Perfect Penzance

If you're looking for a quiet get away, Cornwall is your calling!


It was my first holiday ever away with my boyfriend and his family - I know, scary! The verdict: amazing!

For those who are questioning whether or not to go on holiday with your current partner and have any worries, then my advice to you would be - what are you waiting for! GO FOR IT!! Honestly, if you feel it will be awkward as you don't know his/her's parents very well, then that's even more reason to go. Get closer, get to know each other more! By the end of the week I knew Jamie's family a lot better than the first day we arrived and it has only enhanced my relationship with them since.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand; so this was the first time I've ever been to Cornwall on a holiday (my parents are all for 'going all out' when going on holiday, which resulted to some beautiful holidays abroad when I was younger) and it was everything people told me it would be: relaxing, charming, a slower pace of life...and I fell head over heels for it.

 

The car rolled up to the intimate drive behind the vintage cottage and we stepped out with bundles of luggage gathered in our arms, the salty warm breeze hitting us like a strong scent of Chanel perfume. It really was paradise - the cottage was a 10 minute walk from the cliffs which overlooked the turquoise sea smashing into the worn rocks below.

The cottage was located in the most minuscule village I have ever seen, next door to a local inn and opposite luxury, white washed detached houses. The cottage itself was cosy, the living room complete with a burgundy snug armchair and two comfortable sofas lined against the stone walls; Paintings possessed by boats and beaches ran along them and a large mirror hung just above the log fire mantelpiece. The kitchen had a wooden polished family table, with a platter of fresh scones, tubs of whipped cream and a home-made jar of strawberry jam carefully set down in the centre. A small breakfast bar with small compartments beneath them, cloaked with checked blue and white cloths, where cream platters and plates were hidden. Opposite the front door was the narrow staircase, leading up to the bedrooms and the bathroom. There were two double bedrooms and one with bunk beds, each room decked with wooden floorboards. The bathroom had a cerulean blue theme, with a walk-in shower and a small window facing the fields from behind the cottage. The entire home felt as if we were in a beach house - and as I fell more and more in love with the cottage as I inhaled and smelled the salty sea air.

One of my favorite days on holiday, was the first day we all went to the beach as the weather was promising. We had to be specific with beaches as my boyfriend's family had bought their Border Terrier Ella along, so we had to find a dog-friendly beach. Luckily we found one - £2 entry (bargain!!) and dog-friendly. It was perfect! Located right next to St Ives' local beach and small town, this beach (which I THINK is Porthmeor Cove although I may be wrong so don't hold me to my word) was littered with the clearest rock pools where me and my boyfriend would chill in as they were much warmer than the sea.

On this day, me, my boyfriend & his dad went in the sea as soon as we arrived - which, can I say, was the first time I've ever properly been in the sea, I mean I've paddled but Jamie and his dad went out really far. The waves got bigger and bigger and crashed into everyone. I was beginning to get a little nervous and we went out so far that I couldn't feel the sand beneath me - which panicked me. I told Jamie my concern with which he responded: 'okay, we'll head back,' and just as we began making our way back to the shore, the sea grew larger and larger into the biggest wave yet. I called out to Jamie before I was swallowed up and dragged beneath the water.

Now, you're probably thinking what the hell Charlie? Why go in the sea if you can't swim? Well as a matter of fact, I can, I'm just not an amazing swimmer; I'm used to swimming pools, not the sea! So anyway, I was dragged under and i pushed and swam my way up to the top of the surface - which appeared much more difficult than first planned - finally I reached the surface and went to yelp out but before I could even catch my breath I was pulled under again and, once again, I swam the hardest I've ever swam before to the surface and shrieked out for Jamie; I was petrified! Luckily, Jamie's an awful lot taller than me and a much better swimmer, and as I was dragged under again he came to my rescue and picked me up. The vicious waves perused once again, but this time Jamie fully went under and my head was just above the water, in courtesy of Jamie lifting me up.

We finally made it to the shallow shore, at which point I was shaking uncontrollably and nearly in tears about my near-death experience. Jamie kept banging on about my boob hanging out of my bra and when I looked up I saw Jamie's dad looking over to make sure I was OK. I awkwardly adjusted my strap quickly in haste, praying to GOD that his dad didn't see my naked bosom. However, in the words of my great friend Mr. Thacker: Sod the boob! Even if Jamie's dad did catch a glance, he never brought it up, but came over to make sure I was all right which was sweet. But ever since that experience I have been far too terrified to go further into the sea than my waist.

Penzance was the definition of gorgeous and it had so much to offer - from sandy tropical-like beaches to cute high streets with non-mainstream shops. It really brought me and my boyfriend closer together as a couple - we even cooked dinner together one night to say thank you to his parents for letting me come along (although it was VERY stressful having him in the kitchen!) It was a holiday I would definitely never forget and I would 100% be willing to go back there again - which I'm planning to do this summer: camp for 4 days in Cornwall somewhere near one of it's breath-taking beaches - as long as the waves aren't towering over me!

My Top 10 Childhood Video Games

Okay so I decided to do this list to introduce myself as the gamer I am - and to inform (and also warn) you all that a lot of my posts will be about some sort of gaming series.

Ever since I got my PlayStation one faithful Christmas (or was it my birthday?) I have always LOVED playing video games. This then prompt me to beg my parents to non-existence for a PS2 and a gameboy, and when that gameboy got outdated, I ranted and raved for the new NintendoDS. Now I was a retro kid - I had the gba despite the gameboy sp being out AND I had the very first ever DS - can I just add that I still own my very first DS, or would that be boasting!

Anyway, enough waffle, lets get on with it!
(Disclaimer: I do not own any of the franchises displayed. Plus,this list only includes console/hand-held console games & my ranks are based upon my most nostalgic choices!)



10.  The Sims - PlayStation2!
My list starts off with one of the best PS2 games of all time (or at least, in my opinion) - The original Sims. What makes this game one of the best games I have ever played? merely the fact that you can control people's lives and make them do almost anything! I used to love playing God in this game, making certain Sims hate or love each other, taking away their free will. Did I mention I enjoy watching game character's lives destruct?
One of my best memories that holds this game very close to my heart, is when my friend Holley came round and told me you could make babies on there. 'You've got to be kidding me!' I gasped.
'I'll show you!' She insisted. Whether we were too young to comprehend that 20 minutes was not an hour long or it genuinely took us light years to figure out how to make a couple have babies, is still unknown to me to this day; but what I do know is that after what seemed ages, we finally figured out how you can have babies **SPOILER ALERT** which is through making two Sims fall in love and keep clicking on make-out until one of them asks if the other wanted to try for a baby. Myself and Holley were thrilled we literally screamed when it came up we were so happy.
But yeah, definitely a game to try out if you haven't already; a fun and easy mechanism to make your life feel a little less pathetic or boring.


9. Nintendogs - NintendoDS
What do you do when you really want a puppy but your mum won't allow you to have one due to her excuses being: 'It'll make the house a mess' or 'I'd be the only one walking it' or 'It's a lot of responsibility'. So, before my mum agreed to getting another dog which landed us with Ozzie, I put Nintendogs on my Christmas list to Santa.
I remember having endless fun on this game. Training your dog to compete in trials (my favorite by far was agility - probably because it was the easiest), taking them for the longest walk they can do and still trying to work out how the hell you get rid of fleas with a comb that never seemed to WORK (it might just be me being stupid and it's probably so simple - if you know how please end my years of torture of not knowing this information!) and everything in between.Overall though, the best thing I really did like about this game was the multi-player - meeting up with your friend's pooches!
So yeah, if you have always wanted a pup like I have but your parents won't allow it, or even if you have no time to get an actual real animal of some sort for yourself, then Nintendog's is definitely the game to grab next! (suitable for all ages!)



8. Mariokart - NintendoDS
By far the GREATEST racing game of all time - not only with the power ups and items you obtained through colourful bobbing question mark boxes, but by far the funniest. Playing this on multi-player against my brother as a kid was awesome - I enjoyed every last second of always beating him!
Although the controls were a bit off and awkward from time to time, I still had an awful lot of fun playing this game. I enjoyed working out all the shortcuts so I could beat my brother - harder and faster! But, he would never admit to that...



7. Pokemon Ruby - Gameboy Advance
This was the second Pokemon game I ever played and I adored every minute of it. I loved the story behind Groundon and Kyogre and their battle from thousands of years ago - the capturing of Groundon himself was epic (I assume he's a male...wouldn't it be weird if he was a she?) by Pokemon standards and creating your own secret hideouts and decorating them with toys and furniture
I honestly am so excited about the remark release and I wish it wasn't as expensive as it is because I would so buy it. If you're a Pokemon fan and you've never played this game, it's pratically a classic and you are definately missing out by a long shot!


6. Super Mario Bros - NintendoDS
Everything about this game screams renaissance - or am I being too much of a nerdy history student (those of you who got the pun, I am so sorry it was so crap!) of the first few Mario games NES and SNES. Super Mario Bros has everything - the rather challenging levels for an 8 year old kid, the rebirth of some old Mario world tunes and just a really great game in general. I think what I most love about this game, is the multi-player. This was once again one of the many games me and my brother competed at and it just made the entire game so much more fun. My favorite memory from this game was when myself and my brother were playing it in the pipe world (or whatever it's actually called) and I obtained the mega mushroom and became, as the game title kindly states, SUPER Mario!! So I was stomping around, as you do, trying to tackle my brother down and then steal his precious stars, until I shrank into normal Mario. Rather than just landing on the ground, Mario began to float away into the pipework and myself and my brother couldn't help but roar with laughter at that glitch. Honestly, I wished I recorded it, because explaining it does not give it enough credit for how hilarious I found it at the time.


5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - PlayStation

For those of you up to date specimen who played the PS2 version of this game - I envy you, as I played that a few years back and I felt that if I was a kid I would have really enjoyed it. To be honest, I've written here a specific title, the 'Chamber of Secrets' but honestly, the first 3 Harry Potter games were top notch! I think what really put this game on the list isn't that it's an amazing, classic game like the rest - because honestly, this game has a lot of flaws. But me being biased me has decided to put it this high on the list because it would just be a crime not to mention this title, let alone put it high on the list; the hours and hours of effort and swear my dad and I put into this game together - it was a really special bonding few hours we had together and what actually made us super close when I was younger. I just remember how hard I found the entire game, trying to steer the broom when flying in a Quidditch match as well as waiting after every storybook scene to see the little quill and parchment come up so you knew your game was definitely auto-saved. There were even some parts I hated playing in this game, for example the de-knoming took me absolute years to figure out (note: I was 6/7 when I first played this game).
However, I really enjoyed visiting Diagon Alley and doing in all the different shops to win Potion ingredients. I remember when I finally completed this game (which was probably the first game I had ever completed at this point) and the thrill I had, the pride that thudded through my chest and then telling dad that I had completed it and how proud he was of
me. This game holds a lot of emotional memories, if you hadn't already noticed.



4. Animal Crossing - NintendoDS
There was so much about Animal Crossing that I really loved; for one, the characters were out of this world. My absolute favorite had to be Peewee, the bad-tempered Gorilla who owned a golden Japanese cat (sorry - I don't know the name of it!). One of my favorite events on Animal Crossing was the flea market - where I would cheat and go to lost property and the recycling bin in the Town Hall and take any tacky furniture/clothing I would find and try and sell it at a reasonable price to the animals. I made some pretty good deals - selling shirts for 2,000 bells - I don't know why they refused to buy it...
I also really liked the fact that the Animal Crossing neighbours would always remember your birthday - your best friend giving you a gift which was always a cake. It was something very small but actually quite sweet at the same time - again, like the Sims, Animal Crossing is one of those games you should definitely play if you're feeling lonely! I also became a pro at fishing (if I do say so myself) and would constantly use it as a meals of making money - rather than selling fruit for a living. I feel that was the game's biggest downfall - the fact that you were unable to run your own buisness - I mean, how cool would that be?


3. Sims 2 - PlayStation2
How could I miss this game out of my list? I mean come on! It was amazing! The amount of different types of furniture you could buy/unlock, you could also Woohoo in bed with a Sim and on the PS2 that was never possible before (or from what I know of!). The graphic design improved an awful lot too so the females didn't constantly glare and the men didn't have that 'I just sucked a lemon' look anymore. Even the music had really improved and I loved creating the Sim, because the music made me feel like I was giving this Sim a promising start to the game and it was going to be oh so exciting and fun (yeah...I didn't really get up to much as a kid...) One feature I also really adored in this was the fact that if your Sims die, you could still play them but as ghosts! Creepy, right? Well, not really. But it made the game 10x more fun to haunt the crap out of the Sim's housemates, then bargain your life with the Grim Reaper through a battle of violins.
Despite all the positives this game had to offer, I was still very disappointing that in this game you couldn't actually have offspring, not even when I tried the making-out over and over again trick. I also think another downfall to this game was that you could only have 4 people living in a house together - what if I wanted 6? Then what EA games? Hm??

2. Pokemon Leaf Green - Gameboy Advance
This game really is a trip down memory lane - my first ever Pokemon game. Ever. And I loved every minute of it!
I remember my childhood best friend Zoe purchasing this game and watching her play it. I was baffled at how to fight other Pokemon and get as good as Zoe did. After having my first try at it on Zoe's gameboy sp, I fell hopelessly in love with it and decided to purchase the game myself (or at least beg mum to buy it for me...thanks mum!)
I'll be honest: I think that overall, Ruby is better than Leaf Green in lots of ways, despite being older than it by a year (although it must be taken in consideration that Leaf Green is a remake of Pokemon Blue and Red) it had a lot more to offer: for instance, the PokeNav, The secret hideouts, the move 'Dive'and so on. But Leaf Green holds the key to my heart, as I remember just how much fun I had playing this game as a kid, and being my first Pokemon game, it really came to life to me. I loved battling Misty and Brock as they were two of the main characters in the first season of the Pokemon Anime series, I just loved the entire story of the game, and although not being as in depth as Ruby's was, I still had a lot of fun and a lot of good memories of this game.
Oh, and just for the record, my starter Pokemon was either Baulbasaur or Charmander. I never picked Squirtle as I always struggled with him when I got to Misty. Stupid, right?


1. Super Mario 64 - NintendoDS

This game is the bee's knees no doubt about it! I love the cut scenes, the simple story line, and I just really really enjoyed playing this in my youth. I remember my friend Joe had this game and I watched him play it and it just looked so fun and interesting, I had to buy it! For a DS back in the day (oh god, how old do I sound?) the graphics were out of this world and the game play incredible. I loved all the levels and sometimes I didn't even get stars but wandered around  trying to get to places I couldn't reach before I unlocked the mystery question box or whatever. I loved the cheeky little rabbits and the fact that you could unlock all four of the characters: Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Wario. It just really brought the game to life to me.


So that's my list of my Top 10 Childhood Video games. I appreciate that different people would have different views on what their top childhood games are and please remember that these are my personal choices for personal reasons.

Being an A-Level student

 

 



Unlike, most students who start at St Brendan's Sixth Form just finished school and were 16 years of age - not me. I had already done a year of Health & Social Care at a previous college, got my Distinction* and was having a fresh start at the sixth form local to me. I wasn't starting completely friendless (although I wouldn't discourage not starting at a college/sixth form just because you'll be the only one going there!) I knew some of my old friends were going, for example my childhood friend Steph, but the concept of starting somewhere completely new was terrifying (let alone if you don't know anyone!)

Aside from the subjects, I personally think the next most important thing when starting a new college for the first time (or if you're adventurous like me - start at a new one!) is your college social life. This could be proven difficult to maintain or even gain, as a lot of people tend to stay in their friendship groups - although from my experience I can assure you that all changes later on, specially in the second year! My best advice would be - try everything at least once. Activites, going on trips - they're really good ways to bond with fellow students and classmates. From my personal experience, I met a lot of my friends from a history trip to the Tower of London, it's actually where I met Jamie, so I guess it was worth it...
But yeah I think it's really important to socialise while studying...you know...just incase you forget what homework was set....

Secondly (of course!) are the studies; now, obviously being an A-level - I'm going to come straight out with it, so **SPOILER ALERT** - it is TOUGH and sometimes HELL - however, all of this can be avoided if you make sure you pick the subjects you actually think you would enjoy and will find interesting; for example, I took my A-level subjects on the basis that I would find them interesting and enjoyable - and although at the end of the day yes they are educational subjects and can be quite dull, I enjoy them. One of my subjects that I take is Psychology, which can be sooo interesting yet sooo dull (two words: research methods.), but I think what drew me into taking Psychology was the concept that it was never an option to study while I was at school. Therefore, I also think trying something new is really important and learning if you enjoy it or not. Don't just take a subject just because it was easy - but by all means go for something that you're really good at (for instance, my strong point is English, so I took Literature & Language combined).

Previously I mentioned that taking part in events at college is a big must - how it can increase and broaden social network, but it can also enhance your chance of progressing to higher education like Uni. Becoming a Tutor Rep or part of the Student Union will tell the Universities you are applying for that you're responsible and that you can work well in a team; that you can organise charity events for example or support others on your fellow team. just throwing that into your Uni application screams commitment.

Lastly, just remember that college is the best few years of your life (or at least, it was mine); its where you meet many of your life long friends, where you learn independence to meet your coursework's deadline or actually bother showing up to college. For those of you debating whether or not to give college ago (I guess you've worked out the theme in this post) go for it!! Seriously, the education and qualifications are free, its somewhere you can chill and socialise with your friends and you can all worry together about revising! Yay!