My weekend back home

So, I was planning on writing individual posts about the things I am going to mention in this post, until I realised I actually did a lot this weekend. And that would mean, maybe what? 5 posts? I thought that was a bit excessive, and they'd all be quite short posts anyway. So I thought, why not just make a post about everything in one. So here we are..

This weekend (and some) I went home, to see my family and some friends and I had a wonderful time! The main purpose was to see my family to give them their presents that I got them from Paris (blog post about that coming soon. It'll be a long one, and I've been too busy with uni work to do it yet. Probably Monday if not before!) but I ended up binging Netflix, going to the cinema, going out for meals, and yes - what a surprise! Going to a gig.

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I went home on Friday just after a deadline, so it's fair to say I was sleep deprived to say the least. But when I got there, me and Mum went for some fish n' chips (it was my Dad's 6 month anniversary this day, and whenever I was home when he was still with us, we'd have fish n' chips Fridays - it seemed only right to carry on the tradition). And once I'd got home to see my brother, I gave them their presents! I got my Mum: a Disneyland fridge magnet, a Tinkerbell keying, and a Minnie Mouse mug from Disneyland. Plus, a necklace of the Eiffel tower, a Paris keyring, some postcards, a Hard Rock cafe vest top, and a little hand made beaded cross from the Notre Dame. I got my brother: A Spiderman keyring and some popcorn chocolates from Disneyland. Plus, a Paris key ring, some post cards, a Planet Hollywood t-shirt, and a Hard Rock Cafe patch that he can put onto his denim jackets. After I'd given them their presents, (I think I got them more things than I got myself, to be honest) I showed them all the photos and videos from the trip - all.. thousands of them. And then, we decided to start Haunting of the Hill House.

Haunting of the Hill House

We didn't watch the whole thing in one night. But we watched maybe 2 or three each night, meaning.. you guessed it - we did ending finishing the whole thing before I left and came back to uni. I don't watch a lot of scary things (I'm not the biggest fan of horror because I don't really like gore), but I do enjoy physiological things and thrillers. Neither do my Mum and my brother. So we definitely over anticipated absolutely every part of suspense, when there wasn't even much need for the most part. I mean, there are jump scares. Just not as many as we thought - until the later episodes. But still, it's very good at making you think something is going to happen. So it's hard not to anticipate really!

I really enjoyed it. It's weird, creepy, confusing for sure. But I'd definitely recommend watching it! Even if you're not big on your scary shows. It's just more suspense than anything. Things begin to make more sense towards the end of the season. But I do hope there's another one in future, because it's fair to say a lot of things are left unexplained. A season that tells us more about the background, and the house would be great. Because it could be predictable if they did a series about what happens next.

It also had a really positive ending which kind of confused me purely because of what happens throughout the whole season. Guess they've got to end it on a high note though, right? But over all - I really liked it, and will probably watch it again sometime soon!

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On Sunday, my brother went to a football match with his friend, so me and Mum decided to go out for food (yes, more) and went to see Bohemian Rhapsody. We went for an Italian (because it's always our choice of food, more or less. That, or Thai. Yum, yum) and it was lovely. I had this dish called "Pollo Alla Crema" and I swear, I always get it or something similar if it's on any menus in Italian restaurants (it's not always though). It's basically, chicken breast in a creamy white wine sauce with mushrooms and potatoes - and it's delicious. Afterwards, we hit the cinema. My Mum had actually gone to see the film the week before, but loved it so much she wanted to take me to see it too.

Bohemian Rhapsody

For those who don't know. Bohemian Rhapsody is the new Queen film. Y'know, a film about the band Queen? Particularly Freddie Mercury? Anyway.  

I feel like Queen are one of those iconic bands, that everybody just knows. Everyone's heard of them. Everyone knows them. And I like to think everyone sings along to at least a few of their songs. I mean, who doesn't like Queen? (I guess I imagine some people probably don't. But I've never come across said people).

I am absolutely all for nostalgia - I'm an old soul. And the 80's are my favourite era. Especially for music. Oh what I'd have done to have gone to all those gigs back in the day - I'm so jealous of everyone that attended and lived through it.

Let's talk about the film - I really enjoyed it. It was what my Mum had made it out to be, and more! I would definitely recommend any fans to go see it. The fact some of the members of Queen themselves produced it, says it all really - you won't be disappointed. Or at least, I wasn't.

Rami Malek was an incredible choice of actor to play Freddie. I don't know how he did it. But he got his mannerisms, bits of his personality, and not forgetting his showmanship, spot on. It almost felt as if you were actually watching Freddie himself. The actors of the other guys were really good too - I kept thinking the actor that played Brian, was actually Brian May. I applaud the lot. 

Obviously some parts of the film weren't completely accurate, and of course a few things were missed out. But overall it was really enjoyable. You're guaranteed to be entertained for sure. It's funny, it's inspiring, it's emotional and it's a hell of a show. You'll want to sing, laugh and y'know what? You might even cry. But you should definitely do yourself a favour and give it a watch. You'll thank me later. 

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A little reunion

On Monday I was reunited with some of my longest friends, for one of their birthdays. It's been at least a year, maybe two? Since we were all together for once (usually only a few of us would be around at the same time). And it was really nice! These are the kind of friends that you don't see often, but when you do it's as if nothing has changed. Friends that are hard to find, but friends that everyone needs.

We went to Gusto, and oh boy did we make the most of the 40% off voucher we had. (Also yeah I know, another Italian). We got 2 starters to share, 4 cocktails, 4 mains, 2 sides, and 4 deserts. Lots of food. Plenty of it. And it was worth it! It was lovely to catch up and just natter about all sorts. We're all chatterboxes and we had a lot to talk about.

We went to The Alchemist for one more cheeky cocktail after. I got a Solero, which involved a lot of white chocolate cream. And when I say a lot, I mean.. a lot (because the bartender accidentally put too much on). It was pretty much a second dessert for me. The others had some cocktails that changed colours... magic!

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The Prodigy @ First Direct Arena

Finally, on Tuesday - my last night at home, I went to a gig. I went to see the Prodigy - who, were spectacular. This is my first gig in a while, and particularly my first gig in ages with my brother (who I more often that not go to them all with).

Last time I saw the Prodigy (there's always a last time with most bands I see live, what can I say), I was front row, to the side a little (hectic, as you can imagine). This time, we were in the centre middle of the floor. So it was pretty cool to witness their show down in the pit rather than super close up being squished against the barrier. This of course meant that the crowd was more active and rowdier - mosh pits opening up, left, right and centre. But then again, no one can really just stand there at a Prodigy show, I mean.. come on.

I met up with a friend I'd not seen in years, and me and my brother met some of his friends that my brother actually had kind of met before. It was really fun, we all had a good time. And to our surprise we didn't actually loose one another - what we kind of expected and joked about before they came on stage.

They played classics such as Omen, Take Me To The Hospital, The Day is My Enemy and of course, Breathe. I think they played just over 20 songs so it was a decent lengthy set! And of course they played some stuff off of the new album such as Light Up The Sky (although for some reason, not No Tourists).

After an elbow here, there and everywhere, and surprisingly coming out of the gig with still both of my chains on my boots we decided to go to Key Club for a few drinks after. This was my first time there in months actually - to say it's a place I used to go to nearly every week. It was nice to be back, but Tuesday nights at keys involves mostly Pop Punk - which aren't the best tunes to boogie to after coming from a Prodigy gig. So we only stayed for an hour and a half before we called it a night. 

It was a great night though. Nice people, great music, and a lot of dancing. Or throwing yourself around, whatever you want to call it.

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And there you have it. That was my time back home. I'll probably be back briefly, but I won't be back for as long until I'm home for 3 weeks for Christmas. But it was just what I needed, after coming back from Paris, spending a week cramming for a Deadline, and it being 6 months since my father passed away -  I was feeling homesick.

See you in my next post, which should be all about my trip to Paris! Finally.

*Disclaimer: Images of Haunting of the Hill House and Bohemian Rhapsody are not my own.

-x.o, B.E.J