Well, what was expected to only be a couple of weeks’ break has turned into much longer. Of course I failed to factor in just how long it takes to get the internet connected in a new house and how busy things would be! Almost all of my evenings and weekends lately have been spent covered in various shades of paint, constructing furniture or hanging photo frames.

I did however manage to take an evening off last week to attend a local blogger event here in Leeds. The team at Simplyhealth invited a group of local bloggers down to the Everyman Cinema in Leeds as part of their ‘Healthy Smile’ campaign with the sole aim of making us, and our plus ones, laugh. We were treated to a private screening of four episodes of Friends to celebrate twenty years (yes, twenty!) since the Friends TV series began and ten years since its finale.I took along my friend Sarah since she is the biggest Friends fan I know and the evening was guaranteed to make her smile the most. The Simplyhealth team also provided us with a couple of drinks and some snacks to make sure we were as comfortable as possible.

It made for a lovely evening and we can’t have been the only ones who could quite easily have carried on watching way past the four episodes. Laughter really is contagious and a natural way of bonding with those around us, so a night purely focused on that was a perfect reminder to take the time to do things like this when there is so much else going on in life. In fact, we haven’t been able to resist planning our next Friends marathon already.The Everyman Cinema itself is somewhere I’ve been meaning to check out ever since it opened last year. Located in the Trinity Centre in Leeds city centre, the Everyman Cinema is no everyday cinema – replacing cramped seating with comfy sofas and eschewing the usual food offering in favour of freshly stone baked pizzas. I’ll definitely be heading back next time I go to watch a film and finding an excuse to check out their food!Our little goody bag between two also contained a Friends mug which I insisted Sarah take home as I know it will keep her smiling.

To pass on a little bit of laughter (I hope!) and maybe get you in the mood to re-watch some Friends, here are a few choice quotes:

“I’m not so good with the advice… Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?” – Chandler

“Stop cleansing my aura. Just leave my aura alone, okay?” – Ross

“Hi, I’m Chandler. Could I be wearing any more clothes?” - Joey

“Who’s FICA and why is he getting all of my money?” – Rachel

“Whoa. Where you going in those pants? 1982?” - Monica

“Oh, I knew something had to be wrong, because my fingernails did not grow at all yesterday.” – Phoebe

What has made you smile recently?