As I’ve said time and time again, I write, and am inspired, by making connections.  Drawing the lines between dots I handpick from life.

And I guess a couple of the lines this week have given me a kick-start to revisit my first book.

‘Flicker’, which some of you may have read samples of on the blog, is my first novel, a teenage fantasy book about an orphaned girl setting off on her gap year travels.  After several edits of the book, my agent submitted it to a around ten publishers this time last year, unfortunately to no avail.  After a few months, the book was shelved, and my second book ‘The Dream Navigator’ was made publisher-ready, and then did the rounds.

And that, a year on, is where I’m at.  Having edited and re-edited two different books for publisher submission, I’ve then had to pass on the baton to my agent, and wait for the news to roll in.

As any of you in the same situation will know, whilst it’s a necessary part of the process, it can be rather frustrating!  And at first, whilst the frustration of not hearing anything back from ‘Flicker’ lead me to pile all my energy into ‘The Dream Navigator’, a year on, no matter my best intentions, I’m finding it far too easy to sit on my hands, and make excuses.

If I’m completely honest, it’s very hard to finish another book, knowing nothing so far has come of the others.  When I think of the hours I spent on the other two books, I feel drained, and back in the real world (I wrote the books whilst travelling) I feel too tired from everyday work to sit back in front of the computer at the end of the day, when I haven’t seen any return for all the other work.

But this is an attitude which needs to stop.  If I’m to become an author – a real, bonafide, published author – then I need to get my head back in the game.  And whilst the ball is heavily still in my agent’s court, that doesn’t mean I can’t be doing something to help.

I think what I’ve been doing wrong is trying to push forward with all the other ideas I’ve had since Flicker, when instead, there is something there in that story – there must have been to have got noticed in the first place – I just need to polish it!

So where has this change of heart sprung from? What were the dots that joined together to lead to that conclusion?

Last week I saw a friend I haven’t seen since I left to go travelling, and it turns out he reads my blog, and, despite being a 30 year old man … he read, AND LOVED!!! … the excerpts of Flicker which I put up on it!!  I guess hearing his enthusiasm for the book reminded me how enthusiastic I had once been about the story.

Then last night, I was at a friend’s birthday drinks, and it turned out a number of his friends had heard that I was aspiring author.  When, in turn, they asked me how it was going, I shrugged, disheartened, and said the same thing over and over again ‘it’s in the hands of my agent … I’m not really doing much at the moment … I work for a bank …’

And I listened to myself, and thought, if you’d asked 14 year-old me what I wanted to do at 28, the last thing I would have said was ‘work for a bank’.  I wanted to be an author … so badly that I sent a shell of a story off to a publisher, and received my first mass mailshot rejection letter!!  And you know what, I STILL want to be an author … so why the hell have I stopped working for it??

And then finally, this afternoon I sat down to watch the film ‘Chalet Girl’.  Of all the ‘inspirations’ this is probably the most off the wall and silly … but bare with me

So ‘Chalet Girl’ is a teenage British chick flick – the story of a girl who goes to the Austrian alps, falls in love with a hot posh guy and becomes a snowboard champ – total cheese … but I’ve always loved cheesy tv Now, if anything, I was expecting to finish the film and simply be dying to head back to Whistler … and don’t get me wrong, after 2 winters as a seasonaire it was impossible not to watch the film and yearn for snow … but there was a stronger compulsion that came from the film, and that was to revisit Flicker.  Because years ago, when I day-dreamed about Flicker as a book, I put actors faces to some of the characters, imagining what it might be like to see my book on the big screen.  And in that day dream, Ed Westwick was Daniel DeSilva, to Felicity Jones’s ‘Flic Firstone’ – the two young British actors starring opposite one another in Chalet Girl.

And I guess I don’t want that daydream to die.  I want Flicker to still be an option.  I want it to become a name synonymous with a book, not just a horse and an online photo sharing site!  I want to be an author.  I want to be a scriptwriter.  I want to see books on shelves, with my name on the spine, and films and tv on the screen, underpinned by stories I’ve written.  And I’m not gonna achieve that by sitting on my hands!  I’m gonna do it by gritting my teeth, peeling the plaster off, and looking at a text I haven’t looked at for a year, because no matter how much I don’t want to acknowledge it, it is ‘damaged’ in some way … it’s not finished … and the only way someone is going to love it enough to publish it, is if I can fix it …

This is my challenge.  This is my part of the baton-passing process ….

To make my manuscript as kick-ass brilliant as I possibly can, so that next time my agent submits it to publishers, someone snaps it up

C-C xx

How’s Life? Well mine’s pretty good — virtually no homework and I went to the awesomest sleepover of all time with Emma, Ruby, Eleanor P, Akanksha and Kate at Kate’s house :] It was to celebrate her birthday and we went to bed at 11pm, put on a film ["Chalet Girl" -- amazing] and talked for agesh! There’s an actor in it who looks like a monkey. Seriously. So ugly. And the main character decides to fall in love with him D: He is soo ugly :/

Aaaannnnyyywwaaayyy, I think Kate’s mum came in like five times to tell us to shut up. We woke up at 4am and started talking like mad :] Then we watched the rest of Chalet Girl, then watched Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging. Lol, the pencil test :]] Funniest scene ever.

I am completely serious, It was the best sleepover in the whole history of tween sleepovers. ♥ Thanks KitKate!

But gawd, was I tired! Last night I slept 11, 12 hours straight. I normally sleep 8 or 9. Mwyawwnageeee! At 9 I fell asleep on the sofa watching X Factor [boring, I WANT WAGNER] and my mum had to carry me to bed :] I didn’t clean my teeth or anything. Yesh icky, I know.

Tonight is Roast Dinner night :] Check out http://brawesomedotcom.blogspot.com/, I posted on it today ♥ && now there’s a chat section! Check it all out :]

♥, Fia

I leave you with a picture of Wagbo.

In another variation on the traditional rom-com theme – girl-from-wrong-side-of-tracks meets boy-with-dosh – Chalet Girl  is an exercise in wish fulfilment if you fancy life on the Austrian ski slopes and 200 euro tips.

Felicity Jones (who most won’t remember from Cemetery Junction) plays the feisty Kim, who works in a hamburger joint in North London before taking a job in a ski chalet to support her widowed father (a subtly played Bill Bailey). We know she’s feisty because Kim doesn’t take any stick from anyone – not her catty fellow chalet girl Georgie, not the sleazy rich men who visit the lodge – and she knows the difference between sarcasm and irony.

Playing the Rochester to her Jane Eyre is rich kid Jonny. There is a certain satisfaction in seeing Gossip Girl‘s Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) speaking in his normal voice and actually cracking a smile. But first, Kim has to deal with some difficult memories and transfer her champion skateboarding skills to the slopes.

1. Our very first Man in my view wasnt exactly up to scratch and shouldnt have really been on the Man board but the board was created as a gift for a friend of mine and was since put up on display. The first Man is actually a model on an advert for Christy Towels but seeing as I cant seem to track down the picture of him online, we’ll have to just settle with the company logo. I know, quite disappointing. Though tbh, I dont see it as a massive loss because he wasnt really very attractive (besides his mediocre abs), which of course defeats the purpose of our Man Wall!

Yeah, not a brilliant start, I know.

2. Some more bad news: Our second Man wasnt particularly brilliant either, but thankfully he was only temporary as he was only there whilst we found a replacement for the first one. So the second Man was a tiny picture cut out of a magazine of Daniel Craig in Casino Royale when he’s walking out of the water in his blue trunks after a lovely dip in the sea. I’m sure you’ll all remember. If not, I found the same photo of him to jog your memory:

Unfortunately, our picture didnt include the lovely beach in the background.

3. Finally, we’re getting to the good stuff. The third one is the first one I picked and the first real Man of the Week, and therefore you have to like him. Understood?

His name is Scott McGregor. Doesnt ring any bells? Didnt think so. Truth is, he isnt particularly famous…yet. This Australian hunk is best known for his role of Detective Mark Brennan in the long-running soap, Neighbours, but was initially a model and so left the show in order to pursue other modelling oppurtunities. Very sad actually- I miss seeing his face on my tv screen everyday! And you can see why(!) :

Beautiful.

Gah those abs!

 If you dont see it, well then you just need to put your specs on, like I have. But, I guess he’s not going to float everyone’s boat, but I can tell you that he definately floats mine.

4.  This one is the choice of Miss Hutch who donated the Man Board to us in the first place, so I guess that entitles her to have some sort of input. So she chose for it to be True Blood week and have four of the main males to be this week’s Men. Personally, I dont watch True Blood and so had to look-up the names for three of them. The one I remember is Alexander Skarsgard, the son of Stellan Skarsgard who has been in many films such as, Mamma Mia, King Arthur and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3. But moving away from Stellan and back to True Blood choices, the Men are as follows (from left to right): Ryan Kwanten, Alexander Skarsgard, Stephen Moyer and Sam Trammell

This was the only photo I could find with all four men but unfortunately there isnt one without the woman

5. We accidentally stumbled across this one in a free newspaper that my friend picked up in the train station! Shiloh Fernandez and is a lovely newcomer and recently starred in the new flick Red Riding Hood alondside Amanda Seyfried and Max Irons (son of Jeremy Irons). Interesting fact: he was actually head-to-head with Rob Pattinson for the role of Edward Cullen and apparantly was the director, Catherine Hardwicke’s, first choice however, (according to Wikipedia) Kristen Stewart had the final say.  This is the beautiful photo we came across in the paper…:

And thank the lord that we did!

 

Unfortunately, this particular photo wasnt included in the ones we put on the board, but nevermind! At least we can see it now!

 7. Now this choice wasnt primarily my own, but I definately approve! As well as being a wonderful actor, he showcased the comedian in him right back-in-the-day of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Yes. It’s Will Smith. Ever since the Fresh Prince days, Will Smith has appeared in many movies varying from Men in Black to Bad Boys to Shark Tale to The Pursuit of Happyness to I am Legend. Phew! That was a bloody mouthful! There are more, but I think you get the idea. And now his little mini-me’s are entering the showbiz which is great news for us so keep a lookout for them!

This was my favourite out of the photos we had of him.

8. Our next lovely fella is British actor, Aaron Johnson. You may most prominently remember him for his role of teen-heartthrob, Robbie, in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging but he has managed to escape the grasps of teenage fandom and take on more serious, challenging roles to establish himself as an actor as opposed to being the centre of every girl’s dream. Tis a shame really. Especially seeing as since 2009 he has been with his director of BAFTA Nominated film, Nowhere Boy and so wasnt on the market for long before he was taken. But that doesnt mean we cant still admire those luscious locks and ever so sweet smile! (although nowadays he’s going for a more rugged and kooky look instead of his former cute one- perhaps its the fatherhood that’s done it?)

A very well-rounded photo, I think.

 9. I was initially opposed to having this one on the board but then I was outnumbered and had to give the vote to the majority. I was told that I’d see the attraction to him if I watched Moulin Rouge!, which of course I hadnt yet seen. Not too long later my friends and I had our first instalment of our chick-flick days and at about 2am we decided to watch Moulin Rouge! Now, for those of you who have seen the movie, you can imagine just how wacky and weird it would appear if you’re watching it in the early hours of the morning when you feel half-awake and half-dreaming. But nonetheless, I managed to see the attraction towards Ewan McGregor in his role of the incredibly romantic and adorable Christian seranading Satine with his glorious rendition of ‘Your Song’ by Sir Elton John. And I’d just like to say, in my defence, that I did say that I would probably see the love for Ewan McGregor once I’ve watched Moulin Rouge! and I never denied that he was a good actor! I remember the first film I saw him was when my family and I went to see Big Fish back in 2003 and then late last year I watched Angels and Demons in which he also did very well in portraying the innocent Cardinal with something slightly odd about him. Anyhow, this is the best photo I could find:

Personally, I think he should have more photos like this.

 10. He was one of my very first celebrity crushes and my friend, Miss Popovic, chose him and so of course he’d be on our wall. I first developed a major crush on this guy when I rented The Princess Diaries 2 DVD from the library (The second film is so much better than the first) and watched it…brace yourselves…11 times in one week. Yes, I was watching it like a devotee. And then earlier this year I watched it after not seeing it for years and I still remembered all the dialogue. If only I could remember that much of my school subjects, maybe I’d actually get somewhere…

But that’s beside the point. Week 10 is Chris Pine! He came on a list of rising stars whilst he was filming Star Trek, which I went to see with my father dearest, although he wanted to see it because he loves watching the series whereas I wanted to watch it primarily because it has Chris Pine in it. However, I’m not that shallow and do love watching stuff about space and the universe and so it was an interesting film. Chris Pine was an added bonus!

We actually had 10 photos for our 10th Man (unintended, mind you) but I have chosen two that I liked the most:

Why what a beautiful smile you have, Sir

Well helloooooo

11. This one hits the heart everytime. As well as being an incredibly gifted actor, Heath Ledger was also a wonderfully charming man and lovely in every way. Who couldnt love his broadway style performance of “Cant take my eyes off of you”" in 10 things I hate about you and sitting with mouths gaping in awe at his stunning performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight. His loss hit us hard and he will never be forgotten. I just hope that his gorgeous daughter, Matilda Ledger, grows up knowing what a wonderful father she had. And Heath’s birthday happened to be during this week so it was a perfect choice. Every photo we saw of him when picking photos for our board was absolutely beautiful and so with great difficulty I managed to choose just three photos. Always in our hearts, Rest In Peace Heath Ledger x

So adorable!

My Knight in Shining Armour

Modestly Magnificent

 12. Week twelve is somewhat similar to week eleven in that I always thought that Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks very similar to Heath Ledger, dont you think? And they were both in 10 things I hate about you looking like the cutest things ever, but that’s hardly relevant anyways. This one has proved to be a very popular choice, and with good reason! Gordon-Levitt went from oh-so-cute in the 1999 chick flick to sexy and smouldering in last year’s Inception. His voice is like a heavenly aphrodisiac. Dont believe me? Watch him in an Inception clip again, you’ll soon agree with me. Joseph is also starring in a new comedy called 50/50 with Seth Rogan about a guy who discover’s he has cancer and his struggle to fight the disease. Interesting approach to a film about cancer, I must say. Anyhow, here he is:

Before

After

13. Mr Jake Gyllenhaal. You may remember him from The Day After Tomorrow and Brokeback Mountain.  He’s making a breakthrough in acting by starring more recently in the popular movies Prince of Persia, Love & Other Drugs and Source Code. He’s not your typical choice in that he’s not one to constantly work on maintaining his muscle (although we’d fully encourage it if he did!) but he does have such an appealing appearance and has a good sense of humour in his interviews, so what’s not to love? This photo, is my favourite amongst the ones we have:

He's giving that kind of smoulder when you just cant take your eyes off him...

 14. Now this one is an all-round crowd-pleaser. It’s none other than Johnny Depp. I’m pretty much stumped for words as to what to say about him. How can you not  be absolutely head-over-heels for him?! And  he’s one of the very few guys that look amazing with guyliner. His look as Captain Jack Sparrow has to be the best look he’s had. (Apart from when he has those awesome round glasses on.) There’s something deeply attractive about the beaded dreadlocks, 3-pointed hat and gold tooth. What else is there to say? He’s just drop dead gorgeous. Not to mention such a wacky but simply brilliant actor! Yet all the insanity seems to be onscreen as was mentionned in his interview with Jonathon Ross early last year and so really, he’s a pretty down-to-earth guy! He also said in the interview how he never watches his own films back after they’re done. So modest, heavenly, hilarious and packed with enormous talent- he’s the whole package!

I truly adore this photo

I cant post Johnny Depp without Captain Jack Sparrow!

 15. Admittedly, Leo DiCaprio used to look better in his earlier days around the times of Titanic and Romeo + Juliet however I, like many others, feel a sense of loyalty towards him and so still felt that he deserved to be on the Man board. And I quite admire the fact that his career hasn’t revolved around his appearance but that he’s seen more seriously for the phenomenal actor that he is! And I cannot wait to see him in Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s highly acclaimed novel, ‘The Great Gatsby’ alongside Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. I studied it last year for English and at first didnt like it at all but then by the end of it, I absolutely loved it! If you havent read it and like novels such as ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ then I’d recommend this one. Back to Leo, we love you and always will.

It's strange how this photo looks more recent than one of him in The Aviator, yet this film came out 4 years earlier.

 16. Ed Westwick was the request of another lassy and although he may strike some as an odd choice, I love the Britishness about him whilst he spends most of him time in an American world. Even in interviews, he has been admired by American presenters of his English accent. I have to admit, I havent watched many shows or films at all with him in it, but I’ve seen trailers and clips for Chalet Girl and am dying to see it still, but he did seem somewhat appealing from what I saw. He’s best known for his role in Gossip Girl and he’ll soon be starring alongside week 15′s Leo DiCaprio in J. Edgar. Double the reason to go see it!

Whaddya think?

 17. Bloody hell, finally the last one! I’m not even joking, this whole post has actually taken me forever! Anyhow, we decided to go for a Harry Potter choice as this was the week or close to when the last instalment of the series was being released. Sad times! I remember feeling so flustered and rushed because I didnt have much time and I couldnt decide between the top two votes of either Tom Felton or Rupert Grint. You may ask, “well why didnt you just have a vote between those two?” I did, and most of them said Tom but part of me still yearned for Rupert to be up there that week. But then it occurred to me that we were yet to do a redhead choice in which Rupert would be perfect, so Tom it was! And I’m definately not complaining! He’s again one of those choices that some people disagree with but it’s more so that I love their personality and the way they come across in interviews. He has also just made an appearance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (of which I’m doing a review currently, so check it out! – God that sounds like such a cheesy way of advertising) in which he was again one of the bad guys. He seems to be good at that, but by that logic the on-screen villain must be really nice in real life. They generally are tbh.

One of his better photos

 I know this week is just for Tom, but look what I found! I think it’s somewhat appropriate considering the dilemma I had:

We totally agree, Rupert. We totally agree.

The movie was as expected – a light fluffy feel good chick flick.  The ending was obvious from the start – no unpredictable twists or turns here. 

The movie is about Kim, a champion skateboarder, whose mother is killed in a car accident on the way home from a big event.  Kim stops boarding, works in a deadend job and looks after her Dad, who is unemployed, and money is tight.  Looking to earn more money, Kim takes a job as a Chalet Girl in Austria, takes up snowboarding, falls in love with her bosses son & ends up being a superstar snow boarder.

The movie was humerous, with Bill Nighy in it there was always going to be some laughs.  The mountains were spectacular and there was plenty of great skiing & boarding in fresh powder to enjoy.  Overall a fun movie to watch with girlfriends.

My biggest question from this movie is: when did Brooke Shields become old enough to play the mother of a man old enough to be getting engaged & married????  Wasn’t it only a few years ago that she filmed Blue Lagoon????

It was fun night out with my friend.  So thank you Sheridan, and Paramount for providing the tickets.

I think the playing field completely alters when you start pulling a ‘rating together’ based on the whole package. I’ve been guilty before or going for a typical ‘hot’ guy, they look the part, but when it comes to matters of the heart, commitment or even banter they fall short. Well no more my friends, I’ve recently realised that this could be the basis of my undoing.

My mum, very wise women, has often spoken to me about the types of guys I go for, in that they’re just not sustainable in terms of longevity or a committed relationship. She has dated a few guys and has found the guy she wants to stay with forever:

My Dad – Her first love and the typical ‘lad’ about town.

He had the looks and the charm and was the guys every girl wanted to be with, she fell for him when she was 16, they were married at 21, and she had me at 24, then my brother at 27. She quickly realised that whilst my dad was an unbelievable father and doted a on my brother and I, he was and always would be ‘one of the lads’. He would still go out with them all the time and rock up late, the straw that broke the camel’s back was when he turned up late after staying out late on my sixth birthday drunk. It was a silly mistake, but she’d had enough. They were divorced just over a year later.

The second husband – Very driven and wealthy

He had the ambition and drive, he was a stockbroker and had done very well for himself, only unfortunately he had the personality of a spade and was very controlling. After nine years of marriage she left him.

Her soul mate – Loves her for who she is and treats her like
a princess

She has been with him for ten years, he isn’t the best looking person in the world and isn’t flash with the cash but they just well,
work! I’m so happy that she found someone who makes her happy and they love each other so much.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that looks and money can disappear, a connection and true love doesn’t go anywhere – no matter that your rating out of ten (which is subjective anyway – one persons five can be another’s ten)!

When watching the preview of Chalet Girl recently, which was released in cinemas nation-wide yesterday (September 1^st 2011) the story is about a pretty tomboy, Kim Matthews who heads to Austria to work as a, yes you guessed it Chalet Girl to save money for her and her father. She ends up working for a very wealthy family, which happens to have a very dashing son
played by the ever swoonworthy, Ed Westwick. He’s mega fit (we know this) he’s wealthy and his character has great banter – check! (I’m starting to think these guys only exist in movies you know!)

He literally has EVERYTHING going for him, plus he’s a billionaire! Kim is pretty, got quite a bit of banter and is talented (she used to be a pro skateboarder before her mum was tragically killed in a car accident following one of Kim’s competitions) but is also from a working class background and has to work ont he slopes to save to run her family home. The light-hearted British movie highlighted to me the trials and tribulations of a. Desiring somebody that is ‘out of your league’ and b. The risk
of holiday romances…

We’ve all been there and fallen for a hottie on holiday, with no work to speak of and the tropical climate and golden tans, not to mention the escapism can make even the most unlikely of relationships work. Low and behold when they return home, the shine can quickly vanish (just like their golden tan) when they’re back to their day job.

Every once in a while, they do work out, just like in Chalet Girl! Hmmm maybe only in the movies.

I’d recommend you take a chance to watch the movie if you can, it’s British Humour at its best and will probably lead to your booking your next ski trip faster than you can say holiday romance.

Funny dating tale update to follow shortly!

To celebrate the release of Chalet Girl, Dating101Sydney has teamed up with Transmission and Paramount Pictures to award five lucky winners with a double pass to watch the film which is only at the movies September 1^st!

Chalet Girl is a refreshing British romantic comedy (yeah I’m biased) – My personal favourite – sarcastic humour and adult jokes – are featured this must-see funny-film.

With a sterling cast, including Brooke Shields and Love Actually’s Bill Nighty, it might lead you to believe that you’re gearing up to
watch a ‘chick flick’ rom-com, when you couldn’t be more wrong… Ed Westwick sticks to what he knows best in the role of lovable rich rogue, whilst Felicity Jones embodies the role relatable pretty young tomboy Kim Matthews, who’s lost her way after she loses her dream to become a world renowned skateboarder when her mum is tragically killed in a car accident.

An opportunity arises for her to become a Chalet Girl in the Australian Alps, after a slight hesitation she packs up to leave for three
months, with a view to save some much needed money to support her and her father, played by British comedian, Bill Bailey.

Prepare for laughs galore along with a feeling of desire to jet of to the Austrian stunning ski slopes. Who knew being a chalet girl could be so much fun?!

Here are some teasers for you, what you waiting for, enter now for your chance to win!

Chalet
Girl-Kim & Jonny tying Bow Tie

A day on
the set with Bill Nighy

To be in with a chance of winning, simply ‘like’ Dating101Sydney on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Also tell me in 25 words
or less who your ideal leading man would be.

© Chalet Girl Films Distribution Ltd.

For further info check out the Facebook page www.facebook.com/chaletgirlAU

Thanks to my friend Jaime for the pics

This film features a cameo from T4 presenters (MTV featured in 4.3.2.1) and they introduce us to child skating sensation Kim, whose career went into decline after her mother died in a car accident to which Kim was present. We then meet 19 year old Kim – Felicity Jones, working at a fast food restaurant, supporting her father (Bill Bailey) and running the household. She hears word of a catering company who pay double her salary, and after a disastrous interview where she is pipped by all the “posh girls” (including Made In Chelsea star Amber Atherton) she is turned down. However  a place as a Chalet Girl has just come available and has to be filled immediately, so Kim leaves for St.Anton Austria for four months. Here she meets snobby other chalet girl Georgie played by Tamsin Egerton. The two initially clash with Georgie making fun of Kim and setting her up for some hilarious scenes but there develops a lovely genuine friendship. Kim has to maintain her duties to the family, gorgeous rich and lost boy played by Ed Westwick, mom Brooke Shields, father with the one liners that steal the show Bill Nighy, problematic girlfriend of said rich and lost boy Sophia Bush, and her brother with a thing for Georgie, Nicholas Braun. Kim also starts training for the big Roxy snowboarding comp in the hope of winning 25,000 pounds, but has to deal with the problems which ended her skateboarding career.

Cast – probably the biggest and most high profile in a British film since Love Actually. Felicity Jones brings a sassy and adorable awkwardness to Kim, star of The Tempest as well as one of my favourite Jane Austen adaptations Northanger Abbey). Tamsin Egerton again (St.Trinians, 4.3.2.1,Camelot) plays her character perfectly, starting off as a mean posh girl/super slut and showing a softer side as she befriends Kim. Gossip Girl hottie Ed Westwick melts hearts as Johnny, showing a caring, and comedic side, with some excellent facial expressions after a confession leads to him on the floor at his own party (honestly just watch the film!). Bill Nighy steals the show as the charismatic father, who will make you laugh every time he appears on screen, flawless as ever. Brooke Shields plays Johnny’s controlling mother, the ice queen with a special hatred for Kim. Sophia Bush leaves One Tree Hill to play the beautiful girlfriend, who I actually grow to like despite her aforementioned show. Nicholas Braun, Disney and ABC Family product most recently Prom, ages up in this film with some hilarious awkward lines as he chats up Georgie. And Bill Bailey of everything from Hot Fuzz to to Burke and Hare, Nanny McPhee the Big Bang and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, plays the funny and hygiene challenged father to Kim.

Review – Brilliant all round film, and whilst it is a predictable ending I do admit, it has heart, an excellent script and some outstanding comedic performances. Worth a watch for anyone who wants to have a good laugh, or looking for an excellent Romantic-Comedy, it literally perfects the genre. Awh I want to be Georgie now… Queen of romcom’s 2011 goes to Chalet Girl!

Sarah Royston and me wearing our Inghams summer uniforms in 1997

On Saturday I went to a ski jobs fair – not to look for a job but to make what I hoped would be useful contacts in the wintersports world. It was organised by Natives.co.uk (company strapline ‘Knowledge is Powder’), which has found jobs in the alps and beyond for thousands of mainly seasonal workers. As I write, Natives has more than 47,000 registered applicants and around 850 positions , so competition is fierce. Recently, for one especially juicy job, there were 3,000 people interested.

At the fair in Hammersmith, companies such as Inghams, Crystal, Scott Dunn, Skiworld, Esprit, Ski Power, Alpine Action and Ski Total were there to talk to would-be applicants; there were also three operators of ski instructor courses, who send hundreds of Brits to places like Canada and the US to improve their skiing and get a qualification. It is all very well organised and a far cry from when I was 18 and went to work a season for the Swiss Ski School in Anzere, Valais (where I’d skied throughout my childhood).

Back then we took a week’s course with the deputy head of the ski school, were given booklets on the Swiss teaching system in three languages (very useful for terminology) and went straight into Christmas high season. My first group was a Swiss-French-Dutch-English-Belgian-German gang of first-timers aged three to 12. But the most difficult part of my job turned out to be taking tiny kids to the loo in a hurry – on or off the slope – and trying to prevent them peeing all over their salopettes.

Going back further in time, I recently interviewed a brilliant lady called Julia Beldam for Country Life magazine about her days in the early 1970s as a chalet girl – which led to her running a chalet company for 40 years. I loved her stories of near-disasters, eccentric guests and fun times. You can read my article about Julia, from the 23 February issue of Country Life, here – Chalet girl interview Country Life.

I still think it’s far easier to be a rep, ski host or instructor than a chalet host (as they are now known due to the many boys in the job). When I was 23 I shared a room with a chalet girl in Obergurgl, and her job required way more stamina, skill and time than mine as ski host and rep (and I think I was paid more). All those beds to make and an open kitchen where everyone could see if she dropped something on the floor. Another friend of mine cooked for a barrack-load of British army officers in Verbier – quite a scary prospect for an 18-year-old – and another joined us in Obergurgl as a chambermaid in a hotel and was sacked after being caught fast asleep on a bed she ought to have been making.

With Anzere colleagues in 1991 - not a qualification between us, but the Ski School provided good training

By contrast, as a ski host and rep all I had to do was turn up on time and take people for great days out on the slopes – often continuing into apres-ski. I never minded the weekly airport run to Innsbruck – it was a chance to chat to reps from other resorts and read guests’ sometimes entertaining questionnaires. Gripes were few, as Obergurgl has great snow and hotels – and when things kicked off our formidable resort manager, Sarah Royston, came into her own. (The guest who brought his previous evening’s meal to our office hour, asking, ‘Would you eat that?’ got short shrift.) No wonder I stayed  on for a summer – and a second winter – before returning to the real world.

DO you enjoy this BLOG? Then SIGN UP to RECEIVE AN EMAIL each time I post a NEW ONE by clicking on ‘SIGN ME UP’ on the top right of THIS PAGE.

Plot:Pretty tomboy Kim Matthews, 19, used to be a champion skateboarder – but now she’s stuck in a dead end job trying to support her Dad. Opportunity comes knocking in the form of a catering job in the one of the most exclusive chalets in the Alps. At first, Kim’s baffled by this bizarre new world of posh people, champagne and skiing – but then she discovers snowboarding, and the chance to win some much-needed prize money at the big end-of-season competition. But before she can become a champion again, Kim’s going to have to dig deep to overcome her fears. Hard enough, without the complicating factor of Jonny, her handsome – though spoken for – boss…

Really looking forward to seeing Your Highness soon! Directed by the same guy as Pineapple Express, starring Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel and James Franco it looks hilarious. However I was told be my best friend, who knows a guy who was an extra on the film, that it’s actually terrible, so I’m thinking it must be really bad so? Utterly confused, but maybe its a see it and find out for yourself kind of thing? Either way every time I see the ad I get really excited so who knows …

Also new film Hanna starring Eric Bana, Cate Blanchette and Saoirse Ronan looks pretty Kickass too. I’m craving some girl superhero, karate stuff to maybe I’ve subconsciously waiting for this? I hope it’s really all out action, but we’ll see. After Chloe Moretz’s Hitgirl it’s hard to see any other teen warrior/hero as all that amazing. Guess this is also a wait and see.

Leighton Meester’s new film Montecarlo with Katie Cassidy, is out soon, and that for me is a must see. Particularly because I’m too scared to see The Roommate because all psychological thrillers terrify me. Black Swan is all I say.

Also Chalet Girl? I’ve read reviews that say its horrendous, but Tamsin Egerton and Ed Westwick are in it! I’m definitely ignoring all reviews on it till I’ve seen it. Afterall Chuck Bass and Queen of the Posh Totty, with Felicity Jones who is supposedly really good up and coming talent.

Speaking of Felicity Jones. This remake of the Tempest looks amazing, I’m usually a sucker for Shakespeare films – I even like Merchant of Venice, don’t ask me why! And from this to Arthur which I literally HAVE to see! Dame Helen Mirren and Russel Brand always would sound like an odd pair, but they are both suck witty comedians, this film is already feeling like a favorite.

My best friend and I were discussing his sexual magnetism earlier today – I get it, I just don’t feel it, if you know what I mean? He just seems to be like my big brother the one with the cant help but laugh dirty innuendo jokes, who farts often and listens to what I perceive to be bizarre music. You know what I mean? He is hilarious, and his wife is Katy Perry so I feel honor bound to see it, and actually I’m definitely looking forward to this film, it almost feels like variation of Eloise at the Plaza, I don’t know maybe its English nannies? Haha

Alright night night from an exhasuted Danielle,

All the sweetest of dreams xoxo

Some of you might deem this rather a questionable post.

The respected opinion to hold about Chalet Girl is that it’s absolutely rubbish – see this rather acerbic review in the Spectator, for instance. And, in any case, this is EmilyBooks, not EmilyFilms, so who am I to write about films? And trashy ones, at that. And, if that wasn’t enough already, this post is already outdated – Chalet Girl has been out now for several weeks (I saw it almost a month ago), this is far too late for a review.

But I seem to have had so many conversations that end up with a friend saying words to the effect of, ‘You’ve actually seen Chalet Girl? You’re joking. You can’t have enjoyed it! It’s supposed to be terrible.’

And, while I was defending my point of view the other day, a friend was so incredulous at my holding the film in such high esteem that she asked if I’d written a blog about it. So I thought perhaps I should.

Let it be known that I loved Chalet Girl.

I went into the cinema wanting to see a trashy British Rom-Com, and that was exactly what I got. Within about fifteen minutes of screen time, it was obvious exactly what was going to happen:

1. Felicity Jones and Ed Westwick would fall in love
2. Felicity Jones and Tamsin Egerton (the really posh one) would make friends
3. Felicity Jones would turn out to be unbelievably good at snowboarding, thanks to her past as a champion child skateboarder, and would probably win the big snowboarding competition

There are a few little twists, little glitches that prevent the curve of the plot from being perfectly smooth, but it is never pushed too far off course. And this doesn’t matter at all, it just makes for a blissfully comforting experience. Each time Felicity and Ed have a little flirt with each other, it conjures a little warm glow in one’s tummy.

And it is marvellously funny. What could be funnier than seeing Bill Bailey, unable to work the microwave, lick frozen lasagne as a giant lolly? Or Felicity Jones pouring tea on the crotch of a lecherous older man? Granted, it’s at the slapstick end of the comedy scale, but what’s wrong with that? The film never pretends to aspire to something intellectual.

Perhaps the reason it’s met with a rather adverse critical reception is down to no more than intellectual snobbery, which is a revolting habit. I often slip into the evil clutches of intellectual snobbery when at work in the bookshop. Someone asks for a recommendation, I suggest a brilliant book, they say they want something more ‘superficial’, or ‘more like chick lit’ or ‘easier’. It’s hard to not feel slight despair, as the book that you have adored is rejected in favour of Katie Fforde or Daisy Goodwin or Marian Keyes. Urgh…

But it really is unattractive to be such a snob. Why shouldn’t someone prefer to read chick lit? Why should they feel pressured to read a classic, or modern literature or something more highbrow? And, ever since reading One Day, I realised that a book can be trashy and very funny and very good too.

So long as there are no pretences about it, I can’t see that there’s really anything wrong with lowbrow entertainment. Sometimes one wants to engage one’s brain on a slightly higher plane, sometimes one wants to be taken along for an easy, enjoyable ride. The first isn’t automatically better than the second. Being able to deliver an easy, enjoyable ride must be just as difficult as a writer, or director, as being able to deliver an intellectual challenge.

So yes, I thought Chalet Girl was ninety minutes of entertainment bliss. I laughed and I cried, and I came out feeling wonderful. I would put it up there in the canon with Four Weddings and A Funeral and Clueless. In fact, I think I’m going to go and see it again.