The Apprentice & The Notebook

So I guess you are thinking the 2 above mentioned delights of tonight's TV are a strange combination, but I love them both in completely different ways.

First up is the apprentice, although I don't know how much I will write about it, as I currently have eyes full of tears from The Notebook. I'm not going to explain what The Apprentice is about as I am sure everyone knows what it is. On tonight's show, the 2 teams were given a new breakfast cereal, and they had to give it a brand, design the packaging, create a commercial and pitch it to the client. The one team cam up with this fantastic idea, they decided the cereal looked like treasure, and called them 'Treasure Flakes', they created the character of a Parrot Pirate for the branding, and produced a good box, jingle and commercial to go with it.

The other team, on the other hand were absolutely shocking! They created this character called 'Pants Man' like a superhero with his pants over his clothes, and came up with the ridiculous idea that with their jingle make kids put their pants on the right way. Erm...hello...what sort of mixed message is that? Clearly these people have absolutely no idea whatsoever. I can't believe that these people, who are already employed in better positions than myself, and probably earning a lot more too, are on a game show style interview to win a 1 million pounds salary job. None of them have any common sense, yes they can talk the talk, and yes they may have got some degree, but most of them lack basic knowledge and life skills.

As much as I love the programme, I do sometimes sit on my sofa wanting to shout at the contestants through the TV!

After The Apprentice had finished, it was back to channel flicking to try and find something to watch before bed. I do like having Sky, but all those extra channels, and it can still be difficult finding something decent to watch!

Whilst flicking through, I saw The Notebook was showing on Film 4. Having seen this film a few times, I knew what emotions it would bring, but decided as it was already halfway through, I would watch it anyway.

For anyone who has not seen this film, this may be a good place to stop reading! For those who have, I hope you will agree with what I have to say.

This film is the story of Ally and Noah who meet one summer and fall in love, they have a summer romance. During this time, Noah shows Ally a derelict house he wants to but and renovate for her. However, her family disapprove, as he comes from a poor family, and they want better for her. At the end of the summer they take her away, and her mother hides all the letters that Noah writes to her. Time passes by and Noah throws all his emotions into the house and works day and night to make it into a beautiful home. Ally meets someone else, they get engaged and are happy until she opens the paper one day and sees the house and Noah standing proud next to it. She realises that maybe she isn't as happy as she should be and goes back to see Noah.

I feel that this is the story of what real love is and should be. When I first watched this film, I was single, and it made me feel that I wanted the love that Noah and Ally have. The love they have is unconditional, it is sweet and passionate, gentle but strong at the same time.

The first time I saw this I cried from start to finish, I cried at the happy romantic parts, I cried at the sad parts. I just sobbed! It drained me emotionally! At first I thought maybe it was because I was single, and I wanted my own Noah, someone to make me laugh, someone to do all those romantic things he does, just someone to be there for me, for company, for cuddles, for love. However, when I watched this again with Mr P, I cried again, not all the way through like before, but at certain points, mainly the parts where they are parted or you are led to believe they will be parted. I put this down to being in a new relationship, a perfect relationship. I had found my Noah and didn't want to lose him, and could relate to the hurt the characters were feeling.

After watching it again tonight, and noting the parts in which I cried like a baby, I think there is more to it. Throughout the film, the story flashes to a nursing home where an elderly man is telling the story to an elderly lady. We later find out that this couple are an elderly Noah and Ally. He is still very much in love with her, but Ally has Alzheimer's, and doesn't know who he is anymore. It becomes very clear, that he often tells her this story, and every now and then she remembers, the real Ally returns, only for a few minutes, but long enough to see that the love has never faded between them. The tears come when, after a few minutes, Ally forgets who and where she is again and pushes Noah away. The nursing staff have to come and sedate her. Noah is left distraught.

I think this hits home for me, as my Grandma suffered from Alzheimer's. My Grandad cared for her for as long as he could, but in the end, she had to go into a nursing home. He visited her every day, where he would sit with her, hold her hand, and talk to her. In the end, she didn't know who he was, but still, as much as it must have hurt him, he stayed strong and kept putting himself through it every day, just to be at her side.

Whilst watching that particular part of the film tonight, for the first time, I thought, that could be me. One day, that could be me, what if it is hereditary? What if I have to put Mr P through that daily hurt, seeing the love of his life deteriorate like that? Who knows what the future might bring. I suppose all we can do is live life to the full now, make the most of what we have and never take anything for granted.