Hello again, I hope October was a good month for you. It’s been a busy few weeks for my mother and I, as we’ve had some work done on the house and she’s had a few medical appointments, all of which seem to have turned out well, touch wood. And then in terms of entertainment, there are various comedy shows I’ve been enjoying, and I’ve written a few big posts about other things too.
So there’s plenty to cover as usual, none of which is sponsored or gifted, and I hope you enjoy!
Forget all the soulless AI slop that plagues the internet now. If you want impressive computer animation that has true love and extensive creativity put into it by supremely talented and hard working people, I defy you to do better than the Toy Story films. It’s been over 30 years since the first one warmed our hearts with its stunning visuals, wonderful characters, entertaining storyline, great humour and uplifting music. It achieved that magical balance of appealing to both children and adults alike, and it still holds up as a masterpiece today.
The sequels have proven to be very good as well, and this year we’ve had the 5th instalment in the franchise. I’ve recently bought the Blu-ray for it, despite having never watched it before, purely on the strength of liking the previous films and reading the rave reviews for this new outing. It’s very rare that I buy a sequel I’ve never seen unless there’s very good reason, but that’s how much confidence I have that it will be up to a sufficient standard. I hope I’m right!
So as I’ve got plenty of time to do so, and as it feels like we’ve reached a significant milestone with the franchise, I figured I would rewatch all of the previous films, and then try out the new one for the first time, as well as exploring all the soundtracks and extra features.
There’s so much to look through that it really is like diving into another world, and I’m delighted to see that all of the Blu-rays have audio description available for those who need it. Also note that I’m watching the 2D versions of the Blu-rays, as I don’t have the eyesight or a suitable player to watch the 3D editions. But that’s fine, as the standard versions look amazing anyway.
So let’s get into it all. In this post I’m going to focus on the first 2 films, then in the next part I’ll explore the rest. None of this is sponsored or gifted, I’m just a big fan, and I hope you enjoy looking through it all with me!
Hey there, hope you had a wonderful Easter and a lovely April in general. This has been my busiest month for a while, as there’s lots to mention in terms of outings, including social events, a musical and a concert, along with TV shows and films I’ve been watching at home.
The concert I went to was a PR invite for me to review, but otherwise nothing is sponsored to appear here, and in any case all opinions are my own as usual. So let’s jump straight into April’s post and video roundup, and I hope you enjoy!
Hello again. I hope you’re all keeping safe and well. Many of the restrictions are being eased at the moment, which is good, but a few are also being reimposed as and where necessary. So please keep taking all the necessary precautions that we’ve all come to know so well, including the new requirements for wearing face coverings (which are perfectly safe and there are valid exemptions, including for some disabled people). And do be aware that the self-isolation period has been extended to 10 days in England if you have symptoms or test positive for the virus. We mustn’t let our guard down now.
I have started going out a bit more regularly again, in this lovely hot weather we’ve been having, particularly for some nice walks around my local area. I’ve also been to my local supermarket to get a few things for the first time in 12 weeks, and had no problems there. I was in and out very quickly, with a mask on of course, and it felt very safe. And that was just during normal shopping hours on a Saturday, not the priority slot for disabled and elderly customers (which I’m very glad they’re still doing). So things have really settled down there, and all the hard working retail staff deserve a lot of credit, among the myriad of amazing people who have kept vital services operating in recent months.
But perhaps most importantly, I’ve finally got my hair cut! Even if it doesn’t look much from the photos, I can tell you it feels so much better, it’s much more manageable now. And everything was done safely – we now have to book appointments with our hairdresser instead of just walking in (and it doesn’t have to be far in advance, we got a slot within a few days), plus they’ve got hand sanitiser for customers, the staff are wearing visors and there’s a stringent cleaning routine.
I do intend to venture back into the city as well, now that we’re allowed to use the Tube again. The last time I travelled on the network was March 14, nearly 5 months ago. But I have been keeping an eye on the situation. And because TFL have a very strict cleaning regime with no reported problems, there’s lots of travel advice on their website, the passenger numbers are still relatively low, others I follow on social media have recently been getting back on the trains and feel safe doing so, and I’ve acquired face masks and bottles of hand sanitiser, I do feel it would be safe to travel at quiet times to see what it’s like. So if things continue to be alright, that’s what I intend to do during August. Hopefully that’ll enable me to start meeting up with friends again too. And, incidentally, talking of meeting special people, congratulations to Captain Sir Tom Moore on receiving his knighthood recently!
But of course, I’m still keeping myself happily occupied at home as well, so I’ve got various bits and pieces I can mention from the past few weeks in this latest post and video, none of which are sponsored or gifted to appear here as usual. So I hope you enjoy!
Right then, time for another monthly update. There isn’t a huge amount to mention for October compared to some months, but there are still some bits and pieces I want to share with you, focusing on disability, health, technology and entertainment. So I’m sorry if this seems a bit shorter than usual and doesn’t contain much about London. But rest assured my November Favourites is going to be much more extensive, as things are getting back to normal and there’s a lot happening right now.
So for me this post and video is a nice way of easing myself back into things. And as always I’m not sponsored or endorsed by anybody mentioned here, these are all my own opinions. So I hope you enjoy!
We’ve reached the halfway point in the year, and summer is finally blessing us with decent weather. And I’ve had a very busy month!
Firstly, there have been some disability related developments, most of them positive. In particular, I’ve spoken at a conference, been a guest on a podcast, and I was filmed for another documentary. So my visual impairment led to a few great opportunities in quick succession, I’m happy to say.
On the downside, I’ve finally received the call-up letter to switch from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payments (PIP). This basically means I have to fill out a huge form about how my disability affects me, and then have a face-to-face assessment with a health professional, so the government can decide if I’m entitled to benefit payments. It sounds relatively simple when worded like that, but most disabled people will tell you it’s anything but. So that’s going to be on my mind a lot over the next couple of months at least, and I’m not looking forward to the process. But I’ll let you know how it goes at a later date. I’m not going to bore you with a rant about it in this post!
Thankfully, apart from that, I’ve been able to enjoy the month in many other ways. I went on a lovely weekend break with my girlfriend, I’ve been out in London for more exhibitions and walks, my girlfriend and I enjoyed a new film at the cinema, and I’ve enjoyed new TV shows and music releases at home. So there’s plenty to get through. As always, I’m not sponsored by anyone mentioned here, I’m just sharing these things because I enjoyed them. And I hope you enjoy this month’s post and video!
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