Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Presents, Pudding and Pyjamas

This year we put up the tree and decorations earlier than we usually do. We put them up on the 9th December, which is my sister's birthday , instead of around the 13th because of my sister's birthday. But I'm bored of them already so hopefully they will be taken down soon.

Presents

This year I wasn't woken up at some unreasonable hour, like 5 am  by my excited sister and brother. This year I was woken up at 7 am, by my brother who came running in to say Father Christmas had been. We then opened our stocking presents together and I got some lovely earrings, 3 headbands and a balsa wood aeroplane (all three of us got them) which we then put together and then took apart to find there that extra bit went.

After this we went down stairs to open our main presents with our parents. I loved the presents I got from everyone. From my brother I got a white tee- shirt, from my sister I got a purse which I was in desperate need of, and then I got another green khaki top with a skull on it, The Big Bang Theory seasons 1 -4 box set, the most recent Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film, 4 books from the Medusa Project series (a brilliant series that I would recommend to anyone), the new Taylor Swift album, Red, and Now That's What I Call Music! 83. Then I got a gift card and some money which will go towards more books, DVDs or clothes as I haven't decided which yet :)

Pudding

This is all about the lovely Christmas foods we ate all day yesterday and today but I needed another word beginning with 'P'.

I started off the day by eating chocolate coins, advent chocolate, and Haribo jelly sweets. Not all at once that would just be greedy.

Then at about 2 we had our Christmas dinner, which was very nice and festive. My mum made the roast potatoes differently this year and they were absolutely delicious. The whole meal was fantastically brilliant in every single way!!

Pyjamas

We all got ONESIES!!!!!!!!

I got a reindeer onesie!!! My sister got a Dalmatian one and my brother a Gorilla one and we put them on immediately after we open them. It's funny when we walk about in them as the legs are too long on them so we tend to trip over or walk around holding them up as to not trip over.

We wore them all day, even when we watched the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

The DW special was EPIC!!! I don't actually have the words to describe how excellent it was!! The twist was amazing and totally unexpected. I can't wait to see how the writer's are going to develop Clara's story (I don't know if that's going to be her name throughout the whole time she is the companion and if you have seen the episode then you'll know why)


Hope you had a great Christmas!!

Happy New Year!!!

Gosh two big celebrations within a week of each other why is it planned like that

Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year!!!!

Bethan






Monday, December 17, 2012

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2012

Wow!! I've been doing a blog for over a year now so I thought I'd go back round in a wide circle and do another Doctor Who Christmas blog.

This year there will be no Amy in a short skirt or our Roman to save the day :( but we will be introduced to the new companion, Clara, played by Jenna Louise Coleman, who also played Oswin Oswald in another episode of DW.

Within the episode titled, The Snowmen, we should see a new interior to the TARDIS and a new companion with it. The episode is set in the Victorian age and the Doctor is  ''Retired'' but from what is the question that will soon be answered.

There will be snow men, there will be chaos and there will be the Doctor to save the day (hopefully). Ian McKellen will voice these Snowmen.

I can't wait to see this episode and I haven't seen any of the trailers or special previews but from what I've hear it will be a brilliant episode however much we miss the Ponds. As I haven't seen anything yet I can't make any predictions like I did last year and the new companion is introduced so we don't know much about her at the moment.

8 days and counting

Merry Christmas!!!

Bethan

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Christmas, College, Cinema

Christmas is 9 days away!!! YAY!!!!

Christmas

I have brought 2 presents so far and have half made 2 others so I think that I might be slightly behind on my Christmas shopping, oops :) I love going through the town high street late at night because all the light's look so pretty but I prefer the old lights that we used to have, the ones that went across the road and were all tinselly and sparkly. 

I think we might have gone overboard on decorations at home this year. I mean they are everywhere on windowsills, lights, the tree, cupboards and even on the shed outside. however when you walk upstairs the only thing relatively christmassy is the light up tree in my brother's room.

College

College has been awesome so far because other than falling behind on my work, I have made some great friends and have gotten to know people that I had misconceptions about. So I have truly learnt not to judge a book by it's cover or a person by the people they hang around with. I have made new friends and lost old friends but then if I've lost them then that means they weren't really very good friends otherwise we'd have stayed in touch. I've learnt more about myself and my friends in the last few months than I ever did in secondary school.

Lessons are a lot more difficult but then I've chosen to do some pretty difficult subjects at A-Level (Maths, Biology and Chemistry) but I'm getting on well with most of my teachers and I understand the majority of the work.

Cinema

Today I went to the cinema with 3 friends to see The Hobbit  which is a brilliant film and I recommend it to anyone even if they haven't read any of the Lord of the Rings books or The Hobbit or seen any of the films of the Lord of the Rings. 

We got to the cinema 10 minutes early so sat in our seats and talked for a bit. When the Les Miserable advert came on one of my friends shouted out 'OMG!!! HELENA BONHAM CARTER!!!!' we all burst out laughing and told him to shush. Then the film started but the lights didn't go out, they eventually did after about 5 minutes. 

There was a really funny bit in the film and everyone laughed but then this lady came over to our group and told us to be quiet even though everyone else was laughing. She said she could hear us from the back of the cinema but she didn't whisper this she shouted it right in my ear because I was at the end of the row. A few minutes later we laughed again and she glared at us but we just ignored her because we weren't going to let her spoil the film for us. 

Anyway when we left at the end of the film there were 2 employees outside the door giving everyone a voucher to see a film of their choice when ever they want because the lights didn't go out so we were pleased about that. I already know that I'm going to use mine to see Les Miserable in January :D

Before we got to the cinema we played the elevator game. Where you have to run to the top floor of the multistory car park and get the lift down. You have to press all the buttons and if the lift stops and people get on you have to get out and run back to the top floor. The aim is to get right to the bottom without stopping. It was really funny as I was wearing heeled trainers and the floor was wet so I nearly fell over 4 times before I gave up and just stayed in the lift.



Have A Good Christmas!!!!!!

Bethan

:)

Monday, November 19, 2012

Book Review

Sorry, I haven't been on and done a film vs book vs TV program review like I said I'd do every week but I didn't realize how difficult college actually is until I fell behind with my work. Anyway, I have to read some books for the Essex Book Awards and then review them. So far I've read 2 books and only one of them is worth reviewing in my opinion.

Cracks by Caroline Green

I loved this book because it follows the story line of one character and so you only get information that is important to that character, this means that the other characters that Cal, the protagonist, meets you don't know much about unless it's truly necessary to the plot.

Cal is a 14/15 year old who was taken as a 2 year old and placed into a coma. Whilst in the coma the Dr puts a microchip type thing in his head that allows the Dr to see Cal's thoughts. The book follows Cal's life after he wakes up from the coma and then the trouble he is placed in afterwards.

I liked the fact that Caroline Green addresses the main problems we face as a society today, even though the book is set in 2024. Many of the problems faced in the book are written in such a way that you can relate to them and see what will happen in the future unless we do something about it. The problems she writes about are those such as; terrorism, pollution, overcrowdedness of cities and powerful groups need for control.

The main problem faced in the book is that of fear, fear of the unknown, fear of terrorism, fear of others. This is portrayed by the descriptions Green uses of the cities and outside world. The 'tagline' for the book is "Who do you trust when your whole life is a lie?" I think this is brilliant as it makes you question who you would trust if suddenly nothing is real anymore and people aren't who you thought they were.

The reason I chose to read this book is because I find the cover intriguing. The cover has an almost spiderweb like look to it which links well with the story as you could say that Cal has fallen into a spider's web of lies and deceit.

I would give this book 10/10 as it seems impossible to put down and I wanted to read it right to the end in one sitting. The one thing I would do to improve it though is to make it longer or part of a series or a trilogy as so much seems to happen that you don't find out much about anyone or any place else in the story.

I'd suggest this book to anyone who loves a good read.

Bethan


Monday, October 8, 2012

The Hunger Games

This is the first of many (I hope) Books Vs. Films Vs. TV programs. This is all about The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games is a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. It is set in a futuristic USA where there are 12 districts. Due to an uprising in the past by the districts, every year there is a reaping where a male and a female are selected out of a bowl to fight in the Hunger Games. From the Hunger Games 23 of the tributes must die to leave one victor. The books are written about a girl, Katniss Everdeen who volunteered in place of her sister.

I read the first the hunger games book about 4 years ago and didn't read the rest of the series as it didn't appeal to me at the time. However when I found out there was a film to be released I re-read the book and found that I like it a lot more than I had previously, I then went on to read the second book, Catching Fire, and third, Mockingjay, both of which I enjoyed as much as the first book(the second time I read it).

What I liked about the film was that although they missed some of the important things out, like the mayor of District 12's daughter giving Katniss the Mockingjay pin, they replaced it with a gesture that was more heart warming due to the fact it was a special moment between sisters. I also liked the film because it stayed true to the story line and the author's ideas whilst also making it their own, whereas with some films that doesn't happen and it all gets a bit crazy.

The film got so much of the story line into the films which is unusual for such an action packed book, many of the key points were included but some of the main characters in the book have such small roles in the film and vise-versa for the smaller book characters. I can't wait til the next film comes out as I want to see if the storyline and characters develop when and how they are supposed to in the books.

If I was to rate both the books and the film out of I would give:
The Books - 4 and 1/2 stars
The Film - 3 Stars

This would be because I didn't get into the books the first time I read it and the film rate is lower as they missed some of the bits out of them that I like in the books.

Books Vs Films Vs TV programs

I've never really been a majorly big fan of TV (I'd rather curl up and delve into a brilliantly written new book) but recently (over the last 2 years) I've found myself liking more and more TV programs. What I find even more odd is the genre of the TV series/programs whether it be crime, drama, suspense, etc, and the genres of film I've liked are different the genre of books that I prefer.

Also I've started to watch more films on my own than I used to, I see the trailer of a film I want to watch and if I have the money then I will go see it. Whereas when I was younger I would go see what my family wanted to see and see it with them.

Now you maybe asking yourself why and how this relates to the title of this blog.....

Well, as I've run out of ideas to write about, I've decided to try and read a book and watch the film/tv program of that book within the week and review them on here. I'm open to suggestions of what to watch/read so comment with the ideas and I'll try to do as many as possible.


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

7/7 and 9/11 Poem

Last night I couldn't sleep I kept thinking of the people who lost their lives in the 7/7 and 9/11 attacks, and I wanted to put what I was thinking about into words and this is the product of those feelings.

Twisting Turning,
Running Burning,
Loss Sadness,
Anger Madness,
Jumping Falling,
Watching Stalling,
Country Tumbling,
Power Crumbling,
Grief Love,
White Dove,
The world as one,
Stood under the sun,
Hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder,
Our words and hearts daring ever bolder,
Now we stand even stronger,
Our hearts beating ever fonder,
Peace will be brought,
Against the terror war fought,
We fight together,
You'll be remembered forever.


Monday, August 6, 2012

Summer Holiday Boredom

I have been on holiday since the beginning of June as I had study leave to "revise" for the exams I had left to do. And what have I done in the first month?

Absolutely nothing!!

Except on Thursdays and Fridays when I went in to school to help in technology, where I tidied up the textiles cupboard and made examples for the recycled denim project. But other than that I haven't done much at all. June wasn't at all busy.

In complete contrast to that July was completely stuffed with things to do and I had so much to suddenly do I suddenly didn't think I had enough time to do it in. Firstly, I meet up with a group of girls that I will hopefully go to college with next year (and if not I'll still have a new group of brilliant friends and we went to Colchester and done some bowling, I lost as per usual and I managed to bowl the ball into the lane next to us. Then I had two taster days at my school's college then a week at another college. Then the Olympic Torch came through past the school and then 1610 people took part in a computer run aerobics class on the AstroTurf and we broke a world record :) I also had my prom on Friday 13th and that was brilliant but shattering

Then on to August..... other than the Olympics and helping at the summer reading challenge at the local library I have been thrown in to an even deeper pit of nothingness and boredom. The only prospect that makes me even slightly unbored is that I have a cricket match in 2 weeks.

Dotted through these last few months have been cricket matches that I have played in, most of our games have been rained off. In the last game I played I took 3 wickets in 4 overs, which I was pleased about as my bowling isn't exactly what you'd call consistent. During cricket week, I played in one game where I score the most runs I'd ever scored in a single game, 7, although this may sound stupid the most I'd ever gotten in a game was 2 runs and I managed to get 5 runs in half an over (3 balls).

Hope You Have A Great Holiday =D

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Getting in the Summer Spirit

Now if this weather we're having at the moment isn't getting you in the summer spirit,then don't know what will.

Well, actually I might.

Homemade lemonade!!

Me and my brother made some of this deliciously summery delight and it was perfect. It started to really feel like summer (until it started raining...... Again!!!). So we thought we'd share the recipe with you.

The perfect lemonade recipe
Ingredients
1cup of water
1cup of lemon juice squeezed from fresh lemons (if you don't have enough then top up with lemon juice from a bottle)
1cup of sugar
And 3cups of cold water to dilute at the end 
1)make a syrup by heating the sugar and 1cup of water in a small saucepan, keep stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2)while the sugar is dissolving squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into a cup.
3)once the sugar is dissolved and lemons squeezed add both together into a jug then add 3cups of cold water to dilute. 


Et voila!! C'est fini!! 


Leave to cool then serve with ice and a slice of lemon.


Have a good summer!!




Bethan :)

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Opinions please

I've started writing a story and want people's opinions on it so i know what to improve on, please comment with constructive criticism and things you liked.
Enjoy!!!!
Bethan
xx

Out of the Skies
All his life, Peridot had been told to stay in cloud cover. His father and grandfather had been told the same thing so had all the other Angels. They were told this because of the Hunters down below. Peridot, Aura and Obsidian had only ever dreamt of what a hunter looked like, Angels never saw Hunters and survived to tell the tale. Both Peridot and obsidian’s fathers were part of the fallen; those that were shot down out of the skies to the ground below. They had been blown out of cloud cover by the wind into the open where the Hunters could get to them. There was never a time in the Angel’s history where there were no Hunters or Fallen.
Aura’s parents were part of the Angel Royal family, King Mercury and Queen Tianna. Peridot and Obsidians families were the Royal’s closest friends. Peridot and Aura were together although neither of their parents agreed to the match. They had planned their whole life together even though they were only sixteen. Obsidian was their only and closest friend and had been since Element school, where they learn how to fly, heal and fight. The three of them went everywhere together.
The Angels were a dying race, more and more Angels were being shot down and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Once they were fallen there was no way back as the Hunters were everywhere and made sure that the Angels couldn’t contact anyone above. There were schools and hospitals being closed everyday due to the depleting number of Angels, less Angels were going out during the days and cracks were starting to show in their whole infrastructure. And although all this was happening the Angels were still educating their young, hoping to bring a brighter future for them and the next generations
One day they were flying towards their school on the other side of the valley, when the clouds suddenly dispersed. Before they could stop, they were in open sky.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three Angels fell from the sky, spiralling down towards the ground.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Music For Summer 2012

The weather is amazing at the moment, bright blue sky and a burning sun. The only thing I have to have is a perfect sound track so here is some of the songs I like at the moment:

  • Rita Ora - R.I.P ft. Tinie Tempah
  • Fun. - We Are Young ft. Janelle Monae
  • Tulisa - Young
  • Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know ft. Kimbra
  • Flo Rida - Wild Ones ft. Sia
  • Kelly Clarkson - Dark Side
  • Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)
  • Jessie J - Laserlight ft. David Guetta
These are just a few of my Summer Soundtrack for 2012. Hope you listen to some of these and maybe even add them to your soundtrack. 

Have a wonder summer.

Bethan xxx

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Paris 2012 Photos

 I went to Paris at the beginning of February, It was very cold during the day and even colder at night. We went to many of the major land marks around the city such as the Eiffel tower, Arc De Triomphe, Champs-Elysees and the Sacre Ceour. The trip was brilliant. Here are some of the photos I took (I would put them all on but I don't think you would want to look at 550 pictures). 





























Friday, February 24, 2012

Inspirational People Are People Like This

The word Inspiration means to fill or affect with a special feeling or thought. An inspirational person is somebody who can make people feel better about themselves or somebody who has done something that others want to do and follow in their foot steps. An inspirational person is somebody who you would like to be like whether they're a sports player or even somebody who does things to help other feel better and be a better person.

Nick Vujicic was born without both his arms or legs but he hasn't let this stop him. He has become a motivational speaker and set up Life without Limbs charity when he was 17. Nick travels around the world giving motivational talks to people of any age with or without disability. In 2005 Nick was nominated for the "Young Australian of the Year" for his work. 

This video was sent to me so now I'm sending it to you.  


Nick has a website which tells his whole story and what he is going to do in the future. Here is the link to the website:



Monday, January 16, 2012

A New Level of Nerdyness

As the title suggests this blog will be about something "NERDY". Wrong this is about exams, I know, bleurghhh, EXAMS!!! Sorry I had to use an exciting(ish) title to draw you all in. I bet you're all thinking Nerds equals people like Game freaks or Computer know-it-alls or Geniuses (which I originally spelt with an O in it somewhere) about other electrical appliances that would probably confuse me if I tried to use them. Well, if you were thinking that then you would be partly right.

Nerd is a term that refers to a person who likes intellectual activities and/or pursues obscure interests, rather than engaging in more social or conventional activities. I refer to myself as a nerd as I would much rather learn stuff than go out and socialise.

Anyway on to exams, everyone has to take them at some point in their life, unless they are extremely lucky, whether they take them for educational purposes, to be able to drive legally, to achieve something in a sporting activity or dancing. This next statement will take me to the bottom of the school social status and maybe even to a new level of nerdyness but I will say it any way I like exams.

Yes, you read that right, I LIKE exams.

This is because exams test what I know (yes, friends, I know things) and if I can put that knowledge in to practise, without the teachers guidance. Also exams allow us to distinguish the gaps between knowledge of classmates and/or friendship groups. When I think of people that like exams, Hermoine, from Harry Potter always springs to mind. She is the one who always has to be right, get the best marks and know everything she can. I can relate to her, a lot.

The only thing I don't like about exams is the waiting for the results as I feel like I need to know who I have beaten or who has beaten me so I can try better the next time. Additionally I don't like the lead up to the exam, with all the teachers fussing and making us revise. My parents both make me revise at home when I have an exam, I don't need to revise in school as well I would much rather be learning more facts about that topic/subject.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Cross Country,WHY???????

There are two days in an academic year when PE teachers can be sadistic and force us to go outside in the cold and run. These two days are when we are ordered to take part in Cross- Country. Being year 11 students, we get taken out of school to run around the local countryside.

Firstly the teachers sat us down in the gym hall and told us where they wanted us to run. I was sitting with my group of friends and when I turned around they all had that expression of 'No way am I running that' I have to say I agreed with them. There was another of those moments, it was when the PE teachers told us we were to complete the track in less than 20 minutes and I'm glad to say I didn't make it with in that time and neither did any of my friends.

The running went without incident which for me is a very rare thing, but me and the two girls I was running with did nearly get run over by cars more than once. We had PE last lesson on a Friday so the route was really muddy from the previous runners and the rain from last night. Fortunately I had decided to change my plimsolls for some school trainers so my plimsolls didn't get muddy.

We have had the coldest weather this winter during these last few days and I stupidly thought that I would be alright in just my PE top and shorts, not a good idea. Luckily I was lent a jumper and found some football socks in my locker so I didn't get too cold.

This leads me to why do we have to do cross country in JANUARY (!!!) in the first weeks back from the Christmas holiday. We could at least wait a few weeks before we have to run or wait till it is warmer so we don't freeze. Also why TWO lessons of cross country? Do the PE teachers enjoy seeing us suffer? Isn't one lesson out in the cold enough? If we were doing a proper winter sport it would be alright, but just running (or walking) for 30 minutes is just stupid.

Some people like to run and do outdoor activities but within my friendship group, without offending any of them, we are not the most energetic, sporty or outdoorsy people, give us a book, canvas or music to listen to and we would complacently sit there without a care in the world so why should we have to take part in this atrocity called CROSS-COUNTRY!!!!!!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

My Favourite Quote

Just remember beautiful pictures develop from the negatives in a dark room......... So if you see darkness in your life just be reassured that a beautiful picture is being prepared.

This is my favourite quote because whenever I'm unhappy or just sad, I read this quote and it reminds me there will be better times ahead no matter what. When it's time for exams and I'm getting stressed this helps me think that once all the exams are done I can relax and have a good time with my friends. So if you're in a dark place, sad, unhappy or stressed remember this quote and then maybe you won't feel as bad and be able to go on with out being held back by these things.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Climate Change - Rising CO2 Levels

It’s frequently in the news, Climate change. Droughts are happening in different parts of the world. Hurricanes, Typhoons, Cyclones, Floods and Wildfires are becoming more frequent and more dangerous. Is this due to the rising CO2 levels?

Did you know that the CO2 levels naturally rise and fall throughout the year?

During spring and summer time there is a low CO2 level as the leaves on trees are able to change the Carbon dioxide into oxygen but in autumn and winter when the leaves fall and die they release the Carbon in to the atmosphere which builds up the CO2 level resulting in a high CO2 level.
Everyone knows how the seasons work, the spring and summer are warmer as the northern hemisphere is closer to the sun and autumn and winter are colder due to the northern hemisphere being further away from the sun.

Rising and falling CO2 levels coincide with the way the earth is facing. The northern hemisphere has more land mass than the southern hemisphere resulting in more trees. More trees means less CO2 in the warmer months but more CO2 in the colder months. Although the southern hemisphere has some land mass, the majority of it is near to the equator which means there is less trees to convert the CO2 in the spring/summer resulting in a rise in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. There is a drop in CO2 when the northern hemisphere is closer to the sun as there are more trees to convert the gas and fewer trees to produce it (fallen leaves).

There have been at least five ice ages throughout the earth’s history and scientists have identified that before each one there was a low level of CO2 but after there was a high level as all the CO2 that was trapped in the ice was being released due to the ice melting. Scientist can record this by doing coring in the ice. They know about the correlation between the ice ages and CO2 levels as they can find out the concentration of carbon in the ice.

Due to our over-use of fossil fuel there has been a sharp increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The high level of CO2 is three times the amount of previous highs and is predicted that it will be three times the size again by 2050 if we keep using the fossil fuels as we do.

When the sun’s rays come in contact with our atmosphere some of them bounce back in to space, some go through hit the earth and then bounce back into space and others hit the earth then the CO2 in the atmosphere then the earth again and so on. But as there CO2 levels are rising, the sun’s rays can’t escape so they bounce around the world resulting in an increase in temperature. This rise in temperature causes catastrophic disasters across the world and they will continue to get worse.

To slow this rising level of CO2 we could stop cutting down trees in rain forests, slow our use of fossil fuels down or get better alternatives.