Reading Festival! Sunday

Sunday was the last and most eventful day at the festival and one of my favourite bands 'The Kooks' were playing so I was SO excited :)

Sunday was supposed to start off with watching 'Emily's Army' (just because my name is Emily too) but instead we got nachos for breakfast (healthy right?) and watched the end of 'Flyt' and the start of 'The Royal Concept'.

I think it was about half one when I went on twitter and found that The Kooks were going to be at the signing tent so off we went to a merch stall and got ourselves a 'Down' T-Shirt and waited in the line for The Kooks. I was so excited I was shaking. When we got there we weren't allowed to take photos and we were only allowed to take one thing to sign which sucked, but, we could take photos as long as we weren't on the platform they were sat on so I waited till the end and tried to take a photo of them all as they left. Unfortunately they decided to stand up and leave at different times but I don't care I still got a photo of them up close :) They signed my T-Shirt and it is now my favourite thing in my wardrobe (I'm not going to wear it don't worry). 

After all that excitement we watched the end of Jungle's set which ended nicely I think with sounds of the jungle.

Then we went to the Alternative stage to watch Sean Walsh but ended up watching Paul McCaffrey too who was funnier than I thought he would be. Sean Walsh's set turned a nice way when everyone decided to clap along with him.

At 4:30 we went and watch Maverick Sabre on a whim and found he was really good.

The plan was to stay at that tent now until The Kooks started so we watch Schoolboy Q which I kinda liked even though I'm not really into that sort of music.

6:30 was the time The Kooks started playing so I got into the centre of the crowd as soon as I could. I don't really like crowds but I had decided I would cope so I could see them. However, the crowd that was forming for them was sooo big it was out of the tent and people kept pushing so I decided to get out and ended up watching from the outside quite away back so I barely heard them. There were people climbing up the tent posts and on the sign for the tent so I was glad I got out to be honest. But it doesn't matter that I didn't see them properly because I've got tickets for them when they play in November (I'm so excited).

The Sunshine Underground started playing in the Festival Republic tent so we went and watched them and had a good dance. 

Then it was time for The 1975 which we watched from outside the tent but they were still fabulous. They played all my favourites, 'The City', 'M.O.N.E.Y' and 'Chocolate'.

We finished the night sat watching Blink-182 who I don't think we as good live but we still had a good time singing along to 'I Miss You', 'Feeling This' and 'What's My Age Again?'.

Reading Festival! Saturday

Saturday was the second day of my Reading Festival adventure and turned out to be a lot busier than the Friday (in a very good way).

The first act of the day we went to see was The Hell. As you can tell it wasn't really a 'pop' band but I actually really like their music. I also like them as a band because they are so over the top with their the way they are and to be totally honest it makes me laugh. The sort of over the top where they bring a blow up dinosaur to their set and when someone popped it on accident and they demanded that security got them removed (they guy didn't actually get thrown out).
Then it was off for a calmer band, American Authors. To be totally honest we only went because I love the song 'Best Day Of My Life' but I have to admit I am falling for their other songs too. They finished their set with that song and it was one of the best feelings where a tent is filled with people sing the same words in harmony to each other.
At 15:05 it was time to excitably trot over to the main stage where I stood in awe of the whole of Peace's set (while getting continually knocked by people going into and out of the crowd). I think this had to be my second favourite performance of the day.
Back over at the Festival Republic tent it was time for Wolf Alice who blew me away to be honest. I somehow managed to get really close to stage and all my thoughts were taken away by the magic they produce live.
17:25 was the time that Foster The People started although I don't think we ended up watching most of the set as we were eating I think.
Then it was time for my favourite act of the day, Chvrches. I saw them live last year too which was magical but this year all I did was dance and sing my socks off to every song and I couldn't have asked for a better live performance by them.
Chvrches were followed up by Bombay Bicycle Club which was the point where some girl wiped loads of glow in the dark paint on my face. The music was great and I sat outside the tent watching them play.
To finish the night we stood at the back of the crowd watching the Arctic Monkeys (which was very far back). The crowd for the Arctic Monkeys filled the entire space in front of the main stage which was amazing. I was stood on the very edge of the crowd with a hot chocolate. Lush.

Reading Festival! Friday

This weeks post are going to be short and sweet since I am going to be busy but I thought I would just do a roundup of the artists I saw at Reading etc :)

Friday was the first day of the festival but it took us ages to get in for some unknown reason so by the time we got in we had missed most of Gerard Ways set on the NME/BBC Radio 1 stage. From what I saw he was still fab.

 We then walked over to the Festival Republic Stage to see Hudson Taylor and The Districts who I hadn't heard of before but turned out to be pretty good. T

Then we went off to have a good look around the shops since there was no one we wanted to see and I ended up getting some really nice silver rings while Deaf Havana played on the main stage.

 At 16:25 it was time to head over to watch Twin Atlantic (amazing as always) who belted out the favourites from the last and new album like Crash Land, Heart and Soul and Free. 

After that we settled down to watch Catfish and the Bottlemen with tea while a man was getting naked in the tent because the band dared him to. We also stayed to watch King Charles and his beautiful hair perform. 

We then ran over to the main stage to watch the beautiful Vampire Weekend play some of their most well known songs like Contra, Diane Young and (my favourite) Step. 

After moving out of the way and taking shelter by the disabled platform we watched Paramore. As they were playing the system went down so there was no sound but they got the mic working so Hayley song a song and accompanied by the audience and it ended perfectly with the sound slowly coming back as they finished the song. Unfortunately we didn't see the end of the set (or them play Ain't It Fun) because it was time for Metronomy! Their stage was a pretty pink cloud and the audience was serenaded with their electronic delights. After such a great performance it was back over to the Festival Republic Stage to watch the end of the Palma Violets set.

I am so sorry I haven't included any photos but they were all really bad so I'd best not.

Also next week I shall have normal posts to put up (they won't be holiday diaries or whatever) 

I hope you enjoyed the recount of my Friday at Reading, 

em,

Good Luck!

Hey guys! 

Sorry for not posting over the past few days like normal but I have been busy finishing off the tidying I have to do in my bedroom and seeing my friends and getting ready for Reading Festival tomorrow and trying to lock up my worries about results day in the back of my mind (which I have realised was not the best idea afterall). I will start posting again next week as normal when I get back from Reading but in this post I just want to say good luck to everyone receiving their GCSE results tomorrow.

I know I could say don't worry but it is inevitable that most of you will like I am now but my advice is to talk to someone about your worries because it will make you feel a lot better (even if it is just your cat or something) and to try and keep yourself busy tonight and don't watch the news! The day before the A-Level result were given out the news was going on about how grades have dropped which worried me even though I'm not doing them so it's a good idea to not listen or watch the news so you don't end up fretting even more, regardless of what they say.

So good luck! And I shall write more next week :)

em, 

Second Holiday, Days 7 & 8

On the 7th day we went down to Beningbrough Hall (along way down) and got caught in quite bad rain. And thunder. And lightning.

They weren't the only thing we got caught in. We sat in the conservatory hoping the weather would calm down a bit so we could get back to the car without getting soaked but since it was near closing time we got locked in the conservatory and I had to bang on the glass so someone would let us out. 

When we got back to Whitby the weather seemed to have worsened and we had planned on looking for an indian restaurant but we were soaked so instead I got my dad to take me up to the abbey so I could take some pictures. 

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Then it was Saturday and time to go home and for me to misread the map and get us 'lost'.

About 1 hour later than expected we got to Bolsover Castle and I had one of the best slices of millionaires shortbread I have had in ages.

After a quick walk round we eventually got home and back to my cat who seemed to of missed me quite a lot (bless).

Second Holiday, Days 5 & 6

On the 5th day we went into Whitby where I had the best milkshake I have ever had. I had a battenburg milkshake from a shop called 'Hippy Hippy Shake' and has now gone down as my favourite shop in Whitby. My dad also brought me some jet earrings which I LOVE. We were looking into this shop window and I saw the most perfect ring, its the parts of a watch and I haven't taken it off since I bought it.

We then went off to Robin Hoods Bay where we saw the most fascinating site, a rainbow with both its 'ends' visible! Unfortunately there was no pot of gold :(

We went back to Whitby afterwards for tea and decided to eat outside. Bad decision, I got attacked by flying ants and it was one of the worst experiences in my life.

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On the Thursday we went to Nunnington Hall. In the hall there was a second hand bookshop with really cosy sofas which was lucky for me since I ended up spending half an hour on them waiting for my dad when he had actually gone a different way out and was waiting for me outside. We are great right? It didn't help that we had no signal to text each other our locations either. 

Since we left the hall quite early we decided to go to Rievaulx Abbey and it was so calm and peaceful there I found myself just sitting and absorbing it all.

There was loads of wildlife in the surround area and I managed to get a picture of this cute but petrified looking rabbit.

I also yet again managed to loose my dad here as I thought he had left and was waiting for me outside. But he was still inside so I had to wait on a gate for him. Lucky me. 

Second Holiday, Days 3 & 4

The third day was spent looking around 'Eden Camp', an old army camp which has been turned into a museum about war. It was such a nice day (even though I lost my dad)  and the weather was perfect. We also indulged ourselves with a raspberry ripple cheesecake at dinner time :)

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On the Tuesday we headed down to Scarborough where I had an amazing milkshake (strawberry) which ice cream in at the cafe by the cliff tram. It was heaven in a glass I swear.

Somehow my dad coaxed me up the huge hill to the castle and I am kind of glad he did since the views were spectacular and I managed to take a gorgeous picture of a butterfly while looking out to sea.

After coming back from the castle we had a bit of trouble getting back to where we parked the car in town but after a lot of consulting town maps we found it.   

Second Holiday, Days 1&2

Two Saturdays ago I went on yet another holiday to a place called Hawsker near Whitby in the Yorkshire moors. Neither the journey there or back was a complete success. The drive up was the most successful even though we were meant to arrive at 4pm but it was nearly 7 when we got there. There was so much traffic and we had to take a big detour since there was an accident but we got there eventually. 

After we settled ourselves down in the cottage we drove to Whitby Abbey where there were some spectacular views and then Robin Hood's Bay where we drove down the steepest road I have ever been on in my life (scary). 

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The second day we found ourselves having a proper look around Whitby Abbey and on an open top bus tour around the town. 

In the evening we had a look around (the parking was free) and mostly looking through the windows at all the closed shops which was nice. For tea that we had "The best fish and chips in the country" which were good but I think I am going to have to disagree with that statement.

Holiday Diary! Days 5 & 6

On our 5th day we had an appointment booked at a local spa which was heaven. We had a back massage, facial, head massage and a mini foot massage. While having my back massage I noticed that my masseuse (it sounds so posh) had very long toes and her nails would be perfect for me to try out my pedicure skills. During my facial it was exceptionally hard to keep my eyes open as I was just on a cloud. After we left heaven we decided that we would do the White Rabbit Trail which was a trail around Llandudno looking at places to do with Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll and the book 'Alice In Wonderland'. They have also erected loads of statues so I tried to get some good photos of them. During the day we missed out Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee so after our dinner (Chinese again, yum) we went to search for them. After getting confused we managed to find them and found ourselves on the most beautiful view point over the town. Unfortunately, as we were walking back, the thought hit us that we were going home the next so we felt a bit sad :(

On our last day before leaving we went for a last amble around town and along the beach. We had a last go on the air hockey machines (I won both times :)) but eventually we had to leave :( but I was glad to come home to cat Roly who spent then spent the night with me (aw).

Holiday Diary! Days 3 & 4

On our third day we went up the Great Orme (a really big hill) a there was some fantastic views and amazing ice cream to eat. It was also the first place I had manage to get full signal on my phone. We went up the Great Orme on a tram and halfway to the top there are mines which are supposed to be the oldest in the world. The mines were actually really cramped so I ended up going round on my own but they were quite interesting and there was a cavern which they lit up with different lights so it looked really majestic. When we came back down we got the land train to the East shore but it wasn't that interesting so we just came back and went back to the indian restaurant for tea. 

The next day we went to the Mountain Zoo. It was a really nice zoo but it was very small and it rained a lot so we just spent the morning there and went back to Llandudno where it was sunny (annoying right?). We ended up sitting on the beach reading before eating chips for tea. When we came back out for a walk there was a swing band playing on the bandstand so we sat and listened to them before going up the pier again to play air hockey (which I won) and relaxed the rest of the evening.

 em,

Holiday Diary! Days 1 & 2

Last week me and my mom went on holiday to Llandudno (North Wales) and we arrived to beautiful weather. As soon as we got there we went for a walk around, did a bit of shopping and padded in the sea. Theres a beautiful victorian pier in Llandudno which we walked up. At the end there is an arcade which four air hockey tables and we couldn't resist. We played two games, the first I won and the second I lost. On the way back down the pier we stopped in some of the shops, one of which was a bargain book shop. Since I have a slight addiction to buying books I came out with three Jodi Picoult books; My Sisters Keeper, Nineteen Minutes and Salem Falls. These have now been added to the wardrobe full of books to read :)

We had Indian for tea that night and just as we left the heavens opened and it began pouring down so me and mom walked back to the B&B in pouring rain taking pictures. It was magical since there are lots of fairy lights along the streets and the sky was a beautiful misty blue colour. 

The next day we decided to buy an actual camera for my photography stuff and to use for the blog so we strolled down to Argos and brought my beautiful purple Nikon. On the way back we took some photos on the front (I would show but I am using them for a competition) and went back into town. Here I revisited a great book shop and brought yet another book; You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane. Oops. For tea we visited this amazing Chinese place and then waked up the beach in yet more rain. 

If you don't know, Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's 'Alice In Wonderland' had a holiday cottage here and this is where most of the story was based on so all around Llandudno there are sculptures and places associated with the story and family. It is all on a trail which we completed later on in the week but on this night we visited the Madhatter statue, one of the less creepy of them all. After, we went back to the B&B and had a chilled evening.

em,

The Liebster Award

It was a great feeling to find out that I had been nominated for the Liebster Award when I got back off holiday! The Liebster Award is basically a tag for bloggers to share each others blogs and is also quite fun :) 

The rules are :

1. You must link back to the person who nominated you.

2. You have to answer all the questions you were given by the person who nominated you.

3. You must choose 5-11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers, and come up with a new set of 11 questions for them. (some of my blogs go over 200 a bit but I couldn't not nominate them)

4. Let your nominees know they’ve been nominated.

I was nominated by Megan from Room With A Bloom  and here are her questions:

1. Whats your favourite season of the year?

Winter, I can't deal with hot weather and I will probably complain about the cold but I prefer to summer. It's also Christmas in winter! (It is my favourite holiday)

2. What does your blog name mean?

My blog name is basically my last name swapped around (Branson) as I'm not a huge fan of it but I wanted my blog name to be original and close to me.

3. What is your favourite candy/sweet?

I'm not really I fan of sweets but I LOVE chocolate. My favourite chocolate is Cadbury's Golden Biscuit Crunch.

4. How long have you been blogging?

Technically I started blogging in October 2013 when I started my bracelet blog but I kind of gave up on it but then I started this one which is nearly 2 months old :)

5. Which blogs do you check daily?

I normally on go on a blog if I know they have a new post up. I follow most of my favourite blogs on Bloglovin' so I can see their new posts there. These include: Xpresso Reads, Bored Panda, Writing My Own Fairytale and Zoella. I also check out About me, my life, my ART alot.

6. If you could go on holiday anywhere, where would it be?

I think I would go the Congo and search for the apes in the forest as it is one of my interests and what I hope to be doing when I am older.

7. Do you have any special talents?

Not particularly but I am quite good at making crafty things.

8. What is the best  book you've read recently?

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. I'm not really sure why I like it so much but I enjoyed the style of writing an the feeling that it gave you of unwinding a story that you had discovered yourself.

9. What is your favourite holiday?

I've already said but it is Christmas! I just love the feeling of togetherness and how nearly everybody gets in the spirit, regardless of whether they want to or not.

10. What's something that you have learnt recently?

That there is a word that means counting on your fingers: dactylonomy.

11. What quote do you live by?

"Never regret anything because at one time it was exactly what you wanted" Its not a proper quote but it is still something I 'live by'. It was actually one of my first tweets :)

I nominate:

1. About me, my life, my ART

2. Hey It's Hannah

3. Beauty Girl Blog

4. Beauty With Hazelnut Toffee

5. Urban Moonlight Blog

6. Jemma In Words 

7. NeonRainbow

8. Smudges of Thoughts

My questions:

1. Why did you start your blog?

2. How long have you been blogging?

3. What are your favourite blogs?

4. What is your all time favourite film?

5. What is the one thing you couldn't live without?

6. What is your favourite nail varnish?

7. What is your favourite word?

8. Do you have a favourite place to be? If so, where is it?

9. What is your favourite song?

10. What is your most loved beauty product?

11. Chocolate or Sweets?

If you do the tag let me know so I can read them, 

em,

Favourites... New Clothes

I visited Primark the other day to get some shorts since I had none for my holidays and I found some other things which I really liked too. Primark isn't my favourite shop as most of the shorts end up showing ass and most of the t-shirts are quite see-through but I did find these two really nice things.

I got some black shorts with little flowers on. I like that the detail isn't too obvious but it is still there. These cost £10.

I love this t-shirt too since it has a nice design, it isn't see through and it not too bright or over-dramatic. This cost £5.

I did buy some dungarees as well (£12) but I didn't take a photo so I can't show you :(

em,