Living In The Eighties

I haven't contributed to The Gallery for a while, but as the theme is the 80's this week, how could I not join in?  My teenage years spanned the 80's and the fondness I have for the era is deep and oozing with rose tinted nostalgia.  I met and dated the man I was to end up marrying, I gave birth to my first born son and got my first Saturday job earning £6 a week in this decade.  The music was either really cool or incredibly dire depending on your perspective whereas the fashion was on a whole just awful.  I drank lager by the half which cost 45p (in a pub I was 4 years too young to patronise).  I went clubbing and took turns with my best friend to 'pull' a bloke in order to get a lift home for free (generally in a Ford Capri).  I wore blue eyeliner and blue mascara and thought it looked good. I smoked Dunhill Menthol on the night club dance floor risking spontaneous combustion from igniting my hairspray laden, backcombed hair.  I committed many a fashion faux pas in the name of popular culture.  I wore studded belts and matching studded neck collars. I had six holes in my ears and filled them with dangly ear-rings from the market (and so began my metal allergy!)  I had coloured fishnet tights, red stillettos that made me 6' 2" tall and bleached jeans that I made myself by squirting them with Domestos.  Good times!

Here are some pictures of me donning my best eighties attire and giving it some teen attitude in these photos.

Leg warmers, court shoes and ankle socks...good look!

I used to love that jacket with my CND badge on the lapel.  I also had a mandatory shaggy perm at this time.  Again I have the sock/shoe combo!  What was I thinking??

The PVC mini skirt and scarf look was a staple wardrobe option for me in the 80's.  Here I have my 'Muscle' T-Shirt on, but it could just as easily have been my 'Boy Toy' one as Madonna was a bit of an icon for me at this time.

I only wish I had photographic evidence of my orange jump dress or my PVC trousers and jacket or my purple sparkly scarf I used to wear as a belt.  Such memories!

The Gallery

We Sing 80s

I was a teenager in the eighties and so this era holds a very special place in my heart.  So when I was sent a copy of We Sing 80s, the latest title in the UK's no 1 Wii singing franchise, I was pretty excited about belting out some of my favourite tracks!  With artists such as Spandau Ballet, The Human League and Simple Minds featured on the playlist, I was ready to get into the groove and recapture this fantastic decade of my youth!

Features of the game include:

• 30 unforgettable 80s hits!
• Four mics, four singers together!
• Iconic 80s tracks, including 21 worldwide No.1 hits!
• Solo, Party and Karaoke modes
• Eight Multiplayer modes
• Original artists and videos included
• Singing Lessons
• Replay your performance
• Rap Scoring / Star Notes
• Jukebox / In-game Awards
• Easy, Medium or Hard modes

As with all the We Sing games, I love how they get everyone up and singing, they really do create such a fun, party atmosphere.  Four people can sing at once, so there is no need to feel shy!  The scoring is clear on screen.  The range of songs on We Sing 80s means that everyone instantly knows a few of the songs.  Even my 10 year old was able to join in straight away with the chart topping hits and very quickly 3 year old Freddy began singing along to a few of the catchy choruses.  I love that the original videos play on the game which was a big dose of nostalgia for me!!  The karaoke mode allows you to sing without the original vocals so you can practice your party piece and feel like a real pro!

Tracklist:

Kylie Minogue - I Should Be So Lucky

Roxette - The Look

Spandau Ballet - True

Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie

DeBarge - Rhythm of the Night

Smokey Robinson - Being with You

Yazz and the Plastic Population - The Only Way Is Up

Cyndi Lauper - True Colors

Tears For Fears - Shout

Yazoo - Only You

Lisa Stansfield - All Around the World

Paula Abdul - Straight Up

Simple Minds - Alive and Kicking

Baltimora - Tarzan Boy

Toto - Africa

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - The Power Of Love

Starship - Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now

The Human League - Don’t You Want Me

Sade - Smooth Operator

Lionel Richie - All Night Long (All Night)

Cameo - Word Up!

Queen - I Want to Break Free

Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen

Duran Duran - Rio

Tiffany - I Think We’re Alone Now

Blondie - The Tide Is High

Sabrina - Boys (Summertime Love)

Culture Club - Do You Really Want to Hurt Me

The Bangles - Eternal Flame

T’Pau - China in Your Hand

I love the selection of songs and it includes some real favourites from the era.  We Sing 80s is perfect for parties or for families or for those moments when you fancy a solo sing-song.

We Sing 80s is out now to buy from retailers such as Amazon.  (Playing requires the use of compatible microphones.)

Have A Feel Good Summer With Ecover

It was blisteringly hot in Henley this weekend,  as we headed off to the Rewind festival as guests of Ecover.  Throughout the summer, Ecover have been bringing their Feel Good brand of entertainment to festivals across the nation.  We went to take a look at what was going on!

The Feel Good Summer area included a funky tented area where dance workshops were taking place throughout the day.  Teaching moves such as the Moonwalk and the zombie dance from Thriller, festival goers were able to hone their moves ready for the day ahead.  Yoga classes gave revellers the chance to chill out after a night of 80's style partying!

The children were kept entertained by a giant grafitti area where they could colour in the huge letters that spelled out ECOVER!  It was a very popular activity and Ella added her own artwork to it.

Ecover's Feel Good Festival Fun

There were samples of Ecover's washing up liquid for everyone.  Free from nasties and using plant based ingredients, Ecover's products are gentle and effective for perfect Feel Good cleaning.

Throughout the days, the Ecover team were busy photographing people who visited them to put on their Facebook wall.  You can then tag yourself to win prizes!  They had props so you could dress up with a mop and a wig for added fun!  There was also a great prize draw that you could enter.  There are also a lot of prizes up for grabs on their website at The Splash, as well as lots of fun too!

Being Snapped For The Ecover Facebook Page

Check out Ecover on Facebook and see what Feel Good fun they have planned for the rest of the summer.

Ella With One Of The Ecover Team

Feel Good Festival Fun!

Back To The Eighties - Rewind With Ecover!

I was a teenager in the 80's!  I loved Soft Cell, Ultravox, Adam Ant and the other futurist offerings that graced the charts at the time.  You never lose your love of the 80's!  So imagine how delighted I am to be invited to the Rewind the 80's Festival as VIP guests of Ecover!

Ecover are sponsoring the event with their Feel Good Summer Area.  They will be setting up camp and offering a little Feel Good love to everyone attending.  There'll be loads to do including blissful yoga classes guaranteed to restore your inner Zen and dance workshops where you can hone your moves!  They also have giveaways up for grabs.  You can check out their site here to win your own Feel Good prizes:

www.the-splash.co.uk/feelgoodcomp

Apart from spending some time at the Feel Good Summer Area, we'll be watching top 80's artists such as OMD, Adam Ant, The Bangles, Right Said Fred, Kool and the Gang and Rick Astley!  We have VIP tickets so hopefully we might spot a start or two backstage!  We will be tweeting and adding statuses to Facebook throughout the event so we'll let you know if we get any 80's style gossip!!

copyright Rewindfestival.com

We're off to pack our festival survival kit....suntan lotion, baby wipes, tent, camera, sleeping bags, dry shampoo and bottled water!   At least the weather forecast is good for the weekend so no need for wellies!

copyright Rewindfestival.com

Follow Ecover on Facebook for fun, news and competitions from the company behind the all singing, all dancing cleaning products that contains no nasties!

Movie Meme...The Eighties!

This week Hannah's theme is the perfect one for me...the 80s!  My teenage years were spent revelling in the fashion, the music and the films of this iconic decade!

By the mid 80's I was tall enough to get into the local cinema to watch 'AA' and 'X' Rated movies (we didn't have 15's and 18's then!)  The first multi-screen cinema complex opened up in Slough by the late 80's, offering half price entry on Wednesdays, so I was a bit of a regular. Good memories.

My first choice of favourite 80's movie was The Lost Boys featuring the lovely Kiefer Sutherland long before CTU claimed him as their own.  It was a vampire movie which was made how a vampire movie should be made, with hot, vicious teen vampires on the rampage.  But as Hannah shares a similar taste in all things horrific and chose it herself, I'm having to take a different direction with my choice!

So the film I have chosen is Gremlins.  Released in 1984, it was the must see Christmas movie.

I saw it at the cinema and we all fell in love with the adorable Gizmo, the cute little pet who came with his own set of rules!!  When the rules are broken it leads to a horde of malevolent, mischievous, green monsters overtaking the town and wreaking havoc.

I loved this film.  The characterization of the marauding creatures was beautifully done...from the beer swilling, card playing gamblers to the cross dressing, over made-up protagonists in the local pub.  The scenes where the Gremlins were killed off in the kitchen was classic...who could forget the untimely death by blender or the explosive  microwave moment!

Joe Dante directed and created genuine suspense without losing the humour from what was essentially quite a horrific premise.  All the while as the hideous creatures caused mayhem, Gizmo looked on with his big eyes with a look of disappointment and genuine sorrow at what his progeny had become.  (I'm sure there is some deep analogy to be made there for media students!)

I remember not knowing what the creatures looked like and being blown away in the cinema when the box with the Mogwai in was opened.  Then the second generation evil ones were produced and we all gasped as they transformed into the reptilian monsters. We laughed and we felt slightly nervous all at the same time. None of the sequels came close in capturing the magic of the first film.  We knew what to expect second time round and the suspense was replaced with a rehashing of a "small-creatures-attack-town" storyline that relied heavily on slapstick humour.

Gremlins rocked!