Peachy's Top 5 Celebs We Wish We Were Friends With....

Just for fun!  Well, we can all dream can't we...here's this month's top 5!

5. Atlanta de Cadenet Taylor

Feisty model cum DJ Atlanta, not only gains hundreds of kudos points for her edgy style and grungy attitude, to rival the Riot Grrrl movement of the 90s; she's also the offspring of all-time bass GOD John Taylor, of Duran Duran! Potential conversations would be a little like this:
E: 'Hi Atlanta'
A: 'Hi'
E: 'How's the modelling?'
A: 'Good'
E: 'How's the DJ-ing?'
A: 'Yeah, good'
E: 'Cool...um...I love your Dad'. *'A' promptly hangs up phone*

4. Camilla 'Millie' Mackintosh

Millie did this, for all womankind

Poster girl for Bafta-winning guilty pleasure reality/unreality show Made in Chelsea.  Millie confirmed last week that she will be leaving the show to pursue her career, including her own YouTube make-up artistry channel.  The very picture of Chelsea sophistication, Millie is beautiful, has pins to die for and an immaculate sense of style.

But perhaps what we most love about her, is the unforgettable moment on MIC, in which, Millie finally took the reins and gave idiot posh-boy and world class David Brent lookalike, Spencer Matthews what-for with a massive slap around the chops.  In that moment alone, we all wished we had been her.  Millie, we want you on our side!

3. Deborah Ann Woll

The redhead, better known to most as Jessica (or 'Jeschka', as Stephen Moyer would say), the teenage vampiric tearaway from HBO's finest, True Blood, plays an unpredictable yet lovable and loyal character in TB. 

In real life, Deborah is even more of an inspiration, as she uses her celebrity status to raise awareness of a condition called Choroideremia, suffered by her boyfriend EJ Scott, which eventually results in blindness.  Fangs of steel, heart of gold, that's why Deborah belongs in the top 5.

2. Stacey Stewart

The beehive, the sixties dresses, the cakes.  Nobody says 'new best friend' more than Food Glorious Food's Stacey Stewart.  Much like myself, Stacey is self-styled in the wardrobe department as well as self-taught in the kitchen department; proof that a little self-discipline, and self-promotion can go a very long way.

Unique, talented and good for a chinwag over a steaming vintage teapot and a slice of Maple and Pecan cake!  Stacey and I could have mini bake-offs and hair-offs, plus I get the feeling she's a dab hand in the charity shop rummage department!  Enough said, Stacey Stewart joins the imaginery friend club!

1. Christina Hendricks 

Just when you thought the luscious Mad Men heroine couldn't get anymore inspiring - other than practically single-handedly bringing TV land to its knees with her curves, encouraging the re-evaluation of the fuller figured woman's representation in the media and being named 'The Body' - Hendricks KNITS!

Yes indeed, Hendricks forewards this wonderful

knitting book with tales of how she, along with her lucky friends, like nothing more than sitting around, knitting and gossiping.  Rumour has it, she takes her knitting bag on set at Mad Men HQ.  Could this woman be any more perfect?  Could we want to be her friend any more than we already do? No?  Thought not!  Well Christina, congratulations, your love of knitting awards you the top spot in the fickle world of imaginary celebrity friends!

Christina's Our Top Spot!

Agree or Disagree?  Who would you choose as your top 5 celebrities you wish you were friends with? www.facebook.com/lifeispeachytales

Will I Return to 'The Returned'? Investing in TV...

 

Back in 2008, word came from across the pond that a new programme was sweeping across the nation and had just been commissioned by Channel 4 to air here in the autumn.  The lead male actor was, by birth, English, the plotlines were outrageous, each episode consisted of gratuitous sex, violence and blood-thirsty vampires.  The dawning of a new post-Twilight age.  I was sold.

Needless to say, True Blood, has since become my favourite programme.  It has swiftly taken over my love of Sex and The City and filled the void left by HBO's cult classic.  I love the characters, the far-fetched nature of each season, the humour and of course, Eric (who doesn't)?  For me, True Blood, crept into a neat little hidey-hole on the channel 4 viewing slot and grew to new levels of country-wide TV phenomenon on a swift yet steady basis.  My romance with the vamps of Bon Temps ceases to calm.

I should point out, it isn't very often I am so compelled from adverts to watch a programme.  There are ITV dramas and documentaries I've been meaning to watch and I even missed out on the recent Broadchurch madness!  So when Channel 4 began airing clips of the much acclaimed French thriller, 'The Returned', I was sold.

'The Returned', is set in a small French village and tells the story of a world where 'Zombies' return to their lives and wreak placid havoc on the lives of their loved ones.  It suggests a world where this 'coming back to life' malarkey is quite commonplace.  But, unlike the horror films of yore, The Returned look just like you and I, they don't have an awareness of dying and, for the most part of episode one, tend to stare motionlessly at people.  

Compared and contrasted to Sweden's smash hit, 'The Killing', The Returned's strengths of episode 1 lay in it's ability to chill with nothing but atmosphere and character placement.  There was an eerie gloom about the town in which it is set, suggesting a population of characters for whom, time has stood still since grieving their various losses.  Music, or lack of it at certain points, made for an atmosphere too leading you to believe something menacing was just around the corner, but you couldn't understand what or why.  Visually, it reminded me slightly of the film 'The Mothman Prophecies', with very little 'jumps' but a psychologically discomforting 'whirring' of horror.  All that said though, I didn't find myself gripped.

These days, if I'm going to invest my time into a TV programme, it really needs to grab my attention from the off.  The Returned, unfortunately, failed to do so.  Creepy in its premise and artistically shot landscapes, I found the characters and dialogue difficult to empathise with, I'm not one for slashy gore and obvious plotlines (much), but there seemed a little too much silence between me and the characters to suck me in to next week's episode, much like the walking dead, I was left stone cold.  I couldn't help but feel 'The Returned' had been a little over-hyped, a classic advertising trick of pacing a slow programme in such an excited manner, that it does nothing but disappoint when the actual hour-long programme airs. Perhaps I need to watch it again, alone, in the absence of a babbling baby, but it didn't quite cut it for me, I'm not sure I'll be tuning in to see the next instalment.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let me know your thoughts below!