There and Back Again: A Trip To New Zealand (2009)

When I was in secondary school, a friend of mine called Stuart moved out of the country to New Zealand, and I promised I’d meet him there. At the time, I didn’t really understand how difficult this would be, what with New Zealand being on the other side of the world. However, it was something I knew I had to do, and I knew the experience would be worth it. So I saved up for the next few years, in the hope that I would eventually amass enough money to not only afford a flight there, but also make the most out of it all. After spending my time at school, and doing a few jobs, I managed to scrounge up enough to make my way there, to the land of elves, sheep and mountains. I just turned eighteen, and was ready to travel half-way across the world on September 2009. The flight itself was a nightmare, what with me being shoved into a cramped space with no leg room for thirty hours, but the trip began in Auckland, and I was able to being experiencing the one of the greatest moments in my life. In this special article, I’ll go through everything I can about it.

Adam Likes To Watch: Top 15 Films of 2013

(Note: Originally Uploaded a few months ago on the previous blog, it seems like a better fit amongst the other features here!)

I watched a lot of films this year. From dramatic musicals like Les Miserables to action blockbusters like Man of Steel, there were plenty of impressive moments to behold this year. Although I was disappointed by some anticipated releases, there were enough films I enjoyed to come up with a top ten list, and I believe it fully encapsulates what I loved most about the year. Here are the films that made the biggest impression on me, and rocked my socks off with either their general awesomeness, or brilliant film-making. Some films were released in 2012 in the US, but 2013 in UK, so keep that in mind for some of them. On we go!

Please note: There were a few films I didn’t watch at the time of writing, which may end up on the list at some point. This includes films like Walter Mitty, Frozen, Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, most of this season’s Oscar films, or Anchorman 2, so this list may not be exactly the same when the year is over.

(Edit: The only films I think would be included are Frozen and The Hobbit, although the Hobbit would probably be lower down on the list, while Frozen would at least be in the top five.)