Reconnecting #16: They don’t make them like they used to

After the marathon my sister Lucy and I went to the BFI (British Film Institute) on the Southbank. They have a great gift shop and they have am archive viewing room where you can watch anything on their archive for 2 hours for free! Considering the weather turned cold (although it had been all day but my cheering at the marathon kept me warm) we thought this was a good way to spend an afternoon.

With such a big collection of British films and TV programmes, what to watch was a pretty big decision. We browsed through the collections and found a Kids TV collection and ended up watching Byker Grove. Not just any Byker Grove episode, it was the paint balling one. The infamous episode where PJ gets blinded, where no doubt lots of people have refused to go paint balling ever since. It was very cheesy; the way it was shot, the dialogue, the hair and the fashion. But it was good to take a trip down memory lane.

We also watched a programme about Going Live, and seeing Philip Schofield with brown hair was a novelty. His presenting must have improved as the programme was about what children thought of the show and they all said they liked it when Philip made mistakes.

I hadn’t used the archive facility at the BFI before, but I’ll definitely use it again.

Reconnecting #15: The best day in London

On Sunday I went to cheer on strangers at the London Marathon with my sister Lucy and my flatmate Charlotte. I last went to cheer about 3 or 4 years ago and I’ve been meaning to go back every year, but other things have got in the way. For me not being a huge fan of the city, it’s the best day in London.

I was on the lookout for my old uni friend Ness and her husband Andy, and the Radio DJ Greg James. To my disappointment I missed them all; I must have been blinded by Greg’s height.

Like the previous times I’ve gone it was great fun, as soon as I saw somebody’s name on their top I started shouting….and didn't stop. Lucy had to get a bottle of water as my voice started to falter about 20 minutes in. I then remembered I had a megaphone in my bag which Lucy had got me for as an ironic Christmas present years ago. Ironic because I don’t need it as I talk so much. (A few days on my voice is still a bit sore.)

Once I got the megaphone out there was no stopping me, I started singing the batman theme tune for a couple of guys dressed as batman and I sang Let It Go for a couple dressed as Elsa and Ana from Frozen. I can’t remember how many people I called my hero or that they were my man but I loved every minute of it.

Lucy also set me a challenge to see how many high fives I could get in a minute, disappointingly I only managed 7. The biggest buzz from cheering was seeing people that were walking when they approached and back to running once I started cheering. I don’t whether that was to get away from my shouting or I actually encouraged them to start running again.

I’ll definitely be going back to cheer next year, I hear George Clooney is going to be running and he’ll need my support for certain!

New Film #29: Headhunters

For my final film I decided to ask my friends for help and they suggested a film that I should watch. I put all the options in the hat and Headhunters was the winner.

It was suggested by Elliott who is an old uni friend of mine. He’s also a massive film fan and I’ve got a 1001 films to see before you die book and he had seen the most films in that book.

                                     Elliott and I 3 years ago

Headhunters is a Norwegian film about a headhunter who basically wants to steal a really valuable painting, but with any thriller, obstacles get in the way. I think it was the first foreign film that I had seen and I was really impressed .I only recognised one of the actors as he was in The Other Women which came out last year. Headhunters kept me gripped, was fast paced but there were a couple of gross out moments. I won’t tell you these, because I recommend you see the film, but it’s a case of seeing is believing. It was a great film to end the film part of the 29 challenge.

New Food #18: Posh food

My friend Rachel had never had Sushi before which for someone who is very go with the flow, is quite surprising. So when myself, my friend Rae-Anna and Rachel were in Milton Keynes, we went to Yo Sushi!

I thought I’d go for something new I hadn't tried on the menu and there was seared tuna and caviar at the bottom of the page. So I thought why not. With caviar I've had perceptions thanks to film and TV that it tastes quite revolting, but it tasted okay, a smoky fish flavour, and considering its fish eggs this isn't surprising! It didn't make my face pull a funny expression or anything. Some things are very over reacted these days.

Meet New People #13: Everybody get up

Last night I went to see Five with my friend Jen. They were my favourite boyband as a teenager and I saw them when they were part of the Big Reunion as a 4 piece, then on their own tour also as a 4 piece, and last night as a 3 piece!

                              

                             A couple of years ago at the Big Reunion concert

Also at the concert were Jen’s brother’s friend Gihan and her friend (whose name escapes me.) They were both great company and a sign of my age I did have to show Gihan’s friend the dance routines to their classic songs!

Reconnecting #14: Coffee and Meryl Streep

A few years ago I was a Wedding Coordinator at a local venue. I was there for nearly a year and planned weddings for 8 months of those. While working there I got on really well with Charmaine the Conference Coordinator. Both weddings and conferences were pretty hectic and there were times we were overworked and understaffed. Charmaine and I were each other’s rocks. I knew she lived on skinny lattes and with a Starbucks round the corner I would buy her these to keep her going. We then thought me buying coffee for her was like Devil Wears Prada with Anne Hatherway being Meryl Streep’s assistant. And so the nicknames of Hatherway and Meryl were born.

When I left the venue I gave ‘Meryl’ a picture of our time together at the venue. This picture was a still of the Devil Wears Prada and I signed it as if I was Anne Hathaway. Years later and ‘Meryl’ still has this on her desk.

We hadn’t caught up since 2013, although we’ve stayed in regular contact. Today we had a lovely catch up in the sun at where else; Starbucks! Things got off to a great start when ‘Meryl’ called me saying she got a sunny table and I thought she said funny table, I asked how could a table be funny?!

                                                Meryl and Hatherway reunited

                                                  

Like any good friendship it was as if no time had passed, we caught up on our working lives and found out we both loved Neighbours back in the day. So for our next catch we will be watching Devil Wears Prada, and Scott and Charlene’s wedding. It was great to catch up with ‘Meryl’, I hope it isn’t over a year until our next catch up.

Reconnecting #13: Punting paradise?!?

During my uni holidays I worked for a conference company. The company put on conferences for the Risk Assessment industry and on the second day of each conference we’d go punting and have a race. The delegates took it very seriously; teams would be put together on the first night and you could bet on which team was going to win, or buy shares in the betting book. I remember one night somebody bet £1000 on whether the chairman would be pushed into the river!

So for around 4 years every September I’d go punting in either Oxford or Cambridge. My boss would also take me before and after each conference to relax, and one of her friends taught me to punt. The pole is quite heavy and I very nearly hit my boss on the head.

I last went punting in 2009, and last Saturday I went again for my friend Rae-Anna’s birthday. It was a punting treasure hunt, so the first part was punting and then a treasure hunt. Because I’d been punting before I volunteered to punt first, and it was not how I remembered it. It was so much harder and tiring. I got so frustrated really quickly as it was windy so we ended up going round in circles. I slept very well that night!

It was good to reconnect with something I did years ago, but on this occasion I’ll stick with those memories of punting in September sun. It was less tiring and windy back then.