FIVE BRITISH HIGH SCHOOL MOVIES

Continuing the back to school theme, here are my five favourite British high - well, secondary - school movies...


#5. The Hole (2001)

Four prep school students are trapped in an old nuclear fallout bunker by a sadistic classmate. Or are they? I really liked how one story keeps getting chipped away at to reveal another in this.


#4. To Sir, with Love (1967)

Sure, it's a bit of a sentimental morality play. But it does it with style.


#3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

It was the first book of the series I read and it's still my favourite. Aside from the CGI werewolf, the film is one of the strongest instalments too.


#2. Kes (1969)

As social realism it's as hard hitting now as it was 50 years ago. As a story of hope in a hopeless world it's unparalleled.


#1. St. Trinian's (1954 onwards)

The perfect slices of silly, light-hearted fun!





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FIVE FILMS OF THE 1960s

My favourite five films from the 1960s... This was by far the most difficult post because I love so many 1960s movies. All that wholesome technicolor, I dunno, it just makes me nostalgic for a life I've never even lived!


#5. Move Over, Darling (1963)

Who doesn't love a bit of Doris Day?


#4. Carry on Camping (1969)

I've got a huge soft spot for all those convoluted misunderstandings and doublespeak in Britcoms of the 60s and 70s, and Carry on Camping just embodies their whole essence so perfectly.


#3. The Children's Hour (1961)

Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine star as old college classmates who run a private school for girls. When brat of a pupil Mary is punished for lying, she gets her own back by spreading rumours the two are secret lovers. This being 1961 - and the play it was based on 1934 - it ruins their lives, so that even when the truth comes out it's too late for things to be put right...


#2. The Parent Trap (1961)

Why they besmirched its good name with a remake, I'll never know, but nobody does Disney like Hayley Mills. To be fair, I love all of Mills' 60s movies - and Tiger Bay! - but this one holds an extra special place in my heart for memories of watching it with grandparents on rainy afternoons. ♥


#1. The Ugly Dachshund (1966)

As a little kid this was my favouritest favourite film in the whole wide world. I watched it at least once a day for months and months and months. The plot is, as one contemporary reviewer put it, 'featherweight': when the Garrisons' award winning dachshund Danke has pups, vet Pruitt convinces Mark Garrison to take home the runt of his great dane litter - 'Brutus' - and so save its life. Mark just neglects to mention to his wife that the extra puppy isn't one of Danke's...





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I was bitten by the eco bug this week and started up a little campaign around broken toy recycling. A few of the elected reps I wrote to said they would raise it with their respective institutions, and a couple of supermarkets said they'd pass it up to HQ too, so I suppose that's better than an outright no. (Waitrose did give me that though - I guess their customers are too posh to break anything.) I also did a post about recycling in Torfaen and how you can make / save money from it.

Marianna went to my in-laws for the weekend so I spent the time sorting out the spare room - and listing the resulting finds on eBay. I'm having a big clear out of Re-ment and other miniatures; including some of the rarer sets. I also finally got around to fixing up a bunch of 1/12 scale figures. No more floating heads!


On the blog I've written about my five favourite films of the 1950s, a bucketlist of 32 things I want to do by the time I turn 32, a guide to the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power dolls, and a list of ways you can Send a Card and Give a Smile.

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FIVE FILMS OF THE 1950s

My favourite five films from the 1950s...


#5. Three Men in a Boat (1956)

Jerome K Jerome is one of my favourite writers of all time. This light hearted adaption of his best known work had to be on my list.


#4. Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

This is a really sweet feel good film, all about realising that your parents might be embarrassing af but they only want the best for you. ♥


#3. The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)

Newlyweds Matt and Jean have just inherited a run down fleapit of a cinema - and its staff - from Matt's eccentric great uncle. But, in order to sell it and get on with their lives, they need to make it enough of a success for a rival cinema owner to buy them out. Cue lots of suitably zany hijinks!


#2. Rear Window (1954)

This is my favourite Hitchcock film. Not only is the atmosphere perfect, I just love the idea of that patchwork of other people's lives all intersecting in one place and time.


#1. Some Like It Hot (1959)

It's a classic for a reason! I love anything with fake identities, people having to try and be in two places at once, etc, etc, so add Marilyn Monroe and some fab flapper fashions to the mix and it has to be a winner. Plus, it spawned one of the best quotes ever:










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It's been a long week. Marianna decided to cut her own hair because, well, who knows? Just to add to the stress headache I feel like I've had for the last four and half years... Then we've had the battle between Marianna and Molly the puppy, endless whining about too much rain / not enough rain / the wrong kind of rain, pester power in action, etc, etc.

In the midst of it all I turned 31. I can't say it's any different to being 30, but I did get some lovely gifts and a cake, so it's not tall bad. Yesterday we went to the Meritor Cwmbran open day which was really interesting, and probably would have been more so if it wasn't accompanied by a constant refrain of 'I want to go on the trampoline NOW'.

Over on Facebook there's a new Zero Waste Torfaen group, and an offshoot website, which is really taking off. Take a look if you get chance. :) I'm planning a longer post about the many and varied ways you can recycle stuff in Torfaen, but this week I just focused on converting all the old Dan Can comic strips to image files instead of pdf.

On the blog I've written about my five favourite films of the 1940s, Poopsie Rainbow Surprise Dolls, and Spin Master's new Candylocks line.

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FIVE FILMS OF THE 1940s

My favourite five films from the 1940s...


#5. Jane Eyre (1943)

The melodrama! ♥


#4. Double Indemnity (1944)

The perfect tale of greed and selfishness, with Barbara Stanwyck starring as a money hungry vamp who convinces an insurance salesman to help kill her husband. And, thanks to the restrictions of the code, we get the satisfaction of seeing everyone get their comeuppance.


#3. Rebecca (1940)

I love Hitchcock at the best of times, and this one is just extra special. It has the perfect gothic novel atmosphere, and Judith Anderson's Mrs Danvers is especially - delightfully - creepy.


#2. I Was a Male War Bride (1949)

I'm a sucker for a good rom-com, and Cary Grant attempting to pass as a war bride in the midst of endless zany mishaps is perfect screwball material.


#1. Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

This is the second Barbara Stanwyck film on the list; I make no apology! I was so impressed with this when I first watched it, and even when I rewatch it I'm still swept away by how cleverly the story all slots together. The suspense is really well done, and I just love the ideas of fate, coincidence and conscious choice driving the action.




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Last year I did a 30 by 30 bucket list, so this year I'm switching it up and listing 31 things I've already accomplished. :)

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#1. Became a Mum (to the best little girl in all the world!)

#2. Got Married.

#3. Shown some sticking power; this blog's coming up five years old now.

#4. Spoke in public - each and every time feels like a triumph over anxiety.

#5. Was Elected - three times!

#6. Blagged nearly £1000 worth of stuff through blogging.

#7. Briefly - very briefly - made it into the top 100 on Tots.

#8. Was voted in by my peers to serve two terms as chair of the children and young people scrutiny committee and three terms as chair of full council.



#9. I was both the youngest and the last Mayor Torfaen ever had...

#10. Got into Cambridge

#11. Graduated from Cambridge - I really wasn't sure one would necessarily follow the other!

#12. Learned another language.

#13. Was in the newspaper.

#14. And on the radio.

#15. Even the telly for like 3.5 seconds.

#16. Got an A in GCSE maths. I worked so hard for that A; at mocks I didn't even get a pass.

#17. Won some prizes for creativity.



#18. In fact, I've won about £10k worth of stuff over the years. Comping for the win!

#19. Switched on the local Christmas lights.

#20. Was invited back to Cambridge to talk.

#21. And my old secondary school.

#22. Became chair of governors for my primary school.

#23. Served on the board of trustees of 20+ different organisations.

#24. Had more wacky hairstyles than hot dinners. (Almost.)

#25. Wrote three War and Peace's worth of fanfiction.

#26. Received fanmail.

#27. And fanart!

#28. Travelled outside the UK. More than once. (Just!)

#29. Officially opened not one, but two toilets.

#30. Did a ton of volunteering.



#31. Kept on trucking...

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M's staying at my mum's today so I'm trying to get a bunch of blog posts written for when we go away at the end of August. I made the mistake of deciding one would be a 'back to school playlist'. Not only is it taking forever cos, you know, being let loose on youtube without constant 'mum, I don't like this one!!!1!' but I let the insistent earworm that is Yn Yr Ysgol back into my life.

Damn S4C and their brainwashing methods...

In other news, I had my birthday present early this morning - Star Trek Uhura Barbie! She's so awesome except for the fact Mattel, in typical corner cutting cheapness, gave her an active body with fashion feet. Who does that? Ugh. I also had the S2 Liv Moore figure from Diamond Select. The figure itself is a bit naff, but the accessories are amazing (lab rat and brain!) and I plan on using the hands on one of my 1/12th scale Azone bodies.


I picked up Toy News yesterday and I swear the industry is just determined to part me from my money this autumn. There's this new line called Capsule Chix that has just launched; they're 1/12th scale with swappable articulated limbs and fashions that come blind boxed. I hate blind boxing but, on the other hand, articulated 1/12th bodies are always welcome. Hmmm.

The rainbow surprise line has released new fashion dolls too and they're so pretty! But stupidly expensive and blind boxed. Like, sure, blind box something that costs a £1. That's a cute surprise. Shelling out £50 and not getting the doll you wanted is not fun by any stretch of the imagination. :/

Also Kid Kreations have announced they're bringing Sindy back next year - I've got a post about them up HERE. This week I also blogged about my favourite films from the 1930s, my top ten must read doll blogs, a review of KUKLA Fashion doll clothes, a guide to Mattel's Enchantimals, and a list of 200 business offering free paper and print samples.

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FIVE FILMS OF THE 1930s

My favourite five films from the 1930s...


#5. Freaks (1932)

Freaks is out there on its own, for sure, but no other film more thoroughly warns against the folly of judging others on the way they look.


#4. Dracula's Daughter (1936)

I love all the old Universal horror films, but for me Dracula's Daughter just pips the others to the post. It's late enough that they're playing with and subverting the horror tropes, but not so late that horror cinema had devolved into Lon Chaney Jr...


#3. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

What can I say? It's a classic.


#2. Easy Living (1937)

Mary Smith is on her way to work, just minding her own business, when a $58,000 fur coat lands on her head from a penthouse window and crumples her hat. So begins a lot of zany coincidences leading to the inevitable marriage and Happy Ever After. All in all it's a perfect rom-com.


#1. The Women (1939)

One of the greatest films ever made. Full stop.

(...The less said about the 2008 remake the better.)




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