Friday Favourites 7th - 13th November 2015
Ok so I have a confession, this post isn't technically going up live on a Friday. I have scheduled it. I can lie no more. I have had a hugely busy week only to be followed by a weekend where nothing is going up live, apologies, apologies, all scheduled I am afraid (isn't technology a god send?)
This week I have barely had time to stop let alone do any illustrating, ya know, what I get paid to do and November doesn't seem to be slowing down. Bear with me chaps, I'll be back to normal soon!
Anyway, best of the week and all that...
1. #manonthemoon.
Yes, Christmas has officially begun, the John Lewis ad has aired and it's another corker. Yes, the man on the moon sprung online last Friday and made people cry first thing in the morning (in a good heartfelt way). I watched the ad about 10 minutes after it went live and it is the classic combination of a tear jerking advert with a bit of Christmas lights thrown in for good measure alongside a stripped back cover of a classic song. The best part of the advert? When you find out John Lewis have teamed up with Age UK and suddenly, the whole thing makes that bit more (slightly even more teary) sense. The department store and the charity are raising awareness on how lonely the Christmas period can be for elderly people who might go without seeing or hearing from anyone and are asking for donations to help those vulnerable.
Find the advert here #manonthemoon
Shop the merchandise here; John Lewis shop the advert.
Donate to the cause at Age Uk.
2. Spectre.
This weekend I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon enjoying some Daniel Craig James Bond action. They were going to have to do a pretty darn good job to follow Skyfall but I really enjoyed the new 007. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet but it has the normal mix of action, stunts, a solid bad guy and some epic locations; all the qualities that make up your normal Bond film. There's been a lot of fuss about having an older Bond girl in the film but the fuss was pretty irrelevant. For one thing, the actress was in it for all of 5 minutes and secondly, she is the same age as the main man himself - no biggie.
Also I am a major fan of the Sam Smith Bond song.
3. Surprise!
This week I surprised my three besties from uni with a little post graduation present to say thank you for the wonderful gifts they gave me in Wrexham and also to celebrate our achievement. I framed our grad photo and personalised each one with their new titles and sent them on their merry way last week and waited, keeping the surprise in until they all got their mail. On Monday of this week all three of them text me exclaiming they had parcels with my stickers all over them and finally, I could announce the surprise in the only way us social media addicts know how; through Instagram.
4. The Apprentice.
On Saturday I wrote this (slightly ranty) piece on last week's The Apprentice episode and it got a lodda love online. Twitter was awash with people in the industry exclaiming how awful the episode on creating a children's book was and it seems that a whole load of individuals agreed. I got nearly 800 views on Facebook alone and it affirmed my suspicion that fresh, relatable content is something people really dig. Here's to more of it!
Find the original article: How The Apprentice Undermined An Entire Industry.
5. A Weekend Away.
Yes this weekend I am off again jetsetting down south (slightly horizontally) to Essex to stay with my second family in my second home. I cannot wait to have some time off, some time to breathe, some time away and some time with this beautiful human I've known since I was 3. - insert kissing face emoji here-
Have a wonderful weekend all, see ya on the flip side!