it more attention, not just give is as something to keep students busy! Which has been the case for the past three years, allow me to elaborate somewhat:

The very first summer project I was given happened before I started my course at college. Based on the idea of "things I have learned in my life so far", I had fun creating the following three pieces:

L-R- "Harry Potter Is Amazing", "Political Correctness Is Insane" & "If Nobody's Perfect Then I Know I'm Somebody"

However, on starting at college, & having a new tutor as the one who originally set the project had left, this project was quickly forgotten about, in fact, it was never even looked at. All that work & effort put in for nothing, but at least it was fun!

The next project wasn't as ignored or done in vain, as, being a much more motivated & optimistic student at the time, I was able to do some self-initiated research that helped with my first second year project at college & with other things since. Plus this was one counted towards my marks.

Now onto uni. Last year's summer project was rather fun & I did enjoy doing it & whilst I was doing it I felt as though I hadn't done enough. Again, at this point in time I was highly motivated & excited by my uni course & felt rather pleased with myself when I read online that fellow classmates had done barely anything, when I, by the end of it, had 37 pages of A3 completed. But did my uni lecturers care? Ok, they looked at the final outcome. Didn't do the whole "giving out the postcard" thing like the brief stated (we had to make a post card about the place we call home), & I did not get a commendation or recognition for the amount of hard work & effort I put in.

My final postcard design, thankfully the humour was appreciated.

That, plus the fact that my uni course has been a complete disappointment, has left me in a rather flat state. A part of me doesn't feel the need to try in case they don't look. However, the second year lecturers look a lot more switched on & professional than those on the first year & may actually give a shit, which would be nice. Plus, on the optimistic side (which still exists somewhere in the depths of my mind) it could help me to revive my mojo. As you've seen in a previous post, I've already started doing some art for fun, so I'm getting started. And I know deep down this is what I enjoy, so I want to try & do my best.

Part of this week's art for fun involved me making this reference for my promarkers, thought I'd share as I think it's nice to look at. :)

On another & more positive note this week, I've dyed my hair purple, however, as I was already red, it's kind of gone a burgundy colour, but still looks nice. Here's a photo:

That's all for this week. Hopefully I'll have a more interesting topic next Friday for you all. I'm sure I will.

Thanks for reading!