RIP Amy

I first heard about the death of Amy Winehouse a little after 5pm from Twitter on Saturday evening. (Once again Twitter beat the news, it took at least 10 minutes after hearing about the sad event before it was on Sky News.) It’s sad to say that when I heard the news, I wasn’t shocked. If I’m honest, the only thing that did shock me, was the fact that it hadn’t happened before then. And the reality sunk in when I saw her body being carried out on a stretcher in a red body bag.

Now, I was by no means her biggest fan, I bought her Back to Black album, and thoroughly enjoyed it, her massive beehive and exaggerated eyeliner amused and intrigued me, (I'd never seen hair as big as it, and was quite envious!) but that’s pretty much as far as it went. I never saw her live, nor did I really want to. I was happy with the album and music videos. However I, unlike many others, held nothing against her, it was very clear to see that she had issues, which she chose to deal with her own way. But whether she was a drug addict or not, you cannot deny the fact she had a raw talent, her unmistakeable voice which, rightly, won her numerous awards.

In September of 1983 Amy was born at Chase Farm Hospital in London. From an early age she set her sights on stardom. She attended both the Brit School and Sylvia Young’s Theatre School in London, for which she won a scholarship to attend. Here, she was in the same year as Billie Piper. However after three years of attending and Amy was asked to leave after as she continued to mess around, and didn't pay enough attention as the school required.

It was 2003 when Amy released her debut album ‘Frank’. This sold one million copies and was nominated for a Mercury Prize. However it wasn’t until 2006 when she released her second album ‘Back to Black’ that she really started hitting the headlines and became a household name. Her second album, which she wrote about the split with her boyfriend Blake, went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. Amy once said about her second album that "I was clinically depressed and I managed to get something I'm so proud of, out of something that was so horrible." Sadly, it's only today that her lyrics of her smash hit Rehab "they tried to make me go to rehab, but I said no, no no" take on more poignancy. After that album her popularity had rocketed, and it would appear that so did her problems.

The British Press have always been loved a scandal and subsequently in 2007 and 2008 Amy was rarely out of their headlines. Her weight plummeted, she was drinking more and more alcohol and taking numerous drugs. Blake also returned to her life, and her obsession with performing was replaced with an obsession for him, along with other substances. Her own mother Janis said in 2007 said "she's on a path of self-mutilation and lucky to be alive. It's like a sickness but she cannot see it." In May of the same year Amy married Blake in Florida, after they had got back together. They became front page news instantly, not because of her career, not because of their love, but because of the fact they were so clearly dangerous together. They would be seen binging in pubs, arguing in public places and leaving their house obviously intoxicated. Later in August Amy was rushed to hospital after a suspected drug overdose of heroin, ecstasy and cocaine and checked into rehab again for a brief while. Amy said about this "I gave rehab a try because my Dad wanted me to. Just for 15 minutes. I went in, said 'hello' and explained that I drink because I am in love and have fucked up the relationship. Then I walked out." Many blamed Blake for Amy's wild, destructive ways, but those closest to them said the pair were as bad as each other. Both sets of parents came out and spoke of their worries for the pair, but neither appeared to listen.

In 2008 Amy took to the British stage for the last time at the Brit Awards, and later went on to win five Grammy awards in America for her Back to Black album, but she had to perform for the ceremony via satellite as the USA refused her visa because of the drug controversy that surrounded her. It seemed her talent was matched only by her relentless desire for self destruction. Later the same year she checked into rehab again as the police started to probe after video footage was uploaded of her allegedly smoking crack cocaine. After that stint in rehab Blake was sentenced to 27 months in jail for assault and it was hoped that time apart would be good for both of them, Amy in particular. The pair subsequently spent half of their married life apart. After a rocky few months, it seemed to be working. She moved to St. Lucia briefly, started dating someone else and appeared to be getting her life back onto track. When Blake was released he filed for divorce citing her adultery as the reason.

She hasn't been in the spotlight like she used to be for a while now, and she also hadn't released any new music. However last month she announced a come-back European tour. Her record label "prepared her" by checking her into the Priory for a brief visit. Brief clearly wasn't enough. Her opening night in Belgrade was an absolute disaster. She mumbled, forgot the words and stumbled across the stage. Within hours the shambolic footage was on youtube. I watched it, and once again felt sorry for her, the girl needed help. I hadn't heard much about her for quite some time, I was aware she had a new boyfriend, and for all I knew she was in a good place, but there she was back again, appearing to be in the same mess she was before. The rest of the tour went on to be cancelled. Subsequently when Amy should have been playing a gig in Italy on Saturday, she instead spent her last hours in her North London home.

Amy was last seen on Wednesday as a surprise appearance at London Roundhouse itunes festival (which I watched on itv2) where she came on stage with her protégée Dionne, who is also her God daughter. Aside from dancing, Amy also told everyone to buy Dionne’s new record. In my eyes, there were no signs of the fatale drama that was to happen a mere three days later.

During Amy’s short 27 years she went through many dizzying highs and numerous hellish lows. There are numerous horrific pictures of her, she showed off razor-slashed arms from self harming, then there was the famous blood-stained pumps incident from where she'd been injecting heroin between her toes, and the controversial mice video. Put all of that aside though and you remember that she was not only a renowned singer, worshipped by many, but she was a fashion icon and mixed with her blunt attitude helped spawn a new generated of British stars. Step forward Duffy and Adele.

There has been an outpouring of love from friends, family and fans whom have been leaving flowers and cards outside her Camden flat ever since Saturday, along with bottles of alcohol and cigarettes. Although I believe these weren't left with malicious intent, I personally feel that doing this just glamourizes the way that she so tragically died. Many celebrities have spoken out about her untimely death, David Beckham, Kelly Osborne and Russell Brand to name just a few, along with Lady Gaga who said that "Amy changed pop music forever." Yesterday Amy's parents, Janis and Mitch, visited the shrine that has built up and tried to speak, whilst fighting back the tears to some of her fans. It almost seems inevitable nowadays that when someone dies, jokes start to pour in. In my eyes death isn't something to joke about no matter the circumstance. Whether she'd influenced it herself or not, Amy was a daughter, sister, niece and friend. How would you like it if people joked if a friend of relative of yours died? To me, it doesn't make for an amusing topic.

Sadly Amy had a lot of demons, which she dealt with in the wrong way. Her talent was over-shadowed by her personal problems. No amount of success or awards, neither pleas from family or friends stopped her, the addiction was too strong. Ironically she was still an out-patient from the Priory at the time of her death, which in itself says a lot. I, personally, hope she is now able to find the peace; she was so clearly searching for, yet had such trouble finding here on Earth.

As painfully obvious as it seems, the moral of this story is that drugs are not cool, and they can kill. Stick to sherbet kids!

Phone Jacker Hearing

Politics has never (and never will be) my strongest point. In fact, a year ago I would have never dreamt I’d want to write anything slightly related to the blasted topic, having had to sit through many a dreary lecture on it at University I was in no hurry to revisit it. That was until recently. Nowadays I’m sky plussing Question time when I’m out, following a couple of politicians on Twitter and watching the Daily Politics Show. What the heck has got in to me? Now, just because I’ve recently started to take a slight interest, it doesn’t necessarily mean I know the ins and outs, because believe me I definitely do not! There were numerous times today when it went straight over my head, I know the basics but I’d say that’s about as far as it goes. But hey, one step at a time! This post will be about the hearing that was held today at Westminster. For those of you who didn’t watch it, hopefully it will give you a brief overview, and for those who did this is my take on the events. Like I said, I’m by no means a politics expert but nevertheless I’ll give it a shot. So, here we go…

Let’s set the scene, there I was this morning, in an absolute flap because I was going to be late for my Jury Service and I was petrified this would make me contempt of court and I’d be sent down myself (ironically I actually ended up being nearly an hour early, as I had got my times muddled up) anyway, I’m not the best with technology and was trying to set up a sky recording for 2pm on bbc2 for a special Daily Politics Show, which was set to go on for 2 and a half hours. Luckily I wasn’t needed today so was sent home by midday which meant I was able to watch the live coverage of the select committee hearing as it was happening. Result! So at ten to two I got the essentials ready, a glass of Ribena, a bag of Haribo and got myself a front row seat in my lounge on the sofa for what I was hoping to be an almighty showdown. (Think Voldemort vs Harry Potter in The Deathly Hallows Part 2... I didn’t quite get that but it was entertaining nonetheless.) I started off watching the live coverage on Sky News, then realised the irony of doing so and swapped to bbc2..!

Rupert Murdoch and his son James took centre stage to begin with, both dressed in matching navy suits, white shirts and blue ties, which I appreciated and thought was a nice touch! They faced a panel of roughly ten MP’s, who were called a Select Committee. A Select Committee shadows every department of the government, for example health. The one in today’s hearing was the Culture, Media and Sports Committee and was made up from MP’s from all parties, they are not lawyers and not professional interrogators, which was made very obvious at certain points in the hearing today. They didn't always stick to the point. Select Committees have the power to call whatever witness they want to, and they must attend (so long as they are British citizens.)

The Chairman of the Committee, John Whittingdale, started proceedings, by welcoming the pair and thanking them for taking the time to come and answer their questions seeing as they were not obliged too as they are not British Citizens. James Murdoch started by asking for permission to read aloud a statement which they had prepared. He was denied the chance to do so. However his answer to the first question he was asked sounded a lot like one! It went along the lines of “We are sorry to everyone. We’re determined to put things right, make sure it doesn’t happen again and to be the company that we should be” blah blah you get my drift. At which point Rupert butted in to say “I’d just like to say one sentence. This is the most humble day of my life.” I won’t lie, that line made me chuckle. After all that had been said, neither James nor Rupert had answered the question they were first asked, by John, so he proceeded to ask it again! We were off to a rocky start.

Rupert started off shakily. He looked extremely uncomfortable when he was being interrogated by Tom Watson (a Labour Member of Parliament who has wanted to investigate the possibility of phone hacking for years, but was never backed by enough people.)  He seemed unsure, often whacking the table, bowing his head and sitting in silence for a few seconds before raising his head back up to face the Committee, whacking the table some more and then proceeding to ramble on, often avoiding the question he had been asked, or wanting to let his son James answer it instead. However Tom wasn’t allowing this and insisted that Rupert answered them himself. At times, I'd go as far as saying that the man at the top, Rupert, seemed very out of the loop.  In contrast, his son James was full of facts and figures and had clearly been briefed very thoroughly and subsequently he came across very clued up and confident. James often tried to help his father answer difficult questions, and did the majority of the talking throughout the whole hearing. I also felt that when Rupert did speak, James was probably hovering his foot right next to his father's ready to kick him if he said something wrong!

The hearing took an unexpected turn about two hours in. Rupert Murdoch was attacked by a protestor with a plastic plate full of shaving foam. At just before 5pm, the final questioner had just begun her interrogation when the protestor struck. It all happened very suddenly. My first reaction was “Wow, Murdoch’s wife has some seriously fast reflexes!” Wendi Deng, who was wearing a bright pink jacket, literally leapt out of seat to protect her husband. And protect him she did, with a nice right armed smack over the head. *wallop* It was several seconds later before a policeman came trotting in to stop the chaos, so it was actually pretty lucky for Rupert that his wife was sat directly behind him! Sadly the protestor has given The Sun and Fox the opportunity to make Rupert the victim today, when really he isn’t. And instead of the headlines tomorrow being about the outcomes of today, they’ll more than likely be about the shaving foam pie. The protestor tweeted this just moments before "It is a far better thing that I do now than I have ever done before #splat" What I'd like to know is how the hell he got into the room? The security can't have been as good as they thought, clearly. And also how did he get a plate full of shaving foam through a room full of cameras without raising suspicion. Hmmm! Quote of the day subsequently goes to the chairman of the parliamentary committee who said "Mr Murdoch, your wife has a very good left hook." She used her right hand, but it was amusing nonetheless!

After that brief moment of hilarity, and having had the protestor escorted out by Police, the Committee resumed. An apology was offered from Chairman John and they carried on. There were two major differences that I noticed had changed since the break. 1, Journalists and members of the public had obviously been asked to leave as there was now only a row of people behind the Murdoch’s, and secondly Rupert was jacketless. It had obviously fell victim to the shaving foam. No longer were the father and son duo rocking the same look. A great shame. The last questioner continued where she left off, asking several questions before her final killer one. “Have you considered resigning?” she asked bluntly. “No” Rupert replied. “Why not?” she quickly came back. “Because people I trusted have let me down. They behaved disgracefully and betrayed the company and me, and it’s for them to pay.” Juicy!

After nearly three hours of (which I’m proud to say I watched all of) low-key questioning with no real big blows the outcome of today’s hearing was the full extent of Rupert’s ignorance over the phone hacking incidents (which he claimed had humbled him) and which led to the closure of his UK Sunday paper, News of the World. About which he said “listening to voice mails is wrong, paying police for information is wrong, and have no place in any part of the company I run. I felt ashamed at what had happened and felt that it should come to a close as we had broken our trust with our readers.” His son James admitted knowing about police officers being paid for information, something Rupert said he wasn’t aware of. He ended by saying “I was shocked, appalled and ashamed when I heard about the Millie Dowler case just two weeks ago. Apologising cannot take back what has happened, but I want those who were affected to know the depth of my regret over the invasion of their lives.” So basically, he apologised profusely but refused to take the blame for what has happened. The only point throughout the whole hearing where Rupert attempted to make an excuse for the phone hacking was when he ironically said "This is not an excuse, but News of the World is less than 1% of my company. I employ over 53,000 people around the world and so don't know everything that occurs." Now to me, personally, after he used the word 'but' it sounds an awful lot like an excuse!

At the beginning I honestly felt slightly sorry for Rupert; he looked so out of his comfort zone I wanted to give him a hug. But his time-wasting and question dodging ways were lessened as the hearing went on. He grew in confidence, probably because he knew his son was by his side and would have answers to any tricky questions asked. Along with the pie incident there were a couple of other moments I found quite amusing. When an MP started speaking in a very strong Scottish accent, which even I was struggling to follow, I genuinely thought a translator may have been needed, although one never arrived! Secondly the man who was wearing the olive tie, sat behind James, cleaned his glassed with his tie several times throughout the hearing, as well as picking his nails. He looked like he was having the time of his life….! And lastly the amount of times James said “I have no knowledge of that” was hilarious. What does he know? Does anyone know? I don’t know. And nor does he apparently! Also, ironically through the time it took to conduct the hearing the value of stocks in the Murdoch Empire went up, which probably wasn’t what the MP’s would have suspected to happen!

Sadly by this time it was now nearing 6pm and I had made plans for the evening. Considering the hearing should have finished at around 4.30 I thought I had given myself plenty of time, sadly not, so I left to go out without being able to watch the whole of Rebekah’s part. However, from what I did see, her hair had got even bigger (resembling somewhat of a lion's mane) and she seemed very poised and professional and if she was nervous it didn’t show. This may be due to the fact that it wasn’t her first time before a Committee.  Stemmed back from 2003, when she was the Editor of News of the World she attended another one on the alleged paying police for information. When she was asked if they’d paid police before she replied “We have paid police for information in the past.” But today when she was asked she said “I’ve never paid a policeman myself.” Hmm! She too, like Rupert, tended to waffle on quite a bit.

So, there we have it, it may not be the most accurate or politically correct tale of the events that occurred today, but what were you expecting from a girl who normally writes about her love for all things celebrity, in particular heat magazine and Dermot O’Leary, her need for Kurt Geigers and lipgloss and her hatred for fish and peas… I mean c’mon, I’m no Hermione Granger! Talking of whom, I’m off to finish The Philosopher’s Stone. But before I leave you: Who run the world? …WENDI!!!

Euromillions

Like many, I often dream about winning the lottery, and what I'd do with all of that money. The Euromillions, however, take it to a whole other level. It's been rolling over several times recently and last night it was confirmed that a single British ticket holder has scooped the biggest ever lottery jackpot in Europe, winning a staggering £161 million in the latest draw. One hundred and sixty one million. Woaaaah! The winning numbers were 17, 19, 38, 42 and 45, and the Lucky Stars were 9 and 10, which authorities say had odds of 116 million to one. Ridiculous!

The ticket holder, who has not yet been identified, and may not have even checked their ticket, has just become the 430th richest person in the country. In fairness I would have expected them to be a lot lower in the list, top 50 at least! They will also almost be better off than David and Victoria Beckham (who recently welcomed their new baby daughter Harper Sever into the world) with their fortune of £165m. The winner will also earn over a ridiculous £9,000 a day in interest, and if the money was piled up in notes it would be as tall as Big Ben. So jel! So anyway this got me to thinking about what I'd spend all that money on. So here comes a long list...

· First of all I'd buy a one way ticket to New York, where I'd hit 5th Avenue HARD.

· I'd also buy an apartment out there.

·   I'd purchase the pair of Christian Louboutins that Kylie wore on the X Factor.

·   I'd get a cute little fluffy puppy.

·   I'd buy several chrome Range Rovers for myself and my friends. Pimpin'

·  I'd get my Mum, Dad and brother a nicer house, whatever cars they wanted and give them all 15 million each.

·  I'd buy Jazpups a gold plated collar, lead, bed and bowl.

·  I'd take my whole family on holiday, I'm not sure where.

·  I'd also go on a massive holiday with all my friends, again I'm not sure where.

·  I'd buy a meet and greet day with Britney for myself, Emma, T and Ryan.

·  I'd give each of my Twitter followers £1,000.

·  I'd pay for Rihanna to fly over, sing and dance and then stay the night with Jaz, Kelly and I.

·  I'd buy myself my own column in Heat magazine.

·  I'd buy a life-time supply of Kit Kat Pop Chocs and Aero Bubbles.

·  I'd buy a massive trampoline that took up the whole of the garden and just bounce around.

·  I'd employ a cocktail maker who would have to accompany me everywhere so I could have Strawberry Daiquiri's whenever I wanted them.

·  I'd go to the casino with Shelley and put £1,000 on green and laugh if I lost.

·  I'd also obviously give to charity. Ones in particular being 'Sponser a puppy', Great Ormond Street and Cancer Research.

Having written all of that out, I've just realised that I haven't actually checked my ticket for last nights draw. So instead of being a wish list, it could in actual fact be a shopping list... *checks ticket* or not! Bugger.

Confessions of an Ex Bookworm, who will always be Potty for Potter.

Although it may be hard to believe seeing as I tend to only read trashy celebrity-based magazines nowadays, when I was younger (aged from around 3-11) I was an utter book-worm. I loved reading. If I wasn't playing in the park, you'd find me either in my local Library choosing a book or at home with my head stuck behind the cover of one. I loved absolutely nothing more than being transported into different situations, different worlds and being introduced to new people all via the magic of words and of course using a helping-hand of a good imagination.

Reading was strongly encouraged by my Grandma who used to be a teacher before she retired. She'd read to me all the time and I loved it. However bed time stories were my favourite; my Mum would read to me, tuck me up in bed, turn the light out and leave me to drift off to sleep whilst she went downstairs and watched Eastenders. (I was the ideal child who loved her sleep and her 7pm bedtime!) However as soon as Mum left my room, I'd un-tuck myself, put the light back on and start reading to my teddies until my eyelids would be too heavy to keep open and I inevitably fell asleep. Before going to sleep herself, my Mum would come back in to my room, remove the book from across my face and turn the light back off. This was a nightly routine. The reading to the teddies part stopped around the age of 5, when I had a new little baby brother to read to instead. I'd wake him up by jumping into his cot with him, and just like I did to my teddies, I'd read to him until I fell asleep. My Mum would then have to remove the book from both of our faces...! This routine didn't last long mainly because the novelty of having a baby brother wore off and also sleeping in a cot wasn't exactly comfortable at the grand age of 5, so I returned to my own bed and read to my teddies again instead!

I was a member of my local Library (Ensbury Park) at the tender age of 2. I was choosing my own books at that age also. I remember having 3 'tickets' that you would swap for books. I was such a regular that the 'Library Ladies' would let me take more than 3, sometimes up to 10 because they knew it wouldn't be long before I was back returning and swapping for another book! I would go at least once a week, sometimes as much as every other day. Like I said, I was a serious bookworm! The ladies would buy me a new bookmark on every birthday and Christmas. They were truly lovely! Sadly a mixture of things happened as I grew up which meant I didn't read as much. I moved meaning that the Library I had spent my childhood growing up in was now a 15 minute car journey (which isn't much, but compared to the 2 minute walk, it seemed like a lifetime away!) And I found a new hobby - boys. And was also introduced to make-up and magazines.

However, before all of these distractions I remember at Primary school having to work my way through the tedious but compulsory series of Letterland, Spot the dog and Biff, Chip and Kipper and their Magic Key adventures, until assisted reading was no longer needed. It was in year 3 and I was finally allowed to be let out into the deep depths of the school library, all by myself. I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was over the moon. I was repeatedly told to read slower, as I tried to storm my way through my last Biff and Chip, because I knew the minute after reading aloud that last sentence the Library would be all mine. For the first time, at school, I wouldn't be told what to read, but instead I could make that really grown up decision of what book to pick, all by myself. Even though I had been doing this for years at my local Library, it was still a massive achievement. When the time finally arrived I think I spent about half an hour before choosing the first book to take out. I settled for one of Enid Blyton's Secret Seven. I remember going home super excited because I had a book which had a black sticker on it, which pretty much meant you were a Top-dog! I rang my Grandma and told her the good news, not only was I allowed to pick out my own books, but I was the first in my year to do so. Geek! She congratulated me, and the next day popped round with a little present. She had bought me a new book which she had seen reviewed in the Guardian. It was written by an unknown author called J.K. Rowling. The book was titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. And that is where my love for all things Wizardry, Hogwarts and Harry-related begun.

In some circles of people I know, admitting that you're an avid Harry Potter fan is like confessing that you suck your thumb and snuggle a blanket. FYI I proudly do both of those too! Many of my family and friends fail to see the appeal of what I consider to be the greatest series of books written. Bold statement, but I truly believe it. It really aggravates me when people talk of their dislike for Harry. When I ask if they've tried reading any of the popular books and they bluntly respond "no" I genuinely want to throw a snitch at their head in the attempt of knocking some sense into them!

The Harry Potter books are the fastest selling books of all time. There are millions of super fans worldwide. But why do I, shallow, celebrity-obsessed, bag-and-shoe-fanatic, Emma Jamieson love Harry Potter so much? It's a mixture of things. A part of me has always been interested in magic. Simple card tricks amaze me. So imagine my absolute delight when I was welcomed into a world where invisibility cloaks were the norm. I for one would love to be able to wave a wand, conduct a spell and turn someone into a frog. I mean who wouldn't?! Also the characters are so easy to bond with. I genuinely believe that if I ever met Harry, Ron or Hermione we'd get along perfectly! Maybe that's because I've grown up with them. At the time of reading the books we were similar ages. Harry and the gang and I go way back! As I've already stated, I started reading the books way before the huge Harry hype kicked in. I waited eagerly for each next instalment. The waiting game killed me. As soon as I finished one book I needed my next Harry fix. I genuinely believe that Harry to me is what cocaine is to others! Another reason is because it gave me a whole different world to escape too. People often say how they believe that I live in my own world. This may be true, but whilst reading the Harry Potter books, I lived in their magical world, not my own! On a trip to London, when I was about 10, I made my Dad take me to Kings Cross Station in the hope that if I believed enough, I'd find platform 9 3/4 and be able to enter the world I so longed to be in. I didn't find it, sadly. For some this may seem delusional but when you read the books, the world in which the story is set captivates you. For the time you’re reading, you’re taken away from dismal realities to a place where, even when it’s at war, is a better alternative.

As for J.K. Rowling, she is an absolute Goddess. She's a genius, an incredible and stunning author and I'm yet to find another with talents that match hers. Subsequently she is in my list of top five people of who I'd pretty much do anything to meet. (The other four being Victoria Beckham, Britney, Julie Andrews and Dermot - I'm back to being the shallow celebrity lover that you all know!) If I were to meet her I'd thank her. Thank her for giving me Harry. Thank her for giving me another home; Hogwarts. But most importantly I'd thank her for helping me reignite my love for reading and reminding me that books are important.

She has a way with words like no other. Her style captivates you and she captures the moment perfectly every time and immerses you in the lines on the page you’re reading. Rowling’s language is fluid and easy-to-read, with the sentences rolling off the invisible tongue in your mind making it the perfect book for all, even an innocent child with modest English skills. Her descriptions are so vivid that the films weren't needed, if you read the books you would be instantly transported to Hogwarts through the pages, you didn't need Warner Brothers - they were just a bonus! Harry Potter has and probably always will be my favourite set of books, and that is all down to Rowling's enticing, addictive, believable and inviting writing techniques. So much so that I remember being so scared of my first encounter with Voldemort that I had to sleep with the light on for about a week after reading it, crying uncontrollably when Dumbledore died, and laughing out loud at Ron's misfortunes. I also remember queuing for several hours in Asda to purchase the final book at midnight, not being able to wait to start reading it, so starting in the car on the journey home. Then refusing to sleep until I had read the whole book. This took a total of eight hours. And for all of those whole eight hours I turned my phone off, and didn't look at the internet once. (For those who don't know me, this is pretty much unheard of for me. I can barely go eight minutes without checking my phone or the internet, let alone hours!) I remember going downstairs after finishing it and my mum being horrified because my eyes were so bloodshot where I hadn't slept and had been reading for so long. Harry was well worth it! Although there may not be any more books to come (a terrible shame) that doesn't mean it's the end. J.K Rowling once said that "Harry Potter will never end. It will only end when there are none who remain loyal to him." And I for one, having grown up in the Harry Potter generation, will remain loyal forever.

I always think about how much I miss reading and how I should make time to read more books, but I never get round to flipping doing it. Instead I've become a technology freak and waste my time on my phone, Twitter, facebook, writing blogs and watching rubbish on television. Although Harry Potter is the only book I'd ever put before technology, I think it's time to back away from the phone and start reading more books. I miss the excitement of not knowing where you are going to be taken when you first open a book. I miss the smell of old and over used but dearly loved books that my Grandma used to lend me. I also miss the feeling of opening a brand new book for the first time, and holding pages that never been touched by anyone else. Basically I miss reading. Nowadays the only reading I do is texts, tweets, facebook status', heat magazine and other celebrity based articles - not very impressive.

If anyone has any books that they would recommend, please do let me know by leaving a comment. But before I read any others, I'm going to reignite my love affair with Hogwarts by reading my seven favourite books again. It's been a while since I've felt their pages and seeing as I'm currently counting down the hours, minutes and seconds until Friday midnight which is when I will be watching the final film (which I have no doubt will be amazing, yet incredibly emotional) I think it's the perfect time to go back to the very beginning and once again live and breathe the magic and brilliance that is; Harry Potter.

Disappointed.

In the last week I have been disappointed more times than I care to remember. Disappointed with myself. Disappointed with certain situations. Disappointed with the British weather. Disappointed with the lack of Strawberry Daiquiri's I've consumed recently. And sadly, disappointed with friends. Therefore a blog was obviously going to have to be written about the little adjective that is 'disappointed.'

I remember when I was 5, I'd just come back from school and my mum wouldn't let me go to the park because I had a dentist appointment. I was furious, how dare she make me go to the dentist when there were swings, slides and monkey bars calling my name. So, being the brat that I was, I wanted to make her furious too. I wanted to make her feel the pain that I was feeling, having not been allowed to go to the park.

My dad was working away at the time and had sent my Mum a huge, expensive bouquet of flowers which were displayed proudly on the fireplace, next to pictures of me, naturally. Bingo. I'd found my target. I walked up to the fireplace, took one last look at the vase, and pushed it, pushed it until it fell off. *cue evil laugh* My Mum obviously heard the bang and came rushing in, she saw the vase smashed to pieces and the flowers sprawled all across the floor and calmly asked how it had happened. To which I didn't reply, I just simply pointed at my four week old baby brother. Yep, that's right. It was all Liam's fault! (To date, I think I've blamed anything and everything that has ever gone wrong on Liam. He's brilliant in that respect!) Looking back now, it wasn't the best of lies. He was only four weeks old so he couldn't crawl or walk and being strapped into a baby bouncer on the other side of the room was a massive flaw in my lie, it was also pretty obvious he hadn't done it because he could barely stay awake for longer than ten minutes let alone pick up and then drop a heavy vase, but regardless, it was worth a try!

I remember my mum briefly telling me off, saying that my Dad would have to be told (which naturally sent shivers down my spine) and then just putting me into the car and driving me to the dentist in complete silence, with not even the radio on. This was massively upsetting, I used to (and still do) love singing and dancing along to the radio when in the car. My Dad returned home the following day and sat me down in the lounge along with my Mum. I was firstly told that not only was it naughty to push the vase off the fireplace but it was also dangerous and I could have hurt myself on the broken glass. But what was even naughtier was the fact that I had lied and had blamed Liam, which was when the old corker-of-a-line "We're not angry, we're just disappointed" came out. Now, being only five years of age this kind of washed over me (if I'm honest I probably turned off after I heard the words "not angry" and thought reeeesult!) but little did I know that although that may have been the first time I'd heard that specific phrase, it certainly wouldn't be the last...

People always say that there's nothing worse than having people (or monkeys) being disappointed in you, hence the old "I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed" line that countless parents use on a daily basis. A phrase that is possibly the most powerful and disheartening thing anyone, let alone a child, can endure. I mean, anger, I can deal with. Anger can be solved with sucking up - a cup of tea and promising to walk the dog for Mum and a bar of galaxy for Dad. Job done. Disappointment though? That's a completely different ball-game.

Disappointment is a killer. It's the type of thing you think about over and over in your head, until you come to the conclusion that actually you are the worst person to have ever lived, that there is no longer any reason or need for your existence and that the world would actually be a better place without you... Just because whilst attempting to be Nigella Lawson you may have accidently set fire to the oven, which subsequently set the fire alarm off at 5am, whilst everyone else in the house was sound asleep, after you'd returned from a night out and were probably extremely drunk - but you can't quite remember, does not make you a bad person, or a disappointment. (Yet another prime example of when I've had to hear the most-feared phrase from my parents!) Whenever my parents have used it on me I've always felt a massive sense of guilt, but at the same time, I've felt relieved, in a "phew, they're not angry, I may still get that Chanel bag after all" kind of way... ahem, stiiiiill waiting for Dad.

Now... what's worse than people being disappointed in you? Is being disappointed in others. Especially when it comes from those who you don't expect it from. Those who you think would and should know better. And what's even worse than that? Being disappointed in yourself. That's the absolute worse. You can get over your disappointment in others because it was their doing, therefore their mistake, but when its yourself that you're disappointed in it's your fault and you subsequently have no one else to blame apart from yourself. No matter how hard you try to shift the blame onto your little brother... I for one am fed up of feeling disappointed, but I point blank refuse to lower my hopes and expectations of people in general, my friends or myself, just so it makes disappointment easier to accept. I'd rather expect more and be disappointed, than settle, accept and be happy with less.

Conclusion: there isn't much worse than feeling disappointed. Well apart from being hungry, and not being Rihanna... that, in my books is considered a lot worse. Isn't that right Kelly..!x

The end of 'The World'

Well, well, well...! Where do I start?! James Murdoch (Rupert's son) has just announced that this Sunday (10th July) will see the last ever issue of the News Of The World being published, all of the profits from which will be donated to good causes. Woah!

For those of you who have been hiding under a rock, or have an allergy to the news, let me give you a quick overview of what has happened to cause such drastic actions. I don't suppose you remember the whole 'celebrity phone hacking' saga last year? Sienna Miller along with other celebrities and politicians had their phones hacked, and voicemails listened to. This obviously caused an uproar, with many celebrities taking the NOTW to court. Earlier this week it was publically announced that the missing school girl Milly Dowler's (who went missing back in 2002) phone had also been intercepted by the Sunday newspaper. Subsequently her voicemails were being listened to by journalists and then deleted to make room for any new ones which led the police and her family to believe that she may still be alive, interfering with the search for her. It has now also been revealed that victims of the 7/7 bomb attack on London may have also had their phones hacked into.

Having studied Journalism at Uni for 3 years, and desperately wanting to be a journalist (ideally more celebrity based) I fully understand the need for stories, without good stories you are not going to sell your magazine or newspaper. However, to go about getting them in such an inhuman, outrageously appalling and sick way is utterly beyond me. People were planning on boycotting NOTW by not buying it or in some cases even stocking the popular newspaper this weekend and earlier today Sainsburys announced that they would no longer be advertising in the newspaper either.

Anyway, so there I was snuggled in bed watching the Harry Potter Premiere live on the internet because I sadly couldn't make it (and I'm absolutely gutted because it looks incredible) when a certain tweet caught my attention. "NOTW to seize publication after this Sunday." HOLD ON A SECOND. Pardon? What? Firstly I presumed they meant 'cease' and not 'seize' and secondly what the hell? No more News Of The World? I'm not going to lie, I panicked, before this whole phone hacking situation became public it was my favourite Sunday newspaper, by miles. It's the first thing I look at on a Sunday morning when I arrive at work, I'll read all of the front pages but the only newspaper I'll normally read properly is NOTW. Bugger, looks like I'm going to have to find a new favourite. Step forward 'The People' (I'm joking, obviously!)

NOTW is England's most popular newspaper selling over 2.7 million copies every week. It's a British institution that has been running for 168 years since 1843, and it seems such a shame to be losing the whole paper, including many innocent hardworking journalists (an apparent 200 jobs have been lost) instead of blaming and punishing those who did wrong. Although nothing has yet been proved it would appear that Murdock will be keeping his profits and has sacrificed the whole of the newspaper and it's staff to save Rebekah Brooks (the lady with the huge crazy ginger hair, who was the Editor at the time of Milly Dowler's disappearance), which to me seems absolutely ridiculous. Brooks has claimed that she knew nothing about the phone hacking, although plenty of other sources have come forward saying otherwise..

It is now rumoured that because of the sudden closure The Sun will now become a 7-day-a-week publication which will start from late July/early August. Apparently thesunonsunday.co.uk/.com domains were registered just two days ago (5th July). Watch this space..

I highly doubt this will be the end of it and I predict that sadly there will be plenty more shocking revelations to follow. Subsequently I cannot freaking wait for Question Time (I bet you never thought to hear that from me, nor did I expect to say it. Jesus!) and I also await Brooks' resignation.. although we'll see if that ever materialises because at the moment it is looking unlikely.

All that's left to say is RIP NOTW, but more importantly, RIP Fabulous magazine, you've helped me get through many a tedious/hungover Sunday at work, and for that I will be enernally grateful. Thank you!

Read the News Corporation deputy chief operating officer and News International chairman James Murdoch full statement below:

"I have important things to say about the News of the World and the steps we are taking to address the very serious problems that have occurred.

It is only right that you as colleagues at News International are first to hear what I have to say and that you hear it directly from me. So thank you very much for coming here and listening.

You do not need to be told that The News of the World is 168 years old. That it is read by more people than any other English language newspaper. That it has enjoyed support from Britain’s largest advertisers. And that it has a proud history of fighting crime, exposing wrong-doing and regularly setting the news agenda for the nation.

When I tell people why I am proud to be part of News Corporation, I say that our commitment to journalism and a free press is one of the things that sets us apart. Your work is a credit to this.

The good things the News of the World does, however, have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong. Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our Company.

The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself.

In 2006, the police focused their investigations on two men. Both went to jail. But the

News of the World and News International failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose.

Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued.

As a result, the News of the World and News International wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one reporter. We now have voluntarily given evidence to the police that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences.

This was not the only fault.

The paper made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts. This was wrong.

The Company paid out-of-court settlements approved by me. I now know that I did not have a complete picture when I did so. This was wrong and is a matter of serious regret.

Currently, there are two major and ongoing police investigations. We are cooperating fully and actively with both. You know that it was News International who voluntarily brought evidence that led to opening Operation Weeting and Operation Elveden. This full cooperation will continue until the Police’s work is done.

We have also admitted liability in civil cases. Already, we have settled a number of prominent cases and set up a Compensation Scheme, with cases to be adjudicated by former High Court judge Sir Charles Gray. Apologising and making amends is the right thing to do.

Inside the Company, we set up a Management and Standards Committee that is working on these issues and that has hired Olswang to examine past failings and recommend systems and practices that over time should become standards for the industry. We have committed to publishing Olswang’s terms of reference and eventual recommendations in a way that is open and transparent.

We have welcomed broad public inquiries into press standards and police practices and will cooperate with them fully.

So, just as I acknowledge we have made mistakes, I hope you and everyone inside and outside the Company will acknowledge that we are doing our utmost to fix them, atone for them, and make sure they never happen again.

Having consulted senior colleagues, I have decided that we must take further decisive action with respect to the paper.

This Sunday will be the last issue of the News of the World.

Colin Myler will edit the final edition of the paper.

In addition, I have decided that all of the News of the World’s revenue this weekend will go to good causes.

While we may never be able to make up for distress that has been caused, the right thing to do is for every penny of the circulation revenue we receive this weekend to go to organisations – many of whom are long-term friends and partners – that improve life in Britain and are devoted to treating others with dignity.

We will run no commercial advertisements this weekend. Any advertising space in this last edition will be donated to causes and charities that wish to expose their good works to our millions of readers.

These are strong measures. They are made humbly and out of respect. I am convinced they are the right thing to do.

Many of you, if not the vast majority of you, are either new to the Company or have had no connection to the News of the World during the years when egregious behaviour occurred.

I can understand how unfair these decisions may feel. Particularly, for colleagues who will leave the Company. Of course, we will communicate next steps in detail and begin appropriate consultations.

You may see these changes as a price loyal staff at the News of the World are paying for the transgressions of others. So please hear me when I say that your good work is a credit to journalism. I do not want the legitimacy of what you do to be compromised by acts of others. I want all journalism at News International to be beyond reproach. I insist that this organisation lives up to the standard of behaviour we expect of others. And, finally, I want you all to know that it is critical that the integrity of every journalist who has played fairly is restored.

Thank you for listening.”

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside

The task at hand is to write a column for the Daily Echo, of roughly 700 words, on a topic of my choice. I won’t lie, my first idea was shoes. I love shoes - stupidly high ones in particular. I could easily write 7000 words on them, let alone just 700! However, I wanted to choose a topic that wouldn’t just appeal to myself but hopefully to those who may read this as well. And what’s the one thing that we have in common? (Even though the likelihood is that I’ve never met you and you’ve probably never heard of me?) Is the fact that we live in/around, are visiting or have an interest in the area of Bournemouth; hence you’re reading this in our local paper! So what better topic to write my column on than my own home town?

Living in just one place for all of my 22 years could be seen as quite tedious, but when the place that I call home is the popular, vibrant, cosmopolitan town that is Bournemouth, I’m sure you’ll agree that the word tedious doesn’t come into the equation.

The humble town that I have been lucky enough to grow up in has some of the most renowned nightlife that the UK has to offer (this is probably my personal favourite part) along with the vast amount of different restaurants for those who love to eat, and for those who (like myself) love to shop, Bournemouth also offers a great variety of these too. Then we have the luscious green, award-winning gardens that run through the centre of town and the beautiful scenic countryside that surrounds us. And all of this is topped off with seven miles of golden sandy beaches which have won numerous awards for our seafront town. Talk about the cherry on top! Is it any wonder why when I was studying at Southampton University for three years I chose to live at home?

Sadly, I shamefully take a lot of what our town has to offer for granted. I recently met a girl who came from Kansas in America and was visiting family over here. When a friend asked how long it took for her to get to the beach she replied “Fifteen hours.” I was stunned. FIFTEEN HOURS? Was she joking? Now, admittedly, geography has never been my strongest subject, and even though I’ve visited America several times fifteen hours seemed a tad extreme. I clearly didn’t have a grasp on how big America actually is! Needless to say she wasn’t lying, and was subsequently VERY excited about the prospect of being less than 10 minutes away from the beach and being able to visit it whenever she wanted! I, however, was suddenly overcome with guilt. I’ve had this charming beach (quite literally) on my doorstep for the last 22 years and I haven’t made good use out of it at all. I normally avoid it like the plague in the daytime during summer, but not this year, oh no! This year I’ll be down there armed with a bucket and spade along with the thousands of eager tourists who visit every year. Some travel numerous hours just for the day; the least I could do is walk the twenty minutes it takes from my front door! I almost feel as if I owe Bournemouth beach and all the people who work so hard to keep it up to standard an apology for not appreciating it as much as it deserves. Sorry!

As the well-known song states “Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside, I do like to be beside the Sea! So just let me be beside the seaside, I’ll be beside myself with glee.” The seaside, Bournemouth seaside to be precise, is exactly where you’ll find me as soon as the sunshine decides to stay for longer than just one day! And although I soon hope to leave and move on to join the hustle and bustle of London, there’s nothing quite like home, so that’s why I’ll always be a very proud Bournemouth girl! And who knows, maybe one day I’ll be making trips down especially just to use the beach!