Our Wedding Breakfast Playlist...

 So movies have always been important for Hannah and I throughout our lives and our relationship. When we started dating, we would go on cinema dates together and sneak in whisky to drink in the back row. I spent years working in a cinema, where I would cover late shifts and Hannah would greet me when I came home after midnight. We curl up and watch films together in our home with our various pets. We decided that we wanted to incorporate our love of film in our big day therefore I put together a wedding breakfast playlist predominantly utilising songs from movies (or covers of songs from movies on piano where the original song might be a bit cheesy or not fit the mood)

I thought this would be fun because it would also act as an ice breaker. People would stop and say "Oh, what is this song? It's from a movie... Oh Gosh, from where do I know this song?" and we thought it'd prompt people into conversation.

We walked into the dining hall to the opening theme from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer musical episode, Once More With Feeling. If anyone from my wedding party recognised this song, you are awesome. It was immediately followed by a strings and piano version of I Giorni which we had walked down the aisle to at the start of our ceremony. The playlist features songs from films and TV shows that Hannah and I have both watched and enjoyed together. In the playlist there are songs from films like Amelie, The Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pearl Harbour, Gladiator, The Lion King, The Great Gatsby, Brokeback Mountain, Game of Thrones (although I almost put in music from The Red Wedding episode and promptly removed it - that would've felt like a bad omen!), Edward Scissorhands, Down With Love, About Time, Stranger Things, The Book of Life, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, Big Fish and The Phantom of the Opera to name a few...  

We even snuck in a few songs from The Sims just to see if anyone of our age range noticed!
The majority of the songs chosen were instrumental only and had to fit the vibe of the day (nothing too dramatic or intense!) and we spent ages putting this playlist together and I treasure it fondly. I have some great pictures of my bridesmaids jamming out to the music.

Please find our wedding breakfast playlist below:

Recommended Reads

Hello my little treacle pies!
It's time for recommended reads, isn't it?
Don't know what recommended reads is?
It's a weekly segment where I suggest a couple of things for you that I've previously spotted from around t'internet. It just gives you something cool and new to look at.

So here are my picks for this week:

• 34 Facts You May Not Have Known About The Lord of The Rings (except I knew all but one or two of these)
• Cat Jumps For Joy At Soldier's Return - and who said cats don't love their owners?
• Lena Headey from Game of Thrones gives an interview as drunk Cersei Lannister. She manages to pull it off brilliantly. Can I drink wine with Lena Headey? Please? She can insult me as much as she likes.
• Before they were famous, they worked a load of odd jobs: here is an article about the odd jobs certain authors worked before they made it as a writer.
• Also, my favourite for this week, 27 of the Greatest Book Dedications Ever.

Song of the Day: The Rains of Castamere by Sigur Ros

Song of the Day: The Rains of Castamere

Song of the Day: The Bear and the Maiden Fair by Tall Like Tyrion

"The bear,
The bear
Lifted her high into the air,"

Song of the Day: The Dragon's Daughter by Melody Sheep

Guys, if you're a Game of Thrones fan you've got to check out this auto-tuned Game of Thrones fan remix.

It. Is. Awesome. 

What's Your Game of Thrones Name?

Now, for a little bit of silly fun. With the return of Game of Thrones I find myself very happy - particularly at the joining of a fandom all excited over new episodes of a show. I came across this brilliant "What's Your Game of Thrones Name" generator on Buzzfeed.

Click here to find out what your Westerosi name would be. Let me know in the comments section what your Thrones name is.

Mine is apparently "Khaleesi Gabrienne Lannister, The Little Lion."
It's part my name, part Brienne's name and I'm a Lannister.
AWESOME!

AHHH!
It's going to start any minute now! I'm actually shaking a little with joy. This is going to be a raw blog: I'm just going to let my thoughts flow, write them down and then post them with no editing. It'll be messy. I may not write much - but at least it captures my thoughts.

I don't watch a lot of TV shows but Game of Thrones has become my favourite. I'm so excited for the season ahead. There are some moments from the books that I'm so excited to see.

Oh God, it's starting.

The Rains of Castamere sends chills through me whenever I hear it.

AAAAND THE INTRO MUSIC BEGINS - THE SONG OF MY PEOPLE!

Can I just say how I love that they're showing it in the UK and USA at the same time so us Brits don't have to deal with spoilers and stuff? I'd always see little snippets on Tumblr before I got to see the proper episode. It'd bug me.

I'm so annoyed at Jaime's haircut. Jaime with long hair was beautiful. I mourn his hair like I mourn Jaqen H'ghar's old face.

Ahh, Oberyn and Ellaria Sand were introduced so perfectly.

Awh! Drogon is adorable. Dany and Drogon cuddle times.

The new guy playing Daario Naharis looks so different from the last actor, I can sense many people getting confused.

Sansa is one of my favourite characters from the books. Sophie Turner nailed that scene.

YAY CERSEI!I'm so happy to see Jaime and Cersei together. I ship them so painfully hard I don't even care and if you think it's wrong because of incest then may I direct you to the history of House Targaryen.
NO.
MORE JAIME AND CERSEI SCENES PLEASE.
BRING THEM BACK NOW.

JON SNOW YOU SASSY BASTARD.

I adore the Jaime/Brienne bromance.

YES! SER FUCKING DONTOS! I THOUGHT THEY WEREN'T GONNA DO THIS BIT.
I THOUGHT THEY'D WRITTEN HIM OUT.

THE HOUND GOT HIS FUCKING CHICKEN.

OK well I didn't really say too much through that but wow. That was amazing. I'm all kinds of happy. I've recorded it and I'm sure to watch it again. I think I'll record Thronecast and watch it in the morning. But seriously, that was freaking awesome.

Game Of Thrones Season 4 Premiere.

I was really sad when I noticed that I was meant to work tomorrow night when the first episode of season four of Game of Thrones was meant to air. I mean, I was practically devastated. I was already planning on how to get home as fast as possible when my shift ended. I even considered calling in sick even though I've never taken a day off of work from my current job.

But then suddenly, good news came! I've just found out that the première episode is showing at 2am on Sky Atlantic. Yes, readers, I'll be staying up and watching at 2am. I'll be live blogging my thoughts through the first episode and posting them on the blog once the episode is finished. I'm so excited.

Recommended Reads.

Oh looky looky...
What do we have here?
Recommended reads?
Looks like it...
Obviously recommended reads is a weekly segment that I do on this blog each week to give you a few cool things that I've spotted lately on the internet. I do so in the hopes that you enjoy them.
Here are my picks of the week:

• Some Facts You May Not Know About The Game of Thrones Cast
• Check out some poetry by the very talented Matt Phipps. I always feel that when a writer shares their work online, it demonstrates a huge deal of faith and trust in their readership.
• What's the view like from your nearest window? Because these beautiful views will make you jealous.
• 10 Things you probably didn't know about sex.
• Like weird news? There's a section of The Huffington Post entirely devoted to weird news.Check it out!

Natalie Dormer debuts shaved head.

Actress Natalie Dormer, famous for her roles in Game of Thrones, The Tudors, Elementary and now upcoming final instalments of the Hunger Games franchise has shown off her glorious new hair cut at the SAG awards. Blinged up with a decorative silver ear cuff her look was given an edgy touch.

Dormer sports a full under-cut on one side of her head. Apparently this has been done for her role in Mockingjay.
As a woman with the side of her head shaved I am loving it. I think it's such a bold, edgy look and it makes her eyes pop just that little bit more. It's honestly one of my favourite hair styles. I'd love to see more ladies try out this 'do.

Game of Thrones, Season 4, Behind The Scenes Promo Released.

Are you needing a Game of Thrones fix?

Well don't you worry - you came to the right place.

A behind the scenes promo video has been released for season 4.

Here it is:

My Favourite TV Shows

I don't really watch a lot of television. I often don't have time to do so and I can sometimes find it hard to really follow a story arc if I can't give the time to really sit down and watch a show. That said I do have a few favourite shows that I will make time for in the week to watch when they're on. That said in 2013 I added two new shows to my list of favourites which, for someone who doesn't watch a lot of shows, was pretty cool.

Here are a list of my absolute favourite TV shows that are currently on air or in production:

• Game of Thrones
• Grey's Anatomy
• Orange Is The New Black
• Masters Of Sex

Past fave tv shows:

• The Tenth Kingdom
• Flight of the Conchords
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer
• Hex
• The IT Crowd
• The Mighty Boosh

Shows that have recently been recommended to me that I may check out are: The Good Wife, Supernatural, House of Cards, Breaking Bad (which I've started on now)

Orange Is The New Black was recommended to me by a friend and I devoured all the episodes in two days. The same friend recommended Hemlock Grove which I'm watching too - if you're a True Blood or Teen Wolf fan I totally suggest you check it out. I used to watch True Blood but dropped it a season or two ago. Maybe I'll go back and rewatch it all some time. Maybe.

Got any recommendations?
Let me know in the comments section.

UK Town To Be Renamed After Place In Game of Thrones?

A town in the sleepy county of Hertfordshire in the UK is putting itself on the map all over again after it has been announced that the name of the town will soon be changing. Langley, a small town with strong Saxon heritage and a small parish church is officially now going to be called "Kings Langley" after the capital city of Westeros, Kings Landing. It all came about because a producer from HBO apparently saw the town name whilst commuting into London and made a comment about how it should be "Kings Langley" instead and sure enough the change has been made.

I guess it's time for a cheesy road trip just to get photos standing next to the town sign...

George R.R Martin to make Game of Thrones cameo?

As a writer I am sure there is no greater privilege than to see your writing adapted for the screen. George R.R Martin, author of the Song of Ice and Fire series, has been lucky enough to have a good level of involvement with the show based on his books but he could possibly have a cameo in season four of Game of Thrones.

Martin reportedly had a cameo in one of the pilot episodes at the wedding of Danaerys Targaryen but of course that version never made it to our screens. Instead we hope to see George in the future so that he is, in some way, actually in Westeros. See his interview on the topic of cameos here.

Filming Has Officially Wrapped on Game of Thrones Season 4!

According to recent reports the filming for season four of the acclaimed HBO show Game of Thrones has officially wrapped. The filming takes place across Northern Island, Croatia and Iceland thus making it a truly mammoth affair. The show will probably air some time next year in March/April which gives HBO plenty of time to edit and promote the upcoming season.

I for one cannot wait for season four. There's some really exciting stuff ahead that I cannot wait to see. I'm really thankful that the season 3 DVD comes out on February 24th since that's the day after my birthday. I reckon that'll be a nice little birthday gift to myself that I'll be picking up.

Recommended Reads!

Well chaps - it's Wednesday again and I'm sure you know that this means it's time for recommended reads!
Recommended reads is a segment where I suggest new and interesting things I've seen on the internet lately so you have something to do online rather than relentlessly searching your Facebook news feed and playing Tetris until your eyes go fuzzy.

I've thrown in a few writing related items in this week because of NaNoWriMo, of course!
So here are my picks for the week.
Enjoy:

• 21 Restaurants with a sense of humour.
  Check out XWHY magazine: a new online 'zine for men.
• Looking for advice on style and fashion? Check out this super affordable eBook: 100 Lessons on Style in 100 Words or Less (100 Lessons in 100 Words or Less)
• 23 Best Things About Being A Book Lover
• 9 Awesome London Cinemas! Some of these are seriously cool and put my local cinema to shame. I really want to check out The Electric @ Portobello.
• Since it's NaNoWriMo, here are 12 Lessons George R.R Martin has taught us about writing.
• 24 Quotes from Famous Authors That Will Inspire You To Write

NaNoWriMo: 12 Lessons George R.R Martin has taught us...

So if you've stopped off at this blog before then you probably know I'm a Game of Thrones fan. I love the books and I love the show. Now many people may get on his back about writing the final instalments of his Song of Fire and Ice series but GRRM is an author who knows what he's doing.
So, for NaNoWriMo, here are some excellent writing lessons from the man himself.
These are 12 things that George R.R Martin has said of writing.

Is Lady Gaga A Game Of Thrones Fan?

Is Lady Gaga a Game of Thrones fan?
This is a question I'm asking after the "Artpop" songstress posted a recent tweet referring to a creation by her Haus of Gaga team.
Gaga tweets "Lots of EXCITING announcements coming today w/ @HM, the Haus' newest invention 'VOLANTIS', and my new TECH companies PETGA Inc & TechHaus."


Game of Thrones fans will know that Volantis is one of the Free Cities to the east of Westeros in the Song of Ice and Fire series by Game of Thrones author George R.R Martin. Perhaps Gaga or her team are Thrones fans, either way I must admit that, as a Thrones fan, even I'm a little interested in finding out what her "Volantis" is.

Lots of EXCITING announcements coming today w/ @HM, the Haus' newest invention 'VOLANTIS', and my new TECH companies PETGA Inc & TechHaus.
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) November 8, 2013

Review: George R.R Martin's "Fevre Dream" comic series: Issues #1, #2 and #3

[Spoiler Warning: I highly recommend you buy Fevre Dream and read it before you read my review. Thar be spoilers ahoy.]

Holy Ned Stark.
I'm as in love with the work of George R.R Martin as anyone. The man is hugely popular at the moment. Therefore, on a recent trip to Mega City Comics in Camden, I picked up the first three issues of "Fevre Dream": a series of comics based on the George R.R Martin novel. Through reading George R.R Martin's short story anthology entitled "DreamSongs" you learn how vastly interested and devoted he is in the world of comics and has been since his childhood. I bought the first three issues of "Fevre Dream" having not read the novel (though I've now just ordered it on Amazon) and had absolutely no expectations... which is a good thing because holy crap, these comics feature vampires.

As anyone who knows me will have noticed, I'm a little obsessed with vampire media. No, not Twilight (though, out of fairness, I did read the books and watch most of the films to come to the unadulterated and fair conclusion that they are shit). Heck, I even wrote my university dissertation on the psychological aspects of homosexuality in "Dracula" by Bram Stoker and "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice just so I could discuss vampires and gayness ad nauseum. So I started reading the comics with absolutely no prior knowledge and as soon as there was even the suggestion of vampy fun I was ecstatic. I've read the first three issues of the comic and, before the end of the month, I will read the novel and all the comics together and let you know my thoughts. Until then here are my thoughts on issues #1, #2 and #3 of Fevre Dream.

So the comics start with Captain Abner Marsh and his new business partner, Joshua York, discussing a new business venture. York seems rather mysterious. He's too quick to invest in the Fevre Dream packet that Abner Marsh is the captain of. All he asks is that his business is his own and that Marsh and the crew do not question him and that they respect his privacy. Though cautious at first, Captain Marsh accepts. Soon he starts to notice that York's habits are causing the river folk to tell stories about his eating habits, the hours he keeps and the correlation between York and a string of murders along the river.

The art work is beautifully done and simply coloured. In true George R.R Martin fashion there is sexuality, nudity and death aplenty. I'm really excited to see what the novel holds and I'll continue reading both the novel and the comics and give you my full thoughts on all of it.

Having read George R.R Martin's autobiographical short story 'Four Color Fanboy' in his anthology of short stories entitled "DreamSongs" I have a greater appreciation for all the enthusiasm this man has for writing and particularly the world of comic books. George R.R Martin has been an avid comic fan, writing them and creating comic characters from youth onwards, and so this seems like such a natural project for him: to write a novel and then see the project inked into comic form.

So buy these comics.

Or the novel.

Buy it because of vampires and steam boats and racism and stuff.