How far is too far?

It's been too long. How the devil are you. And all that jazz.

I've just watched a film that on first glance seemed like the usual sloppy predictable Hollywood drivel but turned out to be a bit of a hidden gem and made me think. The film is called Fever Pitch, or Perfect Catch if you're from Australia - the alternative title is so helpful when IMDB-ing - and the main plot line is about a man who is unhealthily obsessed with the baseball team, Boston Red Sox that it has driven women away left, right and centre whenever he has tried to engage in a relationship until now... enter Drew Barrymore's career-driven workaholic character, Lindsey who proves to be a 'cool' alternative modern woman who seems to be able to put up with Ben's passion.

At first all is well and Lindsey starts to come along to games with Ben, even donning the Red Sox team kit and missing prior engagements to please her man and support the Sox, but eventually the cracks begin to show and Lindsey begins to wonder exactly how much she has to share in her partner's obsession before it begins to change her.

This made me wonder, how much are we willing to change for our other halves? We all have a passion for something, and when we begin to share our lives with another person, we tend to share everything about ourselves, and expect them to enjoy what we enjoy. But how far should we go to change for the one we love? I think there comes a point in every relationship where you take stock and think about the sacrifices you've made for this person, the passions you may have given up, the things you've started to take an interest in because they do, and so on. I suppose the point I'm trying to make, ever so articulately, is that however much you love someone, you shouldn't let them absorb vital elements of your character or identity, you should hold onto those passions that you once held dearly and - all being well - your significant other will embrace these elements and love them as much as you do. Over and out from Ms Agony Aunt.

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A dedicated follower of... fashion?

I am currently enjoying experimenting with clothes, and having lots of fun. (I don't often go girly on you but thought I'd make an exception... if you're a boy who doesn't care about such things then I'll try and make my next post extra man-orientated and write about farting and/or beer). As a firm believer that dresses are for losers, or rather - firmly acknowledging that dresses don't suit me, I have decided go go against the grain of my own decisions and start wearing them, and have loved it! I like the whole teaming of a short dress and leggings (of which I have acquired several pairs, some more outlandish than others *ahem* silver...) which tends to connote an 'eighties rocker' vibe, or the maxi dress with beads and gladiator sandals, for the 'festival chic' look, or indeed the long t-shirt-type-dress thingy that goes equally well with leggings or skinny black jeans and a black pump. I don't really like writing or reading about fashion, so will keep this short, but I thought I would introduce you to a new acquisition to my wardrobe, 'Harem Pants' (pictured). They're like leggings at the bottom but they have a massive baggy crotch, and these ones from American Apparel turn into a full outfit if one casually pulls the waist band up over the chest area and turns it into a one-piece - nice one. They come to me in the post on Friday, so watch out York, they will either look ridiculous or super ridiculous, either way I will enjoy.

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SW19

It's that time of year again where I suspend everything I do in my life and watch some incredible tennis for two weeks. I was fortunate enough to go to Wimbledon with some friends for a day this year, and wasn't disappointed. We queued for around 5 hours in the blazing hot sunshine, and when we got in, headed straight for Court 3 where we saw American/English James Blake go out in the first round to Seppi, it was a good game, shame Blake didn't make it past the first round. We also caught the first round Haas game which was enjoyable and showed that height can be a very useful weapon.

The first week was good, what with Djokovic, Hewitt, Roddick and Federer storming into the fourth round after playing some sublime tennis, and of course Murray winning four games convincingly to earn him a place in the hallowed Wimbledon quarter finals. However, I can't help but wonder how Nadal would have altered the landscape of the tournament had he been participating... perhaps the second-best left-handed Spaniard, Verdasgo would have been shown the door a little earlier than the fourth round, or maybe the oldest remaining man in the tournament, German Tommy Haas, would have been out-played by the 22 year old Rafa. Who knows.

So, for some predictions...Djokovic and Roddick will make it to the semi's but will face fierce competition from Haas and Hewitt, it all depends on the draw (click here for the Quarter Final draw) but Djokovic is definitely on form at the moment and Roddick's serve is still unbeatable, although the irritatingly tall Croat, Ivo Karlovic may prove to be a dark horse this year with his terrifyingly speedy aces. I think Federer has to win it, but will meet Murray in the final. The Scot will put up a fight but I believe that the five-time champion will pip him to the post; the Wimbledon trophy still belongs in his cabinet for the time being.

And as for the women's, well who cares. The Williams will both be in the final and we will all suffer from ear ache at their intense grunting... let's hope they take a hint and retire soon.

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I've got love for you, if you were born in the...

...North.

A while ago I wrote about the time when Jon Snow came to speak to the students at UCLan, and noted how he had mentioned about the tendency for the people of London, especially in the media industry, to have an extremely 'London-centric' mindset. This idea has been brought to my attention once again with the most recent public interest story absorbing most of the news headlines at the moment about the tube workers going on strike and Londoners having to cycle/walk/row to work - the poor dears.

Now, I completely agree that we as a nation should support our capital city and should show an interest in what's going on there, but there comes a point when I wonder if any other part of the country - especially the north - matter to the country in the slightest? It seems as though the only time us poor stupid northerners receive any coverage in the press is when there's a bomb scare in Manchester or Swine Flu in Ripon.

Northern folk are constantly being portrayed as commoners who are disinterested in anything of cultural value and ignorant about matters involving race and homosexuality (something which can be true in some cases but is not an attitude necessarily confined to the north).

I find the general snobbery of many southerners distinctly narrow-minded and I can't help but feel indignant about the misconceptions generally held by most.

PS. A lot of my good friends are from the south - this is not aimed at them, I love them all dearly!

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Yas-winner

I know I won't be alone when I say that this year's Apprentice has been great. The contestants were all enjoyable to watch, some more so than others; what with Lorraine and her 'instincts', Debra and her terrifyingly arrogant manner, Ben and his harping on about his scholarship to Sandhurst and who could forget Nural and his tendency to not to very much at all.

My favourite contestant however, was undoubtedly James, the extent of his idiocy was incomprehensible at times but always highly amusing, I think he even made the unflappable Margaret have a good old chuckle. Here are some memorable James quotes....

You can get polyesters manmade?

One thing that is really important when you're breastfeeding is the mother needs to be happy. Because if she's anxious there's something in nature which switches off the tap in her breast.

The lid's open so the baby can jump out.

I’m skating on thin ice – and I think Sir Alan might be waiting for it to crack.

I wonnid to win this task. I really wonnid to. There's no point... That other lot are out there now riding round on horses and I'm sitting here having to look at you and I didn't mean that disrespectfully.

The thing that I enjoyed most about tonight's episode was the interview with Sir Alan himself, he turned out to be quite nice in real life, and commented on the media's ability to turn on the contestants and write slanderous things about them, treating them more like Big Brother contestants than serious business people (apart from Lorraine... jokes), which should cause tabloid journos to sit up and *shock-horror* understand that they can't just publish anything in order to promote their own want.

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Loose ends

I've been pretty busy over the past week or so, but I haven't neglected the world of the blog, no no. Many photos taken at (some not so) poignant moments, enjoy.....



So we had a Masquerade Ball t'other day and I got all dressed up and stuff, don't usually get my hair done for this sort of thing but I thought it was worth making the effort... and the quiff stayed in for about three days!! Defo got me money's worth there.



My excitement at buying a new notebook and ten chunky fat marker pens was a tad on the geeked-up side but I do very much love a new notebook, this actually made my day better.

I had a little potter around the Cornerhouse bookshop after I finished work today and couldn't resist these beauties... The Independent Cinema book looked pretty interesting, and may be something that I base my dissertation on, good to read on the train. The Little White Lies mag is a must for any film buff, with excellent graphics on every page and quirky little interviews and quotes from directors and actors, really witty, honest film reviews, right up my street. And the final magazine is a present for my bruv's birthday, a bit pricey but it has that 'special' feel to it, like every page was hand crafted by a wise old woman from the depths of Peru then flown to the moon for a while so it glows all shimmery like.

My friend Dan looking a little bit silly in Pizza Hut. (My shades) (His beard)


I went to Alton Towers the other day. We stopped at a random car sales place on the way so my friend could be sick and I laid eyes on the most beautiful thing crafted by man.... drink it up guys...



The other day in my lunch break I wandered down the road from Cornerhouse, avoiding Sainsbury's and their meal deals, and I bought a sandwich from the most posh sandwich shop ever, on the corner of Oxford St in Manchester. I kept the packet as a memory of the amazing sandwich. (Brie and Bacon Baguette for all you sandwich fans out there)

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Amazing Grace

Recently I've been made aware of the incredible work of the 'Invisible Children' charity. The charity was founded by three young filmmakers from California who visited Uganda in 2003 and were appalled by the situation they found surrounding the northern part of the country's children. They discovered the tragedy that is the Lord's Resistance Army, a terror organization fronted by Joseph Kony who kidnap children and train them to be killing machines. The three young men have since become involved in a global campaign to create awareness of the so-called 'Invisible Children', in an attempt to gain political support and raise funds to care for the children and put a stop to the injustices that are happening in the country.

Their marketing campaign is driven by people's personal stories, stories which us in the Western world can empathize with and that may lead us to make a stand for these desperate children. The story that came to my attention is that of a young woman called Grace. I bought a bracelet from the website and received with it a DVD of her story, which is tragic but also signifies a new hope despite the terrible situation.

Here is an extract from the booklet...

"Grace, the story of a child mother... Abducted from her home at 10 years old and forced to fight as a soldier, Grace was beaten repeatedly for three years, and at 13 was forced to become a sex slave to a 40 year old commander in the L.R.A, After her narrow escape from the bush, with a gunshot wound to the leg, she discovered she was pregnant with the commander's child.

Once rescued, girls like Grace are taken to a rehabilitation centre where they are given just three months of psychosocial therapy, before they are returned to the family they may or may not have.

Due to the severity of Grace's medical condition (a shattered tibia, and her approaching birth), she remained at the centre for over a year.

But returning home will not be easy. With an absent father, she will live with her uncle, left to care not only for her own child, but for her own disabled mother as well. Grace is a child, but she is a mother.

The idea of Grace is about choosing to forgive when others have done nothing but hurt and let you down. Grace has a smile bigger than the size of her pain."

The question I ask, is this. How can we sit back in our comfortable, over indulgent lives, and hear these children's stories and not do anything to help them? It disgusts me that we are so stinking rich and stupidly ignorant in the 'better' part of the world while our fellow human beings, our fellow brothers and sisters are being treated horrifically and we do nothing about it.

Buy a bracelet, make a difference....

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