Review: Ghost Stories at The Alexandra Theatre

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Shhhhhhhh…

Last night The Bloke and I were invited to see Ghost Stories at The Alexandra Theatre.

Created by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson, Ghost Stories has arrived at The Alexandra Theatre for its first ever UK Tour following a sell-out West End and international stage performances and a smash hit film starring Martin Freeman.

Described as the ultimate twisted love-letter to horror, a supernatural edge-of-your-seat theatrical experience like no other, the show comes with an age restriction of 15, a warning that Ghost Stories contains moments of extreme shock and tension and advises that those of a nervous disposition should think very seriously before attending. In my naivety I took this with a pinch of salt. Surely it wouldn’t be that frightening?

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Great January Bullet Journal Spread Ideas

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Great Bullet Journal Spread Ideas for January

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small amount of money if you make a purchase from any of the Amazon links included.

All of the images included were given with full permission from their creators and I have linked each account.

As the new year begins I have been incredibly excited about setting up my new Bullet Journal. The ability to be able to customise my own planner has been enormously useful when planning out my daily and monthly tasks, and I have taken regular inspiration from the insanely talented creators across Instagram and YouTube to develop my creative side to make my spread ideas more interesting.

Looking for a notebook? I already bought a set of Bullet Journals last year, but I have heard numerous great things about the A5 Dotted Journal by Scribbles That Matter.
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The Australian Fires: Where You Can Donate

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I’ve watched in horror over the last few weeks as the fires in Australia have ravaged the country. With 24 people and 500 MILLION animals dead, millions of hectares of land burned and more than 1400 homes destroyed, I’ve been reduced to tears as the pictures of the devastation have been shared across the news and social media. Like the fires across the Amazon Rainforests and California there’s a feeling of helplessness, particularly in the fact that it is happening literally on the other side of the world.

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40 Before 40: The Bucket List

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40 Before 40 The Bucket List

When I first left my job to become self-employed I created a Bucket List. Some of it consisted of small goals that were designed to push myself forward in my new career path, while others were seemingly far more outrageous and frivolous at the time, being included in a ‘pipe dream’ section at the end.

Rather unexpectedly I managed to complete the entire list, with the final item being ticked off after I had the chance to meet Dolph Lundgren – my ultimate celebrity crush of 30+ years – in December 2017. However, since then I haven’t really focused on major goals, instead choosing to go from day to day with little direction other than getting through the month ahead.

In November I turned 38 and so I decided that I would create a 40 Before 40 Bucket List – 40 things to see, do and achieve before I turn 40 years old – in which I have just under two years to complete. I’ve seen quite a few of them online and after a period of time of feeling like I have little direction this seemed like the perfect solution: acknowledge what I want to do… and do it. By putting it in a public forum I am making myself accountable to not only myself, but for those who read and follow Suzie Speaks regularly. Continue reading →

Tips for Becoming an Unstoppable Blogger in 2020

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Tips for Becoming an Unstoppable Blogger This Year

I usually love the feeling that accompanies a new year. I start a new Bullet Journal, map out my plans and goals and work out the direction that I want to take the blog over the next twelve months.

2020 marks the seventh (!) year of Suzie Speaks. Those who have followed the blog for a long time will already know the story – I started blogging as an outlet when I was struggling in my teaching job, then quit my job to blog full-time as my numbers grew, and then started my own Social Media Management business to supplement my blog income. It’s been a crazy rollercoaster of amazing experiences, travel, networking and online (and sometimes, in person) friendships with people from all over the world that have become very important to me, with plenty of ups and downs and more than a few lessons learned. Continue reading →

2019: A Year in Review

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As I was creating my Bullet Journal spreads at the beginning of the year I decided to incorporate a Memories and Highlights page, not only to keep track of all the positive things that I experienced, but also to serve as a gratitude list. I have diligently filled it in all year.

It turned out to be invaluable. I haven’t particularly felt like I have enjoyed this year very much and my mental health has been low at times, but being able to look at an entire page of experiences, events and things that have brought joy to my daily life has successfully served as a reminder of how much fun I’ve had and how lucky I am. Granted, there have been a few things personally and professionally that haven’t been pleasant, but these have been far outweighed by the positive.

Here are just some of the fantastic things that have happened in 2019… Continue reading →

A Belated Merry Christmas

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For me, Christmas dinner represents everything about the festive season perfectly. Several weeks of planning, shopping for the ingredients, a few hours of prep followed by the whole cooking with different temperatures and timing debacle… and it’s all done and finished in seemingly the blink of an eye, leaving behind an epic amount of washing up and a personal vow never to eat that much in one sitting again.

Christmas was awesome, but was over far too quickly.

Despite the minor panic in the last few days leading up to it, I somehow managed to end the day before Christmas Eve with a full fridge, wrapped presents and some clean laundry. The Bloke and I stayed at home for the third year in a row, and we decided that we would have a much more relaxed approach to the holiday, spending most of the time on the couch with the cat (who had a rather fetching new hat that he was obviously delighted with) on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and popping in to feed Paddy (my friend’s bunny that hates me). Continue reading →

Very Busy, But Apparently Doing Very Little…

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A few years ago The Bloke and I were spending our first Christmas together at home as a married couple. I was beyond excited – normally we celebrated our own Christmas together a few days early, then would travel up north to be with our individual families (mine live in Bolton and his are in Sheffield) and on Boxing Day he would drive across the Pennines and meet me, where we would then drive back down to Birmingham. I spent weeks planning and organising everything – putting up the tree, writing and sending cards and presents, sorting out the food and TV schedule – and by the middle of December everything was pretty much finished, aside from the fresh produce I needed for Christmas dinner. Continue reading →

Banksy in Birmingham

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A new Banksy artwork has appeared in Birmingham, highlighting the plight of rough sleepers in the city in a video that was posted on his Instagram page this afternoon with the message:

‘God bless Birmingham.

In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter – without him asking for anything.‘

Being an enormous Banksy (and street art) fan, I immediately jumped in a taxi (after spending twenty minutes trying to figure out the location) and we headed off to the Jewellery Quarter. We were lucky – some news crews had just started to appear but as it was before the point where the school and working day had finished we were able to see it without any issues. The driver got out and came with me to take some photos too!

Banksy in Birmingham

Banksy in Birmingham

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Old Posts and Lots of Waffle

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For those of you who suddenly get the urge to try and tidy up your blog I would quickly advise you to put down the laptop and place it as far away from yourself as you possibly can, especially if you haven’t got very much time.

This week I have been adopting a slightly different strategy in my working methods. After a long period of time of doing the bare minimum of anything connected with my blog, I have finally kicked myself into gear in preparation for exciting things in the New Year than I have been planning for what seems like forever. Consequently, I have been on it – making sure that I start as early as I can first thing in a morning and pushing myself to keep going until I have done above and beyond what was on the basic list and tracker for the day. Continue reading →