Cheryl Cinnamon: March 2020

Bonjour mes amis!

Welcome to another post, this time I am going to be doing a run through of my top 5 podcasts right now.

I have been listening to podcasts for a number of years now and really enjoy them. I regularly listen to them whilst cleaning around the flat, doing the dishes and getting ready. I find it comforting to listen them and it is also a good way to learn about new things. I think I would be a little bit lost without my favourite podcasts and I am always eager to listen to new episodes as they are released.

Ok, so first up is.. The Fringe of It.

This podcast is brought to you by the fabulous Charlotte Jacklin and Liv Purvis; who are wonderful content creators and are all about lifestyle, fashion, beauty, travel and more. This podcast started in 2018 with weekly episodes and this week we are now onto episode 53. To summarise this podcast; Liv and Charlotte like to discuss a series of topics that range from friendships, body image, money matters and a whole lot more. Recently the podcast has taken a more relaxed approach in my opinion, which is something I really love. Liv and Charlotte regularly discuss their tv/film recommendations on telly talk and natter about their style finds and favourite foods. Occasionally they have a few guests on to speak and this was the focus of season 2 which was highly entertaining with guests such as Sarah Powell, Lucy Sheridan and Julia Day. There have been a couple of live podcast recordings which are very interactive with the audience, I would love to attend one of these as they look so much fun although I haven't yet had an opportunity (maybe one day!)

If you are looking for a feel good, uplifting podcast that feels like you are having a catch up with your besties then this is the one for you!

Podcast number 2 is... Ru Pauls: What's the Tee.

What's the Tee is Ru Pauls weekly podcast with his bestie Michelle Visage where they discuss a series of topics such as; what they have been up to, pop culture, behind the scenes of Ru Pauls Drag Race and a whole lot more. This podcast is a mixed bag and you never really know what you are going to get which keeps it really fresh and vibrant. Ru and Michelle like to have a proper catch up then go on to have a chatter with guests (most commonly the people who are guest judges on drag race at that time.) There are some amazing guests with the likes of Lady Gaga, Aubrey Plaza, Lena Dunham, Jeff Goldblum, Whoopi Goldberg and too many more to name! Ru and the guests end up discussing random topics and there isn't really a format in place, just natural conversations which makes for very easy and entertaining listening. Ru has a lot of the previous drag queens on the podcast to have chat with which are some of my favourite episodes. This podcast has been around since 2014 so there are plenty of episodes to keep you going! If it sounds like its your thing and you love Drag race then definitely check it out.

And now on to Podcast number 3.. and its the Gemma Collins Podcast.

This is a reasonably new-ish podcast brought to us by the one and only GC! Gemma started her podcast in August 2019 and in this time she has brought a lot of joy and a breath of fresh air to the podcasting world. Gemma likes to talk candidly on her podcast and discusses a wide range of interesting subjects, most of the topics are things that spark her curiosity like dreams, the supernatural, the illuminati, the concept of time and so many more. The podcast delves into the life of the GC, what shes up to, chats with her nearest and dearest and advice for listeners dilemmas. In my opinion, this podcast is the ultimate escapism from daily life and really gets you thinking about some unusual things. I find Gemma very entertaining, endearing and funny so I have found one of my favourite podcasts, if I am feeling a bit out of sorts I know I can put an episode on and I will be chuckling away. Really happy Gemma started a podcast and I look forward to what else she has to bring to the podcast because with Gemma you just never know!

On to Podcast number 4 and I am pleased to say it is the Jules and Sarah podcast.

Ok,, where do I begin with this podcast.. its basically a little nugget of joy. The podcast is intended to "uplift, soothe and essentially amuse one ears" according to the podcast synopsis. Jules Von Hep and Sarah Powell are friends, both from the north of England who decided to start a podcast based on their love of lighthearted and nonsense driven fun, which is exactly what you will get from this podcast. Jules and Sarah are cheese lovers which can explain the "fromage" t-shirts as seen in the photo above and so they have formed a Port Salut crew of dedicated cheese loving, podcast fans who write to them from all over the world. Listening to Jules and Sarah's candid chats always brightens my mood and their "news from the north" section is not to be missed! I would highly recommend the Jules and Sarah podcast for a bit of light hearted, down right fun and don't we all need a little bit of that in times like these.

And now for the last podcast of my top 5 and it is... Full Coverage - The Beauty Podcast.

Full Coverage podcast is "a podcast by beauty lovers for beauty lovers" and is brought to you by professional make up artist Harriet Hadfield and the unprofessional beauty junkie Lindsey Kelk. In this podcast Harriet and Lindsey discuss all things makeup, skincare, haircare and much more. It is nice to hear opinions from Harriet on products from a professionals perspective and then Lindsey who is an international best-selling author loves all things make up so she is more than able to offer her opinions on all the new products and what they have been trying out. Occasionally, Full Coverage has some guests on to speak all things beauty related, some of the guests include; Marcia Kilgore, Caroline Hirons, Nadine Baggott, Emma Guns and many more. If you love to see what is trending in the beauty world then this is certainly up your street. A personal highlight of this podcast for me is the episode where they discuss their favourite looks from the Oscars red carpet. This podcast has been ongoing since 2017 so there is a decent back catalogue of episodes to delve into if it takes your fancy and new episodes are uploaded usually every week on a Wednesday. If you love beauty related chats like myself then you can do no wrong with this one.

Well there you have it... my top 5 podcasts of the moment.

All of these podcasts can be found on apple podcasts which is where I listen from. If you are looking for a mixed bag of candid chats, celebrity interviews, beauty chat and so on then I am sure you will find something from these 5 that will spark your interest.

Thanks for reading! See you on the next post.

Lots of Love
A Bisous
Cheryl

Bonjour mes amis!

Well.... Its been a long time coming! Almost a year since I posted anything on here but I decided to brush off the cobwebs of this little blog and write up some of my thoughts on my favourite tv shows I have been enjoying recently.

Ok so first up... is Shrill

This series stars Aidy Bryant and is based on the book: Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West. The series first aired on March 15th 2019 on Hulu and for the UK viewers like myself I was able to watch this on BBC iplayer. Aidy Bryant plays Annie Easton who is a young woman navigating through life in Portland, Oregon with her best friend/room mate Fran. Annie is an aspiring journalist working for a local magazine; juggling her life around an unfavourable boyfriend, a difficult boss and her tasking parents. Each episode is no longer than 30 minutes long so its perfect for a bit of quick viewing. I absolutely loved this! So much so I have watched both series twice.. there's everything to love about this series; the brilliantly scripted characters, the aesthetics, the costumes and the general cool vibe of the show. Annie and Frans' house is beautiful, I for sure wouldn't mind living there, it has lots of gorgeous greenery and very cool interiors. A personal highlight of this series is Annie's boss Gabe played by John Cameron Mitchell, he plays the role of Gabe perfectly and I cannot imagine anyone else in this role, the entertaining dynamic between Annie and Gabe is so amusing to watch.

Shrill gets top marks from me! I am praying they will do another series, which I think is very highly anticipated and would be very well received.

Next on my list is... AJ and the Queen

This latest offering from Mamma Ru (RuPaul Charles) is the fabulous AJ and the Queen. The last time I had seen RuPaul in more of an acting role and aside from RuPauls Drag Race was Girlboss; he played the role of Sophia Amoroso's neighbour and since then I have been eager to see him in another acting role and this did not disappoint. The series premiered on Netflix on the 10th of January 2020 and has 10 episodes with each episode running for approx 1 hour. The series follows Ruby Red played by RuPaul who is a highly successful drag queen with big dreams of opening her own drag club. A few bumps in the road and Ruby embarks on a cross country American tour of drag clubs with more than she bargains for when 10-year old AJ stowaways in Rubys RV in the hope of reaching her pop pop as she has recently been neglected by her mother and decides this is the best hope for her future. Ruby and AJ find themselves in a situation where they find some solace in each other and are able to teach each other things along the way, creating a loving impact on each other and the lives of others.

This series is heart warming, witty and executed brilliantly. I gorged the series in under a week and really found myself bonding to these characters and their journey, it touched my heart and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling. As much of a RuPaul fan as I am, I was almost certainly going to enjoy this and it surpassed that, if you want a bit of feel good escapism with some killer drag then please watch it!

Ok, now for number 3 and drum roll please.... LIVE! WORK! POSE!

Yes its Pose and it is everything I dreamed this would be. Pose premiered on the 3rd of June 2018 on FX in the US, I recently watched it on BBC iplayer which is available for people based in the UK. The series is based in New York City in the 1980s with season 2 in the early 1990s, the series is about the gender-nonconforming ballroom scene in NYC encompassing a largely African American and Latino LGBTQ community who compete in various categories such as dancing and modelling to win trophies and recognition from their peers. The community largely consists of chosen families which are known as Houses. Many themes are addressed within this series such as gender, nonconformity, the downtown social scene of NYC and HIV/AIDS. Pose can be quite hard hitting at times and a real wake up call to what life was like for these certain people in these times, coping with social rejection, poverty, disease and other struggles. The ballroom scene is an escape from the outside world and a place to truly be themselves and achieve recognition amongst the community.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series and loved the 80s aesthetic of the gritty NY downtown scene with the glamour and creativity of the balls. Some of the ideas and concepts around the costumes and what they bring to the balls is truly amazing! There are a lot of very strong characters each with their own interesting story to tell, you will not be disappointed for sure! Also the soundtrack is spot on :)

Lets move on to Series number 4 and for this one its going to be.. the one and only.. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.

Now I must admit that initially this did take me a little while to get into.. but once I was there I could not stop watching. The humour in this show is quite interesting and not something I was that familiar with, that's why I think it initially took me a little bit of time to settle in to the dialogue and the relationship between the characters. However, after minimal persistence I was loving this programme. The series is now on season 3 which I have watched entirely and I am desperate for another season, for which it has been renewed (a lot of excited Maisel fans here.) The series is based in New York City in the late 50s/early 60s, it follows the story of Miriam "Midge" Maisel played by the lovely Rachel Brosnahan who realises she has a blossoming talent for stand up comedy and decides to pursue a career in it. I love the 50/60s era of this series, the costume design is off the scale and the eye to detail in capturing the time period is wonderful. This show is witty, fashionable, heart warming and a bit tear jerking at times. If you're in the mood for something fun, vibrant and a good laugh then get on your amazon prime and hit up Mrs Maisel!

Ok.. Here is the final one and its a Netflix original series called Spinning Out.

Unfortunately this series was not renewed for a second series however do not let that deter you from giving this a watch. The main character in Spinning Out is Kat played by Kaya Scodelario who is a young aspiring figure skater who unfortunately suffers a serious ice skating injury which jeopardises the future of her ice skating career. Kat is offered a chance opportunity to get herself back on the ice in the form of pairs skating with an unlikely partner Justin who Kat has a fiery relationship with. The pair embark on their hopes of realising their Olympic dream together. Battling a series of events that stack against them such as Kats own struggles with mental illness as well as it running in her family. Justin and Kat face financial sacrifices, physical and mental issues which all test them on their Olympic journey. The main story is focused around Kat and Justin although there are other stories running alongside this in the form of Kats family, her volatile relationship with her mum (played by January Jones) who also suffers from mental illness and her relationships with her fellow ice skating sister and friend. I really enjoyed this series as it not only focused on ice skating but touched on a lot of other serious topics, the ice skating is soo impressive and I loved watching the routines and glitzy costumes (it gave me serious doubts about why I didn't get into ice skating at an early age!)

So there you have my mini reviews of my top 5 series I have been watching lately, it may give you a little inspo for some things to watch seeing as we are mainly staying indoors for the time being. Just a quick run through of places to find these shows, if you are in the UK then Shrill and Pose can be found on BBC iplayer, I also think series one of Pose is streaming on Netflix. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is on Amazon Prime and AJ and the Queen and Spinning out are currently on Netflix.

Hope you enjoy! Stay safe everyone and let me know your thoughts if you happen to watch any of these. I am considering doing a similar review for podcasts in my next post so look out for that.

Lots of Love

A bisous!

Cheryl x

Cheryl Cinnamon

Monday 30 March 2020

My Top 5 Podcasts of the moment

Friday 20 March 2020

My top 5 TV series of the moment

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MJ