Hi July

It’s Monday which would normally mean me dreading the beginning of another week at work and waking up to that all-too-familiar ‘Monday morning feeling’ but today I had other things to dwell over. Today was the 1^st of July. The first of July. July being the seventh month of the year. Seventh!!! What on earth? How did we get here so quickly?

Since waking up this morning I still haven't really got over the fact that we are half way through the year already and subsequently spent a lot of today wondering where the last six months have gone. My conclusion: time really does fly! Now there's something something I thought I'd never say. When I was younger I never understood the whole "time flying" concept, nor did I believe people who said it. Time didn't seem to fly at all, I remember the majority of my time at school was spent willing it away so it could be the next half term or holiday, yet they’d always take forever to come around. That most definitely isn't the case anymore. Time absolutely whizzes by. It was my birthday two months ago, Christmas six months ago and the Olympics are nearing on a year ago. Craziness. 

 

Who knows what the latter half of 2013 has in store, but I’m determined to make it better than the first half. 

So c’mon July, give me what you’ve got!

Things I’m hoping will happen in July:

- For there to be non-stop sunshine and the minimum temperature being 20°
- Lots of cocktail clubs
- To have a BBQ one evening down on Sandbanks beach
- To have Pimms o'clock in Hyde Park
- To watch the sunset over the city from Primrose Hill
- And lastly to be given the entire month off work, whilst being paid double. Pretty please?

The pro's of being a reality star..

I was recently asked whether I would like to start writing a few television reviews. Being the TV junkie that I am I obviously jumped at the chance and sat down on Wednesday evening in front of TOWIE ready to take some notes and muster up a practise review to see if they liked my style of writing. Little did I know how upset and involved I would become within the episode…

Chloe Sims, Joey’s older cousin (aka the one with the massive set of veneers) went for an interview at Essex Style magazine. Ooh, I thought, I wonder how she managed that? When asked for her CV Chloe handed over a piece of A4: which was only half full and printed in pink. Elle Woods wannabe. We were off to a good start...

The first question of the interview was “What do you know about Essex Style magazine?” And Chloe’s reply was “Err… it’s a magazine based in Essex.” Right. Now my Dad always told me that Rule number 1 before going to an interview was to do some background research. Know about the company, drop in facts: show that you’re interested and know about them. So far, not so good then Chloe! Next the interviewer said “So you’ve got no formal training in Journalism or magazines?” to which Chloe responded “No, not Journalism. I worked in a fashion company at 21, where I started off as a showroom model, you know where they fit the stuff on you.” Oh yeah, pretty similar roles then Chloe… ahem. Next question of the interview was “Do you have any interest in current affairs?” Chloe’s response: “what like…..?” Interviewer: “…like the news” Chloe: “No. I don’t watch the news.” When told that the role would involve a lot of hard work Chloe came up with the genius answer of “Yeah I used to work in a card shop when I was 16, so I’m used to working” Then when finally asked what sets her apart from others Chloe replied “Well, obviously I’m serious about fashion, I’m and hard worker and also I’m just like bustin’ to have a job like this. So, I dunno if anyone wants it as much as me” ERR HELLO, OVER HERE *waves* (Oh and FYI those were her exact words.)

A few scenes later Chloe announced that she had been given the job. Yay for Chloe!!... I on the other hand started to question anything and everything I had ever been told regarding applying for jobs and interviews as well as just questioning life in general. What is the point? After that ridiculous revelation I was left feeling very inadequate and ready to turn the TV off and sulk. I also contemplated deleting over half of my CV and changing the font colour to pink whilst I was at it.

Chloe had somehow managed to get a job on a magazine after just ONE interview (one that appeared to be a massive train-wreck.) For a while I honestly got so sucked into it all that I thought I had been doing something wrong, so instead of applying for jobs I debated going on TOWIE and getting a magazine column that way… then I remembered that it’s all just a silly “reality” show that doesn’t actually portray “reality” at all and that I was watching it to write a review on it, not to question the meaning of life. Phew. So I sat back down, guzzled down some Vanilla flavoured Coke (it’s back, and it’s just as good as it used to be. It’s also on buy one get one free at Waitrose FYI) and carried on writing my review: which I sent off and received positive feedback on. I will subsequently now be writing frequent reviews (on TOWIE and other programmes) for Entertainmentwise.com

….Ah, I do like a happy ending!!

The most perfect bedtime story

We all have problems. We all have worries. We all feel like we carry the weight of the world on our shoulders at some point. Sometimes we become so caught up in our own dramas that we forget how small not only our problems are, but also how small we are ourselves.

Last night I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I was tucked up in bed by 8pm and ready to catch an early night (I’ve been feeling very under the weather recently) when I realised I hadn’t yet closed my window: oh man! The mere thought of having to get up out of bed to open the curtain and then close the window left me feeling exhausted (even though it was a mere one step away!) but boy was I happy when I did. When I opened my curtains I couldn’t believe my eyes. The sky was all kind of beautiful shades of pink teamed with reds, mauves, oranges and yellows. The sun was saying goodnight after another day: it was absolutely stunning and I had front-row seat what with being 8 floors up! (it certainly has it advantages when it comes to watching sunsets and fireworks, although it also has its downfalls when the lifts are out of order!) I must have stood at my window for a good minute just gawping before I eventually grabbed my phone and snapped a couple of pictures. I didn't even need to use a filter on Instagram (thats when you know that something is naturally beautiful: when you don't feel the need to 'Valencia' it up!)

Watching the delightful scene made me feel really small. I often feel the same when looking out at the ocean. It really helps puts things into perspective: there’s a whole big wide world out there and my problems and I are such a teeny tiny part of it. It was so sad seeing the sun and vibrant colours disappear but I’m so thankful that I got to see it. I’m also really thankful that I left my window open and decided to close it at that particular moment.

Having watched the sun set completely, the pinks and oranges faded away and the clouds carried on floating by on their own little journey: I got back on to mine. I guzzled a hot ribena, had a soother and hopped back into bed and called it a night. (I know, I know, sometimes I really do lead such a rockstar life!!!)

Thanks for the best bedtime story I’ve had in a long while World! I can’t wait for another soon, please…

My Weekend

I’m not normally one to write blogs about particular weekends (although to be fair in recent months I haven’t been one to write blogs in general!) however the weekend that has just passed (8^th and 9^th of June) was too good to not tell you all about it. Having written that, I fear I’m building you up for quite some disappointment. Let me tell you straight up that nothing spectacular happened. I didn’t meet Victoria Beckham, Ryan Gosling didn’t call and confess his undying love, I didn’t win the lottery nor did I win an all paid trip around the world or invent something that would make me millions. I did however spend the weekend back at home in Bournemouth, with my family enjoying the gorgeous weather that has finally arrived.

My Dad’s birthday is on the 8^th of June. Last year I didn’t go home to see him. I did however take an entire week off to celebrate Jaz, my dog’s birthday! And boy I haven’t heard the end of it since. “Oh so you can take a week off to see Jaz, yet nothing for mine!” blah blah etc. Anyway after booking another week off this year for Jaz (she comes first, period.) I thought I’d make the effort to see my darling Father on his 50-something-th birthday this year. Luckily for him it fell on my weekend off. And it meant I could have a nice meal out without having to pay a penny. I was sold.

My weekend started in an empty first class carriage on the 21.00 train from Waterloo. I had the entire carriage to myself until Brockenhurst where an elderly gentleman got on and proceeded to cut up a newspaper. This reminded me a lot of my Grandpa, he was forever cutting out articles for me from his Guardian, so I didn’t mind sharing my carriage with this particular passenger. Although I quite enjoyed having the carriage to myself (I could sing Beyoncé as loud as I wanted and could sprawl across several seats without being frowned upon) I missed people watching. I love watching others. People are so fascinating. I was on a relatively late train - it was cheap and I am poor –I wouldn’t get in to Bournemouth until gone 11pm: this, I thought, would mean that (the main reason I was actually going home) Jaz wouldn’t be there to greet me, as she is normally (with my Dad, obviously!) But lone behold as the train pulled into the station there she was, my favourite furry friend with her tail wagging like a trooper - she knows the deal! After saying hello to practically everyone else on the platform, she finally spotted me and altered her attention respectively. After the compulsory first (few) picture(s) of our reunion she grew tired of the camera (as you can see in the above photo - she wouldn't even look at the camera!) and I decided to call it a night and head to bed.

I slept so well. There’s nothing quite like your bed at home. I also didn’t have a family of 5 upstairs running around like a herd of animals, like I do in the flat above me back in London. It was bliss. Saturday was my Dad’s birthday.  I went down to give him his card and present – me. I think he was chuffed. I mean, who wouldn’t be? After that we went over to my Aunty Christine’s, as it was her birthday the day before. I was then dropped at the hairdressers whilst they all went for a dog walk. I have my hair cut by my friend Hannah. I’ve known Hannah since college, we bonded over our love of Mean Girls and haven’t looked back since. Hannah is another reason why I like going home. Hannah’s a good egg. A good egg that makes my hair look fabulous. I opted for some extra blonde this time, seeing as it’s summer and what not – YOLO! After a good gossip, a haircut and some highlights it was time for lunch. I had a sausage sandwich.

I spent the afternoon just chillin’ and after my brother finished work we head out for dinner. The destination of which was La Pergola, an Italian restaurant in Lyndhurst (middle of the New Forest). As we drove there I couldn’t help but notice how green it all was. Very picturesque. Having arrived at the restaurant I noticed a rabbit and 3 chickens in the car park. Oh how I love the countryside! The meal was nice, I had a pasta carbonara dish, with added chicken (possibly a little friend of the ones I saw in the car park!) It was nice. The restaurant was busy and had masquerade masks hanging on every wall. My Dad stated how it was like a Venetian masked ball; I stated how it was like Gossip Girl. Ahem! After the meal we went for a drive through the New Forest stopping off on numerous occasions so I could snap a few photos. Living in a city has really made me appreciate how beautiful the area I grew up in is. On our country ramble we came across some cows, ponies, a foal, a mother duck and ducklings, the sunset and a golden letterbox, although I have one of those in Stratford! After that I went home and slept, well again – thanks for asking.

Sunday morning involved a breakfast out and then we head over to my Grandma’s to collect her for our family day out. We were going to Brownsea Island for the day, for afternoon tea in the Castle. The sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. We arrived in Sandbanks quite early so Liam and I went for a little stroll along the beach - who knew that we could actually get on? I definitely didn’t. Living apart helps the situation: it means I don’t have to put up with his constant BS and can instead enjoy/tolerate his company for the small periods of time that I’m back home! We took plenty of photos, then headed back to hop on the short boat trip (no more than 10 minutes) across the harbour to Brownsea Island. The Castle is privately owned by the John Lewis Partnership, so unless you are employed by them you unfortunately can’t visit. (However if you are a partner I urge you to take a trip, it really makes for the perfect day out.) We spent our afternoon exploring the grounds, wandering along the private beach and enjoying the afternoon tea in the warm June temperature. It really was the perfect day for it and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. On the boat back we went past Harry Redknapp’s house, who just so happened to be out in his garden. So me being the loud mouth that I am shouted “Hi Harry” and waved, he waved back. Babe! I then, very briefly, saw one of the very few friends I’ve kept in touch with from school: Jackson (Emma). We discussed plans of an America adventure we’re going to try and save for next year. Emma is off to Alaska in August to study Marine Biology for a year and I’m hoping to go and visit her at the end of it. We then hope to head to Vegas (to see Britney) LA and New York, but we’ll see how the saving goes!

Even though it was a fleeting visit, less than 48 hours, and although like I earlier said nothing terribly extraordinary happened, I really enjoyed spending the weekend with my family - and there wasn’t even one single cocktail involved – who knew you could have fun without cocktails?! I’m writing this whilst sitting on the train back to London. I’m in first class again, naturally(!!!) but there are several other people around this evening, which is making it a little more entertaining. The man directly opposite me has fallen asleep with his mouth wide open and dribble drooling down his chin. The man behind him is talking into a Dictaphone about a lady wearing a red dress with a dog and then listening it back to himself, and the guy behind him keeps poking his head above the chair to look around! Ahhh public transport, you can’t beat it! I hope you’ve all had a great weekend too x

A lesson for us all..

I’m often known to speak before I think. A couple of highlights (that I can remember) have included: “I wonder if tree’s go to school.” And “do dogs that live in France bark in French?” Anyway these were quite light hearted and non-offensive, unlike some of the things I saw flying around on social networks yesterday.

Yesterday was Wednesday May 22^nd, for me it was an average day: I worked and then followed that by having a quiet night in. It was all in all very non-eventful, unlike those who were in Woolwich. Yesterday was also the day a British soldier was horrifically murdered in broad daylight, in front of many members of public on a street in South East London.

I first heard about this heinous act via twitter whilst on my lunch break. It was all quite vague at that time (around 3.30pm) and many details contradicted one another. However what was clear was that someone had been viciously attacked and subsequently killed, in front of people on a popular street, in the middle of the afternoon. I was horrified. My work colleague who I was with however didn’t seem so fazed. In response to my shock she simply said “you’re not in Bournemouth anymore Emma!” She then went on to tell me that two of her friends had been stabbed and killed whilst she was still at school. The only stabbing that I knew of at my old school was performed by myself, on myself, with a pencil just after sharpening it, which was a far cry from the stories I was hearing about.

Having left work a few hours later the details of the act were becoming clearer and it was all anyone seemed to be talking about (apart from some delightfully self-centered Bournemouth promoters who I still – I’m not sure why – have on Facebook blabbering on about the upcoming 7’s this weekend. Zzzz!) The majority of people were talking of their absolute horror at the story, others were discussing what they would have done, I came across one boy who’s mum had actually been one of the incredibly brave women who went up to the attackers and spoke to them, trying to diffuse the situation whilst waiting for the police to arrive, and then there were a small minority who were speaking/typing before thinking (or at least that’s what I hope they were doing – I wouldn’t like to think that anyone with half a brain would actually think it was acceptable to be saying some of the things I was reading.) It’s a shame that a small minority can have such an impact and cause such distress, whether it is through words or actions.

There were people blaming and stereotyping the Islamic religion, saying that Muslims should be deported because they shared the same religion as the attackers. Others were blaming it on the attackers race and where they were from. It was disgusting and heartbreaking to read such ignorance. There is sadly going to be bad in every religion, but there is also a whole lot of good. There is inevitably going to be bad in every race, but there is also undoubtedly a lot of good. A religion, beliefs or race do not define a person, their actions do. The actions shown yesterday by those two men were indescribably evil, however this does not mean that every Muslim is evil. Having been bought up for 22 years in a predominately white area moving to East London was somewhat of a culture change, but I’d like to think that I’ve embraced it. I’m friends with people from all different backgrounds, races, religions and I’m intrigued to hear and learn about them. They also in return enjoy hearing about my stereotypical “2.4” up bringing, in a nice house with a big garden and a dog! If everyone thought the same way, looked the same way and acted the same way life would be boring. Diversity makes it interesting, and this should be a fact celebrated.

Sometimes I look on social media as a blessing. I mean I often wonder how I ever found out anything before and I absolutely love the fact that I can keep up-to-date on Victoria Beckham’s day-to-day life (she went jogging the other day in personalized trainers!) However on days like yesterday social media can be somewhat of a curse. It spreads a vast array of incorrect facts and comments like wildfire. It also gives a massive platform to those who act ignorantly and naïvely whilst coming across as being uninformed to speak their mind: this was last night proven to be quite a scary read. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for the right of freedom of speech and I’m all up for a clash of opinions (of course I am, hello I write a blog!) but sometimes it wouldn’t hurt for us all (myself included) to think before we speak!

And with that I’m going to leave you with a quote I came across last night: “We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.” Martin Luther King, Jr. 

And another thought provoking quote from my friend Ema: “Why do we kill people, who kill people, to show people, that killing people is wrong?”

Goodnight. Stay safe and R.I.P Lee Rigby.