So this is my
53rd and final blog... well, at least for the time being!
I’ve had great fun writing over the past 10
months and have genuinely appreciated every single one of the thousands of
views. Thank you all, whoever you may be, for reading in part or full, the
ramblings I've spouted!
Why to end
it? Well, why not?
HOW to end it
is the trickiest question…
So I've been banging on
about this for ages now.
It’s my own little mantra that I TRY to live by - though not
always successfully I might add, as life isn’t always so easy as to consistently carry on with
perfectionist and utopian standards. Nonetheless I constantly strive to retain
hope in the words.
I blogged a bit about this
at Christmas, as I like linking the theory to a child’s wonderment of that
event, but I thought it would be nice to leave you with it today:
Belief
Throughout your life, you will often need the capacity to believe in
yourself, and in your friends and your family, even when it’s incredibly hard to do
so.
Love
Love is the greatest power youwill ever know.
Love will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest
hours when you are sad. Love will never burn out as somebody somewhere will
always love YOU.
Spirit
Spirit is genuinely real and enduring. The spirit of good and kind
people or acts should never be underestimated
So have Belief, Love and Spirit in abundance, and thanks again for
dropping by XxX
As I’m bringing to a close my blogging days soon, this penultimate
effort is a pressie instead of my usual ramblings. Seeing as I love my blog
readers so much, I’m going to treat you to the recipe of my favourite pizza:
Chicken and Bacon Melt
This recipe will make at least TWO large pizzas (or three if you prefer a thinner base) – so there’s plenty to share. Or alternatively
eat one yourself and wrap and freeze (yes freeze) the others for another day!
For vegetarians, just don’t add the Chicken and Bacon, and
ply the pizza with associated veg of your choice!
You will need:
A breadmaker / kitchen
aid type thing
1 cup of lukewarm milk
(or water)
2 sachets of easy bake yeast
Splash of olive oil
14oz strong white
bread flour
1 packet of passata
(sieved tomatoes) – or smooth tomato purée for a stronger flavour
1 pack of cooked
chicken
10 rashers of back bacon
(smoked is more flavoursome)
2 packs of mozzarella
A dash of mixed herbs
A splodge of BBQ sauce
A pinch of onion salt
And, paraphrasing the words of Montell Jordan, this is how you do it:
Preheat the oven to
190°
Grease and lightly
flourdust your oven trays (a stonebase will cook an even better pizza)
Add the lukewarm milk
(or water) to the breadmaker pot and start a dough cycle (or if using a
kitchen aid style mixer bowl, just start the motor running) – you will be
mixing for 75 minutes all told
Add the yeast and the
splash of olive oil
Add the flour. If you
are so inclined (and have the time) you can sieve the flour first to make
a lighter dough
If the dough appears
a little sticky and wet, add a little extra flour to get a smoother
consistency
If the dough appears
a little dry, add a little extra water to get a smoother consistency
Cook the bacon (but
not to a crisp) and place in a bowl
Chop up the chicken and
place in a separate bowl
Tear the mozzarella
into either thin strips or small chunks – and of course, place in yet
another separate bowl!
After 75 minutes, your
dough should be at optimum consistency to roll out and spread into the
oven trays. If you want to let it
mix a bit longer, fill your boots, but I’d imagine you are getting hungry
by now…
Add a generous spread
of passata (or purée) across your dough – you don’t want to flood it, but
you also don’t want to be seeing more dough than tomato!
Optional: sprinkle a pinch of
onion salt across the sauce
Evenly distribute the
mozzarella, chicken and bacon atop the sauce – in that order
Optional: sprinkle the
mixed herbs, and squidge some BBQ sauce on to your now stunningly
attractive mound
Cook for 12 mins
initially – you may need longer, but you’ll know you’re done when the
toppings cease to slosh around on top of the dough
Okay so presentation isn't my thing - but who cares when it tastes soooooooooooooo good!!! (By the way, the little one was for my toddler, who doesn't like BBQ sauce!)
Slice and serve!
If you love it,
I’ll take all the credit you can throw at me!
If it goes
wrong, I’ll insist it was never my recipe in the first place!
It’s
been 25 years since the highly emotive Italia’90 World Cup, and it’s still so
very fresh in the memory I could probably do an entire blog on that one
tournament in no time. Strangely I recall more about the games of that
tournament than I can about last years’ event in Brazil, even though the
quality of football in Brazil ‘14 was far superior to many World Cups of recent
years.
Oddly
history shows that ‘experts’ believe Italia ’90 was a boring tournament
apparently!?
I
suppose it just goes to show that if you are in the running for winning
something in sport, your memories are perhaps clouded by sentiment!
Italia
’90 for me though wasn’t simply about what was played on grass – overall, it
created the roots that brought about the biggest change in football in my
lifetime.
Whilst
it preceded the Premier League blueprint in England by a couple of years, I
believe the ‘feeling’ that exuded out of this particular tournament started a
huge ground swell of change and altered perception of how football was forever
to be viewed in this country.
One
of England’s many heroes of Italia ’90 was Gary Lineker, and he sums it up
pretty nicely:
"There's no question Italia '90
was a watershed moment for football in this country. Football in the 1980s had
half empty stadiums, then we had the Taylor report and all-seater stadiums.
After Italia '90, football became the place to go: it wasn't just the working
classes; it was other people as well. And women and children. I think Italia
'90 was significant in that."
As
an attending fan of Brighton & Hove Albion since 1987 (and a season ticket
holder since 1992), what Lineker states is bang on the money. I was 14 years
old whilst that tournament was on, and almost overnight football stopped being
a predominantly boys only topic (in general) on the playground. Suddenly many
more female classmates got in on the act too. And about time too, one might
say.
It
didn’t stop at school either. On the terraces of Brighton’s old Goldstone
Ground (RIP), and over the next few years, the boom of women and children, nay
FAMILIES, was evident, and thankfully this powerful new movement attracted people who had never had an interest
in the game before. Football literally became fashionable overnight, and ripped
itself away from the hooligan elements of society that were prevalent in the
1970’s and 1980’s.
I
digress though.
So
what actually springs to mind from Italia ‘90?
From
an England point of view alone we had Bobby Robson’s finest hour, Lineker’s goals, Platt’s
volley...
Gazza’s tears,Waddle and Pearce’s penalty agonies…
Not
forgetting what the other nations provided us with > Cameroon’s Roger Milla
(the oldest swinger in town), Scotland just missing out on the second round
again, Argentina’s fortuitous route to a second consecutive final, spit-gate
between West Germany and Holland. Not forgetting the Republic of Ireland
punching well above their weight to reach the quarter finals, only to be
knocked out by a solitary goal from the host nation’s golden boy Toto
Schillaci.
As
stated in the title though, for this blog I’m going to steer clear of the actual
football and look at aspects relating to another poignant memory jerker of this
tournament, when love had the World in
Motion.
As
football songs go, World in
Motion was an immense improvement on
what had been on offer before… so whilst not a definitive list, here is a bit
of a look at some England tournament songs from down the years:
England
World Cup Squad (1970): Back Home
Traditionalists
will always say that originals are the best.
As
simple pop songs go, it’s quite catchy so I can see why it got to number one in
the charts – which in 1970 was no mean feat in what was a strong era for
singles sales.
In
fact, when it got to number one, other artists in the 30 included stellar
artists such as Elvis, Tom Jones, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5 and Simon & Garfunkel,
so all things considered, Back Home did rather well! It does sound dated now though...
England World Cup Squad (1982): This Time (We'll Get It Right) / England
We'll Fly The Flag
There's
a quality to this one that conjures up images of an oil tanker. It sort of
plods away and feels laboured – much like England’s on field campaign in España’82.
What’s
noteworthy? Well this double A side (look it up kids) was part of a collection
of numerous songs on a whole football themed album, which contained other
audible gems like future England managers Glenn Hoddle (singing We Are The
Champions) and Kevin Keegan (singing Head Over
Heels)… and who could forget the
theme from Grandstand as performed by The Leyland Vehicles Brass Band?
And sorry Glenn; you were my favourite player of all
time, but this isn’t a patch on Diamond Lights!
Quirky,
but not memorable!
England World Cup Squad (1986): We’ve Got The Whole World At Our
Feet
Being
10 years old at the time of Mexico ’86, I was just getting into buying my own
music. But that still doesn’t excuse why I bought the accompanying album which
included this song. Frankly all songs are hilarious, and include medleys
incorporating stuff like ‘There’ll
Always be an England’ and ‘The Happy Wanderer’
– bizarre and fun, but not particularly good.
SAW
& England (1988): All The Way
The
England team had the best qualifying record of all the teams in Euro ’88. The
same probably can’t be said for the promo record though. It’s dripping with the
80’s Stock,
Aitken and Waterman effect (which
isn’t a bad sound in my opinion) but never really caught the attention of the
buying public. Besides, we didn’t go anywhere near ‘All The Way’ either. What
with the illness of Gary Lineker and the luck of the Irish never being truer
than when they beat us 1-0, we crashed out of the tournament with nil pois /
keine punkte.
England/New
Order (1990): World In
Motion
Now
we’re cooking.
‘World in Motion’
was huge as football songs go, bigger and better than any England football
songs that had gone before, and (maybe along
with one or two others) better than what we’ve had since. It was a true
representation of the sound of it’s time too.
I’m
not sure exactly why it was so well received – maybe because of the association
with New
Order? Maybe
because of the iconic John Barnes rap? Or maybe
because the writers recognised in the lyrics that football really IS a love
affair.
Thankfully
it’s been wheeled out at every tournament since 1990 to remind us all how good
it was. When that happens, without fail I get the goose bumps kicking in as I’m
transported back to that fantastic footballing month and all that it evoked.
As
an oddity, listen out for the keyboard lick just before John Barnes does his rap. I might be totally making this up in my
ears, but I’m convinced it’s 90% identical to a piece of music in ‘Vogue’ by Madonna which was released just a few weeks earlier.
So
who copied who?
Baddiel/Skinner/Lightning
Seeds (96/98/10): Three Lions
/ 3 Lions 98 / Three Lions 2010
So
good, they did it thrice.
Comparable
in many ways to the quality and impact of World
in Motion, it’s a tough
call to say which is best.
On
the back of the hugely successful Fantasy Football League TV programme, the
hosts of said show David Baddiel
and Frank
Skinner, joined
forces with the Lightning Seeds
for Three Lions, and together they rode on the crest of the BritPop wave
at the time to produce the most incredible anthem to Euro ’96.
The
song captured the imagination of the public even more so due to the tournament
being held in England and in no small way this was helped by the structure of
the song. The ‘It’s Coming Home’ refrain
was an instant success as a terrace hit (much like World In Motion’s
’En-ger-land), whereas not many had married this bridge between song
and chant so well previously.
Rewritten
lyrics sent the song to number one AGAIN two years later for the World Cup in
France ’98, beating off other strong contenders in their wake.
And
seemingly just for fun, Russell Brand
and Robbie
Williams chipped in
for a rehash of the original version ahead of South Africa ’10. The latter
version didn’t do so well, but has enough little interesting alterations that
continue to do the song justice.
England United (1998): (How Does It Feel To Be) On Top Of
The World
This
was the ‘official’ song for France ’98, but it really didn’t do as well as
hoped (much like England on the field). Personally I think that’s a shame as I
quite liked it, and still do.
I
almost feel that it didn’t get loved as much, just BECAUSE it wasn’t Three Lions, which had
been SO huge two years previously, but as mentioned above, was taking on all
comers for a second consecutive tournament – and winning! Maybe the public had
had their fill of the featured Spice Girls by
then? Not me though, as I felt Melanie Chisholm’s
vocals added superbly to the song – so who knows!? For whatever reason, it just
didn’t catch on with the masses.
Fat
Les (1998): Vindaloo
Yet
another France ’98 contender – it was truly a boom year for football songs!
Lead
effectively by Keith Allen(who co-wrote World in Motion)
and Alex
James (Blur), Fat Les produced not
only another song that could be belted out from the terraces, but also a
fantastic video (with cameos galore) which gently mocked The Verve’s Bittersweet
Symphony – which
itself has also been associated with football coverage over the years.
Guaranteed
to get any decent crowd going, and for me only just falls into second place of
all time great football songs behind World
in Motion and Three Lions.
Fat
Les (2000): Jerusalem
Yep
Fat
Les again.
On
the back of the success of the rousing Vindaloo, the band was this time commissioned with delivering the
official FA song for Euro 2000, and they went with the song that is often
regarded as the unofficial national anthem of the UK: Jerusalem
It
seems like it was an attempt to make an even more rousing effort than they’d
created before (if that’s possible), but it somehow didn’t command the respect
of its predecessors. Plus England
were very poor at this tournament, which never helps the ‘build’ of a football song’s
chart run. That said, we did achieve an all too rare victory over the Germans.
I’m pretty sure there’s still a part of my body that’s wet from the beers that
went flying in the pub when we won that game.
So
there you go – just a few songs to jerk the memory. Apologies to Ant & Dec for ignoring their 2002 effort of We’re On The Ball,
but this blog is already too long without opining on that one!
However,
it would be remiss of me to leave this blog without mentioning my favourite two
non-England related football tournament tunes.
So
a special nod to the BBC for a couple of particularly good official tournament
coverage themes:
Apologies to non Sci-Fi fans / non Star
Wars fans / non movie fans etc… but this is serious stuff!
I suspect this might be amongst the
most debated of the blogs that I’ve done to date as it’s a subject that not only
do few totally agree on, but also one that people get vehemently defensive and
irate about in attempts to justify why THEY must be right, and YOU must be
wrong.
This will start light hearted, but
I’ll bet you a penny to a pinch of Bantha Fodder that it won’t end that way… and I apologise in advance for the 'in' jokes galore!
Let us begin this debate, at the best
possible place:
So for the benefit of those not in the know (if they are even still reading this) the
below is the order in which the films were originally released:
Episode IV: A New Hope(released in 1977)
Episode V: The Empire Strikes
Back (1980)
Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi
(1983)
Episode I: The Phantom
Menace (1999)
Episode II: Attack Of The
Clones (2002) Episode III: Revenge Of The
Sith (2005)
The
creator of Star Wars (His Royal
Highness-ness, Sir George Lucas of ILM)
will try to convince you that he had a nine part saga in his head all along,
and will you give his own (often
conflicting) reasons as to why he started with Episode IV. However, I’ve
never personally bought the many explanations for this, and having investigated
a little bit further, one of the following two reasons COULD hold the true
answer:
So
yes, it starts with the FOURTH episode.
Confused
yet? You will be – You WILL be.
a)
George didn’t actually know the correct order for Roman
numerals
b)
George originally entitled the film >
Episode 1 V: A New Hope
…because apparently (according to one of those Wiki-leaks
websites) he pre-empted the Sci-Fi / Horror / Cult TV show ‘V’ and wanted
to make a silver screen version of it first. However, his production team
disliked the first manuscript and suggested a new strategy, and therefore
didn’t let the Wiki win…
It’s
a boring conversation anyway, and ultimately we don’t actually know the real
truth, and in truth we probably don’t really care. Either way, what he told you
was true, from a certain point of view.
Anyways rearrange the Episode numbers, and the actual
storyline order of the films is thus:
Episode I: The Phantom
Menace Episode II: Attack Of The
Clones Episode III: Revenge Of The
Sith Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes
Back
Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi
Now,
there is a whole OTHER debate that could rage here:
In
which order should the Star Wars films be viewed? Original order
Vs Chronological order
But
I’m not going to do that here, as frankly I am not a Jedi yet, and therefore I
have no patience.
Instead
I shall offer up my preferred order of Best
to Worst of the six
films released so far, in reverse order, with a bit of blogger’s commentary and
a few pros and cons and whilst y’all get your hair buns in a twist about it, I’ll
be checking out the Bespin Hospitality lounge for a few parsecs. The foam
parties they have there always give me brain freeze…
Worst to Best
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
There’s
a line inEpisode IV A New
Hope (ANH)that people often associate withThe Phantom
Menace (TPM):“What a piece of
junk!”
I
think that’s harsh. In fact, I’m going to contradict myself a bit and say that
despite placing TPMas ‘worst’, I think I prefer the term ‘least best’, on the
basis that I don’t think it’s as bad as many people make it out to be – it’s
just not as good as the other five, but to me it still has the ‘feel’ of ANH.
Going
to see this for the first time was the most expensive trip I’ve ever made to
the cinema though, as I went to Dallas,
Texas specifically to watch it.
Why? Well back then the UK
was always at least SIX weeks behind in film release dates, and the hype was so
great that I couldn’t bear the wait!
Like
Yoda said: You.Must.Learn.Patience.
Pros:
A first look at
Coruscant. It’s nothing like Scotland, I can tell you that
much.
Natalie Portman is a VERY
worthy mum to Leia. Also, Keira
Knightley can be seen loitering in the background. Happy days.
Cons:
Slightly too long
The screen time of Jar
Jar Binks. I actually don’t mind the character, just the amount we see of
him.
Funny:
Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and
Darth Maul’s epic battle choreography wouldn’t have looked out of place in
a Cliff Richard movie
Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi
In the spring of 1983, the question being
asked was ‘Could Return Of The Jedi (ROTJ)ever top the
drama of The Empire Strikes Back (ESB)?’
Well
no, it couldn’t unfortunately. It’s still got plenty of noteworthy emotive and dramatic
moments though, but almost feels a bit tired. And if only an alternative ending
had been considered that didn’t involve blowing up another Death Star.
My
lingering question is this >
The
first Death Star was started during the latter end of the Episode II Attack Of The Clones (AOTC) storyline, and it clearly took the best part of 22 years to
build. Yet the second Death Star somehow took just FOUR years to be 90% completely
built!!!
I
know you have advancements in technology, but really!?
Pros:
John Williams’
operatic quality of the Skywalker Vs Vader duel musical core
Speaking of which, the
Ewok Celebration music (also known as Nub-Jub) was replaced in the Special Edition with Victory Celebration and it’s infinitely better
Admiral Ackbar… ‘nuff said.
Con:
It just
seems to drag a little here and there, and maybe suffers in its comparison
to ESB
Funny:
The
Imperial Scout Walker getting its head smashed in by caber tossing Ewoks
Episode II: Attack Of The Clones
It has to be said that AOTC was a big
improvement on TPM. The pace picks up quickly and the proper seeds of what is to come are
well and truly sown. The middle films in such series are often good (The
Godfather Part II, Back To The Future Part II, and ESB obviously)… It’s
usually when a whole lotta stuff starts falling apart at the seams, and that
rule is prevalent throughout AOTC.
It may be a touch heavy on the cartoon-like
CGI, but it’s just a kids film after all, isn’t it!?
Pros:
Introducing Mace
Windu’s Purple
Lightsaber (the AK–47). The very
best there is when you absolutely, positively, got to kill every MoFo in
the First Battle
of Geonosis. Accept no substitutes #shamon
Anakin & Padmé’s
love theme – more superb work from John Williams
Anakin’s first proper
steps to becoming Vader are evident when he slaughters Tusken Raiders
galore
Christopher Lee. Any
man with the balls to proudly display three nipples is worthy of a mention
Titillating – and therefore maybe they DO have nipples in space after all
Con:
I hope Yoda
isn’t claiming any disability benefits in light of those astonishing
acrobatics
Funny:
Padmé’s instant
recovery following her fall from a great height onto hard sand. Hmmm. Instead
of bouncing up and making off like the Running Man, I think in reality she
would’ve been in agony, raising her hand and screaming “MEDIC!”
Nice outfit though
Episode IV: A New Hope
“That’s no moon, it’s a space station.”
Lots
of folks will say the first one is the best one, but I’m not so sure.
However,
I do agree that it has to be recognised as the ground breaker, and without the
success of ANH, we probably wouldn’t have seen the others. Incredibly I
know people who have ONLY seen ANH, and have not bothered to watch the others. How can they
feel that their lives are in any way complete?
Talking
of completeness, why did the Special Editions continue to exclude the Koo Stark
footage? If nothing else, the whole ‘Biggs’ scene near the end would’ve make a
bit more sense, and his death would provide more poignancy?
I've no idea who the other guy at the back of this photo is though.
That
said he does bear an uncanny resemblance to my driving instructor from 1993.
Pros:
Special effects - no-one had ever seen anything like it before. And
it hasn't dated badly either
Blue Milk
The Death Star trench battle sequence at the climax of the movie.
In a few short cinematic minutes, George Lucas invented Minecraft
Con:
Here’s some
controversy for you. I find C-3PO irritating in ANH. But maybe that’s the point?
Funny:
The Stormtrooper
clunking his helmet on a blast door.
Chewie roaring at the
MSE mouse droid.
Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
You
can imagine the 20th Century Fox boardroom meeting:
“No
pressure or anything George, but this is the big one. This will provide the
answer to the biggest question Star Wars fans have been asking for years: HOW,
exactly HOW will you turn stroppy emo teen wannabe Jedi Master Ani Skywalker
into the Sith Lord ‘I’m second in
charge of everything in the galaxy’Darth
Vader?”
Did
he succeed in pulling it off, or are you still not happy?
Well
I was satisfied enough with how it transpired, and the climactic battle between
Obi-Wan and Anakin at the end of the film was absolutely superb. As mentioned
before, I love noticing a bit of choreographed dancing in the saga.
The
only thing I’d change would be how Padmé dies. When one is not especially ill,
‘losing
the will to live’ is more akin
to the death of an elderly person. Usually.
Pros:
Recognition of the vantage point known as ‘the
high ground’. It’s a real boon in any situation, so don’t underestimate it
or you’ll lose your limbs*
*possibly
Ian McDiarmid hamming it up as The Emperor. Love
the uncontrolled scream of “Unlimited Power”…
Cons:
Hmm… some of the dialogue is a touch corny on
occasions, but hey, this IS Star Wars.
Memo, dated circa 1977
To:H. Ford
From:G. Lucas
Message begins:
I
CAN write crap, and you CAN and WILL say it
Message ends.
Funny:
Not hilarious per se,
but I rather like two lines in particular said by Ewan McGregor in proper
Sir Alec Guinness mode: “So uncivilised” and “Hello there!”
Anakin’s immortal romanticism: “No, it’s
because I’m so in love with YOU!”
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
What’s
not to like?
Action,
Drama, Comedy, Romance, Tragedy all rolled into 120 glorious minutes of film.
It’s impressive – most impressive.
Not
only is it most (not all) Star Wars fans’ favourite movie of the series, it
usually stands up well amongst the very best and top rated movies of all time.
In
fact, I’m not sure I need to say anything else, save that I recently had a brief
chat with a female at my workplace, who staunchly claimed that ROTJ was far
superior to ESB.
She
was terminated. Immediately.
I’m
not sure anyone will miss her.
Pros:
The whole soundtrack. John Williams got a Grammy
for this one…should have been an Oscar
I’m gonna get flamed for this, but I think Leia
looked her absolute best in this one – yes even more so than in ROTJ and THAT gold bikini
And of course, the best response in a movie ever:
Cons:
None. Seriously none.
Funny:
The Stormtrooper
wardrobe malfunction in the Carbon Freeze scene
Lando seemingly
struggling to stifle a giggle in the last scene – probably because he
knows he’s nicked Han’s clothes
So
there you have it. It may be that you don’t agree with me. If that’s the case,
then I find your lack of faith disturbing, but May the Force be with you
anyways.
As
for me, I agreed to go and clean C-3PO in exchange for getting smashed into
oblivion on the Spice Mines of Kessel after writing this – it’s a deal that’s
getting worse all the time.
Bonus material!
Episode 7: The Force Awakens So we waited with baited breath for years to find out what happened BEFORE ANH, even though we knew where it was ultimately going. What we DIDN'T know though, was what happened next?
And so were born the Sequels! We were pretty much told to ignore the huge canon of post ROTJ books and storylines, as from here on in, George Lucas would not be pulling the strings. JJ Abrams, it's over to you...
The anticipation of the arrival of Episode 7 was absolutely immense. The producers managed to keep the plotline so shrouded in decrecy so well, that it really was a journey into the unknown. And quite frankly, what a damn fine job they did.
Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens (TFA) was compelling viewing from start to finish. How often do you go to the cinema and hear great cheers and whooping, just because a few aging characters appear on screen. And what other spaceship can give you goosebumps when you see it left to wrack and ruin in an old junkyard.
Hugely satisfying was this new SW experience. Episodes 8 and 9 have much to live up to!
Pros:
Again, an almighty soundtrack from John Williams. Especially Rey's theme, and the swirling extra bar in the finale
A noble departure for one of the characters.
Daisy Ridley. She nails it is so many ways, and with dimples to die for as well. I hope the casting crew got a decent bonus as the female leads in this series are so well cast
Cons:
I wanted Rey's 'vision' to be longer. At least double actually!
