My morning thoughts on the high chair

Looking at the title of this post is a bit ambiguous to me so you probably have no idea what to expect right now but maybe that's part of the fun. So by now you might know that I'm a lifeguard and, as much I love it, there are times when staring at an empty pool (yes, we have to watch it when no ones using it) gets a tad boring. So here you have a shortened list of the things I think whilst sat on the lifeguard chair on the early shift...

1. It's 7:30am. People don't come swimming at this time of morning...unless you're a regular. Oh yes, that's Bob, and Harold, and Roy, and...

2. Okay, 7:31. Only 19 minutes until you can rotate. Only 19 minutes. Stay awake Kathryn, you can do it.

3. You've been in work for half an hour. Well done, you've earned £3.50. That's almost enough for a coffee. And you could go out for coffee if it wasn't for the fact that you're in work.

4. Actually, coffee sounds like a good idea right now. Why didn't you boil the kettle before you came on to the pool? If you boil it when you come off the drink will be cold by the time you get to have it.

5. Damn, I need a wee. How come I didn't need it two minutes ago? 

6. Aaaannnd I'm surrounded by water. Marvellous.

7. Only another 7/8/14 hours until your shift over. You'll be alright. It'll fly by.

8. I have wet feet. Why did I jet wash before the pool opened? And why didn't I change shoes? Now they're gonna be wet all day. 

9. Don't look at the clock Kathryn, 7:50 will come quicker if you don't.

10. It's 7:32am.

Hope that humoured you and if you're interested in a sequel, let me know down below 😊 I'm also a swimming teacher, receptionist and gym instructor so I suppose any of those could make an interesting rant!

Keep smiling,

Kathryn x

A little disclaimer: I really do enjoy my job.  This shows an extreme and is just for the purpose of your enjoyment. A lot of people consider my job as 'easy money' and 'just watching water' but it's really not. We have to have to deal with some big emergencies and a lot of the time we spend 2/3 of our day cleaning. 

Paper Towns: film review

After reading all of his books and becoming a little obsessed, a friend of mine and I promised we'd see every one of John Green's films together. And, true to that promise, we had our last catch-up before she left for uni at the cinema watching 'Paper Towns'. 

I had been eager to see this for a while, all of the pre-release material and trailers had me gripped and I could only hope that the film would live up to my (exceedingly high) expectations. And it did; there is absolutely no doubt about it. 

I don't want to do major give-always or spoilers so what I am going to tell you is this... 

I was hugely impressed by the selection of actors, I have to admit I had doubts about Cara Delevingne but she probably was the most impressive of them all. Tbe way the characters were portrayed was just how I'd imagined from the novel and the storyline was obviously gripping if not a little fast paced. It ended perfectly, just like the novel with a sad but necessary ending that left the two characters too far apart, yet just close enough.

My only criticism is that some parts of the book were missed out. I know that this is important to shorten the film down, however, the film was not as long as others I've seen so extra little bits should have been manageable. I have vivid memories from certain parts of the book that just seem to have been forgotten about. And, considering I read the book over 12 months ago, they must have been very engaging parts for me to still remember them. 

Either way, it was a fantastic evening, a wonderful film and another fantastic film based on the works of John Green. I would definitely advise you to see it before it leaves the cinema. If any of you have seen it, what did you think? 

Keep smiling,

Kathryn x

Summer reading

By now, you've probably noticed that I really enjoy reading but hardly have anytime to do so. Well summer is the exception to that rule so here's a little summary of what I have been reading and my views on each book.

Firstly, an author I really enjoy is Cathy Glass. She is an inspirational woman who writes true stories, under a pseudonym, about her experiences of fostering children. In the past I've read quite a few of her books so my pre-holiday library visit started with a visit to her section. I picked up 'Daddy's Little Princess' and 'The Child Bride' both of which were very emotional and moving but I found some of the points raised in the second horrifying. I don't want to give too much away but what I'm going to say can all be gathered from the title! The little girl in this story is of Bangladeshi decent and it shows just how different the culture is and how living in England doesn't necessarily change that. The poor girl is subject to a forced marriage to someone three times her age and is hiding secrets that she wishes she could forget. 

After reading these two I read 'Cut' which, for me, ended a little too abruptly and I'm now reading 'Will Anyone Love Me?' which is becoming a personal favourite. It tells the story of Cathy's adopted daughter Lucy and has been such a heartwarming read.

Something else that I read on holiday was 'One Million Lovely Letters'. It is another true story about Jodi who contracts a life-threatening brain infection after a tick bite. It leaves her quality of life restricted but tells us about a project she set up to spread happiness, hope and joy across all corners of the world. It was lovely to see how positive things can come from anything and made me realise that there are so many inspirational people in the world who go unnoticed. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.

And my final book is 'The book of you'. I read this one on my flight home from Egypt and it's a little bit different to the others; I have a varied taste. It's a thriller about a young woman, Clarissa, who has to do jury service. She is assigned on to a case about another young woman. One who is trying to get her stalker convicted. As the trial progresses it becomes more and more obvious about the similarities between the two women's lives. Not only that, it shows Clarissa just how difficult it is for her to do something about it. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and will certainly be looking out for more by the same author in the near future. 

And that's the end of my summer reading. It's becoming more and more autumnal at the moment, and I'm working more than full time hours, so I think I'll have to admit that summer is over. But I've realised how much I've missed escaping to new worlds so hopefully I'll manage to do a similar post soon.

Keep smiling,

Kathryn x