How Tom Odell brought back Happy Nats

Today I was a bit down in the dumps.

This wasn't for any particular reason – nothing tragic has happened – but I just really needed cheering up. Those who know me tend to recognise me as the ‘mad happy, smiley person’, but today I was not really feeling my usual smiley self. I needed someone or something to make this mad smile come back.

So in an attempt to brighten my mood, I decided to sit in my garden this evening, listen to my iPod, and write. At Uni, evenings can be mad but while I’m at home, they are the most peaceful time of the day.

I was having one of those days when I just needed to zone out and forget about all the stupid stresses and worries that are going round my head at the moment – they are things which seem so silly but that doesn't stop you thinking about them. Acknowledging the pettiness of your problems doesn't make them go away or make you feel any better.

It’s the end of the day and everyone is tired. The air is cool in the garden and the sun is starting to set. The birds are chirping away like they always are – I’m often convinced they’re having some form of domestic dispute because they can make such a racket, far more than is considered normal. Or maybe some kind of singing practice is occurring. Who knows? They’re birds for crying out loud. I’m going off the subject.

NME posted a review the other day about an artist who is fast becoming one of my new favourites. His name is Tom Odell. He's a friend of my friend’s girlfriend, he has blonde floppy hair and a voice so beautifully powerful that he could sing you Ba Ba Black Sheep and convince you that it’s the most sublime piece of music ever heard by human ears.

Sadly that’s only my opinion, and suffice to say I don’t think NME’s Mark Beaumont would agree with me.

I say this because Beaumont gave Tom a grand total of 0/10 in his review of the long-awaited debut album Long Way Down, which was released yesterday. He said it was too dull. Too mainstream. Too boring.

And when I read this review, it made me feel a little bit sad. I've been a fan of Tom’s since Christmas, when it was announced that he had been shortlisted as a nominee for the Brits Critics Choice Awards for 2013. Like many others, I've been eagerly anticipating his album for months.

So to read such a painfully negative review from the so-called music oracle definitely put me on a bit of a downer. Was it really that bad?

Well, in a word – no. Not really. Not even a little bit. Did Beaumont receive the correct copy of this album? Has Tom checked? I think he should.

To put it into a simple sentence – Long Way Down is absolutely beautiful. I adore absolutely every song and for me that’s a very rare occurrence. 

Tom has added a blend of ballads including 'Sense', 'Heal', 'Stay Tonight' and 'Grow Old With Me', as well as the more upbeat 'I Know', 'Hold Me' and 'Sirens'. Regardless of tempo or style, each and every song has a unique element of mellowness and serenity which is breathtaking, and just what I needed this evening to feel good again.

And now as I sit here on the bench in my garden jotting down these thoughts on a pad of paper, listening to Tom's album, I think I can finally say I’m Happy Nats again.

Much better.

Nats. X

When in Rome, literally.

With my holiday history on record, it's obvious I am certainly not a well-travelled individual, primarily down to my constant lack of money and terrible organisation skills. I've been to France and Germany a few times and I've even visited Greece on a couple of occasions before it got economically flushed down the toilet. However, until last Thursday, I hadn't actually been on a foreign holiday with my family for 11 years, so when my parents suggested a trip to Rome to celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary, naturally my brothers and I jumped at the chance.

I know what you're thinking and I know it sounds terrible - my brothers and I essentially gatecrashed our Mum and Dad's anniversary holiday, but we were all actually invited. I still don't really know why. But we certainly weren't complaining, and we certainly weren't stupid enough to turn down a free holiday.

We touched down in the sunny capital on Thursday and were immediately struck by the heat as we came off the plane. The weather in Rome was proper Summer weather - none of that ridiculous English rubbish with overcast skies and the odd burst of sunshine which lasts about five seconds before disappearing behind an enormous grey cloud. It stayed at 32°C for most of our trip and with the sun shining down on us, we were as happy as clams.

The second thing which struck me was the immense beauty of the architecture and landscape as we travelled closer to the heart of the city via train on the way to our hotel. It was simply breathtaking. Just from looking at the buildings you could see the history and the way in which it had been so well preserved.

When we finally got off the train and started walking around the city in search of our hotel, my Dad decided to make a fantastic first impression on the locals by shouting out very loudly in the middle of the street "Watch out on the roads, the Roman's are all flipping lunatics when they're behind the wheel of a car". At that point, all I could was look at the ground and pray that the fifty or so other people around us were not Roman and/or did not understand English. You can always rely on my Dad to be embarrassing at any given opportunity, and he certainly outdid himself on this occasion.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain), which was so beautiful. Traditionally you are encouraged to throw coins into the fountain in the hope that in doing so, it will bring you back to Rome in the future, so we all threw in a couple of cents with this in mind.

The following day we went to The Altare della Patria, which is a stunning monument made entirely from marble and built in honour of Italy's first King, Victor Emmanuel. I spent most of the time watching my footing as we walked up endless flights of stairs, terrified I would end up falling over and cracking my head open on the marble floor. With that aside, looking out at the view from the top was most definitely one of my highlights of our trip.

My Mum and Dad decided some time before we went away to buy us 'Roma Passes' which gave us free use of the city's public transport network and admission to two landmarks of our choice without having to queue, the first of which was The Vatican Museum.

I'm not Catholic or particularly religious, but just to look at the stunning patterned ceilings, statues and sculptures made it a brilliant and very interesting afternoon.

On the same day we visited the Sistine Chapel, which was equally as beautiful with its patterned walls and painted ceilings. It was, as you might expect, a very strict environment - you needed to have your shoulders and knees covered, and were asked to be completely silent so those who wanted to pray inside the chapel could. Then again, it can't have been easy to do so given the amount of racket the security guards were making yelling "Silenzio!" ("silence") every ten seconds. I was actually tempted to shout out something about double standards but it probably would have ended with me getting thrown out.

Afterwards, we went to a gorgeous little backstreet restaurant called La Scalinata. The restaurant owner was so lovely and fitted the Italian stereotype perfectly - he was a bit like the waiter from Disney's 'The Lady and the Tramp', but less fat and without a moustache.

On Saturday we travelled back to The Vatican so we could go inside St. Peter's Basilica, which was enormous and absolutely breathtaking inside and out.

That same day we also went to The Colosseum. Inside there were artefacts, stone carvings and stories on wall plaques about the persecution of Christians and the ways in which they were punished for their beliefs - we learnt so much in such a short space of time. Although naturally, it was the outside of the Colosseum which was truly astounding - as we went exploring it was so easy to picture how it would have looked back then and imagine the immense level of sound which would have roared throughout the arena.

For lunch we picked the ideal spot opposite the Colosseum in Ristorante Al Gladiatore, which had a beautiful painting on the wall of a Roman soldier bowing down for mercy towards a female gladiator. The waiter told us a story of this female gladiator and how she was avenging her people who had been killed at the hands of these Roman soldiers.

That evening we decided to go to the Spanish Steps, where we sat for about two hours simply chatting, people-watching and soaking in the atmosphere. In spite of the crowds, busyness and noise, it was so peaceful and I felt like I could just stay there forever.

On our final day, we wandered through the markets and shops, exploring the smaller places we had missed the first time we looked around. I might have accidentally bought more jewellery - a pair of earrings and two bracelets - but I was on holiday so I was allowed. That's my naff excuse.

We sat in a cute little place called Caffè Accademia and ate the most delicious ice cream I've ever tasted - it was proper Italian ice cream. It cost an arm and a leg though, maybe even a few toes.

At this point in the trip we also worked out that my little brother Luke had eaten Margarita pizza every day for the past four days (!!).

We had reached the end of our holiday, jumped back on the plane to a not-so-sunny England and said our goodbyes to our new favourite city. All in all, it was a fantastic trip with so many memories made.

Ciao :) Nats. X

National Blood Week - Do your bit and donate

I've written about NHS Blood Donation on here a couple of times before, so you can probably tell it is an organisation which, if you'll pardon the pun, has always been very close to my heart. And since today is the first day of National Blood Week in the UK, running from 10th-16th June 2013, I thought I'd write a bit about why registering to be a blood donor could be one of the best things you could ever possibly do.

This year's campaign 'Know Blood, Give Blood' is asking donors to share the facts with as many people as they possibly can, in order to help NHS Blood Donation continue to recruit the 200,000 new donors they need every year to replace those who can no longer donate.

This is why I'm here today - to spread the word!

Did you know...?

• 96% of us rely on the other 4% of the population to donate blood

• The number of regular blood donors has fallen by 23% over the past decade

• Hospitals around the UK need around 7000 units of blood every day to treat a vast range of health issues

• Each unit of blood donated is split into its constituent parts, which means it can save up to three lives

• Over a lifetime, some blood donors can help more than 500 people through their donations!

• You can donate up to three times a year, and it takes no longer than an hour per session.

• Your blood will be used to help a variety of patients, including children suffering with leukemia or other terminal illnesses, burns victims, women giving birth and people with conditions that require regular blood transfusions

• In one session you will donate 470ml, just under one pint, of your blood. After donating you will need to rest and will be offered refreshments to avoid faintness or dizziness (a.k.a. free drinks and biscuits, woohoo)

• When you fully process what a monumental difference you have just made to another person's life, the feeling is indescribable - all I can say it is like no other!

Learn more about National Blood Week and how you can help by clicking HERE. Visit the NHS Blood Donation website for more information about eligibility and registering.

June

You'll have to excuse me; I'm typing this with a slight hangover. However, I find writing is often so therapeutic that it works as the best kind of cure, so that's why I'm here instead of hiding in a dark room under a duvet. Weird, I know, but from me are you really expecting any different?

The last few weeks have been very busy as I've been travelling back and forth from home to my Uni house for work, family events and birthdays. It's been very strange spending a few days here, a few days there, because normally I'm only in one place for fairly long periods of time. However, on Wednesday I'll be heading back home for a longer stint of 4 weeks which I'm looking forward to, especially as it means I won't be packing and unpacking my bags every 5 minutes.

Last night we had our Summer Ball which was so fantastic! Admittedly most of it is a bit of a blur, but it was brilliant to see so many of my Uni friends looking gorgeous in their dresses and smart suits coming together to celebrate the end of a mad and eventful year. On the line up we had The Hoosiers and Pendulum, who were both amazing, and Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and Wiley, who I unfortunately missed, but I've got it on good authority that they performed great sets as well. Because I work in the coffee shop on campus I actually bumped into a few of my colleagues who were working some of the stalls - thankfully I found a small piece of common sense when seeing my boss' boss from a distance and realising it was probably not a good idea for me to go and have a chat, bearing in mind I was not of sober/sound mind and would have ended up babbling about all kinds of nonsense. I have no clue where this piece of common sense sprung from, but I'd be very grateful if it started to make an appearance more often in my day to day life. All in all, it was the perfect way to round off my second year.

On Tuesday, my housemate Vic and I went to an event called Tune In To Volunteering to collect awards for the volunteering we've done for our University, and we had a really lovely afternoon. It was all quite sophisticated and civilised (an environment which I'm obviously not naturally accustomed to) but it all ran smoothly with very few hiccups and moments of stupidity on my part, with the exception of me walking into one of the poles that was holding up the marquee, but I can't be held accountable for that; it was definitely the pole's fault.

There was a broad selection of people there who had completed so many fantastic acts of charity and volunteering - it really was an honour to be amongst them. Vic and I met a lovely guy called Adam who had been working with Age UK for three years and was being awarded for his 510 hours of volunteering with them. It was brilliant to see someone so humble and others like him be recognised and congratulated for such amazing work.

Finally, I've been asked to do a shout-out (or something of that kind fit for a blog post) to the fantastic people I work with - they're a mad lot and drive me crazy sometimes but I love them all. I'm not going to list all your names like you asked me to as there's bound to be whinging of "why was I listed last", "why was so-and-so first" etc., but just to say HELLO and you're all super.

Enjoy the rest of June you lovely lot.

Nats. X

The Great Gatsby film review.

I've never written a film review before, which you will probably realise once you've finished reading today’s post. The closest I've got to writing anything remotely similar is a book report at school – the classic summer holiday homework which is forced upon primary school children and met with the same overwhelming hatred as eating vegetables and enduring Sunday night bath time before school the next day.

However, last Friday evening I went to see The Great Gatsby, arguably one of the most anticipated films of this year so far, and since then I have been contemplating writing a little bit about it, especially since the movie has already been subject to much criticism both hot and cold from every possible direction. I had no intention of writing about the film before I actually watched it, so I'm trying my very best to work from memory. If you would like to read a more accurate review, I recommend giving Robbie Collin's one a go, especially as it is far more articulately written than mine.

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Adapting a novel to a screen play is a bit like tightrope walking: not everybody can do it, baby steps are a must, parts are plain sailing and wobbles are always guaranteed along the way. What you're greeted with when you reach the other side is another matter entirely.

With a trio of past cinematic catastrophes behind it, Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby hit screens this week and I for one was more skeptical than most. Indeed, it is baffling that for such a famous novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic text has never truly reached its full potential on the big screen after falling short in the 1926, 1949 and 1974 adaptations. The transition from text to film has never been easy, granted – lines are messed about with and there are almost always scenes missing. It was too late for Gatsby's “third time lucky”, but I had been left wondering whether Luhrmann had found fortune in the number four.

The novel is in actual fact a personal favourite of mine. I had fallen head over heels with Fitzgerald’s sensational interpretation of the glitz and the glamour, the frivolity of money and the enchanting, laissez-faire demeanor of the post-war generation. But beneath the surface, 1920s America was corrupt, decadent and damaged. For this film to be a success, a director would have to fully capture the density of this premise and simultaneously deliver a storyline of great complexity. No pressure then.

The film is, without a doubt, an optical masterpiece. Luhrmann’s utilisation of colour and texture is so gorgeous that it is difficult not to appreciate the meticulousness and attention-to-detail which clearly went into formulating such authentic costumes, props and scenery. Fitzgerald’s synaesthetic language is enough to make you fall in love with this fantastical, if contrived, environment, but it is Luhrmann who brings these imaginings to life for a modern audience.

And yet to quote the book, "life is much more successfully looked at from a single window". This film is not without fault, and character portrayal is a big problem. Tobey Maguire’s Nick Carraway was good, his awkwardness captured well, but Luhrmann's decision to place the character in a different setting at the start of the film just did not work.

Carey Mulligan’s performance was equally problematic. Fitzgerald's Daisy is selfish, ignorant and careless, but with Mulligan we see a defenseless, confused woman, trapped in a loveless, violent marriage and warped by the materialism around her. She becomes the victim rather than the perpetrator, despite the fact she is the one in the driving seat, quite literally, initiating the demise of certain characters. The Great Gatsby is supposed to be the great American novel without any truly great characters, but this is something Luhrmann clearly chose to overlook.

I admit I didn't mind this movie. It is, however, Luhrmann’s controversial approach which leaves me wondering whether I would have enjoyed this film more if it had been under the direction of somebody else. Indeed, it would have been interesting to see a focus on the corruption of American society, or the role of Nick as secret keeper. It is important to remember that Gatsby is not just a love story.

Without Luhrmann, on the other hand, would this film lose authenticity without the stunning visual beauty which this director captured so impeccably? I very much doubt it, and we cannot have it both ways.

At least with previous film adaptations in mind, it is without question that Luhrmann’s Gatsby is “worth the whole damn bunch put together”.

Age isn't just a number in the world of radio.

If you enjoy listening to music, you probably enjoy listening to the radio. Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or sexuality, the radio is and always will be thought of as one of the most popular and accessible sources of entertainment in the 21st century.

Pop princess Rihanna quite rightly states in Capital FM’s latest advertising campaign that it actually stands as “the middleman” between a musician and their fans. The radio offers listeners the opportunity to discover new music and reminisce with the old. It offers the chance to explore different genres and grasp a true sense of what you enjoy and what you don’t. It offers an escape from reality, a fast ticket to freedom far away from the stress and troubles of our day to day lives. (Too deep? I’m an English student, unfortunately that’s the way my mind works).

It is for this reason that I question the motives behind The BBC Trust’s new scheme to drive out the older, long-time lovers of popular UK radio station Radio 1 in order to lower the age of the average listener, which was last year revealed to be 32. As a result, the BBC have been working tirelessly to attract a much younger audience of 15-29 year olds, bringing in an array of new, younger presenters, including T4’s Jameela Jamil and YouTube sensations Dan Howell and Phil Lester.

Jameela Jamil hosts The Official Chart Show on Sunday afternoons

The station also saw the hugely popular radio veteran Chris Moyles axed, with the younger Nick Grimshaw taking his place on the breakfast show. In addition, Radio 1 was given a fresh and distinctive revamp, with the playlist now featuring a larger variety of drum & bass, dubstep and dance music in the hope of connecting with the younger generation and encouraging older listeners to switch off. Seemingly, The BBC does not see age as just a number, but instead an indicator which determines your right to listen to the music they broadcast.

Change can sometimes be a good thing, and if the BBC station wants to change, they have every right to.

However, surely the true purpose of radio shouldn't be about branding, labelling or maintaining a ‘cool’ and young image and reputation. Primarily, it is the music which is more important, regardless of who is listening to it. Why should your music taste rely upon how long you've been on the planet? If a 78 year old Grandmother enjoys singing along to Beyoncé on Radio 1 while she’s knitting this year’s collection of Christmas jumpers, she has just as much right as any teenager who’s listening while they’re doing their homework. The BBC is a tax-funded service; if the British public are the ones paying the license fee, they should be able to tune into anything they choose to.

Radio 1 might be struggling with their ongoing battle to cut their older audience, but with veteran DJ’s such as Annie Nightingale, Pete Tong and Tim Westwood still on the air, they’re blatantly shooting themselves in the foot. Combined, these three have a career spanning nearly 100 years at Radio 1, which just goes to prove that you don’t need to be young to appreciate new music.

Regardless of where the station is steered next, it would be an understatement to say that Radio 1 Controller Ben Cooper has a monumental task on his hands, though he's clearly only a puppet with the suits above pulling the strings.

Would the circumstances be any different if Andy Parfitt, who left the station in 2011, were still in charge?

Perhaps not.

May

I'm back! You poor unfortunate souls.

I finished my exams yesterday, and suffice to say, it's pretty unbelievable to think that we've reached the end of this academic year already. They say time flies when you're having fun - I'm not sure I'd label spending an absurd number of days revising and writing essays "fun", but each to their own. If anything, I have learned in these last few months that time flies when you have deadlines to meet, and hopefully that's a lesson I'll bear in mind when it comes to writing my dissertation next year!

I'm afraid - once again - I have very little to report, because my life for last month and a half has essentially consisted of Uni work, whinging about Uni work and serving coffee to caffeine-craving students and lecturers. However, I thought it might be nice to announce on here that I'm now free for the summer Uni-wise so should have a lot more time to write, which is quite exciting! The thing I'm most looking forward to is writing what I want to rather than being told what I should be writing, whether this be news-based articles or just ramblings about mad and crazy shenanigans (shenanigans is such a great word) and life in general.

The last few weeks aside from exams, revision and work have been pretty dull, but I did go and see The Vaccines right at the start of the month with my friend Daisy, and it was absolutely mental. We picked the perfect position in front of the guitarist Freddie Cowan, who often comes across as a bit of an idiot but he's so bloody beautiful that it's easy to bypass his personality. Beer (or what I hope was beer) was flying everywhere as you might expect at a gig so Daisy and I were both drenched by the time it was over, but we had such a fantastic night and would love to see them again - if you're into that sort of thing it's definitely recommended.

Before I came back to University there were also plenty of goings-on and dramas happening at home, which is a given considering chaos seems to follow me everywhere. I ended up volunteering at my little brother's Cub Scouts one evening - we went grass sledging, which basically consists you sitting on a sledge and going down this massive slide (why it's called grass sledging when technically there's no grass involved, I do not know). After a good twenty minutes of constant nagging from my brother Luke and his little mates, I was eventually encouraged to give it a go, knowing full well that this could only end in disaster, and I was right. The sledging itself was a lot of fun, but I'd forgotten that there were two breaks that I needed to pull on the sledge and like an idiot, I only pulled one. So when I got to the bottom, I essentially rocketed off like a complete lunatic and ended up landing in an enormous heap of mud, subsequently sending twenty 10 year old boys into total hysterics. To no surprise, Luke had his head in his hands at the thought of his sister once again doing her best to embarrass him, probably wishing that he'd left me at home. The poor kid. I think it's fair to say that I won't be helping out at Cubs anytime in the near future.

To wrap it up, I just want to wish anyone still doing exams or on placement the best of luck - it can't be nice to still be working hard when other people have finished, but you're nearly there, so keep going! Also massive congratulations to my football team Crystal Palace who last night made it to the Championship Play-Off Final and will be playing at Wembley in a couple of weeks time. Woohoo!

Happy May!

Nats. X