Should The Clocks Go Back

It seems to be in the news every year, yet every year nothing is ever done about it. The question on everyone’s tongue seems to be “should we put the clocks back for winter?” in my personal opinion, I think that we shouldn’t. I think that with a lighter evening, there will be more time to do things outside, it will help tourism and genuinely make make many people feel better. I find it so depressing when you finish work all the time in winter and it is already dark before you get home. I know that some people will disagree and say that when you get ready in the morning that if it is dark this can also be depressing but I just feel that when you wind down after work (and the majority of people finish around 5ish) then it is nice to see a little bit of a day rather than finish work and get straight into night. There are also more benefits like people getting home safely because of the lighter hours and people being able to do more with their days. The problem that the UK now faces with the clock changes is Scotland. I understand the reasons as to why Scotland would not want to change this because their light of day is slightly different to the majority of the UK. I hope however that the government and politicians of all sides look into what will benefit the whole of the UK rather than if it has some more negative impact on one part of the country specifically. If it has more positives than negatives for the majority then I really do hope that we will stop putting our clock back for winter and we become GMT + 1 and get more from our days. This subject will be a complete mixed bag of jellies and I know that some people really disagree with it so if you want to share your thoughts then leave a message below. 

Remember to put your clock back tonight if you are in the UK! 

signing out, Thatmfeeling 

Wicked The Musical: Review

As you sit down in the theatre, you get an idea as to the detail that is going to be in this show by all the surrounding staging that is not hidden by the main screen. I love it, all the old wood, vines and steps, set back into the sides keeps you busy for ages whilst you are waiting for the show to start. Across the theatre is old style mine lighting, suspended across by its wires. It really gets you into the show and I think also reminds you that this is not the usual wizard of oz story. I found that we had to wait a while for the show to start and it started a couple of minutes late but this was probably a good thing as some stupid people still did not manage to find their seats in time. This time round, I was on the upper tier but we had very good seats. The screen lifted and the performers came out. I really love the lighting with this production, it changes so often and they seem to use very rich colours which make the performance feel very captivating. I will not give too much away as I do not want to spoil the show for the people that have not seen it but the only thing that I want to criticize with the scenery is that there are two very tall column divider things that have moving cog wheels on them, the cogs spin when these parts of the scenery move. They appear so often and I kept on thinking to myself “what are they!?” “why are they in a classroom, in a forest and basically everywhere in Oz?” The scenery was so beautiful and then you get these column things move in and I just cant fathom as to why they had to be used so much in the production? Could they not have replaced them with trees in the forest and bookshelves in the classroom? I don’t know, maybe there is a reason that they are there. Apart from that criticism of the scenery, I have to say that the acting and singing was amazing. Rachel Tucker that plays Elphaba, sings in such an amazing way, her acting is perfect and I just wanted her to take her costume off so you could see the beautiful lady underneath it (I think this shows that she did a very good job!) If Elphaba was such a great character then you know that Glinda, played by Louise Dearman just stole the show! Glinda was funny, sexy, underestimated and of course... blonde! The one thing that I would comment on is that Dearman does not speak very clearly and some of the time it was impossible to hear what she was saying. Whilst I am sure that all of her joes were funny, because you could not her her all the time it was hard to understand some of them. The rest of the time, she was 100% amazing and really made you love this character all the way. Dearman acted how I imagine Glinda to be and had the character nailed down to a T in my eyes. Whilst Dearman had the character, Tucker had the voice and I think that we should not forget Tucker because of this. Whilst the two leading ladies really made the show, there are two guys that have to be mentioned. Mark Evans who played Fiyero is just amazing. He did not have to speak, he could have just stood in the middle of the stage, silent for three hours and I am sure that it would have impressed most of the people in the theatre! He has the looks of a hunk and the acting and singing voice of a dedicated actor. I know that most people will love him because he is a complete charmer but I have to say that he does his job incredibly well. Maybe they should create a production just based around Fiyero! The other little one that has to be mentioned is Ben Stott who played the munchkin, Bok. Whilst Stott is not really small and does not look like a munchkin, he plays his character very well. (I do wish however that he was smaller to match the character!) You really feel for him and nothing goes his way (this is why I think that me and him should fall in love and live happily ever after) It is a huge production so it is understandable that everyone in the production is going to be good. You can tell that it has had money pumped into it from every angle and I think people that watch it from all ages, knowing about the Wizard of Oz or not, you will enjoy it. As I stated in my previous blog, I found it very inspiring and I know that I will go and see it again in a year or two. By that time, me and Boq will be madly in love and they will have to change the storyline!  The show is rather expensive but if the money is putting you off, I want to reassure you that it is money well spent and that you will have a phenomenal evening. Victoria Apollo theatre is rather large and one this that I love about this theatre is that nearly all of the seats have views. If you are worried about being too far back then I recommend that you sit on the upper tier. The upper tier has a better slope than where the stalls are so I think that you can get a better view (unless you are near the front where I was the first time round and then you will have the best seats in the house!) The closer you are to the speakers however, the bigger your headache. As a warning, when the Wizard of Oz speaks, you will want to put your hands over your ears. Apart from that have an amazing time and dribble over all the talent that this production has to offer! 

Signing out, Thatmfeeling 

Wicked: a hit musical in so many ways!

I have already seen this amazing musical before but yesterday I went to see Wicked once again! I cant get over how amazing this musical is. Ever since I was little, I have always loved the wizard of Oz and have watched it many times. Wicked has obliterated this love and has made me fall for this back story that focuses on the witches of oz. The story just works so well! I find it hard to watch the musical without looking around the theatre and seeing all the work that goes on behind the scenes and around us to show this amazing production. The lighting, the music, the dancers, the scenery, i just think it is amazing. Every time I leave the theatre, I feel so inspired! looking at these amazing actors and dancers and seeing where they have managed to get in life, performing for some of the most amazing productions ever! I want to climb onto the stage and dance around with them! I love the process that goes hand in hand with these things and it makes me so desperately want to be part of something where I can present or be on stage. I know the likeliness is that I will never do it but what comforts me to know is that it pushes me harder in life to be something, to do the things that I want to do and just live! I know that that is so much to get from one theatre production but this is what I love so much about London, there is so much going on, so much inspiration around and just so much choice! I cant get enough! I will be going to bed with a smile on my face (I may need some botox!)

have a great night, if you have not seen Wicked then 110% go to see it because it will be worth every penny! 

signing out, Thatmfeeling 

The Beetham Tower

For anyone that has been following my blog, you may have noticed my on going story with the Beetham tower. For a while the tower has been out of the public eye and away from the news. I have been trying to find information on the future of this project and yesterday I had some luck! The scheme and original backers of the building ran into some trouble when the world fell into a financial crisis. It has now been announced that Berkeley Homes tower building division has won the battle for The Beetham tower. There is no news in a time scale as to when the building will now be complete but it has been announced that the building will still go ahead so we will still see this glittering tower rise above London in the next few years. With the change of company will come a change of name but the new name for the tower is yet to be confirmed. This is great news for the tower as the design is one of quality and the look will fit in very well on the London skyline. As I said before, this is an ongoing story and I will continue to update as long as I can get information on this beautiful building as I feel it should have so much more publicity than it is currently getting!

Signing out, Thatmfeeling 

The Big 100!

I cant honestly believe that this is my one hundredth blog! Yes I have typed out one hundred blogs and I still love it! I want to take this time to say a huge thank you to all of the people that have been reading, browsing or occasionally following my little random type outs for all this time because overwhelmingly there have been thousands of you, so from the bottom of my great big huge and slightly random heart, Thank you so much. This as well as my youtube channel (Yes I will be making a video soon, I have not gone!) have been amazing to do over the two years because I get to see peoples reactions, I get to share an opinion, make friends and flatteringly have people follow me. I can look back at both of these websites and see how I have grown, changed and developed as a person and I get to do it with all of you around me. I never started to blog with the intention of it lasting as long as it has and it has been a dream to have the people behind me that I have had for all this time. I plan to blog and occasionally vlog for as long as I love to do it. Its been two (ish) years and I still love to do it so expect much more from me in the future. 

much Love and once again, Thank you 

Signing out, Thatmfeeling x

Dale Farm Eviction

Now, for those of you who do not live in the UK, you probably have not heard about the Dale farm eviction. Over the past ten years, Basildon council have been pushing to get illegal travellers off part of the site at Dale farm. Half of the site is legal and the people that have settled there have planning permission to have their homes on the grounds. The other half is green belt land and the travellers on this part of the land do not have permission to settle on it. Recently in the news there has been so much commotion over the story as the council finally pushes to evict them from the land. After so many legal battles and problems, the residents finally faced eviction yesterday (19th October) Whilst I do not hate travelers and accept the way they live, I think that it is correct for them to be evicted from this land. Sky news seem to report this story in a way that the travellers are innocent and that the council should just give them this land to build on as they have been there for ten years but the way that I see it is, if you give them this land to settle on when the council has said no originally then you will have to give all the other travellers the and that they have been occupying across the country for however long. These people that settled there knew that it was illegal to stay there so why should they be given land just because they are kicking up a fuss when they are being asked to leave? If I or any other member of the UK public were to do the same thing then we would also face eviction so, I do not see why these people should receive any different treatment. What they are doing is wrong and that is the end of the matter.

The other thing that really annoys me with this whole situation is that the people on Dale Farm (more so the protesters that have come in rather than the people living there) say that the police are being harsh and violent towards them and that it is unacceptable, creating tension between the two. I completely stand with the police on this matter. How can they say that the police are being violent when it is these protesters and some of the settlers there that have been throwing objects, hitting police with spades and poles and setting caravans alight, using them as barriers? For the police to correctly deal with these people, they are going to have to use force. I think personally the longer that this situation goes on for, the worse the travellers look. I understand that they believe that they have no where to go but the council has given them options. Just because these options are not the ones that the travellers want, does not give them any reason to act in the way that they are. I know that some people will disagree with my opinion but I really do not see why these people think that what they are doing is acceptable.

Signing out, Thatmfeeling 

The Wonders Of iCloud?

At first glance, iCloud sounds amazing. Finally we do not have to sync with cables and all that crap (I hate cables, I always fall over them or pull them out by accident!) somewhere where we can take a photo and it will appear on all the other apple products that we use at the same time. Whilst it sounds amazing and from first hand experience I can say that it is, the route to get there is slightly more difficult. Apple made iCould sound so effortless and amazing, when you finally get it up and running it is, but the process of getting there has had my head in a spin. Many of my friends had been asking the same questions. “Why are my calendar dates not syncing properly” “why are my photos not appearing on my iPad when I take them on my iPhone?” “Do I sync to my computer or to iCloud?” basically in a nut shell, you have to set everything up! you have to make sure that iCould is switched on and is working on each device that you want to use and then to edit the settings of iCloud on each device to make sure that will do the things you want it to do. I know this sounds nerdy but I thought I would talk about this because I know so many people in the same situation. the iPhone, iPod and iPad are rather simple to set up. You click iCould and turn it on. It is the computer (my brain child as I call it) that is the problem. Apple has the idea that the computer is now not the main component in the relationship, so your iPhone is just as important as your computer and they just share information between them, rather than the iPhone just taking the information from the computer like before. You have to make sure that when you type in your notes and dates on your calendar that you are actually using the iCloud setting within it (or your notes and dates on the calendar will only transfer when you are syncing to your computer) when you are using iCloud settings on calendar then as soon as you type them on your computer, they appear on your iPhone and iPad. The same with photo sharing between the devices. You need to make sure that on your computer settings, the mac is to share the photos (and if you use iPhoto that it is correctly set up on there) 

The reason I say this is because I thought that my iCloud was working but it was actually my phone just syncing to my computer and taking information from it each day (with iCloud it shares information pretty much instantly and saves you the time to sync each apple device to the computer) 

I probably made no sense at all but at least I know what I am talking about! All I am saying is that for iCloud to work as amazing as Apple describes it, you need to make sure that many things are set up. 

So is iCloud really that wonderful? I wouldn’t say that it is the most amazing thing in the world but it is extremely handy. I always type in my work rota and everything I am doing onto my calendar so the fact that it automatically updates onto my other products is great because I do not have to remember to sync my iPhone to make sure that I have my correct work dates. Another great thing is the photo sync. I always forget that I have taken photos on my phone because I also have a camera. Now that it syncs with my iPad I remember that I have them and it makes it so easy to upload them to Facebook and share them with friends. 

I recommend that you set it up because at the end of the day it is handy and will save you time even if you do not use them regularly. Its another thing to make our lives less complicated in a complicated way

If you got to the end of this and understand everything that I am talking about then I love you, if you didn’t then please read it all over again, more user friendly topic next I promise! 

Signing out, Thatmfeeling

Cee Lo Green: The Lady Killer... I have an addiction!

I have a rather extreme addiction at the moment and it is something that I must talk about. I was in HMV one day and this song started to play. I absolutely loved it yet had no idea who was singing the song. I left the store and decided to go home and do some research to find out what this song was and how I could get my hands on it as quickly as possible. After a few clicks I found out that the song I had been listening to was “Bright Lights Bigger City” by Cee Lo green and I have to say what a “bloody fantastic” song it is! The base on this song, the quality of music and the signing just make this song one of the best songs that I have heard all year. I didn't think that the album would be able to match up with this single song because I always seem to find at the moment that artists have one or two great songs and then the album is a rushed mess with rubbish filling up the other tracks. Oh how I was wrong. I can honestly say that there is not one single bad track on the album and it is one of these albums that I just have to listen to each day. Sometimes my addiction gets the best of me and I listen to the whole album two to three times more a day and it has gotten to the point that my housemate has tried to ban me listening to it. I have no idea why I love the album so much but it is extremely rare for me to listen to an album and really fall in love with it. Yes I had just recently met Cee Lo green in a club but that was not the reason as to why I downloaded his album. Mr Green has never really come across as an artist that I would just like. Before buying “The Lady Killer” I would have said that it was nice music and that if it was on in a bar or somewhere that I was out then I would be fine to  listen to it, I never classed myself as someone that would buy his album and I now recommend everyone to go and do the same. I was going to try and single out some songs to talk about but I really cant pick any singular one that stands above the rest. Fool for you is great because I like the way that Green sings in it, forget you (F**k you) is also a good song but this is the one that I would rather not listen to as it has now been overplayed far too many times. I want you is also another song that has a really nice sounding track to it but as I said before I would have to mention every single song and I could be hear forever expressing my undying love for this new discovery! If you are not a Cee Lo fan, have not heard him or have not listened to all of the songs on “The Lady Killer” then please, please, please go onto iTunes or Youtube and listen to every song. This is for your sake and you will thank me for it in the end. I am going to go and watch House M.D. now before I have to feed my addiction again! 

Signing out, Thatmfeeling 

Man Playing with Dead Pigeon

I know it might sound rather sad to some people, but I do love going in search for inspiration. Sometimes I think that people get too comfortable with what they are doing in life or they just do not push themselves as much as they could do. I try to go out as much as possible to experience London because I always get worried that I am one of these people that lives in such an amazing city yet does not really know what is going on. Every time I go out and experience the city, going out even being a trip to the park for an hour or two, I always find that it pushes me to try and do more. I look around and see what people have, what they are doing in life (or sometimes what they aren’t doing in life when it comes to the man that killed a pigeon next to me in the park the other day) I see that I could have that, it could be in my grasp if I just tried more, this is what gets me through the day. Yesterday I got an invite to the London Pavilion of Art and Design. I had been thinking about going and thought to myself “should I really go!?” In the end I thought “sod it, I am going” and I am glad that I visited. The LPAD was to be honest, rather boring. I love art but walking around a massive tent with people that have far too much money, splashing it around on works that I could not even classify as art, turned me off. I love the whole idea of it but when you see that some artists have pained a canvas pure red and then slashed it three times... it is effortless, meaningless and plain boring. Simple art is fine, modern art is fine also but it needs to have effort, emotion and meaning behind it. There were some lovely works of art there too, some stunning sofas, furniture and paintings that must have taken months to complete. Whilst I was glad that I had made the decision to go down to see the exhibition, it really was not “rocking my world” so I decided to spend the rest of my day in Green Park and what a perfect ending to the day it was. It was sunny, warm, happy and there were so many people around. What amused me was that as soon as I sat down, this squirrel ran up to me and froze. The expression on its face was amazing. It was as if it was saying “Hello!” with so much excitement. The squirrel was so close that I could have reached out and touched it, I am sure it would have let me too! I decided to throw it a grape and it stood up and caught it! (I mean come on that is just so impressive!) Anyway mr squirrel decided to sit next to me eating a grape and I decided to relax in the sun. Everything was perfect until I noticed a tramp with what I thought was a puppet of a bird on a string. He was very intriguing because he managed to get hundreds of pigeons over to him and was feeding them. I was watching him play with his puppet until I noticed that it was a real bird that he had caught on a string around its neck. He was messing around with it until the bird must have been exhausted and just gave up. I thought it had died and he attached it to his trolley and continued feeding the birds. This poor little pigeon started to move again and as it did he grabbed hold of the string and killed it. After this he started to play with it under his arm and I just kept on thinking “how fucked up are people in this world?” I had to move because the sight was rather disturbing. I left my squirrel and then sat in another part of the park. I know it is rather harsh to say this but the guy gave me a little bit of inspiration in his own way (okay it sounds wrong if I just stop there) it makes me so thankful that I am not where he is, I am nothing like that guy. I would never think about killing an animal, no matter how gross they are. I chose to sit in the park to enjoy my day but he has no choice. I can wash, I have more options in life. Whilst I would not wish that life on anyone it really did make me thankful for what I have and made me want to push harder for the things I want to achieve in life. Lets just hope he does not kill anymore birds!

signing out, Thatmfeeling

W Hotel London: A very WYLD night

Well it was Sunday night and I got invited to a night that I was really looking forward to! When usually on a Sunday, it is a time to relax, have huge meals and then prepare for the long week of work ahead, I was doing the opposite! preparing to go to one of London’s newest and sexiest hotels for a night of cocktail sipping and socalising. I am a huge fan of the W Hotel brand and ever since I heard that one was going to be popping up in the United Kingdom, even better so just 15 minutes away from me, I just had to go. When I got there, it was smaller than expected but it was so much more sexier! The design is very “new London” with that funky twist. Glass, mirror, stone and metal surround you and create random features in every corner of the hotel and bar. Luckily we were in the Wyld bar which to be completely honest with you, looked like a really expensive brothel. Whilst it had the brothel look, it also had some features that made it very sexy indeed. What has to be (and I think it actually is) one of the world’s largest mirror balls filled up the majority of the ceiling, surrounded by a huge curtain of fiberoptic  strands from floor to ceiling all the way around the room. There was also a large bar in the centre with what one can only describe as a huge curved bookcase of wine and glasses (Dream!!) This bar, and the one just outside (the normal bar) are very, very sexy and the only thing I would comment on is the fact that the lighting  is all red (why couldn’t it change colour, it would have made it less like a brothel and more like a club) The music, provided by friends of friends was amazing and I could (and actually did) spend the whole night listening to it. If it wasn’t for the music then I don’t think I could have made it until the end. funky techno music kept my head and many others bopping all night. If the night couldn't get any more better then there was an unannounced bunch of guests that popped by and that was the one and only Cee Lo Green and the fabulous Ms Kelly Rowland. Whilst it added a surprise to the night and did make it exciting, they did take up rather a large space (but this was nothing to do with the hotel or the entertainment, just clearly that we were in a very “snazzy” location) I am just jealous and wish that I had that much money so I could buy as many drinks as they did. Once they left it was a perfect wind down to the night with some more catchy music and then a huge goodbye followed by a rather classy... well.... McDonalds! (from one world to another!) All in all the night was “fabulous” and I will defiantly be going again. It is nice to see a hotel that breaths a different kind of air to the other hotels in London, it is a hotel that has defiantly let its hair down and is settling in just nicely!

if you ever get the chance to visit then go!

signing out, Thatmfeeling 

Steve Jobs: irreplaceable

I cant express how sad I am about Steve Jobs death. When I woke up in the morning, the first thing that I did was turn on the news and it was the leading story at that time. My instant reaction was “Oh noooo” I actually said it out loud as it was something that I least expected. Strangely, I thought about it for most of the day. I do not know this guy but when he presents to the world these amazing apple products, you get a feeling that you know him. I have watched many a key note presentation from Steve Jobs and when you watch the next one its like being reunited with a father figure. I sat down that night to do a blog to show my respects and I really could not write anything. I realised that every single piece of electronic equipment that I have in my room is Apple. Everything that I used daily to get through my life this man had had some sort of responsibility for, presented it to the world and really fell in love with them as much as I had. What also surprised me was everyones reaction. Without sounding too harsh we did all know in some sort of way that this could have happened. Recently he had not been too well and had left his position at Apple. Jobs stated that when he knew the time had to come, he would leave, and he did. You think that we would all be subconsciously prepared for something like this, yet none of us were. I know that Apple will be fine and that it will continue to be a great company but it will feel slightly emptier than usual and I hope that it always feels that way. Steve Jobs was a man that could not be replaced and I do not think that anyone would want him to be replaced. One of a kind that has had such a huge impression on the world. Jobs has made the world a better place and for that I think that most of us will be forever grateful. 

Signing out, Thatmfeeling 

iPhone 4s: Huge disappointment!

So we waited, it got over hyped, people were excited and then suddenly it was announced that there was no iPhone 5. I can honestly say that I have never been so disappointed by Apple before. It has been about 15 months that we have had the iPhone 4, for it not to have had a major overhaul, it seems out of character to reveal something that is not inspirational and I really do not think that the iPhone 4s will be leading any markets to high places any time soon. I know that many of you will probably say that we had an iPhone 3Gs so it was expected that there would be a 4s, but what shocks me is that it has come across as being so shoddy. Apple is a company of surprise, inspiration and admiration and I really feel personally that they just slung this together in a short period of time because a deadline was looming. I understand that the phone is an improvement and also that some people out there will buy it because it is the new phone (I mean my contract is nearly up so I will also end up with it!) but there will be people out there that will not really care as much about this new phone as I am sure they would do if it was the all new iPhone 5. It looks exactly the same so anyone that has an iPhone 4 will not be in any rush to get their hands on it and i think that this will be a dent for apple (without sounding too nasty I really hope it is a dent to Apple because maybe they will put more effort in next time) 

There was one other thing that really shocked me with this event and that was the iPods. Again they all look the same. I wanted to buy the new iPod Nano but when I discovered last night that it is exactly the same as the one I already have, I have decided to stick with my current one until something more different is released. 

The only two things that really got me excited about any of these releases was firstly IOS 5 which looks like it has actually had some effort put into it with iCloud, reminders, cards, find my friends etc (I mean the list is actually endless!) and the one great feature from the iPhone 4s being Siri, but whilst I say that, part of me does not believe that it will be as good as it is made out to be. I don't think that it will understand many questions and also with any voice recognition equipment, I always have problems with it understanding my accent (and I think I speak rather clear for a British person so I can not imagine how bad it will be for people from the North of the UK

All in all I have to say that this has been in my eyes a rather disappointing year for Apple. I hope that it is a one off and they come across as putting effort back into their products again. I worry that because they are getting bigger and bigger that the effort will get sparser over the years because they will not have to do much to earn huge amounts of money. Lets hope I am wrong. Anyway we all have something to look forward to and that is IOS5 coming our way on October 12! at least something good come out of this Apple event!

Signing out, Thatmfeeling