Ok so here's the thing. I'm a closet Harry Potter fan. Like, low key big time. I couldn't live so close to the studios without going to check it out myself! IT was MAGICAL (pun intended). For those of you who like HP these photos might be interesting, and for those of you who don't, well, this won't be very exciting at all.

Fete Day | Oamaru Victorian Heritage Celebrations

This year saw the 29th Oamaru Victorian Heritage Celebrations; a week of heritage themed festivities culminating with the Fete on Sunday, brought to life in the streets of Oamaru. This year the theme was 'crime and punishment'.

Poperinge Beer and Hops Festival

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The Bier and Hoppefeesten at Poperinge, Belgium, was one of the best little beer festivals I've been to. All from bottles, the beer served here was full of big Belgian flavours, high percentage and fast flowing. But here's the difference between Flemish and Kiwi drinkers: this festival was FUN. 

City Guide | Ghent, Belgium

Ghent: A city that started to grow in the late middle ages, around the two rivers of Leie and Scheldt. It is now the second largest municipality in Belgium, and is the capital of East Flanders, the Flemish speaking part of the country. 

Nick Cave live at the O2 Arena

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I bought my ticket to Nick Cave as soon as they were released, with no thought towards who I would go with, or if I'd even be free that day! Even though I got on to it straight away, I still missed out on standing tickets, and settled for a seat on the highest level, which was sort of like sitting and watching other people enjoy a different concert. 

Saying that, I'm so glad I went. Even with an ageing voice and massive crowd to reach, Nick and the Bad Seeds were on brilliant form. 

My Escape Back to the Riviera di Levante

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As you may know if you follow me on instagram, I recently returned to Italy for a few days. Here are some of the best shots I managed to squeeze in between swimming, eating and window shopping. The main places featured here are Nervi (a suburb of Genoa), Camogli, which is a beautiful little town that you might recognise from my previous Italy posts, and just a couple from the historic centre of Genoa. It was such a beautiful holiday away from the grime of London.

Charlie Countryman | Film Review

Gamelkateinthecinema | The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman

Director: Fredrik Bond

Release: 2013

Writers: Story by Matt Drake

Genre: Action/Romance/Travel

Rating: R-16

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I am frequently asked the question “what’s you’re favourite movie?” and most of the time I find it hard to answer, for the perhaps cliché reason that I like so many different styles of film. However this film in particular continues to pop up in my mind because it made such an impact on me personally. The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman gave me a feeling of elation as well as fuelling my wanderlust and interest in travelling, at a time when I had just broken up with my first long-term boyfriend and had moved back in with my parents. I watched this film alone on the sofa with a bottle of wine one night in 2014 and was totally captivated throughout.

Pub Crawl | Craftwork x Yeastie Boys x NZBC

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Brewers Michael and Lee-Ann from Craftwork Brewery in Oamaru (aka my dad and Step-mum) were in town last week at the start of their European Beer Tour. We met up with Yeastie Boys Head Honcho Stu McKinlay, and New Zealand Beer Collective Director Todd Nicholson for a old fashioned pub crawl and chin wag. I mean business meeting. We started at the Harp on Chandos place just off Trafalgar Square, made our way around the city and ended at Craft somewhere in Clerkenwell. 

Cheers to Stu and Todd for the day!

Graham & Sylvie | Wedding Highlights

I flew to Canada to celebrate the marriage of my cousin Sylvie to her husband Graham. Here are some of the highlights in no particular order. Enjoy!

Favourites Trilogy | Vol. 2

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Oh hey there, I'm back again with another 4 months of things I've been loving including Books, art, food, music, film, theatre and more!

Atomic Blonde | Film Review

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Gamelkateinthecinema | Atomic Blonde

Director: David Leitch

Release: 2017

Writer: Screenplay by Kurt Johnstad | Graphic novel series 'The Coldest City' by Antony Johnston

Genre: action/mystery/thriller

Rating: R-16 for sequences of strong violence, language throughout and some sexual nudity

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There were a few pretty crap things in Atomic Blonde that I was totally willing to overlook because I thought it was all so fucking cool. This sexy, punchy and hyper-stylised big screen version of Johnston's graphic novel sees Charlize Theron, an English agent (with a very dodgy English accent), travel to Berlin to meet up with her undercover colleague (James McAvoy) to find out what happened to her ex-boyfriend, while kicking ass and look good doing it. 

City Guide | Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh | Festival Edition

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This was my second trip to Edinburgh. Last time a friend and I stayed in a B&B called Panda Vila where our host, a man named Martin, was very welcoming but also tried to convince us that the world was flat, floating in a black liquid and enclosed by two giant domes. When questioned about the existence of satellites and space exploration, he said that was a very good question and settled for putting tinfoil over his wifi router. This time however, I was in town to meet up with my Mum and Step-Dad who were visiting as part of a massive trip involving conferences, eclipses, hiking, island hoping, and a wedding in Canada which I will be joining them for later this month. Yeah I know, they should be the ones with the travel blog! 

We had 4 days to make the most of Edinburgh at Festival time, meaning there was lots to do and lots of people crammed into what is a relatively small City... this also means you're in for quite a few photos - see you at the end!

Kallida Festival

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Last weekend I took a trip to Wales to check out Kallida Festival, running for the first time this year.

Held in Baskerville Hall, a fading beauty of a murder-mystery mansion, everything from arriving at the venue along a country road, dappled by overhanging trees and curious horses peering over farm gates, to setting up our tent on the manor lawn under the purposely hung string-lights, was easy, aesthetic and inviting.
With bands and DJ's from across the UK and beyond, all coming together for the first time in such a lush setting, there was a fresh buzz of expectation in the air - we all knew we had signed up for something unique, and we were excited to see how the grand old hall would be transformed into a music venue.

Exploring Dover

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I went on a lil day trip last week to Dover to see what all the fuss was about. The cliffs were pretty impressive, although the town itself didn't seem anything out of the ordinary. In fact, the town seemed to have a strange dynamic of Nationalistic Britishness. Being so close to France that my cellphone stopped working, locals here will go out of their way to let you know you're in England. For me this moment occurred when a pub owner came out onto the street and asked me how many photos I had taken of his building. I said just the one, and he said ok, that will be 10p. He was joking of course, but I got the feeling that tourists weren't his favourite customers. And perhaps fair enough, as the cliff paths were full of large groups of French and German school kids all trying to stand as close to the edge as possible without their teachers having full blown heart attacks. 

Dunkirk | Film Review

Gamelkateinthecinema | Dunkirk

Director: Christopher Nolan

Release: 2017

Writer: Christopher Nolan | Based on historic events

Genre: Action/drama/history

Rating: PG-13

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I went to see this movie for perhaps the same reason as everyone else in the cinema; to find out if Christopher Nolan could pull off an historical war piece. Being known more for his psychological thrillers, Nolan really has opened himself up to wider directing methods with his latest film Dunkirk. 

My 100th Post

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Home-cooked Chicken vs Tesco Chicken Dinner

I've had a couple of requests to do some posts about food, so here goes! 

Goodwood Festival of Speed | My Highlights Reel

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On Saturday I went along to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Chichester, West Sussex. It was a full day of events, very well organised to showcase vehicles from all areas of performance. The main event is the hill climb, with cars from 6 different classes. These Batches were; pre WWI, touring, rally NASCAR and drift, sports cars and GTs, F1, Ferrari and single seaters, and Supercars. As well as this there was an aero section including typhoon and red arrow displays, helicopters and other historic planes, and an action sports section with BMX, mountain bike and motocross.

Northern Ireland | Belfast & Game of Thrones Tour

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I was lucky enough to visit Northern Ireland at the start of the month to celebrate an old school friend's birthday. I was only there for the weekend, but we made the most of it by exploring Belfast the first day and hunting for filming locations for the popular tv show Game of Thrones on the second. Enjoy the photos!

Beer Tasting | Hosted by HonestBrew

HonestBrew Pop-Up @ Old street Station

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Old Street Station is not just a train station. It is home to some of East London's most enterprising small business pop-up shops, who set up for a few days or weeks because of the diversity of the foot traffic. From party animals to artists, students and businessmen, Old Street is the place where the Northern Line meets East London.

15 British Words Translated

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I've got to see a man about a dog...

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The English say some weird stuff, which could leave you in an awkward situation if you've just arrived in town. Although my own colloquialisms can be hard to understand at times too, here are the meanings behind 15 slang words or phrases I've encountered since arriving in the UK.

City guide | Budapest, Hungary

My First Time

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Budapest is a city of times gone by. Crumbling buildings with beautiful frescos sit solidly next to communist era brutalist office blocks and apartment complexes. Litter lies in the gutters and graffiti covers walls, doors and statues. Despite all this, and perhaps because of it, Budapest has retained its identity through the years, growing into the city we see today: beautifully diverse.

Brunch at Friends of Ours

London Cafes | Friends of Ours

With so many places selling quality food and drink in London, it is a recommendation in itself to have gone back to the same spot more than twice. 

Friend of Ours is one of these gems, and one of my favourite places for an antipodean-style brunch. 

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword | Film Review

Gamelkateinthecinema | King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Director: Guy Ritchie

Release: 2017

Writers: Story by David Dobkin and Joby Harold | Screenplay by Joby Harold and Guy Ritchie

Genre: Action/adventure/drama

Rating: PG-13

Here is a film with a split personality disorder. On one hand it has Guy Ritchie stamped all over it; an entertaining, modern story about the English class system with slow motion sequences, punchy music, long montages and fast cuts. On the other hand, if you went to see King Arthur with a wild hope of some historical accuracy, craftsmanship or original creative design, you’re not getting it here.

Job Hunting in London

Feeling Shitty in the City | Job Hunting

Most of us have gone through the disappointment of not getting a job we've applied for. Pouring blood, sweat and tears into cover letters and CV's, interview prep and trying to put into writing why YOU would be the perfect candidate for the job, all to be told that 'thank you, but on this occasion we are not taking your application to the next stage'.

City Guide | Cambridge, UK

Plants and Punts in Cambridge

I recently took a day trip to Cambridge. He's going to hate me for mentioning him, but this trip was a present from my boyfriend to celebrate my birthday, and I am so grateful to him for everything, especially for getting me out of London! Food, sun, punting and poking around the beautiful old buildings were top of my priorities list. Little did I know that there were some plants waiting for me too...

Favourites Trilogy | Vol.1

Just Some Stuff I've Been Digging Lately... 

We are 1/3 of the way through the year. How insane is that?!

This Sunday is a bit of a cheeky one, being the very last day of the month, so I thought I would say goodbye to the first four months of 2017 with some of my current favourites. 

Get comfortable, make a coffee and some food, and check out what I've been loving this year :)

London's Best Bits for Runners

Running in (sort of) Central London

As the weather warms up, and with the London Marathon making most of us feel like fat sacks of shit, us Londoner's are starting to come out of our hibernation and realise that the summer body we thought we had hiding under all those layers, has somehow been replaced with a South Park cut-out. 

Hampstead Heath

A Quiet Passion | Film Review

Gamelkateinthecinema | A Quiet Passion

Director: Terrence Davies

Release: 2016
Writer: Terrence Davies

Genre: Biopic / Period Drama

Rating: PG-13 thematic elements, disturbing images and brief suggestive material

On leaving the cinema rather perplexed, I read a review in the evening standard that said “A Quiet Passion is almost very good but actually nearly intolerable, a very long two hours” and I was inclined to agree. It was a relief to find this review, as I had been starting to question my opinion, in proportion to the amount of oh-so-American, bandwagon praise this film was receiving. I was ready to attribute this to the simple fact that, perhaps, Americans just can’t make good period dramas. That was before I realised director Terrence Davies was English.

Barbican

The Barbican Centre | EC2Y 8DS

Hidden in the heart of London City, the Barbican Centre is home to apartments, art exhibitions, shops, a Library, Museum, conservatory, church, movie theatre and musical performance space. 

In fact, it's the largest performing arts space of its kind in Europe (London's still in Europe, right?).

Opened in March 1982, this ugly-pretty brutalist 35 year old has been forgotten by younger Londoners. Let me refresh your memory...

Barbican Conservatory

City Guide | Hay-On-Wye, UK

50 Shades of Hay

Hay is a small village on the river Wye, located along the eastern border between England and Wales. Internationally known for the amount of secondhand bookshops crammed into its small streets,

Hay-On-Wye is the perfect place to escape to for a couple of days if you're in need of some quiet time to read, eat, walk and contemplate. My visit in late February was a welcome escape from the mega-stress levels of zone 1 London.

24 Things To Do In London

24 Things To Do In London

It's my 24th Birthday, so I thought I would share 24 things I've done so far in London...

1. Become a plant mum

Moonlight | Film Review

Gamelkateinthecinema | Moonlight

Director: Barry Jenkins

Release: 2016
Writers: Screenplay: Barry Jenkins | Story: Tarell Alvin McCraney

Genre: Drama / Coming of Age

Rating: R some sexuality, drug use, brief violence, language throughout

Wow. It’s only March, and Moonlight is already one of my favourite films of 2017. This is a beautifully told and emotionally charged story of growth, that digs down under your skin and refuses to be forgotten.

City Guide | Vienna, Austria

Vienna Vol. 2

Last time I was in Vienna I had a stomach bug and spent most of the time sleeping. This was all that made it to the blog: 

"So while I technically did pass through Austria and visited Vienna, I don't really remember it. On the train from Prague I must have caught the tail end of Tyler's food poisoning or something similar ( I feel totally comfortable blaming the hostel for any illness I may have contracted) and spent the first day in bed at the Meininger Hostel (a chain I would recommend) throwing up and generally dead to the world. On the second day we made it to the Natural History Museum, which was pretty groovy. Then we played some pool, drank some cheap Becks - because beer is the traveller's medicine - and were off the Italy the very next day..."

This time around we were there for just under a week, and I was travelling with family. Aka we did real proper stuff 'n' shit. I really felt like I got to see another side of Vienna; a rich cultural heritage, expressed through architectural design, food and music. Between museum visits and stuffing my face with Viennese food, I tried to capture some of Vienna's best bits.  The focus of this post is the images rather than words, as we visited so many different museums and galleries and that describing them would be less interesting than only showing you the highlights. The photos  are divided into visual themes, rather than chronologically. Enjoy!

3 Must-See Historic London Homes

London's House Museums
3 Must-See Historic Homes

There are so many amazing houses in London that have been preserved and are open to the public for viewing. There are some big names left off this very short list, for example the Sir John Soane's Museum and Dennis Severs' House. Here I have picked 3 of my recently visited favourites. I have deliberately chosen only a few photos for each place, as the real magic is in seeing the houses for yourself.

City Guide | Bath, UK

24 Hours In Bath

Recently I spent a day in Bath with Family and thought I'd share my experiences with you. If I could give you one tip about visiting Bath in February, it would be to make sure you see everything early as last entry to most places is around 4pm. We wanted to visit the costume museum, but only arrived at 4.15pm after seeing the crescent. One of life's tragedies.

T2 Trainspotting | Film Review

Gamelkateinthecinema | T2 Trainspotting

Director: Danny Boyle

Release: 2017
Writers: Adaptation by John Hodge | Novel "Porno" by Irvine Welsh

Genre: Drama/Black Comedy/Revenge

Rating: R-18 Drug Use, Strong Language, Sexual Content, Violence

If you are going into T2 with high hopes, you wont be let down. Forget a movie that fits the brand of the original; this is the original. Same cast, same crew, same locations, and same Scottish banter that made Trainspotting so spot on.

How To Survive Valentine's Day

💕 Planning for Valentines 💕

The Dating Mine Field and Avoiding Disaster

Whether you’re with the love of your life or thinking about finding someone to hook up with this Valentine’s Day, if you live in London there will be two things at the forefront of your mind this week; the cost of a date, and what the hell to do once you’ve got one. Now, something we all have to get to grips with is that your date might not want to do the same thing as you. Compromises have to be made, places have to be booked and plans have to be agreed on. If you have an I’ll-just-wing-it attitude, this may go horribly wrong. Don’t panic, I have some ideas that might save you from disaster.

From the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition at Somerset House, London

Finding Millais' Ophelia in South London

Finding Millais' Ophelia | London KT4

Graphic Whimsy by Bruce Sterling

Slaying Warm | Dressing for London Winters

SLAYING WARM | Winter 2017

Lemme say this first; please don’t think I’m trying to show off or tell you that I dress better than you. It is very true that there is beauty in diversity, and I love all different styles. These are just some ways I keep myself warm without looking like a bubble-wrapped orca. Although I’m sure there are worse things to look like…

Notes on Moving Country | A Mash-up of Ideas, Tips and Complex Emotions

Notes on Moving Country | A Mash-up Of Ideas, Tips and Complex Emotions

Chances are that if you’re reading this then you are thinking about moving to London, already live in London, or know someone else who is thinking of moving. When I came up with the idea to ‘help’ or give tips on moving to London, I really didn’t realise how much content there would be to consider. I could go on and on about the differences and ways to overcome them, but for now the hurdles I faced in the first few months of living in London is already a lot to read!

Arrival | Film Review

Gamelkateinthecinema | Arrival

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Release: 2016
Writers: Screenplay by Eric Heisserer | Novel "The Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang

Genre: Sci-fi/Mystery/Drama

Rating: PG-13 Strong Language

An intelligent and sensible female leading role a big-budget Hollywood Sci-fi? Is this the film the world has been waiting for?