A Glimpse of Christmas at Temple Newsam

Anushka Searle on 23 December 2021

This year Temple Newsam has introduced their after-dark illuminated trail. The trail is a perfect way to get into the holiday spirit. The trail takes you around the already-beautiful grounds and encapsulates you with twinkling lights and Christmas music. Each section of the trail offers a different form of illumination, from fluorescent string to actual fire, with some accompanied with special effects or magical instrumental songs.

My favourite visual effect was a tunnel of trees that was filled with moving green dots, that looked like shooting stars, which was accompanied with smoke which reminded me a lot of the forbidden forest in the Warner Bros. Studio tour. Although, as the trail is dog-friendly we brought along Buster, and he was a little freaked out by the smoke. That being said, Buster was a big fan on the lights, and I would definitely recommend this as the most extravagant dog walk to treat your pups to this Christmas.

There are also food and drink stalls at the start and middle of the trail which include Cadbury’s hot chocolate, yummy waffles, and a roast-your-own marshmallow stand! Although I will say the hot chocolate was a tad overpriced, considering it was £4.50 but they had run out of the marshmallows and chocolate sauce that was meant to go on top.

If you have a child, a young sibling or even a young cousin then I would recommend bringing them on this Leeds trail as it is full of Christmas magic and there is even a Santa Claus. Santa was great with the children, and they seemed absolutely awed by him.

If you have never been to Temple Newsam before than I would recommend it all year round as there is a Tudor-Jacobean house (great for the history buffs) that you can explore, which was once home to Mary, Queen of Scots and is rumoured to be haunted by The Blue Lady. There is also a farm on the grounds that always has lots of cute animals and babies during springtime.

So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself down to Temple Newsam and immerse yourself in the history and wonder of this beautiful park.

Buy Tickets here: https://christmasattemplenewsam.seetickets.com/raymondgubbay/christmas-at-temple-newsam

Review: Dash and Lily

Anushka Searle on 4 December 2020

Dash & Lily is an American Christmas-based rom-com Netflix show based in New York City. The show is based on the young adult book series by Rachel Cohen and David Levithan, with the first book being Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares. Unsurprisingly, the story surrounds the protagonists Dash (Austin Abrams) and Lily (Midori Francis). Lily, encouraged by her brother, creates a book of dares that she hides in a bookshop next to her favourite book, in the hope that it will be discovered by her perfect match. Of course, Dash discovers the book and so the show follows the protagonists as they travel around New York while trading dares, dreams and desires.

If you are a fan of a good cheesy Christmas movie, then you will absolutely love these 8 episodes of pure Christmas fun. Dash & Lily gives you those soppy feel-good feelings that make your heart heavy – think a combination of The Holiday, Love Actually and A Christmas Prince. Whether it’s a crush, a partner, or a long-lost love, this series will immediately make you dream of that special someone. This series brings forth those warm, fuzzy feelings of love, and isn’t that what we all want to feel this year… love.

Of course, like most cheesy Christmas films, or rom-coms in general, some things are a tad far-fetched and unrealistic. It is unlikely that 17-year olds (where the drinking age is 21) would be able to get in a club hassle-free and with no ID checks. It also seems very far-fetched that these teenagers, Lily in particular, would have so many connections in New York to help them plan all their great dares. However, if the story were to follow a more realistic route than we would have a very boring story, where the notebook would never have been found and our protagonists would barely leave the house, spending most of their days sleeping until 2pm. So, bring on the unrealistic relationships for us all to idealise this Christmas!

Even if you don’t usually enjoy Christmas, this show will still be enjoyable, as it is not all Christmas joy and tackles the seasonal blues too and Dash himself doesn’t even like Christmas! Let’s be honest, after such a rough year I think some cheesy comfort watches are in order, we all need a little escapism. So, make yourself a deluxe hot chocolate, pop on Dash & Lily, and enjoy this love letter to New York.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough the Jonas Brothers also make a cameo appearance!