We arrived into town early to grab tea. We ate at The Stage Door Bar. The food was good and was reasonably priced. Plus it is next to The Palace Theatre, meaning we didn’t have to walk far for the show.
The show its self is set in the late 1970s, with a younger Deloris Van Cartier, but the plot is essentially the same. Deloris Van Cartier was played by the fabulous Alexandra Burke.
The music was catchy with Take Me To Heaven and Fabulous, Baby! standing out. As well as the music, there was plenty of comedy. The choreography was favourable, only limited by the costumes and roles of the cast. The set was pretty stationary, but appropriately so.
Sister Act (The Musical) Stage. No photos were allowed during the performance.
Overall the show was superb and sensational and enjoyed by all. If you enjoyed the film Sister Act and you get the opportunity, you should definitely go see Sister Act The Musical.
This is the second in a series of Did You Know? blog posts. Each blog post will give ten fascinating facts on a particular topic. In part 1 the topic was science.
Today, I give you ten facts from history:
1. It took Thomas Edison 1,000 attempts to invent the lightbulb. He was once asked about the failure of the 999 attempts. He is said to have said “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”
2. Between 87m-117m people are estimated to have died in World War 1 & 2. Approximately 37m people died in World War 1 and 50m-80m people in World War 2.
3. Ann Frank, her family and others lived in a Secret Annex for 2 years before being arrested by the Gestapo. Anne was sent to a concentration camp and died of typhus not long before the camp was liberated by the Allies. However Ann lives on in her diary published with the consent and permission of her father Otto Frank.
4. Queen Elizabeth I’s pinnacle of her rule was The Spanish Armada. King Philip II of Spain planned to send 130 ships to take Elizabeth I off the throne and seize England. However Elizabeth’s strategy beat The Spanish Armada. She sent Drake with a fleet of her own ships to attack Cadiz Harbour. Drake was successful destroying over 100 Spanish ships and returning with gold. Then when Philip sent the armada (or what remained of it), Elizabeth used fireships to scatter the formation of the Spanish ships. Then her ships picked off the Spanish ships one by one.
5. In each Roman Fort there were 500 men and horses. An average horse produces 23KGS of faeces and urine per day. That’s 11,500KGS of waste per day!
6. Winston Churchill is famous for being the Prime Minister during World War 2. But he was also an artist, starting his artistry in his forties. He created over 500 paintings over 48 years.
7. Between 75m-200m European people were killed by The Black Plague in the 14th century. This accounted 30%-60% of the total population in Europe. The Black Plague is thought to have been airborne and spread so quickly due to poor hygiene, poor living conditions (including disposal of human waste) and poor disposal of infected corpses.
8. The first black and white TV sold in the UK was around 1936. The first colour TV sold in the UK was around the late 1960s.
9. Britain first slaving expedition set out in 1562 by Sir John Hawkins. Slavery continued until 1807, when the UK passed legislation making slavery illegal and freeing all slaves. The slave trade was abandoned for moral reasons, rather than economic reasons, as at the time there was still a lot of money to be made in the trade of slaves.
10. The NHS and The Welfare State were both established after the second World War. The UK was recovering from an expensive war, yet still deemed healthcare, social security, free education, council housing and full employment as priorities. The NHS was established in 1948 and Social Security began 1945.
In 11.22.63 by Stephen King Jake Epping an English Teacher is recruited by Al an Diner Owner to step back in time from 2011 to 1958.
Al has a rabbit hole – a bubble in time, in the pantry of his Diner that people can step through to go back in time to Tuesday 9th September 1958.
Al first sends Jake on a trip to explore because seeing is believing. Jake spends a few hours in 1958 and when he gets back to 2011, he finds that only two minutes have passed. Al says it’s always the same. No matter how long you stay in the past, even months or years, you have only ever been gone for 2 minutes.
Then Al, who is dying of lung cancer, tells Jake what he would like him to do. Al wants Jake to go back in time and stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy (JFK). Al has it all planned out. He would go back and do it himself, but he fears he doesn’t have the time.
Al gives Jake a pseudonym, George Amberson, along with ID, thousands of dollars (Al made by betting on sporting events) and extensive notes he made about the assassination. Jake tells Al the truth: he’s worried he’ll mess up.
Al reassures Jake can (mostly) reset the past by stepping back through the rabbit hole into 2011. It is then that Jake realises two things:
1) That if he is successful, he’ll have to stay and live out his life in the past.
2) That he may have to do some very bad things to achieve his mission (although he doesn’t actively acknowledge it at this point).
The plot idea of 11.22.63 was mildly interesting for a Brit and probably more intriguing for an American. The mammoth-sized book totals 740 pages. The pacing was reasonable at times and at other times excruciatingly slow.
Reading 11.22.63 felt like hard work, unlike any of the other Stephen King books I’ve read. Parts of the book were significantly over written and the last quarter of the book significantly underwritten. The ending was flat, lacking any depth or satisfactory conclusion.
However the description in 11.22.63 was exceptional. Whether this was from good research or Stephen King’s personal experience, I couldn’t tell.
Jake (George) is a good man that ends up doing terrible things including murder, with the intention of making a better future. He is a very redemptive character and the story is written from his perspective. By Stephen King writing the story from Jake’s first person perspective, it helped me develop some positive regard for the man.
Al was interesting but is removed far too early from the story. The other characters were all two dimensional. It would have been great to have more than one main character, as Jake’s voice did become tiresome about half way through the book.
I wanted to enjoy 11.22.63 as much as I’ve enjoyed all of the other Stephen King books that I’ve read. But it just didn’t happen.
11.22.63 is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops.
Review soon,
Antony
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Saturday 22 July 2017
About
Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.
Author of seven books:
Z-VIRUS Monsters
The Z-Virus is mutating, now affecting plants and animals.
A group of people, most with supernatural powers, are in desperate hunt for a cure.
Their powers which once helped their survival, are now becoming destructive.
Can they survive for long enough to find the cure? And if so, what will happen when they take it?
Join Alexis, Goliath, Luke, Lucy, Kyle, Natalie, Erin, Sophie, Kevin, George, Zoha, Harry and Ryan on this epic, entertaining and thrilling adventure.
Z-Virus Monsters is the second instalment of The Z-Virus Series. The first book in the series is Z-Virus Powers.
Z-VIRUS Powers
The Z-Virus mutates people’s DNA. The majority of infected people become zombies, but a minority seem immune but the virus causes them to develop powers.
At first these powers like invisibility, telepathy and telekinesis aided survival. But as the Z-Virus continues to mutate the powers become more and more destructive.
Forced with no other choice, one group goes in search of a cure. But will they survive the roaming zombie hordes long enough to make an epic journey across the country to find the cure?
Join Alexis, Vis, Chan, Luke, Natalie, Grace, Chloe, Kyle, David and Goliath on this journey in Z-Virus Powers, the first instalment of this three part story.
Are you a Doctor, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or Other Healthcare Professional? Or a Student?
Ways The Human Body Can Go Wrong covers every system of the body, what can go wrong when the body malfunctions or fails, symptoms (including why these happen) and cures/treatments available.
It includes knowledge around essential skills for Clinical Excellence such as Assessment, All Age Observational Norms, Models of Care, Communication/Handover Tips, the role of Specialities, Medication Tips, Dealing with Errors, Documentation Advice and a list of Useful Resources.
It is written in plain English, but highlights important medical terminology. It has been written at a level where someone from a non-medical background can pick it up and learn, but that it is still valuable to those with significant Clinical Experience.
My dear friend Roy decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and enlist in the Royal Navy.
I wanted to maintain our friendship, to continue to support Roy, to make him laugh and to entertain him. So I came up with the idea of sending him a weekly email on random topics.
These emails were on a variety of topics, always being entertaining, sometimes being interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally being serious.
Topics included: Jokes, Puzzles, Inspirational Quotes, Future Technology to Be Excited About, How to Fight A Shark, How to Woo A Turtle, Some of the Most Amazing Jobs in the World, Facts About Castles, Do Aliens Exist?, The Kindest Humans, A List of Cakes, 13 Weird Body Facts, 20 Super Space Facts, Ancient Egyptian Curses, 10 Weird Olympic Games, The Great Emu War of 1932, Quiz: Flags of the World, Legendary Characters from the UK and others.
My Royal Navy Friend is a copy of these emails. In total, there are 52 emails. Dispersed throughout the book are also Royal Navy facts and stories.
This workbook has been designed for anyone that is struggling with alcohol or has struggled with alcohol in the past.
It is written in a Motivational Interviewing style, one of the key therapies used to support people with alcohol issues. It has been designed using a trauma-informed approach and is strength–based.
What you will find in this book is more than just worksheets about alcohol. You’ll find all the tools someone needs to get into recovery from alcohol and stay there. It’s a therapy-based book, not an alcohol-based book.
SpellCast is a comprehensive compendium of spells, oils, charms and talismans. It is purely a book about magic, folk magic for the 21st century. The spells are ones that are tried and tested, with some that will stand the test of time.
In SpellCast you will read about the power of Instant Magic, of Banishment & Bindings, Blessings, Cleansing, Communication, Death, Employment, Finance & Money, Fertility, Friendship, Happiness & Joy, Health, Love & Relationships, Luck Magic, Protection, Transformative Magic and WishCraft.
This book will change your life. Your life will be abundant in all meanings of the word.
This book contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness. Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
If you find my blog educational or entertaining, please consider making a purchase or donation on Ko-Fi.
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