The Motorcyclist Secret Code

I've not done much at all today but I thought I would just talk very briefly about motorcyclists. I've had bikes since I was 16 and it's only this year, now that I'm 20, that I've really noticed and got to grips with the not-so-secret nod. At first I thought other bikers were signalling me that my driving was terrible or that something was wrong. Turns out it's the biker equivalent to the thing the bus drivers have got going on where they always wave to each other. Now every time I go past other people on bikes and they all signal to me (and I return it) it makes my day! I feel like I'm a part of some super cool exclusive club. Here's a fantastically random and unrelated photo from last year when I was lucky enough to have a helicopter lesson over my local area!

Kayaking Coolness

Yet another brilliant day (I'm having a lot of these this summer). Today has been watersports based, which for anyone who actually knows me, is probably slightly unbelievable. I am possibly the least sporty person in the world, and when I do exercise I am the epitome of ungraceful (as anyone in my Zumba class will confirm). Despite all this, I have actually done a fair amount of watersports in my time and always really enjoyed it. Anyway, today's adventures took me to Dover where a friend and I donned our lifejackets and banana yellow kayaks. SUCH FUN. Also I had extra entertainment when said friend started singing a full rendition of the Sweeney Todd musical. Needless to say I didn't take my camera out with me because me being me, I would have dropped it in the sea somehow. It's a shame because from where we were paddling we had the most amazing view of the ferry births with Dover castle in the background. Oh well, here's another photo from my visit to Deal yesterday.

Today's castles

Today's adventures have taken me around the beaches of Kent's coast. I've been past Dover, Deal and Walmer castle and to St Margaret's bay. It's totally hidden away and you really wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it. Totally beautiful! Also I've had an issue with my camera today, everything seems to be a little bit blurry :(

Flags

When I was in London the other day, this is one of the best things I saw. For those of you out there who haven't ever seen anything like this, it's just a few street artists chalking as many different flags on the ground as they can. The idea is that you find your flag and put a penny or two on it. It also makes you realise you actually have NO idea where the heck most of the flags come from.

 

Architecture Attempts...

Right, so. I've never really known what I was doing with architecture photography. I just point and shoot and hope it looks pretty... but there's always a window in the wrong place or a weird shadow covering half the building or a naked man on the balcony that I didn't notice until editing... you get the general idea. I had a go anyway when I was in London and got some generic touristy shots. Nothing that anybody else who's ever been to London won't have too, but it's a start. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

Moroccan spices

Over Easter I went on a trip to Morocco which was full of spices like this. It's one of my all time favourite sights to see and to my delight I found a very similar spice stall in a market in Malta! My next trip booked in is to southern Spain next Easter where I know there are more. Hooray for spice stalls! 

Beetles

I've been in London all day so only a quick photo from a few weeks ago! Some soldier beetles in a field near my house a few month ago. There will be London pics soon. 

Coco and the Butterfields

Today's been really great!! I pootled over to a local festival with a friend and we spent the afternoon in the rain listening to live music. One of my favourite bands (Coco and the Butterfields) just happened to be playing there which was a bonus and because it was raining, there weren't that many people and I could get right to the front and take a few photos :D  Here's one of Coco's latest cover songs, one of my personal favourites! Also, youtube 'Warriors' and you should find their latest music video to an original song! One of the photos is of my friend having her face painted and the other is of the lovely Dulcima from Coco!

Fixed Teeth!!

This one is for anyone who was keeping up with me in Malta and everyone who knows about my recent traumas. Today I went to both the dentist and the doctor and I think I'm FINALLY back to normal. I've been poked, prodded and drilled into but hopefully it's all worth it and everything is fixed at last. I've spent the rest of my day planning a fantasy trip to Paris. Constructive, I know. I felt like putting up something orange today so here's a nice sticky lump of resin. Pulled fresh from a nature reserve tree.

Rainy Whitstable

Today's not been an overly productive day for me due to disgusting weather, but i DID get a chance to go to one of my favourite shops earlier. It's in Whitstable, tiny and probably quite easy to miss if you don't know it's there! It's a cupcake shop, but not only does it sell cupcakes. Oh no! It sells fantastic greetings cards too which I always find alarmingly exciting. I went over to Whitstable earlier in the week only to find that the shop was closed for baking! Today I had more luck and was able to stock up on stationery and get an oreo cupcake :D  The cupcake lady let me take a few photos too so I can show the world! Here's a link to their website and if you're ever in Whitstable, go and find this place. It's worth it!  

http://www.whatsupcupcake.com/

Close call

So so so nearly forgot to put up my daily photo! Here's Beverley Minster!

Maltese Feast Days

Here's a couple of rooftop photos of Mosta on the feast day. In Malta, every town and village has its own Saint and every Saint has its own day. On this day the town or village holds what is basically a big party with lots of fireworks that the local community have all chipped in towards! The whole of Mosta was lit up like a fairytale city and there were beautiful statues everywhere. I got these from standing on the roof :)

Home sweet home!!

Just got home and I'm absolutely shattered so here, have a pretty photo of Malta.

More-people-than-I-have-ever-seen Market

Today was my last day in Malta and it's been really great! I've now seen the wonders of Malta's markets which is an amazing spectacle in itself with all the different colours, smells and sounds. What made it even more impressive was the backdrop; a scattering of traditional fishing boats (Luzzo) floating happily on the sea. I also had a lunch worth noting! I ordered a cheese salad and ended up with what was effectively a cheese board!! (the photo doesn't do it all that much justice, but it was massive!!)   Tomorrow I'll be back in England but not before a breakfast of traditional pastizzi (although the tradition doesn't specify they should be eaten for breakfast)!!! Ciao Malta, it's been good.

Maltese Health Care

Today. Where to start? My toothache got so bad that I ended up booking an emergency dentist appointment. Midway through the emergency procedure I had a severe allergic reaction to some medication I'd taken this morning. It was the worst pain I've ever felt and it was super scary as at the time as I had no idea what was happening to me... My screaming was likened to a woman in labour and I terrified everyone in the waiting room. Luckily the dentist's surgery was probably the best place to be; I was surrounded by medically trained people who all kept calm and collected. They managed to get me a doctor within minutes who was then able to diagnose me and calm me down. People always assume that having this kind of problem abroad is the worst thing that could ever happen, but in all honesty I'm glad I was in Malta not the UK as everything was so brilliantly smooth. Anyway, I got my tooth sorted in the end and now I've recovered from the reaction and was able to go back to Mdina this evening (totally pain free!). Here's a few photos from this evening, one from the amazing glass shop. If ever in this county GO TO THE GLASS SHOPS! Really amazing.. even if you don't intend to buy anything it's well worth a look around!!!

Sun, sea and sand

'What have I been doing today?' I hear you desperately ask. Well here's another unedited wonky photo that sums it up. A whole day at the beach! It turns out ice slush is a great temporary toothache cure!!!

Toothache Terror

Today's adventures included a visit to the armoury, a cruise around Malta, and trips to every single pharmacy in the area. I've been having recurring toothache for a few months now but it's always been bearable. Until now! I've got an appointment next week for a double root canal but obviously that's not much help now whilst I'm abroad. To make matters worse, today is a feast day (which is amazing to see!!) so lots of places are closed and I had to get my medicine from the airport! Such faff! Anyway it's dulling down now and I've managed to get one of today's photos on here so I'm posting it before it deletes itself again, even though it's unedited and wonky! I will post an edited version at some point so you can see the difference :)

Photo DISASTER

Today has been absolutely wonderful; I went across to Gozo from Malta and had a great day swimming, exploring the citadel, admiring medieval graffiti, wandering around local craft shops and taking photos of everything! But oh wait, my camera decided to have a fit and I HAVE LOST ALL OF MY PHOTOS! I nearly cried. Thank goodness it's only day 2 of 7 otherwise I really would have cried!! The photo I'm the most annoyed about losing was of a man and his scooter. It wasn't just any old scooter; it was complete with a bird perch and budgie, which he passed to me where it happily sat on my hand for a few minutes. Anyway, aside annoyances, this country is amazing and for the next few days I will be taking twice as many photos as before to make up for lost time!!!

This photo is from Hull fair. So many people have told me it looks like a three year old took it but I was quite impressed by my ability to get this effect! I did actually get some cool shots of Mdina yesterday, the old capital of Malta like this, but obviously now they're all gone :(

Valetta

Yet another super speedy post as I only have very limited internet access! Today I've explored Mosta and to the magnificent church and then on to Valetta which was amazing!!! More lavishly decorated churches and a tour of the old knight's hospital with lashings of national history! All great stuff and I've been taking hundreds of photos which I'll be posting from next week!!

Today's photo is another one of my favourites, taken a few months back in Dover Castle with my lovely friend Anna modelling.

Malta!

Just a super duper quick post! I've now arrived in Malta and am currently melting and about to go out and see the amazing feast day fireworks. Here is a totally unrelated and not-at-all recent photo of Leeds Castle that I messed around with :)

Prom!

I'm just about to head off for London and won't be back til gone midnight as the prom won't finish until 10! So I'm putting up my daily photo now :)

Amiens Cathedral

Another busy day in London today rehearsing for tomorrow's prom. After a transport fiasco I finally made it to my rehearsal and I have to say, Beethoven is sounding wonderful!! The performance is tomorrow evening and then I'm jetting off to Malta for a week the next morning so it's all go!

Here's one of my all time favourite photos. I took it last year in Amiens and personally I just think it looks like a fairytale castle at the top of the stairs. Hope you like it!!

Busy busy busy

Another really really busy day today! I've been in London rehearsing for a BBC prom and it's sounding really spectacular!! I've got another 2 days of full rehearsals so I won't be putting much on here but here's another photo from Wingham Wildlife;

Birdies

Just very very quickly before I go to bed, a few more photos from yesterday's animal park adventure... I've been at Leeds Castle today, got a few pretty pictures that will be up here soon but for now, bedtime! 

Clarence and Brutus

Today I've had a hectic fun-filled day. I genuinely can't remember I did so much in 24 hours, but it's all good, and I even got a really great chance to practice my child photography! I started the day by giving some friends a tour of my town, then going to the beautician to get some Cath Kidston toenails done (they're truly spectacular!) and then to a wildlife park and then to introduce my pooch to some others, and then for a night-time swim and now I am finally back home in bed about to watch a film. The wildlife park is one of my favourites as they've recently built new big cat enclosures and have a butterfly house (hence photo).. The lions (Clarence and Brutus) probably made my day. There were 2 of them, and they had been rescued from an abusive French circus. They're now thriving and the keepers are doing everything they can to counter as much of the trauma as possible - really wonderful stuff. Here's a link to the park; http://winghamwildlifepark.co.uk/

Lovely Letters

Thought for the day; I read a wonderful magazine article not that long ago which really inspired me... basically there are those out there who go out of their way to cheer others up. Not necessarily people they know, it could be anyone! And they do it in many different ways.. my favourite one was writing inspiring messages or letters and then leaving them on seats in trains and other public places. I know for a fact that it would absolutely 100% make my day if I was having a miserable time!! Random acts of kindness really do make the world a better place :) <3

And here's another photo taken at Sandwich Salutation Gardens a few months ago! http://www.the-salutation.com/

Southern Expensiveness

Originally, I was trying to make my writing vaguely connected to my photos, but I've now totally given up with that. I took this last year at Cap Blanc Nez, one of my all time favourite places!! I went back a few weeks ago and it's really great, on a clear day you can see the white cliffs of Dover and having been a P&O employee I like to play 'spot the ferry'! 

Right, so I just want to quickly voice my outrage at alcohol prices in my hometown. Everything prices actually for that matter. I'm at university up North and everything is gloriously cheap and I hardly go out to drink anyway. So imagine my horror when today, I went to the pub, ordered a cider and a coke and it was £9.10!!! One bottle of cider, £5.50!!! You can get 3 of the same bloody things for a fiver in ASDA! Rant over, looking forward to term starting again and to return to Northern prices. 

Ten things I hate!

Just because I'm feeling particularly uninspired today! Ten Things I Hate;

1) Wasps

2) Rocket and corriander

3) Pretentious people

4) Closed minded people

5) Badly filmed music videos

6) Damian Hirst's work

7) Health and safety laws in the UK

8) Jewellery that leaves your skin green

9) Mustard

10) British soap operas

And here's a link to some fantastic music by a local band! Well worth a listen so please click and share with your friends! And today's photo is a bumble bee :) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKiX7bxy3O0

Butterflies and Beethoven 9

Another thing that was on my 'ten things I love' was music.. Obviously this needs no explanation but I thought I'd just elaborate a bit.. I have a huge soft spot for pop music and even the occasional dubstep and club.. But what I'm really into is my classical.. And not just any classical... Very early classical. The baroque-er the better! Last year, the year before and this year I've been asked to sing in the BBC proms in the choir with some amazing orchestras and conductors. This Year i'll be in Beethoven 9 and I CAN'T WAIT! Last year, most of the rehearsals for the prom were at the Royal College of Music where I was actually a student for a few years. In between rehearsals, being the antisocial person I am, I left everyone else to their pub lunches and wandered round to the Natural History Museum, which is only around the corner as they had a massive tropical butterfly tent. This is one of my favourite photos from the butterfly tent but it's back this year so hopefully i'll get more pretty pictures! :D 

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/sensational-butterflies/

Pretty blue flower :)

So here's just a quick post and a pretty blue flower as I've been super busy all day baking a cakepop mountain for a party tomorrow! I took this (not that there are any telling features here!) at the Sandwich Salutation gardens which is another one of those places on my huge recommendation list :) It's another one of these really wonderful family homes where they open their gardens to the public. The gardens change by the seasons so there will be something different every time you go! They also offer wedding services, b&b services, have a little tea room (with the best cream teas in the world) and a gift shop! It'll be of particular interest to any aspiring botanical photographers!   

http://www.the-secretgardens.co.uk/