peck72

Films, Books, & Events of 2010

Films

Avatar                                                                                     7.5/10

Sherlock Holmes                                                                8.5/10

The Wolfman                                                                        5.5/10

Kick Ass                                                                                 8/10

Clash of the Titans (in 3D)                                                 4/10

Iron Man 2                                                                              7/10

Robin Hood                                                                           7.5/10

Toy Story 3                                                                             8/10

Inception                                                                                8/10

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World                                                8.5/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part One)          7.5/10

Books

William Wilberforce: A hero for humanity by Kevin Belmonte

The Red Tree by Caitlin R Kiernan

Dune by Frank Herbert

The men who stare at goats by Jon Ronson

The stars my destination by Alfred Bester

The Tears of my Soul by Sokreaksa S. Himm

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds

Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Hemingways Chair by Michael Palin

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Events

Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool

Plays

Anthony and Cleopatra at The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon

Much Ado about Nothing in the Open Air in Chester Grosvenor Park

Concerts

None

Trips Abroad

Iceland -  Reykjavik – March

Italy, Lebanon & Syria – July/August

Belgium - Brussels& Bruges – September/October


I've been meaning to post his for about the last week and am finally getting round to it tonight. Each year I try and keep a track of the films, books, etc I read/watch just for my own curiosity and over the last couple of years I've been pretty consistent with the numbers.
Sherlock Holmes and Scott Pilgrim get joint top score for this years films but I think that Scott Pilgrim comes out just ahead because it really was a wonderfully quirky and fun film (not that Sherlock wasn't quirky and fun, just not quite as much and it didn't have Mary Elizabeth Winstead either)
I have to say though that I am disappointed with the number of books I read each year, I really ought to be reading more. I think though that I can lay the blame firmly at the door of the amount of tv I watch instead and until I'm prepared to cull some shows from the 'must watch' list I'm going to be sticking at just breaking double figures. I could say I'll try harder this year but it would be hollow words.
The Magical Mystery Tour was with my sister in law for her birthday weekend and was good fun in spite of seeing some of the heaviest rain in ages which curtailed some of the getting on and off the coach.
I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't get to see any live music this year. I came close to going to see the Kodo drummers at the Phil in Liverpool but it somehow never quite happened.

I did very well travel wise this year, visiting 5 capital cities that I've never been to before (Reykjavik, Rome, Beirut, Damascus and Brussels). I've wanted to go to Iceland for as long as I can remember and it was as wonderful and beautiful as I'd hoped with some incredibly breathtaking scenery. My favourite place that we visited was Thingvellir, the ancient site of the Icelandic parliament and where you can see the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates slowly pulling away from each other (by about 2cm a year). We didn't have time to travel and see a glacier so we'll have to go back again. We nearly got to stay longer though as two weeks after we came home the volcano erupted and the ash cloud brought all air traffic to a halt. So close, so close . . .
At the height of summer I got to travel around Lebanon and Syria taking photo's for the OM workers based out there for them to use in publicity for their work. It was a great time, meeting a number of great people and getting to travel around a beautiful country and take photo's (my favourite pass time). It also meant that I was able to experience the hottest temperature of my life with 42 degrees C in Damascus. Which means that, with the extreme cold here in the UK last month, I've probably experienced a temperature range of over 50 degrees in the last year.

Away from the lists, 2010 was always going to be an up and down year. On the upside, I gained a beautiful little nephew who is now 11 months old and is a hairsbreadth away from walking. On the downside we lost my wife's mother to cancer in May and her loss is going to cast shadows through the family for some time to come. My last memory of her is always going to be her smiling and waving her arms wildly in the air when Anna and I arrived at the family farm, as she was being wheeled around the garden by her husband. Within 24 hours of this, she had gone.

Looking forward to 2011, there is something coming in March (probably) that could be a really big thing this year and I will bring more news as and when I can. As to the rest of the year, I really don't know what's going to happen, so I'll just have to wait and see.