Merlin - The Ending

Really sad that the BBC Merlin series has come to an end and split over whether it should have ended or not.  From one perspective the story has pretty much reached its natural conclusion and followed the accepted stories to that conclusion, and there was a same again feeling to some of the stories especially Morgana who became increasingly unbelievable.  The other side is that there were other issues which could and needed to be explored further especially relating to Arthur, Merlin and magic.  I do feel the BBC have let the viewers down rushing to conclude this show prematurely and ought to have brought it to a better and more thought out conclusion than Merlin walking near Glastonbury Tor (?) in the present day with no explanation.

I am also angry that they choose to broadcast the ending on Christmas Eve when so many children would have been watching.  I can say, with no shame, that Jamie and I were sat crying our eyes out to it on Christmas Eve.  We are looking forward to working our way through the whole 5 series again at some point - I think Jamie is hoping to get them on DVD for his birthday but overall I feel let down by the BBC.

Jamie was so upset he contacted the BBC and has finally had a response from them today which is below

Thanks for contacting us regarding BBC One’s ‘Merlin’ broadcast on 24 December.

We apologise for the delay in replying. We realise that our correspondents appreciate a quick response and we’re sorry that you had to wait on this occasion.

We’re also sorry you were disappointed about how the two part finale of ‘Merlin’ concluded.

Please be assured concerns about this issue were raised with the programme production team.

The first part focussed on Morgana and Mordred's plan to destroy Camelot's army at Camlann and the subsequent battle. As the relationship between Merlin and Arthur had been the core to the whole series we decided this should be the case for the second part of the finale as well. You may not agree with how we told the final piece of the story but we tried to stay as true to the end of the Arthurian myth as possible, whilst providing viewers with the opportunity to see Arthur accept Merlin for who he really is. The time jump at the end showed that Merlin was still protecting Arthur and awaiting the moment of his return.

Over five series ‘Merlin’ has evolved and grown to be a huge favourite with the audience and we're all very grateful to the viewers for their support.

I am sad to see the end of the TV series as it has ranked amongst one of the best shows on BBC for some time.

Ciao
Sue

All Great Plans ....

So as with all great plans - you have to have a back up plan! - well the year hasn't quite kicked off as planned but we're hoping it means we get stuff out of the way at the beginning and it isn't setting a precedent.  So here am I putting off heading to bed as I have a serious chest infection (antibiotics etc) and a odious cough which ramps itself up for bedtime.  Jamie has a flu like illness and has had a raging temperature which has affected both appetite and xbox interest - both very strong indicators that he is ill.  He has also been very sweet and quiet so totally confirming any diagnosis a doctor could give.

We are thankfully on the road to improvement now although it may take another couple of days of TLC and terrible daytime TV before either of us is really back to being a happy bunny.  Yet as they say every cloud and I have almost lost my voice and am struggling to speak so everything is not all bad as Mike has confirmed!!  So fingers crossed this is our bad dose for the year and we are restored to health and vitality very soon!!

Ciao

Sue

40 Bags in 40 Days

I'm a great fan of Pintrest these days and love checking in to see what are the latest new pins - what tips and tricks are there to explore, what amazing colour or clothing combinations are there to have a look at, or just look at some pictures of my favourite places.  One pin that has caught my eye recently and which feeds into the new year spring cleaning bug which hits about this time of year is the 40 bags in 40 days which is basically finding 40 spaces in the house which need a de-clutter and working through them in 40 days.  So being someone who loves decluttering (I'm not quite sure how it gets that way as I have been on a minimalist kick for a little while now but anyway!) this really caught my attention so  I am now happy to get on with this as a great pre-spring clean project.  Below is one of the templates for the list from the website above which I'm using as my template.  I'll add my list in shortly and update as the project progresses!

Ciao

Sue

The Secret Garden

We always venture off to see the Christmas production at The Stables in Wavendon (a great venue for those who haven't every been check out its website and see who is  coming in the next few months, they have such an eclectic mix - fingers crossed we'll be off to see Midge Ure later in the year).  This year it was The Secret Garden an adaption by Proteus Theatre Co of the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  The Christmas plays at The Stables are always so innovative, usually a small cast who use music and puppets so creatively that you don't even notice there may be only 4 or 5 in the group.

The production was good with really creative use being made of a very simple set and costume adjustments rather than changes.  All the acting was very competently carried out and you believed the story which was very faithful to the book.  I particularly like the use of shadow drawing to tell Mary Lennox's back story and how she became an orphan in India.  Of course the story was condensed and I really hope it inspired some to go away and read the book in full as it's such a wonderful story.

I loved the accents too, lots of broad Yorkshire (!!) and loads of references and descriptions of the Moors so it was all good there, Jamie saw the production twice coming earlier in the run with school, so keeping him engaged for two shows gives an indication of the quality.

A very enjoyable afternoon.

Ciao

Sue

Just to wish one and all a Very Happy New Year!

I really didn't get the amount of blogging done last year that I had hoped so am starting the new year with a new plan - no more trying to catch up and more shorter and pithy blogs as the mood hits me - well I'll see how it goes!

Ciao

Sue

Breaking Dawn Part 2

I'm not sure beware spoilers is necessary as I'm sure just about everyone else in the world must have seen this by now but just in case.

We finally got to see Breaking Dawn Part 2 last night, partly due to husband being on night shift therefore unable to partake in much merriment on NYE and partly it has become a bit of a tradition that we visit the cinema on NYE before heading home for some libation!  Well there wasn't much of that either due to my having a very poorly sore throat so I was keeping to soft drinks.

Breaking Dawn was very enjoyable and I really need to pick up on the book series again - well maybe after War and Peace!  It brought the story to a great conclusion and everyone seemed to live happily ever after.  Some thoughts - well I don't get the RPatz thing Taylor Lautner is so lovely!, Michael Sheen of course is totally brilliant and both Jamie and I did the "well there is 10 minutes of my life" statement which has become legendary since Mike used it after something we were watching! for Alice's flash forward.  There was an audible intake of breath from me when Carlisle Cullen got 'killed' - although I was rather relieved that everyone didn't get their heads pulled off!

Overall a good way to round off the year!

Ciao

Sue