Wednesday, April 11, 2012

FutureProof

Back in December last year, I was proud to have organised the entertainment for my Sixth Form Christmas party. I was able to get FutureProof, a pop band, from Herts. The members are Jonni Wedge the lead man as vocals, Kiran Marshall the guitarist and Charlie Leftwich the percussionist.

 It started with a tweet to Charlie over the summer. I spoke to my head of year and Charlie, back and forth until it was all organised. I met Charlie, Kiran and Jonni the day before the gig as they wanted to set up the PA system beforehand and do a set run through. And we were all set for the gig; 9AM not exactly a rock star hour.

On the day, I borrowed a camera and decided to go shutter happy. Here are some of the photos I took:

Jonni during rehersal
Charlie
Kiran
Jonni

FutureProof fans





The boys with some students after the show
I'm so glad that the morning was a success after much unwanted comments from people at school.

They guys have just recently announced their first ever headline tour so if you live in the UK don't miss your chance to see them!


Here's a few links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/futureproofmusicuk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/FutureProofBand
Charlie Twitter: http://twitter.com/CharlesLeftwich
Jonni Twitter: http://twitter.com/jonniwedge
Kiran Twitter: http://twitter.com/kiranmarshall

They've got two music videos of original songs up on YouTube which you can find here:
One More Chance - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVRyICi2oRo
Maniac - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO6ggznSISY

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Binham Priory, Norfolk

These are some photos I took at the Binham Priory in Norfolk; one of the places on my dad's random adventure list. This place was absolutely gorgeous; a lot of it was broken walls and towers which are the ruins of the original Priory. However, there is the main part of the church that is still intact and used which you are able to go in. 







Thursday, April 05, 2012

List of books from my childhood until now

This isn't my normal post but this evening I decided that I wanted to write down all the books I've read, want to re-read and have my kids read.

A lot of these books I read when I was growing up, spending time in the library, always having 3 or 4 books checked out at a time. Thinking back, I remember always bugging the librarians for new book suggestions or books that I'd like them to order or books I should order. I was always involved in the 'Battle of the Books'; a competition within the year where we were given a list of books to read over the course of the school year, at the end the end of the year we'd be put into teams and quizzed about the books on the list. We'd be given part of a story where we would then have to name the book title for a point and the author for another. I loved this about primary school, getting us to read to perform well. If it wasn't for the great primary school librarians I had I don't think I would of been interested in reading.

The books I used to read were always quite dark or of mature topics, probably one of the reasons why I am who I am today.

Here is the list (*'s indicate which books I'd like my children to read):

Childhood:
* ~ Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt
* ~ Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
~ Walk Two Moons - Sharon Creech
~ Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell
* ~ A Summer to Die - Lois Lowry
* ~ Number the Stars - Lois Lowry
~ Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry
~ The Giver - Lois Lowry
* ~ How to Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
* ~ The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
~ A Child Called It - Dave J Pelzer
~ The Lost Boy - Dave J Pelzer
~ A Man Named Dave - Dave J Pelzer
~ The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin
* ~ Hatchet - Gray Paulsen
~ Charlotte's Web - E. B. White
* ~ Indian in the Cupboard - Lynne Reid Banks
~ Muggie Maggie - Beverly Cleary
~ A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle
~ Because of Winn-Dixie - Kate DiCamillo
~ The Dollhouse Murders - Betty Ben Wright
~ Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman - Dorothy Sterling
~ The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman
~ The Watson's go to Birmingham - Christopher Paul Curtis
~ Artemis Fowl Series - Eoin Colfer
~ Bud, Not Buddy - Christopher Paul Curtis
* ~ The Magic Tree House Series - Mary Pope Osbourne
* ~ Among the Hidden (Shadow Children Books series) - Margaret Peterson Haddix
~ Holes - Louis Sachar
* ~ Maximum Ride Series - James Patterson
~ Z for Zachariah - Robert C. O'Brien
* ~ The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein
~ The Cay - Theodore Taylor
~ Summer of the Monkeys - Wilson Rawls
~ Ramona Series - Beverly Clearly
~ Everything on a Waffle - Polly Horvath
~ The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
~  Madeline - Ludwig Bemelmans
* ~ Just Listen - Sarah Dessen
~ The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series - Anne Brashares
~ Before I Die - Jenny Downham
~ So B. It - Sarah Weeks
* ~ Chicken Soup Series - Compliation of Authours
~ Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
~ Running Out Of Time - Margaret Peterson Haddix
~ Pay It Forward - Catherine Ryan Hyde

Secondary School+ (\'s currently not finished):
~ Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
~ Handle with Care - Jodi Picoult
~ My Sister's Keep - Jodi Picoult
~ The Pact - Jodi Picoult
~ The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
~ Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
~ The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks
~ A Walk to Remember - Nicholas Sparks
\ ~ My Week with Marilyn - Colin Clark
\ ~ Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
~ The Woman in Black - Susan Hill

I probably haven't mentioned all the books here but I've started using a great website called GoodReads. It is a website where you can rate books that you've read and add them to your read shelf, find recommendations that are tailored to your liking from the books you've read, make a list of the books you are currently reading, and save a list of books that you'd like to read in the future. Here is a link to my book shelf. Happy reading!

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

London






M & M World

Just a couple of photos from M & M World, London from when I visited back in October. 





Occupy London Protest: Part 4

This is probably my favourite photo from that day so I decided to give it its own post. How kind some of use humans can be, eh?


Occupy London Protest: Part 3







Occupy London Protest: Part 2







Occupy London Protest: Part 1

Back in October there were protesters camping outside St. Paul's cathedral. I went to see what could be photographed with a friend and here are some photos that I took that day.