Pubs, spit and boredom.

Pub quizzes. Who needs them? They make me feel so stupid, I never know anything! Every Wednesday at home (Not London), my friends go to the pub quiz. I think it is entirely the dullest thing that I could think of to do. Sometimes though, I go just to see them.

I understand that pubs are obvious places where people go to socialise, to escape the confines of the home etc. But what happens when the pub itself becomes the same entrapping four walls that your house represents?

Pubs scare me because they remind me the horrible prospect of going to work, coming home, going to the pub then bed. Isn’t this how people talk about becoming trapped by routine? It seems to be as boring as a 9-5 job.

Of course, it does depend on the company, how everyone is feeling and so on. But I find that pub quizzes really limit the conversation. A lot of the time, there are so many people screaming conversations at each other that you don’t really get to speak to the people closest to you, you find yourself listening to other peoples conversations.

I was so excited about seeing my friends tonight, and then I got there and was utterly bored after answering random questions supposedly related to Christmas. I suppose however that you only really get out of something what you put into it. And only boring people get bored, (so they say) but I really can’t fathom going somewhere night after night, nor perhaps once a week.

I would much rather go out for a meal, where you can hear people speaking. Or go and see a film, if you don’t want to go and see a film. I just don’t appreciate smoke filling my lungs and drunken people spitting on my face when they speak to me.

Although I have never really understood the concept of pubs myself, I do see why people do enjoy them. They are an easy concept. They are familiar and comforting, like a second home almost. I do get that, but I don’t desire it.

Bedroom antics.

I was afraid of my bedroom for eleven years. It was noisy, dark and full of monsters.

I did not move into this current bedroom until two years ago, the monsters always kept me away you see. My childhood was spent in the bedroom directly below, where all the twittering and laughter of night time critters could be heard.


This bedroom is an attic, and three of the rooms have been converted. One is a bedroom, the other a train room and the final a storage room. The 4th was never converted.

To get to this room, you need to go up an extra set of stairs. The stairs laugh at you creakily as you venture upwards.

The knocking used to come from the then unconverted train room. I used to bring my dog Pepsi upwards with me. He pretty much offered no protection.

The knocking of course never continued once I was brave enough to confront the monsters.

The only other person, who has ever witnessed/heard this, is my best friend Faye. It never happened around anyone else. It is enough to make a girl think she’s crazy. However, it did stop when the room was converted. Go figure.

Maybe some hideous creature wanted letting out, but that meant me going in. It was only when the trains replaced the darkness that I could finally sleep in the room that was supposed to be mine when we first moved in here.

Since then, the only weird thing was when Jack and I on a stifling summer night heard whispering of lots of voices, all at once. No one was outside; our neighbours do not join onto us.

Maybe the monsters like to check up on my every now and again?

Pet Peeves: This gets on my last nerve!

There are two main things that drive me mental:

1) When people cannot eat properly, and you have to hear the sound of them gestating their food. It is wrong, and I think it should be made illegal. I do not want to see what they are eating similarly; the thing that separates us from animals is that we’re supposed to have manners. That should be number one on the manners list!

Also when people chew gum, and they make ‘that’ sound. You know the one I mean, where you can hear the chewing gum being squished with saliva around their mouths. Particularly highlighted on the tube, when you HAVE to watch them doing it. Seriously people, there is absolutely no point in chewing gum.

2) Packets. Of any kind. I cannot bear them. This might actually be more of a phobia than a pet peeve. But when I have to sit next to someone who has a packet of crisps, I start squirming; I just don’t like the sound. I think putting food in something as stupidly noisy as a foil packet is ludicrous. Perhaps it is a form of advertising? Like ‘why don’t we see if our packet can make the loudest sound, and people will look at it and see our brand name?’ This is actually quite a clever strategy.

I just think I don’t like the inconsistency of the noise, especially somewhere like in the cinema. When you are really getting into a good film and all you can hear is the rustling of a million packets. My God, that is my idea of hell, cause then you have to hear people eating as well!

This is my rant over for now. Pet peeves are a fun way to start to get to know a person, then try and annoy the hell out of them. I encourage you all to go out and do it this week J

Books from my childhood.

There were several books when I were younger that used to make me very happy. I thought I would list them here.

Even now, thinking about them makes me smile.

The Hungry Caterpillar

I think that everybody has read this book; I can’t even really remember what it was about now. Except a caterpillar that was hungry. I have very vivid memories of loving this book though.

Beaver Towers

Remember when at the end of the day, your teacher used to read you a story? All the curtains would be closed and you’d all sit on the floor cross legged. This is what Beaver Towers reminds me of. As for the actual story, I remember a boy on a kite flying out of his window. That’s about it. I spent about 5 years trying to remember the title of this book.

The Hobbit

I think everybody should have read this if they did not read it as a child. I did not read Lord of the Rings till in my early teens and even then it was a challenge. I have since read The Hobbit and LOTR’s about 5 times each. I remember loving the character of Gandalf straight away; I have always liked the idea of wizened old wizards with personality, shame that it is a stereotype now. The dragon was a very good character too, guarding his stolen treasure jealously. This book might be the reason I started reading seriously as I grew older.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

Okay so I read this when I was about twelve, but I have really fallen in love with this series. I cannot wait for the seventh book to come out. This series of books has to be my favourite so far, apart from maybe Orson Scott Card’s Ender series.

It's back on the stands baby!

After closing last week, a lot of journalists were sad to see the demise of the infamous Press Gazette. But it is back!

Press Gazette has been bought by specialist information group Wilmington and is back on the newsstand.

Wilmington, the specialist information and training group, has acquired assets from the administrator of Press Gazette Limited and is resurrecting the business by applying the skills and resources of its specialist Business Communications division.

Tony Loynes, the new editor-in-chief, said: "Sadly Press Gazette has missed an issue, but we will be making that up to the loyal subscribers of the publication. We intend to develop the print, the web presence and events side of Press Gazette.

The future looks bright for the Gazette then. I am happy to see it back after we learnt how much it really does help us student journalists with jobs and information on the world of journalism!

Rock on the next issue.

Secret London.

Well, well well… Blogger certainly messed up this time. It lost my blog for a week of my life.

Moving on, last night I went here for an open mic night.

Safe to say that I definitely was not the one singing. They value their windows too much I expect.

It turned out that there were only about 6 people there, but the room was small and if you squinted and saw double then it filled the room out more.

There are places like this that I am really unaware of in London, really small kooky places where you can avoid the masses.

I met a guy who was telling me about ‘Secret London’. This is a microcosm full of hip young things who know where all the quirky hideaway places lie.

How come I am unaware of this? I am constantly hearing about little vintage, record and book shops that are slotted away behind all the commercialism of everything else.

For instance, Alexis mentions a poetry café in Covent Garden, where his poetry magazine ‘back to the machine gun’ do readings. I expect that it’s all by word of mouth really that you find out.

But I find myself wanting to live more and more in Secret London, void of flashing advertisements and people ramming you into the road.

It sounds like an enchanting place.