The Poison Diaries

The Poison Diaries is based on a concept from Jane Northumberland who is the mistress of Alnwick Castle. She has a wonderful garden surrounding her house but the main attraction is her magnificent Poison Garden, much like the one in the book.

In The Poison Diaries Jessamine Luxton has to face terrible circumstances at the hand of someone she trusted, and it all started when the mysterious - and beautiful - Weed came along.

It is a great read over the Spring when the birds are coming out and the bees are buzzing about. But it's almost impossible to put down.

Maryrose Wood takes the reader on a journey where everything they've ever known about plants will be thrown into the trash. She creates a magical world where plants can talk and help, in fact they want to help. But even the bravest plants are afraid of the poison garden where Thomas Luxton keeps his unknown plants.

Young and in love Jessamine and Weed take comfort in each other and when Weed reveals his secret, how could she not love him more?

Based in historical England when healers and apothecaries were still used and Christianity was feared, The Poison Diaries is for the reader with a strong desire to be on the edge of their seat as Wood tells a story through the eyes of a sheltered and naive sixteen-year-old girl.

foxglove
IN THE

oleander

RIGHT DOSE

moonseed

EVERYTHING

belladonna

IS A POISON

love

Red Dog

Red Dog
Directed by - Kriv Stenders
Written by - Louis de Bernières & Daniel Taplitz
Starring - Josh Lucas as John
                 Rachael Taylor as Nancy
                 Noah Taylor as Jack
             & Koko as Red Dog

Red Dog is a movie about a dog. But not just any dog. A famous dog. I know that when someone says 'famous' you would think that this dog probably did something like saving a child from the wreckage of a burning house or maybe the dog starred in a movie. No, Red Dog was famous for being loyal. And that's how people will always remember him.

The movie is based off a book called Red Dog written by a British author Louis de Bernières who loosely based it on the legend of Red Dog.

We all want that perfect pet that will stick by you, no matter what. That one pet that you can talk all your troubles to and stays by your side and listens, that doesn't pretend to listen to get fed or pat, no, that really listens. Red Dog was not that sort of dog. Before he met John.

The companionship between Red Dog and John was surprising. It all started when Red Dog wanted a ride and escalated from there, to the point where John was Red Dog's one and only 'master'.

Red Dog, however, became a legend when his master dies in a freak motorcycle accident. For three weeks Red Dog sat outside his house, staring at the road, waiting for his master to come home like he said he would. When Red realised that John wasn’t coming home, Red was going to go to John. And with that decision Red became famous, known as the ‘Pilbara Wanderer’.

I personally had never heard of Red Dog before my Grandmother suggested to go and see the movie. She had seen the trailer and thought that it would be a good movie to see. As soon as the lights dimmed and the opening credits began, I was captivated.

The movie was told as a story and then it was left to progress with the characters as they went on with their lives, pausing at bits in between to the present day where the person who was telling the story (Noah Taylor) and others who remembered bits of the story.

It was emotional. The story of this dog and what he did for his master, it really touches your heart. And at the end of the movie it leaves you with a feeling of what it could be like to have someone so loyal to you, that should you go missing, they will look for you, to the ends of the earth and back. I cried, in the cinema, so if you should go and see it, don’t be ashamed to cry, this movie is so moving that you can’t help but let it out. Trust me.

Cheers Xx

Muse - Invincible

First of all I would like to say that this song is completely underrated by everyone. Off of the Black Holes & Revelations album, everyone's only really interested in Knights of Cydonia and Supermassive Black Hole. With that out of the way, let me tell you what I think of Invincible.

Invincible is what would of happened if The Beatles would be alive today, but I'm not comparing Muse to The Beatles. Muse prove their different from any of the great bands, right from the start. With every album they evolve. Not many bands can do that these days. They've been allowed to grow and I believe that they still have a lot more growing to do.

Invincible, in my opinion, is amazing. It's a song full of metaphors. With lyrics like, 'You should make a stand,

Stand up for what you believe' and 'Follow through, Make your dreams come true, Don't give up the fight, You will be alright, 'Cause there's no one like you in the universe'. They're telling us that we should never back down from a challenge, that we're unique and we should embrace it. If you're suicidal then I encourage you to listen to this song.

Muse prove once again how diverse their sound is. From the early days of Showbiz, to the more guitar and riff dominated Origin of Symmetry, to the doom and gloom sounds of Absolution. Now with a healthy mix of guitar and piano in Black Holes & Revelations, though Invincible stands out from the rest because of the heavy message it conveys to the listener.

The beat in this song changes as the song progresses, starting at a slow, rhythmic, almost marching band like drumming done by Dominic Howard. The bass is nice and soft but it's there, almost undetectable, played by Christopher Wolstenholme. The guitar and organ are two of the major parts of this song though. The organ switching chords every so often as to keep the melody going and creating a nice background to when the guitar isn't playing. The guitar in this song is something between The Beatles and Queen, two of their major influences and I think they do them justice. The guitar, voice and organ (except in the live shows where the organ is played by Morgan Nicholls) are all done by Matthew Bellamy.

The message in this song is simple, 'Stand up for what you believe in, don't let other people push you around and force you to do things that you don't want to do, you are unique and cannot be replaced and you should always follow your dreams because that will make you happy'.

I don't think I did this right, but I encourage you all to listen to this song and make your own assumptions and then tell me about what you think. I always love hearing other people's thoughts.

Cheers Xx

What am I here for?

People always ask me, 'what do you want to do after you leave year 12?' I used to always give them the same answer, 'I have no idea'. Well after hours of gruelling thinking, I figured it all out. I want to write. It's all I'm really good at. I'm not good at Maths, or Art, or P.E. I'm extremely good at English though, and Languages (but that's a different story). Then I researched the careers in writing, I have to say, there were slim pickings. But writing is my passion so I went with Journalism because Journalists are really passionate about writing, so I figured I fit in there. But it's going to be tough and I will do whatever I have to do to achieve my dream. So here I am.

On this blog I will try to review books, movies and music that I've read, seen and listened to and that I would want to write a review on. I don't think I'm very good so I'll try not to spoil it for you, my non-existent readers.

Cheers Xx