Hi again! If all goes well, and I don’t give up on this post half-way through (more likely than I’d care to admit), then I’ll not be doing too badly on my resolution to resurrect this old blog – huzzah!
Now you may be wondering what I could possibly be about to talk about under the title ‘Going to the archives’. Is it, in line with the nostalgic theme of my last post, a humourous way of saying that I’ve gone back to examine my old diaries, or schoolwork, or itunes playlists? Is ‘Archives’ perhaps a cool new coffee shop in my chosen city, or a trendy nightclub? Alas no : finding myself rather short on ‘la thune’, as the French say, and also being still very wary of nightclubs because of the covid situation, we can safely assume that I mean something else.
In fact, it’s highly (and uncharacteristically) literal. I have been going to the Manchester Archives over summer, to do some research for my third year dissertation. Although the Dissertation itself isn’t going terribly well, and I have no idea what I’m doing, I have really enjoyed my trips to the archives. Nothing makes me feel more smugly, cozily intellectual, than strolling through the library in my too-big tweed jacket to the search room, where I sign in with gusto and, under the heading ‘reasons for visit’, write academic with pride.
Sure, my ideas for the 15,000 word dissertation which will determine the grade of my degree, may be disparate, vague and frantic. But in sifting through a thick book of public documents or manuscripts, working steadily and solidly over many hours, until my eyes are weary and my back is sore, I can find a beautiful sense of comfort. Reading closely for the mention of a particular phrase, or date, or person — that kind of pin-prick focus is my form of mindfulness. Faced with a single-minded task, and lulled by the smell of old paper and the quiet shuffling of the papers of my fellow archivists, the spells I’ve spent in Manchester central library have been some of my most stress-free and content. Whilst I am otherwise incredibly anxious about the lack of work I have done over summer and the impending gut-punch of academia, in the Archives I have been able to put it all to one side, to concentrate purely on the intricate comings and goings of people in the past. I come to know their names, to greet them like old friends, to invest my emotional energy into the squabbles and debates wracking small parishes.
What more can I say? Manchester Archives – you’ve been a joy.
F x
dreamlike prose and these beautiful and unexpected metaphors that it wasn’t too stuffed with. It didn’t sound like a book that was trying to be something, trying to be exquisite, trying to be moving. It was just… telling a story.
Like one of Emmelienne’s pastries, it was the perfect mixture of ingredients – sad and happy, sweet and bitter – baked to bookish perfection.
She is not only a brilliant actor (I reject the term actress because it’s just a faff) but she appears in such cool films. Evidence? She was in the amazing dark comedy “Heathers”. The thing I love about her in this is that she’s not just the psychopath’s girlfriend and she doesn’t just collapse into a hole in floods of tears. Also, it’s just hilarious and, gosh darn it – she wears a monocle! She was also in the surreal beetlejuice in which she plays a goth teenager…. very well too. She’s been in several
independant movies (always good to support the arts) and in Edward Scissorhands, which is just such a cool film. Additionally, in her role in Girl Interrupted – a film that is mentally distressing to watch, in a good way? – she perfectly portrays the feeling of frustrated, confused, disaffected youth that so many people can relate to. I never realised that Angelina jolie could… act, until I saw that film. Also I loved the stripy jumpers.
I love the way she interprets her lines, rather than just reading them as perhaps you might expect them to be read. I know that you could say that this is the director’s decision and influence, but (and I could just be imagining this) I feel like she brings a certain quality to every performance that I think kind of links them? I don’t know, but I’ve read that she’s very selective with the roles she plays – she only picks those that she feels some kind of connection or relation with, so perhaps this quality is her bringing a tiny bit of herself into the roles? Again, I don’t know, but I feel that it adds something very real and lovely to her work.
She’s just so cool, and you get the feeling that she really loves acting and wants to do it so very well. She was so determined and focussed and… also I get the impression that she’s quite a nice person. And i like nice people, they’re the best. 🙂
and you didn’t even have to leave this page; don’t say I’m not good to you
It’s quite special and it’s quite weird. It leaves you feeling quite vulnerable, on show. Like this little thing that you thought was just yours is suddenly cast to the wind, a glass bottle in the sea. Anyone could catch that paper from the breeze, anyone could find that glistening glass poking up from the sand.
And all the while I had the sound, the lilting violins and frantic piano, the sound of the film washing over me like water, a cascading waterfall of music. Okay. That sounded pretentious. 
So it’s talked about as a dark comedy, and it is truly hilarious, but what I liked about it most was the fantastic Veronica Sawyer or just Winona Ryder in general. An amazing actor, she also seems to have great taste and judgement in choosing what films to become involved with, from Little Women (just so lovely), to Beetlejuice (she is the best goth-daughter ever) to Edward Scissor-hands (no words required) to Girl Interrupted. 
You can tell how dedicated she is to each and every part she takes on, and though she always does sort of play the intelligent, slightly different girl, all of her characters are very different and diverse, and she plays them all so well. I also really admire the way that she, like Meryl Streep, didn’t really get sucked into the playing the just a “Pretty Girl” parts. She plays interesting and usually funny roles and, despite being very beautiful (like Meryl Streep) doesn’t make this one characteristic define all of her roles.
Actually he’s still pretty swoonworthy despite this, let’s face it. A brilliant social commentator and with a quirky, dressed-in-black, screw-society kind of attitude which is just so goshdarn appealing, JD is the kind of person who comes out with “Chaos killed the dinosaurs, darling.” 
Just… swoon. If anyone ever said hello to me with a “Greetings and Salutations” I would probably split my face with grinning.
Bulletin to My Imaginary friends 