Chapter 33: As You Like It

Hey Guys,

I'm going to be in a play. It is 'As You Like It' by William Shakespeare with the IWSC Mechanicals.

The show is directed by IWSC member & award winner Michael Mullin and the incredible Performance Artist that is Georgia Prangnell and features an incredible cast of young Island talent.

      

My Onstage Wife

The poster with my mug on it

This is Rosalind

Tickets are on sale now, and for the first time with the IWSC, you can select your seats. Please come and enjoy the great show.

Box Office:
www.ticketsource.co.uk/iwsc 
07519933847

Adults: £8.00
Children: £6.00

Friday 8th January, 7:30pm, Newport Apollo Theatre (Find)
Friday 15th January, 7:30pm, Newport Apollo Theatre
Saturday 16th January, 7:30pm, Newport Apollo Theatre
Sunday 17th January, 7:30pm, Newport Apollo Theatre

*a small booking fee will apply to online purchases*

Thankyou.

Until Next TIme,
Stay Happy,
Buy Tickets,
And Goodbye.

Mitch xx

Chapter 32: My Friendship Group

Hey guys,

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas full of fun and togetherness. Togetherness is something that can be achieved outside of Christmas and that is called friendship (Tenuous Segue, I know)

Friendship is something very important to me and always makes me very happy, Below is a collage of my friends from 6th Form (There are a few other things there too, they are in jokes, don't worry about them)

6th Form Friendship Group

I'm lucky enough to be part of 4 main friendship groups:

6th Form Friends

These are the friends in the picture, the ones who I see most days at 6th Form and a fair few of them are people I have grown up with, ranging from people I've known since Pre-School to those I've only known for a few months.

IWSC

Some of the people at the IWSC

These are the people I usually act with, some from the original IWSC company and some from the newly formed Youth division of the IWSC, The Mechanicals. I started working with the IWSC in December 2014 when they did 'The Winters Tale', I then went on to be part of 'Henry IV' & 'Henry V' and then 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona' with the Mechanicals. Meeting these people has led to a Trip to Edinburgh with one of them and now co-directing a play with one of them.

The B******

A screen grab of the people in the B****** Chat

This was the easiest way to collectively name them, it's the name of our group chat on facebook. Including myself, this is a group of 6 people. I met them all in year 8 at my first High School, and they are the people I have most kept in touch with from then

Friends that technically aren't MY friends

Anyone who has siblings, knows about these 'friends', these are the people who I consider as my friends although technically they are my Brother & Sister's friends.

So, that is a quick look at my current friendship groups (which occasionally intertwine). Once again, I hope you had an awesome Christmas and I'd like to wish you a happy New Year in advance.

Until Next Time,

Stay Happy,

Message an Old Friend,

and Goodbye.

Mitch xxx

Chapter 31: It's Christmas Eve!

Hey Guys,

As I settle in for a night of TV Christmas Specials I thought it was the right time to wish you all a merry Christmas.

This really is the season to be jolly and I hope you all have an incredible Christmas with those you love. I hope the food is awesome and I hope you get all you wish for and just generally have a brilliant time.

Now I don't want to go on for too long, and I'm sure you don't want an essay to read so this is it.

One last thing, My friend Georgia has just finished blogmas which would make for a nice read if you have time, you can find it here.

So, Once again....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Until Next Time,
Stay Happy,
Have an awesome Christmas,
And goodbye.

Mitch xxx

Chapter 30: Why Band Aid Is The Best!

Hey Guys,

So this week, for some reason, I decided to become Band Aid the night before the video was due to go up...I so underestimated how long it would take to edit, it eventually took me 12 times to get the timings right.

You can see it here:

You may even take the time to notice that I even tried to copy the outfits from the original Band Aid video (And yes I know Bono doesn't wear the crazy glasses in the original, but he is known for them so well that I couldn't resist).

Now, let me tell you why this song in particular convinced me to do this video with nowhere near enough time to edit it well, and why I think Band Aid is the best.

'Do They Know It's Christmas Time?' is one of my two favourite Christmas songs, along with 'Fairytale of New York', these are the only 2 Christmas songs that I listen to any time of year (I actually listened to both of these in the airport when going to Edinburgh...in August) and that is why this is the song that I chose to do this week (I chose it over FTONY, because I thought it would look more impressive).

I have always loved Band Aid, in all 3 of it's incarnations however I will always say that the 1984 version will always be the best. I think that what Bob Geldof & Midge Ure did with this song is the most amazing thing in music history.

I hope you enjoyed and appreciated all the hard work that went into the video and I wish you a very merry Christmas.

Until Next Time,
Stay Happy,
Listen To Band Aid,
And Goodbye.

Mitch xxx

Chapter 29: Remembering Those We Have Lost

Hey guys,

5 years ago today I lost a woman who meant an awful lot to me, Christmas 2010 was tarnished with a fair bit of sadness following the event.

This woman was called Lisa, she was my mum's childhood friend. She lived in Croydon and we didn't get to see her often, she was also very ill a lot of the time but she was always smiling and she was awesome to be around.

One of my fondest memories of her was when our family went to 'Chessington World of Adventures' because it was a really fun and ridiculous day. Because Lisa had breathing problems, it meant that we would have to stop every five minutes for a 'pit stop' which as much as it sounds like ti would be a bore and annoying for my younger self, was actually some of the funniest parts of the trip.

I have decided that Christmas should be a celebration of the people we have lost over the years and therefore, I am not as sad as I thought I'd be today, instead, I've used it as an excuse to remember the good times.

My message to you is to remember those you have lost over this festive period and celebrate the person you have lost and don't commiserate the fact you have lost them.

Myself, Lisa & My sister, Lauren

Until Next Time,
Stay Happy,
Remember those we've lost,
and Goodbye.

Mitch xx

Chapter 28: The Story Of Wendy & Jill

Hello Guys,

This week over on the YouTubes I tried vlogging again which I haven't done since I went to Edinburgh, Check it out here:

At the end I mentioned that I was at a read through for the play that I am co-directing next year and today I thought I would tell you about it.

So, the play is called 'The Story of Wendy & Jill' and is written by my friend Olly Fry. It is based upon the story and characters of J. M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan' but from the perspective of a reflective Wendy.

Myself and Olly have been extremely lucky to acquire such an incredible cast of local talent to be in this show which is why the readthrough was so amazing. Being able to hear the lines read by different people in the way they were intended was incredible and it made the whole project seem so real which makes me so much more excited than I already was.

The cast is made up of friends and people from previous casts that myself and Olly have hand picked as well as a few new faces that we stumbled upon or who were recommended to us by friends, this combination lends itself to a really nice atmosphere between the cast.

The music for the show has been composed by someone called Lorna Brownsword from the RWCMD and will be performed live by herself and some of her colleagues.

To find out more about our cast, check out the play's twitter page all next week: @WendyJillPlay
To donate to The Great Ormond Street Hospital, the charity we are raising money for, visit our JustGiving Page: Click Here

Until Next Time,
Stay Happy,
Get Excited For Something,
and Goddbye.

Mitch x

Chapter 27: The Moment You Realise You Are In Love!

Hey Guys,

So after over 4 years of being single, I've finally found someone who I think I might love.

My last relationship, all those years ago was an interesting time for me, it is what I would regard as my first 'serious' relationship and I really did love it, knowing that someone loves you for you is one of the best feelings and for the 4 months and 29 days *roughly* in 2011, I had that.

Now, I'm not saying that in the last 4 years there has been absolutely nothing, there has been girls who I've been interested in, that I realised very quickly weren't into me, and we are still friends to this day, I've even had a hell of a lot of bromances over the last 4 years, nothing sexual and nothing even remotely serious but perhaps more something that has put me off needing to find the special someone because feeling love, even in a stupid pretend banterous relationship with your mates still is enough to fill my need for attention.

I've never been the guy to want or look for the right girl, I've always just been content with waiting and seeing what will happen, yeah, it's sad when you see your friends get a girlfriend but it never made me want one more, I was content with being single, no stress, no problems and just happy.

But now, there is this one girl, and when I'm near her, which isn't massively often, I lighten up and I feel all tingly. She's pretty, talented and funny as well as being fun to be around and someone who can handle 'The Banter', as well as I can. I think there is something in her that likes me too, but there's just something between us, whether its her incredibly close relationship with her friends which perhaps intimidates me sightly or the fact that she is soo out of my league or the fact that I even just see her with other boys or a whole host of other situations...there just seems to be something in the way.

I'm not a jealous person, so it's not the fact that she is with other boys, it's more the fact that I don't want to risk losing her as a friend by asking her if she likes me and then one of these boys, who are all more attractive than me physically (but not necessarily in personality-and let's face it. girls always go for the looks first), just happens to be her boyfriend, or someone she likes more.

I think this is love, But then again, it's been a while since I've truly felt it and I don't know what's best for me to do, perhaps staying single is just a better option for me, but in the end, that's not the happy choice, it's not the happy ending, it's not how I thought my life would go...but maybe this whole relationship thing just isn't for me, maybe something else is what I need to focus on more.

But to the girl, if you are reading this, just know that this is how I feel, you don't have to tell anyone, you don't even have to bring it up with me, just know. With Love, Me xxx

So until next time guys,
Stay Happy,
Love Someone,
And Goodbye.

Mitch xxx

Chapter 26: Am I To Blame For Duncan's Downfall? & Other TV Departures

Hey guys,

Here's this week's video, check it out and we'll discuss whether I should blame myself for the fate of the contestants.

What are the chances, that in the week that I say who I want to win in these four TV programmes, They are the same people to be voted off?

Well, technically, the chances are quite high...With the shows all coming to an end, there is only a small amount of contestants left which we will look at in depth programme by programme.

First, Strictly Come Dancing, out of the 7 remaining celebrities (at the time), I had identified 4 as my favourite (Kellie, Peter, Georgia & Jay) which is more than half of them therefore warranting them more likely to be in the dance off and subsequently to leave the show. In addition to the number of favourites I have, it's also worth mentioning the quality of the dancers currently left in the competition, Peter by far stands out as one of the least skilled and therefore deserved to leave.

Next, The X-Factor. I, as mentioned in last week's video, always pick one act from each category, out of the remaining 5 acts, I had identified 3 (4th Impact, Ché & Louisa) as my favourites (and a 4th after watching Saturday's show- Lauren), this therefore meant that it was 100% that at least 1 of my favourites would be in the sing off therefore there was a higher chance of one of my 4 leaving than the remaining other (Reggie N' Bollie)-This just shows that I chose good acts from the beginning and at this point of the competition they need to leave no matter how good they are.

Now, The Apprentice was slightly different, with me only backing 2 out of 8 of the candidates (Scott & Joseph) it was less likely for me to lose a favourite however, having one on each team meant that one of them would definitely lose the task and therefore risk being fired, what was unexpected was that my favourite on the losing team (Joseph) was not the one I lost, rather it was my favourite, Scott, on the winning team who left, after resigning in the boardroom.

And Finally, I'm A Celeb, In my video I identified 5 celebrities as my favourites (Vicky, George, Jorgie, Duncan & Chris- after recently swapping with Tony) out of the 10 present at the time, exactly half. Between then and now 3 had left including one of my favourites, Chris (Though I wasn't that fussed, I just found him funny and had no desire for him to win like the other 4) so when it came to Thursdays elimination, I once again favoured 4 out of 7 giving me the more chance of losing a favourite, unfortunately, the one I lost (Duncan) just so happened to be the one I wanted to win the whole show.

What I think is that it was a huge coincidence that when I decided to film last weeks video, those who I mentioned were voted off, fueled by the fact that all the competitions are nearing an end and I like the majority in most of the shows making it more likely for me to lose my favourites therefore I am not to blame for the loss of these contestants but fate, statistics and timing makes it seem this way.

Until next time,
Stay Happy,
Choose A Favourite,
and Goodbye.

Mitch x

Chapter 25: Perfection Is Over-rated

Hello,

Today I'd like to talk to you about this blog. I feel like I need to clear up that the posts will never be perfect, there will occasionally be misspellings, bad grammar and typos. I do not proof read my blogs but I feel like this represents and reflects my own personal style, I'm not perfect and I'm not an author or a literaturist...I do not speak 'proper' english so I will not write in it, I want this to be natural and true to life, I'm also not great at using punctuation or proper grammar so I'm not going to get that right every time.

As for spellings, Most of the time my spellcheck will tell me if I have spelt something wrong, but I also tend to make up words, join words together i.e. Thankyou and use homophones occasionally, which of course spellchreck won't work out.

Grammar and Punctuation will never be perfect on this blog....deal with it.

The only things I do tend to change are typos, so if I use the wrong word or don't put a space between words, I will edit it so that it is right.

On another note, these blogs sometime repeat the same point, that's just me trying to reiterate and make sure it's clear.

That is all I think I have to say on the matter so,

Until next time,
Stay Happy,
Make Mistakes,
and Goodbye.

Mitch xxx

Chapter 24: My TV Schedule

Hey Guys,

So this week I let you in on who my favourite contestants are on Strictly, X Factor, I'm a Celeb and The Apprentice, you can see that here:

I decided that I would also show you my TV schedule (as it currently stands)...This is where I keep track of what is on and what channel I can find it so I can make sure I watch what I want to...I have a similar system on my phone.

My Current TV  Schedule

At the moment it is a very busy period for TV, mainly because of the reality/competition style shows dominating the week, Particularly I'm A Celeb and it's sister show, I'm A Celeb...NOW.

Monday nights start with the first of my stops in the east end before the I'm a Celeb duo, this is a relatively calm night which is repeated on Tuesday.

Wednesdays have got busier recently going from absolutely nothing, to one of my busiest days, without Eastenders, The Apprentice takes over BBC1 and it's sister show You're Fired pops up just afterwards, followed of course by The I'm A Celeb pair, I'm also enjoying a new sitcom, Josh, which is so worth a watch. In addition to The Apprentice, I watch Honest Subtitles and a Rap Up of that weeks show on iPlayer.

Thursday is also similar to Monday & Tuesday but with the inclusion with The Money Pit with is similar to Dragons Den but based around crowd funding.

Friday always seems to be the busiest day, Eastenders, IAC, IAC NOW and my favourite chat shows, Alan Carr & Graham Norton, I also enjoy watching Gogglebox as it sometimes gives me a new programme to check out.

The weekend is full with I'm A Celeb, X Factor & Strictly and an appearance of Doctor Who.

So as you can see, my preferences are reality/competition shows, chat shows and Eastenders, with the odd curve ball thrown in. There's not much more to say except this is constantly changing and you should check some of the programmes out.

Until next time,
Stay Happy,
Watch some TV,
and goodbye.

Mitch x

Chapter 23: Not All Heroes Wear Capes!

Hi guys,

This week Humanutopia came back to my school to work with the Year 9s and 10s, As a year 12 Hero this meant that I was needed on Tuesday to work with the Year 10s, I may have stayed a bit longer than I had to, Check out my video on Humanutopia here:

What Is Humanutopia?

Humanutopia 'Create and run inspirational life-changing courses for young people and adults in schools and their wider communities'. They help to bring a new look onto life and re-find peoples hidden confidence and happiness. They help to remove people's layers to discover the best version of that person who has changed themselves to 'fit in'.

Me & Carlo

The first time round I was lucky enough to get my days with one of the bosses, Carlo who completely

changed my opinion of the whole thing in a matter of hours, I completed my Hero training with him.

Me, Lauren & Jordan

This time round we were joined by Lauren and Jordan, 2 people who had gone through the humanutopia process at their schools and had gone on to become ambassadors and work for the company. It was great to work with people who had gone through the process as well.


Humanutopia use their own theory known as The Theory Of Change which you can see below.

The Humanutopia Theory of Change

What Is A Hero?

Being a hero is not always about wearing a cape and saving the world from an evil villain, in this case it is very much about saving yourself and others from their inside villains and letting out the best version of you that there is. Humanutopia heroes are those that go through the initial day and decide they want to volunteer to become a 'hero', we then go through some hero training- A month or 2 afterwards, we then carry out our training on younger years in the school.


As I said in the video, Humanutopia is a job that I am now seriously considering as it is something that really is what I stand by and what I believe, and I would just love to spread what I've learnt to anyone possible.

On that note, I think it's time to go.

Until next time
Stay Happy,
Be amazing,
And goodbye.

Mitch xx

Chapter 22: YouTube Subscriptions #2

Hi Guys,

It's about time I did a follow up to my previous post about YouTube subscriptions.

So today I thought I would tell you about a few more of the channels I am subscribed to on YouTube. Some of them are popular well known channels, and some of them are smaller lesser known channels, please do subscribe to them if they take your fancy. (if you click on their channel names at the beginning of the paragraph it will take you to their channel)

6) SORTEDFood

SORTEDFood are four best friends, Ben, Barry, Mike and Jamie who cook recipes, Ben is trained and knows how to cook, the other three know the basics but just generally have a laugh with it. They upload 3 times a week and use suggestions from twitter and their own app. They have recently finished their series 'Lost & Hungry' which saw them travel around America trying the best food from different states as suggested and ONLY if suggested by their followers. They also have a channel with Brazillian hosts, recipes and with english subtitles, SORTEDFood Brazil.

7) Daniel Coz

Daniel Coz is one of my most recent subscriptions because I came across him while watching a Lisbug video where she reacted to YouTube channels and this one came up. Daniel uploads a variety of styles of videos ranging from singing to challenges to rants to gaming videos and all are equally entertaining.

8) SuperCarlinBrothers

SuperCarlingBrothers are 2...wait for it....Brothers who give information, theories, spoilers and easter eggs to films, mainly the Pixar Films, which like me, they have a strong passion for. The brothers are rarely in videos together so upload their videos in a style which makes them seem addressed to each other, A style that you will notice I use. So yeah, massively geeky but also so relate-able.

9) The Skorys

They Skorys are four siblings who upload sketches, challenges and gaming videos. Their sketches tend to run over a few weeks and they occasionally upload extra videos, In the summer they do a series called 'SkorySummer'. Those of you that watch my videos will remember when these guys featured in one of my videos: 'The One When Things Happened!'

10) CinemaSins

CinemaSins is a man called Jeremy narrating over movies pointing out where their flaws are with a sin counter and then a sentence at the end, the sins are always very much stemmed from his viewpoints or to do with jokes of popular culture. There is also another channel named MusicVideoSins in which Jeremy does the exact same but with music videos instead of Films. He also has another channel CinemaSins Jeremy where he occasional uploads Q&As, rants and gaming videos...filmed when he is drunk titled 'Plet's Lay' A play on the popular 'Let's Play' series on YouTube. Within the same company is a channel names BrandSins where Brands become the target instead of films, however Jeremy does not narrate these and I do not prefer them as much.

For now, that will be it, but I'll be sure to let you know about other channels that I am subscribed to in the future.

Again, make sure you go and check out all the channels, and subscribe to them if you want to.

Until Next Time,

Stay Happy,

Subscribe to one of those channels,

and goodbye.

Mitch x

Chapter 21: Paper Towns Review (NO SPOILERS)

Hello, Hello, Hello you lovely lot,

In this weeks video I revealed to you all that I am doing lots of things at the moment. Please check out that video here:

I think what I'll do here is leave an attempt of a review of Paper Towns as my friend Georgia has already reviewed Spectre, which sums up most things I wanted to say, on her blog, you can find that here!

Paper Towns Review - ★★★★★

Having not read the book I was unsure on what to expect from this film however I can honestly say I absolutely loved it. I wouldn't say that this kind of film is what I usually like but the inclusion of comedy and popular culture references really resonated with me probably making this film one of my favourites from this year.

Paper towns is directed by Jake Schreier, who despite having a small collection directing credits really brings this film to life perfectly contrasting the emotional scenes with the silly tomfoolery of comedic scenes. The film is based on the Best-selling book by John Green and I am told it really improves the story. The cast is led by Nat Wolff (Quentin) and Cara Delevingne (Margo), both of whom portray their characters well however I believe the stand-out star the film is Austin Abrams, his comedic timing and portrayal of Ben really connected with me.

'Paper Towns is the story of a boy named Quentin Jacobsen and the adventure he is drawn into by his childhood friend and secret love Margo Roth Spiegelman. As children, Quentin and Margo discovered a dead man's body; an event that binds them in ways they do not realize.'[Ref.] This is the best way of summarizing the plot without spoiling the film. The film also focuses heavily on the friendship between Quentin and his two best friends, Ben and Radar who together create unexpected comedy in a well-measured and well-timed manner which adds something pretty special to the film.

As I've mentioned one of the reasons I loved this film was because of the comedy which I don't want to ruin so I'll sum it up with the words, Pokémon, Black Santa, Wee and T-shirts which will become clear once you have watched the film (or read the book). In addition to the comedy, especially that of Austin Abrams, I also loved the more touching moments and may have possibly, slightly let out a few tears.

All in all, This filmed made me laugh, cry, smile and even sing. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to push beyond their preferred genre as this really is a surprising treat. It really combines the conventions comedy, romance, 'teen', 'high school', adventure, espionage and 'summer' films to create a real diamond in moving picture. 

So Until Next time,

Stay Happy,

Watch Paper Towns,

And Goodbye.

Mitch x

Chapter 20: Friendship

Hi Guys,

This weeks video featured a video that Facebook made me which outlined My Story of Friendship which is basically a collection of all my favourite photo memories.

Get yours here: https://www.facebook.com/friendship/

Friendship is something that is really important to me because being with friends is one of the things that makes me happy. When this video popped up on my news feed I felt I had to watch it, and it was actually beautiful, looking back at all the memories it showed was so touching, I even found myself looking at the pictures in the background to find more that were not massively highlighted...I just wanted it to keep going. The video ends on a picture of me and my sister, who is arguably one of my best friends.

That's all for now so...

until next time
Stay Happy,
Enjoy friendship,
and goodbye.

Mitch xxx

Chapter 19: Hello Beautiful People!

Hey guys,

I've recently come across this image:

'Butterflies can't see their wings. They can't see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can. People are like that as well'

Those of you that know me personally will know that I very often greet people with the sentence 'Good morning beautiful people' or 'Hello beautiful people', this stems very heavily from the same ideology as this image which is that people don't give themselves enough credit for how beautiful they really are whether this be on the inside or the outside. I believe that if I can cheer one person up or make one person feel better about themselves by saying it, then it is well worth saying.

It is with a similar mindset that makes me give people a chance when they've upset friends of mine, of course I don't like that my friend has been upset, but I feel that if I haven't personally been effected by what they have done or said then I shouldn't hold anything against them but even when it does effect me, I do tend to forgive the person quite quickly, don't get me wrong, it's not me being soft or naive, I don't forget and if they upset me again I'm quick to toss them aside but the way I see it is, there is no point in creating enemies if there is a chance of reconciliation no matter how much in the future it is.

So before I leave this post with you, I'd like to ask you to tell someone they are beautiful today, even if it's the the first and last time you do it, just do it, it really makes difference to them and yourself.

Until next time,
Stay happy,
Stay beautiful,
and goodbye.

Mitch xxx

Chapter 18: Happy Halloween!

Hey guys,

This weeks video is slightly later than usual because I was filming it last night, but there will be lots of photos from my Halloween party.

I thought this week I could do a blog post about Halloween, so here is my Halloween tag.

1) What’s your favourite horror movie? I like scream, I know, boring, but oh well.

2) If you were in a horror movie, how far do you think you would get? (Five minutes, halfway, all the way to the end credits…?) I'd probably make it to the end of the first third of the film.

3) Favourite scary video game? Don't really play video games or scary ones for that matter, so probably the first Five Nights At Freddy's.

4) Favourite scary story? The Funnybones book, one from my childhood, really is a classic.

5) What’s one unusual thing that you’re afraid of? I am afraid of talking to people I don't know.

6) What’s your first memory of Halloween? Wearing a dracula costume and gagging with the false teeth in, don't remember much else.

7) What’s your favourite Halloween memory? I'm writing this on Friday night so I'm sure it will soon be the party tomorrow, but right now it's probably trick or treating a pub and receiving a packet of crisps.

8) Best Halloween costume you've had? A scary black and white clown

9) Worst Halloween costume you've had? probably tomorrows St, Trinians school girl one, I mean, it's a brilliant costume, but an awful idea

WHICH IS SCARIER:

10) Werewolves or vampires? I'd say werewolves

11) Ghosts or zombies? Gotta be zombies

12) Creepy dolls or creepy clowns? Dolls all the way

Find the blank list by clicking here!

So until next time,
Stay Happy,
Be spooky,
and goodbye.
Mitch x

Chapter 17: Interviewing Nye Russell-Thompson

Hi guys,

So on Wednesday 14th I went to Ventnor to help my friend Nye with the tech on his one man show 'Just A Few Words' (The same show I went to help with in Edinburgh). I thought while I was with him I would have a small Interview with him...Here is that interview:

Who are your favourite actor and actress and what do you think their best role was?

Bill Nighy! He is just a hilarious, well-balanced performer, combining eccentricity and honesty in the same performance. He tore me apart with one line in the film ‘Pride!’ and I adore him for that. I cried so much.

My favourite actress would definitely have to be Catherine Tate, for similar reasons. I was surprised to see her perform such a varied and relatable role as Donna in Doctor Who - I was used to her comedian antics, and hadn't seen her in a serious part, so her tragic story at the end of Doctor Who series 4 was heartbreaking, and really put her up there for me. Here’s the link between the two - both made me cry!

What is the hardest role you have ever played?

My answer to this one will be a bit unexpected… Me! Genuinely, this is true. I love character acting, always have, it means I can hide behind a character and have fun with it, with an emotional disconnect. At the University of Chichester, I was in many shows where I had to literally be myself on stage, and it was the most difficult feeling I have ever felt in front of an audience.

What is the most fun role you have ever played?

Vladimir in Waiting for Godot! Vladimir is an old man, trapped in the void between worlds, and to pass the time, him and his friend Estragon - also old - talk in riddles, and exercise, and wait, and wait some more, and casually discuss hanging themselves! …It gets a bit dark. I love that combination of opposites in tragicomedies.

What would be your dream role and why?

*Big nerdy sigh* …The Doctor, because he is so fluid and wise, yet stupid, and I think I would love to get into all the different flavours you can attribute to him - is he brooding? Happy? Silly? Deadpan? There’s a lot to play with, and I’d like to see a Doctor who can’t really express himself properly, so he has to write it down and show people, or something. Honest and eccentric.

What is your favourite part of doing 'Just A Few Words'?

The honesty, I think. I made the show to demonstrate how much there is to a stammer, beyond the “buh-buh-buh”. There’s a lot of anxiety, and regret, and self-deprecation, but also a lot of relief and so many stupid brilliant hilarious connections that people with speech impediments, and anxiety, make and it was a dream to get people to understand that.

How do you prepare for a show, Do you have any pre-show rituals?

I do a lot of talking, often to people, sometimes to myself! I get nervous, so I get very excitable too, lots of running, skipping, quoting nerdy things, plus suddenly I find everything funny. I’m quite immature.

How would you like to see Speech impediments and Mental disorders play a larger part in mainstream performance such as TV and film?

I think there’s a lot being done already, the stigma surrounding mental health issues is gradually being dispersed by contemporary theatre makers like Bryony Kimmings, and The King’s Speech was the first film where I felt there was a public understanding of speech impediments growing in today’s culture. I would like to see more representation on TV and in film, where it’s just incidental that a character has anxiety, or depression, or a lisp or stammer, or is mute, and is not used as a plot point or someone to draw attention to, to show that people aren’t defined by their speech impediments or mental health disorders. I think that’s the next step, it should be like how it is in real life - people have these things, and that’s it.

If you were not an actor, what profession would you most likely be doing, and what would you want to be doing?

Probably writing scripts for theatre. I do that now anyway, does that count?

What advice do you have for aspiring actors?

If you want to act, then go for it! There is no set path, just get as much experience as you can. And make your own shows, it gives you something awesome to work on between each audition. Listen to advice but don’t over think every word - do what feels right for you.

I'd like to thank Nye for letting me ask him these questions, please go follow him on twitter @Nyebear or his Company page @Stammerartist

Thanks for reading,
Until Next time,
Goodbye,
Mitch xx

Chapter 16: Early Christmas Present

Hey guys,

This week on YouTube I filmed my 15 Festive Favourites which you can find below:

                                                                                What is your favourite...?

1. Festive food
2. Reindeer 
3. Day of Christmas
4. Christmas Song
5. Christmas Present
6. Christmas Film
7. Christmas Cracker toy
8. Christmas Cracker joke
9. Decoration
10. Candle scent
11. Christmas advert
12. Festive Tradition 
13. Place to spend Christmas 
14. Festive Fact

15. Snowman accessory

I chose Forrero Rocher because they are my favourite chocolates which seem to become more of a thing at Christmas, although I also love my mum's roast potatoes.
My favourite reindeer, boring as it is, is Rudolph just because he is the classic and the only one who I feel I know enough to make it my favourite.
My favourite 'Day of Christmas' was 3 French Hens just because it is my favourite to sing in the song, I tend to give it a British, operatic roll.
It is well known among my friends that I love Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' and The Pogues' 'Fairytale Of New York' and that I listen to them all year round.
I love food, so edible gifts are the best.
Bad Santa is the first Christmas film that comes to my mind because it really does make me laugh.
The slinky is the only toy worth getting in the Crackers and the joke that I tell in the video is the only one that I liked from the list I looked up (I can't remember all the stupid jokes from crackers).
The Reindeer decoration is a decoration that has genuinely been up in my house since Christmas last year to a point where it is easy to forget that it's a Christmas decoration.
Gingerbread candles are the only ones I personally own with a festive scent.
The Coca Cola advert is a classic for Christmas and is widely known as the 'start of Christmas'.
Doing a quiz for my family is something I look forward to every year which is why my favourite place to spend Christmas is in my home with family.
Again, I looked up the Christmas facts, and had to choose the one in the video due to my love for The Beatles and the hat is the most versatile accessory for the snowman because you really can give the snowman any hat.

Until next time,
Stay Happy,
Enjoy the video,
Get in the festive spirit (albeit early),
and goodbye.
Mitch xxx 

Chapter 15: Poetry By Mitch Hamer

Hi Guys,
Thought I'd write a poem today, so here it is:

Poetry

A poem should be easier to write

No set structure or words that are needed

I cannot promise it will be just right

To get this far, my skills, I've exceeded

They say that poems do not have to rhyme

But I have to prefer the ones that do

I do not write poems all of the time

And based on these lines you know that is true

A poem like this should have a meaning

But I don't know what that is meant to be

My knowledge of poetry is lacking

But I know some formats to some degree

You may have noticed this was a sonnet
When it comes to those, I'm really on it

Mitch Hamer

So that was a poem that took me quite a while to write, but it follows the structure and rhyming sequence of a sonnet and is indeed written in iambic pentameter, which really is as far as my poetry knowledge extends.

Until next time,

Stay Happy,

Write a poem,

And goodbye.

Mitch xxx

Chapter 14: Am I Intelligent?

Hi guys, 

Today I thought I would discover whether the things I think I know about completely useless topics are true or not. If they are, then I have some useless general knowledge, if they aren't then...well, other people have false information.

An Octopus has 3 hearts.

'Octopuses have three hearts. Two branchial hearts pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third is a systemic heart that pumps blood through the body. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin for transporting oxygen.' - Well, good start.

The Incredibles was the first animated film where the hair was animated.

Well, I couldn't actually find evidence for or against this 'fact' so, I'm just going to give myself the benefit of the doubt and say that it's true.

You lose brain cells when you sneeze.

'When sneezing, the pressure in you body increases momentarily. This causes the blood flow to the heart to decrease. The heart then adjusts, changing the regular heart beat to make up for the lack of blood flow. As reported by Dr. Richard Koller, a sneeze does not kill brain cells.' I was pretty convinced on this one and I'm mind blown that it's not true.

Coconuts kill more people than guns.

'Falling coconuts kill 150 people worldwide each year, 15 times the number of fatalities attributable to sharks' Ok, so I wasn't quite right here, but I knew that coconuts were good killers.

Jupiter has rings.

'Jupiter does have faint, narrow rings. Unlike Saturn, which has bright ice rings, Jupiter has dark rings which are made up of dust and tiny pieces of rock. Jupiter's rings were discovered by NASA's Voyager 1 mission in 1980.' I knew I wasn't crazy about this one.

South Sudan is the newest country.

'South Sudan declared independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, after a bloody civil war with the ethnically Arab north that had lasted decades.' Although it doesn't state it in that quote, the four year old country really is the youngest country, as opposed to Ethiopia, the oldest.

So, it turns out that most of the pointless 'facts' that I 'know' are true so if I tell you something that sounds ridiculous, it's probably true.

Until tomorrow,

Stay happy,

Tell someone a pointless fact,

and goodbye,

Mitch xx

Chapter 13: Looking Back #TBT

Hi guys,

Today I thought I would revisit an old 'Dear...' video that existed before this blog in true Throwback Thursday style. The video I have chosen is 'The One When Things Happened!'

I've chosen this video because I realise that I sold it a bit incorrectly, my days consisted of either Shakespeare rehearsals or me forgetting to film anything. With this in mind, the footage from the rehearsals are some of my favourite clips from Henry IV as well as some footage of The Skorys livestream where they gave me a shoutout.

The purpose of this video was to try and show that I do some interesting things sometimes, the only problem is, that this week was not a week where interesting things happened, I was really clutching at straws.


There were many things wrong with this video, messing up the intro, using an irrelevant song, bad sound on the videos, A cringy plug to someones twitter and the aforementioned lack of footage from the 'eventful' week. What was caught on camera was mostly quite good footage, whether it be the clips of sword fights at fight rehearsals for Henry IV or the hovercraft taking off, both showed something entertaining and interesting about what I do and where I live respectfully.

Something I forgot I included in this video were the random screen captures at the end which were intended to show that on Saturday I did some online quizzes and watched some YouTube videos which was just a poor idea anyway.

Overall although I feel there were bad decisions and choices made with this video, I also feel like I did well with what I gave myself and that it was a helpful video to help me improve, it has one of my favourite thumbnails I've made and includes some of my favourite footage so that's something.

That is about all I have to say on this video,

So until next time,
Stay Happy,
Look back on the past,
and Goodbye,
Mitch x

Chapter 12: On A (Geographical) Journey

Hey guys,

Those of you familiar with My bucket list video and 'I'm not dead yet' post will know that one day I would like to travel the world and visit all 7 continents, however, this is all a bit vague, so today I thought I'd outline a few Countries that I would particularly like to visit. *No particular order*

1) Ireland, somewhere so close to home that I've always been keen to visit, love the culture and people and keen to see if the people live up to the stereotype (which is one I love). 1 thing I have to do in Ireland: Drink a pint of Guinness and have a bowl of Irish Broth.

2) Argentina, always been interested to visit here, but to this day am not particularly sure why exactly. nothing stands out in my mind for a reason to visit here, I just want to. 1 thing I have to do in Argentina: Try and learn the Argentine tango.

3) USA, What a place to be able to visit, feel like a celebrity, warm winters, all those Americanisms from films, truly the place any aspiring actor wants to go. 1 thing I have to do in America: Eat a burger in a greasy diner before visiting Hollywood.

4) Italy, A place in Europe that has always attracted me with its cuisine, stereotypes, cars and weather. It's surely 'the tourists' favourite photograph location, what with the Colosseum, The tower of Pisa, The Vatican and the gondola's on the rivers. 1 thing I have to do in Italy: Eat a cornetto on a gondola with pizza for dinner.

5) China, A place that has always been close to my heart ever since my family has joked about me being from there, absolutely love the cuisine and it's my favourite takeaway, although I doubt it's like that in China, and also home to the great wall, one of the few historic landmarks that I am genuinely interested in seeing up close. 1 thing I have to do in China: Eat a fortune cookie everyday I'm there and eat some genuine Chinese cuisine.

6) Madagascar, A place I've only seen in photos and an animated film (can't remember it's name) but from what I've seen it really is one of the most beautiful places that can exist. I want to look beyond the forest from the film and into the culture of the African island. 1 thing I have to do in Madagascar: Dance, Sing and Find 'the' beach from the film.

7) South Africa, Wanted to go here ever since my dad visited once, the pictures he bought back were truly stunning, would be nice to see the side of Africa that isn't portrayed in the media, the developed side. 1 thing I have to do in South Africa: Climb tabletop mountain.

8) Australia, A country that has always had a place in my heart, a place that means an awful lot to my mum as well, seems like a laid back version of England which cannot be a bad thing, everyone seems friendly and there is a huge use of BBQs, what's not to love. 1 thing I have to do in Australia: Throw a shrimp on the barbie and learn to surf.

9) Brazil, The most colourful and alive place on the planet full of geography, always something to look at and explore whether it be the rainforest, or the slums. 1 thing I have to do in Brazil: Visit the rainforest and experience CARNIVAL!

10) Japan, A cultured place that is also overrun with technology, arguably polar opposites in human geography, but it works for Japan, one day you are look at Bonzai the next you are looking at billboards...What an amazing place geographically too. 1 thing I have to do in Japan: Eat sushi, sing karaoke, learn a martial art.

11) India, A truly remarkable country in terms of culture, cuisine and character, full of people that are proud of there heritage and are more than keen to show it off and share it with others, scents of Indian spice in the air, Tuk Tuks flying around every corner and a sense of community between all. 1 thing I have to do in India: Eat a traditional, home-made curry in a tuktuk.

12) Denmark, I have some links to this country with my cousin being half Danish and it has always struck me as a forgotten about country in Europe, but if it's pastries are anything to go by, then this cycle mad country is a place I need to visit. 1 thing I have to do in Denmark: Relearn how to ride a bike, and use it as my only transport.

13) Sweden, A country I loved, then forgot about, but have recently re-loved thanks to a Swedish exchange student named Ida who I'm now good friends with. This is a place where I will never lose my stereotypes of a meatball-eating, ABBA-listening, moose-petting flatpack enthusiast no metter how many times I'm told it's not true, but maybe visiting Sweden may change this. 1 thing I have to do in Sweden: become a meatball-eating, ABBA-listening, moose-petting flatpack enthusiast

14) The Netherlands, This country is home to some relatives of mine as well as some friends named Edwin and Niels who I met in the summer just gone. Because of the family ties this has always been somewhere I've wanted to visit (I mean, I did as a baby, but that doesn't count, I don't remember any of it). The Dutch all seem so nice and their 'Cafés' sound delightful. 1 thing I have to do in The Netherlands: Go to a café before taking a trip on a canal surrounded by tulips.

15) Canada, Another country that I'm not sure about the reasons for my desired visit, maybe it's the snow maybe it's something completely different, all that is for sure, is that I want to go there. 1 thing I have to do in Canada: See a bear...and run.

That's all for today, Until Tomorrow.
Stay Happy,
Plan somewhere you want to go,
and goodbye.
Mitch xx

Chapter 11: I'm Not Dead Yet!

Hi guys,

Today I'm going to talk to you about things I want to do before I die, You may remember a video I once did on my bucket list, in a sense that is kind of what this is, however there are other things I want to accomplish before I die that aren't so much in my bucket list; for those of you that haven't seen that video, here is the list:

1. Meet/work with James Corden
2. Host a Chat show
3. Win an Oscar, BAFTA & NTA
4. Skydive
5. Be honoured by a royal
6. Be in Eastenders and Coronation Street
7. Take part in Big Brother
8. Live on a bus for at least a year
9. Visit all 7 continents of the world
10. Star in a movie

Of course, there are so many other things I wish to do before I die which I did not include in that list and here they are.

Before I die, I would like to change someone's life, Visit America for work and leisure reasons, Go to a London Film Premier both as audience and as a star in the film, appear at the west end, Go to an awards ceremony as audience, a presenter of an award and the recipient, I'd also like to take a major role in a Charity telethon such as Comic Relief/Children In Need and write my own TV Comedy/Sitcom.

This is a small selection of things that I'd love to do before I die just from the top of my head.

For now, this is goodbye,
See you tomorrow,
Stay Happy,
Make some dreams,
Mitch xxx

Chapter 10: My Movie

Hi Guys,

Today is day 1 of my week of blogs and I'm going to plan a Movie of my life. (Presuming that I'm about to die and people have made a biopic about me with with actors of the current time (which is impossible))

This is originally a 10 day challenge, but I'm going to shrink and simplify it to 10 steps, here we go.

Step 1: The Basics

Name Of Film: Mitch Hamer: A Lifetime
Tagline: From a Little Known Island, To a Widely Known Star
Rating: 12

Step 2: Soundtrack

My Soundtrack would feature music from 3 bands/artists; The Beatles, Robbie Williams and OKGO.

The opening sequence song would be Rock DJ by Robbie Williams and the closing credits would be Hello, Goodbye by The Beatles.

Step 3: The Synopsis

We travel throughout the life and times of award winning Actor and Broadcaster Mitch Hamer from his teens growing up on The Isle of Wight, all through his breakthrough and onto his glory days on prime time television. Prepare to dive into the depths and secrets of this national treasure with the help of celebrity friends, family and the man himself.

Step 4: Actors to Play Me

I've taken the liberty of choosing a different actor for each decade of my life from my teens up to my 70s:

Teenage me would be played by Theo Stevenson because he has that cheeky young vibe to him that I think suits me perfectly. Me in my 20s would be played by Rupert Grint (with dyed hair), I chose him because I feel we match personalities. 30 year old me would be played by one of my acting idols, James Corden followed quite unbelievably by a 40 your old me in the form of Hugh Jackman or David Walliams. In my 50s I'll be played by Colin Firth, followed by Bill Murray in my 60s, and Derek Jacobi in my 70s.

Step 5: An Actress for My Love Interest

This one is hard without having a love interest right now, and I don't want to pick someone for every decade like I have done for myself but someone like Cameron Diaz or Keira Knightly or Amanda Seyfried would be good.

Step 6: An Actor for My Best Friend

This is one that would make sense to have multiple actors, and I would probably go with people that that worked closely with each version of 'me' such as Ian McKellen (Derek Jacobi) and Mathew Horne (James Corden).

Step 7: Someone To Play My Enemy

From the top of my head, I don't really have an enemy. so I'll pick someone who is good at bad characters and just choose them. Tom Hiddleston comes to mind as does Ben Kingsley.

Step 8: The Parents

I would probably get George Clooney to play my dad and Julie Walters to play my mum. Easiest choices on this.

Step 9: The Siblings

My older brother would be played by Brad Pitt at some point, My sister would be played by Imogen Poots and my Younger brother by a chubby Jonah Hill.

Step 10: The Review

'Mitch Hamer: A Lifetime - ****

Mitch's Story is a touching biopic which really delves into his life in the entertainment industry and how he came to be there. It shows the obstacles he passed both before, during and leading out of working in TV which gives a real insight into the reality of this tough world of entertainment. The use of flashbacks and fast forward means that you only ever see the major points in his life and career meaning the boring bits are cut out leading to an enjoyable watch. The soundtrack provided by Mitch's favourite bands and artists gives the film a more personal watch which really helps to pull at the heartstrings of the viewer. Overall the film gave for an enjoyable watch with laugher and tears in equal measure and high and lows that are almost too much to want to watch. '

Thank you for giving this a read, feel free to tell me who you would get to play you in a film of your life.

Until Tomorrow,

Stay Happy,

Watch a film,

and goodbye,

Mitch xx

Chapter 9: If I Told You I Had Purpose, Would You Believe Me

Hello you lot,

*If you do not wish to read all this, then please note the 'important' announcement at the end of this post*

A video went up on my YouTube today that I filmed at about 2am earlier this week, In this video I talk about leadership and why it gives me purpose, please watch a tired me talk about that here:

In the video I touch on a few reasons I like to be a leader, why a leader is important, why it gives me purpose, why that makes me happy, what it is that I like to lead and how being a leader can be misinterpreted sometimes.

I believe in having a leader/project manager who can run the task in hand and make sure everyone is doing something that will lead to the task being completed efficiently, I'll dub this as the 'Apprentice Method'. I also believe that everyone should have a say and that all idea, even the shit ones, should be considered, I dub this the 'AA Method' and I also believe that people who do not take the lead, or an active role in the task in hand, also do not have the right to complain about the way things are being run, who they are being run by, or that their ideas are not being used, I'm dubbing this the 'STFU YOU CANT EVEN BE BOTHERED TO HELP Method'. All three of these methods are valid and can, and perhaps should, work together in harmony.

Recently I discovered that there are things that I can lead and plan which gave me a huge rush of felling needed and with-purpose, a feeling that I have been lacking for a few months now, not a feeling that made me feel sad or ignored, just unneeded and unnecessary which perhaps led to me being slightly lacklustre or below average enthusiastically, which if you know me personally, you may well have noticed. (Don't worry if you didn't, it makes no difference to me)

The worst part about having an enthusiastic attitude to leading is that if you do, and someone does not like the way you are leading, it means that things can get very bitter between the team which can lead to a lack of enthusiasm or work being created and therefore slowing down the process of completing the task. I have had experience with being in a team without a leader and feeling the need to have to take control to finish the task, this is one of those times where it was taking badly among the people who did not want to be told what to do, but in this situation, I knew it needed to be done so I carried on regardless.

This is all that I feel is really necessary to mention on this topic, so I shall leave it there.

Until Next Time,
Stay Happy,
Take Leadership of something,
and goodbye xx

P.S.

ANNOUNCMENT

All next week, 19th - 25th October, I will be posting everyday on here, so keep your eyes peeled. x

Chapter 8: My First Time

*Promise this is not as bad as the title suggests*

HI GUYS!!

In today's video I did a 'First time tag' thing with a collection of questions that I gathered from a few sources. You can see that here:

Me infront of the huge Edinburgh sign at the airport

As a follow up post I thought I would tell you about the first time I went away from home without my parents. 23rd August 2015, I set off on an adventure to Edinburgh in Scotland.

It started on the Cowes Redjet to Southampton, when I arrived I jumped in a taxi to Southampton Airport...As it was my first time travelling alone, I may have over-compensated with how long it would take, so I was sat in the airport for about 3 hours. The plane journey was short and comfortable so it wasn't a bad start to the trip.

Me and Comedian Josh Widdicombe

When in Edinburgh I did so many different things and experienced so much, I was given a free hotel room for two nights because I was techy for an artist at the Fringe Festival, when we weren't in the room we were camping in a really nice site, I went on (many) trams, visited beautiful parks, went shopping, got a Scottish travel card, ate a battered Twix and Mars Bar, attended an awards ceremony, Watched some awesome shows, met Josh Widdicombe and Hal Cruttenden and I bought a kilt.

Me & Nye dressed up for
the awards ceremony

A battered Twix, not much to
look at, but tastes
phenomenal

Scotland had the most beautiful views every morning and the weather was perfect almost all the time, the people are so friendly and the Scottish accent is not only more welcoming and friendly than I thought, but also ridiculously contagious.

The week seemed to go by so quickly despite the days seeming to last forever, which I think meant that it was the best it could possibly be.

The venue that the show was in was called 'Clouds & Soil' and was a really nice place, the staff were nice as were the other performers and the service and food was incredible.

Me and  comedian Hal Cruttenden

I will definitely be going back when I get the chance, and I recommend The Edinburgh Fringe Festival to anyone thinking of going.


That's all for now,
See you soon,
Stay Happy,
Mitch xxx