Saturday, 3 January 2015

Roast Dinners Are Not My Thing!

I am in a family that when a roast dinner is announced or suggested, they run at the chance. Roast dinner crazy, the whole lot of 'em! But me, silly old me, no. No thanks. I'd rather eat a pizza with a nice cold drink and watch TV. I don't fancy eating a roast dinner: pool of gravy, hard dry meat (except for chicken), dry potatoes, roast potatoes (well, except for them) and so on and so on. And I know your face may twist at the thought of me writing a post about roast dinners and you're probably thinking or saying out loud: "Is this guy for real? Why the hell would I want to read about what he thinks about ROAST BLOODY DINNERS for?!' Well, yeah, you're entitled to your opinion and whatnot but the whole purpose of this blog was to write something. And this time, roast dinners!

I've always had a little bit of a hit and miss relationship with food. I love food but I don't love it. Get me? I've always been a bit picky with my food and I've had the tendency to take forever, FOREVER, making the food look nice on my plate - especially with salad. I blame Masterchef! But anyway, I've always been very 'hmm' about food. Especially with roast dinners. I remember a photograph of me as a little child and it's from my Nan's house and it's a photo of me with big curly hair (yep!) and my face is smothered with gravy. All over! I look like a right (messy) idiot to say the least. But it's been a photograph that has stayed with me in memory (that and the photo off me in the bath, why!??!?!).

Like I said, my family love their roast dinners. One on a Sunday (hmm, okay, Sunday is fine) and one on a Wednesday. Um... why?! Why?! One on a Sunday should be enough surely? But I would come home from school, watch TV (probably Scooby Doo, Zak and Cody, Drake and Josh, That's So Raven, Hannah Montanna (shh! I was just a child!) and then it would be tea time. My family would have the dinner and I would have... probably pasta, or preferably pizza! I just don't see the whole 'ooh, a roast dinner, mm, lovely!' thinking that my family (and many others) have when it comes to them. 

The only times when I can eat a roast dinner happily and not tut my way though (quite rare, quite rare...) is Christmas Day with Christmas dinner. And this is allowed as it's 'Christmas dinner' not 'roast dinner' even though it is just a roast dinner but with turkey, sprouts, at Christmas and my family sat around the same table. It's a roast dinner, pure and simple! But it's Christmas and I love a good Christmas tradition, so why break the tradition? I love turkey. Chicken and turkey are the only meats I eat (except for some ham on a midnight snack kinda thing) but it's chicken or turkey. But chicken I love more so. So, Christmas - fine. But I also love my Nan's dinner and I don't know whether it's the actual dinner or if it is just the gravy but I am more inclined to think that it is the gravy as it so smooth and soft and just so damn tasty. SO GOOD! But ever since, I'm not a big fan of gravy. More of a curry type of guy. 

The one thing that I absolutely love about a roast dinner is the roast potatoes. Mm. Lovely. I love roast potatoes but I don't love potatoes. Oh no, they have to be roasted! I love the soft golden colour on them and ah... I just love them. Not when they are black and just gross though, mum! But yes, roast potatoes are just... well, they are just, good. That's it. Good! And over the years, I've had alternatives to roast dinner on a Sunday - I've tried chicken and salad! And like I said above, I take for ages putting the food on the plate... yes, I blame Masterchef! But chicken and salad got a bit boring, a bit repetitive so now I  have the same dinner (with more roast potatoes, thanks mum!), chicken, peas and chicken gravy. Great. I just leave the peas, the carrots and the one white potato that my mum thinks I'll give a try but of course, I never do. 

That's that, my little post about roast dinners! I don't love them, I don't hate them, they are just... not my thing!

But what about you? Do you love/like/hate roast dinners? Let me know below in the comments...!

Thanks for reading!

That's all for now,

Corey.

Book Review #1: Dermot O'Leary: The Soundtrack to My Life



For Christmas, I had opened Dermot O'Leary's book, which to be honest, I did point at in Tescos where my mum just smiled at me! But I've always been a fan of and admired Dermot and his great work. He is so generous, so laid back (in a good way!), he is a true gentleman and he has written a cracking read in 'The Soundtrack to My Life'.


I've recently (like, ten minutes ago when I'm writing this) finished the book and it was an utter joy to read. It was very conversational which I really really loved. I love a book that isn't just 'my mum gave birth to me, then I went to this school, blah, blah, blah'. There is none of that here with Dermot. It's real, it's honest and it's rather bloody good. There were two reasons why I wanted to read this book: 1) I'm a big fan of Dermot and as he is a private person (quite rightly so), I don't know a lot about him, so it would be good to understand a bit more about him and 2) I'm a big fan of TV and radio and with Dermot being such a great talent on both, I thought it would be packed full of stuff related to how TV/radio works and boy, is there a lot! So, as you can see, I'm a happy boy with this book.

The basis of this book is that instead of 'chapters' as such, a song (or a few) that has been impacted on his life and his passion for music screams right through. Every chapter and every song that is used, he just screams and screams his love for the chosen song/s and for music in general. Which cannot be surprising with him being on Radio 2 and on The X Factor, perhaps. But written in his conversational, sarcastic and witty style, he doesn't write in the typical celeb autobiography that is out there (and god, is there a lot!), he writes certain parts off his life and how music has had an influence in that said moment.



The book really gave me an insight of how TV and of how radio worked. Which is what I wanted in the book, so that made me (immensely) happy! I have had such a big passion in TV and I love getting to know the behind the scenes stuff. I really do. After I finish watching a TV show, I turn to Google and I search for a script for the show and I sit there for hours reading the script; I love it. I love watching behind the scenes videos too, I just love it. And this is what the book gives me (and other readers, of course). I have a much better understanding of radio which I've hoped to pursue in the future. When I was younger for example, I and my nephew (whom is a year younger than me) used his microphone and this app on our phones and we pretended that we had our own radio show. We loved it. Both of us. Even though nobody was listening (though, there was this one guy at the end of the street in a sulk who sat there for ages and only left when we finished the 'show', so I guess that is a good sign) but I loved it. I've got a better understanding of what happens with TV (although this book really enhanced it, so thanks Dermot!), but radio? Well, this book really opened my eyes and has only wanted me to pursue it even more. Which can only be seen as a good sign, right?

What I love about Dermot that illuminates in this book is that he is real. Real. He isn't pretending to be somebody he's not. He's the cheeky guy-next-door type of person. He's a great role model to me. He is. This may sound really cheesy but he is. He's a hard worker, he is a great inspiration to many and I just love his sarcastic wit.


The other thing that I love about this book is the cover. And I know people say: "Never judge a book by its cover!" (especially in English class) but what a gorgeous cover. It's so 'vintage' and 'retro' and I love the style. It's a cover that stands out; it grabs the attention of the person. Well, it did to me and it looks so good on my bookshelf right now. I can't stop smiling at it! It's a great cover, and it's a great book. And it's full of music and as Dermot quite clearly says: "you don't choose the soundtrack, it chooses you." And that is exactly right. This is a great book if you love music, you are a fan of Dermot or you just want to read a great book of a hard working man to where he has become today. Or all three if you like. It's a great book so I hope you love it as much as I did.


Thanks for reading!

That's all for now,

Corey.

Thursday, 1 January 2015

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

Goodbye 2014, you've been a bit of a 'meh' year to be honest. But I'm determined to make 2015 a much, much better year for me. 2015 is the year when I turn the big eighteen, hurrah. It is the year when I hopefully get the grades that I need to go to university and study what I love and then hopefully pursuing a career in a journalistic field. Hopefully. I sat back in 2014, I let everything and everyone fall on top off me and get the better off me, well, not anymore! I want to be something, be somebody in 2015, I want to do more with my life, travel to new places, make new friends, do new things out of my comfort zone - I want to do something. And that is why I did this blog. To write something. To do something. I love to write, so why not write a blog? Why the bloody hell not?

So, a new year and new resolutions. These are my five resolutions that I hope to achieve in 2015 (there's a lot of hope in this post, isn't there?):


  1. To read more: I've always been a lover of books, I love to be engrossed by a book, it's characters, it's story; I've always enjoyed that, ever since a young age. Books, books, books. My parents (and the majority of my family) would say: "You've got more books than WHSmiths!" Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. But lately, I read a book and I don't finish it. I start a new book, don't finish it, and the cycle continues. But not anymore! I want to read a book, finish it, enjoy it and then read another one. Simple. Currently, I'm reading Dermot O'Leary's book, 'The Soundtrack To My Life' and what a bloody good read it is (more on the book in a later date!). So, yeah, I want to get back into the reading habit and to just read more. And more importantly, to enjoy the books that I'm reading.
  2. Study more: This is a big year for me in education - it is the last year of college (hurrah!) and then hopefully if I get my grades, I'm off to university (hurrah?). University hasn't been a number one goal in my life. It's just been something there for me, but when I started college, I realised that I should go to university as it could really help with my career ambition - to be a script writer/journalist. So, yeah, I need to focus more on my studies and the grades that I need are a B in English, to pass my Welsh Baccalaureate (those in Wales studying it will know it's a pain in the... well, it's a drag.) Though to be fair, it really is helpful with your grades, especially in my case and I need a C in another subject. So, I hope the history paper is much better than last years! 
  3. Do more: Did you laugh at that? "Do more"... I did, anyway. But yeah, do more with my life instead of watching TV programmes (even though there's nothing wrong with that, right?) but I want to do more. I want to go to new places, I want to see more things, see more people, go to more gigs and concerts, I just want to enjoy life and not for it to be a pain in the arse so I won't enjoy it. 
  4. Exercise more: Like I've said in an earlier post, I'm not a big fan of exercising. But I really, really, really want that to change. I say it again and again (like most people I imagine): I'll go to the gym! New year, new me! Hurrah! But... yeah, I don't stick to it at all (like most people I imagine). In 2015, I really want to get into the 'fitness' and sporty bug. Why the bloody hell not, eh?
  5. Write more: Whether that be by on this blog or just writing in general, I want to do it more. I have a few other bits and bobs that I'm working on and it just gets better and better. I love writing characters. I love giving them a voice, a personality. I love letting my imagination go free and finding these obscure, weird, yet wonderful characters on the way. So, yeah, I hope to continue writing as I love it so much. (Cheese fest, much?).

So, that's my resolutions: hopefully I'll stick to them! I hope you've had a good 2014 and an even better 2015! Tell me in your comments your new year's resolutions!

That's all for now,

Corey.