Continuing with the film theme, in eager anticipation of another film I mentioned a while ago and am really looking forward to watching, I decided to do a bit of Googling on said film, Walk The Line. Like Brokeback Mountian, Walk The Line has been winning some serious awards, reviews and column inches, particularly Reese Witherspoon for her portrayal of June Carter Cash. Reese, incidentally, isn't actually her real name - its Laura Reese Witherspoon. A little useless fact for you there.

I already knew who Johnny Cash was. Who wouldn't, what with all the aforementioned press coverage, etc. Also, Johnny Cash was a regular in a series of Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, many years ago (1993, I believe). Its this, to be honest, which is the more likely explanation for why I knew who he was. But I can honestly say I had no idea what June Carter Cash looked like. So, I got Googling.

This is Mr and Mrs Cash in their current silver-screen incarnation-

This is them as they were way back when - I'm guessing the 60s-

And THEN, I found a more recent picture of them, circa 1993 (that's a clue)-

Have you got it yet kids?

This photo was taken from Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, when Johnny Cash played a character called Kid Cole, who fell in love with some new-age healer lady called Sister Ruth, married her and ran off into the sunset with her, living happily ever after before he died of diabetes, or TB, or something else that not even super doc Michaela Quinn could cure. Now, this was obviously lost on me when I watched it the first time round at the tender age of 9, and also when I watched Dr Quinn again (obsessively) on the *whispers it* Hallmark Channel a year or so ago, but it would appear that Sister Ruth was played by none other than June Carter Cash! Aww!

Why I knew who Johnny Cash was as a direct result of Dr Quinn, but the same programme, and even same storyline, failed to do the same for me with his lady wife is a mystery to me. But, at least I now know what she looked like. And now, just in case you didn't already, so do all of YOU. Don't say I never do anything for you.

Last night I went to see that film I've been going on about for a while, the one with the gay cowboy love.

No! Not that one! (Source)

Yes! That one!

Brokeback Mountain was everything I hoped and expected it would be, and more. Even the fact that, because the cinema was so full, the only seats left were in the front row which resulted in severe neck-ache and mild disorientation didn't take anything away from it. Really. What can I say? The story was handled very sensitively - you could feel the love and pain of everyone involved. Of course, despite several shots of Jakey's well-formed chest, it's Heath Ledger that's been getting all the best reviews from this film. I do agree that Heath gave a very moving, understated and highly believable performance. However, I will say that although Jake's character wasn't as perhaps as serious as Heath's, his performance wasn't any less for it. I left the cinema in what can only be described as an emotional state, and I'm still thinking about it now, 24 hours later. I really hope it wins all the awards it deserves.

I love the gays! (And Jake Gyllenhaal.)

Well. Haven't I been busy today?

Actually, the answer to that question would be a resounding 'no'. Here's why.

9am this morning, there's a ring at the doorbell. Its the double glazing men! No, not salesmen. Those we could have ignored. Men to actually install double glazing. At 9 o'clock in the morning.

*Tired, drawn-out groan*

This wasn't suddenly sprung on us - we were given prior warning by the landlord. But I, in my naievety, thought it would be over in an hour or so. And seeing as how I don't usually wake up until 10 and get dressed until 11-11.30, I thought hanging around in the one room that wasn't being worked in with naturally drying hair and no make up as I couldn't physically access my room, would all be ok - no actual waste of time, when a mountain of research reading and refugee-related meetings and emails (I'll tell you about that another time) were waiting to be done, as I wouldn't otherwise be doing them anyway.

Alas, 1.30 came around, and I was still sat, nay, curled up in a ball wrapped up in a blanket as there were no windows (except for one) in the house and its bloody freezing, in the same room, with now naturally dried hair, doing a very good impression of a gorse bush or some other such wild shrubbery, no food as we couldn't get into the kitchen, and dying for the toilet as there was no window in the bathroom and I didn't fancy have a wee in front of any neighbour who cared to watch.

It was at this point that I actually ventured outside, driving to uni, throwing my bank balance to the wind and risking a parking ticket in the one, big, no-parking zone that is Leeds University ( didn't get one, thank God), just to go to the toilet, get some food, and attend and send out the aforementioned meeting and emails.

By the time I got back it was gone 2pm and the men were still here.

3.30pm the Fleetwood Mac DVD went on.

4pm they left, and I faced facts that no work was going to get done this side of Neighbours ( the crash! So good!)

I ate pizza for tea (forgot to get anything else out of the freezer to defrost), watched Corrie, and that brings us up to right, about, now.

Although I did sweep the kitchen floor as my chore for the day on the rota. And I'm going to do a bit of work now, before Desperate Housewives. As soon as I finish this. Honest. My reasoning is, I worked like a dog all last week and right up until yesterday, so one lazy, messy-haired, not my fault anyway, 'day off' is allowed, just this once.

But enough about me. Some responses to some of your comments:

Curly: It wasn't actually in The Cockpit, it was in the union but its a night run by The Cockpit. The Cockpit is actually really good as well. Indie nights are definitely worth it.
Huw: I have not abandoned H&A, its just not overly interesting at the moment. Its all about Neighbours at the moment! I know who dies! And who they make you think dies. I was reading it on Neighbours.com in November. Yes, I am that sad.

Desperate Housewives tonight!!

Well, wasn't that a fun little experiment? While it was great to hear from two genuine new posters, and one housemate masquerading as a lurker (anonymous no. 1), and lovely to get comments from my favourite regular commentors (i.e. - all all of you!), I was vaguely disappointed that a few more lurkers didn't emerge. Remember people - I can see your IP addresses via my hit counter! I know you're out there!

While every day since Wednesday has been spent in the library working on my dissertation, I did manage to venture outside on Saturday night and, in my usual style, got wasted on just 3 pints.

2 days to go until Desperate Housewives!

I am completely stealing an idea from Huw now.

Apparently it is delurking week, so I am going to take a risk and assume that there are some (at least one, maybe?) readers out there who visit but never comment. Actually, I know that there is at least one, because I have recently received an email from said lurker, which was very nice, being as self-obsessed as I obviously am. I mean, I have a blog. All about me.

I am aware that there is a risk of this falling flat on its arse and the blog, and therefore me, is revealed as the uninteresting drivel we all know it really is but pretend otherwise for my self-esteem, and NO ONE comments. Apart from my few but cherished regular commentors.

I know that lurkers do exist, because I am one myself. There's at least 3 blogs that I check everyday, and loads more that I check in on from time to time, but have never commented on.

So go on. You know you want to.

And the countdown to 'spring' starts ... NOW.

A slightly shorter countdown - one week to go until new Desperate Housewives!

Wednesday nights rock!

Richard Hammond, please be my boyfriend.

He is funny, oh so clever, and oh so beautiful. If not a bit on the short side. Just look at that smile. What a man.

Aside from admiring Mr Hammond on The 5 o'Clock Show, unfortunately accompanied by the nowhere near as funny Mel Giedroyc, I have been sitting my exam. It went quite well, I hope, and was my only exam, which means no more revision until May! I still have loads of dissertation work to do though, starting tommorrow. Today, though, is a rest-day. I am cooking a my-exam-and-therefore-my-revision-is-over dinner, from my new Jamie Oliver cookbook I got for Christmas, and then watching my new Fleetwood Mac DVD that I got for Christmas and have been saving for after my exam. While everyone else in my house is still revising! Ha!

Revision and dissertation and essay writing and reading, and so on, is all starting to get me a bit down now. I've been doing the same thing for three years now, and while I still enjoy the element of my degree that is being a historian, finding out new things and research and stuff, the actual work bit is getting boring. And I am really fed up of always having deadlines at the back of my mind. I can never completely relax. And what was making it so much worse was that I didn't know what I was going to do with the fruits of all this labour when its all done and dusted.

But over Christmas I've had a sort of revelation. The actual process that led to my realisation is a bit long and complicated, but basically I got talking to my friend from home who works for the council and we got talking about 'proper' jobs, which led me to think about what I really wanted to do. I realised, especially after thinking about how much I enjoyed working in Bodelwyddan Castle and how the management side of how things ran there really appealed to me, that heritage was the way to go for me! And now I've found an MA course in Bangor university in Heritage Management, which is really quite perfect for me, because I can live at home, as Bangor's only half an hour away, so I won't have to pay for rent living away from home, which is always good, and while it'll still be something I really enjoy, it will be a completely different style of degree and of learning, the freshness of which really appeals to me. And, hopefully, I will be able to get a good job that I enjoy at the end of it!

Ta dah! Now I just need to keep slogging away for the rest of this year so I get a 2:1 and can do it all.

As I take a break in my spirit-crushing exam revision, cup of tea in one hand, ASDA Good For You digestive biscuits in the other, one thing in particular is on my mind.

Leeds University's policy is that when you finally get your degree results, if you are only a point or so away from a 2:1 or a 1st, then they look at your record to see if there have been any mitigating circumstances during the course of your degree that could have adversely affected your results, and then in some cases push up your marks accordingly.

I was wondering, does 'the new series of ER starting the night before my exam' count as mitigating circumstances?

Happy new year!

I spent New Year's Eve in the pub, working. From 4pm until 3am . Dressed as a cowgirl. I lost count of the amount of times I heard 'Are those guns loaded, love?' 'I want to shoot off your guns!' Or 'Howdy cowgirl!' But dressed in a checked shirt, denim skirt, cowboy boots, two plastic guns and a huge hat, it was only to be expected. I finished the night not only shattered, but crippled. My boots were making my feet hurt by 6pm. By 9pm it hurt to step so I had to shuffle everywhere. I had taken trainers along, in preparation for just such pain, but having come so far, I refused to change shoes and was determined to make it to the end. 2am and last orders came, and I triumphantly kicked off the boots and padded around for the next hour clearing up in my socks. By that point I couldn't even take trainers on my feet. They still haven't recovered.

Pain aside, it was a really good night. Other costumed staff included an angel, a saloon showgirl, Avid Merrion (I think) and a naughty vicar - prim and proper from the front, silky knickers, suspenders and fishnets from behind. Yes, that 6 foot 4 barman did look very fetching in his fishnets.

New Year's over now. So, it would appear, is Christmas. Little sis went back to school yesterday, and the decorations in our house came down. And I am left with less than a week at home, and exam revision. Thank god there's still plenty of chocolate left in the house to eat.