I have been itching to write about one of my secret/not so secret passions/loves. Since being a very very small child, I have had a fascination and at times obsession for (and you probably guessed it by the highly witty title), DINOSAURS!
Starting even before I came into the world physically, a family member, great uncle to be precise, had purchased a rainbow coloured dinosaur (A saurapod for those in the know...) called Dino! Unfortunately this family member passed before I was born. Complete with a squeak still intact, i'm not ashamed to say that its still a treasured possession at the age of 24. This wonderfully colourful object obviously made my eyes light up and thus set my life long love of these prehistoric creatures.
"When I was a child, I wanted to go to the lost world in South America - I was heartbroken to discover there were no dinosaurs; I still don't accept it!" - Brian Blessed
This continued into my infant years, of which a numerous amount of plastic, plush and movable -limbed toys were presented to me on christmas and birthdays. Naturally i revelled in this as the garden became the landscape of which I created the most epic of battles between the carnivores and herbivores, making loud noises as the toys crashed together. These are memories I hold very dear. In fact, most of the plastic dinosaurs still feature in the garden, dotted around to find! We couldn't get rid of them! Whilst still a child but a little older, I was introduced to Jurassic Park for the first time on video tape. Whilst at my aunties, I cowered in sheer terror at the T Rex (which in all fairness still looks realistic now, never mind in the late 90's!) whilst it chased and destroyed most in its path. However, I found this film absolutely exhilarating too, wanting to figure out what each of the dinosaurs names were.
God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs... Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth... - Jurassic Park
In turn, this led me to a rather large collection of dinosaur story books/encyclopedias and more specifically visually, Walking with Dinosaurs. I truly owe the books especially to my ability to read so well at such a young age. The phonetic spelling underneath the actual name broke down some rather long and difficult names for me. After a hell of a lot of practice, this applied in my brain to other words which meant learning new and sometimes complex words became easier. Walking with Dinosaurs on the other hand gave me a fix that had been triggered by the Jurassic Park films, but with a knowledgeable edge. Expertly written and produced by the BBC, this series of (effectively) documentaries snuck in a tonne of facts whilst still creating an immersive world of food chains, struggle and adventure. This kept me hooked on watching these massive and monstrous creatures that simply were only anamatronics or animated.
"I can only really speak for myself and what I've noticed in my kids and the people in my life, but because dinosaurs were real, and yet they seem so fantastical, is why they held such a huge fascination for me as a child. They're so different from human beings." - Bryce Dallas Howard
I genuinely believe I have seen every single major film that has featured a dinosaur in, animation or live action. Mainly being the Jurassic Park/World franchise, I continue to use these fantastic feats of cinema as my go to films. Not only do they give me that rush and fix I so badly crave of action but somehow the stories that run along side are second to none. Unsurprisingly considering they are produced by the incomparable Steven Spielberg, these are some of the highest grossing films of all time, with merchandise being worth hundreds and hundreds of millions. Creating this escapist world is obviously having an effect on the younger generations whilst keeping folk like me in love with this epic part of history. Long may this love affair of dinosaurs continue for me and positively affect those who want to study, learn and appreciate one of the longest natural events in history.
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