Secondly: Clematis update!
I would have finished this page earlier, but Christmas got in the way a little. I have a Christmas themed Clematis picture on the way to make up for it.
So, how was my christmas?
1. My wrapping paper was awesome:
2. James' party had rather a low turnout, but plenty fun was had anyway. We visited Hampstead, which I've never been to before. It's a really nice area, and really posh too. It seemed just like the sort of place to set a winter romcom, and as much as I despise the genre, I found myself caught up in the atmosphere (things soured slightly, when I was relegated to the role of 'Fanny', the comic relief). We also walked upon Hampstead Heath and tried not to get caught up in some accidental cottaging; it was getting dark, but luckily surprise bumsex was avoided by all. Phew.
3. I came home to a parcel that had come all the way from Mariya in the New of York. Thank you Mariya, I loved the presents! Not only was there an I <3 NY coktail shaker, but also an amazing T-shirt:
I think I spy some Engrish! The T-shirt reads
It gathers with all, and has a party
Cookie
The time of the snack is happy
Wise words indeed. The batik is really pretty, I'll take photos as soon as I can frame it and put it up on my wall <3
4. The present I was most excited about was a knife sharpener. You have no idea how useful this will be (my knives are rubbish, I doubt they'd even cut butter).
5. The highlight of visiting my relatives yesterday: my Mum shouting out of the kitchen,
Anyone for a chocolate log?
My cousin, ever the fan of innuendo, laughed until he was red in the face.
6. I just watched 4 Disney movies in 2 days.
So, aside from Christmas, I just finished reading The Ladies of Grace Adieu. I really do like the universe that they are set in. Partly this is due to the versatility of the universe and the similarity to our own; I think a great many pieces of fiction could be made to cross-over with these stories with very little trouble (I love that The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse is actually a cross-over itself). I also like it because I get the feeling that Susanna Clarke has done quite a lot of world-building. It seems like there is a lot going on that isn't actually told in the stories (for example, I love that entirely ficticious quotes are cited properly, with Susanna Clarke even going as far as to name the publisher). Stories with good world-building always have a lot more depth, and are subsequently a lot more interesting, than stories that have been placed in 'generic fantasy world'. Take The Lord of the Rings for example, that had the whole of the Silmarillion behind it, and more besides, which makes the whole thing seem a lot more real. In short, I think the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell has a lot of mileage.
Going on a very slight tandem to that; I just watched the first Pirates of the Caribbean again. I love this film, it is such a feel-good romp. Now that I've watched the second film, I seem to be picking up on a lot more Jack/Elizabeth (and also Jack/Elizabeth/Will, OT3! OT3!), but that is all by the by. The conclusion I come to time and again, whenever I watch Pirates of the Caribbean, is that Johnny Depp is amazing; he steals the whole show, every time.
So, coming back to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I have come to the realisation that, in the up-coming movie, no-one would be better suited to play the gentleman with the thistle-down hair than Mr Johnny Depp himself. I think the gentleman with the thistle-down hair is verging on my favourite character from the book; he is so animated! I think that Johnny Depp would be able to bring the amount of energy to the role that is required (also, he is pretty enough to play a fairy). But please, on no account must Orlando Bloom be let anywhere near the gentleman with the thistle-down hair; in every film I've seen him in, he's managed to make the characters he plays completely and utterly boring.
