"Are you going to put this on your blog?"

Why yes, Zoë, I am!

I sit here with aching feet having traversed cobbles in completely inappropriate footwear, but having had an all in all lovely day.

Enjoying being a tourist in my own country :-D

It would just be my luck to choose the one day with buckets of rain to visit the city of Oxford but there we go. I should have expected it! I've only ever really visited the city with specific aims in mind, mainly to see something at one of the theatres, so I think this is the first time I've got to really look around at all. Admittedly, the weather did hamper things a little, and I rather believe Zoë was a bit disappointed that she couldn't show me more, but it was great to look around. Besides, I have an excuse to come back in better weather now ;-)

Of course, the highlight for me had to be meeting up with my friend from college as we last saw each other at Christmas. Just to sit and chat about her adventures was wonderful. Having just been to Bosnia, she made us both a cup of Bosnian style coffee and my goodness it was beautiful. Just to chat about life in a relaxed environment with a good friend felt so good! Annoyingly, because I couldn't afford the trains, I cadged a lift and had to leave quite early. Certainly have to meet up again and soon!

In other news, I have my room allocation for university and it is indeed a single. If anyone (who knows me, obviously) wants the address then message me somewhere and I can give it to you. Goodness, it all seems very real now!

For those who are sitting, and are stressed about, exams

The funny thing about my gap year is that I'm stuck in my own little bubble away from the press of life and yet I still see it going on around me. I watch as friends get really worried about their exams, tormented by worries about whether they will pass or fail. I suppose that, removed from the frenzy, I see it more clearly. It worries me.

I spoke to one friend today, who may well read this but will remain nameless. This person is really worried about the exams they've already sat and feels that the ones they have left to sit are useless. In their mind, they have already failed. In my mind, I know this person is amazing. They're intelligent (more than they, or anyone else really, gives them credit for) and they have worked hard. Perhaps too hard. Perhaps it now matters too much to them. This person has pushed the boundaries of what people said they would be able to do. They have achieved more than people gave them credit for. They're dedicated and wonderful but they simply don't see that. They just feel that they didn't know the answers and therefore it's time to give in. 

What they don't see is that they've already won. 

Just by trying their best, by getting to where they are, they are winning. You are winning. 

If you 'fail' or don't do as well as you had hoped then there is always a way to make it better, be it a resit or a change of plan. It seems like the end of the world at the time but keep ploughing on and it will pass, it will get better, and you will succeed somehow.

And in a couple of months, those exams which are the centre of the universe right now will not matter one iota. What are they after all?

Keep strong. Keep fighting. You can conquer anything.

Besides, you don't need to pass any exams... you're wonderful just the way you are <3

Book review - 'Ring of Flowers' by Brian Andrews

Rating: 4/5 stars

Plot:

"In 1665, in the Derbyshire village of Eyam, the tailor, George Vicars orders a bolt of fabric from London to make a wedding dress for his betrothed daughter, Kathryn. To escape her fate of marrying the town's wealthiest and most odious bachelor, she elopes with her true love, farmhand Paul Foster. Kathryn's departure is fortuitous, because when the fabric is delivered, the parcel is infested with fleas carrying bubonic plague. First bitten and first to die, George Vicars' misfortune becomes the community's death sentence when the town Rector boldly imposes a quarantine on all Eyam residents. Months later, expecting a child, the newlyweds return home to find their world turned upside down. Once inside the township, they are forbidden to leave and Kathryn is forced to give birth in quarantine. Under the shadow plague, and against all odds, Will Foster's paternal ancestor is born . . . with a genetic mutation that will change the world 345 years later."

-from 'Ring of Flowers' on Goodreads

Review:

I've been reading quite a few short stories and novellas lately and, I'll be honest, they've not been all that impressive on the whole. Needless to say, I started 'Ring of Flowers' with a pretty low expectation. I am pleased to say that I underestimated it.

The first few paragraphs told me that this was going to be a good read, something that's pretty important when you only have a limited number of pages! The writing style was comfortable. The tone suggested the historical setting without being clumsy and it pretty much instantly drew you in, in that regard.

The characters themselves were surprisingly well developed in such a short space. It felt like each of the characters was a three dimensional real person. As opposed to being pawns playing out the storyline - a flaw I feel a lot of short story prequel things contain - they were real people living it.

The story was just right for the length. There were a couple of clear threads and it at no point felt rushed or drawn out.

Having written the above, I feel a bit bad only giving this piece four stars. I guess the fact is that, because it's a novella, it's hard to really get into it and for the story to have the 'wow factor' of a five star piece. It is well worth the read, however, and I'll certainly be looking at reading The Calypso Directive when I get a moment!

I downloaded this book for free on Amazon and it was worth it so go, download it now.

Book review - 'A Storm of Swords, I: Steel and Snow' by George R.R. Martin

This review is for the first part of the third book in a series and may therefore contain spoilers for the preceding books. For my review of book one please see 'A Game of Thrones' and for book two, 'A Clash of Kings'.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Plot:
"Winter approaches Westeros like an angry beast. The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud. In the northern wastes, a horde of hungry, savage people steeped in the dark magic of the wilderness is poised to invade the Kingdom of the North where Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown. And Robb's defences are ranged against the South, the land of the cunning and cruel Lannisters, who have his younger sisters in their power. Throughout Westeros, the war for the Iron Throne rages more fiercely than ever, but if the Wall is breached, no king will live to claim it."

-from 'A Storm of Swords' on Goodreads

Review:

From the fickle, nothing to do with the book but matters anyway viewpoint, this book was more comfortable to read than the earlier two. Part of me wonders if my hands are just getting better at stretching around a tonne of pages but I know that it's that this instalment is shorter than the earlier parts due to the whole book being split... I'm still not complaining as anything that stops the cramps when reading is a good thing! I also got what I think is a newer cover and it's quite different to designs I had previously encountered, showing a photograph of a building on a cliff. I really, really dislike this cover design and feel that it's not really right for the style of book. I mean, it doesn't really matter but on some level the design does matter and yeah, I'll talk about the actual writing now, shall I?

Something that really struck me in this book is how my interest has changed course. To start with, the Night's Watch bits really didn't catch my imagination but, of course, they were leading up to this point. As the war wages on in the south sinister things are afoot the northern side of the wall and things were genuinely rather creepy at times.


I said, in my review of 'A Clash of Kings' that I was having some (negligible) issues with some of the point of views. Davos has really grown on me, probably because his situation was more human as opposed to military in this book and I found it easier to associate with. Theon's not here so no problems there. The two main new POVs in this novel (that I can think of off the top of my head!) are Jaime and Sam and, frankly, I loved both of them. Jaime was what one would expect of the character but allowed us to see behind the façade and also to see the development of him through the book. Sam was quite unexpected, for me, as he really allowed you to see the things that had previously been experienced through Jon's eyes from a totally different angle. 

The ending, as always, wasn't an ending at all. I mean, I guess you can justify it with this one as it's technically the first half of one book but seriously... the suspense at the end of these novels. I suppose that's part of the charm, the books aren't stories but chronicles of a 'history' and, like all histories, it isn't obviously episodic. 

I have a physical copy of this book but, as always, a kindle version is also available.

Busy with nothing (as usual)

It's amazing how life can seem so chaotic yet, when you look back on what you've actually been doing, rather non-productive.

A lot of things are centering around The Move which, as one would expect, is a bit of a focus. I finally phoned up Glasgow uni and withdrew today, well, started the process. Seriously, phoning them confirmed that ditching Glasgow was right for me. The gentleman on the switchboard had no social skills and seemed to have issues knowing which number was the number for admissions and the lady I spoke to in the end was, in my view, curt to the point of rude. Anyway, I emailed her so they now have it in writing and, fingers crossed, I'll get confirmation that I am free soon enough.

And the prize for gaudiest ticket design goes to...

The other thing with moving is that I just can't get my head around it. I've booked to see Within Temptation in, basically, a year's time in Amsterdam (with a group of people I've met at gigs in the UK) and it's weird. I've also booked to see Apocalyptica, who have obviously influenced me musically, in October. I'm going to go and see them with Maria, a Dutch 'cellist penpal of mine who is all round lovely. The ticket arrived for that show today which was nothing less that a miracle as, due to a computer error their end, my address was written in Dutch format (totally scrambled compared to UK format and with half a post code) and also lacked the country. Seriously, I have a great deal of respect for the Dutch and English postal system that figured that one out!

As for the rest of life, I think we've all but finished tiling the bathroom at last! Because of issues with dad, and with his health, it's been over a year in the finishing. He needs to put down new floorboards as there's currently a giant hole in the floor (most rooms have holes in the floor!) but then I can get in there and paint the ceiling/woodwork etc. Fingers crossed we're moving forward with that.

Sadly, that's probably the best of the progress as I've now signed up for Netflix and thrown my productivity out of the window.

DVD Review - 'Von den Elben: deluxe edition' by Faun

This is a rather long, description of the contents of the DVD part of 'Von den Elben: Deluxe Edition', reviewed here. The aim of this is to help people to decide if it's worth buying the Deluxe Edition of the album when they already own the CD and therefore includes quite a lot of detail as to what is discussed in the documentary, although it doesn't tell the stories of contain a full explanation of events that are discussed.

Personally, I think it's well worth buying, even if you already own the CD and can be bought on their website.

The menu comes up basically all in English unsure if this is, at least partially because I’ve had English subs on or if it’s English for everyone. To set up subtitles, or to switch them off, go to ‘optionen’. From what I can tell, there’s only an option for English subs, not for German or other language subs. Also, just to annoy people, the subtitles don’t extend to the live clips of shows even though the introductions of the songs are included.

Main menu

The Acoustic Tour videos are Sao Roma, Subrali, NeAludj El, and Belle Dame Sans Merci. The Eden Tour videos are Lupercalia, Rosmarin, Da Que Deus. They include a lot more of the aesthetic of the Eden tour which is quite nice to experience although I think that the visual of the video does sometimes suffer because of the lighting/smoke/curtains etc., which are effective live, making a clear picture difficult. There are then two videos from the Festival Medieval, Andro and Jyansa, which, again, suffer visually because the lighting seems too strong for the camera. That said, the clips are lovely and are also of a high quality sound-wise. The Video Clip of Diese kalte Nacht explains itself really and is the music video of the song.

The documentary, 10 Years of Faun, is by far the highlight. The documentary ties together footage and photos of the band performing/traveling etc. with the members talking about their memories of the band’s life so far and their views on each other. I've split the sections into the chapters included in the DVD, written a few words as to what's included, and then written a more in detail summary of the things discussed. I've not said when you get every picture or live clip or whatever because that would be even more confusing. I've also lost all of the charm and humour that comes across when the band are talking but this is basically a list so here goes....

A lot of stuff mushed together in one post

So, I'm getting really good at writing about what I did about a week after I actually did it. So, this post starts off talking about Shakespeare's birthday celebrations, goes on to talk about my singing, and ends up with me talking about painting stuff for the Castlefest scrapbook. Feel free to skip to bits you're interested in ;-)

All photos are my own...more photos of the Shakespeare birthday celebration can be found on my facebook page and if you are in any and want me to send the file, contact me :-)

 

Shakespeare

Anyway, on Saturday I went into Stratford-upon-avon, the birth place of Shakespeare, to lurk during the events that were put on surrounding his birthday. Although I didn't get that many decent photos due to sheer bad luck (even when I was at the front, having been there since 7a.m. people who were part of the parade stood in front of me!) I had a lovely time.

The main part of the celebration took the form of a procession including primary school children, various special guests from the community, and indeed the world, and a giant horse drawn birthday cake.

Within this part of the celebration there were various smaller moments. Flags from countries and supporting organisations were unfurled to fanfare. An actor 'Shakespeare'  presented a quill to the Head Boy of King Edward VI Grammar School (believed to be the school Shakespeare attended). The quill was then taken through the streets and, I believe given to the funerary monument. Balloons were released in Shakespeare's colours.

The parade continued, developing into the colourful 'People's Pageant' which was lead by the 20ft, slightly creepy, puppet of Godiva. Local societies, bands, and dancers all took part.

There were also various activities, attractions, and events on all day.Which I can't possibly go into in full but leads me nicely onto....

 

 

Singing

As part of the celebrations, the Royal Shakespeare Company put on various workshops surrounding performing arts. There were stage combat workshops, voice workshops, and a singing workshop which I forced myself to go to.

Okay, I nearly ran away before it started because when you're waiting in a marquee to face one of your oldest and deepest set fears with a group of strangers that's pretty heavy stuff. Somehow I managed not to run. As the workshop began people introduced themselves and said if they had singing experience. It seemed to me that everyone had been a member of a choir, was a member of a choir, adored singing, and/or performed frequently. When it came to me to say that "Hello, I'm Bethany and I'm in the process of getting over a phobia of singing and you may well find me cowering in the corner later." I did just that. No use pretending otherwise... I was shaking like mad anyway! After that, it seemed that a few more people were less 'professional' and a few more people said that they weren't sure if they had a good voice or that they sang in the shower which was nice. I guess. Okay, I was completely petrified.

Warm ups were filmed by a television camera which was kind of funny and then we moved onto the singing part. Do you know something? I managed it. Did I enjoy it? Not exactly. That said, from time to time I could hear my voice and think... yeah, that actually sounds good.

It was only a couple of days later when I was talking to Aleks on skype that she joked that to earn money for my move to the Netherlands I should become an overnight sensation singing 'Let it go' on youtube. Well, something possessed me to record the first part of the song on my camera despite not really knowing it. It took me about five minutes to be able to press play and listen through the introduction and then when I heard myself sing I actually cried. I'd heard recordings of myself singing before and had found it painful to listen... I sounded awful. This wasn't awful. It was actually, dare I say it, kinda good. My own brain's been warping my own perception for so long, and I've known that, but my goodness... this was strange. I didn't send the file to her and I'm still not comfortable singing in front of anyone but it will happen. If these few months of attempting to overcome my fears have led to this then give me a few years and we'll see what happens.

Scrapbooking

So, other than having moments of self realisation, I've mainly been painting cover pages for this year's Castlefest scrapbook. As I'll be moving country straight after the festival this year, I know I won't have time to scrapbook for quite a while after it. I therefore decided it would be wise to get as much done in advance as possible. In practice, I hope to have the 'cover pages' for each of the bands, the main front page of the scrapbook, and odds and ends like the schedule all filled in beforehand. That leaves photo printing and mounting as the main thing to be done afterwards and I can't do anything about that! I'll at least have made a start and, for all I usually do quite a lot of painting around the photos, that's optional so I should be able to fit it in around whatever schedule I have. The other bonus in getting this all done in advance: I don't have to get scraps of paper signed and then cut them out and stick in... I can get the cover pages signed directly, if I want an autograph from the members of a certain band.

I'm also doing something a bit different with this book, I'm timing every bit of work I do on it. Actually, I didn't time the first page I painted or the finding and buying of papers but other than that. People have quite often asked me to make them a book if we've been to the same event and I've had to say no because it's too time intensive (and expensive but I try not to think about that!). Anyway, so far, I have painted seven cover pages and it's taken me just shy of 21 hours. So, that's why I say no ;-)