5 things...

Last night we arrived in Finland for a short break and to catch up with friends and family and just enjoy being in Finland during Autumn. I can already notice a difference since we were last here in July. We missed seeing the first snow of the season by a day, so we've arrived in a wet and windy Finland.  I can't wait to take in the beauty of this country at this time of year and take lots of photos! I've been in desperate need of a break from work and the every day routine that can take over life. 5 things I'm looking forward to doing in Finland... 1. Visit Tampere We stayed in Tampere, the 'Manchester of Finland' last January and had a great time eating munkki and exploring the city. 2. Eat Cinnamon buns and drink coffee We plan to visit some of our favourite coffee shops and indulge in some cinnamon buns and musta kahvi whilst in Helsinki. Cafe Succes and Carousel are top of our lists! 3. Go for long walks with the dog Nothing beats a nic

It's finally here! Today is October 31st. Halloween. With the John Carpenter film Halloween being my all-time favourite film, it has been a long-standing tradition for me to watch that film (and occasionally the somewhat great 1981 sequel, Halloween II) on this day. This year I finally got to see the film on the big screen and the following week, I saw the 2018 Halloween movie, the latest sequel to the original film.  When it was announced that they were making another sequel, I had mixed feelings. The two Rob Zombie re-boots were as far away from the feeling of the original film as possible. It was just gore and violence. Neither of which I like. Halloween is about suspense and fear. The last time Laurie Strode was on our screens was 2002's dreaful Halloween Resurrection , which despite being directed by H2 director, Rick Rosenthall, and featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, was an abysmal film filled with annoying characters and cheap scares. The last Halloween sequel I re

Last year I enrolled to the Manchester Suomi school and started to learn Finnish twice a month. The class was mainly filed with English people with Finnish partners. I'd picked up one or two phrases from my partner and his family but still struggled with the language. I decided to try a new way of learning. Using post-it notes and a sharpie, I decided to label everyday household items to try and learn a few words around the house. So far, so good. I'm getting there and starting to remember words. I'm going to change the words every few weeks and try and expand my Finnish as much as possible. We're heading over to Helsinki in a week's time so hopefully I'll get to practice some of the words and phrases I've learnt.

My all-time favourite film is the 1978 John Carpenter horror film,  Halloween . I think I was 10 or 11 when I first saw it and I can remember the fear I felt as I watched psychopath Micheal Myers stalk the teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends around Haddenfield on Halloween night. Over the years, I've bought many editions of the film (and it's many sequals) on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray but I had never experienced it on the big screen. Last Wednesday it was shown at The Printworks in Manchester City centre and I finally got to see it as it was intended. The film was introduced by a short 20 minute film where John Carpenter gave some background information on how it was filmed and a brief history of the film's legacy. I think this was from 2016 as Carpenter said it was Halloween's 28th anniversary (it was released 40 years ago this year!) The trailer for the new  Halloween  film was also shown. The thing that I've always loved about  Halloween  is it&