A Day Out WIth Britroyal - Take 2!

On Saturday we had our second pledge with the Britroyal twins. The first day out we had with them back in July was so hilarious that I was super excited to see what this day would entail!

Kais and Mazin picked us up from our hotel, and following a change of plan due to crazy traffic and getting lost, they opted to take us to Windsor for the afternoon. The most I remember about Windsor previously was going to Legoland when I was much younger, so I was looking forward to sightseeing the quaint little area.

Windsor Castle

After parking up and grabbing a drink, we decided to go on one of the sightseeing buses around the town. We caught a bus just as it was about to depart and sat in the only four seats left on the top deck as it was such a beautiful day. This was our first mistake as the seats had black crosses on them, meaning the headphone jacks weren't working so we wouldn't be able to hear the running commentary.

selfie with the beefeater!

However, we decided to just wing it and enjoy the beautiful sights as we went along, knowing that we could come aboard the bus again later in the day. The tour took an hour and we passed through sights such as Eton College, though we were lucky to make it out alive to tell the tale!!!  Unbeknown to us, had our headphone sockets been working, we would have known that all passengers had been given a warning about low trees. Yet here we were, sat on the left side of the top deck, travelling quite fast down country roads and being scared half to death by branches! We were travelling at what felt like Grand Prix speed, so much so that mum actually took out half a tree on the way around! (I did carry the branch around with me for a while as a funny memento but then mum left it on a café table :( I wasn't impressed!!!).

Whilst we had to make up the commentary as we went along, we decided to put my selfie stick to good use to get some pictures along the way. An hour of laughter later, we arrived back at the area where we boarded and stepped off in search for a café.

On our way we came across a museum - after our last escapade in London with the music museum, the whole thing has become a running joke so we most definitely had to wander in. We were limited to the bottom floor as there was a wedding upstairs but the curator was very friendly and amongst other facts, informed us that Prince Charles and Camilla got married here. Mum was the butt of all jokes all day long (I won't go into detail to embarrass her further lol) but it involved a man, which led to Kais and Mazin asking if they did weddings for anybody in the museum, even discussing costs with the curator and making her fetch a brochure for us. I'd like to think that I matched the twins on their banter all day, but they were too funny to keep up with at times!

excited faces all round!

We then found a café and had a sit down as the jokes continued. Kais and Mazin are always so friendly, it didn't feel like a pledge at all as the conversation and laughter wasn't forced.

We spotted another bus that appeared to be empty so decided to go round again on the tour. This time we sat on the right hand side where the headphones worked (first announcement: be aware of low branches....). We took more selfies to pass the time before the bus set off, as well as waving at all the other tourists that were taking pictures of the bus.  I felt as if I was on a school trip haha! We went a slightly different route this time, and actually heard what was being said as we went around. I found it quite interesting and it made a change for me to be having a bit of culture injected into my life - despite the numerous towns we've visited over the past few years, we never have time to do anything touristy.

After the bus tour came to an end. we hopped back into the car and headed to Bracknell for supper. Frankie and Benny's was the dining destination of choice and we continued our jokes over food.  We had a Portuguese waiter called Ricardo who was quite hysterical, I can just picture him now recommending puddings and acquainting himself as our friend. Four food comas later, we were ready to leave and sadly end the day.  Kais and Mazin drove us back to our hotel, and we parted ways after another hilarious day.  

how we felt when the day came to an end :(

They are such lovely people, spending the day with them is always so pleasant as they are so nice. The laughter never stops and I always appreciate the memories we make.  Unfortunately we don't have any more personal pledges left with them so until they start gigging, I don't know when we'll get to see them again.  Hopefully it won't be too long, I need more of their posh banter in my life!!!

Hwyl am y tro ✌️

Island Beats

On Friday I went to Thorpe Park as once again they were doing a series of Showcase Live/Island Beats gigs. I went last year with my friend Mim to see Concept and Canary Swing and enjoyed so much that I just had to come back again.

This year they have had unsigned artists perform every single day in the park for free, as well as special headline shows on Fridays and Saturdays with a chart topping act performing. Conor Maynard was the headline this week, with support from Cahoots, BB Diamond and Concept (who were the main attraction for us!).

Without Mim in tow, I was my usual rollercoaster-phobe so as soon as we arrived, we just headed straight for the gig area. There were two gigs, one for the support acts, and then the main gig in the evening.

The first act were an English/Spanish three piece called Cahoots. Their name was familiar to me but I'd never heard their music before however they were absolutely brilliant! Made up of Tom, Matt and Curricé, they sang a mix of covers and originals and built up a good crowd outside. Their cover of Uptown Funk was amazing, the only instrument they used was a guitar as a cajon and it sounded so different to most covers of that song!

Next was a female singer called BB Diamond. Now I have a history of not liking female artists but she was actually very good! She mainly sang her own songs, all of which were catchy by the end, as well as a cover of the 90's song Finally which is a jam of mine!!

Lastly were my faves Concept. It's been around a year since I last saw them live, but my gosh I didn't think it was possible for them to keep improving so much! I fell in love with them when I saw them for the first time in Reading in 2013 and ever since then they just keep stepping it up.

They performed five songs, made up of three covers and two originals. They opened with their rendition of Uptown Funk, which was again so different to what Cahoots had done. They went straight into a cover of Walk The Moon's Shut Up and Dance which was one of the first times they'd performed it live. They followed with an original song called Last Man Standing which is fantastic - I've never heard it in full so it was nice to be able to hear them perform it live. They also performed one of my favourite covers, Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. I love Karim's rap that he adds into it! Finally they ended with another original, Young and Rebellious. I first heard this song last year and instantly loved it because it's so catchy and the boys get the crowd involved too. Their sets are always so full of energy and they drew a massive crowd, it made me so proud to be a fan of theirs!  

Shut Up and Dance

Afterwards, they stayed to meet all of their fans, took pictures and chatted with everyone.  Even when Scott's dad was trying to rally the boys for dinner, they still didn't want to leave!  This is one of the reasons why I love Concept - they are extremely grounded and always make time for their fans, whether they know them well or not.  I've only met them a handful of times so they don't know me like I know some other artists yet they had so much time for both me and my mum!  We spoke about their great set, how excited we were that they were finally coming to Wales to perform in September as well as how much I was looking forward to the cinema date me and Mim won through our fan account for them.  It was so nice to speak to them properly and I managed to get pictures with Scott, Matt and Ben.  

Scott, Matt and Ben

The main gig wasn't due to start until 6pm so we wasted some time by having dinner, people watching and playing games in the arcade.  At 5pm we headed over to the queue for Island Beats to try and get a decent spot as we only had standard tickets. People always laugh at me for queuing for a gig, however sometimes being keen pays off as at 6 o'clock the steward came round and gave the first 50 people in the queue a free upgrade for VIP!  Instead of being half way back in the venue, we ended up being in third row.  

Cahoots

We had a great view of Cahoots, BB Diamond and Concept, who all performed fantastic sets once again.  After their performance, Concept came to stand in the VIP area so everyone went to have group pictures with them.  This was the first group picture I had with them and tbh I really love it! (Karim's got the perfect arms for selfie taking haha).

Afterwards we stood at the back of the VIP area ready for the headline act, Conor Maynard.  I'll be honest, I'd forgotten how much I loved his music!  He was absolutely incredible, he got the crowd bouncing and everyone was singing along to his classics like Can't Say No, Vegas Girl and Turn Around.  He did a medley of covers including Trap Queen and Gotta Get Thru This which was just amazing, before finishing off with my favourite song R U Crazy.  His whole set was insane and so feel good!

I hope Showcase Live continue to put on shows at Thorpe Park every year as they're always really enjoyable.  They're ideal for people who like to combine music with theme park thrills, but even if you're a wuss like me, it's a fantastic setting to get to listen to some incredible music!

Hwyl am y tro ✌️

Peter Andre Breeze Signing

Today we went to meet Peter Andre in The Perfume Shop in Llanelli!  He was signing his new perfume called Breeze, as part of a signing tour across the country.  I've never met Peter before but I've been a fan for years and have been to several of his concerts.  Luckily for me, Llanelli is a thirty minute drive from where I live, so it really was a novel concept to be able to meet a fave of mine more or less on my doorstep!

Not knowing what time people would start queuing, we headed to Llanelli for 10:30am (the signing wasn't due to start until 3pm haha).  We went straight to the shop to purchase the perfume and noticed that they'd already laid out a queuing system however nobody had been keen enough to start queuing just yet! (Anywhere else in the country, I think it would have been a different story.  Also I'm used to extreme queuing for everything!!!)

We decided to waste a bit of time doing some (much needed) clothes shopping for myself (I ended up having a kimono haul, because I definitely don't have dozens in my wardrobe already...!).  Mum also won £25 in a charity raffle in one of the shops so it was already boding on being a great day! We stopped for a drink in a cafe near The Perfume Shop and we came across the first lot of people that had started to queue.  By the time we decided to join the queue just after 12, there were around 25 or so ahead of us.

The queuing experience was actually really fun.  We kept chatting to the people in front of us, who were really friendly and very excited to meet Peter!  Unlike anything I've seen anywhere else I've been before, the other shops were also very entrepreneurial whilst we were queuing.  A man from Trespass was selling stools for people to sit on for £5 and two people from Starbucks kept coming round the queue with ice cold drinks and sweets for sale - the drinks in particular went down extremely well considering the blistering heat!  The sunshine was the only thing that made the queuing uncomfortable, it was so unbearably hot that I've managed to burn myself.

At around 2:30, people started to get more excited as Peter's security men arrived which meant that he was in the building.  The appearance of his tour manager Carl increased the hysteria!  One thing I must mention is how nice Peter's team is - his security guards were really friendly (one slightly more uptight than the other in a banterous manner) and Carl is so lovely!  The signing began at 3pm on the dot which I was surprised about as I remember when Peter had his TV shows, he was always notoriously late for everything!  By then there were at least 150 people waiting for him outside.

We didn't have to wait long before it was our turn.  Carl made us laugh as he was taking the mick out of Peter.  Mum went to meet Peter first - they had quite a long chat and I didn't want to interrupt them haha!  They were having a good old natter, mum seemed so excited bless her!  After being nudged on by Carl, I made my way to the counter and gave Peter the bottle to sign.  It was all so quick but he was just as nice as what I had expected!  It's no wonder that he's so popular, he's one of those people that treats their fans well and is an example of how someone with fame should behave.  I gave Peter my phone so that he could take a selfie.  He ended up taking 7 to make sure they came out okay (another trait I like in a fave!). Sadly after sweltering in the heat I didn't look too great, especially next to him but here's the best pic out of a bad bunch!

He gave me a hug on the way out and then me and mum made our way back outside into the sunshine, to compare our stories.  I was stopped by a bunch of girls who wanted to see my picture, I think they were then encouraged to buy a bottle of Breeze themselves so that they could meet him too!  The perfume itself came in a beautiful box, which opened out to reveal the perfume bottle.  The bottle is really pretty and the scent is lovely too, really fresh and a suitable scent for the summer.  It was £24,95 for a 100ml bottle which I thought was quite reasonable to be honest, especially as it meant that I could meet Peter after all this time.

my signed bottle

the box doors open to reveal the pretty bottle!

It was a really strange experience to have a 'fangirl adventure' so close to home! Whilst I love all our travels, it was nice not to have to leave the house at an unacceptable time and that we didn't have to travel far for a change.  Peter's signing was certainly one of the biggest things to happen in Llanelli in a long time and I hope that more of my faves decide to venture down to West Wales one day!

Hwyl am y tro ✌️