Olympic Fever 2012

As I cannot escape it, I've decided to ponder it. Olympic fever is, of course, sweeping the nation (as well as many other nations). How unsurprising is it that Britain has only won two golds so far? The answer is: not very. I am, however, very pleased to announce that Germany (my favourite country in the world ever, except perhaps Armenia) is sixth in the medal tables with three gold, seven silver and two bronze medals so far. Armenia, unfortunately, has won nothing so far, but seeing as their only athletes are Garo and his mother, this is hardly surprising.

Surprisingly enough, North Korea is currently beating South Korea, having won twice as many medals as the latter. Unsurprisingly, both of them are beating Team GB. Who are quite useless. Apart from the women's rowing pair (Helen Glover and Heather Stanning) and to Bradley Wiggins - well done you! :)

And, amazingly, France is third in the tables - wow!

And all that gubbins about "Having the Olympics in London will be really good for the economy and it'll more than cancel out all the spending the country's done in making the Olympics happen" is absolute rubbish! Spending in London has actually decreased since the Olympics started because the Government and TFL have been telling people not to travel into London because of the enormous strain on the public transport all these extra people will have. And as for those extra people in London, well, they're not doing things like going to shows because, well, think about it. They've been out all day in the East End of London watching sport; they're not really going to want to travel to the West End in the evening and spend several more hours sitting down, just to watch a show, are they?

Germany just won another silver, showing how quickly all this could change. So, before I'm shown to be hideously wrong about how bad Team GB are, I'm going to shut up.

By the way, here's some shameless plugging:

http://lorolocuaz.wordpress.com/ --> The best language-related blog written by one of my teachers I've ever read (seriously though, food for thought; it's awesome)

http://mingledyarns.wordpress.com/ --> If you like literary blogs, and who doesn't, then this is definitely worth a read. Or several. My amazing friend Alice has written this blog detailing books she's read and her opinions. Both of which (the books and the opinions) are well-written and fascinating (usually - some of the books are questionable)

http://shirleynomates.blogspot.com -->This blog is probably about as pointful as mine (i.e. not very) but it's still interesting to know what goes on inside Emily's tiny head. Some of it makes no sense, but the interpreting is part of the fun (see first link, above)

Much love xx

Life Ambition

So, I woke up the other day and had what can only be described as an epiphany; I realised that the only thing I want to achieve in life is a happy ending. I know this sounds like a big ask, but think about it. I have, I've been pondering it...

There are only really a few ingredients to a happy ending; traditionally, you have to have a handsome Prince but, to be honest, I'm closer to expecting a reasonable-looking, vaguely articulate/educated man. Secondly, I think health is of the utmost importance; not necessarily meaning I want to be stick-thin and exercise a lot, just that I want to still be able to do all the regular things I do at the moment without needing a stairlift or whatever. And still understand what an apple is for, not in the William Tell sense. Thirdly, I just want to be happy; not in a superficial way, just happy. Able to do things that I want/like to do without persecution and just generally able to enjoy life as much as I have the chance to at the moment.

Finally, it's just the fairy story appeal, isn't it? To be brutally honest, my parents ruined me when they let me constantly watch Snow White when I was younger; I grew up believing that good things happened to good people and that everyone eventually found their perfect match, their handsome prince, and everything would turn out perfectly in the end. Unfortunately, the real world isn't actually as ideal as fairy stories made it seem, and sometimes horrible things happen to normal people who try to be good. That's just the way it is.

But I stand by my beliefs; some day my Prince will come. And I probably won't even notice when he does...

Awesome Songs For Undisclosed Purposes

Hello, I have to choose a song for something and I have now pondered my way down to a shortlist. If anyone is out there in the big wide world of the internet and wishes to comment, please do.
My choices are:

Need You Now - Lady Antebellum What can I say? It's a beautiful tune which appears to basically sum up my life right now (yes, I'm that sad). It's about two people who've broken up or something and don't talk to each other any more. However, they both still love the other, meaning they sing this beautiful, supposedly accidental, duet. The instrumentation is really good and I highly recommend you listen to it. So here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfsZyYPLoI Unfortunately, it may not be totally suitable for the purpose I need the music for as it's a duet and there's only one... Never mind. Volunteers for a mystery project?


It Should've Been Me - Yvonne Fair This, for those who don't know, is a beautiful soul song about a woman whose boyfriend/fiancee leaves her for someone else and she basically stands up at their wedding and says "You said we'd be together forever and now you're marrying this bint? Dude!" But not...
Anyway, it's a really nice song and I think it'd be suitable, but the instrumentation leaves something to be desired. Anyone who's not heard this, it can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v_QB56-d5w and yes, Dawn French did do a version in "The Vicar Of Dibley".


We Are Family - Sister Sledge This song, well... There's nothing I can say that you don't already know. It's awesome and it applies to every aspect of my life. it's really cool and I can't even be bothered to describe it to you.... but here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpYgpF1bqQ If you don't know it, you don't deserve to be a mountain sheep. Hand in your membership badge at reception.


Midnight Blue - Electric Light Orchestra Ok, now the ELO section starts. But I've chosen two, don't worry, it's not exhaustive. Basically, this song is beautiful and sad and happy and emotional and all those wonderful things a song should be. It's about a man who's so in love with this woman that he can't imagine his life without her. I'm not sure I understand the colour reference, but it adds to the poetic imagery. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwBGBElJcuo Watch it. Now. This is the song (husband permitting) that I want as my first dance at my wedding.
There is another song called "Midnight Blue" by Melissa Manchester and it is also wonderful, but sadder. Please listen to that if you get the chance too... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WweQJCqOFyI

Getting To The Point - Electric Light Orchestra a hugely sad song, written by Jeff Lynne when he decided to leave the band, it can also be seen to be about basically anything life throws at you where you look and you say "I can't handle this, I have to stop". My Dad listened to it the night he decided to quit Scouting for the first time. It's a really sad (if slightly techno) song. Give it a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfvYIwe6IJ4 If I ever needed a break-up song, it would be this.


As always, let me know what you think. I have Twitter, so come and find me if you're interested in my stupid thoughts and ponderings. Please check out my friend Emily's Blog at http://shirleynomates.blogspot.com too, she's a good writer, and she's almost as awesome as me. But awesomer.