The National Television Awards and my life.

Hello everyone! I'm back doing a bit of blogging again. Although, to tell you the truth, I am quite unwell right now. The winter viruses are going around at the moment, and unfortunately I have picked one up. Or rather it has latched onto me. It's not like I went to a supermarket, and said to a shop assistant "Can I have a pack of those? And a cold to go with that please?". No. I didn't. It found me. And it has made me suffer for nearly a week. Roughly. Not that I want it to bring me down. I have tried to carry on as normal. Except for going out. I'm too ill for that. I didn't even get to play in the snow. Not that I'm a child. But I would have liked a little snowball fight or to build a snowman. No such luck there I'm afraid.

In other news, my blasted mobile phone has decided to play me up, and won't switch on properly. The screen comes up with my phone's brand name and then the network's name, but it doesn't get any further than that when I switch it on. So, I've had to revert to using my old phone instead. It has no proper apps, the internet won't let me onto Twitter, and it doesn't charge very well, because the connection is loose at the top of the phone. So, I can only tweet from my computer, which isn't convienient for me. It's not every day that I get to go on it.

On the plus side, I did tweet Giles Coren and Sue Perkins the other day, and Giles replied with 'xx'. And I was very pleased with that. Also, Ant Payne said 'hope you get well soon! x'. Again, that was cool and made me happy. It's nice that I can connect with such nice people.

In TV news, I got to watch The National Television Awards the other night. It was good. But not every show or person I like won. The Great British Bake Off was one of the programmes I was sad to find out didn't win best factual TV show. Instead, Paul O'Grady's latest show won it. It's not that I dislike him, because I don't. It's the fact that I love The GBBO, and thought it really deserved the award. It's just one of those series on television that shines bright amoung other such shows. And Mel and Sue are brilliant, funny presenters on it. Even Paul said on the night that he thought the 'cooking show' would win.

Also, another show which I thought should have been recognised on the NTAs a bit more was Mrs Biggs. Neither Sheridan Smith nor Daniel Mays won an award for best female/male actress/actor. I couldn't really understand why. Both were outstanding in that TV drama, and I loved it. It was totally moving and brilliant.

I watched every episode of it, and loved it from beginning to end. Sheridan is one of my all time fave actresses and has always caputured my attention in whatever show she's been in.

I also thought Merlin should have won best Drama, as I also love that show. And am sad it had to come to an end. You just can't beat a good drama that's set in the past. If the actors are good and the script's good it's bound to work well.

I really do. :)

The one thing I'm most glad about is that Joanna Lumley won a special recognition award, and gave a fab speech saying 'I love you!' to everyone who's supported her. She even cried. And I've met her once, so I was excited to see her on the TV, not only see her get an award. If I do get into acting later on in my life, I'd absolutely LOVE to work with her. It would be AMAZING! Also, I'd love to work with Jennifer Saunders one day too. Just sayin'. (Ha ha ha!)

Aww, she's so emotional here. She's crying tears of happiness.

I think she is an amazing actress and fab in Absolutely Fabulous, which I love. One of the greatest comedies of all time, in my opinion.

Also, I was glad to see Mrs Brown's Boys win an award, because I think the guy who plays Mrs Brown is very talented and plays a woman really well. It's hard to tell that he's a man when you see him in character.

Here's the actor who plays Mrs Brown - Brendan O'Carroll.

Thank you for reading my latest blog post. I do hope to continue my fictional story sometime soon. Maybe when I've gotten over this cold. Because right now, my brain can only cope with writing true stuff, like about The NTAs, and my life.

Bye for now. Ss1. (Also known as the 'enigmatic' one. Ha ha ha!) xxx

Short story. Part 1.

It's not often I feel inspired to write a fictional story. But the other day the urge hit me. So guess what, I am. At least, I'll give it a go... I did write one a while back, about two young ladies, one wanting to be a successful writer, and the other wanting to be an actress. Basically reincarnations of myself, sort of. And although I'd written a fair few short stories about these characters, the ideas for the stories dried up, and I went back to writing blog posts about myself, and Giles Coren and Sue Perkins. That way it wasn't all made up stuff, and I didn't have to sit for ages thinking things and then describing them.

So for this blog post I will attempt to write a short story, and basing it on my own life, or my past rather.

The story starts here...

At school it's safe to say that there are those who get noticed and those who don't. People who are popular, and those who aren't.

For Sally Morland, a 12 year old girl who liked music but hated most sports, she was not the kind of girl who got noticed that easily. A lot of the time she would keep her head down, and sink into her school books, rather than making conversation with the other students.

One day Sally was in her History class, and it was nearly lunchtime. At this time of the day most of the students weren't very focussed on what they were being taught, but instead they chatted endlessly to each other about how hungry they were.

"Oh my god. I'm so hungry. I feel like I'm going to faint." said one girl to the person sitting next to her.

Sally looked at the clock. It was 10 minutes to 1pm.

"So, who can tell me when the First World War ended?" asked the teacher, Mr Pinker. The students often called him Mr Pinker The Blinker, because he blinked so much. It was like his eyes showed how fast he was thinking of things to say.

"1918!" shouted Peter. The class' loudest student.
"That is correct Peter." Mr Pinker said. "But next time could you raise your hand please."
"Ok sir." Peter said again, not as loudly as last time.

At lunch, Sally lined up in the lunch queue, and waited to get her food. Which she did everyday. Today was different though. She was standing next to a girl she had never stood next to before. Her name was Eliza Salbrook. She was the most sporty girl in her whole year group. She liked badminton the best. But also netball and rounders. She often talked to other sporty girls, but never found a real connection with any of them.

Most girls in both Eliza and Sally's year (they were in the same year) cared mostly about their looks. Eliza and Sally however didn't care much about their looks. Not to the same extent that the other girls did.

"Hi! This queue's taking forever, isn't it?" said Eliza to Sally.
"Yeah. I've been waiting here at least 10 minutes already." replied Sally.
"Lunch'll be over before we get any food." Eliza said, jokingly.
"Ha ha! Yeah." said Sally, smiling.
"We're in the same year, aren't we?" asked Eliza.
"Yes, I think so." said Sally.
"What's your name?" asked Eliza.
"Sally. Sally Morland."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Eliza Salbrook."
"Hi. Nice to meet you too." said Sally, with a little smile on her face.

When the girls had got to the front of the lunch queue, they both grabbed their food, and lined up together to pay for it. Then, after paying, they both walked together to an empty table and sat down next to each other.

"What class have you got next?" asked Eliza.
"P.E." said Sally.
"Oh. So have I!" exclaimed Eliza. "Who's your teacher?"
"Mr Harding." said Sally.
"Oh, I have Mrs Trinker." said Eliza. "Should we meet up at the end of school today?"
"If you like." said Sally.
"Do you live that far away from the school?" asked Eliza.
"No, it's about 15 minutes away." said Sally.
"Cool. I don't live that far away either." said Eliza.

Later that day, when the school bell had rung, Eliza and Sally both left their seperate form rooms, and met each other at the school gate.

"Hi Sally!" shouted Eliza, running to greet Sally.
"Hi! You walking home?" asked Sally.
"Yeah. Are you?" asked Eliza.
"Yep." said Sally.
"You going that way?" asked Eliza, pointing left.
"Yeah I am. Are you?" asked Sally.
"Mmm hmm." replied Eliza.

The girls walked out of school together, and then turned left. Both girls looked a little tired and worn out.

"How was P.E. then?" Eliza asked.
"Terrible." said Sally.
"How come?" asked Eliza.
"Well, we had to run around the track in the big field, about 3 times, and then do some sprinting. It was well tiring." said Sally.
"Don't you like running?" asked Eliza.
"Not much." said Sally.
"Oh. Well I quite like it. And badminton." said Eliza.
"Oh, I quite like that!" said Sally. "Much less tiring!" Sally said, laughing a little.
"Ha ha! Yes, it is!" said Eliza, also laughing a little.

The girls walked for about 10 minutes together, chatting away, like they'd known each other for years. Eventually they had to split up, and go their seperate ways, and go to their seperate houses. It seemed like the beginning of a long lasting friendship. But for how long?

End of part 1.

Thank you for reading. Hopefully I will carry this story on later. In a few days or so. Please leave a comment below or tweet me about what you thought of the story. I'd love to get some feedback.

Bye for now, Ss1. xxx

Christmas time is here again...

Merry Christmas bloggers & tweeters! Hope the build up to Christmas has been fun and enjoyable for you lot. I know it's been a little bit stressful for me. And some days I've felt like not going anywhere or doing anything. But... because I know that Christmas was just around the corner and I wanted to help with the preparations, of course I went out and helped buy all the essentials and had quite a lot of fun doing it. Especially when I got to go and eat out. That's like my fave thing to do when I'm out at the mo.

I ate out at a pub recently, and that was pretty awesome. It was my first time going into that pub, so I was a bit anxious, but I soon got over that. The atmosphere wasn't 100% perfect, but the decor and food was lovely and I ended up having a really nice time. I really loved the food. The chips were especially nice, and not over cooked or soggy either. They were literally the best chips I've ever tasted.

Here's what me and my companion had to eat.

Also, I went to see a pantomime, in Hammersmith. It was Cinderella, and it had Mel Giedroyc in it. She was playing the baddie Ms Hardup. She has the most awesome costume, and wig that makes her look rather evil, but I still loved it and thought she was the best one in the whole show. Her acting is super great! And her character is so funny/sinister all at the same time.

The show was utterly magical and spellbinding, and it had all you could hope to see in a panto. There was (SPOILER ALERT!) a disco ball, foamy confetti, funny dancing, a pantomime horse (well, two infact, one was Cinderella's, the other was someone dressed up who wanted to marry the prince), and a dancing pumpkin! ("Go Wilson! Go Wilson!")

Also, the choice of songs was marvellous! They had classic tunes as well as some really modern, funky pop songs, such as Little Mix's Wings and Gangnam Style!

Here is Mel holding my drawing that I gave her after the show.

She was so lovely to me and I really enjoyed meeting her for a second time. She liked the way I made her look younger in that drawing, and she also said she liked the mince pie and the little finger (her pinky) which is sticking up in that pic. I drew it from a pic that was in the Radio Times. It was of her and Sue Perkins, and they were surrounded by tea and cakes.

Here's a Christmas tree that I walked past in Hammersmith.

Christmas time is great because of all the lovely food, the shops that are all Christmassy, the presents you buy and receive, the lights on people's houses, the snow (if we get any), and the general Christmas spirit, and people being nice to each other.

Also, not forgetting the Christmas specials on the TV, such as Doctor Who, Him & Her, The Snowman and The Snowdog, and all the others.

I hope to be doing a bit of baking and cooking over the Christmas period, and so hopefully I'll be doing a little bit more blogging (before the end of the year would be good).

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (if I don't get around to blogging before the new year). Hope Santa brings you what you asked for. Or, if not, then I hope you get a nice surprise present/s.

Lots of love and Christmas cheer, Ss1. xxx

Eating out vs. eating in.

I've always found eating in to be easier, faster, sometimes yummier. But of course, the simple pleasure of going out and ordering something freshly cooked, hot and delicious just can't be beaten.

Now I was going to do another Top 5 Faves thing, like last time. But I've decided that that is probably too long, and too much of a strain on my tired brain. So instead, I will take you through some of my fave things to eat out (and in) with less of a structured feel, and more of a laid-back, relaxed vibe. I won't do any numbering this time, because to be fair, I can't really say what my absolute fave food to eat out or in is. I have several faves.

Firstly, I like eating paninis. Out, of course. Usually with a nice coffee to go with it. Ham and cheese is my particular fave. Of panini that is. (Ha ha ha!) Especially the ones with extra gooey cheese in them. I much prefer gooey cheeses. The way when you eat a panini and bite into it, the cheese is all stringy, and there's a long strand of cheese coming out from your mouth and dangling down a good 15 or so centimetres. That is just such an enjoyable and fun experience.

My panini, and two coffees. One was my companion's. Mine's the one with chocolate on the top. I have such a sweet tooth!

 

Secondly, I'm up for anything (well... almost) sweet to eat. Mainly cupcakes, or cakes, or gingerbread men or biscuits. Depending on where I am and what mood I'm in. Sometimes I'll just snack on chocolate. But... I don't mind sitting in a cafe and eating something sweet. Usually it'll be a cupcake. One with lots of icing. But nothing else really. I'm not up for anything sickly, or creamy. Eurgh!

 

Here's a snack I once ate out. It may not be my usual, but it's still sweet and has nuts in it. You can't really ask for more. Especially when you're busy and on the move.

 

Thirdly, I love eating in. It's not got the same speedy, lively, quick vibe as eating out, but that doesn't bother me. I can't be asked to go out everyday or even every week to eat out. I just can't. But that doesn't mean that I can't eat delicious food. Though most is not freshly cooked, I do try and keep my diet fairly balanced. But not to any exact measurements or amount of food. I just eat what I want. And in moderation. It's the "little and often" method.

 

Here's something I actually cooked. Fried eggs. Very basic, but very yummy. One went a little bit funny (the top one).

 

I had them as a little extra to something else I ate previously that day, which was similar. That's why the plate's a bit mucky. Those fried eggs really filled me up!

 

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, you lovely peeps. Leave a comment below or on Twitter @Supersizer1.

 

Bye now. xxx







Fruits, me, Giles Coren... and other stuff.

Weird title, I know. I'm just trying to give you peeps a hint as to what I'm going to write about in my blog post. I've meant to write this for some time. But you know what I'm like... I will often put it off, because other things grab my attention (like Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, or the television or radio), or of course, more importantly, I really have had other, more major things to worry about, or do. Oh, and then there's when I've felt ill. And trust me, I'm one of these people who does get ill a fair bit. My immune system is crap. It always has been. As a kid I would go off school more than most purely because I got ill more than most. You either do get ill a lot, or you don't. And I did.

Now, intro. over... it's time to get to the main reason I'm blogging today. Fruit. Or, my favourite fruits. I had the idea the other day because Esther Walker did a blog post, which I read, about how to make banana bread. Then it got me thinking about which fruits are my fave, and why.

So, here goes... my favourite fruits (shortlist):

1. Banana.
    I have always had a strong liking for this fruit, ever since I was little. It's good on its own, or with cereal (on top of it, which is how I like it), or with cake (on the side, like how I like my tomato ketchup along side my chicken and mushroom slices - Ginsters), or on toast (which I have rarely eaten), or in a cake (banana cake - which I have made once).

Here's a piece of my banana cake. I made it back in August, and it lasted for about 2 weeks. Well, I ate it within that time. Oh, and my companion had some too.

 

2. Blueberry.

    The good old blueberry... definitely a favourite of mine. I love blueberry muffins, and get them most weeks, in either a 2 or 4 pack. They taste really nice, and are much healthier (I'd imagine) than a choc chip muffin, or a double choc chip muffin. I also have made my own once, except with a little twist - there was a hint of lemon in the muffins. And the recipe was by a contestant from The Great British Bake Off, Urvashi Roe.

 

Here is one of my blueberry and lemon muffins. This was all the way back in March that I made these. Just goes to show how little baking I do. But, it's thanks to the Bake Off that I've got into it.

 

3. Strawberry.

    Here's another fruit which has been a part of my diet since I was small. (And by small I mean young.) It's in yogurts and milk drinks that I've drunk and ate as a child. I have always loved its sweet flavour. And I still do. I still eat yogurts that contain a strawberry flavour. I'm not sure whether it's a natural flavouring or not. But I like it all the same. And Yazoos are another thing which has a strawberry flavour in it, which I love. I went through a BIG, looooong faze of drinking them, then went off them, and then have re-discovered recently that I like them.

 

4. Apricot.

    This is another fruit which I only really like because as a kid I'd have it in my yogurt, because it was flavoured with it. It's a nice, fresh tasting fruit. And the yellow-y colour it makes the yogurt is very cheery, and nice to look at.

 

5. Apple.

    This fruit is one I like on its own, cut up, even with honey, or on cereal. Even fruit juices that have apple in them, such as Innocent smoothies. It's also a nice flavour in cakes, or there's the classic pudding apple crumble, which is very delicious and nice with custard. That used to be a favourite dessert of mine at school. That and chocolate sponge with chocolate custard - very unhealthy, but OH so good!

 

My 5 favourite fruits there for you. The 6th, if I'd have made the list just a little bit longer, would have been grapes. They are very nice, but only if they taste sweet. And have no pips in them. They are a pain to have to remove after/during eating a grape.

 

Now, a little bit more extra stuff, which I felt I just had to include in my blog post...

 

Giles Coren replied to me on the 8th of this month. I was very happy and also very pleased for his wife, Esther, who had written an article in The Times about How To Be A Blogger, which I really enjoyed reading. It also taught me that for my blog to become more popular, I must blog on a more regular basis, and also not go on about how I've been too busy to blog. Although I never really say that. I usually give a short(ish) apology, and then get on with writing my latest blog post. But maybe in future I won't mention how I've not blogged in ages and just go straight into writing about whatever it is I'm writing about. Sound good to you?

 

Now, I must depart from my blog now. Pandora's show on Capital will be on in about half an hour, and I CAN'T miss that! I love you guys who actually read my blog. It may not be a huge amount, but it's better than nothing.

 

Please feel free to tweet me or leave a comment below, I'd like to hear some feedback on this post. Thanks! Bye for now... Ss1. xxx



A little bit of blogging.

I know, I haven't blogged in ages. I have meant to, but never got around to it. I've wanted to blog about The Great British Bake Off, and how great it was to watch. But it's been a while since it was on, so I can only do that once I've gathered a fair amount of pics together and refreshed my brain on it. But basically, the person who I wanted to win, or rather one of the people I wanted to win, won it. So I was pleased with the end result. Also, Mel and Sue were fab at presenting the show. And the 'Revisited' show was also really good and it was nice to see people such as Joanne Wheatley again, on the TV.

Besides the GBBO, I have also been enjoying other TV shows like Mrs Biggs and other things, which for some reason, my mind can't remember right now. Not great when all I want to do is go into depth about programmes I've watched. Plus, I'd really like to share a pic with you of a recent meal I've eaten. Purely because it was very yummy & seriously good to look at. P.S. I didn't make it. My companion did. They're a great cook. Not an actual professional or anything. Just great at cooking.

Toast with fish paste, cheese, eggs, cucumber and pepper.

 

I just want to end my blog post by mentioning how much I've enjoyed listening to Capital FM recently, and Pandora, Emily and Ant have all kept me entertained in the early hours of the morning & late evening (because Pandora's show is on from 8pm to midnight on a Friday). Thanks for all the tunes & chatter on Twitter. You guys are ace!

 

Also, big love to Sue & Giles, my idols. You are the greatest & funniest peeps I know. From the TV.

 

Bye for now, Ss1. xxx



Make-up and pictures. Inspirational!

If taking pictures inspires you, or you like to wear make-up, read on! (Go on. It'll only take 5 minutes, at the most/least. Roughly that.)

I am in a pretty good mood today. Woke up at about quarter to 12(pm). Felt pretty rested. Had a long sleep, because I went to bed at the early-ish time of 1:35(am). Can honestly say that that was out of character. I am such a late night owl. I will stay up 'til the morning, if I can. But I had very little sleep before, so felt pretty darn tired.

Anyway, today I've had a chance to make myself up. Or doll myself up, if you like. Although I look more like a Bratz doll than a Barbie doll, as far as make-up goes. Bright colours, big eyes, dark lips. I look like Yasmin from the Bratz. I know, I know far too much about dolls for someone my age. Heck, I'm just a big kid at heart.

So. Make-up tips. Firstly, never be afraid to experiement and play with colours. Even if they clash.

Secondly, if you use an eye crayon on your eye, a chunky one, then please feel free to add a bit of eye shadow on top of it. It helps the eye shadow to stay on, and stick to the eye. Plus, it makes the colour more vibrant, and looks pretty cool.

My eyes right now have a light blue eye crayon on them, and a darker blue eye shadow over the top. Plus a light yellow on the brow bone. It's also using an eye crayon. It's a BarryM one. It's very good, and creates a nice little glow on the eye. It also doubles up as a lip crayon. If you're feeling adventurous, then you can use it on your lips. I have a plum lipstick on me right now. A No7 one. Very good for adding a darkness to your lips, while still keeping them moisturised.

My eye. Hope you like it.

Thanks for reading my blog post. Don't forget, always remember. Ha ha! No. Seriously. Don't forget, to put some mascara on to complete this look.

Bye for now. Please leave a comment below or tweet me, if you'd like to tell me what you thought of my blog post. Love, Ss1. x