A Scaredy Cat’s Thoughts on a Horror Film

Horror is never my first choice of genre when it comes to film nights, but my husband is a massive horror fan, so there are occasions when I am exposed to things that make me… tense. So I’m hoping to write about the horror films I do watch, from the perspective of a total scaredy cat.

The Woman in Black

About eighty percent of the time horror films are never quite as terrible as I imagine. That was not the case with this film.

Still grieving the death of his young wife, Arthur Kipps is a young lawyer who, desperate to keep his job for the sake of his son, takes on the task of travelling north to sort out the affairs of a dead widow, sole resident – it would seem – of Eel marsh house. In this small village, where he is met with hostility, the residents live in constant fear of something. Or someone.

This incredibly creepy film is chock full of suspense. I think this is why I felt so tense throughout the film – I didn’t allow myself to relax at all through the one hour and thirty minutes. But in spite of that, I found it to be a fantastic film. I fell in love with the beautiful set design, and the direction is amazing. Daniel Radcliffe gives a great performance, with great support from Ciaran Hinds as the only local who offers Kipps the time of day. There’s no denying this film’s excellent suspense building, and wonderfully crafted jump-scares, no matter how uncomfortable I was being subjected to them!

This is the first film I’ve watched in a long time that I would categorize as a true horror film, and had to dip into and watch one of my ‘feel-good’ movies before I could go to bed.

Dare I say it… I’m looking for recommendations for this series. My husband will be most grateful.

Hadrian’s Wall Live

Anyone who knows me will have some idea of my love for all things Roman. I love reading novels based in ancient Rome, I love watching films and TV series based around historical figures of that era, and I love learning more and more about the history of the Roman Empire every time I get the chance to travel to these incredible historical sites.

We knew we’d only get the one day up in Northumberland, so set out to make the most of it. We started off at Chesters Roman Fort for their Chesters Revealed event. We arrived at the site to find one of the drones already in flight, and the beautiful images it was capturing of Chesters from above were being shown on a large screen.

We then took our opportunity to explore the fort, starting with the barracks.

 

The soldiers would have occupied these rooms, it’s believed about eight men in each with separate quarters for the officers. These buildings were fronted with a columned verandah, across a street from one another, with a central drain.

Next we found the Commanding Officer’s house.

This particular part of the site shows numerous additions and improvements, including under floor heating, and expanding into the site’s original courtyard. It also has it’s own bath block. The rest of the soldiers would have used the fort’s bath-house, which is where we visited next.

Located outside of the fort to reduce the risk of fire, this is one of the best preserved Roman military bath-houses, and is just wonderful to walk around! Soldiers would have come into the communal changing room, which still has the niches which would have either contained statues, or been used as cupboards for belongings.They would then choose between three treatments, the cold room, the hot dry treatment or the warm steam rooms.

Back at the fort we took a walk around the courtyard, where we met a Victorian archaeologist who wanted some help measuring along the site!

After a look around the museum at Chesters we headed over to Birdoswald for their Big Roman Soldier Event! Italian Roman re-enactment group Legio I Italica were involved with this event. We arrived just before their battle, so quickly found a spot to park our bums and watched the action unfold! The Roman legionaries facing off with the Barbarians of Britain.

Naturally the Roman’s were victorious, though the Barbarians put up a good fight. The boys were completely enthralled by the whole show, and loved the parade of the soldiers after the battle.

At the site they had a wonderful re-creation of a Roman camp set up.

As well as a camp for the Barbarians.

We grabbed a bite to eat at the Twice Brewed Inn before heading to Housteads Roman Fort for their Night Time Patrol to be the finale of our day in Northumberland.

Here we saw the Roman legionaries going about their normal day on the wall, before they decided to send a patrol out north of the wall.

Another battle took place here, but the turnout was so incredible, I wasn’t in a good position to see let alone take photos! Me and my husband had a boy each on our shoulders so they could see all that was happening. The Roman’s had their archers firing weapons from the fort, and some were alight, which in the dusk light looked amazing!

After this last battle was won, the Roman soldiers did one last parade before marching down from the fort singing legionary songs (appropriate for all ages!). They were accompanied by the crowd, but me and family stayed up at the fort a little longer, with some others and watched the lights until they disappeared into the distance, which really did round off the day perfectly.

The English Heritage guidebook to Hadrian’s Wall is fantastic, and provided me with all my information about the sites.

Baked Goodness II

I’ve been off this week, but my husband has been working, so it’s just me and the boys – which means BAKING!

Our choices for this week have been flapjack and jam tarts (with my husband’s home-made jam).

Flapjack

250g butter

200g demarara sugar

100g golden syrup

400g porridge oats

We melt the butter in a small saucepan, and then stir in the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved we turn the heat off and add the golden syrup.

Next we stir the mixture into the porridge oats. If it seems too dry we usually add more golden syrup a spoonful at a time. Then we spoon the mixture on to a lined baking tray and flatten.

I’m rubbish at oven temperatures, so I usually bake at a fairly low heat and just keep an eye on it. I take it out when it starts to turn a golden colour on top. We leave the flapjack in the tin to cool for ten minutes, transfer to a chopping board and slice into generously sized pieces!

Jam Tarts

These were J’s idea. He’d wanted to make jam tarts since my hubby made his jam.

I haven’t made these before, so for the pastry I used this new book! I’m a huge Bake-Off fan, and Richard was my favourite contestant last year. The recipe is mega simple, but I doubled it so the boys made one mixture each.

200g flour

85g butter

The boys rubbed the flour and butter together until it resembled breadcrumbs. Then we stirred two tablespoons of water into each mixture before turning the dough out onto a floured surface.

We rolled the mixture out ready to make cut outs of the pastry. The method said to use an 8cm cutter, which we didn’t have. But it turns out Kopparberg glasses are 8cm across.. sorted.

Once the dough had been chilled we put the jam into the tarts. We used a few of my husband’s own jams: rhubarb, blueberry, and plum & raspberry. We baked them at gas mark 5 until the pastry started to turn golden.We then went out to deliver all our treats to Granny, Grandad, Nana and Papa. Hopefully they enjoyed them as much as we did!

Nineties Film Project – Film Three

My choice of film for Nineties night was inspired by my Mum. She loves the Blade films, and was kind enough to lend us her copy of Blade for our film project.

Blade is half-human half-vampire, as his mother was bitten during pregnancy. He has all the strengths of a vamp, but only one of their weaknesses. Their thirst for blood. His mission is to rid the world of vampires, while finding a cure for his thirst. Add to this arse-kicking haematologist Karen, straight talking man-of-the-world Whistler and a small-time criminal vamp with big ideas, you have a brilliantly crafted, action-packed couple of hours.

I can’t claim to have read the comics, so cannot comment on the adaptation of the characters and story.

This is one of those films which gives you exactly what you expect, it’s over-the-top, gory, and fast-paced. The fights – of which there are many – are choreographed fantastically. But there are some interestingly directed scenes (the scene where Blade is chasing the cop car stood out for me) which give the film its dark and gritty, street-wise feel, which I love. Wesley Snipes is awesome in the lead role – and looks amazing – with Kris Krisofferson giving great support as Whistler.

The second half of the film does slow down slightly as the focus shifts to the bringing about of Frost’s prophecy, but it’s still an enjoyable action-packed ending.

Looking forward to finishing the trilogy!

Life, Loves, Interests and Laughs – August 2015

Here are my best bits for August! It’s been an awesome month, with lots of amazing experiences, new memories made and even more plans for the coming months. I hope your August has been eventful and memorable. We’re ready for September!

Book

Robert Harris – Pompeii

I really love historical fiction, and I think this book is fantastic. It mixes a wonderful narrative about the few days in August 79AD that led up to the eruption of Vesuvius, with the science behind eruption events. Excerpts from modern volcanic studies and observations from antiquity are included at the beginning of each chapter. The story is gripping and I found it to be an equally exciting and interesting read. Big thumbs up!

Food & Drink

The Mortal Man, Troutbeck Valley.

During our break in the Lakes we came across this wonderful pub. There are lots of lovely quirks to be found in and around it, stunning views from the beer garden, a great atmosphere and friendly staff. It is the perfect place to spend an afternoon. We ate here on our last night, and the food was superb. I had the fish and chips and my husband ate the Mortal Man burger, which he claimed was the best he’d ever had (he eats a tonne of burgers, so this is a huge compliment!). We tried a pint of Sally Birkett’s ale, and I also enjoyed the Strawberry Tipple!

Television

This month I found that season two of Masters of Sex had been added to Amazon Prime, so I’ve thrown myself back into that! It’s a great series, Lizzy Caplan and Michael Sheen have brilliant chemistry and both are fantastic performers. I’d read about William Masters and Virginia Johnson a few years ago, and I love to see interpretations of history on screen, so this series was always going to be a must watch for me, and season two has not disappointed.

Game

Before we went away my hubby treated us to Robinson Crusoe. It’s a great RPG, beautifully designed and loads of fun to play. We’ve just had a go at a couple of introductory scenarios so far but I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into this game a bit more in the near future!

We also took a long awaited holiday this month to the Lake District which you can read about and view the photographs here, or watch the video here.

And below is my August 2015 video, enjoy!

Mini Break – To The Lakes!

Before last week, myself, my husband, the boys and the dogs hadn’t been away all together since we stayed for two nights in Northumberland two years ago. So it really felt that it was about time to get away for a few days. We planned ourselves a trip, sought out some interesting areas close by and a few contingency plans in case the weather turned, packed a boot-load of stuff and headed to The Lakes. Here’s what we got up to…

Day One

On our way into Windermere, we decided to stop off at Kendal. The weather was beautiful and it seemed a shame to waste the day solely travelling. We found somewhere for the car and hoofed it up Castle Hill. It’s a great little site, with glorious panoramic views of Kendal. There’s a ton of space for running round in too, the boys had a great time pretending to be knights!

Once we’d had our fill of the historical views, we set off for Limefitt Park, Windermere. The Park itself is beautiful. It’s situated in an incredible valley and our lodge was right on the beck that runs through it. We explored the park and found an adventure playground with a view, a ‘dog field’, and the beer garden.

Day Two

We took a bit of a road trip on the second day. The weather was good, so we took the opportunity to drive out to visit Ravenglass Roman bathhouse over the Hard Knott Pass, then came back the same way and stopped off at Hard Knott Roman Fort. My hubby had a blast driving the roads out that way, and the boys and I loved exploring the Roman ruins!

Ravenglass Roman Baths

Hard Knott Roman Fort

 

Day Three

We wanted to go on a hike, and get up as high as possible, to see across the valley. We got ourselves a route and set off about lunchtime. The Mortal Man was right at the beginning of our route, so we took a little refreshment first.

The walk was about 6km in all and felt like a real adventure for the boys! The stunning views made it all worth while, even with the heavens opening once we’d reached the top!

Day Four

After it rained non stop all morning, we saw it start to brighten around lunchtime and jumped at the chance to take a little trip to Ambleside. We hired a motorboat to get out onto Lake Windermere, not sure what the dogs thought though…

Once we were back on dry land we had a little walk around Ambleside, and found another Roman fort! It was a little smaller than Hard Knott but still wonderful.

We rounded off our final day with another trip to the Mortal Man, this time for a meal. It’s a lovely little pub with a great atmosphere and the most amazing views from the beer garden. What more could we ask for in a pub?

You can also watch my travel video about our trip to the Lakes!

The Perseids Meteor Shower.

We’re lucky enough to have the Perseids peak during the summer holidays, which means that if the boys want to stay up and look out for shooting stars, then they absolutely can! This year, for the first time they both did.

On Wednesday 12th August we took pillows and quilts out onto the trampoline, and did some stargazing. This was all obviously incredibly exciting, in hindsight not helped by the not-so-healthy snacks I provided for the evening (namely haribo and m&ms). But it was wonderful to listen to my husband talking to the boys about space, and how incredibly excited J was when he saw the bright light of the ISS pass over.

Little O only saw one shooting star before succumbing to sleep, wrapped in his Minions quilt right there on the trampoline. J, however, was amazed and managed to see loads – some of which were immensely bright with huge trails which meant he got a really good look! I’m so pleased that he stayed up with us, because he has had an interest in space since he was small, and I can only hope that his first experience watching the Perseids has increased that. So glad that now the boys are a little older this can become an annual thing!

 

My Husband the Host.

A little foodie photo-set, dedicated to my husband and his recent creations in the kitchen!

The Three Course Meal

Menu: Double Pepper Soup, Lamb Cutlets with Greens, Nutella cake.

 

The Cheeky Cocktail

Rum Punch.

The One Offs

Creamed Mushrooms, Spanakopita, Lamb Cutlets with Golden Potatoes, Whole Roasted Red Onions.

Any recipe not linked can be found in the August issue of BBC Good Food magazine, or was improvised by the man himself!

Ps4 Party Games

It’s no secret that me and the hubby love to have people round. We’re the only couple within our closest friends who have children, and so we don’t have to arrange childcare if they come to us, making life a lot easier! These nights usually play out very similarly. We all gather in the kitchen, catching up, having a drink, my husband will probably cook! We’ll all eat and then we’ll play games. Board games, card games or video games. Or a mixture!
The focus of this post is video games, these are my favourite local multi-player games to play with friends.

Rocket League

The follow up to the Playstation 3’s Super Sonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars, this game is great to play in a group. Football with cars. Team up, or play 2v2, either way it’s competitive, frustrating but incredibly fun.

Trials Fusion

Racing. Mostly motorbikes, but throw in a bicycle, a quad-bike and a unicorn for good measure. I love the levels, and the different bikes can be a lot of fun to mess about with, particularly the Donkey (mini motorbike) and the Unicorn (an actual galloping unicorn, ridden by a ginger cat. At least I think It’s a cat.) which are bonkers!

Brawl

We’ve only recently discovered this game, but it’s great. It’s horror-themed with wonderfully creepy characters, each with their own skills. The game involves players strategically placing bombs to blow up all other players. I felt under more pressure playing this one, trying to get out of the bomb radius before it blows can be a test of the ol’ coordination skills (of which I have little). But it’s a giggle all the same.

Worms: Battleground

My favourite of the bunch. Each player has a worm ‘clan’ and has to eliminate all other worm clans. The range of weaponry is vast and inventive, and the game is as fair or as brutal as you are. Last worm standing wins! Only the strongest friendships will survive.

I’m sure these are all great games in their own right, but I have never played any of them in single player, campaign mode. For me, these are all best played with friends round you!

Nineties Film Project – Film Two

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. My husband’s first choice for Nineties Night was another British classic.

Four friends find themselves £500,000 in debt to local gang boss ‘Hatchet’ Harry. But thanks to the thin walls in their flat, it’s not long before they over-hear their neighbours discussing a job, and they have themselves a scheme to get the cash before week’s end. Throw in a debt collector, a couple of northern thieves, some local weed-growers, a Samoan pub and a pair of priceless antique guns and let the violence and confusion commence.

I think Guy Ritchie is a fantastic film-maker. I love his direction and his writing, and his earlier work will always be amongst my favourite films. They’re endlessly quotable and never fail to make me laugh.

I love the big cast, the twists and turns in the storyline, the way that everything always has a connection to everything else, even in the smallest way. Even the scene in Hatchet’s office which sees four people managing to kill one another in a matter of seconds is entertaining. Vinnie Jones’ character, Big Chris, is a fantastic creation, and I love the interaction between the four main friends throughout the film. It finishes brilliantly with Tom dangling off the bridge with a ringing mobile phone in his gob, as the other three desperately try get in contact before the guns go into the water.

‘The entire British empire was built on cups of tea…and if you think I’m going to war without one, mate, you’re mistaken.’ – Eddie.

I feel as though our first two choices for Nineties Night have been fairly similar, so as it’s my choice next I’ll try to change it up a bit! Until then… ‘It’s been emotional.’