MIDNIGHT, TEXAS

 by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

  

It can be said that in any family snap there is always a black sheep; one who does not quite fit in. No matter how memorably special was the picture when it was first taken. Elaborately speaking, when you feel at variance with the rest you'll eagerly gravitate to follow your gut feelings which are anchored by your intelligence. What more does it entail? You will soon find your sole path, then sweep yourself away from the majority and/or renounce any forms of direct communication with the people you have loved and cared for. 

I just started watching another American Supernatural T.V. series based on Charlaine Harris' book series. I read a synopsis and heard an outline of the T.V. series before but never bothered with it because of my fondness of the Mikaelson siblings in The Originals. 

The first episode of Midnight, Texas was only playing for a few minutes, when I jumped to the conclusion that it wouldn't be my cup of tea. I labelled the first few minutes of the episode as quite a stereotypical story. The scene of a guy, Francois Arnaud a.k.a. Manfred Bernardo, running away from the troubling threats of his mysterious creditor, Hightower. Personally speaking, I don't now have the fitter and higher quality of patience I had years ago when watching films or series that mainly involved cliched stories. I would prefer more real life documentary programmes in which dramatic temper tantrums are not included (the least) and with no hackneyed happily ever after ending. 

(Francois Arnaud a.k.a. Manfred Bernardo)

When I almost decided to stop watching the “Pilot” episode and not bothered with the programme. Francois Arnaud a.k.a. Manfred Bernardo  had just driven to the ingress of a small town called Midnight, Texas; he was running and this was his final destination. That was the time when my attention shifted and I continuously watched it. The small town setting reminded me of True Blood's' small town in Louisiana and more importantly, the main characters made me think of X-Men's fictional characters.

The main characters in this series are inhabitants of a small town where the concept of normal is relative. As a matter of fact, the town itself is a safe haven for vampires, witches, psychics, hit men and others with extraordinary backgrounds; who work together. Once you are in Midnight, Texas and the leading supernatural inhabitants come to trust you, you will be welcomed into this elusive family. A family who work together in fending off the presence of unruly biker gangs, questioning police officers and shades of their own dangerous pasts.

After finishing the Pilot episode of this series, I inextricably played another one. Thereupon I pursued and without knowing I just ended up finishing the “Blinded by the Light” episode. I didn't regret it as I saw a beefcake man fallen angel in the persona of Jason Lewis as Joe Strong. I WANT MORE, PLEASE! 

(Jason Lewis a.k.a. Joe Strong)

SAINSBURY'S BASIC JUG KETTLE

by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

Last year, I was surprised by the sound of an explosion and it came from the kitchen. I checked the appliances, one by one, until I smelled the burnt plug of an electric kettle. The fuse had exploded and the electrical wire was severely affected, too, which made the kettle impossible to mend and get back in working order.

The kettle was absolutely irreparable that evening and I was left with no hot water for my hot chocolate drink (LOL!). Honestly, I found it very challenging not to have sizzling hot water in the house especially in the morning. Who would not be when you are used to having a cup of refreshing coffee after breakfast and late afternoon tea as well.

I woke-up at 5AM and searched immediately for electric kettles from various sellers online. I visited six stores to see their offers and ended with two of my best choices. They were from John Lewis website with impressive remarks from the previous customers. Additionally, they were not too expensive given the style, colour as well as their key features.

I stayed up and didn’t go back to bed....

My top two choices were amazingly very good but I ended up buying Sainsbury's Basic Jug Kettle. My only idea was to try it and to see if it's worth the trouble saving a few quid? Unfortunately, it wasn't a wise buy at all nor saving a few dosh in my purse!

While I was in the kitchen for hours, I couldn't stand the look of the kettle as it was disappointingly very basic and cheap looking (Sorry for being blunt and insulting). On the contrary, Sainsbury's Basic Jug Kettle functions similar to my broken Dome Kettle from Russell Hobbs. Yes, I didn't go to John Lewis to buy one of my choices and because of that, I hated myself (a little bit). My decision in buying it was absolutely a pointless compromise. Well, I'm only human!

I disliked it but didn't return it to the store...

Last year, the Sainsbury's Basic Jug Kettle was placed in the "balikbayan" box and shipped over to my beloved country. It wasn't exquisitely ideal for my finicky taste but it was worth experimenting. On the other hand, this well-made inexpensive kettle has been very useful at my brother's humble abode nowadays.
 

Technically speaking, this compact jug kettle has a light weight power base which doesn’t need so much space with the additional cord storage. It has twin water gauges on both sides of the body to see through the water level with removable and washable filter in the spout. The kettle is finished in clean white with a generous 1.7L capacity- providing you with more sizzling hot water for coffee, tea and other purposes. It also has a flip-top lid with on/off switch which illuminates with an orange glow when the water is boiling. Moreover, this household jug kettle brings water to the boil rapidly because of its powerful 1850- 2200W.