Another tick has been awarded. Well there are three ticks on the page but it does only count as one challenge.

The hardest part of this challenge was which films to choose. The weirdest thing is some of the films I love, I think of modern films: Grease, Flashdance, Airplane; all from 70s and 80s  but are actually classics now. It came as a shock the other night to realise that the series, Just Good Friends, was from 1983, and the gorgeous actor from it, Paul Nicholas, was 72 years old. How time flies.

I have written about Singing in the Rain previously which I had enjoyed. That film brought back memories of my childhood.

To Kill a Mocking Bird was chosen for two reasons; when my mother was alive, I would visit her every Saturday afternoon and often watch films with her. I had been engrossed in the film but didn’t get to watch all of it. This led me to reading the book. Having partly watched the film first, I could clearly picture Atticus played so wonderfully by Gregory Peck. The story is about prejudice in the 1930s of a small town in the Deep South but narrated through a child. The film is a great adaption of the book and I loved watching the kids being able to play carefree. Atticus had the difficult job of earning a wage whilst bringing up two inquisitive children. A fascinating and enjoyable film to watch. I still have the prequel, Go Set a Watchman to read. It is on my list of things to do after my challenges come to an end.

Snow White was the first featured length film by Disney. It was always a particular favourite of mine. As a child, I had the story on a record and would sit for hours with headphones on listening to the story. Who could resist the seven dwarfs; Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy and Grumpy. My favourite will always be Dopey. Perhaps my greatest memory when listening to the record was the scene with the wicked queen asking “Mirror, mirrors on the wall, who is the fairest of them all”. It is a Grimms fairy tales which explains the frightening side of the story. I was surprised at how scary the huntsman and Snow White scene was. I certainly don’t remember feeling frightened as a child. In true Disney style though, Snow White, being so sweet and loving, is saved. Everybody falls in love with Snow White, even the hard to please Grumpy but they are unable to protect her from the evil queen.

It has been lovely to watch the classics whilst cross stitching. I have actually watched more films in the last year, and stayed awake, than I have ever done before. One other film I have enjoyed recently is the new Cinderella, a modern day version of the old classic. It did not disappoint me at all, and now, I am looking forward to watching the new adaption of Beauty and the Beast.

Now how many more ticks have I got to get?

When I saw this challenge, I did think about the photos I had of Jordan and Kathryn but then remembered all the photos I had of my grandparents and other people who were no longer with me. They are tucked away in a box where I stumble over sometimes and look at for the memories. This particular challenge has made me think that they shouldn’t be in a box but displayed in some way; that said, would they become part of the scenery where I wouldn’t even notice they are there. Maybe so but at this moment I can see a picture of my dad that my brother, Richard kindly framed for me. It does allow me a few minutes to remember him. This particular picture is a lovely carefree one of him, a dad I would never know because he was young, free and single then. Lovely to see him so happy.

In this day of digital, we take lots of photos but don’t tend to print them. Sometimes it is a good thing; I remember paying for the photos to be developed only to find lots of blurry photos. I’m still not much better at taking photos now! Whether a photo is printed or on my screen, I still gaze at the photo, touch it to feel the person, want to kiss it and feel so much emotion from it. A photo I chose when I wrote my post for Kathryn’s 21st was one I had forgotten about.   I have probably looked at it more over the last month and loved the memories of my little girl, whilst appreciating what a wonderful feisty young lady she has grown up to be.

Going back to the challenge, I did have in mind the sort of frame I wanted for the photo I wanted to use. I had seen it in Sass and Belle in Brighton on our visit in September so bought it on our visit in February. It had that particular antique look about it that I wanted. I know that the photo isn’t perfect but it is photo of one of my favourite people;my lovely nanny (and she was a true nan in every way) looking lovely and trim pictured with my great gran (my grandad’s mum) who I remember fondly on her visits to my grandparents’ home. The photo floats in the frame and looks wonderful.

I have promised myself that I will try to frame the others that are in my box and find a mixture of other frames that would suit the purpose. My next one will probably include a photo with me in it. I am not actually a lover of having a picture taken but it is one when I much younger with my brothers and my wonderful grandad.

A very satisfying tick for this challenge.

Challenge no 22 is to visit somewhere in England that I have never been before. I do have 2 ideas for this one; the first one a beautiful little place the train has stopped at whilst travelling to Cardiff; the second one, which I plan to visit with Chris is to have a bit of a “fan girl” experience. I would hasten to add that I would never have thought to visit if my idol had still been alive. I will share the place and experience once ticked off.

Chris and I did actually practice visiting a town I had not visited for sometime last Sunday. Funnily enough, Chris had been on a train back from London when he noticed Arundel castle looking splendid on the landscape. He thought it might make a nice change to take a journey by train there. Investigations found that the castle is closed on Sundays in March and the train journey would have been over an hour long due to a lengthy stop for a change in Barnham. I am sure Barnham is a lovely place to live but after Karen and I found ourselves waiting there for over an hour in July, I have a phobia of the place. Despite all this and a wet looking weather forecast, we decided we would drive to Arundel to explore the town.

We planned to have a late breakfast once there and we were delighted to see as we drove through the pretty town, lots (and I really do mean lots) of little cafes where we could satisfy our hunger. We parked opposite the closed castle and walked along by the Wey and Arun canal, a place I do plan to go back to in the summer. Chris had then insisted his stomach needed food so we went to find a place to eat. We chose a very busy little cafe on the corner called The Tudor Rose and enjoyed a very nice sausage bap and a delicious latte. Whilst we were sat in there, there was a downpour of rain so maybe Chris’s stomach is connected to the weather forecast.

The sun reappeared to allow us to explore the shops. We turned into Tarrant Street and I was delighted to find some wonderful quirky shops. I did manage to resist buying a pair of sandals but did buy a present for a friend from an amazing clothes shop called Fanny Adams and some small tins of paint to help me with challenge no 43 – Upcycle/DIY something from a charity shop. Again that shop, Arundel Interiors, is delightful to look around. We also bought some tea in the Tea and Biscuit Club. The assistant let us smell all the different varieties before we made our purchase.

Before we got caught in another downpour, we did find a lovely little garden to admire, and in my case, nearly fall flat on my face. It was looking over the canal and would certainly be lovely to visit in the summer.

After a cup of tea and cake from another of the little cafes (it would be lovely to try them all), we wondered around finding more attractions the town had to offer including the Lido which I would imagine is a popular venue in the summer months.

We had a delightful time in Arundel and plan to visit again soon to hopefully explore the castle, enjoy a boat trip and buy lots of presents from the unique shops. Might return to Fanny Adams and buy myself that outfit I still need to buy.