London baby!

Hi everyone!

So this time last week I was in London with my sister, Sarah.

I've been to London a couple of times but struggle to get around. I managed to get us from Euston to Leicester Square and  back again in one piece, so I'm classing that as a win!

We went down to London for a visit to the Harry Potter Studio tour, but spent most of the first day in London doing a sightseeing bus tour. I've done this bus tour before with Daniel, but I thought Sarah would love it, and I was right! The tour guides are brilliant; they've funny and witty, and obviously know a lot about London and its history!

I think we took a photo of every little thing we could, just in case we missed anything! We said we'd definitely have to go again as there's things we want to do that we didn't have time to do this trip. Buckingham Palace and the gardens, seeing a show like Mamma Mia in the West End, and the boat trip that comes with the bus tour. (I've done this before but Sarah hasn't!)

Although I don't enjoy how busy London is, it's a beautiful city with amazing history. There's so much to do, so much to see. We're definitely going to have to go for longer than 3 days next time!
I want to go to Harrods and spend all my money in their Christmas shop! Poor Daniel...

So. The main event. The Making of Harry Potter. It was absolutely amazing! If you haven't been and love Harry Potter, I strongly recommend you go! I'm going to have to take Daniel!

The studio tour is brilliant. They have everything that was used in the films; the sets, costumes, props, the list is endless. And it is amazing. So many photos were taken of every little piece of HP magic!

I don't want to give away any spoilers because that's mean! But it is brilliant, and you should all go buy tickets right now! The gift shop. Oh my goodness. The gift shop is equally as amazing. If I had an endless source of money, most of it would have gone to the gift shop, I literally could have bought one of everything! They had everything...hoodies, knitted jumpers, sweets, jewellery, mugs, glasses, keyrings, pens, owls, wands...everywhere you looked there was something you wanted.

We had an absolutely amazing time and would happily go back repeatedly! Of all the photos I took, here's a nice selection to show you our amazing time!

If you're a lover of London and feel there's something I should do/somewhere I should go, please leave a comment below!

Until the next time :) xxx

Edinburgh!

Howdy!

So last weekend I went off up to Edinburgh with my family. Now, we as a family love Edinburgh and go at least twice a year together and have done for countless years. 
We're slightly obsessed...!

We go up every summer to go and watch the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Not many people have heard of the Tattoo. It's Military marching bands, dance groups and singers from around the world, come together and put on a fabulous performance! If you youtube the Tattoo, you'll find a whole host of amazing videos, some from this year's Tattoo too!

Edinburgh is a massive city, full of steep streets that are always crowded, a lovely park with Scottish seagulls and a whole variety of pubs! The Royal Mile is a street full of tourist souvenir shops, cafe's and restaurants, and of course, pubs. I've only been in a couple of the pubs on the Mile, but they've both lovely with a really good atmosphere, friendly staff and not bad prices for 4 drinks!

What I like about even these most authentic of Scottish pubs, is that they've opened their doors to cocktails! Now those of you that know me, know I'm partial to a cocktail or two. So when we went to the Albanach pub on the Mile and I saw they had a Chambord Spritz on the menu...I was over the moon! 2 measures of Chambord, a large dose of Prosecco and then topped up with soda. Heaven in a glass!

There's so many things I love about Edinburgh. I quite enjoyed sitting in Prince's Street Park with my Mam before we got the train home on Monday. The sun was shining, the seagulls were scrounging for food, and the best part? The amount of people walking past. The languages, the accents, the variety in age...everyone! Edinburgh is a city that has something for everyone! So go! Experience it for yourself! They have museums, art galleries, comedy clubs, shopping, wining and dining, bus tours...the list goes on and on!

Another thing I love about Edinburgh is the tartan. Much to Daniel's disgust! He is not a fan whereas I totally want us to have a tartan house. Sorry dear. Still trying to get him into a kilt for the wedding...maybe if we all slyly bring it into conversation often enough he'll come around to the idea?! Worth a try ;) There's such a wide variety of tartan out there; matching with clans and surnames, even countries that participate in the Tattoo all have their own version of tartan! So diverse and I don't think two tartans are ever the same!

If you haven't been to Edinburgh before, I certainly recommend going for a weekend or a few days and just getting lost in the atmosphere of the city.

If there's anywhere you think I should go, please leave a comment :)

Oh, and the best part of this year's trip to Edinburgh? The Harvey family selfie we took at the castle!

Until the next time :) xxx

KGVI 2016

Hi everyone :)

So last week I had the privilege of spending a week with some amazing youth down at Boys' Brigade HQ. I was helping tutor these amazing people who are becoming the next wave of Boys' Brigade leaders.

I've done this course myself and I have to say it's a fantastic course, setting you up with everything you need to know about being a leader, holding a camp etc. You even get to do a first aid course!

We do the course down at Felden Lodge, BBHQ and I can testify that it is a very special, spiritual and emotional place. If you don't feel a little bit overwhelmed when you're there, you need to go back and try again!

The week is a brilliant week. Getting to meet all the youth, we all come from various parts of the country, so a regular topic of conversation always revolves around accents and how people say certain words! It is hilarious!

The week prepares you with sessions such as building relationships and challenging behaviour, but one of my favourite sessions is sharing your skills. Each member of the group brings an activity they do with their BB company and shows it to the rest of the group. This week we had a fantastic Jonah and the whale craft, a whizzy prayer and playing the Star Wars theme on xylophone keys, just to name a few!

I thoroughly enjoy going down to Felden. It's where I met two of my very best friends, Alice & Sarah, it's a place where I've developed my faith, and some of my best Boys' Brigade memories have been made there!

I love working in the BB and continue to work my way up and up...who knows, I could be the next BB Director for England and Wales. ;)

Until the next time :) xxx