94: Senses 2

Happy Sunday y'all and a huge welcome to the second post in my 'Senses' series. I knew this week I'd need to get myself into a more assembled state of mind to be able to share with you good folks so, yes, I made me a little bookmark folder and bookmarked everything I thought would make a good addition to this post and that's why, fair friends, the below combination of questionable words (taken from a equally questionable collection of jumbled-up thoughts) and, I'm sure, the inclusion of a solid number of brackets, exists....(I think that may have been one long sentence)

Tori Saw (Read. Watched. Et Cetera)

Image Credit: John Hill

- I'm kicking this off with 'Educating Yorkshire'. Being without a telly means I only ever hear about programmes via Twitter and, in response to a few tweets I read after the first episode, I decided to head on over to 4OD to find out what they were talking about. It wouldn't be something I'd normally plonk myself in front of but I found myself watching it purely out of twisted curiosity. Remembering my school days, back to the behaviour dealt with then (when mobile phones at school were still a relatively new concept and, in those days, were used mainly for txin - no internet mobiles then, readers) - which, at times, bordered on the terrible (chair thrown across the class? Making the teacher cry? Check and check) - even after all that I am still flabbergasted by what the teachers at Thornhill have to put up with. I'm not sure anyone really had the guts a lot of these children seem to have (where does that come from?!) when I was at school. Yes, I don't entirely agree with the methods employed by the headmaster (mate? Hmmmm), but I'm more than sure that I wouldn't, if faced with the same children he is faced with Mon-Fri, be able to respond in quite the controlled, yet informal, manner both he and his staff employ. (Guinness? Guinness?!!)

- A documentary, I think originally aired on 5, entitled 'The Girl In The Box' about the true crime story of Colleen Stan who was kidnapped in 1977, at the age of 20, and held captive as Cameron Hooker's sex slave for 7 years. It is - as I'm sure you'd imagine - an incredibly sad and scary story. Recounted by Colleen herself in an interview, the piece is punctuated with (at times weirdly uncomfortable thanks to her sister's over-the-top enthusiastic responses) additional interviews with family members and police officers who dealt with the case. You can find it here if you are interested in hearing Colleen's story. The amount of control Cameron managed to administered over Colleen was astonishing, culminating in him letting her visit her home for 24 hours, 4 years into her plight (what was awaiting her on her return - and yes, she did leave again with him - was a horrifying 3 years in which she was kept in a box under his bed for 22+ hours a day).

- I often find myself darting from one site to another, watching videos and reading articles prompted by the watching and reading of others. Here are a few videos and articles that, this week, have struck a chord (please be aware Louis CK is NSFW!):

• A short debate between an Atheist and a Christian

• Louis CK clip from 'Oh my God' (yes, at times a little coarse but the overall message is one that resonates)

• Just because I love the way she says fallopian tube

• Thought-provoking jokes from Chris Rock

• I started with this, Mrs Hall's post entitled 'FYI (if you're a teenage girl)' where I was lead to from..

• This Medium article by Rachel Cramer (and from there a few others, which I'll leave to you to search for if you are interested in further reading!)

• I'm not sure how, or why, I came to find these posts but I spent a fair time pouring over them and their responses before going on to read around the subject (sensitive topic related to pregnancy):
• Original Babble article from Dad
• Mum's response 
• Some of the additional reading I did, which can be found here and here

- I've just become the owner of 'The Fault In Our Stars' by John Green and 'The Casual Vacancy' by JK Rowling and have made a start on the former. In the last few hours I've read nearly 200 pages thus have felt the need to put it down and force myself to do something else for fear of reading it too quickly. It's a great feeling when I find a book I adore and wish to swallow down in one sitting but the loss felt when I have to put it down for good isn't so great!

Tori Smelt

Image Credit: Wesley Nagelmaker

- The fresh air after rainfall. There's nothing quite like it, as if the day has been given the opportunity to start anew. Autumn is most definitely upon us people.

- My new face wash and moisturiser, both from Good Things, both very fruity. The blackberry in my moisturiser lingers for a good while after I've rubbed it in and I very much like it!

Tori Tasted

Image Credit: Trudy, Veggie Num Num

- A lentil bolognese I very much threw together (I didn't have Puy lentils, nor could I find any, so I chucked some green ones in instead) on Friday. I hated it. The boy thought it was really nice. Our tastes differ A LOT at times!

- Cadbury's new Cookie Nut Crunch bar. Meh, didn't like it as much as the squishy one (aka Jelly Popping Candy Shells - yeah, like I'm ever going to call it that). Funny smell. Next to try? The sweet n' salty combo that's Cola, Pretzel and Honeycomb (say whaaaat?!) 

Tori Felt

Image Credit: Jessica

- The negative impact of a shopping trip which resulted in a midweek loss of confidence and attack of self-loathing. This is to be the topic of - fingers crossed - my next post. I recorded myself talking about the situation and am mid typing-up what I had to say. I really do hope I organise myself enough to publish it as I really would like to know what you all think.

- The cold air of a new season lingering in the evening, stretching out into the morning hours. Our bedroom is starting to get a little nippy and memories of last Winter keep flickering in my mind as a result.

Tori Listened To

Image Credit: Rockon.it

- AM, in it's entireity, again and again and........you get it, I'm sure

- These bad boys:

• Is there any more perfect a video than Coldplay's Strawberry Swing? Love the album, too

• Some soft rock in the form of Extreme's More Than Words. Ever the classic. 

• My favourite Swim Deep track from their album Where The Heaven Are We?

• King Krule's dulcet tones