bttb-rox!

Hello everyone, I'm just back to say hellooo...some of you might remember me but probably quite a few who won't, as there seems to be thousands of newbies since I was around here, which is great to see! I'm bttb-rox, or Lauren, and I was last on here in 2009 serving as a Mod. I left the forum as I was so busy at the time with other projects and felt it would be best to leave while the going was good! So much has changed...the biggest change is that I'm now married (less than 2 months ago) and I now live in Cornwall (used to be Essex)! Those of you who knew me back in the day knew that my aim was to move to Aus. Well, while me and my lovely husband John would both love to visit one day, we are very happy living in Cornwall and I've found my home here in the beautiful South West, so things turned out very differently but happily different . I'm now self-employed & in the early stages of setting up my own business as an IT tutor, delivering computer lessons in the local area. I did study hairdressing at college in the end & worked in a salon for a while but moved to Cornwall and found it difficult to secure work in the trade here, so decided to take this route, which I'm very excited and passionate about. And next week my brother moves to Cornwall as he has found work here & has seen how well things have gone here for me, so I'm over the moon to have him on his way to Kernow ;). Home&Away wise, I'm not really keeping up with the show anymore sadly as it's gone downhill in the last couple of yrs and nearly all my favourites are now gone, but I do dip in and out of episodes as I probably always will and like to keep up to date with how the show's doing and the cast. I don't think I'll ever be able to separate myself fully . So anyway, it's great to see the forum thriving and I hope all my old forum buddies are keeping really well! It is a 'hello and goodbye' so I won't be sticking around but I may well stick my head in to see how things are going, as there are still a few I remember from all those years ago now xxx

I really like Claudia. I loved her initial enthusiam for nailing down the farm hand job. You could tell as soon as she saw Martha that she wasn't going to back down. "Morning!"

Yet another glorious day yesterday and it looks set to be another warm and sunny one today .

We've had beautiful weather all week in the south east. The weekend was also very pleasant but it's definitely gotten warmer during the week. It's been reaching the early 20s every day, which has been fantastic. It's great to see people getting into the spirit by playing sports or firing up their barbeque and having friends around. I know it's a well known fact that us Brits moan about the weather all the time but you realize just how grey it is when you get weather like we've had this week! I hope everyone else is enjoying the hot weather as much as I am .

Unless the actor/actress has had their hair cut, something like this is normally used to hide their real hair. Thanks for showing us that preview pic, Dan .

It's snowing again! I was told it wasn't going to settle but it is, er, settling...

It's freezing but the majority of the snow and ice has gone, which is good. The risk of falling over and doing serious injury was very high yesterday. The fact that I saw more ambulances than I had seen in months probably had something to do with that. The weather in Chelmsford yesterday was ridiculous as well. It was so cold and wet that I gave up caring in the end because I felt so out of it. There's a severe flood warning in place for the River Chelmer and I can quite believe it - I was practically swimming over the bridge in the town centre. Very dangerous indeed.

It snowed here (south east England) for most of yesterday . It's incredibly thick outside, though it's stopped falling for the time being.

Thick snow here and the forecasts are saying there's more heavy fall on the way today. I adore the snow but it's dangerous stuff, so I hope everyone takes care out and about and on the roads if there's snow where you are .

I'm sorry to hear some of you are struggling with the heatwave . I can't imagine what some of those temperatures must feel like, but I'm thinking of you all!

That song is 'Comfort You' by Eskimo Joe .

Edition 4 of 'The Interactive Corner' has just been launched . I want to say a big thank you to everyone who chipped in, whether staff or non-staff. Your help was much appreciated. We'd love to know what you think of the feature, so if you have the time, we'd really appreciate any comments you have on the content, the format etc. We hope you enjoy it!

Oh, I really like that idea. In a dream world that would be the kind of job I'd like to see her put her talents to use in. I don't think by having a job like that everything would have to revolve around it. Look at Rachel. She's a doctor, we see her working at the hospital often and yet I don't think many would say we see her do nothing but work at the hospital. If that balance could be recreated with Belle, I think we could see some fascinating stories unfold.

I'd be interested to learn more about Belle's background too. Those years that we didn't see shape a person's life so much and have a big impact on how they view themselves, view the world and treat others. That's why I always appreciate the snippets we get on a character's background. They help create a more rounded picture of them and their life, I feel. Amanda and Belle - they were great, weren't they?! To see them go from, as Zetti put it, "mortal enemies" to this less explosive and more accepting of each other's faults sort of relationship was a lovely transistion to see. I know some found the concept of Belle forgiving Amanda for the Drew debarcle, and a whole load of other stuff (!), far-fetched, but to have them at each other's throats for ever wasn't really going to achieve anything at the end of the day. A state of stalemate wouldn't have been healthy and would likely have fueled their hostile behaviour even more. I can't recall whether it's ever been discussed on the show, but I definitely remember the rumour regarding Belle's sister. Wasn't her name supposed to be Emma? I'm sure it was something like that. It's a shame we've never seen her if she does exist. I can imagine sparks flying between her and Belle if she ever did arrive, especially if she was quite a bit younger than her. Belle always strikes me as the type who values her own space, so the arrival of a little sister would probably seem like an invasion of mass proportions! I'm just thinking about what I'd like to see for Belle in the new season and while I found all of the storylines she was involved in last year enjoyable, I'd love to see some of the 'old' Belle return. I completely understand and appreciate that she had a huge year and that she'll need time to deal with it, which will no doubt see her in a highly emotional state for some time again this year etc., but I really hope that there are some calmer and less hectic times ahead of her. I don't expect to see her laughing and joking every five seconds, but to see some of that vibrant and happy personality creeping back in would be good to see. I think her getting into photography again as a hobby would be an excellent way of doing that. Before Murray came along and the development site became her main focus, she really wanted to 'find' herself again and I don't feel she got the chance to do that properly. While the development site saga gave her a chance to really get involved and use her energies, I don't believe she achieved as much on a personal level as she would've had she have continued photography. But then it could be argued that her turning down the chance to help would've been out of character. Either way I would love to see some 'down time' for her. She had a horrible year. Whether or not she was to blame for some of it, in terms of the actions she took, she had a horrible year and I feel she deserves a level of sympathy.

He is indeed a Bay legend, one that is tragically underused I'm still very sorry to say. Why he is given so little 'proper' screentime and material is totally and utterly beyond me. He's got excellent storyline potential, Ray is absolutely perfect in the part (No one else could be Alf. No one), viewers around the world adore him and there are so many more euphemisms that we're yet to hear, get hysterical over and plonk in the Quotes threads! Simply put, he's an institution. He's the Bay's stalwart and, to be quite honest, who couldn't like Alf?! He's genuine, reliable, unintentionally hilarious and he has a heart of gold. I could go on. But while we know that he's a kind and worldly wise man, to an outsider he portrays this grumpy, sometimes bordering on sullen, exterior - and I love that. It means in some ways you never quite know what's coming next with him. Is he going to chuck those mongrels out of the Surf Club or is he simply going to give them a clip around the ear? Is he going to accept that the washing machine has blown up or is he going to go completely bananas? You know, it's that sort of thing that really makes me warm to Alf . I don't feel like I talk about him a lot, but I think he's absolutely great and without him the show would feel emptier for me. So are there any other Alf fans out there who would like to talk about this flamin' legend?

Ah, now you're about to find out! Click

'Poseidon' was the last film I saw and everytime I see it I realize again why it's one of my top 10 films.

Very sunny and quite warm .

I really like these two together. They're sweet, not too 'heavy' and they don't argue every five minutes, which is such a pleasant change. Some more storylines would be nice for next year, though. While I don't want them to start hogging the screen, just a few interesting things next year and I'd be happy. The majority of the other couples get ample amounts of screentime, but I feel Jannie are shortchanged on that front a lot of the time and when they do get the screentime, they don't really do very much - like Jem said. They've got the potential to be a great little couple, but without the storylines it's hard to get overly excited.

Very grey and very cold. That temperature forecast that says it's 11°C here is *lying*.

Favourite Tachel scene(s) - involving a regular cast members: It was a small moment but I liked the scene in the episode shortly before Lucas left where Rachel walked in to the Surf Club and the Holden boys were about to go for their last surf. They both had beaming smiles on their faces and I thought that was really sweet. Favourite Tachel scene(s) - involving a guest cast members: The jokes between Rachel and Sam and the awkardness when Tony was asking Rachel out were some of my favourites. Jon and Amy work off each other so well . Oh and that scene just before Dan's memorial when Rachel said to Jazz 'Yeah, there's plenty of room in the back' was classic. Rachel sure doesn't mince her words, does she?! Most memorable Tachel quote: Everything that Laura and KirstyEkua said. And the highly popular word with Tachel fans...'peanut'! Favourite setting that Tachel have featured in: It would have to be the city, where they had their first date. That place had a great atmosphere and was also different from the usual places we see, which made a nice change. I also liked the scene in the Beth's death anniversary episode when they were on and also overlooking the beach. Beautiful . Favourite Tachel storyline: It's betwen the vasectomy reversal and Jazz storylines. I thought both of those showed some great interaction between Tony and Rachel, and other cast members, and gave us some funny moments in between all of the drama. Are there any changes to the script that you would have made regarding Tachel? Yes. While I think they have generally been written very well as a couple, there are a few things I would've changed after the Olympic cliffhanger. Firstly, Tony not asking how Rachel felt about the Aden situation (on-screen anyway) was something that completely baffled me. I mean, the wedding had just been called off and his fiancée had been tied up in a shed by someone they already knew and we didn't at least hear him say 'How are you?' That's definitely something that should've been shown IMO. Another thing, similar to Laura's point again, was the lack of screentime in the episode(s) following Joe's death. The actual episode where we found out was brilliant - excellent acting from everyone involved, a great script and an interesting story. Afterwards we're told that Rachel's been pushing Tony away and then...nothing. "Wasted opportunity" - I couldn't agree more! How would you redecorate the Tachel household? - I love it the way it is, so I don't think I'd change anything. And as for the photos of Beth and the rest of the Hunter clan, I personally think having them up is nice. I wouldn't call it silly myself. She and her family were a huge part of Tony's life and as long as Rachel doesn't have a problem with it, then I can't see any reason why they shouldn't stay. Any further comments? - Like Laura, who made some fantastic points, I'd like to see Tachel get the screentime and the storylines they deserve. They're very popular with fans, which is something the writers do pay attension to (most of the time anyway ), and Amy and Jon are superb actors, something the majority agree with. Karen's made some great observations thoughtout the year about Tachel getting 'scraps' and that's exactly what's been happening IMO. Nearly all of the other couples have had a great deal of screentime, in which we've seen pretty much everything that they've spoken about and done etc. With Tachel, however, us fans have often been wondering whether scenes have been cut out, because episodes with them sometimes feel so Tachel 'empty'! It's not meant as a critism of the writers, who have done a brilliant job with them on the whole, but it's just my personal view that they deserve to get more screentime next year.