50 Things to do while in Lockdown

Continue Reading50 Things to do while in Lockdown

50 THINGS TO DO WHILE IN LOCKDOWN

ALL       

0 COMMENTS

Written by Harry Croose

"Lockup all your love and go and throw away the key."

Hello, all hope you are well. Especially in these times, if you are reading in 2020, with the Coronavirus lockdown. 🙂 I have had a few requests to write a blog post on things to do while in lockdown; luckily for you my fantastical followers, here it is. 🙂  Here is the long list, with an occasional elaboration, as to why I think they are possibly a great idea for you! 🙂

I will say this however if you have to do something, limit your time watching the news and social media. Awareness is important, but an overstimulation of negative headlines can do more damage them people realise to their psychology. Also make sure that you have a routine, and that you have a variety of things to do, that you most of all enjoy, but also tasks that give you the satisfaction of working towards your goals and dreams. 🙂 

- THE LONG LIST OF IDEAS OF THINGS TO DO -

  1.  PLAN YOUR DAY – Have a To-Do List or a Goals Journal so you have particular objectives to complete so you are not just wasting your time, apologises for the bluntness there, but you no deep down what I say has an element of truth to it, espcially if you don’t have clear goals. I would recommend Google Calendar, to help with time blocking your days.
  2. DEDICATE A WORK PERIOD (per day) – Spend a few hours every day doing tasks wether that be for your Work, School or University. Just make some progress it doesn’t matter how much. If you again plan far ahead, a few hours a day should be sufficent for you to get many of your tasks completed.
  3. READ BOOKS  – There are so MANY books, out there to read. 🙂 Take advantage of Amazon (depsite the new delays), books are a testament to education and mental stimulation, that will certainly keep you entertained.
    Wether it be fiction or non-fiction, experimenting with different genres and authors is a fantastic idea.       
  4.  LISTEN TO AUDIOBOOKS – Listening to Audiobooks, (especially from Audible), again it is amazing, and books can be obtained instantly, and can be listened to via the app. I would personally recommend The Game of Thrones Series and Harry Potter Collection for those who like fantasy. You would find thousands of books, from different genres all at very affordable prices at the moment during lockdown.
  5. WATCHING YOUTUBE – You must have a YouTube account surely, listening/watching some of your favourite YouTubers for surely give you a laugh, education or whatever you are in to!
  6. PLAYING VIDEO GAMES – Wether that be on your Xbox One, Xbox 360, WiiU, and Nintendo 3DS etc. There must be plenty of games you haven’t played or haven;t visited in a long time, perhaps you should play them game. The good news is it does eat up time, the bad news is if you get addicted you won’t have a lot of time for anything else – so be careful on that front. But it is lovely to play all together with the family from time-to-time.  
  7. COMPULSORY HOUSE CHORES – House Chores are neccessarily and everyone seems to dread it, but if you make it a routine in the morning (while let’s say listening to an audiobook), you can just get it done and chores might even become quite therauputic and relaxing after a while, rather than a nuisance.  This includes, washing up, drying up, washing machine maitenance, hanging the washing to dry, changing sheets, and just generic tidying. 
  8.  CLEANING/ TIDYING THE HOUSE – This goes beyond the normal house chore level, where you actually do a proper tidying and cleaning of the house, with a hoover, and polishing your surfaces. and sponging/wiping the floor. This again could be tiresome work but it is certainly fulfilling to get even just one room tidied to the best of your ability. 
  9. HOUSE/GARDEN (RE)DECORATION – Perhaps you have the resources already in your house to redecorate or even to just move the furniture round to give it a new feel to a space, especially being in lockdown it might be a rather good idea to change the scenery or the look of it, every ones in a while. (This also includes your Garden). 
  10. WATCHING DOCUMENTARIES – Education watching of documentaries is always good, is there a period of histroy you wanted to visit? There are plenty of free ones on YouTube, TV Channels, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. I am personally very in to The Tudor Period at the Moment. 
  11. WATCHING TV – A bit self-explanatory, a good show to watch is always great on occasion. Are their any shows to catch up on that you want to watch? Or any new ones?
  12. WATCHING FILMS – The same as above, are there any films you haven’t watched. I would recommend Disney+ for that. 🙂 
  13. PLAYING BOARD GAMES/ QUIZZES WITH THE FAMILY – These nights are always fun!! Wether it be Monopoly, Cluedo, Scrabble, Frustration etc. Plenty of board games to play, you could even make a tournament of it, with prices!! 
  14. START YOUR OWN BLOG/WEBSITE – Why don’t you spend time, creating a blog/website, you can start one for absolutely free on WordPress. 🙂 Post regularly it may be entertaining for you and you may establish a viewership. 🙂 
  15.  START (OR PLAN) YOUR OWN PERSONAL BRAND/BUSINESS – A great opportunity for you to establish a Personal Brand via Social Media while working from home. Some businesses may even find great opportunities in these period, despite the not so pleasant circumstances.
  16. REVISE FOR YOUR DRIVING THEORY TEST – It is important you know. 🙂 
  17. SKYPE FIRENDS AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS – See if they all alright, organise to talk to them every so often even if it just a phone call, but Skype would be preferable. 
  18. BE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA – Don’t add to the overwhelming numbers of negative posts and naysayers you have duty to yourself and your family to not be sharing unneccessary articles, that may prove detrimental to someones mental health. Be self-aware of what you are sharing, posting and if you do that you will be a beacon of hope online that people need in this dark hour in 2020. Make sure you also spend less time on social media though it has as already said become a rather depressing place. Filter out those who convey messages you don’t want and replaces them with those that allign with your way of thinking (a more positive ideal). This will change your personal algorthim both on social media and yourself. 
  19. WRITE DOWN YOUR LONG-TERM/SHORT-TERM GOALS – Refer to them every day, and take action accordingly to those goals, whenever possible. 
  20. SPEND MORE TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY – An excellent opportunity to spend more itme with your family members, and to build upon the loving relationships that you have. 
  21. DEVELOP A HEALTH PLAN/ROUTINE – Perhpas you should try doing tha tone daily run or walk for exercise, 
    plan a personal gym in your back garden to get some fitness in. Even if it is for 20 mins or so, it is al lot better than doing nothing – keep active. 
  22. SPEND TIME IN THE FRESH AIR – Wether it be on your one walk to the shop or for exercise, or even just to open your bedroom window let the fresh air, you feel better for it. 
  23. WRITE A BOOK – Everyone has ideas of a story they want to write, maybe it is the time for you to write that best-selling novel. (Especially you Creative Wrting Students!!) 🙂 
  24. WRITE A SCRIPT – Same as above, maybe you want to become a script writer one day, perhpaas for Doctor Who or a show you would like to develop. 
  25. WRITE IN A GRATITUDE JOURNAL – Studies show that this has a massive positive effect on Mental Health, it work wonders, make a list of what you are grateful everyday no matter how small or how big. 
  26. CREATE A YOUTUBE CHANNEL – Create your own content, I believe everyone in this world has a gift to share with us all, why don’t you show us yours. 🙂 
  27. UPDATE AND BUILD A PRESCENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA – This would work wonders with the Number 26. Learning skills such as marketing and graphic design would improve your layout.
  28. START AN ONLINE COURSE (SKILLSHARE) – There are plenty of online courses, for you learn different skills such as Art, Graphic Design, Business Coaching and so much more. Skillshare is very affordable if you use it. 🙂 
  29. START YOUR DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD (UK) – Even thugh you can’t do your residential, you can still strat your Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award for those in the UK, it takes up to 18 months to complete. Hopefully by then lockdown will be gone! But yes the Duke of Edinburgh on the CV will work wonders with a potential employer. 🙂
  30. LEARN AN INSTRUMENT – Such as a piano, guitar or drums their are plenty of instruments to learn and to get good at, with enough persistance you may even be able to compose your own music. 
  31. LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE (DUOLINGO) – This would be such a help when you are able to travel again if you really wanted to go to Paris for example (Disneyland), learn French, a great opportunity, use Duolingo it is absolutely FREE and an amzing app. 🙂 
  32. PLAY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS WITH YOUR FAMILY – For those nerds and geeks out there, me included, Dungeons and Dragons may be a good idea, a fantasy game involving the imagination, where you are the characters in your DM’s world, may be a great side campaign/activity to do. 🙂 
  33. RESEARCH JOB OPPORTUNITIES e.g. GRADUATE JOBS – Plenty of time to research opportunities for jobs and graduate placements (once lockdown has been lifted). 
  34. ALSO FOR UNDERGRADUATE/POSTGRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES – Spend the time looking for your future academic plans, what course did you want to do and why? 🙂
  35. LISTEN TO PODCASTS – There are plenty of podcasts to watch wether your taste is Drama, Comedy or Personal Development, there are plenty to select from. 🙂 
  36. LEARN ARTISTIC DRAWING/PAINTING ETC – Have you got a passion for art, or like to draw? Make your own artistic masterpiece!
  37. LOGIC PUZZLES and RIDDLES – These are always good to get the mind challenged. 
  38. WATCH MOTIVATIONAL/ INSPIRATIONAL VIDEOS – Enough said really, it gets you in the mood for doing your great things. 🙂
  39. LEARN HOW TO CREATE AND EDIT VIDEOS (Adobe) – This is a great skill to learn wether in your own leisure.
  40. LEARN HOW TO COOK OR COOK BETTER – If you can cook well, then trust me this skill with serve oyu for life (pun intended). May even win over a date or two! 🙂
  41. PLAY OUTDOOR GAMES (IN THE GARDEN) – Playing football, Skittles and other outdoor games in your garden may be a great combination of getting exercise, having fresh air while also having lots of fun! 🙂
  42. SPENDING TIME WITH YOURSELF – Just becuase you are in lockdown does not give you the excuse to be mean to yourself, make sure you are very kind to yourself no matter what circumstances you are in, and make sure you get the appropriate help if neccessary, your future self will thank you for it. 🙂
  43. THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-GROOMING/HYGIENE – I know it is basic, but it is easy to forget, if you are not going out you may not put as much effort it, that is understandable and even logical. But you still need to take care of the basics, brushing your teeth, washing your hands especially, washing your hair and having showers/and or baths regularly. It will make you feel better, if you look after your body, your body will look after you. You will feel less groggy and more energised for your tasks and more excited for future prospects. 🙂 
  44. HELPING OTHERS IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD  – Help others, you will feel good helping them. DO to others as you would hve then do to you. 🙂
  45. VOLUNTEER – If you are brave enough like the NHS and other Key workers (#legends #NHS ) you could spend your days volunteering for example to help the homeless and help the elderly get their shopping. This is also part of the Duke of Edinburgh, and is an absolutely brilliant thing to do in this time, so long as you are healthy and able to do so. 🙂
  46. STAYING HEALTHY: (FOOD) – Make sure to eat plenty and drink plenty to keep optimal hydration. Also make sure that you are eating the right foods more often such as fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates etc. But also giving yourself enough time for treats.
  47. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE TRIALS AND REDUCED PRICES – Online shops are reducing prices due to this crash and restriction of movement. So take advantage of that and buy stuff that would be productive towards your goals as well as your lesiure. 
  48. ENJOY SHOPPING (when you go to restock) – More so than not people are sacred at going out, but when it ocmes to shopping it is important that you do so. Be grateful with the pleasures you had when shopping in the past, with the awareness of current social restrictions. 
  49. PLAN FOR WHEN THE LOCKDOWN FINISHES!! PLAN AN AMAZING EVENT – An event for friends and/or family, also in general terms plan for when life returns to normal. 🙂
  50. BE AWESOME, BE YOURSELF – Remember that you are legend always… 
 
So there you have it, hope you found this list inspiring as much as it was long winded. 🙂
Speak to you soon, until the next blog post! 🙂
Harry Croose 🙂

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Get Started

About

Downloads

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Review

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Reviews
Continue ReadingHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Review

HARRY POTTER + THE GOBLET OF FIRE
REVIEW

REVIEWS

0 COMMENTS

Written by Harry Croose

"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be."

Overview

Plot

Plot – beginning to end
Memorable moments
Memorable Quotes

Main Characters (+ development)

Side Characters

Side Characters

Themes (love, death, unity, friends, family)

Establish concrete boundaries in different areas of your life. Whether that be in the realms of love, relationships, friendships, money, emotions, psychology and so on. This mind does not necessarily come from a lack of confidence or self-esteem. I believe that a lack of secure boundaries in these sections of oneself can be one of many reasons that a lack of confidence/ self-esteem continues to manifest in your life.

How does this relate to how to not care what other people think? Well, people with what are considered to be weaker boundaries have an obsession of the need to be validated by others. (Hence you care what people think). Therefore, they require external environments to control their boundaries, which if you put it like that sounds ridiculous!

In human biology, we have a need to be in a pack of people, so we naturally have homeostasis of what the supposed conformed boundaries are. But remember that sometimes our human nature struggles to differentiate the difference between thriving and surviving in these instances. I want you to be thriving! So don’t use this as an excuse for you to be thriving! This brings be to my next point.

3. Change Your Environment

Life is too short. To guilt-trip yourself into staying in an environment that does not vibe with you. Remember the previous point you want to thrive! If that means moving friend groups, distancing yourself from toxicity, and moving towards an environment that you want. Then do it. Yes, it will take a leap of faith, to make such a drastic change.  

If you can’t just change your environment, perhaps you are in a job, or in a position where you don’t want to be. Then I would suggest you change your environment in small stages. Whether it be spending less time with someone or retreating to nature to relieve stress. All of these steps will say to your mind, that you are the top priority, and will undo the extreme selflessness programming and will help you care less of what over people think. 


4. Find Your Life Purpose

One thing that will not ground you more, on not caring what people think is to have a Life Purpose. A Life Purpose is either a big goal or a massive change that you want to make in your life, which is aligned with your personal values and needs. This is like your destination. This will allow you to make your own heading if you will to reach this said goal and make this aligned into reality. This could be starting a blog, write a book, start a YouTube Channel, to Rule the World!
If you have your own goal then you will DO things that will benefit YOU.

If you are interested in finding your life purpose then read my post; How to Find Your Life Purpose

5. Build Confidence and Self-Esteem

Building sufficient confidence and Self-Esteem is so important. This is the bedrock of success and happiness. If you perceive yourself to not have very good confidence and self-esteem. Firstly, you are confident and do have Self-Esteem – let me explain before you go jumping to conclusions.  It is just that you have been convinced that you don’t by your external environments justified by your past experiences.

I have a deep belief, that we all have great levels of confidence and self-esteem. You know that memory-player in the back of your mind reaffirming what you believe to be – that is what is controlling your confidence and self-esteem.
This here is an important insight, “your THOUGHTS are not the same as FACT.” Just because you say, ‘you’re stupid’, ‘you’re not good enough’ does not mean it is true. In fact, all it is is a bad radio station and all you need to do is change the frequency.  Which you can do easily! Let’s go backwards your confidence – comes from emotions, and your emotions come from thoughts.  This is a very vital insight into your own mental psychology, that I hope you find very helpful. If you have the strong confidence in yourself – you will find that naturally your boundaries will be stronger and will be more protected from status-quo thinking, following the herd and victim mentalities which make you vulnerable to the effects on other people’s opinions. I have many blog other posts on Confidence and Self-Esteem so please use the search on the blog-menu and type in ‘confidence’. To find lots of posts, resources and mini-courses to help you. 


Bonus Point. Start a Self-Reflection Practise

To give you some suggestions that really benefited me through this obstacle. I want to recommend for you to start self-reflecting. Whether it be through…

– Journaling
– Reading Self-Help Books
– Reading Fiction Books
– Meditation
– Write your own story.

 

This will allow you to get what you read in theory, into practice. I want YOU, yes I am looking at you! To have a successful and happy and prosperous life! 😊

Until the Next Blog Post! Take Care and Look after yourself!! 

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Get Started

About

Downloads

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone Review (Book 1)

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Reviews
Continue ReadingHarry Potter and the Philosophers Stone Review (Book 1)

HARRY POTTER BOOK 1 REVIEW

    SOCIAL     

0 COMMENTS

Written by Harry Croose

"Someone's Opinion of You - does not have to become your reality."

For many months, now I was caught into a sneaky way of thinking, which held a lot of knocks to my Self-Esteem and confidence, but now am stronger than ever. Back in Business! Here to give YOU another one of my insights.

 Today’s topic is something I learnt from my many months of emotional healing and self-reflection.  A lot of this I’d discovered was that I was caring too much of the opinions of others. Now be careful now don’t take it literally, this phrase is often used when we are essentially fed up, but that is used in a mental framework of a victim. However, this phrase can also be used in as a way of releasing unnecessarily burdens that either you or others have placed on you.
 I am here to give you 5 strategies that helped me get over this wall. One quick point first though, remember that other people’s opinions can still have large benefits. Just remember that their opinions do not define who you are.

1. Focus on yourself and your Needs

There is an annoying stigma in society, that if you are selfless you are great and if you are selfish you are a horrible person. This form of assumption, that allows unkind people to take advantage of you – due to your social complexes on ‘what is right’.

How to solve this would be to solely focus on yourself. I know right so selfish! But you need to fill your own cup first as it were, before you start helping others. I am not saying to go out your way to be unkind to someone (even if they deserve it) but merely to prioritise yourself other everything else, and yes even your family.

The more you invest in yourself today – the more you will be able to help them in the future. In fact, helping yourself first will likely mean you will be in a much better position to help others more so then even if you were too selfless of your own needs and desires.

This topic is such a big one that I have wrote a separate blog post here – How to fulfil your needs.

2. Establish Strong Independent Boundaries

Establish concrete boundaries in different areas of your life. Whether that be in the realms of love, relationships, friendships, money, emotions, psychology and so on. This mind does not necessarily come from a lack of confidence or self-esteem. I believe that a lack of secure boundaries in these sections of oneself can be one of many reasons that a lack of confidence/ self-esteem continues to manifest in your life.

How does this relate to how to not care what other people think? Well, people with what are considered to be weaker boundaries have an obsession of the need to be validated by others. (Hence you care what people think). Therefore, they require external environments to control their boundaries, which if you put it like that sounds ridiculous!

In human biology, we have a need to be in a pack of people, so we naturally have homeostasis of what the supposed conformed boundaries are. But remember that sometimes our human nature struggles to differentiate the difference between thriving and surviving in these instances. I want you to be thriving! So don’t use this as an excuse for you to be thriving! This brings be to my next point.

3. Change Your Environment

Life is too short. To guilt-trip yourself into staying in an environment that does not vibe with you. Remember the previous point you want to thrive! If that means moving friend groups, distancing yourself from toxicity, and moving towards an environment that you want. Then do it. Yes, it will take a leap of faith, to make such a drastic change.  

If you can’t just change your environment, perhaps you are in a job, or in a position where you don’t want to be. Then I would suggest you change your environment in small stages. Whether it be spending less time with someone or retreating to nature to relieve stress. All of these steps will say to your mind, that you are the top priority, and will undo the extreme selflessness programming and will help you care less of what over people think. 


4. Find Your Life Purpose

One thing that will not ground you more, on not caring what people think is to have a Life Purpose. A Life Purpose is either a big goal or a massive change that you want to make in your life, which is aligned with your personal values and needs. This is like your destination. This will allow you to make your own heading if you will to reach this said goal and make this aligned into reality. This could be starting a blog, write a book, start a YouTube Channel, to Rule the World!
If you have your own goal then you will DO things that will benefit YOU.

If you are interested in finding your life purpose then read my post; How to Find Your Life Purpose

5. Build Confidence and Self-Esteem

Building sufficient confidence and Self-Esteem is so important. This is the bedrock of success and happiness. If you perceive yourself to not have very good confidence and self-esteem. Firstly, you are confident and do have Self-Esteem – let me explain before you go jumping to conclusions.  It is just that you have been convinced that you don’t by your external environments justified by your past experiences.

I have a deep belief, that we all have great levels of confidence and self-esteem. You know that memory-player in the back of your mind reaffirming what you believe to be – that is what is controlling your confidence and self-esteem.
This here is an important insight, “your THOUGHTS are not the same as FACT.” Just because you say, ‘you’re stupid’, ‘you’re not good enough’ does not mean it is true. In fact, all it is is a bad radio station and all you need to do is change the frequency.  Which you can do easily! Let’s go backwards your confidence – comes from emotions, and your emotions come from thoughts.  This is a very vital insight into your own mental psychology, that I hope you find very helpful. If you have the strong confidence in yourself – you will find that naturally your boundaries will be stronger and will be more protected from status-quo thinking, following the herd and victim mentalities which make you vulnerable to the effects on other people’s opinions. I have many blog other posts on Confidence and Self-Esteem so please use the search on the blog-menu and type in ‘confidence’. To find lots of posts, resources and mini-courses to help you. 


Bonus Point. Start a Self-Reflection Practise

To give you some suggestions that really benefited me through this obstacle. I want to recommend for you to start self-reflecting. Whether it be through…

– Journaling
– Reading Self-Help Books
– Reading Fiction Books
– Meditation
– Write your own story.

 

This will allow you to get what you read in theory, into practice. I want YOU, yes I am looking at you! To have a successful and happy and prosperous life! 😊

Until the Next Blog Post! Take Care and Look after yourself!! 

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Get Started

About

Downloads

Harry Potter: Ranking the Books

Continue ReadingHarry Potter: Ranking the Books

HARRY POTTER: RANKING THE BOOKS

 REVIEWS   

0 COMMENTS

Written by Harry Croose

"Working hard is important, but there is something that matters more: Believing in yourself."

As a beautiful book series, Harry Potter has been an absolutely huge influence on my life. 🙂 Harry Potter when I was a child, started coming out as movies. I watched the movies first, and have finally come to discover the Harry Potter book series, that I have decided to pick up and read. I have been listening to the amazing Audible Audiobooks of the Series, read by Stephen Fry. There are 7 books, (8 movies) and in this series I will be reviewing and ranking the books, giving you a summary of my thoughts on each book. Also, I want to say I do heartedly prefer the books to the movies, although I do appreciate the movies in their own way. 🙂

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

        The Deathly Hallows, a thrilling conclusion to the Seven Part Book Series. Whereby Harry, Ron and Hermione are certainly tested in their friendship trying to find and destroy Horcruxes. I did like how it was a bit of a change from the usual being based in Hogwarts, also it allows us to explore the Wizarding World much more, as well as Dumbledore’s Past. Funny enough this was the only book that I didn’t enjoy as much as the other 6 books.
I enjoyed the Battle of Hogwarts’ it was a very suspensive epic conlusion. I loved the Auras and how Hermione and Ron grew closer through their hardships.  The Tale of the Three Brothers was also a very interesting tale,  which set up the mood and the premise for the dark days to come once the Ministry fell.   

I will be including full reviews of the books seperately. Once it is avaliable, there will be a link in the desription or you can find it in search format. 🙂  

6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 

         The Philosopher’s Stone was a such a great opener, this is where we were of course introduced to everything, the Wizarding World, Harry Potter and his friends his rivalries with Draco Malfoy; the teachers and of course Lord Voldermort. “He who must not be named.” 
I loved how the 3 heroes, Harry, Ron and Hermione formed their friendship. I also adored Gryffindor House and the side characters like Dean Thomas and Seamus. Crabbe and Goyle will good henchmen too. As I have got older however, although this book is still incredibly nostalgic, I do note the fact that Slytherin House seems to be  noted as the ‘evil house’; even though that is not neccessarily the case with ALL Slytherins.   
The story is really lovely and heartfelt when Gryfindor win in the end. 🙂  Also how they team up playing Wizard’s Chess, and Hermione’s problem potion logic puzzle!! It was great! 🙂

5. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

             Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, is an incredibly good book. I liked the fact it delve deep into the law of the origins of Tom Riddle and his ancestry (The Gaunt Family).  I also loved the fact that Dumbledore and Harry’s character relationship developed especially tested in the Cave. I am not sure about Ron and Hermione’s relationship; although it felt a lot more natural in the books then it did in the films.  The ‘Half Blood Prince’ was a good enough mystery to keep me intruiqued, but I didn’t find it as interesting as earlier books, which had more in depth mysteries. Dumbledore’s death was an impactful conclusion, but it left a lot of questions unanswered; which is part of the reason why I found Deathly Hallows less interesting due to the lack of info about Horcruxes. 
That being said, I loved the Quidditch element of this book, and how Harry and Ginny;s relationship grew a lot more gradually, which unlike the film wasn’t rushed and seemingly out of place. 
This is still a great book, but I feel with the tangents of Lavender Brown, and even Aragog’s (Hagrid’s Spider’s) Funeral, removing some of this writing could have left more room for more knowledge about Dumbledore,  Qudditich and Professor Slughorn. 


 

4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. A fantastic sequel to the first book. 🙂  Seriously love it so much! This was the first book that really got me into the Wizarding World Lore. There were a lot of questions answered e.g. how did Hagrid get expelled from Hogwarts.  The opening of the Chamber of Secrets, and the mystery of what the creature is and where the chamber was located; along with how Harry can speak Parseltongue, (Snake Language).
I loved Gilderoy Lockhart he was a very commerical, funny person to add to the Defence Against the Dark Arts post, his character was a very unique addtion to the Wizarding World.  Of course Severus Snape is great constantly trolling Harry in his Potions Classes. Qudditich has also been build upon with Draco Malfoy added to the mix as the Seeker of Slytherin Qudditich Team. 

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is an absolutely amazing book, even better then the Chamber of Secrets. 
I just love the premise of the book, being an escaped convicted from Azkaban. (Hence the title).  Sirius Black to me is one if not my favourite character in the book series, becuase of how much of a badass he is, which is more pronounced in later books. Also, Hermione’s given a new dynamic with the additon to the time-turner, which I liked very ‘Doctor Who’ with Time-Travel. 🙂 
Also, Remus Lupin’s character really gives even more depth to the past of Hogwarts, with the history of the Whomping Willow, and the rivalry of Snape and The Marauders. The plot-twist was amzing having ‘Scabbers’ be Peter Pettigrew the one who betrayed Harry’s Parents, Lily and James. 
Qudditich dynamics again were really awesome, although I did find how the Dementors kept interfering with the games, I found a little annoying. 🙂 In this book, I really grow to like Ginny Weasley as a character, I found in the first 2 books, she was not quite the ‘damsel in distress’, that being said she wasn’t as fully fleshed out as many of the other Weasleys; such as Fred and George ‘The Weasley Twins’, who are comedy gold throughout I really like their banterous behaviour.  
 

2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

      The only thing about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that I don’t like in comparison to Goblet of Fire; is that it is slightly too long in my opinion and a bit stretched in places. Apart from that it is a marvelous novel, what can I say Dolores Umbridge is a great antagonist. Putting Ministry Control into Hogwarts. Harry’s connection with the Dark Lord being stronger, is an interesting dynamic. 🙂 Qudditich once again, is at its pinical here ( Half Blood Prince also had good qudditich). Sirius Black’s death, the fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort is an amazing conclusion to the book.  The Weasleys are great in this, as well as the unification of a lot of side characters especially Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley also becomes more of a figurehead character. Cho Chang as well is a great dynamic as a love interest throughout the story for Harry. 🙂 Dumbledore’s Army, and the Inquisitorial Squad is a great addition to the school, as it is constantly being patrolled. 
The teachers fighting back as well especially the sassy Professor McGonagall is such a joy to read. 🙂

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by far the best Harry Potter book, in my opinion. It is the first time in Harry Potter that we are introduced to other Wizarding Schools, the Triwizard Tournament and the Qudditich World Cup. 🙂 Also Harry, Ron and Hermione’s friendship is also tested heavily, especially when Harry gets him name out the Goblet. The only downside to this book, I’d say is there is no Qudditich although i do understand why obviously it wasn’t in this book (given the Tournament). But the ingenius polot for Lord Voldermort’s return, the apparent appearance of  Mad-Eye Moddy and the mystery of Ludo Bagman and the Goblins and Barty Crouch dissapearance. 
The three tasks, are a great addition as well with the Dragon Egg Task, and the Merpeople (swimming int he lake) and of course the legendary Maze. I do wish the movie did include more bits from the Maze in particular especially with the riddle, and the addtional creatures, Harry had to fight. The Movie although awesome in its own adaptation did have a fair few plot points missing. 
The Yule Bawl, was also a great addtion, to the dynamic at Hogwarts, especially when Hermione’s was asked out by Victor Krum in the library. 🙂 I also liked the fact that Cedric and Harry formed a close aquaintanceship and team in the Maze. But the tragedy of Cedric’s Death, Lord Voldermort’s return, and Harry seeing a shadow of his parents again.  A phenomeonal book, I adore Harry Potter so much. 🙂 

 

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Get Started

About

Downloads

Game of Thrones TV Review

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Reviews
Continue ReadingGame of Thrones TV Review

GAME OF THRONES TV REVIEW

REVIEWS   

0 COMMENTS

Written by Harry Croose

"I have lived a thousand lives and I've loved a thosand loves. I've walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read."

For many months, now I was caught into a sneaky way of thinking, which held a lot of knocks to my Self-Esteem and confidence, but now am stronger than ever. Back in Business! Here to give YOU another one of my insights.

 Today’s topic is something I learnt from my many months of emotional healing and self-reflection.  A lot of this I’d discovered was that I was caring too much of the opinions of others. Now be careful now don’t take it literally, this phrase is often used when we are essentially fed up, but that is used in a mental framework of a victim. However, this phrase can also be used in as a way of releasing unnecessarily burdens that either you or others have placed on you.
 I am here to give you 5 strategies that helped me get over this wall. One quick point first though, remember that other people’s opinions can still have large benefits. Just remember that their opinions do not define who you are.

Game of Thrones Season 1

So here I am being introduced to the amazing World that is Game of Thrones. Click Here – for my Season 1 Review. 

Game of Thrones Season 2

Review. COMING SOON!

Game of Thrones Season 3

game-of-thrones-season-3

Review. COMING SOON!

Game of Thrones Season 4

Review. COMING SOON! 

Game of Thrones Season 5

Review. COMING SOON! 

Game of Thrones Season 6

Review. COMING SOON!

Game of Thrones Season 7

got7

Review! COMING SOON!

Game of Thrones Season 8

got8

Review! COMING SOON!

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Get Started

About

Downloads

4 Steps to Dealing with Haters

Continue Reading4 Steps to Dealing with Haters

4 STEPS TO DEALING WITH HATERS

Written by Harry Croose

"Hating on someone, or something is only giving power to that thing. It becomes a bigger problem in your mind. It's okay to dislike something, but never hate it - you only lose your power and time."

1. Accepting that Haters are everywhere.

Basically, if you are a hater why are you here. To plot your revenge, to comment under one of my blog posts or YouTube Videos because I upset you; or are you here to eat my chocolate cheesecake because the last one is definitely crossing the line.  Also hyperlinks can be very useful.

2. Understand why they Hate

There was a time where I actually paid attention to these individuals who sit down in life and have nothing better to do than complain and shout at you for doing ‘the wrong thing’ or ‘that you are weird’ . Well here is a reality check for those of you that are haters of my work, look at yourself. What are you doing and contributing to the world? You can’t say anything to me or too anyone at that if you are not following your own path and are merely following the masses, because you are still scared that you might fail.

3. Re-frame the situation.

I don’t hate you if you are a hater, I respect that you have an opinion; but to waste your precious time on this earth which as you read this (by the way I appreciate) you will loses this seconds forever. Instead of complaining or being a victim 100% of the time, harness your energy to things that could actually change your life.

 

  • Direct your energy away from your haters and invest it into yourself
  •  Understand that it isn’t about you, it is about them.


4. Maintain distance to your haters.

There was a time where I was a hater of people who seemed to have it better than me, but when I started to stop comparing myself to others. I felt so much more free and had a tenfold more time and energy to make the impact I want to make on the world. I am not giving up not now, I will never give up. I am not stopping just because my crush no longer likes me, I am not stopping because I haven’t got 50 likes on YouTube or 1000 subscribers I am going to keep pushing ahead; we must together keep pushing forward that is the only way we will truly reach the land we were promised off when we were read a bedtime story with a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Dreams can come true, and no matter where you are in life or how far you think your behind; you can make it. 
I believe in you. 
Lovers always Win. 

SHARE THIS

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Get Started

About

Downloads