Birmingham Arts Fest

It has become a bit of a tradition that every year I go with my parents and Nikki to the arts festival in Birmingham. We love to spend the afternoon strolling around and taking in the variety of entertainment that is on offer and having lunch out as a treat.

Art on the Rails

This is a unique way to display your work! Each person has a little table and the rails behind them to make a mini showcase of their art. There is loads of interesting stuff if you can afford to be buying prints and paintings to adorn your home with :)

Sculptures and Street performers

While you are busy taking in all the main events, don't forget to keep an eye out for the hidden gems. There are often individuals doing mini performances that shouldn't be missed. The guy in the blue jacket below was following people round and pulling faces behind there head... hilarious for the spectator! There were also some beautiful sculptures made out of gardeny sorts of things.

The Arts Market

 This really is a feast for the eyes and loads of fun for anyone that is into performing arts and likes to be creative. There was pottery, dance classes, theatre groups, performances, live bands, mini art classes for kids and plenty of other stuff to get involved in. My favourite stall was the 'Giant Colouring' where you can order a black and white piece of art and colour it in yourself :) great idea for my future classes to colour in a mural for the wall!

La Musique

Looking through the Arts fest guide, there was such an assortment of musicians in Birmingham last weekend; definitely something for everyone! From Heavy metal to a full on orchestra :) We were sat in Chamberlain Square enjoying a drink and thought we might as well stay for the next band. I couldn't believe it when my sister recognised the lead singer from school! Check out her band Exodus Calling on Facebook here.

My favourite artist was the indie-folk band we watched in Symphony Hall called 'The Lights'. Check them out in my rubbishy video below or listen to them here.

Olympic Oogling

For those who couldn't drag themselves away from the Paralympics for more than five minutes, there was massive screen to watch in Victoria Square. Everyone was sat by the fountains or in the deck chairs, chilling watching the Paralympics in between checking out the arts fest. If we had stayed until the evening, we could have watched the closing ceremony on the screen with everybody!

If you live close to Birmingham you should definitely go next year!! Just a couple of hours of arty goodness :)

A guide to fresherdom

I know that a lot of people left home and embarked on their University adventures yesterday and that there will be a lot more of you setting off in the next few weeks. York St John freshers starts on Monday 17th September and I am EXCITED to get involved for my third and final time (WAAAAA NO MORE FRESHERS). I had a delve into my photo collection and came up with this fantastical guide to freshers week and beyond; complete with photo evidence of course!

Bond with your house mates whilst wearing yellow sieve things on your head

I think we talked about EVERYTHING during freshers week. I could tell you juicy gossip about them all :P who has the most piercings, who has kissed a girl, boyfriend secrets and much more! But I am bound by the laws of fresher secrecy :)

Go to your Freshers fair

Why would you ever miss out on this??? There are sooo many free things to pick up and loads of vouchers that will last you all year! I think I actually ended up throwing vouchers away in the end. We obviously did three trips round the tent to make the most of the free dominoes pizza ;) It's not just about freebies though; you can have a chat to all the societies and clubs and see if you fancy any!

Join a society and party hard with them

In my first year I was part of dance society. I am not with them any more because I realised I have two left feet and the only thing I could actually do was the fitness class once a week. However I absolutely LOVED nights out with them; they are all really friendly people and these girls can definitely  party hard! 

Learn to make yourself some healthy grub

Now I am totally going to sound like your Mum but looking after yourself is actually really important! Spending weeks living on pot noodles and ready meals will do NOTHING for your body or your complexion or anything so it's better to know how to rustle up some quick stir fry veggies or go all out and make Sunday dinner ;)

On the topic of healthy stuff, make sure you apply for a doctor near where you live. Freshers Flu and STIs are VERY COMMON so make sure you look after yourself and have somewhere to go get checked out if need be!

Then ruin your healthy lifestyle with shots shots shots

because freshers is about getting drunk. Every night.

Go to at least one Carnage

Freshers loooooove carnage haha the second years and third years not so much. Some places don't have them at all but check out the website and see when yours is! They are basically a massive bar crawl with a theme. You have to pay around £8 for your carnage t-shirt and they get you into all the places for free. These t-shirts have a tick sheet on the back of things that you have to complete during the night, just for fun :) On the pyjama night we had to 'swap bottoms four times' and on doctors night 'kiss a naughty nurse'. Obviously this isn't compulsory to have a fab night :D

& consequently make a poor lad try and squeeze into your tiny pyjama bottoms

As explained above. Not pretty though.

Dress up when you can

It's not just on carnage that you get to dress up. There are LOADS of opportunities to make a pleb of yourself and dress up. See the pictures for some of the ridiculous things I have dressed up in.

Drink on the move, this makes more time for partying

It is not ladylike or classy in any which way but if you want to save yourself some time and money then this is how it is. All activities during freshers can be forgiven though, just on the basis that it happened during freshers.

See the sights of your new town/city

Freshers isn't just about getting drunk... well it mostly is. During the afternoons when you have finally woken up and attended some welcome week lectures (sorry to break it to you, but they exist) you should go out and have a look around your new home! How else will you find all the best shops, bars and places to show your folks when they pop up to see you?

Evening Adventures

When a kind second year students chats to you in the SU and tells you he knows a cool bar in town, you and your mates should probably go check it out (DO NOT go alone, what did your Mum tell you about strangers hmm?). You should probably have an escape plan though because when said second year invites himself back to your house and he WON'T leave your kitchen, this turns into an issue.

Go to at least one UV party and ruin a perfectly good white top

because UV parties are AWESOME and it's fun getting ready but unfortunately the paint ruins most things it touches.

and finally...

Try not to end up like this

Being a 20 year old woman in 2012.

Most of you were probably expecting my post-Scotland musings to be all about the jolly times I had hopping  back and forth over the borders, visiting many an interesting place. I just don't want to do that, sorry! For those of you who are my 'friend' on Facebook, you can always peruse through my many photos that I uploaded for stalking pleasure.

Instead I want to talk about some women who have taught me some things about life lately. I had read about Caitlin Moran's 'How to be a Woman' on a few different blogs and the girls were raving about it! I wasn't really sure to start with because I like to think I have modern feminist beliefs; Moran seemed a little hardcore for me! When she popped up again in the Glamour magazine's Women of the Year Awards and I found out that she grew up in Wolverhampton and then escaped (my lifelong dream) I just HAD to download her book and see what all the hoo-ha was about. 

"There’s never been a better time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven’t been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain…Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should you get Botox? Do men secretly hate us? What should you call your vagina? Why does your bra hurt? And why does everyone ask you when you’re going to have a baby?"

I am so glad that I finally picked it up and gave it the time of day; Moran's writing offers a no-holds-barred approach to going through adolescence and womanhood. Even though I don't agree with everything she has to say, there is plenty of recognisable material that had me addicted! Moran's witty wisdom, cheery common sense and relate-able self-deprecation makes this a must read for every Woman. I am already waiting for her second book 'Moranthology' which is out on 13th September. You can pre-order for £9.91 on Amazon Kindle just like meeeeee :)

If that isn't enough guidance to being a modern day woman or you need something a bit more precise than just keep reading! I bought More magazine whilst having a gander through ASDA today for a little afternoon reading. Who knew I would stumble across the awesome tumblr blog which iiiiiis...  F**k I'm in my 20's. Emma Koenig is a blogger from New York who brings the drama of being a 20 something student/graduate to life with funny doodles. It's just so fantastically good that they have even made her ideas into a book that was out on 1st September and you can get it on one of those kindle things I always bang on about for £5.19 heeeeeere. If you're feeling a bit poor you can always just check out the original blog like I did and find funny stuff like this...

....Fifty Shades of what now???

Just some stuff

This Sunday I thought I'd share with you a few bits and bobs that I've bought in the past week that I love and  I think some of you might love too :)

What? Dragonfruit flavoured lip butter by the Body Shop foundation with 100% profits going to whichever charity you choose.

Where? The Body Shop stores and online now! 

Why? You all know I'm a lover of shopping when there are good consequences involved :) I love body shop products so I have been waiting patiently for what seemed like forever for them to launch this campaign in the UK! Read more about the dragon fruit lip balm campaign here.

What? Coconut Milk hair serum

Where? Most boots stores and also on Amazon. You can buy it here for £5.99

Why? I have always been a lover of serum as it makes your hair feel silky soft :) this one is by far my favourite. It smells so yummy and my hair is the softest it's ever been. Don't let the price scare you off though because you use it really sparingly!

What? Moustaches from around the world t-shirt

Where? The t-shirt is by a company called 'Tee and Cake' but is sold in Topshop for £20

Why? I like moustache related humour :) plus it is really good quality compared to the tops that Topshop are selling nowadays! Another bonus is obviously the 10% student discount ;)

Apologies for the short and sweet Sunday post! I am off on my travels today to Jedburgh in Scotland for a week of outdoorsy fun, historical visits and of course some shopping in Edinburgh too :) making a detour to Durham to see my Grandad on the way up and enjoy some of his famous crinkly chips and apple pie (not together haha). Thought I'd better leave you something to read in the meantime though :D See you soon!

Chester.

It's been one week since we found out Nikki's A level results and she got her place at Chester Uni to study Primary Education. There will be two teachers in the Davison clan :) Nikki had to go to Chester yesterday to sort out her CRB and other teaching stuff so my Mom thought we might as well make a day of it! 

1&2

 

3&4

5&6

7&8

1. Nikki and my Mom outside Riverside, the building that Nikki will be studying in. It literally is a stone throw from the River Dee, a perfect place to sit on your lunch break!

2. Another shot of the Riverside campus :) I was trying to artsy by getting the vintage bike in the picture haha.

3. Nikki and Mom outside Chester Town hall. This is one of the many beautiful buildings in Chester that you probably wouldn't take notice of unless you are an Eagle eyed tourist.

4. Nikki enjoying her caramel latte when we took a quick Starbucks break :) I would have included our stop at Slug and Lettuce for lunch but I was far too hungry to think about taking pictures for my blog ;) their Moroccan chicken salad is awesome. I may have had some cheeky two for one cocktails to myself as well because nobody else wanted one; dune bug and bombay breeze, yum! 

5&6. Chester Cathedral. My family are super lucky that they get to watch Nikki graduate here after they have watched me graduate at York Minster :) imagine those graduation pictures on the mantle-piece. 

7. My shot of Chester High Street from above. Chester is actually a pretty good place to shop, you can find all of your usual high street shops as well as a good mix of restaurants, pubs and cafes. There are a few small shopping centres too if you need shelter from the British weather while you shop!

8. A cute little side street we found that takes you from the Cathedral to all the main shops.