A Little Challenge/A Little Chaos

I'm the kind of person who has to think about things for a while before putting them into action. Especially if it's something that might prove hard or will see me challenge myself. For a while I'd been thinking about going Facebook free for a month. A month seemed like a good enough test, it's long enough to see if it's possible to opt out entirely which is my ultimate aim. My little challenge started today. 

Let me explain myself. For quite a while now I've found myself scrolling aimlessly up and down Facebook on both my phone and my tablet, occasionally enjoying the updates but more often than not feeling irritated, even angry, about what someone might have posted. I know there's the unfollow option, which I have used many times, but it was starting to feel like it was something bigger. I'm embarrassed to admit it but I think it was turning into a compulsion. And not just for checking it either. Wherever I was, whoever I was with, I was choosing to record moments of my life instead of just, you know, living them. When I went to Brighton I promised myself that I would be more present, just be, yet I still managed to check in here, post a photo there...and no criticism to anyone here but I wasn't the only one. 

It's so weird, this thing where we share all this information about our lives. Out of all my friends I only know one person who has absolutely no presence on any social media channel. She is always entirely present, never checks her phone when you go out, and just enjoys being somewhere. It's inspiring. I've taken this good example and turned it around on myself. No Facebook for a month. I hope I will make it through. It's only the first day but it feels good. I'll keep you posted...

(Disclaimer: as I have job responsibilities I will be using the Pages Manager element of Facebook - this challenge is for my personal page only). 

From a challenge to chaos. A Little Chaos if you will. Yesterday I downloaded a voucher that entitled me to 2 free tickets to see a preview screening of this film. I love anything that's free and if it's cinema, well cha-ching as cinema visits are expensive! I knew nothing about the film other than that Kate Winslet was in it as she was on the ticket image. Our seats left a little to be desired, being only 3 rows back from the front, but once my neck had adjusted to the weird angle I settled in for the film. 

And what a delightful film it was! The (very) basic premise is that Kate Winslet is a gardener who challenges the 'order' in the French court of Louis XIV to be chosen as the only female gardener to design and create one of the many gardens at Versailles. It's directed by Alan Rickman, his directorial debut, and he also plays the King. I won't tell you too much more in case you decide to go and see it, which I would recommend. It's beautifully filmed, the costume detail is immense, it's gentle, occasionally funny, but the story is sufficiently absorbing to hold your attention all the way through. I really did enjoy it, and so did Wavey. 

There's all kinds of films out at the cinema at the moment so I am planning on many more visits over the next few weeks. Hopefully there will be more free visits as that makes it even better! Any recommendations welcomed below...