All Things Lucky...

"Hello, who's that?"

"Urm, it's Lyndsey"

I was confused.  This number had called me.  I hate when people call you and ask who you are.  Do you not understand how phones work?

 "Hi Lyndsey, it's Capital FM.  What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"I... I don't really know."

I was lying.  I had work.  I always worked on a Tuesday.

"Well how would you like to walk the red carpet alongside all of the celebrities 

at the Thor première tomorrow?"

Well duh! I said yes.  Kat Dennings was going to be there.  That woman is one of my idols.  Hilarious, gorgeous and ridiculously talented, I could watch her movies all day.  

My prize involved train travel to London from Cardiff, a nights stay in the K West Hotel & Spa and tickets to see the première of Thor: The Dark World, where I could walk the red carpet too.  I was ridiculously thrilled and immediately cried off work.  (I told them why - don't worry, I'm not going to get sacked for faking illnesses or anything).  I picked up the tickets and packed, ready for my cinematic adventure the next day.

We got our train to London and rushed to the swanky hotel.  We'd done a bit of research on it during the night and it looked really upmarket - definitely nothing that we could've afforded.  

When we got there, they upgraded our room, UPGRADED!  We also had breakfast included in the room.  This just got better and better.  We went upstairs and couldn't believe the room.  It was gorgeous.  

 The bed was big enough for four of us to sleep comfortably and was as long as it was wide!

 There was a desk and chair, as well as a lounge area for watching TV.  It was essentially an entire flat in one room.

 The shower was huge too.  I was really starting to consider giving up my flat and moving here forever.  That was plausible right?  If I was going to be rubbing shoulders with celebrities, why not live like one?

We got ready and headed off on the Tube to Leicester Square ready for the film.  It was packed there with people hoping to get to see/meet/touch/marry their favourite actor or actress.  We were ushered in long before the celebrities got near where we were waiting which really depressed me as I wanted to hug Kat Dennings... or hump her leg... whichever came naturally.

Alex Zane presented which was cool because I think he's really entertaining.  And then we were made to walk the red carpet.  Which is insanely soft and bouncy.  There are no words for how badly I wanted to take off my shoes and just plod along in my socks.  It was an amazing feeling, knowing everyone was watching in envy and that we were going to be surrounded by celebrities.

 We had to sit inside for over an hour waiting for everyone to come in and the two people who were meant to be sat next to us didn't even turn up.  So we stole their sweets.  Naturally.
We'd each been given a free bottle of water, a Yorkie bar and a bag of popcorn which I thought was a great extra. 

The film itself was brilliant.  It was really funny and even included a not-really-necessary-but-definitely-enjoyable topless scene with Chris Hemsworth.  The cast and crew were all sat at the front of the cinema and you heard them laugh at this point so you knew that one of them had made a smart comment about it.  It was really cool to be able to be part of that.  

Once the film was over we all headed outside to catch a glimpse of the stars.  Unfortunately, Kat dove straight into her car which I was devastated about.  I did get to see Chris for a moment although I didn't get anywhere near him.  The only other celebs I spotted were Tom and Danny from McFly who are ridiculously small.  Like crazy small.  They were really slim and quite short too, it was mad.  I never would've guessed that from the times that I've seen them on TV.  I suppose that shows that you shouldn't believe everything that you see on TV.  

Afterwards, we had a few drinks in the Yates bar on the square, before getting the tube back to the hotel.  It was a genuinely gorgeous evening.  

The next morning we had our free breakfast which was unbelievably small and not very filling, like most pretentious food, before heading back to the train home.  

Unfortunately our train was an early one so we didn't have any spare time to roam around the city, but we had an unbelievably amazing time.  

Roll on our next chance to mingle with the A-List! ... and possibly McFly...

All Things Read...

“Never judge a book by its movie.” - J. W. Eagan.

That is the one quote I tend to live life by. Any book that is soon to make its film debut, I tend to read beforehand. That way I can enjoy the story how it was initially meant to be enjoyed, and then watch the story being portrayed in another way. Take The Time Traveler’s Wife for example, I studied that book for my A Level English exams, poured over every extract and analysed every reference. My classmates and I had a date to see the film the week it came out;

long enough from the release date that the crowds would have died down, without having to wait too long ourselves. We sat ready to watch the only book that had ever made us cry be played before us, and were very disappointed with the final outcome. The story didn’t match up with the heart-wrenching novel and vital characters had been removed from the plot. It was an utter letdown, and therefore became the lowest standard that all other book adaptations could be compared with.

Dear John however, is nothing like The Time Traveler’s Wife. The plot stays true to the story written by Nicholas Sparks with the exception of minor facts such as Alan going from being Tim’s brother in the book, to becoming his son in the film. This opened a confusing area of questions surrounding the location of Alan’s mother, which seemed to never really be answered.

The pairing of Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried as lovers John and Savannah seemed quite unlikely to me, however both suited their parts perfectly and therefore portrayed a realistic and moving relationship throughout the film.

With the exception of the ending, which has been reworked into a stereotypical ‘happy ending’, for the couple, I see little evidence that the film has been created by someone other than Nicholas Sparks. I think Dear John is a brilliant film and definitely worth watching, even if you haven’t read the book. However, I do always recommend that you read the book. Especially as I fear that reading is becoming a dying art, with the best literature being turned into various films and TV adaptations. This is the reason why some are beginning to deem books as too time-consuming and not worth the hassle.

It is true that reading can take a lot of time if you’re busy. However, you can read a good book in a day if you have the time and the interest to. I always keep a book in my bag to read whenever I’m stuck on a bus or train, to pass the time. There is no greater joy than reading fiction and being able to live stories and lives that may be out of your reach.