Fake Fest!

Hey everyone!

So this post is about a festival I went to with my friends called 'Fake Festival'; three tribute bands along with local bands play in a marquee and it's a really good day! Jamiroquai, The Killers and Oasis tributes played and they were all amazing!

For the money we paid for the early bird tickets, it's definitely worth the price. This is the second Fake Festival we've been to, and I highly recommend if one is playing near you, you totally should go and see what you think.

Thankfully it was a nice day yesterday with the sun shining down on us when we got to the park where it was being held, so we sat outside and had a few drinks before The Killers tribute was on.

The heat inside the tent was unbelievable! I've never felt heat like it! So many people! But I suppose it all adds to the 'fun' of the festival feel!

This particular festival finished quite early, so naturally, we had to finish the night off properly, so we went for a few cheeky drinks and a good old dance at our 'local' establishment, and it totally finished the night on a high.

I love going out with my girls for a good few drinks and a dance and we always have a right old laugh!

Until next time! :) xx

The fun that is job hunting!

Evening bloggers!

Throughout my life I feel I've done pretty well. I have a great family, amazing friends, an incredible fiance. I finished school with good GCSE grades, went on to do my A Levels, and graduated in July 2014 with a BA Hons degree in English.








I was training to be an English teacher in a Secondary school but as much as I enjoyed teaching the kids, everything else on top of that was too much; I was getting stress headaches every day, coming home from placement and sitting on my laptop till bedtime and that was the same every weekend. So, I withdrew from my course and started volunteering at a primary school, and I loved it! But they sadly cannot offer me a job!


So this post is basically about how fun it is to be unemployed and constantly job hunting in the hopes of finding a job without having to go down to the job centre and sign on!

Since I have a background in English, I'd love to do a writing job, creatively or journalistic, but there aren't a lot of jobs going for that sort of thing.
I have a lot of experience in schools, primary and secondary, and would love a job in either one of these, but don't know if I'm technically 'qualified' to work as a TA in either!

Job applications are possibly some of the most boring things to fill in ever...and it doesn't help that they're all different! I'm constantly on the lookout for a job that interests me and pays well - need to save up for a house after all! - and apparently these jobs are few and far between...I applied for a job on a cruise ship due to how good the pay was, I was that desperate!

I thought it would be really easy to get a job. But now I know what's it like to be on the lookout, all the time. Trolling through high street store websites, the job centre online, agency jobs...the list goes on and on, and I know there's people out there who feel the same!

I feel like going to the places I've been applying and just saying "Hi, I'm Alice and I need a job. Look how nice I am!" but obviously that's not a viable way of getting a job and I'm not suggesting anybody does that!

At times like this I am reminded of some lyrics from a Christian song I heard a few weeks ago in the car - "Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done here." - that's my new mantra. Every time I feel so down in the dumps about being unemployed, and about my dwindling finances, I listen to this song as it's so empowering and it feels me with a sense of knowing that, since I'm at a crossroads in my life, I can do anything.

Everything happens for a reason. And that means the right job for me is out there, I just have to keep looking till I find it!

If anybody knows of anything, feel free to drop me a message!

Thanks for reading :) xx

Books vs Kindle

Hello everyone!

So this post may be a tad controversial, but it's a subject I don't really have a side on so I'm going to write about it and hear your thoughts instead!

I have an English degree, so naturally I'm a bookworm. Always have been and always will be. My bookshelves are full of books I've accumulated over the years, and it's still difficult for me to walk past a book shop without going in or buying anything...just ask my family!

I read anything and everything. All genres. All size of story. I'll give any type a try! I have my English degree to thank for my wide variety of theme appreciation. I'm a big Jane Austen fan, I'm more into typically girly books, but at the same time I love a good mystery.

What do we think about Kindles?

I know that that can sound like a swear word to some of my fellow bookworms out there...but at the same time, ever since I was given a Kindle on my 20th birthday, I've loved it! It's so handy to have! I have 199 books on my Kindle - some of these I've read and some I haven't - but still, 199 books! That to me is amazing, to be able to have e-books on a device that's only about 7 inches tall is just incredible. They're so useful for going on holiday, especially if, like me, you love to be able to sit and read. Escaping into the written words of a book is the ultimate indulgence! And I get this feeling whether it's from a physical book, or on my Kindle screen!

Now I know what some of you are going to say: "But the feel and smell of a new book is the best!", and you're right. I love buying books, still. The new book feeling is amazing; the spine is still 100% crisp and straight, it smells like a new book, and it'll be a great addition to its brothers and sisters on my bookshelves!

I don't have a side that I prefer in this debate, but I am interested in what you all think so please feel free to leave a comment!

Until next time! :) xx

Edinburgh, Summer 2015!

Evening everyone!

I'm just back from a lovely few days in Scotland's amazing capital, Edinburgh! In our family we have a yearly tradition of going up there at least twice a year for various different reasons. In the summer, we go to experience the range of comedians participating in the Fringe festival, but we also go to see the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The Tattoo is held on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle and  is a collection of expert drill, pipe and drum musicians and dancers from around the world who come together to partake in the month long event. We've been going for about 10 years now and they just keep getting better!



The dancing this year was some of the best I've seen at the Tattoo. There was a flavour of India thrown in to this year's Tattoo, and alongside the traditional Highland Dancers, they danced together to create an amazing atmosphere that you couldn't help but smile at. The Highland Dancers are by far one of the most impressive 'acts' at the Tattoo - I am slightly biased as I always wanted to be one of them! - but they never cease to amaze me! The speed they move at combined with all the fancy footwork is mind-blowing and I applaud them for being able to remember all the moves! 

 One of the best acts I've ever seen at the Tattoo has to be the Top Secret Drum Corps from Switzerland. Some of you may have seem them on the One Show the other evening, but they really are spectacular - give them a search and you'll see what I mean!
I've seen them at the Tattoo before and it's always so good to see them come back with new routines each time they come - the speed they can drum at is crazy!

At the end of the Tattoo there's always fireworks and, as we go to the 10:30pm showing of the Tattoo, the sky is always dark enough to see them in all their glory! This is one of the few pictures I took of the fireworks - I love fireworks so I try to watch them rather than take pictures of them each year!

This final image is of the Massed Pipes and Drums. They are the epitome of the Tattoo, they are Scotland! They always bring a smile to my face throughout the Tattoo and they start and end on a high.

 If you've never been to the Tattoo or don't really know what it's about, give it a Google and get yourselves there next year - tickets can seem expensive but in my opinion, the price reflects the quality of the performance 100%.

Until the next time! :) x

Tutoring at KGVI.

Hello everyone!

So for those of you who don't know me, one of my big passions in life is the Boys' Brigade. I'm a Lieutenant at my local company and I love it...maybe too much sometimes!

I completed my Officer Training down at BB HQ in August 2013 and was asked to go back this year and next year to help tutor what we've been calling 'the next generation of BB leaders', which is a massive honour and I was so happy to be asked!

Over the week it was great reuniting with old friends and making loads of new friends from my group of first year trainees. Think it's fair to say we're all linked for life now; once you're in the BB you can't get out!

We had a day trip to London and it was awesome; got to spend some quality time with good friends, mentally planning what we're going to buy each other for our weddings and taking some not so shameful selfies in London.

The week was amazing. The young people I met and worked with are some of the most inspirational people I have ever met and I have no doubt that every single one of them will do amazing things throughout their lives.

During the week I was told after leading evening prayers with Sarah that I was "so brave and inspirational" as I talked about a friend I lost recently. But, I don't see myself as either of those things. I felt like the people I was with were the inspirational ones as I was able to open up to them within a few days of knowing them - so thanks guys! <3

I felt valued and appreciated during the week and that has continued onto now as I know a few people who are concerned about A Level results etc. even though they'll be great because everything happens for a reason!

So that's that for now. If you want to know more about the BB or my involvement just drop me a message. But being part of it has opened up a lot of new and incredible doors for me and I can't imagine my life without it now!

Until the next time everyone! :) <3 xxxx

First ever blog!

Hello fellow bloggers!

I'm Alice and it is a pleasure to meet you all! I've wanted to start a blog for a while now, one of my best friends has a blog and she told me to just do it. So...here I am, doing it!

These were some draft ideas I had for blog names and ideas...and since I couldn't decide on just one, I'll be doing a multitude of them in my blog posts.

My blog will be a mixture of things: the books I'm reading, the clothes I want to buy, the 'trends' in the magazines, wedding stuff, my social life, my life with my church and the Boys' Brigade, places I'd love to visit and everything in between!

I didn't really know what to write about so here I am just waffling on about myself!

I graduated from University July 2014 with an English degree so I love reading a wide variety of literature and practically every genre going.

I'm engaged to an amazing man and we're getting married in two years. I can't wait! He proposed to me in Loch Lomond looking out over this view which is absolutely spectacular!

I already know that my next blog will be about my recent trip to London and the Boys' Brigade training course I've just tutored on as the BB plays a massive part in my life.

So that's it for now really. An introduction to who I am and what my blog will be about!

Speak soon bloggers!

Alice :) xxxx