A WALK IN THE PARK

The film took £700,000 at the UK box office in 1997

Did you know?.............that as a family one of our favourite films is TWIN TOWN though we have never called it that. In the film is a famous line spoken by Dougray Scott who plays Ian in Desperate Housewives


Greyo: Dylan Thomas called Swansea "an ugly, lovely town".
Terry: I'd call it... a Pretty Shitty City.
Greyo: Dylan Thomas didn't do as much f-----g cocaine as you, did he?

So for us as a family the film has always been Pretty Shitty City!
Anastasia's,Belle's,SnoWhites, Ariel's and Fiona's father was born and brought up in Swansea and so they have visited the city many times and recognise lots of the places in the film. Belle also went to University in Swansea.
According to an article on the BBC website

Festival reunites cult film cast
Ten years after its release, the cast of cult film Twin Town are holding a reunion at a new literary festival.Rhys Ifans and his brother Llyr will be among those on stage this weekend in Laugharne for a reading of the script.Director Kevin Allen said for many involved it would be the first time they had seen each other since the film's 1997 premiere in Swansea.It was his first film as a director and he describes the experience as the best time he has had on a film set.Sometimes referred to as the Welsh Trainspotting, Twin Town followed the story of two brothers and their antics in an ever-escalating cycle of violence and revenge against the local "Tafia" boss Bryn Cartwright.Set in Swansea, it featured a cast of up-and-coming names such as Ifans and Dougray Scott, both now established Hollywood stars, and experienced Welsh character actors including Huw Ceredig and Brian Hibbard."Most of the cast - pretty much all apart from Dougray - are coming to Laugharne," said Allen, who now lives in Ireland but was brought up in Swansea."Filming seems like yesterday but I've spent five-and-a-half years in LA and had four kids since."A lot of us have not seen each other since the premiere - I have seen Rhys a bit in LA but I'm looking forward to catching up with a lot of the others."I've not had a time like that since - making a film in my home town with half my family in the cast."It also included his brother Keith, who most recently played the Sheriff of Nottingham in the BBC One series of Robin Hood."I saw the film just before Christmas at an Irish film festival - I think it was the first time for at least five years and I really enjoyed it," added Allen."I was not looking at it critically thinking why did I do this or that - I was genuinely laughing.

Rhys Ifans went on to star in films such Notting Hill with Julia Roberts

"I think what comes through is the energy we put into making it."

Although it took just over £700,000 at the UK box-office it found a much larger audience on video and DVD.

Allen said he was slightly surprised about the following it has developed - particularly outside of Wales - as he describes much of the humour as "uniquely Welsh".

He added: "Huw Ceredig told me he was in a pub not that long ago and he could hear his own voice and it was two guys who had sampled some of his dialogue from the film onto their mobile phones.

"I bump into people all over the world who know it - there was a Geordie roofer working in Hollywood with a Mexican gang and they were quoting lines."
The cast re-union will be held on Sunday as one of the closing events of the Laugharne Weekend.
It is the inaugural literary festival in the town and has attracted authors as diverse as New Order's Peter Hook and Welsh rugby legend JPR Williams.
"It's a great idea for festival - we are trying to put something similar together in Ireland - it'll be a good weekend," added Allen.

Wow! Can it really be 10 years since this brilliant film was made? If you had asked me I would have said 5 years at the most.
And I also didn't realise that

It also included his brother Keith, who most recently played the Sheriff of Nottingham in the BBC One series of Robin Hood.

Keith Allen is also a firm favourite in our family. We thought he was absolutely brilliant in Little Lady Fauntleroy

which is a documentary

Keith Allen spends some quality time with former child prodigy James Harries and his family. At first sight, they may seem to be a houseful of geniuses, but although every single member has a PhD in Metaphysics, we soon discover that some were purchased from a fake university in the USA, while the others were awarded to them by themselves. As the documentary proceeds, it eerily becomes apparent that this is a family that believes its own mythology. They regard themselves as morally, intellectually, and financially superior to the rest of society, even though the clan (housed in a mock mock-Tudor cottage in the middle of a Cardiff council estate) includes a convicted arsonist, an astral projectionist, a former Bunny Girl, a part-time private detective and a sex-change daughter (James is now Lauren), all of whom seem to live their lives in a parallel universe. Written by Sue Davies

It has to be seen to be believed! Keith Allen is at his funniest when he totally loses it and tells the family EXACTLY what he thinks of them. Classic TV!
Keith Allen for me is definitely one of the most entertaining actors/performers on TV.


NEWS FOR THE FAMILY
Did you read this one?

Scaffolding damages hospital cars

High winds have caused an area of scaffolding to fall onto parked cars at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.Ten cars have been damaged by the collapse, which happened on Saturday afternoon.South Wales Fire Service said they were called to the main building entrance just before 1530 BST. The area has now been cordoned off. South Wales Police said there were no reports of any injuries.

It must be the concourse entrance that they are talking about.

And this one.

Fire in city centre office block

A fire in one of Cardiff's tallest buildings has been brought under control by firefighters.South Wales Fire Service said they were called to Madison's coffee shop in the 17th storey Capital Tower in Greyfriars Road, at 1150 BST on Saturday.

Beauty had another episode of the night terrors last night.
According to Wikipedia

Though there are a multitude of triggers, emotional stress during the previous day and a high fever are thought to precipitate most episodes.

Beauty has had some kind of infection within the last few days so perhaps that is why there is a return of the night terrors

Treating night terrors episodes.

The consensus for treating night terror episodes is three-pronged: gentleness, disposal of anything nearby that might hurt the subject, and avoiding loud voices or movements that might frighten the subject further. It is also critical to remember that the person experiencing the terror is unaware that they are experiencing one. As a result, they may become even more agitated if told that "it was just a dream," as they are quite convinced that the experience is real. The quickest remedy is simply to calm the person by telling the person that you are there for them or simply say, "I'm here" or "I love you". Telling the victim "It's OK" or "nothing's there" may agitate the sleeper further because feelings they are feeling are very real to them and obviously not "OK". However, simply knowing the person's source of "calm" helps immensely. If he/she has a favorite companion dog or cat, telling them that the cat or dog is warm in bed, safe and asleep, and that they need to sleep as well could also be a good trigger. Calm the person and convince them to "go back to sleep"
In some cases, they may be calmed by the mere presence of a familiar person. Night terrors are transitory so medical help is often unnecessary, but options may range from treatment of sleep apnea to prescription of benzodiazepines and psychotherapy.
A successfully used method for treating night terrors is to have the sufferer sit down and engage them in something light-hearted and harmless, such as television or easy conversation. This helps to distract the sufferer from their perceived experience, and let them regain normal consciousness . More calming, positive reinforcement can then be administered. Turning on lights and appliances like the TV or radio can also help transition the individual into normalcy, as a lit room with noise is more normal (while awake) than a dark, quiet room.

I have found the best way to help Beauty when a night terror episode happens is to get her back into bed and to lie down next to her and hold her hand. I stroke her hair and chat to her and put my arm around her and usually in less than half an hour Beauty is fast asleep again. If she has any memories of the night terrors I really have no way of knowing.

WEATHER REPORT FROM HOME
I hope the weather is nice with you girls. Beautifully sunny here and the temperature is supposed to rise to 16 degrees celsius but I have just put the washing on the line and it may be sunny but still quite bitingly cold. Let's hope the wind calms down so Beauty can play outside in the sunshine. When I cleaned the garden last week I threw all the old sand away so if I buy some new sand today then Beauty can play in the sandpit or we can take her to the park in her little red wagon.