Where Have I Been? | Ed Sheeran LIVE, Outdoor Cinemas & Degree Results
I'm not really sure how I want to start this post. I feel a little out of my comfort zone seeing as I took a break from blogging back in February, so all in all, it's been a while! I thought I'd jump back into writing my blog seeing as I have just completed my degree and was rewarded with a classification that I am so happy for having achieved. If you know me well, you'll understand exactly why I am so elated. I won't go into details on here, however within the three years it took to complete my degree, I had to go through and deal with a lot.
If you've read any of my university posts in the past (which I will link under this paragraph if you're interested) then you may have some sort of understanding as to what occurred. Little did I know at the time, I had a lot more trials and tribulations to come, again, something I won't go into in this post. But if you'd like anymore advice for starting university and getting through stress and tough times, then please let me know!
MARCH GOINGS-ON
In case you were wondering, I will be writing a post reflecting on my third year at university as well so stay tuned for that if you're at all interested! Anyway, back into the more interesting goings on while I've been away. A lot has happened since February, as you can imagine. During this month, I published my first book called '2097' which you can purchase on Amazon. It's set in 2097 (surprise surprise) within a dystopian world.
A war has broken out and it is up to brothers, Bill and Bertie, to help end the gruesome warfare with the help of a Chinese Defector, but things don't exactly go to plan! You can buy it or read a synopsis using this link here. But don't think that this is a plug for you to all go and buy my book, because it isn't, it's just something I am so proud of considering the time and effort it took to get it from a first draft to a printed book! It was such a huge achievement for me, especially at the time. So that's something that happened since I last blogged!
I turned 23 years old, as soon as that happened, everyone said 'it's all down hill from 23, time will just go faster and faster and before you know it you're half way to hundred'. Getting older doesn't scare me at all, I don't think I am old at all. I am still very young and I still have things to learn and achieve in my life. I see growing older as an opportunity to progress in life, the older you get, the further you go in terms of life milestones. I am in no rush and under no pressure to buy a house, a car, to get married or have a child, just because most of my friends are doing it or have done that already. I see my life as exactly that, my life, and I will do things as and when I am ready. So right now, I'm just enjoying being 23 with no real responsibilities, apart from a job now of course!
But to celebrate my birthday, my boyfriend and I went for breakfast at Bill's where I had Eggs Benedict and the boyf had Scrambled Eggs on Toast! Then we all (me, my boyfriend, my parents and my sister) had lunch at beautiful place in Nottinghamshire called Rufford Abbey. It was a very sunny day, cold but the weather could have been much worse, and my main present this year was a Kenwood K-Mix, which is basically a Kitchen Aid, only better ;)
My boyfriend and I went to see a gig in Nottingham's Rock City called Myles Kennedy about a week before my birthday. We went at a time where it snowed pretty badly, so when I think back, I just remember being freezing cold 24/7! But despite that, the gig was great! It's a very small venue, so the atmosphere between MK and the audience felt safe and also intimate, as if we were stood watching a friend play acoustic guitar and singing songs from their latest solo album. I'll leave some MK links below for you in case you're interested. His voice is insane, he is such a talented musician and I recommend you all go and check him out!
Myles Kennedy Links
APRIL HAPPENINGS
I'll be honest, not a whole lot happened in April. It was such a busy time in terms of university work, which meant I was basically a recluse throughout the majority of the first half of 2018. It was my mum's birthday, and me, my boyfriend and my boyfriend's dad all went to a gig at the Birmingham Symphony Hall to see a very talented guitarist called Joe Satriani. There isn't any singing involved in his performance, instead, the guitar and his playing of it do the singing instead. I was utterly transfixed whilst he was playing, it was like being hypnotised. It made me feel as if there was no one else in the room, apart from myself and Joe. He was just amazing. So like with MK, I will leave Joe's links below in case you're interested!
Joe Satrinani Links
MAY EVENTS
May was a little more exciting. I handed in my dissertation right at the beginning of the month which was a massive relief to be honest. I didn't think I would ever see the day where I could hand in something that took months of research, writing and redrafting. So that was worth celebrating for sure!
By this time, I felt a lot less guilty about going out and having fun with friends for example. About a week after my dissertation, I submitted a website I created which we needed to do in conjunction with the book I published. So once that was done, my university work was over. I know what you're thinking right now, why didn't you start blogging again back in May if you were finished? I have a very simple answer to this question, and if you've completed a degree yourself, you'll understand exactly what I mean...I just needed a break. I did English Language and Creative Writing at uni, so as you can imagine, it involved a hell of a lot of writing, meeting deadlines, doing research, referencing, meetings, presentations etc. So once I finished, I needed time away from a computer screen, and that's exactly what I did, and now I'm back ;)
Also during this month, my boyfriend and I went to London for a few days. It was during the Bank Holiday weekend, travelling down Saturday and going home on the Monday. On the Saturday, we visited Kew Gardens, it was such a beautiful day. The sunshine was beaming down on us for the whole weekend actually which just added to the experience! Kew Gardens is simply beautiful. If you've been in conflict with yourself as to whether or not you'd like to go, definitely go! It's certainly something you'll need to take the day out for as it's huge, filled with big greenhouses, acres of grass and beautifully kept gardens. It really does make a great day out for the whole family!
We then went for dinner that evening with my family who were in nearby Surrey. Sunday we went on the London Eye and then made our way to Covent Garden which has got to be one of my favourite places in London!
Come Monday, we went to visit Madame Tussauds, somewhere I have always wanted to go and visit, but just never got around to it. I highly recommend you go and give it a cheeky visit yourself if you can, it's so much fun and there is something there for everyone, including a very sophisticated indoor ride, where to sit in half of a black taxi as it takes you on a journey through the history of Madame Tussauds. Not only that, but there is also a pretty awesome 4D experience you can try, like I say, there's something there for everyone, it would make for a perfect day out for the whole family.
For dinner that evening, we went for dinner at London's Hard Rock Café. The first one to have been built in the world apparently. I have only ever been to two, Manchester and London. Despite going to Orlando, Florida a few years ago, we didn't ever go to the branch they had there, something I now regret having been to two in the UK. But oh well, I'm sure I'll get another chance to go! I had a bacon burger, followed by an Oreo cheesecake which we shared as it was massive, but also naughtily delicious ;)
Also in May, we went walking in the Peak District, up Mam Tor, which is a 517m hill near Castleton in Derbyshire. Mam Tor translates into 'Mother Hill'. It was a super hot day, the sun was shining and the sky was clear, no chance of rain basically, something we were happy about as it meant we didn't have to lug rain coats etc with us! It was very marshy in places though, and I nearly lost a shoe in the mud, which always makes me laugh now looking back on it. My boyfriend also had to lift me out of a boggy marsh as well, so all in all, a great walk! However the views at the top were well worth the trouble.
I also gave blood in this month, bringing my total number of donations to eleven!
JUNE EXCITEMENT
June was probably one of my months of the year so far! So much happened during this month that I was just so excited to have happen. Right at the beginning of the month, my mum and I went to an outdoor cinema showing of 'The Greatest Showman' at Rufford Abbey. I hadn't ever been to anything like that before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was a sing-a-long version, so everyone was on their feet singing and dancing to whatever they could, people had brought picnics and there was a BBQ also. The prosecco was flowing, the strawberries were getting eaten and the sun was shining! It was the perfect way to start the summer!
About a week after that, my boyfriend and I went to Download Festival at Donnington Park. We saw the likes of Black Stone Cherry and for the second time (third time for my boyfriend), we saw the original line up of Guns N' Roses once again. They were headlining on the Saturday night of the festival. Once again, they didn't disappoint!
A couple of weeks later, we travelled back down to London for three days. On the first day, which was also Fathers Day, however it just so happened to also be my dad's 60th birthday (Happy Birthday dad!), we made our way to Wembley Stadium to see Ed Sheeran performing live! If you ever manage to get tickets to see Ed, please do, I had never seen anything like it before.
The sound that be produced using just one man, a guitar and loop pedal is just insane. It was definitely something I will always look back on and smile, one because we were so lucky to get tickets in the first place (luckily for me my boyfriend is a very talented ticket buyer and managed to snatch some up fast when they first came on sale) and two because it was something I had never seen, and may not ever get a chance to see again. He had the whole audience in the palm of his hand and the atmosphere was tantalising. It was just a perfect day!
On the Monday, we travelled to Surrey to see my dad, mainly because I hadn't seen him to say happy birthday! We ordered in a Chinese, drank wine and watched some football before heading back to our hotel where we stayed that night in order to be up in time for our next concert. Tuesday we travelled into Twickenham to see The Rolling Stones. It was a busy weekend put it that way, but to say most of the men in that band are in their seventies, they put on a very good show!
The following Monday, I went for a coffee and lunch with my friend, who is due to have a baby in September, everyone is so excited! We had a good catch up in Turtle Bay over a cocktail. Well, I had a cocktail (ok, I had two, happy hour, what can I say?) and my friend had a lemonade.
After that I went home and had a picnic and some pink gins with my family, we also invited the boyf round as well which was nice, and eventually the neighbourhood cat joined in as well!
JULY CELEBRATIONS AND HOOBILATIONS
This month, I found out my degree classification, but the night before that, we went to London's O2 Arena to see Queen with Adam Lambert and it was unreal! The vibe was crazy, it was fun and exciting, Brian May was incredible, as was the drummer and Adam Lambert's energy was just contagious, we left feeling elated. If you ever get a chance to see them live, please do because you will not regret it! But seeing as we were staying on the other side of the Thames, we had to get the cable cars (yes cable cars) across the other side of the river, which was actually an experience in itself!
So that's it. You're now fully up to date with what has been going on during my absent months. I will be posting on here a lot more regularly from now on! See you Friday with a brand new blog post for you!
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