Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is not a day I invest in, I'm a Valentines-Scrooge that thinks the whole day was invented by card companies, and we should express our love for people everyday... The most Alex and I have ever done for it is have a date night, or day when he surprised me at a cheer competition two years ago. This year, we're not doing either of those things due to our university schedules, but we had a lovely weekend together, including a fab time in Nottingham visiting good friends.

However, I've noticed how (trying to think of the appropriate word here) aggressive? dark? moody? angry? my post have been, so here's a cheery, love one that counts down my favourite fictional couples. Enjoy!

1. Lucas and Peyton, One Tree Hill

Over 6 seasons, and I'm still mightily upset we only got 6 seasons of 'Leyton', they went from moody teenagers, to a beautifully strong couple that finally got everything they could hope for and deserved. I bloody love them. Just look how happy they are in that season 6 photo!! Yes, there were break ups, but I think they learned from them, and both were due to immaturity. Neither Lucas or Peyton chose to maliciously lie to Brooke, and set out to hurt her. Peyton didn't mean to send Lucas away when she said she wasn't ready for his proposal, and I'm sure had he been older and less insecure, it wouldn't have happened. They grew together, admirably. To me, they prove that life can be incredibly tough, and there's nothing you can do about that, but love can give you all the strength you need.

2. Lily and Snape, Harry Potter
No, I'm not sh*tting all over Lily and James and how amazing 'The Potters' are, but come one people, Lily's kindness to Snape is a kindness we should all aim to share, and his love for her is one of the most intense loves I've ever come across in fiction or reality.

They also show the importance of society in the choices we make, and how moving on is the healthiest thing a person can do, because bitterness never helped anyone. Snape called Lily a mudblood at one point, instead of standing up for her, because he was a half blood Slytherin, and she was a muggle born Gryffindor. Also, despite it meaning that Snape quietly protected Harry, his bitterness from her being his lost love, made him very loudly attack Gryffindors, in particular the Marauders and then Harry. This couple can teach us a lot about love, the good and the bad, and that's why they're one of my favourites.

3. Jack and Sally, Nightmare Before Christmas
'For it is plain as anyone can see...

 ...we're simply meant to be'

Need I say anymore? It's a classic, girl takes care of boy while he runs about doing stupid things, then SUDDENLY, he realises this has been happening, and not only is he grateful that she's always looked out for him, he wants to look after her too. N'awww. 

4. Aragorn and Arwen, Lord of the Rings

The quote in this picture sums them up for me entirely. She gave up her kind, and put her relationship with her father completely on the line because of her love for Aragorn. He always seemed to understand this difficulty for her, and in many ways their pairing always struck as two complete equals meeting. I adore this couple, not because of how they show that love can persevere through lifetimes and war, but also because they show the love between a father and daughter through the conversations Arwen must have with her father. My dad and my boyfriend are my two favourite men, and mean an incredible amount to me, so I appreciate seeing that play out on screen.

5. Heathcliff and Catherine, Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights has been my favourite book since I was about 13, and I blame it for my obsession with old hairy men as it introduced the concept of finding a man 'as wild as the moors'. Yes, it's a bit of an odd story with the whole sort of incest, and everyone dies, but it's my absolute favourite. I love the drama, and how well it is written. The story also reminds me to never settle. Catherine went with Edgar because he was there effectively, he offered her a stable, materialistically wealthy life style and she went for it. There was no raw passion between them, no genuine connection that could never be broken, and everyone deserves those things surely? Any relationship worth its salt has them.

Have a fantastic Valentine's Day one and all!! I hope this and every other day is filled with love.

 

 

Harry Potter. The Boy I've Lived With.

 My oldest friend's sister is five years older than both of us, so she was the perfect age to read the Harry Potter books as soon as they came out. We were the perfect age to beg and plead with our parents about when we could read them because she made them sound so fantastic. My mum began reading them, and letting me read them once. By the time the Order of the Phoenix came out, I was reading them on my own, and adoring every last syllable of them. The final film was released the year before I turner 18, and nothing made me feel like I was growing up more. Harry Potter most definitely has not been left in my childhood though, in fact, for my twentieth birthday my parents took me to the WB Studios Tour in Watford, and yesterday I went back!!

One of my flatmates, and now good friends, is from America. As a huge Harry Potter fan, she's been dying to go to the WB Studios, and I was never going to say no. From Leicester, we had to get the train to Birmingham, then to Watford, then the shuttle bus to the studios. Even with everything running perfectly on time, four trains and two buses meant leaving our flat at 8:30am, and returning at 11:30pm - long ass day. BUT SO FRICKING WORTH IT.

Honestly, I know many may think that seeing all the behind the scenes stuff my ruin the magic of it all, but it really adds to it. You get to see all the effort and creativity that went into every last part of the films, and how many elements of it they actually built. Buckbeak is real people!!

They say to give yourselves around 3 hours for the tour, and I would agree that that's pretty much exactly the time you need, plus maybe half an hour in the shop. Be warned, you will want to buy EVERYTHING.

The first place you get to see is the Great Hall:

(We went decked in all the Harry Potter paraphernalia we own, and were not the only ones)

Next, you get to meander through all of the props and sets that were built. It really is extraordianary how much detail was added to everything, us Harry Potter fans were spoiled by the incredible skills of those involved in the films' making. 

Here's just one tiny area of this section, as I don't want to give too much away! Towards the end of this part, you can have your photos taken on a broom by yourself, or in groups. When I went with my parents, the group photo was in the flying Ford Anglia, but when I went yesterday, it was on an 'Undesirable No. 1' poster - both fab! Then, comes a section I hadn't seen before and almost brought me to tears: 

THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS. IT'S REAL. You can walk through one of the carriages, and each of the booths have relevant items in from each of the films. I honestly can't describe the feeling of seeing the train, it really made me emotional. From the train, you enter the Backlot Cafe where you can get Butterbeer (too sweet for me), and Butterbeer ice cream - absolutely delicious! It's like really thick vanilla infused with toffee. From the Cafe, is the back lot which has the Knight Bus, chess pieces from the Philosopher's Stone, Godric's Hollow, Hogwarts Bridge, and Number 4 Privet Drive. Then back inside you go for one of the most iconic parts of the tour:

Diagon Alley is also real!! The designers and creators put an astounding amount of detail into this set. Every single window is packed full of appropriate items, and the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes figure actually raises his top hat to you! Walking down here has you wear the exact same expression of awe that Harry does when Hagrid takes him to get his school supplies for the first time. The intricacies behind these set designs are shown in even more detail by the architectural drawings, and models in the following room. Then there is the finale, the piece de resistance;

Hogwarts itself. Absolutely stunning.

If you're a Harry Potter fan and haven't been to the studios, GET THERE. If you're a fan of film and haven't been to the studios, GET THERE. If you're someone who appreciates beauty and haven't been to the studios, GET THERE. The Harry Potter books, films, music, and all that went into them are beautifully stunning pieces of art that I could not be more grateful for. It's a fantastic story that we can learn so much from, and bond with others over. It's an invaluable phenomena that I hope the wonder of lasts for generations. I know I'll be reading these stories to my children and grandchildren, in the hope that they do the same.