2014 - A Snapshot

So another year has past, don't ask me where its gone! This time last year I enjoyed looking back and thinking about the past year - I've probably forgotten something major but here goes...

Achievements

Passing British Sign Language Level 1 and the first module of Level 2. Also met some lovely people in my new class and at deaf club!

 

After a somewhat traumatic 6 months in my new role on the Service Desk, I managed to change role to Systems Development Officer! Although I feel a little in over my head, I'm trying to learn the lingo and I've gone up another peg so that can't be bad!

 

 

I've finally started learning bass guitar...well teaching myself! Lessons next year would be good, but I've had some great jamming sessions with some guys from work which has got me to pick the bass up rather than sit looking at it, so that's a pretty good start!

 

 



Some Memorable Moments of 2014

Well this one has to come first - Jamie proposed (I'm not allowed to say 'Finally' ok so it slipped out) One happy lady and only 4 months to the big day and I'm very much looking forward to being Mrs Summerton!

 

A list of engagements to celebrate this year!!! Anyone would think we've all turned 30 and had a mid life crisis?! Congratulations everyone :) looking forward to all the weddings!

 

Laura and Mark

Jen & Andy

Michelle & Pat

Lucy & Michael

 

10 awesome book clubs and even more books in-between! Plus a few cinema excursions ;)

 

 

Lots of Theatre...

 

The Johnny Cash Show - a great way to spend Grandad's anniversary

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - Mitre Players

Swan Lake Ballet in Wimbledon

The Carpenters Story in Wimbledon

The Book of Mormon with Letty - funniest show I've ever seen laughed til we cried!

Les Miserables - for our 12 year anniversary

Jersey Boys - with Rob and Jen 'Cherry baaaaaaaaby'

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time - BSL signed show with my class mates

 

Seeing the World

Jamie's 30th we had a Camper adventure in Devon, in every type of weather possible and it was so much fun, we didn't want to give the VW back!!

 

My birthday surprise trip to Prague, what an incredibly beautiful city and what was the chances of there being a Tim Burton exhibition!! Double excitement!

 

 

 

One to tick off my bucket list we flew in a Hot Air Balloon and it was possibly one of the best things I have ever experienced! The best way to see how amazing the British countryside.  If its not on your bucket list it should be!!

 

 

We explored the tiny but beautiful island of Cape Verde off the West Coast of Africa.  Possibly the most relaxing holiday I have ever had, which was just what we both needed.

Events - lots of big birthdays!

Jen's 30th in Balham's 3 monkeys

Chris Paps 30th house party

Letty's 30th Birthday girly weekender in Swindon for a bit of pampering, fun and games!

Charlottes 30th came next with a night out in London

 

Lucy's (not 30 yet) crazy 80's night at Strawberry Moons!

 

Jenny's 30th TGI balloon hat extravaganza - I know there's a photo somewhere...

 

My big 30, dinner with family and a house party!

 

Daniela's surprise 30th at the Jolly Farmers, with some Portuguese dancing

 

Lee and Lizzies fantastic safari wedding at Port Lymph

 

 

Janine & Terry had their beautiful baby Caeden on 28th November weighing 6lb 15oz

I'm not sure I can share the pics yet so you can only see his beautiful toes until Janine shows him to the world :)

 

 

What a year, it went fast but lots of good memories.  Next year is going to be a very exciting year (and exhausting I think...) I cannot wait, roll on Christmas, roll on New Year, roll on the weddings!

 

 

Book Club - 13/12/14

So after trying to remember what we'd read this year I thought id do a back catalogue to remind everyone of all the awesome (and not so awesome...) literature that we've read over the last 3 years :) thanks to everyone who keeps coming, I'm so glad I started it!! 

Our first ever book club was on the 5th April 2012!

Travels with Charley (John Steinbeck)
The Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger)
The Witch of Portabello (Paulo Coelho)
Suite Francaise (Irene Nemirovsky)
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
Before I Go to Sleep (SJ Watson)
The Colour of Milk (Nell Leyshon)
The Slap (Christos Tsiolkas)

2013

The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
White Teeth (Zadie Smith)
Tess of the D'urbervilles (Thomas Hardy)
Me Before You (Jojo Moyes)
The Plague (Albert Camus)
Everything's Cool (Justin Carroll)
11.22.63 (Stephen King)
The Woman in Black (Susan Hill)
Tiny Sunbirds Fly Away (Christie Watson)

2014

The Great Gatsby (F Scott Fitzgerald)
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
My Life in France (Julia Child)
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
The Hundred Year Old Man who climbed out of the window and disappeared (Jones Jonasson)
Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge (Lindy Woodhead)
Childhood's End (Arthur C Clarke)
Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan)
The Shining (Stephen  King)

Last Saturday we had our Christmas book club at Zizzi which was really enjoyable, particularly the secret Santa book pass the parcel and playing heads up in the pub after!  We didn't really talk much about the book as the festivities took over but our book for last month was 'The Shining' by Stephen King. 

Rachael suggested this one ages ago but for some reason it never got put on the list so I added it last month.  I am so glad we did! I am a complete wimp when it comes to horror films (although I have seen the Shining many years ago) as a general rule I don't watch horror films (unless made to...behind a cushion, with my fingers in my ears) but for some reason I was really excited about reading this and with good reason.  I thought it was really gripping, I got hooked really early on even though the scary action didn't happen until later on in the story I could feel the build up, and I like the scene setting about the family and how they had come to be at that hotel and each of their mind-sets.

Amusingly I meant to tell my little story at book club and forgot but when I was reading a particularly suspenseful part of the book I was sitting on the bus on the way home from work, the bus was packed and noisy but I was completely engrossed unaware of my surroundings, until a child grabbed hold of my book with such force and literally would not let go.  It frightened the bloody crap out of me! The mother was telling him to let go and he just stared at me and held onto the book for ages until he finally let go...somewhat creepy!!

There were some majorly spooky scenes in the book, the hedge animals sent shivers down my spine and obviously the infamous woman in the bath was none to pleasant.  The zombie ballroom, the party paraphernalia in the lift that goes up and down on its own and the man in the dog fancy dress was a bit disturbing!!  I had pretty much forgotten the film so I couldn't remember what happened and so there was plenty of suspense for me.  I have read a few Stephen King's now but I've not read many of his horrors they have usually been sci-fi or fantasy based, but I just love the way he describes everything so vividly that you can actually see it.  I think my favourite character was Halloran, I liked the connection he had with the boy and that he was an unlikely hero.  I also liked the fact that I felt a range of emotions for Jack the father, going through a cycle of feeling sad for him, anger towards him, sympathy at points and then finally the fear of him. 

We didn't give the book a rating this time but I'll give it an 8 out of 10! I think everyone enjoyed it, and those that didn't quite finish plan to carry on reading so I'd definitely recommend this to anyone even those who don't like horror films, but a word of advice don't read a chapter before you go to sleep ;)

The next book is called 'The Shock of The Fall' by Nathan Filer, this is a book I picked up one day and thought it looked interesting so I hope its a good one!

'I'll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother.  His name is Simon.  I think you are going to like him.  I really do.  But in a couple of pages he will be dead.  And he was never the same after that.'


Apologies in advance we may need tissues when reading this but the reviews say it is dark, touching, sweet and funny, so hopefully a bit of everything ;) So its cold outside, get curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea, Christmas lights on, enjoy! Have a fantastic Christmas to those I won't see until next month and have a happy new year, love you guys! x x x

Next Book Club:
Date: Wednesday 21st January 2015 
Location: Matthews Yard of course!
Time: 7.30pm  

Book Club - 05.11.14

I have just realised that I have neglected the book club blog this month!! And it was an awesome firework night book club too so shame on me! As iv forgotten most of what we talked about I'll mostly fill this with sparkler photos!

The book we had read was called 'Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore' by Robin Sloane which we talked about whilst munching on garlic bread and quiche over a nice cup of tea.  From what I remember we were all quite surprised by the amount of IT techie info in the book as we were expecting a bit more oldie worldie book store stuff, dusty volumes of mystical texts and secret passageways - well actually it was a combination of both which made for an interesting read! I really enjoyed this book, although the ending was a little disappointing leading us toward what seemed to be an exciting climax which was a little underwhelming but generally an original story.  But the leading lady obsessed with Google needed to get a life and some new t-shirts (enough said).

So once we had stuffed our faces and talked about the book and everything else under the sun, we decided to do the sparklers, I admit I had gotten reluctant due to the cosy front room and chocolate biscuits but Rachael was leaping about in anticipation so I relented.  Then ensued a small disaster of an entire bucket of water (meant for the sparklers) emptying over the floor in the dining room (completely not Neil's fault) the bucket handle snapped off - but eventually we got outside and took some awesome sparklers pics to celebrate one year on.  Some were very smokey but actually those gave the photos a different style which I quite liked! so here's the results - including Neil's artistry of swirls which I keep forgetting to put on Facebook ;)

 

 

 

We were so excited about our sparkler achievements that we forgot to choose a new book!! So over email we decided on 'The Shining' by Stephen King.  I've got to admit I'm not a horror fan in the least but I was drawn to this one - I've already started it and it is mega creepy really looking forward to discussing it with everyone to see what they think!

 

 

'Danny is only 5 years old but in the words of Mr Hallorann he is a 'shiner' aglow with psychic voltage.  When his father becomes the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, Danny's visions grow out of control.  As winter closes in and blizzards cut them off the hotel seems to develop a life of its own.  Who is the lady in room 217, who are the masked guests going up and down in the elevator and why do the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive?  Somewhere there is an evil force in the hotel and that too is beginning to shine...'





Next Book club is our Christmas get together!

Please bring a book (gift wrapped) for book secret santa and then we can each pick out one at random to keep - it doesn't matter if the book is brand new, second hand or just one you want to pass on!

Next Meet:
Date: Saturday 13th December
Location: Zizzi South Croydon
Time: 7.30pm

Book Club - 24.09.14

Better turn out this month - hooray! Still need to recruit some more book worms though and also need some more book suggestions as our list is diminishing! (we decided to take off a few of the older choices on there which we had always skirted around) Here's what's on the list at the moment:

The Shock of the Fall - by Nathan Filer
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Only Human by Jenny Diski
The Shining by Stephen King (I've just added this one as we haven't read a horror yet and I'm sure Rachael suggested it ages ago)

Anyway this month we were talking about 'Childhood's End' by Arthur C Clarke - a classics 1950's sci-fi, which received mixed reviews from everyone.  I really enjoyed reading and sped through it, I love sci-fi films and was quite eager to read this.  It wasn't the best book iv ever read but it was different.  I liked the fact that it was written years ago and talked about the time and what they imagined to be the future as some of it has come true and some of it not a lot has changed.  I did find the aliens themselves a little disappointing as I was expecting their reveal to be a bit more dramatic and I was also expecting it to be about the aliens leading the humans into a false sense of security and then wiping them out - but I was wrong as it was really about the aliens forming a relationship with the humans to study what they knew was inevitably going to happen the planet. 

We had some interesting discussions about space and time travel mostly from Neil - so we aren't sure if he made it up or not but we were all suitably baffled by the possibility of each experiencing time at a different speed.  The book seemed to jump from character to character some who were not related to each other in anyway which made it a bit disjointed but I guess the author was trying to show a vast timescale in years throughout the book which was actually pretty short.  There definitely could have been more about the resistance when the aliens first arrived as that all seemed a bit of a cop out and everyone just got on with life as if they weren't there - which I very much doubt would happen if aliens suddenly started floating in the sky above our house and telling politicians how to run the world. Overall though it was definitely worth a read and I like reading different genres its what books club's all about - reading stuff you might not normally consider.

Next months book is called 'Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore' by Robin Sloan.  This was one of my suggestions so if its rubbish its all my fault - I hope its good though, I've had good experiences with previous books that are about books and quirky book shops - don't let me down Mr Penumbra!

'A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life—mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore'

Next time we meet will be on firework night, I can't believe its been a year since the last sparklers!! We thought we'd re-enact last year so everyone is invited to mine for some nibbles and sparklers again.  Maybe we can watch another film related to something we've read - has any one got Life of Pi on DVD/Blu-Ray?

Next Time:
Date: Wed 5th November
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Gems House

Book Club - 27.08.14

A tad late in writing this up! It was a very ickle book club anyway just me, Jen and Neil! Hope you guys are coming back soon for the next book! We have our cinema outing on Tues to see 'Before I Go to Sleep' which I'm looking forward to as it was a good thriller that we read last year and hopefully this will entice a few of you back as we miss you :)

This time we were talking about 'Seduction, Shopping an Mr Selfridge' which was more of an autobiography rather than a story of his life & shop which we were expecting! We all agreed there definatley wasn't enough scandal in the book but it seems that Mr Selfridge himself did not really do interviews and kept himself to himself so it was kind of hard to get a personal aspect to his character. Saying that he was certainly a quirky, interesting man and if I been around in his time I would have loved to work in his store! He made shopping and working a completely unique experience and had a profound effect on everyone he met. I loved the fact that he made a point of going to every department and meeting every member of staff every single day, making them motivated to do their best for him and to make the store fabulous. I also like the references to the different styles of clothes as they came in and out of fashion and to find that he was involved in the introduction of so many products that we have today such as television and airplanes.

It wasn't all great however, I did find the endless name dropping and references to 'famous' people that i'd never heard of a little irritating and it did sometimes feel a little like a history book packed with facts rather than a narrative or someone's life. It's definatley made me interested in seeing a few episodes of the series though if only to see the store in all it's glory and the fashions!

We decided this time to choose a book which has been on our list since we began book club and is also a completely different genre to anything we have read before! This months book is 'Childhoods End' by Arthur C Clarke. This is a classic 1950s sci-fi and being a fan of sci-fi films I am interested to see what this is like! It may not sound like your usual cup of tea but give it a chance and try something new :) It also pretty short, I've already nearly finished!!

 

'Earth has become a Utopia, guided by a strange unseen people from outer space whose staggering powers have eradicated war, cruelty, poverty and racial inequality. When the 'Overlords' finally reveal themselves, their horrific form makes little impression.

Then comes the sign that the Overlords have been waiting for. A child begins to dream strangely - and develops remarkable powers. Soon this happens to every child - and the truth of the Overlords' mission is finally revealed to the human race...'

 

Next Book Club:

Date: 24th September 2014
Location: Matthews Yard
Time:7.30pm

Be there or be square - also please mention book club to your friends, new members welcome and some men would be fab to get some different perspectives and debate going as we seem to have lost most of our men readers, there must be some more out there somewhere - Neil is being surrounded by women (I'm sure he loves it really ;)

Book Club - 09.07.14

This weeks book club took place in our usual cosy spot at Matthews Yard and we were talking about 'The hundred year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared'.  Well I say talking about it, we didn't actually do much talking about the book! I must admit this is the first time that I have not finished a book club book in time *hangs head in shame* however I will attempt to finish it.  For some reason I just couldn't get into it and with a lot of other things going on in my life this month it took a bit of a backseat.  Will definitely get through the next one though as I'll be on holiday reading till my eyes fall out!

So, the book. Most people had not quite finished it, but Jen had read it before, Charlotte literally had 9 pages left and Neil did finish it so we could discuss it, its not really the sort of book that you can give away the ending either so it didn't get spoilt for the rest of us who hadn't quite made it.  The book is kind of split into two as it takes you back and forth from the current day in Alan's life to the past where he had many adventures in his earlier years.  The early years connected him to pretty much any political event in history you could think of over the last 100 years and he met all sorts of interesting characters including presidents and dictators from across the globe.  It is quite farcical and pretty ludicrous the places he ends up and even in the current day after escaping from the old peoples home ends up entwined with some criminal gangsters (or so they'd like to think) and a lady who has an elephant as a pet.  All of which go on the run after he has stolen millions of dollars in cash and assisted accidentally in killing a few people.  It sounds like such a great read but for some reason I just didn't get into it, it didn't seem funny, I was almost rolling my eyes at points but I'm not sure why as it is not written to be serious it is supposed to be laughably bizarre.

Anyway most people enjoyed the book and it is a film that is being released soon so got to be worth a book club outing to see what they've made of it - perhaps I will enjoy it more as a film! The rest of the evening I'm afraid we ended up talking girly stuff about weddings, family, pregnancy and other stuff you don't wanna know, sorry Neil you are now an honouree girl that was your initiation, please come back next month - we definitely need some more guys in the club...

The next book we kind of sneakily decided last month is: 'Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge' by Lindy Woodhead, really looking forward to this one! Grab a copy and get reading :)

'In 1909, the largest department store in London's West End, designed and built from scratch, opened in Oxford Street in a glorious burst of publicity. The mastermind behind the façade was American retail genius Harry Gordon Selfridge: maverick businessman, risk-taker, dandy and one of the greatest showmen the retail world has ever known.

His talents were to create the seduction of shopping, and as his success and fame grew, so did his glittering lifestyle: mansions, yachts, gambling, racehorses - and mistresses. From the glamour of Edwardian England, through the turmoil of the Great War and the heady excesses of the 1920s and beyond, Selfridges Department Store was 'a theatre with the curtain going up at 9 o'clock each morning'.

Next Book Club!

Date: 13th August 
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Matthews Yard

Book Club - 04.06.14

Blimey, I've had so much stuff going round my head at the moment I almost forgot about Book Club *gasp* 

We had a nice cosy corner in Matthews Yard to discuss 'Gone Girl' although we didn't seem to spend a huge amount of time talking about this one for some reason.  It had a generally positive reaction, I think everyone agreed it was nice to read something which was easy to read and gripping, we haven't read many thrillers since book club began and its always good to read something in a completely different style to the previous month.

Personally I felt the book started off really well in hooking the reader in but about half way through began to waiver a bit for me and I did start to lose interest, however others in the group did stay hooked.  There was a big twist half way through which unfortunately I had guessed but it was a great twist.  The details in the story were very clever in that the writer appeared to think of everything in connecting characters to crime scene and key moments and everything interconnected, but I was really disappointed with the ending.  Its hard to say without giving it away (incase anyone who didn't get a chance to finish wants to read it) but lets just say someone really deserved a comeuppance...

The book is being made into a film so it will be interesting to see how that turns out, I think it would make a good film - maybe they will re-write the ending though?!

After the book discussion conversations turned into all things wedding related, we talked about some rather bizarre TV documentaries that have been on lately (yeah you lot know what I'm referring to) and grilled Neil about his insanely amazing 40 mile walk for Oxfam.   Unfortunately Jenny P was unable to make it at the last minute due to work commitments but she did inform us that she was going to go home and sulk after burgling Laura's house on route...

So Charlotte brought a book suggestion with her which we all agreed sounded like a good read so we went with 'The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared' by Jonas Jonasson

 

 'Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home Allan Karlsson is waiting for a party he doesn't want to begin. His one-hundredth birthday party to be precise.  The Mayor will be there, the press will be there, but as it turns out, Allan will not...

Escaping (in his slippers) through his bedroom window into the flowerbed, Allan makes his getaway.  And so begins his picturesque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash and incompetent police.  As his escapades unfold, Allan's earlier life is revealed.  A life in which remarkably he played a key role behind the scenes in some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.'

Enjoy!

Next Book Club:
Date: Wednesday 9th July
Location: Matthews Yard
Time: 7.30pm

Oh and there may be a book club outing in-between - Dragon Quest crazy golf anyone?!

Book Club - 23.04.14

Book club again already, this one came round quick and I only just managed to finish the book the night before...slacker!

We met at Matthews yard - now the official venue due to awesomeness (and availability of cakes) to talk about 'My Life in France' which is about the Life of Julia Child and how she became a chef.  I think I was the only one who had seen the film 'Julie and Julia' which is loosely based on some of Julia's experiences and time in France, and I loved the film so much that I thought the book would be interesting, which is why I added it to our list. 

It was a really mixed bag in terms of everyone's thoughts and opinions about the book and the characters.  I had mixed feelings myself...I really liked Julia's personality, her husband and the other characters in the book, but what was interesting is that other people read her in a completely different way and I'm not sure if that's because I have seen Meryl Streep's quirky interpretation of Julia or whether each of us just processes what we read in a different way.  A couple of us myself included, thought Julia was a very strong, passionate woman who was ambitious and inspirational in that after trying her hand at a few random hobbies she threw herself into cooking and made a career out of it.  But she didn't just cook she took preparation and technique to extreme, she was a perfectionist and became a writer and a TV personality, all with the help and support of her husband and the people around her.  But others who read the book felt she was too strong willed, she almost trampled over people and pushed her way to the limelight, and she was more out for herself.  Another thing that was interesting was talking about class.  Its clear in the book that Julia didn't consider herself and her husband to be wealthy but in fact the way of life she describes was very upper class particularly for a time in France where many people were very poor.  They ate out ALOT, they could afford to spend a lot on ingredients which would often have been thrown away after several trial recipes a day and just the fact that they were so well travelled.  Money never appeared to be an issue and her husband had a very high level job with the government.  But I didn't so much get the impression that they were snobs but others did feel Julia came across this way.

I think for me about two thirds of the way through I began to struggle with the book and it was because it was just so detailed, specifically about the food and recipes that she prepared and ate.  Obviously being a book about a chef I was expecting her to talk about food but I began to find it tiresome, particularly when some sentences were in French and then explained in English but others were in French and then there was no translation at all, as if it assumed the reader would know what she was talking about.  I also found it incredulous that at 92 years old Julia would remember all these details about what she ate in each restaurant including which wines went with which course, but perhaps being so obsessed with food she would have written these details down in a diary or letters. 

Overall I enjoyed reading it because it was totally different to anything else we have read and it was a change to read something about a real persons life rather than fiction, however I think it makes an interesting addition to watching the film 'Julie and Julia' and is enjoyable if you have an interest in Julia Child and/or cooking.  If not I think random readers may find this less interesting and hard to wade through.   The scores for the book averaged around 5-6 out of 10 although Neil gave it a generous 7.5.

This month we decided we needed a good bit of fiction to dig our teeth into so we decided to go for a 'who done it' that our newest addition Brenda suggested and here it is:

'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn

'On a warm summer morning in Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favours with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behaviour. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
   As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?'

Grab your copy and get reading!

Next Book Club:

Date: 4th June 2014
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Matthews Yard

One sentence a day.

The idea is to write a sentence a day.  I don't know whether this will be an interesting account of my mood swings, achievements or just a boring day to day account of the weather but I'd like it to be a reminder of what iv done, seen and felt rather than regurgitating my to do list.  I started this on Saturday February 22nd, a random day in which I came across the idea so here goes.

• I can't remember the last time I cried at the cinema, 'Dallas Buyers club' is a powerful film and Matthew McConaughey is creeping up my list of favourite actors.
• Cinema weekender double whammy, 'The Wolf of Wall Street' a crazy film about crazy ass people, very funny but looooooooong - result: numb bum.
• Booked a holiday to Cape Verde, with the prospect of 2 weeks relaxation, but I'm sure there will time for the odd trip or two...
• Zombie day: I quote Jamie 'Who stole my sleep?' (I'm allowed to quote other people, it's still my sentence)
• First attempt at Pilates today, did some major stretching, discovered I cannot do push ups to save my life.
• I didn't win, but I didn't come last at the ICT bowling night, as a member of the Smurf team I can live with that. I did however eat a lot of chicken nuggets. (Damn It that's two sentences)
• Friday, what happened to Friday?

March (Of the Penguins?)

• It's been too long since I got dressed up and went out to shake my tail feather, destination: Jenny's 30th.
• I got lots of driving practice today, mostly around B&Q car park.
• Put on the spot in sign language tonight conversation practice in front of the class, I could barely remember my own name.
• Discovered an excellent new therapy for work related stress, table tennis!
• I'd go so far as to say I felt a bit stronger in Pilates today, it turns out I do have some muscles, although not immediately obvious.
• It annoys me when people do countdown's but fuck it one day left at work *sighs* 
• I feel free, I legged it out the door into the sunshine, looking forward to some much needed time off.
• Holding back the tears (not the years) sitting between two men, 'The Book Thief' was triumphant, we just had to eat our weight in Tapas afterwards to recover, its a hard life.
• Happy Birthday Graham it's curry time, oh zafran how we love thee.
• It's getting tough now iv got to practice BSL more if I want to pass, this sentence is a reminder that that's what I should be doing right now...
• There seems to be a continual flow of money departing from my account, however all for great stuff happening over the next few months, exciting but expensive.
• Hair done and shopping, I've become a fully fledged woman of leisure for the day.
• Lovely spa day with mum, it was like being on holiday, snoozing on a sunbed, must make this a regular occurrence.
• 3 hours gardening, essentially 3 hours of squats, thighs are hurting already, I think tomorrow I may have issues walking.
• A tasty burger in Camden with Letty its a shame about the bar, definitely not the right 30th venue, house party it is then.
• Thighs still aching so decided 3 more hours of gardening would be a good idea, it feels like spring is finally here at last.
• I think I have lost the ability to park the car, however maybe I'm being hard on myself, when there are no spaces and you have to park backwards up a hill 10 minutes walk away from the house.
• Today I watched two films 'Melinda & Melinda' and 'Julie & Julia' I assure you this was a coincidence.
• The neighbours who live opposite won 107 million on the euro lottery, I'm not sure if I now conclude 'wow so it is possible to win the lottery' or 'what's the likely hood of the people living opposite the winners of winning the lottery this week'
• As I passed her my glasses the dentist said 'remind me to give these back when you leave' I responded appropriately 'I'm not going to get very far, il remind you by falling off the chair'
• Eyebrow threading never gets any less painful, that is all I have to say.
• Catching up with friends and celebrating Chris' 30th with fajitas, banoffee pie and an intense biscuit discussion.
• The first insanity fit test complete, DIG DEEP! weigh in, measurements, sweating, done.
• Got up at 6.15am on a Monday to exercise, now that is a first which must be documented.
• I fear the next weeks sentences are going to revolve around how much I ache.
• Delicious curried lamb shank at Sangri for Mums birthday, we love a good birthday curry!
• Finally the book 'My Life In France' has arrived, I was starting to think the next book club might arrive before the book, bon apetit!
• 7 workouts in the last 6 days, I'm either going to be very fit by the end of this 2 months or collapsed on the floor in a heap, no exercise tomorrow yeeeha!
• 'Gravity' was so good, amazing filming and special effects, I felt so tense that I even forgot to breathe during some of the film, no wonder it won awards.
• Happy Mothers day to my wonderful mum, unfortunately my attempt at scones came out a bit flat more like biscuits but with a heap of jam on they were still edible.
• The term has been building up to this BSL exam and I think I did well, although I was a little thrown by the curveball that was questions about my grandmother and Christmas...now to wait for the results.

March: The End. Spring: The Beginning!

Book Club - 19.03.14

We went back to Matthews yard for this months book club to talk about 'The Great Gatsby' which we have since re-named 'The Mediocre Gatsby'.  Having such high expectations for the classic due to general hype I think its fair to say we were all expecting a little more excitement.  Don't get me wrong its not a bad book and the general consensus is that we enjoyed reading it, but personally it just didn't seem to grab me and pull me in.  I didn't really feel much for the characters who all seemed a bit naïve and ridiculous at times.  I liked the 1920's feel but Gatsby didn't seem to live up to his greatness as the title suggests.  Yes he had a great mansion and great parties but he himself was not really the life and sole.  I'm not sure whether seeing the film first put me in a good or bad position as I found the film disappointing being a huge fan of the director Baz Lurrman it just didn't have the magic of his other films, but then maybe that was due to the story - as someone pointed out after reading, it didn't exactly scream out to be made into a film, which often great books do.  Although this all sounds very negative if you haven't read it yet don't let this put you off, its definitely still worth reading, its a classic for a reason and I liked reading the book, particularly the 1920's jazz era it describes.  Some people did feel more emotionally involved with the characters particularly toward the ending.  Overall it gained a rating from the group between 5 and 6 out of 10.

We had a new member this month Jenny brought her colleague Brenda along, and it was great to have a newbie, I hope she will come back! We initiated her into the club by a few rounds of the famous giant wasabi peas from Matthews Yard. 

We have added a few titles to the book club list of choices in the last few months so this is the new list that we have to choose from.  The book voted for out of 3 plucked from the wasabi bowl was actually one of the new additions and it was my suggestion (a tad extra pressure)

The List:
Childhood's End (Arthur C Clarke)
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow (Rita Leganski)
Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
Of Human Bondage (William Somerset Maugham)
Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store (Robin Sloane)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)
Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge (Lindy Woodhead)

And the choice of the month was... 'My Life in France' by Julia Child

 
 

 

'When Julia Child arrived in Paris in 1948, a six-foot-two-inch, thirty-six-year-old, rather loud and unserious Californian, she spoke barely a few words of French and did not know the first thing about cooking.  As she fell in love with French culture, buying food at local markets, sampling the local bistros and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu, her life began to change forever.  Bursting with adventurous and humorous spirit, Julia Child captures post-war Paris with wonderful vividness and charm.'

I am really looking forward to this and I hope it is a good read.  I have seen the film about Julia Child (called Julie and Julia) in which Meryl Streep portrays a funny, loud and lovable character, it will be interesting to find out more about this fascinating woman and also different to read something factual rather than fiction for a change.  I hope everyone enjoys it!

 

Next Book Club:

 

Date: Wednesday 23rd April

Locations: Matthews Yard

Time: 7.30pm

 

Please feel free to bring new people along and we need some more men - get recruiting! Also any new additions to the book list are very welcome, any genre, fact or fiction.

 

Book Club 19.02.14

Well that was a very small gathering tonight but it was a fun cosy evening at Matthews Yard, which I think I can say in confidence is the best venue for book club so far, its perfect.  Now that its open Wednesday evenings I think this will become our regular! And they sell cake and nuts and ridiculously enlarged nuclear wasabi peas the size of quail eggs.  Anyway I digress. 

Life of Pi.  There were only 3 of us to voice our opinions here but still we had quite different views on it, it wasn't everyone's cup of tea but personally I really enjoyed it.  It seemed it might have helped that I had seen the film first as quite often throughout the story I could visualise the scene in the film (not sure that's always a good or bad thing) but it helped me put the size of the boat into perspective and to picture the animals in relation to that.  What I liked about it as well as the adventure itself was the way he talked about the animals and their behaviours, the first part where he talks about growing up surrounded by a zoo was really interesting and exciting.  The religion aspect was intriguing too, there was a lot of humour in the book particularly when Pi decides he believes in several religions and one day all of the religious leaders accidentally meet...  

I also liked the fact that the whole book is Pi telling his adventure and then towards the end he makes up another story when people don't believe him and by the end you are really not sure which is the true story.  There is definitely a bit of magic and imagination in there which I think sometimes made it hard to believe.  I preferred the book because it was so much more detailed (as they always are) but details that gave the story some meat on the bones, whereas the film is stunning visually, beautifully made with special effects but almost makes it feel like his journey was a dream, rather than a supposed true story.  I think Neil made a good point when he said its got to be difficult for a writer when for a good percentage of the story there is only one human character and a tiger who can't talk back, but it certainly kept me engrossed.

I think if you didn't get a chance to read it or just didn't finish, keep going, its really worth a read.  We will perhaps have a movie night at mine later in the year and watch the film and then we can talk about the book again if others have read it, it would be interesting to find out what everyone else thought.

So being only Jenny P, Neil and I you are stuck with our choice of book.  I must say that it was an original way of selecting, Neil drew numbers on the back of pistachio shells and Jenny did a lucky dip.  The result of this which was externally counted and verified was....

'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I've been waiting to read this for ages, I bought a beautiful copy at the British Library when we went there last summer, so lets hope its good!
 

 

'Considered one of the all-time great American works of fiction, Fitzgerald’s glorious yet ultimately tragic social satire on the Jazz Age encapsulates the exuberance, energy and decadence of an era.

After the war, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire pursues wealth, riches and the lady he lost to another man with stoic determination. He buys a mansion across from her house and throws lavish parties to try and entice her. When Gatsby finally does reunite with Daisy Buchanan, tragic events are set in motion.

Told through the eyes of his detached and omnipresent neighbour and friend, Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald’s succinct and powerful prose hints at the destruction and tragedy that awaits.'

Show More

Show Less

 

Next Book Club:

 

Date: 19th March

Time: 7.30pm

Location: Matthews Yard (Off Surrey Street, Croydon)

 

 

I am also organising a book club outing to the cinema to see 'The Book Thief' on Saturday the 8th March.  We read the Book Thief back in 2012 and it was one of our favourites so lets hope the film does it some justice! I'll set up a facebook event and invite people, if you can let me know asap if you want to come and then as soon as tickets are available I'll get some booked! Happy reading!

 

Show More

Show Less