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 ✌️