Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Three Cheers to 2014!

A bittersweet week full of inspiration and reflection.
Three cheers for 2014!


To the Past
If you've read my any of my previous posts, I am training to become a teacher. On Thursday, it was the end of my first school placement that I will do during my training and by golly, I'm going to miss that place! I was only there for over two months but the art of teaching really hit a chord with me. I've always had in the back of my mind that I'd love to be a teacher but this placement has set that in stone. It is one of the most rewarding jobs anyone can have - by no means the easiest, but the most rewarding for sure! I was sad to go but happy to know that I was definitely in the right place doing the right thing. I'm already half way towards becoming fully qualified! Where has the time gone?


"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."
Albert Einstein

To the Present
Yesterday was a momentous day, I finished writing the first episode of my something special. I will say no more but even if it doesn't become something that is ever produced, it's something that I have enjoyed writing and enjoyed the company of my own characters. I guess writing is the acceptable adult version of having imaginary friend and playing make believe.

"And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name."
William Shakespeare (from A Midsummer Night's Dream)

To the Future
Today is Christmas Eve Eve - the day before the day before Christmas as it were! We are that much more closer to starting Chapter 2015. This year has been a good one and a grateful one. I graduated from university, I started this blog, I got back into creative writing, I started Youtube, I've met new people, new friends and I've started teaching to name oh but a few! I can only wish that Chapter 2015 holds more adventure in store for me because I'm going to give it all I got. I'm ready for the sad, the bad and the awful and pumped for the happy, good and the awesome!


You may not be in the content place where you'd like to be, but sometimes all it takes is that one little push and that one risk. Concentrate on all the little things in life because they take the biggest part of your heart.


Much love and keep smiling.
I believe in you.

Skeena xxx


P.S. On a final note, I write this post whilst listening to Ludovico Einaudi. You're welcome!

Sunday, 16 November 2014

Does education need to change?

As a trainee teacher, the education system will and is becoming one of the focuses in my life. And something that many don't realise unless you're in the business, so to speak, is all the educational politics of the current education system.

For instance, does our current education support creativity or is it becoming more about processing children based on numbers and grades? Sir Ken Robinson, who is an expert around this are particularly, makes a very interesting stand in this direction.
Some may argue that this school of thought is completely radicalised and the current "Victorian Educational System" that some may refer it to, has worked for many upon many years; so why does it need to change now? And quite frankly, this is a fair, strong point. It has worked for many years and many of the most creative, successful minds of today come from this "Victorian Educational System". But I would question, surely as the newer generation of kids come through our schools with generally different norms, values and skill sets, surely a change in education is a step into the right direction?

We all probably know at least 1 toddler who knows their way around a phone, tablet, the new craze of "phablet" as you will, more than what you and I would've have known at their age. At it's the dawn of the tech age which is forever changing into bigger and greater things. We now have children who have never experienced life without technology. Technology that you can play with, interact with and do next to everything you ever need on it almost instantaneously to the extent where a second too slow is a second too long. This leading to low patience and attention span for our children of today. So does the current Victorian Education System need a modern twist?

For example, look at the work place before the Industrial Revolution. We had factories and mills full of workers who did all of our manual labour. But since the introduction of the new technology that took the form of machinery, the work place had to change in order to adhere to the Industrial Revolution. The work place no longer needed workers with manual skill sets such as weaving as we had machines who could do that for use and several speeds faster. So the work place changed just like how I believe the education system should change.

I personally don't think completely uprooting the education system is necessary as there are a lot of good things about our education system but certain changes with the right intentions can surely only benefit the children as their the main consumers of our education system. We have schools for children which can sometimes be hidden amongst labeling children, grades and target levels which is a debate in itself for another rainy day.

The current education works and they say you shouldn't fix what's not broken. But then how do we improve and make the way we do things better, efficient, and worthwhile?

I'm not expecting an overnight miracle of a change but a gradual one where we have the children's best interest at hearts. After all, they will be the one's running the planet in years to come.

Thursday, 30 October 2014

She Reads.

What do you think of my second pencil drawing?

She Reads.

I used this photograph I found online below as a starting point.
Of course, all credit to the photographer (whom I couldn't find!).


In my last Shakespeare artwork, I blogged that I wanted to work on my perspective, making my 2D look for 3 dimensional and just generally drawing people. I picked this photograph based on all those things so that I can practice each of them.

What I've learned?

  1. If it's closer to you, it's bigger!
    Logically, this makes no sense whatsoever. How can an object be "bigger" depending on where it is if it physically hasn't changed it's state? However, I've found that particularly in this photo, if you keep this unlogical, artistic logic in mind when drawing, you'll find it's bigger on the inside - (nope! Sorry that's Doctor Who!) - you'll find that it makes drawing things in perspective becomes that little bit more easier!
  2. Your rubber is not only for mistakes!
    Now, we are taught from the moment we can pick up a pencil that the sole purpose and function of a rubber or eraser if you're from over the pond, is to get rid of any of mistakes you make on your paper. I found that it helped me a lot on the blending side of things when I was shading in the steps - in particular the side of the steps where it's darker nearer the top. Try it - who knew the rubber was so multifunctional!
  3. Direction of shading is important!
    Looking at the steps mainly or even the shading on Anon(ymous) the little girl, focusing and establishing which direction you want to shade in helps make your drawing more realistic as we don't live in a horizontal/vertical lined world. The outline of the steps in my drawing are basically just long strips behind the little girl but with differentiating the direction of the shading for each strip, every 3 strips builds up one step - you following me? So for example, for the girls arms, I shaded using curved lines to try and make her arm look more cylinder-esque than rectangular.


Turning my Can't into Cans - not the Tin kind!
So I clearly still struggle with humans - not so much on a social level but more in the 2D world of drawings! I struggled quite a bit on her cute button nose and her right leg. Random, but true. Oh, and not to mention her left hand holding the book! That had to be by far the hardest part of the drawing that I found. Just generally the bottom half of this anonymous little girl had me stumbling over myself.
Having said that though, I'm really happy with how it came out as a piece overall. Yes, it's not a splitting image of the photograph but I'm happy with my attempt. Quite frankly, it came out better than anticipated! I am no means a Van Gogh but it's fun trying!

Pick up a pencil and doodle - you can thank me later!
Take care and keep smiling xxx

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

BLOG, I'VE MISSED YOU.

It's been a while blog-adile!


I definitely did not anticipate how busy I'd get; even too busy to post once a week! I'm ashamed. It started off only missing one or two and then another one or two was added and well, we both know what happened next.

I'm still busy and can only predict myself getting busier as the academic year progresses. But I still want to blog because I enjoy writing down my thoughts; otherwise they all get clogged up in my brain with a risk of explosion. Fact.

I may not be able to commit once a week but I will try my absolute hardest. I'm trying to manage my time a little better so if I schedule a specific time to dedicate to my blog, theoretically I shall still be able to keep up with it - even if it's not as regularly as I would like.

Update: I'm a teacher?
Just a bit of an update on what I've been getting up to, I've been busy being a baby in the teaching world and getting to grips on what kind of teacher I am. It's incredibly tiring but incredibly rewarding at the end of the day. I'm excited to refine the art of teaching for myself.

Arty Charcoal Pencil Pants
Speaking of art, I observed an Art lesson and the charcoal portraits on the walls just inspired me to spontaneously buy charcoal, a sketchpad and a mouldable rubber. Charcoal did arrive but it wasn't charcoal at all so have ordered another set. So in the meantime I have been experimenting with the simple pencil and I'm loving it. I'm currently working on a little girl drawing, which of course I shall post when I'm finished with it. I was feeling quite Shakespearean this Monday and spent the day drawing his humble abode, the globe and him, which you will be able to find on the Arty Pants page or see it directly by clicking here.

I do YouTube?
And finally, though I've not posted any written posts on my blog for a while, I did post a video of mine; The BBC Sherlock Tag (My Updated Version). I hope to post more Youtube videos because it's so much fun! But we'll both have to wait and see what will become of it! You can subscribe to my Youtube channel here (SkeenaKeepSmiling) so that any new videos I make will appear in your subscription feed.

That's all for me! I hope you've been keeping well since I posted last.
Take care and keep smiling xxx

Monday, 27 October 2014

Shakespearean it up in here!

After observing an art lesson, it inspired me to spontaneously buy charcoal pencils, a sketchpad and a mouldable rubber. The charcoal pencils arrived but were in fact NOT charcoal so whilst I wait for some actual charcoal to arrive in the post,  I decided to go back to basics with ye trusty ol' pencil et voila!

His Humble Abode, The Globe and Him. 


Getting to "Et Voila!"
I was feeling particularly Shakespearean,
Shakespeare's Cat. A meme I did for an article at my new work (The article if you like ).
so opted to first start off his his humble abode. I found this photo below online and as it's been somewhat over 5 years since I've actually drawn something, I thought that a house that was so geometrically pleasing to the eye would be a good start.


I then was left with a massive space in the bottom right corner of my page and what better to fill it with, but The Globe itself. I love how this photo displays the Globes circular nature with it's open top, thatched roof.

And finally, how could I draw a tribute to Shakespeare without including the Bard of Avon himself! The longer I stared at this portrait whilst drawing him, the more his eyes in the portrait felt alive staring right at me. Quite freaky but with a Mona Lisa-esque stare - his eyes will follow you whichever angle you make look at it! 
And there you have it!

Although initially I was going to leave it at that, I wanted to add a little colour into my drawing. I knew I definitely didn't want to colour in my drawing as such so I had the idea to write in and around my drawings in coloured pens. I thought it would be a nice little extra to have my scrawly scribbles surrounding Shakespeare as we all know him for his own scribbles in the form of his poems and plays.



Outside the Globe (the pink and green writing) reads who Shakespeare was - William Shakespeare, the playwright, the poet, the Bard. Inside the Globe (the blue and orange) are a selection of his plays - Macbeth, Midsummer night's Dream, Richard III, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry VIII, Romeo and Juliet, Tempest, King John, Anthony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar and Othello. 

Alas! Poor yorick! What would you improve?
I think with whatever you produce, it is always important to reassess and evaluate your work so that you can better yourself and go that one step further in refining your skill. So though I do like the outcome of this piece, there are a few things that I would like to work on.

One of the things I'd like to work on is bringing the 2D to life into 3D. I did try and attempt a bit of shading in this drawing which is a start. To help with this, I also need to look at perspective and how different elements of a drawing relates to other elements.

Out of the whole piece, I struggled the most with Shakespeare's nose. People and their features were always something I could never get right; noses, ears, lips, hands. But with practice, I hope these will become more comfortable to draw.

I've started to work on my second piece of a little girl and her reading book. I will be trying to work on my shading and drawing features and we shall see what the outcome is once I finish!

Thanks for reading!
Take care, keep it Shakespearean and keep smiling xx

Monday, 25 August 2014

SeptCharity - The Ice Bucket Challenge for MND Association

The Ice Bucket Challenge had me stumbling all over my words but I DID IT! 


I decided to monotise this video on 14th September and donate all the money made from its AdSense to the MND Association in exactly a year; 14th September 2015.

I have also set up a donation page for those who would like to go the extra mile and donate to the cause: Donate to MND Association. (The MND Association is the UK based charity of the ALS Association which is the USA based one.)

My hope is that I can make more charity videos in the months to come so stay tuned!

Keep smiling and together we have and will make a difference xxx

Sunday, 17 August 2014

Decisions, Decisions and Many Laughs Later

A-level Dooms Day
So those of the age of 16-19 years old, all received their A-level results this week. Man, time flies! I remember the day I got my A-Level results so vividly. Excuse the cheese, but I remember it like it was yesterday! How I'm now a graduate going on postgraduate, just like that, I will never know. Time always feels so slow in the present but so fast in the past. Time works in mysterious ways.


Yes, I was the crier. I cried upon reading my A-level results. It was a make or break moment. Would I get into my first choice university or not? To be or not to be was most definitely the question no doubt. And to be 'twas!

I have never been so nervous for results before that. It was the most scariest thing just waiting to see where fate lives. I remember, I watched the sun set and rise. The one and only time I have ever done an all nighter. I was just so nervous, sleep was no concern of mine. The results would be online at half 8am before being able to collect them from sixth form. So naturally, I jumped on at 8am with my turtle of a PC. For 2 hours and a half straight, I sat at the computer desk watching it freeze and unfreeze before me constantly. Time stood still. Time, now, to collect results from the sixth form. And there stood 3 letters that confirmed my first choice university. I cried. Who wouldn't?

Robin Williams; You Are Billiant.
Sometimes, the happiest people who make us laugh, are the saddest of people who cry inside.

Nobody would have been able to predict this sadness. I found out through twitter and did not believe a word. My first instinct was telling me it was a rumor. I mean, it had to be right? But as the tweets became flooding onto my timeline, it was hard to ignore and as respected news articles were being circulated, it was clear - Robin Williams, Rest In Peace.

As a 90s kid, Robin Williams was literally my childhood. From Hook, to Aladdin, to Toys, to Mrs. Doubtfire, to Jumanji, to Flubber, to Patch Adams, to Night at the Museum - great talent.

Williams' publicist had announced that Williams was "battling severe depression". And his death has shown us the harsh reality of what depression can do to even someone of Williams' nature. It's a serious condition that sometimes can be shrugged off but just being sad is a major understatement. It goes way deeper than that, and the more we speak about it, the more
 

Sunday, 10 August 2014

Stop War, Hug More, Cats Galore!

World War One Centenary
The beginning of this week marked 100 years since World War One. A few weeks ago, I blogged about my sister performing in a choir commemorating the centenary of World War One and the beginning of this week was the day that the world stood still to remember.

 From 10pm to 11pm on Monday, people in the UK turned off all their lights but one to remember the 17 million of the fallen during World War One.


A very beautiful gesture that the Trafford Centre organised in salutation was the Million Poppy Cascade. This is where they let poppies fall to symbolise those who fell during the World War.


It's times like this when you begin to reflect upon the world you live in and are a part of. These soldiers and civilians put their own lives on the line for a better world for the future. Can we even start to imagine the bravery? It makes you think, would you do the same?

Are you someone who would sacrifice your own needs for another? And when I ask these questions, I don't only mean would you go to war to stand for something you believe in but also for the smaller things in life. Like when you see someone's car has broken down on the road, do you stop and help? Or when someone is teasing somebody else in a way that makes them uncomfortable, are you the type of person who would step in? Or when you see someone pickpocket someone but they are still unaware of it, would you try and stop them?

I'm no saint and I put my hands up, there have been times where I've stand and just watched things unravel. I guess it's the fear that you don't want to get involved that wins over the desire to help. But in a world where war and violence still exists strongly, not lending a small helping hand in everyday life seems petty in comparison.

There's a saying by Albert Einstein, "Be a voice, not an Echo.".

Make a stand in one what you believe in, even if you are the only one but I think that being an echo is still just as powerful. By being the echo, you constantly repeat what you preach, like how nothing should stop us from standing up for what we believe in; like how nothing should stop us from offering a helping hand.

If you were in their situation and asked for help, surely you'd hope that you would be someone who would.

 
WORLD CAT DAY.
Need I saw more? Pretty sure this was invented so that the cat's can regain their Ancient Egyption power but hey, you don't need to give me an excuse to post pictures of cats! To celebrate World Cat Day, I thought we'd celebrate the glorious internet cats we know and love.

Pusheen the Cat


Waffles the Cat
Grumpy Cat


Nyan Cat


Chemistry Cat
Chemistry%2520cat

All dem internet catz!!!!!
(by Richard Swarbrick)


Mew Mew Mew-miaow! xxx

Wednesday, 6 August 2014

Snapperoon: Eid-ul-Fitr Mehndi 2014

Capturing my life in snaps. 

I am by no means a henna/mehndi artiste professional but I do try!
This is all from years of practice as growing up, I had nobody else to do my own mehndi but myself.
My little sister's mehndi with her red and gold polish to match her Eid clothes.

 My mum hardly ever wants to get her mehndi done and the one occasion that she allows me to, the mehndi tube clogs up half way through hence the small design!

And finally, my own hand.
I'm quite fond of the one-sided style.

 I think the simpler the design, the more pleasing it is to the eye.
This is my attempt of following a design I found on t'internet.

Sunday, 3 August 2014

Eid, Commonwealth Mubarak & it'Scott to be his Birthday!

Eid Mubarak
The beginning of this week marked Eid-ul-Fitr which is a celebratory day at the end of the month of fasting; Ramadan. It's a day full of food, prayer, family (not necessarily in that order!) and most importantly gratitude.

The day usually starts of with Eid prayer at the mosque. If not already paid prior to Eid, Fitrana (also known as Zakat-ul-Fitr) is paid. This is a certain amount of money paid per person per household to the mosque. The amount can vary as it is based on how much 2.5kg of wheat costs. For example, a few years ago it was £2.50 and this year it's £5 per person.

The Fitrana money is then given and used by less fortunate Muslims to pay for any needs they may have for Eid. As Eid is a day of celebration for all Muslims, irrespective of wealth, therefore it is our duty to help others to celebrate it with us. For example, the money could help pay for a filling, Eid meal for a family or buy new clothes for them to wear.

After Eid prayers, the family gathers together to eat a banquet of food! And funnily enough, it's easy to think that now you can eat during the day that someone will have to pin you down to stop, but often you fill up quite quickly as your body is still used to the month of fasting.

Though physical presents can be given, money is often gifted from the elderly to the young (Eidi).So if you're a young'un with A LOT of elder relatives, be ready to collect millions as you run to the corner shop to buy yourself some millions!


As with anything, the novelty of Eid may start to rub off as you get older but either way, it's such a meaningful day where family come together, eat food and be merry!

Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow ended this week. It just flew by! To be honest, I don't feel like I was even given enough time to breathe it all in and it's already ended.
What I do know though, is that England aren't all that bad at sport! ;)
(Taken from the official Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games website)

Hats off to the artist of this comic!


(Sorry, not sorry!)
The Andrew Scott Birthday Project
Last but most definitely not least, my friend who runs @andrwscttonline on Twitter launched the Andrew Scott Birthday project today.

Similar to what they did last year, Scotties are collectively making a birthday video to wish Andrew a Happy Birthday (which, might I add, he replied to in his own little video!).



Furthermore, similar to what was done for the Batch's Birthday, fans are raising money by donating to a charity. The charity for the Scott Project is Shaped Arts who supports the disabled within the arts and cultures sector. You can get involved and donate here.

Last time @andrwscttonline did a gift donation for Scott, it was earlier this year for Montage Theatre Arts who provide performing arts support for low-income families within their community. It managed to raise just over £700 and Andrew himself said that he would donate the matched amount from his fans to the charity which meant double the donation which is awesome!

Coincidentally, his birthday (October 21st) falls on the same date as my long-term, friend since childhood, friend of all friends' birthday! This is the friend who insisted I watched Sherlock last year just before Series 3 was announced hence introducing me to Andrew Scott! Been a fan ever since!

To get more information and get involved: Andrew Scott Birthday Project

That's all le updates from me for the week!
(Sometimes I think I'm French...I'm really not!)


Garder le Sourire xxx
(..totally didn't just Google Translate that...maybe...)

Sunday, 27 July 2014

Birthdays, Waxworks and Royals

Benedict Cumberbirthday with Madame Tussaud
So it was the Batch's birthday last week but as my Weekly Thought Catcher post last week was all about my Graduation, there was no room for the Batch apart from Cumberbatch the Cardboard Cut Out! (Read more about it here!)

You may wonder why I'm bothered that it was Cumberbatch's birthday, and though it was very hard to ignore with #HappyBirthdayBenedictCumbebatch trending on Twitter and my whole timeline being full with nothing but Birthday Batch, it was what the Cumbercookies did collectively that I want to congratulate.

There were many charitable initiatives that the Cumberbatch fans launched in celebration of Birthday Batch. From a Batch of Kindness which was simply doing a good deed for the day and spreading extra smiles to charity fundraising. One of the charities that fans fundraised for was the Prince's Trust which is a charity that Benedict is an ambassador for. The Prince's Trust is a charity that helps disadvantaged young people in the UK to help and support them to get into education and work. Currently the Birthday Batch collections has raised over £15,500 for the Prince's Trust which is amazing! Despite the negative stereotype of fans being overly obsessive, I love how so many people from all over the world can raise so much money in the name of one man: Benedict Cumberbatch.

I believe the fundraising page is still open for donations. So if you'd like to get involved and donate to the Prince's Trust you can do by clicking here.

Also sneaking in some newer news, the Batch will finally be able to photobomb himself by means of his own Madame Tussaud waxwork! I personally have never been to Madame Tussaud's but would really love to wander round one day if I get the chance to. Maybe I can upgrade my picture with Cumberbatch the Cardboard Cut Out to Cumberbatch the Waxwork!

Read the official Madame Tussauds announcement on their website here! 

(Picture taken from Madame Tussaud's site.)



Baby Royal Birthday!
Can you believe that Baby Prince George is already 1 years old?!
As he turns 1, it is becoming more and more apparent that George has a real eye for nature. 
(Image released for Prince George's birthday by John Stillwell)


Who remembers the hysteria that this little chubby brought upon his arrival? It was all over the news worldwide and on every single channel that you flicked on. There were running updates all over the place and was pretty hard to miss even with your eyes and ears closed!

As exciting as it was to know that we'd be having a new little edition to the Royal Family, I did feel that the media coverage got a little too overcrowded. There were reporters and media camping right outside the hospital for days wanting to get the first glance of the baby prince. I understand it's something everybody wants to be the first to catch and that it's their job to report such a momentous moment but I did feel sorry for them, especially Kate, with all this attention. She looked great having just had a baby, but I imagine when you've just had a baby, the very last thing you want is the whole world watch you and take pictures of you as you leave the hospital. I definitely admire Kate for still being courteous, despite having just delivered a baby!

There are a few people who are skeptical of the whole Royal Family, and I definitely have my opinions on certain members of the family but I really do love the little family unit that is Kate, Will and George. There's just something about them being young and just genuinely nice people, that makes them so loveable. And quite honestly, Kate really reminds me of Princess Diana (whom my mum has always admired - to the extent of collecting books on her - and has rubbed off me!) and as sad as it is that Princess Diana isn't here to see her eldest son, daughter-in-law and grandson, I'm sure she would be so proud!

Happy First Birthday Prince George!

Wednesday, 23 July 2014

Snapperoon: University of Manchester

Capturing My Life in Snaps


If Sherlock was in Manchester.

"There are no secrets to success.
It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."
- Colin Powell

Sunday, 20 July 2014

I did a thing: GRADUATION!

After being sent that in an email near the end of my final semester by my University, I actually did it. I made it. And it is the most surreal, unexplainable, indescribable feeling that when it happens it's like you're just wandering around in a dream.

Graduation Outfit
So after my little panic at the end of my School, Sherlock and Style post two weeks ago, I dug into my smart clothes basket and decided to wear this green, skater dress which has an indented print in the material along with a pair of black, smart trousers and a matching plain, green scarf.

I was all set but then two days before my ceremony, my mum walks into my room and says "Right, let's go and buy you some Graduation clothes." and off I was whisked away!

I didn't want my mum to spend much, if anything at all, but we ended up getting this knee-length, sleeveless, navy blue dress which had a black strip around the bottom with a pink belt accessory. We also a white, chiffon blouse to go underneath and a pair of chino-cut, smart, black trousers with a bold hem down the front. And actually, the blouse was several sizes too big but as it was on sale, it was the last one. But it all worked out because as it was being worn under the dress, all that could be seen was the sleeves anyways.

I paired this new graduation outfit with my own pink scarf to match the pink belt that came with the dress and a pair of blue wedged heels that I bought from my local market months ago but had never found an occasion to wear them. But man, my feet were pleading mercy by the end of the day!

Graduation Ceremony
Now the ceremony was scheduled for an hour-ish. We were advised to arrive at least 90mins before as even though there were tickets allocated for guests, the seats were first come first served. So we arrived at 10:30am and my ceremony started at 12:15pm. I got dressed in my graduation cap and gown, took some pictures with the professional photographer, took a picture with Cumberbatch the Cut Out (I shall explain later!) and then to the graduation ceremony queue it was.

Graduation Etiquette
As we entered the hall, we were told to take off our caps as the majority of us were already wearing them. We sat in our seats and waited. A speech was made and the guest were welcomed as lecturers and academics processed to sit on the stage. The graduands all sat on the left and all the guests say on the right of the Hall.
After speeches were made,
 the calling of graduates' names began.

As names were being called out, students queued up by the side of the stage where two graduation gown staff were poised ready to fix up your misbehaving gown ready for your big moment. As you reach the front of the line and the stairs to the stage, your name is read out by the President or Dean of your faculty. You walk on stage with your graduation cap in your left hand and shake the head of your faculty's hand with your right. You walk down the steps at the centre of the stage on the left and are handed your graduation certificate where you then return to your seat. And just like that, that moment is over in a flash.

After all graduands have returned back to their seats with their certificates, a few more words of congratulations is spoken on stage. You think it's all over until all graduands are asked to stand. We do and then we are congratulated once more as we are asked to put on our graduation caps with the tassels on the left. After a few moments of fiddling, the hall erupts with applause and shouts and whistles.
We did it. Class of 2014.


The organ plays and we follow out in the procession.

Now Cumberbatch the Cut Out. He, along with other well known names such as Professor Brian Cox, Alan Turing, Jack Whitehall and Emily Pankhurst, are alumni to my university which means that they have studied there. And a fun little thing that the university did was have cardboard cut outs of them, amongst other famous alumni, on campus. So naturally, the batch and I picture needed to happen.

Also, there was a photo booth by the cut outs with silly props which my sister and I jumped in and all but one picture came out perfectly as we weren't ready for the last one. I had some really funky pineapple glasses ready for that one too!

Graduation is such a momentous moment
and I wish you all educational success in the present and future.
It can be hard, stressful and sometimes even feel pointless but let me tell you,
the hassle is most definitely worth the tassle!

And honey, I should see you in a cap and gown!

Persevere and keep smiling xxx

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Footie Took Over My Life!

So very unlike myself, my week this week has been consumed by football. Intriguing how I have no interest in watching football throughout the rest of the year and the second the World Cup is on, I become the most patriotic football fan that is physically possible. But now that England were out, it was just a matter of watching how the pros do it!

Did 7-1 really happen? Like REALLY??
So I'm one of the people who missed the first half an hour of the Brazil Vs Germany match. But I was on twitter and my timeline was pretty much blowing up. My little sister came running into my room shouting the madness that was the 5-0 to Germany score and I was like
(I feel like the more you stare at this gif, the more sarcastic Tennant seems!)

Decided to be anti-antisocial and went downstairs where my family were watching the match and again similarly to myself, they too have a sudden patriotic boost when the World Cup greets us every four years.

As I was watching, I did not think that anything else would happen for the rest of the match. I thought, "Yep, I've missed the good part. Germany went all out in the first couple of minutes and now they're just going to cool off.". Oh how I was wrong! They carried on fighting harder like they were still on nil points and hats off to them. 7-1 is an incredible score which I believe broke records. Unfortunately for Brazil, the host of the World Cup, my heart went out to them but a game's a game and Germany definitely brought their A-game; a well deserved win.


Brutal and Long; Holland Vs Argentina
So Holland Vs Argentina were next in the limelight and after Brazil's thrashing by Germany's unsuspected win, there was a lot of eyes on this game. If it was going to be anything like the repeat of the Brazil Vs Germany match, nobody wanted to miss football history in the making and everybody was going to tune in - footie fan or not! And again, man was I wrong!

In a few words:

The game just felt like a game of piggy-in-the-middle with the ball just being passed around the pitch back and forth with only too-close-for-comfort goals. But genuinely, I felt that bought teams were playing really well but they were just so well equally matched, which made it hard for either team to score. So expectantly, the game went into penalties even after an extra half an our overtime.

Let's just say, I would NOT want to be the goalie during penalties! The pressure of it all in a regular match must be intense anyway as it's all down to you who wins, so the pressure during the World Cup is pressure that I wound most definitely not be able to handle in any case.


The End.
 
It indeed was the final countdown, and to put it simply Germany won the World Cup against Argentina and good on them! Out of the teams that I saw play in the World Cup, I definitely feel like Germany played like a team of football players rather than pinning their hopes on one good player what many believe is exactly what lead to Argentina's loss.

Germany played strong throughout and what a great win!
England have got four years to pull their socks up!

And that's me all "footied" out! Time for a foot massage!
Keep Smiling xxx

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Snapperoon: Homemade Cheesecake

Capturing My Life in Snaps


"Love is a fruit in season at all times and
within reach of every hand." - Mother Teresa
 ...Love is also cheesecake.
Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99
Smile, I'm Yummy.

Sunday, 6 July 2014

School, Sherlock and Style

The School Life
As part of my SKE course that I'm currently on as a pre-PGCE Teacher Training course, we were sent out to local high schools just to get a feel of what it is like to be back to school again and what it was like back to school but from a teachers perspective. As it hasn't really been a while since I was in high school, it wasn't much of a change of how I remember it being. It's definitely a lot different from a teachers point of view now though as you have access to areas where I may have previous been denied. Also just for being someone other than a teacher at the school or a pupil, you get a lot of inquisitive looks and even questions.


I got to see different teachers teach their IT and Computing lessons which was a good insight to what I would be doing once I start teaching. But what I found a lot of fun was doing a Pupil Trail which basically meant I followed one pupil for the day to all their lessons. At first I was a bit nervous, I must admit, purely because I didn't want the pupil who I was paired up with to feel uncomfortable with me following them around to their lessons. But I soon felt this was not the case as they seemed more than happy to and was so lovely about it. I managed to see an RE, Maths, Music, Science and Food Technology lesson which all brought their very different methods of teaching which was really was great to see.

These few days really reminded me the buzz of a classroom and it's pupils and the fun you could really create with them. And quite honestly, children are the most interesting people you will ever meet because they generate an insight to the world that us adults seem to forget.

#221back
This Friday I was supposed to publish a post on Sherlock a Series 1 on my Coach Potato page but I was just so busy with my mini school placement and so pooped out by the end of it, I just hadn't got any time to produce it. But don't worry, it's definitely on the to do list!

Having said that, a very exciting Sherlock related announcement was made this week almost to cover up the lack of my Sherlock post! On Wednesday, Mark Gatiss and BBC One on twitter decided to be a  little sneaky and quite the tease reminding us of Moriarty's "Did you miss me?" scene from the end of Series 3, Episode 3. And naturally, my whole twitter timeline was blowing up along with the Sherlock fandom.

Soon after a long wait, and I mean loooong wait, it was announced that the official announcement would be announced the following day, which was Thursday, at 2:21pm. (I like what they did there! ;)). Unfortunately for me, I was away from any means of access to twitter at that time so had to wait till I got home to see what the announcement was.

I jumped on twitter the second I could and it was announced that the game is on for Sherlock Series 4 for 2015 including a special. This basically means that we can definitely look forward to more Sherlock goodness but we do will have to wait at least another year and a half! The Special is assumed to be broadcasted around Christmas of 2015 followed by three episodes in the following start of the year similar to what we had for Series 3.

But by golly, my timeline was full of the Sherlock fandom exploding which is no exaggeration and a massive understatement. I was just swimming in memes.


Non-Sherlockians Reaction Vs The Entire Sherlock Fandom
 Non-Sherlockian: Relax, it's just a TV show.
Sherlock Fandom:

Fandom Aftershock:
And the wallpaper we all love:
(Tweeted by @arwelwjones who is the Production Designer on BBC's Sherlock)

I have seen people complain about the long wait, but I actually quite enjoy the hiatus - dare I say it! I feel like the anticipation of it all adds to the hysteria that Sherlock creates and makes it that bit more exciting when new episodes do air. Moftiss are definitively doing that right despite giving the fandom severe palpations in anticipation of it all!

Wait, what do I wear?? 
And finally, it has actually just dawned upon me that Graduation is fast approaching and I have not got the slightest clue what to wear!


I've never been to someone's graduation, nor do I really know anyone who has graduated. As the oldest in my family, I am the first to graduate so it's quite the new experience for us all!

I did a bit of a Google on what we females would typically wear to graduation to give myself a bit of an idea and the general consensus seems to be a white blouse and a pencil skirt. Now I don't own either or even wear pencil skirts for that matter, so I've been browsing pictures of people who have graduated. I think as long as I look smart, I should be okay. I do have quite a collection of smart clothes as I've always had to dress smartly during particular events during university, so it shouldn't really be too much of a problem to dig something acceptable out to wear.

Anyways, I'll be sure to report back once I've decided!

Thanks for reading!
Take care and keep smiling Sherlockians as we will survive this hiatus together!
Much love, Skeena xxxx