The Five Love Languages book - Gary Chapman

"This will give you the insight on how to understand what you and someone else needs to feel loved, to stay in love or even fall in love in the first place. If more people read this book, many relationships would have got off the ground and many others survived. This is a must for anyone who wants the best chance of getting someone to fall for them or have been told by their partner they didn't feel loved or appreciated. It also helps you understand what it is that you must have in a relationship to be happy with someone."  Take the test (bottom of the page).

"The heart of what love is all about is choosing to do things for the benefit of the other person"

Dr Gary Chapman

I love finding a book that genuinely makes a difference to my understanding of life and relationships. I do believe we are all a work in progress and can continually look at how we can improve ourselves. The Five Love Languages is a book that really made sense to me and has explained why some people I knew could not make me happy and vice versa, long term, though we both tried. We were speaking different "love languages". Take the test (link below) and realise so much more about what makes you fall in love or stay in love with someone.


According to Chapman, there are five different ways we demonstrate and interpret being loved:

1. Words of Affirmation
    - encouragement, praise, appreciation, sharing positive feelings.
2. Quality Time
    - having meaningful conversations with and sharing activities.
3. Gifts
    - giving and receiving special gifts that demonstrate thought.
4. Acts of Service
    - doing something helpful which require somes form of planning, time, effort, and energy.
5. Physical Touch
    - holding hands, cuddle, giving massage, loving sexual encounters.

The premise of the book is learning how to express your love in a way that the other partner values the most...

How I Met Your Mother - TV Sitcom

If you miss TV sitcom "Friends"...or have got to the point you can’t possibly watch another repeat on T4, try watching "How I Met Your Mother". It’s an American TV comedy, about a group of twenty-something friends and their life in New York. Sound familiar?

The show is about Ted (Josh Radnor), a single, 27-year-old architect and his search for true love. The series is narrated through flashbacks from the future with Ted addressing his teenage kids about - you guessed it - how he met their mother.

Review of The Other Boleyn Girl by Philppa Gregory

Philippa Gregory is my favourite historical novelist, researching the period she writes about in great detail. Most of all, she is a wonderful story teller: bringing to life well-known events and people whilst weaving in absorbing narrative throughout.

By and large the fiction fills in the gaps of the known historical record and brings it to life. Philippa Gregory

Most of us know about the fatal story of Anne Boleyn, but few know that it was her sister, Mary, who was the Henry VIII’s mistress first. It is even possible the King fathered her two illegitimate children, including a son. The two sisters and their brother George were born into a ruthlessly ambitious and conniving family who used their children to advance their position. The narrative is told from Mary’s perspective how her life was filled with greed, jealousy, scheming, betrayal and eventually, true love. Mary’s relationship with Anne is depicted more as a one of rivalry and duty than of sisterly love and loyalty.


The book is compelling page turner, it’s fast paced, easy to read and incredibly interesting. It’s a poignant and thought provoking romp through a fascinating period of time.

www.philippagregory.com

Medium - American TV Drama

Allison Dubois (played by Patricia Arquette) is a wife and mother who struggles to balance her family with the pull of psychic powers she uses to help the police solve cases. Through her psychic dreams, she helps the murdered bring their killers to justice.

Like the Ghost Whisperer I like the fact it starts and ends in one episode. Unlike the Ghost Whisperer Patricia Arquette keeps her ample assets in an array of dowdy pyjamas. Seriously, it is a much darker and bloodier drama too. Also family life and her relationship with her husband are portrayed in such a real, almost humorous way. Though it is hard to believe any person would be as easy going as her husband, who is woken up every night by Allison's nightmares and then has to chat about them.

I am Series Four and can’t find Season Five (Region 2) in the UK.

Ghost Whisperer - American TV Drama

Melinda Gordon (played by Jennifer Love Hewitt) sees earth bound spirits and uses her ability to help people by communicating with them and resolving unfinished business with the living before they cross over into “the light”. Love (as she is known in The Biz) is a stunning woman, but actually quite a good actor too. It’s more heart-warming than scary and I love the one complete story per episode.

On a deeper note, it feels comforting to think of those we have lost going into a light where they are welcomed by past loved ones.

On a shallow note, Love’s character wears lovely clothes, lives in a gorgeous home in an adorable-looking town and is married to the perfect man, so it’s all very easy on the eye. I don’t know any blokes that would sit through more than one episode though, and that would be just to watch Hewitt’s notable assets bursting out of her endless array of silk nightdresses.

The only scary thing about the show is Love's massive false eyelashes, which look like a pair of spiders trying to escape. Anyway, I am on Season Five and loving it. If you enjoy this, try Medium.

Review of Woman in Black play

A very special friend took me to Windsor Royal Theatre (a beautiful old theatre frequented by Her Maj), to see Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel, The Woman in Black.

I have heard several descriptions of this as terrifying, spine chilling and incredibly scary ghost story. Well, I didn’t think so. The screaming teenage girls in the rows in front would disagree. It is however very riveting and full of suspense and a great story with a clever twist at the end.

Expectation created through some brilliant acting was the main part of the fear factor for me. The two actors Andrew Jarvis and Timothy Watson were excellent. Andrew Jarvis was incredibly versatile playing so many different parts.

A definite must.

Review of Evita the musical

I have just been to see Evita at the Wycombe Swan.

I love the music as well as the film with Madonna and Antonio Banderas. Banderas gave a very powerful performance as Che. Madonna was excellent too, even demonstrated some threads of good acting!


So back to the musical Evita... Rachael Wooding as Evita was superb. The transformation as a silly young girl, to ambitious actress, to powerful and charismatic leader was beautifully portrayed in her body language and voice. However, the show was stolen by Carly Bawden, playing Peron's jilted mistress singing "Another Suitcase". She received the loudest applause of the evening.


I also love these lyrics from the song:


Time and time again I've said that I don't care
That I'm immune to gloom, that I'm hard through and through...
...Call in three months time and I'll be fine, I know
Well maybe not that fine, but I'll survive anyhow


My only - minor - criticism was Seamus Cullen as the narrator, Che. He did create a rapport with the audience and has an impressive voice, but he just came across as an actor in a khaki costume! I could see him as a good Joseph but he just didn't have that kind of charisma required for this role. I imagined being the Director and yelling "butch it up, you are a revered and reviled revolutionary leader". Also, I was looking forward to seeing how the tango between Che and Evita would be done, as in the film it was charged with the steaming sexuality of Madonna and Banderas. The actual "waltz" in this musical was about four pathetic steps and as sexy as two virginal teenagers being forced to dance at a wedding infront of their parents.


Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed it.