Peter Capaldi to leave Doctor Who at the end of series 10

Peter Capaldi has announced that he will be leaving the BBC show at the end of the 2017 Christmas special.

Capaldi has been the 12th Doctor since 2013 following Matt Smith's departure from the show and first appeared during the 50th anniversary episode.

His leaving also coincides with the departure of writer Steven Moffat.

During an interview on BBC Radio 2, Capaldi said: "One of the greatest privileges of being Doctor Who is to see the world at its best. From our brilliant crew and creative team working for the best broadcaster on the planet, to the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead. I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s been cosmic.”

Meanwhile, in an official statement, Moffat described his work on the show as "the best job I'll ever have".

No doubt a new Doctor will be announced in the coming weeks. Will the BBC keep the 54-year tradition of a male Doctor or will they introduce a female to the role?




Picture credit: Radio Times

New Found Glory announce new album

To me, New Found Glory is a band that's in the background of my music choices, but I'll still turn their songs up to full volume whenever they come on. That's precisely why I'm excited for their upcoming album, Makes Me Sick, which was announced yesterday.

The announcement was made on the band's social media that the album will be released on April 18th through Hopeless Records.

But that's not all, as a new single, 'Happy Being Miserable', will drop on February 16th, aptly named and just in time for those post-Valentine's Day blues for the single pringles out there.

You can check out the announcement and the artwork below.



Here's the artwork: 

Top image credit- Dave Bean (via band's Facebook page)

Artwork image belongs to New Found Glory.

Happy Birthday Starman - How I've celebrated David Bowie's 70th Birthday

David Bowie would have turned 70 today and although it may seem strange to some for a person to celebrate a celebrity's birthday, especially a posthumous one, I've had a Bowie filled day.

As you may have seen through a trend in my blog posts over the last year or so, David Bowie has been and is a huge inspiration for me. If you scrolled back through 2016's posts, I'm sure you'll find that nearly half are Bowie-related, and that's not too much of an exaggeration.

When the news broke of his passing, just two days after his birthday last year, I was heartbroken. Not in the way I would be had it been someone I actually knew, but strangely on a deeper level. Just like how I felt when Robin Williams left us, I felt as though a crazy distant member of my family had gone, the one who had always been there to cheer me up and understand me when it felt like no one else could. 2016 took so many greats, but Bowie was and still is the one I'm not over.

So fast forward to today, January 8th 2017. After sharing some posts about Bowie and his birthday on social media this morning, I made my way down to Manchester Ink to honour him in one of the only ways I'm able to. Queue having tattoo #4 created by the lovely Roman who works there. Here it is:

Happy Birthday Starman ⚡️ Absolutely over the moon with tattoo number 4! Thanks to the wonderful Roman at @manchesterink for this, I can't get over how amazing it is! 💕 #davidbowie @davidbowie #happybirthdaydavidbowie #ripdavidbowie #davidbowietattoo #bowietattoo #lighteningbolt #tattoo #newtattoo #manchesterink #manchester

A photo posted by Kirsty (@kirstyjpoynton) on Jan 8, 2017 at 8:23am PST

I found the design online and instantly loved it. I'm really not sure of the original creator though, so if anyone can help me out so I can credit them that would be a massive help.

The tattoo itself only took about 20 minutes to complete and, apart from the very start of the outline and a little of the orange, it hardly hurt. In fact, and this is something I've found through my other tattoos, the area went numb after about 5 minutes of being poked with the tattoo gun. This tattoo is above my right inside ankle, I've got one in the same place on my left inside ankle, and then the other two are on the outsides of my ankles; I'm not sure if it's the area of skin or just how I react to being tattooed but having little pain was quite nice.

Once it was complete, it was wrapped in cling film (which had turned orange by the time I got home to take it off!) and I was ready to go. Next stop: HMV.

My next priority was purchasing Bowie Legacy on CD- I wrote about this CD when it was announced so if you want more information on it then click here.

HMV in the Manchester Arndale Centre really is adorable as they had another display of Bowie merchandise near the door, just like they did after he died. I found Bowie Legacy and also picked up the Lazarus musical soundtrack- I also wrote about that (click here). I've heard a few songs from the soundtrack already and I'm really liking it, plus casting Michael C. Hall was a brilliant decision.

Also bought these two, the newest additions to my collection! I'm so impressed by what I've heard of @lazarusmusical so far, I can't wait to listen to the whole soundtrack! Also, Bowie Legacy looks like one cracker of an album! ⚡️ #bowie #davidbowie @davidbowie #ripdavidbowie #happybirthdaydavidbowie #lazarus #lazarusmusical #bowielegacy #musical #musicalsoundtrack #cd

A photo posted by Kirsty (@kirstyjpoynton) on Jan 8, 2017 at 8:28am PST

As I sit here writing this post, I've got my record player on playing Blackstar. Bowie's parting gift for the word and one that keeps giving, I love it more and more each time I listen to it. I've got his Changes One album waiting to be put on next, so I'm going to be carrying on being at one with Bowie for this evening too.

I know to some this may seem a little excessive, but it's what I've done to honour a great man who meant and means so much to me. Even if you haven't done something Bowie related today, please give him one thought; he was such a massive inspiration for the music and film industries and many artists probably wouldn't have happened without his influence.

As a last little addition, lets have the 2016 version of Life On Mars, featured on Bowie Legacy.

Happy Birthday Starman.



Image credit: Top image of David Bowie - Billboard
All other images are mine.

Goodbye 2016, Welcome 2017!

2016 is finally over and we made it.

Last year was a funny year for me, lots of things happened that shaped the year but I'm still torn between it being an amazing year and a barely decent one.

For the most part, it was a brilliant year for me individually and I wouldn't be doing what I am now if the good things hadn't have happened. I had my interview for university in January and a couple of days later received an unconditional offer; this just about set me up for the rest of the year, I had a focus and a goal which drove me on through the grueling retail shifts. From receiving that uni offer and subsequently accepting it, the rest of the year was mostly fitting together the puzzle pieces to make it happen. I gave in my notice and left Debenhams after nearly two years, I packed up all my stuff and moved to Manchester with George and then started uni. This journey was definitely the highlight of 2016.

However, it's very hard to ignore the negative parts of 2016 that seem to have affected everyone. The destruction in other countries and the apparent neglect of those suffering, the loss of a union for trade and other worthwhile things, a government that no one voted for that has done more harm than good so far, and the sheer amount of loss throughout the year. 

Celebrity deaths are a strange occurrence: some people brush them off and don't care and some take mourning very seriously. I'll be honest, the loss of David Bowie, Alan Rickman and Terry Wogan all within a few days of each other knocked me back and hit hard. It did seem that all the other celeb deaths that happened after that all meant something to me, however small or big, so it got to the point where I was dreading checking the news. I innocently opened Facebook late on Christmas Day evening to learn that George Michael had passed, followed by Liz Smith, Carrie Fisher and her mum Debbie Reynolds in the following days. In that respect, 2016 was awful.

Like many, I've entered the New Year with new visions and goals and a fresh determination to do different things. Posting on here is a main one, and I've said it for the past two New Years but I really want to write more on here and maybe even for other publications too. Whether I'll be able to keep this goal and realistically aim for it depends on other commitments, but please know that I will honestly do my best.

I'd like to do some more work experience and I've got my eye on a couple of places to contact for it. I'm also determined to read more (and not just the books I'm set for uni modules!).

So that's about it, my little summary of the year from my point of view and a little insight into what I want to do in 2017. This blog and my uni work will be my main two focuses, especially with the start of Semester 2 looming on the horizon. I'm making today my last day off before starting everything again before I lose motivation to do anything, so I guess all that's left to say is happy new year and I hope 2017 is fabulous for you!