Rach's Review Session

OK, the main idea of this post is to do a bit of reviewing, but no doubt I will end up rambling on about other things too!!!

Review 1 - The 39 Steps
On Saturday, I went up to the Criterion Theatre on (or rather under) Piccadilly Circus with my friend Sarah M (there are a few Sarah's in my life as well as my ickle sis). It had been a number of years since I had been to the Criterion Theatre and I had forgotten what a great little theatre it is. For anyone who's not been there, it is underground and it is as if it had been shrunk by a third, with low ceilings, little leg room, especially if you are taller than my 5'5'', and a tiny stage by West End standards! It all makes for a good viewing experience though as you are so close to the stage, even near the back row of the dress circle as we were. Anyway, as I say we went to see The 39 Steps. This play is a spoof of the Alfred Hichcock version of the spy thriller film, with multiple references to other Hichcock films woven into the jokes. The whole play is only performed by 4 brilliant actors, with 2 in particular taking on multiple roles, even in the same scene!! I don't think that I went more than a couple of minutes without laughing! I thought that the play was excellent and anyone who wants a fun filled 1 hr 45minutes (and that's including the interval) I would definitely recommend this play - 5 stars:

The 39 Steps official website

Thanks so much Sarah for organising our tickets - it was really great to see you and it was a wonderful afternoon! 

Before the play, we spent a couple of hours people watching over a late lunch near to Charing Cross Station. Having had the lovely warm weather the week before, Saturday's weather was rather on the chilly side. It was amusing to see how some people had obviously been caught out by the cold weather, with a few 'I love London' jumpers obviously having been emergency purchases!! A few hardy souls though were still out in t-shirts and flip-flops though!!!

Review 2 - Sunday was movie day!
I must admit that Sunday turned into a rather lazy day, with only a short walk around the park (about an hour) taking me away from the TV. I started by watching the Brad Pitt movie Moneyball. Now like a lot of others, I do appreciate a bit of Brad Pitt!! ;-) This movie (based on the true story of the Oakland A's baseball team) was interesting to watch, seeing how the general manager picked a new team based on statistics to get round not having much money. I must admit I do like sporting movies (with Invictus and Field of Dreams two of my faves), even if I don't have much knowledge of the sport involved. All in all I think I'd give this film 3 stars.

The next movie I watched was the DVD of Date Night (thanks Anne-Marie for giving me this for my birthday!). I did laugh my way through this movie and thought that Steve Carell and Tina Fey were brilliant! And of course I did appreciate the scenes with Mark Walburg without his shirt on!! ;-) ;-) Watching the outtakes had me in stitches!! A 4 star film I think.

By now the popcorn had been finished but I managed another film - The Proposal. Again, thanks Anne-Marie!! Now, I do love a good Sandra Bullock movie, and with having the added bonus of having Ryan Reynolds in it, this was right up my street - every girl could do with a bit of Ryan Reynolds!! ;-) I thought that the best character was Betty White's Grandma character though! I laughed my way through most of her scenes! Another 4 star film I think.

Wednesday saw a day of going back and forth to the hospital. I had an appointment for 8.30am to get my bloods taken and my PICC line flushed. With the usual roulette of getting the bus to the hospital - sometimes it takes 10 minutes, sometimes closer to 45 - we arrived early, just after 8am, to be told that the day unit (I have to have my bloods taken on the chemo day unit as they have the most experience of working with PICC lines) doesn't open for business until 9am and I shouldn't have been given an 8.30am appointment!! Oh well, another chance to sit around a hospital waiting, and waiting, and waiting!!! At least, when the clock struck 9, I was the first patient called through! Dad had come with me - thanks Dad - so we both looked away whilst the dressing over my PICC line was changed!! All went well though and the bloods were drawn without the need for needles or bruises!!! I LOVE my PICC line for this!! After a return home to watch some cop drama and some lunch, it was time for hospital visit of the day number 2! This time it was to see my lovely oncologist for my routine clinic checkup. With the long Easter weekend, the clinic appointment, which is usually on a Friday, had to be pulled forwards a couple of days (it also means that chemo cycle 4 starts on Tuesday next week rather than Monday). My oncologist seemed happy with everything and I haven't got any more side effects and those I have got haven't really got any worse, thankfully! We found out that the delay in my new treatment (Cetuximab biological therapy) is most likely down to a mix up with the paper work rather than a problem with the funding not being given, so I should be getting that for the first time on Tuesday. It also sounds like I will be getting the therapy every fortnight with my normal chemo, rather than having to add extra hospital visits to get it weekly. I'll just get a bigger dose each time, no worries!

Review 3 - Fish and Chip supper
Yummy!! 5 stars!! On Wednesday evening, after our fish and chip supper, Dad and I headed back down to the motorway so that I can spend the long weekend being fussed over at home. It's been nice and relaxing! :-)

Review 4 - Avebury Manor
This afternoon, we headed to get some culture by visiting the World Heritage Site at Avebury in Wiltshire. The original plan was to have a wander around the village and look at the stones. We visited the museums and found that the final 3 tickets for a tour of the Manor could be ours. I don't know whether any of you caught it, but the Manor featured in the BBC show The Manor Reborn, where they worked on 9 of the rooms in the manor house to recreate them as they could have been at various stages in the life of the manor. This made for an interesting tour. As the rooms were done out to reflect the various eras using reproduction furniture and items sourced from various places, it meant that we could sit on the chairs, look at the books, and even lie on the beds (as long as you took your shoes off). With it being the Easter weekend, there were lots of families with children running around enjoying the hands on aspects of the manor. They were also taking part in a Cadbury's Easter egg hunt, winning chocolate eggs at the end!!! I think it was unfair that I wasn't allowed to take part in the Easter egg hunt!! ;-) I think that the manor was worth a visit and especially with children, as you didn't have to worry if they touched anything!

With having looked around the gardens around the manor, as well as it being a bit chilly, we left walking around the stone circles for another day. They've been there a few thousand years, so I don't expect they'll go anywhere anytime soon!! I'll go back another time and take my camera to try and get some arty shots - there were some lovely photos for sale in the shop that have inspired me!

Well, I think that is all my ramblings for now.

Have a happy Easter / Chocolate Day everyone!!!

xxx