Saturday 24 December 2011

I Hear Those Sleigh Bells Ring-A-Ling!



As I will be too busy stuffing my face full of scrumptious food tomorrow I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very


Merry Christmas!


I have already been to church like a good girl, eaten plates full of cheese, and watched countless movies! Tomorrow my grandparents will have all seven of their grandchildren at my parents' house, ranging in age from twenty (aka, me) to just seven months. Boxing Day will be spent at the annual Romsey Classic Car & Bike Meet and then eating the last of the food - although I bet you there will be much more left over!



Whatever you are doing I hope you have a very wonderful day! Eat, drink and be merry! God bless you all!

Thursday 22 December 2011

I knew I was right! - Roxie Reviews: Young James Herriot

Remember a while back when I said the 1930s would be the decade for 2011? Well it looks like my predictions came true with the BBC's latest mini-series Young James Herriot coming to our Christmas viewing, as a prequel to All Creatures Great and Small - it even stars Ciaran McMenamin who was also in 32 Brinkburn Street. Set in Glasgow in (I can only guess) around 1933/1934, the three-part series follows James (Iain de Caestecker) in his first term as a veterinary student with his friends the suave and money-hungry Rob McAloon (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) and Emma 'Whirly' Tyson (played by one of my favourite actresses who is far too overlooked, Amy Manson), and the trials they overcome both animal-wise and life-wise.



Naturally, as she is marvellous, Whirly is my favourite character. She's feisty and headstrong with her battles against the masochistic Professor Gunnell and his refusal to provide a women's WC, providing a stark contrast to Jenny Muirhead, the naive wet blanket daddy's girl who is the only other female student in the institution. Whirly's aunt, Mrs Munro, is also high up there on my favourite character list, if only for her wardrobe!

Whirly Tyson

Mrs Munro
 Although televised at 9pm I couldn't see much more than a flash of a (poorly accented) German man's bottom to warrant the post-watershed viewing. It's lighthearted to watch with little drama to warrant braincell action and characters that aren't too extreme or too boring. It is available on iPlayer until 27th December.


James Herriot

Rob McAloon

Jenny Muirhead - Who does have fabulous hair!


Wednesday 21 December 2011

Getting to know me

After a year of blogging I thought it was about time for me to shoot some random facts at my readers! I stole this from the beautiful Bettina Scarlett - who's birthday it is today, I believe! - and I hope you enjoy (and don't find this sort of thing tedious and boring!).


A-Age:
Twenty

B-Bed size:

At uni I have a double and at home I have a single - I have fallen out of the single when I've sprawled out in the night expecting there to be more bed when there is actually just thin air.

 
C-Chore that you hate:

Cleaning the bathroom. For a girl that loves playing with hair, I absolutely hate it once it's fallen out and is all stuck to the tub. Bleugh.


D-Dogs:

Really not fussed by them. I'm much more of a cat person than a dog.


E-Essential start to your day:

Ooh I can't go without my morning cup of tea. And my elevensies tea. And my lunch tea. And my three o'clock tea. Well, you get the picture.


F-Favourite Colour:

Hmmm...a tricky one. I love red, but I love green too, any shade of either really. Can I have two favourites?

 
G-Gold or silver:

If it's a classic piece of jewellery then I like to be gold, but I am more likely to wear silver because I think it suits me better. Saying that, I think I'd prefer a yellow gold wedding band, just for the traditional element.


H-Height:

6' (that's a fathom in sea terms!). I've always been the tallest throughout my life - I was something ridiculous like 22" long when I was born I think, and had to wear boys clothes when I was a kid because girl's stuff just didn't fit me - and I don't think that is ever going to change. It used to really bother me, and sometimes it still does, like when I'm in a club wearing heels and there is literally no one else taller than me, but I've come to just accept that I am a tall freak.

I-Instruments you play:

I got to grade three on the trumpet but I gave it up eight or nine years ago so I don't know if I am any good anymore. I can play a little piano but nothing special.

J-Job title:

I'm a second year student studying Archaeology at the University of Liverpool.

K-Kids:

Definitely. I can't wait to be a mother! Well, I can, I don't want to be a mother by next Christmas or anything, but once I've met the right man then sure, why not.

L-Live:

Born and bred 'Ampshire girl, but live in Liverpool for university.

 
M-Mothers name:

Kate


N-Nicknames:

No one actually calls me Roxie; to be honest I don't know what I'd do if anyone actually called me Roxie. It would very weird. My Ferny girls call me Crusey as Anna and Hannah (especially when Hannah said in a Hampshire accent is Anna) are just too similar.

O-Overnight hospital stays:

Never had one! In fact, touch wood, I've never had to go to hospital for anything more than a blood test.

P-Pet peeves:

I think I'm actually quite a bitter person, like one of those old biddies that can't stop moaning. I hate ungentlemanly men and ladette women. Manners maketh the man, as the say. Also, if you're inside, gents, please remove your headwear. Thanks. 


Q-Quote from a movie:

"You sure is pretty in them tight clothes, all painted up like trash!" - Romona Ricketts in Cry Baby

R-Right or left handed:

I'm right handed but my left hand isn't completely useless, just not as good.


S-Siblings:
I have a younger sister, Chloe.


T-Time you wake up:

I try and wake up before or around 9. Note: wake up. I don't get up for a long time after that!

 
U-Underwear:

Ooh I do love underwear! I wish I had the bank balance to buy pretty underwear, corsets and hundreds of pairs of stockings - I hate tights and only wear them if I really have to.

V-Vegetable you hate:

Well there's the really obvious one: sprouts. I force myself to eat two a year (with my Christmas dinner) and that's it! No more!

W-What makes you run late:

Not getting out of bed in time, and my contact lenses. If those buggers don't go in quickly then it mucks up the time I have for my hair and make up. 


X-X rays you've had:
Never had one! (Again, touch wood!)


Y-Yummy food that you make:

I make a good toad in the hole - I make it every Sunday when I'm at uni - and I like to think my Greek isn't bad, especially my feta and courgette fritters.


Z-Zoo animal:
Not a massive fan of zoos, or animals for that matter, but I like to watch chimps. They fascinate me!

Sunday 11 December 2011

You Can Take The Girl Out The South...

Yet again I find myself apologising for not posting recently. I've been ridiculously busy with uni work (nothing like writing 10,000 words in three weeks, is there?) so, obviously, that has taken priority. However, with just one week until I venture home to the south, I'm starting to get that Christmassy vibe. Bring on the mulled wine and mince pies!

Until then I shall leave you with my new favourite-song-that-reminds-me-of-home:


Frank Turner - Wessex Boy

Let me tell you all a little story of the things I've found,
Hanging out and drinking with my friends in the cathedral grounds,
And later dodging drunks as we dance along Jury Street,
As we wander up town to the railway our friends to meet,

There's something about coming back to your hometown again,
The place where you grew up and where you found your firmest friends,
And though none of them still live here, I've got nowhere to go,
I'm a Wessex Boy and when I'm here I'm home

Let me tell you all a little story of the things I've lost,
Huddling for warmth on the top step of the Buttercross,
Sitting on the benches by the bridges at the riverside,
Of counting down the hours for the buses cause I missed my ride

Saturday 12 November 2011

Roxie Reviews: 'Land Girls'



L-R: Joyce, Iris and Connie

Now in it's third series 'Land Girls' has been quite a success story for afternoon television on the BBC. As with all afternoon television there has to be a little more drama than real life, and series three had the familiar threat of murder surrounding it. I was an avid fan of the first series of 'Land Girls' which showed the four newcomers to the farm go through the seasons; after the birth of an illegitimate baby and the murder of the lord of the manor (after an affair, no less) it looked as though the series was going to be a one off. Now, I won't lie to you, I can't really remember the second series as I didn't think it was that good. Something about the illegitimate baby being kidnapped by the whole of the American army I think...

Maybe I am biased to preferring the third series to the other two because I am a teensy weensy bit in love with one of the new characters. Meet Danny Sparks...


Played by Joe Armstrong (son of Alun Armstrong) the character is basically just Joe's character of Allan A Dale of Robin Hood fame in a suit and with a gun, although I'm pretty sure Allan wouldn't slap around his ex fiance and try to kill her!

Each series sees a few more girls to replace the ones who left. This series the newcomer was Iris; in my opinion I don't think she had enough screen time at all as the series remained focussed on the old girls Connie and Joyce. Ironically none of the land girls are my favourite characters although their leader (I'm not sure if there is a correct term for her historically, please correct me in a comment if you do know) Esther remained top of my leader board. Part mother hen, part boss Esther has a ethical storyline that modern woman often take for granted: she fell pregnant by the village baddie and had the agonising decision to make whether to abort it or face the shame of having to leave the service and bring up a baby as a single mother.


Esther Reeves, played by Susan Cookson

There were two main storylines this series, one concerning Joyce and another surrounding Connie and her shady east end past (gangsters in a little northern village? Really?). The Joyce one was much more realistic whilst the other brought the drama everyone craves in a afternoon viewing. We had met Joyce's husband in the second series (maybe first too, I forget these things) as he departed back to the war with the RAF bombing command, and in this series the couple must fight their own battle through what, sadly, happened to so many men when they returned from war as John suffers from servere shell shock. Connie, Danny and Rev. Henry were the drama for the show. Would Connie choose a new life with vicar Henry, make scones and do all those new wifey things? Or would she go back Danny and an exciting but dangerous life of crime? Personally I couldn't choose, both men are very handsome! (Oh hush, I'm not that fickle! But really, very handsome men.)

So, what do I think of 'Land Girls' in the end? To be honest, absolutely loved it! The fashions (check out the dresses in the end photo!), the hairstyles, the over-the-top-soap-style storylines all added up to a brilliant show. One thing though, Mr BBC, please put it back to a better time of half five because it really didn't deserve to be put at the awkward time of ten past two if it comes back for a fourth series (oh please say it will!).

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Bon Anniversaire!

Today my blog is one whole year old! This is fourty second blog entry since my very first one which introduced who I am and what not. I hope you're not expecting anything special from this entry but I am merely writing to proclaim this landmark event, and thank the thirty eight followers I have collected in the last twelve months for taking an interest in my life and my ravings!

Here's to the next twelve months and the many posts to come!

Oh and a very happy birthday to my friend, Ashleigh Gayter xx

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Pumpkins Scream In The Dead of Night...



This Hallowe'en was definitely one of the best I've ever had!

This Saturday (as everyone knows from this blog) it was my birthday and so some of the Ferny girls and I went to Garlands to celebrate after eating too many of the delicious cakes that Rosie and Faye made for me.



I was supposed to be dressed as a Zombie Bride but my lack of anything but a kinda-white dress (£5 in the H&M sale - can't go wrong!) made me more of just a zombie, but hey! That's cool! Fake blood is fake blood, right? And yes, my hair took half an hour and a large bottle of conditioner to get back to normal. My make up was done by a Mac make up artist, which was great - I bought the two eyeshadows with my birthday spendies.



Me? Posing? Never.

On the 31st we had a little gathering around our's with the boys we lived with last year and then hit Medication which was so much fun! The Ferny girls wore the same outfits as Saturday night; Rosie & Anna as 118 blokes, Faye as the elegant Black Swan, and Ashleigh and Rachel as wicked she-devils.

Some of the boys were raving skeletons - but I'm not quite sure what Sam and Josh were...

Me and Faye found some really cool glasses...and a hat =P


I hope you all had a brilliant Hallowe'en whatever you did and however you celebrated! 'Til next year!


Monday 31 October 2011

Happy Hallowe'en!


How are you spending the witching hour? What are your costumes? I'll be all zombie'd up again and partying until the small hours (ignoring the fact I have to be up for a 9 o'clock lecture and looking reasonably human)! There will, undoubtedly, be photos which I will post for you all  to be scared by!

Saturday 29 October 2011

Forget Hallowe'en!

It's my birthday!!!


Today is my 20th birthday! I went for a delicious Greek meal with my friends last night and tonight we're hitting Liverpool town dressed suitably scary - you didn't think I'd actually forget Hallowe'en did you?



Here's what I look like aged twenty years and twelve hours. As you can see I have a new fringe (yay!) and the pink is fading - it's lasted quite a while, don't you think? Soon I shall be heading into town, praying that the Illamasqua store is now open, and seeing some friends. Then it's on with the blood, and the guts, and the gore!



My friends and family got me quite a few bottles of Sailor Jerry - can you tell it's my favourite tipple? Mmmm! Thank you very much! That's me sorted for...a month?

Wednesday 14 September 2011

1950s Page Boy Hair - How To

This is probably the most iconic 1950s hairstyle as it's most famous sporter was, of course, Marilyn Monroe. It's always my 'go to' style when I want to set my hair with pin curls (you can do it with rollers too - I shall probably do a How To video on that too) and I've now got the technique down to my best ability so I'm pretty pleased with how the style came out today.

Also, my hair has been pink for two weeks (almost!) now and I think the hair dye has lasted pretty decently! I haven't reviewed the product yet because I'm waiting for it to completely fade but don't fear, there will be a write up!








Check out how I did my 1950s Page Boy Hairstyle by watching the video below:



Monday 12 September 2011

Lili Bizarre & The Unwearable Beauty

As a vintage enthusiast that prefers the 1950s over the 1980s I'm often left feeling disappointed by the selection at vintage shops and fayres. The racks always seem to be swamped by polyster dresses and dodgy trousers that were left at the back of cupboards for a reason, until now. Liverpool, I suppose, is slightly more my cup of tea because of it's 1960s heritage so I can pick up a few things if I see them and if they fit. However, finally I have found a vintage shop in Liverpool that had  a marvellous selection of 1940s, 1950s and 1960s dresses for prices as teensy weensy as the waists on the skirts...

Let me introduce you to Lili Bizarre. Although they are first and foremost a fancy dress costume hire store they have the most amazing vintage dresses available for as little as £20. Now, you do have to be 'vintage sized' to fit into them (ie: waist as small as my thigh) so it does narrow the availability to most. I bought one dress in there, which I will never ever fit into because of my rather buxom chest but when I saw it and then clocked the price tag I could not resist it's charm. It was just beautiful! You couldn't buy a modern or vintage dress of such quality and detail for £20 anywhere else! It has a little damage, like the tear in one of the seams that just needs a few stitches with invisible thread and then a few wear-and-tear stains that can be steamed out, but still, it's very much worth the money!



Just imagine it with a full petticoat underneath! Beautiful!


The detail is incredible, don't you think?


They have a few more fancy dresses and a lot more day dresses in stock so if you're in the area I'd strongly recommend having a browse!

Tuesday 30 August 2011

Old Places & New Faces

Today I went back to my old college, Peter Symonds College, and although I have only been an ex-student of theirs for a year it made me realise how much my life has changed since I last walked through those gates. On the eve of me starting my second year of university I thought I should reflect on these changes...

So, I left Symonds with a large group of friends, none of which were going to university any where near me. I was petrified to leave them, if I'm honest, because it had taken me so long to find them - I have slight trust issues about friends for some reason. Luckily these amazing people, from school and college, have still remained close to me and we meet up regularly when we're all home. This summer was extra special because all the girlies had been away at either university or away travelling the world so we had many a gathering, usually involving a trip to Bedford Place and many vodkas.


But then September came...

I had to wave goodbye to them and was suddenly all by myself. Sure there were a couple of people going to University of Liverpool from Peter Symonds (two of them ended up living next door to me!) but none of them were my close friends. When the parents left me that afternoon I had zero friends around me. I think it was in the walk from the car park to Lady Mountford C Block that I was forced to grow up and learn to stand on my own two feet. I don't know what I would I have done if I hadn't forced myself to wipe the tears from my eyes and carry my things into the kitchen, where I luckily met Rosie and Anna for the first time. It seemed from that day onwards that we were destined to be friends (hello cliche!), and although I would never say they replaced my 'home friends' they, along with my darling Pikey, they certainly provided me with the group I needed. I might never have cried with homesickness but I definitely suffered the illness that struck everyone, and they helped me so much. I cannot stress to people moving away - whether it be to university or just for any reason - how important it is to establish true friendships!



And don't forget folks: you can meet friends in the strangest of places! Such as the alcohol aisle of Morrison's...
I like this photo...I like it a lot! Be prepared to see it a fair few times!

Friends aren't the only thing that have changed in my life over the last year. Myself as a person has changed, I like to think. Walking up the hill to the college I remembered my life as it was a little over a year ago and realised how different I felt today. I felt, there's only one way to put it, grown up. I now rent and keep a house, I live in a completely different area of the country to my parents, and I can pretty much stand on my own two feet as an individual. I think it's my confidence in myself that has grown the most and aided me the greatest. I was always quite shy as a person but now I can talk to complete strangers and not be worried that they will think I'm a complete nutter. I can only thank those around me for this change, and it was one I definitely needed to make.

To those Freshers leaving home in the next few weeks I have these final words to say to you:

Flying the nest was the most terrifying but most brilliant thing I've ever done. Good luck and have fun!

Monday 29 August 2011

Miss L Fire A/W '11

I feel I write a lot of posts about clothes and shoes I would like but I could never afford...

Well here's another! The brilliant Miss L Fire have released photos for their Autumn/Winter 2011 collection - available 1st September! - and I want...hmm...quite a few pairs! I think I'll have to wait until the sale though as their shoes are notoriously expensive, even though these prices haven't been revealed yet! At least their classic yet eclectic pieces will never go out of fashion with me! What I love about their shoes though is they do a great selection for those ladies of a bigger foot size and they do a range of heel sizes from flats, to middy heels to skyscrapers.

'Ivy' in black and red


Pocahontas (I won't lie, the name sold these to me!)


'Clara' in ruby



 'Edith' in black

'Goddess' in nude - I like the idea of having a nude goddess on my tootsies



'Lauren' in tan - although this pair is, apparently, too much like the pair in this blog


I think I'll be asking Santa for a pair of these (well I have to get my list to him early!) this Christmas time, but what pair shall I go for?


(All photography belongs to Miss L Fire)

Wednesday 24 August 2011

An Archaeological Disclaimer.


I would be lying if I said I was counting down the days to the field school I had to attend for my degree with Liverpool University. Dreading it would almost sum it up. I think the fact I only knew a couple of people in my group and that it would mean a hefty journey back up north that made me resent the fact I had to go. But alas, I must eat my words and admit that I absolutely loved it! It seems that archaeologists are not those boring sods everyone thinks they are!

I needn't have worried about the only knowing a couple of people there because it appears that the alcohol aisle is the best place to meet new friends! Twelfty bottles of Henry Weston's cider (8.2% and at only £1.89 a pop we couldn't resist) and the last cherished bottle of Sailor Jerry rum later the soon-to-be "Fire Crew" was formed. I understand this makes us sound like a bunch of drunkards but it gave us something to bond over and well...we are students!

The 'Fire Crew'
L-R: Moi, Heather, Hasan, Jhodi, Dave, Tom

The dig itself was on the Iron Age hillfort on Eddisbury Hill in Cheshire and was a hive of excitement - for us archaeologists it was anyway! We were the last team of a two year project on the site and so had the great responsibility of finishing the work off. The site had already been dug a whopping nine times so the layers of archaeology had really built up and some how I had ended up with a very complicated section in Area One which bamboozled even the best archaeologists on site as it changed from a simple afternoon job to one that lasted the rest of the week! I believe now it has all been figured out but it definitely caused a lot of head scratching. One amazing find (other than all the awesome Iron Age things we found like the post holes that could form a round house) was the pit cut into Area Three that contained a collection of World War Two trash such as empty tins, medicine bottles and other throw away items; it turns out the hill was used a camping spot by Italian POWs in the area and they seemly left their rubbish behind them.

Me in 'that' section looking OH so glamourous!

We were working eight hour a day but then we were also playing eight hours a night. The Fire Crew gained their notourity on the first day as Dave 'The Fireman' lit our first campfire and the name just stuck throughout the trip as we lit a fire most days. The fires were the perfect place to relax and drink more Henry Westons after a hard day crouched in a hole, and a great place to get to know the people we were working with who included fellow students, lecturers and people from further afield like America, Scandinavia and Bulgaria.




Two evenings were highly eventful as Beeston Outdoor Centre played host to two parties: A Derelict party where we all had to make outfits out of rubbish a la Zoolander, and a Skull & Crossdress party where the boys dressed as pirate wenches (ooh err missus!) and the ladies donned twizzly moustaches and eyepatches. I will admit that far too much alcohol was consumed (Jen, I'm blaming your punch!) on both these nights and so the memories are a little hazy but the pictures have, unfortunately, reminded me of my antics - don't worry readers, I won't inflict these on you! For the Derelict party I fashioned a vest top out of a co-op carrier bag, a skirt from a black bin bag and a vintage inspired hair piece from a toilet roll tube, so I consider myself almost stylish for this event. For the Skull & Crossdress party I cannot say the same. Wearing my Freddie's rolled to the max, blue stripey vest top and black boots I was almost a rockabilly pirate, but then I added the mascara beard and chest hair (which, according to Harvey, looked like a lady garden) and a pencil moustache which wasn't the most flattering look I've ever sported. The men though must be congratulated for their efforts! I've never seen such...interesting looking ladies!


Pinky & Pikey in action at the Derelict Party


Jhodi, Tom & Dave were there in spirit through our sign

Don't we all look dashing?


A Freddie Mercury moment if there ever was!

It couldn't have been done without all these lovely people!


Human slaves in an insect nation!...ARGH ARGH ARRRRGH!!

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Hot Rod Hayride! A Rockabilly's Paradise!



I got home on Sunday evening and felt all deflated. I realised I had very little to look forward to now the big event of my summer (who am I kidding? It's the highlight of my year!), the Hot Rod Hayride, was over. It flashed past in the blink of an eye and yet so much went on I'm still remembering some of it - or maybe that was the copious amounts of Bulmers I got through?

We (my parents, their friends, and I) arrived at about half ten on Friday morning and still weren't the first ones in. The first field was half full already and our's was filling up quickly too. My new tent got it's first airing and our little camp was soon set up, and the bud's were cracked open before lunchtime. I had also already seen my perfect man by this point - first sighted on the gate, in fact, with a blue Triumph - but soon found out he was attached (damn!) not that it stopped me looking haha! The rest of Friday was spent looking through the stalls (Freddies of Pinewood was naturally my favourite), looking at beautiful cars and motorbikes, eating lots and lots of barbecued meat and drinking a lot of beer. We did have one run in with good ol' health and safety on the Friday; we were told to move our cars either to the show ground (for pre 1966 vehicles) or to the public car park because they were a fire hazard. We all thought this was completely ridiculous as some of the cars, like my dad's 1967 Dodge Coronet and his friend's 1953 Cadillac coupe DeVille, is a prized possession and to be separated from it can cause a bit of tension. Most of the people at the Hayride have been going to shows for years and no one we know of has ever had a problem with having their vehicle near their tent/caravan, so, in my opinion, this was health and safety madness!


We cracked open our bottles of Italian pin up lemonade on Friday


Saturday was the main event day for the weekender and involved, yup you've guessed it, more cars, shopping, eating and drinking. My main purchase of the weekend was bought just before we went to the drag strip; you can read about my lovely new bicycle (called Agatha) here. After a horrendous journey through Guildford to the Top Gear test track - to be on this 'hallowed ground' excited me, as just the thought of being somewhere where Jenson Button has been is just amazing - we discovered we were too late for most the racing and only caught the finale. It was supposed to go on until 3pm but was all over just before 2pm. Maybe if we hadn't been led through a city with a one way system on a Saturday we'd have been there sooner, but oh well! At least we didn't end up in a housing estate like my uncles who mistakenly followed the wrong biker! On another note, a first was had on the Saturday! The first ever wedding took place at the Hayride which I think is brilliant! What a great place for a wedding no one will forget! Congrats to the couple!

Agatha and I



The second, and last, night of the Hayride was just amazing! The music was brilliant, the spontaneous clog dancing from the Dutch bunch was entertaining, the Freak Show was...freaky (who knew a man could do that up a pole?!), and Anna Fur Laxis' burlesque was seductively sexy (This is also a call for anyone who knows where the half of her unique, handmade bra is. Anna can't do this act without it so if anyone knows any information please, please, please get in contact with her!). One personal highlight of mine was the £50 note practical joke our lot played on unsuspecting victims from the pavilion's veranda. Mum had got a pack of quite convincing napkins that resembled £50 notes and so we planted them on the ground as if they'd fallen from our pocket and then watched as people pick them up and realise it was a fake. Sneaky, sneaky! We had the whole side of the veranda going!

Fake £50 gag in action

Pole Dancing Freak Show style ;)


Anna Fur Laxis - Mr Perfect was stood next to me at this point =D


Sunday was over far too quickly for my liking! It started with more shopping at the bootfair sale which offered clothes, art and vehicle pieces (I skip those - it's all gobbledegook to me!) and ended with the famous Hot Rod Hayride Soapbox Derby. The event seemed shorter than last year, but I put that down to the track being a lot shorter - it missed the speed bump which I can only put down to health and safety demons again. We were packed up by 2pm, and soon enough I waved goodbye to paradise for another year...

I won't even bother to give you a verdict because I think my opinion is clear: the weekend is my idea of heaven! Looking past the health and safety dramas (unnecessary if you ask me) and the Guildford disaster I cannot fault it. I look forward to the weekend all year and this certainly hasn't changed! The only thing I'd like more (apart from the obvious Mr Perfect part) is more people to go with, so anyone interested in next year please get in touch because I would love to meet more people in the scene and get my own crowd going!