2013 Here we come

Well Christmas is over and here we are hurtling towards 2013 - only a few days to go and I really have never been one for celebrating the New Year - everyone banging on about a fresh start and all - but why can't every day be a fresh start, every day is a new chance, a chance to make a change, do something good. But we only celebrate 'a fresh start' at the beginning of a new year I wonder why.

Any way just thought I'd pop in and say what ho! and hopefully the new year will mean I post a bit more often.

On the camera front I now have a replacement for the compact camera which died a while back - and it's okay and at least I will be able to take photos from this blog a little more easily (as the camera phone is really not good and the DSLR can be a bit conspicuous at times)

Any way night all is 10:42 pm here in Wales and some of us have to go to work in the morning x

Nightclub Cover Charges - rip off or justified

Just got back from a night out in Cardiff - it was the works Christmas do. And after a lovely meal at a Mexican restaurant in the Brewery Quarter we popped in to the club next door for a few drinks and to be honest although the cover charge wasn't to bad it was irritating - these clubs get you to pay to enter and then pay through the nose for the drinks (a bottle of wine that cost £7.09 in a pub cost £17 in there) they also expect you to pay to use the hairspray in the toilets - now the cover charge I understand and having worked in the pub trade for many years I do get how the prices have been worked out and why they are high - but and here's the thing - you go to the loo and want to use a hairspray or deodorant and they charge you for that - I mean really - come on the can of hairspray would only cost £2 in Superdrug - so in  my opinion they are having a fucking laugh - I could use the restrooms in the Savoy Hotel London and have a spritz of decent perfume for less.

So how can they get away with this?

I will tell you - because we let them - we are idiots - if we all refused to go into these places and went somewhere that didn't charge the earth they would have to change.
It's why I will always prefer my local pub to a club - they may not be open as late - but at least you get a decent drink and although the prices are still high they are not ripping you off - they are just staying afloat. So I say boycott the rip of clubs with the crappy X Factor style formula music and support your friendly local - where the drinks are fair and the staff friendly and the music real - especially if you go to a pub that has live music on.

So do us all a favour before we lose the local pub forever - get out there and support it instead of wasting your money in the City Centre Clubs who only care about the bottom line- because one day you may want a pint in your local and it won't be there, it will be a Indian Restaurant or Charity Shop and you know what - You will only have yourselves to blame!!!

Hay on Wye

Sorry that the review of Skyfall was, well let's e honest very brief, I really wanted to write a lot more but to be honest I have had a bad cold this week ad only now am I feeling a bit better -still sniffy but the sore throat has gone. Anyway today off we went on a trip to Hay-on-Wye. Yep that's right I was let loose in the book town of Britain.

I was very amused by the banner below:

 Now I love my Kindle and it is perfect for holidays and taking to work, but there is nothing like holding a real book in your hands, the texture and  the smell,books are some of my favourite thigns, and yes of course i bought some, here they are below:

Okay so the middle item is an old magazine from 1955 and in my defence I bought it because there is an article on Marilyn Monroe that I don't have in it. Also the Focus on Fame book is by a photographer who took photos of MM and there is a chapter and some photos of her inside.

All in all a good day and now I have more books to add to the pile by my bed, I'm not going to read them though until I've finished the Shakespeare bio and the Bob Mitcham one.

At least I'm going to try not too.

Skyfall

Went to the cinema on Sunday to see the new James Bond film Skyfall. Now I'm not a big James Bond fan but it looked good so I thought why not so off I went with the boyfriend and me Dad to the flicks.

I have to say really enjoyed it - loads of action, cars and Daniel Craig - and not too much sex (Hooray) and then there was the ending which apparently no-one was expecting.

All all a good film to celebrate the James Bond 50th Birthday.

Go see it now!

A family mystery

This evening I have been surfing the net and specifically the Find My Past website, looking up my Mum's side of the family, and she learnt a few things she never knew for instance her Grandmother on her father's side, name was Emma, and although that was interesting it's her Mother's side of the family that has always been the mystery, her Grandmother never married and although we know her name, the name of 2 of her sisters and where she was born, we really didn't know anything else, today we found a record in the 1911 census for her family, the Dadleys in Daventry as  we expected however the census threw up 2 further mysteries, firstly there is nowhere on the census someone named Florence Margaret Dadley, not anywhere, now Florence was born in 1888 and had her daughter (my Mother's mother)  in 1919, but there is no record at all for her in 1911!

The second mystery is the discovery of another sister, who has never been mentioned at all, a Clarice Victoria Dadley, born in 1898. Now I  have found a marriage record for her in 1924, but being broke as usual I don't have the money to pay on the site to look to see who she married and when she died or if she had any children!

In order to check that this is the right Dadley family (and I am sure it is) we have ordered Florence's birth certificate from the General Register Office now we just have to wait for it to arrive (which won't be til after the 26th November and it will be quite easy to check as the Father of the Daventry Dadley's in the 1911 Census had a very unusual name Desmora Lennox Dadley. The sad thing is that Desmora died in 1945, 1 year after my mother was born, he never knew his granddaughter Muriel, let alone that for a year he had a great granddaughter as well.

But the thing I want to know it

• Where was Florence in 1911 - why doesn't she show on the Census
• Who was Clarice Victoria Dadley? And why wasn't she ever mentioned?

Enquiring minds need a Time Machine!!!!

Can you ever have enough books?

Well,I have spent part of this afternoon sorting out my books, and I have a lot as you can see from the book cases below

Top 2 shelves Terry Pratchett books 

 Books on Egypt and cookery

2 bookcases of Marilyn Monroe books.

And that's not all the books - nope not at all, there are books in my bedroom and living room that I haven't read yet, there are books at my parents house that I have lent them - and then there's my Kindle

Yep there are 72 books on here I haven't read and about 60 that I have and all I can say is - I STILL NEED MORE

I love books and there are so many out there good, bad and indifferent that I just can't get enough.

The scary thing is though there are so many books out there to read and not enough lifetime to read them all in - but I'm going to read as much as I can!!!

Misty gets a cone

Poor Misty has injured one of her back legs and last week she had to have an operation and to her chagrin she now has to wear one oft hose collars to stop her licking the wound, while she obviously finds it annoying, I think she looks pretty cute myself

She is so adorable

Five go to Weymouth together

Yes. Today the five of us went to Weymouth, that was Me, Paul, Mum, Dad and Misty the dog, now Weymouth is far enough from Wales as it is, without Dad deciding to go the long way round, or take a detour or as I prefer to call it getting lost - but oh no as my Dad says 'You can't get lost - you're on an island' - this is true but not much help when you have been driving for ages and end up in Lyme Regis - now there is nothing wrong with Lyme Regis except - The town will not let you leave!!!  It's true no matter which way you go you always end up in the centre. It's like something out of the Twilight Zone.

Anyway as you can see from the picture below we did make it to Weymouth

 In time for fish and chips at a little place called Seacroft, now Seacroft has been there forever - and I mean forever, and if you don'e believe me look at the picture below:

 Yep, That's my Mum and Dad outside of Seacroft in 1968 - or there abouts

 And here is Mum and Dad out side Seacroft today, some 44 years later!!! - hmm thinking about it I think that whole area must be in the Twilight Zone

Here's me and Paul outside of Seacroft - I wonder if it will still be there in another 44 years time - must make a note in my future diary to find out.

After food at Seacroft we drove up to Portland Bill and took some photos pf the lighthouse and coast - but for those pictures you will have to visit Travels With My Camera sometime soon, though not tonight as I am shattered and need to go to sleep as Dad took another detour on the way home!!!

R.I.P. The Canon Ixus 70

Yes after many years of loyal services my Canon Ixus 70 has gone to that great camera graveyard. The poor thing is no more - the lens just won't close any more and every time I try and switch it on I get a lens error - so right now I have no compact camera - I guess I will have to save up for a new one, but I will miss this little fella,we have been through so much together and traveled so much, we've been to music festivals, other countries and lots and lots of drunken nights out.

R.I.P my friend - you will be greatly missed!

Life goes on...

Well I the 31 days of Marilyn was a fail for several reasons
1. My boyfriend was getting fed up of MM all the time (OK well we can'tall have impeccable taste now can we.)
2. The Olympics were taking place - I've never really been into sport but I was really into the Olympics only because it was in the UK
3.I was feeling so depressed about not being in LA for the memorial - and guess what I'm still depressed about and get so jealous and upset at looking at all the photos on Facebook by everyone who was there.

Anyway I'm going to get back to the blogging here and on my photo blog.

To be honest I have been pretty fed up about everything lately and I need to get out and get some more exercise as I need to lose weight so I can wear all the wonderful, fabulous clothes that are out there.
Next week I'm having a week off work and I fully intend to got out and take lots of photos and go swimming in the leisure centre a few times.

Wish me luck - sometimes it's just easier to chill out in the house watching TV with the boyfriend than it is to actually go out and do stuff,but next week I'm gonna try

31 days of Marilyn day 7

Today I am posting a few photos of the last home Marilyn ever lived in. It was hte only home she ever owned on her own, and sadly it is where she died.

The photos below have been taken over the last 50 years and some of the photos contain items that Marilyn selected herself. 

The photo above is the only picture I have posted of Marilyn's bedroom and the room in which she died, here we are looking towards the kiva fireplace and to it's right is Marilyn en-suite bathroom - the water to this bathroom was shut off the night Marilyn died

The photos below show Marilyn's house as it is now, the doorway in the middle photo is the same as when Marilyn lived there, as is the tiled fireplace

Everything you could ever want to know about Marilyn's home and more can be found in the below book Cursom Perficio

31 days of Marilyn day 6

50 years ago today the world was still in shock over the death of beautiful Marilyn Monroe - but Marilyn wasn't always Marilyn, and one of the things us fans love to do is remember the real person behind the image - Norma Jeane

Finding Marilyn by David Conover, beautiful cover of Norma Jeane unfortunately the photos inside are only black and white, but definitely a book that should be in your Marilyn collection

31 days of Marilyn Day 5

Well today is the official anniversary of the death of our beloved Marilyn, while those who are lucky enough to be in Los Angeles attend the memorial services at Westwood, the rest of us sit at home, watch her films, light candles and show our love for her anyway we can.

 Me, working on my 25th scrapbook of Marilyn clippings, I have a huge folder full of them and these date back to 2008! It's going to take a while for me to get through to all the articles that have been published in the last week or so.

 There were several more articles published today in various papers including The Sunday Mirror, The People and  The Sunday Express, I am sure there were more but it is impossible to buy everything.

 Above: The first book I ever bought on Marilyn, back in 1990, I remember getting home from Newport and lying on my bed and reading the book in one sitting.

An earlier edition of the book before it was expanded into the one I bought first.

FACT: Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926, the same year as Queen Elizabeth II and British comedy legend Kenneth Williams.

31 days of Marilyn Day 4

August 4th 2012

It is widely agreed that although Marilyn Monroe was pronounced dead at 4.25 am  on 5th August 1962, she actually died on the evening of August 4th.

There have been a few articles in the last few days here is a couple of them:

 Daily Mirror Friday August 3rd

 Weekly News

So here we are 50 years on and she is still remembered

A candle for Marilyn 

Me in front of some of my doll collection

Sunday August 5th will see the memorial service at Westwood and though I am not there in body I am there in spirit as are a lot of other fans who couldn't make it, and I know  that Marilyn knows that we all love her whether we are there or not.

'If I am a star the people made me a star. No studio,no person, but the people did' - Marilyn Monroe