I feel so sorry for this man...

Bless him, I really do :(

Sometimes two heads are better than one

... and sometimes it kind of creepy.

The Royal Wedding!

Honestly I am pleased that Prince William and Kate Middleton are finally getting hitched, but listening to people discuss it 3 days in a row is pushing it a little. I mean they have been together for 9 years (we’ll ignore that little hiccup back in 2007) so it was going to happen at some point wasn’t it?

The more cynical among us might say that the timing of the royal wedding is impeccable. I mean there is nothing like a royal wedding to divert your attention from the lack of jobs, the recession, a new government that we didn’t technically elect and so on. Other people just like the whole aspect of a charming prince marrying a ‘commoner’ (Kate is definitely not a commoner by standards!)

But no matter what others may think, the media are going to have the time of their lives with the coverage of this wedding. It has all the main requirements for a fantastic news story as it involves, famous people i.e. the prince marrying a ‘commoner’, it’s a new chapter in the story of the Royal family, something which fascinates (and infuriates!) people in equal measures and it distracts people from the depressing news of the recession. Who knows, perhaps the merchandise and wedding memorabilia alone may help pull us out of a recession?

Seriously it will be a significant national talking point for a while and not just the event but everything leading up to it. And I mean EVERYTHING! I mean it hasn’t even been a week yet since they announced but already the papers have commented on... (and I apologise for the following link monstrosity!)

Kate and her new in-laws, her choice of dress, her future job. William and his new in-laws, his choice of best man, will he be following in his father's footsteps and so on.    

Other questions such as Is Kate posh enough?, Kate's family background, the choice of wedding venue, using Diana's ring, people copying the ring, the call for a national Bank holiday, Gambler's galore and so on.

And the questions they’ll ask...

• How much will it cost and who is going to foot the bill?
• What will be Kate’s official title after the wedding?
• Will the wedding be televised and where will they go on honeymoon?
• Which designer will get to dress Kate and how much will her dress cost? 
• Who will be William best man and who will be arranging his stag do?

Regarding the last question, please, please let it be harry... can u imagine? lol. Anyway the point is it’s a hassle trying to plan a wedding at the best of times, but with everyone watching your every move, critiquing, analysing... aah, good luck to the both of them :)

Oh and regarding twitter trends; Ryan Reynolds is voted the sexist man alive? lol! But despite this and the royal wedding annoucement taking over everything (see it's already started!), I have to say more importantly EID MUBUARAK EVERYONE!!!

One of my favourite comedians

Yay for Micheal Macintyre!!! That is all :)

Lest we forget

“At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, we shall remember them.”

What is the first image that pops into your mind when you think about Remembrance Day? Perhaps it’s the poppy? The association between these bright red flowers that grew on the fields after World War I, provide such strong imagery for such a sad event.

It’s around about the beginning of November when poppies start making their appearances; TV, offices, hospitals, school, pretty much everywhere. In previous years I’ve spotted large poppies fixed to the front of cars and you can even have poppies on profile pictures/ avatars on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. I’ve even seen a few people style their poppies by using glitter glue or sequins and some even use them as a fashion accessory by fixing them to their hat rather than their coat collars. The point is everyone wears one at some point in some shape or form. It’s not necessary but people wear them because they want to wear one. The question is why?

Why do you wear a poppy? Is it because it makes you feel good? Is it because the flowers look good? Or is it because everyone else around you in wearing one and you want to feel part of the crowd?

I believe people should wear one as a personal reminder, to remember the real meaning and not just be a part of a passing trend. I’m pretty sure that a significant number of people who do wear them, have no idea why they have them pinned to their clothing and don’t really know what they represent. They wear them so that others don’t think badly of them for not wearing a poppy as they want to maintain a certain image to the people around them. Some of these people may include certain individuals that are in the media limelight on a regular basis, that probably have a poppy pinned onto them just before they step out in front of the cameras to maintain their images. It is very rare to see someone without a poppy on them and those that have decide to not wear one are said to be setting a bad example. I disagree and in fact I believe they are setting a better example by standing up for what they believe in and not just following the trend – case in point: Jon Snow and his beliefs.

Today is poppy day and like all poppy days before it, I will be wearing mine - to remember. No one has told me that I should wear one, but I wear it because I paid attention in history and I feel for those people who bravely fought and subsequently lost their lives in the war. They fought for their country, a country which I was born in, a country that provided me with a life and opportunities that others can only dream of, a country that gives me the freedom to make my own choices and I am thankful for that. I may not be related to those who passed away, but I do feel a sense of gratitude towards them and I always will carry that with me throughout my life.

Because it all comes down to this... when you strip away the meaning of the poppy, what are you really left with? A bid of red paper and green plastic stuck to your shirt, the design of which is not that great (see following blog post) as they often get lost or damaged and the remnants of which can be found smushed into the pavement. And so you end up buying another to replace the lost/ damaged one to ensure that you’re still part of the trend. Basically it ends up being a waste of money, materials and a pointless exercise so why not just avoid all that hassle and make a donation instead?

As I said before, wearing a poppy is not essential - you don’t need a poppy to remember, you just need to remember the sacrifices. And not just for this one day, we should really remember them regardless of what month it is. Those that have lost loved ones in the war remember them all the time and I’m sure they don’t wear poppies all year round so are they setting a bad example? So I think the question is not, did you wear a poppy today... but if you did, why do you wear yours?

Gordon Ramsey’s best restaurant

First off, Bradford based vegetarian restaurant Prashad’s made it into the very select list of restaurants competing for this award – Woohoo! They then went onto to win the best Indian restaurant in the series – double Woohoo! But then Prashad’s makes it to the final as well? – Triple Woohoo!!!

Unfortunately they didn't win it though , which is a shame :(

Twitter (again)

First there was the ‘who to follow’ feature...

then I had no followers (Twitter fail)...

and then somebody went and tweeted a picture from outer space!

Speaking of pictures from outer space, a team decided to send a paper plane into space as a bit of a pet project – and it ended up costing £8,000. Ouch!

Bonfire night

‘Remember, remember the 5th of November…”

Now THIS is the type of holiday that I do love!!!  

If you don’t know about the history, it’s basically about a man called Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up the House of Parliament, but failed. As a result we now celebrate, well the fact that he failed and this signified by the effigy of Guy Fawkes that is traditionally burnt on top of the bonfire. Ok, now that I’ve put it like that, it does sound a little morbid. Essentially we’re celebrating the failure of a terrorist in the older times. Hmmm

But what the hell, it’s a lot of fun! Watching the huge bonfires and colourful fireworks, eating the various associated foods such as toffee apples, bonfire toffee and not forgetting the games that are played e.g. apple bobbing etc.

In other related news, this happened...

Thankfully it didn't actually go ahead on the night, but what a stupid thing to propose in the first place. Organising a strike on what is potentially the busiest night of year for the fire service.  Also the second headlien below also made me laugh...

I mean really. The article suggested that people could potentially blind themselves whilst bobbing for apples as the stalks could damages the cornea. That is akin to saying something along the lines of, 'Don't use your stapler as you may end up stapling your hand' . I mean that is common sense and then there is being ridiculous.

Anyhow, we slightly delayed our bonfire celebrations as I was too tired after driving back from Watford General Hospital on the actual night. But I would like to think I still made up for it by attending displays over the weekend and having our own bonfire party for the sake of my little brother more than anyone else.

Lots of thisturned into this

 

 

It was a very fun weekend.

Halloween

‘Trick or treat? A penny or a sweet?’

It’s not a proper holiday, it’s not even one of the English ones and still everyone makes such a big fuss of it? I’m not bitter, I just find it odd. Also since when did companies start getting into the Halloween mood?

Too scared to open it?! Whatever!

I think Halloween is perfectly summed up by this Oatmeal comic.

I ended up going over to visit family as I had completely forgotten and only remembered when I saw trick or treaters arriving at their door. Which then made me panic, clearly we were not in our house but if no one came to answer the door, how likely would it be that we would get egged? Very likely! Crap!

Thankfully we came to find we had been saved, others were not so lucky and that’s the thing that annoys me. Those people that egging people’s house etc are not the young kids who have made an effort with their cute little costumes and are accompanied by responsible adults. The ‘eggers’ are usually moody teenagers out to cause mischief and mayhem, usually to the detriment of others.

Anyhow I spent the rest of the night, watching the variety of horror movies that were being shown on TV that night. Happy Halloween everyone :)

P.S. As an aside, another Oatmeal comic – should science be taught this way? Well, you would definitely remember it, lol.

Record of world’s youngest mother

Every time I read this article, I still can’t help but feel shocked. I can't comprehend how someone so young, essentially still a child themselves, could give birth to a baby. It makes you wonder how someone arrives at that situation :(

The UK and France

I'm pretty sure everyone knows of the love-hate relationship that England and France have therefore it feels a little weird that they now have a joint defence treaty. This will be interesting for the both of us to say the least.

Jon Stewarts rally to restore sanity and/ or fear

For those of you that don’t know it yet – I love Jon Stewart and the daily show. It’s great to sit down at the end of a long day and just sit back watch some good comedy, get my dose of satire and have catch up on US events :P

So when Jon Stewart initially announced that he’s going to have a rally, I thought he was just being funny. But then he really did start planning it, an actual rally. And it actually went ahead.

The rally to restore sanity and/ or fear.

Clearly as I wasn’t there in person or watching a live TV stream at the time, here’s a link to a great article that summaries the whole thing.

Also this other website just lists some of the funny signs that were used at the rally.

A collection of my favourite ones is shown below but my absolute favourite has to the one above. Jon is NOT the messiah? Lol.