Ramblings of a tea obsessed writer

So, do you want the good bit or the bad bit first? Well, I’ve decided to go for the good bit because I’m like that!

I am an active member of the Derby Shakespeare Theatre Company and I’m an extra in the current production of Titus Andronicus. The next production, however, is going to be a non-Shakespeare and I’ve just received the great news that I’m going to be Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice! I’m really excited as I’m great friends with the girls playing Lydia and Mary so I know it’s going to be great fun!

And now the bad/main bit of this post:

I have worked something out recently. You know those ‘almost’ relationships – where you really like someone and think they might like you but it kind of fades before anything happens? Is it just me or it always a case of ‘they’re great... but...’? For example, I really liked this guy, but he wants to join the marines – I’m anti-war. I was annoyed because he’s great, but I didn’t want to compromise on that principle so we’re just friends.

Well, I’ve realised that it seems to be the more amazing/perfect for you the person is, the bigger the BUT. Someone I like now is great – we have loads in common and get on really well (and he ain’t bad looking either!). Ready for the but?

He’s 26.

Normally I say to enjoy being young because it’s amazing but GRR at age differences!

Beth

xx

Listening to: Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons

Make sure you get a copy!

Beth

xx

This is honestly what my night has been like!

Ok, so on Tuesdays I go to a local Christian youth group called Ignition. Today, however, we had a truly gutting piece of news – my friend Lucy couldn’t go as her parents weren’t in and she didn’t yet have a driving license. Still, my friend James and I went as normal, and when we arrived met a friend of James’ I’d never met before. These two guys hatched a plan. The guy (whose name I soon learnt was Sam) had a car outside. My response to this? “ROAD TRIP!” – we were going to kidnap her.

So, we left and drove round the country lanes behind Duffield, Quarndon and Kedleston to Lucy’s. As she didn’t know we were coming , we committed the world’s worst kidnap ever – after fighting with the gate, setting the garage lights off, crunching our way across the gravel and making the dogs bark, we banged on Lucy’s door and shouted “you’re being kidnapped, get in the car!” Lucy’s response? *To person on the other en d of the phone* “Oh bloody hell. I’ve got to go; my friends are at the door.”

And you know that BMW “we make joy” advert? Load of bollocks! I spent about 25 minutes tonight driving around in a little Toyota with Lost Prophets playing via an iPod, and it was the most fun I’ve had in ages – no expensive car needed! The fact is, I’m young – as James said, “we’re 16, 17 and 18 – if we can’t be a little silly and spontaneous now, when can we be?” – and we did something a little silly, a little reckless – not in a dangerous way, just a random way – and very fun.

So basically what I’m trying to say is, next time someone suggests something silly, don’t take the ‘sensible’ or ‘responsible’ route – turn that window down, turn that song you love up a little louder and LIVE!

Beth

xx

Sorry I haven’t posted in forever, school work and coursework have taken over my life in the most unsatisfactory way! Plus this weekend/week has been very hectic. I had two parties this weekend for various friends’ birthdays, I had an audition yesterday, I’ve had a 20-hour day for a drama trip, and my friend Hannah has been very ill this week, leading to me having a very late article for Lipstick Royalty which I am working on but struggling with! My grandma’s dog was also put down today, and as a dog obsessive that’s given me a bad day. I love that dog =(

So suffice to say this blog has had to come bottom of my list of priorities. But this week in the spare seconds I’ve had I’ve been reading a book I discovered in my favourite bit of my parent’s bookshelf – my Dad’s Ben Elton/Nick Hornby/John O’Farrell/Tony Parsons section. Yeah, I’m such a cool bean! So the book in question is 31 Songs by Nick Hornby (Amazon), my favourite of all my Dad’s man-authors. This particular book is very different to his others (About a Boy, High Fidelity etc); because it’s a selection of essays about songs he loves or has been effected by. Reading this book has lead to me running to Spotify to look up bizarre songs by artists from Ben Folds Five to the extremely odd Suicide!

The format of this book makes it great for if you only have 5 minutes to read because the essays can be read quickly, and I’d recommend it for anyone who loves music!

Now, for a few play reviews! The reason for the excruciatingly long 20-hour drama trip was because we went to see two plays in day! First up, As You like It, at the Globe! I LOVED this production! Partially because I’m a Shakespeare obsessive, but mostly because it was just so good! Really funny, really well acted, and it also stared the cute Christian one from The History Boys! I sat for half and stood for half, and even though I was down the side and couldn't see much, the atmosphere standing was mind-blowing! Yes, I’m cool! That play was really for the Upper 6^th studying Elizabethan theatre, but all us of the Lower 6^th persuasion thoroughly enjoyed it too!

The second was Mother Courage and her Children at the National Theatre, which was the play we’re supposed to be evaluating for the first bit of our coursework. The day we went was supposed to be press night, but it was cancelled due to a malfunctioning (and irrelevant!) rain machine. It hasn't been rescheduled yet, so no reviews of this exist yet! And well, it was ok, but nothing really special – just confusing and slightly dull – although that may have been due to my extreme tiredness by that point! It also didn’t help that Fiona Shaw and Harry Melling co-starring in it as a mother and her son, causing some confusion as they’re also Petunia and Dudley Dursley!

So, one stunner and one I’m not so sure about, but I wouldn’t say no to seeing either of them again!

Hope you’re all doing ok and had a good week! What’ve you been up to?

Beth

xx

Listening to: Gabrielle - Rise - it got played on my friend Claire's piano at lunch and we had a big sing-along!

Sorry for a lack of posts this week, school and life has been very busy. At the moment there is something strange going on amongst my group of friends – yesterday 2 out of the 3 couples amongst us split up. Twas extremely bizarre. I have also started my A-Levels which are now taking up a lot of my time. I’m taking English Literature, RS (half Buddhism, half Philosophy of Religion), History and Drama, as well as IDEAS, which is a course my school runs for people who did well at GCSE.

Yesterday was another shopping day, but not so fun as I had to get presents for two of my friends. This was complicated by the facts that A) they’re boys, making them infinitely harder to buy for than girls, for whom when in doubt you can buy something pretty! And B) they’re twins, so the presents have to at least look of similar value. So I got Rob (joint with my friend Jess) a CD, some Jack Daniels fudge (for he is a budding alcoholic!), a drinker’s dice and some straw glasses – sensing a theme? Then I got his brother a VW campervan mug because it’s our shared obsession (woo! I’m not the only one!) and some basketbally stuff coz he’s weird and loves it!

This week I need to go into town again because my time has finally come – I’m old enough to work in LUSH, and their Christmas temp hiring season is upon us! VICTORY! Wish me luck, I love LUSH and would die to work there!

Beth

xx

More induction based stuff today (DULL!) but tomorrow is ‘team-building’ so that should be good – we build paper tents and have fun =)

Today a new lunchtime tradition began – “All to Claire’s”. My friend Claire lives right opposite the school so now it’s over to hers for tea and (communal) biscuits at lunch time. Jacob seems to get on well with most of my friends and they don’t scare him so that’s nice, doesn’t really feel like he’s sticking with us because he has to anymore. My friend Abi (also new) appears to have been thoroughly embraced – “she’s lovely!” as said by everyone! Can’t say the same for our refugees from the private schools who seem to think themselves above us – oh well!

It feels like all the petty stuff in my year from Upper School (years 10 & 11) has completely vanished – along with a few unsavoury characters – and now we’re literally all friends! It feels very odd but it’s nice too. To use a total cliché it really is like we’re a little family and everyone can talk to each other. It feels like a good environment. Same can’t be said for the yr 13s attitude to us! We finally have a common room but we daren’t go in it!

Now for the awww moment: this is my dog Biggles. This is just here because I love him and he’s pretty =)

Red Nose Day 2006!

Beth

xx

OK, so today was my first day of 6^th form, and I know it’s silly and immature etc etc but today’s post is going to be me saying the 5 funniest things that happened today, coz I’m cool like that!

1.       My friend has a fluffy dog shaped pencil case that we (OK, I!) have named Steve. Steve is pretty swish!

2.       I got attacked by a wasp that liked my bracelet (the Uneeka flower one). I called it Jerry. I was in a naming things mood!

3.       Jacob, who moved to our school for 6^th form and I was told to look after gradually looked slightly scared on more than one occasion, but seemed to cope reasonably well. An achievement, as my school is a mad house in disguise!

4.       Our head of 6^th form, who sounds exactly like Professor Umbridge (of ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ fame), telling us that 6^th form is like a train journey and then shouting “CHOO CHOO!” at us like we were 5 year olds.

5.       Seeing 4 girls all walking together in the same suit – oops!

I also walked home barefoot because my shoes made my feet hurt – this greatly amused my (younger!) brother.

Posts will be less frequent now as I’m back at school, but I’ll quickly tell you about last night (AKA my last night of fun!)

Basically, every year the local council throws a huge (and free!) classical concert with fireworks in the park right next to my house. Virtually everyone from Derby goes and sits in the rain with wine and bread sticks and listens to music they never would have otherwise. I basically spend the whole night sitting in a giggly heap with my friends taking silly picture whilst wearing flashing bunny ears (mine are black, but some of my friends had pink), and singing along to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ when they played a version of it. And they did the fireworks to various Star Wars themes... and, of course, ‘Land of Hope and Glory’! Fun times!

Beth

xx

P.S. In fact, it’s the biggest free classic concert in the country. Website HERE

I’ve read a few articles recently that have really got me thinking. The first one (found here) just annoyed me – who do these protestors honestly think they are that they can adapt the free-land laws at will? If I was there I would have stormed across, press badge on show just to show that they couldn’t control me. Except – why should the press have ID tags when they don’t? Press passes, yes, press ID cards, no! We can’t have one set of rules for one group of people then different rules for another. It’s not fair. We’re all equal – journalists or not! I want to do so-called ‘serious’ journalism when I’m older (if the fashion journalism world rejects me that is!) and the fact that they can be treated like this because they’re ‘lowlife’ journalists (as one person responded) really gets under my skin.

The other, though, really upset me. It was a comment piece (found here) by Catherine Philp which appeared in The Times yesterday. In America, Megan’s law means that every person convicted of underage sex charges has all their details – name, address, everything – stored in an online database accessible to anyone. Not the police, or social workers, everyone.

The story of one family featured in the piece really got to me – they are the perfect example of how this kind of system DOESN’T work. In the small town of Milo, Maine, William Turner had sex with his girlfriend a few weeks before her 16^th birthday. Her parents found out and reported him to the police. He was charged with statutory rape, went to prison and when he was released his details went on the database. He wasn’t a criminal – yes, he broke a law, but he didn’t do it out of spite, he did it because he was madly in love with his girlfriend, and she with him.

William’s mother Shirley was raped at the age of 5 by her stepfather Brian. When Shirley was 15 Brian forced her to marry him – William was their only child, the result of rape and forced marriage. Brian’s name wasn’t on that database because his crimes weren’t reported – but William’s was. As unfair as that is, this isn’t the end of their story. A vigilante named Stephen Marshall shot William dead – because he’d found his name and address online. Brian is now in jail, but not for rape – he tried to kill Shirley when she finally decided to escape.

I just think that’s really sad, especially for Shirley. She lost her only child because his details were put online thanks to a law which doesn’t really do anything and is just a snap reaction to paedophilia and abductions. If you read the rest of the article Philp goes on to explain why this law is useless and didn’t help Jaycee Dugard. But really it was just the story of the Turner family that really got to me – what do you think?

Beth

xx

So, it's now officially confirmed - in the Easter hols I'm going to NEW YORK!!!

I've never been before but I've wanted to go ever since I was tiny, and I CAN'T WAIT! Is it really sad that I want to go and buy guide books NOW!? Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are my prefered choices coz I'm a geek! I'm trying to persuade my mum that a trip to Forever21 is ESSENTIAL - as is an empty suitcase for all the shopping I'm going to do! Now I just need to decide what to pack ;)

Beth

xx

01 – Holly Golightly

First up in my screen icons series is Holly Golightly, as played by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

(C) Turner Classic Movies

The Film

Breakfast at Tiffany’s stars Audrey Hepburn as the ditzy and often thoughtless, but ultimatly loveable call-girl Holly Golightly, and chronicles her life on her the Upper East Side of New York in the early 60s, as well as her tentative romance with her neighbour (and kept writer) Paul – whom she calls Fred, after her brother (portrayed by George Peppard). Although it is remembered as one of the classics of the 20^th century, the real undisputed star of this film are the clothes. Refreshingly, several dresses appear in more than one scene, just accessorized differently. And therein lies the beauty of the style in this film – it’s all about a simple LBD accessorised in different ways, or a beautifully cut coat worn with little make-up and a smile. Only once does Holly wear a dress that isn’t black, and then it’s so pink she can easily be forgiven. A must see film, even if you aren’t one for romances – it’s Blair Waldorf’s favourite for one!

Watch out for: the cat named Cat and the sofa made from a bath

Buy on Amazon

The Style

Holly’s style is all about simplicity – that black shift dress with the pearls, sunglasses, pointy black flats and elaborate up-do, or a beautifully cut red coat. It’s uncomplicated and unterly timeless, which makes it insanely easy to update for now!

On me: Skirt – vintage black velvet

Jumper, vest top and tights – M&S

Shoes, sunglasses and necklace – Primark               

Hair band (worn as bracelet) – Dorothy Perkins

Bag – Muse

Other items: Dress – £50 and Ribbon and pearl necklace – £15, both Topshop

Hair comb – £12, Pearl necklace – £15, Blue ribbon and pearl bracelet – £8, White ribbon and pearl bracelet – £14, all Accessorize

(C) Dallas News

This iconic sleep mask now can be purchased online from Fred Flare, as US based company for $14

The Beauty

“Hand me my purse will you darling, a girl can’t read that sort of thing without her lipstick.”

There’s no doubt about it – Holly Golightly’s make-up was as simple and classic as her style. A little bit of concealer, liquid eyeliner and lashings of mascara, followed by a sweep of nude lipstick. I’m terrible at liquid eyeliner and have no idea which ones are good, hence none appearing in this post.

Clockwise: Touché Éclat – £23 by YSL

Benefit Brow zings – £21.50, Benefit Lipstick – £13 and Maxfactor Masterpiece Mascara – £8.80, all from Boots

The most important part of Holly’s look (bar her hair – more on that later) is her eyebrows, which she is grooming the first time you meet her. They’re thick and natural looking, and perfectly frame her immaculate eye make-up.

Her hair, though, is her crowning glory. Throughout the film it somehow manages to stay at a height that can’t be achieved in nature – only through vast quantities of hair spray. It has a magical (and highly unrealistic!) ability to stay like that, through sleep and even a night in prison! I have no idea how the hair stylists did it, but if Holly were really and around now I expect any simple up do would have stood her well!

Hopefully this has inspired you to at least watch the film!

Beth

xx