Search Results

I finally started scare acting! This Halloween (2022), I finally started scare acting after so long of wanting to give it ago. My role - a 1700s Nobel vampire. I'm usually on the other side, enjoying being scared by actors, but after finding and learning that Fort Amherst does Halloween scare events, I just had to apply! And that's exactly what I did. I emailed soon after I was told about it. I got a reply inviting me to an interview, which I was told I had to pass if I wanted to join. *Gulp* Interviews right. I went to the interview and met such a lovely lady who was welcoming and warm from the get go. It was a pleasure meeting her. After successfully passing, I was invited back to a meeting and what they call "Halloween 101" for us newbies. We were shown around the tunnels and rooms of the fort, told a little bit of the history of the place by a couple of the regulars and met a bunch of lovely people who I had the absolute pleasure to work with. They had three different mazes this year - Dead End, Circo Mortis, and The Gates of Hell. I was given the choice of which ghoul to join. There were plenty to choose, from killer clowns, zombies, the infected, a death angel, "a mental" from the insane asylum, a Hill Billie, a spooky version of a character from Alice in Wonderland, or a guide, but in the end, I just couldn't say no to the vampires in the Gates of Hell maze. So that's who I joined. We all got to choose our own characters and how we wanted to dress up, as long as we were vampires. Well, apart from "The Beast" AKA "Beastie", who's been a long standing character of the vampires for years, gradually evolved into the beast she is today. Also, our medium, who was also a vampire in the past and may return to being a vampire in future as this year she was a witch who summoned us in a ritual. 😈 This year, the scene started off with the medium summoning the undead - us vampires - alongside The Beast in her séance. The audience was thrown into complete darkness for several seconds, maybe around 10 or more, it felt like minutes. Then red strobe lights and music blasts on to reveal us before we "attacked". We got many praises both in person by the guests who came through and in online newspapers / social media outlets. We were complimented on our costumes and our performances. I got a few compliments myself and my costume/dress seemed to have been liked by some. I've always wanted to dress in 17 or 1800s attire, and I'm happy I got the chance. I do admit, when we were told we could touch, grab, move and do whatever we pleased (within reason, of course), to the audience, I went full in at times. I twirled and sometimes bringing a guest with me as I made it look like I was about to bite them, just to spin them then walk off and leave them to defend for themselves, mwahaha. 😈 We'd grab, pull and just have fun with the audience. I pinned a couple against the wall before pretending I was about to bite them then walk away to find my next "victim". I would also at times stop dead in my tracks and either sway a little (so my dress would sway giving a cool look), or pace back and forth, waiting to pounce. Once I picked out my next victim, that's exactly what I did - I charged into the audience to "bite" the next person. This method also seemed to work. A security guard even approached me saying that she was watching me and it freaked her out. Nice! I had both men and women scream, yell and jump. On occasions, I would sneak up behind someone and scare them when they were distracted by another vampire. I would also distract the audience for other vampires to sneak up and scare them. It was brilliant! In all, we did fabulously. We got on well, we played our parts well and judging by the reviews, guests thought so too. This scene was all put together by our two scene managers - the vampire that has been a scare actor since the very first year at the fort and his fiancé (the medium). He planned, did the music, the ideas (which I later came to find out that many ideas and music from the other scenes he helped do as well, past and present (well, he is an expert). The script, lights, as far as I'm aware he mainly did, of course with the help of his delightful fiancé medium. With this being my first time scare acting, it was a hell of a lot of fun and I think we did great as a team and individually. I'm hoping to return next year and with any luck, I will see you all next time. So, until next year, from us vamps to you, Happy Halloween!

So, I've gotten back into Pokémon Go yet again (I just can't keep away!). I've noticed that over the years, there has been some great updates and improvements. While playing it, I kept thinking, "it would be good if this was added," or "that would be handy and help out if I could use this," or "now that would be wikid!" So, I thought I'd just put my own thoughts and ideas down. Pokédex Index Just a little idea here. This happened for me earlier today actually and a couple of times the past week. I was looking through the pokédex for particular pokémon but I kept missing them. I eventually found them but it made me want an index. I think it would help if we could find pokémon by name or type. We have that option in our pokémon list where you want to see everyone you've caught. On the CP button, a list comes up and we can choose how we want to view/find our own pokémon that we have with us. I think it would make things easier and quicker if this or something similar was added to the pokédex as well. Are they rare? I don't know about anyone else, but I'd love to know if the Pokemon I just caught is a rare and how rare they are - rare, very rare, super rare. Maybe this could be added somewhere on the info screen on the pokédex and on the pokémon itself when you click on your own that you're carrying with you. Pokédex We can use the pokédex anytime when we're not in battle or catching pokémon, however, whilst catching pokémon I think it would be a benefit to use it then also. If there was a little pokédex symbol that we can press when we come across a wild pokémon, it can come up showing us the information about it before trying to catch it. There's been a few times where I've seen one and wondered "what does this evolve into?", "have I caught this one before?", etc. When I'm low on pokéballs and have to be picky on who I can catch, it's handy to know, and there's so many out there, it's hard to remember the details on all of them. If I were able to pull the pokédex up during an encounter rather than having to press the "run" symbol, checking the pokédex, scrolling down pages and hundreds of other Pokémon trying to find the one I'm looking for, then I hope it hasn't disappeared by the time I'm done and get back to it. In the Anime for example, when Ash wanted information when he encountered a wild pokémon, he pulled his pokédex out and got the information he wanted before trying to catch said pokémon. I just think it would be neat if we could do something similar. 🙂 Pokémon Deposit Box/Bank This is for all the organised people like me out there, but it's also one of my favourite suggestions. Years ago in Pokémon X and Y's edition that's also now in the newer game, Pokémon Sword and Shield, when we caught pokémon, we were allowed to carry 6 but the rest had to be put into a pokémon Bank/Deposit Box. Now, I really liked this feature. Instead of having all pokémon just on one page, we were able to have several pages (I don't remember the exact number now, but I think maybe at least a dozen pages should be okay 😉) where we could categorise pokémon. So, if you wanted to have a page just for fire pokémon, you could have a page just for fire types, then another for water, electric, earth, dark, and so on and so forth. We could also name the pages accordingly. Or, if you don't want to organise them that way, you could have a page on dragon pokémon, dogs, cats, rodents, birds, or even rock, bugs, sea, favourite pokémon, etc, you name it. However we want to organise them, we could do it. If I'm remembering correctly, we could also change the background wallpaper of each page/box, which I think is also a great little add-on. Anyway, I only have those two suggestions but I think personally that they would definitely add nicely to the game. 🤗

I've published my new book! It's a short book of 13 short scary/ghostly/paranormal stories that are all true. 😱👻 These are my encounters I've experienced over the years (hence why it's my mug on the cover 😶). They've always been good stories I like to reminisce with my family. Of course, some experiences stumped us, they just couldn't be explained or were too convenient to be coincidences. I mentioned in the book that I accidentally caught a couple of disembodied voices on separate occasions, but of course, I couldn't add them in the book, but I can add them here: Voice 1 Voice 2 Anyway, if you decide to read my book, then a massive thank you, and I hope you enjoy it! Maybe you'll find our experiences as creepy and spooky as we did. ☠️

So I've been working in Bluewater shopping centre - one of our counties biggest shopping centre's - for about a month now. I've applied to work in Grotto's for maybe 3 or 4 years in a row. This year was the first time I got an audition for a Grotto position at my local shopping Centre, however, I didn't get the part. 😔 Although, that ended up better in my favor! Two or three weeks after I failed that audition, one of the managers from the Bluewater grotto I applied for contacted me and asked if I was still interested in the position and I accepted. 🤗 Unlike most Grottos where parents and children line up and see Father Christmas in a small little hut/shed/house in the middle of a shopping centre, this one has five rooms, one being the cabin and a panto first before reaching Father Christmas' cabin. I play as an elf 🧝🏼‍♀️ in both the panto and as Santa's helper in his cabin with him. (This is one of my elf costumes. I'm Reeses Peanut Buttercup, Santa's favorite elf from the Realm of sweets.) The theme this year is The Nut Cracker. On the panto side, I was originally supposed to also play the Sugar Plumb Fairy. Sadly, their costume was too small for me 🙄. My bum won't fit in the skirt and my boobs wont fit in the top, so I had to be taken out of that role and it's been given to the smaller girls (makes one feel good about their fat butt, does't it?). In each room (realm), I'm given a different name and costume. I'm Reeses the elf in the Realm of Sweets and Carols the elf in the cabin. (Here I'm in Father Christmas's cabin as Carols the elf) 🎅🏻 So far, it's been a lot of fun and great entertaining both the children from newborns to teenagers and their parents and grandparents. Seeing some of their faces light up when we hand them a present in the cabin or talking with them in the panto. It's a great experience all around and I hope I and the rest of the team give them a great time and a very merry Christmas!

I have finally been able to release Anuanna on Amazon in paperback! But, because the novel was too big, I had to split it into parts, so it's now Anuanna part 1 and part 2. They can be found on Amazon by simply searching Anuanna or Anuanna: The Karda Jewel. Anuanna is also still available as an e-book which can also be found on Amazon. To all those who have read it and sent in your advice and views, I thank you very much for the help and also for your kind words! I hope you really enjoyed reading!

I had a long overdue photoshoot with the excellent photographer Simon Annand. I was honored to have a shoot with him, not only because he is a well-known photographer to all actors from the bottom up to A listed celebrities, but he is excellent at his job (which isn't surprising), and was a very friendly man. It was the most interesting shoot I've had. Simon put me through my paces and showed me a way of photography I haven't experienced before. On top of that, I had a lovely and talented Makeup Artist - Rosemary Duffy, do my make up for me. She did an excellent job, was very open and listened to suggestions whilst giving her own. I had a pleasant time with both of them and strongly recommend them to anyone who wants professional portfolios. Simon Annand - http://www.simonannand.com/ Rosemary Duffy - https://www.facebook.com/RosemaryDuffyMUA/ (Facebook: @RosemaryDuffyMUA) #Photoshoot

I'm very happy to announce that I have written and published my first novel! I'll put the brief about the novel below: Follow Anne Hunter in this fantasy romance. See through Anne’s eyes as she starts her new journey in the magical world of witches, wizards, vampires, werewolves, and more. Anne is an average woman with an average life in an average job – or so she thought. Until one day, strange, unexplainable events began which made her question her sanity. She finds out she is one of the last of an ancient dying race with special abilities and magical powers – she’s actually a witch. But, she is not alone. After Anne’s gifts began to progress, she was approached by an older stern looking woman, a professor from an academy for the gifted such as Anne. Things haven’t gone smoothly for Anne as she experiences love loss, stumbles into dangerous battles with creatures she thought were only in fairy tales, faces enemies and learns to control her newfound abilities. But not everything is looking dark for Anne, as she meets her two new close friends – Charlotte Williams and Liam Lang, along with some unexpected friendships with Felix Stryker and Spencer Ivin. But the one relationship Anne will cherish more than most, is her new found love, whom she believes to be her true love. As Anne builds a new life for herself at Anuanna, things begin to look up for her, dare she say, even perfect? But will her new life stay a dream or become a nightmare? NOTICE: This book contains mature content. Age is advised from 17+ This book contains adult content such as violence, nudity, sex, and strong language I'm also happy to announce that Anuanna can be purchased on Amazon and Etsy. They can be found on their sites or click on the "Books" tab on here for the links. I started writing Anuanna when I got the idea in 2015. I was thinking of another film project that maybe I could start but this time, I didn't want to go down the horror / thriller route. So I thought of romances. To be honest with you, true romances bore me, I don't find them that interesting. But I do love a good bit of fantasy. So I decided to do a fantasy romance. At first, I only had Anne as the main character because I wrote her for myself. When I decided that it will be a romance, that's when I created the character Victor. Originally, Victor was another student that Anne met at the Academy. Victor took an instant like towards her and her too him. But I didn't like the idea of Victor being another student, so I put Victor in Professor Hudge's place (he was the original Magic Defense teacher) and took Professor Hudge out. I liked this new course much better so I stuck with it. From there, Anuanna began to play out.

Like so many others, I have been playing Pokemon Go, and I LOVE it! I love that now I have something to do when I'm out and about and I'm not bored the way I used to be when on my travels. It's also gotten me out a bit more and exercise is always a plus. :-D I love everything about the game app, but there are a couple of things that I personally think will make the game a lot better. 1. Healing. After a battle at a gym, the only way to heal my Pokemon is by using potions or revive. This is fine for those who don't fight, but for those who do, it can be frustrating to have to keep going to stops and hope to be given potions or revives. It's great that this app is trying to be as lifelike as possible, so to add to the realism, it would also be realistic to let them 'heal' naturally, seeing as that's what everything does anyway. Depending on how hurt the Pokemon is, would depend on how long it takes to heal. Also to add one more thought, in the anime, there's always a 'Pokemon Center' around to heal sick and wounded Pokemon. Maybe some Centers could be opened so we could take them there? 2. 'Poke Stops / Centers' This is a carry on from number 1. As I mentioned above, there are places called 'PokeStops' and I thought if it would be a good idea to also open 'PokeCenters.' At stops, 'Trainers' can collect 'Pokeballs', eggs, potions, revives and raspberries (bait). Well what if all revives and potions can only be collected at centers? This gives more chance to get more Pokeballs, raspberries and eggs. Also just like stops, trainers can collect from centers a certain number of times a day. Centers can be placed near Dr's, pharmacies and hospitals, but they can't be directly on them, only near. After all, we don't want too many people hanging around hospitals and doctors blocking entrances or getting in the way, so maybe placing them down the road? 3. Fighting and leveling. One of the main things I'm not overly fond of about the app is how trainers have to level the Pokemon up. To do so, trainers have to keep catching the same (or one of the evolved levels of the same Pokemon) to collect 'Candy' and 'Stardust.' Combined, these two can level and evolve Pokemon, each time needing more Stardust. Thousands of Stardust are needed as the Pokemon level gets higher, and if the trainers wants to evolve the Pokemon, they need a lot more candy to do so. Personally, I would like if trainers also had a second option to level their Pokemon up - to battle their Pokemon to make them stronger. Training Pokemon can be easily done by using similar means as gyms. For example, stops can be used for training Pokemon. When a trainer goes to a gym, they have to battle against the winner to take over that gym. At stops can be the same thing but for training purposes to prepare for a gym battle. Also at stops, there could be a list of trainers who have claimed stops so other trainers can battle against them and possibly choose which trainer they want to fight. All battles can give Pokemon EXP whether they win or loose, but of course winning will give them more. Pokemon can evolve without fully leveling up by giving them the right amount of candy it's asked for. This could remain for those who just want to evolve their Pokemon without fully leveling them up. 4. Seeing each others characters I thought it would be a fun idea to see each others characters walking down the street on the maps instead of just our own. This can be turned on or off as some people might not want to be seen. Or, it can be limited to only people on your friends list can see each other's characters on the game. 5. More look varieties I do very much like how my character looks, for an animated character, she's quite cute. But what I think would be a nice idea is just add a little more looks. At the moment all we can change is skin, hair, eye and clothes colours, everyone looks the same. I just thought it would be a nice little feature to add more hair, body and facial styles, make our characters even more unique. 6. Names This I found very frustrating when I first started playing. I didn't start straight away, I joined about a week after the game released and couldn't play for a few more days after that because servers were down. But when I tried creating a name, I went through about 20 different ones until I got the name I was allowed. I think letting us add more into our names and making it longer might be good, that way, for those of us who want a particular name and doesn't like having a bunch of random numbers at the end, will feel more satisfied. Luckily for me, even though I couldn't use any of my names, I was able to use my stage name, so I was happy with that. 7. Newer Pokemon As time goes on and more Pokemon have been caught, I'm wondering if newer Pokemon will be added as well? At the moment, it's only the 150 from the first series, so will newer ones be added and if they do, can trainers catch them whenever or will trainers have to be a certain level? Added to this, trainers max level is 40, so if a whole new load are released, does that also mean trainers max level will increase as well? Will they keep increasing until all Pokemon in all series have been caught and how often (if ever) will each generation of Pokemon be released? Maybe a new generation of Pokemon can be released every six months or so? Anyway, these are just my thoughts, feelings and questions on the game. Either way, I very much enjoy it so far and think it can carry on doing well and letting more people enjoy their free time, so well done! :-) #Games #Pokemon

Some know that I’m a big game fan and my favorite game company is BioWare because they have created my two most favorite games – First, Dragon Age, and second, Mass Effect. I have just come out of hibernation after more than a week of playing Dragon Age Inquisition. It was released last month on the 21st November (2014) and I’ve been playing it ever since. I have completed all three games now and I have to admit I’m in love with them! The writers, creators, designers, actors, everyone in the team have done such a brilliant job with it, that it should get the recognition that it deserves. I thought I’d write this blog about it because it’s something I feel strongly and care about. I recommend this game to anyone, especially those who are like me and like playing adventure games. It has fun, adventure, romance (if you chose to romance anyone) and of course fighting. You can create your own character, looks and gender (that’s another bonus in my books) and you get to choose your species – human, dwarf, elf or qunari (qunari’s only avaible in Dragon Age III). You can also choose to be a worrier, mage or rouge. Also there is a lovely bonus of a choice to have a ‘romance option’, some characters can become your boyfriend or girlfriend and in Dragon Age I there are two characters you can actually marry which is lovely to see . Also as I mentioned the actors are brilliant! You choose what your character can say, what personalty he / she has and make the in game characters love you or hate you. Their so convincing, I can’t hype this game up enough, it’s just too dam good . Anyway well done to the BioWare team and all their great hard work for their games! It’s given many of us lots of fun and joy! I hope to carry on playing some more of your great work in future. <(*0*)> #DragonAge #Games #Inquisition