During late winter I take myself off to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.
‘What?’ I hear the protests. ‘Stomping through 300 acres of bare trees, empty flowerbeds and mud with temperatures dipping the wrong side of double digits?’
Ah, but think of the sprinkling of purple crocuses amongst trampled grass and, further on, the daffodils.
These flowers herald that a new season is on its way, one that means colour and warmth and the hope that things are changing for the better. A few days ago I went along to see the garden’s annual orchid display. The display promised ‘a floral feast to seduce the senses.’ In many ways, it delivered.
The orchids were nothing short of stunning with their vibrant colours and intricately engineered petals. Even their scent was alluring: nothing too heady, just a gentle waft to keep tourists (and pollinators) interested.
Kew made the display intriguing, even sexy, by using spotlight ultraviolet lighting to reveal the orchids’ patterns and markings, used to attract insects and hence propagate themselves.
I wondered, however, if it wasn’t enough just to walk through the display and be awed by the variety and sophistication of the flowers? Having said that, I was fascinated to learn in a video presentation that there is an orchid that traps insects inside its flower, curling its petals around its prey, like a cage, until the plant is pollinated.
I looked for this orchid, touching the tip of my finger to the centre of each purple plant as illustrated in the video, without success. So, perhaps better signage wouldn’t have gone amiss?
The official orchid display runs from February to March every year, but if you’re quick you might still spot them in bloom at the Princess of Wales Conservatory. And there is plenty more to see during the transitional months: the desert and savannah plants, arboretum, the world’s oldest potted plant – a rather wonky palm – and the tree top trail 18 metres up (empty branches, but a great view).
The Alpine house is certainly a highlight with its crags and waterfalls; the mountain plants exhibit more determination than parents queuing for coffee in the café. And speaking of cafés, I was thrilled to find gluten- and dairy-free soup and cakes on offer, making Kew not only a feast for the eyes but my stomach as well.
Upcoming events at Kew include the International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition (now until 5 April) and ‘Shaun the Sheep’ will be visiting for the children during the Easter Holidays.
This book is the fourth instalment in the popular fairyland series, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is an intelligent and wonderful fantasy novel for adults as well as children. The book has heart and is a compelling fairy tale. The plot keeps you on your toes and the story leaves you feeling joy. This is a brilliant and charming novel for readers of all ages. Highly enjoyable. Bestselling children’s author Catherynne M Valente is a winner of the Andre Norton Award and also writes books for adults. Hailed as ‘one of the most extraordinary works of fantasy, for adults or children, published so far this century’ by Time Magazine, get your hands on a copy now.
When a young troll named Hawthorn is stolen from Fairyland by the Golden Wind, he becomes a changeling – a human boy – in the strange city of Chicago, a place no less bizarre and magical than Fairyland when seen through trollish eyes.
Left with a human family, Hawthorn struggles with his troll nature and his changeling fate. But when he turns twelve, he stumbles upon a way back home, to a Fairyland much changed from the one he remembers.
Soon, Hawthorn finds himself at the centre of a changeling revolution – until he comes face to face with a beautiful young Scientiste with very big, very red assistant . . .
With The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, Catherynne M. Valente’s wisdom and wit will continue to charm readers of all ages.
When people are asked about the most stressful experiences of their life, predictable answers emerge – childbirth, bereavement, divorce and major illness are all top responses. But there’s another time which consistently makes this list – home moving.
At first it might seem silly, even trivialising, to compare the difficulties of moving home with divorce or more “significant” events. But people don’t just carry their personalities and “self” within the mind – our home and possessions contribute strongly to our sense of identity. In a famous paper, an academic named RW Belk posited the idea of an “extended self” which includes our most prized possessions which shape our self image.
Whenever you move home, part of the extended self is literally torn down overnight as your possessions are thrown into boxes to be carted off. In the same way (psychologically speaking at least) that job loss or divorce can force someone to redefine their identity; so does moving house.
Of course, it isn’t just the identity element of moving that makes the process so difficult. The entire process is expensive, long and tortuous – and prone to last minute failures if a chain falls apart. So what can you do to mitigate the stress?
Firstly, carefully consider what you’ll need immediately once you’re moved in. A bed, clothing and basic supplies will be priority for the first night – so pack them to one side. Bear in mind it might take days to get your furniture reassembled in the proper locations. If you have concerns, it may even be worth investing in an easily transported Zip & Link mattress, which can be easily dismantled and moved.
It is worth paying a premium for a trustworthy removal firm – ask friends for recommendations or search Yelp if you’re stuck. Once you have narrowed your list down to a few different companies you should call them all and ask what they would charge given the details of your move. Asking for moving quotes is one of the best ways to ensure there are no surprises on moving day. Whoever you choose will be in complete control of your life’s possessions for up to several days – knowing they’re in safe hands will be a weight off your mind.
You’ll also be faced with the immediate challenge of switching your address details for each of the dozens of companies who need it. Your local Post Office should be able to redirect mail to your new address as a stopgap, but its essential to update your details ASAP. Banks, utility companies and phone suppliers will be among your first calls but the tax office, driving authorities and doctor will all need an up to date address.
Before you move its well worth gathering and shredding any documents with personal information to avoid the risk of identity fraud. Criminals have been known to search the trash of recently moved families for identifying documents, which can then be used to take out fraudulent loans in your name. To avoid this risk, ensure any personal documents that aren’t coming with you are shredded or even burned.
Moving home will always be a stressful experience but with planning and forethought you can avoid some of the worse possibilities. Last minute packing crises, lost possessions and identity fraud can turn a nightmare move into a genuine tragedy, so plan in advance and don’t fall into those traps!
Here’s a challenge, describe Halo: Nightfall in multiples of two words.
Hmmm let’s see how about “Bad Ass”, “Computer Game”, “Action Movie” “Special effects” or “Xbox Classic”? How about “Mike Colter”, the actor who plays the role of “Agent Locke”?
In case you didn’t know Halo: Nightfall is set between the events of Halo 4 and the eagerly anticipated Halo 5: Guardians and is the second full-length live-action feature for the Halo franchise.
From Executive Producer Ridley Scott (Prometheus, Blade Runner) and award-winning Director Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Battlestar Galactica, The Pillars Of The Earth), Halo: Nightfall features an all-star cast including Mike Colter (The Good Wife), Christina Chong (24: Live Another Day), Steven Waddington (Sleepy Hollow) and Luke Neal (Final Prayer).
Halo: Nightfall tells the personal story of Jameson Locke, a legendary manhunter and agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), Earth’s most powerful and secretive military branch. The film provides the background to this pivotal new character in the Halo universe, who will play a key role in the next gaming instalment.
Whilst investigating terrorist “chatter” on the distant colony world of Sedra, Locke and his crew are caught in a horrific biological attack. Led by Locke, ONI agents are forced to coordinate with the local command who have a deep-rooted mistrust of ONI. As they unravel a plot that draws them to an ancient, hellish artefact, they are forced to fight for their survival and to make the ultimate choice between their loyalty and their lives.
I caught up with Mike to find out more about his experiences of playing a part in such a coveted franchise.
How was the experience filming Halo: Nightfall?
Well, it wasn’t a glamorous shoot. One word that comes to mind is rigid. It was a rigid, rigid shoot. We were filming in Iceland for most of it so the location was beautiful, but it turned out that the weather was not like what we were expecting – it rained the whole time. We were up against the elements, and I think this added to the overall essence of what we were looking for in this film, being destitute on a foreign planet without a way home. In this sense it helped, but at times walking around in heavy armor for hours was tough.
What was it like filming in Iceland?
Iceland was really phenomenal; I’d love to go back on a leisure journey or holiday. I went to the Blue Lagoon – actually, I went here about three times! It really helped my back. Soaking in that water is so wonderful and regenerative. Just sitting in there gave me so much energy and made me feel so relaxed. I definitely recommend it if you ever get a chance to visit Iceland – when you leave the airport get your driver to head straight for the Blue Lagoon, don’t even go to the hotels first. It’s a phenomenal experience with not that many tourists.
I like it here, there were times I’d be driving past waterfalls, volcanos and icecaps, its such wonderful scenery. It’s such a great place, I really like it a lot, the food is great and the people are very nice here.
What were your first thoughts when you were first presented with the role of Locke? And being part of the franchise. We’re you familiar with its huge global following?
Not really actually, just the basics, I knew that it was a popular game that people enjoyed which has a huge following; It’s a great brand that people are really dedicated to, and it always made me curious about it, to find out more. And so to be offered this part in Halo made me look deeper into what is was about. It gave me some opportunities to do things that I wanted to do, which was doing more action projects, like this, like sci-fi, to give me an opportunity to branch out and diversify and also get a chance to do a voice-over.
Did you prepare for the role by playing a lot of the Halo games and immersing yourself in that world, to help you become more familiar?
No, playing the game wouldn’t have helped me much, as my character, at that point, hasn’t been created or introduced in the video game. As far as the film, he was the only character who wasn’t a Spartan, and in the game it is primarily just Spartan super solders who can do these awesome things, that’s above everything humanly possible, and have these incredible suits on, I on the other hand, had to focus on my character’s journey and origin story, and what’s the fate of his team when he left the planet. It’s more of him only as a solder and not so much what he was going to be when he becomes a Spartan, which is where the video game picks up from. It’s more of a human story that we’re trying to tell. There are very little situations where I’m actually doing anything like the video game; it’s not very similar.
You started with getting the voice-over role in the game, which explicitly led to your role in the film, is that right?
It was actually the other way round. I signed up for the film and then that led to the video game and the motion caption character, which would then go into the video game. I was approached as an actor to audition for the role in the digital film, that was the first thing that happened, then we moved on to creating the character for the video game.
It must be quite a unique experience playing the same character in both the film and video game. Has their been much cross referencing and how have they correlated?
The first thing is that they are both so different, acting on film verses doing motion caption verses doing voice-over is all different medias, so it’s not the same as what your trying to convey. I’m used to acting, which relies on your total being in front of the camera trying to convey what the character is experiencing, but when your doing voiceover work you really have to get all that expression and emotion and everything through your voice and sometimes that can feel a little phony, because you’re trying to convey something that people can’t see and at times you feel like you’re doing too much, it was a bit weird at first but Amanda Wiseman, who directed the voice over sessions guided me through and you eventually get used to it. The motion caption was very technical thing and very subtle. You have to walk around in these funny suits with a camera right in your face, which can get a bit tedious at times. Watching it all back was surreal, the technology in these video games are incredible.
What can you tell us about your character in Halo: Nightfall?
Locke is a ‘think first, act later’ kind of guy; always making a decision based on the fact that it can affect so many people, so that is something that he doesn’t take lightly. He’s a very logical methodical man, and even though there are lives at stake, he always understands and knows that this is what he signed up for. I got in touch with my character, but I think it’s something that a lot of people would find hard to relate to – unless you’re in the military, people who put their lives on the line everyday – I’ve tried to understand that and try to feel what it would be like as a solider with nerves of steel and not be afraid.
What was it like working with the other cast members and crew?
We had a great time. They assembled a great tem – our production crew were some on the few that worked on the game, and in Iceland and some that had worked on The Game Of Thrones, so they were incredible, just used to working long hours and shooting in weird locations. They were very professional all the way through. The cast were great; a lot of the cast were actually from the UK, I got to meet a lot of people and still keep in touch with a few of them and formed some lifelong friends. We had a great time even though the elements were harsh, we still had a great time and a lot of laughs; it would be cold, raining and we’re stuck on a mountain, tired and sleepy but what can you do, it was great. We had a fun time.
You obviously enjoy energetic, action movie roles, but were you allowed to perform your own stunt & action scenes?
I’m getting quite a bit more ‘sign off’ to do more. Unless you could potentially die doing a scene or stunt then it’s usually ok. But I’ve never really been the type to throw myself in to do my own stunts, because stuntmen are trained and tend to be adrenaline junkies – they like it! One stunt guy wanted to fall from a large building, it was a huge fall. Huge! But he wanted to do it, but in the end we decided against it and used CGI. But that’s part of their job I guess, they love it. I do as much stunts as I can, when all the proper precautions are in place, because it’s not so much fun when you get hurt.
Do you think there are any pressures that come with a role in a film with the Halo brand, having such a huge fan base?
They’re trying to change a little bit of the narrative for Halo, and give it a story that would be able to connect to a reach a wider audience. One that would not have necessarily have been a fan of Halo video game series, and create a stand alone film that you could watch and connect to the characters and the story, and I guess generate an interest in the video game, regardless of who you are. I don’t think you have to just be a sc-fi fan or gamer to enjoy this.
Halo: Nightfall is released digitally on March 17 2015 and internationally on March 17th. Check out the trailer below for a taste.
At Frost we are super excited about the prospect of a female American president. It has been a long time coming and if anyone can do it, Hilary can. We also love the wackiness of this new website that has been set up in support of Hilary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign offering a range of wacky merchandise sporting the ‘I’m Ready for Hilary’ slogan.
Even though Clinton is yet to announce whether she’ll run for the 2016 presidential election, due to take place on Tuesday November 8, the website has backed the her in what is set to be another hotly contested election.
The site offers everything from a Grassroots Tour Poster to Champagne flutes, hoodies and cufflinks, but there are some more unusual additions such as ‘Hillary Rocks!’ old fashioned glasses and an extensive range of petwear.
A social media storm has gathered on the back of the new merchandise store with people posting pictures of the free bumper sticker that can be collected upon backing the campaign. An anti campaign has also been initiated with a red ‘not’ wedged between ‘I’m Ready’. The campaign has enjoyed similar social success with one Tweeter saying: “If the U.S. is ready for Hilary, I’m moving to Nepal” in response to bumper stickers being handed out at a US college campus.
Top 10 Wackiest ’Clinton for President’ Merchandise
Lucky Cat collars
Lucky Dog Hoodies
Glass mason jars
Make Your Mark Marker Pens
Born Ready Onesie
Early polling for the 2016 elections indicate Hilary is expected to take the Democratic primaries with ease, with 55 per cent on people in a Fox News poll saying they believe she will win. Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Rand Paul and Mitt Romney are the most likely Republican candidates to be standing against her, but Hilary will have to overcome Vermin Supreme in the primaries before running for president after the performance artist put himself in the running.
The bearded Supreme is known for running as an alternative candidate in various local, state, and national elections and renowned for carrying a large toothbrush and wearing a boot shaped hat. Here’s a brief look at what Hilary will be up against:
If you have ever been curious about Frost Magazine editor Catherine Balavage’s writing day then grab a copy of the April 2015 edition of Writing Magazine. Catherine is interviewed by Lynne Hackles. She talks about Frost, writing books and her acting career.
Catherine is not the first Frost team member to be interviewed by Writing Magazine, contributing editor Margaret Graham was also interviewed about her writing day in a prior issue.
Head down to a newsagents and get your copy now. Available at WHsmith.co.uk, Waterstones.com, all good newsagents or the Writing Magazine website.
Angela Taplin, scribbler of fiction, poetry and (sometime) Deep Meaningful Reflections on Life. She’s a member of Chesham Writers and Scribblers and prefers lad docle vita to Ryvita any day. She is a mother and a new, doting, grandmother.
Life is like a road with many turnings and my musical interests have been many and varied.
It started way back as a child when I loved the weekly “Singing Together” programme broadcast on the radio for schools. At secondary school, our music teacher was inspirational, and talented enough to play every instrument in the school orchestra. I longed to emulate him. I began as hundreds of others have done by playing the recorder and moved on to the violin. My parents? Tolerant or deaf I would think. I eventually became part of the youth orchestra and finally became the leader… more about my age than ability.
I began to play an accordion because my dear old Dad thought it was a super instrument and you could always earn a bob or two in a dance band. At the time I just wanted to make music so I started to learn on a small 48 bass one and soon moved to a much larger one, which was almost as big as me… being rather a small child.
However this was not ‘cool’ as in the 60s everyone played the guitar and what teenager wants to be different than their peers. If only my dad had known that that it was the best tool I ever had for teaching young children to enjoy singing.
All this led to Chester Teachers’ Training College to study music and drama as part of my teaching course. It was here that I took up the piano. I was catching up with my secondary teacher.
It was in retirement that I joined High Wycombe and district U3A. Somehow my musical skills were discovered. A friend approached me one day saying that she knew that I played the guitar but did I play the ukulele?
Did I? Well no, but I remembered a ukulele which I had been bought as a kind of joke Christmas present a couple of years earlier. I was in business. We went to listen to an established group in Marlow to see what we thought. First impressions? It was in a pub, so bring it on. In the back room were around 40 players. We sat down to listen when someone put a ukulele in my hand, I managed a few chords and I realised that I was hooked.
So lets start a group up in the U3A we decided. We hoped that we could find a teacher but no one came forward so without more ado I was coerced into leading the group.
We have been going around 6 months now and the group is growing from an initial start of around 12 to over 20. We have a percussion section too, and that is growing well.
We meet once a month to play and we had our first ‘gig’ at our Christmas U3A coffee morning. It was great fun and seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces was fantastic. Its not a difficult instrument to get the basics going but it is really good fun to play together. I am still learning and keeping enough steps ahead of the group to be able to pass on the skills. My philosophy is that you cannot be sad when you are singing a cheery song and playing a ukulele. I love it. So we just keep strumming.
