Yet More Festive Fun!

I'm just back from Planet Thanet (ie; Margate/Ramsgate) having spent a manic 3 days visiting friends and family.
I am pretty sure I have put back on every single pound I battled to lose in the last couple of months and my poor liver is weeping in defeat, but, what the hell January is a new year etc.

Christmas day we went to my brother's where he did us proud with a huge dinner. It was the first time I have ever eaten goose and I liked it, so hopefully it won't be the last!
 My Mum brought along a homemade black forest trifle which was all chocolate, cherries, kirsch and cream *swoon* I wish I had had more room to do it better justice. All in all a wonderful day.

We had one day comatose at home and then we were off again. Before we left I had to scoot to the bank and pay my credit card bill *sob* but it was made a bit less painful by noticing 3 large bowls of Christmas baubles in Oxfam's window. Having spotted some vintage glass ones and the label 'one for 20p or 6 for 99p' I shot through the door and started to carefully rummage.

 This is my £2.98 haul and very happy it makes me. The lady behind the till said they had come in as a huge boxful and the manager was all for throwing them out as 'no one would want them'!?! It was actually down to the lady behind the till that they went on the shop floor at all and she said they had flown from the shelf so the manager had had to eat her words. Damn how I wish I could have been there when they first got put out!!

Anyway I brought these shiny lovelies home grabbed my suitcase and off we shot.Thankfully the journey down was quick and painless unlike the assault on my liver that followed (bad, bad evil woman that I am). First night we had Chinese takeout and lots of wine.
Next day I finally got my arse out of bed by lunchtime and caught the bus to my Sister's flat. I managed to confuse the poor driver by asking to be taken to Margate when I already was in Margate = doh, but thankfully I was feeling more human by the time I had walked up from the harbour in the fiercely bracing wind straight off the sea to my sister's flat.

We had a restorative bucket of tea whilst waiting for her friend Bridget to arrive so we could try out a new tea room in town called Marmalade (11 Harbour Street - Ramsgate).

 This was our high tea and it was bloody lovely! The scones and cakes were stunning. My only complaint was the sandwiches were more than a little on the doorstep side and just way too much bread to battle through, though the fillings were very generous. All in all highly recommended and fab value for money.

My sister and I then headed back to her flat for a bottle of bubbly and a good catch up, this is one of her 2 lovely Christmas trees.

I also finally got to meet her new fella too, who very kindly gave me a lift to Broadstairs where I was meeting Himself and other friends. We ended up on a mini pub crawl so it all got very very messy, what a brilliant night.

                                                        Another pretty tree.

 Next day, and with surprisingly no hangover I went to meet my friend Kay. We had a lovely afternoon drinking lots of tea and catching up on 6 months worth of news.

                                                          Kay's Christmas tree.

In the evening we had Christmas dinner again with Himself's parents which meant yet more champagne and wine and then it was time to come home.

On the plus side I didn't go near the shops but I am ashamed to say I spent 3 days at the seaside and did not go near the sea or beach once!

Festive Fun!

I am finally sitting down with what is probably my hundredth cup of tea of the day and 'The Very Best of INXS' on the stereo.
They are one of those bands I was never a dedicated fan of but they did have quite a few songs I loved. Indeed when the track 'Suicide Blonde' came out it quickly became my nickname and a friend of a friend who worked in Our Price used to put it on whenever I walked into the store which was somewhat embarrassing!
Anyway I digress, but when I spotted this cd for £3 whilst I was doing the weekly shop I decided to treat myself and I am extremely pleased I did.

It has been a manic week. We have consultants in at work trying to streamline our department which means us spending at least 4 hours a day doing 'exercises and role play' at what is probably our busiest possible time of year. The timing really could not be worse and things have been pretty strained as we slip further and further behind with our real work!
 This is my 3rd experience of going through a consulting process and this looks to be no different to the other two times, ie pretty much a complete waste of time and effort, with no worthwhile changes at the end of it.

On the plus side, socially I have been out with different friends every day, eating and drinking (waistline be damned!) all culminating in the beautiful wedding of my friend Katy yesterday. Thankfully the world didn't end and the rain stopped!

I was all set to wear a lovely deep red velvet dress I have, when on a whim, I decided to try on a black and gold Pearl Lowe dress I bought in the sales at the beginning of the year but have not worn yet. Sometimes I buy a new dress and have to wear it instantly, but often I wait for the perfect occasion to present itself before I feel the time is right to give a frock an outing.
I'm glad to see from Jessica's wonderful post  here  that I am not alone is this habit, I know some think it strange!

It really doesn't look much on a hanger but it is so lovely on, there is so much fabric in the skirt and it hangs beautifully. I will share a picture of me in it when I get one, I know various were taken just not by me or Himself, so not on my camera.

I have pretty much finished all I need to do after a hellish food shop this morning. We decided not to get all of the Christmas decorations out of the loft this year as we are actually only in the house for about 5 days during the festive period. It seemed mad to get it all out just for that,so instead I brought in the little live tree I have in a pot on the patio and covered it with the decorations I usually put on it outside and a few that I had bought in the sales last year.

 My giant standing snowman stays out all year as I refuse to put him in the loft in case he goes mouldy! I also got some new honeycomb decs from Wilkinsons and put them up with good old blu-tac so classy!

 My final bit of Christmas cheer comes thanks to a voucher from Tesco for a free poinsettia, I'm always up for a freebie!

Here's hoping you all have a very happy Christmas wherever you are and whatever you are doing and that it might actually stop raining for a few days.

Back from Bonnie Scotland.

It's good to be home and warm. We had a wonderful time in Edinburgh but dear lord was it cold!

I took the massive 1980's fake fur I bought back in the summer (first made slightly less massive by the removal of the huge shoulder pads!) and was very grateful for it too.

We had to get up at 2.30 am to catch the 4am train *weep*

 It did mean that we got to Edinburgh at 11.30am which gave us pretty much a full extra day even after a well needed nap on arrival.
Our hotel was an old Georgian house, in the West End this time. Our room had shutters at the window, I was very excited about them though realized pretty quickly what they are there for when I felt the draft coming from the old sash windows!

We headed out to familiarize ourselves with the city centre again, but being winter it started to get dark pretty much straight away so we went to find some food instead.

We woke with a start the next day and realized we had almost missed breakfast by oversleeping. Sadly it turned out our inclusive breakfast was not a full Scottish as expected but a 'continental' (I seriously don't want to look at another croissant for a LONG time.) which was a bit of a surprise, also they charged you £10 to use the wireless connection!?! Something I have NEVER come across before! Other than that the hotel was lovely.

We headed out to look at the Christmas market but quickly found that it was even colder than it had been the day before, so we decided to do something indoors instead!
We had a great couple of hours browsing round the 'Museum of Childhood' if only there hadn't been so many parties of school children in there it would have been even better. *cough*

                                                    How gorgeous is this teaset????

                                                and how glamorous is this doll?

After that we headed to The Elephant House for lunch I know most people go there is the J.K.Rowling connection but for me it is all about the elephants and the rather delicious tea.

Looking for another indoor activity we decided to check out the National Museum of Scotland which is just down the road and loved it! What an amazing museum, we blissfully browsed until they booted us out and then went back again on our last day to finish it off. It has a bit of everything really, Natural History, Scottish History, Space, Social History, Industrial, Technology, you name it it's there. Loads of interactive activities too.

 

                                                                      T-Rex!

This coat is made from solid silver, in the form of mesh and thread, just amazing.

Isn't this gorgeous? Because this girl's dancing shoes were so precious having saved and saved for them she wore old ones to the dance and carried the precious pair there in this stunning evening bag then changed once she got inside.

I could fill this blog with pictures but I won't bore on.  We were booted out at 5.30 so we went for a restorative pint whilst we figured out what to do that night.

                                                              Christmas Ale.

In the end we decided as it was so so cold and it was also Orange Wednesday we would go to the cinema in the evening. We went to see 'Great Expectations' which I still can't quite decide about if I'm honest. I loved the version on T.V last Christmas so I felt this was a bit unnecessary and soon. It was well acted and beautifully shot but I just didn't love it as I was meant too.

Oh boy was cold walking back to the hotel, in all my life I have never seen frost so thick which is a weird thing to notice I know but there you go.

We woke up the next day to snow., not much and it only lasted for about a day so no fabulous picturesque shots I'm afraid. We decided to make the day about shopping. Himself needed shoes and a shirt for an upcoming wedding. So we did Princes Street and then meandered round to the Grassmarket and finally walked out to Stockbridge to browse there. Overall I found the charity shops very very disappointing. The stock was poor and the prices were very high. I know this is a big city and a tourist destination but a half price sale in Oxfam and prices were still around the £15 - £20 mark for a dress!!??!
I bought a rather strange necklace and 2 bracelets.

Admittedly I wasn't meant to be spending money on myself and I did resist a gorgeous silver Mappin and Webb elephant brooch in one of the antique shops because it was more than I could justify spending on myself.
The only souvenir I did buy was this rather mad lion.

Now those of you who follow me on the twitters or facepage know I was worrying about what clothes to take, wanting to be warm but glam too, and more importantly what shoes to wear as my only pair of winter boots leak. In the end I threw glamour out of the window and took lots of layers, and was very very grateful for them!
I took jeans and my pinstriped swing pants (as I can finally fit in them again - huzzah)
In the end left my wellies at home and plumped for my walking boots which was a wise move as we did a lot of walking and the going at times was very slippery.

 It's been a while since I have worn jeans and it felt kind of weird, my legs clearly thought so too as they came out in a strange rash! (to be fair that was probably to do with the last detergent they were washed in, I do react to many brands.)

                         All good swing pants should be accessorized with walking boots!

Friday night we met up with some of Himself's friends, it was much warmer so I wore the one dress I had packed just in case, not a late night but lots of fun. I only wish I could say the same of the train journey home, it was pure hell and seemingly endless. When we eventually got back in the house I actually could have cried I was just so glad to finally be home.

I Don't Know Much but I know my Onions.

I have finally managed a weekend in, at home, with not much to do - Bliss.
 I caught up with various housework type jobs that have been gathering dust, (quite literally!) I also spent some time on Ebay listing some items which of course also meant buying some items *ahem* I do tend to re-spend any money I make on Ebay (unless it's a a lot, which isn't often.)

I had had a trying week getting to a fro work due to flooding so I was definitely in the right frame of mind for treats and oh boy oh boy did I find myself a cracking frock!!!
 Not only was it only 99 pence (plus postage) It is quite possibly one of the most bizarre dress prints you can imagine so behold my onion dress!

Yes you are seeing that right, it has onions printed on it and I bloody love it. I see it getting plenty of wear in the spring. The other Brucey Bonus is it is a size smaller than the one I have been wearing of late, I took a chance on it because it was so quirky and I knew I had lost some weight so hoped it would fit and it did! HUZZAH!
It seems the diet is finally paying off and I have to confess I do feel a damn sight better for it and so does my dodgy knee so I am determined to keep up the good work.

Now this next picture I just had to share with you because it is another of my 'got caught out by the camera timer shots' good job I'm not too precious about looking my best really! I honestly have absolutely no idea what on earth I was thinking at this particular moment in time, but it would seem I was far too busy scratching my back and wiping my nose to pose if this picture is anything to go by!

Anyway I was wanting to share my new Pearl Lowe dress. I absolutely*ADORE* Pearl Lowe's clothing. I have meant to do a post on her for a while, but I do actually have a quite a large collection of her dresses so it would probably take more than one post if nothing else and as ever I never seem to find the time to do all the posts I have mentally planned out.

If you don't know of her collections, her dresses are all either direct copies of, or designs based upon, vintage pieces from her own collection. The are well made, wonderfully cut and just fit like a dream.
Gratuitous boob shot to show you the lovely bodice, it even makes me look like I have a bosom which is always a bonus!

Another Ebay purchase was this lovely blue dress, except on me it is so ridiculously short it doesn't even cover my arse!?!

Seriously what is it with dresses being so damn short these days?
If science is to be believed we are getting taller as time goes by so why oh why are all the dresses out there so relentlessly short? I hear this from people of all heights so clearly it is something that bothers more than just those taller people like myself.
This dress is so pretty, but has to be worn over leggings or jeans or I might get arrested for indecent exposure or die of exposure from the cold!

Again it is a boob shot but that is because I wore it to work all day and it is horribly, horribly crumpled, bah I hate materials that crease easy.

Finally my last Ebay 99 pence bargain. Himself is not at all keen, but I think styled right it will look fab if a tad LOUD and I do like my nautical themes.

I am also going to share another thing I bought myself, though not via the bay of E.

It is all my friend Melissa's fault!!

She sent me the link to the tea t-shirt and whilst browsing the website I found the elephant one and everyone who has ever read this blog knows what I feel about tea and elephants.......

Finally a little charity shop gem. It's a modern take on a 1920's flapper beaded evening bag. Isn't it gorgeous and well worth the fiver I paid for it in my opinion. It is really heavy due to all the beading.

This weekend I am frantically doing some Christmas stuff, seeing my parents and packing for our trip to Edinburgh next week. Very excited about that but not about catching the 4am train..........

I Have Been Awarded an Award.

by Melanie at The Folly Bird
Actually it's the 3rd one I have been awarded in the last 6 months and I'm ashamed to say I never got around to writing a blog post in answer to the other two. I feel that I must put that right now and so I will do my best with this one.

- write eleven things about yourself

- answer eleven questions from the blogger who nominated you

- write eleven questions of your own for eleven nominees of your own

- All nominees should have less than 200 followers

 

Hmm.

 

1. In the same vein as Melanie's first question I was not born early but I was born a girl rather than the boy that had been expected! My parents had no girl's names picked out and argued about what to call me for 2 whole weeks. Apparently my Dad spotted my name in the paper one morning liked it and registered me then presented it as a fait accompli to my Ma and that was that. 

 

2. I have all my books and CDs filed in alphabetical order it is one of the few things I am quite anul about. Once a librarian always a librarian I guess.

 

3. I am a Holby City addict. I watch it religiously and refuse to answer the door or the phone when it is on. My brother makes a point of trying to disturb me when it is on he's nice like that.

 

4.Right from the moment I could read on my own I have loved books and reading. I always have at least 5 books on the go at once and it fills me with sadness that I never seem to find enough time to spend engrossed in a book these days (I blame the internets and having to keep my house clean!) 

 

5. When I was little I was clearly into the idea of breakfast in bed. On Father's Day I made my Dad jam sandwiches for breakfast, only I made them the day before and put them under his pillow so they would be there for him in the morning. You can only imagine the jammy mess! On Mother's Day I made my Mum bread & butter with tea but as I wasn't allowed to boil the kettle on my own yet I used the water from my hot water bottle instead. My poor parents.

 

6. Himself thinks it's hysterical that I absolutely hate horror films and yet I love scary ghost stories and true crimes scenes, the gorier the better. 

 

*I am really struggling to think of more facts so Himself says I should make up 10 fake things and then give a prize away to the person who guesses which one is correct!*

7.I learnt to drive when I was 21 and despite driving straight into a ditch during my first lesson and having to be towed out, I was the only person in my family to pass their driving test first time. I haven't owned a car or driven for over 20 years now, I had an accident and lost my bottle. Maybe I will again one day....

 

8. I am more than slightly addicted to dairy products and eat yoghurt every day without fail. I am trying to curb my cheese addiction but it's a hard battle.

9. On the subject of food I am not a huge bread fan and wouldn't be bothered if I never ate it again however I can not imagine my life without potatoes. Mmmm potatoes.

 

10.I would love to be able to wear high heels but I have a crap sense of balance and can fall over when walking barefooted so heels are an impossibility, you can only imagine how hilarious it is to watch me walk in anything higher than 1 inch.

 

11. When I lived at home and had spare cash (oh for those days!) I amassed a fairly large collection of black and white movie stills from the 1930s and 1940s. I keep meaning to share some of them on this blog but never seem to get around to it......

 

 I will now endeavour to answer Melanie's questions in a more lively fashion 

 

1. What would your ideal fancy dress costume be.  

 

Absolutely no idea, I rather liked being a drowned person at the last Halloween party I went too. I'm not really one for dressing up.

 

2.  Who is your favourite Bond.

Oooh that's hard. Sean Connery is the classic one of course but I do like Daniel Craig and will confess to having a soft spot for Pierce Brosnan......

 

3. What is your earliest memory.

A lady with long blonde hair leaning over my cot and yet as long as I can remember my Mum had short hair. I later found out she had it all cut off because I used to twist it around my hands and pull and pull on it! Clearly I always had a thing for long hair lol.

 

4.What is the most exotic place you have ever visited.

The tropical house at the botanical gardens! I don't do heat so exotic holidays are a no no really.

 

5. Who was your first crush.

Luke Skywalker.

 

6. What is your favourite film.

I honestly couldn't narrow it down to just one.

 

7. Can you play a musical instrument and if not would you like to and what would it be.

Nope absolutely not at all musical, I would love to be able to sing and play the guitar.

 

8. What is your favourite scent? Not perfume, just smell.

Fresh air, orange blossom or freesias.

9. Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one.

Yes I do and yes I have.

 

10. What did you want to be when you grew up and did you fulfill that dream.

I wanted to paint pub signs ( I was a strange child!) or work in a shoe shop. I have done neither but have no regrets!

 

11. What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done.

Gone backpacking around America for 2 months. I learnt a hell of a lot about myself and had a blast. 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burgers, Shopping and Ross Noble.

                                                                    Fog

It's been another mad week and I think physically I am starting to pay the price. I have spent two days with a terrible sick headache that tablets have barely touched. Finally tonight I am feeling more human again just in time to go back to work tomorrow for the chaos that is an interview day *sigh*

So Monday I went out with some girlfriends to Byron Burger - FINALLY!
It has been a long time coming and it was well worth the wait. I was actually in pain I ate so much! but it was sooooo good. I have to say the burger was lovely and everything, but it was all about the accompaniments for me. The cream soda float, the courgette fries and peanut butter ice cream well they stole the show as far as I am concerned and we got 40% off with our staff cards! Now that is what you call a result.
Sadly I got to spend nearly an hour kicking my heels at the train station afterwards due to a car hitting a bridge somewhere along the line. That seemed to be the theme for the week with my train home being delayed for one reason or another every night.*Oy Vey*

and then there has been the rain, and the fog and then more rain followed by yet more rain. Not that it stopped Soo and I going Christmas shopping in Witney and a very successful day we had too, despite the rain.
 I bought myself a few bits (opps) and got a few great pressies we also talked non stop and laughed a lot, just what the doctor ordered.
I remembered my camera this time and took some pictures of some of the amazing knitted lampshades in Wetherspoons when we stopped for some very welcome lunch and a well earned glass of wine.

Himself and I also went to see Ross Noble again, I hadn't realised we were in the front row!

 Thankfully we were to the side and other than telling me I looked agonised when he was discussing the possibility of getting a My Little Pony stuck up his arse, he left us be. He was brilliant as ever and showed no mercy to a couple of dumb hecklers.

I have decided to just take some pictures of the frocks I have been wittering on about for various posts, me looking like death warmed up is not going to show them at their best!
Maybe later I will take some of me actually in them, especially the blue 1980's does 1950's one, seeing it on a hanger does not do it justice.

 The middle one is the one I'm not sure about, the one that might just look hideous on.....

Hens Go Ape and the Harvest Festival Dress.

I know you are all going to think the frocks I keep blethering on about do not even exist at this rate, I can assure you they do and I will post pictures, I will!
I haven't had a chance to do so as yet because I have been on a Hen Weekend.

I was a little anxious about what the weekend would involve as Katy (The Bride) is very, very sporty. She rows, she surfs, she snowboards she is generally outward bound and action packed. I on the other hand, as anyone who knows me or reads my blog would know, am about as sporty as a snail on sleeping pills.
The email came through, we would be going to Woburn Safari Park (huzzah!) we would be doing Go Ape at said Safari Park (monkeys? double huzzah!) a meal out (always good) and snowboarding at the snowdome in Milton Keynes (ah shit)
As it turned out the Oxford contingent of the hen party all decided against the snowdome for various reasons so I breathed easily.

                Words cannot begin to tell you how much I want this statue for my garden


I then actually bothered to look up what Go Ape was, it wasn't as I had thought a fun time going round the monkey house of the safari park, no it was actually a fun time climbing,swinging and zip wiring through the forest canopy.

 This was bad, this was very bad, not because I have anything against climbing and swinging per se but because I can't do heights.
Every once in a while I try to do heights just to see if the overwhelming dizzying panic has gone but usually it ends with me having a panic attack stuck rigid unable to go up or down and I accept that the vertigo is still very much there!

Thankfully I was able to drop out of the experience

but still participate by walking round the course and taking lots and lots of pictures of the rest of the girls in action.

It was a bit chilly but great fun and as it was within the safari park I got to see, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, sea lions and ELEPHANTS!!!!!

I was very excited about the elephants.

Afterwards we headed into Milton Keynes for a meal which on the one hand was a bit of a disaster, (it took an hour and 15 minutes to just to get our starters!?!) but on the other was a brilliant (good company, good conversation and when it eventually arrived the food wasn't bad either.) A Brucey bonus was due to the ridiculous time delay we also got a 50% reduction on the bill. Result!

I have got one frock to share with you. I finally got a couple of pictures of my harvest festival dress, not the greatest shots, I got caught out by the timer but it was by far the most flattering picture so that is why I have used it, vain creature that I am!

I love the pleated skirt.

 The good news is due to being a bit more well behaved with my diet it is now a bit too big, thankfully not enough for me to stop wearing it though!!

This Week is all About Frocks, Frocks and more Frocks.

I'm knackered man and I don't mind admitting it. The last couple of weeks have been non-stop and I see no end in sight.
This is what happens when you make a new year's resolution to accept more invitations!

Monday night I had my first 'Learn how to use your sewing machine' class. It went well, (my new machine that has been un-opened in it's box for most of the year worked) I learnt how to clean it and use it while not abusing it, I sewed backwards, and forwards, slightly lopsidedly it must be said, but I did make a kick-ass button hole!

So Frocks, firstly you win some, you lose some.

As I suspected that red floral dress looked seriously, seriously HIDEOUS on me, dear god. Every now and then I do have these aberrations in taste! 
Anyway I have already sold it on via the bay of E.
The lovely green brocade 50's style one didn't quite fit, *but* as I am on the health kick I have held on to it for the time being in the hopes that it will.....
I bought 2 new dresses on Ebay but I haven't tried them on yet so pics laters. They are both 50's style and one might just be another hideous, hideous mistake....

Oh and I also still need to share a picture with you of my gifted (and very gorgeous) 80's does 50's dress. It is currently waiting to be ironed as it does fit and has already been worn to work, hence the need for ironing!      

Wednesday I had a welcome day away from all the madness that is work at the moment. Soo and I went to Londinium to the V&A (which as I may have said just once or twice before is one of my favourite places in the world to go) for the 'Hollywood Costumes' exhibition. We were going to do the 'British Ballgowns' too but we completely ran out of time and stamina so we ended up just browsing the exhibition book in the shop instead!  

Anyway we kicked off in the newly reopened Costume Gallery and ended off getting completely engrossed to the point where we only had half an hour to grab a quick drink and cake before our timed tickets for the Hollywood exhibition.
 Here's a wee taster.....

Utter Bliss!

So on to the Hollywood Costumes exhibition, as expected no photos allowed inside but

*OH*

 how good it was!

 I love that even though you are on timed entry you can take as long as you like to go round. We ended up taking two and a half hours. There was a bad bottleneck at the beginning but after we got past that we were able to take our time, and if you waited a moment or two you were usually able to  see things. I don't know if that was the same for Soo who is a wee bit smaller than me, being tall I usually just look over people!

So where do I start? I loved the fact that eras where mixed in together, so a gorgeous beaded 1920's cobweb dream was next to a sharp outfit from a film that came out this year. They did group together film genres like Sci Fi, Costume Drama, Action etc but otherwise it was a delicious cinematic smorgasbord.
I have to say, and I am actually almost ashamed of this fact, I was taken aback that huge movie and clothing fan that I am, I have never really considered the fact that an outfit can affect the way you feel about a character, and not least how a character fits into a scene. It was fascinating to read and hear, via video clips, how carefully thought out even the most basic outfits could be.

We were both particularly taken with how much detail went into early costumes. In a silent movie the clothes have to speak where the actor doesn't or how a red dress looks different to a black dress even though in theory it is all black and white. Proving as with life, it is the all important many varying  shades of grey that are important..

Hand on heart I'm not boasting, (more demonstrating a misspent youth!) but there weren't many films represented there that I hadn't seen.
It does make me lament the fact they never seem to show old films on T.V any more!


 I developed my love of 1930's/40's cinema via BBC2 showing black and white films pretty much every afternoon. Over the years I watched them avidly when I got in from school, when I should have been at college and when I was unemployed.
 When my Nan came to stay we would drink oceans of tea and often weep buckets glued to the screen. I discovered the fact that my Dad had pretty much LIVED in the cinema when he was a boy, he knew all the actors including the lesser known supporting cast such was his passion for films, a fact I would never have thought of of my Pa. I clearly inherited my passion for film from that side of the family.  

So yes, this exhibition touched me on many levels, not least the 'My god how tiny was Judy Garland/Carole Lombard?' or 'well I never knew Errol Flynn was that tall!' level.

Anyway all I can say is if you get the chance GO!!!!!! you won't regret it.

Oh and we both refuse to believe Bruce Willis wore olive brown corduroy high waisted, as in Simon Cowell high waisted, trousers with his white vest in 'Die Hard'. No, nah, don't accept that.