2014

I've been lucky enough to travel the country to different gigs and events this year, so I thought I'd do a little throwback post and look at ten of my favourite events from this year! (These aren't in order and technically there's more than ten oops)

Manchester/Birmingham Social

During 2014 I've been to 4 Kingsland socials, all of which have been amazing but the two that stick in mind are the Manchester bowling and Birmingham Bingo ones.

Going to the Manchester social was a last minute decision following the London bowling. The night before we went to The Wanted's gig in Cardiff and Tom's DJ set in Tiger Tiger afterwards so myself, mum and Dannii were so wrecked going there but had so much fun! Unlike the London social where you had to pick a band member's team, here we got to bowl with all members although I didn't actually bowl at all oops. I enjoyed this social because we had lots of time with the boys and Dannii was like a personal pap taking pictures haha.

The Birmingham social will always be one of my favourites as I got to take Em to her first social. I loved our little Team Thompson's Topknot as we won the quiz and played bingo which I LOVE ha! 

The Wanted Tour

Considering this was a sad occasion as it was their last tour, it shouldn't appear on the list but through the tears there were also plenty of laughs and smiles.

I went to Manchester, Cardiff and Nottingham to see them. Along the way I was reunited with some of my favourite people as well as finally meeting some of the girls I've known for years! In Manchester I also got to meet The Wanted again - they are always so precious to meet. It was the best thing being able to get Jay hugs again! The day after, myself and mum also got our Siva follows! 

As the tour dates went on, more tears were cried. Nottingham was heartbreaking to say the least. Every person in my row were absolutely beside themselves and it was so horrible to see the boys so upset too. I wouldn't have missed it for the world but it was actually emotionally draining. I will always love those boys to the moon and back. They've given me so much happiness for over 4 years and I can never thank them enough for that. I miss them every day and I do hope that one day they'll return (as a five piece) as their journey ended far too soon.

Meeting MKTO

This was one of those things that I never thought would happen. I've loved Tony Oller for seven years since seeing him on As The Bell Rings and being an American star it seemed unlikely that he would ever come to the UK. I started supporting him and Malcolm Kelley in 2013 (known as MKTO) and it's always been a dream to meet them.

In May they announced that they were coming over here and it was so stressful as it was so last minute but eventually I met them in Manchester! It was so incredible and they were just as perfect as I imagined! I really hope that there'll be a next time and that they do a gig over here too. 

Big Reunion Boyband Tour

This was a night of pure fun and reliving my childhood! 90's music just makes me super happy, and getting to meet the boybands of my childhood allowed to me to tick another thing off of my goals list!

The main boyband in question were A1, finally getting to meet them after 15 years! I most definitely embarrassed myself in front of all the boybands as I was super excited, most specifically in front of Mark from A1, rambling on about how I'd waited 15 years to meet him oops haha. This was by far one of my favourite gigs of this year, few hours of good fun, singing along and having no worries in the world.

Showcase Live @ Thorpe Park

This is pretty much in my top three of places I've been this year. As a rollercoaster-phobe, I basically only went to see Concept/Canary Swing perform and to be reunited with my twinny Mim. However, she managed to drag me on a few rides which was actually super fun!

Concept were my highlight, purely because they had a really good set including covers and originals, most importantly their amazing cover of She Wants To Move which is one of my favourites of all time!!! I also still laugh at myself for practically dying on the barrier from certain stage love, don't judge ha!

Capital Summertime Ball / Jingle Bell Ball 

Capital always put on the most AMAZING gigs with some insane line-ups. This was my third STB and first JBB. I got to see some incredible artists perform live! STB highlights included Jessie J (with Nathan Sykes), Ed Sheeran, The Vamps, 5SOS, Miley and Pharrell. JBB ended my year on a high with Take That as the headline, One Republic, Union J, The Script and more. I can't wait to go again next year :)

Kingsland's Tour

This was Kingsland's first headline tour and we decided to do all six dates, which included visiting Newcastle and Glasgow for the first time.

As well as seeing the boys perform every night, one of the best things about the tour for me was getting to see pretty much all of my favourite people across the different venues and radio stations that they visited. It was so good getting to spend time with old friends as well as making new ones along the way. It was definitely one of the most memorable weeks for me and I can't wait to repeat it again next year on their second tour :)

Live and Loud

This was a festival based in Castle Vale and one funny afternoon/night. I had such a laugh with the KL girls and this is when I became close to a few of them. Instead of watching the acts we actually stood outside all day waiting for Kingsland but there was banter with the security and we became #KittyDivas before eventually getting to see the boys.

We went in to watch them perform and moments before they went on stage it was said on twitter that there'd be an announcement on stage for the boys. Ever the worrier, I automatically thought they were going to split or something and I remember panicking so much. Turns out, the event organiser presented them with an envelope which had details about a record deal in AMERICA! Needless to say, plenty of happy tears were shed - so proud of those idiots!

Showcase Live @ Under The Bridge

Again, this was a sad occasion as it was Jay's last gig and shouldn't really be on the list but there parts of the night that were enjoyable!

Firstly I got to meet my favourite Australian Jakie! It was so good to finally meet her after so long and she got to meet the boys and get the most precious photos!

I also spent most of the gig with Dannii, which is always fun and games! We had plenty of bants with the boys before and after the gig haha

Whilst it was sad that it was Jay's last gig, looking back at the night now (having cried too many tears on his shoulder) it was an end of an era and the start of something new for him. He has since launched his solo career and he seems to be really happy, which makes me happy too.

Meeting Take That

The main highlight of my year/life was meeting Take That, in particular my idol Gary after well over 15 years! I also got to be barrier at their intimate Radio 2 gig which was a dream come true! (I won't rattle on too much about it, but you can read about it in my previous post :) )

No matter how many times I put it into words, it still feels so surreal to me. As sad as it sounds, it's literally one of my biggest life goals crossed off and a day I'll never forget!

This year has been one of my favourites for many reasons. I've been so fortunate to be able to travel the country, seeing the bands that make me happy and meeting the most amazing people along the way. 

It gives me the biggest buzz doing this, and whilst I may be deemed as too old for all this "fangirling", I work hard full time and this is my release and what I enjoy doing in life. At the start it used to be just about the music, then getting to see the bands. Now it's getting to spend time with people that I have things in common with, making friends with people, a lot of whom I consider family.

I also learnt this year that you should NEVER give up hope on meeting your idols. I am one of many people that met their idols this year - in fact I met three of whom I've been waiting 7/15+ years to meet. Just keep trying and it will happen, trust me. 

This will be my last post for this year! If anyone is still reading my ramblings then thank you for letting me bore you with my memories haha. I keep this blog as a memory box for myself really, so I hope to continue in 2015 so that I'll always have something to look back on in years to come.

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Happy New Year!

Hwyl am y tro ✌️

Tonight we're gonna live for these days!

Recently Radio 2 and the red button on BBC broadcasted a special concert that Take That filmed at the BBC theatre a few weeks ago. Myself and mum were lucky enough to win tickets to this gig and it was the start of a very momentous weekend for us!

When we won the tickets, it stated that entry would be first come first served, so knowing how some fans like to camp out, we decided to queue at 8am to get a decent spot. To our bemusement there were only two ladies in front of us (that had been there since 3am!!!) meaning that we were third and fourth in the queue.

It was a strange day altogether as we started to queue outside in the cold, the security couldn't believe how early we'd arrived and told us that we could queue inside the BBC media centre cafe. After the arrival of a few more people, we started a number system which the security actually listened to! We had such a nice afternoon queuing indoors, with food, drink and toilets at hand and once our tickets were validated we were told that we would definitely be let in to the theatre in number order.

Once the doors opened, we excitedly ran to the front and all got a spot on the barrier, myself and mum placing ourself right in the centre where Gary would be standing.

After nearly 12 hours of queuing all day, the show finally started and I genuinely couldn't believe how close we were to Take That! We've been to their shows before but never been anywhere near the front (I have been fourth row at a Gary concert once and it took all my strength not to cry through the first half, so I'm not sure how I managed to keep calm during this concert!). It was such an incredible experience to be one of 400 people in this tiny room with Take That, when over 268,000 people had applied for tickets!

It's always my favourite thing to see the fans getting so involved, hearing lyrics being sung back to the band and everyone joining in with some of their famous moves always gives me goosebumps! Mark was as fun as I imagined, participating a lot with the crowd. Howard was just so striking in real life, he's so beautiful!! As for Gary, well I was just in awe. He is an incredible man, my idol and to be so close was just a dream!

Luckily for us, the next day we had tickets for their signing which meant we would finally get to meet them after all this time. Signings are known for being a bit rushed sometimes so we also took our chance and went to try and meet them at Radio 2 early on signing day.

This is where my dreams came true and I first met Gary. It is still the most surreal thing in the world being able to say that!! I wouldn't have had a picture if it wasn't for mum asking him, I was literally rendered speechless as soon as he stood in front of me and the second he walked away I looked at my picture and cried haha (happy tears of course!).

Later that afternoon we headed to HMV to meet the whole band. To our surprise, it was brilliantly organised, each member standing with an individual podium next to them ready for signing our album, whilst a member of staff took pictures for you.

It didn't feel rushed at all! Mark was very friendly and we spoke about the gig from the night before. Howard was really nice and again ever so striking in real life! This time I also managed to speak a little to Gary and made the most of the photo opportunity by getting a Barlow hug ;-)

I was so overwhelmed, it was a brilliant day where all my dreams came true. Never in a million years did I think I would get to meet them - having been a fan for over 15 years, it's been a long old wait but worth every second!

I'd like to believe that I can reassure people who haven't met their faves yet that it will happen one day - never give up hope!

Hwyl am y tro ✌️