Happy Birthday Billy Elliot!

When the show first began in 2005, I don't think anyone would have thought the production would still be running ten years on, although a lot of us were dreaming of it. However, last night, a dream became a reality as the six current Billy's took the stage to perform the 10th Anniversary of the production at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London.

This amazing show has been close to my heart, as I began the audition process from June 2005 and finally went onto rehearsals at the Sloane Square Barracks as Alison Summers, one of the ballet girls in the show and one of the first and one of only two Alison Summers who have participated in the finale tap. I was elated that I was about to join a family who I would see almost everyday, as we came together to rehearse and rehearse until everything was perfect.

 I had the most marvellous memories and the experiences and opportunities I had were endless. Performing on the stage three times a week, and then my decision to go to the Sylvia Young Theatre School, where I was awarded with a scholarship to attend. Furthermore, my team were chosen to appear on the very First Birthday, something which was an achievement for us all, and for me: I got to meet Elton John!

Found this off the internet, I'm the smallest one at the end on the left!

A couple of months later, my team were asked to do publicity shoots for the Anna Pavlova gold statue. The pictures were printed in all of the London Newspapers and appeared online.

All of this was such an incredible experience. However, there was more. I then went on to film the EPK for the show, which was shared on TV and on the web. 

I am so proud of the company and all that is has achieved. I am also so grateful to them for giving me such an amazing opportunity, as I was then asked to return to the show this time as Angela Robson. I truly cannot wait to see the show nurture in the next decade in all that it brings to the West End!

It was such a shame that I could not be back at the Victoria Palace Theatre last night but I am so excited to see the photos that are and will come from it!

Kirsty 

xx

Santorini

Following my last blog post, the ship sailed from Turkey and headed to the picturesque island of Santorini. We arrived at 7AM, and unfortunately, we awoke to cloud. Once on the boat to take us to the island (as this island has no port and so the ship is tendered), it started to rain.

Our ship from the boat, so majestic.

Brandon and I had decided to take a tour on this day with Thomson. So we were the first off the ship. Despite the overcast weather, we were determined not to let it ruin our day. Firstly, we visited the tranquil Oia village, where celebrities tend to hideaway in the summer months to catch the glorious sun rays and wandered around for two hours.

Oia is a village, built upon the cliff and, leading down to the sea, villa's are cut into the rock to make the beautiful getaway spots that most of us dream we were on the days we're stuck in lectures or in the office!

Oia Village.

After wandering around and seeing some lovely shops, I found a book shop, which to much disappointment was closed. 

Such a unique shop, surrounded by souvenir shops.

We then stopped in a coffee shop overlooking all the beautiful sun houses I dream of owning! Here, I wrote my postcard to my nan.

The swimming pools are to DIE for! I am so jealous of anyone who spends the night here.

We had to meet the tour guide back at the church in the middle of the square. It is chalk white and looks stunning when standing against the blue sky.

Wouldn't it be a dream to get married here?

We then made our way to Santos Winery. They gave the group a tour of the winery. Although, it was obvious that most of us had come for the wine and olives they provided us with. We were here for around an hour. I had glass after glass, tasting a white, red, and a dessert wine. I enjoyed the white the most! The sun came out for this part of the tour and it was lovely to sit on the verandah and watch the world go by and watch the boats come into the Cyclades.

Santos Winery.

A picture before leaving.

After this, we returned to Thira, and we were given a coupon to get the cable car back down to the port. Once we spent some time in Thira, the capital of Santorini, Brandon and I made our way back down back to the ship. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the ship, tanning and listening to Top Men on deck. 

Truly, a marvellous and memorable day.

Have you ever been to Santorini?

Kirsty 

xxx

Just gone for a cruise!

So recently I haven't been too punctual in keeping my aim of posting at least every two weeks. Excuse my lack of posting but I actually managed to get an AMAZING deal with Thomson to go on a cruise last minute. It was the 'Ancient Affair' itinerary. It departed Cyprus and then made its way to Marmaris and Alanya in Turkey, then onto Santorini in Greece and then to Ashdod in Israel. The cruise was exceptional and I chose it because it stopped off at Santorini and more importantly, Ashdod. This was the gateway to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Bethlehem. All of which I visited. 

I'm going to break my blogging posts up as the post will be too long but I shall start with the first leg, consisting with the ports of Turkey.

After boarding the Thomson Spirit, Brandon and I made our way to our room and unpacked.

Brandon standing by our enormous ship.

The first port of call was Alanya and we didn't plan anything with the ship to do anything so we got off and had a walk around. 

It was really a picturesque place and a lovely day.

Once walking round the town, we made our way through the bazaars full of clothing, bags and shoes! It was really very very tempting. Brandon and I then walked towards the castle. We realised there were two ways of getting up to it, and naturally, Brandon chose the complex way up!

The stairs up to the castle.

The view from the top!

I would definitely recommend doing this in Alanya and to not do the tour with the ship. We had a great day, and the weather was perfect so it wasn't too hot to climb!

The viewing point at the top.

That evening we joined in with the ship's entertainment and played bingo. Despite not winning we still had a laugh. We set sail for the next port which was to be Marmaris.

We got to Marmaris around 8am, and we chose to get off the ship at around 11am as we weren't leaving until 7pm that evening. 

The ship stops on the opposite side to where the Old Town is. There is a lovely walk round from the terminal through the Marmaris Marina. I loved this as the walk was interesting looking at all the yachts that were tied up there! The walk was around 15-20 minutes.

Lots of yachts all from the USA to New Zealand! 

It was a beautiful day, but we decided that we would try to go to a Turkish Bath. We managed to find a ticket booth, and there we got an amazing bargain for £10, which included the transfer from the ticket booth to the hotel and back. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, it was a relaxing place, which included the sauna, hamman, and then an oil massage. 

With lots of time to spare after the Turkish Bath, we continued to walk along the promenade and again went through the parade of shops, there we both picked up a bargain or two. Haggling and paying in sterling, which the shopkeepers seemed to prefer!

A photo to finish the end of the day in Marmaris.

We decided not to go to Marmaris Castle because we had visited Alanya fort the day before, but I would recommend stopping by the Castle as at dinner, a few people mentioned the lovely views from the top.

I would definitely return to Turkey. In some ways, I preferred Alanya to Marmaris because I felt the latter had a more rivera and european style to it. Whereas, Alanya still felt very Turkish. However, I would also go back to Marmaris!

Have you visited either places? What did you do there?

Kirsty 

xxx

Day in London with Lucy

On Saturday my sister and I headed into the city for the day. With our parents currently away and the freedom to make our own plans, we decided to go into town early before seeing McBusted later that evening.

We got the C2C into West Ham and headed towards EC1 (Brick Lane, Hoxton, Spitalfields) and arrived within good time to look around. The first place we went to was the Beigel Bar on Brick Lane. This brings back so many fond memories as a child. Our parents always used to take us here to get a smoked salmon bagel or hot salt beef. We also got two doughnuts, filled always with lots of jam!

The Bagel bar

Once stopping by here to buy a dozen bagels to take home, we carried along the high street. We found alcoves of thrift shops and cubby holes of warehouses FULL of unique clothing lines and international foods. We then went to look for the Hummingbird Bakery to get cupcakes for our dessert later that evening!

The entrance in Shoreditch

One of the lovely cakes inside.

Before entering the arena, Lucy and I went to Pizza Express, where we devoured a pizza!

How beautiful does it look!

We had a cocktail at All Bar One, then made our way to our seats in the arena. We did not have to wait too long for the band to come on as we did not see the supports. They played some of their new songs but their old songs were best!

This was their set:

And this was at the end of the night:

It was a great day and I will definitely be going back to Brick Lane when I have money to spend!

Have you had a day out recently?

Kirsty

xxx

An Evening with Hobbie Stuart

The long awaited day came on Sunday, Hobbie Stuart had finally decided to take a break from YouTube and go on his first tour. He has visited places like Leeds and Manchester already and is yet to visit London and Bristol. He headed north, past Hadrian's Wall to visit Glasgow, and I could not wait for the show!

Despite his popularity on YouTube, I was surprised to see that the gig was not full, in fact, at a push only half full. It took place at the Garage, in a room round the corner. It was small and intimate and it felt cosy to be there.

Due to other commitments, I did not see the support act, although, I don't feel as though I missed much, as I had paid £8 to see Hobbie really and it was only really a bonus that someone else would be performing. I met my friend Laura at the venue and we went inside and got ourselves a drink, before heading the floor where Hobbie would be taking the stage.

How close to the front we were.

When he arrived, the audience were awkward, and as my friend and I clapped, many others did not and so we stopped rather abruptly, without too many people noticing we were excited to see him there! He played a few songs, some I knew and some I did not. He introduced a few of his new songs.

Hobbie with his beloved guitar!

 In between each song, Hobbie spoke to audience, but something about him made me feel that he wasn't really connecting with the Glaswegian's and in his last efforts, he even told the story of how he once visit Scotland and saw a football match there, when he was four or five years old to soothe the somewhat tension in the room only half full.

I was somewhat disappointed, he did not play any of the songs I love, and he did not sing the songs that made him famous on YouTube, such as Diamonds and Payphone. Furthermore, he sang some of his original songs, but not the first song he wrote; When you Wake. This song, especially, I felt had a good sense of rhythm and the lyrics were good. Another song he chose to sing in the Garage titled Put a Movie On, to be frank did not really appeal to me. It was funny but this was a gig to showcase his talent.

For the new fans who have just subscribed to him on YouTube, I believe they were impressed, as they sang along to the covers he sang by Drake and Ed Sheeran, but for me, I always knew him for his unique song choice and originality. Thus, it was somewhat convoluted by the current pop songs of the day. One of the only songs he chose to sing that I enjoyed was a cover of Fast Car.

For this show, I believe he chose to sing songs that the audience would want to hear, and while it's good he is thinking of them, I would like to hear the songs he loves the most, rather than hearing he chose them because they were popular with the stars he covered.

After the show Hobbie announced he would be doing a Meet and Greet. This was a nice idea, but Laura and I chose to go to Nandos instead. I think we were somewhat disappointed, but still glad we went as we got to see him off the screen on our laptops. It was also an evening out!

Waiting for our food to arrive!

Have you ever been somewhere that did not live up to your expectations?


Kirsty
xxx

My round up this week

So this week has seemed to have flown by, and I cannot believe that my weekend is here already as I have no lectures on Friday. With that, I with give you an update on what I have been up to this week.

Sunday was a surprisingly bright day in Glasgow. Instead of spending it inside my room at Murano, I asked my flat mate if she would like to go for a walk down to Byres Road for afternoon tea. We slowly made our way down and went into a cafe called Cup. I ordered an Earl Grey tea and a cupcake, which was amazing. Although, I still prefer the Hummingbird Bakery cupcakes! Laura ordered a Scone and a Cappuccino.

We then walked back through the Botanical Gardens around dusk and the scenery was lovely.

The beautiful botanical gardens.

On Monday, I awoke to the doorbell ringing. Addressed to myself, a big package was brought into my flat and I looked at it in disbelief!

The box I had to bring in!

My boyfriend had sent me the most beautiful Roses, a dozen to be exact and at present they are still blooming!

I put them by the window so they caught the sun!

Later in the day, after my Theatre Studies lecture (which was very boring), I went for dinner with my friend Heather. We went to Bar Soba on Byres Road. For someone who hasn't been before, I would compare it to Wagamamas, as it had the same sort of menu. The only difference is that their bar menu looked amazing and I would definitely go back for a drink one time!

We both ordered the Singapore street noodles.

Tuesday I had a busy day at uni which was rounded up by going to see the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with my friends at the Cineworld in town. Honestly, if you get the chance, do go and see it. It is such a feel good film! 

And on Wednesday I went for dinner with my friend Jess to Gourmet Burger Kitchen and got their classic strawberry milkshake, it was beautiful! Oh, and I got a burger, also.

Yesterday I did not do a lot and spent most of the day in bed watching Gossip Girl but had to attend a radio meeting for Subcity. 

Today I hope to get some notes done for my History course, that's if I don't sleep in!

How has your week been so far and what have you been up to?

Love

Kirsty

xxx

Valentines Weekend

My workload has been so busy recently with essays to be completed and a busy seminar season, there has been a lack of sharing on my blog. I will try to update you with what I have been up to over the last few weeks!

On 12th February, Brandon and I flew to Amsterdam for a weekend away exploring in another city. We departed from London Southend which was so much quicker travel wise, as I usually go to Stansted to get my flight back to Glasgow.

Taxiing to the runway.

Above the clouds!

We arrived early Thursday evening and checked in to our hotel, ready to explore the next day.

On the Friday we wandered around all that felt like the whole of Amsterdam the amount of walking we did! We stayed just off Dam Square and so we walked through here everyday to get to the different places. 

Dam Square with the Royal Palace in the background.

We visited numerous shops, many where I longed to buy all the clothes in the shop. The only thing stopping me was the number on the price tag! We also found a lovely teashop that sold the most amazing cakes and had a view where we could just watch the world go by.

The cupcakes were so lovely!

On Saturday evening, we went into Dam Square and got the tram to this restaurant Brandon had booked. It was lovely and we were spoilt by a four course meal and entertainment, consisting of poetry and acoustic music.

The starter was my favourite, usually I don't do salads!

The singer entertaining us for the evening.

On Saturday before dinner, we also went for a canal ride. It was so pretty, and lovely to see the city in the dark. 

The canals were so lovely with the lights around the bridge!

On Sunday afternoon we found a gap and we had been told that if we get a chance we should go to the Sex Museum, soooo... we found it on google maps and made our way to the tiny museum!

yeah.. me, a penis and bran

It really was one of the most obscure things I think I have ever been to! As hilarious as it was, I can't believe how popular this place was!

However, in the evening, we made our way to the Ice Bar! It was so fun, but very, very cold and I didn't manage to make it the full 20 minutes inside! We first had cocktails though as we arrived early. I had a Sex on the Beach and Brandon had a Mojito!

Our cocktails before heading inside the Ice Bar!

It was a lovely weekend and it ended really nicely by going to the Zoo on Monday, something which I love! We managed to see the elephants, giraffes and lions, amongst other mammals and sea creatures. We also went to a planetarium.. although this was in Dutch, it didn't stop us seeing some of the most amazing views by staring above!

I did not want to leave, but unfortunately we had to go back to reality.

Until next time!

Did you get up to anything nice over the Valentines weekend?

Kirsty

xxx