Eating Poetry and Poetic Violence?

So today was the Young Poets Network: Poetry Digest Launch which was help in the cafe of The Poetry Society. There was a competition to write a poem on the theme of 'Limelight' and if it won it would be put on a cake, lime flavoured. I missed the deadline but I thought I'd go along to see whats what and of course to eat some cake. It turned out to be a very pleasant event. Some of the winners read their poems out and then we ate the cakes with the words on them and they were delicious! I quite enjoyed the cafe and its decor, especially the light shades which were inscribed with poetry in old fashioned ink. There were also plenty of magazines and books to read while you drank a coffee or tea. The people were lovely, very welcoming and I will definitely go back there next time I'm in London.


And if there is anyone out there who enjoys writing or poetry or both, go have a look and a wonder:
 http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/cafe/

The other part of my day was saved (and had been for months) for Drive, the awesome festival winning film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling. Without giving much away, the film is about a Driver (Ryan Gosling), also his name as its never mentioned at any point in the film, who is a stunt driver, mechanic and caring neighbour by day and a getaway driver by night.

Apart from the fact I was sitting next to two arseholes who asked me to move seats, at the start of the film, because they said they had other people coming (there was a whole free row in front of me, the idiots) and they talked through it too while eating disgusting nuts, I really was absorbed by the film and soon forgot their presence. 

I can't explain how much I love this film or at least I won't be able to explain it in words, I could do it in actions but words just aren't enough. There is hardly any dialogue throughout the film, things are said through expression and glances. To me, it makes the film all the more heartbreaking. It doesn't matter that its violent, it doesn't matter who Driver is and what hes done, he's still a hero, just like the closing song says. The soundtrack was atmospheric and felt like I was watching a 80's noir film, which made me fall in love with the film even more. Noir? Hell yes, I'm there because that's what it was. It had all the noir elements, but to go into this further I would ruin it for people, so I'll say no more. I actually ran over to Fopp to buy the soundtrack only to find it hasn't been released yet. Nicolas Winding Refn deserved that award at Cannes and the film deserves all the good reviews and press because to me, its a rare film and yes, it pretty damn cool too.

I will definitely be going to see again!

An Un-Birthday Tea Party!

Its my 50th post!*

After weeks of preparation it finally arrived! On Saturday was my Un-Birthday Tea Party shindig and my it was fun! I was inspired to have the tea party after looking through 'Everything Alice' a Wonderland book of makes. It has reciepes, hows to make various things for a party and its centered around the theme of Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland.

Started the day off by making biscuits and manically making some Pear and Ginger Cordial. I also quickly put together a Cheshire Cat for a game of 'Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat' just before my first guest arrived. I was also still icing the 'eat me' biscuits when a few more guests arrived.

We all enjoyed plenty of tea, each guest with their own tea cup and saucer, which I had gathered together over the past weeks. Our background music was from Disney's Alice in Wonderland (the awesome animation not the trash Tim Burton one). The Pina Colada fruit tea and the Strawberry tea seemed to be the most popular, Both very delicious. There was also an assortment of savory snacks for everyone to nibble at. After a few cups of tea, we played pass the parcel. And I annoyed everyone with my fancy cellotape because it may have looked nice but very difficult to rip off.

Later into the evening we consumed even more tea and biscuits and played 'Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat'. We ate lots of cake of all kinds, made by me, my sister and my friend. We were all quite full but still managed to try a bit of the 'Drink Me Cordials' I had made. There was Strawberry and Raspberry Refresher that was quite sweet and the Pear & Ginger Cordial which went well with lemonade.

The party was a success and I enjoyed myself immensely! I think I will definitely have another.

*Back in 2011 it was the 50th post

Hand cuffs, Free t-shirts and Live Music

On Tuesday I managed to acquire some tickets to the premiere of British musical festival film You Instead.

Amy and I got to Camden for the premiere at the Odeon thinking it was just a screening until I noticed that the actors were outside (well it was the lead actor's twin brother but I can't tell them apart). We didn't have to wait long before we were allowed to sit in the very hot screen. We squeezed past the photographers taking photos of the actors to get to the room. I managed to tell Amy, 'It's Archie from Monarch of the Glen!' but I think only me and my sister watched it. Anyway, we managed to get seats in the same row as the actors, which was quite cool and then after waiting until the seats filled up, the actors and director came out and introduced the film.

I had heard about the film before but not really delved into my research so it was quite enjoyable to watch. It was set at T in the Park music festival and was about two rock stars who, after an argument, get themselves hand cuffed together. Of course it was predictable and we all knew the ending but it was fun to watch. The lead actors were great, they performed live on stage and in some ways felt like a documentary.

After the film everyone tried as quickly as they could to leave the cinema and make their way to the Camden Barfly. This is because we were all invited to the after party. On our way out  we were given a free t-shirt, some badges and the offer of being hand cuffed while we walked to the Barfly. We declined this offer. When we got there, we were given two free drinks and all crammed into the small venue.

A singer who appeared in the film was first to perform, a very quiet, soulful lady who played a strange instrument, it looked like a mini xylophone. Next were a band, The Great Gatsby, who had won a competition. They were quite fun, I enjoyed their music but some of their songs felt a bit samey. Then Luke Treadaway himself got up on stage a performed acoustic versions of the songs in the film, I particularly liked the song You Instead. Lastly Natalia Tena, the lead actress, performed on stage with her band (not from the film, her actual band) Molotov Jukebox who were awesome. Besides guitars and drums, they had a trumpet, violin and she played the accordion. The music was great, it was a mix of ska, punk, gyps and pop. It got most people who could move, dancing, including me and Amy. But sadly we had to leave to catch our last train home.

It was great night! If you fancy seeing the film, You Instead is out 16th September and here is the website http://www.youinstead.com/

Postcards from the Edge (of Berlin)

As I might have mentioned before in a previous post, I have a habit of picking up free postcards, leaflets, free magazines, even if I haven't visited or seen the things advertised. In my recent trip, for my 22nd Birthday, to Berlin, this was no different. Anywhere where we (me and my sister) went I picked up something, if there was something to pick up. I found myself, firstly looking at the awesome places we visited then secondly eyeing up the leaflet stands. There were also an awful lot of places to buy postcards and not tourist type cards but quirky, cool and arty cards, so I of course had a great time buying many postcards.

A more detailed post about Berlin will follow soon . . .