Breathe

This. film. is. incredible! I felt like at the beginning I took a deep breath and didn't breathe again until the credits rolled!

Based on the true life story of Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry Belon (Ewan McGregor) along with their three children who, whilst on holiday in Thailand, survived the earthquake and tsunami of Boxing Day 2004. The Impossible is well deserving of it's critical acclaim and unending 5 star ratings.

#1 The Impossible

Much has been discussed around this release about the ethics of capitalising on such a disaster; but this film was perfectly made and brings home the humanity of this type of suffering. Yes, the director made the creative decision to tell the story of rich white, English speaking tourists (the original family were Spanish) and the plot was obviously manipulated for effect in places, but it does a good job of displaying the scale of the devastation. 
So often I think we can see disasters like this on TV, on our news screens, in the papers and recognise the tragedy but still remain disconnected from the utter devastation and ruination of hundreds of thousands of lives, both claimed and forever changed by natural disasters. This film addresses that. It forces its viewers into a position where they are powerless to help the victims and must be content with watching their suffering and anguish play out in front of them, praying it will be ok- but knowing that for so many people that day there was no happy ending.

I cried, I watched through gaps in my fingers, I gasped, I winced, I even retched in one place and in the end I left the cinema, feeling like I had been through an ordeal, but also feeling a little more connected to the suffering of people on the other side of the world to me. That is the beauty of good art!

#1
Film: The Impossible
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Released: January 2012
Cinema: QFT

Death by Crime Fiction

There are a lot of things I immensely enjoy in life. Some of these are perfectly reasonable and normal things like spending time with friends, red wine and travelling. Some are slightly more unusual; board games, playing violin and McDonald's chips dipped in McFlurry's.
Then there are my guilty pleasures; those things you really shouldn't love but can't get enough of and are beyond the point of caring. I have a fair few of these but this post deals with two specifically;

Crime Fiction and anything about the Amish!

Imagine my excitement when I found a crime fiction series where the police detective grew up Amish and all the murders involve this small, curious, Pennsylvanian Dutch speaking community in Ohio!

#2 Gone Missing by Linda Castillo

I devoured this in two days of light reading and I'm not ashamed to say that I enjoyed every second of it. Even when I felt like i'd read the same evidence about three times, told in three different ways and the police still hadn't clocked it (I'd nailed the murderer in the first chapter for pete's sake!)

This book is really everything guilty pleasure crime fiction should be; terrible one liners, cliche relationships and a few too many murders than a small town should really have (a la Midsommer!)

In a few weeks the details will blur and the characters will depart my mind and it shall just be another notch on my crime thriller bedpost!

Title: Gone Missing
Author: Linda Castillo
Medium: Paperback
Publishing Details: 2012, Macmillan
Stars: **/*****

#1 Safe House by Chris Ewan

The first book I read this year was also a crime thriller. Set on the Isle of Man, this one was more literary than the one above. The characters were multi-dimensional and they operated within a much tighter plot with more twists and a case that kept you guessing to the end. Safe House by Chris Ewan is one of those CT's that can trick you into believing it's Pulitzer prize worthy!

Title: Safe House
Author: Chris Ewan
Medium: Kindle
Publishing Details: 2012, Faber and Faber
Stars: ***/*****

The 50/50 Project

I like projects... I like challenges... I like being being busy for a purpose.

Last year I decided that I would run a marathon. This entailed me clocking up an average of 45 miles running a week for almost 6 months. That's a serious time commitment, but in May I ran 26.2 miles and raised a lot of money for charity. The next six months just seemed to be spent attending a lot of sporting events as a spectator including the Olympics, Paralympics, World Cup Gymnastics and numerous Ulster Rugby matches!

In 2013 I am going to congratulate myself by spending much more time on the sofa. I have dubbed my venture the 50/50 project.
I pledge to read 50 books and watch 50 films and in doing so write more (as I will be forced to blog them to prove to everyone i'm not cheating!)

You can follow me on Twitter @katie_cloud or by the hashtag #5050Project

Please feel free to join me on the hashtag! I'll also need some suggestions of books and films to read and watch; you know what to do!

2012- You Beauty

I have been looking forward to 2012 for a long time. 

Since the 6th July 2005 to be precise. 

I was sitting in the kitchen of a church in Belfast on a summer mission team. It was around midday and my team was having lunch. I was sitting beside a girl named Rebecca and across the table from Ben and David. I still remember I was eating a hot dog and the bread was piled on floral fine bone china, the type that you encounter at grandparents houses and country church fete’s. 

I had been waiting on my mum to text me to let me know where the 2012 Olympics would be held. I knew London was in the running and although I didn’t think we had a chance (it was our first ever bid, this was the 3rd for Paris) I was hoping it would be in Europe so I might be able to go to something.

I screamed and danced up and down on the spot when my mum told me that London had won the bid. I can’t tell you how many times in those years of waiting that I watched the footage of the bid team reccieving the news and the crowds in Trafalgar square celebrating with wide eyed shock and unquenchable enthusiasm. Everyone knows what happened the day after on 7/7 on the transport network, but for me 2012 showed the triumph of the human spirit. What can be achieved when people are united under a common goal or banner. This summer was glorious, but it was only a small part of this year, which for me, was greater than many of the previous put together.

Anyone that knows me will know I love the olympics, so 2012 was always going to be an exciting one for me, but I decided that because it was a home olympics, something I won’t see again in my lifetime, I should make the year memorable, do something amazing, an olympic challenge. I read Bear Grylls book ‘facing up’ which documents his ascent of Everest and I decided that I was going to do something amazing this year.

I decided on a Marathon because it seemed insane enough for me take on, but simple enough to accomplish.

In January I had the opportunity to be on Desert Island Disc’s after submitting a track and my story. 30 minutes in Uncle Hugo’s studio in Broadcasting House and my story was told. You can listen to the programme here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00nsbdk

In February I turned 24 and started a relationship with a friend who had been sitting across the table from me that afternoon in Belfast, when I began to get excited for 2012. It seems strange to me that after so many years of waiting 2012 was finally here and two months in it was already better than I could ever have hoped for. We stayed together until the middle of June when we mutually went our separate ways, but those 4 months were some of the most fulfilling I have had.

March and April were filled with much running, an average of 60 miles a week and renewed writing efforts. They were also filled with Northern Ireland being obsessed by the Titanic- in Belfast you could not get away from it (you’d almost forgotten that part hadn’t you!) I went to the Titanic Light show in the slipways and it was one of the nicest things i’d seen done in Belfast, by Belfast, for Belfast.

May brought the Marathon and after 6 months of training (something I never thought i’d have the will power to do) I completed the Belfast Marathon in 5:54:54 and raised over £800 for my two charities.

June was the wind down from school and wind up to the busiest summer of my life. July and August saw me in London twice, walking in the Swiss Alps, singing in the Royal Albert Hall, watching Jess Ennis do her 100m Hurdles and High Jump in the Olympic Stadium, watching the gymnastics, sneaking into the athletes area and meeting some of my favourite gymnasts, holding Kayla Harrison’s Olympic Gold medal, watching live olympic basketball and generally enjoying the Olympic spirit and atmosphere in London. I also went to Seville and had an amazing time in the sun with beautiful food and 5 bottles of beer for three Euro!

The autumn felt really slow after the buzz of the past two months and much theatre was seen, many books read and many gigs attended.

November and December brought all kinds of fun and more live sport, including a trip to Glasgow to watch the world's best compete!

I have loved this year and this blog post is more of a personal reminder for me of how blessed I am to be able to do all the things I love and have the resources to go to the things I want to go to. I have an amazing set of friends who put up with a full 12 months of olympic mania from me, and for that I will be forever in their debt... until Rio and they have to do it all over again!!

I wish this was more concise and coherent, but maybe 2013 will see me hone my writing skills... Everest this year is to write a novel!

The Italian Job: Il Pirata

I recently paid a visit to one of Belfast’s best kept (relatively new) secrets. Il Pirata in Ballyhackamore, situated in the building that once housed KFC, is without a doubt the finest Italian I have had in Belfast.

We’ve come a long way with what we can offer as a city in the past few years and the standard of eateries has not been left behind in these improvements. Belfast now boasts a culture, arts and food scene to rival any European City, but we still hold that grotty charm that I love about this place.

Il Pirata is an authentic Italian restaurant that serves far more than pizza and pasta, I would highly recommend the polenta chips, they were scrumptious. On offer are a range of ‘small plates’ and main courses. The menu has plenty of choice without being too crowded and the portion size was good (though I would suggest ordering a side with the main meal)

I had the salmon and it was delicious, perfectly cooked and the flesh just flaked off and almost melted in my mouth. Everyone else in my party of 7 was also impressed with their dishes of choice. The atmosphere was casual and the wait staff were attentive and could offer good advice about what to order. (it took forever to get the bill though)

I will definitely be back to this restaurant and I am so glad that Belfast is finally coming into its own as a city and 2012 has most certainly been ‘our time, our place’. Get used to the increased numbers of tourists wandering about with cameras because I have a feeling we are only going to be seeing more of them!

#comeonourweeland

The Water Sustains Me

I am so thankful I live on an island. There's something about the water that sustains me, there's something about the river that restores my soul and I love it!

 Today on my way home I took a walk down by the docks. The clouds were streaked pink coming off Cave Hill and I sat looking at Samson and Goliath reflected in the water until they faded into black to mirror the sky.

It's so quiet down there and it's mindblowing to imagine the noise that was there 100 years ago, the absence of rivet on steel is almost eerie. So as I sat and watched the last streaks of light fade from the sky I played this song [below] out of my phone, and at that moment I was so happy I could have just let the river carry me away. I am so blessed to live in this battered little city. I love its grotty charm and its wonderful people, I love its history and the future it has infront of it. Thank you Belfast for being so wonderfully you!

All that I have is a river
The river is always my home

**

The water sustains me without even trying
The water can't drown me, I'm done
With my dying
**

Where the blue of the sea meets the sky
And the big yellow sun [cranes] leads me home

Northern Soul meets Urban Wannabe

I have been having some serious writers block. I was hoping 2 weeks of at Easter would go some way to sorting it, but we’re one week in and i’m not much further on.
I’m really excited about what i’m working on at the moment, but I just can’t seem to get any of it out onto the page.

I’m in the middle of writing a collection of poems on the changing face of my city. I’ve been studying the works of the old school Northern Poets; Longley, Heaney, Kavanagh, Hewitt etc.. and looking at how they viewed the changing landscape of their time. I’m trying to verbalise how I view the city in light of it’s literary and historical past, but also what this city means to me now and the hope I have for it’s future. I believe we are standing on the edge of a very pivotal time in our city’s story and I want to blend that beautiful Northern soul poetry with the modern literary heartbeat that is radiating from Belfast at the minute.

I don’t know if it’s possible, but if I get anything halfway decent i’ll let you know!