Internet highlights – w/c 31st July 2016

6 08 2016

Survival tips for introverts at Christian Festivals

Things more famous than ‘celebrity’ big brother contestants

Phoebe was never meant to end up with Mike!

Things to do in a boring sermon

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – by J. K. Rowling

6 08 2016

I’m going to have to start this with a **SPOILER ALERT** because there’s not really any way to talk about this book without spoilers!

The first thing to mention is just how easy it is to read – being a script rather than a novel, there’s not too much on each page, and it’s only the length of what they can show within two plays anyway, so it won’t take you long!

There were a couple of things that were either plot faults, or I just read it too quickly and missed them! Firstly the fact they managed to make poly-juice potion so quickly whereas in other books they’ve had to brew it for weeks or months. Secondly Albus having a wand after his had been snapped!

The first few scenes move through time quite quickly, and feel very rushed, but you can feel how they’d work well on stage in setting the scene and giving you a few years worth quickly before settling down to the main story.

They may have aged twenty years, but Ron is still his humorous self, Hermione still appearing exasperated with him while loving him dearly, to be honest, very little has changed! The story revolves mainly around Harry’s relationship with his middle son, Albus, which is a bit fraught to say the least, and so we follow both generations in the storyline.

I love how this book went a bit unpredictable from the word go – in the original seven books, no one was ever sorted into a house that was surprising, but that rule book went straight out the window here.

I also loved how much it harked back to the fourth book, which I think was one of my favourites. That said, all the time travel and alternate reality stuff, (which was great!) did leave me wondering if she’d literally just watched Back To The Future when she wrote this 🙂

In general though, it’s classic Potter – if you loved the original books, you’ll love this!

harry potter and the cursed child

I’m going back to Roald Dahl next – and the next one I’m due to read is less than 100 pages, so I’ll see you soon!





Danny the Champion of the World – by Roald Dahl

5 08 2016

A few years ago I started reading Roald Dahl’s books in publication order, alternating them between my “proper reading”, but somehow they started to fall by the wayside.

This year would have been Dahl’s 100th birthday, and my friend told me about a reading challenge she’s doing – to read all his children’s books before his birthday, 13th September. She was telling me how she was reading this book the same week that I read the tweet below, so when I discovered that it was also the next of his books I was due to read, I realised it was time to start up the series again!

https://twitter.com/matthaig1/status/752253347495895041

It’s a beautiful story of Danny and his dad, rekindling his dad’s former hobby of poaching. Sounds simple enough, but their relationship is lovely, and it still contains a whole load of Dahl’s wackiness – how did he even think of sewing up raisins with a needle and thread?!

I’d never read this book, I didn’t have a clue where the story was going, and yet still loved it. It’s very much the good guys vs the bad guys, and as a children’s book obviously the good will win out, that’s hardly a spoiler, but the story as it goes remains nicely unpredictable.

The other slightly weird thing that happens is that Danny’s dad tells Danny the story of the BFG one evening. I’ve never read that one either, but it’s a bit further down my list (which means he hadn’t written the full book yet when he woke this one) so I’ll have to wait – maybe the DVD of the new film will be out by then!

Enjoy!

danny the champion of the world





Things I’m getting rid of in the move – any takers?

1 08 2016

Furniture, textbooks and a graphical calculator so far – I’ll keep updating this as packing goes on, so keep checking back!

Ideally bigger items would be for local people to me or my parents, but if you’re willing to collect then feel free!

Prices may be negotiable.

  • Wardrobe – wooden frame with fabric outer – £10
  • End Table/Bedside Table – wooden with shelf underneath and magazine rack on the side, one rail missing but fine if against the wall – FREE
    Argos sold this a few years ago but can’t find any photos online, below is just for fun
  • Car wash stuff – FREE
    DSC_0135 (1)
  • Other things to get rid of anyway

  • Graphic Calculator – Texas Instruments Ti-83 plus – £40
  • Calculus by Anton, 8th Edition – £25
  • Comparative Programming Languages, 3rd edition – £10