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Christmas is just 10 days away (wow, that’s come fast!) and by now many of us will have presents sorted, some possibly wrapped and already under the tree. But there might be some who, when darkness sets in, might need a little pick me up, and so I’ve listed some festive films that I would definitely recommend to get you in the holiday spirit. My family and I have movie night every Saturday (a highlight of my week) and every Christmas Eve we always watch a Christmas film, with a takeaway surrounded by our decorations and Christmas lights (heaven!). I have watched many Christmas films in my lifetime, and I certainly have some favourites. So, here are some festive films to brighten your dark nights and bring you holiday cheer! Christmas Chronicles: Teddy and Kate Pierce hatch a plan to catch Santa, played by Kurt Russel, in the act on Christmas Eve, but when plans go awry they have to join forces in the hope of saving Christmas. The sequel has just come out as well, and although I haven’t seen it yet (waiting for Christmas Eve) I’m sure it will be just as good as the prequel. Polar Express: A little boy boards the Polar Express to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus, and along the way he encounters special people who make the trip even more memorable. This is a classic Christmas film for me. I have always loved it and it never fails to get me in the Christmas spirit! Arthur Christmas: This animation has recently become a favourite for me, with clumsy but sweet Arthur setting out on a mission to deliver a present to a little girl, whose gift was misplaced due to a technical glitch. The family spirit and festive cheer in this film always brings a smile to my face. Miracle on 34th Street: It’s a tale of a young girl, Susan, who is skeptical about the myth surrounding Santa Claus (a trait her mother passed on) but when her mother hires a man named Kris Kringle to be Macy’s Santa Claus, they both come to his defense along with a young lawyer, realising the magic of Christmas. I’ve never watched the original but this remake is the perfect feel-good movie for any December night. The Holiday: When two women swap homes for the Christmas holidays to get away from their relationship issues, they both find surprises that change their lives as they fall in love with two local guys. This film is again another classic, for me, and I love the actors who star in it. The love and warmth really make it feel like Christmas time. Klaus: This animation is about the origin of Santa Claus and how it started with a postman, who learns to be selfless and care about others during the festive season. I watched this film this weekend, and I have to say it was actually really good. I love animation but this film really struck a chord and made me even more excited for Christmas than I was already! These films are just some of my favourite festive films, and for some of you they may not be what you usually watch but I would still recommend giving them a go. If you watch them, enjoy! Until next time…

Do you feel the spirit of approaching Christmas? December has arrived and we’re already a week into it, meaning there’s only 18 sleeps until Christmas morning – woohoo! Now, this year has been particularly hard for most but Christmas could be the little bit of joy we could all use to brighten our spirits; so, even if you’re spending Christmas at home, working, or not seeing your family like you normally do, be sure to decorate a little to bring some festive cheer this holiday season. My family and I are spending Christmas just the four of us, and this weekend we spent however many hours putting up our decorations: the tree, stockings, tinsel, lights. Now, I love Christmas so we’re all trying to make this Christmas a great one, but putting up decorations was a little bit stressful. Our tree has been our tree for more than 20 years, and it’s still going – surprising considering how many needles fall off it every year – and we usually decorate it with lights, then beads and obviously baubles. But, trying to put the lights on the tree, and making sure that there aren’t any gaps is a rather difficult job; well, I say that but I’m not the one who usually does them! My dad put the lights on the tree, and he does not like it one bit because it’s so hard to get them all in the right place – unfortunately for him, he always does a fantastic job and the tree always looks lovely so we let him do the lights every year, hehe. The beads come in two colours (this year, they’re red and silver), and I’ve actually been getting quite good at helping to put them on the tree. They’re probably the easiest the part because the next step is the baubles. Now, we have lots of decorations for the tree, including personalised ornaments for my sister and I, but trying to put them on the tree proves to be quite the challenge. We sometimes disagree with where to put certain ones, and I would say we’re all perfectionists, so we can’t have any gaps in between baubles, or red baubles on silver beads and vice versa. Thankfully, we managed to get it all done, and our home looks festive and cosy! So, have you put your decorations up yet? Even if you are perhaps a Bah Humbug, decorations and perhaps some Christmas music (I have a lot of that!) may be all you need to add some festive cheer to the horrible year that has been 2020. Until next time…

Throughout lockdown 2.0, the weather has gotten colder and the nights have turned darker. The winter weather brings with it a sombre mood, and so I’ve been trying to do something each day that would not only brighten my spirits, but destress me and improve my mindset. I’ve been going for a walk everyday – even in the freezing cold and occasionally in the rain. My mum and I get up, have breakfast and go for a walk. We’re always wrapped up with snoods, hats and gloves; the other day we even took our umbrellas in case it rained. We’ve found that getting in a walk in the morning helps our mindsets, and gets us ready to start the day. So, I wanted to share some of the benefits of walking with you all. Here they are: 1. It helps lighten your mood – walking releases natural painkilling endorphins. 2. It can help you lose weight – a brisk walk can burn lots of calories. 3. It can help improve sleep – it relieves insomnia. 4. It’s easy on your joints – it’s not to strenuous and is an easy exercise to do. 5. It can help strengthen your heart – it can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease. 6. It can tone your legs – walking on inclines helps strengthen muscles in your legs. 7. It can boost your energy – it increases oxygen flow in your body and increases the level of hormones that help elevate energy levels. 8. It can help with creative thinking – walking helps clear your mind, allowing you to think creatively. 9. It can extend your life – studies have shown that it can reduce risk of overall death by 20%. 10. It can improve your mood – it helps reduce anxiety and depression and boost self-esteem and a positive mindset. Maybe you’ve been inspired to get out and go walking, or maybe you haven’t but I guarantee it does help. Give it a go. Until next time…

Currently we are still in lockdown 2.0, after however many days, with two and a half weeks left to go until December 2nd. Non-essential shops have been shut, pubs and restaurants have closed and gyms and leisure centres are no longer open. Everyone is hanging on to some thread of hope that things will eventually return to normal, or that there will be some normality at the end of this year. But so far, during this lockdown, many things have happened – some good, some bad. So, here’s 8 notable events of lockdown 2.0: 1. Joe Biden was elected as the next President of the United States. 2. Beloved actor Sean Connery passed away, leaving behind a legacy loved by many. 3. The BioNTech/Pfizer Covid vaccine has a 90% success rate. 4. Dominic Cummings will leave his Downing Street role by the end of this year. 5. University students will be able to go home for Christmas during a week-long travel window. 6. Ant and Dec finally completed a Bush Tucker Trial, thanks to Joel Dommett. 7. Strictly’s Nicola Adams and Katya Jones have had to leave the dance competition after Katya tested positive for Covid-19. 8. John Lewis has given everyone a little bit of Christmas after releasing their 2020 Christmas advert. We’ve still got some time to go, so let’s see what else happens before December 2nd. Until next time…

I can’t believe this is my 50th blog post. I started this blog last summer as a way to get my writing out there, to have a creative outlet, and I’m so thankful to every one of you who comes back each time to read my posts. Now, because it’s my 50th post, I wanted to try and do something amazing, so I opted to try and write a poem – operative word being ‘try’. So here goes… My 50th post, wow that’s a lot, Write Watch Work, that’s the plot. Never thought I’d get this far, It all seems rather bizarre! ‘A Little About Me’ was the first post written, I’m just a writer from Great Britain. Always wanted to write for people, But never thought it’d be so gleeful. So many books I have read, They’re all great just before bed. Lots more worlds for me to enter, Cafés, schools, towns and city centres. Movies and TV, passions of mine, Too many favourites, all sublime. Over 100 DVDs I have to myself, Waiting patiently, for me to watch, on my shelves. Work is fun when one has drive, Motivation helps keep you alive. Hard times and challenges may occur, But both are steps to success, which I prefer. Thanks to you all for reading my posts, I hope that I’ve been a good host. Many more posts are still to come, So, stick around for more fun! Until next time…

I’m officially 19 – woohoo! My birthday was this week, and despite being restricted with what we could do I had such a great time. My family and I went out for lunch to Pizza Hut – very scrumptious but also very filling, haha – and then in the afternoon I opened presents, we played Kahoot and then we watched a movie. It was so much fun and I know I’m going to treasure the memories forever. I got lots of lovely presents, including lots of clothes, chocolate, a gorgeous Pandora ring, and books. In total I received eight books – the bookworm in me was very happy! Admittedly, one of the books was ‘Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a literary twist’ but at the end of the day, it’s still a book – a handy one at that. The other books I received are actual reading books. My parents got me a set of three classics; they are ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen, ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte and ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte. I’ve never actually read a classic but have always wanted to, and now I’m doing a Creative Writing degree, I thought it was the perfect time to start. They also got me two books from the Debbie Johnson series, The Comfort Food Café. The titles I got are ‘Sunshine at the Comfort Food Café’ and ‘A Gift from the Comfort Food Café’. I already had the first three books, and the last one, but not the others, so I can now officially say I have the whole series – Yay! The next book they got me is by the author Heidi Swain, and it’s called ‘The Winter Garden’. I’ve got a couple of Swain’s books already but this one just looked like a perfect winter read. Lastly, the final book came from a close friend, and it’s by an author who I’ve heard of, whose work I know but, unlike my sister, I’ve never read her books – unfortunately – but since yesterday I can. The book I got is 'Christmas Shopaholic' by Sophie Kinsella. I am very delighted with all these books that I received and I’m so grateful for buying a new bookcase to house them all, haha. Books are always a great way to escape reality, especially in a time with a pandemic. And now, I have plenty more ways to escape and many more worlds to immerse myself in. Are there any books you don’t have, but you want? If so, what are they? Until next time…

At some point in our lives, we all have to focus on our work or our studies; and sometimes we lack the motivation to dedicate our entire attention to the task at hand. I know that if I’m studying or working, I can’t do it in silence. I have to have some sort of background noise going on because otherwise I just lose interest and want to do something else. Recently I was scrolling through Spotify to try and find some ambient music to listen to whilst studying. I love music – absolutely love it – so much so that I have over 3000 songs on my phone, but when I’m studying, I can’t have any upbeat music on because I would just dance instead of doing the work (totally not productive!). So, I found a revision playlist that is the perfect background noise for my study-time. It's called Revision Ballads and lasts 3 hours and 55 minutes (a lot of revision time!) It includes artists such as: Calum Scott, Harry Styles, Dermot Kennedy, Emeli Sandé, Little Mix and Kelly Clarkson. The playlist has pop ballads and acoustic covers, all of which help me to focus and zone in on my studying. If you’re like me and can’t study/work in silence, then Spotify have loads of playlists for the sole purpose of helping you to focus – this one is the playlist I prefer. Give some and try and you might be surprised. Until next time…

Everyone has their favourite TV shows that they love. I’m sure that you know some of the character's lines, what’s going to happen in a particular scene. There will always be a TV show that you can easily binge no matter what day it is. But, I know that for me, there are different shows I love to watch depending on my mood. Obviously I have my favourite shows but depending on how I feel, depends on what I want to watch. If I’m happy, a feel good show is the perfect watch - Hart of Dixie is one of my go-to shows. If I’m sad and want cheering up, then Fresh Prince and Friends are great comedy shows to watch. But if I’m sad and want a good cry then Grey’s Anatomy is the only show that can do the job. If I’m bored and want something exciting and action-packed, Grey’s Anatomy is a contender and so is The 100. If I want a show on in the background, Charmed is what I choose - I’ve seen it so many times, I can tell you what's going to happen. If I’m hungry, then I definitely can’t watch the Great British Bake Off because that just makes the hunger worse, lol! Everyone has a different taste in shows - like my sister doesn’t like The 100 (strange, haha) - so I’m curious...what shows would you watch for your different moods? Until next time...

October is just a few days away, and that means that winter is approaching with my favourite holiday – Christmas! I absolutely love Christmas, so much so that when my calendar reads October 1st, I start to read my Christmas books. October might be a little early to start getting in the festive spirit, but I have A LOT of books about that magical time of year – and I mean a lot a lot! My Christmas books literally take up half of my bookshelf and they’re written by different authors, including Sarah Morgan, Debbie Johnson, Heidi Swan, Phillipa Ashley and more. All these authors help me feel a little more Christmassy, much to my family’s annoyance, and ready for December, but there is one author – my favourite – whose Christmas books I read every year – I've read them so much that the ink is fading! This author is Sarah Morgan. Now, I said that Sarah Morgan is my favourite author, but I always wonder what makes someone a favourite author? Is it after you’ve read a certain number of their books? Is it because they make you laugh? Or cry? Is it because you can relate to the characters? What is it? Do people have a criterion that determines who their favourite author would be? Do people have several favourite authors? I know I have many authors that I’ve classed as my “favourite” overtime, and I’ve always found it hard to whittle it down to one, but at the end of the day there is one author whose books I read more of, and more frequently, and so I chose them as my favourite author. So, here’s seven reasons why Sarah Morgan is my favourite author: 1. When I read her books, I can’t put them down – literally! 2. Her books evoke emotion – I laugh, I smile…and sometimes I cry. 3. Reading her books makes me feel better and happier. 4. I become invested in the storyline – eager to know how it ends. 5. I love the character developments throughout her works. 6. She writes with great quality. 7. As a reader I can appreciate all character’s perspectives. Do you have a favourite author? If so, who is it, and why are they your favourite? Until next time...

This week I had my first job interview and I was really nervous. In the past, I’d only ever had interviews for sixth forms and universities, and for them I wasn’t really that worried about them but this week, for my first job interview I was definitely worried, especially since it was a telephone interview – I don’t even like talking to my sister over the phone, let alone someone I've never met! But all went well, and once it was complete, I was very relieved. I took steps to make sure I was prepared for it, and so I thought I’d share some of my top tips for interviews. Here they are: 1. Know what the interview is about – understand what the job is 2. Know some information about the company – you don’t want to be thrown off guard if the interviewer asks, ‘Why do you want to work for this company?’. You need to know what they do 3. Make sure you know what you wrote on your application – revise your application, CV and cover letter before so the information is fresh in your mind 4. Make a list of questions you might want to ask – the cat always has my tongue when I’m asked ‘Do you have any question?’ no matter the situation, so it’s good to think of some beforehand 5. Make notes about yourself – you might be asked to tell them about yourself and I’m sure we could all say lots of things, but not all of them would be relevant, so maybe make a note of things you could say that are relevant to the job These are just my top tips – you probably have some of your own – but in case you don’t, these could help. Until next time…

Tonight is the night that the NFL season begins. Since February, NFL fans all around the globe have been waiting in anticipation for the new season to start, and the time has finally come. We had the draft - the first virtual NFL draft - but what we really wanted to see was our favourite team playing on the field. Each team has gone through the process of drafting players, like Chase Young and Tua Tagovailoa, and cutting down their rosters to 53, so that tonight the season can begin. The first game is between the Houston Texans at the reigning champions, Kansas City Chiefs. Whilst the season is starting, there will be restrictions in place to keep in line with Covid-safe measures, such as limited-person attendance, but that doesn't mean the games will be less exciting. And, thankfully, the Sunday Night Football song will be back, pumping fans up ready for the Sunday night games. There are great new players on many teams making their debuts, like CeeDee Lamb for the Dallas Cowboys, and players that have moved teams, and even conferences. The New England Patriots have said goodbye to Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski as they've gone to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cincinnati Bengals have welcomed their new quarterback, Joe Burrows, and Washington have welcomed their new name for this season, Washington Football Team. So tonight, the Thursday night game will kick-off the season. I'm a Cowboys' girl myself, so Sunday night is the night when I will be in full NFL mode but for now... ...Grab your snacks, get your drinks and cheer for your team! Until next time...

Today marks the beginning of September; the month where school starts, the weather gets colder and the time till Christmas becomes less and less. This September will be a little different than usual, with the restrictions from the pandemic, but work still needs to happen…and so does relaxing. It’s easy to get so caught up in your work - whether it be homework from school or tasks to do with your job – and forget about downtime and looking after yourself. I should know; there were times when I wouldn’t stop studying and my parents had to literally force me to move from my desk! But self-care is so important. Everyone needs that time, at some point of the day, to do something they enjoy and find relaxing. For some it might be watching a good movie, or listening to music or playing a sport; whatever it is, you should find the time to do it. During lockdown, one thing I’ve found that helps take away stress and anxiety is colour by numbers. And the way I do it, is by the app Happy Colour. Happy Colour is free to download and it has a plethora of different pictures you can colour. The topics range from art, to nature, to sport, to interiors and now they’ve added a Disney section! Whilst it does require a screen, it is surprising how calming (yet a little addictive!) it can be! If you’re a person who enjoys colouring, or using their devices, then this app may be for you! Here are some of the images that I’ve coloured: If you fancy a break from work, and you like colouring...have a go! Until next time...