Coldplay, Paradise

I am loving this song right now... It could represent me my life now, what i want my life to be and here I want it to go.

Can you not appreciate a song that can do that for you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8iVEtavOP0

"Feeling depreseed at all, Me? Why, yes, Me...." But it us a frickin' good song!

Am I a Moaning Ninny?

Hi Guys,

Welcome to Me after my first day working at the NALibrary, on a Saturday... now I have moaned a lot on Twitter and Facebook about my journeys to work and that I am unsure about that I made the right choice about leaving my job at WC. So, here I sit after a month saying what now... what now indeed?

I thought that I love books, I love history, I love people, I love art, I love culture, I love libraries.... so why do I feel so out of the loop here? I am not sure. Previous workmates say it is just purely a matter of settling in. Something I wish I could do.

I am naturally an outspoken person, one with many opinions that probably ought not to be aired but thanks to the Castle and a sense of assertiveness, I have many an opinion that ought not to be aired too freely, but I do wonder whether the life of me as a librarian is for me. I love the idea of what I do as librarian... but I do wonder whether it will fulfil my love of history, art, culture, music, life... In fact I wonder often whether it will kill the best part of me that I had cultivated healthily at the Castle. I am a people person. And the people at the library prefer not to be working on the public side?!

Still, I feel that I am moaning a lot... I dunno what to say... am I just being grumpy?

Yes.

OK.

I will shut up.

Gawd, an answer would be so gratefully received. X

Unsurprisingly it has been a while...

Well, what can I say? It has been a while.... AGAIN.

I will make no promises to blog into the void anymore, but only sporadically at best... and at worst, which as it so happens is more likely, when I feel like it.

I often think of being a writer but I think I lack the discipline to follow through my thoughts and certainly lack in writing them down, which I am sure I know is an epic fail in attempting to be a bit of a writer.

Anyhow, no blog of mine is incomplete without a bit of an excuse as to why the blogging void on NotSoSpotlessMind.blogspot.... so here it goes...

Well I have a new job. At the V&A.... go woooo-ooooooh. But it is taking some settling into. I have been here over three weeks now and I am as confused as I was when I started. There is very little structure in what I am expected to do, since my job role seems to move its boundaries depending on the need. Then there is the lack of banter. From a job where they bossed me around to one where I now am a ringleader and have to herd the troops into action. And by the way this is soooo out of the remit of my job description.

I have also witnessed the worst public speaker. Worse than me. And trust me I have been bad, but there is something about working as a tour guide for two years that just shocks that shyness and fumbling awfulness as a public speaker out of ya. Either that or it cracks ya. For me, thankfully, it was the opposite! still this poor bookbinder was hosting a talk on her exhibit and if she rifled that through that pamphlet one more time for an answer or what to say next I would have cried.

It is not her fault. But it was one time in a lot the past three weeks where I just feel slightly... I dunno... I wanna say superior, but that denotes a sense of harshness that I just don't feel. They are no worse or better than me. They just need to be trained.

Still, I am just waffling here... Needless to say, I have had a rough transition of being in the world of crazy eccentrics, tourists, banter from fellow wardens and great laughs...

Still enough bemoaning my status. It just takes time as everyone keeps telling me. I actually like what I do. Not taxing but quite good fun! Plus I get to stroke old and priceless thingies :)

Now I am watching Harry Potter 1 and harking back to my year 8 class when we tried watching it in French. I tried setting this one in German but it wasn't having it, which was a shame. Hearing Hermione say "That thing has a name" in German is classic... "Das Ting hat ein Namen?!" The French just sounded very swish and unfunny. Shame.

Anyhoo that is enough waffles from me after a a near two-month absence! :)

TV & Book Review: Game of Thrones

Well, as a bit of a backwards person, I watched the HBO series first then began to read the books!! Well I need to make a little post here just to put out into the Bloggosphere out there that I am a huge fan!

Medieval fantasy at its best with great characters, a onderfully convincing fictional world full of gods, politics, culture and society that doesn't bore you to see or read about...

George R. R. Martin has made a truly fantastic piece of fiction. And some of the best characters to date...

Ayra- the youngest daughter of the House of Stark from the Northern town of Winterfell... a tomboy with such resilience. It is nice to see a female character in a fantasy novel with some gumption. To young to be made into a sex object which can happen a lot in the fantasy genre and this series is not without its sexualised overtones that can dominate some parts, she is the perfect age to come into her own and be herself. Daenerys is older and is more sexualised but comes to override the constraints that has put on her and shows a determined if flawed resilience of her own.

I love Ned Stark's bastard son, Jon Snow- he is a lush to look at and is a nice character full of torment and trying to prove his worth. I also love the bad-ass Tyrion, the dwarf of the Lannister family- enemies against the Stark family... he is both a hateful and endearing character... He is cleaver, hated by other characters, yet keeps proving his resourcefulness and worthiness not to be shunned for his disabilty which is constantly used to mock him!

So my tip is watch, read and enjoy for a complete transporting experience into a world of make-believe!!

Film Review: Glorious 39

InternetMovieDataBase's Film Summary: 1939 is set between present-day London and the idyllic British countryside in the time before the beginning of the WW2. At a time of uncertainty and high tension, the story revolves around the formidable Keyes family, who are keen to uphold and preserve their very traditional way of life. The eldest sibling Anne is a budding young actress who is in love with Foreign Office official Lawrence, but her seemingly perfect life begins to dramatically unravel when she stumbles across secret recordings of the pro-appeasement movement. While trying to discover the origin of these recordings, dark secrets are revealed which lead to the deaths of some of her friends. As war breaks out Anne discovers the truth and flees to London to try to confirm her suspicions, but she is caught and imprisoned and only then does she finally begin to discover how badly she has been betrayed....

Disappointment, disappointment, disappointment.

It had so much promise but it failed to deliver...

A film about one family's involvement in the pro-appeasement lobby in the lead up to the Second World War is a unique topic rarely explored in films, but something that could have been given a long distance but which failed to explore its full range. Seeing how the upper classes were trying to achieve peace at all costs, something only touched on in films like Remains of the Day, and here this film does little to further the exploration of this theme...

Now all the underhand goings-on are uncovered by the eldest daughter (who isn't really their daughter?! No real solid reason given as to how she ended up in their family- just one of the many unanswered questions!!) Anne Keyes, played by the totally wonderful Romola Garai, is that daughter and she is captivating. A stella cast of Bill Nighy as Dad, David Tenant as friend of the family who died/murdered during the course of the pro-appeasement and Hugh Bonneville (also murdered) are also wonderful. So what is the problem?

Well, the plot for one. No ends are tied up. The many references to Winston Churchill by the anti-appeasement people in the film and the feeble attempts to try and contact him to tell him what has been going on never come to any fruition, although no reason is given as to why. The biggest plot hole is the end. After locking anne up for ages, they let her escape and escape she does until she returns as an old lady to confront her brothers and her prisoners, they thinking she is dead... No mention is made of what she did in all those years... Stephen Poliakoff the director and scriptwriter could have just honed this into a really spectacular and seminal film, but falls way short of the mark... such a shame because the cast were amazing and the theme ripe for the picking...

***

How times don't change... yet it flies by?!

Well, I am sure there is much being said out on the blog-go-sphere out there, and I doubt I would add much to the analysis and critique of it. Still, it merits a mention only to say how utterly shocked I am about the widespread criminal activity across England. "Shocked" is a word that is being used, and has subsequently become cliched. In truth and without meaning to be cliched, I am horrified, disgusted, angry, sad and just blown away by the recent events. How did this happen? What makes people want to do it? Questions that have all been asked more than I could imagine, but just what the fudge is going on this week?

Is anyone else just bloody embarrassed to be English today? My mate text me from Africa and is like "I am ashamed to be English" and he is hardly visiting the most peaceful place on earth... I have a cousin in the Met, I have friends and family in London and Manchester, I have had fires in my village (not even the dodgy town side, Slough, but in my village!!)

With the three mindlessly motored... I cried when one of the fathers of the murdered men was speaking. I will own it- I sobbed. How can this happen?! I am so upset by this.

A good and trusted friend once told me that I am a simple soul. I see good things that many don't and I miss many bad things... but now I see and I can't see the good things in this. Let it end.

What a post to start on after a nine month absence from blogging... but a worthier post I don't think I have written.

So I put it out there to the void: LET IT END. NOW.

Still, this is not the first time we have riots (btw I really hatethat word... it is criminal activity) and I doubt it will be the last we will hear of this. So, it makes me wonder how much times do not change....

I cannot believe that it has been 9months since I last blogged!!! So much has happened, how so much as flashed by and how times don't change... what has changed for me?

Well, little has changed in my life. I am still in the same job, same lovelife status, still live at home with rentals, same old car, same likes/dislikes... however, I am having a good spurt of social life which I enjoy... although my bank account less so....

Still, here follows the ten things that have recently (or not that recently) occurred:

1) I graduated on 14th July from Royal Holloway. I now have a Masters in Gender and Women's History. Hell yeah! Eat my shorts!

2) I am a Round Tower Tour guide... less exciting, more hardwork, but enjoyable nonetheless...

3) There have been interviews for jobs wooooo.....

4) I am trying to teach myself German- it is surprising how much I remember and it is handy that BBC have pretty handy language pages!

5) Kate and Wills got hitched. Mam and I got merry on champagne, cheap wine and scones with strawberries and cream... gawd that was a fun day! Just chilled at home...

6) The final installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released.... this should be further up my list!! This was amazing, and I cried for a good 50% of the film! I am so impressed with the entire film except for the last scene which made me feel very awkward!

7) I got tickets to see gymnastics at the Olympics--- wooo yes, I am one of the elite few!!

8) I have started cycling again having de-cobwebbed my bike, washed it down and made it all sparkly! I have also taken up tennis again... good times...

9) I played in the Mens vs Womens cricket match at work and the Queen came- that was super fun although by the time I went to eat, hungry peoples had eaten most of the food which made me mad!! But we had photos with the Queen and everything.... good times!

10) I have been accepted as an early member of Pottermore.com :) this makes me very happy!! lol!!

Anyhoo... watch this space... I shall be hoping to keep this updated (so to with my Twitter account!!) Go the marvels of technology!!