Going home part 1 and leaving drinks from work

Hallooooooo!!

As I've said in my last post, Friday evening I took the Eurostar home. This weekend was planned months before, but due to an unexpected event, I had to make some amendments. Instead of going back to London Monday morning first thing, I had to book another ticket on Tuesday morning. I'd miss 30min of work, but that was not the end of the world. No, on Monday 21st November, my brother got married. Good reason to change your plannend tickets home, no?

I'm not going to post any pictures of that day as I don't think it is up to me to throw these images online for anyone to see. Nor will I post pictures of the brunch I had on Saturday morning. Simple reason here is because I don't have any! 4 of my eldest friends come between 10am and 10.30am to eat breakfast. I hadn't seen them in a good few months, so there was a lot to catch up on :) The brunch started at 10am and the last person left at 8pm... That's how you know you've got good friends on your hands ;)

I will, however, post a photo of my leaving drinks with my colleagues :) What was supposed to be only a few drinks, turned out to be more drinks and a dance party x) I got home around 3am and decided it would no be safe to go to bed as I needed to be in St Pancras by 6am to catch my train back home...

So that is the little update here.

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

In the footsteps of Jane Austen and midnight screening of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Halloooooooo!

Saturday 12th November was a very dull and dreary day, so of course I decide to make of the Jane Austen walking tours through London. Walking through mist, it was difficult to stay dry. The lighting was really bad as it was grey and darker sooner than usual and it was freezing cold. I loved every second of it. You know, I'm very fond of walking.

I did the Mayfair walk starting at Green Park and ending near Bond Street tube station. The walk is about 1.75miles long and took me about an hour and a half to two hours to complete.

It took me past houses and squares that I'd passed numerous times, but never understood the history of it. Places where one of her publicers lived, John Murray. Berkeley street where Marianne and Elinor stayed in Sense and Sensibility. Grosvenor Street where Mr and Mrs Hurst have a house in Pride and Prejudice. Prudey's a gunsmith, dates from 1814. On the corner where now the Ritz stands used to be a hotel called the Bath Hotel were Jane once stayed. Etc etc.

John Murray's house

Anthony Eden's house

Sunday was much sunnier, but I stayed indoors. Yes, I knoz, it doesn't make sense. Should have gone on the Jane Austen walk on Sunday rather than Saturday. Ah well.

The work week following was a work week as per usual, EXCEPT on Thursday evening, or should I say, Friday morning, I went to a midnight screening of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The Potterhead in me took over on Tuesday evening and I decided that I wanted ot see the film before I had to go back home for a weekend.

And it was magical. It was bloody scary at times and then laugh out loud funny. I was so sure about having a muggle, oh, pardon me, a no-maj involved, but Kowalski is just lovable and you're really rooting for him. I'm not too sure about Queenie. A lot of people just love her and think she is instantly likeable, but I'm convinced. Yet. Let's see how she evolves over the next few films. Eddie Redmayne is perfect for Newt and I really like him. And Tina, I think I could identify more with her than Queenie. I can't wait to see the movie again and again and again!

Friday after work I took the Eurostar home :)

And that is it for this week's post. Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

"Now that is a proper introduction" - Louise Banks, Arrival 'review'

Halloooooo!!

It's been a while since I last posted a review on a movie on this platform, but I've recently seen a film that I highly recommend, so what better way than to write a 'review' on it? ;)

Sunday afternoon I went to see the Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, etc. It is about aliens arriving on this planet (hence the title) rather than invading it like, say Independence Day. Just like Interstellar it tries to connect with the audience on a more psychological level, but unlike Interstellar, Arrival actually achieves this connection. Before I go to deep into it, here's the quick overview and short synopsis.

Arrival

** spoiler free **
2016
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, ...
Lenght: 1h 56min
Genre: Mystery, Sci Fi, drama
8/10

Louise Banks is a linguist who has helped the US Army with translating information. When 12 space ships arrive all over the world, they call upon Louise again to help them and scientist Ian to communicate with the aliens in order to find out why exactly they are here. As humanity is bowing under the pressure of the unknown visitors and the world is on the brink of a 3rd world war, Louise makes a decision that can possibly seal the deal for the worlds destruction.

I left the cinema not exactly knowing how to behave anymore. All my personal issues seemed so small and trivial. Not important. Granted, they are not, but it is one of those films that puts you right back in your place: a tiny tiny tiny spot in the immeasurable universe. The question whether we are alone has never really been a question to me. But the majority of alien sci fi films depict these unknown forms of life as violent creatures whose sole purpose in life is to destroy humanity. Well, save E.T.

The aliens in Arrival are not here for an invasion, they just, well, arrive. Their role is more a supportive one and the focus is more on humanity and the personal stories of the characters, on love and loss, on communication or the lack thereof, the future, the past, heck, even on relativity and non-linear time. But mind you, it is not as scientific as Interstellar or the Martian, but it definitely has that touch to it. It is more a psychological sci fi drama, really.

The suspense is almost tangible throughout the entire film. The score is a tremendous help on this (you might want to bring earplugs), but also the fact that you don't know more than the characters. You follow main character Louise and her colleague Ian and you learn information as and when they do. You have no idea how other countries are dealing with the extraterrestrial visitors apart from what the news sources show. The film also jumps in time, which keeps you on edge and forces you to keep mind focused.

Adams delivers a tremendous performance. It's very natural and honest and very believable. And I'm just going to say this, it is one of those rolls that made me wish that I was super smart and excellent in something. There, I've said it. Moving on. Renner portays Ian, a likeable, cool scientist whose is always looking at the sky to find what is out there rather than looking around. One of the reasons why he is still single, is jokingly being said in the film. The other characters like Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) and agent Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg) are not the type cast FBI agent and Army colonel dickheads who argue constantly about who thinks is right. There is no rivalry between army, FBI and scientists, but a co-operation to learn the aliens' purpose on our planet. The overall feel of this movie is how human it is.

The movie starts on a very heavy note and ends, in my opinion, on one hand quite heavy, but on the other, it has this message of hope. That no matter how bad a situation might seem (2016, ahum), there is always a reason to go and live your life and love. That a bad situation can lead to a beautiful result. That some things are worth taking the risk. How beautiful is that.

And I was actually quite fond of the aliens by the end of the movie ^^

Here are as per usual the trailer, a clip and an interview ;)

Trailer

Clip

Interview

As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Quiet on set please!! And... ACTION! (Greenwich again!?)

Hallooooooo!!

So, as I've mentioned in last week's post (if you've missed that, you can read it here ;)) I tried to take photos of film locations in Greenwich. But as it turned out, they were actually shooting that day, so the majority of Greenwich was closed off. Oh the irony. That meant going back the weekend after and sure enough, on the 5th of November, I was back in Greenwich and nothing was going to stop me now from taking those pictures!

See below what I exactly mean with 'take photos of film locations in Greenwich'.

Les Misérables (2012)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Duchess (2008)

Pretty cool uh? It took me about an hour and a half to two hours to get all the photos. The photos matching the film locations for Thor: the Dark World are yet to come ;)

Once I was done, my hands were freezing, so it was time to get a hot chocolate. And what better way to do that than in a place surrounded by books? Waterstones in Greenwich has a cute cafe so that was my final destination. Of course, I couldn't help myself not to buy a book, or two, maybe four? In my defence, one is a gift, so that doesn't really count ;)

Sunday afternoon I had all the intention of either going on a Jane Austen walking tour through London or go to the cinema. I ended up doing neither, but instead stayed indoors. I uploaded my post on time, booked my trip through the English countryside, did some boring admin stuff, you know, being a responsible grown up and all. I'm very excited for my trip though. I'm leaving 29th November til the 5th December and you can basically say that I'll be walking in the footsteps of Elizabeth Bennet. If that isn't clear but you'd like to find out, you might want to keep an eye on here. I'll be daily blogging the whole trip as per usual ;) And as it turns out, it'll also by the start of blogmas!!! Yes, I am doing that again ^^ So excited!

And that is it for this week :)

As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Ooh, the irony. Filmset in Greenwich.

Halloooooo!!

I hope you are doing weeeelll on this 43rd week of 2016! The countdown to Christmas has officially begun! Friday evening I bought my advent calendars. Yes, plural. I bought two... x) And earlier this week I also wore my Christmas jumper, because 25 days a year are just not enough to wear those cheezy jumpers.

But, for the main part of this blog post, I'll be talking about Greenwich! In last week's post you'll have read that I intended to go to Greenwich but ended up staying indoors all weekend, doing research on the films shot there. So last week Sunday I actually made my way to Greenwich! It's only 45min from where I leave from 'door to door' so in London standards: close by.

So, I got off the bus and went straight to business. The first film locations that I came across were for Now You See Me 2. The finale is set in London and a lot of those places looked really familiar when I saw the movie in theatre. Although the movies shows the places as 'spread across London', truth is, they're all filmed in Greenwich x)

The weather wasn't really nice. In fact, it was really misty. You couldn't even see the massive buildings on Canary Warf.

All the shots on the Greenwich Market and around the Cutty Sark were easy enough to find so they got shot quite quickly. But when I made my way to the Royal Naval College, I bumped into this sign:

Ooooh, the irony. I go to Greenwich to make pictures of film locations and they are actually filming there. I tried to find out what it was, but all I got was that it is for a commercial. Row upon row of trailers, massive tents, rain machines, etc. I think the production was a bit too big to be just a commercial. But then, it was set in the 1940's, so a lot of costumes and props, so it might be a commercial after all. Not sure. I'm not familiar with the production of films/commercials x)

So that means: going back to Greenwich to try again to get those shots x) Not the end of the world. In fact, I'm already looking forward to it ^^

On Monday evening I saw the Mortal Instruments, because it was halloween. Little tradition of mine. And then the rest of the week as my usual work week :)

And that is it for my week 43 of 2016!

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!
xo - Sara