
Internet highlights – w/c 18th June 2017
24 06 2017Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : The Best of the Internet
Internet highlights – w/c 11th June 2017
17 06 2017Comments : 3 Comments »
Categories : The Best of the Internet
30 before 30 – First Draft
14 06 2017Last week I turned 29. I have a year left of my twenties, and many people I know have put together “30 before 30” lists. I had a few ideas for mine, but one evening I googled and found a tonne of other lists to find other ideas of things to do. A lot of the people who do these lists did them before 29, so they had a few years to complete it.
I think my list is a bit too ambitious. I don’t expect to complete it all, but they’re good targets to work on! The first draft of my list has 26 items on it, but I’m putting it up here anyway because I’m a week into the year and haven’t done it yet, and this way I can add other things I think of as I go!
The first item I completed last year, but it was something that a couple of years ago I decided I wanted to aim to do before I was 30, and so in a way it was on my list before I had a list!
Some of the items have sub lists, and again I’ve put some initial bits in there, but they’re likely to fill up more once I actually tick them off.
So here we go, my 30 before 30 list:
Buy my own home.COMPLETED 15th September 2016- Climb a mountain.
- Dye my hair.
- Fundraise £300 for a good cause.
- Get back down to 9 stone and maintain it.
- Get my next photobook printed.
- Give Blood.
- Have a go on a cello.
- Have a meal at the Hand and Flowers.
- Have a pedicure.
- Learn all the countries of the world and complete the Sporcle quiz.
- Learn how to curl my hair.
- Re-learn how to do the rubiks cube.
- Re-learn the sign language I learnt 4 years ago and have forgotten.
- Try coming off my anti-depressants.
- Visit NYC, Disneyland Paris or Iceland.
- Watch a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theatre.
- Watch Friends all the way through.
- Learn 3 or more new pieces on the piano.
- Sew 3 items of clothing.
- Read 30 books.
- Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley – IN PROGRESS
- Anne of Windy Willows by L M Montgomery
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Try 30 new recipes with the aim of several being regulars.
Ugandan ChickennatCOMPLETED 14th June 2017- Curry
- Roast Chicken
- Risotto
- Beef Stroganoff
- Kedgeree
- Brownie
- Learn 30 bible verses by heart.
- Write 30 handwritten letters to friends.
- Write 30 letters to MP or organisations about ethical issues.
- Write 30 prayers.
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Categories : Age challenges
Internet highlights – w/c 4th June 2017
10 06 2017https://twitter.com/_youhadonejob1/status/871314442641920000
https://twitter.com/_youhadonejob1/status/871779883265011712
https://twitter.com/matthaig1/status/871468342632230914
https://twitter.com/LYNNMILDNER/status/871442056941580290
https://twitter.com/NivenJ1/status/871351214591664128
https://twitter.com/_youhadonejob1/status/871314442641920000
https://twitter.com/LouiseAsmith/status/871378004936716288
https://twitter.com/only_pug/status/871353536919072768
https://twitter.com/MissHartx3/status/871333543942729728
https://twitter.com/Queen_UK/status/872494435405361152
https://twitter.com/liamyoung/status/873146824059760642
https://www.instagram.com/p/BU7vLYPhq7Z_TScaSX_0eKiUFAT1489GfVJ4z80/
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Categories : The Best of the Internet
Internet highlights – w/c 28th May 2017
3 06 2017Ben & Jerry’s response to Trump this week.
A light hearted comparison of Jeremy Corbyn and Jesus.
The gender wars of household chores – a comic.
Resources for deciding who to vote for. (I was hoping to compile a list myself but just haven’t had the time – fortunately the Huffington Post have!)


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Categories : The Best of the Internet
Internet highlights – w/c 21st May 2017
27 05 2017Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : The Best of the Internet
Internet highlights – w/c 14th May 2017
20 05 2017Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : The Best of the Internet
Friday five favourite: Eurovision 2017
19 05 2017I had SUCH a good time on Saturday. Takeaway, Eurovision and a spreadsheet! Acts were scored on Song, Voice, Choreography, Costume, Set and Novelty Value – some of those categories were weighted higher than others. This is sort-of my top 5. Mathematically Greece should be in it, but I just didn’t love it like I loved these five… Clearly more work needs to be done on my scoring algorithm for next year.
Moldova
Netherlands
Romania
Croatia
Sweden
For some reason I scored Greece higher than Croatia and Sweden, but it really wasn’t a favourite of mine, so it doesn’t make the top 5 – sorry Greece!
Austria and Italy tied with Sweden, but I just found Sweden far more entertaining!
I have to mention Azerbaijan. It was creepy and horrible, but the insanity meant it did very well in novelty value. Definitely worth a watch….
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Tags: euro, Eurovision, eurovision song contest
Categories : Friday Five Favourite
Internet highlights – w/c 7th May 2017
13 05 2017Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : The Best of the Internet
Girl with a Pearl Earring – by Tracy Chevalier
12 05 2017Another recommendation from my Mum, she claimed she read this in a day, and it wasn’t too thick either, so despite knowing zilch about art, I decided I’d give it a go.
The book is about a maid, Griet, who is 16 and works in the house of a painter called Vermeer. Vermeer is a real life artist, you can look him up on Wikipedia and everything! But it’s probably important to say at this stage that the book is a historical fiction. There are elements about it that are true, his patron in the book also existed in real life, but the main storyline was created by the author.
The book isn’t just about the famous painting, that comes later; Vermeer paints a few paintings while Griet works for the family, but what’s great is that if you look up his paintings, you can see that Chevalier was referring to real paintings of his each time as she went through the detail of the compositions.

Throughout the book Griet is wooed by the local butcher boy, but she also has feelings she doesn’t understand for Vermeer as she cleans his studio, and then as time moves on, is allowed to assist him in mixing his paints from their raw ingredients (because, of course, this is 350 years ago, you didn’t just buy paint!).
The story is set in Delft in the Netherlands, which I actually visited when I was 12. I love Holland, I have relatives there and it’s where my name comes from, so when I realised the book was set there, I was excited to read more!
I’d definitely recommend this for a fairly easy read. I like real life stories, and while this isn’t one, the few bits of reality in it make it feel like it is!
Looking forward to renting the film to see what they did with that!

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Tags: art, book reviews, film, paintings, tracy chevalier, vermeer
Categories : Books I've Read

