I've Been Thinking... - Three Ealing Comedies to Watch This Autumn.

Hi!!!

Good afternoon! Today's post is slightly different from my usual content. I wanted to share some of my favourite films with you today, more specifically Ealing Comedies. I say today, but I've actually had about 80% of this post written since May... Anyway, I've picked three of the Ealing Comedies, most of which were made in the 1940s and 1950s, and came to define both the Ealing Studios and British Cinema. They are perfect for those who love character driven pieces and for those with a slightly dark sense of humour. If you'd like to know even more about the history of these movies, because like me you're a bit of a nerd, click here. Without further ado, let's begin.

Kind Hearts and Coronets.

One of the earlier Ealing comedies, 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' is a brilliant film. Dennis Price is Louis Mazzini, whose mother was disowned by her high class family, the D'Ascoyne's, when she married for love rather than money. When she dies, she is refused the right to be interred into the family vault and Louis decides that he will take matters into his own hands, killing the D'Ascoyne family one by one so he can take his place as Duke. His plans are complicated further when he finds himself torn between his childhood crush and the beautiful wife of one of his victims. Alec Guinness takes on the roles of the eight members of the D'Ascoyne family, from suffragettes to clergymen, and this film was an early, and now lasting, showcase of his amazing talent as a comedic actor. The characters are quirky and entertaining, the plot is filled with ironic and clever details, and each elimination is more inventive than the last. If you like crime shows, a good laugh and characters that are off-the-wall and delightfully despicable, you simply must watch this film.

The Lavender Hill Mob.

In 'The Lavender Hill Mob', Alec Guinness is Henry Holland, a timid, seemingly rather ordinary bank clerk. His job is to accompany gold bullion in the special van with armed security guards. He joins forces with his friend Pendlebury, played by Stanley Holloway, to steal the gold and smuggle it out of the country, but, as in any Ealing Comedy, things aren't as straightforward as the characters hope. This film has a much lighter tone overall than the other two on this list, I think, and packed to the rafters with laughs. It's such an entertaining film, and once again, the star of Ealing Comedies, Alec Guinness, shines in his performance. It's imaginative, the characters are hugely entertaining and the partnership of Guinness and Holloway, as well as of their characters Holland and Pendlebury, really elevates the film, keeping you invested from the get-go.

The Ladykillers.

'The Ladykillers' was the first Ealing Comedy I ever saw, and as a child, I found Alec Guinness slightly unnerving in this film - as I think I've mentioned before. I have, however, always loved this film, so much so that a few years ago, I went to see the stage production of it and I reviewed it here. Mrs Wilberforce, played wonderfully by Katie Johnson, likes to report suspicious behaviour to the police. Completely unaware of this, the seasoned thief Professor Marcus, played by Alec Guinness, rents rooms in her house for himself and his gang, who are posing as an string quintet. They complete a bank robbery but slip up in front of their landlord when they try to escape. They decide she has to be killed, but things don't go to plan when the gang begin to double cross and go after each other.  The characters are so quirky, the plot is so off-the-wall and yet it works so brilliantly and it is an essential in every film collection.

And that brings today's post to an end. I hope you liked it, and you enjoy spending some time watching these films.

What is your favourite Ealing Comedy? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading.

Have a brilliant day!

GingerSnaps xxx

I've Been Thinking... - Summer Favourites.

Hi!!!

Good afternoon and happy September! It's officially Autumn, which makes me very happy. To round up Summer blog-wise, I thought I'd put together a post telling you about some of the things that I enjoyed the most throughout the season. Its also a chance for me to talk to you about the things that I normally would have reviewed - everything from books to theatre to music is here. Oh, and if you enjoy this post, then check out this one on my best friend's blog - it's very good.

Film - Spiderman: Homecoming

 I love Spiderman, he's one of my favourite Marvel characters (alongside Iron Man), and so I was really excited to see Homecoming. I won't deny that I was slightly unsure about another reboot when the others have been so recent but having seen the film, I think it is totally worth it. Homecoming might be my favourite Spiderman film of them all. I think Tom Holland is amazing as Spiderman, and the character seems truest to both life and the original spirit of the comics in this film. I loved Zendaya as MJ, and found the whole film engaging, funny and entertaining. I'm excited to see what's next for Tom Holland's Peter Parker.

Music - What Do You Think About The Car? by Declan McKenna.

This was the album I was most excited for this year, and I was not let down at all. It's riotous, colourful, experimental, inspiring, entertaining, chaotic, poetic and honestly you need to listen to it. It understands you, what you feel and hope for and if that's not worthy of a listen, I don't know what is. My favourite tracks are 'Why Do You Feel So Down', 'Listen To Your Friends', 'Humongous', 'The Kids Don't Want To Come Home' and 'Isombard'. Oh, and the lyric sheet folds out into this poster, which I thought was a really cool extra touch (and something I haven't seen for a while).
 

Makeup - Collection Glam Crystals Glitter Eyeliner

This summer, I decided to try out wearing glitter all over my face, but primarily as a highlight, something I'd wanted to do for ages because it looks so cool. Anyway, I've used glitter liners instead of loose glitter for years because it lasts better and stays put, and Collection's offerings are great quality and come in a number of lovely colours. I've been wearing Hustle a lot - it's a silver shot through with green, purple and black tones.

Books - Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding.

 

 

I've only read one book all summer. I'd hoped to read more but that didn't' work out. Thankfully, the one book I did read was one I found highly enjoyable. If you're looking for a funny, highly addictive, fun to read book, then I'd recommend the second book in the Bridget Jones series to you. There's plenty that differs from the film, so it's not predictable but there is a familiarity to it, which is nice. I read it within a few days, and picked it up whenever I got chance. Say what you want about 'Chick Lit' but when it's done well, like this, I don't think even it's worst critics could deny how fun it is to read.

TV - Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling

Having read The Cuckoo's Calling - and having raved about it online (here) and in real life to anyone who would listen - I was incredibly excited to watch the first instalment of the Strike series on BBC One. Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling consists of three episodes, each an hour long, which are all on BBC iPlayer, and follows private investigator Comoran Strike as he investigates the death of supermodel Lula Landry. I adored it. I think that Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger are perfect as Strike and Robin - I'm very invested in those two characters in particular. The plot is fast paced, intricate, and you simply must watch it. Major props to Michael Kellior for his fantastic direction and to Ben Richards for his amazing writing for this series - both of which maintain the intricacies of the book beautifully. Oh, and the opening title sequence is really up my street - aesthetically and musically. Weird thing to point out but yeah.
 

Theatre - Aladdin

 

To celebrate my birthday, my friends and I went to London for the day to see Aladdin at the Prince Edward Theatre and to spend some quality time together. The show was absolutely incredible. The sets are intricate and beautiful. The cast are one of the strongest I have seen.
It made me feel so much - I laughed and I cried and I was so overwhelmed with happiness and joy and excitement that my heart was beating at a million miles an hour and I couldn't stop smiling. If like me Aladdin is your favourite Disney film, you're a huge Alan Menken fan (Proud of Your Boy is sung!!!! And a medley of Menken/Ashman Disney songs!!!), or you just really love dazzling theatre productions with a ridiculously talented cast, get yourself there to see it.

Thanks for reading.

What were your favourite things from this summer? Let me know in the comments.

I hope your week is off to a good start. I'll speak to you all soon.

I hope your day is delightful.

GingerSnaps xxx

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do - Music - Indie Tracks To Listen To This Week

Hi!!!

It's been a while since I've done a music post so today I'm going to talk you through some indie tracks that you really need to add to all your playlists.

'Deadcrush' by Alt J

Alt J songs are staples in a lot of indie playlists, from 'Hunger of the Pine' to 'Breezeblocks'. As such, it might not come as a surprise to you that I've picked their latest offering to put in this post. It's just so good. It's conceptual, it's a little bit weird, it's very Alt J. It won't be to everyone's taste but you really should give it a go, because you can't find this kind of stuff elsewhere.

'Bloodshake' by Peace

I am obsessed with Peace, and have been for months - so much so that I am shocked to my core that I am yet to tell you about this song. Oh and they're from the West Midlands, like me, so that's a plus. If you like bands like Foals and Two Door Cinema Club, you'll get along with Peace very well. The vocals have a real depth to them, and the harmonies really lift the chorus. Big love for this.

'Your Love' by The Magic Gang

I first listened to this because I thought a band called The Magic Gang simply begged to be listened to. I was right. 'Your Love' is a hazy 60s inspired number, which has a unique mix of familiar and fresh qualities. If it doesn't scream talent, I'm not sure what does. I think it was made for summer. It's gold.

'Laidback' by Rat Boy

Yes, a song by the act that haunted my YouTube adverts for a solid month. While the Vevo x Rat Boy ads weren't my favourite thing in this life, I can't deny how good this track is. It's easy going, catchy cheeky and sunny and I think it's a must for what is left of summer.

'Junk Food Forever' by The Amazons

This has been on my radar for ages, not least because supporting your fellow gingers  (especially when they look a bit like a male version of you) is essential. Anyway, this song is fantastic. It's full of bold, funky guitar riffs, really good lyrics and a stirring rock and rolling vocal. It's great to shoutily sing along to, as well (always a plus).

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post and that you enjoy the songs I've recommended.

What songs should I listen to this week? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Drop me a comment below.

Speak soon. I'm away at the seaside for a few days, I hope your plans are just as lovely.

Have an amazing day!

GingerSnaps xxx

I've Been Thinking... - Blogging (Where I'm At).

Hi!!!

I wanted to sit down and have a chat and a cup of tea with you today. I haven't done that in a while but I'm looking forward to this. I think its fair to say that so far this year, posts have been somewhat sparse. I wanted to tell you where that's left me with blogging, and explain a little bit as to where I've been.





I don't go into detail about what occupies my weekdays all that much on here, and I won't bore you with specifics now, but I will say that my workload significantly increased during the first half of this year. I went and did my regular weekday work, and then came home and did more. Those of you who know me in real life will know what this work was and what I was working towards, but for those of you who don't it was all going towards some very significant goals.



I hadn't realised quite how much I had thrown myself into this work, but I was just looking back at my blog content from so far this year and I think it really shows. Last year I really found my stride with blogging and I was so pleased with my content and I was uploading regularly and more people were reading and I just wanted to tap dance in the street about the whole thing. This year, that hasn't really been the case. Its so hard to get back into the swing of something when you have, if we're being honest, neglected it for months. Its like returning to a game of Nintendogs when you finally found the game card again after it was lost in the depths of your bedroom and not quite remembering how to make the dog do tricks (this analogy obviously won't make much sense to you if you weren't an avid Nintendo DS player like me). I don't necessarily think of writing a blog post now when I'm bored. I'm not even signed into my Google account on my laptop half the time. I have ideas for posts and then don't get round to writing them because I seem to have forgotten that I actually need to sit down and write the thing, rather than just think about it, for it to actually materialise.

 

 

 I wanted to let you know that I have not stopped blogging, I am still here, I have not given up, I have no intentions of doing so. I know its super frustrating when you have no new posts to read and I'm sorry that this space has become one of those places recently. I'm in the process now of writing several posts, and hopefully I'll manage to finish writing them, take photos for them, and publish them before 2085. Please bear with me as I try and remember not only how to do this, but to do this. I won't promise ten posts a month, because it will take a while for me to get back to that place, but I am promising posts. I'm not one for breaking promises so I'll be doing my best to keep this one. And if you know me in real life, please feel free to spam my life with reminders to upload - and if you don't know me in real life, then you can always spam the comments section and I'll get a million notifications to spur me on.

 

 

Thanks for reading. I hope you've enjoyed reading this little catch up post.

Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? I'd love to hear from you, so be sure to leave a comment below.

Thanks for your patience. I'll speak to you all soon.

Have a fabulous day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do - Music - Live Music Lately.

Hi!!!

Good evening. I think I said in my last post that uploads would be back to normal but so far for July... I had one of the busiest and best weeks of my life last week and so I wasn't able to write and upload but I am excited to fill you in this week. I wanted to start at the beginning of the week, which was booked up with live music. Let's begin.

A note here: I had planned for this to go up today earlier this week. I'm editing it now because I simply couldn't publish a music post without taking a moment to reflect on Chester Bennington, the singer from Linkin Park, who has recently passed away. My thoughts are with the band, his friends and family.

Now onto the post.

On Sunday the 9th, I went to Godiva Festival with a certain Elf and one of our close friends. Godiva Festival is held in the War Memorial Park in Coventry, so it's definitely one for my fellow Midlanders.
 It's also free to enter, which is an absolute gift. They have a Rythmn Tent which you will adore if, like me, you are a big fan of ska and other similar genres. It's full of great bands. Then there's the 'main stage' where we caught the end of the Lucy Spraggan set and watched Kate Nash (yep, she's still going haha). The main reason we went was to see The Darkness and they did not let us down at all. If you aren't familiar with them, they are a hair metal/glam rock band who've been making music for at least fourteen years. They are easily one of my favourite acts that I have seen live - they put on such a good show, they have great banter and they care about their audience in a very genuine way. Their set was filled with everything from old to new songs and it was glorious. 

I also finally got to go and see Coldplay with my Uncle B last Tuesday. A few years ago, I was invited to tag along with him but couldn't because of school commitments, and this repeated through sixth form and life and such. Finally, this year I was free and so we went down to Cardiff to see them perform their Head Full of Dreams tour. I finally got one of the Xylobands (they light up automatically during the concert, at different speeds and in different colours) - let me tell you, seeing an entire stadium light up yellow is quite the sight to behold.

 The show is also full of confetti, pyrotechnics and giant balloons, so it is a lot of fun and certainly a memorable performance. We were also able to buy Pringles from the bar and got through several tubs during the gig, which is certainly not a bad thing. Thanks Uncle B for taking me!

As I said at the beginning of this post, I still have plenty of things from last week to fill you in on, and hopefully I'll be doing that over the next few days. I hope you enjoyed reading this.
Have you been to see any live music recently? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks so much for reading.

I hope your day is wonderful!

GingerSnaps xxx 

Congratulations! - Blogging Milestones - My Blog Turns 4!

Hi!!!

Hey. I'm back. You might have noticed that May and June have been fairly empty months around here, or you might not. Either way, I'm back and I'll be able to create regular content for you guys again - hopefully. My blog is four years old this year, which is crazy to me, but is nonetheless true. Every year, I write a post to celebrate its birthday. So, here is this year's, at least a fortnight late. Oh and excuse any keyboard dust in the photos - turns out laptops are more difficult to clean that I had first thought (lol).

I just wanted to commemorate four years - each year that I write and create for this blog, I love it more and more. I love the freedom it gives me, I love that it is a creative space, and I love that I can talk about all of my favourite things, to people who want to listen (or, you know, read).

In the last year, I've been so proud of my content and I've watched as more and more of you have started reading what I put together. I'm just incredibly grateful for this blog, for all of you and for the opportunity to have this space.

Here's to year number five, for everything it will bring for this blog - hopefully as much happiness and fun as the past few years. I'm so excited to create another years worth of content for you all, to whom I am so grateful for reading and supporting and commenting - it means the whole world to me. So, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy what you find here.

Happy 4th Birthday, blog xxx

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed taking this little trip down Memory Lane with me.

What would you like to see more of in the next year on my blog? Do you have any other comments or blog birthday messages? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you.

Big love.

Have a spectacular day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do - Music - 2017 Summer Playlist Essentials.

Hi!!!

Before I begin, I just wanted to say that my thoughts are with the people affected by the events in Manchester earlier this week - I was shocked by the news, and cannot imagine how the families and friends of the victims, the injured and the community of Manchester are feeling. My heart goes out to them all. All I can say is that we must hold onto our faith in hope, love and goodness, support each other wherever we can, and remember those whose lives have been lost.

Today I have some songs that are essential for your summer playlists, especially when it's as sunny as it is in the UK right now - getting outside (with plenty of SPF) and blasting these songs at top volume is the perfect way to enjoy this summertime weather.

'Malibu' by Miley Cyrus.

I love Miley Cyrus - I had done since she started at Disney and have followed and loved her music ever since. In this Billboard interview (which is one of the best things I've read so far this year) she spoke about her newest release, 'Malibu', and I spent days waiting for it - I actually squealed when it appeared in my suggestions on YouTube. 'Malibu' is a beautiful love song, that combines rock and pop elements with a sense of delicacy and vulnerability. Miley's voice the focal point, and this song just showcases how rich and how strong her voice is. In some ways, its a calm track, but a very upbeat and joyful one which will send your brain straight to a happy place, and put you in mind of the beach.

'I'm the One' by DJ Kahled, Justin Beiber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne.

This has already been at number 1 in the UK chart, and is firmly in the Top 5, and it isn't hard to see why. This is again a really chill, understated track musically, and Justin Beiber's vocals really lift the chorus. You could totally dance to this but it's also pretty chill, and I love that versatility. I think the choice of rappers on this track is spot on and their verses are awesome - I think they showcase rap in such a positive way. I'm a big fan of all of these artists individually and I think that together, they have created such a great collaboration, and I think it's worth the hype it's been getting.

'Love's Run Out' by Circa Waves.

We all know by now that I am the biggest Circa Waves fan, and I rattle on about their music to anyone who'll listen. This track is so soothing and so heartfelt. It makes you slow down and take a moment. It shows their Liverpudlian roots clear as day - I can definitely hear the influence of The Beatles on this (as well as other 60s groups). The production is amazing, making it sound like a treasure found from the past, with a slightly crackle-y, viynl feel to its sound. The lyrics are gorgeous and so simple, creating a sublime love song that I couldn't help falling for.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope this post has brought some joy to your day, and I'm sure these songs will too.

What songs are essential to your summer playlists this year? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment and let me know.

Speak soon, big love.

I hope your day is full of sunshine!

GingerSnaps xxx