Harry Potter Studio Tour

Hi All,

A few weeks back I went to the Harry Potter Studio's in London so thought I would share some photos with you.

Around 2 years ago now I went to Harry Potter World in Florida which is absolutely incredible. If you haven't been to any of them I recommend going!!! They are both quite different, London is very much props & parts of the set whereas Florida has been built so you can walk into Hogwarts, Shops and down Diagon Alley, which is amazing and very surreal.

London studios was fantastic as you got to see the effort that went into the films, you don't realise there is so much to do!

Anyway the best way to share my experience of the day is through photo's I snapped along the way. So I hope you enjoy them!

The cupboard under the stairs

Uniforms in the Great Hall

All the main character's costumes

In infamous Weasley car

All the wands!

I thought this was the cutest photo's of them!

Diagon Alley

The sweet shop in Diagon Alley

Almost lifesize model of Hogwarts

Props Department

Arogog

A motorised Buckbeak

Dumbledore in his office 

Making potions in class

Chamber of Secrets

Props Department

If you haven't been yet, I would definitely recommend going. Prices are reasonable and you even get on a Harry Potter themed bus!!

Let me know if you've been and what you thought of it?

Cya x

Matilda The Musical

Hi lovelies,

Me and my sister and HUGE Matilda fans, so for her birthday recently I got us both tickets to see Matilda the musical.

I know a lot of people who have been to see this and said it was EXCELLENT!

It did not disappoint..

If you haven't seen this already. GO SEE IT!

At first I was quite sceptical of this. If you've seen the movie/read the book, you'll know it's not a musical. However, they managed to incorporate so many songs whilst sticking to the original story.

Where Did I See It?

I saw Matilda at Cambridge Theatre in Covent Garden and they decorated the inside of the Theatre beautifully!! There were chalk boards everywhere and it really had a school like feel which I thought was very amusing.

I paid for dress circle tickets for me and my sister as I wanted to get a good view & they were pretty expensive but worth it!!

What Was It Like?

The production and the show was BRILLIANT!! So so good! The actors were fantastic, especially Matilda! For a young girl she was amazing. I know there MANY Matilda's and we had Lollie. 

If you have seen the performance, the stand out scene for me was the Alphabet one. It was SO cleverly put together!

I wasn't allowed to take photos during the performance for obvious reasons, but I took a photo of the stage which was decorated with hundreds of books and looked amazing.

Coming out of this musical, made me miss going to the Theatre so much. I used to go a lot when I was younger, but not so much anymore. I definitely want to see more!

If you haven't heard of this musical before, he's a clip of a performance on Children In Need:

Have any of you seen Matilda the Musical yet? 

What's your favourite musical?

Cya x

NYE Fireworks - London

Hi All,

I hope you all had a lovely NYE. Without fail every single NYE I watch the London Fireworks on TV as I think they are just amazing and what better way to start the new year - with a bang. I always dreamt about what they are like to see in person and seeing as I now live in London.. Why not go!?!?

Well.. There are in fact many reasons why not to go as I would find out..

I was warned by a LOT of people who have previously been or live in London not to go. Not because they weren't good but the sheer amount of people and chaos it causes.

So, I did my research into it.. If you know London well or have been to the fireworks before you will know you either stand on Embankment or Westminster for the prime view. Initially I decided to stand further away, but we discovered that most of the tube stations shut at 8pm & the one we wanted to stand outside wasn't even open due to large crowds expected!


So last minute, it was decided we would go all out and go to Embankment, face the crowds and do it right. Welcome to the madness..

Because the areas & tube stops were shut at 8pm and over 250,000 were expected, we got there at 6:30, do not ask why we did this but we thought it was a good idea at the time.. We actually got a really good spot and were pretty much near the barriers & by 7 most of the Embankment was covered. So all well & good we were there, but one issue.. The fireworks weren't until midnight..

THE LONGEST WAIT EVER!

The Wait
I was expecting a lot more.. On TV they cut in around 11pm when the crowd is cheering, there's loud music & it's brilliant. There's a reason they cut in at 11, it doesn't get like that till half 11. Everyone's exhausted from the wait & I'm sure most are just cheering to get home! This was the LONGEST wait ever & the hours really dragged!

The Music
I don't know how I felt about this, it came on at 8 which everyone cheered at as something was needed to get everyone going. But it was quite mellow.. I was expecting music to get everyone going, whether that be singing along or dancing, but it was neither. It wasn't bad, just not as good as I thought. It also wasn't very loud, if the crowd had been singing it may have been a better atmosphere.

The Crowd
The crowd wasn't actually as bad as I thought it might be. There were only 2 girls where I stood who were really drunk. I had drink with me but I didn't get stupidly drunk as 1 getting home was going to be bad and 2 there was a lack of toilets & going would mean losing your space. The crowd didn't get rowdy & there was not much pushing either. In fact the people in front shared sweets with us as we didn't get a pack and the people next to us gave us a flashing bracelets which was lovely. Everyone was in high spirits.

The Fireworks
After what seemed like a 6 hour wait.. oh wait it WAS a 6 hour wait, midnight was here. And I know I've moaned a lot so far.. but the fireworks were INCREDIBLE. They were breathtaking and the show that was put on was amazing. I was in awe and was screaming like a little kid at all the different fireworks. London really put on a show and the music and colours were all perfect. It seemed to go so quick, I wanted it to go on forever. The whole sky was lit up and for a second it made everything worth it.

Sensory Fireworks
Some people have asked me about this after I said I went, and YES the fireworks were sensory. You could taste and smell the fireworks due to them blasting out some sort of air into the crowd when the firework was released. These were fruit flavoured and actually tasted delicious!! There was also flavoured/edible confetti and balloons floating round during the show. London are the first to do these sensory fireworks so it was lovely to be a part of that on New Years Eve and you could honestly smell it SO much.

Getting Home
This was chaos, there is no other word to describe this, CHOAS. I love London, but on New Years Eve it's horrible. Embankment and Westminster station were shut so we kind of followed the crowd. We saw 1 sign for Victoria station and did end up actually going from there but along the way there was only that 1 sign which I thought was terrible!! Especially for tourists, I myself has no idea where I was going as this is a long walk!! Especially when you are being pushed a long with a crowd.

I was actually scared and this is one of the few times I have been scared in London. I witnessed so many fights and people covered in blood on the walk to the tube & it was horrifying to see that people were punching strangers.


Eventually when we got to Victoria, we had to walk round the station twice as each entrance was shut off and were in the queue for a while, but it was constantly moving. All in all, it took us about 2 hours to get home and I only live about 15 mins from where we were. It is good that London kept the tubes open later though as otherwise there is no way people would get home.

Would I Go Again?
Going to the fireworks in London on NYE is something I have always wanted to do and I am glad I went but I don't think I would do it again. It is so different seeing it on TV, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle. The entrance & tubes shut at 8 so even if I was to go later I would still be stood around for 4 hours. The organisation was a bit poor in terms of getting home, the lack of directions after it had finished let it down, but it was absolutely packed with over 250,000 people in one space so I guess it could have been a lot worse considering.

I don't want the end of the night to take away from the fireworks though. They were BREATHTAKING and London really put on a show for New Year!

Below are some of the videos I managed to capture:

Have you ever been to the fireworks in London on NYE? If not what do you normally do NYE and what did you get up to this year?

Cya x

My 2013 Summary & A Happy New Year!

Hi Beautifuls,


This is just a quick little post to wish you HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

So, I know a lot of people say this.. but 2013 really was one of the BEST years of my life. The amount of things that have happened this past year is mad and I am so lucky and grateful for everything. I will always look back on this year smiling and I only hope 2014 brings me as much happiness as 2013 did.

Here are some of the reasons why 2013 was so fantastic for me:

1. I had the most amazing final year at University
2. I Graduated University 
3. I passed my IDM exam with a Distinction
4. I moved to London
5. I got my dream Job
6. I travelled around Thailand
7. I went to Paris
8. I turned 21, which was the best birthday by far!
9. I got my new puppy Pepper
10. I started this blog 

I started this blog in September 2013 and it was one of the BEST things I've done. I started it on a whim, not sure what to expect, but as soon as I started getting into it I realised I loved it. Once I started interacting with more bloggers I found the community so lovely and helpful and it makes me so happy when I blog now! I am so grateful for everyones support and how lovely your comments are and can only hope it gets bigger and better in 2014!

I hope everyone has an amazing New Year!

Cya x

Christmas Singalong - Royal Albert Hall

Hi All,

As some of you may know, this weekend I went to 'A Christmas Carol Singalong' at the Royal Albert Hall. This was my first time here and seeing the show so I was very excited indeed. All my family came down to London for this which was lovely and a great way to get in the Christmas spirit.

What happens?

So, as I have never been to this before, I wasn't sure what to expect, a musical, an event? In fact, it was everyone gathered together singing christmas carols with a choir and orchestra. Now I am by no means a good singer, but I love a good sing song so this was right up my street. I love the sound of an orchestra and this along with the choir was just beautiful.

Which songs?

Luckily there was a song sheet incase anyone didn't know the lyrics. I am more a christmas song person rather than a christmas carol person and the show did a great job at mixing up a bit of both songs so that there was a bit of variety for all ages. My favourite christmas song is 'I wish it could be Christmas everyday' and this was one of the last to be played which was fantastic.

The Royal Albert Hall                        Like I said, this was my first time here and it was absolutely beautiful. As you will see from the photo's later it was beautifully lit and the staging was wonderful. I was lucky enough to be in a box with my family and some of the other boxes had decorated there's with lights which was lovely.

The show

The conductor was a wonderfully charismatic man who really got the crowd going but the person who stole the show for me was the female lead vocalist. I believe she was actually the understudy as the lady who normally does it couldn't be there, but she was fantastic, she absolutely made the songs and her voice was superb.

All in all it was a brilliant show, it lasted about 3/4 hours and I was so happy and was dancing around by the end of it. There was such a great atmosphere in the hall, everyone was dancing and singing together and it was a really great experience to be a part of. 

If you would like to know more about this, click HERE

Below are some photo's and videos I took during the show. Enjoy!

I have SO many videos of this night, but I thought I would share with you my favourite song as well as a quick Instagram mash up I did of around 5 songs. if you would like to see any more of the videos just let me know!

 Videos

Cya! x

Winter Wonderland

Hello,

It's Christmas very soon and I don't know why but this year I wasn't feeling Christmassy. That is until I went to WINTER WONDERLAND.

If you don't know what Winter Wonderland is it is a huge event in London held in Hyde park. I had heard of this before I lived in London and always wanted to go and now I have moved to London, I couldn't not see what it was all about. 

It is MUCH better than I expected it to be and it made me feel so chistmassy. I love stalls and little markets during Christmas and Winter Wonderland is full of them!! Full of food and gifts! As well as the section, there is also an ice skating rink, lots of bars, many game stalls where you can win cuddly toys and what not. However, my favorutire part of this was the rides.

I was expecting fair ground rides, but they are not little fairground rides.. These rides are suitablable for theme parks, hugeeee scary rides and there are so many it's brilliant. I am a huge fan of rides and this did not dissapoint! 

Winter Wonderland was amazing, the atmosphere was great, everyone was so happy and they were even blowing out fake snow! There was Christmas music being blasted out and a lot of mulled wine to go round.

The event itself is free to get into, however you have to pay to go on the rides, which can be very expensive. The average per ride is £6 so I only went on 3, but there are MANY rides I would've loved to go on! Winter Wonderland was a lot better than I was expecting, I can't get over the scale of it, it's split up into sections; the stalls, the food, the games, the ice kingdom, the ice rink, the rides and santa land. I would definitely go back, in fact I want to go back before christmas this year!

I would love to know if you've been and what you thought of it, or you haven't been and would like to go?

If you would like to find more out about Winter Wonderland, check out their website HERE where you can buy tickets and see what attractions they have.

Find some photos I snapped of the event below:

Check out the moose head on this pub

One of the very colourful rides

Mid spin during a very very fast ride

Now this is not the London Eye, it's their giant wheel

The carousel ride

I went on this drop ride and you could see the whole of London!

One of the roller coasters, this was amazing

Cya x

Social Media Week

On Monday, I was lucky enough to go to Social Media Week's Opening Party. If you don't know what Social Media Week is, it is a week long event which takes place around the world, holding events, guest talks and lectures revolving the world of social media. For more information, check out their website HERE. The opening party is a great way to get a flavour for the week and a fantastic chance to network so I was very excited to go. For all of you that couldn't make it, I will be including photos of the night, so you all can see.

The first thing that took me by surprise was the giant red carpet outside we had to walk down! As well as this, around 20 photographers were snapping my photograph! I didn't have a clue where to look it was very surreal, but what a fantastic welcome. Upon entering there was also a lobster van which was serving various food throughout the night that went as quickly as you could even say the word lobster.

The inside of the party was decorated beautifully and the lights and effects around the room did look really good. As you can see from my photos, it was quite dark but there were a lot of strobe lights which heightened the atmosphere.

The night itself was good, there were various stalls and stands showcasing brands, but by far the best was the Duck DJ stall. When the ducks and blocks moved around the square, the beat changed and it was almost like a DJ deck. Very fascinating.

At the party there was also a great graffiti battle in which a white blank wall was covered in graffiti, it was great to see this progress and it was done only using a pen, great to see! Although I don't know what the image on the left is meant to be, eggs?

As well as this there were Nokia stands, lots and cupcakes and blue wine. The Nokia stands were showing the various new Nokia phones, which had some great new features and the cupcakes even had Nokia logos printed on them. To top this off and promote Nokia just that little bit more, the wine was blue, blue wine!

Overall I had a good night, although I would suggest more hubs next time, apart from networking there wasn't as many stands or focal points as I imagined there would be. It was a great event and I can't wait to keep updated on the rest of Social Media Week. If you would like to keep updated with Tweets about Social Media Week, take a look at their Twitter page HERE.

Cya x