Adam White

I was blessed with an opportunity to go to Leeds with friends on Friday and see Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode perform their weekly film review show on BBC Radio 5 live at a beautiful old cinema called the Hyde Park Picture House.    

There was a catch though, the cinema only held 270 people and, to ensure a full house, the BBC issued 600 tickets. In order to make sure we got a place we travelled the four hour journey north on Thursday night and had the pleasure of staying overnight in a hotel in the centre or Leeds. This was so we could wake up fresh and head over to the cinema for 10.00 (4.5 hours before the advertised start time). We weren’t sure when the queue would start so when we arrived at 10.00 we were surprised to find no queue at all (although there were some BBC crew setting up). After spending an hour wandering around the streets of Leeds we came back to the cinema to find three people in the queue. It was time to start our wait.

I couldn’t believe it when by 1.00 there still was only around 50 people waiting. However, between 1.30 and 2.30 everyone else turned up. Some people even turned up dead-on 2.30! How they expected to get in while leaving it that late is beyond me!

Now while queuing 3 hours might sound like madness, it was a lovely sunny day, we got to chat to Mark Kermode early on in the afternoon as he arrived, we got interviewed for the Culture Show and, best of all, we got seats in the second row (the front row was saved for “special guests”).

The show itself was excellent. I find them so funny when I listen to their podcast and they didn’t disappoint live. It was so good that I would be very keen to go and watch again next year (if we can get tickets again of course).

The live show was followed by a special showing of one of Mark’s favourite films: Silent Running. I will post my review of the film shortly.

It was a great day and lots of fun. Definitely a day I will remember fondly.

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When I used to live in Bath and commute to Swindon I would travel along the A4 and pass through Corsham every day. Today was the first time I turned off of the A4 and took a look at what Corsham was all about.

First on the agenda was a wander around the shops of Corsham. I wouldn’t say it had a lot to offer but there was a lovely little greengrocers (a rarity these days) and a nice deli.

Next came the main event: a trip into Corsham Court. The inside of the huge property was lined with numerous works of art. It was excellent to have a wander round and view all the beautiful pieces that had on display. Sadly no pictures were allowed so I couldn’t show you any of the huge paintings they had hanging on the walls.

After this a wander around the grounds was called for. This was more beautiful than the insides! The grounds were filled with peacocks and little nooks and crannies filled with all manor of beautiful trees and plants. I recommend you have a look at the pictures of the day in my gallery.

I do like my Saturday trips out to see some of the amazing things England has to offer.

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Today was beautiful. After all the snow and cold we have had recently it was a pleasure to wake up to proper sunshine. So, what do you do on a rare Saturday like this? Go for a ramble of course!

After a short drive to Newbury it was time for a 3 mile Hike around some lovely, early-spring countryside.

The highlight of the walk had to be Donningtion Castle…

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This holiday is turning into a real holiday now. These past two days I have done very little. Yesterday I only went outside to go to the shops for ingredients for dinner! I spent the rest of the day working on my laptops (yes I brought more than one!)

Today we all went to the cathedral for a closer look. To me it looks better from a distance. Up close it loses it’s charm and becomes very touristy. The inside was very pretty but the tour didn’t last long. Far too much of it was sealed off and inaccessible (although I suppose this is understandable as it is a functioning Catholic church!)

I’m babysitting this evening. My brother and parents are off out for dinner and I am looking after Jamie (7 and an angel) and Robbie (4 and hyperactive). Hopefully it will be a case of movie and PSPs to distract them otherwise I am in for an interesting evening!

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After a lovely Sunday morning fry up cooked by yours truely we went back on the bus and up to the castle on the hill today. The views were magnificent!

Following this my brother and I decided to go for a little bike ride. Before coming to Palma I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was 14. We rode along the beach front for 5 miles in both directions. I got back sat down and nearly didn’t get back up again! It was great fun but I reckon I’ll feel that in the morning :)

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