Dreams

The night was cold- freezing even and I was hanging on for dear life. The fingers wrapped tightly around the barrier dangling of the ship. I could hear the slow click of heels walking towards me. "Help," I yelled towards the approaching figure. She stood in a white elegant dress, long blond hair flowing behind her. Bright red nails tapped the barrier indecisively while I begged for help as I started to lose my grip. A wicked smile spread across her face as I lost my grip and plummeted towards the freezing cold ocean.

I woke up and looked at the time 2.20- it was the 15th of April 2012- a hundred years since the titanic sunk and I had had a dream of me hanging of the side of it with a scary woman deciding my fate. It was the most vivid dream I have had to date and still remember it clearly. I remember what she looked like, the shape of the ship, the time I woke up and the date.

I think dreams are the strangest thing that happen to any living thing and the fact that you can find out what they mean from a dream dictionary. Sometimes I get similar dreams so I do look up what they could mean. One common one for me is being pregnant which is all about the creation and development of life, so dreaming of being pregnant may be a metaphor for the birth of something in your life, such as a new idea, project or goal. It may also symbolize an aspect of yourself that is developing or growing. I have realised that I get these dreams when I've come up with a new writing idea.

One question I always wonder is why do we forget dreams? Well I did some research and found out why...
There are many reasons why we forget many of our dreams and one link summed up all the reasons- Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-memories-of-vivid-dreams/ - states that we forget dreams because there is an absence of the hormone norepinephrine in the cerebral cortex, a brain region that plays a key role in memory, thought, language and consciousness. (Norepinephrine definition underlies the fight-or-flight response, along with epinephrine, directly increasing heart rate, triggering the release of glucose from energy stores, and increasing blood flow to skeletal muscle.) Due to this we forget the dreams we have if they did not capture our attention. There are many for reasons which is explained in Scientific American which you can see in the link above.

Even though I think dreams are bizarre I also think if you have a dream the day starts off better. What is your most vivid dream? Comment below

Harry Potter and the cursed child review (SPOILERS)

Even though I received the cursed child play script on the day of its release I couldn't read it for two weeks (went on holiday) as soon as I got back it was in my hand and ready to be read. I'm going to split this review in two as I have two very different opinions on each act. (WARNING spoilers!)

PART 1
I did like the first few scenes as we begin to learn about the characters but its not long before the play speeds up and we're shooting through the years quickly. By the end of the 7th scene I'm really not liking Albus or Harry that much due to a ridiculous fight between them that escalates from them arguing about Harry's blanket to shouting that they wish they weren't father and son. Maybe if you see it performed there would be more tension to it but from reading it there really isn't.
One thing that surprised me throughout the whole play is Scorpius; he is constantly referred to as Voldemort's son which is most likely very hurtful to him as it causes him to be an outcast -obviously- but he is the funniest thing in the play. Throughout the play I was constantly laughing out loud due to him.
The first act consist of Albus, Scorpius, and Delphi trying to find a way to save "the spare" Cedric Diggory which seems to be a foolish idea right from the start but still they do a good job of finding the time turner and that is the end of the first act from part one.
Act two from part 1 starts with a dream of Harry's which includes Voldemort. This leads to the parents trying to find Albus and Scorpius before they go back in time. They fail and scene 7 starts from this point onwards I start to get annoyed with act 2. They start to notice the changes that have been made but does this stop Albus wanting to go back? Of course not. Scorpius does try to stop him and they have a fight but that ends as soon as its started. The next few scenes are easily summed up by the huge mistake made by Albus and Scorpius leading to there being no Albus. Part one ends with what appears to be hell on earth.

Opinions so far: I didn't really like part one- I felt it was quite rushed in some bits that were quite important. This may have affected my feelings for it but I don't think affected the story as a whole. The last scene in part one was quite good which make sense as it makes the person come back for part two.

PART 2
Part two I liked a whole lot more than part one and I think that's because the pace of the play was easier to read and made more sense. One quote stood out for me "we simply are as we are" which seems to be the response of many "purebloods" in this new world. They seemed to get Snape exactly right which is a first, however he is quite funny especially when you have Alan Rickman voice in your head. We are then ushered into a underground rebellion group where Snape, Hermione, and Ron learn of their real lives. Their task then becomes protecting Cedric Diggory so that he doesn't become a death eater. They succeed and everything seems to go back to how it should be.
This is not the end as Delphi has other ideas who, we learn at the end of act 3, is in fact Voldemort's daughter. It was a twist I wasn't expecting. In act 4 we learn that Albus and Scorpius have been sent to 1981 the day before Harry's parents have been killed. From this point onwards the play becomes an amazing piece of literature. I won't ruin much more but we finally get to see the Harry we know and love. Fighting to save his family and the world. The play ends with father and son happy and united together. It's a good ending.

Opinions overall: I definitely preferred part 2 to part 1 partly because I felt like there was more going on and it was easier to imagine the scene unfolding. Part 1 was good but I just felt like it didn't match with all of the Harry Potter books we've grown with. Part 2 was a lot better than part 1- it seemed to be better written and had more action with it more like the original Harry Potter books. To conclude Harry Potter and the cursed child was a good read and will most likely be a brilliant play to go and see but the expectations I had for the play didn't match what was written. I'd give this 7/10 and would recommend it.

What were your views on the cursed child? Have you seen it performed? Comment below