ANOTHER YEAR OVER…..

So here we are again.
Yet another year over and they seem to be getting quicker and quicker!!

I’ve just finished my second Long day in a row and now I’m ready for a long glass of Brandy and Babycham and some dinner before snuggling down on the sofa to see in the New Year.

2015 has been a mixed year.
As a family, we said goodbye to the Matriarch. Grissle.
She made it to 95 years. An incredible lady who always managed to put a smile on my face and still does!

And we said goodbye to a long standing friend who is, and always will be considered family. Valerie.

It’s been a landmark year with Dharma turning 13, Marjorie turning 16, Murron turning 18 and Ian turning 50!
On top of all that, we also celebrated 21 years of marriage.
Oh yes, I got my first tattoos!
Mid life crisis I think!

Work has been challenging on both sides to say the least.
I finished my 2 year college course in September. An achievement I never thought I’d be doing at 46 and Ian is coming to the end of 35 years of shift work as he takes on a new position at the beginning of January.
Mondays to Fridays 9 to 5.
That, on it’s own, is going to bring us our biggest challenge next year as he is also taking a temporary cut wages as he trains up for and proves himself in the new position.
Hopefully by the end of next year we’ll be back on track again but it’s going to be really tough keeping our heads above water after we’ve been getting used to being financially comfortable for the first time in 15 years!!

It’s been a great year for films and it has ended on an exceptionally high note with the ‘thankfully’ incredible new Star Wars movie.
I have watched 378 films and I have been to the cinema a grand total of 64 times.
I am not ashamed to admit that the last 4 times were all for Star Wars.
At last I can put aside the meagre attempt at rebooting the franchise with the prequels and get back to what Star Wars should be!
Oh yes and there’s definately a new bad boy on the block.

This year saw not just one new obsession in the form of Jake Gyllenhaal

but at the last minute Adam Driver stomped in as Kylo Ren with his lightsabre, sulking and extremely bad temper.

Yes, this obsession has bloomed rather quickly.

Talking of movies, the Hollywood obituary is sadly way too long to list in full but a few memorable mentions are…..

Robert Loggia 85
An Officer and  Gentleman, Independence Day, Return to Me.

Saeed Jaffrey 86
The Man Who Would be King, Gandhi, A Passage to India, My Beautiful Launderette

Dean Jones 84
That Darn Cat, Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo, The Love Bug, Clear and Present Danger

Maureen O’Hara 96
Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, Big Jake, Miracle on 34th Street

John Guillermin 89
Director of classics like The Towering Inferno, The Bridge at Remagen and the 1976 King Kong

Nancy Bernstein 55
Visual Effects Executive Producer on great movies such as Armageddon, X-Men, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, A Beautiful Mind, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Day After Tomorrow….. I could keep listing and she died way too young!

Omar Sharif 83
Lawrence of Arabia, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Genghis Khan, Doctor Zhivago

Patrick Macnee 93
The Avengers, Battlestar Galactica, The Howling and countless appearances on TV shows and films.

James Horner 61
Died in a plane crash and left us with an incredible legacy as he composed the music for films such as Southpaw, The Amazing Spider-Man, Avatar, A Beautiful Mind, Bicentennial Man, Mighty Joe Young, Deep Impact, Titanic, Jumanji, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Legends of the Fall, Clear and Present Danger, The Pelican Brief, Patriot Games, The Rocketeer, Field of Dreams, Aliens, Cocoon, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Krull, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Battle Beyond the Stars!!!
And that’s a short list. I could have gone on.
His score for Star Trek II is quite possibly one of the greatest scores in film history.

Christopher Lee 93
Dracula – multiple times, Fu Manchu – several times, The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeers, The Man With the Golden Gun, Shaka Zulu, Gremlins 2 and of course The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies.

Ron Moody 91
Countless TV shows but will always be remembered as Fagin in Oliver.

Robert Chartoff 81
A producer who frequently teamed up with Irwin Winkler to create films such as Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Raging Bull, The Right Stuff and Enders Game.

Andrew Lesnie 59
A Cinematographer that gave us astounding vistas in films such as all three Lord of the Rings Movies, all three Hobbit movies, I am Legend and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Died too young. His visual mastery is going to be missed.

Louis Jourdan 93
Gigi, Can-Can, Octopussy, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask

Grace Lee Whitney 85
Yoeman Janice Rand in the Classic Star Trek universe

And last but not least, I can’t sign off this obituary without mentioning Leonard Nimoy 83
Mr Spock himself in the Classic Star Trek universe

Next year sees the third movie in the reboot Trek universe and Zachary Quinto has done a stellar job at taking on the role of Spock.
Can’t wait to see it.

I’ll end this blog with a full list of my movie viewing for the year in order.
As you will see, I’m quite eclectic with my viewing.

So for now, I hope everyone has an amazing New Year.
I will endeavour to keep blogging pationately about my obsessions, my movies and my occasional rants at the world.
See you in 2016!!

THE CONFLICT

This is never a good sign.
Blogging about wanting to do something I really shouldn’t to justify doing it in the end anyway!!

Next year is going to be a little tough financially as Ian takes on a new job role at a slighly lower level and has to work his way back up to where he is now.
We know that our Cineworld cards are going to come in very handy for any time out together.
Our kids are going to have a bit of a shock as the bank of Mum and Dad closes for a year.

Anyway, we had a last minute splurge on a couple of items as a treat for the end of the year.
Ian is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new T-shirt he can wear to his X-wing gaming days.

We also found a gorgeous artwork print of a stormtrooper that will probably end up hanging over my piano that is currently displaying some of Ian’s beautifully detailed gaming models.

The company selling the artwork print had a buy 2 get one free offer so it was a bit rude not to make use of it and we decided on a new Star Wars print and the teaser print for the new Batman vs Superman movie that I saw hanging in the Northampton Cineworld the other day and loved!.

That was it. Or so I thought.
My STUPID husband went and left an Ebay page open to show me when I got in from work.
You’d think he knew me better than to do that!

It’s for a set of posters from the US.
All of them Kylo Ren!!
The door poster would sit beautifully right next to me here on the computer.

But we’re not just looking at the cost of the posters.
The two centre posters are Maxi posters that could replace some of our current prints. So not an issue.
I would however, need to get a frame for the door poster and the poster on the end is a smaller 16 x 20 inches so a frame would be required for that too.

I am now in torment.
I stewed over it last night and have been thinking about it all morning.

Time to flip a coin.

HERE WE GO…..

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

As I sit here having a quiet morning cuppa, the turkey has just started cooking, the table is laid, the veggies are prepared, the presents are all sat waiting for the kids to open them up.
The only problem is…. we are making them wait until Nanny and Grandad get round before they open anything!!!
It hasn’t gone down too well with Dharma who woke up an hour ago and is now so excited she’s fit to burst!!
Marjorie and Murron on the other hand, are typical teenagers who just want a bit longer in bed and welcomed the news when I told them last night.

I’ve seen posts of friends and families on FB who have already started opening presents and I can imagine the carnage in a lot of households already this morning.
I remember it well from when my tribe were younger.
I even remember my Dad coming over at the crack of dawn just to see them opening presents.

Those days are fond memories and I now have to deal with a bad tempered 13 year old who thinks it’s highly unfair that we are making her wait.
She only has to wait until 10:30 I might add!!!
Is it really too much to ask?

This time has also given me a chance to think about 2 people who won’t be here this year.

My Nan who I will always miss and cherish.

And Auntie Val, who technically wasn’t an Auntie but was there from the day I was born and will always be ‘Auntie’ to me.

To both families I send all my love and hope you still have a wonderful Xmas.
Grissle and Val wouldn’t want it any other way!!