Candyfloss & Dreams

Author: Kat Candyfloss

Post Grad Study as a Full Time Working Dad

Adam starts his Post Graduate Masters course this week and I am, of course, very proud of everything he’s done in the last few years. It all started back in 2017 when he applied for a full time access course in Humanities and Social Science to enable him to go to University. I wanted to write more about how his degree went, how he acheived a 2:1 degree whilst working full time, becoming a new dad, learning to drive and without leaving school with hardly any GCSE’s. I’m incredibly proud of how he’s managed to get a degree during a global pandemic too.

Studying a degree as a mature student: Adam’s Experience

My partner Adam will be the first to admit school was not his strong point and despite trying, his teachers didn’t have a lot of faith in him. Going back to college to study full time alongside working a full time job and then finding out we were pregnant with Felix was a very busy time. However he did really well, finished his course in the first year and was able to apply to a local University. Oh, he was also learning to drive during this and his first year of University too. It’s safe to say we were pretty busy.

The First and Second Year of an Undergraduate Degree

He originally applied for a degree in Criminology but changed within the first week to a degree in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics. Honestly, I always thought a philosophy degree would suit Adam better because he loves listening to debate, he enjoys hearing peoples reasoning for those big questions and he did pretty well in his first year getting an overall 2:1 for his first year despite everything going on. Felix was born in a complicated way back in 2018, just weeks after he started the first semester, and he was having to commute by train which was stressful alongside starting a new job where he worked all through the night instead of just late evenings. He was very tired trying to be a new dad, study, work and learn to drive all in one go but he did it, and he did really well, particularly in that first year.

His second year started pretty smoothy back in 2019. Semester one was pretty laid back as we had made some family changes – we moved our eldest to a local school as I was having a hard time with the walk to and from post-c-section and Adam was knackered a lot of the time from work. However, he could drive and we had a family car which did really help make things a bit easier as Adam no longer had to leave hours before his lecture which allowed him a little more sleep. Then in early 2020 everything changed thanks to the covid19 pandemic and he was met with offers of extensions, some online lectures and tutorials. He was put on furlough from his hospitality job and finally had the time to study but, we also had to homeschool and its safe to say it was an equally challenging time. Living in a small flat, all of us in one room trying to work and study with the distraction of a two-year-old running about and not being allowed outside much – as well as not having a garden – meant us feeling a lot of frustration, pressure and very much on top of each other. It was hard.

Studying a degree during a pandemic hasn’t been easy but Adam is graduating officially next month

Things of course were a bit different in September, the first semester of his third year. Our eldest was back at school and Adam had a selection of lectures online at home and in person, but in smaller groups. He was still furloughed so his work wasn’t really impacting his study but I feel this weird time and not having the structure of the first year and most of his second year really affected his learning. Third years are tough, with a big dissertation to write and having to rely on your own independent learning for most of it meant having to be very proactive and Adam just wasn’t in that frame of mind. However, he managed to push through and got everything handed in which finally gave him his degree classification. I can not even begin to say just how proud I am of Adam, that he managed to do a full degree and get awarded an overall 2:1 despite a very complex learning process, being a new dad, working nights, learning to drive and a pandemic. The way he just got it done despite so many times of wanting to quit because of how exhausted he was but keeping it up anyway had me completely in awe. He isn’t finished yet and he hasn’t started a new career but he has an excellent foundation to build one now and I think his final year of study; doing his distance learning Masters degree will really help him in building a strong career, and hopefully enabling us to relocate next year.

Masters Degree Application Through UCAS

After handing in his last few assignments in May Adam considered the possibility of doing a Masters degree. He was back and fourth for a few weeks and finally applied a couple of days before the deadline. Applying for a Masters degree in the UK is a pretty straightforward process, especially if you’re returning to your University that awarded your degree. Adam applied through UCAS where he had to set up a post-grad account so he could send through his application. All he needed to know was the course, university, write a personal statement and submit a reference. Adam sent an email to a couple of his lecturers that taught him in his third year to ask for a reference, gave the name and email for UCAS to contact them and then submitted everything. It was actually done really quickly and a conditional offer came through within the next day. The condition was a degree classification of a 2:2. As soon as the results came throgh Adam sent them to the admissions team and the offer became unconditional offering him a place on his post grad masters degree in Reconcilliation and Peacebuilding. Once this was done Adam applied for a postgraduate masters loan through Student Finance. This is a one off amount designed to cover the fees of the tuition and help with some living costs. It is currently just over £11,000 and allows us to pay for our rent and tuition fees for Adams final year of study. It will be added on to his other student loans and payable back when his income exceeds £21,000 per year.

Staring a distance learning Masters Degree

Adam will be doing a distance learning Masters programme at Winchester University which is a little different than his previous years of study. This course is designed to be digital and he’s been really impressed with how quick the team of lecturers have started sharing details of the programme. There’s a facebook group for the students, he will be working on Microsoft Teams, plus the University online module pages. He has already been given his timetable which are all work friendly hours of 6-8pm three times a week. This means even with work he has plenty of time to rest, and study rather than rushing to a lecture after a full night shift. There is no commute which makes things easier and as he had to do the majority of his third year online he already knows how certain programmes work. I think it will be really good for him and whilst it is a good follow on from his degree, the change of subject will be interesting for him.

Postgraduate Masters degrees are graded slightly differently. The minimum pass mark is higher at 50% and you either Pass, Merit or Distinction overall. He has three choices for his big project which include a 15,000-20,000 word disertation paper, an internship or a community based project. I personally think the internship will be the most suitable to Adam’s learning methods and desire for a career but this does depend on how it will affect his current place of work. Hopefully it’s something he can find out about in the coming weeks and I can share more about what an Internship/Consultancy module during a post-grad masters degree actually is and means.

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September 14, 2021
Having an MRI – Brain Scan

So I recently wrote that I haven’t been very well lately and had to go to an opthamologist after an optician appointment, which then referred me for an MRI. Having the MRI is to rule out more serious reasons why there is some pressure, why I’m getting headaches and why my optic nerve is bulging – otherwise known as Papilledema. There’s no way to put it but I completely freaked out at the mention of having an MRI because despite not having any real serious symptoms, what if something is picked up. I haven’t got my results yet but I’ll write up an update when I do. I wanted to write this blog post sharing my experience of having a brain scan because it’s quite an intimidating thought and hopefully my experience of what happened will help put your mind to rest if you need to have one. I know that these procedures can vary from trust to trust so our experience might not be exactly the same but I always find knowing something in advance helps me to control some of my anxiety and fears.

One thing I was worried about was having an MRI as a fat person who is currently avoiding weighing herself because it triggers binge eating episodes. I had already weighed myself recently for a referral for weight management help through my GP so I didn’t have to have that done again thankfully. Interestingly off topic – I started my mission to be anti diet two years ago and I have not put on weight during that time whereas during my time of constant dieting on and off I was down, down and then up and up and up. I think if I had carried on dieting I would have been much heavier. I am the biggest I’ve been but I’m no bigger now I am no longer dieting. So anti dieting absolutely helps you to stop putting on weight.

My opthamology appointment was at my local hospital which is partnered with two larger hospitals within the trust so I knew the referral would be for one of those. Logistically, being a non-driver, I knew this was going to cause a bit of an issue and I was told the wait for an MRI was around a month to six weeks or so. On Tuesday morning I got a call from the trust informing me of availability the very next day at 9am. Thankfully my mum was able to have the kids and Adam was able to drive me to the appoinment. I spoke to a lot of friends and my support network online to try and get a feel for what to expect. There’s nothing like the complete unexpected to raise my anxiety to a high point and I spent a lot of Tuesday feeling scared. I don’t think I managed to eat much that day either. However, in hindsight, I’m really glad I had such an early morning appointment and it was so last minute because I didn’t have enough time to really let the anxiety build and by 10am the next day I was back in the car on my way home.

Having an MRI scan can be a pretty scary thing, and I knew I’d find keeping so still really difficult because of my potential ADHD – I am always chewing my tongue, moving my facial features, biting my lip ring, like I’m always moving some part of my body and I was so scared that moving my eyes slightly, blinking and breathing was going to prevent the scan from getting the images that were needed. I will say that even though I didn’t find it easy, I did cope with it, I did get it done and if I had to go for one again I would be able to manage – that fear of the unknown is gone and that has helped. Of course I am still anxious about the results but I am trying to be quite optimisitic. Below is my experience of having an MRI scan in Hampshire and what to expect when having an MRI brain scan.

What to wear for an MRI

I was googling all sorts of weird questions – even down to should I wear deodarant or not because that has aluminium in it. There was no list of what I should/should not wear, I just knew no metal but didn’t really consider cosmetics. I took my lipring out of course and then just wore a plain cotton tshirt, leggings, socks and trainers. I didn’t wear a bra but I changed into one after the scan because I don’t feel comfortable without one being very top heavy. I didn’t have to chane into a gown, I kept my shoes and socks on – really reassuring for my sensory issues as I can’t have bare feet. A lot of people said the rooms are really cold but I found it to be a little on the warm side – however this could have been my anxiety. I had to wear a non-metal mask whilst in the machine because of COVID and that was something I didn’t anticipate and was concerned about. Think comfy, loose clothing like loungewear but make sure there are no zips, metal buttons or anything like that. I personally chose to avoid Lyrcra too.

Having an MRI at Basingstoke Candover Clinic

The clinic is situated at the back of Basingstoke hospital and has limited parking. Adam dropped me off outside and came back to collect me when I was done. I walked into the main reception and it was very nice. I remember just thinking it’s very nice here. There were toilets just inside and then a short walk down the hall to the MRI department. When I walked into the reception for the MRI department I burst into tears which, to be fair, is a very ‘me’ thing to do. The receptionist was really calm and reassured me whilst I filled in my paperwork and then it was a short wait for the MRI scanning technician person – I don’t know what they are called – radiologist? who came to get me and lead me through to a private changing room. As I said I didn’t have to change my clothes into a gown but it did have a locker where I could put my bag before going into the scanning room. The staff, whose names I cannot remember, but they were male and very calm people, were really good with me and just reassured me to do my best when I mentioned I was nervous and struggled staying still.

Going into the MRI room I swapped my mask for a metal free one and placed the locker key down on a side bed before walking over to the machine. I was helped to lay down and given noise reducing headphones to block out the noise of the scanner and they played a radio station for me which, whilst I couldn’t hear it most of the time, was helpful. When you have a scan of your brain they cushion your head to help support it and keep you very still and then there is a cage that locks into place over your face. This was really difficult to cope with however, there was a mirror right above my eyes that looked out into the room where I could see the people operating the scanner and that did help with the claustrophobia. I was only about half way in the scanner with my head in the centre and the rest of my body from the tummy down was outside. I had a pillow under my legs for support and to be honest I was relatively comfortable.

When inside the MRI machine I could hear a tanoy sort of thing come on when the person doing my scan would tell me what is going on. I asked if he would count me down every so often to help so every ten minutes he would tell me how long was left which I found really, really helpful. I was told the scan would take around 30 minutes providing they could complete all the scans and get the images. I was again asked to stay as still as possible and to keep my eyes open looking in the mirror above or to just close my eyes. I was also giving a squeezey ball buzzer which I could press at anytime to ask to be removed from the scan. Having something to hold was actually really helpful for me and I didn’t feel the need to use the buzzer at any point but it’s reasurring to know that it can be stopped if needed. The MRI machine is really noisy even with the headphones on but it wasn’t actually that bad. At one point the pattern of the machines and vibration sort of felt like a massage and a heavy techno dance sound. It was a bit weird but kind of distracting too. I felt my eyes drifting offcassionally and I would move my gaze up and each time I did that I was worried that I had messed up the scan but as far as I know everything was fine. There were a couple of times I sort of jerked my arms up too when the machine moved slightly it made me jump but I think I managed to keep my head still. I found though after these moments my shoulders would be really tense and it was hard to get them to relax down. I also felt my left hand sort of claw up a bit mimicking my right hand that was clasping the buzzer ball.

During the last ten minutes of the MRI scan I was told there were two long scans, one was about two minutes long and the final one would be six minutes. Just before the six minute scan I was reminded and reassured again. I actually just found myself counting that one down by repeatedly counting to sixty in my head. Just as that scan ended I saw one of the technicians come back into the room through the mirror so that kind of helped me know that I would be coming out soon and I was done. I was then told them would be bringing me out and it was done. Two staff members helped me to sit back up and offered me some water before it was time to get my things and go. There was no inkling as to what the scan showed, I was told the images would be sent to a radiologist and I would know the results within about ten days to two weeks so I’m expecting to hear something at the end of next week or the start of the week after.

August 13, 2021
Gilsland Hall Hotel Family Room Review
Ad – Press Trip. We were very kindly offered a complimentary stay for two nights including dinner, bed and breakfast at Gilsland Hall Hotel in exchange for this feature.

Gilsland Hall Hotel is just outside of Brampton in the North of England

If you’re looking for a summer staycation in North England then I have a reccomendation for you. Despite having our summer holiday already I couldn’t resist the opportunity for a little mini break during the summer of staycation to Gilsland Hall Hotel, just outside Brampton, right on the border of Cumbria and Northumberland. The Summer Holidays can be a stressful time for parents but this hotel has made it easy for families to have a two night stay with dinner included on both nights and breakfast included on both mornings. Gilsland Hall Hotel is perfectly situated in the very north for walking, cycling and breathing in the fresh country air. The current 3* hotel which has recently been taken over by new management, is currently taking bookings up until October when it will close for refurbishment. Families with dogs can bring them along too as Gilsland Hall Hotel is a pet friendly place. I’ve put together a little video tour of the hotel below and our stay in a Family room which you can see below.

About Gilsland Hall Hotel, Near Brampton

Gilsland Hall Hotel is now open and has recently is being managed by Monday Hospitality Group and will be part of their new country homes brand, Black Book Hotels. The current offer of dinner, bed and breakfast is priced from £80pp (based on two sharing) and this makes it a perfect British staycation spot for guests wanting to adventure around Cumbria and Northumberland. It will, however, be closing for the season in October to continue with renovation works. Currently, the hotel in its existing incarnation is available for affordable staycations for couples, friends, families and single travellers (and their dogs), this summer, looking for a base from which to explore the region. If you’re looking for family hotels in Cumbria then Gilsland Hall Hotel offers a great option for you. Alternatively, Gilsland Hall hotel is an ideal location for walking holidays for solo travellers. Renovations are ongoing at the hotel but this ndoes not take away from the friendly, welcoming staff, excellent food and rolling landscape views. The beds provide a comfortable sleep after a full day exploring, the showers are hot and powerful and there is plenty of tea and coffee facilities available too.

Gilsland Hall Hotel has 60 ensuite bedrooms and is due for a complate renovation with some really exciting things planned to fully upgrate this to a luxury hotel. The building has so much potential and a beautiful setting.

Where is Gilsland Hall Hotel?

Close to Brampton, Cumbria the hotel is situated amongst 140 acres of countryside. The postcode for Gilsland Hall Hotel is CA8 7AR. It was a long round trip for us but considering we want to relocate North I figure it’s a good idea to investigate as many areas as we can to see what exactly there is for us and hopefully find somewhere we absolutely love. As you can see the hotel is in gorgeous grounds. I’m really excited to see what the refurbishment does to transform this beautiful location from a 3* to a 5*, planned for reopening in Spring 2022. Having visited the hotel I will say that the grounds and scenery give the hotel so much potential to be the place to travel to for couples, families and groups of friends alike. The backdrop of rolling hills, farmland and the walking trails into gorge’s, valleys and ancient ruins make this a truly special place.

Staying in a Family Room at Gilsland Hall Hotel

There is currently an offer on site for dinner, bed and breakfast which is what we were offered during our stay at the hotel. The family room included all expected amenties including tea and coffee, an ensuite bathrooom with toiletries included and all bed linen and towels. Some rooms have deep soak bath tubs and garden views are available on request. Our room also included a dressing table, hairdryer, plenty of space for putting away clothes and a big sleigh bed which I found very comfortable. Rooms are still being opened up throughout the hotel as they’re in the process of renovating so the hotel is becoming more equipped for more guests. Our room was very spacious for a family of three or four. I loved having the bath and shower to use and the bathroom was plenty big enough for all the extra’s we need to bring when travelling with a toddler. Gilsland Hall Hotel is happy to welcome families and we found our stay to be really accomodating.

There is currently no set reception space however you can walk around to the patio area or through to the lounge to check in. We were greeted by Lyndsey who checked us in via an iPad and then kindly gave us directions to our room. We were on the first floor in room 116 which is an excellent family room close with the dining room just below.

Our room had a sleigh style double and two single beds

As you can see there was plenty of floor space in the ensuite family room at Gilsland Hall Hotel

The dressing table had a hairdryer in the drawer

What You Need to Know

Food – There are several options for food at Gilsland Hall hotel. Breakfast is served from 7.30am each morning and there is a continental, cooked and a la carte option. Toddlers may be happy with a range of fruit, cereal and toast however cooked options are also available to them. We tried the Eggs Benedict on the first morning which was delicious and rich with plenty of hollandaise sauce and tried to Full English Breakfast before our departure. Both were incredibly satisfying portions and really set us up for the day. Afternoon Tea is available for those that wish to sample it and the evening menu is available from 6pm. Booking a table is preferred and we decided to go down for 6pm each evening where we met Jermaine who gave us lots of information about the hotel and surrounding areas. I have to say the staff at Gilsland Hall Hotel were all very helpful, friendly and accomodating which really makes for such a pleasent stay.

Back to the evening meals and the food at Gilsland Hall is spectacular. I was told that the chef is local as are all the ingredients. The menu offered veggie, vegan and gluten free options and is available in two or three course’s each evening. Below are some images of the meals we had during our stay. Meals were made fresh to order and whilst there is no set child’s menu, the portions can be altered to child sizes – although they are still incredibly generous. There is also a pie of the week option which we didn’t sample.
- Steak and French Fries
- Gnocci with Greens and Parmesan
- Lemon Posset and Shortbread
- Smoked Salmon Roulade
- Eggs Benedict – Breakfast
Parking – Private parking is available at the hotel to the side of the entrace and there is additional parking to the back of the hotel.

Room types available – The hotel has a selection of rooms available including Pet Friendly, Single, Double and Family bedrooms.

How Family Friendly is Gilsland Hall Hotel

We found the hotel to be really family friendly with spacious bedrooms, bathrooms and smaller portions being altered and accomodated for smaller mouths. For example, the prawn cocktail was changed into a sandwich for Felix which was incredibly kind of the chef. There is an anteroom off to the side of the conservatory which has a selection of toys plus the grounds are stunning and a great way for children to run about getting some fresh air. We did see other, older children, staying at the hotel too. All the staff at the hotel were kind and always happy with a hello for Felix and had little chats with him which was really lovely. Everyone had a smile for him.
- The Dining Room at Gilsland Hall Hotel
- There is a portable outside bar on the patio
- The Conservatory
- Path to the Patio along the side of Gilsland Hall Hotel
- Surrounding countryside of the hotel
Gilsland Hall Hotel Final Thoughts

The hotel provides an excellent summer staycation base particularly for outdoorsy families and currently offers a comfortable, welcoming stay for families, couples and friends alike. However, the place is absolutely oozing with potential and I can not wait to see the transformation to 5 star luxury hotel in the future. If you’re looking to book then do so soon as the hotel will be closing in October to continue with renovation works. If you want a last minute break close to the Scottish borders, with a beautiful backdrop and comfortable accomodation then I really recommend Gilsland Hall Hotel as a place to consider staying. We were close to Hadrian’s Wall, Gretna in Scotland and in between Carlise on the West and Newcastle to the East. There are plenty of smaller towns and villages inbetween with pubs and tea rooms. There are many walking trails and routes offering gentler paths for families with spectacular views as well as more advanced trails. The food is absolutely spectacular, tasty, filling and exactly the sort of fare you need after a long day exploring. The plans for renovation are incredibly exciting becoming a potential wedding venue, spa and having luxury suites for guests.
August 4, 2021
Making Home Made Steamed Fluffy Bao Buns

Recently I found a kit from School of Wok in Sainsburys that taught you had to make Steamed Fluffy Bao Buns at home. If you don’t know what steamed buns are they are, from what I gather, an Asian bun, usually cooked in a bamboo steamer and filled with all kinds of deliciousness. I love them. My love for them began in 2019 with the Wagamama’s steamed fluffy buns and then lockdown hit and I couldn’t get them anymore. Now I know how to make them my life feels complete. It was probably one of the best things we’d ever made together at home actually. We were fully inspired by Wagamama’s menu and made a pork belly, apple, carrot and coriander filling with a siracha mayo.

How to make steamed bao buns at home with a school of wok recipe kit

The School of Wok Bao Bun kit comes with the bun mix and a BBQ mariande for the chosen meat. It also includes some rice wine for chosen pickeled vegetable. I chopped up a granny smith green apple into matchstick shapes and grated a carrot before mixing the wine vinegar with a little salt, sugar and water. I then gave the apple and carrot a mix up with the pickle liquid and kept stiring occasionally as I made up the rest of the dish. For the pork belly we smothered it in the BBQ sauce and baked in the oven, turning midway. The buns were not particularly hard to make however we have neither a wok nor a bamboo steaming basket. This lead to a pretty interesting set up. We basically had a big pan of boiling water, a heat resistant bowl with a plate on top covered in greaseproof paper. We then added a couple of buns to the plate and steamed with the lid on the pan for around 8 minutes. The School of Wok kit was really helpful and explained this as an ideal set up. As long as you have a deep lidded pan in the home then you can make these Steamed Fluffy Bao Buns!

Pork and Apple steamed Bao Buns with siracha mayo and coriander

We ended up making about 8 or so steamed buns on total, maybe a couple more, because we added too much water and then needed to add more flour to compensate. How the dough still managed to raise and steam as well as it did I do not know. I didn’t roll them out very thin either so we had a lot of different sized buns. I found the kit really easy to use and would absolutely do this again. I love trying to recreate meals at home and would love to try other fillings with the bao buns in the future. They are guarenteed to be a party pleaser, can have a variety of veggie fillings and actually don’t take too long when you know what you’re doing.

July 26, 2021
Black Widow Film Review

I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’m a huge fan of superheroes and really love the direction the Marvel franchise is going on the screen from the recent Disney+ TV shows. Adam has been particularly looking forward to the Black Widow movie although I wasn’t quite as excited – Wanda (Scarlet Witch) is my go to and favourite is really the only reason why – but we paid the premier access fee of £20 to watch in the comfort of our home. I can not tell you how much I love this adjustment from having to pay high prices for the cinema to sit in specific seats because I have sensory issues and not feeling comfortable to move as/when I need to, watching through Disney+ was a really great experience for me. The film was available early on in the day so we dropped Felix off to preschool and then sat down with lunch and switched on. This blog post contains spoilers for Black Widow.

Black Widow starts with Nat as a child in what seems like a regular family with a mother and a sister, playing in the woods by their home. Then of course it shows that they’re actually Russian spies living in America and need to flee when the authories find out what Dad, Alexi, has done – then we are in Cuba and the girls are being seperated to train as Widows. There’s a time jump of about 21 years and Black Widow is being persued by the authorities for breaking the Sokovia Accords. So in a chronological order this puts the Black Widow movie after Captain America Civil War and before Avengers Infinity War. Nat is on the run and has hidden away in a Caravan to try and wait it all out. As she’s sat getting comfy her generator fails and she heads off into town to get fuel only of course nothing goes to plan and it ends in disaster. It turns out there was something in her mail sent by her long lost sister which encourages her to go and find her. When they collide things from the past are revealed and Black Widow goes to resolve it leading her to finding people from her past she never expected to see again.

I really enjoyed Black Widow. There was plenty of action, plenty of humourous moments which audiences have come to know and love. I found it really funny when Nat’s sister asked her why she does her black widow pose and hair toss and called her a poser. It was just really funny. I also loved that Scarlett Johanson wasn’t completely made up for the movie and the credit lies with the costume designers of the film, they did a great job. She was on the run, it was realistic that she wouldn’t look completely airbrushed and perfect and I just loved it. I also loved Yelena’s survival vest jacket and her reference to it having so many pockets. Women just love clothes with pockets! It had a real sort of dysfunctional found family vibe too which I really liked. There is an after credits scene which takes place after the events of Endgame which could show how Yelena (played by Florence Pugh) could come back into the franchise – she was my favourite character of the film for sure and brought a lot of the humour to the film but she was smart and strong too.

One thing that could have been done better was the addition of Taskmaster. Taskmasker is a mimic villain which in all fairness entered the film with a real bang. I honestly thought this was going to be a recurring, violent, persuit threat throughout the Black Widow film but sadly the film would be pretty much exactly the same without this character. I just feel that they didn’t live up to their potential, they would have been easily forgettable and really didn’t bring as much of an impact to the story as I was hoping. That isn’t to say that the character wasn’t compelling enough or a critique of the acting – the actual fight scenes were really clever and I did like how this was a character that could take on any fighting stance and replicate it – you saw this in fighting styles similar to Black Widow, Hawkeye and Black Panther. However, it could have been any tank style soldier to try and beat and the story would just be the same. Reading other reviews, some much more strongly worded than mine, I think this is a common feeling. But not every movie is going to be perfect for every person.

For those that have been watching the Disney+ TV shows which I really recommend, the after credits feature also has a character we see towards the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I feel like this particular person is going to be causing trouble for what’s left of the Avengers and will kind of tie in the shows to the future films. I’m excited for the future of Marvel films. I also need to say that this is an excellent film, with a great story that really gives background and makes Black Widow’s sacrifice in Endgame so much more heroic and painful. Like when watching Endgame you just think she’s alone aside from the Avengers but she had people in her life, who may not have been her family but were family enough for a part of her childhood and this inbetween time that Black Widow takes place. It’s soulcrushing and the end credits sequence really brings that to light. I am incredibly proud that this was a film directed by a woman, Cate Shortland, and I am here for more female lead superhero movies.

Black Widow is a really good movie with a strong female lead cast, an interesting, exciting and action-centric plot with some funny one liners that I think both Marvel fans and non-Marvel fans will enjoy.

July 21, 2021