Danum Year 13 Leavers Ball

Well its that time of the school year again, prom time! Its all about who's wearing what and what everyones having their hair like and although year 13 isn't as big as year 11 prom, it was still the same questions.
However, it was a great night out and it will be something I remember for a long time to come! But heres a selection of the photo's I have, enjoy!

In the process of getting ready - hair done and getting nails done

All ready to go!

Sisters :)

Me and Mummy <3

Close up

Me and Grandad <3

Waiting for the taxi..

Group Photo

Harley and Me - Besties! ;)

Biology Threesome!

Jade and Me - Give us a kiss!

Attempting to take my hair out, all 23 grips haha

I wish I could go back and do it all over again because I would and it would be just as good!

J

Olympic Torch reaches Doncaster!

What a momentous, once in a lifetime experience. The day which the iconic Olympic Torch passed through my town, Doncaster in South Yorkshire. It has been approximately 70 days since the Olympic Torch was first lit in Athens and its now passed through Doncaster which was an amazing thing to see.
I know some people who didn't even bother going to see the Olympic Torch passing through and if you ask me, that was a stupid decision to make as it will more than likely, never happen again. Well, here are a selection of the photo's I took on my phone as I went to see the torch and followed it up Bennetthorpe onto Leger Way. Hope you like!

LMFAO leading the Olympic Torch Parade

Torchbearer down Bennetthorpe



Olympic Torch Relay 2012



Torchbearer of Leger Way



Torch is nearly here..

And, I got an amazing video of the Olympic Torch Kiss!

I hope you get to see or have seen the Olympic Torch too!

J

Race for Life 2012

Doncaster's Race for Life 2012 was held at its usual venue, Town Fields on the Sunday just gone and this year, I finally took part. I've always wanted to do the Race for Life but never had the time or patients to get sponsers and complete the race. As I've gotten fitter the past month, me, my mum and sister all chose to enter the race and raise money for a damn good cause!

We all took part in the race for the fight against cancer as a big group most of which were my mum's workmates and their families. Although we walked the complete 5K track, we all completed it in less than an hour, my end time being approximately 45 minutes. Me and my sister speed-walked the whole track with bursts of running up the hills and more importantly, over the finish line.

It was a worthwhile event and I'm positive I will continue taking part in the years to come to add to the funds I raised this year. When adding all the group sponsers together, we made an astonishing total of nearly £300. So proud! I really do recommend every girl and women take part in this event as it really does bring the ladies in your city together as one; doing the energetic warm-up and congratulating everyone on completion really are the icing on the cake!

Our Group Photo! Well done girls!

Off you go girls!

Sisters!

On completion of the race - medals and all!

To conclude, if anyone would like to contribute to our race please feel free to donate on our online fundraising page:

Sponser us!

J

Exams are OVER!

I am so relieved to be able to say those three words, "Exams are over". I have been longing to be able to say those words since the beginning of 2012 when January A2 exams started.  Now, I have a three month long summer to do with as I like however, the thought of sitting doing nothing all the time bores me close to death so I thought I'd put together a list of things I plan to do this summer:

1. Party and holiday it up in Kos! This is really going to be one of the highlights of summer 2012 as I get to spend a week away with two of my best friends. We're planning to select things to do at night including: foam parties, cruises, glow parties, beach parties, water parties, water park and silent arenas. Not to forgot that its a week full of drinking, tanning and partying hard! (12th-19th July)
2. Leavers Ball! Leaving school for good is a big step for everyone and it really is the end of an era and having a big 'party' to see all the year thirteen's off is the best way to do this. My dress arrived from China on Tuesday and its more prommy than expected but I do think its stunning (I'm not letting anyone see it until the day), and next Monday we're going shopping for the essential accessories like heels, bag and jewellery. Its a brill time to get dolled up to spend one last night with the whole year group. Bye bye Danum!
3. Day trip to Thorpe Park. In my eyes, Thorpe Park is the best theme park in England due to the closeness of all the rides as you can get from one side of the park to other in 5 minutes (if you walk at "theme park speed" haha). Since I have been to Thorpe Park before I am anxiously awaiting the ride of the new ride 'The Swarm' and going on others such as 'Stealth' and 'SAW: The Ride'. Eek!
4. House/Dog Sit. My auntie, uncle and cousins are going on holiday for the week and have asked me to look of their dog and the house therefore I will be having a week living alone, I suppose it'll be like a taster of whats to come at university in September (hopefully). It'll be the week after I've returned from Kos so at least I'll have a quiet week to myself to recover from the boozing we'll do in Kos and chill :)
5. Get A-Level Results. Thursday 16th August 2012 - D-day! :|
6. Go to the Beach! Although I'm off abroad with friends, it doesn't include all my friends and I really want to spend a day out with them all and as some of them are too thrilled at the idea of theme parks, the beach it is! Hopefully we will get some sunshine is glorious Britain so we can go.
7. Party! As I'm newly 18, partying is definitely on the cards; nights out to town and house parties, yes please! Exams have got in the way of this as I only turned 18 shortly before exams so I haven't experienced the 18 lifestyle too much.
8. Go to Chester Zoo! I have been wanting to go to Chester Zoo for years but its never been possible to go but now because my auntie is planning on going, its the perfect time! Plus, the dinosaur exhibition there has returned as I got soooo excited to see the T-rex in the National History Museum, London that I know I'll love this too! Ahhhh :D
9. Harry Potter Studio Tour, London. This is a must. For my close friends 18th, me and my mum went halves to get him a ticket to join us on this studio tour in London because he is a big Harry Potter fan just like myself and my family. I am extremely excited for this although it wont happen until near the end of the summer holidays. Potter lovers for life!
10. Read! Read! Read! I've always loved reading and I'm fortunate enough to be able to read books within one day but haven't had the chance with exams, school work and revision. I love a wide range of books and now my exams are over, I am able to get back to reading all the new books I've got recently and the ones I have loaded onto my new Kindle.
    

Hopefully, all these plans will inspire future posts to coming and over summer I will try and blog as regularly as I am able with all my exciting plans!

Bring on summer, its time to party!

J

Current Top 10 Films

Well, I've always been a big film lover and like nothing more than taking time out of my busy schedule to watch films of a variety of genres. Since being on my summer holidays, I have a lot of time on my hands and love snuggling on the sofa to watch films all day. So I thought why not share my current top ten films in a post, that I can expand on at later dates.

(in no particular order)

1. The Harry Potter Series

Being on 18 now, I have grown up with the Harry Potter series and the three main characters. I have read each of the seven books and seen the eight films (I will always think the books are so much better than the film) and I believe nothing quite compares to a series of films like these. These will be films which I pass onto my children and my children's children and so on, and watch over and over again even though I know most of the words to the first couple of films.

2. The Lion King

A childhood favourite! I've always loved this film and never quite understood the depth until my later years so now I love it more than ever. Its a massive tearjerker with the death of Mufasa but has a story which inspires independence, in my eyes, it will never grow old and it was released in the year I was born, 1994!

3. The Twilight Saga

Yes, this isn't for everyone but I do love the whole series. I'd seen the books on shelves before but never been interested in buying them until I'd seen the first film. After seeing the first film, I loved the concept so chose to buy the books and then, I was addicted. I read all four books in less than a month (the last book in one day!) and was eagerly anticipating releasing the next films. In addition, I got my mum hooked too by forcing her to read the books just so I had someone to talk to about it. The last question you'll want to know from me with this if your a fan too is whether I'm team Edward or Jacob; well in the books, its team Edward all the way but in the film, I sway more toward Jacob. Confusion!

4. Armageddon

I watched this having never cried at a film before and had my mum saying "You'll definitely cry at this" but I wasn't convinced. But now, yes, I cry buckets at this film! The thought of the end of the world closing in and having my father and fiancée in space is heartbreaking. The filming and storyline is brilliant and again, is a film that will never get old.

5. Independence Day

Well the first pro about this film is that its leading man is Will Smith! I love Will Smith as an actor, he is so funny and there is no change in this film. If anyone has seen this film, my favourite scene is the one where Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) is dragging a dead alien through the desert shouting hilarious comments at it. For anyone that hasn't seen this, it really is a must-see action packed film.

6. The Inbetweeners Movie

Although a recently released film it is way up there on my list of top film for the entertainment factor. I've watched The Inbetweeners from series 1 on the television and knew this would be a big hit once it hit the cinema and DVD. I got this as a gift for Christmas and must have watched it nearly 20 times, yet I still am not bored!

7. Executive Decision

Again, this is an action-packed thriller which has you on the edge of your seat all the time. Its plot is all about a plane getting hijacked by terrorists and the US Government boarding the plane secretly and retaking the plane. This contains another of my favourite actors, John Leguizamo, he is fairly unfamiliar but he is very entertaining but not in that many films. I love my action films so this is fairly high on my all-time top films, anything like this would be greatly recommended.

8. Dirty Dancing

This really is a feel good classic, it was on last Sunday and just seeing its on automatically makes me smile. The soundtrack is just awesome and so easy to sing along to, and I love love singing even if I don't do it well sometimes. The picture above is clearly an iconic scene that people know even if they've not seen it, which is what I was like before I saw it. I do recommend this for any gender although from experience, men don't enjoy it as much as women. Also, seeing this in London's West End is a real experience and that is something else that lovers of Dirty Dancing should definitely do!

9. The Lizzie McGuire Movie

I've recently re-acquired my love for this film and can remember the days when I used to watch Lizzie McGuire on Disney Channel at 3pm every day but unfortunately, its now not on. This film allows us to experience Rome with the classic characters: Lizzie, Gordo, Ethan and Kate and get the ending we've always been waiting for, Lizzie <3 Gordo! Plus, it holds the soundtrack "Hey Now", a song I still know all the words to haha.

10. My Sister's Keeper

Well, I cried from the outset in the film, it is the worst tearjerker I have ever watched. I have watched so many tearjerkers like the well-known, Titanic, but none have made me cry quite so much as this. It is a lovely story of family 'togetherness' and the fight for making death comfortable. Even if you haven't been in the situation, you can relate to it because of the depth of the story. I really love this film.

J

I haven't had this for years!

Nesquik Banana Milkshake.

I came across this in the cupboard when I was searching for something for dinner and thought, why not have one? Banana is my favourite flavour milkshake and I love the fresh ones from coffee shops or homemade in blenders but thought I'd take the easy route by using the powder!

All you need is the powder mixture, milk and a cup (the side of the container says to pick your favourite cup - however, I used a plain one).

Once the milk is added to the powder, it needs stirring thoroughly to create the luscious yellow liquid of the banana milkshake.

Enjoy!

J

Revision

Yawn. Even the word revision is boring! I really don't see how people can sit for hours in a quiet, darkened room to revise constantly for one subject. I'll be honest, when I was doing my GCSEs I did little to no revision for my exams and my results came out as seven As, four Bs and three Cs. These results got me into sixth form but no way was I prepared for the huge jump GCSE to A-level is. I'm not going to sit here and blog about why people shouldn't do A-level's but I think year eleven's need to be warned about the gigantic work load and the amount of stress you are under all the time before they choose their subjects.
Throughout school I'd managed to get high grades and succeed so going into sixth form, I had high hope of potentially pursuing a career in medicine either being a doctor or orthoptist. If you know me, you'll know I have now applied to university to study Primary Education and if your thinking that I've had to resort to plan B because of failing exams, that would be a fair point to say but I've always enjoyed working with children and when visiting universities I decided teaching was a better course for me to pursue due to little or no exams. You might think I've taken the easy route by choosing a course without exams, but through all my school life I have always excelled in coursework so therefore Primary Education is the perfect course for me (but I am afraid that in three years, I potentially could be in charge of a classroom of thirty children).
I have a variety of revision strategies that get me through the exam period but the one that proves the most successful for me is making A3 posters. It may sound pointless having posters stuck up all over the house but it does help. When the posters are up in my room I can refer to them before I go to sleep, when I wake up or just when I'm in my room tidying, like today. On the other hand, you may not want school work plastered all over your bedroom walls as it can be relatively depressing; but even when I don't put the posters up, the act of rewriting information helps me remember. I myself am a visual learner and understand a lot more when I have colour-coded diagrams and "stories" to just learn word for word so making posters help.
Since being in sixth form, I have realised I am a very particular student and like things neat, colour-coded and tidy. This is why all my folders in sixth form contain dividers, different coloured pens for the more important points and coloured diagrams although I really dislike drawing. Being organised in sixth form really does get you through and during A2 I have found my grades have improved a lot since AS. After AS results day, teachers tell you it is usual to retain the grade you received or go down a grade, well this really dampened my mood when I had Ds at AS. However, I have managed to go up two grades in Biology now which has made me determined to drag the rest of my grades up. Proud of myself!

Summer 2012 Exam Timetable

A selection of revision posters for English Language

J

Jubilee Weekend!

I want to start by saying: Nice one Queeny! Giving us all a 4-day weekend for being on the throne for 60 years. Cheers!


Never in my life have I been up on all the information about the royal family but this Diamond Jubilee and the recent Royal Wedding have made me aware of a couple of facts about the Royals, such as:

1. The Queen is 86 years old.
2. The Duke of Edinburgh is not Prince Charles
3. The line of succession of the crown.
4. Names of members of the Royal family
5. The Queen's second name is Windsor: Elizabeth Windsor, Charles Windsor and best of all Harry Windsor (Harry-Wins-Her) - made my day!

And other useless information like; the name of the Queen's Corgi dog, who was coronated in 973 and more.


You may be asking how I've managed to acquire all this random information and recall it all on here, well the answer is that I put together a quiz and was required to know all this, but more about that later.


Saturday 2nd
There's not much to say about Saturday other than I went to town with my friend, Chris to window shop for my upcoming holiday to Kos. When we returned back to mine, we were chilling with my mum and sister watching 16 & Pregnant when I chose to show him my pre-prepared quiz for the following day. Well he taught me some things: that Prague and Istanbul are now countries, London have never held the Olympics before and the Olympic flamed is kindled on that mountain in Greece called Mount Rushmore (minus the 'e').


Sunday 3rd
Rain. Rain. Rain. That's nearly all that can be said about Sunday but did do the well-known British thing, and have a BBQ. What better day to have it, than a day we are confiscated to inside the house, cooking in the oven and on the hob.
Regardless of the weather, we didn't let this ruin our family Jubilee celebrations. We had a few hiccups during the day, the first being at 5am when the gazebo collapsed from the weight of the rain water on top. My grandma had spent the previous day trimming up the garden and gazebo with bunting, flags and red, white & blue balloons (grandad had spent ages blowing up 15 balloons) which unfortunately burst on collapse, leaving 8 to be reused in the house. It's quite comical thinking about it now but grandma, being as patriotic as she is, was devastated that all that effort had gone to waste - so all the decorations were moved inside.
So, my auntie was in charge of entertainment and took the easy route by booking a bouncy castle for the day. But with the rain and cleaning products on the bouncy castle mixing together, we all know what happens, foamy bouncy castle! Other entertainment she provided was the creative crown making for all the children, which I was made part of as well, the reasoning being that I am soon-to-be a trainee teacher. We sat cutting out the crowns to then colour and decorate with feathers, foam stickers and unusually, googly eyes! (courtesy of my cousin, Dan). My auntie also delegated making a quiz (as mentioned earlier) to me, although I didn't mind as I was able to play around with Microsoft PowerPoint and take on the role of quiz master. I incorporated different rounds such as: Jubilee & Olympics which are very currents events as well as other like: Music, Flags and General Knowledge. The quiz went down well and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it as I made sure there was something for everyone, ranging from One Direction to Nursery Rhymes, Flags of the United Kingdom to Kazakhstan or Mongolia and identifying music by John Williams to Rossini.


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Front cover of my home-made BBQ quiz

In the background all day we had on the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, watching the Queen sail slowly past all the iconic London landmarks with millions of people worldwide watching. It was good seeing thousands of boats from all around the world sail down the Thames alongside Her Majesty, celebrating her 60 years on the throne. My favourite part of the Pageant really had to be the last boat to sail the Thames which held the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which played music I have played myself.

Monday 4th
Well, to put a downer on the whole Jubilee 4-day weekend scenario, I was forced to return to my revision after having 3 days off and have 4 exams next week. So I got stuck into it, varying myself between English Language and Biology. However, it was a very leisurely day for my mother and sister who spent the whole day in their pyjama's and my mother also remained on the sofa, wrapped in a fleecy blanket - what I would give for my exams to be over (only 17 days to go).
In contrast to my revision, we sat as a family to watch the Diamond Jubilee Concert in the evening. My favourite just had to be each of the comedians as they all made me laugh, notable performances from Alfie Boe & Renée Flemming and Kylie, gorgeous piano playing from Lang Lang and legends such as Tom Jones, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. I also found it amusing how the Queen never emerged out of the palace until 9pm (we all know she's spent the day in her slippers lazying around).


Plan for Tuesday 5th
More of the same really. More revision for English Language, Maths, Biology and Music exams that are all next week - my teenage life is sooo wild! And I will be catching up with the MTV Movie Awards which had to be recorded due to the Jubilee Concert. Oh, and you can't forget watching the carriage procession in London with the Queen with ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral.




Lets add 3 more years Queeny and you'll be in line with Queen Victoria - and maybe even reign longer than her. 






Just one final thing to add to this Jubilee weekend. Well it wouldn't have all been possible without the Queen so she paid a short visit to our Jubilee BBQ on Sunday....


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Family photo with the Queen

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Sneaky peck there ay James?

J

Its on my list!

Since going to London in April I have been anxiously waiting for some sign of Les Miserablés coming out at the cinema as we saw it being filmed. Its now out..

It contains four of my favourite actors/actresses: Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried. I have always been a lover of musicals and since studying the music from this in my AS Music I became a huge lover of this too. The music is phenomenal and inspiring!

It is on my "must see" list

Filming in Greenwich - a funny France setting haha

J