A day of horror

Today I was still suffering from the lurgs which I was less than happy about. Toni was out for the day with Jade so Sam and I took advantage to get some horror viewing in.

We started off getting up to date with American Horror Story: Hotel. This series is really going from strength to strength. Really love what they are doing with this season and the dinner party was just inspired!

Next up was French film Martyrs. Martyrs tells the story of Anna, once a missing little girl, found wandering a year later on a country road virtually catatonic after suffering some sort of physical abuse. She grows into a comely young woman, but she's got serious issues. She also has a close friend, Lucie, who she ultimately calls after she finds herself in an unusual house in the middle of the forest. There's something very disturbing about the Bauhaus-esque home, something Anna can't quite put her finger on. There is plenty in here to keep gore fan happy but you really do have to stick with it to the end for it all to make sense. It can be uncomfortable viewing at times but it's delivery is excellent.

We finished our day off with Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence). This was NOT a classic by any means. The first Human Centipede film was kind of inspired and worked as a film and certainly has merit in the horror genre. The second one was absolutely dire and the third left a lot to be desired. It had it's moments for sure, but could have been so much better. There were times when it felt like a low budget Troma flick (all horror fans will now the complete irony of this statement). One to watch to complete the set but that's about it!

  

It was a fun day and one we'll be repeating again soon with more gruesome viewing lined up!

Off sick, Hell's Kitchen and a cake dive

Well the ill health from yesterday continued into today. I still felt really hot, my throat felt like I had been gargling razor blades and I had a really annoying cough to join it. Drugs and throat lozengers was the order of the day.

The day was spent feeling a little sorry for myself and watching NXT and Hell's Kitchen on Netflix.

Sam had to work very late tonight helping to facilitate an office move. He wasn't very happy about it but chocolate trifle made it all better!


It makes me so proud! LMFAO

Rough day and Gudbuy T'Matt

It was a rough old day today. I woke up feeling under the weather and my throat starting to feel like I'd been chewing on sandpaper. I forced myself to go to the office though in the hope that it would improve. Unfortunately my hopes were not realised. Things got progressively worse as the day went on and I started to get a temperature to go along with the iffy throat. I stuck it out at the office though as there were lots of important meetings to attend and various things that needed my attention.

It was also a sad day as it was Matt's last one with us. He was just short of two years service and will leave a hole that will be hard to fill. I can't fault him for wanting to move to bigger and better things but it's sad when people do go. We've had quite a few go recently and I hope there aren't too many more.

There was a big decline on the health front as my throat got progressively throughout the evening which I was less than impressed with!

Final Shamanic Workshop

It was off to Giselle's tonight for the final part of our Shamanic Workshop. We got there early so had some puppy time!

The workshop part of the evening was fantastic. We did some amazing meditation and dream work which was really powerful and then finished things off working with some crystal skulls. Through all of this I got some amazing clarification on where certain things are going in my life and what I need to do now to take things forward. It's all been very exciting.

We were all presented with a lovely certificate for our participation.

Spectre

A lovely meal at Bella Italia was followed by the latest James Bond bond movie, Spectre. I'm not a die hard Bond fan although I have seen most of the movies over the years. I'll try and avoid any spoilers and keep things brief but it's a pretty good film. It's a long film but there are plenty of action sequences to break up the plot moving parts. It's good to see Bond being integrated into the modern world hooking into genuine issues and associated problems.

Given how high tech various bits of the film were it was disappointing to see so few Bond gadgets in play. Gadgets are always what made these films great for me and I thought the offerings on show here were a little underwhelming. That said, it was great to see the return of the Aston Martin but it wasn't as cool as the old one.

It's definitely a film to go and see if you are a Bond fan. Not as good as Skyfall for me but still classic Bond.

Here's that trusty old trailer!

WWE Hell In A Cell

I've kind of lost interest with the weekly goings on in WWE as RAW has become stale and boring with crap story lines and the same old matches week in week out.I still keep up to date with NXT and the pay per views though. Tonight it was time to watch last night's PPV. Hell In A Cell.

First up was John Cena v Alberto Del Rio for the United States belt. Del Rio was a surprise participant who has just come back to WWE. He got a rave reception from the crowd that you don't usually get for a bad guy. It was a reasonable match and a good opener. Big surprise was Del Rio getting the clean pin victory over Cena and becoming the new US Champion.

Roman Reigns v Bray Wyatt was spent mainly on fast forward as we don't really enjoy watching these guys wrestle.Reigns won though :)

The Dudley Boyz took on The New Day in a Tag Team title bout. This was disappointing as both teams are pretty good and could have put on a much better match but it was all a bit stop/start and wasn't fluid at all. A screwy ending pretty much guarantees that this feud will continue to Survivor Series.The New Day won the match and retained their Tag Team belts.

Charlotte took on Nikki Bella in a Divas title match and it's good to see women raising the bar and showing that they can actually wrestle rather than just being their to look good and to appear in the WWE reality shows. This wasn't the greatest of matches overall but Charlotte proved why she is currently a rising star in WWE and retained her Divas belt.

Seth Rollins v Kane was another one of those boring matches that we've seen so many times.Enough already! Fast forward shows that Rollins was the victor LOL

Kevin Owens then took on Ryback for the Intercontinental title. I like Owens and what he achieved in NXT. He brings an exciting dynamic to WWE but not against an opponent like Ryback who has never really been fun to watch. Thankfully it was a short match with Kevin Owens retaining his belt.

Finishing things off was the match that I really wanted to see. Brock Lesnar v The Undertaker in a Hell In A Cell match. Although Lesnar v Undertaker isn't new they put lots into this match to make it interesting. There was lots of vicious moves and both guys bled which always makes a Hell In A Cell match more "believable". I like both these guys a lot and I was torn as to who should win. As it was Brock Lesnar emerged victorious which I can cope with. After the match The Undertaker got some massive ovations before the Wyatt family came in and did him over before carrying him off. no doubt this will set the backdrop for a new story for The Undertaker now his feud with Lesnar is over.

Park life and a tearful goodbye

When you have little ones around you there is always a danger that they will want to go to the park. Today was park day. We chose Avery Hill as there is an enclosed park with a cafe there. Toni drove Sophie, Scarlett and Kenzie over and then came back and got Sam, Pam and I. Zoe also came along with her friend Nicola. It was a nice relaxed trip with the kids happily playing with Zoe and Nicola supervising while the rest of us watched from afar drinking coffee/tea LOL.

After the park fun we all descended on Richard's for lunch to make sure the kids were well fed before their journey back to Nottingham. Sadly that time came round far too quickly and Sophie, Scarlett and Kenzie had to make their way home. We've agreed not to leave it so long next time and to try and arrange things around a half term week so that they can stay for longer. 

Young Sith and Pam's 90th birthday

So this morning we awoke to the sound of small children. This was a real novelty for us. We got up and Sam and I went and bought breakfast from Richard's for everyone and then we introduced Scarlett and Kenzie to The Phantom Menace. Scarlett wasn't really interested and went had had cuddles with nanny Toni in Pam's room. Kenzie did at least seem to enjoy some of it. Being a good Sith Lord I started some lightsaber training with Kenzie and Scarlett.

After the film we all headed out to Ziyafet to have a birthday meal with Pam as it was her 90th birthday. We were joined by Jade and Bob. Kenzie had an interesting reaction to tasting a lemon:

We all had a lovely time. The food was great, the kids were well behaved and Pam was surrounded by people who love her to celebrate with her.

When we got home a normally shy Kenzie was quite happy to give Pam a cuddle

A visit from Sophie, Scarlett and Kenzie

After work Sam and I met up and went and had a meal at McNasty's. The plan had been to eat and then had up to Camden to go and see The Poodles play. I'd bought the tickets for Sam's birthday and said I'd go as he really wanted to see them. After food though he was feeling sleepy and wished the gig hadn't been on a day after he'd been at work. As such we agreed to cancel the plans for the gig and headed home.

Our arrival home early was met with squeals of delight as Sophie had arrived earlier in the day with Scarlett and Kenzie and they hadn't expected to see us until tomorrow so we got to spend even more time with them than we thought we would have :)

Loop day and Rangers pull a win out of the bag

Well today was certainly one that could definitely be described as frustrating! Ever been in one of those meetings where you seem to go round and round in circles and struggle to break out of the loop? Yup, it was one of those! It was a relief to finally be able to call it a day and head home.

New York Rangers took on Arizona Coyotes in what started off as a slow game. First period wasn't really stellar but the Coyotes came out of it 0 - 1 ahead. Arizona had the better second period but the Rangers did at least manage to tie things up 1 - 1.

It was all change in the third though as the Rangers came alive and were 3 - 1 up after 06:24. The Coyotes did their best to close the gap but the Rangers kept them at bay with some great goaltending from Lunqvist. Rick Nash scored his first of the season with 17 seconds left to make it 4 - 1 even though he didn't actually put the puck in the net. This was down to him being dragged down and awarded a penalty shot when heading in on an empty net. Probably not how he expected to get back on the scoreboard but a goal is a goal LOL

Home and bed

Got home from a great day at work, started talking to Toni and a migraine started. Took drugs, went to bed, that is all :(

All three The Force Awakens trailers

So last night the final Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens trailer dropped and boy did it get me excited!

Here they are in order!

The Force Awakens tickets and Yoshikitty

Today the tickets went on sale for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. It hits the UK on December the 17th. I already had the day down as holiday at work. I have booked to see it four times on the day it comes out. The first three times in 2D and the final time in 3D. Can't wait!

Here's the poster that got unveiled yesterday!

Apparently cinema websites were crashing all over the place as fans tried to purchase tickets.

Got home to find a nice package had arrived from Japan. It is the perfect blend of Hello Kitty and X Japan. Here is my Yoshikitty, an official Sanrio product and another great addition to my collection :)

Rough night, lovely view and time to come home

Had a really rough night last night. Heartburn type problems that really disrupted my sleep. A bit of investigation by Toni has us thinking that I might have some form of dairy intolerance so I am now going to go dairy free for two weeks to see how things go. I seem to be falling apart LOL

I love the views from mum's flat and everything is so peaceful:

We had a wonderful time. So nice to get away and relax and not have to worry about anything. We had a light lunch and then sadly it was time to head back to the real world once again.

Late start, Jimmy Spice's and chilling

This morning was lovely. We woke naturally, and very late, without defaulting into having to check that Pam was OK. It was a very welcome change of pace.

Instead of late breakfast/brunch we decided to go for a walk into town and have lunch at Jimmy Spices. Toni looking yummy :)

A nice starter plate

Followed by another

I love this picture that they have on the wall. It's a glorious mixture of racism and sexism!

The food as always was delicious, I took it easy and didn't have too many plates of food so I could at least walk home in comfort. 

On our return to mum's we watched some rugby and just had a massively relaxing chill out. Toni had a massive sleep too, playing catch up on what she hasn't been getting.

Later in the evening mum made a lovely chicken and gammon meal which was followed by fruit and cheese. We then indulged in some old quiz shows before calling it a night.

Off to Stratford-upon-Avon

Today was a good day. After work Toni and I dropped Pam off at Leanne's for the weekend and we headed off to Stratford-upon-Avon for the weekend to have a rest and spend some time with mum.

Our soundtrack for the journey was mainly X Japan with a little Hotei thrown in for good measure. Snacks were provided in the form of gluten free rice crackers and sweet chilli crisps!

When we arrived we were treated to a massive fry up which was much needed as Toni and I were both starving. We then drank tea and chatted until gone one when we figured it was probably time to hit the pit.

Agile fun

Well it was a day of Agile meetings today which is enough to try the patience of a saint sometimes. There were lots of frantic moments but it wasn't all bad. Pete and I managed to throw a bit of humour into proceedings,

Sometimes I like to doodle in meetings, here's my new friend:

Work social evening

As a rule I try and avoid work social evenings. The normally involve nothing more than just going to a pub somewhere which I don't particularly enjoy so I usually make my excuses. Tonight however I was involved in putting on one in the office where we got in some game tables, ordered in drinks and pizza so our whole department could socialise together. It was a great event and everyone had a really good time.