Mara's Classics

 It is quite a tale I have for you. Who would have wished for all that excitement and yet would want to run from it when caught up already? It is 1813 in Regency London. It is also another mating season. Our amiable Queen Charlotte is hosting a ball to amuse the high class of London and to give high prospects to the debutante who meets her fancy. It is a tradition that every year, a certain lady is crowned the diamond of the season. This is an important time for bachelor ladies who wish to be respectfully married. I happen to observe that the marriage market always has a high supply of spinsters and a short in beaus. No wonder Jane Austen always features female heroines whose major accomplishments are being suitably matched. An entrance is everything for a lady on her debut appearance in society. Daphne's entrance before Queen Charlotte is reminiscent of Charlotte Morland's debut entree to the Upper Rooms in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. In Daphne's case however it is...

 A Review-a-thon to celebrate Mara's Seventh Review release! Featuring: Your Favourite Disney Princesses 🤗 With a smile and a song, they wonder and dream, no matter how their hearts are grieving, of a whole new world. In their little towns, they believe that there must be more than their provincial lives. They wait for their reflections to show who they are inside. You can find them just around the river bend. They are bright young women, a part of our world who remind us that dreams do come true when we believe. In bad times, they let it go, and do the next right thing. Come what may, they know the way. They are Disney princesses. 😌😌😌 All these exceptional women have a story to tell, but who will we be looking at tonight? Who are your favourite princesses? # 5 Jasmine Let us go to a land, to a far away place, to the mysterious city of Agrabah. Here, we'll hear of a tale of a boy; Aladdin. He's an orphan (until part two, Aladdin and the forty thieves). He's called...

 The hills are certainly alive with the Sound of Music!They were and still are living, nearly 60 years later. To this day, the beautiful Von Trapp family live on. Where? 🤔In our hearts.❤️ How impossible it is to forget the melody of those angelic voices in the song, Edelweiss!🌼 Do we not all remember "A few of my favourite things"?😌 Who can claim to never have heard of the immortal "Do re mi"? 😄 This magical movie was starred in beautiful Tour Salzburg of Austria, in the year 1965. It tells the story of a young Maria who wanted to be a nun but is just not "nun material." Sister Berthe can tell you all about that. 🤭 Sister Berthe: She climbs a tree and scrapes her knee 🎶🎵 To solve a problem like Maria, Mother Abbess sent her to Salzburg as a volunteer governess. This decision changed the dear girl's life forever. First, she meets the stern Captain Georg who "doesn't look very much like a sea captain." Then she meets seven orderly, m...

  Fill my heart with song And let me sing forever more You are all I long for All I worship and adore In other words, let the games begin! ▶️ When we hear South Korea, we tend to think of a haven of small-eyed good-looking Asians wearing turtlenecks and singing to BTS or Black Pink 🎙️ Red light! ❤️ Green light. 💚 We were surprised when Squid Game presented a South Korea much different from what we know or are made to know. Red light! ❤️ Green light . 💚 What if South Korea isn't a paradise? What if it's a country infested with debtors willing to stake their lives for wealth, and sponsors willing to stake a bet for fun? Red light!  Seong Gi-hun is an unfortunate man. He's a gambler living off the income of his mother. His wife left him for another man and took Ga-Yeong, their daughter with her. The streets of South Korea offer no comfort as the streets are haunted by blood thirsty loan sharks. What's worse, Gi-hun is a debtor. Robbed, beaten and hopeless, Gi-hun finds...