Nowhere To Go

Good morning, everyone, how is everybody doing? Well, this week’s blog is called “Nowhere to Go.” I did it in support of all the people that have lost their homes, more so since the pandemic started, as they either can’t afford the staggering rent rise or landlords have thrown them out because their struggling to find the money, especially when the cost of living is rising fast and continues to rise, making it impossible to live, because what you do earn doesn’t cover the outgoings. My heart just goes out to all of those who have lost their homes.

Now on with today’s blog.

When you are feeling…
Down and out,
All you want to do…
Is scream and shout,
You are feeling all alone,
Regardless of a home.

Every day is the same,
When you are a nobody,
Without a name,
The days are so long,
You feel as if you don’t belong,
Time goes by so slow,
When you have nowhere to go,

Left out in the cold,
Whether you are young or old,
Nowhere to turn too,
When you are feeling blue,
For no one wants to help,
With the life, you have been dealt.

by Aria

“It doesn’t matter where you are, You are nowhere compared to where you can go” Bob Proctor

“It may seem that every time someone offers you a hand up, they just let go and you slip further down.” Jay Asher

“He had no place he could stay in without getting tired of it, and because there was nowhere to go but everywhere, keep rolling under the stars.” Jack Kerouac

“When you hit rock bottom, you have nowhere to go but up.” Pattie Mallette

“How can I be lost, if I’ve nowhere to go?” Metallica

Before I go and leave you today, I wanted to have a final say.

WARNING! My youngest daughter received a fraudulent text message yesterday, about her coming into close contact with someone. I decided to look into it and found that it was not actually a government message, and instead was a scam text. So, I wanted to warn everyone, that there is some sick person out there, getting a kick out of sending these messages to frighten you. Do not click any link that they have sent you, always check to see if it is a government message first. Below is a link to show you what a real message and a fake one looks like.

COVID-19: SMS/Text Message Scam

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Keep Safe and have a wonderful week, and I will see you back here next week.

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Hi everyone, hope you have all been having a momentous week. This week’s blog is Random Acts of Kindness Week.

Every day of the year should be Random Acts of Kindness, not just for a week or a day. You need to show the younger generation compassion and kindness for one another, this is one of the best gifts you can teach them. Gather your family around and make it an annual thing of just doing random goodness to people. Get your family involved in making a list of things you could do to show kindness to people in an act of kindness challenge, and as you go through achieving these acts of kindness, you will be teaching your children how to be kind in a variety of ways. Then they will pass it down to future generations to come, on how to be kind to others.

There is so much serious stuff going on in the world, doing Random Acts of Kindness to someone else, will brighten up their day and make this world not seem so bad. What Random Acts of Kindness do you do or are going to do?

Send Coloring Books to Sick Kids in the Hospital

Being in hospital at any age is the worst, but when you’re a kid that spends more time in hospital than at home is far worst. So, sending sick kids a colouring book would give them for a brief time of being a child again.

Write Someone an Encouraging Poem

Giving a personal poem of encouragement, can uplift someone’s spirit and make them start believing in themselves. It could cheer a person up immensely by reading words of encouragement. They would be able to have it as a keepsake, to look back at when they are feeling down.

Take a Neighbours’ Dog for a Walk

Are you an animal lover? If you are, you can always go and enjoy some fresh air by offering to take your neighbour’s dog for a walk. I’m sure they would appreciate the offer.

Do Someone a Favour

I, make a significant amount phone calls on behalf of a family member to help them out, as they are deaf and can’t hear what anyone is saying, but you could always get something off the top shelf, that they can’t reach, or go to the shop for them. It can be absolutely anything.

Take your Younger Siblings Out to Play in the Rain

Brighten your brother or sisters’ day up, by playing with them out in the rain, splashing around, with not a care in the world, not only will you be putting a smile on their face, but you will be having some fun too, all the while making memories with them.

Send Care Packages to Soldiers Overseas

Soldiers are away from their families for months at a time, they get homesick as they miss their families, so sending them a care package would be a welcome sight.

Donate Toys to an Orphanage

Even though birthdays and holidays are the most wonderful and exciting time for many of us, it can be extra hard for children in orphanages, as they don’t get to experience what many of us take for granted, as they would be lucky to receive a single present, so for them it is an incredibly sad and lonely time for them. Consider donating new or unwanted toys, that you don’t need anymore, and watch their little faces light up as they unwrap the toys and joyfully play with them.

Give a Stranger a Compliment

There is too much hate in the world, so why not pay a stranger a compliment, whether it’s because you like their shoes, or she/he is doing an excellent job. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s always nice to hear a compliment. It will make their day.

Take the time to listen to someone

Be available when someone wants a heart to heart. Spend some time listening to them so intently. Show them you are listening to them and don’t zone out. It makes a whole heap of difference to them, instead of them keeping it all in.

Read to Kids at the Library for Storytime

Why not spend a day reading to the children at the library, it will help to open inspire their little minds and spark their imaginations? It will give them a love and appreciation for books, as well as education. You will be left with an overwhelming sense of knowing that you were the one to put a smile on their faces.

Help a Family Member with Childcare

Why not offer to look after a family members child or children and give them a break to do something for themselves or so that they can spend some quality time with their partner. Not only are they going to be grateful of having time to themselves, but they will feel happier.

Help Someone to Try Something New

There is always someone that is afraid to try something new, but with some support and a little encouragement. that they can do it, and there not alone, that you will be with them every step of the way, It should make it whole lot easier to go out there and try something new.

Call Your Mom

A mother’s love is unconditional, it is a love that can’t be explained, as it runs deep within your heart. It is endless and unselfish. This is a love that nothing or no one can take the place of, so take the time to call your mom, Hearing from you, will brighten her day up.

Do a Favor Without Asking for Anything in Return?

Have you ever thought of doing something for someone else, without wanting or expecting anything in return? Not only does it make you feel good inside, but it is a selfless act, doing something for others and not asking for anything in return.

Plant a Tree

Plant a tree and give back to the environment, make the world a little bit greener, and a whole lot better for the planet. If you’re lucky you will get to see it grow tall and strong.

Participate in a Fundraiser

Taking part in fundraising is a way to help raise money for specific charities or causes from businesses to individuals. These causes could be helping the homeless, the underprivileged, to getting funds for a child’s education.

Spend Time with Your Grandparents

I, remember my grandfather taking me as a child every Sunday out on adventures, well these memories I will cherish always. Spending time with your grandparents offer you so much love, and you too could have amazing adventures with them too, which will give you lasting memories to cherish.

Donate Unwanted Clothes

If you have clothes, you no longer use, but they are in good condition, why not breathe new life into them by donating unwanted clothes, so they have a new home to go to, and someone else can make use out of them. It is not only an act of kindness, but it will put a smile on someone else’s face, and that is worth more than anything else.

Bring in Doughnuts for Your Co-Workers

Why not treat your co-workers to some doughnuts, to show that you appreciate every one of them? Show them that you value them as a colleague or friend. Getting on with who you work with makes your day and job a whole lot easier. Kindness goes a long way.

Hold Open the Doors for People

Everybody goes through their fair share of doors, so why not try holding the door open for someone behind you, or to kindly gesture someone to pass through is you showing a simple kindness to another person.

Give Your Seat Up on the Bus

Offering to give up your seat for someone else, especially those who need it most, is a goodwill gesture and shows what kind of person you are.

Make a Family Member Breakfast in Bed

After an exhausting week, we could all use some pampering. If you have a loved one, like a partner or family member who is feeling down, why not surprise them by doing a breakfast in bed for them. Waking up to the smell of a freshly ground coffee along with whatever type of breakfast they’re into.

Leave a Positive Note in a Library Book

What would be extra nice, is when you open a book up and find a special note that someone has left behind. It could be wishing you have a fantastic day, or your awesome, whatever it is, it will make someone’s day. If they’re feel down in the first place, something like that will lift their spirits and they will leave much happier than they did before.

Donate to Charity

Donating to charity helps those that are less fortunate than yourself. You will be left feeling good that you got to help others.

Spend a Day at a Homeless Shelter

Spend a day at a homeless shelter and why not volunteer your services by giving them a hand with making and serving the meals to the homeless. They are just people like us, that have had bad luck come their way. Make them feel special, as you never know when it could be you in their place one day.

Help a Senior with Their Groceries

If you see someone older than you struggling to carry their groceries, it is only right, to take the time, to help them out, and carry the groceries for them. They would appreciate the help. It takes a kind-hearted soul to help someone else.

Offer to Take a Photo of a Couple

It is fine taking selfies, but they never always come out the way you want them too, especially if you want to capture that special moment. A photo is a keepsake, a reminder of how great that day was. Why not offer to be the one to capture that beautiful moment.

Donate a Book to the Library

If you love books as much as I do, you will not only have your own set of books, but you will also love going to the library too. But if you have doubled up on any books, or you have outgrown certain ones why not donate them to a place that has made an enormous impact on you the library.

Buy Flowers to Hand Out on the Street

It is always nice to give and receive flowers, why not buy some stem flowers, and then hand them out to people you meet in the street. You can either hand them one or hand them two, and then encourage them to give the other one to someone else. The other way to go is by leaving one under a car wiper with a note telling them to have a wonderful day.

Help a Child or Older Person Cross the Street

When you’re waiting at the traffic lights, for the little green man to say that it’s okay to cross, look to see who else is standing beside you, and see if they require some assistance to cross the road. Young or old, deaf, blind or visually impaired, we all need help or some random act of kindness shown to us.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Have a good week and I will see you next time.

Elizabeth Banks

Hi everyone, hope you are all well. In a few days’ time, cupid will be out with bow and arrow as he strikes the hearts of many, with so much love in the air as Valentine’s Day fast approaches. Romance is in the air and this time of year always brings the inner romantic out in all of us. It is the one time a year that for some, is extra special when big decisions are made, that change their lives forever, like a proposal of marriage to moving in together. But the one thing this time of year is known for and that’s getting engaged, as there are around six million proposals each year. So, you never know, it could be you… Anyway, on with today’s post which is about Elizabeth Banks as it’s her birthday today.

Who is Elizabeth Banks?

Elizabeth Banks is a talented and versatile actress, producer, and director, who became well known for her memorable appearances in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin,’ ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ and as Effie Trinket in ‘The Hunger Games trilogy.’ She is such a versatile actor, who can turn her hand to anything she puts her mind to and brings us some unbelievably memorable and unforgettable characters, which leaves an impression on us for years to come. and has proven herself repeatedly that she is such a versatile actor, who has given you a wide variety of genres to watch like sci-fi, comedy, horror, and drama.

Early Years

Born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on February 10, 1974, she is the eldest of four, to parents Mark Mitchell a Vietnam war veteran and factory worker for General Electrics and Ann (nee Wallace) who worked within the bank. Whilst growing up, she rode horses and played baseball in the Little Leagues where she had injured herself by sliding into third base playing the softball game, which left her with a fractured leg. It was then, that she would turn her sights to acting by trying out for the school plays and it is where she caught the acting bug.

Elizabeth in the Middle at Graduation

Elizabeth was a bright and Intelligent student who went to Pittsfield High School, and it was during her time there, that she took part in many different types of sports, she was also a member of the Massachusetts Junior Classical League, Elizabeth graduated in 1992 and then went onto enrol at the University of Pennsylvania where she became a member of the Delta Delta Sorority and was elected to the Friars Senior Society. By 1996 she graduated magna cum laude with a major in communications and a minor in theatre arts. Banks then went on to complete her schooling at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California and underwent training in drama, where she earned herself an MFA degree in 1988.

How Her Career Started

Elizabeth decided to make the move to New York in the hope of gaining an acting career and it is where she got several minor parts on both TV and films. In 1998 Banks made her debut with a small part in ‘Surrender Dorothy,’ it was a film on drug addiction. Her performance in the movie would give her more opportunity to work on television, in programmes such as ‘Third Watch’ and ‘Sex in the City.’ After snagging a few bites in New York, Elizabeth then decided to make her way to Los Angeles in the hope of searching for more diverse acting roles and it would give her more opportunity to find work. It was during this time that Elizabeth changed her name as there was another actor that went by the name Elizabeth Mitchell and changed it to ‘Banks’ to stop all the confusion it would have caused.

It was 2002 that she finally won her big break when she appeared in Sam Raimi’s ‘Spiderman.’ She would play ‘Betty Brant’ a character who would work as a secretary for a newspaper tycoon, it was as if this part were written for her as this suited her skills so well. From that moment on she had sealed herself as an actress. Work started coming in from all directions as her career was starting to take off, in movies like ’swept Away’ and ‘Catch Me If You Can’ which gained her more popularity and to this day she continues to be outstanding in all that she does and has delivered us some of the best movies to date, she will continue to amaze us with her versatility and awesome costumes.

Facts

• Banks met her husband, Max Handelman, a sportswriter and producer from Portland, Oregon, on the first day at University of Pennsylvania, on September 7, 1992. They were married July 5, 2003.
• Elizabeth has two children, Felix, and Magnus, both born via surrogate.
• Her favorite drink is Pimm’s and ginger ale.
• She loves to work out and hires a personal trainer, Joselynne Boschen. She has been working with Boschen for five years. When Elizabeth is in LA, she exercises three days a week for about an hour and concentrates on cardiovascular exercises, weight training, plyometrics, medicine balls, and TRX training.
• Before she got famous and was offered lead roles, she did several commercials.
• She has English, Irish, Scottish, and Distant Dutch ancestry and grew up Catholic.
• When Elizabeth and Max first met, she gave him her number, but she did not realize he genuinely did not have a phone. Fortunately, they met again three weeks later.

Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman

• In 1999, she had a cameo appearance in the American TV soap opera All My Children.
• Took a course on flying trapeze with a girlfriend.
• Banks went through parts of the process of conversion to Judaism, her husband’s faith, and studied with rabbis.
• She changed her name after she joined the Screen Actors Guild, she discovered that there was already an actress called Elizabeth Mitchell, and so changed her surname to Banks.
• Elizabeth Banks is 5 ft 5 in or 165 cm tall.
• Banks has co-starred often with actor Paul Rudd, the two having appeared in five films together to date Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Role Models, and Our Idiot Brother.
• Her biggest mistake in life was acting in the independent film Surrender Dorothy.

Elizabeth Banks, Felix Handelman, Magnus Mitchell Handelman, and Max Handelman

• Elizabeth Banks’ character in The Hunger Games, Effie Trinket, did not have much of a role in the third book, Mockingjay; however, Suzanne Collins and Francis Lawrence decided to expand her role in the last two films because they liked Effie.
• Elizabeth and her husband opted to use a surrogate after Banks was unable to carry a child. Although it was difficult to invite another person to share one of the most intimate moments of her life, she has managed to form a lasting bond with the surrogate who carried both of her children. Banks once said, “our surrogate is so extraordinary, and she’s still in our lives today. She is like an auntie.
• Bank’s primary goal was to become an athlete, but when she fractured her leg in a softball match, she concentrated on becoming an actor and worked towards achieving her goal.
• She is a great fan of David Letterman.
• Banks has a celebrity crush on German Irish actor Michael Fassbender.
• She has a Barbie doll of her Hunger Games alter-ego Effie Trinket that she takes with her around the world and uses to photobomb her co-stars.
• Banks co-starred in Definitely, Maybe with Ryan Reynolds.

The Many Characters Elizabeth Banks has Played

• After producing and appearing, as Gail, in the first Pitch Perfect film, Banks directed its sequel, Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), making her feature directorial debut. She also produced the film, and again played Gail.
• Banks changed her name upon joining the Screen Actors Guild, as actress Elizabeth Mitchell was already registered in the union under that name.
• She suffered with bad skin growing up and she still gets pimples. To prevent breakouts, she uses Murad Clarifying Cleanser and Mario Badescu Oil Free Moisturizer.
• Her favorite vacation spot is France, especially the south of France. Paris also as a special place in heart too as her husband took her there for my 25th birthday.
• Banks appeared in the 2014 movie Every Secret Thing, playing Detective Nancy Porter investigating the disappearance of a young child with similarities to a case she had previously been involved with.
• Banks is a huge fan of fantasy football; she even co-wrote the book Why Fantasy Football Matters: (And Our Lives Do Not) with her husband.
• Elizabeth is a feminist.

Elizabeth Banks and Kerry Washington

• Elizabeth has been best friends with Kerry Washington for decades.
• Banks was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and took part in a rendition of Rachel Platten’s single “Fight Song” with other celebrities at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
• She went on to appear in various films over the next seven years including Guy Ritchie’s Swept Away before gaining more prominent widespread exposure through the 2005 comedy film The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
• Elizabeth had a recurring role as Avery Jessup on the sitcom 30 Rock from 2010 to 2012.
• In 2002, Banks set up her own production company called Brownstone Productions with her future husband, Max Handelman, a sportswriter and producer. The couple has produced films like ‘Surrogates’ and ‘Pitch Perfect’ through their company.
• She is a huge fan of Shakespeare and one of her favorite films is Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. She says not being in the film is her greatest regret.
• Her favorite food is sushi and miso soup.

Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks

• Banks has often co-starred with actor Tobey Maguire, the two having appeared in five films together in Spider-Man, Seabiscuit, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, and The Details.
• Elizabeth has a recurring role on “Modern Family.”
• Banks pays homage to powerful women in her blog series, “Ask a Badass.” In the show, she has interviewed Julianne Moore and Betty White, among others.
• She was always very popular at school and had a group of very close friends, as she went around the campus.
• Elizabeth was screen tested to play Mary Jane Watson in Spiderman opposite Toby Maguire but wasn’t cast because she “was too old.” She was twenty-six at the time. Instead, she was cast as Betty Brant.
• Elizabeth graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in communications and she has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the American Conservatory Theatre.
• Growing up, she was a goody two shoes.
• She keeps her trim figure by hiding junk food in places where she will not think to look for them, like the freezer. This way she does not see them constantly and forgets about it.

• Elizabeth and Cameron Diaz always hang out together at premieres.
• Banks has a YouTube channel where, among amazing other things, she answers people’s ‘Really Important Questions’ from Twitter.
• Elizabeth Banks launched the website WHOHAHA to highlight talented female comedians. It includes videos and articles that cover A-list stars like Amy Schumer and Tina Fey to hilarious YouTube stars.
• She is college friends with producer Todd Lieberman.
• Elizabeth has been nominated twice for primetime Emmys for her role in the TV series “30 Rock.”
• In 2014, Banks was recognized by Elle Magazine during The Women in Hollywood Awards, honouring women for their outstanding achievements in film, spanning all aspects of the motion picture industry, including acting, directing, and producing.
• She won the ‘Exciting New Face Award’ from the ‘Young Hollywood Awards Team’ in 2003.
• Her classic comic performance in ‘Seabiscuit’ earned her the ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ for ‘Outstanding Performance.’ The film was considered a box office hit and received eight nominations at the 76th ‘Academy Awards.’

My Favorite Movies of Elizabeth Banks:

I have always been a fan of Elizabeth Banks’ movies. The list below are my favorite films of hers.

Walk of Shame
The Hunger Games 1–4
Charlie’s Angels
What to Expect When You’re Expecting
The Next Three Days
Power Rangers
Pitch perfect 1–3
The LEGO Movie 1 & 2
Definitely, Maybe
The Happytime Murders
Man on a Ledge
Meet Dave

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Take care and I will see you next week!

26 Best Library Quotes

Hi everyone, hope your week has been stress-free. I was appalled with what I had read about Argos, that they had delivered someone a Frankensofa, instead of sending them a sofa that they had requested, they sent them two halves of a different sofa each piece having an assorted colour, one half was what they had asked for and the other half was not what they wanted. It does not put much faith in them after reading this story. Anyway, if you want to read the whole shambles, that they made. click here. This week’s blog is 26 Best Library Quotes.

I’ve always loved libraries, probably because the books hold the key to my heart.  I cannot begin to count the many hours I have spent in the library, sifting through book after book, it was my way of escaping my traumatic childhood, I found that I could get lost in a book for hours, leaving my life behind to have adventure after adventure. Growing up I lived within walking distance of our town’s main library, it was there that turned the reader in me, into a huge lover of books, and in turn, start creating my own library of books. But having said that there is still nothing like a library, with the smell of the scent of the new and old books filling the whole room with its rich history, adventure and so much more…

It is a way to spark the imagination of the young and fill them with hope, dreams, and knowledge, so that they can turn into someone that likes to learn, love, and appreciate libraries and books that offers you so much more. Anyway, on with this week’s blog.

“A library is a place vibrating with ideas” Nancy Kunhardt Lodge

“Who doesn’t love a library? It is a place you can go in any town and discover the world.” Pat MacEnulty

“Libraries hold the keys to the universe.” Kiki Hamilton

“Libraries represent the diversity and immensity of human thought, our collective knowledge laid out in rows of revealing inspiration.” Manuel Lima

“The library is an arena of possibility, opening both a window into the soul and a door onto the world.” Rita Dove

“The library is like a candy store where everything is free.” Jamie Ford

“If you want to find your happy place, just go to the library.” Lizzie K Foley

“When I enter a library, I feel I’ve come home.” Barbara Wright

“A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life.” Norman Cousins

“A library is a house of hope. It’s a place where we all, whatever our situation, can feed our ideas and develop our dreams.” Doug Wilhelm

“Libraries really are wonderful. They’re better than bookshops, even. I mean bookshops make a profit on selling you books, but libraries just sit there lending you books quietly out of the goodness of their hearts.” Jo Walton

“The contents of a library can take you further than your own imagination could begin to imagine. To open a book is to open your mind.” Amberle Cianne

“If I could live in the library, I would.” Pembroke Sinclair

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, Enjoy the rest of your week, and I will see you soon.

3 Best Poems of Lewis Carroll

Hi everyone, hope you are all keeping well. Today’s blog is Lewis Carroll’s poems because today would have been his birthday, he was born on 27 January 1832. Instead of doing the usual biography and facts, which I can do another time, I thought we could celebrate him as a writer and poet, and celebrate the works he did, with Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. He was great at writing children’s literature, the way he bought his characters alive, that sparked the minds of the younger generation and will continue for future generations to come.

The Crocodile

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!

The Walrus and the Carpenter

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright —
And this was odd because it was
The middle of the night.
The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done —
‘It’s very rude of him,’ she said,
‘To come and spoil the fun.’

You are Old, Father William

“You are old, Father William,” the young man said,
“And your hair has become very white.
And yet you incessantly stand on your head –
Do you think, at your age, it is right?”

“In my youth,” Father William replied to his son,
“I feared it might injure the brain.
But now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,
Why I do it again and again.”

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you back here next week. Take care.

Audrey Hepburn: An Icon

Hi everyone, hope you are all okay. It has been a remarkably busy week for my family and I, as besides doing this post I have been packing my house up as we are moving within the next few weeks. But I have to say, it is one of the most stressful things you must go through in life. But the thing you must do is learn to take everything in one’s stride and try and have fun while doing it. Everybody as their own copying techniques, but seriously I cannot wait until all of this is over with. Any way on with this week’s blog, which is about Audrey Hepburn who died twenty-nine years ago today. This is a celebration of her extraordinary life that she once led.

Audrey Hepburn was an exceptional woman with such talent and energy. She was not only a famous actor, model, and humanitarian, but she was also charming, chic, super talented, and intelligent too and she was always poised to perfection, no matter the situation… The best way to describe her is that she always wore her heart on her sleeve, an icon who had a pure heart and led by example and for many to follow across the world, but no one knew behind that smile the trials and difficulties she had faced to become the iconic movie star of all time.

Early Years

Audrey Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston, on 4 May 1929 in the small town called Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium to parents Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston an English banker, and a Dutch Baroness Ella Van Heemstra. Her father Joseph would later go on to add ‘Hepburn’ to his namesake, and his daughter then became Audrey Hepburn-Ruston. Despite her ancestral nobility, Audrey was faced with many obstacles and challenges that she had to face and endure during her childhood.

By the time Audrey reached the age of six, she started to suffer the effects of her parent’s divorce, which had hit her extremely hard. Her mother would uproot her, and they moved to the Netherlands. By the time she was of school age, she was living in Arnhem which was occupied by the Nazi’s. And when Germans invaded the country, she took on the pseudonym name “Edda Van Heemstra” so that her name could blend in, instead of her real name sounding to English, as it could bring a whole heap of trouble her way.

Times were very tough for her during the war, so much that she had to starve, and in time the stress manifested itself by affecting her health and had an everlasting effect on her metabolism, which she never recovered from, it was never the same again after that, as she suffered from anaemia respiratory disease and depression.

Audrey started taking dance lessons from the age of five and had always taken an interest in art and went on to complete her time at Arnhem Conservatory and then with her mother moved to Amsterdam where they both worked as nurses in a soldier’s home, before moving the family to London, England after the war when Audrey was fifteen, where she began to study dance on a ballet scholarship.  

In 1946 when she was sixteen, Audrey started taking ballet lessons that coincided with her job, but because the damage had been done during the war, she was faced with the consequences of being undernourished, and as a result, her health would not let her become a top ballet dancer. During that time, her mother had taken on any menial jobs to support her family, while Audrey went on to earn a living herself, and acting for her seemed to be the best choice.

Family Life

During working on Ondine. Audrey met her future husband, director, and actor Mel Ferrer. Despite Ferrer being married before, nothing could stop the two lovebirds from falling in with each other, even though this would be his third marriage, and he already had five children. In 1954 they got married and six years later, their first and only child together Sean Hepburn Ferrer was born. Mel and Audrey were together for fourteen years before they split up and divorced in 1968.

The breakdown of their marriage hit Audrey hard, so much so, she had to seek medical help. The famous Hollywood star sought treatment in the form of a psychiatrist Italian Andrea Dotti who she went on to marry in 1969 and gave birth to a son Luca. Eventually, their relationship started to fall apart as Dotti was cheating on his wife, she tried to ignore the many indiscretions he had, her patience lasted ten years but she could not take it anymore.

Audrey fell in love again with Dutch Robert Wolders for the final time at fifty, which would last the rest of her life. They never married but that did not stop them from enjoying spending time together and being happy.

Activist

By the time Audrey Hepburn’s acting career was over, she was then appointed as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She first became a part of UNICEF in 1954 and took part in broadcasts and radio. Hepburn was so appreciative and grateful for everything the foundation had done for her, as it had saved her life when she too was a youngster.

Audrey spent the rest of her years helping to improve children’s lives in poorer countries. Within the last five years, she had visited more than twenty countries and taken care of disadvantaged children and their families.

Her Death

The UNICEF took up so much of her energy, with going on many trips it had a vast impact on Audrey’s health. In 1992 was the last time she visited Somalia and Kenya. During the trip she had unbearable abdominal pain, African medics told her she needed to start easing up on her tour and phase it out, at once. She refused, but once she had got back home, she saw her doctors and it was there she was diagnosed with a colon tumour, within a fortnight she had surgery, which doctors were confident they had caught it in time. Three weeks later she was retaken to hospital with the pain resumed. The tumour had spread to other parts and there was nothing more they could do for her. The actress passed away January 20, 1993, aged 63 in Switzerland surrounded by her family.

Facts:

• Hepburn had two older brothers Arnoud Robert Alexander Quarles van Ufford and Ian Edgar Bruce Quarles van Ufford
• Her father deserted her family, only days before World War II broke out in 1939.
• She is an introvert and likes nothing more to spend her days when not filming ‘alone.’
• She began dancing from the age of five, and by 1944, she had become a proficient ballet dancer and secretly danced for groups of people to collect money for the Dutch resistance.
• Alberto de Rossi was her favourite makeup artist; he was partially responsible for her signature look including her doe eyes.  She considers him like a family member, and was devastated when he died, that she considered never doing another movie again.
• Her parents were Nazi sympathizers, while Hepburn boldly supported the resistance.
• She suffered with two miscarriages, one early in the pregnancy, but it was her second that she would never get over, which was the loss of her baby girl that she lost when she was six months pregnant.
• Her favourite color was cyan, she liked the blueish-green hue.

• Audrey was a ballet dancer, and she found that ballet flats were what she felt most comfortable in. Also, being tall, high heels did not suit her as other people were always shorter than her.
• Hepburn sang Happy Birthday to JFk in 1963, a year after Marilyn Monroe did. It was a private event..
• Audrey aspired of becoming a prima ballerina, and began ballet training under Sonia Gaskell, a leading figure in Dutch ballet, and Russian teacher Olga Tarasova in Amsterdam, before training in London with Marie Rambert.
• Hepburn would have her eyelashes painfully separated by using a pin, after applying three coats of mascara.
• She’s a member of the EGOT club. She is only one of fourteen people in the world to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony award.
• Audrey spoke five languages, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, and Italian.
• Marilyn Monroe was originally intended to play the lead in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” instead of Audrey. Although it was one of Hepburn’s most popular films, the author, Truman Capote, was disappointed that they didn’t hire Marilyn.
• She had a pet baby deer named Pippin (and nicknamed ‘Ip’), and 1959 film Green Mansions the animal trainer suggested Hepburn take the deer home with her, so that it would follow her on-screen. The fawn became her sidekick and even went with her to the supermarket, but Audrey fell in love with the deer so much that she decided to keep him.

• Hepburn had a one-of-a-kind perfume created for her by Hubert de Givenchy in 1957 named L’Interdit which means “forbidden” in French. It was released to the public in the ’60s, and is now formulated with Bulgarian rose, jasmine, pink pepper, orris, and tonka bean.
• A child of World War II, Hepburn suffered starvation and malnutrition while hiding from the Nazi’s, at one point surviving on just water and nettles.
• Most of her leading men were twenty to thirty years older than her.
• Audrey always wore a 10 ½ size shoe, and always bought half a size bigger, so that it gave her plenty of room to manoeuvre as she did not want them to look as if their squeezed in.
• Hepburn was furious at first when she found out her vocals were not strong enough and that she would have to be dubbed by Marion Nixon in My Fair Lady.
• Audrey dated John F Kennedy when he was a senator, and he once quoted his favorite film was Roman Holiday.  
• The original character design of Disney’s princess Aurora was done by Tom Oreb, who modelled the princess after the elegant, slender features of Audrey.
• Before Audrey became famous, she was once engaged to James Hanson, but she felt that their careers would keep them apart for too long and it would not work out.

Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy

• French designer Hubert de Givenchy was her personal stylist and lifetime friend, they were friends for forty years.
• Whilst filming the movie “Two for the Road” with Albert Finney, she had to be thrown into the pool, but Audrey was so scared of drowning, that out of camera shot, there was some crew on standby to grab her and comfort her if something were to go wrong. The fear you see on camera is 100% genuine.
• The Tiffany Yellow Diamond Necklace has only been worn by four famous women; Audrey Hepburn, American socialite Mrs. E. Sheldon Whitehouse, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé Knowles.
• There are three flowers named after Hepburn, a breed of Daylily, Rose and Tulip “as a tribute to the actresses for her long-time work on behalf of UNICEF.”
• Audrey had her own insecurities and never saw herself as beautiful, she often wondered why people did, she never understood why people would see her as beautiful, her son Luca says, “she had thought her nose to be too big, she had not enough breasts, was too skinny and had big feet.”
• Won an Academy Award on her first major movie “Roman Holiday.”
• During World War II Audrey was a volunteer nurse in a Dutch hospital, during the battle of Arnhem. The hospital received wounded allied soldiers. One of the soldier’s she had nursed back to health was a young paratrooper. Little did she know, the young man would be a future director named Terence Young, and twenty years later he directed her in “Wait Until Dark”.
• Audrey Hepburn’s weight was 110 lbs which she did not exceed over unless she was pregnant. Right after World War II, she weighed a measly 88 lbs at age 16. but suffered from malnutrition later in life, which she never recovered from the effect and damaged that it had on her.

• Audrey fell madly in love with William Holden and the two embarked on an affair, during the casting of the movie Sabrina, even though he was married at the time. The one thing she desperately wanted was to have children with him, but Bill did not… Instead, he got a vasectomy unbeknownst to her, it absolutely broke her heart when she was told.
• She broke her back by being thrown from a horse while filming the Unforgiven, when she was shooting a riding scene. She is terrified of horses and never rode another one again.
• Audrey was training as a dental assistant right before she was found by a talent scout who wanted her for the Broadway play “Gigi” which was her big break.
• She hated wearing watches, as she strongly disliked the cold of the metal when touching her skin and the heaviness of the watch.
• Audrey was the first star to have a street named after her, and they put on an entire ceremony for her.
• She loved to garden in her spare time, and she famously once quoted “To grow a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” She loved gardens so much that in her last years, she gladly agreed to host the PBS Television series Gardens of the World.
• Audrey was amazingly generous, as she contributed to UNICEF by donating all her salary, which she earned from her final movies, and was appointed Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF in 1988, which she had contributed to since 1954.
• She went to Ethiopia, Turkey, Vietnam, South and Central America countries, and Bangladesh and helped organize humanitarian aid supply, vaccination programs, and drinking water provision.
• Hepburn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, one month before she passed away from cancer at the age of 63.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you next week.

30 Best New Year Quotes

Hi everyone, this is my first day back since the Christmas holidays, I hope you all had a good and enjoyable holiday, however you spent it. Anyway, I have some great and exciting blog posts coming up this year, you will have to check in to see what they will be…

Every year offers you, a fresh start with new beginnings, exciting opportunities, and many possibilities. A way of looking forward to the future and not looking back, but always keeping the memories alive.

From starting a new diet to the birth of a child, a new job, a move to a new home or destination. Your future is not set, you are the driver of your own destination, whatever you do make every moment count, and live it the way you want it to be. Make memories that will stay with you forever. Anyway, on with this weeks blog post!

Quotes for the New Year

“Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings.” Jonathan Lockwood Huie

“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Dale Carnegie

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” Thomas Jefferson

“Life is about change, sometimes it’s painful, sometimes it’s beautiful, but most of the time it’s both.” Kristin Kreuk

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.” Melody Beattie

“Don’t let today’s disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow’s dreams.” Unknown

“Change can be scary, but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving, and progressing.” Mandy Hale

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” Benjamin Franklin

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce

“So no matter what comes your way today, tomorrow, next week, or next year for that matter understand that you have in you what it takes to overcome it.” Josh Hinds

“The attraction of New Year is this: The year changes, and in that change, we believe that we can change with it. It is far more difficult, however, to change yourself than turn the calendar to a new page.” R. Joseph Hoffmann

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
George Bernard Shaw

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start.” Nido Qubein

“The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life.” Arnold Bennett

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Enjoy the rest of your week and I will see you next week!

20 Christmas Quotes

Here are twenty Christmas quotes to take you into the festive season. Have a very merry Christmas and hopefully a better New Year.

“Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.” Ruth Carter Stapleton

“A silent night, a star above, a blessed gift of hope and love. A blessed Christmas to you!” Unknown

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year. There’ll be much mistletoeing and hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Eddie Pola and George Wyle

“There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.” Charles Dickens

“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal and that every path may lead to peace.” Agnes M. Pharo

“In the eyes of children, we find the joy of Christmas. In their hearts, we find its meaning.” Leland Thomas

“The month of December isn’t magical because it sparkles. It’s magical because it changes people’s hearts … at least momentarily.” Toni Sorenson

“From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another. The warmth and joy of Christmas bring us closer to each other.” Emily Matthews

“At its best, Christmas is a mirror in which we see reflected the very best life can be. Where we see ourselves moved by generosity, inspired by hope and uplifted by love, not only for ourselves but for the whole evolving universe.” Bruce Sanguin

“This holiday season, I wish you all the best gifts of life. The gift of friendship, the gift of hope, the gift of love. Have a merry Christmas!” Unknown

Thank you for taking the time to read this week’s blog. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.

Christmas Star

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing okay, and you have about finished getting your Christmas shopping gifts. Hopefully, everyone has a nice Christmas, despite what is looming over our heads, and please stay safe,

Something terrible happened yesterday, a dog mauled my husband whilst he was out delivering his parcel’s so that everyone gets them in time for Christmas. He went to this house to drop off a parcel when a teenager answered the door, she only opened the door slightly as she had the dog beside her, but the parcel was too big to go through the tiny gap, but instead, of putting her dog into another room before opening the door fully. Which is what normal people would have done. Nope, she opened it up as wide as possible to get the parcel, and then the dog pounded out of the house and attacked my husband, he was backed into a corner as the dog was biting and ripping away at his trousers and sinking his teeth into his flesh. and piercing his skin.

While this was going on the teenager was just standing in the doorway shouting at the dog, she never moved an inch, she did not even think to leave the house and drag the dog off him, the only way my husband got away was by kicking it away so he could make his escape. It was bad enough that he got mauled, but what if that had been a child, that youngster would not have been able to of fought it off. If people have animals, they need to learn how to manage them properly, especially in those kinds of situations, because that should never have happened if he was managed properly in the first place,

Anyway, on with my post, I have done a poem this week for you. Hope you like it.

Christmas Star,
Christmas Star,
That sits so high,
And so far, away,
Twinkling there,
In the midnight sky.
Make all our dreams,
Come true tonight.

Wish you may,
Wish you might.
You are only here,
For just one night.
Twinkles twinkle
With all your might
I have you…
In my sight tonight.

By Aria

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and I will see you soon.

This is my last post for this year as I am taking two weeks break to enjoy the holiday festivities with my family and get to spend some good quality time together. There is nothing quite like spending time with loved ones if these past couple of years have shown us, and that is to appreciate what we have, do not take anyone or thing for granted and it’s the insignificant things we do that make more of an impact. Be Kind and loving to each other I will see you all back here in the New Year. Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New year Have a great Christmas holiday

Wilhelm Grimm

Hi everyone, you can always tell when the days and nights are getting colder, by how many layers a person has wrapped themselves up in. The nearer it gets to Christmas the colder it is getting, at times it feels as if we have snow on the ground, as there is already a chill in the air here in the UK.

My family has had such an eventful week especially where our car is concerned, on Saturday it broke down, just as my husband finished delivering his last parcel, so he had a fun time trying to get home, because he had to leave the car where it had died, and because of it being the weekend, he couldn’t get anyone to take a look at it until Monday, which meant he could not go into work. To say they were not happy was an understatement. They fixed the car by Tuesday dinner time, and then he went off to work, by Wednesday morning the car stopped working again, there was nothing, so it had to go back into the garage and now it is just a waiting game, and hopefully, it is the last time it breaks down… Fingers crossed. The other day there was a warning alert that came through on my phone from the Council saying that we have had our first case of the Omicron variant here, so now it is back to living like a hermit.

Anyway, on with today’s post, if you have not already guessed it by the title, it is about Wilhelm Grimm who died 162 years ago today.

Wilhelm Grimm was a German author of the nineteenth century. He is one half of a duo, which made up the literature Grimm Brothers, the other one being his brother Jacob and together they brought some of the most iconic dark fairy tales to life in a way, no one else has managed to come close to creating. Together they created the most iconic and unforgettable stories to date and went on to publish the ‘Grimms’ Fairy Tales which is a collection of some of their most beloved stories, such as ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Rapunzel.’

Who is Wilhelm Grimm?

Wilhelm Grimm along with his elder brother Jacob studied German folklore, so that they could go around telling their stories, as well as publish their collection of stories, which would go on to become known as Grimm Fairy Tales which would include Briar Rose and Little Red Riding Hood. He would go onto oversee the editorial work of future editions which would then be reshaped into children’s literature.

The Early Years

Born Wilhelm Carl Grimm on February 24, 1786, to parents Dorothea Viehmann and Philipp Grimm in the town of Hanau, Germany. Wilhelm was the Third oldest of nine children, but sadly three died when they were incredibly young. He would later go on to embark on an illustrious writing career, with his older brother Jacob. Both Wilhelm and Jacob studied law at the University of Marburg from 1802 to 1806, as they followed their father’s path of becoming a lawyer, but due to unforeseen ill health, it meant he couldn’t start a regular job until 1814, where he would obtain a position at the Royal Library in Kassel, Germany as the secretary, which is just the most perfect place to be for someone who loves literature. In 1816 Jacob would go on to join him there.

Grimms Fairy Tales

Wilhelm and Jacob’s work had concluded in the book Kinder-und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales), which was the first volume and was published in 1812. Followed by the second volume in 1815. This collection of literature would then go on to become more known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which includes Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, Briar Rose, Tom Thumb, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Rumpelstiltskin, Cinderella, Snow-White and Rose-Red.

Regardless of the emphasis on the village oral heritage, the stories were a combination of oral and previously written fairy tales, including some which were shared by both family, friends, and outside influences. Charles Perrault had written an earlier version of The Sleeping Beauty that was known as Briar Rose which can be found in the Grimm Fairy Tales collection.

The brothers found that their stories were too dark for children to hear, they decided to set upon adjusting a second edition and making it more palatable for children, so every child could hear their stories too. Wilhelm was seen as the easy-going, the more compassionate one of the two, who had a passion for the arts, and served as the editor on every future edition of their tales

His Legacy

There fairy tales have been retold by many diverse types of media formats over many decades, and with each media they have put their own spin on it by tweaking it to fit various occasions, like making it right for children, so that they can experience the love of fairy tales that will spark their imagination. They had to reduce the violence to enable it to be child friendly, but still trying to keep its original form. Nevertheless, their legacy continues to live on in everyone, young and old it is loved by all and is celebrated by many.

Facts

• Wilhelm was a lawyer, following in the footsteps of his father Philipp Grimm.
• Wilhelm has seven brothers Friedrich Hermann Georg, Jacob, Carl Friedrich, Ludwig Emil, Friedrich, Georg Eduardo. Ferdinand Philipp, and one sister Charlie.
• His Mother Dorothea Viehmann was a German storyteller. Her stories were an important source for the fairy tales collected by the Brothers. Most of Dorothea Viehmann’s tales were published in the second volume of Grimms’ Fairy Tales.
• He was the third child born to Dorothea and Philipp.
• Wilhelm married Henriette Dorothea Wild (Dortchen) in1825, with whom he would go on to have four children with.
• Wilhelm loved music and was a gifted storyteller.
• He was Influenced by German Romanticism.
• Wilhelm and Henriette had three sons Jacob, Herman Friedrich, Rudolf Georg, and one daughter Barbara Auguste Luise Pauline Marie.
• Three of his brothers all died incredibly young Friedrich Hermann Georg was 3 months old, Friedrich 13 months old, and Georg Eduardo 8 months old.

The Grimm Brothers side by side.

• Wilhelm studied folklore from their region, with an emphasis on recording village oral storytelling.
• The brothers were so close, that Jacob even lived with Wilhelm, Henriette, and their children. A visitor had said that even though this was strange, they still lived in perfect harmony.
• His future wife Henriette who would prefer to go by Dortchen, lived next door to him and his family.
• In 1803, he started studying law at the University of Marburg,
• A victor described Wilhelm as “an uncommonly animated, jovial fellow.”
• Wilhelm took a job as an assistant librarian.
• He worked for the University of Göttingen compiling a comprehensive dictionary of the German language.
• The Grimm brothers were remarkably close; they shared a bed and a table as students in school. Later, they moved on to two beds and two tables in the same room. Their books, however, were shared as common property.
• Wilhelm together with Jacob and five other professors, formed a group called The Göttingen Seven to protest Ernst August, King of Hannover. The group had maintained that King Ernst August violated the Constitution.

• There is a memorial statue found just one block behind the Visitor Center in Hanau, Germany.
• As a boy Wilhelm was strong and healthy. As an adult though, he had suffered with a severe illness, which left him weak, right up until his death.
• All members of The Göttingen Seven worked at the University of Göttingen and were promptly fired by the king.
• Wilhelm along with his brother, took on a massive project. The comprehensive dictionary of the German language. The book reached completion years after Wilhelm’s passing.
• In 1840, the brothers decided to settle in Berlin, Germany, where they became members of the Royal Academy of Science and lectured at the university.
• Wilhelm Grimm at the age of seventy-three died of an infection, in Berlin, Germany on December 16, 1859, while authoring, and co-authoring almost two dozen books.
• To mark its 200th anniversary of their historical collection, 2012 saw a tie-in publications and extraordinary events, including the release of a bicentennial edition of The Annotated Brothers Grimm,
• Philip Pullman has done a retelling of the brothers’ classic tales, Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm.
• There is a museum dedicated to their fairy tales, which can be found in the city of Kassel, Germany.

Wilhelm Quotes

“Because she was so beautiful the huntsman took pity on her, and he said, “Runaway, you poor child.” Wilhelm Grimm

“Then her envious heart had peace, as much as an envious heart can have.” Wilhelm Grimm

“Thus, it is with proud silly people, who think themselves above everyone else, and are too proud to ask or take advice.” Wilhelm Grimm

Thanks for taking the time to read this week’s blogs, be safe and I will see you back here next week!