Category Archives: Life

April 18, 2013 · 1:28 pm

Autism friendly theatre.

One of the things I love about the Internet is that sense of serendipity you get when over a short period of time you read different things in different places by different people and they all link together and build on each other.

Yesterday I read this article from The Stage about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time holding a “relaxed performance” this summer, geared up to meeting the needs of families with children with autistic spectrum conditions, and other sensory difficulties. This sounded like such a brilliant idea to me, and just knowing it existed made me happy. When I tweeted a link to the article a friend told me more about the project, currently in its pilot phase. I did a bit of searching and read more about the various theatres that are taking part in it.

This lunchtime I saw another friend tweet a link to this blogpost from Through Accepting Limits blog. This is a post by a parent of a child on the autistic spectrum about their family trip to see an autism-friendly performance of The Lion King. It’s a wonderful, moving read, and to me it just perfectly finished my experience discovering one way theatres are working to become more accessible.

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April 17, 2013 · 2:34 pm

A lovely weekend.

I know it’s Wednesday and technically a bit late to be talking about the weekend, but my weekend didn’t end until Monday so here I am today.

This weekend I went to London with my mom, my friend Emma and her mum. We met up and spent most of Saturday in theatres, first watching Matilda and then The Audience.

MatildaEmma and I saw Matilda last summer and both fell in love with it instantly. It’s a lovely retelling of the Roald Dahl book, Tim Minchin’s songs are brilliant and the children are all excellent. As we were walking out of the theatre we knew that it was going to be a great show to take our mothers to see – we loved it and surely they would too. Interestingly when the four of us chatted about it over dinner afterwards, neither of them enjoyed it to start with but as the show progressed they did see what we’d seen in it and did really enjoy it.

TheAudienceThe Audience appealed to all four of us, we all have a strong interest in politics and so a play about the Queen’s weekly audiences with the prime minister sounded right up our streets. Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth was excellent, as were the various actors playing prime ministers – there were a couple who seemed like slightly odd casting until we saw them appear and realised how good they were. The play is really interesting, witty and at times most poignant – it exceeded my high expectations.

After a delicious brunch at Brown’s on Sunday we all parted company and I went to visit lovely friends Liz and Mark. Thanks to the very nice weather we had delicious BBQ cooked by Mark, and Liz had baked a very tasty gluten free carrot cake. There was lots of chat about books and writing, and we watched Chronicle and John Carter both of which I really enjoyed. A perfect ending to the weekend.

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April 5, 2013 · 3:37 pm

Bookshelf Love.

Over the last couple of months my bedroom has been completely redecorated for the first time in far too many years. I’ve been putting it off for a long time, I knew that I’d have to go through everything and get rid of a lot of the stuff I’d accumulate over the course of about 15 years – not a fun prospect. After 30 years my parents have got to know the sorts of things to do and say to encourage me to do things, and so I was promised brand new bookcases as part of the redecoration – suddenly the idea didn’t seem quite so awful.

I have done pretty much all the clearing out and I’ve been rewarded with a gorgeous room, new bed, and the promised bookcases. Last Thursday I was given custody of these bookcases, made to measure by my dad:

I took a look at the many boxes my books were temporarily residing in and knew that I needed to stop and make a proper plan of action – I only wanted to put the books on the shelves once, and I wanted to take advantage of having so much more shelf space and have my books in a nice, orderly manner.

I ended up making lots of piles of books on the floor:

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(this all made sense in my brain).

And then I started to fill the shelves. For the big bookcase I started by putting the adult hardbacks and trade paperbacks on the top shelf (split into fiction and non-fiction) and the adult paperbacks on the next 2 rows of shelves.

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The children’s and young adult books then went onto the same 2 rows of shelves, I put them in front of the adult because I know I’m less likely to want to refer to the adult fiction.

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The third row got the tv tie-in fiction, again double stacked, and has the one empty shelf at the moment – my library books are currently sitting it in but I know that won’t last! The bottom row got two shelves of my film and tv reference books, and then my random non-fiction.

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The smaller bookcase got custody of my unread books – that’s the top two rows. The bottom left is my graphic novels and the bottom right is my slowly growing writing reference book collection.

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I know that when I work my way through my unread books I’m going to have to have a rethink. I’ve already got a couple of ideas, though it should be a good few weeks before I’m having to put them into practice!

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January 6, 2013 · 10:30 am

Blasts from the Past.

I’ve spent the last few weeks clearing through the years and years worth of stuff I’ve accumulated throughout high school and one and a half degrees. It’s the kind of job I usually hate, I’m a bit of a hoarder by nature so having to be brutal and throw things away tends to make me a bit miserable. This time it hasn’t been so bad, there’s a lot of stuff I’ve actually been glad to get rid of and there have been other things I’ve loved rediscovering. Yesterday I made my favourite discovery yet – a photo collage I’d made for my wall when I was waiting to start uni (the first time round).

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I can’t remember exactly what my reasoning was behind making it, I think it might have been to do with this being a way to have fewer things to actually stick up on the wall (remembering how many things I plastered my walls with over the years I think this was a false impression). Looking back at it has made me smile a lot. There are some things I’m not entirely sure of; why did I add pictures from Toy Story 2, Shrek and the Simpsons? why did I include Michael Greco despite having never watched Eastenders? who are some of the more random guys? and just how did Charlie Hunnam go from cute to hot?

Since finding this I found myself wondering what had happened to Daniel MacPherson (top left corner, picture from his days as Joel in Neighbours). Turns out he followed the same path as Charlie Hunnam and has also made the transition from cute to hot, and took the lead in a short lived Australian period drama about bushrangers Wild Boys that sounds right up my street. I wonder what some of the other not household name faces have ended up doing.

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December 31, 2012 · 3:52 pm

2012 in review.

CalenderAfter having a wonderful 30th birthday yesterday it’s time to turn my attention back to it being the end of the year, and posting my year in review meme entry. I thought I’d done this meme in the last couple of years but I think it must have been on my old blog instead, that blog doesn’t exist any more so sadly I can’t credit where I first saw the meme – if anyone remembers it please let me know so I can give appropriate credit.

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?

Went to a couple of Doctor Who conventions, ate Thai food, read digital comics.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next this year?

I didn’t make any, I did however fail miserably at my Things Before 30 list which seemed like a good idea at the time but faded over the year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, November and December saw the births of Paula, George and Charlie – the children of a cousin and of close friends.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What countries did you visit?

Does Wales count? Spent a lot of time visiting there! Also the USA for my New York holiday.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

A completed degree, a job as a librarian.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Specific dates? Not sure there are any, though there are lots of moments I’ll remember even if I don’t remember which date they happened.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
9. What was your biggest failure?

I’m answering these together because it doesn’t really feel like 2012 was a year of either big achievements or failures, I’m partway through my degree so it was a year of just carrying on.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing major, obviously continued to experience my usual health issues but didn’t have anything new.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Convention tickets, this year I went to three conventions and each was a wonderful weekend.

12. Where did most of your money go?

Rent and tuition fees.

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
NYPL
My holiday to New York, especially getting to eat proper pizza and cheesecake and visiting the New York Public Library.

14. What song will always remind you of 2012?

Good question, probably two of the songs I saw Brian Nutter perform at Con-2 – his cover of Pink Houses by John Mellencamp (which was a duet with Christian Kane) and his song Red Sundress.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?

Happier.

b) thinner or fatter?

A little thinner.

c) richer or poorer?

Poorer.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Spent more time with friends, writing.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Watching rubbish shows in the hope they might improve.

18. Did you fall in love in 2012?

Yes, with the Avengers film and cast.

19. What was your favorite TV program?

My favourites were; Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Arrow, Elementary, Chicago Fire, Castle, and more.

20. What was the best book you read?

I loved so many, but particularly A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Heart Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne, The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, Hollow Pike by James Dawson and the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.

21. What was your favorite film of this year?

The Avengers, and then The Hobbit was a late entry and love.

22. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

It was my birthday yesterday and I was 30. I had a wonderful weekend, Friday evening I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for the second time (and loved it just as much as the first time), Saturday evening was spent at my favourite local balti house and then the day itself included a family gathering and much cake.

23. What kept you sane?

Friends, books, cross stitching, Twitter.

24. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
TomHardy
The absolute most? Hmm, I think it was probably still Tom Hardy though there are a fair few contenders.

25. Who did you miss?

Friends I didn’t manage to see enough of, there are so many I only managed to see a couple of times over the course of the year.

26. Who was the best new person you met?

I met lots of new people this year, people who were entirely new to me and people who I’d known online for a while and got to meet in person at last. Don’t think I could possibly pick just one!

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September 19, 2012 · 7:46 pm

Gluten Free New York.

I’ve been back from my holiday in New York for a week so it’s time I got on with blogging about it. I had an absolutely amazing time, despite the evil heat stopping me from doing everything I wanted to, so I’ve got plenty to say. I know blogging about holidays isn’t supposed to be the done thing, but I love reading other people’s posts about their travels so I don’t care!

One of the reasons I chose to return to New York when I got the chance for a holiday was that it has loads of brilliant places to eat that cater for my gluten free diet. I had a list of places that I went to last time, and spent a couple of hours researching new places online so that I ended up with a good variety of options. By the time I was getting ready to come home there were still places I hadn’t visited, I think that means I need to go again! Here are some of the wonderful places I visited.

Slice.
Website: http://sliceperfect.com/
Food: Pizza made with local, seasonal, healthy ingredients including the option of a gluten free base.
What I had: I chose the basic cheese pizza, I was a little overwhelmed by having choice so played it very safe. The pizza was very tasty, the base was very thin and crispy with an unusual but nice flavour. I had their non-alcoholic cucumber mojito which was also lovely.

Chicken Tortilla Pie from Rosa Mexicano.

Rosa Mexicana.
Website: http://www.rosamexicano.com/
Food: They have specific gluten free lunch and dinner menus offering a range of Mexican dishes.
What I had: I visited twice, I had their chicken enchiladas on one visit and chicken tortilla pie on the other. Both dishes came with house rice and their refried black beans. Both meals were delicious and I enjoyed the refried beans but I wasn’t very keen on the rice which was a little more al dente than I like it.

Mexican Radio.
Website: http://mexrad.com/
Food: They offer a range of Mexican food using corn tortillas, their website has quite a bit of information about gluten free options though the menus don’t show this and the waitress I had needed to go and ask what was suitable for me.
What I had: Quesadillas, I chose to stick with the basic option and it was delicious. Like Rosa Mexicano this dish came with refried black beans and house rice, and again I enjoyed the beans but not the rice. The food was nice, but the overall experience wasn’t as good as I had at Rosa Mexicano.

Barbecue pizza from Mozarelli’s.

Mozarelli’s.
Website: http://www.mozzarellis.com/
Food: They offer gluten free pizza by the slice, gluten free pastas and gluten free desserts including cheesecake.
What I had: I was completely blown away by the range of pizzas they had on offer, I ended up choosing a slice of barbecue pizza and then strawberry cheesecake to follow. Both were absolutely delicious, I was tempted to go and spend a bit of time in the nearby Madison Square Park before going back for more! It is worth mentioning that the staff are all a little brusque but the food’s well worth it.

S’MAC.
Website: http://www.smacnyc.com/
Food: Macaroni & Cheese every way you can think of it, they offer a choice of 12 different varieties all with the option of gluten free pasta and breadcrumbs.
What I had: I stuck to a fairly classic choice and had the 4 cheese version. It was absolutely delicious, if I’d had the opportunity I’d definitely have gone back so I could try another one or two.

Cupcakes and cookies from Tu Lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery.

Tu Lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery.
Website: Their own site is down at the moment, but their Facebook page is here.
Food: All sorts of baked goods – cupcakes, cookies, brownies and more.
What I had: I tried their red velvet cupcake, chocolate cupcake with vanilla cream cheese frosting and chocolate chip cookies. They were all lovely, and it was such a treat to be able to walk into a cake shop and come out with great things to eat.

I also revisited Blooms Deli and went to the Hampton Chutney Co. and had tasty lunches at them both. It was so nice to be able to go to so many restaurants and eat food that I knew was definitely safe, I can only dream of the day when cities in the UK catch up!

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August 24, 2012 · 8:07 pm

Another change of tack.

Photo of open textbook with four colour biro resting on top.

Photo by sobriquiet.net.

It’s less than a month now until the start of term at university and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into my third and final year. I won’t however be returning to Aberystwyth in person. I will instead be competing my degree as a distance learner, an option taken by the majority of people studying with the Department of Information Studies at Aberystwyth University.

It’s not been the easiest decision to make, there are a lot of things I’ll miss; living by the sea, wandering around town listening to the pleasing mixture of Welsh and English conversation, L and D the two lovely friends I’ve made on the course, my landlady and her amazing cat. I know though that for a variety of reasons it’s definitely the right decision for me.

Since officially making the decision a couple of days ago I’ve begun to think of how the year will pan out for me. Next week we are going to work to make a suitable study area for me and then as soon as term starts I should be able to get started. If nothing else I’m exciting to try out distance learning, it’s going to be a completely different sort of educational experience, one I’m looking forward to throwing myself into.

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May 28, 2012 · 8:53 pm

The London 2012 Torch Relay.

The Olympic Torch is in Wales at the moment on its journey around the UK. It arrived in Aberystwyth yesterday evening and this morning headed off on its way to Bangor where it is spending tonight. I live a little north of Aberystwyth so it was wonderful this morning to see the torch taking the route I use every time I go into town. I went to see the torch in Tre-Taliesin, watching its final leg before it was transported by coach to Machynlleth.

This lady was the torch bearer:

According to the website she is Caroline Orrells from Newton, her bio is here. The rest of the photos I took are on my Flickr here.

It was very quiet where I watched it compared with some of the images I’ve seen, but for me it was no less impressive. I’ve been looking forward to the Olympics coming to the UK for ages now, and seeing the torch for real was I think the thing that really brought it home to me that it’s really happening. I loved as well knowing that my parents and some friends have already watched the torch go past, and more family members and friends will see it in the weeks to come – we’re all scattered across England and Wales, but we’re all sharing this experience.

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May 24, 2012 · 8:27 pm

Lovely Day.

I’ve had such a lovely day today. By many peoples’ standards it’s probably been pretty quiet but it’s been filled with so many things that have made me happy.

It started off with a double episode of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes which I’m currently watching to help stave off my Avengers Assemble obsession (though it’s just over a week until my chance to see it for a fourth time). This episode saw my new favourite Hawkeye getting to do stuff so it was a welcome surprise.

Then there was lots and lots of writing. I have failed miserably over the last few months to do any writing, but now I’m in that quiet period after all my uni work’s done and before I head back to my parents for the summer break I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. Over the last couple of days I was starting to make headway and then today something clicked into place and I managed just under 5,500 words and passed the 10,000 overall words mark which was really pleasing.

In one of my breaks between writing spells I took my camera out into the garden to take a few photos of the beautiful clematises (clematii?) and spotted the odd insect flying around so took the chance to have a go at taking some macro pictures of things that are actually alive. This is one of them, it links to the set on my Flickr.

Whilst I was writing I tried a new singer on for size, I’ve been listening to a lot of Miranda Lambert in the last couple of weeks after falling in love with Gunpowder and Lead on American Idol. I looked to see who was doing the harmonies on her track Better In The Long Run and discovered it was her husband, fellow country star Blake Shelton. I’ve listened to a couple of his albums today and really liked what I heard, including this country take on Michael Bublé’s Home that features Lambert on harmonies.

On top of all of these things it was sunny, though nowhere near as hot as most of the UK which was pleasing, and this afternoon finished with me reading a great book in the garden with tea and bara brith. So many little things all pulling together to leave me feeling completely happy and content with the day.

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February 20, 2012 · 4:32 pm

I’m not really here today…

… instead I’m guest blogging over at Fluttering Butterflies as part of Clover’s excellent Love Month. There have already been some brilliant guest posts and loads of great reviews, and today I got to play. I’m talking about my many tv boyfriends, you can see who made my list here.

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