It was love as sweet as a silken rose; she said welcome to Paradise.

Hello! Cripes -  everything is super hectic at ze moment what with school and The Hunger Games and homework and everything, BUT I still manage to make time for that gem of Sunday night television that is... THE PARADISE!!!!!!!!! It is (In my humble opinion) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL piece of cinematography to grace British television screens in The History Of Ever. It lives up to its namesake - it really is, a Paradise. If you don't watch it, then it's very hard to condense the intricate plot into a few sentences, but it is set in a department store in 1870 in England..somewhere. The main(ish) character is Denise, (played by the beautiful Joanna Vanderham), who works in the Paradise - just to clarify, that is the name of ze shop - and who is from a small village called Peebles. She has massive ambitions, and wants to take over the paradise one day. She is being courted by Moray (Emun Elliot) who manages the store, and they are basically the main characters (There are gazillions of others, but I'm aware of rambling, so I'll just say there's a scary man who owns the shop and his jealous but beautiful wife, and shop girls, and tons of other peeps).

Now, the Paradise is brillig for a myriad of reasons - for one all the characters are very strong and well developed, with interesting personalities and backstories. The plotline is also great, and as the cherry on the metaphorical cake, everything is SO BEAUTIFUL. Every set is gorgeous, as are the costumes, and the hairstyles, and ohmygawd just everything.

Denise, her uncle, and possibly Katherine.

Denise and Moray, looking like a different race of unblemished, perfect creatures!

Katherine glaring at a shawl.

Denise looking oh so incredibly gorgy.

One of my favourite episodes of this series - Denise had to bring the magic of the music hall to the Paradise!



You may already be sold on the wonders of the Paradise, but there is one final thing that sets it even further above similar-ish costume dramas - it dares to tackle feminism. Oh yes. It went there (*Clicking fingers in a z-formation*). Denise herself questions the way women are treated, in fact she has a row with Moray about it. Denise is the perfect role model for anyone watching - she's clever, determined, hardworking, and she has a dream. She may be beautiful, but she is far from a brainless airhead floating around in a pretty dress. And so, my friends, I hope you understand my raging torrent of fiery love for the Paradise! It not only is my life, but it is life. So tune in to BBC 1 8:00 until 9:00 on a Sunday, and be led into Paradise. (Can I just say, I am not being paid by the BBC!) Before I leave, here is Denise's spectacular speech. Toodlepip!

What Maisie Knew.

A trip to the cinema is always exciting, especially for one who doesn't really get out much (Me)! Last night my parentals took me out to see the big screen, at the Ritz, in Belper. It was grrrreat fun, not only because the Ritz is a swanky (Hahaha! Swanky!) place, but because the film was brillig!

 It tells the story of Maisie, (Onata Aprile) a six year old who is being fought over by her selfish and shallow parents. Her mum (Julianne Moore) is an ageing rock star, and her dad (Steve Coogan) is some kind of boring business man. She also has a nanny, called Margo (Joanna Vanderham), who evidently loves her more than her mum, and a step-father called Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard), who evidently loves her more than her dad. These two, Margo and Lincoln, become her kind of 'real' family, and it's just a lovely story. the only downside to it is that it is somewhat predictable - you knew the ending from about half way through, but I like happy endings, so it suited me down to the ground. Onate Aprile, who plays Maisie, is a stunning child actress. I especially loved Maisie's quirky style - she has this gorgy little material embroidered crown! It seems impossibly to get a good picture of this crown, but I am trying to figure out a DIY for it!

Maisie (Complete with crown) with step-father Lincoln.

Maisie's dad, and nanny Margo.

Maisie (Complete with crown) with her mum, who wears quite a lot of leopard print.

I really enjoyed this film, even if it was predictable, and I strongly urge everyone to go and see it! And just a moral point - is it wrong to be utterly and completely jealous of a six year old's bedroom, toys, clothes, crowns, and especially her canopy bed?