Lucy Rhiannon

Recently, The Optimist was invited to the city of Manchester to see singer/songwriter Lucy Rhiannon's latest gig. Join me for a reflection on a wonderful evening of Sangria and songs.

Baby Cambridge

On this day, the 22nd of July in the year 2013, we welcome the future King, the first born of their royal highness The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The third in line to the throne. May he be long lived, happy and glorious and one day reign over us.

Classic Film Trailers

You're at the back of the concessions queue waiting to pay for your pick 'n' mix and your film starts in two and a half minutes. It's touch and go. Your friend says "Don't worry. It's only trailers for the first fifteen minutes anyway." But therein lies the problem - it's the trailers you want to see. The Optimist loves a good film trailer, so join me for a run down of my all time favourites.

Michelle the Rabbit

Prepare to meet the internet's cutest photo-blogger. She's well dressed, well travelled and she's two inches tall ... she's Michelle the Rabbit.

Houses

If you haven't already joined Pinterest, I say hop to it! You don't want to miss out on delights like this ...

21st Century Artistry

The Great Gatsby VFX from Chris Godfrey on Vimeo.

Continuing The Optimist's obsession with all things Gatsby (just finished reading the book - glorious, as expected) it was impossible not to post this video showcasing some of the film's extraordinary visual FX and the unseen trickery that goes into making them. (Be warned, there are a few very subtle spoilers in there.) Anyone who's seen Gatsby will know that Luhrmann's heavily stylised backdrops dominate the film but the CGI goes further than you might think - it seems a lot of the less ostentatious sets were illusions too. Isn't it incredible the level of detail that can be created artificially these days? It must be said that while I'm still a strong advocate of in-camera effects, some VFX artists truly live up to their title.

Wimbledon

It's the opening day of Wimbledon 2013 so to celebrate, I've put together a gallery of the legendary Tennis tournament's best bits, including a few of my favourite fashion moments from the celebrity spectators. Let's crack out the Pimms!