Extra! Extra! Unemployed girl gets some work as an Extra!

I've been bad at keeping this going this past month. I would like to say it's because I've been super busy but that would be a lie. I just haven't kept up.

Easter came and went and although I was pretty abysmal at doing my 40 days of creativity for Lent I did pull my finger out and just do a few more creative things.

I'm still waiting on my disclosure check to come through for my supply teaching job, I know it can take a while but the academic year will be finished by the time I get any hours and this is after me initially sending in an application form in October.

And so it was that somebody from the Swing Dance group I'm part of was in contact with an agency who were looking for some 20s Charleston dancers for a days work on a shoot. Being a person with almost exclusively free time I signed up because it seemed like it would be a laugh and I would get paid. We found out the day before that it was actually for BBC One drama The Village starring Maxine Peake and John Simm. I actually responded to an urgent casting call a few weeks ago, they were looking for extras for Testament of Youth, and after being told the casting directors liked the look of me was then told last minute that I wasn't selected. They wanted the women to have hair shoulder length or longer. Which is what they said in the first place but I chanced it and sent a picture in and I was told that the casting directors "liked the look" of me but I suppose that is the nature of film and TV. So anyway, yes, we had a really early call time of 6.45am somewhere in the Peak District - which is a really beautiful part of Britain, by the way - except we were given the wrong location by the agency. Eventually we found the base for that days shooting and after parking up we were bussed to a church hall to get our hair, makeup and costumes.

Now I actually have a TV credit to my name already. I know, I know, requests for autographs can be made via my agent. I had a small part in an ITV drama starring Paul McGann, Caroline Quentin and Sheridan Smith playing Paul McGann's daughter. This was many many years ago and they actually wanted a tap dancer for the part (funny how my dancing is getting me on'telly) and I haven't done anything like it since. I didn't want to be that tit annoying everybody by going "well when I was in this...." so I only mentioned it if anyone else asked during the small talk amongst the extras "have you ever done anything like this before?" and truthfully it was so long ago and as it was a named part the experience of being an extra was quite new to me anyway.

I'm used to being the star.

Anyway, we got bussed from the church hall to the set and the scene was in this new to the village Charleston club and we had to dance away. I won't give away too many plot elements but I got to Charleston right next to Maxine Peake which was really quite cool. She went to my sixth form. I obviously didn't say this to her (or anything at all!) because it's really unprofessional but it was fun to just be there. It was very stoppy starty, which I expected, and we had to dance over and over again but it was absolutely fascinating to see how it was all working. The different shots taken, the way they up the music then mute it, the different blocking by the actors. This is the stuff I want to be a part of. I applied for the BBC production scheme and got through the first stage, I haven't heard anything yet and on my careers hub page it says "application in review" but really it's my dream job and I hope I get on the scheme. When I'm applying for other productiony type jobs could I put The Village as a production credit do you think even though I was in front of the camera? We'll say yes. Really what I want to do is work on the scripts but just even being the person who holds the cables for the cameraperson would be great or being the one who rallies the extras on set would be awesome.

The day itself was very long, we were told it would be until 5pm but we didn't get away until about 6.30pm, such is film and TV. And they had loads of fake cigarettes in the scene and the smoke was really catching my throat by the end of the day. My costume was quite fun and I actually really loved my shoes, I will definitely try and find a pair like them, and I met quite a few other dancers that had been rounded up by my friend for the shoot. It's always great to meet other dancers.

Then a few days after I saw a tweet by another agency looking for extras. Perfect! I thought, so I have a meeting coming up with them soon. Extras work would be great for me just now as I have full flexibility and the pay isn't bad and I get to see productions as they are...producing!

In other news, I submitted a few things to newsjack a few weeks ago. None made it on air but it's all good practice nonetheless. Gems such as this TV listing; "Hannibal Lecter makes a surprise appearance in the season finale of How I ate your Mother." The BBC writersroom has just opened it's comedy script submissions so I was thinking about sending something in (if I can actually get it down and done properly) but we'll see if I chicken out. I got really inspired by the BBC Salford Comedy Festival but as that was over a month now I can feel that I'm all "but it's going to be crap" again. I know I just need to get over it and do it.

Young people and parties.

My brother had his 18th birthday party last night. I documented it through that most noble of modern mediums, the selfie.

Brother's 18th party, there are a bunch of teenagers in my house having fun.

Luckily for me and my older sister there is food.

Dunno who these teens are but they are clearly having fun.

I tried engaging (talking about "selfies") but they all left. Thanks go out to my friend who works with young people and suggested topics such as Nandos, flappy birds and being both sorry and not sorry at the same time. 

Some of them came back.

They started playing battle-shots. What fresh Hell is this?

Managed to co-opt the music.

Went to the toilet, a slight reprieve from these young people.

These two are "in love."

I'm taking a selfie with young people.

I've been roped into playing the box game.

Hoovering up.

Morning after.

Maybe I'll have to change the name of this blog....

I have been accepted by the music centre and will be signed onto the supply teaching books. Huzzah! I have no idea how many hours I will end up eventually getting but at least it is something. Something creative. I'll still be devoting time to more meaningful employment in terms of the career I ultimately want.

I also got offered the other job. I know I should just be grateful. I am grateful. But I rejected it. I really do not want to be working two part-time jobs when neither are necessarily beneficial to my main career plans, particularly when the library job was not very good pay and didn't have flexible hours. I even said in the interview when asked "where do you see yourself in five years?" that I wanted to be working full-time in a publishing house or media company. I was hardly going to be all "it's my dream to be a part-time assistant librarian in a private school" was I? Only they clearly saw something (well, let's not blame them there) and decided they wanted me. Imbeciles. Nah, they all seemed really lovely. And, as I've said elsewhere, it really wouldn't be hideous working there. There were some obvious pros to the job (at the very least a regular income and regular hours) but too many obvious cons. And I had already accepted to music job by the time I got this offer.

It is, however, going to motivate me to make sure I am actually doing stuff beneficial to my career. If I've turned down this job I really need to make it pay off. And so we come to the 40 days of creativity. I have been awful, but it was my brother's birthday and then my birthday but at least I'm not 24, unemployed and living with my mother. I'm just 24 and living with my mother.

I definitely haven't done something creative everyday for Lent but I have made more of an effort generally, but on Monday I had those two interviews, so I did very little apart from that. And then I was concerned with buying my brother's birthday presents. Then I had to go into town to sign on. But I did buy a diary and write an entry. I have this thing where I have loads of notebooks given as gifts or souvenirs but I never want to write in them because I'm afraid I'll just be wasting them. I know. Notebooks are supposed to be written in. So I bought a really cheap one to start another diary. I used to write and write and write as a teenager and I rediscovered these chronicles recently, and reread them with much mirth, and thought well, if I'm serious about really trying this writing thing I should actually get in the habit of writing. I obviously have this blog but I can take a diary anywhere and write any old crap without being afraid of what people think.

I've generally still been batting creative ideas around but I had to get ready for some guests who visited this weekend for my birthday. I did create a treasure hunt in the garden for them which culminated in them finding a sword and slaying my brother who was dressed up as a foul creature. I suppose that was quite creative.

40 days of creativity and 2 interviews.

I don't usually do Lent. I've never been into dieting so I've never given up chocolate or carbs or whatever. Even when I considered myself to be religious the only thing I did for Lent was consider my faith a lot. This year, however, I have decided to do something. Being unemployed really chips away at your confidence, motivation and self-esteem so in order to make sure I stay motivated and actually be productive I've decided to make sure I do something creative everyday throughout Lent. Like, actually create something. For a while now whenever I've picked up my guitar or sat down to create something I would just feel like I had lost all joy from it. Hopefully this project will get me back into a routine of being motivated and being creative.

Day one - I learnt a new blues riff on guitar and worked a bit more on a different blues song I've been kicking about for a while.

Day two - I was on a long train journey so didn't do that much, but I was listening to music and jotted down a few ideas for some lyrics for stuff.

Day three - Yeah, I did nothing this day. I've been pretty rubbish. I did go and see the OpSoc show though which was good, and creative. And I bought some clarinet reeds and some clarinet books.

Day four - Didn't really do anything today either, I'm terrible. I had a long journey back down to home, so that's my excuse.

Day five - Got out my clarinet and started playing for the first time in a long time. Whilst I was looking through my old clarinet music I found the sheet music for a piano/vocal song I thought I had lost ages ago and was quite gutted about. This creativity thing is paying off already. So I got my keyboard out and had a play through it again.

I probably wouldn't have gotten my clarinet out today if it wasn't for my interview tomorrow, which is a story in and of itself. So. My former singing teacher had mentioned  back in September when she found out I was going to be back home for the foreseeable future that I could join the Music Centre supply teaching books for voice and maybe clarinet and just generally doing supply work. So I handed in an application form and months later I finally get an email from someone at the office asking about my application and finally I have an interview SIX MONTHS AFTER HANDING IN AN APPLICATION. I emailed asking about the format of the interview and only on Thursday (whilst I was on the train) did I get an email saying that I will be tested on woodwind and should prepare a lesson. I haven't played clarinet in ages and voice is really my first instrument so I am completely confused. Maybe because my singing teacher is assistant head of Music Centre she could vouch for my vocal abilities and that's why they want to test woodwind? No idea. But it's annoying that they only mentioned this on Thursday, I could have taken some music with me on the train to prepare.

I also have another interview, which is good for me in a way, but it's for a job I don't particularly want. I only applied because I have to apply for a certain amount of jobs to be entitled to job seekers allowance and I deliberately submitted a crappy application. But some idiot has gone and offered me an interview. It's for part-time assistant librarian which wouldn't be hideous but it's not really what I want to do. The pay isn't great but a job's a job. But they want me to bring my birth certificate to an interview. And they expect me to be there at 11.15, have a tour of the school, do two clerical tasks, break for lunch, speak to students about library services then (and only then) does my interview commence at 2pm. And this was just sent in an email this past week, I had assumed I hadn't made it past the first stage as I had heard nothing but then I received this email. No phone call, no confirmations, just an email expecting me to be there in excess of 3 hours for a 16 hour a week job. Is this common practice? Can anyone confirm?

The music job would be good money, but really sporadic hours as it is supply so literally just covering sickness and other absences. I would also need to fork out for insurance on a car as I would be expected to go to a lot of schools as the music centre is a hub and sends peripatetic teachers out to local schools.

The librarian job is at a school that I could walk to every day, the hours would be regular so I could devote other time to searching for a job I do actually want but the pay is rubbish and I dunno if I can be bothered with snotty nosed private-school children (yeah it's at a private school).

But I know I'm lucky to have two interviews, I just wish they were two interviews for jobs that would start my career!

Swingin' Scotland

Last weekend I was at a swing dance workshop in Edinburgh called "The University of Swing" organised by Edinburgh University's very own swing dance society. It was great and I hadn't been to a weekend workshop since one in Aberdeen almost four years ago. The university gimmick worked quite well with the three streams for beginners, intermediates and advanced...s being renamed Bachelor of Swing (BSw), Masters of Swing (MSw) and Doctorate of Philosophy in Swing (PhDSw) respectively. They had wee paper degrees rolled up on string to decorate the hall for the Saturday night social and all in all it was very lovely.

I decided to do the whole weekend as a lead, traditionally women are follows and men are leads, as I felt I would get more out of the weekend as a lead. I had started leading as a necessity when I first established the society at Dundee because, quite simply, there weren't enough! It was really interesting to learn how to lead and I enjoyed working out the moves but after a while I did start to begrudge it just a bit. But then, I dunno, something clicked or switched or whatever and now I actually prefer leading to following (although I will still always love following particularly when a fabulous hunk of a dancer is leading me into swingy glory). I could have easily done the PhD stream as a follow (check me!) but I've been noticing on the social dance floor that I have a gap in knowledge of intermediate lead moves. I've done one or two advanced classes or workshops as a lead where the move there and then is broken down so I pick it up ok but generally speaking, on the social dance floor, you don't use advanced moves nearly half as much as you use beginners and intermediate ones; unless you know your partner really well and dance with them very regularly and as I often spend more time following than leading on the social floor I don't get the opportunity to practise those moves as much as I would like so I start to lose them. That was a long rambly sentence. So yeah, I have my basics and I know a few advanced moves (which aren't necessarily that useful in a social dance) but I had a dearth of knowledge regarding intermediate moves as a lead and I thought this weekend would be a really great opportunity to fill that gap and just learn all the tricks and nuances that come after a weekend of intense dancing.

I'm a great believer in giving and receiving plenty of feedback in a workshop environment, on a social floor it's considered bad etiquette to give unsolicited feedback, so I would often ask my follows questions after we'd tried a move such as "how was that connection" and "how did that feel, could you tell the change?" One of the follows said "it's so great that you talk about the move and ask for feedback, not a lot of others in this group are" which took me aback slightly but I know how, sometimes, even a workshop environment can be intimidating. I just happen to have an over-inflated ego and massive lady balls. I am, though, one of those really annoying people that asks the teacher loads of questions too. But I had a nice moment where I put my hand up to ask a question and the teacher said "is it ok if we just get to you in a minute?" but by the time they came round and asked if I was ok my partner and I had answered it ourselves. A little bit of personal problem solving. It felt good.

The social dances were great, although I felt like I was in a bit of a no woman's land in a way. On the social dance floor I lead and follow but as I had lead in the workshops I didn't really meet any of the other leads (this happens a lot, you tend to meet everybody in the opposite role but not that many in your role, as you don't dance with them) so I didn't really get asked at all by leads outwith the Dundee group. I obviously could have gone and asked them but I was more interested in asking the follows as I wanted to practice what I had learnt, but then I got weirdly nervous. And not many of the follows (outwith Dundee) really asked me as I suppose they only really thought of the leads as the men, which is fair enough as that is the traditional role. One or two of the follows that I had met in the workshop, though, did come up and ask me to dance as a lead and it really made my night. One of the best dances I had on the Saturday was with a woman from the intermediate stream who asked me to dance. I got asked again by a follow from my workshop at the blues after-party, even though I know very little blues - and I told her this, which was really great too, a confidence boost. I went ahead and asked one of the follow teachers to dance too and she complimented me on my leading which was nice although I am aware she was at the weekend in a teaching capacity and is encouraging to everyone, but it was still nice to be told I lead well.

There are some cool little moves though, I just dunno if I'll ever get. There is just a (and I may well lose some people here) masculine energy from the male leads (I don't necessarily think that leading and following is or needs to be gendered, it's just that tradition has fallen that way, what I'm talking about is when men are dancing whichever role) that I must be trying to emulate when I lead on a subconscious level (as I most often see men leading) but I can never get quite right. Maybe it's just a confidence thing? Who knows. And I always feel more confident leading when wearing trousers and more pretty and graceful following when I'm wearing a dress or a skirt. And I know that that is just social conditioning. But it's a strange one.

In other news I submitted some comedy sketches to a BBC Radio 4 show. I have no expectations (even though I have them a bit) but I have no expectations on what will happen. I think I read that for their last submissions something like 800 sketches were sent in. Maybe more. Maybe it was over 1000. Both those numbers ring a bell. I also booked a ticket to a comedy writing speaker thing at MediaCity so it would be great to get some tips and meet people. I feel so silly saying that I want to be a writer and particularly write jokes, I suppose it's because I know other people who want to be writers but who just aren't very good and I'm afraid that people will think that about me when I say it. Please do not use this blog as a measuring stick, it is waffle, drivel and just word vomit. It's just that I've tried to get sensible publishing/media jobs and I'm aware that creator jobs are hard to come by, extraordinarily competitive and have little money until you really make it, but I've been applying for sensible office type jobs in the sector and I'm getting nowhere so I'm actually going to give this a jolly good go and start writing properly.

Tomorrow.

Sore limbs and software

Having really missed dancing and being freshly inspired by the Olympic figure skating I decided to send a quick message to my old dance teacher and see if I could come back to a few classes as I appear to be stuck at home for the foreseeable future. "Yes," said she, and so I found myself raking around my room for a pair of ballet tights on Friday evening for a ballet class on Saturday morning. I did a ballet shoe sweep and found five pairs.

I was a bit nervous as it has been almost six years since I've done a class and a good few months since I've done any regular exercise at all and I was going back in at the level I left off but resolved to give it a jolly good go. I'd forgotten most of the ballet terms but as soon as I was shown the exercises I was surprised at how much came flooding back, and how much core strength and poise I had retained. Yeah I was basically awesome. 

Nah, I'm not that much of a dick. I really was surprised, though, at how I had kept my natural turnout but my flexibility and energy levels left a lot to be desired, the rest of the class were young, sprightly seventeen year olds and on more than one occasion if we were doing an exercise on the right foot, then the left then repeating I would just do it the once on the right and the left. I'm young in the grand scheme of things but I felt old in those moments. Then came the time for pointe shoes. If I was apprehensive before I was at that moment but again, resolved to give it a jolly good go. I did the exercises at the barre but sat out the repeats for most of them but when we moved to the centre I was pleasantly surprised to find I still had some old strength for a few of the exercises. I'm not going to lie, it felt like I was magically floating a wee bit until my toes started hurting and I realised I'd scraped a bit of skin off the top of my fourth toe. 

In other news, my younger sister has a laptop she is essentially not using as she got a shiny one from disability services at her university so she said that I could put some fancy editing software on it (stuff that would make my computer shake of this mortal coil) and HitFilm were giving away HitFilm 2 Express for free so I downloaded myself a bit of that, used an amazon voucher I got a few months ago to buy a graphics tablet (the Wacom Intuos, will post more about it as I use it and let people know whether I rate it) and have a version of photoshop now. I am, indeed, a woman of the 21st century. My friend and I filmed a short on Sunday, the idea being a spoof of those existential French New Wave type films but about my unemployment. We'll see how it pans out, we thought it was hilarious but really I just want to have a play around with my new software and see what happens. 

In other other news, I was back at the job centre on Thursday for my signing. I couldn't remember the name of my advisor so when the G4S man at the entrance to the stairs asked who I was seeing I ended up saying "Margaret..?" As it was a name that popped into my head and seemed like the name of a woman who would work at the job centre. He goes "Margaret's not working today" at which point I find my card and tell him who my advisor is and I go through but it tickled me that I assumed an advisor would be called Margaret and of course there was a Margaret working at the job centre. There is always a Margaret. Then, when I went into the room to wait for my name to be called, I walked through the door and another G4S man said "you know what you're doing, yeah?" to which I replied "sit and wait for my life to begin." He didn't look too amused but as I took my seat on the primary coloured benches I had a good old chuckle at my own wit.

Oh, and I shadowed the lights at Bolton Little Theatre last week and even pressed the button for the cues a few times. It felt pretty powerful. Hopefully I'll be able to help out at the upcoming shows too and learn a bit more about it all. 

Sochi 2014: Why I am watching.

I was going to go for a swim today but the timetable online is hideously outdated so I had actually missed the open swim. Annoying. I swam a lot when I was younger and then at university but I have been hideously lazy during unemployment and the fantastic athletes at the Winter Olympics have spurred me on to be more active.

Speaking of the Winter Olympics, I have been watching the first few days coverage with much enjoyment and have been supporting Team GB with much enthusiasm.

But with this has come some measure of inexplicable guilt as even though I have carefully considered my relationship to the Sochi 2014 Winter Games and my decision to watch and support Team GB I understand those who aren't. The human rights abuses being carried out against LGBT peoples in Russia are horrific and Putin's administration should be vilified, but I don't think that the Olympics should be boycotted by athletes (I don't think any have this year but it was certainly discussed a few months ago) or that the viewing public should not watch and here is why:

Russia has previously been snubbed at the 1980 Olympics in protest of their invasion of Afghanistan. Seemingly, the Russian's (or USSR as it was at the time) did not care and continued to occupy the territory for four more years.

I understand the desire to hit the sponsors where it hurts, but money has already been paid and the coverage licences already sold. I really don't think that enough people are boycotting for it to make a discernible difference and that there are more effective ways. Also, not watching and not supporting the Winter Games doesn't only hurt the sponsors, which brings me to my next point.

The athletes participating have absolutely nothing to do with the anti-LGBT laws that have been passed. Many of the athletes at Sochi will be at the peak of their careers, scoring their season's bests (some already have), personal bests and perhaps even lifetime bests. To deny them the chance to compete or to ignore their achievements at the games punishes the athletes. Instead, I am openly and vocally supporting the athletes, particularly those who are out and those who a vocal supporters of the LGBT community.

Some people have opined that Clare Balding should not have traveled to Sochi to be the BBC Sports news anchor for the coverage; stating that she is just doing it for the money or that she should be ashamed of herself, like she does not know what homophobia is or has no experience of it. One twat (a tweeter who is an idiot) used a homophobic slur in his tweet to Balding about her decision to go to Sochi (the irony was seemingly lost on him) but has since apologised for his tweet. Clare Balding is delivering sterling coverage as per and by going as an openly lesbian women and the anchor of the world renown BBC sports coverage she is visible, she is proud and she is sticking two fingers up to Putin.This is why I am watching her. Read more about her and her partner's responses to the trolls http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/clare-balding-responds-sochi-backlash080214

My hope is by watching and enjoying the sports, openly supporting my team and other outstanding athletes, openly supporting the BBC and Balding's coverage and openly supporting any and everyone who speaks up about LGBT rights over the course of the games that those who are intolerant will see how visible and vocal the opposition is. I've been tweeting (to my admittedly only double figure followers) about the games using the hashtags #pride and #CondemnPutinSupportAthletes. It is only a small thing but if more and more sports fans and LGBT rights (or as I like to call them, RIGHTS) supporters are tweeting, showing support and tolerance in the face of oppression then maybe people will take notice. Boycotts work in some instances, but how can a boycott on moral grounds be effective when what you are targeting doesn't have a moral compass in the first place? Visibility and noisiness will shove the truth under Putin's steely nose and surely this will have more of an effect?

As an afterthought, I watched the Channel 4 documentary Hunted and, whilst it made for difficult viewing, was glad that something like this was being broadcast. One of the points made by an LGBT advocate and teacher was that the Russian government has focused attention on the LGBT community and vilified them in an attempt to cover up state failings. I can't help but wonder if the same is happening in the UK with vulnerable and lower income people and the welfare system.

Some things I don't get about Tinder

- Why do people put previous holidays on their 'about me'? Like 'Ibiza 2013' or 'Malaga 2014'?

- Why do so few of them smile?

- Why the strange angles of abs/close up of belly buttons?

- Why the creepiness?

On the plus side, if I'm ever planning a club event I know where to get a DJ, they are all on Tinder!

www.tindertryouts.tumblr.com

Yes to opportunities.

A good friend of mine who lives in London came up to visit me last weekend. It had been a few months since we had seen each other last but the great thing was, as is always the case with good friends, that it felt like no time had passed at all. His job was taking him for granted and paying him a pitiful amount so he handed in his notice and decided to do wee tour; visiting friends and family. Stress has made him quite ill so some quality time with his most fabulous friend was definitely in order and, as well as a large amount of chilling in front of bad TV, I took him for a walk through the West Pennine Moors.

Armed with a flask of tea, we walked the route I normally take and I decided to show him a place my sister and I found before we decided to explore further and get stuck in halfway up some ravine. I think the spot looks like a place where fairies could live. The trees are less dense but still provide covering and shelter, the ground is soft with that mossy type grass stuff (my sister would know the name) and there are a few fallen trees providing benches, though I did get a bit of a numb bum after a while. A knobbly, knarly tree stump sits about 10 meters from the log benches and it definitely looks like a gnome could pop out of it. My friend, who works in fashion, enjoyed the walk but wasn't particularly happy about having to wear wellies. Apparently there is a lot of biodiversity in the West Pennine Moors so I'll have to head out with my phone and see if I can capture anything.

In other news, in order to boost my CV and get involved in more stuff I have started volunteering at Bolton Little Theatre. They have a sort of open evening on Mondays where they tell you more about the company and show you around the building. They are quite unusual amongst amateur theatre companies as they have their own building which they took over in the 1930s, the building itself was built around the 1850s and was recently split into two theatres, their main one and a smaller one that only sits 61 people. Other groups I've been involved in put on approximately one show a year but BLT have seasons (I know!) and put on quite a few shows in this time, alternating between their smaller theatre and larger theatre. The entire operation is run by volunteers and people change roles depending on the production which was quite exciting for me as it means I can try a few different things. Someone may be in the cast for one production, doing the lights on the next and then doing the coffees during the interval for the one after. They show you how to programme and cue lights and sounds and you have the opportunity to direct productions although I think I'll definitely start as a production secretary if I was to go down that route. Seemingly everything is done in-house from set building to envelope stuffing and they have a sizable costume and prop store. And Sir Ian McKellen is the patron! And Justin Chadwick was involved in the youth group which sadly doesn't run anymore. I ended up doing a bit of set dressing on Monday for their upcoming production which was fun and as their next show is completely sold out I've been invited to the dress rehearsal - which has been opened to the public - to see what they are about.

I have applied for a few different jobs this week having cast my net a bit wider than just publishing to any media jobs so hopefully I'll hear something soon but in the meantime I'm quite excited to become more involved with stuff as opposed to sitting on my backside all day watching The Chase. Which I may or may not have applied for in addition to my job hunt.

Some things that I do now I'm unemployed

- Watch the news three times a day

- Become disproportionately invested in soap storylines, soaps which I have gotten back into watching since I've been unemployed

- Spend time hanging out at the town library, just for something to do

- Make up dance routines to songs on adverts

- Feel more than a little excitement about ironing, as it's something to do

- Resent my seventeen year old brother, because he has a social circle and a routine

- Resent my fifty-something year old mother, because of the same

- Resent the colour of our living room wallpaper, it mocks me as I search for jobs

- Resent searching for jobs

- Resent myself for being so resentful

- Just incase you were wondering, the lunchtime news on BBC One, Granada news on ITV at 6pm then Channel 4 News at 7pm.

I went down to the job centre yesterday after an unnecessarily painful process of trying to get an appointment in the first place. Seriously, it is so difficult to start the process of making a claim in the first place I can not fathom why some people think that money just gets given out willy nilly. When I called up to make an appointment the systems were down and the person on the other end of the phone couldn't book me in and asked me to call back in an hour which would have been about 5.15pm. I said I had called at that time two days ago but my phone just rang out until after 6pm (when the phone centre closes) but with no inclination that the phone centre had actually closed and with no answer. She said that there are less agents after 5 so I should really try and call before. I said well sometimes people are a bit busy before 5 and she cut in with a sing-song voice with "Job seekers should be your main priority!" I said that I meant I was looking for opportunities and she just repeated job seekers should be my priority. I didn't have the energy or inclination to carry on by saying that yes, job seekers is my priority that is why I am LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES. But what about other people, for example, those with young families who perhaps cannot get anyone to take children off their hands until after 5? Judgmental woman. So then I had my meeting. The bus didn't come, and as I started to walk to another bus stop on a parallel road to try and get into town as fast as I could one bus just drove straight past me. As soon as I realised a bus was coming I turned around and stuck my arm out, and I was only a few metres from the stop as I started walking, but he drove straight past. When I finally got into town I was about ten minutes late for my appointment and this woman at the desk said "yes you're appointment was ACTUALLY ten minutes ago" and I said "yes, I'm aware, through no fault of my own I was late" and she said "Yes well it is actually an APPOINTMENT and you should TRY to come on time" and I repeated "yes, I'm aware, I did try and through no fault of my own was late" and she repeated "yes well it's ACTUALLY an APPOINTMENT" and I just laughed exasperatedly in her face as she walked off to find out if I could meet my claims adviser. It took a lot for me to not just get mad and say "DO YOU NOT THINK THAT I AM AWARE OF THIS. DO I LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT" but I was afraid I would be made to leave the centre or something. Turns out I could still meet the claims adviser and he wasn't bothered at all. I have a meeting with a jobs adviser next week. I do not need an adviser, I just need a job. But needs must. The man I had my claim meeting with said straight away "I can tell you don't want to be here." No shit, Sherlock. He seemed nice enough and I explained that yeah, I'd prefer to be in work but needs must and I've been unemployed for four months now. I had put off claiming for job seekers as I never imagined I would be unemployed for this long and, truthfully, I felt a bit guilty and unentitled to it as I am lucky enough to be able to live with my Mam and she doesn't charge me rent whilst I am looking for work. But then I thought, shit, I'm broke and I've worked since I was 16 and have paid tax in that time. I am entitled to this. Also, I've had a few interviews where I have had to travel not an inconsiderable distance out of my own pocket so JSA could go towards that. But you never know, I might get a job offer before next week. Sorry, this turned into a ranty post.

So I've gotten a few more rejections, including one after they set me a writing task that I took a decent amount of time to complete and they emailed back over a week later saying "It's not what we're looking for, thanks, bye." I emailed back asking for a bit more feedback to help me in future but have heard nothing. I am, however, going to start volunteering at Bolton Little Theatre on Monday so we shall see how that goes. I don't understand, I'm fucking fabulous. How can I shove that in people's faces better?

All things TV

Okay, so this is an overly ambitious title. "Some things TV" or "Some things about Some TV" would be more appropriate.

I worked two part-time jobs last year to support my Masters degree so barely had time to wipe my arse let alone have "fun" and I certainly had no time to watch the TV that everybody kept telling me I "just had to watch!" With unemployment there are many cons but one of the pros - for me at least - has been being able to watch the stuff on that moving picture box that everybody is going on about. And I've watched a whole lot over these past four months. So here are some things I have watched and what I think about them. Some are recent, some aren't, and some are honorable mentions as I have simply had the opportunity to re-watch them in between getting job rejections.

Game of Thrones
This show was somewhere on the periphery of my radar when it debuted in 2011 - a time which, according to my diary, I did have some fun - but it largely passed me by. After numerous recommendations by friends I decided to sit down and watch and this was the first show I devoured once I moved back home. Much has been written by more knowledgeable and widely read bloggers so I will just say that I found it thoroughly enjoyable and often stayed up until stupid o'clock watching the next episode, and the next. I found the story compelling but would be lying if I said I could completely ignore all the problematic elements, but I did my level best and just reveled in the gratuitousness and the hedonism. Arya is my favourite character.

Orange is the New Black
This is the first original Netflix series I watched and again it had been on my radar for a good few months prior to my watching. Hilarious and heartbreaking, the thing I love most about this show is the fact that a whole cross-section of women's stories are being told. Taylor Schilling is an all-American lead actress but it is the stories of the other women in the prison that I feel I want to know more about. Piper Chapman isn't a particularly likeable character, purposefully so, but just as in one moment you experience a slight feeling of schadenfreude in the next you are routing for her to get one over Michael J. Harney's Sam Healy. Fantastic actress Laverne Cox brings a wonderfully nuanced performance to her character and it is the other flashbacks and wee scenes between the different inmates that flesh out this comedy-drama into something great. Janae is the most interesting character for me, can't wait to see what season 2 brings for her.

Hannibal
There is only one word to describe this show; thrilling. A production that has the phrase "viewer discretion advised" running at the bottom of the screen during the opening scene, you know that this isn't going to be quite like other crime dramas. I had heard one or two good things about this, but from external sources rather than friend's recommendations, and Lawrence Fishburne was the one who sealed the deal for me. Based on Red Dragon and at its core a police procedural, the pop culture phenomenon of Thomas Harris' books and the ensuing films mean that any sort of reveal that Hannibal was, in fact, the murdering cannibal all along is impossible so this show keeps the viewers on their toes by weaving in more unexpected twists into the "crime-a-week" mold largely through the editing. Boy, the editing. Close ups of mouthwatering food being served at Hannibal's dining table immediately proceeding a gruesome comment or shot leaves the audience unsure of what the other characters are actually putting into their mouths. There is a delicious sense of the macabre about this show and sterling performances turned in by Hugh Dancy and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen make this show so completely watchable. Some interesting cameos here and there and my favourite character is Gillian Anderson's Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, Hannibal's own psychotherapist.

Sleepy Hollow
Like National Treasure but with more ghosts and less Nicolas Cage, Sleepy Hollow is a veritable whistle stop tour of stone mason mythology, mysteries surrounding the Founding Fathers and the events in the Book of Revelations. On paper it looks like there is just too much going on in this show but somehow on screen it pulls together wonderfully and you get swept along. A quietly confident Nicole Beharie is our present-day Police Lieutenant Abbie Mills and striking Tom Mison is our displaced Ichabod Crane. The first act of the first episode sets up the premise of the series: Ichabod, having changed allegiances to the Colonials during America's War of Independence, is killed by a Hessian soldier, not before beheading him, on the battlefield and emerges from the ground 250 years later in present day Sleepy Hollow, New York. Dazed and confused, his path crosses Abbie's when her mentor, the Sheriff, is beheaded by the headless horseman, who has also risen from the dead. The apocalypse is coming and our unlikely pair have to stop it. I won't say anything more for now just that one of the best things about this delightfully camp series, apart from the comedy derived from Mison's adjustment to modern day life, is the diversity of the cast and how organic this feels. Beharie is African-American, as is Orlando Jones' Police Captain Frank Irving (nods to the source material abound in this show) and as we are introduced to their families there are automatically more black and African-American characters on screen. John Cho also stars as Beharie's childhood friend turned colleague and supporting performances from Nicholas Gonzalez mean that this onscreen portrayal of a New York police station actually reflects the state in which it's set. Demons and monsters notwithstanding. Middle Earth veteran John Noble has a recurring part and the guy from the old cinema Orange adverts also pops up in the season finale, which I watched last night, and it left me with an open mouth. I'm not one of those annoying viewers who always says "oh I knew that was coming" but I can often sense the direction a story is going, however, I let out a disbelieving "hooo-hoo!" at one twist last night. There is a whole lot more to say about this show, and I'm sure others have said it better, so for now I'll leave it with Jenny Mills is my favourite character.

Top of the Lake
Jane Campion's eerie detective miniseries had me thinking about different episodes well into the night, there was just something so lingeringly creepy about it. Set in Campion's native New Zealand, fantasy film fans will view the landscape in a completely different way as the warm, inviting yet mysterious terrain quickly becomes cold, isolating and...mysterious. Elisabeth Moss leads the cast as the young detective determined to get to the bottom of the disappearance of Jacqueline Joe's Tui Mitcham and as layer upon layer is peeled back there are "nothing is as it seems" underneath "nothing is as it seems." Peter Mullan, David Wenham and Holly Hunter, whilst being completely different characters, are all just so watchable. I know that sounds like an obvious statement to make about seasoned performers but it is just so apt for this series, my eyes are glued to the screen. I don't think there was any one particularly likeable character but it is their relationships to each other, the crime and the land itself - in fact, New Zealand could be a character in its own right in this show - that makes this show leave its mark hours after viewing. Holly Hunter is sublime as the kooky, bitter leader of the woman's retreat and, though her screen time is less than many others, is my favourite in this.

Angels In America
Okay, so I know this is about ten years old, but I only got round to watching it. Based on a play of the same name, this HBO series has one of the best ensemble casts I have seen on television. Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson and Jeffrey Wright play multiple parts (one of Streep's turns I completely missed, such is her acting talent) in this drama. Set in New York 15 years before it aired, this miniseries combines fantastic dream sequences with all too real kitchen-sink confrontations and raises questions of love, spirituality and conscience in Reagan era America. There is also an interesting blend of historical figures with original characters here which invites the audience to view the fear and paranoia that surrounded AIDS in the 80s through a different lens on top of the obvious retrospective that comes with a 21st century audience. Brilliantly paced and with just the right mix of biting political satire and tender moments I would wholeheartedly recommend this, get it watched. It's a toss up between Mary-Louise Parker's Harper Pitt and Meryl Streep's Ethel Rosenberg for my favourite character.

Six Feet Under
Another HBO show and another one that I'm late to. Centering around a undertakers and how the death of the patriarch affects the family, this series is subtly written and raises questions of death, family and spirituality. I'm only on season 3 just now and whilst I don't necessarily feel like I have to watch the next episode immediately after finishing the previous one I know when I do sit down and watch it I can pick up where I left off and enjoy watching the characters grow and develop painful bit by painful bit. It's another one where each of the characters has distinctive unlikeable elements but you can't help rooting for them all along. Ruth is my favourite, there is just so much to unwrap.

Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
This ABC show and its spin off are wonderfully camp and quite frankly - a word I cannot lay claim to - Shitastic. The fairy tale characters we know and love have been displaced from their quasi-medieval fantasy world of The Enchanted Forest and now live in 21st century Maine, but they do not know their real past. I have actually been following this from the beginning but missed quite a few episodes as I was writing my dissertation so had a catch up session then followed it until its mid-season break in December. It's no real spoiler to say (but if you are particularly bothered then skip this next sentence) that by the end of season one they discover the truth as we are in the middle of season 3 and it would be difficult to string that plot out for 3 seasons. There are twists, turns and fans of the Disney films will squeal at various points as ABC are owned by Disney so can use licensed character names and plot elements. The spin off focuses on Alice after Wonderland and, again, a lot of comedic moments are found in the book-character-meets-21st century moments but my one criticism of this show would be that it does not make quite enough of these. In the main show Regina is my favourite and in the spin off I really like the Knave.

Shows I have re-watched!
 Buffy
Obviously
Being Erica
This Canadian show combines two of my favourite things: time travel and publishing. As it's Canadian I think it has that humour about it which is a tad more self-deprecating than the television from south of the border and aligns it more with my dry Britishness.
Sex and the City
It has become the cool thing to hate on, of late. Kind of like Coldplay. But I don't actually like Coldplay. I do like this show, though. Of its time and very obviously about four, privileged white women in New York, I don't think it pretended to be anything else. The later seasons leave me wanting but the earlier ones are just so funny and raise real questions about gender roles in life and love. Some definite problematic elements but, like Game of Thrones, I revel in its gratuitousness and hedonism. And I love Samantha.
Life on Mars
Excellent. Get it watched. As well as a great police drama a lot of comedy is derived from Sam's displaced in time detective. Can you sense a timey/displaced theme yet?
Community
A show for people who love shows. Any and every TV genre, trope and franchise is sent up affectionately by an ensemble cast. Again, the diversity in the cast makes this one a winner for me. Season 5 is just starting and I am excited.

There are probably a few more that I can't think of just now and will add. Any thoughts on the shows I've mentioned?

Borneo, Blues and that time what I nearly died on Blue Monday

My younger sister returned from her research field trip to Borneo on Saturday. Filthy and exhausted but brimming with fantastic stories of the place, the people and the pests she showed us the corresponding bruises and bites before nearly collapsing into bed. It sounded amazing and I'm actually quite jealous that the closest we ever got to a field trip on my course was that time we had to change rooms from our regular seminar room to one in a different building.

Did anybody ever watch Serious Jungle on CBBC? My sister's trip basically sounded like that. I always wanted to go on it. And I imagine it's generally good prep for the impending apocalypse (be it Zombie, nuclear or bacterial: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/world-without-antibiotics-risk-real-experts-042134071.html ).

Her birthday was at the end of December so me and my brother decided to make a survival kit and filled it with microfibre cloths, a cow shaped dynamo torch, a flat water bottle (it looks like a reusable capri-sun and you can roll it up and things) and some paracord which I fashioned into some bracelets so she could look fabulous and have the longest washing line in camp. Ano, best siblings ever.

Then on Sunday I went to a blues dance workshop. I've not really danced a lot since I've moved back home, it's not that expensive to go but when you're unemployed you start wincing at every bus fare. I also feel like I have lost a bit of the enjoyment that I used to find in dancing and other things I used to do when I had fun. I know a large part of that is just falling out of the habit of going dancing in the first place and staying in the house all day as I apply for jobs whilst the slow but persistent sap of self-esteem that comes hand in hand with unemployment takes a part of my soul and leaves me a vapid shell whose primary enjoyment comes from that night's episode of Celebrity Big Brother. But back to the workshop. It was really great and I'm glad I went down, I did the first half as a follow and the second as a lead and the music was funking great. I have been thinking a lot about gender roles in partner dancing recently but that is really another post for another time. I learnt a few nifty moves and most of the feedback I got was learning to relax into the hold a bit more, I know I can be a bit stiff.

So that brings us to today; Blue Monday. The weather was so lovely and I thought it would be nice to go for a walk. A few weeks prior, in preparation for her Borneo trip, my sister had done a lot of walking near ours with her backpack and I went with her one time. I hadn't gone for a proper walk near ours in years and I ended up taking us on a bit of a diversion as I tried to remember an alternative route that I had taken years previously, we ended up joining it halfway and my sister said she found it properly the next day when she went by herself.

A slight tangent here, but I spent weeks and weeks exploring the countryside near me the Summer I finished my GCSEs. I was with a lad who I considered to be the love of my life at the time and that particular Summer was a really hot one, bright sunshine everyday. We would spend hours walking around, up hill and through dale, largely because we didn't have a whole lot of money and loads of time to kill. We were both pretty active and though we would spend whole days just in front of the TV I think the walking offset it well enough. He also house-sat his Auntie's place for a week or so and me and a bunch of his friends would just hang out in the garden in the paddling pool. I hadn't lived in that area for too long so didn't know the woods that well compared to the woods outside my old house on the other side of town so it was great to have somebody show me all the cool places and it didn't hurt that he was a slamming hottie. Quite possibly the best looking lad I've been out with (sorry other boyfs who may have stumbled across this. Good news for you is that I'm still single with no meaningful relationship on the horizon. Bad news is that I haven't gotten fat). It ended, as these teenage romances are wont to do, at the end of the Summer after a pretty hurtful incident.

But back to today! We went on a walk at about 3pm and once we reached a familiar turnaround point decided to go a bit further along the route. I may have taken it before though couldn't quite remember but it was really beautiful and we decided to explore a smaller trail that was off the main route. At this point I should explain the terrain: it's very hilly, woody, mossy, and damp. Our town is bordered by the Winter Hill (part of the West Pennine Moors) so as we walk away from our house we steadily climb up but within this there are many mounds, shallow dips and ravines. Most of it is woodland (unless it has been cleared for farming) and although it was a lovely day today there has been a lot of rainfall so it was pretty damp and muddy. We continue to enjoy our little side tour and decide that there is a jolly good chance we can just keep going in a certain direction to meet a main route as we can see a small trail. We're quite high at this point walking alongside a tributary that is flowing at the bottom of quite a steep ravine as we continue on we eventually end up at water level and can see it flows through a small tunnel going under a main road. We know where we are and which main road it is so we decide to walk through the tunnel as the water is really shallow and want to see what's there. The water is freezing and we both slip at points so now, after staying reasonably dry, we are both soaking. We get back on a small trail parallel to the water but this trail soon ends and we find ourselves about half way up a steep ravine with no obvious trail forwards, down towards the water or up towards the top. The light has started going and neither of us really intended to be out this long, I haven't started to worry as I know generally where we are but at this point it is getting tiring and we both keep slipping on the muddy and mossy ground. A couple of seemingly sturdy roots and branches snap in my hand, leaving little thorny presents, and my sister decides to see if she can get to the top and see what is going on. The light is getting pretty dim just now and she says she can see lights but not much else and we know the main road is at the top of the other side of the ravine so we decide to cross over the tributary and scale the other side, though I express some reservations at how steep it is. We both end up doing controlled slides down the side of the ravine, though neither of us has appropriate clothing for the expedition this walk has turned into, and at this point I start to get anxious about the failing light, our lack of trail and the prospect of rock climbing because at the other side the top third is sheer rock face.

I hurt my wrist as I slip whilst coming out of the water and fall more than once as with squelchy clothing and shoes we scale the other side and I make for the rocks. I start to get really quite worried, thinking, "this is how these stories start! You hear about hikers and things who break limbs or die after just going out for a walk and people say 'oh no, they just went out for a walk' and that could be us what about if we need to get rescued does Bolton even have a mountain rescue or something how are we going to climb this what if my sister slips and breaks her leg because she has dyspraxia and a dodgy knee we were just joking about apocalypse scenarios last night and how she would probably go because she would fall over something" ... and so on. The ravine looks a lot steeper as the light fails and once we reach the rocks I start to climb but struggle to get on top of the first ledge as it's quite far from where my foothold is, a foothold which is rapidly slipping downwards in the mud. I grab on to another rock, which promptly crumbles in my hand, and I suddenly have a whole new set of worries about rocks knocking us both out or crushing our skulls.This isn't like Serious Jungle. We manage to get on the first ledge and realise (AS IF WE HAVEN'T UP TO THIS POINT) that we probably won't be able to scale the rest as it really is sheer and whilst we're both reasonably fit neither of us are experienced climbers and there is water trickling down the damp and slippy rocks which are FALLING DOWN THE SIDE OF THE RAVINE IF THEY AREN'T CRUMBLING IN OUR HANDS. We slide/stumble back to about half way down our side and decide to just persevere forwards, slipping and squelching as we hope we will find a trail. I start to worry a whole lot and though I can check where we are on my phone I wonder if we'll just come to a dead end. The ravine curves slightly ahead and as we turn we see the land start to flatten out. It is not very far from the ROCKS OF DEATH but the trees and the dimming light meant that my sister could not really see it when she was at the top of the other side of the ravine. There is not really a trail but the flatter terrain makes it easier to keep going, despite the two massive moss covered trees across the ground which must have fallen some months or years previously in a storm. We eventually see the low, rough stone wall that runs alongside the main road and whilst there is a steep incline up to it we make it up and over the last hurdle onto the main road and civilisation. We are both filthy. I'm wearing walking boots that aren't waterproof and jeans so the filth is obvious though my sister was wearing black leggings and had a nice pair of waterproof boots on so just looks a little bit ruffled. A sigh of relief as we walk a familiar route with sore feet and many small thorns and splinters in our hands as we had grabbed on to roots and vines during our ordeal. Unable to see them to pick them out in the failing light we mutually complain and continue on. THEN A WHITE VAN HONKS AT US AND IT MAKES ME REALLY MAD. SERIOUSLY, WE GET STREET HARASSED AFTER NEARLY DYING. I ACTUALLY EVEN THINK THAT OUR ENTIRE ORDEAL WAS THE FAULT OF THE PATRIARCHY. PROBABLY.

When I get home I do the thing that Mam used to make us do if we had been playing out and were really mucky where I took my trousers and socks off by the front door because they were too dirty to wear through the house. I had a shower where my hands tingled so much they were painful because of the thorns and the cold weather as I didn't want to put my gloves back on during the walk home with so many splinters and thorns. They are still a bit tingly now, actually.

So that was my Blue Monday, how was yours?

Countdown and cyanide

I've been unemployed for four months now. I am a recent graduate ... blah blah blah we all have the same story. I've applied for 50+ jobs in that time, it's just really difficult to make your CV stand.... blah blah blah poor me.

Now, to more important things. I get to do stuff like go to Countdown recordings. Mid-week. And send hilarious snapchats, but back to Countdown.

I ended up going by myself even though I had tickets for three because, you guessed it, everybody else actually works. I didn't mind so much, I've never been afraid of doing things by myself and I got chatting to this nice retired couple who were sat next to me. I had been in that same studio in November for the University Challenge Christmas Special so it was interesting to see the space turned into the Countdown set. We got wee pads and pens on our seats so that we could play along which was fun, if I watch it at home I don't usually play properly so it was good to get my brain actually working properly for the first time in weeks. I even got an eight letter word. It seemed as though they film all five shows for the week in the one day and as I had tickets for the afternoon session we saw three shows. I think if I come again I'll try and get tickets for the morning session, which is only two shows, as three shows felt quite long even though we got given a two-finger kitkat between the second and third shows that afternoon (somebody said it used to be four fingers), but overall it was great fun. Janet Street-Porter was in dictionary corner and she regaled us with tales of her walking and rambling shenanigans and was just generally fabulous.

Those who have been to TV recordings before will be aware that there is an audience warm-up act. For those who haven't, well, let me tell you that there is an audience warm-up act. They are generally there before filming starts, lead the applause when the audience claps for good answers or for the break and they keep us occupied between the shows as the stars change their clothes to, you know, make it look like it is a different day. Our warm-up act was absolutely dire and quite offensive. His jokes were really bad, lazily written and he made a lot of sexist comments (I won't say jokes because they weren't even crafted at all) and threw a racist one in there for good measure where the "punchline" was simply "Chinese people". He interacted with the audience and at one point said to me "are you alright? You look very serious" and I wish I had thought of a good heckle but I didn't have the confidence, being there on my own and all. I was actually thoroughly enjoying every moment he wasn't in front of us, I tend to only look serious when THERE IS A RACIST, SEXIST MAN TRYING TO MAKE ME LAUGH.

Nick Hewer came over to the audience just before filming began just as the warm-up act had started talking about Benefits Street and how it was disgraceful that there are so many people that just don't work and claim welfare and how people are getting £100,000 in benefit payments. To my delight Nick Hewer started challenging this warm-up act and talked about how welfare reform was making it impossible for many people to have any sort of standard of living and how many of these programmes are quite exploitative. He mentioned how he had spoken to some single mums as part of some of the work he does and just how difficult they find it, "it's no way to live, we must do something different" he kept repeating. He's in my good books.

Then filming started! I didn't realise that the numbers' board is on the back of the letters' board and that when they change games from letters to numbers they pause filming, turn the board around and bring up the numbers card table, and vice versa. Well, I thought it was interesting.

I didn't get any of the tea time teasers nor the conundrum, although one member of the audience got the second game's conundrum, and as the first conundrum turned over a magnetic "o" fell off. They had to get a new one for that game but I thought the whole thing was quite quaint, and hilarious, the tools of the game are still relatively low-tech. Somebody said that in other countries many elements of Countdown are electronic but here in Britain we just love tradition. One of the contestants had won eight games in row but did not continue after the Friday show, instead he'll return for the championships. He came up with some great words. I can say that, as an English graduate.

So that was my week that was. You might be wondering what the "cyanide" thing is about in the title. Well I was watching an old episode of CSI: NY as I was writing this (I do apply for jobs and that during the day, I just sometimes like the telly on in the background too) and somebody had been poisoned by crushed peach pips and it got me wondering, why do we not get cyanide poisoning from almonds? There must be an obvious answer. And there is! Commercially sold almonds are sweet almonds and devoid of toxicity. If you are in the wild stay away from wild almonds (usually dark green in colour) as these are the ones full of cyanide.