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  • A Slice of Pie With... Sir David of Retrohenshire (pt. ii)

    NAME: David Henningham AGE: 53 (I had to think for a second!) FROM: London LIVES: Manchester OCCUPATION: I develop breakfast cereals and snacks FAVE PASTIME: Writing (mainly about things from the 70s and 80s) We hope you enjoyed the first part of our interview with nostalgia blogger, David Henningham, aka Sir David of Retrohenshire, creator of the awesome Retrohen blog. Check out the second part of this interview as we continue to have a slice of pie and a natter with Sir David. You are the creator of the fabulous Retrohen blog (For those of you who haven’t checked it out yet, do so NOW!!!) Where did the name come from? How and when did you get into nostalgia blogging? And why did I not know about you until last year??? My colleagues at work knew I was into retro and one guy called me “Retrohen”. Prior to this, they used to call me “Hen”, a shortened version of my surname. Therefore, Retrohen equals retro and hen put together. I got into nostalgia blogging in 2015. I’d been doing a home study writing course and blogging was a way to test the water with my work. My first blog was about Brut aftershave and I was so nervous about hitting the ‘publish’ button. I really didn’t know how it would be received, but luckily it turned out well… phew! Haha, why did you not know about me until last year? I could say the same thing about you. But seriously, there are so many blogs out there and it’s not always straightforward coming across ones that tickle your fancy. That's true. And I'm glad you've been hitting that 'publish' button since your first post. You’ve also written a book that’s available from your site: Section N Underpass. Tell us a bit about it and yeah - really sell it to us! Poor Carlton Krane. He went on a routine train journey that ended up taking a strange detour into the Section N Underpass. Things don’t get better for him as he’s lead off the train into a region when mobiles, contactless payments and the internet don’t exist. A region when cash rules, the streets are graced with Ford Cortinas and Austin Allegros, and four-star leaded petrol is sold at the pumps. Within the new home that he now resides, Carlton begins learning about the people and happenings within the Underpass region by reading a stack of typewritten accounts of happenings found with a Freeman Hardy Willis shoebox. Sat leant against the warmth of the running twin tub washing machine, Carlton reads through them. Who is the master baker called Mr. Kipling? Why is the Green Cross Code Man so helpless? Is the Milk Tray Man the perfect partner? World of Sport or Grandstand on a Saturday afternoon? The biggest question is how will Carlton survive in a place that displays all the characteristics of the 1980s? That sounds awesome and a must for any nostalgia fan especially if you grew up in Britain during the latter part of the last century. I never knew that my calling in life was to be a nostalgia blogger. If I had known that, I would have kept more things from the years of my childhood to early adulthood. I’m now spending a fortune on eBay buying back my lost childhood! Are there things you regret not hanging on to, especially now that you’re also a nostalgia blogger? I also spend time trawling through eBay buying stuff I originally had. My biggest regrets are not holding onto my payslips from my first ever job. I was 16 years old and I got a part-time job at Asda in Park Royal. I worked on Friday evenings and Saturdays from 7am – 5pm. Supermarkets were closed on Sundays during these times. I was getting about £18 per week for doing this and I so wished I’d kept hold of my payslips and the envelopes they came in. The other thing I wish I’d kept was the weekly British Rail train tickets I had whilst attending college – they were really robust and had the British Rail logo on them. Goodness, the days when everything was closed on a Sunday. Hard to believe now. It’ll soon be National Retro Day here in America. But there’s no reason why those who love all that is retro shouldn’t celebrate wherever they are. If you ask me, it should be International Retro Day! Nostalgia addicts who live outside of America might not be so familiar with this day. But now that you know about it, are you planning to mark the day (February 27th) in some way and if so - how? I had no idea that this existed in America. It's a fantastic idea and it should be a worldwide event. Now that I know I will do a little Twitter (X) post to highlight the day. It absolutely should be a worldwide event! One of the prerequisites of National Retro Day, apart from immersing yourself in all that is retro, is being offline for the day (shock horror!) as a way of remembering simpler times. How easy do you think it’ll be to steer clear of modern day gadgets and gizmos that require Wi-Fi, and revert back to old-school technology for this one day? OMG I’d find that almost impossible even if it is for just one day. I think I’d end up cheating and I’m sure I won’t be the only one. I'm saying nothing! Some of us will remember a time when the internet was just a lightbulb moment in the inventor’s head (gosh, I’m really ageing us here!) And now we live in a time when we have to be online for just about everything. The only thing we don’t need Wi-Fi connection for is going to sleep, but trust me - that will be happening soon! In your opinion, how easy is it nowadays to live a life where we’re not so connected all the time - like how it was back in the day? We’ve really embraced technology and it is part of our lives. Life has become faster and we’ve adapted to that. I remember TV adverts for K-tel records: to order a record you’d have to fill in a coupon, write a cheque or postal order, post it and then wait 28 days for delivery. I’m sure many of us would not even accommodate a 28-day delivery these days and be straight onto Amazon. I’ve even noticed that there are places where a smartphone is mandatory to scan QR codes to access services. I’d say it’s now impossible to lead a life where we’re not connected all the time. I agree. And wow, postal order! Now that's taking me back! We’re nosy - What future plans do you have for Retrohen? The aim of Retrohen was to make people laugh by making a unique twist of events, experiences and advertising from the 70s and 80s. The plan is to continue to do this whilst throwing in some facts. I can honestly say that nostalgia blogging has changed my life for the better in so many ways. For one thing I’ve met so many great people - like your good self - and come across so many fabulous sites - like Retrohen! Would you say that Retrohen has enhanced your life in some way, and if so - how? Each time I write a post I do smile whilst thinking back to those retro days. It's also like I’m transported back to those days when I was growing up in Harlesden. I switch off from the day-to-day pressures and just write and have fun. I hope I enhance the lives of people who read my posts by making them smile and say ‘I remember that!’ I can honestly say you do! This or That: 1980s or 1990s? 1980s Hyde Park or Roundwood Park? (if you know, you know!) Roundwood without a doubt. Man U or Arsenal? (This could get dangerous...) Arsenal Spice Girls or All Saints? The Spice Girls No. 18 or 266? (Again, if you know…) The No. 18. I hopped on this a few weeks ago from Euston to Harlesden. Pot roast or Pot Noodle? Pot roast Opal Fruits or Starburst? Opal Fruits Noel’s House Party or Kid 'n Play’s House Party? Kid ‘n’ Play’s House Party Holiday for two or cash prize? Holiday for two Easties or Corrie? It’s got to be Corrie And Finally… You’ve time-travelled back to the Eighties. You’re in a fancy restaurant and the waiter brings out the dessert trolley at the end of the meal. Which retro pud do you go for? To be honest, I’d go for more than one! The one I’d go for first is Butterscotch flavoured Angel Delight. After that I’d asked for jelly with rum and raisin ice-cream. Sir David, it's been an absolute pleasure, mate! Thank you. If you'd like to follow Sir David of Retrohenshire in a non-stalkerish way; check out his amazing work, say hi or purchase his book, here are his deets below: WEBSITE www.retrohen.com EMAIL: keepitretro@btinternet.com SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: https://twitter.com/HenninghamDavid Insta: @davidhenningham Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retrohen Photos: David Henningham; Angel Noire; Wix; Unsplash, and YouTube GIF: Wix Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • A Slice of Pie With... Sir David of Retrohenshire (Pt. i)

    NAME: David Henningham AGE: 53 (I had to think for a second!) FROM: London LIVES: Manchester OCCUPATION: I develop breakfast cereals and snacks FAVE PASTIME: Writing (mainly about things from the 70s and 80s) One of the things I absolutely love about being a nostalgia blogger - apart from sharing happy memories and sending out lots of feel-good vibes - is that I come across loads of fantastic people I may otherwise never have got to know. However I have no good excuse for not having known the affable young chap I'm about to have a slice of pie and a natter with... because he hails from my neck of the woods! I spent my primary school years in East London where I was born. But I spent my secondary school years and thereafter in the Northwest London town of Harlesden. Quite a few well known names hail from or have set up home in Harlesden: documentary-maker Louis Theroux; singer and producer, Phil Fearon; actress Lenora Crichlow (also a fellow-survivor of the secondary school I had the misfortune of attending. And no, I've never met her!) EastEnders stars Michelle Gayle and Shane Richie (the latter's father used to manage the well-known Steps bar in Harlesden. Excellent training for his role as Alfie Moon we reckon!) and over the years my parents have served a whole host of famous faces over the counter of the shop that they've run for the last forty years or so. I won't name-drop (more than I already have!) but I have to give a shout out to actor Eamonn Walker, Chicago Fire's Chief Wallace Boden, who is an absolute diamond - a real legend, and was a pleasure to serve. And now another notable name I can add to the list is David Henningham, aka Sir David of Retrohenshire, nostalgia blogger extraordinaire. David and I met very randomly on the blogosphere. It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow nostalgia blogger but I have to say I got the shock of my life when I discovered that he was a fellow Harlesdenite! Anyone who comes from Harlesden or any of the surrounding areas will know that even though it is an inner-city London district, Harlesden has a small-town feel in the sense that many of the locals all know or know of each other (and each other's business!) How strange to think that Sir David and I may have sat next to each other on the bus; stood in the same queue at the local McDonald's; waited for a train on the same platform at Willesden Junction, and I know, I just know that we have people in common. I just have to find out who they are! And it's fascinating to now know that someone who shares my love of retro and nostalgia only lived a stone's throw away from me. I didn't come across anyone who was into all that nostalgia-nonsense (as some may see it. But not us!) in all my years there. So I'm all the more delighted to have stumbled upon Sir David's blog, Retrohen, which is nothing short of fabulous and it is definitely one of my favourite blogs. I always look forward to new posts written by Sir David because you're guaranteed an entertaining read - not to mention a few chuckles! If you haven't checked it out already, make sure you do. You won't be disappointed (just just doooooon't forget to head back this way as well afterwards!) So in honour of National Retro Day, I can't think of a better person to have a slice of pie with here at Nostalgia Pie than with someone who loves retro as much as I do - and has the best job in the world (see above!) All rise for Sir David of Retrohenshire! Hello Sir David. Help yourself to a slice of pie and a drink. What are you having? Right now, I’m feeling the savoury pie vibe. A nice chunky slice steak and ale pie would be nice with a cold pint of Guinness Can't go wrong with a bit of steak and ale, I say! We’d love to know more about Sir David of Retrohenshire. Tell us a bit about yourself. I was born in 1970 and lived in London the majority of my life. I’m the youngest of 6 (yes, growing up our house was chaos at times). I fondly remember watching TV programmes like Play School, Jackanory, Words & Pictures, Batman (with Adam West) and a host of TV adverts which I now watch again on YouTube. I remember getting my first home computer: the Commodore Vic 20 back in 1982. I'm another one who can't stop watching those old-school ads on YouTube! What would you define as ‘your era’ and why? Most definitely the 80s. It was a time when there was a lot of change and growing up – an era which marked the end of primary school; attending secondary school; moving onto college and then going into full time work. 80s music is my fav and I always listen to Heart 80s on the radio. I remember some cracking TV programmes: Knight Rider, Fame (I want to live forever), Top of the Pops, Dallas, Neighbours, Beadle’s About, Blind Date, Play Your Cards Right, Grange Hill… ...Falcon Crest; The Price is Right; The A-Team... I hear you! Just like me, you grew up in Harlesden, Northwest London. What are your memories of growing up there in the latter part of the last century? The changes that were starting to take place: the closure of a lot of factories. Just down the road in Park Royal, there were once so many factories and the people from Harlesden made up a lot of the workforce. Many of these factories moved out which was a real shame. My dad worked for a massive employer in that area (Heinz) and that also went. That's really sad. Having those factories in our area really benefitted a lot of the locals. You’ve now jumped ship and become a Northerner! How often do you visit the H-Town and what changes do you find whenever you return home? Funnily enough, I was back in Harlesden a few weeks ago. I usually visit once every 18 months. The striking changes are how densely populated it has become and so many of the streets are permit parking only. The position of the Jubilee Clock has moved and of course the property prices have soared… there’s no way I could afford to move back! I don't think I can either. And I'm glad you mentioned the clock - I thought it was just me! One of the things I remember about growing up in Harlesden throughout the nineties was how label-mad everyone was! I was lucky just to get Matchstick trainers as my mum did not want us growing up obsessing about designer labels (for which I thank her now but not at the time!) How image-conscious and fashion obsessed were you back then? Ahh the nineties. I was working full-time through most of the 90s so I started splashing out on the branded clothes. I become image-conscious but not obsessed. One of my earlier purchases was a Kangol hat – I wanted to have the LL Cool J look . A very colourful Reebok tracksuit was another purchase along with some Karl Kani jeans. Ah, who didn't own a pair of Kani jeans back then! Sadly I didn't! But my sis did indeed have a Kangol hat. You’re another nostalgia addict. All the best people are! When did you get bitten by the nostalgia bug? Far too late to be honest: 2015! I regret getting rid of a lot of items from the 80s and 90s that at the time I thought were useless – little did I know that I’d turn into a nostalgia addict and those items would be so useful for photography to bring back memories. Tell me about it! Check out the second part of our interview with Sir David of Retrohenshire. If you'd like to follow Sir David of Retrohenshire in a non-stalkerish way; check out his amazing work, say hi or purchase his book, here are his deets below: WEBSITE www.retrohen.com EMAIL: keepitretro@btinternet.com SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: https://twitter.com/HenninghamDavid Insta: @davidhenningham Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retrohen Photos: David Henningham, Angel Noire, YouTube and Wix Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • It's Our Fifth Birthday: Happy Birthday Nostalgia Pie!

    By sheer coincidence, 25th January is a special and significant day for a few of my family and friends due to the number of marriages and births that have taken place on that day. And it's a very special day for Nostalgia Pie too as that's when the third - and dare we say it, the best - incarnation of this site began five years ago... Nostalgia Pie started it's journey back in 2012 and I was soon bitten by the blogging bug. It was a rediscovery of TV shows, books, and music that I hadn't come across in ages that set me on the road to creating this site. I won't lie, in more recent times, I've become quite bored and disheartened by what passes for entertainment these days. It's not that everything produced today is abysmal of course but I just feel that a lot of the more current things I see are a bit soulless and lacking in something, and you have to really search for something that's got quality writing, acting and storylines. Well that's what I think anyway! But being reintroduced to things I used to watch/listen to/use/wear/scoff etc. really took me back and was such an uplifting, enriching and enlivening experience. The long-lost inner child in me would exclaim "Ooh I remember that!" and "Goodness! It's been ages since I listened to them!" as well as "How on earth did I forget about that!" Happy memories would have me grinning away like the Cheshire cat. Yep I was bitten by the nostalgia bug all right. I wondered if anyone else got swept away by the wave of nostalgia when it came to memories of the news, events, and pop culture of their time. So I got the bright idea to put all of my nostalgic wonderings, ponderings and ramblings into a blog... And I've never looked back! Oh and as it happened, there were plenty of people like me who loved a bit of nostalgia! Just a few of our favourite things.... Nostalgia Pie has had two previous homes, and each one I feel, has been better than the last. But it was after moving to America, I decided that if I had a new home, then maybe Nostalgia Pie should to! I felt that the time had come for a bit of a revamp - that and I needed something to keep me out of trouble! And so here we are, and I have to say I'm delighted with the site that I recreated five years ago - I hope the followers are as well! Something I'd never done with the older versions of this site was include a forum and that was something I'd always hoped to do. And I finally got my chance to do just that five years ago. Initially the aim was to share memories with other nostalgia addicts but it ended up becoming so much more than that... ...And a few more! Bring on the nostalgia! We've got a fantastic bunch of people here who have helped to make Nostalgia Pie what it is, and for that I am extremely grateful. And it's because of this site that I've been able to meet some of Nostalgia Pie's amazing followers and connect with them in the real world... People I'm very blessed to be able to call friends. I consider this a real blessing because when I started the revamp of Nostalgia Pie, I was two years into my expat adventure. I was far from home; away from family, friends and all that was dear and familiar to me, and was having to start again from scratch. There were days when I didn't really feel like myself. But then this blog came along and it gave me exactly what I was looking for - a sense of community, belonging, and new friends. I have so much to thank this site for. It's so weird to think that five years have just sailed by just like that. And I've enjoyed every second of it. There's still lots more that I plan to do. We've just started our Retro Reads online book group with the first meeting to take place next month, and I'm working on more exciting ventures to ensure that this isn't just one of my happy places... but yours too! Thanks to everyone who follows this site and interacts with us here. Nostalgia Pie couldn't work without you. Happy fifth birthday, Nostalgia Pie. Here's to the next five years... Photos: Angel Noire, Pixabay and YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • Happy Sixtieth Birthday, Jackie Magazine! Love, A Girl Who Missed Out!

    It's not just Top of the Pops that celebrated turning sixty this month. Iconic British teen magazine Jackie has also hit the big 6-0! It was back in January 11th 1964 that the first issue of Jackie went on sale and changed the lives of many a teenage girl and made its mark on popular culture. Not only that but it served as the precursor for many of the subsequent British magazines that followed in the magnificent footsteps of Jackie and dominated the teen market. It was probably coincidental that Jackie was launched just ten days after the first episode of the cultural phenomenon that was Top of the Pops aired but the two, Jackie and Top of the Pops, went together hand in hand so perfectly well for its influence on youth culture and fashion, and also for giving a platform to both established and up and coming artists. What a fabulous time January 1964 must have been for the youth of that time! But little did Sixties British youth realize that they were witnessing history in the making, and experiencing two phenomenons that many of today's generation barely know about - and both are still so sorely missed... But while I was - and still am - a massive TOTP fan and made it my mission in life, when I was younger, to be in front of the telly at 7pm on a Thursday night, I unfortunately missed out on being a Jackie girl. That might come as quite a shock to a lot of people as Jackie did exist during my lifetime (I'm sadly not that young!) and everyone who knows me knows that there wasn't a TV, music, fashion, women's or teen magazine that I wasn't spending my money on. But by the time I got bitten by the magazine bug and started spending virtually all of my pocket money on magazines - much to my parents' annoyance - Jackie was sadly on its way out with the last issue being printed in 1993. There's no doubt in my mind though that had the plug not been pulled on Jackie, I would most definitely have been an avid reader and a Jackie girl for sure! I would have been one of those teen girls who - from what I heard - would eagerly await the latest copy to hit the stands before rushing down to the newsagent to grab it before anyone else did. It wasn't solely because you were worried about missing out on that week's issue but you needed to be the one to get all the news before anyone else did. You didn't want to hear it secondhand from your classmates - you wanted to be the one proclaiming the gospel according to Jackie before 'Miss' came into the classroom to take the register, and then again over lunch in the school canteen. You wanted to know what the latest fashions were; where were the best places to shop. You wanted to know how to style your hair with just the right amount of bounce. You wanted to know how to do your make up so that you could pass for Twiggy's little sister. You wanted to collect all the free gifts that Jackie had to offer (shimmery lip gloss, girls?) And most importantly you needed that final part of the three-part poster in order to complete your David Essex poster. How else were you going to practice the kissing tips so generously given by Jackie? To have an incomplete poster would have been a fate worse than death and definitely something worth writing in to Cathy and Claire about! The sixtieth anniversary of the launch of this groundbreaking teen magazine means that there are articles and interviews appearing everywhere; where those who remember Jackie all too well reminisce about what the magazine meant to them. I've heard stories from the ladies who were blessed to have worked on the magazine while still in their teens. Who better to write a magazine aimed at teenagers than teenagers themselves? When I was a teen girl myself (only last year, of course!) I dreamed of becoming a journalist and working for one of the magazines I was so keen to spend my money on. I did become a member of the Press Pack (I'm sure that's what they were called) for Fast Forward magazine (remember them?) but sadly never saw my name in print due to me never sending my work in on time! Tut, tut! One of the ladies who gave up her place at uni to work for Jackie in its hey day described it as 'being at the university of Jackie' and talked about the fun environment and camaraderie among the staff there. That definitely sounds like my kind of university, and definitely a lot better than the one I actually did go to (although I did meet my girls there so there were some good points. Well when they're not bullying me that is. Only joking, girls!) However I doubt my parents would never have allowed me to give up my university course. And worse still they wouldn't have paid for my ticket to travel up to Dundee so that I could work at Jackie Towers (No that's not what it was called. But I reckon it should have been!) I think it's what is known as anemoia or sehnsucht. No not the Rammstein album (although I'm sure it's pretty good) but that longing and nostalgia for a time that you have never lived in. I've made no secret of the fact that I wished I could have been a teenager in sixties or seventies London. While I'm sure life wasn't perfect for everyone back then or ever for that matter (it never is) I picked up on the sentiment that there was a vibrancy and a zest for life; an enthusiasm for all that was new and exciting. Youngsters had real optimism and zeal for the future. These are all the things that I see summed up in Jackie. So do I wish I could have been a Jackie girl? You bet! I was, however, a Just Seventeen; Mizz; Sugar; It's Bliss and Shout kind of girl. So I still had the same interests, habits, future hopes and aspirations as most Jackie readers. Half the contents in my chest of drawers were made up of cosmetics that were given away as free gifts. I still put posters up on my walls but it was Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block I dreamed about and not David Cassidy. While I like standing out from the crowd now and being my own person, as a young girl, all I wanted was to fit and and be accepted by my peers - show me one teenager who doesn't! Whether you're in the Sixties, Nineties, or twenty-first century, just pick up any magazine aimed at teens, turn to the letters or problem pages and you will find tons of people of your own age group who are just like you; who have the same worries, fears, concerns that you do. Those who are seeking resolutions and are hopeful for a better future.And many of those teens can't wait to grow up and experience freedom as an adult and imagine, through the pages of such magazines just like I did, of what adult life would be like. Only to realize when we get there, how overhyped adulthood is! So you see - regardless of the decade or magazines that I was reading, I wasn't so different to the Jackie crowd. And furthermore if it wasn't for Jackie, a magazine that revolutionized media for teenagers, I don't think I would have been reading magazines like Sugar or Shout as unless someone had the bright idea somewhere further down the line, I very much doubt they would have existed. Jackie was to British teen magazines what New Kids on the Block are to boy bands (the jury's still out on whether that was a good or bad thing! Not because New Kids were awful - because they're NOT - but because many of the subsequent boy bands that came along were! However others may beg to differ!) But while I may never have had the seemingly, totally care-free existence of a typical teenage girl in the Jackie era whose biggest catastrophe was figuring out how to get the Paul McCartney lookalike at school to notice her, I feel I share more in common with the girls (now ladies of course) of that generation who came long before me than those who came long after me. I could be wrong but it seems to me that adulthood is creeping up on youngsters earlier and earlier these days. Childhood and teen years are fleeting and go by so quickly. So kids and teens should enjoy and relish this period. However with us, even though we were in a hurry to grow up (careful what you wish for and all that!) the difference is that we weren't made to grow up too soon (or at least I don't feel we were.) Perhaps that's one of the reasons why I have a fondness for such times. And things like Jackie, whether I experienced it or not... well it takes me back to more care-free, simpler times. So happy sixtieth, Jackie. I may not have been a 'Jackie girl' or known you personally, or have you educate me on the fine art of kissing; getting attention from the boys, or the benefits of taking my make-up off at night. I may not have had the lovely Cathy and Claire to advise me through every tumultuous situation I ever encountered. But I do feel as though I've known you all my life. You made a generation of girls - and the ones who came along afterwards - very happy. Thank you x With love and thanks to my brother from another mother, JM, for most of these pics. x Photos: Angel Noire and JM Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024

    Another year is on the way out and we are all awaiting the new one. Some of us at this moment are preparing for the New Year's Eve bash we're going to throw tonight. Others are excitingly getting ready for the New Year's Eve bash we're going to attend. And for some of us, well it's just a cozy night in as we see the new year in quietly. But all of us will be wondering what 2024 has in store for us... and hoping that it'll be something great! 2023 has been a real roller-coaster of a year for us. During the early part of the year, we were met with a great deal of sadness of which we are still working our way through. The one good thing that came out of it, was the love and support of family and friends who rallied around and let us know that we were far from alone. Everyone always says you know who your real friends are you're going through a crisis. Well I'd like to think that we always knew who our real friends were but this just confirmed it. But it wasn't all heartbreak and devastation. This year was a very busy year with lots of new experiences and travel to places we'd never been to before. I made my annual visit to London to see family and I got to celebrate my birthday with my immediate family for the first time in over a decade, I reckon! We did a road trip with my sister's family which we really enjoyed. We had two lots of friends come over from Britain, had another amazing road trip up to Montreal and our stay there was nothing short of magical. We had an amazing Thanksgiving with The Fella's best friend and his family, and a very peaceful Christmas. Oh and I had my first ever girl's trip! I've never had a holiday with the girls before but at my grand old age, I finally did it and we had great fun. I cannot wait to hang out with the girls again. It really can't come soon enough. And in other events, we saw the coronation of King Charles III. William and Kate became the Prince and Princess of Wales as they move one step closer to the throne. Harry and Meghan were well, following on from the success of the furore they caused over their Netflix documentary, decided to cause further upheaval with the release of Harry's book, Spare. Barbie starring Margot Robbie in the title role became a box-office smash with the world going Barbie-pink mad. His obsession with the letter 'X' led owner Elon Musk to rename Twitter well, X (although it'll always be Twitter to us!) And as is sadly the case every year, we said bid farewell to a host of famous stars as they were laid to rest. These included Tina Turner; Suzanne Somers; Lisa Marie Presley; Len Goodman; Shane McGowan; Sir Michael Gambon; David McCullam; Tony Bennett; Paul Reubens; Sir Michael Parkinson; Sinead O'Connor; Jane Birkin; Jerry Springer; Paul Cattermole; Raquel Welch; Burt Bacharach; Tatjana Patitz, and most recently Ryan O' Neal to name just a few. The loss of a person is always hard, and obviously heartbreaking for family and friends. But one loss that sent shockwaves around the world was the passing of Friends star Matthew Perry. For almost three decades he brought laughter into so many people's households - mine included - with his portrayal of the king of sarcasm Chandler Bing. No matter what might have been going on in our lives, an episode of Friends could make everything right in the world again even if it was just for a while. And Matthew contributed to that greatly, and I for one am very grateful May they all rest in eternal peace... And there was further despair around the world, as conflict and bloodshed raged on in certain parts of the world. We saw images of hardship and suffering which is not an easy thing to handle. If it's hard for you to watch these images on a screen, you can only imagine what it's like for the people caught in the midst of such turbulence. We're all hoping that conflict everywhere can be resolved peacefully, and also that there won't be new surge of war or any other disaster next year. We can only hope and pray that 2024 will be happier for us, and a great year all round for everyone. xx Photos: Wix Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • Ooh, She Does Like A Nice White Frock! The Most Wed Women In Soap (Part i)

    Ever since that flash-forward scene first aired in EastEnders as part of the show's anniversary celebrations earlier this year - a first-ever for the soap - fans are eagerly awaiting to discover the identity of the man who lies dead on the floor of The Queen Vic... as well as the identity of his killer. We shall soon find out - and we cannot wait! But another interesting detail from that scene caught our eye... Sharon in a wedding gown which indicated that unless there was a fancy dress party on at The Vic, she was getting married - again! In light of recent events, we're wondering if Sharon Watts/Mitchell/Rickman/Mitchell again/Beale/Watts/soon-to-be- Taylor (maybe!) will actually go through with her wedding to Keanu Taylor. So many mysteries to solve this Christmas! Just before she actually married him herself, Sharon said of her oldest friend Ian that you only had to smile at him and he was ordering wedding cake. Quite a statement coming from a lady who's about to head up the aisle for the fifth time! During her many years on the Square, Sharon has had quite an eventful love-life. Sharon has been engaged to a vicar; had her heart broken by Simon Wicks; had her married lover return to his wife; lost her fiancé Tom in a house fire; was jilted just before her wedding by Jack Branning, had a fling with Kheerat Panesar... and those are just the ones we can remember! And that's all before we come to the infamous Sharongate... Sharongate - one of the most famous storylines in EastEnders' history where Sharon embarked on an affair with her brother-in-law Phil, thus ending her marriage to the very volatile Grant Mitchell, causing Sharon to leave Walford and head to Florida. But upon her return, Phil and Sharon picked up where they had left off, continuing an on-off relationship that has lasted til present day (where they are currently 'off' again!) After marrying and divorcing Phil, Sharon entered into a marriage of convenience with Ian, which ended after he discovered that she was following in the footsteps of wife number one Cindy in trying to have him killed! But it was her second husband, Dennis Rickman, who EastEnders' fans believe was the one true love of Sharon's life, and had he not been murdered by gangster Johnny Allen, there's a good chance they'd still be together now. When it was announced that Sharon was to fall for her adoptive dad's son, viewers wondered if writers had lost their minds! But we don't mind admitting that this was one of those times when we got it wrong, and Sharon and Dennis went on to become one of the best, though tragically short-lived, Albert Square couples. It would appear that Sharon was never the same after Dennis's death which probably led to her making some rather questionable choices over the years. Of course Sharon isn't the only female soap character who has been keeping bridal stores in business. There are many women in soap who have made it to the altar more more times than they've had appointments at the local nail bar! EastEnders' Peggy Mitchell has been married three times, with Melanie Healy and Denise Fox outdoing her by getting married four times. And Kathy Beale has headed down the aisle a fourth time in a failed attempt to make an honest man out of Tom Cotton. Three was also the magic number for Neighbours' Gail Lewis and Helen Daniels, as it was for Home and Away's Pippa Fletcher. But they were all pipped at the post by Sunset Beach's Bette Kazenkazrahi who had married a whopping seven times! We've already looked at some of the most married men in soap, and not wanting to leave out the ladies, we now turn our attention to the soap brides who are battling out to be soap's answer to Zsa-Zsa Gabor. 1. Gail Platt (Coronation Street) BRIAN TILSLEY (m. 1979) 'Our Gail' has never been what you might call lucky in love. It all started to go downhill in the late seventies when Gail met and married husband number one - Brian Tilsley. The marriage produced a son, Nicky in 1980, and unfortunately for Gail, a meddling mother-in-law, Ivy, who was the source of much friction for Gail and Brian. When the Tilsleys' marriage hit a rocky spot, both spouses had their heads turned by other people, and Brian eventually left to work overseas. The couple eventually patched up their marriage, and Brian settled into the street, opening up a garage. But money worries caused the couple to move in with Brian's parents which obviously pleased Gail and Ivy no end! Unsurprisingly marriage woes set in again, forcing Gail to walk out, taking little Nicky with her, though the Tilsleys eventually reunited. But the happy-ever-after didn't last long, when in 1986, Gail began an affair with Brian's cousin, Ian, but after getting pregnant, she realised that she didn't know who the baby's father was. After Sarah-Louise was born the following year, she was proven to be Brian's daughter. The damage however was done and Brian was unable to bond with his baby daughter. The Tilsleys split yet again with both going on to start new relationships and get divorced. Ironically however, it was Brian's failed attempt to kidnap his son that led to him reconciling with Gail and remarrying in 1988. But once again it wasn't to last and Gail asked for a divorce. But it was a night out at a club which ended the Tilsley's marriage once and for all when Brian was stabbed and tragically killed, resulting in a heartbroken Ivy unfairly blaming Gail. MARTIN PLATT (m 1991) Gail eventually found love again with Martin Platt, who moved in with her and the children, which caused a bit of a stir as he was ten years younger than her. When Gail discovered that she was pregnant in 1990, she decided to terminate the pregnancy as she didn't think she could cope with three children and didn't want Martin to feel burdened by fatherhood at such a young age. But Martin persuaded Gail to keep the baby and that Christmas baby David was born completing the Platt family with Martin going on to adopt Nicky and Sarah - a move that did not go down well with Ivy. But problems arose in the form of unstable nurse Carmel Finnen who developed an infatuation with Martin; a teenage Nicky's strained relationship with his adoptive father, and Martin's one-night stand with a colleague. But it was his affair with nurse Rebecca Hopkins, in which Martin was planning to leave Gail until he found out that Sarah was pregnant, that put the final nail into the coffin that was the Platts' marriage. However Martin and Gail were on good terms, though this was tested after Martin started a short-lived relationship with Gail's friend, Sally. Eventually Martin left the cobbles in 2005 for a new life in Liverpool with his new girlfriend Robyn where the two started a family of their own. RICHARD HILLMAN (m.2002) But it was while Martin was still living in Weatherfield, that Gail found love with the man who was to become the most infamous of all of Gail's husbands - the murderous Richard Hillman. Also known as Norman Bates with a briefcase! Richard was the cousin of Gail's dear friend Alma, and the two meet at Alma's funeral. Gail and Richard soon started a relationship and they went on to marry in the summer of 2002. Unfortunately Richard hadn't been completely honest with Gail about his finances or that he was facing bankruptcy. This led to a chain of sinister incidents starting with Richard leaving his business partner, Duggie Ferguson to die after he had suffered an accident, before going on to kill his ex-wife Patricia with a shovel after she threatened to expose his fraudulent dealings. After this Richard's venomous behaviour knew no bounds and he resorted to all forms of devious behaviour: bribery, investment scams; kidnap; the attempted murders of his mother in law, Audrey, as well as Emily Bishop, and sadly murdering young mum, Maxine Peacock, and framed his stepdaughter's ex-boyfriend Aiden Critchley for her death. With his crimes catching up with him, Richard eventually confessed all to a horrified Gail before leaving Weatherfield, apparently for good. But nothing's ever that simple in soapland, and Richard Hillman returned to the cobbles once again with the intention of killing his stepfamily as well as himself. But when his initial plan was thwarted by Martin and Audrey, Richard abducted the family, driving straight into a canal. Gail and her family survived. Richard didn't. And so was the demise of one of soap's most notorious villains. JOE McINTYRE (2010) It's OK ladies - Our Gail did not marry a New Kid! Instead she fell in love with the father of Tina, her son's ex-girlfriend. But seriously, what is it with Gail and men who are severely in debt??? Gail goes on to marry Joe not realising that his business has collapsed and he is heavily in debt. But a short time later, Joe comes up with a plan to fake his own death in order to obtain the life insurance money. He filled his wife in on the plan which left Gail appalled. After the two got into a physical altercation, Joe sailed away but in a bizarre twist of fate, he met with an accident and drowned. When news of Joe's death reached Gail, she thought that he had gone ahead with his devious plan, and believing that he would return, she and David told everyone that he was away working. But Gail was left distraught when she discovered that Joe really was dead. Unfortunately due to inconsistencies in her story, and statements by witnesses who had seen the fight, Gail was arrested for murder during Joe's wake, charged and denied bail. Though she was later found not guilty and released. MICHAEL RODWELL (2015) Remember how Neighbours' Scott and Charlene met after Scott mistook his future spouse for a burglar? Well that's how Gail met husband number five, Michael Rodwell. Except that there was no mistake about it - Michael really was a burglar! Posing as a gasman, Michael attempted to steal valuables from Gail's home which led to Gail getting hurt in a scuffle between them, and becoming traumatized. But Gail and Michael got to meet again through the Restorative Justice Scheme, and a very forgiving Gail forged a friendship with Michael which led to love once he was released. Will this lady ever learn? Probably not, but determined to get him back on his feet, the two moved in together and later married. But the marriage soon collapses when Michael discovers that the son he has reunited with is actually an imposter and that Gail knew about this. He demanded a divorce and then started a relationship with Eileen Grimshaw which led to a lot of friction between her and Gail, although Michael and Gail did later reconcile. However it is an altercation with Eileen's new love, Pat Phelan, that leads to Michael's sad demise after he suffers a heart attack. A heartbroken Gail was left with the task of scattering his ashes close to the site where they had planned to renew their vows. 1. Janine Butcher (EastEnders) Not even forty years old and she's already clocked five husbands! When Janine Butcher revealed just before her marriage to her latest victim, we mean fiancé Mick Carter, that this was to be her fifth waltz down the aisle, viewers were scratching their heads as they tried to remember who were the previous five grooms who had been daft enough to marry Janine. BARRY EVANS There was husband number one, bumbling, gullible Barry Evans, who had been Janine's kind-of-sort-of stepbrother when his dad Roy married Janine's stepmother Pat. Ian Beale is often deemed one of life's biggest losers but we think that title goes to Barry who was even more hapless than Ian. Vulnerable after his divorce from his first wife, Barry fell into a relationship with scheming Janine. He saw her as his second chance at love. She saw him as a cash cow, and when it was believed that Barry may not have long to live, Janine - who had already started an affair with Barry's friend, Paul Truman - rushed to make it down the aisle to become the next Mrs. Evans before Barry's heart gave out. And while her scheming paid off, it was on their wedding night that both she and Barry discovered that his diagnosis had been a false alarm and he was given a clean bill of health. That was too much for Janine, who during a confrontation on a hilltop with Barry she announced she had never loved him before Barry accidentally fell down the side of the hill - while Janine watched as he died from his injuries. DAVID BERKOWITZ Then came elderly David Berkowitz who Janine - or maybe that should be Janine's alter ego, Judith Bernstein - was exchanging vows with when her stepmother Pat burst into the synagogue with Ricky, and Janine's friend Billy Mitchell in tow, before revealing Janine's true identity while declaring that her stepdaughter was "as Jewish as a bacon sandwich," - a line that has gone down in EastEnders' history of spectacular quotes. Poor David, mortified at the revelation that the woman he loved wasn't who she said she was, collapsed and died in front of the horrified congregation. Janine in the meanwhile managed to worm her way to Walford, now leaving two dead husbands in her wake. RYAN MOLLOY Husband number three was Whitney Dean's half-brother Ryan Molloy. Young, good-looking and charismatic, Ryan was everything that Janine's previous two husbands were not. Needless to say that Janine couldn't believe her luck when Ryan, making the biggest mistake of his life, proposed to her. So Janine became Mrs. Molloy and all was well for a while... Until the pitter patter of tiny feet could be heard. No, Janine wasn't pregnant but she had discovered that Ryan was the father of Stacey Slater's baby daughter, Lilly, and Janine was far from happy about it. Her jealousy and spite eventually drove Ryan into Stacey's arms, and the two were about to start a future together with baby Lilly. But a spanner was thrown in the works when Janine discovered that Stacey was the one who had murdered Archie Mitchell, causing a terrified Stacey to flee the Square, taking Lilly with her but leaving a heartbroken Ryan behind. Ryan eventually left the Square but he should be pleased because as devastated as he was at losing Stacey and Lilly, he is the only one of Janine's husbands who's still alive and kicking! MICHAEL MOON Janine's fourth husband was Alfie Moon's suave cousin Michael Moon. The two got married when Janine was pregnant with their daughter Scarlet. But married life proved to be far from easy and Michael eventually started an affair with Scarlet's nanny Alice Branning. During a tense confrontation, Janine ended up stabbing Michael to death, and then framed Alice for it. MICK CARTER (m. 2022) Then along came husband number five - lovable publican, Mick Carter. As with Barry, Mick was devastated after his marriage to childhood sweetheart, Linda hit the rocks, and he became susceptible to the charms of the manipulative, scheming Janine who was as good at sniffing out vulnerability as a sniffer dog is good at sniffing out illegal substances. Mick thought he'd been given another chance at love but viewers knew that what Janine was really in love with was the idea of becoming landlady of her former childhood home the Queen Vic, and providing both her and Scarlet with the type of family life neither of them had had. And in order to get that, Janine's plotting, scheming and conniving knew no bounds including framing Linda for a car crash in which it was really Janine who was behind the wheel. However all of Janine's lies caught up with her on Christmas Day - just one day after becoming Mrs. Carter - in which her own daughter exposed her for being a fraud. Sadly it was Mick's determination to ensure that Janine didn't get away with her crimes that saw him pursuing her before tragically going missing at sea and is now presumed dead. All of the above should be enough of a deterrent for any man daft enough to think of proposing to her, but knowing Janine we're sure she'll snare husband number six on her next return to Walford... Check out the second part of our post Ooh, She Does Love a Nice White Frock! Photos from YouTube Word cloud by Angel Noire

  • Walnut Whips: Christmas Isn't Christmas Without Them!

    There are some things you just have to have at Christmas - and a packet of Walnut Whips is one of them! For those of us who grew up in the UK and Ireland, the sight of those individually wrapped Walnut Whips by Nestlé, in its blue packaging, was a familiar sight in sweet shops, and the confectionary sections of supermarkets and newsagents. Admittedly the individual Walnut Whips are not such a common sight these days (which has led many people to think that they've found their way up to choccy heaven. Thank goodness they haven't!) but you're more likely to find them in packs of six especially around Christmas time when the whole country goes seems to go Walnut Whip mad! What's a Walnut Whip? It's not a whip made out of walnuts. And neither is it a tool used to discipline a badly-behaved walnut! Walnut Whips are delicious-beyond-belief funnel-shaped hollow milk chocolate shells with a fairly thick base and a swirled, ridged exterior. The hollowed centres are then filled with a whipped, creamy, vanilla fondant - a bit like a cross between a mousse and a marshmallow. How scrumptious does that sound? It's then topped with... what else, a walnut half! What's the packaging like? For as long as we can remember, Walnut Whips have always been encased in a type of blue, pouch-like wrapper. Although today's wrapper is a shiny, metallic blue, some of us remember a non-metallic, darker blue wrapper. The old-school style also used to have a thin piece of card at the base of the wrapper on which the Walnut Whip could sit quite comfortably (we wouldn't want our Walnut Whip to suffer any discomfort now, would we!) but that no longer exists. How are they sold? Up until round about the 2000s, it was very common to see Walnut Whips sold individually in shops. These days you're more likely to see them sold as six in a box. However that's if you are able to find them at all, as we've heard - and also seen for ourselves - that not every shop stocks them up the way they once did so they're not as easy to find. We can't think why. What are the origins of the great Walnut Whip? The confectionary was originally launched in 1910 by Duncan’s of Edinburgh, a company founded in 1861 by mother and son, Mary and William Duncan in Dundee (and not Edinburgh.) But it wasn't until 1884 that they started to produce chocolate confectionary in Edinburgh, with them moving to a different Edinburgh location - the Regent Confectionary Works - twelve years later. The Walnut Whip was Duncan's most famous confectionary item, and it was due to the rise in popularity of this chocolate product that saw the company's factory grow to six times its original size in order to deal with manufacturing demands. Rowntree's then acquired Duncan’s of Edinburgh in 1927, although the new company continued the Duncan's brand name. Come 1967, various confectionery products were moved to be produced in other Rowntree's factories, while the only item produced by the Edinburgh factory were... Walnut Whips! Rowntree's was later acquired by the now Nestlé UK who have continued producing Walnut Whips. Walnut Whips have come an awfully long way! Not to mention changed hands quite a few times. Is it only Nestlé who produces Walnut Whips? That other great British institution Marks and Spencer’s have their own brand of Walnut Whips which are readily available throughout the year. They are generally sold in packs of three and are available in other flavours. Are they only vanilla-flavoured? Over the years, Nestlé have produced a few different flavoured fondant fillings but it is the vanilla or 'original' flavour which still prevails today. There was a maple, coffee flavour that is still very much missed by those who remember it very well, and there's also been a mention of a strawberry flavour. The Marks and Spencer’s version however has other flavours such as mint, toffee pecan, and double chocolate as well as the original. Oh and there's also been talk of a dark chocolate shell which we don't remember at all, so if it did exist at all, it was probably discontinued around the early Eighties. What changes have occurred over the years? Walnut Whips have undergone a few transformations over the years including the ridging on the surface of the cone; and the texture of the filling which was supposed to have been more dense. Something that is talked about a great deal was that there also used to be a walnut piece placed inside the filled chocolate case, which was a way of using up pieces of walnut that had broken up due to the manufacturing process. Eventually the walnut piece inside the chocolate was omitted (not sure why) leaving the one nut that topped the cone. The Walnut-less Whips! Alongside the original Walnut Whips, Nestlé decided to bring out a new walnut-less version in 2017 in order to increase their product range. As this version didn't contain walnuts, the 'walnut' part of the name had to go, so they ended up being called... Whips! Personally we'd have gone with Walnot Whips or Nulnut Whips! There were many people who were outraged about the lack of the Whip's crowning glory. Some felt that the bitterness of the walnut counteracted the sweetness of the fondant filling so it was always a welcome addition. Others were up in arms because, well, it's nostalgic and traditional to have the chocolate cone topped with a walnut half. But Nestlé placated the naysayers by bringing out three new exciting flavours: Vanilla, mint, and caramel. These are sold individually or in packs of three. What's the connection between Walnut Whips and Christmas? Well Walnut Whips are a chocolate product and chocolate is always very popular at Christmas with most people consuming twice their body weight in the stuff! Many of us remember eating Walnut Whips at Christmas and other special occasions, and for us it feels that no celebration is complete without them. Other than that, there is no significant Christmas connection - it wasn't one of the gifts brought by the Wise Men or anything like that! But along with tubs of Roses and Quality Street, and Terry's Chocolate Orange, they're one of the top chocolate items that people like to tuck into while they're gathered around the TV watching EastEnders or the Christmas movie that's on. Christmas just isn't Christmas without a Walnut Whip! Now the big question... How do you eat yours? Yep it was asked about that other great British confectionary classic, the Creme Egg. But we're asking you the same question with regards to Walnut Whips. So how do you eat yours? Most people start off by picking off the walnut half on top, and then biting off the peak and slurping out the creamy filling prior to moving on to the empty chocolate shell. Some will bite into the walnut, chocolate and fondant filling simultaneously, and then you will get the those who feel the need to perform a party piece and cram as much of the Walnut Whip as they can into their gob! If you ask us, the latter is seriously missing out by not licking the filling out of the chocolate! Wonder if there's any who chomp the top of and then scoff the filling with a spoon? Maybe we can start a trend! Merry Christmas, everyone x Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • Our Top Ten EastEnders Christmas Episodes (Part ii)

    The second part of our post as we look at what we consider to be the most memorable Christmas Day EastEnders episodes and storylines. 6. SHARON AND DENNIS REVEAL THEY'RE IN LOVE (2004) Ah, Shannis! One of the best Walford couples there ever was and still so deeply missed after all these years. After the Den and Angie divorce saga, the episode where Dennis and Sharon reveal their relationship to their stunned family is our favourite - and seriously underrated we think! Den Watts - hardly one who could take the moral high ground - couldn't bear his son being in a relationship with his adopted daughter and succeeded in breaking Sharon and Dennis up. Dennis then forged ahead in a relationship with Zoe Slater as Sharon hid her heartbreak. But by the autumn of 2004, Sharon and Dennis were having an affair behind Zoe's back, and made plans for a fresh start in America, leaving on Boxing Day. But Den - who knew that Dennis was cheating on Zoe with Sharon - bought his son and his girlfriend two tickets for a holiday in the Caribbean which forced Sharon and Dennis to come clean sooner than they had wanted to... And all hell broke loose! Cue much shouting, screaming, smashed plates and fisticuffs. But nobody was prepared for Zoe's announcement that she was pregnant with Dennis's baby. Knowing it was game over, a heartbroken Sharon left for her new life in America that evening. But with her sister Vicki instead of Dennis. However as Sharon departed for the airport what she didn't know was that there was no baby. Zoe, forced by Den, had lied about being pregnant in order to stop Dennis from running off with Sharon. It was a few weeks before Dennis found out about Zoe's lie, and then nothing could stop him rushing off to the States to be with Sharon. 7. SHARON'S MIRACLE BABY (2005) After the Shannis reveal, this is our next fave Christmas episode! It was only the secondary storyline but for us, it was the stand-out one! It was Sharon and Dennis Rickman's first Christmas as newlyweds, and instead of celebrating, Dennis was having to take Sharon to hospital as she was suffering from a severe bout of food poisoning - due, they thought, to the dodgy smoked salmon Dennis had served her. As it turned out, Sharon's health issues had less to do with the smoked salmon and more to do with the baby she was expecting! Sharon, who had previously been told she could never have kids, broke the news to a stunned but delighted Dennis, who had desperately wanted to be a dad but like Sharon, didn't think that children would feature in their future. It really was a Christmas miracle, and one that Shannis fans had hoped to see. Unfortunately for Sharon and Dennis - and Shannis fans as well for that matter - their happiness was short-lived as Dennis was tragically murdered on the orders of local gangster Johnny Allen a week later. A distraught Sharon left for America where she gave birth to a baby boy who she named after his late father... and late grandfather as well! Sadly young Dennis Rickman went the same way as the two previous Dennises after he was sadly killed in a boating accident just months before his fourteenth birthday. Come on, EastEnders - what have you got against Dennises? 8. GOODBYE PAULINE (2006) Pauline Fowler, played by the formidable Wendy Richard, had been on the Square for a whopping twenty one years and was one of the original EastEnders characters. But when Wendy made the decision, sadly due to ill health, to hang up Pauline's cardigan for good, we knew that Pauline's departure was going to be sad. But we didn't know just how heart-wrenching it was going to be... Pauline was one of those tough matriarchs that the East End is famous for. But during her final months on the Square, Pauline had become a very angry and bitter woman, with much of her anger directed at her son Martin's wife, Sonia Jackson, a woman Pauline never thought was good enough for Martin. Unfortunately a massive row between the two women which resulted in an almighty slap and a smashed fruit bowl was the last bit of drama Pauline experienced before she went for a wander in the Square, where she collapsed by the Christmas tree and breathed her last. She was discovered by a horrified Dot Branning as the residents were engaging in a snowball fight, and a heartbroken Martin realised his Mum was dead. Because Pauline became so awful towards the end, especially to poor Martin and Sonia, many viewers felt it was difficult to feel any sympathy for her as her friends and family began to desert her. But it really was a sad ending for a truly iconic character, and watching it again, it's all the more heartbreaking as the legendary Wendy Richard passed away a few years later. Both Pauline and Wendy are both so sorely missed. 9 . MAX AND STACEY'S AFFAIR EXPOSED (2007) After Den's presentation of the divorce papers, the Christmas episode from 2007 is the one many find to be the most explosive. It's typical of EastEnders to reveal illicit liaisons on Christmas day. If such revelations don't take place in The Vic, then it will be a gathering at someone's house while the party is in full swing. This time it took place at the home of Max and Tanya Branning. The marriage of Max's son Bradley and Stacey Slater united the Branning and Slater clans so it made sense for the two families to spend Christmas together at Max and Tanya's, especially as it was newlyweds Bradly and Stacey's first Christmas as a married couple. And not wanting to let the grass grow under their feet, they were even making plans to have a baby before next Christmas. And they weren't the only ones who were loved up. Max and Tanya's marriage had always been fraught with difficulties of one kind or another - mainly Max's dishonesty or infidelities but now the marriage of the older-and-should-be-wiser Brannings was on top form. There was a lot of festive joy and good tidings as the two families happily celebrated Christmas together. Max was dressed as Father Christmas, handing out presents... and that's where it all started to unravel. He should have hired an elf! The only person who probably wasn't feeling so jubilant was Max and Tanya's daughter, Lauren, who had uncovered her dad's affair with her new sister-in-law. Lauren, who had been taking video footage of Bradly and Stacey's wedding, had accidently captured a private moment between her dad and Stacey just before Stacey was due to head off on honeymoon. Lauren then burned the footage onto DVD and wrapped it up and placed it under the Christmas tree as a gift for Bradley. But when Max handed it over to Bradley, Lauren had unsuccessfully tried to retrieve the DVD but too late - before she knew it, Max had slipped it into the DVD player, and everyone was eagerly anticipating reliving the magic of Bradley and Stacey's wedding day. What they actually saw in stunned silence was Max and Stacey in a very intimate moment... and chaos ensued. Tanya was in shock; Bradley tried to knock his dad into the middle of next year; Uncle Jack was having to keep them apart, Big Mo was trying to distract Dot with the Queen's speech, and everyone was demanding answers. It was the big reveal the nation was waiting for and it didn't disappoint! And as if that wasn't enough drama while you were still waiting for your Christmas dinner to digest, poor Tanya Branning took a massive tumble down the stairs while fighting with Max as she tried to leave with their children. 10. SEAN SLATER FINDS OUT HE'S NOT AMY"S DAD (2008) It's hard to believe that Sean Slater was once part of the Mitchell clan. Well for all of five minutes anyway. Because when the truth came out that he wasn't the father of baby Amy, his and Roxy's marriage went down faster than the glitter ball in Times Square on New Year's Eve. Marriage and fatherhood had a positive, more calming effect on Sean who was known to be rather volatile. Think a younger version of Grant Mitchell (too bad the two never met. Now that would have been interesting!) Amy and Roxy were the two best things to happen to Sean in a long time, and the two were looking forward to their first Christmas as a family celebrating with the rest of the Mitchell's in The Vic. Unfortunately spiteful Suzy Branning, miffed because she'd been chucked by Phil Mitchell, was out to take her bitterness out on anyone she could. And in the firing line was a terrified Roxy Mitchell, as Suzy had discovered that Sean was not Amy's father and was blackmailing her. Wondered what Suzy would have made of the discovery that her brother Jack was the father, making baby Amy Suzy's niece! And in a scene that was reminiscent of the Mitchell Christmas Day row in 1996, Peggy had to sit at the head of the table and watch as yet another Christmas dinner was being disrupted. Suzy, showing nobody any mercy at all, not even little Ben Mitchell, proceeded to work her way around the table insulting anyone and everyone - something Sean found highly amusing. And who could blame him with such highly original though terribly underrated insults that flew out of Suzy's mouth such as 'poisonous button mushroom' and 'vinegar lips.' However Sean soon stopped laughing when he pulled open a cracker and a document flew out. Vindictive Suzy had hidden a copy of the paternity test results inside the cracker and it stated that he was not Amy's father. Total bedlam ensued with Roxy becoming hysterical; Sean beginning to spiral out of control, and Jack growing very worried as the realization that he was Amy's dad began to dawn on him... just as he had rekindled his relationship with Roxy's sister Ronnie. Which is your most memorable Christmas EastEnders episode? Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • Our Top Ten Christmas EastEnders Episodes (Part i)

    As every EastEnders fan knows, the Christmas Day episode is always the one to watch and is much a part of festive tradition as mince pies and crackers. Even if you've neglected to watch much of the soap throughout the year, everything stops for the Christmas Day episode. All the family gathers in the living room with their tubs of Roses or Quality Street and glass of Baileys as we excitedly wait to see illicit affairs get exposed; paternity results get revealed; secrets come to light... and sadly there has been the odd tragic death. While many complain that the Christmas episodes of EastEnders are as dreary and grim as is the soap's acquired reputation, there's still plenty more who tune in because let's face it, no one does drama quite like EastEnders does. And you're guaranteed drama by the truckload on EastEnders come Christmas Day. Though it hasn't been all doom and gloom - there has been the odd wedding or yuletide baby! Over the course of the soap's thirty eight year history, EastEnders has never failed to deliver emotional, surprising, dramatic, and sometimes heartwarming storylines. Everyone will have their favourites. We take a look at what we think are ten of the most memorable Christmas Day EastEnders episodes. 1. DEN SERVES ANGIE DIVORCE PAPERS (1986) Whoever would have thought that someone handing over an envelope wouldn't just be a ratings winner but go down in history as one of the most iconic soap moments EVER! It's impossible to write a post about memorable EastEnders' Christmas episodes without mentioning that episode where philandering Queen Vic landlord, Den Watts, served divorce papers to his wife Angie so that he could sail off into the sunset with his mistress Jan. Walford residents - and the viewers at home - could see that the Watts' marriage was a very one-sided one: Angie loved Den a lot more than he loved her. He treated her appallingly. It wasn't just his constant cheating with anyone that was a woman and breathing but also his emotional abuse and neglect of his wife. But unlike the viewers, the residents of Albert Square along with Angie, were yet to learn that Den had fathered a child with his daughter's best friend. And nobody at all knew, not even Den himself, that he'd also fathered a son with another woman, though it would be another seventeen years before Dennis Junior showed up in Walford. But the more Den neglected Angie, the more she tried to dig her claws in as she refused to let go of her man - even if he didn't want her. And her desire to hang on to Den went too far when she lied about having terminal cancer and claimed she only had six months to live. Den reluctantly agreed to stay with her although he declared that if he ever found out she was lying, he'd kill her. However when he did discover the truth, after Angie had drunkenly poured out her heart to a waiter on the Orient Express, Den did far worse than end her life - he took steps to end their marriage, serving the divorce papers to a stunned Angie on Christmas Day. This episodes proved that you didn't need over the top car chases and shoot-outs to have people on the edge of their seats - just a good storyline; great writing; strong characters and superb acting. 'Appy Christmas Ange! 2. GRANT MARRIES SHARON... AND MARK'S REVELATION (1991) We've cheated a little bit here because this episode took place on Boxing Day rather than Christmas (there was actually no EastEnders episode on Christmas Day in 1991) so this is the closest we can get to a Christmas episode for this year. But nonetheless it is still a classic episode. There was joy in the Walford air for once during the festive season as Sharon made it down the aisle to become Mrs. Grant Mitchell. Though the wedding of the year very nearly didn't happen as Grant sprung the Boxing Day wedding as a complete surprise to a furious Sharon who hadn't been expecting to tie the knot for another month. However after a nudge in the right direction (or the wrong direction depending on how you look at it!) from best friend Michelle Fowler, Sharon agreed to go ahead with the wedding that Grant had planned in secret and by the end of the episode the two were man and wife. The groom sported a waistcoat that future Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter would have been proud of, and Grant rather cringingly serenaded Sharon with You’ll Never Walk Alone where all the guests joined in. A rather ironic song choice considering Sharon would soon discover that marriage to Grant would be a rather lonely experience - so lonely that she would have to find comfort in the arms of her brother-in-law Phil! . But we couldn't have too much festive cheer in this episode - oh no! Sharon and Grant's wedding storyline contrasted greatly with an anxious Mark Fowler having to break the news to his devastated parents that he had been diagnosed as HIV positive. Pauline's support of her son despite her agony was highlighted against Arthur's disgust. These scenes demonstrated that even in the nineties there was still a lack of knowledge and understanding surrounding HIV and AIDS. 3. THE RETURN OF FRANK BUTCHER (1995) "Ooh, look who it is!" exclaimed an excited Pat Butcher to the children gathered around her front room as everyone eagerly awaited the arrival of Santa. But it wasn't Santa who walked in through the door with his Santa's sack and his cheers of 'Ho, ho ho.' Instead it was Pat's estranged husband, a grinning Frank, who walked in with a 'Hello babe' while clutching presents for his family. Frank had broken Pat's heart nearly two years earlier when he walked out on her and his children as he'd been suffering from severe depression. A desperately worried Pat did everything she could to find him but after accepting that she needed to let go for the sake of the kids and herself, she moved on with her life, even finding love with new partner, Roy Evans. While the residents of Walford were stunned by Frank's return, his children, Ricky and Janine were overjoyed. Pat on the other hand was horrified, especially as Roy had now moved into the home she once shared with Frank. Awkward indeed! And so began the merry-go-round that was the Pat and Frank show in which they both tried to let go and move on with new lives and new loves but they could never quite forget each other. They were each other's one true love no matter how much heartache their union caused. As Pat lay dying, she confessed to her stepdaughter Janine how much she regretted her four marriages. The only man she should have married and stayed married to, she said, was her beloved Frank. 4. GRANT CHEATS ON TIFFANY WITH LORRAINE WICKS (1998) Most of those on the Square were skeptical of Grant and Tiffany Mitchell's marriage. There was a big age gap; they had nothing in common; they were super argumentative, and anyone could see that Grant wasn't over his first wife, Sharon. Had Tiffany not been pregnant, chances are that she never would have become the second Mrs. Mitchell. But what Grant didn't know was that Tiffany wasn't totally sure if he was the father of her unborn child or if it was her ex-boyfriend Tony Hills. Only Lorraine Wicks, David Wicks's ex-wife and the Queen Vic's live-in barmaid, was privy to that information after Tiffany had rather foolishly confided in her. Lorraine, although sympathetic at first, was adamant that Tiffany ought to tell Grant the truth. Whether it's because she thought it was the right thing to do or because she had her eye on Grant herself, who knows! But it caused a falling out between the two women. Then on Christmas Day came the Mitchell family's festive lunch in which an argument between a very drunk Phil Mitchell and upset Lorraine, triggered by Phil laughing at Lorraine's son Joe who suffered with his mental health, spilled over with everyone around the table having a go at someone else. For those of us watching at home, it was hilarious! But things took a very different turn when Joe revealed that he had witnessed his mum and Grant having a sly snog. A fed-up Tiffany decided she'd had enough and left to spend Christmas with her brother Simon and their friends. It was bad timing because with Tiffany out of the way, the simmering tension between Grant and Lorraine bubbled over with the two giving into their passion later that evening, marking the start of their affair... 5. ALFIE AND KAT GET MARRIED (2003) One of those very rare Christmas EastEnders episodes where there's less doom and gloom and more festive cheer - and this time combined with the sound of wedding bells. But when the groom is Alfie Moon, you can't expect everything to run smoothly, can you? Due to issues concerning documents for his divorce from his first wife, Alfie wasn't able to finalize everything in time for his Christmas wedding to Kat, meaning that they couldn't get legally wed. But rather than confess all to Kat, in true typical Alfie style, he decided to go ahead with the wedding in order not to upset his bride-to-be, and pay one of his friends, Ray, to pose as the registrar. Alfie's logic being what it was, he believed he could have a legal ceremony with Kat once the decree absolute came through - but make Kat believe they were just having a wedding blessing. Oh, Alfie! However Alfie's grandmother, Nanna Moon, discovered what was happening and tried to persuade Alfie to call off the sham wedding as it wasn't right to start a marriage when it was based on lies. And it looked as though Alfie's conscience had got the better off him because when the 'registrar' - hilariously played by David Walliams - asked if anyone had any objections, a horrified Kat looked on as the groom raised his hand! Alfie eventually confessed all to a tearful Kat, which was very brave of him considering he could have had Kat and all the Slaters after him! But a Christmas miracle occurred when in the midst of all the mayhem with the guests and Kat's family awaiting an explanation, Alfie's solicitor arrived to announce that his decree absolute had come through. Once Alfie had managed to persuade the registrar, the real one this time, to abandon the carving of the Christmas turkey in order to hurry over for the wedding, it was back on and Kat finally became Mrs. Moon. An interesting thing to note was fugitive Phil Mitchell lying in wait for the Watts family when he spotted a radiant Kat skipping across the Square to see her fiancé Alfie on the morning of their wedding. Little did Phil - or any of us for that matter - know that twenty years later it would be Phil and Kat heading down the aisle. Although instead of the glamourous red and gold ensemble that Kat wore to marry Alfie, she just stitched a pair of curtains together in order to become Mrs. Mitchell! Like it all so far? Then check out the second part of this post! Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • Nostalgia Pie's Retro Reads Book Club Begins... And a Sad Farewell To a Hollywood Legend

    There's nothing like a reading challenge to force yourself out of a reading rut. No matter how much you enjoy reading, it sometimes seems as though there's never enough time to settle down with a book; savour the story, and get right to the end. One of the joys of my long commute to and from work when I lived in London, was that it was the only time I got to fit in a few chapters. But since working from home, where everyone believes that anyone who works from home has all the time in the world, I'd fallen into bad reading habits. That is I was very inconsistent in my reading! So when I heard about the Read Christie challenge at the end of 2022, I decided to participate in this reading challenge for the following year. It sounded like just the opportunity I was looking for. It was a good chance to read more; get back into some Christie classics - and prove that I could actually finish something that I'd started! I am nearing the end of this challenge and it really has been such a fun experience. Not only am I going to continue with this challenge for 2024 but it also got me thinking.... Could I actually set up some kind of reading group or book club that the Nostalgia Pie community could participate in? Well I've set up the book group - now I'm hoping you'll join in! Nostalgia Pie's Retro Reads Book Club begins next January. We may not be The Pointer Sisters but we're still so excited! WHAT'S THIS BOOK CLUB ALL ABOUT? I'm very passionate about books - old and new. I have always been a bit of a bookworm, so for me, reading takes me back to my childhood and teen years when I always had my head stuck in a book. Mind you back then, I had the time for it! As you'll know from an earlier post, I love my retro reads and I'm thankful that many of the books that were on our bookshelves when I was growing up are still here. And I've definitely made it my mission in life to rescue as many old-school titles as possible that are of interest to me and take me back to 'the good ol' days.' While the initial idea was to read and review these books for the site, I realized that there could be other fellow bookworms who might want to read these books for themselves too. This notion, combined with my enjoyment at participating in the Read Christie Challenge gave me my light-bulb moment and set the wheels in motion to start up an online book group. GETTING INTO THE COMMUNITY SPIRIT OF THINGS! One of the things that many of us love about Nostalgia Pie is that feeling of community; connecting with like-minded people, and that buzz of excitement as we share memories about all that was great about yesterday. There's that sense of belonging; community and friendship which sometimes, if we're really lucky, spills out into the real world - as it should! And it's through this site that I've met some truly awesome people, some of whom I'm very fortunate to call friends. We figured that this book club, albeit an online one, is another way in which we can bring people together through a common interest - a love of books. It's for those who understand that books are more than just literary works - they're a collection of memories. Just as music can evoke memories and take you back to another time and place in the past, books can do the same too. Certain books can take you back to your early years; school days; family events, and other important milestones in your life. WHAT KIND OF BOOKS WILL YOU COVER? There'll be a wide variety of genres so - hopefully - there'll be something for everyone. One thing you can be sure of is that they will all be well-known titles from back in the day! HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT CHOOSING WHICH BOOKS TO READ? We're choosing well-known retro titles (the more obscure ones will be reviewed by me as part of the Retro Reads Book Review) which should hopefully be fairly easy to get hold of so you shouldn't have to hunt around for them like J.R. Hartley! We're mainly interested in titles published between the 1960s-1990s. But we'll also look at older titles that we may have read at school. Any post-millenium books selected have been chosen because they are very memorable and have some special significance for me. WILL ANY NEW TITLES BE INCLUDED? Not, really no. The most recent will likely be from 2010s and will probably be a novel that's connected to my commute into Central London every day in order to get to work! Admittedly this isn't a group for those of you who'd like to read newer releases. I do too, but for this particular group, we're sticking to more 'oldies but goodies.' CAN MEMBERS MAKE SUGGESTIONS ABOUT WHICH BOOKS TO READ? Of course! But that said, if we approve your choice and it meets our criteria, there's a possibility that it will end up on next year's list. Once a reading list has been created and posted, it doesn't change unless there's a good reason for it. SO NO CHANGES CAN BE MADE ONCE A READING LIST HAS BEEN POSTED? We put a lot of thought into compliing our reading list with suitable book titles, so once it's been posted we will try very hard NOT to make any changes with regards to titles, dates and times in order to avoid confusion and disappointment. But as we all know, life doesn't always run as smoothly as we'd like it to. So in the event that changes have to be made, we aim to let you know as quickly as possible. HOW DOES THE BOOK GROUP WORK? It couldn't be more simple. It's quite similar to the Read Christie challenge but instead of twelve books, we're starting off with just six. So it's ideal for you busy bees! Each book is read and then discussed within a two month period. Towards the end of the two month period, we will 'meet' online to discuss the book. The 'meeting point' is the Retro Reads Book Group page (Under the 'GROUPS' heading) that's right here at Nostalgia Pie. There will be two time slots on the day that we all get together to discuss the book for a live Q&A sessions. You can, of course, leave comments after the Q&A sessions have ended if you were not able to attend. HOW DO WE JOIN AND GAIN ACCESS TO THE READING GROUP PAGE? The Retro Reads Group page is private so in order to join in the fun, you'll have to become a member (it's free!) Being a member means that you'll also be able to gain access to any available free resources. Anyone who has been approved as a member will be invited by Nostalgia Pie to join the book group. Alternatively members can request to join and wait to be accepted. WHAT ARE THE BOOK TITLES FOR 2024? We thought you'd never ask! We've selected what we think are a great bunch of titles to kick start this book group. Information regarding dates and times are included on the reading list which is available to members: Love Story - Erich Segal The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson Flowers For Mrs. Harris - Paul Gallico The Stepford Wives - Ira Levinson A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett AND FINALLY... Remember that we are hosting a book group and NOT necessarily a reading challenge - well not unless you want to challenge yourself! There are no prizes. You will not win a holiday for two or briefcase full of cash presented by a glamourous young lady. Instead you win by knowing that you've read at least one great novel in the year! So you can read all the titles that have been selected or just choose the books that appeal to you. The first novel, Love Story by Erich Segal will begin 1st January 2024 with the the first Q&A session on 28th February at 1pm and 6pm (EST) Come on everyone - let's get reading! Even though I've always been a fan of the film, Love Story, it will be my first time reading the novel which I selected because I've always been a huge fan of author Erich Segal's work. It's very ironic that the first book being read by the Retro Reads group is Love Story, as it was while I was in the middle of writing this post, that we learned that Hollywood acting legend Ryan O'Neal had sadly passed away at the age of 82. Love Story is one of my favourite films, and even if you haven't seen it, you'll definitely have heard of it and remember that bittersweet theme. Ryan O'Neal is remembered for his role in that iconic seventies film as Oliver Barrett IV, although to my mum, he'll always be Rodney Harrington from her one-time favourite soap opera, Peyton Place. Ryan reunited with his Love Story co-star, Ali MacGraw RIP Ryan O'Neal. Photos and GIFS: Angel Noire, Wix and YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • Thanksgiving Traditions Chez Angel Noire

    Thanksgiving is about to descend upon us – and I can’t wait! Thanksgiving 2023 is going to be my fifteenth Thanksgiving. That's a lot of turkey we've scoffed over the years! Ever since The Fella and I became a couple, I’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving with him. It’s a very special time for us and even when we moved back to London for a few years, where Thanksgiving is non-existent, we still made a big deal of what had become one of my favourite holidays. And what makes it even more special, is that over the years our family and friends over in Britain have come to realize how important this time is to us, and all the messages we receive from them on that day, well - it means a lot. One year we got to celebrate with our friends in Edinburgh – and they loved it. It has definitely gone down as one of our most memorable Thanksgiving celebrations. There was also the time I got to cook Thanksgiving dinner for eleven of us. It was interesting, and definitely an experience, but incredibly stressful! That was the most I've ever hosted and not one of my favourite Thanksgivings - though that was due to the difficult people we had the misfortune of hosting and nothing to do with the number of people present! Which is just as well because all across America, people are going "Eleven people? Is that all???" But it's our first Thanksgiving together that is the most memorable and one that set the tone for all subsequent celebrations. I had arrived in America to surprise my then-boyfriend-now-husband and hadn't realised that it was Thanksgiving week. All I really knew about Thanksgiving was what I'd watched in movies and read in those young adult fiction series that I was so fond of (thank you Sweet Valley High and Roommates!) So while I had the jist of it, my knowledge about Thanksgiving celebrations was pretty limited. The Man was delighted at my arrival and decided that our first Thanksgiving together was going to be a great one. But get this, despite being an American and growing up with this annual celebration, he didn't really know a great deal about Thanksgiving himself! He didn't really know what to do; how to celebrate it; what to prepare, or about the customs or traditions. But then it's not as though he ever hosted Thanksgiving in his life: just ate a huge dinner and played video games all day! After a bit of research (thank you, Google!) I understood that a traditional roast turkey dinner was served, and that most people settled down to watch football and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving but I didn't know about anything else that was involved. And neither of us knew how to roast a turkey as neither of us had ever had to do that. But thankfully a few frantic phone calls to our mums sorted that out! So after interrogating The Man about the dos and don’ts of Thanksgiving, he insisted that it really didn’t matter what the traditions were – we should work on creating our own ones. I thought it was a lovely idea. I also knew that it was his way of saying that he hadn’t the foggiest what Thanksgiving traditions were despite having celebrated Thanksgiving his whole life! So create our own traditions we did! Well of course at the time we didn't know that these were going to become our traditions, but over the years they've firmly taken root and now it's how we do Thanksgiving every year - otherwise it just doesn't feel like Thanksgiving. Though I’m very glad to say that our first ever Thanksgiving meal has not become one of our traditions or else we’d be eating roast turkey, raw carrots, stuffing and nothing else every year! So as I prepare to celebrate my fifteenth Thanksgiving with the man who introduced me to it all, I take a look at all things that are typically 'us' and that we have to include every year so that it feels ‘Thanksgivingy.’ 1. CHURCH IN THE MORNING While I know that Thanksgiving isn't necessarily a religious celebration, for me, it’s very important to start Thanksgiving by going to a church service exactly as I would do Christmas morning. This what I did on my first Thanksgiving as a married woman and I've continued to do so. While The Man isn’t big on church, he does accompany me. It’s my chance to give thanks for all the good things that have happened that year and gives me time to reflect. I like that in America, there are special services for Thanksgiving, but as this holiday has no real significance in Britain, there is no special Thanksgiving mass in any of the churches but I still attended mass regardless. 2. PANCAKE BREAKFAST Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving without a traditional breakfast of pancakes drenched in butter and maple syrup with bacon/sausage and eggs. You might wonder why we’d be tucking into a very filling breakfast when we’re going to be tucking into a gut-busting meal later on but when you come to number 5, you’ll understand why! 3. WINNER WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER! Yes you read that correctly - chicken! While we have always celebrated with the traditional roast dinner just like everyone else does, it's only in more recent years that we made the switch from turkey to chicken. For many people, when it comes to Thanksgiving, the most traditional thing about it is the roast dinner which – unless you’re a vegetarian – just has to be turkey as tradition dictates. I remember for our first Thanksgiving in Britain, my mum insisted on cooking a leg of lamb because she absolutely hates turkey. Well, I’m sorry – I wasn’t having any of it! I told mum she could have some lamb for herself if that’s what she wanted but we were damn well having turkey! Of course I put it very politely or what was on the menu was going to be the least of my worries! Since moving to New England, we often have wild turkeys wondering through our yard, and because we've catered to their needs, they seem to regard our yard as their home and we regard them as our pets. And once we saw the baby turkeys (or poults) well there was no way we could eat them after that. My mother-in-law said it's not the same kind of turkey. I replied we couldn't very well eat their cousins. So we don't! So now we always have chicken (OK, true, maybe another cousin but we're not ready to down the stuffed marrow route just yet!) with all the trimmings including potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes and even Yorkshire pudding because let's face it - you can take the girl out of Britain... Cranberry sauce and green bean casserole usually gets left off the list unless one of our guests requests it. And you can bet your life biscuits and pumpkin pie will be on the menu. Of course there’ll be a round of sandwiches the next day! 4. CHICKEN MUST BE TOPPED WITH BACON I thought everyone wrapped the top of the turkey with bacon in order to keep it very moist - after all, no one likes dry turkey, do they? It's certainly something I consider a necessity. But it would seem that when I prepared Thanksgiving dinner in the States one year, many of The Man's family had never seen a turkey covered in bacon rashers before. Some even thought it was my own invention (I wish!) They thought it was the most awesome thing they'd ever seen, and before the turkey even made it on to the table, the bacon had already been devoured! I continue to do the same thing these days but with chicken instead of turkey. 5. A VERY, VERY, LATE DINNER This is a cross between a tradition and coincidence as try as I might, I can NEVER get dinner on the table at a time when most normal people would expect to eat. But then we’re not known for being a ‘normal’ household! From what I understand, most Americans have their traditional Thanksgiving meal between the hours of 1-3pm. Not in this house though! I don’t know if it’s because of all the back-to-back movies we’re watching; the non-stop grazing that happens while we’re waiting for the main event, I don’t know why or how but dinner is never served before 6pm. In fact the year we were in Edinburgh with our friends, we were having such an awesome time that we didn’t serve dinner until 11pm! That’s right – 11pm!!! Although there was also the issue of a turkey that had not really defrosted... So by the time I eventually sat down to eat, it was after midnight and Thanksgiving was officially over. So the moral of the story is that if you want to eat on time, Angel Noire's is not the place to be! 6. FAMILY MOVIE MARATHON The Fella is a movie nut so if it’s just the family who are coming over, it’s not unusual to find us watching movies until the early hours of the following day. We only stop to call friends and relatives; The Fella takes a break to game (also his chance to chat to his bestie who lives in South Carolina) and of course to scoff dinner! 7. GAMES WITH FRIENDS If we are having friends over, we know that they will not want to sit around watching movies the whole time. So The Fella will watch his beloved movies until our guests arrive and then it’s raucous party game time. They might be a bit old hat (not that that's a problem for me of course!) but charades and bingo always go down well and have proved to be an excellent ice-breaker with people who don’t know each other very well. By the time they’ve put on their coat to go home, they should (hopefully) have made a whole new bunch of friends. 8. DEATH AT A FUNERAL This may seem like an odd choice but it started out as purely coincidental. I realised that for the first few years that we’d celebrated Thanksgiving together, we’d always watched Death At A Funeral. I’ve seen both the 2007 and 2010 versions which both star Peter Dinklage. Don’t ask me why but that’s always something that’s on the movie marathon list. So now I feel that it isn’t really Thanksgiving unless we watch this hilarious comedy film that never fails to have me in stitches even though I’ve seen it countless times now. 9. CANDLES There’s nothing like candle light, and every Thanksgiving I make sure there are candles dotted around the place – especially beautifully scented candles. One of the things our friends in Edinburgh remembered about our Thanksgiving celebration was how gorgeous the place looked bathed in candlelight and the welcoming aroma that greeted them as they entered the house. And we always have a candlelit dinner for Thanksgiving because there’s just something about that gentle, cosy glow and the warmth of the flickering candles as we’re all sat around the table. In fact, come to think of it, that might be another reason why we serve dinner so late in the evening as a candlelit dinner at 1pm just isn’t the same. 10. CHEESE BOARD The first year we brought out a cheese platter, it was such a hit that I knew I had to do it again the following year, and now it's a tradition that's remained ever since, and often replaces lunch. Everyone enjoys nibbling on a selection of cheeses with crackers, mini sausages, apple slices, grapes and chutney in between chatting; mingling with other guests; playing charades, watching movies and so on, and grazing until near enough dinner time because as you all already know now - Thanksgiving dinner is always served late in this house! 11. I AM THANKFUL POEM It was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and we were living in the Pacific North-West when during the church service the priest read a beautiful poem that has stayed with me ever since. It’s a reminder to be thankful for the little things and to count your blessings – even if it may not seem like a blessing at the time. The poem is called I Am Thankful by a talented but Nancie J. Carmody. I like to read it every Thanksgiving: I AM THANKFUL I am thankful for… The mess to clean up after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends. The taxes I pay because it means that I am employed. The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat. My shadow that watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine. A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home. The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking. All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech. My huge heating bill because it means I am warm. The lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear. The piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. The alarm clock that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive. Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been productive. Let’s be thankful – not only at Thanksgiving, but every day. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Photos: Wix Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • Angel's Top 5 Scary Movies

    Halloween is here again which means that it's scary movie season again. However for this girl who was brought up on a diet of classic horror, thanks to my dad and my mum's side of the family who got me watching blood-chillingly frightening movies at an age when I had no business to be watching them, every day was pretty much Halloween! Is it any wonder that for years I had to sleep with the light on??? The Poltergeist, Halloween, Carrie, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby... I'd seen them all. And as I got older, and we'd go to pick up movies from Blockbuster (damn, I miss Blockbuster!) you could bet your life it'd be something nightmare-inducing whether it was classic horror, suspense, a whodunnit or psychological thriller. And I have to say those are still among my favourite film genres today. I'll leave the sci-fi and fantasy to the fella! There's loads of horror films that I could watch over and over again without getting bored of them. Here's a list of my top five horror flicks. It wasn't easy picking just five and I know there's a couple here that a lot of people might not be familiar with. But I have great memories of watching them the first time round, and there were some parts that scared the hell out of me... which is exactly what a good horror movie is supposed to do! And just in case anyone is wondering why The Texas Chainsaw Massacre isn't on this list, well that's because despite being a great film, it didn't do what it was supposed to and frighten me. Instead it made me laugh. A lot. And hard! 1. PSYCHO Year: 1960 Director: Alfred Hitchcock Country: United States Starring: Anthony Perkins Janet Leigh The film considered to be the Master of Suspense's great masterpiece and the film that made everyone afraid to step into the shower, Psycho turned the big 6-0 this year, and I still remember the very first time I watched this Hitchcock spine chiller. I was probably about eleven, it was a school night, and my sister and I had stayed up with Dad to watch it. It freaked me the hell out - especially the final scene - but Psycho did go on to become one of my fave movies. How The Story Goes... After stealing a huge sum of money from her employer, secretary Marion Crane flees Phoenix in order to go on the run with her boyfriend in the hope that he'll marry her. But overcome with exhaustion and eager to escape the heavy rainstorm, Marion decides to check into the rundown looking Bates Motel for the night. There she meets the owner, the seemingly sweet but slightly odd, Norman Bates, who has an interest in taxidermy and has a rather difficult relationship with his domineering mother. But Marion doesn't realize just how difficult until she decides to take a shower... and when no one hears from her, Marion's very worried sister raises the alarm... 2. THE OMEN Year: 1976 Director: Richard Donner Country: UK & USA Starring: Gregory Peck Lee Remick Billie Whitelaw Harvey Spencer Stephens My dad had had the David Selznor novel as part of his collection of books for years. But I only read it after seeing the film adaptation for The Omen. It freaked me the hell out (Dad, there's a reason why films come with a rating!) but I was incredibly fascinated with the film, and Dad's book came in very handy for explaining the bits I didn't get. And watching The Omen might explain why I've always thought twice about telling off naughty children! How The Story Goes... When the wife of an American diplomat living in London gives birth to a baby boy who is stillborn, husband Robert quickly and secretly adopts another newborn baby in order to spare his wife Katherine any pain; passing off the child as the baby boy she gave birth to. A classic case of 'it seemed like a good idea at the time!' And if they were wondering why baby Damien had such a thick shock of hair, well, there was a good reason for that! But as little Damien grows older, a series of bizarre happenings and tragedies - not to mention Damien's intense fear and hatred of places of worship - causes Robert to become suspicious. When a priest approaches Robert with a terrifying prophecy regarding Damien, Robert is forced to investigate and is horrified to discover the awful truth about both his sons... 3. THE SHINING Year: 1980 Director: Stanley Kubrick Country: USA Starring: Jack Nicholson Shelley Duvall Danny Lloyd Scatman Crowthers "Come and play with us Danny. Come and play..." What is it with horror movies and kids? There's a reason why I never thought identical twin girls dressed the same were cute. And if you need further explanation, all you have to do is watch The Shining. As my dad has always been a Jack Nicholson fan, he naturally loved The Shining and introduced me to it. The first time I watched it, I have to admit I didn't really know what was going on exactly but that didn't stop the film from scaring the bejeezuz out of me! How The Story Goes... When writer and recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance takes on the position of a seasonal caretaker at an isolated hotel in the Colorado Rockies, he sees it as the perfect opportunity to overcome his writer's block. So along with wife Wendy and son Danny the family settle into life at the hotel. But it isn't long before young Danny is plagued by terrifying visions of the hotel's disturbing past. It is the hotel's chef, Dick Hallorann who realizes that like himself, Danny has psychic abilities and can communicate telepathically; an ability known as 'the shining.' Things take a turn for the worse however when Jack, having ghostly visions himself, and is frustrated that his writing is going nowhere, begins to spiral into a psychotic rage and targets his family in a terrifying ordeal... 4. CROWHAVEN FARM Year: 1970 Director: Walter Grauman Country: USA Starring: Hope Lang Paul Burke John Carredine Lisa Eilbacher Now this little known, made-for-TV movie won't be instantly recognizable to a lot of people but it's definitely one of my favourites. Although for years, I thought it was called Craven Hill Farm (no wonder people said they didn't know it. The movie Craven Hill Farm hasn't been made yet!) I must have seen it for the first time back in the eighties because I have memories of watching it in our first family home. As the years have gone by, I sometimes feel as though I have what I now call Crowhaven Syndrome: it's where you're the only person who can sense that something isn't right but no one else will listen or take notice of what you're saying a la Maggie Porter - the movie's heroine. And the moral of the story is always trust your intuition. That and your wife is always right (eh, Mr. D!) How The Story Goes... A married couple, Ben and Maggie Porter, inherit a New England farm, hoping that the fresh start and change of scene might help to patch up their troubled marriage. But tales of supernatural activity and a weird sense of foreboding surrounds Crowhaven Farm. And while Maggie immediately picks up on something not being quite right with the people or the place, Ben takes to life at Crowhaven Farm like a duck to water, ignoring his wife's misgivings, and befriending the locals. It isn't long before the Porters are confronted by supernatural forces and Maggie soon learns who the locals really are... 5. THE DEAD ZONE Year: 1983 Director: David Cronenberg Country: United States Starring: Christopher Walken Brooke Adams Tom Skerrit Martin Sheen Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, I remember watching this for the first time with my parents and my sister, and I'd thought about it a lot over the years. I might call it a horror of the non-ghosts and ghouls variety but The Dead Zone also falls under the psychological thriller, sci-fi thriller or political thriller genres. If you watch it, you're sure to find it chilling, sinister, and tragic. How The Story Goes... Teacher Johnny Smith is in a relationship with his colleague, Sarah, and everything is going well until one night, following a date with Sarah, Johnny has an accident while driving home. When he awakes from his coma, he is shocked to discover that not only have years gone by, but Sarah has married and moved on with her life. Making an effort to move on and make up for the lost years, Johnny is unnerved when he discovers that he can see into a person's future through the power of touch. As these premonitions are disturbing, Johnny is quite unsettled by this. But after meeting and shaking hands with political candidate Greg Stillson, Johnny realizes the danger presented by the candidate should he be successful, so Johnny takes it upon himself to kill Stillson... Which scary movies do you like best? Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Nostalgia Pie

  • A Trip Down Memory Lane... Literally! (Pt.ii)

    Before I begin the second part of this post, can anyone guess which soap legend, who hailed from my neck of the woods, once lived in this house? It might surprise you but it wasn't anyone who starred in EastEnders! The answer will soon be revealed! And my East London escapades didn't just end with a visit to my old street. You can't visit the East End without going to a chippy! Well some will say you can't go to the East End without visiting a pie and mash shop but that's never been my thing. In fact this recent visit to London, I was quite disheartened by the lack of fish and chip shops. What's happened to them all??? Thankfully The Seahorse in East Ham, a chippy I've been going to for years is still around and does amazing fish and chips. I love that it was served on the kind of crockery that you'd have found at my mum's house in the seventies, and those framed cigarette cards reminded me a lot of those collector's cards you used to get with a box of PG Tips! A very retro experience indeed. And best of all (aside from the fish and chips of course) - were all those Cockney voices I could hear around me. Unfortunately I couldn't finish the massive fish portion while I was there but the lady who worked there noticed I managed to put all the chips away! Proper chip-shop chips... there are just some things you can't get in America... A trip around East Ham and then later Ilford! My mum was an avid Crossroads viewer. In fact It's because of her that I also grew up watching Crossroads - the proper Crossroads I mean not that awful reboot! So I grew up watching the escapades of Benny with Miss Diane, Jill and her husband Adam, the Hunters and of course listening to that familiar theme tune that signaled the start of one of our fave soaps. You're humming that tune to yourself now, aren't you? But I have to admit, one of the faces that wasn't familiar to me was that Meg Richardson, one of the the soap's original characters, played by the legendary Noele Gordon. By the time I started watching Crossroads, Meg had already been written out and I didn't know anything about her until I was much older. But for those who knew, Meg Richardson - and of course the actress who played her - had soap icon status, and I only become aware of this years later. It's a bit like how it is for the new generation of Neighbours and EastEnders viewers who were born long after Scott and Charlene got hitched, or never got to see Den serve Angie with divorce papers. They may not have got to see these historic soap moments when it was broadcast the first time, or known how legendary these characters were. But over the years, they would definitely have heard all about them. So imagine my surprise when I learned that Noele Gordon actually lived in a house in East Ham, just a skip, hop and not even a jump from the house I grew up in (though she'd long since moved by the time I came along!) I shared the news of my discovery with my totally amazed family who still live in the area, and we figured we should all go and have a look. They all watched Crossroads during the days when Meg Richardson reigned supreme and were surprised that they'd never heard that she once lived in the area. Although to be fair, by the time they'd moved into the area, wreaking havoc, Noele Gordon had long left East Ham. So I set off with my aunt and uncle in search of Noele Gordon's former home - not realizing that they were going to have their own little stroll down memory lane as they bumped into a man they once knew who they hadn't seen in more than forty years. How they all recognized each other, I don't know! So after reminiscing and sharing stories, we once again set off in pursuit of Noele's house. We found it and I was disappointed to see that there was no blue plaque outside her home! For some reason I was led to believe that there was and I don't see why there wasn't- after all Noele was soap royalty! After marveling at this little piece of local history, we set off before the current owners came outside to demand why there was a strange-looking people gawping at their house. But how lovely it is to find a little piece of local history right on your (old) doorstep. Right now if anyone can tell me where I can find Jimmy Greaves old house in Manor Park, that'll be next on the list! A very nostalgic day indeed that made this nostalgia-loving lady - and lots of other people - very happy! Photos: Angel Noire, Wix and YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • A Trip Down Memory Lane... Literally! (Pt.i)

    Our house... In the middle of the street... Well towards the end really! Nostalgia... it's such a powerful force. And you'll find out just how powerful it is when you find yourself returning to the first house you ever called home. If you've lived to my grand old age (where we don't need to discuss actual numbers!) chances are you've called more than one place home in your lifetime. How many of you still think about your very first childhood home? Maybe at the time, you thought it would be your forever home. I know I did. Do you ever wonder what it looks like now? Who might be living in it? What changes might have occurred on the street you once lived on? Do any of the old neighbours you knew still live there? Over the years, the first house I ever lived in sometimes crossed my mind. Although I spent most of my formative years growing up in a north-west London town, I was actually born in East London and raised there until just before starting secondary school. And I still have the accent to prove my East London roots even though my mum has done her best to beat it out of me (well not literally beat it out of me but you get me!) I grew up in Manor Park - once Essex now London (since 1965) a place that was home for a period of time to Jimmy Greaves, Greer Garson, Clive Burr, and Steve Marriott. So I was in good company! A lot of my extended family lived just a stone's throw away in East Ham, and Forest Gate was where I got my first taste of school. This brief chapter of my life when I lived in Manor Park was a happy one, and I have lovely memories of my time there - many of which are linked to a close-knit family, great friends, school and good neighbours. I also remember get-togethers, dinner parties, and Saturday night suppers my parents used to throw and I reckon this is where I get my love of entertaining from. And those big family Christmases back in the eighties were nothing short of magical. Christmas has never been the same since. Not bad... Just different... Then came the time when my parents decided it made more sense to make the move to north-west London so they could be closer to their business rather than make the long and tiring commute to work every day. So we sadly waved goodbye to our family, friends, neighbours, our school and the only place we had known as home in order to start the next episode. Even though we didn't live there anymore, my parents still owned our old house, renting it out for almost two decades before deciding enough was enough and putting the house on the market. It wasn't a decision my dad made lightly. As the first property he had ever owned, he wasn't keen to get rid of it. I guess I'm not the only one bitten by the nostalgia bug! It had been a happy house with happy memories so we were sad to say goodbye to it. I don't know who bought it but I hope that the house has been equally good to them too and is filled with happy memories of their own. And it's because I have such good memories of my time there, that it was always my plan to someday give my husband a tour of my old neighbourhood, showing him my old house; the schools I used to go; the places we used to frequent, even the places where my mum used to shop for groceries! To be honest, I have no idea why it never occurred to me to go and take a look at the old place whenever I was nearby visiting family. I suppose it's because my mum's old family home was also another 'home' for me, and was filled with just as many happy memories for me as the home I actually grew up in so I didn't feel the overwhelming desire to go and seek out my old house. But on a recent trip home, as I made the usual plans to go see the East London contingent of my family, nostalgia took over and I decided that I just had to see my old childhood home. The Fella was tempted away by a canoeing trip with our nephews but I realized that while I couldn't give my husband the tour of my past life, there was absolutely nothing to stop me from having a wonder around the old home town - probably for the first time in more than twenty years. So as I made my way out of the station, I headed in the direction of Manor Park. Walking up the high street towards my old house, I saw the street as it is now... but in my mind's eye, I also how it was all those years ago. Where The Burnell Arms once stood - a pub that spent more time shut down and boarded up (in my lifetime anyway!) than heaving with punters - was now a place of worship (yes really!) The newsagents owned by the nice lady who lived near my school who would let me use her phone if ever anyone was late to pick me up (only ever had to use her phone once!) was unfortunately no longer there. The grocery store where my mum was a regular shopper was still there but with a different name and probably under new management. The Kentucky Fried Chicken (not KFC!) had crossed state lines and was now Tennessee Chicken - and my old nursery school used to be just around the corner from it. And the old Victor Value was now a 99p store. There was no sign though of the steakhouse that was easily the poshest establishment in my neck of the woods back then - and no, we never got to go! And then there was the bridge that stretched across the road to connect the two buildings that made up Plashet School which would probably have been my secondary school had we still lived there. I've spent way more years living away from East London than I spent living there; I was still a young child when we moved away so how I remember it all so vividly, I don't know how or why... especially as these days, I can't even remember what I've opened the fridge door for! As I reached the top of my old road, I saw that it was as familiar as it was different. There were many things that had changed but there were also just as many things that remained the same. The flats that were adjacent to my old street were still there. But the youth club - which had some of the rowdiest kids we ever did see - was gone and in its place stood a new apartment building. There was also a bus stop for the 300 route bus which I know wasn't there when my family lived on the street. And there is now a medical centre that takes up most of the area that was once for ball games, and may have been part of the youth club. As I made my way over to my old house, my thoughts turned to the people who used to live on my road: our elderly next-door neighbours; the quiet man who lived on the other side of our house; the owner of the first Invacar I ever saw (I always remember that car in its familiar shade pf blue always parked at the top of our street) the family with the flaming red hair that would make Cilla Black jealous; the family of builders who lived in the end-house on our side of the street; the end-house on the other side of the street that always looked a bit squashed-in to me for some reason - as though the property developers decided there was just enough space to squeeze in another house... so they did! Then there were the goths who lived in the totally black house - interior and exterior! As a child I was always frightened of that house and its inhabitants. I always felt there was something eery and sinister about them. But then this was years before I dabbled in being a goth myself! And there were tons of kids who lived on our street and the surrounding streets who went to the same schools as my sister and me. So we literally saw them everywhere! It's a good job that we all got on and used to play together. I think there were only two kids on my road who went to a different school. They weren't always the most pleasant of kids but then I suppose they couldn't handle not being down with the cool kids! And then there it was - the first home I'd ever known. As I stood outside my old house, a ton of memories came flooding back: Birthdays... Christmases... My First Communion.... My little sister's christening... Of course I didn't know what it looked like now on the inside but on the outside very little had changed. The new owners had put in new windows and a porch door but otherwise it was like looking at the exact same house all those years ago. All that was missing were my dad's beloved Ford Capris parked outside the house! I wondered if the garden had changed much. If the greengage tree was still there... or the gooseberry bush... the strawberry plants... and the rose bushes that formed a border in various colours and were my dad's pride and joy. Hopefully the grape vine was still there. Yep we may not have been in the South of France but we had a thriving grapevine. It produced the tiniest, sourest grapes, you'd ever tasted but my little sis and I weren't complaining! I then caught sight of a couple of houses that each belonged to a family we once knew. I've always thought about these families whenever my thoughts turned to my old neighbourhood. It was impossible not to think of them as many of the memories that I have of my time there are closely connected with them. One was a very friendly family with five (or was it six?) adult boys; one of whom was a very good friend to my dad, and my sister and I got to be flower girls at his wedding. The other family had children who were of a similar age to me and my siblings and we were always in and out of each other's houses. Both families were regular visitors to ours, and were always welcome guests whenever we were celebrating an important event. They weren't just neighbours - they were friends. One of the families had moved away years ago. In fact they had moved a couple of years before we did, and we all ended up losing contact. This was right before the nineties began and in those days, people didn't keep in contact the way we do today. We didn't have Facebook or WhatsApp - we didn't even have email! So if you wanted to keep in touch it would be letters, phone calls, plus the odd visit. But sometimes real-life gets in the way and people end up drifting away - which is sadly what happened with all of us. But I wondered if it was at all possible that the other family were still there??? What after all this time? Nah - they couldn't be! I don't know why though, but I suddenly found myself pushing open the gate to their home and ringing the bell. Not something I would normally do, and as I saw an unfamiliar young lady walking to the door with a young child, it was too late to run away. After all I'm a bit too old to be playing Knock Down Ginger! "I'm sorry to bother you," I began suddenly feeling quite foolish but I was looking for the people who used to live here..." The young lady told me that the family I was looking for still lived at that very house! "Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed, bubbling over with excitement, "I know they won't remember me but when I was a little girl, I lived in that house across the road..." It eventually dawned on the lady who I might be. "Oh! I remember your parents!" It turned out the 'unfamiliar young lady' was my playmate from way back when! It wasn't long before her mum joined us at the door... And honestly, it really was like time had stood still. She hadn't changed a bit and she was just as I had remembered her. We chattered away for a while exchanging news of our lives now; swapping stories, and reliving the good old days. I had to decline their lovely offer to come in and grab a cuppa as my aunt was expecting me, but I did leave with a promise to keep in touch and to pop by the next time I was in London... and this time bring Mum along too. I was very touched when both mum and daughter said that they had all thought about my family over the years and wondered how we were all doing. And it was lovely to meet my neighbours' grandchild... the new generation! 'We'll leave you to continue your stroll down memory lane," said my childhood friend. Haha - this is the first time we've met in adulthood and it looks as though she already knows me too well! It was a very surreal experience as I walked away. I felt as though my present day-self had taken a trip back into time. I felt a whole plethora of emotions: delight at seeing my childhood home; joy at being reunited with friendly faces; contentment as the happy memories came flooding back... but there was also a pang of regret. What would my life have been like if we'd never moved away? True, there were a lot of things I'd missed out on. But there were also experiences I'd have missed out on and people I would never have met if we hadn't had left. As we amble along on the journey that is life, it is always the good people that we meet; the ones who bring some magic into our lives; the ones we go on to form lasting friendships with, and the ones who go on to leave lasting memories long after they leave our lives that make every twist and turn worthwhile. And the nostalgia-fest didn't end there... When I got home I excitedly shared my news with the rest of the family. They were amazed that I went to go and have a look at the old place; stunned but delighted when I told them that I'd caught up with our old friends; sorry to hear that some of the neighbours had since passed or were in bad health, and viewed pics of the street and our old house that I took with great curiosity. My family are often bogged down with the stresses and demands of a very busy lifestyle. But hearing about my visit to our old street, their eyes lit up; they had ear-to-ear grins and they were brimming with the same level excitement that I had been earlier on that day... and I knew that they were on their only little nostalgic stroll... Modern day life can be very hectic. We're very busy; constantly striving for success, moving on to the next big thing. Many of us no longer live in the town we were born in, meaning that we don't get to see our families as often as we'd like to, and friendships can sometimes fade away. We unintentionally drift away from many of the people we once knew but still continue to hold dear. But as I walked down the street of the first place I'd ever called home, it represented everything that was important in life: family, close friends, happy memories and good neighbours. It was good to be back... Check out the second part of our post, A Trip Down Memory Lane... Literally! Photos: Angel Noire, YouTube and Wix Blog graphics: Angel Noire

  • 5 EastEnders Who Came Back From The Dead

    You'd be right for thinking that EastEnders is becoming like a less glamourous version of Bold and the Beautiful with the number of residents who are miraculously coming back from the dead. Over the years there have been Walford inhabitants who have faked their own deaths; been presumed dead, or been announced dead in a case of mistaken identity. But whether it's a couple of episodes or a couple of decades, they always turn up eventually! Now it's the legendary Cindy Beale's turn to cause everyone on the Square to wonder if they've just seen a ghost. Though frankly we don't know what has stunned us more: Cindy's resurrection or her having rekindled her relationship with Ian - the husband she once tried to have gunned down! In fact it was Ian's attempted murder that saw a pregnant Cindy Beale leave the Square after having been arrested. The last we'd heard of Cindy was back in 1998, when she'd died in prison while giving birth to her daughter who Ian named Cindy in honour of her late mum (though there were plenty who'd say that Cindy never had any honour!) And now that Cindy senior is heading back to Walford, perhaps it's only a matter of time before Cindy Junior returns to meet the mother and namesake she'd never known... While everyone is applauding Chris Clenshaw from bringing Cindy back from the dead, many fans will remember that rumours have been abounding for years that Cindy would be returning as she wasn't really dead; she'd just gone into witness protection. Clenshaw clearly wanted to put an end to the rumours - and make Cindy's return happen for real. We just never thought Ian would be in tow! As it's been around twenty five years since Cindy Beale was last causing havoc on Albert Square, there's a whole new generation of fans who won't understand what all the fuss is about concerning Cindy's return. Well, they're about to find out why this character is so iconic. We're just glad that Michelle Collins, the actress who made Cindy Beale the Walford legend that she is, will be reprising the role once again because let's face it - who else could play Cindy so well? I think it's safe to say that everyone's learned from the Michelle Fowler debacle! We take a look at other EastEnders' characters who were so good, they just had to be brought back from the dead... 1. Frank Butcher (Mike Reid, 2002) EastEnders' first tested the waters of resurrecting former Walford residents with loveable rogue Frank Butcher who could very easily have been Alfie Moon's long-lost father (but that would be a whole other story!) In 2002, Frank's devastated ex-wife Peggy received the news that Frank had died in a car crash in Spain, and decided to fly out there to attend his funeral. A strange decision considering their marriage ended due to Frank cheating on her with his former wife and true love of his life, Pat Evans. But whereas with future 'deceased' characters where viewers had to wait years to see them brought back from the dead, they only had to wait a couple of episodes to see that not only was Mr. Butcher perfectly alive and well but he was also attending his own funeral. Typical Frank! Not only that but he was caught red-handed by a once grieving but now furious Peggy who demanded an explanation. Frank, along with his glamourous new girlfriend, Krystle, had faked his death following a property scam. But in the end it's the scammer who ends up getting scammed, as Krystle, played by the legendary Rula Lenska, leaves Frank in the lurch and runs off with all the money. Tough as nails she might be, but Peggy also has a heart of gold and helps Frank out by giving him some money. However one thing she refuses to give him is the chance to rekindle their relationship. Good on you, girl! Sadly Mike Reid passed away in 2007 so Frank was written out the following year when the character died off-screen. In a tribute to Reid, Frank was given a very moving send-off where the actors clearly didn't have to get into character when it came to expressing their grief. And no doubt there were viewers at home who shed tears as well as they heard Frank's voice for the last time as the epsiode drew to a close. 2. Den Watts (Leslie Grantham, 2003) The first of the mother of all returns from the grave - the resurrection of 'Dirty' Den Watts! Some of us did wonder if it would ever be possible to see Den back on the Square again. Even though a body had been found, we didn't actually see Den die so it was possible. But we still couldn't believe it when it was announced that actor Leslie Grantham would be returning almost fifteen years after leaving the soap to reprise the role of one of EastEnders' most legendary characters. An original character, a true Walford legend, and the best landlord The Queen Vic ever had, Den Watts is most definitely an iconic EastEnder. Even viewers who were born long after the 'Den n' Ange' years are familiar with the name Den Watts. And so legendary was Mr. Watts that he got a great exit not once but twice! The first time was back in 1989 when the actor who played Den to perfection, the late Leslie Grantham, wanted to leave the show. And leave he did - via a pistol hidden among a bunch of daffodils! As the screen went black and a shot rang out followed by the sound of a splash, viewers were led to believe that all of Den's dodgy dealings had finally caught up with him and he had been assassinated by a member of the underworld, taking a tumble into the canal in the process. And when a decomposed body was dredged up from the canal, it was safe to assume that Den really was dead. Only... he wasn't! Years later EastEnders' fans rejoiced when they found out that Dirty Den was alive and well and living in Spain, and it wasn't long before he was back where he belonged in Walford. But unfortunately it wasn't to last long... Exit two occurred when Den's second wife Chrissie, who he married while living in Spain, decided that she wasn't going to end up the same way as the first Mrs. Watts: devastated, dejected and drinking herself to death. So when Den pushed Chrissie too far, she enlisted the help of Zoe Slater and Sam Mitchell - two other women who Den had wronged - in order to exact revenge against Den. For Chrissie, revenge also meant destroying Den's relationship with his daughter, Sharon. That was all too much for Den and in a fit of rage, he flew at Chrissie in front of a terrified Sam and Zoe. But a bang on the head with a doggy doorstop put an end to Den's attack on Chrissie - and his life! Fans were shocked that Den Watts was being written out of EastEnders a second time - especially as it hadn't been long since he returned. But what shocked viewers most was that Den's exit meant that he could never return. Surely he could have just gone on the run again, right? Sadly Grantham passed away back in 2017 which means that even if Den had sailed off into the sunset, he still couldn't return, as no one could play that role as well as he did. EastEnders' executive producer, Louise Berridge claimed that Den Watts was arguably the most iconic EastEnders' character. Lou, there's no argument about it! 3. Denise Fox (Diane Parish, 2011) There really are some long-lost friends and relatives who should have stayed permanently long-lost - and Denise Fox's ex boyfriend and father of her daughter, Chelsea, Lucas Johnson is one of them! Initially Denise was furious when she discovered that Chelsea was back in contact with the father who had abandoned them, believing Lucas to be a wrong 'un. But Lucas had managed to turn his life around over the years. Gone was the irresponsible, untrustworthy drug addict, and in his place stood a man who had discovered God and become a preacher. He eventually won Denise over and the two reunited as a couple and went on to get married. But Denise was right to be guarded where Lucas was concerned because unbeknownst to her, her new husband had become a serial killer soon after arriving in Walford, having claimed the lives of his estranged wife, Tina; Denise's ex-husband Owen, and even the family dog, Sugar, when Lucas feared that Sugar might dig up Trina's body. But it was after Owen's body was discovered that Lucas confessed all to his horrified wife, who convinced him to turn himself in. Lucas agreed but instead he drove Denise to a canal where he choked her. And when a body is discovered, Lucas identifies the deceased as his wife, leaving her grieving family and friends to believe that Denise took her own life... and leaving viewers wondering if it really was her... And they were right to have doubts because Denise wasn't dead at all. Instead she was actually held captive by her deranged husband, and after a few weeks she managed to escape, leaving the residents of Albert Square shocked by her dramatic return - and of course relieved. The body identified as Denise was actually a prostitute called Gemma who was another one of Lucas's victims. Lucas was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment but lo and behold, he rocked up on the Square in 2020. Life doesn't really mean life in soapland! 4. Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth, 2015) What is it with the women in Ian Beale's life that makes them want to fake their own deaths??? Now this was a comeback nobody saw coming! With Leslie Grantham's return to the show, his comeback was highly publicized so viewers knew he was returning and were eagerly awaiting the moment he stepped back onto Albert Square. But Gillian Taylforth's return to the show remained top secret, only revealed during the live episode celebrating EastEnders' thirtieth anniversary. In fact former EastEnders' actress Anna Acton who played DC Emma Summerhayes, the detective investigating Lucy Beale's murder, stepped in for Taylforth during rehearsals so that the press wouldn't get wind of who it actually was that was returning. Probably EastEnders' best kept secret... Too bad they couldn't do that with Michelle Collins' return! OK back to Kathy! After her marriage to Phil broke down, she left Walford with little Ben for a new life in life in South Africa, where her older brother Ted was living. While out there she met up with an old friend, Gavin Sullivan, and went on to marry him. The character made two visits to the Square - one of them for son Ian's millennium wedding to Melanie Healy - and never returned after that. In 2006, the news came that Kathy and Gavin had been killed in a car crash which paved the way for Ben to be reunited with his big brother Ian, Phil and the rest of the Mitchell clan. But Kathy and Gavin hadn't died. Instead controlling Gavin - who was later revealed to be Sharon Watts' biological father - had persuaded Kathy to go on the run with him following an insurance scam. After returning to Walford, Gavin continued to wreak havoc for Kathy and the other residents of Albert Square until he was arrested. Eight years later it's as if Kathy's fake death had never occurred with her running the café and Walford's first-ever gay bar, as well as dealing with the shenanigans of her children and grandchildren which at times would probably make her wish she'd never been resurrected! Just wait until she catches sight of Cindy! But these days Kathy is happily living her life with her new partner Tom Cotton (that's right - a Cotton!) and her grandson Bobby. She's also struck up a friendship with new Queen Vic landlady, Elaine, which is great because Kathy has needed a mate for a long time! 5. Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid, 2016) This was more a case of mistaken identity rather than Ben deliberately trying to fake his own death - unlike his mum Kathy! The decision to come out to family and friends may fill a lot of people with apprehension. But when you're Phil Mitchell's son, it can be damn near impossible. Remember when Ben's cousin Tony Hills fell in love with his then girlfriend's brother Simon? Phil didn't show the poor lad much understanding or compassion then, even drunkenly outing him to his dad, Ted. Would things be any different with his own son? Despite a rocky start, Phil eventually accepted that his son was gay, and he and his newly resurrected ex-wife Kathy were very supportive of Ben, and were pleased when he found love with the grandson of the local funeral directors, Paul Coker. Their relationship didn't have the easiest of starts but once they overcame several hurdles, things started to look up. Their relationship was accepted and they were even going to manage Paul's grandparents' business. Believing a celebration was in order, Paul and Ben arranged a night out. But the celebratory mood soon turned to tragedy when Ben's devastated family got the news that Ben had been killed in a homophobic attack. Phil and Ben's equally distraught brother Ian went to identify Ben's body but unbeknownst to them, there was another shocking waiting for them. As they identified the body, they realized that it wasn't Ben who had been killed. Heartbreakingly, it was Paul. He had been wrongly identified as the police saw he had the name 'Ben' tatooed on his ring finger. Though why they hadn't wondered why he had his own name tattooed on him is anybody's guess! Lin Blakley who played Paul's grandmother, Pam Coker, hinted that there was going to be a twist that none of the viewers would see coming. She was right. We're now waiting for the day when Mick Carter strolls back into The Vic in another fetching waistcoat! Photos: YouTube Blog graphics: Angel Noire

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