And that's why I love warm weather...

The shorts are out, the sunnies are on and everyone's just feeling generally jolly!

After those long, dreary (and snowy) winter months the sun is definitely more welcome than it's been in a long time... well, probably since last summer! But I just thought I'd blog my own personal appreciation to that big flaming ball in the sky. And, with the days feeling a bit warmer it's inspired me to grab life by the haunchbones (revising medieval literature permits me the odd archaic expression) and go for everything that's chucked at me.

So... in the last 5 days I've pretty much maxed out my overdraft and signed off every last penny of my student loan to a kick-ass summer. I now have an officially awesome reason to get through my exams - South Africa! 3 weeks in September will see me travelling across the country with my housemate taking us from Johannesburg to Durban and hopefully even Cape Town - that means my friend has plenty of travelling hours in which to trick/convince me into doing something life-threatening. On the agenda so far is bungee-jumping, swimming with sharks (er.. no thank you!) and deep-sea diving.

Ok, so maybe I don't want to grab everything by the haunchbones - but that's only because it carries the risk of being either mauled or splattered across a rock 100ft below me.

But it will be my last student summer and I want it to be a belter, so I fully intend to have fun. A lot. Plus, I saw the movie Cemetery Junction last night and there is no better inspiration for travelling (stayed tuned for the review). Brace yourself world, the warm weather's gone to my head and the fun times begin today.

Right, I'm off to do a Step, Butts and Guts class and then to watch the final leaders' debate in the pub. Mmmm... politics and beer.

Apologies

I am sorry to say that I have sinned as a blogger and haven't posted for about two weeks. Shame on me. But, I am currently redeeming myself so I figured I've gotten away with it. I've been thinking about what other reviews I could write but then I realised that I haven't put a normal post up for even longer than two weeks! So here it is, as normal as it gets anyway.

What can I reflect upon? Holiday!

My holiday in Montenegro was very, very good; hot, sunny, beautiful scenery, nice restaurants, lazy and just generally wonderful. I got to have a good ol' chin wag with the parents; considering we didn't have a family holiday last year, we had quite a lot to wag about. There were a couple of minor dramas; Mum fell in the road whilst running but swiftly James-Bond-rolled out of harm's way and came back only bleeding a bit. Then she bled a bit more. Then we decided she should go to hospital. One stitch and five hospital trips later, she was hunky dory again. My sister, in a desperate attempt to get a better tan than me (like that could ever happen), stayed in the sun too long and ended up face down in a fish restaurant. She'd fainted. It was alright though, Mum waved a slice of lemon under her nose and she quickly came around - bewildered at why anyone would dare put lemon on her face. All in all though, very enjoyable. It's always nice to do nothing occasionally.

What next? School!

Yes, school. I'm one of the unlucky few who started school on Tuesday 21st August. Why? God only knows. I had a very odd headteacher who, for some reason only known to him, liked the five term year for schools. So we got it. And a four week summer. Rubbish. However, despite the first depressing trudge to the bus stop on the first day, my first week as a whole has been very good. Although I enjoyed my studies last year (starting in a new place, everything was exciting and different), this year, I am enjoying my studies a thousand times more - already! All of my lessons seem to appeal to me much more; the topics are more interesting, the teachers seem to be more passionate about what they're teaching and there is a bigger determination amongst the class to succeed. Though of course it will be tough, it looks like it's going to be a good year.

Now... Results!

My A/S results came through, along with many others , on 16th August this year. Obviously, there isn't as much of a hoo hah about them as there is for GCSE and A level results (most people don't really understand the point of them) but they are important to some people - A/S students. They might not seem that significant but we still don't want to have spent a year of our life working to gain nothing. I have since learnt that these results mostly determine what grade you will recieve in A2 courses, and to some people's surprise, you can't do that well if you get a 'U' grade. I actually got my grades a day later than most people because I was on holiday, but they were waiting on the doorstep for me when I got home. No, not the doorstep... I meant the other side of the door. The mat, I suppose. But, I don't have a mat. Anyway, to the important bit - the grades. I got:

• English Literature - A


• Theatre Studies - B


• French - B


• History - A

It's fair to say I was chuffed, particularly pleasing was my grade in English because it is most important to me. And I did spell out 'ABBA' deliberately. So, I'll be continuing all four subjects into A2. I'd just like to say well done to all my fellow students on your results; I'm sure you all did very well. And parents, congratulate your sons and daughters - it might not be A level just yet, but it was still jolly hard work.

Something more exciting...? Chicago!

22nd August, my family and I ventured to the theatre once again, this time indoors in Eastbourne, to watch the popular West End musical, Chicago. Obviously, it was fantastic with only a few flaws, but I don't think I'm quite to the standard of being able to fully review West End productions! Another reason for my reluctance to review it properly is that I found myself making every judgement in comparison to the film. The stage show and the film are quite different, the film having a lot more acting and the stage show being all about the music, song and dance. The movie is one of my favourites and so, at the beginning, I was critical of the musical for not being the same. However, I still couldn't help enjoying it and Act Two was an incredible act. The court scene was a particular favourite of mine; it was nothing like the film and so it stood out as unique and original. I stand by the idea that a musical's chorus is far better than its principles; they dance amazingly, precisely in time to the music and each other; they look fantastic, they sound fantastic and I'm sure they have more energy than six rockets combined. All in all, it was very impressive and very fun, and they succeeded in holding my attention strongly enough to stop me singing along.

Well, I think that just about concludes this post. Do enjoy the weather - it's almost sunny in the South East.

Have a happy Sunday.