The mindless rambling of yet another Sophie

So as another year draws to a close many of us reflect on the events of the past twelve months. Before the fireworks start and the countdown begins I want to review 5 of the good and bad moments of 2015. 1. Fallon - July 29th 2015 was the day my beloved dog passed away. I loved her for 13 years and love her still. This perfect little ray of black and white light came into my life at a crucial point and was my support throughout my childhood. It was a defining moment of this year but this is not the post to talk about her. She deserves something dedicated solely to her. 2. My 20th Birthday - you would think with my 21st birthday in less than a month a 20th would be nothing. However I have joked with every passing year that I'm finally becoming an adult due to the presents I've received. Except I don't think it's a joke anymore. I've started feeling more like my own person this year. One that is unrecognisable from her former self. 3. Holiday to Italy - I think ...

This past summer I was lucky enough to go to Italy for the second time in my life. After visiting Venice previously we decided to investigate Sorrento this year. We love visiting historical sites in the countries we explore and decided to go on a trip around the Pompeii and Herculaneum excavation sites. The Herculaneum trip is where this story begins. The sun was blazing and our calm and unnaturally cool tour guide was pointing out all the beautiful mosaics and telling us about the people of that time. As she was gesticulating at a particularly vibrant and stunning mosaic something caught my eye. Now I am a very trigger happy photographer and whilst there was a lull I sought out this distraction and it was the picture below. The words "History makes you feel small" is located in the blue band Photograph by Sophie Brown  A part of me was annoyed that someone had decided to graffiti these historical ruins but the other half of me couldn't help but love it. It...

♪ A very merry Christmas And a happy new year Let's hope its a good one Without any fear ♪ John Lennon - So this is Christmas The food has been eaten, the presents opened and all around the world people are unbuttoning their trousers and relaxing with their nearest and dearest. Apart from a post I made over on my friend's blog  for blogmas I have made no other Christmas themed posts. So now that Christmas has past I have decided to reflect on 25 things that I have enjoyed this month because, let's be honest, December has essentially become Christmas month. 1. Festive food - Give me all of the cakes that look like snowman 2. Seasonal drinks - I'm looking at you Costa 3. The Last Kingdom - a great historical drama that was on the BBC 4. The excitement of coming home - speaks for itself 5. Finishing my winter term at university - so glad to have completed my last exam for 2015! 6. Visiting the Warner Brother Studios Harry Potter...

Whilst flicking through old folders I found this piece from 2012. Anyone who knows me now knows that I love food. I am not a fussy eater at all and eat near enough anything. But that wasn't always the case. When I was a child I choked whilst eating and that sparked a fear. A fear of eating. I couldn't eat solid foods. I couldn't physically force myself to swallow as I was terrified of choking again. At this time of year when the house is filled to bursting with food it can be torture for people with food anxiety. There are snacks and sweets stowed away in every nook and cranny and goodness forbid you don't want that mince pie your aunt is offering you. So, here is a short story about my experience with my food anxiety and therapy. I hope it helps someone out there. Enjoy Sophie

Now that I am home for the Christmas holidays I finally have time to do something I love - Read. Sometimes it's great just to sit back, relax and unwind with a  good book. The last time I was home I took a look at my bookshelf and realised I had at least 12 books that I had bought but never read. If you take a peek at my kindle there is countless on there that are also sat abandoned or half read. If you follow many bloggers or vloggers you make have heard of the 50 book reading challenge. The idea is that in a year you read 50 books, pretty simple. So at the start of this year I picked up a book and set to work on the challenge. By the end of January I had read 3 books. I'm sat here now in December having read a grand total of 6 books. 6 books in a whole year. I'm not disappointed that I didn't complete the challenge because to be honest I don't think I took it seriously. It did teach me something. When I haven't read for a long time I read so slowly. In...

November the 29th marked my second visit to the Warner Brothers Studios for the Harry Potter tour but this was, I daresay, a little more magical than the last. That was because Hogwarts was covered in snow. My friend organised the trip in August and although I was excited I did not expect it to be half as wonderful as it was. Now I know what some of you are thinking. What's so great about the tour being covered in a little snow? Trust me it is much more than that. The atmosphere is so festive and although not every feature is covered in snow or tinsel you do become immersed in the merriment. That and everyone around you is also feeling particularly merry at this time of year. Perhaps you've already been before and need just a few more excuses to warrant returning for the festive season. Here I have composed a list of reasons why you should revisit Hogwarts in the near future:- 1. The Great Hall has been decked out with all sorts of festive goodies such as roasts, crack...

As the days are getting shorter I find myself more and more inclined to curl up and watch a good film. So today I decided to share with you one I found at Halloween and it is called 'What we do in the shadows'. It is a mockumentary about a group of vampires living in a flat together in New Zealand. Sound boring? Now there is where you are mistaken! They're all from different time periods lending itself to some comedic situations. Fun game for anyone that watches - see how many nods to other popular vampire films you can find (Hint - there is a alot!).The film was released in 2014 but I only recently discovered it, completely by accident, and I am so happy that I did!  As mentioned before I have a love of vampire films and this one is so different from any others I've ever watched. It's got funny parts, sad parts and what on earth parts and let's be honest what more could you ask for? Now there is no real story line to the film. There is no epic ques...

Hello again! This post is quite a personal one. I have to admit I am a little apprehensive about posting it but it's time to do so.I get very attached to people. I also get very nostalgic. My brain likes to play a wonderful game with me called 'Don't sleep, worry about all these things instead!'. I get very sad when I think about people who are no longer actively in my life and I find myself wondering. Do I miss them, the person they used to be or the good times we had? This short story is not a story at all. It's something real that happened to me one day when I couldn't sleep and all I wanted to do was play an old game. Hope you enjoy Sophie