Romeo and Juliet, The Garrick Theatre

Image from Pinterest

So when this goes live I don't know what I will be doing but I should (fingers crossed) have had a blissful anniversary weekend with the love of my life 😍

Anyway, I saw Romeo and Juliet on probably one of the hottest days of the year in the midst of July.

I took a half day at work and met my friend, Yasmin, at Charing Cross.

The show started at half two so I'd grabbed a wrap from WH Smiths and she grabbed a quick McDonalds (is it just us or when it's boiling do you just not want to eat??)

We were so excited because Richard Madden (aka Robb Stark from Game of Thrones!!!) was playing Romeo.

Not the whole reason we booked the tickets at alllllll 😉

Well, unfortunately, we arrived at the theatre and there on the wall was a notice to say that Richard Madden was indisposed due to a running injury.

A RUNNING INJURY.

God damn it.

Anyway, we settled ourselves into our seats (the tickets I'd booked were slightly cheaper with a notice that there would be a pillar blocking the view), the room was considerably cooler than the outside thank the Gods.

The pillar didn't seem to be in too much of my way, it was just obscuring whatever happened to be slightly to the right of the stage. Not a problem at all, right?

Ha, ha, ha.

It just so happened that Romeo's characters always stood in that exact spot so that I could rarely see him.

Well at least it wasn't concealing Richard Madden from view ey? Just his understudy (unfortunately I can't remember his name and we didn't pick up a programme - he was very good though).

Lily James made a stunning Juliet, the costumes and her performance equally beautiful.

The sets were also brilliant.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart for all you Harry Potter fans), the play itself was set in what seemed to be the 50s, with the Capulet's and Montague's dressed more like gangsters than in Shakespearian dress.

The masked ball and the final scene were probably my favourite.

Lily James rewarded us with a slice of her singing voice which was quite lovely actually and the whole forbidden love theme had me rooting for them even though I knew what was coming!

It was a little hard to follow the strong Shakespeare dialogue at times, but there were quite a few humourous bits as well as the odd song which we weren't expecting.

Derek Jacobi was also brilliant and worth a mention.

I definitely felt more educated once we left. 

It's different from a full-on musical, a lot to take in, but an interesting experience and maybe one I will try again whether or not the male lead is someone from Game of Thrones!

Canterbury, Kent

I can't wait for the day when I won't be nervous before driving for more than ten minutes.

I drove to my dad's at the weekend.

I even took a half day off so that I could leave plenty of time before it got too dark and to beat the rush hour traffic.

But alas, that didn't work. Well, I didn't avoid the traffic that is.

For some reason, I saw that my petrol was at a half tank and I panicked, thinking an hour drive to Faversham would consume the other half.

What an idiot.

So instead of going straight onto the motorway, I looped around intending to go fill up before backing out literally last minute and having to join the motorway via the Beckton roundabout.

Now, most people have probably never had to use this roundabout but I listen to Heart every morning and there are always incidents on this damn roundabout.

And that day was no different.

Traffic lights were at green but no one could move.

We were all jammed into spaces in-between the traffic lights which coincidentally prevented anybody else from using other exits.

And then there was a lorry pulled over on the slipway with a police car diverting traffic around it.

I then proceeded to stall twice in a queue of traffic on the motorway (thank God we weren't really moving).

I got beeped at countless times for jumping lane last minute because that's one thing a sat nav on your phone does not tell you.

I stalled a further two times at one of the final junctions as I was pulling into Faversham.

BUT

I made it in one piece.

And the journey back on the Sunday was actually bliss (even though I was bricking it right before I left).

ANYWAY, this post was actually meant to be about the Saturday of my weekend with my dad when we popped over to Canterbury.

Two train stops from Faversham and you pull into a beautiful, medieval walled town.

The sun was shining. The park below the wall dotted with autumnal coloured leaves.

It was beautiful, and that was just entering Canterbury.

We wandered around the shops in the centre for a bit. 

Maybe I'm just used to a tacky town centre but this one was beautiful with a great variety of shops.

Cobbled streets. Christmas lights hanging ready to be lit. Timber-framed houses.

After a while - I may have picked up my first Christmas present of the year (you can never start too early) - we made a pitstop at Byron.

This was only the second time I've been in there, but, again, it was pretty darn good.

I went for the chicken burger with courgette fries this time. They were surprisingly good and not as filling as regular chips!

I really wanted an Oreo milkshake but I was too full. Sad times.

We did pop into a fudge shop on the way back though which made up for our lack of dessert.

I already can't wait to visit Canterbury again. You can take a river tour on the idyllic river, visit the cathedral, shop, eat or walk the Roman-built medieval walls.

A perfect autumnal day.

Dark Heavens: Book 1, White Tiger

By Kylie Chan.

Image from Goodreads

[A young woman accepts a position as nanny to the young daughter of a handsome, wealthy, and mysterious Chinese businessman only to discover her new employer is really a god and every foul demon in creation is out to destroy him!]

I love Chinese mythology and just learning about the Chinese culture in general was fascinating which is what led me to read this book, along with a recommendation from a colleague at work.

The plot, I enjoyed.

It was action-packed and full of humour, especially between Emma and Leo. But, I did feel that a couple of things happened too quickly, like some bits just came out of nowhere.

And then there's also the dialogue. In some places, it worked (like with the humour), but in other places it felt like a filler and there were a handful of things said that the characters were implying that weren't obvious and never got fully explained.

The characters were great. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of the different levels of Chinese Gods and their "true forms", at least the true forms as they were in this book (I don't know if that's how they're truly perceived). Simone was a cute asset and Mr Chen was a dutiful mysterious father.

I have to say though, the thing that let it down for me was, well, the protagonist, Emma, and the relationship between her and Mr Chen.

Every other sentence they'd repeat stuff like "I know this can never happen" or "we're complete fools for letting it go this far". Blah, blah, blah.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the second half of the book was just filled with these sayings and it got really frustrating.

I also noted that Chan likes to use a handful of specific descriptive words a bit too much, which also got annoying.

It turns out that this is actually part of a trilogy, but I don't even know if I want to read the rest of them if the writing was that repetitive. It wasn't all that enticing with the ending either so I may just leave it as it is.

✌︎

The Miniaturist

By Jessie Burton.

[There is 

nothing hidden 

that will not be revealed...

On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old 

Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand 

house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. 

She has come from the country to begin a 

new life as the wife of illustrious merchant 

trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met 

by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later 

does Johannes appear and present her with 

an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized 

replica of their home. It is to be furnished by 

an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations 

mirror their real-life counterparts in 

unexpected ways...

Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of 

the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its 

secrets she realises the escalating dangers that 

await them all. Does the miniaturist hold their 

fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their 

salvation or the architect of their downfall?

Beautiful, intoxicating and filled with 

heart-pounding suspense, The Miniaturist is 

a magnificent story of love and obsession, 

betrayal and retribution, appearance 

and truth.]

I was really rather confused by this whole book.

Not confused as in I didn't know what was going on, because I did. 

But confused because the title is The Miniaturist, and, yes, a miniaturist did feature in the book but not nearly as much as I thought she would do. 

I kind of didn't see the point in her even being in the book, she had no impact whatsoever really and it was all left in the air as to what or who she really was. 

In fact, she had completely disappeared by the end, crucial moments of the plot, so I'm baffled.

I enjoyed the setting. Amsterdam sounds like such a beautiful and enchanting place and the style this was written in was perfect.

I loved Burton's character development as well. She really knows how to show all of their underlying flaws even among their more boisterous traits.

I was a little unhappy overall about the plot. It didn't seem to go anywhere at all for quite a while and then everything suddenly happened at once and it all seemed quite random.

The ending also left me feeling a little deflated and lost with two of the characters being killed off so suddenly (one more so than the other). 

I don't know why, but I presumed at least one of those two characters would survive, that the other characters would find a way to save them, but maybe that would be me hoping for a happy-ever-after ending when you don't always get them!

Another comment I would like to make, unrelated to the plot or characters, is about the actual bound print of this book. It is absolutely stunning. A friend bought me it as a present and I love the whole blue lining of each page and the floral endpapers. It's beautiful.

I wish I could have enjoyed this a bit more to be honest.



✌︎

The Difference of a Week

Taken quite a while ago, but found it to be a perfect moment. He loves me massaging his scalp!

How can two Friday's be so different from one another and only a week apart?

Last Friday was amazing, so perfect.

Adeel came over after work and we got all dressed up and went out for a 'date night'.

We'd been talking about it for a while, just not actually done it.

We tend to favour lounging in bed watching movies and TV shows all day over going out, so it was nice to mix things up a bit.

We went to Frankie and Benny's and then after we saw Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, which, I have to say, was very peculiar indeed.

And then there was the Friday that has just gone.

My boss's last day; a whirlwind of goodbyes and feeling a little bit lost.

Every time I think of work tomorrow, it makes me feel a little blue inside.

Like, I don't want to say I only enjoyed going to work for the people there, but it was a huge part of it.

I hope work does continue to be good though and that I can adapt to this sudden change.

I love my job so much and I really don't want to start resenting it because of this one little blip.

It has helped to have such a good, distracting weekend I must admit.

I spent the whole of yesterday with my best friend, chatting away amiably.

And then today.

Adeel came over, we were both feeling under the weather, but just being snuggled up in his arms for a few hours was amazing.

I can't explain how it makes me feel properly, except that it's all warm and safe and like the outside world can't hurt me whilst I'm there.

I don't know, it was just well needed.

Bring on tomorrow ✊🏻

Dear Diary: A Mix of Emotions

My housemate's girlfriend's dog looks like Gurgi from The Black Cauldron.

I hate change. It terrifies me. The future terrifies me. I guess I like to be in control. Anything different just seems to throw me off. And this week I've been all over the place.

My hormones have been terrible this week, way out of my control. I have felt so so alone and not good enough for anything. I've been having trouble with my driving and my doubts have crept their way back in, and all of that I could have dealt with.

It was even starting to improve yesterday.

And then at work a bombshell was dropped leaving our team shattered and beyond shocked.

My boss has suddenly, completely out-of-the-blue, decided to leave. In two days time.

It may not seem like such a bad thing to others but our little team of four gets on so so well. 

Seriously, we have had so many laughs and I think we've become really good friends, so to find out a mere ten minutes or so before the rest of the company that our boss, a guy that's been in the company for eight years and is pretty much the mogul of speccy excel formulas, is leaving is honestly devastating.

The three of us were just sat all day in complete shock.

I honestly can't see how the company can work without him. There's now going to be all these changes and a reshuffling and relocating for the rest of the team.

I hate that idea. I love my job, so much more than I thought I could ever love it, but for it to now change (so drastically by the sounds of it!) is terrifying.

I've actually been holding in my tears all day, it's affected me that much.

He was the best boss I could have wished for, a wonderful teacher and a great person in general.

And now I have another dilemma tied in with this.

No one but my boss knows how to do my job, so he is obviously the only one who can cover me if I go away.

And a week or so ago I kind of decided I wanted to take a week away to myself, to drive to Ireland and relax.

I've been working very hard at my job but I haven't been away properly since last November, so I think I'm in need of a good rest.

Plus, I feel like I'm relying too much on Adeel. I feel so lost whenever he isn't here.

It's sad because I know I should find my independence and I do have it, like I tend to prefer my own company a lot of the time, it's like being around people too long drains me and all I end up wanting to do is curl up in a ball and read quietly.

But Adeel is the exception.

I never get sick of him (I hope this will still be true later down the line!) and I find myself craving his company.

I don't do things at the weekend unless they're with him. I don't want to go away without him. I don't even want to go running or driving without him. I want to spend every holiday with him and watch all the new film releases with him.

So, although I don't want to be away from him, I really think I should take some time for myself to clear the fog that's crept into my brain of late, to take risks by myself and for myself so I can come back stronger and not feel like I have to constantly rely on anyone.

I should thrust myself into the deep end and take a chance.

I was really excited for this idea, albeit terrified at the same time, and now I don't even know if I can or should do it with what's going on at work.

I haven't booked anything yet but I know where I want to go and roughly when with the odd idea of what I'm going to do whilst I'm there.

And okay, it may not be completely solo, my sister may join me if she has the money/can get the time off from her new job.

But, either way, it would be nice to get some sisterly bonding in there too as we used to get on so well before I went to uni. Although, it's not like we don't get on now, we're just distanced because of our physical whereabouts.

So, if my boss is leaving and no one else knows how to do my job how can I possibly take a full week off? All I'd be doing in my time off would be worrying about what's going on at work and that's not a real break, that's worse.

AGH, I don't know. I really don't know what to do anymore ☹

The Girl on the Train

By Paula Hawkins.

Narrated by Clare Corbett, India Fisher and Louise Brealey.

I've timed this perfectly as the film was released just a few days ago, muhahaha.

All coincidence of course.

Image From Goodreads

[The debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives.

EVERY DAY THE SAME Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She's even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?]

I'm kind of a little bit disappointed with this.

Like, I don't even know if I really enjoyed it or not. I feel like I should like it more because it was so well-received by everyone else.

I started off enjoying it. I was gripped and curious for the most part.

I love the way Hawkins created really detailed characters, realistic ones at that. 

The details - or lack there of - for Rachel's alcoholic tendencies and her blackouts helped add to the whole mystery.

Although, I loathed both her and Anna pretty much throughout the entire thing - even their voices got on my nerves, so a well placed voice cast I'll have to admit. 

They were both such horrible types of people.

But I can't pinpoint exactly what made me lose my enjoyment out of it in the end. 

I just know that once I'd twigged who the killer was, I didn't care for the rest of the novel.

I liked Megan's character and her backstory, it was heartbreaking and horrible. 

Plus, there was the twist with who the killer actually was, but, yeah, I felt we found out too early somehow.

Meh, I don't know, mediocre at best.

I am looking forward to the film version though, it looks brilliant and from what I've seen of the trailer Emily Blunt looks like she'll nail the character of Rachel.

✌︎

The Mortal Instruments: Book Four, City of Fallen Angels

By Cassandra Clare.

[Clary is back in New York and life is good: she's training to 

be a Shadowhunter and is finally able to call Jace her boyfriend. 

But nothing comes without a price. When Jace inexplicably 

begins to pull away from her, Clary is forced to acknowledge 

that she herself has set in motion a chain of events that could 

lead to the loss of everything she loves. Even Jace.]

I actually loved this book.

I was a little worried at first that Clare might have gone too far with writing another three novels in this series on top of the first three. 

Would it just be the same sort of stuff repeated again from the other instalments or would it be better? 

But, I'm happy to say, she genuinely did a good job, really allowing the characters to grow. They are so in depth that I don't find any of them boring at all.

I still find Clary and Jace to be rather annoying as a couple (and Clary on her own), but I always seem to feel that way about the protagonists in YA fiction. 

I'm still rooting for them, don't get me wrong, it just seems to be the same thing all the time with Jace feeling sorry for himself, like he's never good enough for Clary. Blah blah blah, man up.

I love Simon and Isabelle's weird relationship in this one. 

He has slowly become my favourite character I think. He's really grown a great deal and it's interesting to see his continuing struggle as a vampire. 

Isabelle really grew on me as well. It's not that I didn't like her in the others, she just came across more stuck up and almost snobbish. But in this one, she shows some vulnerability.

Alec and Magnus weren't in it an awful lot and I kind of thought their tiff was a bit pointless. But, I liked the addition of Jordan/Kyle (did not see that twist coming!) and the overall villain was definitely an interesting one, one I wasn't expecting. 

I've always seen her character come up in other vampire-related TV programmes but in this she was a demon which was a different spin on it (don't wanna give that much away!)

I definitely enjoyed the plot. I don't know what I was expecting from a continuation but this wasn't it. This didn't disappoint though! 

I'm super intrigued by the little revelations we've found out about Magnus's past that are starting to link up with the Clockwork novels (am currently just finishing book two of these) and can't wait to see how they all wrap up!



✌︎

Wahaca, Westfield, Stratford

I think I'm a romanticist. At least I think that's the right word for it.

Constantly got my head in the clouds, dreaming.

I get so into the romantic gestures of the relationships on TV programmes I watch or in novels I read.

I don't know whether life can be that extravagantly romanticised but it's the little things that count.

Leading on from this, I've had another fab weekend with Adeel.

Maybe I'm just feeling more loving because our fourth anniversary is coming up or maybe I'm happy we got past the bumps in the road that prevented us last time.

Or maybeeee I just love him a lotta lot 🙊

Anyway, we unexpectedly went out for a spot of lunch today.

The reason it was so unexpected was because 1) I hadn't even expected to see him today as he'd been unwell and 2) I'm not very spontaneous, especially when it comes to trying new places or even eating out.

We tried a little ol' Mexican restaurant called Wahaca, right next to Westfield in Stratford.

I have to say I was a little dubious at first. 

As we walked in the tables reminded me of something you would see in a canteen or a cafe you would stop by in for a quick bite.

But, as I looked around I noticed little touches of eccentric, abstract beauty.

Vibrant, intriguing graffiti plasters a portion of the ceiling. Retro-like prints line the toilet doors eloquently named Kings and Queens depending on your gender. White panels of wood contrast beautifully with the patterned floor.

The atmosphere was perfect. I didn't once feel uncomfortable or like I was being bothered by any of the staff. In fact, the staff welcomed us warmly and helped with any of our questions.

And, now, the food.

My God, the first bite went in for both myself and Adeel and we were in awe.

Similar to The Real Greek, you can order a handful of smaller dishes (known aptly as Street Food) or a normal sized portion as in any other restaurant (known as Bigger Food).

Adeel chose Ancho Chicken Baja Tacos, two amazing, soft tortillas filled with a slightly spicy and smoky chicken, and Smoky Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas, more chicken in a beautifully spiced tomato sauce on top of a toasted tortilla.

I went for Smoky Chicken & Avocado Tostadas, a cold dish of chicken and guacamole slathered with mayo and plopped on top of a crunchy tortilla, and Sweet Potato & Feta Taquitos, crispy tortillas rolled into cigar shapes and filled with sweet potato, covered in salsa, mayo and feta.

We also shared some sweet potato bites, perfectly smoky and crunchy, and a Virgin Mojito, the freshest and most revitalising mocktail I've ever had.

And all for a reasonable price too. 

They also have a snazzy app you can download to pay your bill on instead of having to wait around for your waiter to assist you. 

The easiest, quickest meal I've had in a long while and the flavours were amazing too.

Perfect.

This is not a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.

✌︎