Jambo! (That means hello in Swahili) In less than 24 hours I will (hopefully) be on a plane to Kenya! Unfortunately, whilst I'm out there I will not have the time/strong wi-fi connection to upload photos/blogs! So, here is my Sunday blog, early and obviously a lot shorter...
Monday was a pretty long day, as well as two irritating lessons, we had a bit of a challenging evening. Tuesday, was LONG! Double Media and double English, although had a really nice jam with Lai and Haytham during lunch and then me and Lai decided to sing out the music posters in the music room...
Then the evening was a bit of a shocker and rather irritatingly ended up giving up on the thought of a normal evening where I could pack etc. So, that brings us to today! I had a lesson to start with which wasn't too bad, then went into town to see a friend quickly before I went, and got final bits like a jumper and some hair ties. Came home, had cold pizza for lunch (which will always be my favourite thing to eat for lunch!) Had a driving lesson, which went really well, despite my hands shaking like mad and my head thinking about EVERYTHING that I still need to get done! I'm home now after picking my sister up from school and quickly writing this before hopefully packing the majority of my suitcase, doing club and then going to the hospital to visit a family member, THEN have the last warm bath for a while and FaceTime Philippa! Whilst fitting in a few important phone calls, messages and emails! So there you go!
There will not be much point in me uploading a photo tomorrow morning as it won't be very good, so I will include tomorrow in the 'Adventure Blogs' when I come back! Whilst I'm out there I will be taking and noting down photos for each day, writing a little blog entry in my book and maybe doing some filming! Hope you all have a lovely half term/halloween etc. and I will post when I'm back in the country and back in my home!
For now, the week's music and photos (so far...)
Music of the Week!
African themed and a song that I'm meant to have learnt... I know the Waka Waka, this time for Africa bit! (that's good enough right?)
Next up is a song from a choir that I saw a few years ago in the UK and they were so good! We got their CD and when I did my fundraising stuff I played this etc. Enjoy the drums at the start and then enjoy the singing etc when it kicks in!
Last isn't a song, it's a little story by Wangari Maathai, it's got a really 'nice' (hate that word!) video that goes with it, and a lovely (still don't really like that word!) message behind it!
So, I signed in today to type this up, and saw I'd reached over 5,000 views, seeing as I don't upload as often as I did at the start, that's an insane amount, so thank you to everyone that reads this! It's weird that it's grown since I started it up, and now it's nearly the end of this year's challenge! However, I WILL be planning new things for the new year! So stick around!! :)
This week hasn't been the best, but it definitely hasn't been the worst! My trip to to the wonderful world of Africa is just a few days away... But you'll hear more about that in a special blog (hopefully will be up on Wednesday!) I'm ill, which is great! I've had lots of medicines and tried to rest (which seems to be an impossible task of mine) and my other blog has grown quite a bit this past week! Still, onwards to the daily happenings from this week! (Also, stick around for the music of the week, cos there is one song that I absolutely love and I'm sure others will - as well as the other two :P)
Monday, I got up at a reasonable time, didn't have to be in until break. So I went in, had Media, did a 20 mark test, thinking I didn't do too great! Then, I had a free, then lunch, then assembly then English Lit, which was alright. After school, I waited over half an hour to be picked up because a certain little person went to pick up one of her b'day presents! Finally got home (I'm joking Mum :P) we went out for dinner for my sister's b'day! Came home and taught Misty how to play Am and C chords on her uke.
Tuesday was a long day! I had four lessons, a free, which I did five minutes of school work in, then had a cheeky jam with Lailana then during lunch and tutor we did some filming of her session for Music In Time, so that's looking good! Didn't really do much Tuesday that I remember, just more emails and work.
Wednesday morning I woke up feeling ill. Sore throat, not knownig whether it was from singing on Tuesday (never a good idea with my throat!), whether I was having a reaction to the typhoid tablet OR if I just had a cold... I had a free day, so typically I filled it with work that needed doing! Emails, editing, media work, permission letter drafting for my English Investigation. Made myself lunch, went for my driving lesson, did some parking (which I was good at!) and lost my voice a few times! Got home, had a toffee crisp (which probably didn't help my throat, but cured my hunger and tasted great!) Had a sleep, went and did club, lost my voice another few times, got annoyed at a really cocky little boy, got over that, went home, had dinner and went to bed with a warm blackcurrant.
Thursday, woke up. Realised Kenya was a week away, freaked out, realised throat was still sore. Decided to rest most of day, had Lemsip (which tastes disgusting - no matter how much sugar/honey you put in!) Got lots of work done though! Went to homegroup, as it was my last one before trip next week. Had a few mini emosh moments - that just sort of put a smile on my face, rather than tears in my eyes - haha, and a few hugs (I just hope I haven't given any of them my cold!)
Friday, I spent a few hours in the morning resting, sorting stuff for my other blog out, started writing this one out, watched a bit of Les Mis - the half hour I watched was alright, but I was a bit confused when the character Anne Hathaway (I think) dies 20ish minutes in and she was the main character they show in the advert! Went in to school, went to Media, helped with football, went to tutor and went home, had last jab, which was a seriously painful one! Went to club, then headed off to Dad's for the weekend.
Saturday, I got up late, chilled for most of the day, went out for a hot chocolate and got some shopping, went home and chilled some more, watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which was good, caught up with the Emmerdale storyline, which was a good one last week! Then watched Strictly and X Factor after eating a delicious dinner of Cheesy Pasta!
Today, woke up thinking someone was turning the bedroom light on and off, then realised the wind and rain outside was insanely heavy, then clicked that there was a pretty impressively scary storm outside! Went and had a toasted sandwich for lunch, which was nice. Went back home and had a chilled afternoon whilst the rain was tipping it down outside! Then headed home to Mum's had dinner, had my hair styled by Misty and wrote a mini list of a few final things I need for Kenya. I must admit... I'm looking forward to Thursday and everything but I'm looking forward to getting in the minibus in Kenya and knowing I've got three airports and two flights out the way!
Music of the Week!
Ok, so I went on to YouTube to listen to music whilst I was typing up this blog and found this and it's insane! I love the song anyways, but this cover is pretty impressive! Saying that, I'm slightly irritated Becky Hill doesn't get any recognition in the title as she's the one that sings it all the way through! Still, here it is!
Last up is a song I've had in my head for ages!! I've seen her live twice in the past month and thoroughly enjoyed both sets, and she was lovely when I was spoke to her at both gigs! Also, the video shows three other familiar faces to this blog! Enjoy!
Pretty random week to be honest. I've been really, whilst having some chill time and getting on with random things to do with just under two weeks away... (You'll find out more about that later!)
Monday was a long day... I tend to struggle the day after a gig anyway and I got to bed fairly late after 7 hours of being pretty uncomfortable with my surroundings (no idea what I'm gonna be like in Kenya!) Still, I didn't have to be in for a lesson until 11, so I had time to get ready and everything! English Lit wasn't too bad a lesson (for once!) and managed to get on with the work etc. I then had a free, which I used to chill. Then I had English Language, which again wasn't too bad! Went home and attempted to do some homework (obviously didn't try hard enough...)
I had a really long day Tuesday, not much sleep and a full day (meaning I had 4 lessons and I worked through my free and lunch). Double Media was alright and so was double English. Apart from work adn rest - I don't think I did much else.
Wednesday was an alright day. I went in first thing for English (feeling increidbly full of a cold), it was a pretty good lesson. After that I went home, sorted out some emails and blog stuff out. 12.30 came and I went for a driving lesson, it wasn't one of my best and I nearly got out the car and refused to get abck in (but luckily that didn't happen) I stayed in the car and stayed just about calm enough adn the 20 minute drive home was a lot better. Didn't do much in teh afternoon apart from more emails and blog stuff. Club went ok as well.
Another long day on Thursday. It started with my penultimate jab for my trip, then in to school (late) for a rubbish hour of English Lit, after that 4 better hours of English Language. Then home for a really nice dinner - cottage pie, brocoli and cabbage - thanks Mum! Then off to a family friends house for two hours for them to help replace my LCD screen on my camera - which now works and can be taken to Africaa - thank you very much!
Friday was a bit of a crazy day! I ended up recieving a total of 14 important emails, 3 of which I got whilst I was sat in my sister's school harvest service...
I had a pretty busy morning planning what I will be doing blog-wise for the next 3 weeks. Then I went in to school for media which was a good lesson apart from the public motivational speech my teacher gave me *still not over it*. After that I had a free, so sorted out more emails and a group of us decided it was too cold so we had some 'quiet time'. Lunch involved me doing football training in the rain :/ Then tutor fighting my corner about a possible non-uni future. Mum picked me up and we went to my sisters harvest festival. Went home, did even more email stuff, had macaroni cheese for dinner, did club, came home, sorted my sister's b'day present and sorted some other stuff out.
Yesterday was an interesting day. We lacked electricity for most of the day! Still, I got up fairly early adn went to watch my sister and her friends do some horse riding. Headed home, played dinosaurs and twister with the not-so-little sister, and made Gran, her and me lunch. After that we went to get Misty sorted with a bike fitting didn't really know there was an official thing!) We then headed to watch a ice0hockey, which our home team won! Whilst, Misty and her friends were cheering them along (maybe a little too enthusiastically at times - to the woman next to us' disgust :P)
Today has been alright, got a fair bit done. Was in a horrible mood this morning, when trying to sort out video files etc. and the rain meant my mobile connection was pretty poor. Still, I manage to sort both out eventually, went shopping for a few bits for my trip. Came home and started sorting this blog out... Haven't done much else!
Music of the Week
First, is an 'old song' for those of you who put best before dates on songs... But it's now under two months til the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special... I'm getting a bit impatient (but excited) about seeing it and thought this song was pretty good to put in here, plus the music video is pretty good too!
Next is a song from someone I've seen live twice in the past month, and both times she's been great! She now finished school and is releasing her first EP very soon! (expected to be released on 11th November...) I like this song and the music video as well, it's got a little link to Alice in Woderland too (which just makes it that little bit better :P)
The last song I really struggled to find one to use - I haven't really listened to much music that I haven't already used on this blog, so I chose a random one, it's pretty chilled, and it's a piano cover of a song I like. It's different, but it's pretty good.
On Sunday, I met up with Lailana and waited outside Boileroom for a while, we chatted to some people outside the venue, and overheard the start of the soundcheck from Frank. Andy came out the front, gave us the VIP wristbands and ticked us off, we waited a little longer and then made our way in for soundcheck, which was pretty good! We then moved on outside, had a cup of tea, gave Frank his birthday present and card, got a signed poster and photo - thanks Frank!
Quickly caught Orla, who kindly signed my poster even though she was looking pretty tense. Me and Lai braved it and went over and had a little chat and photo with George. I then grabbed a 'fork you' t-shirt and a #TeamFrank wristband :)
We then made it back into the venue, got a good spot to watch the gig from and waited!
First up was Adam Double, he won the competition to support Frank at the Guildford date and is a familiar face if you have seen Lewis Watson live, he plays bass/keys for Lewis. I thoroughly enjoyed swaying to Adam's music, it's very chilled music. Whilst he only played electric guitar, he made it seem layered and it was genuinely a pretty good set. He shouldn't be behind someone, he can easily give a solid showcase of his skill solo.
Adam Double
After Adam, came Orla Gartland. I saw her a few weeks ago, supporting Lauren Aquilina, and it was refreshing to hear her live again. She sang my favourite songs of hers 'Devil On My Shoulder' and 'The Ground' both of which I sang along to... She also threw in some new songs, which have given me no choice but to pre-order her upcoming EP... The only negative from this set, was the choice of song she covered 'Another Brick In The Wall' for some it was probably a good choice, and I guess it's personal preference, but would have been great to have been able to sing along etc. apart from that it was a stunning set.
Orla Gartland
Next up was George Barnett. I was not ready for him to come on stage. I've got a thing about songs with lots of insanely impressive drums and percussion in... I had looked George up before I went to the gig, however his recorded songs etc. are nothing like seeing him live. The energy he had up on stage was phenomenal, there were quite a few moments I thought he was going to knock himself out by jumping and whacking his head. He was jumping, running, and 'owning the stage'. It was also great to see his band enjoying themselves. When I found out he was only 19, I was in even more shock at how good he was. Seriously, if this guy doesn't make it big anytime soon, I will have lost all faith in the music industry. (Also, I struggled getting a photo of him, as he didn't stay still for long!!)
George Barnett
After, a phenomal line up of supports, Frank made his way on stage. A pretty brilliant set from the mighty Mr. Hamilton, a few coughs here and there and a performance that doesn't let anyone down. Songs with his guitar, ukulele and electric all sounding amazing. Especially the imperssively insane solo-y bit he did on his electric, that sort of echoed round the venue. He broke the set up with a nice acoustic performance in the middle of the crowd and then got things upbeat again by singing the classic 'Tiny Chemicals' with lots of 'fork you' and 'up yours' being shouted along with him. Finishing with the rather well-known, 'Flaws and Ceilings'. A really enjoyable night, with lots of brilliant live music. If you get the opportunity to see any of these artists live, I really recommend you take it!
I'm late posting this - and I've also been late posting the past week's photos - really doing well!
I also haven't really done much this week apart from go to sixth form, drive and think about doing lots of work and doing a little bit of work.
So there's not much point me going through my week day by day. So instead I'm going to go back to old style random blogging for this week. Although quick update! My camera screen has completely messed up, and annoyingly I don't even know how considering it was in the case?! Plans screwed up for Kenya now though!I've also lost all faith in camera shops - even the small ones that are supposed to be helpful and friendly!
Still, onto a formal rant! Cyclists on the road... (Just bare in mind I cycle, so this isn't a biased argument!) However, I also drive and can appreciate how annoying it is when cyclists get away with so much more than a driver in a car (as well as any other vehicle on the roads).
The first and most frustrating thing, when cyclists decide they're going to go over a red light at traffic lights. Do they not realise they go red to keep them and other drivers safe? Yet, without a doubt the driver would get done if the cyclist died or was seriously injured. That leads me onto another point... Cyclists don't need insurance/licence etc. to be on the roads? Surely, if they're an equal on the road like the highway code says, they should need one! They should have to go through similar tests/cycling proficiencies and have a licence to prove they have passed those and can genuinely ride on the road and know the rules of the roads etc.
In 2011, stats showed that over 19,000 cyclists were killed or injured in accidents. 75% happen at, or near, a road junction. So this leads me onto suggest, maybe if cyclists didn't undertake when on a road, this may be prevented? Yes, drivers should also check their mirrors, BUT cyclists are surely causing their own problem by undertaking (when there isn't a designated cyclist path), which by the way for a motorist to do is illegal, and everyone is equal on the road - right?
Still, some cyclists are fine, you know those that wear their cycling club kits and cycle in groups, because they know what they're doing! *sarcastic tone kicking in, sorry* SO when I see a group of cyclists riding side by side along a road... Erm, couldn't that be classed as racing, which is also illegal for motorists, and everyone is equal on the road - right? Hmm, yet they still get away with it? Oh well!
Ok, last point, carrying on from the last one... If cars/motorbikes etc. can't race on the roads how come bikes can have roads closed and towns put in shutdown for them to ride through? (Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed going to watch the road race in the Olympics and everything, but for the sake of this blog...) Shouldn't they have tracks made for them or something? Maybe not? Let me know what you think!
Now, back to normal style blog...
Music of the Week
First, is a song from Lorde, I've had two of her songs on repeat recently, this one and her other single 'Royals', I've this stuck in my head for too long!! Also, I need to warn you there might be a swear word in there somewhere!
Next is a song from Frank Hamilton, I went to see him the evening this should have gone up! So, I was playing this over and over again, plus it went on the #FrankOnTour CD I made him, because it's my favourite song by him apart from One Last Time, but that's too sad! - cutee (want any more cheese with that?)
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