Friday 1 January 2010

Dr Who's Not so Special Christmas Special

Three Words to describe Dr Who - The End of Time Part 1
slow, padded, boring


Did anyone like me sit down after Christmas dinner with the family and a nice glass of wine looking forward to watching the Doctor Who Christmas Special on BBC1? Only I found myself falling asleep! No it wasn't the large dinner I had just eaten or the glass of wine that was putting me to sleep, it was the painstakingly slow plot of Dr Who - The End of Time!

It wasn't the acting that was poor, David Tennant and John Simm were brilliant and I'm sure the actual basic plot was good. I felt however that there was clear "padding" of the storyline, which let it down. I'm sure that the BBC could have easily fitted the whole plot into a single episode rather than stretching it out into 2. Although... they couldn't then ensure viewing figures when the second episode airs tonight.

In addition, what is it with keeping viewers in suspense for a whole week anyway? Even I have forgotten most of what happened in last week's episode! Oh wait... maybe it is so that the BBC can "pad" tonight's episode with a 5-10 min re-cap? If it can be summed up so easily why draw it out for a whole hour in the first place?!

Overall I'm not impressed. However, despite my whining and complaining I'll still be watching it tonight! Me fickle? :)

Happy New Year!


So it's now 2010 and it is the time where many people make New Year's Resolutions for the upcoming year - to lose weight, stop smoking, drink less or maybe learn something new...

The concept of New Year's Resolutions has been around for many years, the New Year seen as starting with a "clean slate" or even promises to God with the hope that favour will be granted in return (e.g. a good harvest).

It's only January 1st but how many of the resolutions made will have already been broken? Sneaking a left-over mince pie having vowed to diet? Waking up and lighting the first cigarette of the day, having promised to quit?

Think back to the resolutions we made for 2009... How long did these last? 3 months, 1 month, 1 week, 1 day?

Here are 5 tips I;ve found to help us stick to our resolutions throughout 2010: -

  1. Make your resolution attainable - the more realistic your goal the easier it will be to achieve

  2. Don't make too many resolutions, concentrate on the most important and stick to it - trying to do too much at once could be frustrating and feel like too much hard work

  3. Work towards a goal that can be accomplished - e.g. if you want to lose weight set a reasonable weight loss target for 3 months time. This will give you the motivation to continue through the rest of the year

  4. Don't be too hard on yourself,reward yourself - If you're dieting, allow yourself a treat every now and again, going cold turkey (sorry!) will make you want that thing you're craving even more, if you're giving up smoking save up the money you would have spent on cigarettes and buy yourself something nice

  5. Don't be afraid to slip up, just make sure you get back on the horse! If you're giving something up that you're used to it is easy to slip back into old habits. Drinking/eating too much one night doesn't have to mean that your resolution has been blown for the whole year


My resolution is to put up more blog posts! There it is in black and white now I've got to do it!

Good luck with your own resolutions!

Happy New Year and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010 from me!