Ell-E Gee round 2 at London's O2 Arena... More Etherealness, More Party Petrol and More Centre Stage #moreismore

The Real Queen G

For my many many regular readers (and by that I mean all 0 of you) you will know that I went to see Ellie Lifegoals Goulding live in Newcastle on Wednesday the 16th of March and it was a truly celestial experience... The closest I've felt to heaven in my whole 21 years thus far!  Well B and I had such an incredible time that the day after we returned to Edinburgh, work and our drab reality we decided to blow all of our savings and book to go see Ellie for a second time in London.  As you can probably predict, both from the beginning of this post and from it's title, this post is dedicated to our second, and sadly final, attendance of the Delirium World Tour.

Wednesday 23 March 2016

I spent the day working a 12 hour shift and then returned to my flat at 8.30/9pm.  I messaged B to come through to my room so we could discuss the final plans for the next day (Goulding day) and so she came through, poster making supplies in hand, and we came to the sad realization that it would be a 4am wake up call for us the next day.  B and I had a quick catch up and then got down to business making posters for the concert, it was sheer carnage as glitter, super glue and black marker got everywhere but ultimately we ended up with 3 wonderful pieces of artwork and one John Newman appreciation poster.  

What are you some kind of artist or
something?

The posters read:

1. I've got Ellie On My Mind
2. Ellie's got that Fire Fire FiiiiiIIiiire
3. Ellie is Gould-en, she makes us Delirious 
4. John, I need to know now, know now will you Love Me?   

As you can probably tell we are hella original and I'm 100% sure nobody has thought of those phrases to put on their posters before, 100%!  The whole process took a while and before we knew it the clock stuck 12 and we had to accept that it was bed time.  I was so excited i didn't think that I would be able to sleep but in the end the 12 hour shifts caught up with me and I was in a deep slumber the second my head hit the pillow.

Thursday 24 March 2016

Too soon?

4am and my alarm sounds... "Come on Jessica, come on Tori, let's go to the mall you wont be sorry" as Robin Sparkles welcomes me into the day.  Everything hurt and I was dying, I knew that I was getting out of bed for a good cause, a great cause even but it was just so damn early!  As the blinding pain of exhaustion hit I thought of what Ellie would say, "Bite down on your lip, take another sip, dont panic!"  and just like that I was buzzing for the wonderful life making event that was mere hours away from me.  B and I reconvened in the hall and I told her about how I couldn't get Don't Panic out of my head, just like that "bite down on your lip, take another sip, don't panic" became the saying/song of the trip.  We set out for the tram and as we waited we discussed matters such as the UK early 2000 trend of listening to high pitched DJ music #DJCammyInTheMix2k6 and other equally interesting subjects and then we were en route to the airport.  It was 6.30am by the time we cleared security and I insisted on visiting the whiz palace before boarding the plane because airplane bathrooms are ew.  B was getting worried because our boarding time was 6.30 and she thought we were going to miss the plane, we had a slight difference of opinions as to whi

ch gate we were boarding from and then we decided to listen to me because I am always right when it comes to directions.  I was wrong.  After humiliating us by trying to board the wrong plane we set out towards the actual gate, B almost in a run for fear of missing the plane and myself trying to connect the the wifi in order to snapchat B saying "Bite down on your lip, take another sip".  We made it in time for our flight and before we knew it we were off, up in the air, on our way to see Ellie.

The flight was spent listening to music, chatting and then writing a letter each to Ellie, the 02 arena website stated that there was an information desk where you could hand in letters to singers and this was not an opportunity we were willing to miss.  My Letter went a little like this I (give or take the wording of the first section):

Dear Ellie,

I am currently on a flight from Edinburgh to London with my main man Beth to see your Delirium tour for a second time and I am so excited.  Although this is my second time seeing the Delirium tour it will be the 5th time I have seen you live.  I also seen you at T in the Park in the King Tut's tend many moons ago, at the 02ABC in Glasgow for Halcyon, at Hyde Park for the British Summertime Festival and now Delirium twice...(more ramblings)... 

To sum up what I really want to say is that if you were Harry Potter then I would want to be your invisibility cloak so that I could shelter you from all of the worlds evils.  If I was a 2 horned unicorn and you were a horse I would give up one of my horns for you.  If I was Dr Meredith Grey and you were a patient who was coding then I would for sure push one of epi for you!  Here is a joke:  2 fish are in a tank, one fish turns to the other and says "do you know how to drive this thing?" haha love Gemma *inster twitter account name here* xoxo

legs for days

We arrived in London and I practiced my English accent and we made our way into the city centre.  I wont go into how we spent the first part of our day before we could check into our hostel because I will write a separate London post so let skip forward to 2pm, check in time at the hostel.  We walked in circles in the rain for a dogs age before finding the hostel and I must say the 4 hours sleep almost got the better of me when I almost went off on one at B... I had to remidn myself to bite down on my lip and take another sip!  I had to continue to remind myself to do this after arriving at the hostel as the man on reception had no idea what he was doing and took forever and a day to check us in.  B and I raced to our dorm and began to get ready for Ellie as quickly as we could after the delay at reception!  I was ready before B so I grabbed my straighteners and began to use them to curl one side of her hair as she tackled the other.  As I came across a knot in her hair I began trying to juggle my tangle teezer, straighteners and B's hair between my two hands which ultimately resulted in

my straighteners bouncing back onto my arm and leaving a massive burn (burn burn burn gonna let it burn burn burn).  There was no time to nurse the wound and I grabbed the essentials: purse, phone, ipod, wireless charger, happy thoughts and a pocket full of sunshine before skipping to the underground for a one way trip to the one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  

"still pee but run"
"Actually run now!"

We arrive at the 02 by 3ish and claimed our spots in the line.  There were already a fair amount of people waiting to see Ellie and I was a little nervous about our chances of getting the exact spot we had been dreaming of for the past week but once again I bit down on my lip and took another sip.  B and I had 3 and a half hours to kill in the line and so after we had our spot I sent B on a one woman mission to get snacks and boy did she deliver... B got us salt and vinegar crisps, diet soda, cream eggs, cereal bar and a magazine.  Around 5pm I took my turn of leaving the line for a final pre-Ellie bathroom break, I climbed over all of the people behind us in the queue who were obviously at least just a little bit less fans of Ellie than us and as I made my way to the bathroom I passed a bar that was playing the Delirium album on a loop.  I. WAS. SO. FREAKIN. HYPED!  I returned to the line and then B left of her turn emptying her bladder.  While B was away I listened to Ellie on my ipod until the line, which consisted of fans sitting on the cold hard ground, raised to their feet and I instantly sent B 5000 Milliom texts requesting that she return to the queue immediately.  She ran back from the toilets and then we had another hour to wait until the gates actually opened... lolgoodtimes.  

We made it into the London Snapchat
Story

The gates opened at 6.30 and before we knew it we were in, we had exchanged our tickets for orange wrist bands and we had handed over our letters for Ellie to a woman who promised she would try to get them backstage to her (I may never know if Ellie actually received them or not).  The next hurdle was bag check, just our luck for B and I to be stuck behind someone who took ages to get checked.  B swapped lines and then I got through and she was delayed again, a bunch of people who had been behind us got in first but it was fine because B and I got in there to the exact spots we wanted (slightly behind the people at the barrier rather than actually at the barrier but not a bad achievement nonetheless and still the best spots in the house imo).  The only issue was we were stood behind 2 girls that very quickly became me new enemies, so much so that they put me off buy a Delirium beanie because I didn't want to be associated with them.  To sum up they took up so much space with their elbows, they just stood there, didn't dance, didn't sing.  I put my hand on the barrier for support in between acts and she shoved me back out of the way ugh just the worst.

So 6.30 turned to 7pm and Lany graced the stage.  The hair was still a mop and the confidence was still 0/10 but I have to say as Lany sang their hearts out they won over mines.  The slow song was still sleep inducing and I was a little pissed off on behalf of the guitarist when the lead singer told the crowed that "this guy (the drummer) is my very best friend!" and failed to acknowledge the third and equally as important member of their little group.  Lany stepped it up from Newcastle though and I wish them well on their journey from unknown to slightly less unknown band.  I officially added 3 of their songs to my spotify playlist, I'm feeling their music rn. They sang until 7.30 and then they stepped of the stage never to be heard of again jokes I'm a huge fan no hate all the best lads.

Hey John

7.30 turned to 8pm and and John bounced out looking alive and slightly less like he was buzzed on ecstasy than he had in Newcastle.  Somehow this was my third time seeing John live, I guess you could call me a big fan...He sand all of his best songs: Come and get it (ahnanananaohh), Tiring Game Tarrengale, Cheating, Blame It On The Night, Not Giving In and others.  As he did in Newcastle John finished with Love Me Again ft a walk through the crowed and B lost her mind (see this video: https://youtu.be/buxApIT42gA).  I will admit that when the gruesome twosome on front of us leaped forward to touch John I did try to claim a space at the barrier beside them but then when they came back I slipper back behind them for fear of being killed by murder after the show.  John put on such a great performance I really love him now such a great performer!  He left the stage at 8.30pm.

8.30 turned to 9pm and the lights dropped as the beautiful harmonies from Intro (Delirium) begin to play.  I freak the fuck out and B can't stop saying OMG.  The beginning video transitions of Ellie's face were amazing and as the intro ends and blends into Aftertaste I know Ellie is only seconds away from appearing right there on the stage on front of me.  The first few songs were sang, each one amazing.  Aftertaste will forever take me back to the moment Ellie first appears on the stage, the first song she sings.  Something In The Way You Move (which I hope does well in the charts) had an amazing dance routine and Goodness Gracious has always been a fave of mine, she really got into it by the end and hit some amazing notes!  

The concert was completely amazing, Ellie stopped to talk to the crowed and, like in Newcastle, she did explain to the crowed that she had water and party petrol on stage with her.  Unlike in Newcastle the crowd did not request Ellie down the party petrol and in London after Ellie said she had water on stage with her she did the most adorable little giggle I ever did hear (which sadly was drowned out a bit by the crowds adoring cheers and laughs in the video I took).  As she knelt on the catwalk and began explosions I was prepared, I knew she was about to make her way straight down the catwalk to me.  

Angel in every way

Ellie abso killed Explosions, hitting every note out of the park and then she stood up and walked onto stage in her knew 'Ellie-proof' dress which she explained was a but short so she wouldn't trip over it.  The first song she sand on the mini stage was How Long Will I Love You and it was so beautiful (Link to video:https://youtu.be/nn403IKVEQ0 ).  After HLWIL ended with her singing "as long as stars are above you, and longer if I may" she stated "to be fair that is a realy long time" and then she stopped to talk to the crowed.  She talked about how fun but scary it was being on the mini stage because it mean she was "in us" and then she realised that a fan in the crowed has just gotten engaged during HLWIL which she thought was amazing, "aw it is that kind of song isn't it!" and she went on to say "Everybody's getting bloddy married!" she asked the girl how she was feeling and if she saw it coming and then she said she was feeling very emotional so she better just get back to singing.  Finally she asked "Anybody else getting married tonight?" to which B responded, quite loud and desperately "I WISH!" (https://youtu.be/KXRgOkDHuWE see full thing here).  She went on to sing Army (watch video here and note her adorable smile at the start of it:https://youtu.be/q3wFEOt-9dI ) and then they rest of the show went on.  The whole show was breathtaking and just too good for words and just everything else complimentary that I said about the show in Newcastle x100000000.  She asked everyone to put their phones away while she sang burn and it was involuntary, like she had a power over all of us and we couldn't help but put the Iphones away for even just one song.  

Ellie is such an amazing talent and she is so beautiful and the definition of goals, I mean someone get that girl a frame because she belongs in the Louvre #workofart.  Which leads me nicely into a future post of mine that I will be working on shortly about my week as a Vegan (which I am currently on day 2 of in hopes of feeling harder, better, faster, stronger and all in all a little more Ellie).  I would gladly go see Ellie again, not the UK delirium tour because I have seen it twice now and I'm not made of money but I cant wait to see clips from the next stages of her tour (even though I know Ellie prefers people to watch her rather than film her at concerts) and after she has taken her break from music after this tour I'll be front row at her next one waving my hands in the air like I just don't care.  One day I hope to attend a concert that goes on all day and all night (with reasonable breaks for Ellie of course) where she just sings every one of her songs to me, maybe Taylor Swift can come too and they can swap about with one another during breaks.

Hey Ellie

Anyway, after the concert B and I went to the bar that was playing Delirium and had a brief dance about before accepting that we had to leave the o2 arena.  We went back to the hostel to look at our picks and I was very unsociable (perhaps even a little rude) with anyone that tried to talk to me because I just wanted to bask in Ellie.  The next day we returned to the O2 arena because we do what we love and we love what we do.  We did some cool stuff which I'll talk about in the London post and then we ended up in the "Chill/refreshments room" (which I dubbed the Ellie Goulding room) at the Nissan Innovation experience place which was like an out of body experience.  As we stepped in they were playing all of Ellie's music videos on loads of screens, there was a table set up like one in a dressing room and it was like stepping out of the real world into our very own Ellie Goulding-esqu paradise heaven.  We stayed there for a while and then as we left I said a final farewell to the o2 arena and it's weird and wonderful temporary Ellie-centric world.

Finally, on the train home we were more than just delirious from exhaustion.  B and I played Ellie Goudling/Delirium tour/Our trips to see Ellie themed hangman and pictionary, probably too loudly for the other passengers at times.  I was so content.  When we got back to the flat it was like back to reality whoop there goes gravity and it was really hard to believe everything that had happened Ellie related over the past week had actually happened.  As I said the o2 was like another world dedicated entirely to her and it was magical and celestial and as ethereal as the woman herself but it just didn't feel real.

I dont know if I'll ever feel like that again, it truly was a strange yet perfect experience.

The moral of the story is in times of trouble bite down on your lip, take another sip and DONT PANIC!

classic G collage

xoxo 

Queen G.

Cat City, Cat, Cat, Cat City Bish: A Review of Cat Cafes

The Back Story

Many moons ago in the upper east side of Edinburgh I made a magnificent discovery... Cat Cafes!  I was in the kitchen minding my own business when something popped up on Facebook adversiting that a cat cafe would be opening for business in Edinburgh and instantly I needed all the deets.  Back then I had 2 wonderful cats in my life: Nacho and the late Harvey (the love of my life, I'm totally over his death and not at all emotionally scared for life! Life is great ha ha ha I'm totally not laughing to mask the fact that I'm dying inside #EasyBreezy).  Anyhoo, when it comes to cats I have always been a big fan!  After I lost Harvey I wanted to fill the place in my chest where my heart used to be with cats on cats on cats but similarly to when they tried to make Amy Winehouse go to rehab I my mum said no no no.  The only logical solution appeared to be for me to move into a cat cafe but after checking their website I found that they did not provide short or long term accommodation so that plan was foiled before it had even started.  I was going to have to settle for a simple visit but this place was booked out for like 84 years.  

Catpawcino

Last summer my little sister and I were going down to London and guess what London has?  A cat cafe!  I had planned to invited Taylor Swift to come with my sister and I to the cat cafe after her performance at Hyde Park but that didn't happen because the London cat cafe was even more booked out that the Edinburgh one (that is 100% the only reason that plan didn't work out!).  Then I went to New York with B and L and I was desperate to go to the Cat Cafe but L and B said no no no (I never expected my life to turn into an Amy Winehouse song but I guess we can't predict our future...).  L and B said we would go to the cat cafe in Edinburgh after New York but we didn't untilllll they booked it for my birthday during a day I was only placement and we didnt get to go once again.  I smiled and smile and laughed because my dreams were dead, similarly to when Blair didn't get into Yale and her father stopped loving her briefly (at least she still had dorota and a trust fund) what did I have?  (Other than my health, the knowledge that Sea World would stop breading whales and the knowledge that I still had Nacho #LastCatStanding).

Then B and I went to Newcastle to see Ellie Goudling (a fellow self confessed cat lover) and as if by magic B and I walked right into a scene from one of my wildest dreams (ahhh ah ohhh) we found a cat cafe!  

The Review   

Chilling like a villian

The cat cafe that we had found was Catpawcino In Newcastle which faces out onto the river Tyne.  Entrance was £5 and that covered the cost of your first drink - it seems that paying an entrance fee is pretty standard at this kind of establishment.  Upon entering B and I were asked to use hand sanitizer and read a list of rules, then because we had literally turned up at opening time we had the full run of the place.  I would recommend turning up early because we got all the cats to ourselves and there was so much space to play with them.

Cat whisperer B

B ordered a diet coke and I got a hot chocolate which arrived with the outline of a cat on the top of it (made out of chocolate power I believe).  There were lots of cat themed sweet snacks, however; because it was so early B and I passed on these.  

There were 6 cats in the cafe:

• Ebby a Scottish Fold 
• Alfie a Ragdoll
• Davin a Point Birman
• Chocolate a Point Birman
• Betty a British Blue
• Flora (The youngest and newest kitten who's breed I cannot confirm)

There was a little photo album which provided you with pictures of each cat and a profile telling you about their back ground and things that they liked.  The staff were very helpful and told B and I which cats liked being brushed the most and which ones where the most playful.  There was a basket full of cat brushes and toys for us to use and we were given a handful of treats to give to the cats too.  One of the kittens was particularly playful running around the cafe after the toys that B and I had selected

Flora

A separate room had been sectioned off for the cats to go to if they wanted some piece and quiet where customers were not allowed to go but at the time that B and I went the cats were all very friendly and more than happy with our company.  I believe that most cat cafes give you a time limit to for your stay (about an hour and a half I think) but were were not told anything about this probably because we were the only people there first thing on a Wednesday morning.  

 What I would say is don't let the entrance fee put you off, it is definitely worth it and once you subtract the price of your first drink from the entrance fee you have really only ended up paying like £2.50 to get in.  Spending time with the cats if a really good was for destressing and how often do you get to spend time with a bunch of adorable cats alongside your morning coffee?  

The moral of the story is cats are incredible and their tails and their feet and their noses and you'd have to be a fool to pass up the opportunity to visit a cat cafe!

 

Ebby

Flora

XOXO Queen G

Newcastle: The Incredible Journey

Heyyyooo peeps of the blogisphere, so as explained in my previous post I recently journeyed below the border to Newcastle to see Ellie Goulding live.  This post is dedicated to all of the non Ellie parts of that journey.  
Tuesday March 15th
B and I head to Waverly train station in the morning, running late as per, and head to boots to grab the essentials:

• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Body Wash
• Chewing Gum



Oot on the toon 

• Diet Soda

After making these purchases we boarded the train, located our seats and settled in for the journey ahead of us.  Excitement was running high as we text our mothers confirming we were on our way and updated our snapchats in order to make everyone jealous of our trip (if you don't plaster everything you do all over social media did you really do it?).  During the first part of our journey a lady came through the cabin with a trolley of snacks and I can confirm that I had to all but rip my voice box from my throat to stop myself from telling her that "we'll take the lot".  During our train journey we passed many wonderful British landmarks such as:

1. Field of cows number 1
2. The ocean
3. North Berwick 
4. Field of cows number 2
5. Field of horses
6. Trees

After we were finally able to turn our eyes from these amazing landmarks B and I turned our attention to Harry Potter Top Trumphs (purchases at the platform 9 3/4 shop in King's Cross Station I'll have you know).  Rather than play the game the conventional way B and I made up our own rules #HipstersInnit and this kept us amused right up until the train pulled up to the platform in the Newcastle station.

As we stepped from the train it was like a thousand knifes stabbing us all over, we couldn't breathe, couldn't think it was so damn cold!!  I gave thanks to the great cat goddess in the sky for guiding me to bring a coat on our trip and B cried a thousand tears because she did not and we made our way through Newcastle in no particular direction, heading to an absolution that would never come.  Our first stop was the hostel to dump our bags and after a slight hiccup when neither myself of B had the £2 that was required for the receptionist to keep our bags behind the desk until our room was available B and I finally sold our souls for this service and we were on our merry way once again.  

This was it B and I taking 'the big city' one step at a time turning tricks and fucking shit up.  As if floating on a breeze B and I happened upon our first destination:

Fenwick and the great mall of Newcastle: once you enter you never leave.

That's what I thought of B's company

The rain had stared and the temperature has plummeted and so we took our exploring indoors to a department store called Fenwick.  We initially explored the gift department and set ourselves the mission of buy one another a fun gift/activity for £5 or less, once this crazy mission had been completed we took to the escalators as the escalators lifted us up into a whole new world B remarked very offhandedly that she liked to buy designer brand bedsheets (this is a lie) and so I naturally confirmed that I also liked to do this and that my bed sheets are home we very "Coup Du Wah".  Instantly we made an unspoken agreement that from that moment on everything in Newcastle would be Coup Du Wah, maybe everything everywhere would be Coup Du Wah but only time would tell.  

Now as far as reviewing the sights of Newcastle I have to say this: if you are in Newcastle you have to visit the Fenwick foodhall because it was amazing!  Their easter egg selection was one of the most breathtaking things I had ever seen and never in my life had I been more tempted to spend £80 on chocolate.  Somehow we managed to get from Fenwick to a massive shopping mall (Eldon Square I believe) which had a pretty impressive selection of shops, if you are after shopping then I would recommend otherwise maybe not because at the end of the day it was just a mall.  B and I chose to eat at the Garden Kitchen on the top floor of the mall and the food was really nice (possibly the best food we had during our stay, however we did visit subway which is a firm fave of ours sooo...).  After we had eaten we decided to turn our attentions to an activity that we couldn't have just done in Edinburgh, as it was already 4pm and a lot of things were shutting at 5pm we chose to visit an art gallery which was free to visit and on our way back to the hostel.

Laing Art Gallery

B and I discovered on our way to the art gallery that B had forgotten to bring her ID to Newcastle which killed our plans of going on a crazy Geordie night out (B has become increasingly obsessed with Geordie Shore and had been hoping to live the life of Charlotte Crosby for one night, I was just hoping to get drunk for the first time in forever).  Although at first this was a disappointment we bounced back pretty quickly because the really reason for the trip was to see Ellie Goulding not to go on a night out.

We arrived at the art gallery and as expected there was a lot of pretty impressive art, most of it is a blur in my memories though because I was so completely mesmerised by this on painting: it had a seat you could sit on to view it; there was a button to press; pressing said button resulted in the lights dimming, the painting lighting up and a range of sound effects.  The painting apparently depicted "The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah" and I dont know anything about that other than it made for a great painting.  B and I sat and watched this painting for a while then examined some other pieces of art before leaving and heading back to the hostel.  We decided that since we weren't going out we would go out for a nice meal and then buy some alcohol and have a mini party in the hostel.  We chose Jamie's Italian for Dinner

Girl date

Jamie's Italian

We were seating upstairs next to a window so there was a nice view of the streets and the youths of Newcastle getting into bother from the police.  B and I ordered Garlic bread to start with, cocktails (restaurants never ID, if you learn anything from my blog let that be the lesson) and for main I got Tortellini and B got some kind of aubergine dish.  I thoroughly enjoyed mines but B said hers was kind of meh.  We returned to the hostel for some Cosmo Fizz and salt and vinegar crisps.  We exchanged gifts, B got me facepaints and I got her a harmonica.  The night was full of tipsyness, gossip, face painting and ended in a sleepover on the top bunk.

Overall reviews from Day 1

Would recommend:

• Fenwick Foodhall
• Laing Art Gallery: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 
• Eldon Mall Garden Kitchen

 

Wednesday March 16th

B and I woke up (flawless) bright and early and hangover free.  Our activities for the day included visiting the bridges of Newcastle, doing a practice run to the Metro Radio Arena and lunch.

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge and the Tyne Bridge

Brich

The day was slightly milder and the walk was pleasant, the area leading down to the river Tyne was pretty cute and googlemaps had greatly overestimated how long it would take us to get to the bridges.  The first bridge we happened across was the Tyne bridge (although it was pretty much right beside the Millennium Bridge).  We took some pics and vids I made a terribly wrong assumption that the council building across the river was the arena.  B and I speculated over whether Ellie would take her concert to the top of the Millennium bridge and then as we turned around my eyes caught sight of something... could it be?  We crossed the road... 

Catpawcino

Cat city, cat, cat, cat city bish

I LOVE CATS. CATS. CATS. CATS. LOVE EM. Everyone one a solid 10/10.  For a long time I have been desperate to go to a cat cafe but they have either been overbooked or I simply haven't had time and so it really was fate that we found one completely by chance in Newcastle.  I am planning to write a post about cat cafes and so I wont go into too much deets right now, suffice it to say that the cats at Catpawcino were dazzling and appeared to be exteremly well cared for.  B and I turned up just as the cafe was opening and so we got the entire place to ourselves, the staff were so friendly and encouraged us to play with the cats and my hot chocolate was delish.  

After B's allergies kicked in we left the cats and went for a walk, we crossed the Millennium bridge and went to what we not knew to be the council building.  We explored the gift shops and checked out the view of Newcastle from the building and the recrossed the bridge.  B and I discovered some gym type equipment on the walkway at the side of the tyne which kept us amused and then our wandering took us to Newcastle Castle, however; due to time constrains we prioritised lunch over touring the castle.

Fat Buddha

B and I went for lunch and cocktails (as I said before restaurants never ID) at Fat Buddha, it was so nice to rest our weary feet and to review the pictures we had taken that day.  The cocktails were delicious, we both got a Fat Buddha cocktail, however; in my humble opinion the cocktails were far better than the food which I felt was just okay.  We made our way back to the hostel to prepare for seeing Ellie Goudling (full deets of the concert included in the previous post).  We also made a stop off at the Fenwick foodhall again to purchase some chocolate as our lunch hadn't really filled us and the chocolate had been on my mind since the day before, it definitely lived up to my expectations and was tres coup du wah!

Final Reviews from day 2

Would Recommend:

• Visiting the bridges of Newcastle as they are a city landmark and free to visit
• Catpawcino if you love cats and cafes, its a no-brainer really
• Walking along the Tyne
• Fat Buddah for cocktails

Overall

The best food:  Eldon Square Kitchen for B and Jamie's Italian for me

The best activity: Walking along the Tyne: you see the bridges, thats how we found that cat                               cafe and there was a lot of random fun stuff to see.

Grey skys, classic

thar she blows.

B and I are journeying to London this Thursday to see Ellie again (goodbye to all my savings).  I'll no doubt write a review of this trip and of the concert at some point (hopefully we will do slightly more in London so there is more to review) but I am working/on placement pretty nonstop over the next few weeks so who knows when this will be done.

The moral of the story is love will never be forever feelings are just like the weather, and if we are talking about Newcastle weather in the middle of March that that would mean pretty shit tbh.

Until next time

xoxo

Queen G

Ellie Goulding's Delirium World Tour: A Tale of Party Petrol

Hello darkness my old friend

I have just recently returned from an incredible cross country journey to Newcastle ('Newcastle: The Incredible Journey' post to follow in due course) with my person B.  Although I'm sure Newcastle is a fine place to visit for no particular reason B and I were drawn to Newcastle for a very special occasion; the Delirium World Tour.  When my mother dearest asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year I knew exactly what I wanted... Ellie Goulding had released a new album and I was certain a tour announcement would follow promptly.  Not only did my mother manage to secure me 2 tickets to see Ellie but when she was only able to get seating tickets for Glasgow she recognized that seating tickets are reserved solely for the elderly, the very young, the lame and for those who were not fast enough to get standing tickets, and so she took her money elsewhere and purchased two standing tickets for Newcastle, Goodness Gracious she's amazing!

G, B and E

 Pre-Show

I wont go into much detail about the journey to Newcastle because this post is dedicated entirely to the ethereal angel princess that is Ellie Goulding.  So skip forward to Wednesday the 16th of March 2016 at 5pm.  Tensions were starting to grow a little as myself and B had still not quite perfected our concert looks and it was no longer an option to turn up to the Metro Radio Arena 4 hours early (in hindsight turning up anything more than an hour early would have been a little redundant) although I was doing a great job of Elsa-ing my feelings up #ConcealDontFeel.  I would like to point out that at this point I had British Summertime Festival flashbacks on a loop On My Mind (last summer my little sister prevented me from turning up 4 hours early, which totally wouldn't have been entirely redundant on this occasion, to see Taylor Swift in Hyde Park.  I thought I was going to miss Vance Joy (which I did, but oh well) and Ellie Goulding (Which I didn't thank god!).  

Ellie on the catwalk

B and I left the hostel entirely under dressed, warmed only with our excitement and our heartsong (Our heartsong is I Do What I Love by Ellie btdubs).  I thought I was going to have an aneurysm as B and I faced the classic conflict of getting a taxi despite the traffic vs walking despite not being certain of the directions, all the while I was becoming more and more aware of the time... Were we going to make it early enough to get good standing spots?  Were we going to have to claw our way to the front (#OnlyTheStrongWillPrevail) Was I going to cardiac arrest before we even got there due being emotionally overwhelmed?  Spoiler alert: we made it like 40 mins early and as we waited Outside for the doors of the arena to open (similar to the gates to heaven in my eyes) B and I began to speculate what Ellie was doing at that moment in time, Was she having a pre-show work out?  Was she having a pre-show freak out? was she preparing to invite B and I back stage?  I mean Anything Could Happen right?  I think I can speak for myself, B and  a girl standing on front of us that I will fondly remember as 'old smokey' due to the fact she lit up like 5 million times while we waited in the queue (I know what you're thinking and yes I can confirm that as The Platters would say, smoke did get in my eyes) It was all very exciting.  My blood had turned to ice and my goosebumps had gooebumps but then it was 6pm, the doors opened and we made our merry way into the arena.

Into the woods Metro Radio Arena.

B and I made a brief stop off at the whiz palace before joining the queue for the standing area and then suddenly I felt the weight of the responsibility we had for choosing our standing spots.  B and I concluded that we would place ourselves front row at the side of the mini stage near the end of the cat walk (This allowed us to get much closer to Ellie than front row of the main stage, this decision was also made in roughly 1 second as everyone quickly filed into the arena trying to claim the best spots... it was a lot of pressure but as Ellie would say: Don't Panic!  

No zoom needed

The first support act dawn the stage unannounced taking us all by surprise.  Their name was Lameeeeey Lany, their hair was attractively arranged was similar to a kitchen mop. Lany had their fun and honestly sang much better than I could have, however their music, to me, felt kind of generic and when he took it down a notch and sand a slow song all I could think was ugh We Cant Move To This #moodkiller.  John Newman was the next act, I had seen him before at the British Summertime Festival where he also sang before Ellie Goulding (my high school history teacher really was right when he said the past is always destined to repeat itself!).  Johnny boy came out and did a 10/10 job of pumping up the crowed, he sang all his hits #LoveMeAgain and walked through the crowed (I missed my opportunity to touch him as he passed because I was too busy trying to catch the moment on snapchat... 21st century probs.  However, B did manage to cop a feel and she can confirm that his arm felt like an arm, nothing more nothing less).  John Newman was good, he is hella talented and put on quite a show but I have to admit I was hit with a jot of excitement as his set concluded and he left the stage because this was it, it was Elleeee time!



A truly delirious experience

Hey gurl hey

So as they prepared the stage for her excellency I was becoming more and more delirious, the excitement was so much; I wanted to scream, laugh, cry and punch everyone else in the arena in the face and then hug them all at the same time.   As the lights began to dim and the Intro (Delirium) echoed through the arena I looked around at my fellow concert attendees and felt this great enlightenment; we were all about to embark on a spiritual journey together, its not every day you can say that!  As if by magic Ellie appeared on stage and the journey was underway!  I decided almost instantly that Ellie had the best legs I had ever seen, they were like study tree trunks but in the most beautiful way,you just knew they could support her throughout each dance routine, thighs as solid as a diamond!  Initially I was Holding On For Life to the barrier refusing to lose my amazing spot but it became apparent early on that this crowd was far more civil than the one at Hyde Park in the summer, I had marked my territory at the barrier and everyone seemed to accept and respect that.

Ellie sang some songs, as was expected of her, and then she stopped to chat with the audience.  Now this was my 4th time seeing the spellbinding angel princess live and I can confirm that she has become far more confident over the years #bless #TheyGrowUpSoFast.  One of her first exchanges with the audience went a little something like this:

Ellie: "I have 2 bottles on front of me... one is labelled water and the other is labelled party petrol!  Which one shall I drink?
Adoring fans: "Party Petrol!!!!!"
Ellie: "Okay I was trying to work out the vibes in here tonight but now I know *drinks party petrol*"
Adoring fans: "DOWN IT!"
Ellie: "I am not going to down it!"
Adoring fans: *chanting* "Down it down it down it!"
Ellie: *Not even entertaining the idea of downing it* *starts singing next song*
(Newcastle's irresponsible attitude towards alcohol made me feel like I was back home in Scotland)

And in her eyes I saw the answers to all of life's questions (Aka Codes blue, I'm dead)
The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived!  Ellie walked her way down the catwalk and right into my heart.  Ellie was right on front of me.  We were breathing the same air.  The only thoughts I had while she was standing before me were I Don't Need Nobody but you; You are the most ethereal person my eyes have ever had the pleasure of gazing at; I cant stop staring at you; I love you soooo much I Need Your Love in return; if not your love then I will settle for a simple smile and then she turned around and looked me directly in the eyes and all of my thoughts were Lost And Found.  

Ellie: *looks at me and B*
Me: *Dislocates jaw trying to express all of my feelings through the biggest smile there ever            was* *stares* *shakes* *waves* *Forgets all words*
Beth: *stares* "I love you Ellie!"  "You are so beautiful" "Your songs are so good!"

Actual angel #reversezoom

It was such an amazing experience being front row, within touching distance of the stage, at a concert (especially a concert for a singer you admire so much!)  It all seemed a bit surreal to see someone in the flesh that you are used to seeing on the TV or internet.  I was also vaguely aware that she really was just a person like anyone else, however; I cannot emphasize enough how ethereal Ellie Goulding is, there is honestly just something very heavenly/angelic about her.  Plus, having a singer look you in the eyes, ever briefly, while they perform makes you feel like every song is Your Song and she is performing it just for you and nobody else.   Anyway, after the brief eye exchange we had my heart burst and I died (#codeblue) and then moments later my heart did Heal and I was back to maximum enjoyment.  

Every song performed was gold, there was nothing I could do but scream, sing and Keep On Dancing, I felt like I had party petrol running through my veins! (I wonder if Old Smokey was enjoying herself?).  All of that dancing must have Burned off at least half of the calories that I consumed before the concert, at least!  Ellie's vocals were on point, her dancing was on point (Ellie there is just Something In The Way You Move, it's mesmerizing), her accent was on point, everything was 10/10.  I Figure 8 had she been more confident she might have spent more time out on the catwalk or the mini stage but part of Ellie's charm is her shyness and I honestly couldn't fault any part of the concert!  A particularly special part of the show was getting to experience Ellie perform Army live right on front me with B (a pivotal member of out own little 3 woman army which comprises of myself, B and L).  

The Aftertastemath
The concert concluded with Love Me Like You Do with Ellie performing on the main stage, catwalk and mini stage.  As the song ended there were Explosions of confetti from the confetti cannons which were positioned right on front of myself and B.  It was like showering in unicorn tears as the golden confetti smothered me and as the show came to an end B and I danced through the golden confetti as it rained down from the heavens.  We walked part of the way home singing all of our fave Ellie hits and that could have been the end of it but the story doesn't end here.  B and I do what we love and we love what we do, we weren't ready to let go of the Goulding magic yet and so after spending every day since last Wednesday talking about how much we want to see her again B and I booked tickets to go down to London to do it all again (if that isn't Devotion then I don't know what is).  And so it will be that in less than a week we will be seeing Ellie again in London and I cannot wait!  Some would call us crazy, I would call us young and irresponsible with out money but most importantly fun.

A classic G collage

So Ellie How Long Will I Love You?  I am going to say at least for another 84 years because thats how long Rose loved Jack and then maybe in the Aftertastelife we can reunite on a boat and everyone will clap and we can take that over that boat, one shot of party petrol at a time, Delirium World Tour 2K16 style!  Until then, I'll just see you on Thursday.

The moral of the story is:
1- It is kind of hard to fit a whole concert set list into one blog post
2- Do what you love and love what you do

xoxo 
Queen G. 

Links to some short clips of the concert:
Love me like you do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LemzJfcsJyI
Army: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Qg1tw4vbc
Explosions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS5DeLmOSyQ

Things I'm lovin' To Watch Right Now

Good morrow fair gentles...  It has come to my attention that in my previous blog post I was sorely mistaken when I stated that I would be back in the blogisphere on the reg.  There are two good reasons that I have not been blogging it up down on the tennis court like yeah, yeah:

1. I have been super busy with university (ugh lame)
2. I have done roughly 0 blog worthy things since I last blogged (Actually since the summer hahahaha its funny because its true, my life sucks hahaha laugh through the pain.

The rumors are true... I'm back

So anyway, I decided that in keeping with the 2016 tradition of the world giving people what they want (Leo got his Oscar, the cast of friends had a reunion of sorts, cats continued to exist and the existence of mermaids was confirmed -lol jk mermaids arent real or at least thats what the government want us to believe!) I have decided to return to the 21st century type writer and chronicle my life again - this will also be a great assistance to the forward thinking being that decides to write my biography.

Tbh a lot of the things that I'm loving right now are fairly similar to the things I was lovin in October because like an dolphin I am also a creature of habit - dolphins are undoubtable creatures of habit because for the past 400 years there has not been one report of a dolphin choosing to leave his or her comfort zone, the ocean, for a life on the land.  Silly little vegan sharks, bless em!  And since I haven't really done much of interest as of late I narrow this post down to things that I am loving to view right now.

So without further ado here are the things that I am loving to watch right now...

TV

1. Some opening thoughts on Netflix

I can only assume she is talking about Netflix UK

Netflix continues to be a big part of my life, however; there is no doubting that the way the head honchos over at the Netflix headquarters abnegate us Brits of all of the best TV shows is sheer tyranny.  Sure they like to tease us a little, make us feel appreciated and special but Netfix are 100% corporate fuckboys!  They find give us How I Met Your Mother, How To Get Away With Murder, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and (for any poor people who have not been able to escape the trainwreck that this show has become) they gave us Pretty Little Liars too.  We see their offering and even though we know they have so much more to give we decide to commit, maybe we can change them!  We decide to sign up for the month free trial which is basically the TV subscription of a date and then afterwards we agree to pay £6 a month but... the next thing you know you are sitting there waiting for them to update their TV show selection feeling like you slept with them and they never called you back, you feel cheated and used #classicfuckboys.  Eventually you accept that this is just how things are but you can't cancel the subscription just in case one day they decide to give you want you want and deserve ...  

2. Grey's Anatomy

The Carousel Never Stops Turning

Grey's Anatomy is a wonderful, magical gem of a show!  It's about Meredith Grey working her way up from surgical intern to legit surgeon and the people she works with at Seatle Grace Hospital (AKA Seatle Grace Mercy West Hospital AKA Seatle Grace Mercy Death AKA Grey-Sloan Memeorial Hospital AKA the only hospital in the world where the surgeons are more likely to die than the patients).This show has everything you could ever want in a TV show; happiness, sadness, tragedy, death, cute couples, suspense, death, explosions, surgery, carousel metaphors, infidelity, death, eye candy and miracles.  It's a just such a good show and even after 12 seasons its still just as strong and true as it always was.  To sum up I was forced at gunpoint (just like many doctors on the show) to pay £60 for the Grey's boxset because Netflix UK has been denying me of this show, the same as denying me of a basic human right if you ask me!  It's a small price to pay to be able to step into the lives of the worlds most talented and attractive surgeons (actually it was a huge price to pay, also now I'm broke).  I basically eat, sleep and breathe Meredith Grey and co. I briefly considered applying to med school but decided to settle for just playing Mer in a home video version of Grey's which is currently underproduction and stars myself and B.  

Rating of my fave Grey's characters:

1. Meredith Grey
2. Arizona Robbins
3. Derek Shephered
4. Mark Sloan
5. Amelia Shephered
6. Callie Torres
7. Lexi Grey
8. Jackson Avery when he is part of the Plastic Posse  

Rating of the worst Grey's characters  

1. Erica Hahn (SP? WHO CARES? Of all the people to survive why her!!?)
2. The Plane that crashed that one time
3. Adele Webber (Richaaaaard Pls)
4. The truck that killed McDreamy 
5. Jo Wilson
6. Dr Burke
7. Every character during their musical numbers in that godawful musical episode

. 

Rating 10/10

Best Method of viewing Binge Watch so either Netflix US or DVDs

Fave Episode Season 6 final 2 episodes

Worst Episodes The musical episode 

Best Character Meredith Grey

Worst Character Ever = Erica Hahn. Current = Jo Wilson 

Best Couple Meredith and Derek. Callie and Arizona

2. Parks and Recreation

We all fell into the pit

Another show that Netflix UK is denying me of!  How do the ownders of Netflix even sleep at night!? (Probably on a bed of money because this is the 21st century - if you don't have a Netflix account are you even living?  Also considering everyone hates the fact that Netflix UK is pretty awful nobody can bring themselves to end their subscription, and so instead we wait and wait and wait hoping one day it will pay off and Netflix UK will be great again.  Okay so Parks and Rec is basically about Leslie Knope (who is the most adorable human beings ever) and the people she works with in the Parks department, its a documentary style sitcom like The Office.  Highlights of the show include the fact that it is set in a town that basically worships a tiny horse; Anne and Leslie gave a new meaning to friendship goals; Chris Pratt is the lead singer of a band called Mouse Rat and so much more.  The first season is a little slow but it gets better and better as each season progresses.  It's a really cute feel good show that's easy to watch and you end up caring about the characters a lot more than you initially think you will.   I started watching this show many moons ago, cant remember why I ever stopped watching it but I am 100% invested again. I only have a season left and I'm starting to mentally prepare myself to say goodbye to all of the characters

Rating 8/10

Best Method of viewing It's super easy to watch either as a binge or not.  

Fave Episode Undecided as I haven't finished the show yet - However the telethon episode                          was fun as was every episode with a town meeting... Basically TBC.

Worst Episodes Something from season 1

Best Character Chris Trager?  Again TBC

Worst Character Crazy Ira and The Douche (Just found them so annoying) 

Best Couple Andy and April, Ben and Leslie and Chris and Anne.

3. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

They alive dammit it's a miracle 

It's basically about this girl (Kimmy) who was kidnapped and kept underground for 15 years living as part of a cult who being rescued and adapting to life in New York City.  With her childlike wonder and enthusiasm she meets lots of fun people and gets into random situations.  Its a super stupid show with an average first episode but it really does improve and I couldn't stop watching.  The show is 100% quotable and introduced the world to two of the most catchy songs that have ever existed: Pinot Noir and The theme tune.  There is only one season out so far, and god bless all that is holy it's even on Netflix UK, so it is definitely worth the watch.  There isn't too much more to say about this show because you kind of have to watch it to understand the hype.

Rating 7.5/10

Best Method of viewing Weekend (or one day) binge.  

Fave Episode Probably Kimmy Goes To School because Piot Noir

Worst Episodes The First One

Best Character I Like Kimmy, Lillian and Mrs Voorhees

Worst Character Maybe  Xanthippe Voorhees 

Best Couple N/a

4. SNL

I made left one extra hole for it's hopes and dreams

Okay So I don't Legit watch SNL but I have gone through a phase of like binge watching SNL clips on Youtube and found some firm faves.  B and I tend to differ on which ones we like as I am a big fan of kristen Wiig's charcters Sue and Penelope whereas she just found them annoying.  Firm fave clips that I would recommend everyone to watch are:

• High School Theater Show with Elizabeth Banks
• The Real Housewives of Disney
• Being Quirky with Zooey Deschanel 
• Taylor Swift's roommate clip and parent driver's clip
• The Ryan Gosling clip about being abducted by aliens where he has a breakdown.

5. How I Met Your Mother

Haaaaaaave you met Ted?

 I want to clarify that I still love How I Met Your Mother but I dont want to go into it too much because I already spoke about it in my last post.  Basically it is the best comedy show there has ever been - yes even better than Friends and that is a truth fact!  It's about a man in 2030 telling his kids the story of his life in New York living with his friends and all the decisions he made that led him to meeting their mother.  I am also a solid supporter of the shows finale and I think the show might even be better than salmon and cream cheese bagels.

Rating 10/10

Best Method of viewing All day every day (but as a binge first time round).  

Fave Episode So hard to choose! Maybe Sandcastles In The Sand?

Worst Episodes The from the final season that was set during one slap...

Best Character IRobin Scherbatsky(AKA Robin Sparkles), Ted Mosby and Marshall           Erikson

Worst Character Maybe Zooey or Stella because they are evil 

Best Couple Ted and Robin, Robin and Barney and Lily and Marshall.  

 

Film

1.The Walk

He alive dammit it's a miracle

This film tells the true story of how great CGI and one man's love for wire walking resulted in a movie scene which almost gave my dearest mother who is terrified of heights a panic attack... I can't remember the last time I wanted someone to come down from a wire so badly.  It's a really great film that is completely worth committing 2 hours of your life to because the second half which focuses on how Phillipe Petit and friends attempy to illegally rig a wire between the twin towers so he can do the worlds most dangerous wore walk.   I was 100% invested in this film, I completely forgot that it was cgi, I screamed multiple times and I remembered how much I love Joseph Gordon Levitt. 9/10 - would recommend.

Honourable mentions worth a shout out are:

• How To Get Away With Murder
• Deadpool

The moral of the story is you don't kick a dressage horse after a failed pas de deux

Until next time

xoxo

Queen G