The Secret Garden-Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett is one of my favourite books because of the beautiful descriptions of the various landscapes that Mary, the main character experiences. Yorkshire is a terrific example because of the description of the brilliant green moors and the vivid wildlife which feeds the readers imagination.

The Secret Garden is about a white Indian girl called Mary who is evacuated to Yorkshire to prevent her catching the deadly disease which killed her parents and all of her loved ones. She has a grumpy soul which prevents her from making friends in the beginning. Mary soon finds out that instead of being her melancholic self she could explore the unknown world surrounding her. The maid encourages her to step outside into the magical gardens where her story really begins...

This story brought fantasy and magic into my mind. A specific moment I enjoyed was when the curious robin, Marys only friend at the time, showed her where to find the key to the secret garden of majestic flowers and vines...

The book was first published in 1911 and it is still as important and as heartwarming as ever, I would encourage people of all ages and sizes to read this book !

Read, be inspired and write!
Malini

Macbeth-The Royal Shakespeare Company

I love Shakespeare, so every play I have seen by him I instantly fall in love with. I have seen a several plays by Shakespeare and this one I have to admit, was not my favourite. The company comes once every school year to my school. I thought that the actors portrayal of the characters was fantastic. Nevertheless, they could have made more use of the props that they had brought. The theatre company invited us and the audience to take part. I thought that making the audience play a part was risky because there were a lot of children to manage with only 5 actors. However, they pulled it off well by taking a group at a time to speak.
Lady Macbeth has a terrible plot to murder the king of Scotland so that Macbeth can be king. Once Macbeth agrees and kills the king he leaves a filthy trail of blood and guilt on the innocent guards hands. He succeeds in becoming King, kills his BFF Banquo, with a few extra kicks (which I won't tell you about now). He is feeling like a guilty murderer who is accusing a poor beggar man.
Macbeth has hallucinations of Banquo sitting at his throne with pernicious eyes...(dun dun dun!!!)

Lady Macbeth starts sleepwalking and is caught by a servant washing her hands and saying that Banquo cannot reappear from his grave.The servant informs Macduff of this who has an army to help fight Macbeth off.
I don't want to spoil a frightful ending but please remember, that if you ever see it, bring your snuggleuppet!!>>>:)

Read, be inspired and write!
Malini

Much Ado About Nothing, Noel Coward Theatre

William Shakespeare wrote a great number of plays including Much ado about nothing.My mother and I went to see the bollywood version with Meera Sayal playing Beatrice at the Noel Coward theatre in London.It was AMAZING !!!!!!!
The actors had indian accents which brought the whole thing to life. I loved it during the interval when the actors talked to you about what they were doing.They set up the wedding scene with a high tech configurable set,with drapes of orange and red materials making a traditional indian wedding .There is a line when Hero is called a "rotten orange" which must have been a serious insult to her but this is just funny for us !!!!!

There is nothing more to say than go on and see it !!!

Read, be inspired and write! Malini

Book Review: Mr Stink, David Walliams

Mr Stink is my favourite book because it put a beaming smile on my face.It was funny yet extremely touching.It is about a girl called Chloe who is persuaded to become a snooty person in society by her pretentious mother,who is trying to better herself.She runs into the local tramp (otherwise known as Mr Stink) and makes a trusty friendship which she tries her very hardest not to loose.He smells of rotten cabbage and has a barking companion who has been with him for his entire life.

Now i don't want to give away a heartfelt ending but prepare your box of Kleenex tissues and I'd take your socks off if I were you !!

I loved the book so much that I saw Mr Stink at the Hackney Empire as a play and enjoyed myself thoroughly .I would recommend this book for all ages (yes ,even the golden oldies!). If you have read the book then post some comments and write what you thought .

Read, be inspired and write!
Malini

See you later!!