2013: Year In Review (In Tweets!)

I know my tutor says your not a real student til you've done an all nighter but I'm not gonna lie, I prefer sleep.
— Kath (@kathoha) January 10, 2013

Looking for @PlymUni students to get involved in research on video games. Rare, Casual and 'Hardcore' gamers needed. pic.twitter.com/xBOtTWul

— Kath (@kathoha) February 6, 2013

This essay is going well. http://t.co/JX4fodahhw

— Kath (@kathoha) March 11, 2013

Writing a birthday blog post and can't help but feel overwhelmed! Thanks to every person who has made… http://t.co/h66uyZZon1

— Kath (@kathoha) April 11, 2013

So two of my best friends just got engaged. Any perks @upsu? ;) #upsusb13 http://t.co/7C4VztVLIF

— Kath (@kathoha) May 25, 2013

Ducks at Southampton Uni ☺ http://t.co/PJzChwGTak

— Kath (@kathoha) June 17, 2013

I don't think I sent @RCagz enough @hankgreen excitement messages. pic.twitter.com/zSnEdNUXah

— Kath (@kathoha) July 21, 2013

Please not Capaldi. Please not Capaldi. Please not Capaldi.

— Kath (@kathoha) August 4, 2013

Mini freak out about possibly being part of a 'good morning John' aaaah

— Kath (@kathoha) August 5, 2013

Eating watermelon haribo on the way to @LeakyCon with @RCagz in tribute of @maureenjohnson not being able to be there

— Kath (@kathoha) August 7, 2013

Leakycon leakycon leakycon leakycon leakycon

— Kath (@kathoha) August 8, 2013

First timers meet up :3 #leakycon pic.twitter.com/7rCTFWCINp

— Kath (@kathoha) August 8, 2013

Still can't get over how close I was to @hankgreen last night. Front row mic position ftw.

— Kath (@kathoha) August 9, 2013

Still in shock that people I went to school with are MARRIED and I basically repel men.

— Kath (@kathoha) August 11, 2013

Let's talk about the time I was this close to @hankgreen pic.twitter.com/aLL82YKAo4

— Kath (@kathoha) August 12, 2013

I just met Neil Gaiman and it was beautiful.

— Kath (@kathoha) August 18, 2013

Arrived in Plym!!! :D #sohappy

— Kath (@kathoha) September 18, 2013

Not sues that being drunk 5 hours before I have to get up for graduation is necessarily a good thing.

— Kath (@kathoha) September 18, 2013

I want to cry Maureen was so lovely

— Kath (@kathoha) October 5, 2013

I caved and bought tickets for the 11th before they sold out, I'M GOING TO SEE TAYLOR SWIFT :D :D

— Kath (@kathoha) October 9, 2013

Packed and ready to go! Don't judge me on the blanket, I've had it since I was very very small. pic.twitter.com/ResLPQTtMs

— Kath (@kathoha) November 9, 2013

TENNANT. FEZ. SURPRISED FACES.

— Kath (@kathoha) November 15, 2013

In other news, @jamesdashner is all kinds of lovely. Thanks for the signature and picture! 😃

— Kath (@kathoha) December 2, 2013

It's not about what's under the tree, but who's around it.

— Kath (@kathoha) December 25, 2013

The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead | Review

Please note: This is not a spoiler free review

The Fiery Heart is the fourth book in the Bloodlines series. Richelle Mead has a wonderful knack of ending books right at a point where you desperately want to know more, so it's fair to say that I've anticipated this instalment in the series since the moment I closed the third book, The Indigo Spell.

This is the first book in the series that is very much Adrian Ivashkov's story. It's half told from his point of view, and the part of the story that excited me the most was Adrian struggling to meet his potential while dealing with side-effects of spirit magic. 

Sydney has been an incredibly hard character to like throughout the series, but she's always been perfect to Adrian. And in this book, you start to understand why. Towards the end she gathers her courage to an ending which was quite remarkable (although we all knew that the Alchemists were going to attempt to re-educate at some point since it was mentioned in the first book, right?) and I did feel my heart tug when Adrian realised she was gone. 

The introduction of Zoe in this book was an incredibly interesting development, and obviously structurally-important as she is the one that shops Sydney in to the alchemists, but I do feel like the character of Zoe could have been developed more. Adrian and Sydney got a lot of much-needed time together, but I do feel that some of this sacrificed time for us to get to know Zoe. That being said, we know enough about Zoe to know she is everything an alchemist should be - prim, proper, and hates anything supernatural. As you can probably tell, I'm not sure how I feel about the whole Zoe thing. I wish she was a bit more than a means to an end for a plot for one story. But you never know, she might have a change of heart and bust Sydney out of re-education in Silver Shadows. (I doubt it).

All in all, Richelle Mead has created another book that I adored. She left me hanging on a thread the whole way through and I adored it. I can't wait for Silver Shadows (released 29/04/2014).

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Wonder by R.J. Palacio | Review

At the age of 10, August Pullman has gone through 27 surgical procedures. Every day, he deals with stares and whispers and has never gone to a mainstream school. That all changes when August is enrolled into Beecher Prep at the start of a new school year.

August is thrown into a new, unknown world where he must navigate friendships, school bullies and school lessons. Wonder is split into parts, narrated by August and other characters whose lives he has touched. Through this method, you get to see the impact August makes on the world and those around him through different pairs of eyes.

August is a character who shows remarkable strength and bravery throughout the book. However, August is a child. An extraordinary child, but a child nonetheless. He can be stubborn, petty and selfish, just like any 10 year old boy. And part of Augusts struggle is convincing his new classmates that he's just like them, despite the appearance.

Let's face it, we've all had times in our lives where we have walked past somebody who looks different to us, and had to do a double take. Wonder is a beautiful lesson in tolerance and acceptance. It's a book you connect with on a deep, human level, that makes you want to be a better person. I would honestly encourage everybody to read this book, and I would challenge them not to feel a little bit changed at the end of it.

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

James Dasher Signing at Forbidden Planet London Megastore | 2nd December 2013

On Monday 2nd December the Forbidden Planet London Megastore hosted James Dashner's first ever UK signing. I was super excited about this, as I absolutely loved The Maze Runner Trilogy (and prequel, sort of), am very excited by the prospect of the upcoming movie, and was very intrigued by his new book The Eye of Minds - the book which he was in the UK to promote.

I arrived at Forbidden Planet about half an hour before the event was due to start, mostly because of my absolute hatred of being late and in part on the advice of Forbidden Planet staff. There were a few people in the queue already, and we all chatted while we waited. Unfortunately I don't think that the turn out ended up being as great as it could have been, and I'm sure that the fact that it was at 6pm on a Monday evening had a part to play in that. 

James arrived and we all crowded in and had a great discussion about the book and about the film, and about England in general. We found out that he's incredibly happy with what he knows about the film so far, he has total confidence in the actors, The Scorch Trials has been given the go ahead to be made into a film, and The Matrix was one of his inspirations for The Eye of Minds amongst other things. 

When it was my turn to get my copy of The Eye of Minds signed (along with The Maze Runner which he very kindly didn't mind me bringing along) I asked him about how Kaya Scodelario was on The Maze Runner movie in his opinion and that she was always my Theresa when I read the books. James was incredibly nice, he answered my questions and didn't seem at all annoyed by them. He asked where I was from (I said Oxford, it's easiest) and we discussed how people think he should visit there (I said it was boring). I was also got a photo with him, thanks nice Forbidden Planet man who took it!

I look a bit worse for wear after spending the day battling Oxford Street Christmas shopping!

All in all I had a great time and am very happy I got to meet James. It's great when you meet an author and they are engaging rather than dismissive, happy to discuss rather than wanting you to accept their opinions.
I've started The Eye of Minds and it's proving to be a well-written, fast paced novel that I can't wait to finish and see where the story goes (and then probably get frustrated because the next book in the series isn't out yet, that's how it goes folks.)

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Books I'm Reading This Christmas

The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who celebrations

It's finally here! After being excited about this day for absolutely forever, it's finally time to sit down and watch the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who! In preparation for tonight's episode, The Day of the Doctor, I made some very tasty treats to munch alongside the episode and probably choke on them in fear.

I saw that  Lakeland has been selling a fantastic range of Doctor Who bakeware and accessories, and I just couldn't keep my hands off. I'm not the best baker in the world, so I went for this cute tardis-shaped silicone chocolate mould. 

I filled it with a round of melted milk chocolate, a round of melted white chocolate and one round which had a layer of both. 

Each set typically took 15 minutes to set in my fridge and then they popped out into perfectly formed Tardis's, Sontarans, Cybermen, Weeping Angel and K9's. After all three sets were done I popped them into a bag ready for tonights celebrations

Are you looking forward to Doctor Who tonight? 

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Ch-ch-changes

You may have noticed that I didn't manage to post all of my Halloween countdown posts :( I'm gutted - I had exciting stuff planned - but my life got HECTIC suddenly.

I've moved. To South Oxfordshire. This is my third week here and yet I didn't know I was moving until I left. I came to visit my dad and I just... haven't gone home. Well, I have, to collect my stuff. 

As you may know, I graduated a few months ago and ever since I've been in a permanent state of 'stuck'. Something had to change in order for me to start living my adult life and I guess this was it. 

But I'm all moved and everything's starting to organise itself so I'm ready to throw myself back into blogging again. Thanks for sticking with me.

Halloween Countdown | Lush Pumpkin Bubble Bar Review

I, like most people, absolutely love Lush. There's nothing better than a nice smelling bubble bath after a stressful day. I love the themed ranges Lush comes out with for the different holidays, so I was very excited to try their number 1 autumnal product: Pumpkin Bubble Bar.

Cute little fella, isn't he? He should have a stem, but alas, it fell out.

According to the Lush website, the Pumpkin Bubble Bar contains ylang ylang oil and orange flower absolute to leave you feeling 'uplifted and refreshed'. Personally, I always feel refreshed after a nice long soak in the bath. 

To use the bubble bar you simple crumble chunks of this bubble bar under the running tap of your bath. Lots of people (including me!) like to split bubble bars in half and save the second half for another bath. While this guy certainly creates mounds of bubbles, I personally didn't feel the scent was very strong so that may be a factor in deciding whether to use him all in one go or not. It makes the water a very nice and bright orange, and the lack of scent didn't seem to allude to a lack of ingredients because it certainly felt lovely and moisturising. 

Possibly the best thing about this guy is the price. £2.75 each? Bargain.

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Halloween Countdown | The best way to use up leftover chocolate

You know how it goes. You don't really think you'll get any trick or treaters, so you don't buy much chocolate. Until a day before when suddenly you panic buy. After Halloween night you are stuck with mounds of leftover chocolate. Here's an exciting way to use it up.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart:

Here's my go at it:

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Halloween Countdown | Halloween Printables!

Following on from yesterdays Halloween  Countdown post is another decorating post. One of my favourite ways to decorate is using printables, and they are free! My bedroom at university was covered in printables, and since then my love for them has only grown.

Here's some of my favourite Halloween printables from around the web:

First up from The Prudent Patron  are these beautiful designs (and loads more):

Next up, I absolutely adore this simple but very cute printable from UnfortunatelyOh 

And finally, this beautiful Shakespeare quote from Carissamiss :

Do you love printables as much as I do?

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Halloween Countdown: My favourite Halloween Etsy Picks

Welcome to my Halloween countdown! Over the next 13 days you're going to be treated to a Halloween themed post every single day. 

When I'm older and finally have my own house and children, I'm going to be one of those people who is over-invested in decorating for the holidays. I just know it. One of my favourite things to do the past month or so is to check out what Halloween themed items are available on etsy... even though I don't have anywhere to decorate! I thought I'd share some of my favourite items with you, all from UK sellers.

1. First up is this lovely Mini Boo Halloween Cushion by ilovehearts. I have a little soft spot in my heart for felt and I adore this kitschy sort of design.

2. Next we have this beautiful Reclaimed Wooden Happy Halloween sign by MapleandGreen. This is the sort of this that would definitely be hung on the door in my (imaginary) future house.

3.This Plush Ghost Decoration by ClaireyLouCreations might be the cutest thing I've ever seen. So adorable.

4. If I was to be having a halloween party, I'd definitely use these Wanda's Witch's Brew Halloween Tags by Amaretto to decorate the drinks table a bit. 

5. I am incredibly tempted to buy these Halloween Ghost Trick or Treat Bags by FunkyDoryPartyBags for the children I babysit for. How cute are they?

Are you like me, do you love decorating imaginary houses in your mind?

Remember to Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Maureen Johnson 'The Royal Visit' at Waterstones Birmingham New Street

Maureen Johnson is probably my favourite author right now. She's witty, intelligent, hilarious, writes in a fantastic style and is really really really good at twitter. I actually first found Maureen through twitter, and after reading her tweets decided it was probably time to read her books After that I progressed to professional Maureen fangirl, so when the lovely Waterstones Birmingham New Street asked if I'd like to come along and blog at the Birmingham stop of Maureen's recent UK book tour I, of course, jumped at the chance! 

I first went into the store at about 5PM after I had arrived in Birmingham, to collect my ticket, and I was wowed by how pretty it was. In the centre of the store was a grand staircase and there were lovely high ceilings which gave the whole place a sense of grandeur. I came back at about quarter to seven, where I joined a queue of eager readers. We were let in at 5 minutes to seven, to browse Maureen's books and find ourselves seats. On our seats were some badges featuring Maureen's face, which  I put in my bag from my best friend and fellow Maureen Johnson fangirl Ria and I. Next thing I know, Maureen was introduced and ran around from the back of the store and the evening began. 

Maureen is every bit as witty, intelligent and hilarious in real life as she seems online and through her books. It is so incredibly rare for an author to live up to the expectations - the person you believe that they are in your head - but she did, entirely. Unfortunately she was sick and had lost her voice, but she assured us it didn't hurt - just sounded bad. She also gushed about how beautiful the store was, how most Waterstones are beautiful, and how England is genuinely a little bit better than the US (my words, not hers, but it was implied).

She started the evening by getting the audience to ask her questions, which is unlike most author events which have a dedicated Q&A session. She answered questions on a variety of topics, including writing, publishing and puppies, some of which you can see details of here on Bloggers Bookshelf. She even answered a question on gendered book covers from a very shy, nervous and awkward me. 

About an hour after the event it finished for signings. I met another lovely book blogger in the queue, you can check out her blog here and after ten minutes or so I got to meet Maureen. She was lovely and even though I was incredibly cheeky and got my copy of The Madness Underneath signed, as well as a note written for Ria and got a photo together she really didn't seem to mind. Then I got to drift back to my hotel on the ultimate meeting-your-heroes high. 

A massive thanks to Waterstones Birmingham New Street (seriously go there it's beautiful), Maureen Johnson and Hot Key Books for putting on the great event.

You can read more about this event and what Maureen said over on Bloggers Bookshelf right here.

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Forever 21 Birmingham Visit & Haul

Last weekend I was lucky enough to go to Birmingham for an event you can read all about tomorrow. The first thing I did as soon as I arrived was check out the Bullring, a shopping centre in the centre of Birmingham. My feet naturally drifted towards Forever 21, a shop I've wanted to visit since it burst onto the UK high-street scene a few years ago. Unfortunately there's no stores near where I live, and I'm pretty cautious about ordering clothes online if I'm unsure of the stores sizing. So off I headed towards Forever 21, with the intention to try on essentially everything to get a good idea of what size I would be there.

The store was not hard to find. As I entered the Bullring from a nifty walkway from the train station I was faced with it. And isn't it beautiful? The store is set out over three floors, one dedicated to shoes and accessories alone. I must admit I was a little surprised at the prices, still affordable but definitely cheaper online - which I imagine is because of the numerous sales and offers the Forever 21 website always has going on. I tried on thirteen items on my little trying on session, which I was glad as I did as some of the items are on the small side. I wanted at least eight of the items I tried on, but unfortunately could only afford to buy three. Here's what I bought.

Ditsy Fox Sweater - £16.75

Basic Top (Navy) - £6.50

Logo Top - £10.50

I did love Forever21, and am looking forward to going back to a store. Maybe I'll try one of the ones in London next?

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

VO5 Plump It Up Amplifying Blow Dry Lotion | Product Review

One of the greatest parts about growing up with just my mum and my sisters is the constant discovery of new beauty products. I'm definitely guilty of rooting through my sisters make up bag to find what new things she's bought recently. I was having a little peruse over my mums dressing table and found this little miracle spray and decided to try it out - It has fast become a firm favourite of mine. 

I put a tiny bit into my hair after quickly towel drying it, and comb it through with my fingers before going on to blow dry it. I find that it speeds up the drying time a bit, which is great when you have thick and long hair like I do. It puts a great lift in your hair, and is great as a first step in the styling process or as just a pick me up when you can't be bothered to do much more. This bottle is finally on it's way out and my Mum says that she has had it for a couple of months before I got my mitts on it. It is also so cheap compared to many other brands, when it does exactly the same job.

Sorry about the quality, iPhone photo!

VO5's Plump It Up Amplifying Blow Dry Lotion is available online at Amazon and Superdrug for £3.69.

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Rimmel ScandalEyes Retro Glam Mascara | Product Review

I really resent buying mascara. I'm not sure why, but I'm perfectly happy to 'invest' in any other kind of make up. £25 for 30ml of primer? Sure. More than £7 on a mascara? You're kidding me. Which is unfortunate, because getting a good mascara for under £7 is not the easiest feat.

I purchased ScandalEyes Retro Glam mascara in superdrug, simply because I had run out of mascara and it was on offer. I honestly was not expecting it to be as fabulous as it is but I was happily surprised.

To be honest, I was expecting it to be terrible because the packaging is awful. Really, Rimmel? I understand they were trying to make it look retro, it's very much indicated by the name. But for me it just doesn't work. However, the product. The stuff inside the garish tube? Amazing.

The hourglass style brush spreads out my eyelashes and coats them entirely. I can easily get away with just one quick layer if needs be. Big brushes can tend to scare me a little, but I've only had one or two mascara 'accidents' while using this. 

I've had many compliments using this mascara, my family instantly noticed I was wearing a different mascara than usual, so that can only be a good thing!

Which products do you hate spending money on? Tell me in the comments!

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

An Evening with Neil Gaiman at Portsmouth Pavilions

As soon as I read that there was to be An Evening With Neil Gaiman in Portsmouth I bought myself a ticket. Neil does not always write my favourite books, but there is no denying his imagination and extraordinary storytelling and I thought it would be unquestionably interesting to hear what he had to say. And interesting, it most definitely was. Neil was already in Portsmouth that day, his hometown, to have an unnamed bus lane named after his latest novel: The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

I arrived at 6.30 to find a very long queue and the place packed out, which I suppose is to be expected with a Neil Gaiman event. I was lucky enough to get a centre row seat only a few rows back, so I had a great view. Before Neil even made an appearance, a Dalek was ushered onto the stage which gained great laughter and applause from the crowds. Eventually Neil came out on stage to rapturous applause, and the night got underway.

It was less of a talk and more of an informal chat. Neil spoke about the busy year he’s had: two books, one multimedia project, Doctor Who and an upcoming video game. He’s certainly had a full and demanding few months. He went on to talk at length about The Ocean at The End of The Lane and how it came about, and there was a question and answer session where the dynamic personality you hear about really shone. He read a passage from The Ocean at The End of the Lane, and later on one from his new children’s book Fortunately The Milk, which is a story he seems really proud of.

I was not at all prepared for the signing afterwards. Neil had graciously offered to sign two books per person – one copy of Ocean and another of his books. It took an incredibly long time to even be allowed to queue. I started resenting this, but realised that once I got to the front I wouldn't want to be rushed through, so I waited patiently. However, I did end up missing one train, and by the time we were allowed to line up – it was 10 minutes before I had to leave in order to catch the last train home! About half way through the queue I had to flag the lady manning it down and say that I only had four minutes until I had to go. Thankfully, she took me straight to the front of the queue to get my book signed. She, and the staff at the signing table, treated me absolutely wonderfully and didn't make me feel guilty at all. 

By the time I got to the table it was half ten, and Neil had been signing for two hours with still half the room to do. He was still the most lovely man, who gave a really genuine smile and thanked me for coming. He was attempting to draw a monster in every persons copy of Ocean, and a different monster for every person, and I joked that it was testing his creative skills – he agreed.

The whole evening was a wonderful experience, and not something I’m likely to forget for a while! For more information on the content of Neil’s talk head on over to Bloggers Bookshelf where I’ve written all about it. 

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

My LeakyCon Experience - Part Two

So next up on our LeakyCon adventures was the action packed Friday. Friday started with, you guessed it, a queue. This was the queue for wristbands for the signings of the day. LeakyCon, unlike most cons, include the cost of any signings happening that weekend in the price of the ticket. However, to make for an efficient convention, make sure that those going to the signings get a guaranteed signature and to make sure those doing the signings actually have time to themselves and to enjoy the convention. So in order to make it fair, everyone draws for a wristband – you pull a ticket out of a bag, red is means you didn’t get a wristband and white means you did. On Friday there were three draws going on – Team StarKid, The HP Actors and Hank Green. We got to draw for all three, and I won a wristband for Hank’s signing which I was super excited about because it’s the one I really wanted to go to.

Our first port of call for the day was the Nerdfighter meet-up, which was all kinds of wonderful. After that we grabbed a quick bite of lunch before visiting the Waterstones store which had set up in the building and attending the lit signing. Here I met authors James Dawson, Matt Whyman, Will Hill, Sally Gardner, Samantha Shannon, Laure Eve and Elizabeth Wein who were all absolutely lovely and willing to chat as they signed your book.

My highlight of the day was a LeakyLit panel titled ‘Fear and Loathing in the Writing Process: How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Terror’.

I was particularly looking forward to this panel, as an aspiring author. Writing is all that I’ve ever wanted to do, and if I have it my way what I will end up doing but god it is terrifying at times. It was wonderful, reassured me that those “published authors” are no different from us “normal” folk and that they all suffer from the same issues I do. I also got my question answered about how to set aside time to write when you have a full-time job etc and they were incredibly helpful. I also fell a little bit in love with James Dawson and Samantha Shannon, who are hilarious and so down to earth.

I attended a couple of other panels and the Hank Green signing, and the day was capped off by another Wrock concert with some really amazing performances by some amazingly talented people. Harry and The Potters constantly astound me.

Saturday started with another queue for wristbands, and I managed to pull one for the Harry Potter Actors signing, which was definitely a great start to the day.

Before that, however, was the HP Actors Panel, where the Actors played a hilarious game of HP trivia. After that was the signing, and I was able to get my Blu-Ray Box Set signed by those there and my Wand Box for Luna’s wand signed by Evanna Lynch herself. After that we managed to catch the very end of the Who Has it Worse? Panel, which was a hilarious discussion between Dawn o’Porter and James Dawson.

Next on the agenda was the Who Needs School? Lit panel, where the authors talked about the various ways in which they have come into writing and whether they have actually studied creative writing or English. Naturally, it went off topic and we also spoke about editing, ghost-writing and sticking it to the man (publishers).

The StarKid performance was on the Saturday afternoon. I'm not a massive StarKid fan, but the excitement in that room was absolutely astounding and they do put on a really good performance. 

The highlight of the Saturday was definitely the Esther Earl Rocking Charity Ball. It was a chance for all the attendees to get a bit glammed up, get a bit drunk and dance with all the friends that you’ve made that weekend. It was really wonderful, and the whole of the Grand Ballroom dancing to Gangnam Style then belting out Total Eclipse of the Heart is a memory I’ll treasure for a long time.

And then on the Sunday, it was time for the leaving feast. That is literally what it says on the tin, we all ate an English breakfast and cried a little about how we didn't want to leave.

I honestly had the best time at LeakyCon and I am still very much in the midst of my post-LeakyCon depression. I’ve definitely got the bug and am hoping I’ll be able to make it to Orlando for next year’s LeakyCon. In the UK there is a bit of a stigma about conventions, but honestly I consider it to have been just as good as any festival I’ve ever been to. And inside, with you know, beds.

My LeakyCon Experience - Part One

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of attending LeakyCon London with my pal Ria. LeakyCon is a Harry Potter convention that typically runs over four days, and has been going since 2009. LeakyCon has evolved as the Harry Potter films came to a close to celebrate all things fandom, and the love for characters, actors and music the fandom has given us. I’ve wanted to attend LeakyCon since its beginnings but until this year it had only been held in the US – and my poor little bank account has never been able to stretch to that. However this year the lovely staff, led by Potter fan and figurehead Melissa Anelli, decided that it was time to bring the conference over to Harry’s homeland… England. The convention was held in the truly beautiful setting of the Grand Connaught Rooms in London.

The night before the convention all kicked off the attendees, staff, and friends and family were invited to buy tickets to an exclusive evening at Warner Bros Studio Tour to celebrate the behind-the-scenes aspects of the movies with one another. I was lucky enough to have attended the WB Studio Tour when it very first opened, but a lot had changed since then and it was great to go back and experience it with a few hundred other Potter fans. The atmosphere was absolutely electric. The lovely Scarlett Byrne who plays Pansy Parkinson in the films also welcomed us to the tour and ushered us in, which was the very first magical moment of a very special weekend. After leaving the tour Ria and I grabbed some pizza from Ecco Pizza on Drury Lane (I really recommend them, they are so tasty and such good value for money in London) and relaxed ready for the mad weekend ahead.

The next day Ria and I woke up bright and early ready for Day 1 of LeakyCon – well, as early as we thought we needed to be up! It turned out there was already a large queue forming outside the GCR so we rushed down there. After over an hour in line we were registered, grabbed a quick hot drink from Café Nero and were on to the first of four very busy days. On that first day we attended the Leaky first-timers meet up, where they gave us tips and tricks on getting the best experience out of our first time at LeakyCon and squished all of our nerves. After that we attended the Whovian meet up, which was incredibly packed and we all shared our excitement about the 50^th anniversary and the new Doctor. 

When that ended we got into the queue for the Opening Ceremony, which if I’m being totally honest, was the worst part of LeakyCon for me. The venue was a bit small for the amount of people there, and they hadn’t yet figured out to handle us. Instead of being in any sort of queue every attendee was squished together in the lobby, pushing and shoving, blocking all of the entrances and exits. However they managed to get us all in the room in an orderly fashion eventually, and the ceremony started.

The Opening Ceremony was amazing – Melissa welcomed us, speakers from HPA and Lumos spoke about the important charity work that they do, Evanna Lynch, Scarlett Byrne, Alfie Enoch and Robbie Jarvis each spoke to the crowd, the Wizard Rockers warmed up for the evening ahead with quick performances, Hank Green did his first Accio Deathly Hallows performance of the weekend and Team StarKid surprised the audience by appearing throughout the room randomly before making their way to stage to perform.

We had a quick wonder around the vendor room to look at the beautiful merch on sale before sitting back in the grand ballroom and resting our weary bones ready for the Wizard Rock concert that evening. Wizard Rock is a genre of music inspired by Harry Potter books and films and is a huge part of the fandom. Two of my favourite YouTube personalities were playing that evening – Alex Carpenter and Hank Green, so I was excited to be right at the front, centre stage in front of the mic. The whole evening was amazing, and I got introduced to some amazing acts that I had never heard of before. After the gig I was lucky enough to grab a picture with Alex Carpenter before heading back to the hotel for a couple of hours sleep.

For what happened on days 2, 3 and 4 – stay tuned!

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Wear Sunscreen

I know it's obvious but I can't get over the amount of people who don't wear sunscreen. Having being lumped with blessed with fair skin, I've been battling with the sun for my whole life, and I wear sunscreen every day. 

But even if you're not an English Rose and tan naturally, sunscreen is bloody important! By not wearing sunscreen you increase your chances of skin cancer and melanoma, which lets face it makes the five minutes waiting for the stickiness to seep into your skin pretty worth it in my opinion. Melanoma is more common in women, particularly young women. In the UK it’s the most common cancer in people aged 15–34. How can you ignore statistics? 

Along with increasing your risk of cancer massively, you also risk repeated sun damage to your skin. Sun damage can cause early aged, dry, wrinkled and leathery skin.  It's not my place to judge your choices but to me a tan that lasts a few weeks now is not worth that later in life. 

I'm seeing so many people wearing next to nothing literally frying outside, and I can't stand it. I cringe for them. Wear suncreen, there's good enough fake tans out there now!

Do you wear sunscreen? I hope so!

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram

Colgate Optic White | Review

Is it a little weird to do a review on a mouthwash or not? I feel like it's a little weird, but I just wanted to rave about it so much! So I do apologise if this seems a little creepy. 

My Aunt lives in Florida and every time she comes home she always brings back a multitude of teeth whitening products, as they are notoriously stronger than ones available in the UK. I decided to try the Colgate Optic White mouthwash, which I have been using along with my Colgate Max White One whitening toothpaste (this one is a UK version - a free sample for living in student houses!). 

I've been using the mouthwash for almost two weeks, usually every night but it is very harsh so sometimes I'm not quite up to it, and my oh my have I seen an improvement! A noticeable difference, so much so that people I know have actually commented on it.

The first time you use the mouthwash, it is pretty bleak. It's like your gargling with pure bleach, and it's a moment of "oh no I've done it now I have to commit to it". So if you have a real issue with that sort of thing, it's definitely not for you. Once you've done it a few times though, while it's still quite gross it's not so much of a shock and you are able to swirl it around for a bit longer. 

I haven't tried the UK version, but I'd definitely recommend this if you can get your hands on the US one. I always think, if people praise you on your teeth (because it's one of those topics) you know you're doing something right.

Follow me on: 

Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram