My TV debut... sort of!

Just thought I'd share this gem with you guys...

This is Louise and I in the audience when we were on work placement at ITV, and Amy is also the other side. We decided to go and use the gift of the gab and sheepishly wandered into the Jeremy Kyle offices to ask if we could go and be in the audience. Paid off though! And was flattered to be told by the man himself that I look like Denise Van Outen, especially as he was attacking most of the audience with remarks like "fatty" and rambling on about his camerawoman's outbreak of Thrush!


After being told it could be shown within 'the next three months' and considering Jezza is on 5 days a week, and I don't watch TV at that time, then thought I wouldn't catch it. But after having a heads up from my uni mates, I was able to go and get a snapshot of me in the Jezza audience. Funny! What we'd do without Sky+ hey!

One man's inspiring strength...

This weekend I watched a film I've been intending to watch for ages. "The boy in striped pyjamas". I've decided to blog about it as it had a real impact on me because of an incredible human being I got the opportunity to meet a couple of months ago, during my work experience at Tonight for ITV. This man...

Polish Jack, is in his 80's, and the only Holocaust survivor of his family. I was fortunate to meet him and hear his tales from the camp he was held in during the second world war. Along with Neil and Chris from ITV, we took Jack and his glamourous wife Rhonda to their favourite cafe for lunch. This was all in aid of research for a programme being made about the Jewish community in North Manchester. 

I was genuinely brought to tears when Jack himself wept as he recalled the moment his mother, father and brother were separated from him to be taken to the gas chambers, and sadly have their lives torn from them.

The film shows the holocaust from an innocent child's perspective. Simple imagery of Bruno, 8 years old, questioning the black clouds of smoke bellowing over his Nazi mansion, choked me. The naivety of the two children who befriend through the barbed wire of a concentration camp really puts the sinisterness of what the Holocaust involved into perspective.

The film made me think back to the inspiring words that Jack spoke to me about his life now. Even after such a traumatic experience, Jack fled to England and managed to become a millionaire from making luggage. BUT, even though Jack now has a luxurious home in a wealthy part of Manchester, this means nothing to him. He could not stop praising his beautiful wife and two children. He spoke about British people and their drive for success and wealth and said, "I love British people, of course they saved people like me. But because they have not seen or felt the things that I have then they do not understand. Money is nothing. I have my beautiful family, and this makes me the richest man on the planet".

SO... if you haven't watched it already or even if you have, get down to Blockbuster, order it online, or download it, because this is definitely a film you have to see before you die...

Keeping up with the Bloggingsons

OH DEAR! - pretty much sums up my attitude right now

Sorry it's been so long blogging world, still getting the hang of maintaining a FB, Twitter & Blog, whilst writing a dissertation and final project, not to mention the other modules, and also trying to keep a social life.

So like when Ross wrote the Pros and Cons list about Rachel, I'm going to do it about my life right now (Sorry all you Friends haters):

LOVES IT:

• my gorgeous boyfriend Todd will always keep me smiling, although I'm pretty sure the girls are getting pretty tiresome of hearing about him around the kitchen table.

• my wonderful friends and our kitchen convos always keep me smiling (I'll dedicate a special blog to the other 4 beautiful blondes in my life)
• Got the guy I want to make my 10 minute documentary on to agree YAYY! (celebratory punch in the air)
• I keep getting told I have lost "shit loads" of weight.. wahey, what woman doesn't love hearing that.
• I received my bursary yesterday, free money, not complaining!

DOES NOT LOVE IT:

• I officially have 4 and a half weeks to complete my 8,000 word dissertation on swine flu and moral panic, and have only achieved approx 3,000 words so far 
• I appear to have lost my USB pen drive which has my dissertation on it!!
• I only have 4 months until graduation date, that means I have to start paying for my car and phone by then... better start applying for jobbys. Oh and I'll also be homeless.

So although I am experiencing unbearable amounts of stress right now, consequently I have more positives in my life right now. And after viewing numerous images such as this....

Then I am counting my blessings. And think we all should be more thankful that the stresses in our student lives, are not compromising our actual humanity, but helping progress it.