House Festival 2014

Hi everyone,

This is a little late, but I wanted to share this with you anyway because it happens every year. To be honest I have ever heard of this event before and I really didn't know what to expect. So when I got the invitation to go, I was a little hesitant... but I am so glad I went. The House Festival is a one day outdoor event taking place at Marble Hill House in Richmond.

I have not been to many festivals but I imagined extortionate prices for food and drinks and any extras, however I was pleasantly surprised to find it was all FREE! Once inside the Festival all your food, drink and entertainment is included. Marble Hill House's grounds were be filled with market stalls offering a summer feast including oysters, lobsters, hog roast and homemade pizzas, and there were be plenty of bars.

Needless to say everyone was in a jolly mood, but they were so fun and friendly - people would just talk to you, just to be nice. The sun were shining and line up was pretty cool, with likes of Dizzee Rascal, Jake Bugg, Paloma Faith, Sam Smith, Kelis and more! 

This festival seemed quite clean and slightly more 'up market' then the muddy skankiness of Glastonbury, even the toilets clean and well presented. There are plenty places is sit, chill and enjoy, so no need to stand around until your feet hurt..

The money raised from the House Festival go towards the English Heritage Foundation which helps with the maintenance and upkeep of Marble Hill. The money also goes to the War Child charity; which helps to support vulnerable children whose lives had been torn apart by war. Tickets for this event tend to sell out rapidly, so keep you eyes peeled for next year.

Couldn't help myself - got to love props!

Take Care.

Jamaican-me Laugh

Hey everyone,

Ha-ha, though I'd  make a little pun for you :)

What makes a Sunday afternoon a better Sunday afternoon? Answer; go to the park. Even better answer was to go to Brixton Splash or Crystal Palace Jamaica Day last Sunday.

Officially it was Jamaica's 51st Independence day on Tuesday 6th August 2013, but celebrations have been in full swing since last week.

Sadly I couldn't get to both in one day, so I choose to go to Crystal Palace. Crystal Palace Park was an old favourite of mine as a child; its changed a little bit, but still a really cool place to chill and enjoy the day. There was a great sense of pride in the air, everyone made an effort dressed in Jamaican colours, it felt so welcoming.

So what was going on?

There was some amazing live dance performances. Some of the dancers looked young, but they were so talented. You could tell the performance meant something to them, they looked so happy. I enjoyed watching these two (can't remember their name), I rarely see young people doing dancing like this - so this was a treat.

I'm not going to lie though, there was some parts I found slightly uncomfortable. Number one being the under 13yrs dance competition, what bothered me about it was the dancing itself. I don't think its right for young innocent children to be doing this 'cock up batty', 'jook gal',  'bruk it down' dance moves to a crowd of adults and big ass men. No, no, no not feeling that at all, what kind of messed up impression are we giving here?

Anyway… There where loads of stalls offering delicious Caribbean food, merchandise and arts and crafts. I love Caribbean art, so colourful and calming - its like it takes you to another world. And to top it off Steel pans, I love Steel Pans! I love the way they sound, the atmosphere they create and when I was younger I really used to enjoy playing them too.


Everybody will be eating all the chicken tonight lol

Naturally there was a hell of a lot of chicken, not 100% sure what the obsession is with it, but it really nice. Not dry and chewy, it was tender and well seasoned. Though, I'm more into fish these days but hey-hoo.

It was a really nice day for the whole family, there was even a funfair to keep the children busy. Various DJs for those who fancy a dance or just sit down at your picnic and nod your head. Whenever was 'your thing', there was plenty of room for you to enjoy. It was a happy atmosphere, no trouble just simple fun.

I might not able to afford a ticket to the Caribbean right now but this is a good start.

Hope your well.

You Do What You Are

Hi everyone, 

I know it’s a funny title but there is reason. Basically there other day I was lazing around watching the film ‘Along Came a Spider’ on the television. And Morgan Freeman’s character comes on and says ‘you are what you do’. This got me thinking... that is kind of true. If you are lazy and disorganized; you choose to do that and that in turn is what you are. If you are hard working, honest and reliable although you may not be able to show this in title no one can take that away from you, because that is what you are.

Yeah, it was a scarf turban day - its a good way to hide messy hair

So we're in the spring months now and occasionally we get that glimpse of sunshine, which is brilliant as its been a long winter. So to prepare for the summer and to refresh, I've decided its time to clean up. But I'm talking your bedroom/home (although mine could really do with a tidy up), I'm talking about life.

A few pictures from the park and the first flower in  my garden :)

Targets:

1. Body: I'm not particularly unhealthy or overweight but I could certainly tone and sort out my diet.

2. Mind: This past few months has been intensely stressful for me a lot has been going on in a short space of time. I learned to accept things that I have no control over and think its time focus on what right for me and the things that make me happy.

3. Friends and Family: I take full responsibility for the piss poor effort I have put in. These guys are so amazing and even though I don't see them often they still understand and love me.

To make sure I stay on track I am going to post a check in exactly one month from now. As usual tips, tracks and cool bits will be shared.
 
Body is up first, so pouch be gone!

Green Space

Hi Guys,

Woooh! It is blazing outside and I am loving it, not that I need a tan or anything lol :D Going to work on Saturday was a bit pants I had so much to do and this was so nice outside, I must have looked like a little puppy at a pet shop longing for someone to pick me up :( the good thing about the summer is that it doesn’t dark until 21:30-22:00 is I took Kyzer to the park, its was really cool no one was there.

Believe it or not but this is how light it was at 21:43

Sunday was another hot sunny day, I decided to have a rescheduled Father’s Day with my Dad. We went bike riding in the park – just like we used to when I was little. This time the park was super busy the grass was covered with bodies cooking in the sun. After we had a lovely dinner with Grandma, however somehow the conversation turned to me not having a boyfriend! *what the …! （　ﾟ Дﾟ）*. Much to my distress it wasn’t short conversation either…how embarrassing. Later that night I was talking to one of good male friend who suddenly told me of his true feeling for me! AIYA! What is going on? Hmm… not sure how I’m going to handle this or what I’m going to do… definitely more thinking required.

My Dad cooling off

lol it looks like i only have one leg

Note to self: Riding and taking picture is fun (^_^)

Hope you guys are having a good day, until next time take care x

Plan: Park

Hey everyone,

Hows it going? Hehe

Hmmm… so what been going on with me lately… well here in the UK our good fortune has continued with the weather (give or take a rainy spell or two and crazy wind), so lots of smiles from me.

I also tried something new, I decided to organize a Family Sports/Picnic Day in honor of Grandma. I’ve never really organized that many people together before, so worked really hard to make sure everything went smoothly, and to my surprise everybody turned up with loads of food, music and sport equipment – much more then we needed. It was so nice to spend ‘fun time’ with uncles/aunties/cousins/friends, just everyone! My family are super competitive so everyone really got into it, even the little kiddies and random people we didn’t even know. Grandma joined in for Rounder’s *she is so cute when she’s running* and when her team was losing she moaned that we we’re cheats lol – like I said very competitive family :D It was such a success I’ve been asked to organize monthly family park activities over the summer.



Giant game of Rounders :)



The Park we went to was beautiful, lots to do and plenty of wildlife (ducks, swans and pony rides etc) haven’t been there since I was a kid ahhh the memories :)





Look how close I got to this squirrel





I couldn't quite get the little baby duck in the picture, it kept moving



This was taken just by the pond/lake area so beautiful, relaxing and kind of romantic too *sigh* I can just picture it now, looking into each others eyes, leaning in for that magical kiss...oh well a girl can dream (T_T)



Definitely have to remember this spot ;)



Well I hope you guys enjoyed this post, We actually went to park about two weekends ago, I just didn't get round to posting this up.

Hope your having a good day.