Three Good Things: Week Three

Well October is almost over and I have still managed to keep up a three good things diary. I admit it is late going up but that is my fault, not the good things. Because October is slightly over 4 weeks I will roll the end of October together and pop it up in a week's time. But until then, here are some things that have made things a bit better over the last week.

 

Wednesday 15th October

1. New Chai latte drink for work
2. Getting the headsets for the fancy phones at work
3. Going shopping for a leaving present (sad, but still good)

 

Thursday 16th October

1. Installment 4 of my payback of a money I loaned a friend
2. Taking my friend out for a leaving lunch
3. After work Pepsi at the pub

 

Friday 17th October

1. Taking my driving test (I didn't pass, but I made it through which was an achievement in itself!)
2. Afternoon at The Surrogates
3. Planning my dream Lush Haul

 

Saturday 18th October

 

1. Clearing up and chucking out
2. Tea with the Boy
3. Strictly and Doctor Who with my sister

 

Sunday 19th October

1. Pretending to go sofa shopping (while waiting for another shop to open!)
2. Cozying up under blankets to watch films (Frozen and Triumph)
3. Profiteroles!

 

Monday 20th October

1. Hot chocolates from an independent cafe
2. Pumpkin and chorizo soup
3. Important announcement at work about how my team works

 

Tuesday 21st October

1. Teaching a colleague how to use the new phones
2. Showing Dave how to knit. He didn't understand
3. Managing to stay awake (pretty much) until 10pm! (I've been very tired)

 

Okay, so only 9 more days to go! Let's hope they are good ones!

 

Love Charlotte x

Three Good Things: Week Two

Well here we are, two weeks in to October and things are still going well! But what have been my highlights? Apparently it was these things:

 

Wednesday 8th October

1. Finally had 121 meeting at work
2. Reassured about job options
3. Bake Off Final!

 

Thursday 9th October

1. Evening meal with the boy
2. The Ladykillers
3. Introducing friends to theatre

Friday 10th October

1. Left over snacks at work
2. Potentially good news about Sam's interview
3. Catching up on Bake Off Extra Slice

Saturday 12th October

1. Catching up on Strictly with my sister
2. Starting to clear out some clutter
3. Learning how to knit Stripes

Sunday 13th October

1. Walk in the misty morning
2. Ross Noble DVD - so funny
3. Making pasta bake

Monday 14th October

1. Super fast morning!
2. Leftover lunch!!
3. Very good news for my friend Sam

Tuesday 15th October

1. Getting a Christmas present bought
   
2. Second to last driving lesson before my test
3. New Vanilla Chai Latte

 

Okay, so that's not a bad mix of things. There's been some big things, and some little things, but I definitely feel like doing this is making me more positive. Let's see what next week brings!

 

Love Charlotte x

Stephen Fry Live!

Oh deary me. I am behind on everything. The real world has gotten to my brain and made it feel like a jumble sale. But I am slowly getting back on track and it is time to catch up with my theatre reviews.

 

So... Here is a review with a slightly different subject. All the theatre shows I have been to so far this have been, well you know, in the theatre. However, this was in the cinema. Through the magic that is the internet the show was beamed LIVE across the country (and also the world!) so I didn't have to go to Stephen Fry. Stephen Fry came to me.

 

Live streams aren't new. They have been around for a while and it has been suggested that this is the sort of thing that cinemas will need to do to keep going. After all, with digital downloads and all that jazz, the cinema is less of an event than it once was. I have to really want to see a film to go and see it at the cinema. Midnight showings are my thing. They are exciting and an event. Just seeing a film is good, and of course it is more than just popping a DVD in. But at almost £10 a ticket it's just not something I can prioritise.

 

I digress. Stephen Fry. Back to the topic at hand.

 

First of all, I would definitely recommend live screenings. After just talking about costs I feel obliged point out that it was more than a standard cinema ticket but at £15 it seemed pretty reasonable. No more expensive than the cheaper seats in a theatre and so much cheaper than the good seats. And because it was filmed, it was like being in the good seats.

Now I love me a bit if Stephen. He is brilliant, just brilliant. Engaging and interesting and above all honest. The show was to tie in with the release of the third install ment of his autobiography he talked frankly about both the highs and the lows of his life which I think is important. People experience dark times and that is okay. But being able to talk about them can help not only the person in question but also other people who might be struggling or suffering too.

Not that the show was all doom and gloom from Mr Fry's past. Oh no. There was the sharp wit I expect, my favourite point probably being his apology to those punters sitting in the seats behind the stage. He said sorry for the fact that they had to look at his behind for the most part, then swiftly took back his apology and complimented his own derrière.

 

One things that did bother me a little bit, was that I couldn't quite shake the idea that it could have been a pre-recording. I know it was live, of course I did but the way it was filmed, with close ups and mixed shots just gave it a feel of a one man show DVD. This is not a bad thing though. I love a comedy DVD and I'm sure a cinema could get away with just popping one on. People would laugh and it would be a fun evening out. What more do you want?

 

That is the question. What do you want from an evening out? Me and the boy had a good time and that is all that matters to me.

 

Love Charlotte x

 

Week One of Three Good Things

Well, it's the start of the second week of October so let's have a look a t the good things that happened in the first!

Wednesday 1st October

1. Friend Sam was back at work.
2. Tea with the boy at Frankie and Benny's (with discount voucher)! We got pizza and pasta and shared them! Genius idea.
3. Live stream of Stephen Fry at the cinema - this was brilliant!

Thursday 2nd October

1. Dutch Apple Cake. What could be better then unexpected homemade cake.
2. The END of the old contract. Yes I had to stay until silly o'clock but at least it's over.
3. Salt and Pepper chips. Taste Sensation!

Friday 3rd October

1. Quiet day in the office.
2. Half day. Getting picked up at lunch time for a weekend trip is how all weeks should end.
3. The Annex.

Saturday 4th October

1. Lazy morning.
2. Swapping lunches. Half and half meals are my new favourite thing.
3. Pately Bridge: The oldest sweet shop in Britain

Sunday 5th October

1. The lovely woman at the B&B. I hadn't met her when we arrived but she was an absolute darling!
2. Caves!
3. Visiting the Black Sheep Brewery

Monday 6th October

1. The super cute ghost below.
2. Getting the new phones working in the office.
3. Catching up on GBBO Extra Slice.

Tuesday 7th October

1. Feeling like I knew what I was doing at work, at least for part of the day.
2. Being silly in Primark with Phil.
3. Jolly good driving lesson.

It has been well worth keeping these little lists each day because when I look back on the week overall I have a slightly negative feeling about it due to various factors. But looking at this shows me that actually, I had a really brilliant week and that I am very, very lucky.

I look forward to seeing what the next week brings!

Love Charlotte xxx

Three Good Things

Hello and a belated Happy October to you!

It can't just be me thinking about Halloween baking right? Surely not!?

 

Anyway, just a quick update to say sorry for being away but things have been manic in the real world. I'd rather be here in 'hellocharlottespeaking' works instead. The past week epecially has been rotten. Dreadful. Downright unpleasant. But it is easy to get stuck on the negative and forget about the good things.

So for October I will be keeping a diary of three good things from each day.

This is something I tried to do at the start of the year but like all my attempts at diary-ing I had tailed off by about March. Which is a shame. I enjoyed reading back while I was doing it. This time I will post a weekly review of the three good things of each day.

 

Here's hoping for good things then!

 

Love Charlotte xx

Books

Hello.

 

I have an ereader.

 

And I have books.

 

And I see the benefits of both.

 

I love real books. I love holding them, feeling the weight in my hands. I love flicking through the pages and the feeling of physically popping in a book mark (or old receipt / train ticket / biscuit wrapper). I like reading the back in a book shop and sometimes getting it signed by the author. I like the smell. I like how the furnish a room. I love noseying at what people are reading on the train. You can be reading anything on an ereader but books are a statement about who you are.

 

But I must admit, I like my ereader too. It's light. It's easy to read. I like how you can adjust the size of the text to suit yourself. I like that it tells you what percentage of the book you are on. I like how it doesn't take up much space in your bag. And how it doesn't weigh down your bag either!

 

I know there's a lot of debate about books vs. ereaders. E-reader people claim they are the future. That they are easier to use. That "why do you need all those books anyway? They take up so much space!"

Book people talk about the romanticism of the printed page. About how reading from a screen is cold. About the memories that the physical book can evoke.

 

I see both. As do many people. But, as the smart observer will have noticed, if I had to choose. I would choose books. I like my ereader. But I love my books. And today I think I realised why. With an ereader you can recommend a story.

But with a book you can share it.

You can lend them and borrow them and leave post-it notes in them.

You can't give an ebook as far as I know, only a voucher.

But you can give a book. You can choose it based on their tastes or because they've hinted or it's an author they like. I am always happy to receive a book. Even if it turns out not to be my cup of tea. It's genuinely the thought that counts.

 

Books are social.

Ebooks aren't.

 

Don't Waste My Time.

So, unlike some other months this year I am not undertaking a daily challenge for September.

It's just a weekly thing, to watch a film that I haven't seen each week.

While it might seem straight forward to you, I am not known for my film watching. I like films don't get me wrong. But I rarely choose to sit down and pop a DVD on. I like going to the cinema if it's to see something I am excited about, but I am less bothered about just going to see whatever the latest release is. And the same is true at home. I'd rather watch a couple of episodes of a box set than a film as somehow I feel I'm getting more out of the time. Or I wil be watching a film and start thinking about all the other stuff I could do with that hour and a half. The fact that I would probably not have done that and just procrastinated the time away is irrelevant. The idea distracts me and often I find myself watching a film in chunks because I feel the need to do something else.

And that is what I have ended up doing. It's taken me a week to watch my first film. So I'll just have to try and cram the other 3 in somewhere...

 

So, what did I choose for my first film of September? Nothing more apt than In Time starring that Justin Timberlake chap!

As you can see, the DVD is still in the wrapper. I can't actually remember when I bought this but I reckon it was about a year ago. That's how bad I am at watching films. Watching this will help me with another challenge I am working on but that's for another post.

 

So, the basic premise. Everyone lives to 25 just fine and dandy. And then you stop ageing. Sounds lovely. But you die at 26. Rubbish. I've just turned 26 and I haven't managed to do anything! WAIT! We can get out of this dodgy situation because you get paid in time. And you buy stuff in time. You literally spend time. If you can get hold of enough time you can become basically immortal. I like this concept but I wouldn't want to live it.

Mr. Timberlake is poor, basically trying to scrape enough hours to get to the next day. He meets an old chap. Although because people don't age he still looks young - this would be confusing enough. The old chap has LOADS of time but is fed up and just wants to die. He says you can only live for so long before your mind wears out even if your body doesn't. He thinks the world is corrupt and secretly donates all his time to Timbers while he sleeps leaving him the message 'Don't waste my time'

Now Timbers in on a mission.

A mission to take down the corrupt rich and redistribute time.

Obviously there's a pretty rich girl and hit men and rozzers and going on the run and ghettos and whatnot.

 

I enjoyed the film, I did and I would recommend you give it a watch but... I dunno, it just felt a bit shallow to me.

Not shallow as in, you know shallow. Like Shallow Hal (also a film I haven't seen). Not because it's all about looks and titles and what people see on the surface. Shallow because I didn't feel like it really got into the depths of the world it created. It felt like we stayed on the surface even though it was meant to be about uncovering and righting corruption.

 

And, one thing that really bugs me is that the leading lady is wearing very high heels.

 

I like a pair of heels. I do. I have nothing against women (or men for that matter) wearing them if they want. I have some very high heels. But I would never wear them if I was on the run. I wear them if I'm getting a taxi to the restaurant and home again. Not to run the 400m!

But not film women. Towards the end, the heroine is literally running for her life as she tries to get to JT who has a fresh supply of time as her clock ticks down. She would get there much faster in trainers.

(I'm sure in the running scene the actress was probably wearing flats)

It is also unfair of a Timbers to think she can easily keep up when he is wearing six inch heels and he is wearing a sensible shoe.

 

I hope my analysis of the footwear situation doesn't ruin your enjoyment if what is otherwise a pretty decent film. Enjoy spending a couple of hours of you time wondering if you would've bothered watching it if you could see your clock ticking down.