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Christmas 2018 – No Coal, Lots of Lovely Presents & Seeing the Magical and Musical Mary Poppins Returns

By Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, LifeNo Comments

Christmas was great. The best thing about it is always the precious time spent with loved ones. The food, drinks and presents are just huge pluses. This year I must have been extra good because I didn’t get any coal (the traditional gift for the naughty) and instead got lots of lovely presents:

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Christmas presents I was fortunate to receive from friends and family (1).

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Christmas presents I was fortunate to receive from friends and family (2).

My good friend Jayne and I went to watch Mary Poppins Returns (MPR):

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Mary Poppins Returns Cinema Poster

MPR is magical, musical and all-round marvelous. It had a number of brilliant cameo appearances by: Julie Walters, Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury.

My Christmas was finished off by seeing Adam Lambert perform Believe in tribute to Cher. A gorgeous man with an amazing voice. This performance made me cry the first time I saw it. I have watched the performance numerous times since. You can see the performance below:

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Blog soon,

Antony

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Themes from Dr Who (Series 11)

By Happiness & Joy, Thinking, TV, Online Streaming & FilmsNo Comments
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Image From & Copyright © BBC, 2018.

I’ve loved the most recent season of Dr Who. The lead role has been brilliantly played by Jodie Whittaker. There was some controversy about the role being played by a woman, to me I just thought: why is it even an issue?

There have been some fantastic themes through out the series. Here are the themes I’ve spotted in each episode:

Episode 1 – The Woman Who Fell to Earth

  • Diversity – It should be recognised and celebrated. Whether diversity comes from race, learning difficulty or sexuality (mentioned in episode 2). Shown in character representation, characters universal acceptance and appreciation different others.
  • We’re stronger working together as a team, than we are as separate individuals.
  • Only idiots carry knifes – A direct quote from the Doctor, probably in direct response to the rise in knife crime in the capitol London.

Episode 2 – The Ghost Monument

  • A Leader reassures, motivates and has the backs of their team. Shown in how Dr Who treats members of her team.
  • Brains Beat Bullets – A direct quote from the Doctor. Prior to this Doctor states: You’ve got to outthink the enemy. and after the direct quote above another: Guns make things worse.

Episode 3 – Rosa

  • Standing up for Equality – The story of Rosa Parks (see The Story of Rosa Parks) is all about equality and civil rights.
  • How dangerous and stupid white supremacy views are, including the dehumanising affect they have.
  • How racism affects the victims. Shown through character conversation behind the bin.
  • How a single person can change the world and the universe forever.

Episode 4 – Arachnids in the UK

  • Is he Ed Sheeran? – A direct quote from the Doctor. Even the Doctor knows who Ed Sheeran is, even if she doesn’t know what he looks like.
  • Irresponsible businesses and their leaders that care about the bottom line – profit – rather than doing the right thing are bad for all. Their employees, citizens living close to the businesses and the community as a whole.
  • Guns are bad.
  • Cruelty is never necessary.
  • Treat all living things with dignity and respect.
  • Togetherness is better than loneliness.
  • Grief takes time, lots of time.
  • Team TARDIS – Friendship that is built on mutual respect and coming together in a crisis, is too valuable to let go of and should be cherished.

Episode 5 – The Tsuranga Conundrum

  • The Doctor doesn’t mind admitting when she’s wrong.
  • The Doctor see’s all problems as puzzles to be solved.
  • The Doctor loves anti-matter drives, the concept and the actuality.
  • Dad’s don’t have to be perfect. But they should be there for their child and involved in their life.

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Image From & Copyright © BBC, 2018.

Episode 6 – Demons of the Punjab

  • A fixed event in time can’t be stopped.
  • Things are not always what they seem.
  • There’s nothing worse than when ordinary people lose their minds.
  • The Doctor believes in love in all its forms. The Doctor thinks love is a form of hope – Direct quote from The Doctor.

Episode 7 – Kerblam!

  • Always answer a call for help. Observed by The Doctor always answering calls for help.
  • The best managers, the really good ones, value their staff, and know instinctively if someone’s in trouble or if they need help. A direct quote from The Doctor.
  • You should be worthy of the job or position you hold.
  • The Doctor doesn’t like bullies, conspiracies or danger, said to Yaz by The Doctor.

Episode 8 – The Witchfinders

  • History has sometimes been hard to women.
  • We’re all the same. We want certainty, security. We want to believe that people are either evil or heroic, but that’s not how people are. A Direct Quote from The Doctor.
  • True knowledge has to be earned.
  • Start with the mysteries of the heart.

Episode 9 – It Takes You Away

  • The Doctor loves her sonic.
  • Some people will sacrifice almost anything to see and be with dead loved ones.
  • The living must let go of the dead and continue to live their life. They can still remember them, it’s just not good to live in the past.
  • Friends help friends face up to the truth, not hide from it. A direct quote from the Doctor.
  • The sheep revolution is just over 100 years away :).

Episode 10 – The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

  • Doctor Who doesn’t like vengeful murder or the talk or the threatening of it.
  • The Doctor is fine destroying anything that can be rebuilt. Buildings and the like.
  • Following blind faith is wrong.
  • Rather than revenge, be the bigger man. It takes great strength to do this.

My Hopes for Series 12
More aliens and travel to other worlds. Essentially more Sci-Fi.

Write soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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A Wonderful Wedding and The New Fantastic Beasts Film

By Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, Love & RelationshipsNo Comments
Sue-and-Iain-Wedding-November-2018

Sue & Iain’s Wedding Was Wonderful.

This weekend I attended a wonderful wedding. My Auntie Sue and Iain, her significant other for more than a decade, got married on Saturday (17/11/2018).

The ceremony took place in a lodge in a local park. The ceremony was lovely and emotionally touching. The groom and his best man had personalised cufflinks with images of deceased loved ones on. The bridal party had images of deceased love ones attached to their flowers.

Afterwards we went outside for photos. The day was bright, with clear skies and only a little cold. Then it was off to a venue to eat.

The venue had been decorated in a Beauty & The Beast theme with a high level of attention to detail.

After the meal there was an opportunity to talk, drink (the bar was open from our arrival), allow brief speeches and be entertained by a superb singer. Many took the opportunity to offer the happy couple their best wishes and blessings for the future.

The evening arrived as did some more guests. There was plenty of entertainment: face painting for the children, a Caricaturist doing quick portraits of Sue and Iain and many other of the wedding guests, a DJ, a soft-of sweet stand, a sort-of photo booth, the opportunity to write in the guestbook and the opportunity to write wedding wishes on wooden hearts that were posted into a frame.

Everyone at the wedding party was relaxed, enjoyed themselves and celebrated Sue and Iain’s commitment to one another. It was essentially a celebration of their love for one another. I felt fortunate, privileged and honored to be invited to share their special day.

On Sunday, mum and I went to the cinemas to see Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gindlewald.

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Fantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindelwald (cinema poster).

The film was awesome and well worth the wait. I’m taking part in the #ProtectTheSecrets, so I can’t write more about my thoughts. As doing so would lead to me giving away plot points.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Matilda at Manchester Palace Theatre

By Friends & Family, Gigs & Shows, Happiness & JoyNo Comments

At the weekend, my mum, Kelly, my mum’s friend and her daughter went to see Matilda at Manchester Palace Theatre. We arrived before the matinee performance and had lunch out.

In Matilda the cast, mostly made up of children, were fantastic. The set was superb. The storyline followed that of the film. I’m not sure how closely it follows the book, as I’ve never read it.

The songs were good, but the show lacked any defining and memorable songs. Usually in a musical there is at least one catchy and memorable song. For example in Wicked you have defying gravity. In The Rocky Horror Show you have Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite. In Sister Act you have Take Me To Heaven and Fabulous, Baby!

Overall Matilda was an enjoyable show for children and adults alike. Here are some photos:

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Matilda Poster.

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A Lego Matilda.

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Matilda Stage (1).

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Matilda Stage (2).

Blog soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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