Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Feb 9, 2012, 3:21 am
Throughout our exploration of The Ruins of the Abbey of St Edmund, we could see St Edmundsbury Cathedral in the near distance.  Like the houses I showed you at the end of the post on the ruins, the cathedral stands right alongside them.  An important destination for pilgrims from the 11th to the 1...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Feb 8, 2012, 7:20 am
It is time for the annual British Academy Film Awards and my favourite film of 2011, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was nominated for an incredible 11 awards including Best Film, Outstanding British Film and a Best Leading Actor nomination for Gary Oldman.  As you can imagine, I wi...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Feb 7, 2012, 4:58 pm
A new 2:27 trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man is out today. I haven't made any secret of the fact that the reason I am so excited for this film is because I adore Andrew Garfield and I cannot wait to see him in action. Judging from this trailer though, the film looks pretty good.  Rhys Ifans looks ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Feb 6, 2012, 5:14 pm
London, 2037.  New York has fallen and Earth belongs to the vampires.  The current reality is just as grim.  Nina is dead, killed by a vampire called Griffin and George (Russell Tovey) is not in a good place as he fervently guards his unnamed new born daughter.  Annie is not much better, barely ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Feb 5, 2012, 3:45 pm
So, the long anticipated English winter finally arrived this week. On Tuesday, we experienced our first sub-zero temperatures and although we had some stunning blue skies this week, it was really cold!  Despite the cold, I was absolutely, 100% convinced that it was not going to snow.  Call it deni...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Feb 4, 2012, 5:32 pm
It is such a pleasure to walk into a film with absolutely no expectations.  I knew nothing about Haywire before going to see it and my only request was that we see a blockbuster or action film as I wasn’t in the mood for a drama or comedy. With an all-star line up including Michael Fassbender,...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Feb 4, 2012, 1:37 pm
As season four of BBC’s Merlin nears it midpoint, “His Father’s Son” opens with Merlin being pursued, while wearing the full regalia of a knight of Camelot.   It is a trap and as Merlin’s pursuers close in on him, they suddenly find that they are surrounded by the real knights of Camelot...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Feb 4, 2012, 3:33 am
After lunch last Saturday afternoon, Greg, Mela, Jen, Melissa and I went through to the British Museum.  It feels almost criminal to admit this but I think it has been over three years since I last visited the British Museum!! We entered the museum through the Montague Place entrance and I got to ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Feb 1, 2012, 5:32 am
Happy days! Today is the day that the first official shot is released from the upcoming James Bond film Skyfall.  Here we see Daniel Craig in a scene set in Shanghai.  Daniel Craig stars as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. I really loved Casino Royale (well, ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Jan 30, 2012, 5:10 pm
I doubt that there are many people unfamiliar with the massive U2 hit “Sunday Bloody Sunday” but few people know what the song is about and the tragedy that inspired it.  It was forty years ago today that soldiers of the British First Parachute Regiment (1 Para) opened fire on unarmed protes...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 30, 2012, 2:19 pm
When I arrived at Charing Cross on Saturday morning, I had an hour to kill before the meet up at Ping Pong.  I decided to walk from Charing Cross station to Goodge Street and walked past Trafalgar Square (where they were setting up for the Chinese New Year celebrations) and up Tottenham Court Road....
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 29, 2012, 4:22 pm
I love BBC Merlin, there is no denying that and episodes like “Aithusa” remind me why.  Merlin of legend is such a powerful, formidable and magical character and there is a point in this episode where you are absolutely convinced of that.  “Aithusa”  is where dragon lore, destiny and  Me...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 29, 2012, 11:57 am
... of expats and bloggers at the Ping Pong Dim Sum restaurant in Goodge ... and Candace from Candace Rose Rardon. Ping Pong very kindly invited us for ... We all decided to order the Ping Pong Collection Set Meal which is ... ’t had a set meal at Ping Pong before but I definitely think ... ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 27, 2012, 3:59 pm
        Stephen and I spent a day at the Natural History Museum on Tuesday with my friend Bonny and her son Matthew.  We haven’t seen each other in months so I decided to leave my camera at home and focus on being sociable instead.  Thankfully, I still managed to snap a coup...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Jan 25, 2012, 4:44 am
It is one of the great paradoxes of the developing world. Those individuals in most need of banking services and credit are the most likely to lack sufficient collateral to support it.  In the past decade, there has been increasing focus on microfinance as a tool to alleviate poverty and sustain bu...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 25, 2012, 3:16 am
Exploring castles is hard work and we had explored both Beaumaris and Caernarfon castles in one day!  We took the scenic route back from Caernarfon to Betws-y-Coed and decided to take a rest at the beautiful Llyn Padarn in Llanberis.  Llyn is the Welsh word for lake. We found this area quit...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 22, 2012, 2:53 pm
I have a confession to make.  I’ve become a cynic, living in the perpetual doubt that I will ever find an artist that truly moves me.  This fatalistic sense of bitterness especially applies to electronic music which tends to edge toward obscurity in the quest for ambience or edginess.  In s...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 21, 2012, 9:24 am
It is a wicked day indeed and it is the the end of an era as everything changes in Camelot. It would be impossible to review this episode without revealing massive spoilers so I will begin by suggesting that if you have not yet seen “The Wicked Day” or, indeed, if you have not yet begun watc...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Jan 20, 2012, 2:53 pm
If you are a transgender person in Sweden and want to legally change your gender, the government forces you to undergo surgery that will render you permanently infertile and forever unable to have children. That's right: in 2012 Swedish law still mandates forced sterilization in order to do somethin...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 20, 2012, 3:26 am
In the land of the Fifteen Realms, healers are not afforded the respect that you would imagine. Instead, they are feared and reviled, blamed for the devastating plague that swept through the realms, leaving devastation in its wake. When 20-year-old Avry of Kazan uses her magic to heal a dying child,...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 20, 2012, 3:02 am
The Abbey of St Edmund was not a just building but almost a town in itself.  The ruins lie sprawling over a massive area and you can see the remains of not only the church but also of the infirmary, dormitories, cloisters and priory.  It is obvious that the abbey was quite magnificent and it is he...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Jan 19, 2012, 7:46 am
Throughout history some of the world's most famous figures have been targets of assassination. Some are tragically successful (Martin Luther-King, John Lennon and JFK), while others live to fight another day, (Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln and Mr Burns). But what if some of these had been successfu...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 18, 2012, 2:13 am
The nominations for The BRIT Awards 2012 were announced this week at The Savoy Hotel in London.  While the nominations for British Single made me very sad (Ed Sheeran, Example and The Wanted, I am looking at you), the nominations picked up somewhat for British Group and Mastercard British Album of ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 17, 2012, 5:14 pm
... production, I immediately bought tickets and last night, we went along to the Southwark Cathedral to ... went to an event at the London Transport Museum called “Navigating Hidden London ... It is one square mile and at the age of 50, after ... and Matt speak, I have pinpointed the followin...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 17, 2012, 10:48 am
Before I begin this review, I feel that I should preface it with a disclaimer of sorts. I need to be upfront with the fact that I really didn't enjoy the final third of the episode. Which is not to say that it wasn't good, because it really was. Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Andrew Scott ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 15, 2012, 2:59 pm
When you visit the East Anglian town of Norwich in Norfolk, the first thing you notice is the beautiful 15th century church in the centre of town.  The Church of St Peter Mancroft lies on a slightly elevated position next to the market and opposite the Norwich City Hall. The church was built bet...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 14, 2012, 5:17 pm
Angel Coulby is Gwen, Bradley James is Arthur, Colin Morgan is Merlin, Katie McGrath is Morgana and Anthony Head is Uther Pendragon US viewers can finally catch up with season four of the hit BBC series Merlin. The fourth season of Merlin begins airing in the United States tonight on Syfy channel...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 14, 2012, 5:15 pm
It is indeed the darkest hour in the kingdom of Camelot. King Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head) is a shadow of his former self, debilitated by the betrayal of his ward, the Lady Morgana.  A year has now passed since he learned of her betrayal and Morgana (Katie McGrath) takes a dying Morgause on her f...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 14, 2012, 5:03 pm
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman return as Holmes and Watson perhaps the most famous of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, “The Hounds of Baskerville”.  Written by Mark Gatiss, this modern reimagining of the stories takes us out of London and into Exeter and the moors of Dartmoor. From ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 14, 2012, 4:53 pm
In the closing moments of “The Darkest Hour, Part 1”, Merlin made the ultimate sacrifice and pushed Arthur out of the path of the oncoming Dorocha.  I knew in that moment that Merlin would surely survive, it was the first episode of the fourth season after all, but it still broke my heart to se...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 13, 2012, 8:38 am
Meghan Chase should be turning seventeen in twenty-four hours time but things are a little complicated. One year ago, on her birthday, her brother Ethan disappeared and an evil, violent changeling was left in his place.  Meghan learned that he had been snatched by faeries and she ventured into Neve...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 11, 2012, 12:30 pm
Last night, a few lucky guests were treated to a stunning 270° display at Senate House in Bloomsbury to kick-start Virgin Money's quest to make money better. If you don’t know, Virgin Money is launching banking services in the UK in 2012.  They will be offering savings, investments, mortgages, c...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 10, 2012, 3:19 am
In December, we spent a week at Swilland Mill in Suffolk and visited the historic town of Bury St Edmunds.  The primary attraction was the ruins of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds which was once one of the richest Benedictine  monastries in England but which fell into ruin following Henry VIII’s Su...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 9, 2012, 9:15 am
Warning: Spoilers below for Being Human season 3 and 4!! BBC's hit supernatural drama Being Human is finally back for a fourth season this month but there are some shocking cast changes! We already knew that Aidan Turner (who plays John Mitchell) was leaving the cast due to...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Jan 7, 2012, 7:53 am
This is a balanced but shocking report by Al Jazeera English into the continuing poverty and inequality in South Africa.  The ANC is turning 100 tomorrow amidst allegations of corruption and the misuse of public funds. The ANC swept to power in 1994 on a platform promising jobs, education, housing...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 6, 2012, 2:45 pm
Have you ever picked up a book that was so good, you wished you’d paid attention the first time it was recommended to you?  That is what happened to me recently when I read the first instalment of the the massive Suzanne Collins trilogy.  I tore through The Hunger Games  and enjoyed every, sing...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 5, 2012, 2:58 am
One of my favourite sections of Hall Place was the Sound and Vision Exhibition which takes visitors through a history of home entertainment.  I found it fascinating and it appealed to my love of history, media and television. The revolution of home entertainment began with Thomas Edison’s pate...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 4, 2012, 5:11 am
Lolly Luck is lucky by name, lucky by nature. She’s the type of girl who always wins prizes at the fun fair and it might be worth asking her to guess this week’s winning lottery numbers too.  When Lolly returns home on her 11th birthday to discover that her father has lost his job, it seems tha...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Addicted to Media - Jan 2, 2012, 2:44 pm
The BBC’s Sherlock has finally returned to our television screens for a second series.  The series will consist of three 90-minute episodes to be shown over the next three weeks.  “A Scandal in Belgravia” is a modern take on on Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “A Scandal in Bohemia” wh...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Jan 2, 2012, 11:13 am
At the end of 2010, I began to feel that something was missing from my life in London and, by extension, from Emm in London.  I felt that although I still lived and worked in London, life was getting in the way and this wonderful city was passing me by.  My resolution for 2011 was to do at least o...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Dec 21, 2011, 6:20 pm
Alastair Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster.  He recently retuned from a trip to Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina which he visited in his capacity as an Ambassador for CARE International UK.  During his time in Srebrenica, he visited several micro-entrepreneurs who are improving...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Dec 21, 2011, 1:41 pm
Hall Place Last week I introduced you to the Tudor and red brick splendour of the Grade I listed Hall Place in Bexley, Kent.  Hall Place is less than three miles from my house and I had often marvelled at the contrast between the 17th century red brick half of the house and the 16th century ston...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Dec 18, 2011, 10:42 am
A record-breaking autumn of heatwaves and warm temperatures is finally giving way to a cold and grey winter.  Fear not! It is the winter solstice on Thursday 22nd December so surely it is time to begin counting down to summer?  There is no doubt that London looks better when the sun is shining...
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Mandy S. posted an article on Emm in London - Dec 14, 2011, 3:01 am
For several years we have driven past the grand old house at Hall Place in Bexley and I have always wanted to visit.  Naturally, I was attracted by the castle-like turrets but I was also intrigued by the presence of two distinctly different architectural styles.  On the left in the photo above, yo...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Nov 18, 2011, 11:05 am
The Open Society Justice Initiative has issued an excellent two page fact sheet on the work of the ECCC and the Cambodia Tribunal.  You can download the PDF document from this page: Fact Sheet: Khmer Rouge Leaders on Trial. There was much that I already knew on the fact sheet but a couple of item...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Nov 17, 2011, 9:14 am
AFP/Archives/Heng Sinith The Washington Post is reporting that the UN-backed Cambodia war crimes tribunal, the ECCC, has found Ieng Thirith unfit to stand trial on the grounds of diminished capacity due to Alzheimer’s disease. Ieng Thirith has been reported as showing s...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Nov 15, 2011, 3:03 pm
This is a guest post by Anthony Garcia from Online Graduate Programs. The U.S. economy has not been faring well in recent years. Politicians try to gain election momentum on issues of high rates of joblessness, and this can be used as a justification for racism and human rights violations to flour...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Nov 4, 2011, 4:00 am
Michael Dobbs is an award-winning foreign correspondent and author who is currently serving as a Goldfarb fellow at the Committee on Conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  This talented journalist will travel to the Hague to observe the trial of Ratko Mladic at the Internati...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Nov 3, 2011, 5:21 pm
Credit: OSCE/Milan Obradovic Serbian State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and PR coordinator Slobodan Homen has reiterated the Serbian position that it would be best for both Serbia and Croatia to withdraw their mutual genocide suits.  However, B92.com reports that Homen has stated that if ...
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Mandy S. posted an article on A Passion To Understand - Nov 1, 2011, 6:30 pm
Johannesburg, South Africa 6.45pm. Monday 17 April 2006.  I logged onto a local news site and was thrilled to see a photo of Brett Goldin, my colleague Peter’s son.  Brett was an up-and-coming actor and we’d been closely following his successes over the years, sharing in Peter’s pride an...
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