It seems of late that the trains are getting worse, they are delayed, broken down, the heating doesn't work, there is too many people. I could go on. However one thing makes it worse and that is people not sticking to the most basic of train etiquette!
If you live in London and have to deal with the commute everyday you do become hardened and expect less from people and possibly yourself and yesterday this hit me.
In the morning the train had been late again while we waited for another delayed train to leave the station and then there was no heating on the train and when I got to Victoria I had to queue for the tube outside the gates that they put up when the platform has overcrowded. On the way home someone had sadly jumped in front of the train at Norbury and we couldnt get anywhere. Thats when it hit me, when I had been physically pushed over for the third time on the platform whilst waiting for a train it made me really sad. I posted it as my twitter status later and someone reminded me to use my elbows....that shouldn't be what it is all about.
So from here on in I am going to try and stick to some rules:
Smile at at least one person during the journey
Make sure my music (which I rarely listen to on trains) is at a minimum
Make sure my phone conversations are quiet
Offer my seat to those less able to stand
No shoes on the seats
Make sure you are only taking up one seat.
Be Polite and move out of the doorway so people can board and leave the train.
Try not to push
Move out of the way if someone is trying to get past you.
If you still have to push to get on a train so you are not late for work just remember that everyone else is trying to get somewhere just as important as you and try and be nice about it.
Well at least I will try! Anyone else with me?
Over the Christmas break we went away with some of my boyfriends friends. We went and stayed in a converted barn near a place called Ludlow. It was wonderful. We went last year as well and this year there were 16 of us.
The first night we had spaghetti and Ikea meatballs for tea and hung out together catching up and having a few drinks.
It is such a charming place to stay with real log fires that need to be lit and checked and two huge living rooms. One is stocked with board games, old films and books!
The floors are mainly wood and stone which I had forgotten when packing! A lot of our friends brought animal onesies to keep warm. There was giraffe, red panda and a monkey and then for fakemas dinner out came the Santa and Mrs Claus Onesies! I was very jealous.
Then in the morning some of us headed into Ludlow for Sausage sandwiches and a walk before having a huge fakemas dinner for tea in the beautiful barn.
Some of the lovely ladies had lit candles and there was a huge row of tea lights running along the back wall. It would be the perfect place for a really intimate wedding reception.
We had a great time at dinner, everyone was able to sit around and chat and noone was in a rush to get up and do things. Later we all got dressed up and took part in a murder mystery. (Last year when we did this we were practically stranded due to the bad snow!!)
The Second Living Room! Complete with guns and foam darts. The boys terrorise us with these all weekend!
Unfortunately for some of us the weekend ended on Sunday when had to return to London for work so on Sunday morning we got up and had bacon and eggs before heading to a local castle called Stokesay (technically a fortified manor house) for a bit of an explore.
I had such a great weekend and just wanted to share some photos with you of our brilliant break and the wonderful people we shared it with.
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year and got to do some fun stuff with your friends!
On New Years Eve Day we went to Dudley Zoo and it was awesome!
After Christmas which we spent with my family we ventured to the Midlands to stay with my boyfriends family. We did lots of fun things while we were up there but the best (I would say!!) was visiting Dudley Zoo. We went on New Years Eve during the day and the zoo was nicely quite but the animals were very active. I wanted to share some of the amazing photographs with you…so here goes….
Dudley zoo is built around a castle, it forms kind of an intersection of circles around it. The first animals we came to were the flamingos.
Standing in a row in the pond looking very serene and beautiful! This one was away on is own and just had to be photographed! 
It always surprises me how many different shades they are from orange/coral to pinky to almost white it varies depending on the animal and what they have been eating!
Let me just explain now that both of the cameras failed as soon as we got to the zoo so I apologise in advance for the photos, they were taken on my phone!!
I don't have pictures for everything but next up was the Snow Leopard. There were two snow leopards at the zoo, one outside and one inside, the sign mentioned that they had just received one and were planning on mating the couple, so I expect it was to get them ready. The leopard inside was (we think) the female was lying down stretched out on the bed wriggling around and playing for attention she was absolutely beautiful…
If you know me at all you will know that I want a pet penguin, alas this is not to be so instead I have settled for a dog called Dibdin (Pauls fault!) and a tortoise called Charlie…. and as a result I always visit the tortoise/turtles/terrapins in zoos!
Our friend Kate got to feed the giraffes once as part of a zoo keeper for a day experience. There are three giraffes at Dudley Zoo a mummy, daddy and baby… This is the Daddy… he was busy eating but looked up when we took the photos!! We watched the giraffes go back inside while the keeper cleaned their outside area and it was soo funny baby giraffe couldn’t wait to get back inside but mum took some persuading… until the keeper said STOP!! And low and behold she listened!! and stayed inside.
And I have saved the best until last…the penguins!!!
Dudley has the biggest colony of Humboldt Penguins and they are wonderful. I was a bit worried when we got there to see the eat their lunch that they were really far away!! But I was sooo wrong…..
They are amazing, queuing up to get their lunch!! and my favourite Elliot. Elliot was hand reared and as a result seems to think of herself as a little different from some of the other penguins…she seems to think she’s almost human. For example she forgot to eat because she was too busy trying to attract our attention and then Luke (the keeper) had to come and pick her up to a) feed her and b) escape out of the enclosure after feeding time…
SO here is Elliot…
You have to admit she is cute right!!!
And I would thoroughly recommend a day out at Dudley Zoo if you are ever in the area…. 
Recently I came across Buyapowa a website where people can enter co-buys to buy items at a much reduced rate. I must admit I have become a HUUGE! fan. So far I have only purchased 5 things on there but here they are...
Number One: Two Faced Fun in the Dark Light up Pallet Original Price £25.00 we paid £15.00.
Number Two: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream. 50ml Original Price £25.00 we paid £13.00. This is product I always wanted to try but could never justify the pricetag. Now its my every day lip balm. I apply it as I am applying the rest of my makeup and it leaves my lip smooth as silk to apply my lipstick.
Number Three: OPI Muppettes Mini Nail Polish Set Original Price £12.75 we paid £7.00 for this. A tidy saving on a Christmas present there!
Number Four: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Original Price £14.50 we paid £9.00. Again this is something I have always wanted to try. I am currently using up my Two Faced Shadow Insurance and then I will be using this!
And Finally and possibly most amazingly Number Five: The Urban Decay Naked Pallet. They had 80 and they sold out in 23 minutes! Surely a record. Original price £35.00 we pad £25.00 And I LOVE it!
So I have been away for a while, to be honest it got very busy at work and then I graduated, left the Museum, moved house and started a new job all in the space of a couple of months... I was very busy!
But now I am back. Since I have been away the list of books I have read this year has increased to 68. I will do a blog post on their later but at the moment I am reading The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
and At Worlds End by Ken Follett on my Kindle.
My makeup collection has also increased quite dramatically and last week I put together my summer and spring collection which I have put away so I can concentrate on my Autumn and Winter Makeup Collection! which now includes the Urban Decay Naked Pallete!!!
Be back soon!
So in the last post I was talking about the books left on my list to read this year. Below are the books I have read so far, in no particular order and then I am just going to run over a few favourites at the bottom.
1) All of Me- Patsy Palmer
2) Let Him Have Justice- Iris Bentley
3) Victorian Murderesses- Mary S Hartman
4) The Accidental Father- Greg Williams
5) The Tavern on Maple Street- Sharen Owen
6) The Book of Tomorrow- Cecelia Ahern
7) The Pillars of the Earth- Ken Follet
8) The Interpretation of Murder- Jeb Rubenfeld
9) Sister- Rosamund Pike
10) Wedlocked( How Georgian Britains worst husband met his match!)- Wendy Moore
11) Wife Interrupted- Amy Molloy
12) Picture Perfect- Jodi Picoult
13The Queen of Whale Cay- Kate Summerscale
14) A Town Called Alice- Nevil Shute
15) Harvesting the Heart- Jodi Picoult
16) Patchwork Planet- Anne Tyler
17) House at Riverton- Kate Morton
18) No and Me- Delphine de Vigan
19) Down Among the Dead Men- Michelle Williams
20) Snowman- Jo Nesbo
21) The Virgin Suicides- Jeffrey Eugenidies
22) A Walk to Remember- Nicholas Sparks.
23) The Luxe- Anna Godbersen
24) Marked- PC Cast
25) Vampire Academy- Richelle Meed
26) The Other Family- Joanna Trollope
27) Second Hand Heart- Catherine Ryan Hynde
28) Betrayed- PC Cast
29) Chosen- PC Cast
Of these books the following deserve a mention:
The Pillars of the Earth- This book in an epic.... around 1000 pages in total it spans the history of a part of England including in the last couple of chapters the murder of Thomas Beckett. Something I would definitely recommend if you like history but it is really hard going, next year I intend to read to much anticipated (ten years in the making!) sequel
Sister- This book has you in its grip from the first word it tells the story of a lady returning to the UK in search of her semi-estranged sister who has gone missing. Worth a read but absolutely chilling in places.
The Queen Of Whale Cay- the first book by one of my favourite authors Kate Summerscale whose only other novel The Suspicions of Mister Whicher Murder at Road Hill House I have read 3 times! This is a biographical account of a fantastic lady Joe Carstairs who was a successful motor boat racer and cross dresser who spent most of her later life on an island she bought called Whale Cay....
A Town Called Alice- Not something I would usually have reached for but fantastic nonetheless the book is about a British woman in Malaya during world war two and the Australian outback post war, it is fundamentally a love story and one I would recommend!
Down among the dead men- This is an hilarious account of a lady's first year as a mortuary technician, it will make you laugh but it will also probably make you cry!
The House at Riverton- This book by Kate Morton I just simply could NOT put down its fantastic a real mystery from start to finish it begins with an old lady telling a story her memories of a great British house where a poet has committed suicide but all is not what it seems.... A long read around 600 pages but worth it.
Now just a few more points I am the kind of person to read series of books, or books by the same author and I will scour shelves to find more authors to read if I have exhausted the possibilities of my previous favourites.
I Love…
Jodi Picoult Books I have read every one currently about to read House Rules and have her latest on order, the only one I have never finished Songs of a Humpback whale I just didn't feel a connection to the characters, I believe this is one of her first novels though so this may be why.
Kate Summerscale (YOU NEED to write more, Suspicions of Mister Whicher is SUPERB and Queen of Whale Cay so interesting.
Kate Morton after having ready House at Riverton I have already ordered Distant Hours and a further book of hers!
Teen/Young Adult books such as the House of Night Series by PC and Kristin Cast, I cant help myself there's just something so easy about reading about teen vampires! I am on number 4 in the series now with one more at home and 3 on order at the library. Through this love I have also found the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen set in 1920s New York teen high society enthralling!
Anyway if there's anything you couldn't live without reading let me know! xx
It just keeps growing.... yikes!
.So I read a lot, I read on the train I read on my lunch break at work I read in bed in the bath... you get it!
Anyway so I have an awful lot of books I have either bought or been given over the last couple of years that I never got around to reading whilst I was at University. So I have decided to read them now... However I also frequent the library which is literally a 5 minute walk from my house, reserve a book for 50p don't mind if I do! Its an amazing resource and one I will fight to keep open! I donated about 10 books I had finished with the other day to the library for them to sell to get some money so am feeling quite good about that at the moment.
So below is the list of books I own that I have left to read this year.
1) The Gentleman's Daughter - Amanda Vickery
2) Growing Pains- Billie Piper
3) A Boy Beyond Read- Cheri Florance
4) Prep- Curtis Sittenfeld
5) Ballet Shoes-Noel Streathfield
6) The Gaol (the Story of Newgate)- Kelly Gravier
7) The Duchess- Amanda Foreman
8) Making History- Stephen Fry
9) Crow Lake- Mary Lawson
10) Atonement- Ian McEwan
11) The Secret History- Donna Tartt
12) The Other Boleyn Girl- Phillipa Gregory
13 The Lacuna- Barbara Kinsolver
14) Memoirs of the Youngest Mitford Sister- Deborah Devonshire
15) Hetty Feather- Jacqueline Wilson (always wanted to read this since I worked at the Foundling Museum!!)
16) House Rules- Jodi Picoult
17) Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Stiegg Larsson
(So that's 17)
Then there are the books from the library that are left to read (either I have them or they are reserved.)
1) Last Song- Nicholas Sparks
2) Tuesdays with Morrie- Mitch Albom
3) A Short History of Nearly everything- Bill Bryson
4) Hunted- PC Cast
5) Untamed-PC Cast
6) Tempted- PC Cast
7) Awakened- PC Cast
8) Five People you meet in heaven- Mitch Albom
9) Burned- PC Cast
10) Kings Speech- Mark Logue
11) Thirteen Reasons Why- Jane Asher
12) The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
13) Distant Hours- Kate Morton
14) Forgotten Garden- Kate Morton
15) I'd Tell you I Love you but then I'd Have to kill you-Ally Carter
16) Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy- Ally Carter
17) Rumours- Anna Godbersen
(again 17!!)
The next blog post will be explaining the books I have read so far this year and which ones I liked the best! also a little bit about my favourite authors and series! Maybe you would like to join me with a list of your own?
