The Squeee

This is the first post of this year's theme, which is oh so imaginatively called: Swedish Ways . This is a theme focusing on the year in a Swedish calendar, with all those things we celebrate, when and why, or rather, how . There are a lot more things than eight days of note here, so let's get crackin' with the first one: Nyårsafton , or simply good ol' New Year's Eve in English. Figured it'd be easier to start off with that, rather than writing about New Year's Day tomorrow and having to either wait a year to explain what happened the night before, or having to explain it now and then again in a year's time, so I'm starting a day early, technically. When it comes to Swedes, in all likelihood, New Year's Eve will be spent in one of two ways: Binge drinking at a party or Quiet night at home in front of the telly

After checking all the comments for who has responded, and then subtracting those that aren't eligible for either not answering the qualifying question or for not leaving contact details (yes, this was a prerequisite to enter - I either need to know you in one way or another so I know how to get hold of you if you win, and if I don't, you need to leave me a hint of how to contact you), the winners in the big Xmas Giveaway are as follows:

Secret Santa is awesome sometimes. Here's what I got in this year's Secret Santa over att Rollspelet Svenska Hogwarts : I have a sneaking suspicion as to who the Secret Santa is, but even if it's not her, I still love it. Thank you, Secret Santa! You rock! :D Also: I'll be closing the comment sections for the giveaways some time tomorrow. Not sure when, as will be AFK in the afternoon, and not sure how long for. Possibly I'll close it in the evening or morning, depending on time. Still time to enter if you like, though, but you have less than 24 hours. :)

Hoping you have a fabulous day, wherever you are! :) And clickie here to hop over to Y I Mum and ogle a couple of very saucy santas ... :D

Item 12 in the Christmas Giveaway is a book, or rather, a couple of books! Beyond the Legend and its sequel Forsaken Legacy by Jo Ann Mason , who is kindly providing these paperbacks. What a way to end the week - with a double giveaway! :)

Item 11 (and the penultimate one) in the Christmas Giveaway is a handcrafted natural wood wand , courtesy of Thornfield Handcrafted Wands .

Item 10 in the Christmas Giveaway is a book, or rather, a manuscript printed in a book, namely that of award-winning The Piano by Jane Campion . You know, the 1995 film set in New Zealand, starring Holly Hunter, Sam Neill, Harvey Keitel and Anna Paquin.

Item 9 in the Christmas Giveaway is a 2-disc Region 2 DVD set of Jane Eyre (2006 ), courtesy of the Daily Mail , which as a newspaper isn't worth the paper it's printed on, but comes in handy here. I already have the DVD of this production, so don't need it. Got it when I bought a selection of these newspaper giveaway DVDs on eBay and have been hoarding them ever since. :)

Item 8 in the Christmas Giveaway is a graphic novel, Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews and Will Conrad . It's the first of the graphic novels to bridge the gap between the TV show Firefly and the film Serenity . I'm giving this one away simply because we managed to buy two back in the day, and we only really need one.

Item 7 in the Christmas Giveaway is a book as well as an almanac: Llewellyn's 2006 Magical Almanac . Okay, so the almanac itself is out of date (although it will technically be semi-in-date again in 2012, heh), but the book itself isn't - it has many articles in it (see below), and should be of interest to those interested in Magick, Paganism and folklore. 'Tis, after all, Yule today!

Item 6 in the Christmas Giveaway is a book (have you spotted the pattern yet?): Whisper of Scandal by Nicola Cornick , which I gave a 3.9 out of 5 in July 2011, when it was released, and this is my review copy up for grabs. :)

Item 5 in the Christmas Giveaway is a Christmas jazz CD from France: Noël en Jazz , courtesy of Yves Rocher, which is where I get all my beauty products from. I'm not keen on jazz personally, so that's why I'm giving this away.

Lots of trailers to post about today. Okay, not lots ... more like two. Still, that's two more than usual. Look out for Wollaton Hall in the background! :D I'm not sure I'm all that grabbed by the trailer itself, but I do jump with glee over seeing Wollaton Hall in it.

Just in time for Christmas. Thanks, Peter Jackson! Spontaneous comments: OMG, Richard Armitage sings!!!! Other than that? It looks great. Can't wait for it to come out. :D Oh, should the above video stop working, it'll still be available on the official website for The Hobbit .

Item 4 in the Christmas Giveaway is another book: Wuthering Hearts by Kay Woodward , which I gave a 4.5 out of 5 in July 2011, when it was released. It's sort of a modern take on Wuthering Heights for young adults (girls ~11-15 or so), and yup, this is my review copy. :)

Item 3 in the Christmas Giveaway is a souvenir notepad from Haddon Hall , which I picked up when I was there for the Jane Eyre behind the scenes tour in October ... which I still need to write about. It has the same picture that I have on my keyring and shows Haddon Hall in all its Thornfieldy splendour.

Item 2 in the Christmas Giveaway is a book, Rags-to-Riches Bride by Mary Nichols , which I gave a 2.5 out of 5 in August 2010, but you might like it better. Or worse! Who knows! :D It's part of the Mills & Boon Historical line, which means we're talking 1837 here, aww.

Item 1 in the Christmas Giveaway is a souvenir leather bookmark . I've picked up a few different ones this autumn, because bookmarks are useful things. Please specify which one you'd like if you win, because I have a few to choose from.

All of next week, or "starting tomorrow", I should say, there will be giveaways galore here. Well, it's coming up to Christmas, and I thought it would be fun to spread some Christmas cheer. :) I've even bought myself a new mug - because when I saw it, I thought it was a good size - been wanting something a bit bigger! - and the colour and pattern on it is a pretty good match for this blog! Perfect! £2.50 from Asda as a separate mug. They also have entire sets of plates and stuff! :D It will be a double giveaway every day, or at least most days. A book, and a little something to go with it. Err, except they are done as separate giveaways, but if you're lucky you might get one of each. ;) Nothing will be received before Christmas, or indeed shipped, as winners will not be drawn until Christmas Day. What's on the menu, well ... come back tomorrow and you'll find out! :) Along with what should be a review of the new Sherlock Holmes film, of which...

Laura over at Laura's Reviews , who hosted the fab All About the Brontës Challenge in 2010, has come up with another great challenge: all things Victorian! Two to six (or more) items, and a whole year in which to do so, brilliant.

If you're a Harry Potter fan in the vicinity of Macclesfield, Cheshire (UK) on Friday afternoon/evening, 16 December 2011, there's a Wizarding Winter Fair to attend. I'll be there, with all my handmade wands . :) Hope to see you there!

Wow. Someone's seriously talented to have written, sung, acted and put together this parody of "Hello" from hit musical The Book of Mormon , which is currently pulling crowds on Broadway. For that matter, tessaROXX , the woman behind this parody, is definitely worth checking out!

It's called Disqus. You can comment using Twitter, Facebook, Google and all sorts. Like a pimped version of the old system. And it's easier to reply and there's a "Like" button and everything, including on the comments themselves. Enjoy! :) Ohh, and also, there's now a Review Policy . Have seen plenty of blogs with one of them, and figured I should have one too, realistically, dabbling in reviewing as I am and all. Just didn't quite know how to word it. Waking up at 4am and not being able to fall back asleep for a couple of hours or so made me think about a lot of things, so when I got up, I know how to write it. :) Oh, and if you like to know what's coming beforehand, I tend to post about upcoming reviews on Facebook, or even just quick notes as to what's recently been seen (and will therefore be popping up here as reviews in the future). "Like" below to tune in!

Stalking the TV channel Yesterday's website in order to find out if/when they're going to show The Glass Virgin . They always seem to be showing Catherine Cookson adaptations, after all. (Wondering why you should see it? Brendan Coyle à la 1995. "OMG" doesn't quite cover it.) Also, I see now that he played Michael Collins in a 2001 miniseries called Rebel Heart . Brendan Coyle with an Irish accent playing Michael Collins - this is almost too good to be true! And it is, sort of. The bloody thing isn't available on DVD! HOW RUDE!! (You can get a used VHS from £25 but that's a bit much.) Ohh, although it's on YouTube. Hooray! That's my evening sorted! :D Erm, anyway, before I digressed, I came across a test: Who's your ideal literary hero? Can't resist a challenge like that!

We went to Staffordshire today, and happened to drive a bit off-satnav to see where we'd end up. The Squeeze spotted a garden centre and turned in, because he thought I might like to have a look there. It was Doveleys Garden Centre, just outside Rocester. (Hands up everyone who wants to add a "H" to that name!) Peculiar tree stump that looks like some kind of sculpture - looked even more amazing IRL! It also has a manor house, and you could walk the grounds, said the sign. Ach, a manor house. Can't pass by something like that! As the building itself says, it was built in 1875, so it's Victorian, and MAN is it gloomy! I couldn't help but think of Borley Rectory , actually. Then again, a lot of Victorian buildings would probably make me think of Borley, seeing as how it's a place I find particularly intriguing, and love to read about.

The Fast Show is back, online, on Thursday 10 November at 1pm , courtesy of Foster's Funny . That is all. Not like I'm counting down the days or anything. Not at all. ... I'll get me coat.

Some films are excellent, others ... well, they lose our attention so bad we can't help but to fall asleep. Here is my top list of films that have made Mr. Sandman pop round for an extra trip simply because I've struggled to stay awake while watching them and simply haven't been able to. The seven films are sorted according to the length of snoozing and the supposed "worthiness" of the film in question. And yes, there are a few on there that are so critically acclaimed they've made the IMDb Top 250 list . Two are in the top 60, one clocks in at 110 ... So, ranging from a score of 3.2/10 to 8.6/10, here goes:

Just found out there's a preview screening of Wuthering Heights '11 in Nottingham this Friday, at Broadway in town (19:30/7:30pm start, tickets are £7 + £1.50 booking fee). Not just that, it's followed by an "extended discussion", or rather, Q&A with the director Andrea Arnold afterwards. Here's the dilemma: It's a Brontë adaptation! :D See the film a week before the official premiere ftw! Be able to ask the director questions! BUT:

It's November, and the annual (inter)National Novel Writing Month has begun. The challenge is to write a 50 000-word novel in 30 days, meaning you need to average at least 1667 words every day. Sounds daunting? It's perfectly doable, actually. I've made it twice, in 2007 and 2008. Last year, I tried writing a modern day Jane Eyre , but got stuck after about 17k and decided to give up. If you want to read the first draft of that story, it's called Moorland Hall (even though the estate in the novel is actually called Moorland House - well done there!) and is on display at Wattpad . We'll see how this year goes. It's a different story, one I've been mulling over in my head for a while now, so let's see what happens. If anyone wants to add me as a writing buddy, the name's TraXy (go fig!). Are you participating? Have you participated in the past? How's the writing going? :)

This is the final post in this year's series of highlighting the Pagan holidays. It has made me think more about the days in question, even if I haven't exactly done anything in particular to celebrate them. For a Pagan, I'm seriously secular! ;) Today, we celebrate Samhain , which is also known as the Pagan new year. The time between now and the Winter Solstice is a never-never land of sorts, because the new year doesn't start tomorrow morning, it starts in December. The lore says that on this day, the God draws his final breath. He is to be re-born in December, but meanwhile, he's indisposed, so to speak.

Oh, I really couldn't resist the temptation of that title. Sam Neill has been in a few scary - or at least they're meant to be and probably are to some - things, so I thought it would be a good idea to come up with some suggestions for a Sam-tastic Halloween movie marathon, for those who are game! If you choose to watch any over the weekend, you'll have to report back what you thought of them - deal? :) Horror both on earth and in space, weird and spooky events, evil beings ... He sure has done a lot of different things over the years, the horrifically bad ones omitted. After all, we're supposed to be scared by the events depicted, not by how bad the production is. ;) In reverse chronological order:

Still haven't seen the final episode, but here's something I found at the local Co-op with which we could always our sorrows now that Spooks has finished: I have heard some spoilers. Bad things happen, apparently. No likey. Expect a post about the final series at some point when I've seen the last episode.

I'm looking for nominations in these categories: 1. Tall, Dark and Handsome and 2. OMG that VOICE!! ♥ The nominated peeps should preferably be actors, but I'll accept musicians as well. It's for a list. Like Amazing Gaze: Top 5 Brilliantly Breathtaking Blue Eyes . Darling Richard Armitage is a given on both of them, of course. ;)

So, I've been thinking about giving the blog a facelift for a while now, and only over the weekend, I realised which colour I fancied switching to. And then things kind of came together a bit. This is the result. If you're using a feed reader (such as, but not limited to, Google Reader , which is a tremendously good idea for keeping up to speed with all the blogs you follow, just a tip), you'll have to actually - gasp - click through to the post to see. But anyway. Whatcha reckon? Yay or a nay? :)

This is totally lifted off a flyer I picked up when I was on said tour this Saturday just gone. It's a fun event, and you get to learn a lot not just about Jane Eyre '11, but also bits about '96 and '06, as they were all using Haddon Hall for Thornfield Hall. Tickets are selling fast, and this is the last of these you can attend this year! My recommendation would be to dress warm, but not too warm, as you do walk around quite a bit. Costumes from Jane Eyre '11 on display at Haddon Hall Sunday 23 October 2011 10:30 am If you would like to know more about what happens when a film crew takes over Haddon Hall, why not join us for our special "Behind the Scenes" tour? Stroll through the house and find out which rooms were used in which scene. Haddon Staff, involved with the filming, will share anecdotes and trade secrets with you. There is also the opportunity to visit parts of the house not normally open to visitors. Enjoy this unique experience f...

If you would like to see some footage from See Film Differently's Jane Eyre premiere at Haddon Hall, there's a little film here: Both the Squeeze and I completely managed to evade being captured on film, apparently, despite me wearing my "Team Edward Rochester" t-shirt. Nice to see the bit with Cary Fukanaga (doesn't he kinda remind you of Johnny Depp?), as that seemed to be cut off when we were actually there, due to some terrible lag in the system. Also, there's an event on next Saturday, which I'm hoping to attend. And yes, I know, I still need to type up about the screening. Things got in the way, I'm afraid. Considering making it a Sunday Matinée post, which means it's still a few weeks in the future, as it's currently occupied by the German travel diary. Or maybe I'll reschedule. We'll see. P.S. If you want to live in a place that inspired Charlotte Brontë, Thornton Hall in Thornton near Bradford is up for sale , for th...

So it appears our favourite doctor in outer space is gay. If you thought of McCoy or someone else who isn't Simon Tam of TV series Firefly or movie Serenity , then you thought of the wrong guy. :P Sean Maher has come out, after 14 years hiding in the closet. He's had a partner for the past nine years and they have two children together. I knew about the kids, he mentioned them on Twitter (he's @ Sean_M_Maher by the way) before, but didn't know their origin.

My other favourite pair of blue eyes :) (I know, it should be "pairs of eyes", but that doesn't sound as catchy as a title.) There are some people whose gaze catches you and makes you stop and think "oh my word" and then you wonder how on earth it's even possible to have that particular shade. Tonight's installment will be blue eyes. Beautifully blue, brilliantly breathtaking blue. There are of course many a good-looking actor out there with blue eyes, but I'm interested in the ones where you look at them and can't help but notice their eye colour specifically . So without further ado, here's my top 5:

Or rather, have you heard of the campaign launched by some fans of Richard Armitage, to have his project about King Richard III come to fruition? If not, you really ought to check it out. :) There's a petition to sign and everything! Back in August, there was a "King Richard Week", which I forgot to mention at the time, as my parents were visiting so didn't have much time for computers. Thought it would be good to have a reminder about the project now, and perhaps find some more supporters. :) Richard Armitage has been talking about wanting to do a project about Richard III for some time now. He wants to do something historically accurate, because William Shakespeare ... well, he was paid by a Tudor, and seeing as how they defeated the Plantagenets (or something like that), trying to downplay the defeated king meant getting a paycheck. Here's the king himself to tell us what was going on, thanks to Horrible Histories :

Today, we celebrate the Autumn Equinox in the northern hemisphere, the time when night and day are in perfect balance. We're heading toward winter now, meaning nights will be longer than days, but there is no need to fear the dark. There is a need to be slightly concerned about it, if you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - or "winter depression" as it's also known. (I got mine off mum, because the bleedin' thing is hereditary. Cheers, mum!) Take some vitamin D and use a light box for half an hour (or even 10 minutes) in the morning . The morning bit is really important: you're trying to stop the production of sleep hormone and get the body clock to realise it's daytime - using it at night won't work! Using it at all will really help, and also going out for a bit during the day time. Ain't no lightbulb like the good ol' sun, after all! As the days are growing shorter and the cold starts to creep in, I don't just get tired,...

Here's something you probably didn't know and probably wouldn't have guessed: I'm a closet R.E.M. admirer. Not a fan, per se , because a lot of their music doesn't really take my fancy, but you know, plenty of it does. Now, the news has broken that the band are splitting up after 31 years: "To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening." R.E.M. When I found out that they were coming to Nottingham a few years back, we instantly got tickets. The arena was a little peculiar - the Nottingham Forest football stadium! - and it really didn't lend itself very well to a concert. The acoustics left a lot to be desired, at least where we were sitting. Still, nice to see them live. Now there won...

Ahh, we're spoiled for choice all of a sudden! 2011 is apparently the year to really be a Thomas Anders fan. :) First, the release of album Two by Anders | Fahrenkrog back in June, then Hits & Raritäten came out on 9 September (review to follow soon), followed by the long-awaited release of Strong outside Russia on the 18th. Granted, "only" as an MP3 album, but I don't care. Main thing is that it's finally available. Which is really ironic, because only today, I received the Oriflame edition, recently ordered from someone on eBay as it was the cheapest place to get it. And then, I turn on my computer and find out that HEY, GUESS WHAT? D'oh. Went straight to Amazon.de, and got a message about geographical restrictions. Was about to have a hissy fit until I remembered to check Amazon.co.uk and there it was - and as it's on the UK site, it means my gift certificate balance is available = free stuff!! Actually, I was looking for the tracklisting fo...

The first trailer for Wuthering Heights (2011) has arrived, and boy, doesn't it look dreary? It's like it's got "emo" written all over it. Suits you , sir. It's out 11 November 2011 in the UK and some time in 2012 in the US.

ZHE FIRST OF MANY!! (Possibly. Maybe. Hopefully?) If I can find inspiration, instrumental songs and time, that is. :) This one's about Guy of Gisborne from BBC's Robin Hood - Richard Armitage - and how he's unlucky in love. Based on "Lucky Guy" by Modern Talking. Or, actually, this is the instrumental to the "Ryan Simmons" version, but let's not split hairs. In retrospect, should've stuck with what I did originally, and have it as "you are no lucky guy", because "you are unlucky, Guy" sounds a heck of a lot like "you are a lucky guy". Ho hum, never mind. And for the next attempt at something like this, I'll prepare more beforehand ... and hopefully come up with better lyrics. ;) Not used to making fanvids, so it's as it is. Hope you enjoy it, anyway. Happy weekend everyone!

In the news today: The most recent adaptation of Jane Eyre was number three in the UK box office during its opening weekend. Well done! I think it was really well done considering out of the four cinemas in Nottingham (that I know of, anyway), only one is actually showing it - Showcase. Broadway will be showing it, but not until the end of the month. If that's the case here, what's it like in other parts of the country? #3 is well done! :) Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson are billed to star in next year's adaptation of Anna Karenina . Haven't we known about Keira Knightley playing Anna Karenina for months now? Jude Law is to be Karenin and Johnson Vronsky. Speaking of adaptations, Joanna Trollope is apparently set to write a modern day re-make of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility . It's set to publish late 2013 and is a part of HarperFiction's attempts at giving all the Austen novels an update. I'm just slightly puzzled as to why this...

In the review of Jane Eyre (2011) , I mentioned that there were a few things I would have a separate rant about. This is that post. It will contain lots of spoilers, it will be ranting. Readers of a delicate disposition might want to look away now, even though I don't use the F word once. This is in some sort of chronological order and might be edited if I can think of more things after posting. Ready? Here we go.

So, we finally made it to North Lees Hall outside Hathersage in north Derbyshire. ( Previous post about this day is here , by the way.) We drove up to the house, parked on the side of the field where other people were parked, tried to get an overturned sign to stay up in the wind (it wouldn't), and walked up to the old house. First impressions, aside from fangirly glee of being somewhere where Charlotte Brontë had been and been so inspired by, was that the house itself is rather on the small side, but wow, the views of the Derbyshire hills from there are extraordinary! How's this for a view? The reason behind going to North Lees Hall in the first place is of course that it's one of the buildings that inspired Charlotte Brontë to write about Thornfield in Jane Eyre . In fact, the description of Thornfield Hall does ring true with North Lees (which also, as it happens, was the ancestral home of the Eyre family), with a tower and turrets and the surroundings, nestled...

We interrupt the Jane Eyre -centred week with an important announcement! For those who remember the 1990s and in particular, a British comedy show called The Fast Show , and to those who enjoyed it as much as I did - good news! There's some deal with Foster's (the beer brand) to bring the show back ... on the internet, at least. It seems the whole gang has come together for it too, aside from Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley in Harry Potter ). I would say "Which is nice", but I'm disappointed he won't be in it. The Fast Show was a sketch show mainly made up of catchphrases, but it was absolutely hilarious. I have all the three series on DVD, including the Christmas Special and the live show. For those who have never seen it, look them up on YouTube.

I love the richness of detail in Jane Eyre . Charlotte Brontë weaves Jane’s inner life and her outer surroundings into a tapestry of emotion, physical sensation and contrast. The themes that run throughout the story are both subtle and strong, resulting in a coming-of-age / gothic horror / love story / portrait of integrity that I return to again and again. One theme is that of insight and blindness. Brontë describes many of her characters’ eyes in great detail. Take this quiz to see if you can match the eyes with the character. Who has:

[Grazie, BrontëBlog !] Thought it might be good with an update for the release dates of Jane Eyre - the ones that are still ahead of us! 7 September 2011 Belgium France 9 September 2011 Ireland United Kingdom 16 September 2011 Sweden 22 September 2011 Netherlands 7 October 2011 Italy (not confirmed) Poland 13 October 2011 Hungary 1 December 2011 Germany 2 December 2011 Spain 9 December 2011 Turkey 23 February 2012 Denmark The poster above is from Italy, by the way. I quite like it. A mix of the first picture released on the interwebs as well as the European poster. Still prefer the European poster, though. I also feel really sorry for our friends in Denmark. That's almost a whole YEAR after it came out in North America!

ComicBookMovie.com have posted some pictures of Henry Cavill dressed in full Superman costume, for the new, "darker" franchise reboot, Man of Steel (2013). Dark? Superman?! That just sounds wrong. But anyway. Here's what Clark Kent's superhero alias will look like: Nice cape, Clark. But what's more:

Jane Eyre '11 premieres here in the UK on Friday 9 September. Leading up to that, I'm clearing the schedule for an all-out Jane Eyre week! If you have something you'd like to contribute about Jane Eyre - be it The Book, derivative books or screen adaptations - between now and 10 September, feel free to get in touch, as I'm looking for guest bloggers for this event. Posts about Jane Eyre '11 in one way or another are preferable, seeing as how that's the film that's coming out, but I'm not picky. After all, it's the same great story regardless. :) Please send in your post(s) by email to dishmastah (at) traxy (dot) net or by Facebook message to Traxy Thornfield . If you could included a brief summary of who you are and where you're from, that would be helpful. Doesn't have to be personal. I'm planning to spend tomorrow camped out in Bakewell. We'll see how that turns out. Hopefully, in the week that follows, I'll have mo...

YouTube user jagfilm has uploaded a video containing four clips from the upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation, due to be released in the UK on 11 November this year. Have a look! What do you think? Does it bode well for the full feature? On a side note, Jane Eyre '11 will finally open next Friday here, yay! Some lucky winners could win tickets for a special screening this Sunday ... at Haddon Hall. Competition closed yesterday, so now it's just fingers crossed I'm one of them. ;)

The BBC Proms concert held in July has finally been given a date and time for airing, yay! So, without further ado: Horrible Histories at the BBC Proms will be broadcast on CBBC at 17:45 on 9 September 2011 and on BBC One at 16:00 on 16 September 2011 . Huzzah! It's apparently a one-hour show with the highlights from the concert itself. You can see the programme notes here - it has song lyrics and everything! Meanwhile, I've got the V+ to series link the show again, as for some reason it hasn't done that for some time. Don't know why. Shooting of Horrible Histories series four will begin in September and it's set to be broadcast in the spring of 2012. All good news! Other great news is that Laurence Rickard and his mate George Sawyer have got a new website up and running: Larry and George . Go check it out! And finally, Terry Deary, a.k.a. the author of the books which inspired the TV series, is going to run the length of Hadrian's Wall in Septemb...

This is most peculiar. Early this morning, I had a dream. The dream was situated in a room upstairs in my parents' house - except of course it looked a bit different and it was like looking at it from the house on the other side of the street, because nothing in a dream is ever quite like you'd expect it to be. For some strange reason, I was married to Michael Jackson. Yeah. Tell me about it .

Today is the second anniversary of the launch of The Squeee ! A lot of things have happened during these past two years. To begin with, the template used to be green ... There was the Fanstravaganza and Brontë Challenge in 2010 and then there was Fanstravaganza 2 in 2011. This year, I've also got a shiny own domain name for the blog (www.thesqueee.co.uk as opposed to just thesqueee.blogspot.com), and settled for an actual (fairly) regular posting pattern. Thanks to everyone who reads my crazy ramblings, thanks to those who comment on posts made, and thanks to those who follow the blog in one way or another. I can't believe how many people are actually listed as followers, and every time I see the number, I'm amazed and humbled. Thank you so much! Here's one of the reasons for starting up this blog ...

Today is Richard Armitage's 40th birthday! Congratulations, Richard, wherever you are! :) I'm currently busy with my parents over from Sweden, so have a few posts lined up beforehand for this week. (This is one of them.) Richard Armitage wallpaper by BccMee (she does some beautiful ones, you should go check out her blog!) To celebrate the man's birthday, I share with you the message I wrote for Calexora 's birthday book. See if you can crack the cypher and spot the hidden message! :)

James Stewart 's uniform On the way back from the airport, where we picked up my parents, we stopped by at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. Lots of hangers with planes of all kinds. There's also an exhibition of an operations room from the 1940s, and you can walk through a Concorde and everything. A Concorde is smaller than I thought it was going to be and very claustrophobic! All in all, a good day out. Saw a piece of the Tirpitz warship, a midget submarine and lots and lots of airplanes. Oh, and actor James Stewart's uniform, because he used to be in the US Air Force! :)

A Swedish friend shared this with me on Facebook, saying she had a sudden urge to come visit me in the UK next spring. This is why:

There are fans of someone, and then there are the so-called "Beliebers" (*gag*), who are so obnoxious on there that Twitter seems to have banned "Justin Bieber" from trending. Ways around it? Certainly. Weapon of choice at the moment is "Derek Bieber". Guessing Derek is the poor lad's middle name or something, but to be honest, I don't care. Aww, he wuvs his fans! ...I think I need to puke.

Hollywood, PLEASE will you STOP FIXING WHAT ISN'T BROKEN?! Latest in line with the ever-present threat of being re-made, Entertainment Weekly report that Kenny Ortega has signed on to direct a re-make of Dirty Dancing . In a statement, Ortega - who was the choreographer of the original film - said: The opportunity to direct Dirty Dancing is like returning home for me…. Patrick Swayze set the bar for men dancing in the movies as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire did before him. I believe everywhere you look there is evidence that the talent is out there and I can’t wait to begin the process of discovering the next breakout triple-threats.

This post would not have been made if it wasn't for BrontëBlog who alerted me to their existance, and hacsince1991 on YouTube for uploading them! It's SOME deleted scenes (NOT all of them!) from Jane Eyre (2011), which comes out on Region 1 DVD (North America) on 16 August. Us Brits still have to wait for the cinema release, which is one month today! The wait is almost over ...

The Horrible Histories crew have been busy rehearsing for BBC Proms recently. Here's a first look at the show, which is set to air some time later this month! :D Many thanks to Montague Fuzzlepeck on Facebook for the tip!

Lammas , or Lughnasadh (Celtic), is celebrated either on 1 August or 2 August, and celebrates the first harvest. Personally, I celebrate it on 2 August and find Lammas a lot easier to spell. ;) Summer is still in full force, and will be for a while longer, but fruits are starting to ripen, fields are turning yellow and our kitchen gardens are bountiful with the treasures of Mother Nature. My favourite Pagan festivals are the harvest festivals, but that's because I like autumn. Around Mabon (the next holiday in the Wheel of the Year, i.e. the Autumn Equinox in September), we have the holiday as a pivot point between summer and autumn, but I've noticed the change more dramatically in Sweden. Before Mabon, it's basically summer. Then Mabon comes, and the trees quickly start turning yellow. For a harvest festival, I like to bake, even if it's just a little cake or something, as grains are one of the important things currently being harvested. Haven't made one today...

Remember back in June, when the news about Pottermore broke? Well, yesterday, 31 July 2011, the site opened for beta testing. Or maybe I should say beta registration? Everyone wanted in on the action, so the site promptly went down - actually, it went down before midnight the day before! And when the site was back up again ... every available account had been snatched. Moo. :( Every day for a week, there will be a chance to get a login, though! You need to keep your eyes peeled on the Pottermore website , because once the clue of the day is up, you're competing against a hoard of others who are trying to do the same and there is only a set number of accounts they have available each day, and once that quota is filled up, you're on your own. Even if you've managed to get the clue.

It's been AGES since I last did one of this - in fact, just under two years. Time do do it again, I reckon. Could do posts about everyone in Harry Potter, but I'm going to start with someone who really has changed a LOT: Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in the films. Cast your mind back to 2001 ... *wibbly wobbly effect and harp music* Awwwww! Neville's a clumsy little loser, basically, who can't even keep track of a pet toad. He's bad at everything except Herbology, but he still manages to stand up to his friends and say enough is enough. A true Gryffindor, and we love him.

Before I completely forget, I have to quick recall what little I remember of a dream I had last night: Richard Armitage had got married. ♫ "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!" ♫ His new missus was an author and scriptwriter, but not well-known at all. Not heard of full stop, I should say. They had met on set of ... Captain America or something?

SingStar is pretty much the only game I play on the Playstation 3. Have got a bunch of the discs, and today I played around with the 90s one (PS2) I got most recently but hadn't tried yet. Being Swedish does not guarantee a love of ABBA. I, on the other hand, let out a squee when finding out SingStar were bringing out an ABBA special. Why SingStar rocks: It's all the fun of karaoke! But with ... scores! highscores! the original song (and video!) playing in the background, not some cheap and nasty instrumental cover version! bars to show how the melody goes up or down a nice, uncheesy interface the ability to turn the microphone sound up or down as you choose (down to 0 in my case - I love to sing, not to HEAR myself sing) no echo-y reverb effect thingy (seriously, how cheesy is that?)