Election Chaos.

I’ve always wondered why I can’t have realistic ambitions. Being Prime Minister is probably a bit far fetched, especially if you know me and know that even getting dressed in the morning can be a task in itself, let alone run an entire country. Yes, I know, I’ll never be Prime Minister of the UK but I may as well aim for it and see where I end up.

In November 2014 I started my journey up the slippery pole of politics… running in my first election. Albeit only a Town Council election but everyone has to start somewhere.

Since making the decision to run in for Bicester Town Council, I think I have crossed through every possible emotion… mostly that of absolute terror. What have I let myself in for?

Whilst trying to revise for my summer exams, work and socialise with friends and family, I’ve been out almost every evening, knocking on doors across Bicester and canvassing for all three elections happening here on May 7th. I was dreading going out canvassing but it has been so lovely talking to people and gauging what is important to them in a town that is growing so rapidly, it probably won’t be recognisable in 10 years time.

No matter what happens on May 7th 2015, the past few weeks have been crazy but such an amazing experience and I hope the first of many election campaigns to come.

If you haven’t already registered to vote in the UK, the deadline is tomorrow (20th April) so click here for a link to do so. A number of people were missed off the register when the system changed so there is no harm in registering again just in case!

This Girl Can?

February. The time of year when I give up on any fitness/diet related new years resolutions… except this year, I haven’t and the trainers are out! I don’t know about you but I get sudden bursts of inspiration for getting into something and within two weeks, I’ve given up and got back into bed with a bar of chocolate.

This time round, I knew I had to commit to a new fitness lifestyle otherwise I’d be back to square one. So I tied myself into a 12 month gym membership, bought some rather expensive trainers and got a personal trainer ( the latter is probably unnecessary but I need someone to shout at me when I’m toying between a treadmill and a chocolate bar).

Nearly two months in and I’m absolutely loving it- something I never thought I’d say about going to the gym. I see my personal trainer every two weeks, go to Zumba, yoga and spin classes once a week each and a general gym session at least once a week. I don’t know why I am so motivated this time round but I’m really starting to see a difference in how I feel and think. Admittedly, it’s at quite a large financial cost but you only get one body and I want to look after it and if this is the way that works best for me, so be it 🙂

Landon Austin.

I recently discovered a singer/songwriter called Landon Austin.

His songs are so beautiful…I haven’t been this awestruck by a musician in a very long time. It’s the kind of music I just stop and listen to without getting distracted by anything else.. just amazing.

Beauty around every corner.

I am constantly taken aback by the beauty of the UK- no matter where you go, natural beauty is just around the corner.

A good friend of mine, Jordan, filmed this video of Black Rocks in Derbyshire- v=kxNlKUHrP9Q  

It’s stunning and in the New Year I’ll definitely be jumping in my car to go and see it in person to take some photos but for now, I hope you enjoy the video.

Video- Jordan Frater

Music- Paragon Axis

Blackout night.

The internet is taking over my life.

Who am I kidding? Technology is taking over my life.

And that is why for a few hours, one evening, once a week, I’m going to have a ‘blackout’.

No internet.

No phone.

No laptop.

No tv.

Just books, reflection, walks, baking, chatting to/playing games with my housemates etc. and generally switching off from technology even if only for a couple of hours (plus I might actually get some of my course reading done without getting distracted by Twitter every other sentence).

This isn’t me being angry at the internet, I love it and I think it does wonderful things but quite often, I find myself living my life through the internet and not experiencing what real life can offer.

“The Internet is so big, so powerful…that for some people it is a complete substitute for life.”

– Andrew Brown

London Adventures

I’ve been to London so many times but normally for a specific reason or for work so as I am currently on a ‘reading week’ at uni, I took the opportunity to stay with my friend, Birch, at his flat in London.

We quite literally embraced the “tourist” life for 48 hours and it was so good to spend some quality time in our amazing capital city.

 

Alongside a few hours of shopping, we went to the West End to watch ‘Matilda’ the musical followed by drinks in Leicester Square. I love how alive London is no matter what time of day. I even appreciated waking up in Kensington and hearing beeping cars and traffic outside the window. Madame Tussauds was incredible… I didn’t think I’d enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did – they had a really awesome ride towards the end of the exhibition called “The Spirit of London” which made me feel so proud to be British and part of such an enriched history.

Our next trip was to see the Poppy Fields at Tower Hill. For those who have followed my blogs for a while, you’ll know how much remembrance day means to me and how important I think it is for people to spend time thinking about the people who lost their lives in the world wars. The scene at Tower Hill left me speechless and I really hope that it is kept as it is for longer than originally planned, definitely worth a visit and to think about those who sacrificed themselves for our country.

To finish off the two days, we stopped off at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. It is huge and free! In the natural disasters section they had installed a massive model of the world with an escalator going up into the exhibition… that alone was the highlight of the museum for me.

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the idea of ‘exploring the world’ but we shouldn’t forget that there are wonderful things right on our doorstep 🙂

An Epidemic of Loneliness.

“An epidemic of loneliness created by the misguided idea that the only cure to it lies in romantic relationships.”

– Alain de Botton

A lot of people live their lives in the pursuit of romance and although exciting, what does it really bring? What do people miss when they are in constant search of love and companionship?

Failure, emotions and strangers.

I failed at daily blogging.. I generally fail at blogging anyway but I think I shall just stick to posting when something has happened which makes me actually want to blog.

I’ve had a very weird few months:

– The elation of my first proper “travelling” experience (on my own!)

– Heartbreak from the break down of a long term relationship.

– Determination and feeling accomplished following an amazing week working for a Think Tank in London.

-Anger from watching my ex boyfriend move on so quickly.

– Sadness from going from sharing everything with him, to nothing.

– Excitement about moving on with my life and being free (and even went on a date.. which I didn’t pursue further, but still!)

– Going back to University for my second year.

– Back to sadness and frustration because I can’t seem to get over the break up of my relationship *hits head against a brick wall*.

Then today, I got chatting to a man in McDonald’s in Birmingham city centre. I often start conversations with random strangers on buses/trains/planes/cafes etc. (I’m definitely not British in that respect!) He was from Bristol originally but had moved up to Newcastle and was travelling back down to Somerset to see his mum. We introduced ourselves and had a chat about what we do, where we’d come from and what had brought us to Birmingham etc. Following that, we had a discussion about politics, agreed we’d probably never be happy with the way the world was run and concluded that actually, as long as we’re happy and the country is in a reasonable state, let’s not get too bogged down in it and live our lives.

He was so right… we spend way too much time getting ourselves caught up in the “politics” of life when really we should just be happy and live our lives as each day comes.

I love strangers.

Day Two: 1 Food, 1 Drink. For the Rest of My Life.

Okay so I failed on the second day. However, I may be nearly two hours late but this is technically day two in countries such as America so it still counts 😉

 

Day Two: 1 Food, 1 Drink. For the Rest of My Life.

I recently went abroad to The Netherlands and studied with people from all across the world which was an incredible experience. Nevertheless, being the only British person on the course, I was subsequently ridiculed for my typical “British” traits and nicknamed “The Cute British One”. Since acquiring this, I realised I pretty much lived up to every single stereotype of a typical Brit especially considering I spent 80% of the time moaning about how I wanted a decent cup of tea. So there’s my drink…without doubt, a good old English Breakfast Tea (milk, no sugar). 

For food, I’m not so sure. Not being a “food” person, I don’t really think about it all that much but I do reaaally like my Mum’s huge roast dinners- I always look forward to a big Sunday lunch especially when all the family sits round the table.

All I can think about now is roast potatoes…