Wouldn't it be nice...if everyone appreciated how amazing the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony was!

I have caught Olympic fever. I'm finally starting to recover from the flu and now I've caught fever! However this fever is easily treatable with near constant Olympics on the television in my house and with my whole family on the (rather fantastic) London 2012 apps checking the results of events we can't watch. Basically we are all addicted. And this addiction began with the fantastic opening ceremony.

Danny Boyle you did us Brits proud. It was truly amazing. I watched every single minute of it gasping in delight at the fantastic sets changes and crying with laughter for the inclusion of the Queen (yes the ACTUAL Queen) and Mr Bean within the whole event. I thought it fantastically covered our history and it was quintessentially British and British at its best. Taking us from green pastures:

(Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-19020830)

To the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, all lead by Kenneth Branagh as Isambard Kingdom Brunel:

(Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-19020830)

With the Olympic Rings forged by workers (below) before we were taken through a journey incorporating British children's literature and some one of our great national institutions, the NHS. To me the whole 3 hour spectacle was perfect culminating in seven young British athletes lighting the beautiful beacon; highlighting the key message of inspiring the next generation.

(Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-19020830)

However I was somewhat perturbed in the few hours following our viewing of the ceremony when Twitter started to become more and more active as NBC started showing the delayed, edited, version in the USA. Now I know, because I waited to see and hear more, that generally the reaction from the USA and their media was good. Yes they found it a little bizarre but they seem to have expected that from us Brits. BUT I was shocked by some of the messages I saw on Twitter and by some articles I have since read. Some stated it was "too British" and many wondered why lots of Abraham Lincolns were wandering round *face palm* (perhaps the US need to invest more time and energy into their teaching of world history). I read a particularly disparing piece on The Washington Post Social Reader by Cyd Zeigler that genuinely offended me! I may be taking this all a little personally but I feel as though each attack on the Opening Ceremony is an attack upon the nation and everything that makes us us, because that is exactly Danny Boyle showed.

Also upon hearing that NBC cut one of the most poignant moments of the ceremony; a hauntingly beautiful contemporary dance piece widely viewed as a tribute to the London 7/7 bombing victims, I was genuinely outraged. Mainly because of NBC's reasoning: "it wasn't tailored to U.S. audience". Seriously!? Can you begin to imagine the outcry if the BBC cut a tribute to 9/11. They wouldn't even dream of doing it let alone outwardly stating that they didn't because it wasn't specifically tailored to our nation. And what did NBC show instead? Ryan Seacrest interviewing Michael Phelps. Top journalism there.

Woah this has turned into a rant! I do not mean to tar all with the same brush as I have read many fantastic pieces praising the opening ceremony by US journalists writing for various publications but I won't lie that it has left me not rooting for the USA as much as I normally would do. I do want to say though that I feel the Opening Ceremony was a perfect presentation of all that makes this nation great. It was all a bit wonderfully chaotic with different eras of music mashed together for amazing dance routines but most importantly of all, it felt fun. We British don't like to take ourselves too seriously and we like to enjoy ourselves and I think that really came across in the fantastic show. I hope that that kind of feeling and atmosphere rubs off on all; athletes, viewers, volunteers etc. throughout the entire games. Let's show the world what the best of British really looks like.

(Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-19020830)

Bye for now :)

xxxxx

Wouldn't it be nice...if I wasn't ill during the only real sunshine we'll probably get this summer!

I am ill and I am grumpy. I hate being ill and I get cabin fever being stuck inside. I also hate the fact that it is gorgeous weather and I feel like poop. Here is a picture of a puppy to illustrate in a much cuter manner how I feel:

(Image source: Google)

I apologise for the lack of blogging but my head feels like mush so I can't think of anything to say. That is all. Grumpy Mc Grump Grump.

Bye for now :)

xxxxx 

Wouldn't it be nice...if we could all be as kind as my bestie!

This post comes from a very personal place for me and it is entirely based on my admiration for my best friend (as if the title wasn't clear enough!) The reason I am extra specially proud of her is because she is just coming to the end of her final placement as a student nurse and soon it'll be her full time job. Since she began her degree I have truly been in awe of her for taking on the job and training to be a nurse. Belive me it is something I could never do! I have quite a few friends who are going into different branches and areas of medicine and I really am so proud of all of them but I met this particular girl on the first day of senior school when we sat next to each other in class and we have been best friends ever since so my pride is particularly great for her.

I don't think she realises how proud of her I am even though I tell her everytime I see her, so I thought I would write it down and publish it on the internet so perhaps she would finally realise how extremly proud of her I am! So Alice this is directed just to you:

You are the kindest, sweetest person I know who accepts everyone for who they are and strives to help and care for everyone as best as you can. I really am truly so in awe of your chosen career path and I can't think of anyone who would make a better nurse than you. I know it's tough and it might get tougher but you are so much stronger than you think you are and you know I will always be here for you. And if you ever have a bad day just think of the fat pigeons and it'll make you smile.

If there is anyone else out there who is currently training to be a doctor or nurse or anything like that give yourself a massive pat on the back because it really is impressive (to me at least!) This has basically turned into an ode to Alice so I apologise and I will stop now, but I had to impress this upon her and felt this was the best way to do it!

Bye for now :)

xxxxx

Wouldn't it be nice...if life were a musical.

I know that it would annoy tons of people but I am an avid musical and music lover so to me the idea of everyone breaking out into perfectly choreographed song and dance is a dream; for others it would be a nightmare.

The practicality of this situation in real life would not be so good; it would be very difficult to get anywhere quickly as you'd either have a song and dance yourself or end up being a backing dancer in someone else's life song, but wouldn't it be fantastic!! (Again keep in mind that I am a musical lover so to me this would be AMAZING) It would also be unfortunate if you could not sing or dance but if it was a commonplace occurrence then the skills would be honed from a young age so everyone would be able to partake in the fun and games. It would be good exercise for everyone too...perhaps the Government with the NHS should invoke some kind of legislation.

I am aware that this is quite an odd blog post (to say the least!) but it's a thought that sometimes pops into my head and for some reason it just did again whilst I was sitting down to write, so I went with it! Yes I am aware I sound a bit loony. Yes I am aware that this is totally impossible and would be totally impractical. But my goodness it would be fun and funny wouldn't it!

Bye for now :)

xxxxx

Wouldn't it be nice...if everything was celebrated like this!

This is quite a special post because for me it is one of a kind and never to be repeated topic! It is a post about my graduation day. I graduated from the University of Kent yesterday (12th July 2012) with a BA (Hons) Drama and English & American Literature degree, and it truly was an amazing day.

We were all up bright and early for the day and we couldn't believe our luck with the weather; it has been on-off thunder storms for most of the week but for the majority of the day on which I graduated it was gloriously sunny! This made the day, which was already a fantastic one, even better. I was also incredibly lucky as I got to graduate in Canterbury Cathedral because of the university I attended which made it all even more special for me.

So here are some pictures from the day that I thought I would share. For those outside of the UK who don't know, here we don't have graduations below university level; we only have them on the completion of a degree so it's a very important, significant, and often one of a kind, day.

(Me on the steps outside the cape and gown collection area)

(Canterbury Cathedral, where the ceremony took place, in the background)

(Walking through the Cathedral grounds to register)

(In the cloisters before the ceremony)

(Having just received my degree in the Cathedral)

(A glass of celebratory champagne with lunch)

The cape and gown I wore is specific to the University of Kent and the degree that I completed. The hood worn over the cape is silver, to denote that I was receiving a Bachelor's level degree, and the centre triangle was yellow which denotes the faculty which in my case was Humanities. That is the academic address for my university but other than that we were required to wear smart dress. The dress I wore was a floral peplum pencil dress from River Island that I bought in the sale for a bargin price of only £25! Then my shoes are my go to, fail safe, black lace court shoes that I bought from ASOS about 3 years ago.

It really was an amazing day. The ceremony itself was very formal but was so grand with a wonderful amount of pomp as it was in the Cathedral! It took place on the fourth day of ceremonies and was the first of three on the day itself. There were over 300 people graduating during my ceremony and I was number 123 to go up, shake the Chancellor of the University's hand, and receive my degree. Also John Lloyd CBE, received an honorary Doctor of Arts in recognition of his contribution to broadcasting and he made a fantastic and hilarious speech. The whole day really was quite surreal though. We all worked incredibly hard for a minimum of three years towards this one day and I couldn't quite believe I was finally there. It was thoroughly enjoyable though, something amazing to cross of my '21 Before 22' list, and it is wonderful to finally be able to say that I am now officially a graduate.

Bye for now:)

xxxxx

Wouldn't it be nice...if public transport was more friendly.

By that I of course mean the people on it, not the actual transport! This comes from travelling many times on the bus and trains throughout my life, and from realising that I've only ever had a handful of proper conversations with people. I'm not suggesting randomly striking up conversation with every person you ever meet (everyone will think you're as nutty as a Snickers bar) but niceties shouldn't go amiss. I will admit I'm a very smiley person and so if I catch eye contact with someone I will most of the time give them a little smile. I normally get one of three reactions to this: 1. a return smile; always lovely, 2. a look that I am insane; eye contact is hastily lost as is the smile, and 3. absolutely no reaction at all. It's the third one that bothers me the most. I don't really care if someone I'm never going to see again in my life thinks I'm a bit loopy for smiling but it's people who purposefully reject that little bit of happiness that I don't quite understand. Smiles are meant to be, and normally are, infectious. So you really have to be quite a miserable person to knowingly reject that little injection of happiness into your day.

I've had a few memorable interactions on public transport that I want to share. The first one happened when I was on year 12 work experience up in London so I, obviously, was commuting. It was an extortionately hot day to be on a packed underground train and I was pressed up right againist the doors as we were zooming through the underground. It was at this point that the doors, that I and two other women were pressed up against, started to open. Now I doubt this has happened to many people but being pressed up against doors on a moving underground train as they open is really quite terrifying. Then a giant of a man jumped to our rescue! He moved all three of us out of the way and stood arms stretched out in front of the doors to ensure no one fell out. The train stopped, the doors shut again and the journey contiuned but that man stood like that the whole journey along the line back to the station. So there is lovely story number one. Lovely story number two happened on a bus in my university town. It was a very crowded bus but I'd managed to nab a seat after a long day on campus so I was happily resting my feet when an elderly couple got on. I of course knew I was going to give them my seat but saw next to me a very sullen looking young man who I thought, with a slight sense of dread, "Oh no...I'm going to have to ask him to move for them because I don't think he's going to do it himself." That was not a conversation I was looking forward to. I really should learn to not judge a book by its cover. As soon as the couple got on the bus we both simultaneously stood up and offered them our seats. They were incredibly grateful and proeeded to chat to us for the duration of the journey. I've had some strange conversations on that bus though. My friend Hannah and I did seem to attract the slightly odd ones of the world and they liked to talk to us, but hey ho the bus journey was never a long one so it didn't bother either of us!

I'm not entirely sure where I was going with this blog post but basically I think people should smile more!

Bye for now :)

xxxxx

Wouldn't it be nice...if we all read more.

 This post is once more part of Sprinkle of Glitter's 'Love Of The Day' series, as Wednesday is books:

(The lovely Louise also known as Sprinkle of Glitter: Image from her blog http://sprinkleofglitter.blogspot.co.uk)

Now I have read a lot over the past three years studying for a degree in English & American Literature and Drama, some books I loved ('Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley is a truly fantastic novel) and some I'm glad I'll never have to pick up again (I read 'Ulysses' twice...once was enough. I'm not even going to link it on here!)  But once I finished my degree in May I went on holiday for two weeks to Egypt with my boyfriend and I had a wonderful realisation that I could read whatever I wanted too! So I chose to read, amongst many other books, 'The Hunger Games Trilogy'. I had all three downloaded onto my Kindle and I devoured them, reading all three in 2 days.

The books are a fantastic read regardless of age and I really enjoyed the whole story. For anyone that doesn't know the books are set in a post-apocalyptic North America where two children from each District, each area of the country, are chosen and forced to compete in a fight to the death. The books follow Katniss the female tribute from District 12 through her struggles. I know a lot of people had read them already by the time I even got to them, I read them once the movie had come out, so I was a little behind with the times but I couldn't start them whilst I was studying as I knew I wouldn't be able to stop reading once I'd started! Even my boyfriend, who doesn't particularly enjoy reading, loved the books; if you knew him you would know that this is accolade for these novels! We are now, not so patiently, waiting for the DVD of the first book/film to be released because by the time we returned from holiday we had missed the film in cinemas.

If you haven't read these books I would really recommend picking them up from somewhere or downloading them as they are a fantastic, action packed, easy read for all ages.

Bye for now :)

xxxxx

Wouldn't it be nice...if even more of us joined in Sprinkle of Glitter's 'Love of the Day'!

Now if you don't know who Sprinkle of Glitter is then be ashamed of yourself. Well don't be, but I love her and she brightens up my days and puts a smile on my face with her blog posts and YouTube videos so I feel you should all go check her out (not in THAT way...dirty minds). Basically Sprinkle of Glitter is a yummy mummy beauty blog/vlog type lady who shares her love of cosmetics, interior designs and anything sparkly with all of her chums on ther internet!

She has begun a new series on her blog called 'Love of the Day' in which she has a different object for the day and everyone shares a love of their own. Monday is clothes:

(The lovely Louise also known as Sprinkle of Glitter: Image from her blog http://sprinkleofglitter.blogspot.co.uk)

I thought I'd join in with the series and share an item of clothing. I've chosen to share this white fit and flare dress from Oasis and there's a bit of a story behind this dress! I bought it to wear for my graduation but then found a dress I loved more (and that was substantially cheaper) so returned it as I thought it was a bit pricey just to keep. However now I can't seem to stop lusting after it and I feel I might have to re-purchase. Unfortunately I'm struggling to justfy a situation in which I would need a white dress (I can be a little bit clumsy and feel white is a bit of a risky colour for me!) and it's still the same price it was when I returned it for being too pricey. I feel this dress and me are not meant to be. I do love it though. Any opinions on the dress!?

I really like this idea for a series so might do a few more posts if they prove popular!

Bye for now :)

xxxxx

Wouldn't it be nice...if convertibles weren't so windy!

Yet another moment where I state the blindingly obvious in my blog post title but this has been sparked by a night out last night. It's been quite nice weather in the UK (a little bit sporadic but we, as the British, can cope with that) and so my boyfriend, who has a rather nice convertible car, has had the roof down as we've been driving around. This has been fine with me as I mostly wear my hair up so hasn't been affecting 'the do' at all. However on Saturday night we were going out for dinner with my family so I got ready as normal and did my hair. I mean properly did my hair. I curled it to perfection.

What a waste of time that was! I can normally hold my hair in place to a certain extent when the roof is down and control it, but as it was windy already that evening and then we were creating more wind as we were driving; it was beyond saving. It was then that my boyfriend turned to me and said these words: "It's alright babe, it looks rustic!" Now my man doesn't normally get it wrong, but my god he got it wrong then! "RUSTIC!? What do you mean RUSTIC!?" Thankfully we then descended into raucous laughter but I still don't think I'm going to let that one go for a while. He basically told me I looked ok all wind-blown and interesting because I looked countryside-ish. Or like delicious bread. Not his finest moment in terms of compliments. Hilarious. But not his finest moment. Bless.

I do love his car and it's wonderful to drive around in but a lesson has been learnt. I can cope if we're just driving with the roof down, but if it's also windy already then that is a combination beyond help for my hair. Rather obvious but it took being called rustic for me to see that one!

Bye for now :)

xxxxx