In which Demi shares her Spring songs

There finally seems to be light at the end of the tunnel - this winter has dragged on, and on, and on. We've had torrential rain, crop and animal-killing late snow, ferocious icy winds, the lot. And I for one cannot wait until summer. Normally I quite enjoy the variety of seasons; by the end of summer I'm looking forward to wearing more layers and snuggling down into winter (if I could hibernate, I would do). And when everything starts to re-emerge for spring, I get very excited at the idea of long days, sunglasses and summer dresses.

Except that the normal changing-seasons thing hasn't really happened this year. It is only now, at mid-April, that we're starting to see mere hints of spring. But they are (finally) here. My mum is a garden designer, and she's suddenly spending all available hours in our garden getting it ready, and racking up new clients who have similar ideas. The clocks have gone forward, I'm having to drive to work with my sunglasses on because of the sun, and I haven't had to put my headlights on in nearly a week.

Source

So, while I may not be able to change my outfits to match how I'm feeling (I am so, so sick of wearing jumpers now...) I have been changing up my music to reflect my new brightness. Spring-ness, if you will. Here's a quick run-down of the music I've been loving recently.

Paramore - Paramore

I'm loving Paramore's new self-titled album a whoooole lot. I used to listen to their album Riot religiously when I was deep in my pop-punk phase, which has died off over the last few years. But this song, 'Still Into You', had me hooked from the first time I heard it. And since listening to the album on Deezer, I'm seriously impressed. It sounds inherently Paramore, but different - they've been daring and inventive, trying out all sorts of styles. The hurt they felt from two of their members leaving feeds the fire of this album, spurring them on to new, and better, things. This is developed, matured, confident pop-punk at its best.

Highlights: 'Ain't It Fun', 'Part II', 'Hate To See Your Heart Break' and the two singles, 'Now' and 'Still Into You.'

Hurts - Exile

 
Ahhh Hurts. I've spoken of my love for this band before, back in January last year (here and here). Their new album is a tale of two halves for me - I adore the first half, but will happily skip a lot of the second half to return to the uninterrupted brilliance of the first seven or eight tracks. They apparently wrote this album on the guitar, as opposed to the piano they used for their first album, and you can tell. It feels current, yet nostalgic; major love. The CD is in my car to stay I think.

I bought tickets for Elf and I to go see them on their opening night of their autumn tour. I AM TOO EXCITED! October seems so very far away....

Highlights: 'Miracle', 'Blind', 'Only You', 'Exile', 'Sandman' and 'Somebody To Die For.'


The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather (single)

My song choice for spring. It makes me think of warm nights, sunglasses, sand between my toes, fizzy drinks, flirting, giddiness. I absolutely love it. These guys are going to be huge. Since I started listening to them a few months ago, I've started to see adverts for their album pop up on Youtube and this song play in shops - the take-over has begun!

Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob

I'd heard of Tegan and Sara before, but I wasn't a huge fan of their alternative rock/punk style. Their new album is distinctly more pop-y, and very easy on the ears. I much prefer this new style, although I know people who will claim the complete opposite.

The Pierces - You'll Be Mine (single)

Last year's summer song is now forever ingrained into me as a herald for warm days. I'm coupling this with Haim - Falling, because they're similarly vibed and infinitely chilled songs.

What are you listening to? I'd love to hear any recommendations! Happy listening xo.

In which Demi goes where it is forbidden...

A few weeks ago, in a final bid to take advantage of the "summer" weather (really, UK, it was atrocious this year. Get your act together!), I took a trip up the A1 to a wacky and brilliantly British tourist attraction called 'The Forbidden Corner'. Anywhere that describes itself as 'The Strangest Place In The World!' is worth a visit, in my eyes.

The place is the brainchild of a man who clearly had too much money, and decided to build a folly in his grounds - a project which stretched over years, and became more and more adventurous and, well, bizarre. There's the more typical mazes, herb gardens and castle-like structures to explore. But there's also a Roman temple which leads to hell, a tunnel that narrows so gradually that you wonder how you can no longer fit though the other end (unless, like me, you force yourself through and bang your head) and all sorts of strange things sticking out of walls.

Additionally, I almost deafened several people when I climbed the stairs, squeezed between the legs to peer through the window... only to discover it was a mirror, and scare the living daylights out of myself (and others, from the sudden noise)

It's all very Alice in Wonderland. What we found most crazy was the lack of a coherent map. When we handed over our tickets and were given our 'map' in return, we figured it would be a pretty straight-forward route.

Oh no.

Instead, the 'map' is filled with pictures of all the many, many weird and wonderful features scattered throughout the acres of land - but with no route. Some are hidden, some are easy to find. But there are dozens of them! And even worse, there is very little indication of the area around the features, as the pictures are so tightly cropped and overlaid, so you can't even track them down logically using your environment. Bewildered, we struck out into the forest, where we laughed, shrieked (well, I did anyway) and on several occasions got soaked by hidden spurts of water (again, mostly me) as we attempted to track everything down.

We failed, unfortunately, even after hours spent there. Every time we thought we'd explored everywhere, we uncovered a new area we'd missed - until we unwittingly found ourselves on the path towards the exit, and unable to return to spot the last few things. Dammit! I am therefore determined to visit again, and tick everything off this time! So if you're ever heading towards the Yorkshire Dales, I would certainly recommend a detour (it's pretty remote) and a visit! xo.

Disclaimer: Both of us were 21 years old. You do not need to be a child to enjoy this place. Just a sense of adventure and plenty of energy!

I was rather fond of the gambling bears

Impressive glass pyramid

Inside the Roman Temple, heading into hell...

The underneath of the pyramid

The wood giant. I'm pretty short anyway, but this was ridiculous!

Pointing the way... to madness...

In which Demi goes mad for Malta

As I've mentioned in the last few posts, I embarked on a spontaneous end-of-the-summer-and-student-lifestyle holiday with my friend A., who I've been friends with since the middle of high school.

Flapper fancy dress at school

A. and I had several lessons together, when the year group started to get set depending on ability aged 14, including the core Maths/English/Science, and we soon struck up a friendship which helped to form a group of friends - my home girls - which still exists. Then we both, coincidentally, chose to go to Nottingham University, where we subsequently became even closer than we already were. Our third year at university was especially important to me, as we both experienced a lot of heartache, upset and joy which served to bind us tighter to one another, providing a comforting link to home and our past.

I rarely have to explain anything to her - she always seems to know exactly how I'm feeling and, while she doesn't always agree, can empathise and advise. While I jokingly think of myself as a therapist to several people, A. is my own therapist. And because she's awesome, she got snapped up for a big accountancy job down in London, which she started on Monday (and I know she'll be kicking ass at, already), leading to our separation for the first time since we've been friends. She only left on Sunday, and I miss her already.

I love this photo, from when we went to Liverpool to visit O.

BUT, this is not a melancholy post. We had too much fun for this to be a depressing post!

Malta was brilliant. I had no idea what to expect before we arrived, after throwing it out as a random location suggestion while we tossed ideas around. We'd both been lucky enough to already have been to a lot of mainland Europe, and our big American adventure had to be put on the back burner when news of the mysterious and rather scary lump reduced my chances of getting insurance to pretty much zilch.

After the hassle of travelling hand baggage only, thanks to pesky Ryanair and their ridiculous charges, we staggered out of the airport to be greeted by the cheerful mini-bus driver, who informed us that there was a heatwave currently hitting the island... yup, back to 42 degrees. And this time, we'd gone cheap and our hotel had neither air-con nor its own pool. As I am not one who copes particularly well with extreme heat when neither of these are nearby, I was massively apprehensive of what the week would bring.

Luckily our hotel was kind enough to provide us with a fan. Unsurprisingly, it simply wasn't enough to properly contend with the heat.

Nice try.

Despite the heatwave making it more difficult, we had a great time exploring the island. Due to its turbulent political history (such as casual invasions and being "gifted" by various monarchs) the melting-pot of culture we found was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The majority of the population spoke English as a second language (handy, as their place names contained ridiculous amounts of the letter 'x' and far too few vowels!) due to the fact that the British were the last of the colonisers, but due to its proximity to Italy, it retains a largely Mediterranean feel - from the food to the older, Venetian-style decorative buildings. Which, in turn, rubbed shoulders with modern North African-style buildings, with their blocky silhouettes. 

The capital, Valetta, and the original capital city Mdina, were absolutely stunning. The latter was especially unique – after the capital was moved to Valetta following the great Siege of Malta, Mdina was rebuilt but somewhat abandoned; the streets were mostly deserted, a city frozen in time only interrupted by the wandering tourists. The entire city has been turned into something  of a giant museum, overflowing with history and treasures to be explored. Unfortunately I forgot my camera when we went to Mdina - d'oh!!

Stunning ironwork and columns

Brightly coloured window boxes punctuated the serene stone

The Co-Cathedral's interior was as impressive as it's exterior

Baroque decadence inside

We were fairly restrained with the many sight-seeing opportunities that were presented, choosing to visit Valetta, do a hop on/hop off bus tour (in which we visited Mdina) and a harbour cruise, interspersed by days at the beach. And by beach, I really mean rock...

It wasn't bad though, as we discovered Surfside, a bar/restaurant/club which had a bunch of sun beds (for free, yessssssss) and backed onto a stretch of these beauties:

I am not a fan of the sea AT ALL, so these were the perfect compromise

These rock pools were half naturally formed, half man-made - apparently originally used by Victorian ladies who wished to bathe privately, and each pool would have a tent over it. They were great, as you could dip in to cool down, and not have to deal with the open sea with the waves and the current. I will always choose pool over beach - not knowing what's in the sea freaks me out - so being able to A) touch the bottom and B) being able to see what's in the water made me a lot more comfortable.

And before I finish up, I HAVE to mention two places we ate at and adored. The food was amazing everywhere we ate (I don't think I've ever eaten so much in my life), but these were our favourites. First up was a cafe called Mint (in Sliema) - opposite Surfside, which was handy! - where we had lunch most days, and MY GOD, the food there is incredible. It's a traditional Kiwi cafe apparently, with a big chiller cabinet of savory choices and another for desserts. They constantly have new choices in the cabinets, as they have a 'once it's gone, it's gone' attitude, and simply replace the old choice with a brand new one. I loved it, as there was constant variety - never mind day-to-day, if you came back later in the day they would be serving completely different things to when you were there before! Everything was delicious, and I have a special place in my heart for their Snowcap cookies.

Secondly, on an evening we would take the bus to the nearby town of St Julian's, which had more of a nightlife and an abundance of restaurants, bars and clubs. We were big fans of Paparazzi, an Italian/American themed bistro whose burgers (especcially the chicken burger with sweet chilli sauce) were incredible. Also, if you're ever there, check out Bar Celona (we loved it for the name if nothing else!).

Mega frozen strawberry daquiri!!

So, basically... Malta is amazing. I would definitely recommend!! My tan has mostly faded back into my usual pale Irish skin, but looking at my still-tanned feet (so brown they look orange against my pale legs...) reminds me that it did all happen. xo.

♥

In which Demi fawns over Frascati

I've been extremely lucky and been on two incredible holidays this summer - one with my family (minus my older brother) and one with my gorgeous friend A., before we are separated for the first time since we became friends aged fifteen.

Firstly, to Frascati. Just south of Rome, Frascati is rustic Italy at its finest. Barely anyone in the town spoke real English, apart from the lovely staff at our hotel, and was mostly made up of restaurants and a scattering of boutiques. Oh, and an incredible gelato parlour which was never anything but heaving on an evening. During the day, when we ventured out for lunch, the place was sleepy and deserted, shimmering in the midday heat as the locals (wisely) took shelter indoors. But on an evening, the place exploded with people; gossiping teenagers, shrieking children, couples - old and young alike - sat on the steps of the church, simply watching the world go by.

We did venture into Rome for a day, as it was only a short train ride away. It was beautiful and interesting, but my attention was massively crippled by the intense heat; we'd coincidentally picked the hottest day of the year to make the trip, and sight-seeing in baking 42 degree heat was painful - literally, as I got physically burned when I sat down on the baking black seat of the tour bus. I'd love to return in the spring or autumn... definitely not summer. There's a reason people escape the city in the summer months.

Castel Sant'Angelo

The Vatican

Our beautiful 16th century hotel

The biggest and most delicious pizza everrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It was, as it turned out, the hottest week of the year so far. Which, for two easily burning Britons (AKA my dad and I), was not ideal. It was so hot that after the first couple of days the hills began to ring with the sound of fire sirens, as local fire teams raced to put out the fires that were springing up left, right and centre. Fire planes, like enourmous canaries, swooped scarily low over the hotel grounds multiple times a day on their way to the nearby lake to fill up. It was pretty worrying, and the best we could do was keep checking in at the hotel that we weren't in any danger.

Other than the minor fire worries, it was a week of relaxation and de-stressing. My parents from their busy lives, and me from my surgery two weeks prior. A week of slowly, carefully excercising in the pool (and a somewhat doomed attempt to hold off the carb calories; Italian food is incredible).

More importantly, it was the first family holiday we'd taken in a while, for various reasons. And, it felt like, the first time this summer we were able to really relax and just be a family again, since the months of June and July had been so hectic and fractured. I wish my brother had come along too, but he chose to stay at home.

Next up... Malta mayhem with A. xo.

In which Demi is a jet-setter.

Another blogging delay, I know! I suck. In my defence, I spent a lovely (albeit scorching hot) week in Frascati, just south of Rome, with my family, followed by a week of seemingly non-stop catch-ups, day trips and general time wasting with my friends and family.

And today I am off to Malta for another week, with A.! We booked it after I'd spent less than 24hrs at home, after the mysterious and rather scary lump put a massive dent in our America travel plans. We're celebrating our last summer together, before she swans off to London to live the high-flying life, in her gorgeous new flat in Clapham. Not that I'm jealous or anything. Although I don't envy the fact she's locked into a contract where she deals with tax every day. Ick.

More in a week. Photos, news, book/film reviews galore, I promise. xo.

In which Demi shares her current favourites

First and foremost, Happy Easter to everyone :)

So after having a quick rifle through past blog entries, it seems to be quite customary for me, when doing essays at home, to post some songs which unintentionally form a work playlist for that period. Over Christmas it was Hurts and One Republic. This time, I can already tell it's going to be The All American Reject's latest offering, 'Kids in the Street'. I am a maaaaassive fan, and while it is by far my least favourite of their albums, it's still got some gems on there.

'Beekeeper's Daughter'

'Heartbeat Slowing Down'

I predict that a medley of AAR tunes will form the basis of my playlist. My Hurts love is still going strong, so they'll be in there too, along with Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum from my jaunt into country music.

'Cowboy Casanova'

'We Owned the Night'

Films-wise, I've been spoilt. From re-watching olders ones I loved which have recently made it onto Sky Movies (No Strings Attached, Love and Other Drugs, Water for Elephants) to films I never got around to seeing (Thor, American Beauty) and new releases in the cinema (hello The Hunger Games ♥ SO glad the film was an accurate representation of the book!).

Quick shout out to Chris Hemsworth for having a body that literally made me and my sister gasp, at the sheer size of his muscles. Which made our brother roll his eyes and sprout about how ridiculous we are. [It's probably true...]

Had a lovely meal to end the term with the housemates, and it's been great to catch up with a bunch of my friends back home as well. Spent yesterday with my grandparents, having family time. I'd missed them way too much. We're all still at the 'spontaneous hugs' stage, even though I've been back over a week, we've all missed each other so much. Even my usually anti-social older brother!

As for my visitor at the end of last term... lets just say they've got a lot of making up to do.

So for now, I'm grudgingly making a start on my Easter work, although as it's Easter Sunday I'm taking it easy and just doing reading/research. 11,500 words to go, bring it on! But first, chocolate and Northern Lights by Philip Pullman.... it's research, honest! xo.

In which Demi is starting to feel like a new person.

After the heart-break of editing down what I think might be the best essay I've ever written, the stress of realising I had 700 words left for my Arthurian essay when I needed at least 1000, and the tediousness of checking, checking and triple checking, all three essays were handed in on Thursday. At 10% each of my final degree mark, it's little wonder I went a bit cuckoo. But I wasn't expecting the full extent of the stress I'd put myself under, which revealed itself in the following days. I've lost about 6 pounds in those two weeks, from sheer stress, weird sleeping times, and a churny stomach which sent my appetite AWOL. It's slowly returning, but nausea still grips me when I eat lunch, and I'm wracked with dizzy spells and an emerging cold as my adrenaline slowly dissipates, revealing my crippled immune system.

Luckily I'm confident that I'll be in much better shape for my final essays in Easter, even though I'll have more words. It's always the madness of Christmas that distracts me - the family, the films on TV, the food, the friends. With these distractions gone, I have more faith in my ability to get them done to a decent standard and not make myself ill.

It was so lovely to see my housemates and friends down the road, even if it was for less than 24hrs. It's made me want to go back, but I'm glad I took the opportunity to come back home for an extra week, for some R&R, while everyone else finishes up their exams. I've spent a lot of time with my family - watching films, playing on the Wii, visiting my grandparents in their new house. We're making a collective effort to sqeeze every second of family time out of this short period where both Dad and I are not away. I've got shopping tomorrow to look forward to, with my mum and sister, and final friend catch-ups on Tuesday, before I head back down for my final ever term at University. I can't quite believe it yet.

I've been very bad and abandoning my course reading for this term (currently Alan Sillitoe's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, which is bizarre to read, as it's set in Nottingham in the 50's. The narrator is casually mentioning roads which I walk up and down all the time, yet are very different - filled with factories and smoggy terraces) in order to indulge my love of fantasy with S.J. Maas's new novella, The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. It's the first of four e-novellas to precede her debut novel Throne of Glass, an epic fantasy loosely based on Cinderella. I read Throne of Glass in its original incarnation (then called Queen of Glass) when I was about 16, on Fictionpress.com, a site for amateur authors.

It was a sensation, pulling in about 3 times as many reviews as the second most popular story. Even now, she has regular readers who have followed her since Fictionpress, like me, on her blog, or her Facebook page, flapping about excitedly at the prospect of reading the real, edited, published version. She's a lovely, lovely girl, who always replies to comments or questions, and to say that I was excited to have a conversation with her on Facebook chat is an understatement. She pretty much single-handedly sparked my interest in fantasy novels, and I am literally counting down the days until the book is released in the summer. I'm only on Chapter Three, but I'm already hooked. 

She's getting published by BLOOMSBURY, which should tell you how awesome she is. Picture Source

I've also been taking full advantage of having Sky Movies here at home, and been catching up on a whole host of films I missed out on seeing for one reason or the other. While Never Let Me Go was a bit of a let-down (as was the book), I loved The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Even if the concept was a bit wacky, I thought the cinematography, score and acting pulled it off.

And to finish off this post, some more Hurts (sorry! Obsessed!). Every time I think I've found a favourite song from the album, I start to fall more in love with another one. But I keep boomeranging back to this one, mostly because Kylie's addition makes my hair stand on end (in a good way). That, and I have a real urge to play this to a handful of boys, to shake them up a bit and make them see sense. After this, no more Hurts promo, I promise. xo.

In which Demi is delighted :)

I have packed up my life temporarily and relocated back in t'North, as my dear Fryn would say. Home for Christmas, and I couldn't be happier. Only 36 hours in, and I've already had a delicious roast dinner and gone to buy our Christmas tree! We went to three different vendors, only to return to the first (and nearest) place after all! We'd tried to hide our potential tree, but someone had spotted it and snatched it up :( The one we ended up with isn't too bad though :) Mum has announced that this year's colour scheme (yes, we're a house that does colour schemes... and no, we're not allowed tinsel. My Mum's one of those types, who think it's tacky. Pfft.) is silver and gold, which looks quite nice, although I like a bit more colour to be mixed in, personally.

Christmas jumpers and tiger onesies galore in our house :D

My second reason for being delighted is that my favourite couple, Harry Judd and Aliona won Strictly Come Dancing last night!!!!!! Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I was a fan of theirs from the very start, and it was brilliant to find out I'd also pulled the pairing for the sweepstakes that our family friends were running. I won £20, which I'll be using to treat myself in the Christmas sales :D

 

Marry me Harry?

AND, as the cherry on top of my little happy cake, I'm seeing my darling Elf for the first time in months tomorrow, for a coffee date and a much needed catch-up :)

The term ended on a lovely high, with an addition to our house (a vibrant blue plush crocodile, by the name of Nigel. Don't ask.) and a lovely house Christmas, where we exchanged Secret Santa gifts. Thankfully I seemed to tick all the right boxes with my gift of an OPI nail varnish, which Sugar had been eyeing wistfully since the summer. I received a lovely mug (regular readers will know of my immense love for tea by now!), with the slogan 'Brew up and sleep in'. Everyone laughed (an almost embarrassing amount), as I have become rather infamous for my love of tea and lie-ins in the house. Perfect gifts all round. My particular favourite, as I think everyone's was, happened to be Sugar's gift of a Cliff Richards calendar to lovely Fryn. Yes, it might seem a bit strange to gift her with a calendar of a wrinkly old singer (who I'm pretty sure is being cryogenically frozen every night to keep going...), but given her love for Christmas, and in particular Cliff's Christmas CD, which she likes to sing incessantly around the house once October hits... it was the perfect choice :)

In the run up to Christmas, I hope to polish off the shortest of my three essays (which, at 3000 words, is still hardly short), finish off my Christmas shopping, and have a catch-up with my girls from home.

I'm finally feeling festive... I hope everyone else is too! xo.

In which Demi sets her alarm clock again.

Back to my original Leeds PR placement for two more weeks. I had absolutely no sleep last night, probably because I was terrified I'd sleep in til 12 like I have been doing and miss my 8.45am bus. At least my hours aren't bad; 10-5.30ish, with an hour for lunch.

Spent my lunch hour desperately running around the department stores in town in search of a make-up primer replacement. I've used a Philosophy primer for about 5 years and it's suited my skin well, but I've realised that they've stopped making it and I can't get it anywhere!! Cue my frantic search before the true nature of my skin is revealed, wahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Just kidding. Sort of.

In other beauty-related news, Garnier's new BB Cream was a total let-down, and my hair has grown far faster than expected and is now almost waist-length. Guess I'm gonna have to shell out on a non-student-priced cut down at our local over-priced salon... Boo.

Hair up and out of the way = happy Demi

Gahhhhhhhh too much hair!

In less than a month I will be back in Nottingham!! Wahhhhhhhhhhh, SO EXCITED. This summer has gone crazy fast, and I don't even feel that relaxed! What with crazy builders and working more weeks than I've had off, it's a good job that I have few hours next year.

...Too few to be honest. My course is stupid value for money. This year I'll be taught only 6 hours a week. For 3 and a half grand. Now I'm no mathematician, but even I can tell that that's BAD.

This past week I caught up with my gay best friend who isn't gay, but might as well be. Case in point, he had Tangled all set up for us to watch before I even got there. "I got us the new Disney, I heard it's really good!" Ahhh, there are so many reasons for me to love that boy!

I also had a lovely catch-up with my crazy high-flying lawyer gal S., who me and A. went to visit in Cambridge in this post. She's just finished an internship at one of the 'magic circle' law firms in London. Not that I could name them, but we're talking the big guns, I know that much. I'll let her charge on ahead, with her 4hrs sleep a night and ridiculous amounts of stress and work, while I bob behind her steadily.

Thennnnnn our family Bank Holiday plans were scuppered as my Dad got called off to Europe by his boss, as he is prone to do (with 24hrs notice half the time...). Sad times. So me, my little sister and Mum all sat and played an extremely competative game of Scrabble, followed by a movie fest with lots of treats. Perfect :)

I hope everyone's well! I'll try and update later this week to fill you guys in on how the placement goes. xo.

In which Demi swoons a little.

Just finished watching the Star Wars trilogy prequel, with Episode One before bed. Not quite sure why I decided to watch them in the wrong order. That's just how I roll I guess ;)

I pretty much swoon every time Ewan McGregor is in the shot. I don't know what it is about him that makes me so gaga. He's not a pretty boy, but neither does he fully pull off the badass look. He's a little scruffy looking and rather... plainly handsome, in a way that I can't put my finger on. Added to the fact that he's apparently a lovely person, as well as being funny and charming (as witnessed in several interviews) and I am pretty much a puddle of goo with little little love hearts floating in it.

♥ (Source)

I think the fact that he's a good actor helps. He's one of the few actors that I will go to see in a film, even if I'm not sure if I'll like it. Because he tends to win me over every time. I'm itching to see his new film coming out later this year, with Eva Green called Perfect Sense (click to see trailer) which looks interesting and gorgeous. I'm also still meaning to see him in 'Beginners', which I heard is really good. Oh Ewan, won't you just marry me??

Went out for dinner with two of my best girls tonight, one of whom is heading off to Hong Kong next week to study abroad for a semester, and we won't see her until February now. It's made me long for the travelling I've started to plan for after graduation. Instead of jumping straight into a job, I'm hoping to have built up enough experience this summer to allow me to take a year out first. I want to head out east, for the first time, and see parts of Malaysia and Indonesia. Then Australia, and round it off with a couple of hot-spots in the US, especcially San Fransisco and Boston. I'm getting butterflies just thinking about it.

Until then, I'm gonna have to work hard and get the grades to be able to afford the time off. Time for bed, and dreams of Force powers and a purple lightsaber. I think I'd make an excellent Jedi. xo.

I don't think they make lightsabers in hot pink. Shame.

In which Demi indulges her inner geek and child.

In an ideal world, I would work in the film industry.

I'm not even sure which part of the industry, to be perfectly honest. My mum always thought I'd make a better script writer than novelist, as my childish tales were always filled with dialogue and little else. Even my little scribbles and scene ideas that I still jot down on occasion revolve around what's being said, whether it's through speech or body language. I don't feel the need to write excessively about the scene, or pad out the thought process. Maybe it's because I don't always think about what I say. I'm a gut instincts kinda girl. I think some of the most powerful scenes can be some of the simplest, depending on what's being said - or not said.

I don't think I'm a talented enough writer to do well in Hollywood. But if I could choose one area of the industry I could have a go at, I would absolutely love to work in costume and make-up. I love watching the extras on DVDs (I can practically quote the Lord of the Rings extended editions extras, they're by far my favourites) to see how much exquisite detail is put into films; from sourcing Jack Sparrow's sword from an antiques store in London, to the hand-stitched tapestries that line the Golden Hall of Rohan, there is such art and dedication put into the subtleties of a character or a location, which we pick up almost subconsciously.

I've been chilling out tonight after a hectic day, and watched 'Hercules' and 'Star Wars' Episodes II and III. I'm not sure what prompted my film choices, but I've enjoyed them as always nonetheless. As much as I love books, there is just something so vivid and compelling about films.

My blog posts are getting more and more random, I know. I'm getting a little stir-crazy I think. I'm intent on getting another couple of my 30 letters written, since the project has gone on a looooooooong time past the predicted deadline. Oops. I'm really struggling with my letter to my siblings, as this year has seen a real shift in our family and how we relate to one another. We'll see how it goes. xo.

PS. I think Natalie Portman is possibly the most beautiful woman on the planet, yet so understated and intelligent. Jealous. Also, I don't care how wooden his acting is, I love Hayden Christensen! Although not as much as Ewan McGregor ♥

In which Demi gives a quick update

My life has become more than slightly chaotic.

First, the 'rents have decided to extend the house some more. I am now being woken daily by the almighty sounds of drills, hammers and windows being dropped, Mon-Sat from 9am. Yes, they even work Saturdays. I thought builders were meant to be lazy?? Although they are already behind schedule... too busy making too much meaningless noise if you ask me!

Secondly, we've had to change internet providers, and living waaaaaaaaaaaaaay out in the countryside as I do, the signal isn't great at the best of times. And now? It's got worse, which I didn't believe to be possible. I'm lucky if I can get it to work for about an hour a day. [insert annoyed rant at old 02 providers here].

Thirdly, I've been sleeping. A lot. Enjoying the first of my 3 weeks off from my work experience-filled summer. Returning to my first placement for another 2wks on the 29th August. Of course, now I've settled down into my normal, slobbish holiday routine, I'm kind of wishing I was done for good now. But in this day and age I have to jump at every career opportunity I can get my hands on.

Fourthly, I had 3 of my 4 other Nottingham housemates come up to stay this weekend to help (belatedly) celebrate my 20th birthday with cocktails and mexican food. I miss them already.


Fifthly... I'm too tired to think of anything else important. Just a lot of spending, driving and builders' noise. Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Hope you're all having a lovely summer. xo

PS. Britain, get your act together. These riots are a disgrace. I hope my friends down there are all okay.

In which Demi reminisces and reads.

Source

It's funny how the strangest, most insignificant things can have a massive impact on you. This game, or rather its original form, is one of them. I cannot recommend this game highly enough, as I'm sure anyone else who has played it does. It is a work of sheer genius. And yet so simple and pure in concept.

When I was about seven years old, my cousin was heading off to University, and offered us his well-loved Nintendo 64 console and a handful of games, since he wouldn't have the time to play them. Ocarina of Time was one of them. Me and my brother were too young to be able to play it properly, and so every afternoon after school we would sit and direct our mum into running around, solving the puzzles and screaming encouragement as she wildly hacked in the boss fights.

It helped to form a tight bond between us. My younger sister was only about 4 at the time, and so doesn't remember these many, many afternoons, but we completed that game as a team. And years later, I find myself sat, peering over my mum's shoulder as she awkwardly manipulates my sister's DS with the new version, guiding her through the same temples that are so ingrained into mine and my brother's memory, but she has long forgotten the details of.

It made me love fantasy and adventure. It made me want to read of worlds unlike our own, to write countless (dreadful) stories involving princesses and heroes and villainous villains. And even now, years later, I like to indulge my geeky side and read something different. My latest buy was 'The Hero and the Crown' by Robin McKinley, which was sweeping and beautiful and emotional.

My current read is the Millenium series by Stieg Larsson, which could not be further away from the mythical, dragon-filled world of 'The Hero and the Crown', but is equally compelling, and I am coming to understand the hype surrounding these books.


I've just spent a healthy £40 on 9 novels for just one of my modules next year, all of which I'm hoping to read before the start of the new year. I'm excited again by reading books, rather than coming to dread it, as I was at the end of term. I always find it extremely theraputic to read something different, far from the highly regarded canon of literature, over the summer to let my mind free up and be ready for more intensive books for September time.


I'm off to tuck up in bed with my book and my sister's DS. Saving the world calls. xo.

In which Demi has some time to be a slob, hurrah!

I'm still in my pajamas at 2pm. Yes, I am being a slob today. And yes, I love it. I intend not to get out of bed unless there is dire need. Such as hunger. Or until I go out with my friend tonight.

So after 2 weeks at my second PR company (it got reduced from 3 to 2), I have concluded:

• Corporate PR is dull. This company had a very different list of clients than the first, but they were more along the lines of investment banking groups, lawyers, estate agents and charities. Retail PR was much more up my street, where there are new products to push, and the industry and market is constantly changing. So while I didn't enjoy this placement as much as the last one, at least I know which field I prefer.
• PR is most definitely not the 9-5 job I assumed it would be. I was asked to go along and help at one of the many events they run in the evenings, and didn't get home until gone 9pm, having left the house at 7.55am. When do they have time for a social life??
• Building on the last point, I learnt the power of hobnobing and schmoozing. I had to greet the guests and guide them towards the host, get them drinks etc, and later mingled and tried to talk to as many people as possible. I got to talk to a corporate and personal stylist, the PR woman for the TV show Emmerdale, a presenter on BBC Radio Leeds, a local historian and two very cute twin guys a little older than me who were schmoozing in the hopes of landing a placement.
• I'm pretty good at writing press releases, as it turns out. All that writing practice and dreams of being an author seems to have paid off!
• I'm a 'tall poppy' according to the lovely stylist at the event. Don't ask.
• Long days mean eating a lot. I now understand why all the girls in the office eat salads for lunch. I've gained so much weight it's depressing. Time to crack out my Davina exercise DVD!

It's been a fantastic experience, and they were lovely enough to let me print off examples of all the press releases and work that I'd done to add to my portfolio. They all offered to write me a reference, and treated me to cakes and a pot plant on my last day :) I was more prepared this time and had bought a box of chocolates along to say thank you as well.

So, what's on the agenda now? R&R? Getting drunk? Lazing about in the sun? Well, as it turns out, no. And not just due to the horrible weather in the UK at the moment. I got a call from the 3rd company I applied to, way back in February, who had never responded to my email over Easter about going in for an interview. Lo and behold, they call me up in the middle of my second placement and ask to meet me to discuss going to work for them for a bit. Add that to my return to my first Leeds placement at the end of August, and I'm looking at working for more weeks than I'll be having off. Which I do appreciate, don't get me wrong. All this experience is absolutely invaluable. But considering I'm not getting paid for it, unlike my friends at accountancy/law etc firms, who are raking in thousands for their summer placements, I don't find it surprising that I'm a bit more reluctant. Ah well, it'll all be worth it!

...I hope! xo