Edinburgh Fringe Festival August 2015

Last Saturday, my family and I took a day trip to the city of Edinburgh to enjoy all that the Edinburgh Fringe Festival had to offer. So starting the day off I enjoyed a mooch round the stalls situated in the Grassmarket. And much to my delight there was even a couple of record stalls! I'm currently a bit obsessed with vinyl records and enjoy the experience of visiting record stores/stalls and finding exciting hidden gems as well as some great bargains. Needless to say I did NOT leave the record stalls yesterday empty handed-that was just too difficult I'm afraid! Now all that's left to do is save up some money and actually buy myself a record player so that I can actually listen to what I've bought!

Just a little further along the Grassmarket, I visited one of my very favourite shops in Edinburgh, a fabulous vintage shop named W. Armstrong & Sons. Armstrong's has remained a firm favourite of mine throughout the years and is always a highlight of my trips to Edinburgh. It's like walking into a jungle of colours. Everywhere you look there are clothes, shoes, hats and even jewellery hidden in every nook and cranny possible. There was a selection of dresses from almost every era you could ever imagine hanging from the ceiling high above your head.

As you can probably imagine I was in my absolute element as I raked through the rails and walked round the store in awe. Oh goodness! Now I sound a little bit geeky! But seriously you'll never have seen anything like it before! In fact the shop size of the shop in itself is deceiving; it's like walking into a Tardis. The front of the store is small room covered in rails of clothing but if you continue walking down the corridor you pass a line of changing room which are amazing in themselves. The changing room walls are covered in colourful and exciting murals-I could just stand and stare at them all day! Past the changing rooms is a further two rooms filled to the brim vintage clothing and accessories. What's not to love?!

As always, I usually leave Armstrong with a bag in hand and of course this particular visit was no different to the others. This time I left with a beautiful black velvet jacket similar to one I'd seen my style inspiration Stevie Nicks wearing in photographs. When my eyes fell upon as I worked my way through the rails I instantly knew I had to try it on! Funnily enough, it perfectly matched the outfit I was wearing so in my opinion; it was meant to be! I also tried on two velvet dresses but unfortunately, they were too big for me!

We left Armstrong and followed the road to Greyfiars Kirk where another of our favourite shops is. Joe is a cute and quirky store that sells a range of accessories such as bags, hats and jewellery. My sister and I have loved this shop since we were little because of all the cute, girly bits n' bobs they sell. To this day we still love it as they have something to suit almost everyone! Another plus side about Joe is that they sell hats so of course I took full advantage and tried on a bunch of different hats (as you do!). Eventually, I decided upon a black top hat which my Mum purchased to put a way in advance for Christmas so I'll have to wait a few months before I finally get to wear it! But it'll be worth the wait in the end!

Lunchtime was dawning and a trip to Edinburgh for us in never complete without a visit to the Muscle and Steak restaurant situated in the Grassmarket. I've loved visiting the Muscle and Steak for lunch ever since I was little and as always the food never disappoints!

Following lunch, we made our way onto the Royal Mile which was heaving with people coming and going from all angles. There were street artists, performers and people handing out leaflets advertising shows that would be on throughout the festival. We had a browse round the stalls at another of the many craft markets in the city that day. I could have easily spent a fortune as there was so many lovely handcrafted goods that I fell in love with! 



This photo doesn't do it justice as to how busy the Royal Mile actually was

The Royal Mile was so busy that you could barely see beyond your nose which was not much fun as I was sitting in my wheelchair. When there is as many people as there was; they barely notice what's below them meaning that I am at very high risk of being bashed and bumped. Not an experience for the fainthearted might I add! With this in mind we didn't hang around on the Mile for very long and escaped into the safety of one of the side streets.

The side street was built on a hill, which isn't unusual for Edinburgh but thankfully we opted to go down the hill instead of climbing up it-much easier on the wheelchair I have to say! Although the downwards slant can be a little nerve-wracking having someone push you in a wheelchair. Thankfully, I got down the hill safely in one piece.

On the way down we popped into some more shops (surprise! surprise!) including a shop named "Enchantment" which sold a bunch of fairy-tale inspired goods! It caught my attention as we passed by so I definitely had to pop in for a browse! Also on the street was a shop I'd visited previously whilst in Edinburgh named "Miss Katie Cupcake" and was desperate to go back for a look round. The shop is filled with cute, vintage chic gifts and accessories which you just can't help but fall in love with! Everywhere I looked, I spotted something else! It's definitely worth a visit if you're ever in Edinburgh!

After, popping into a handful of other shops along Cockburn Street we then made our way to Princes Gardens and took a seat in one of the almost non-existent empty park benches. I of course had my the digital camera on hand so spent quite a bit of time snapping photos of buildings surrounding the area. The architecture on some of the buildings is quite spectacular if you look closely enough. So as you can probably imagine, I now have quite a number of photos to go through and edit! Ooops!

Edinburgh was extremely humid and we were all ready for a nice, cold refreshment to cool us down a little-I seriously don't think I could permanently live in a city; they're far too warm for my liking sometimes! With that in mind a visit to the nearest Starbucks and Costa was in order. Surprisingly, quite a few of the branches along Princes Street had a large number of steep looking steps to access them which isn't ideal for someone like myself. We just continued walking until we found a Costa branch up another side street which thankfully on the flat. Sitting down with a much needed chocolate cooler in hand, I managed to connect up to some Wi-Fi so I could catch up with what was happening in the world.

Next, we visited the West End Craft, Art and Design Fair situated in St John's Episcopal Church. There was over a hundred stalls filled with some amazing handmade goods. The highlight of the fair for me was a stall ran by a lady named Holly who sold some fabulous paintings as well as cards and prints of her artwork. Instantly falling in love with Holly's artwork I had to purchase a couple of her cards and one of her prints-they were just too pretty not to! Holly, herself was such a lovely lady and got chatting to me about the hat (funnily enough!) I was wearing that day. Everywhere I go I always manage to get speaking to someone and like I said before, it's usually about one of my hats! Anyway, Holly's artwork was so unique, quirky and overall; right up my street! If you'd like to check out some of her work and fall in love with it just like I have, then be sure to click here!

After browsing through the craft market we decided to call it a day and head back home as time was ticking on and we had a couple of hours drive ahead of us. So until next time; farewell for now Edinburgh!

 

Louise LIVE in Edinburgh

 

I haven't had the opportunity to write about this until now as the past few weeks for me, have been extremely crazy! Thankfully, I've finally had the chance to sit down and write about Louise's event so I do hope you enjoy!

A couple of weeks ago, Saturday 13th June 2015 to be exact I accompanied my younger sister to see Louise LIVE in Edinburgh. As I'm sure you already know, Youtube is an extremely popular platform that young people in particular use on a daily basis. Louise Pentland, known as Sprinkles of Glitter on Youtube has grown to fame by filming beauty, fashion and lifestyle videos and posting them on the internet. Youtubers like Louise are a major influence in the lives of literally thousands of young people all over the world. Being a blogger myself, I find their stories extremely inspiring and encouraging within my own work that I produce for you my lovely readers to enjoy. Seeing just how successful they've become inspires me to work hard as it evidently pays off.

Anyway, a number of weeks ago Louise posted a video on Youtube to announce that she would be going on tour with a show that she has created in order to meet and interact with her fans. My sister was absolutely ecstatic to discover Louise would be visiting Edinburgh during her tour and was absolutely desperate to get hold of tickets. Tickets went on sale literally the very second that the events were announced and we just so happened to be in the car at that very second so guess who had to endure the famous ticket buying stress? That's right, Me! Not only that but I'm pretty sure phone Wi-Fi decides to slow down in urgent situations such as this. Nevertheless I managed to secure to tickets much to my sister's excitement and my relief!

So we arrived at the venue to find a huge queue of teenage girls, all whom were there to see the lovely Louise Pentland. We edged our way into the end of the continuously growing line before being approached by a member of staff who noticed that I was in my wheelchair and said we could wait at the front to avoid people bumping into me once the doors were opened. Stopping for my sister to purchase one of the signed posters they had one sale, we followed the lady to the front of the line and were quickly approached by another member of staff who escorted us through to our seats before the doors were officially opened. Sitting on each seat was an autographed photograph/postcard of Louise for each ticketholder to take home with them, it was such a lovely idea and of course a nice memento of the event.

 

At either side of the stage were big pink metallic balloons with the word "Louise" on the left hand side and "Live" on the adjacent. Above the stage was a screen with a photo of Louise showing. A soundtrack of some today's biggest hits filled the room as everyone settled into their seats and waited for the show to soon begin.

Before long the lights dimmed and Louise's entrance theme which if I remember right was "Sugar" by Maroon 5. Shrieks of excitement filled the room as the lady who inspires so many young people out there, including everyone in that very room walked on stage. And of course it just wouldn't be Louise without her signature catch phrase "Aloha Sprinklerinos!" much to everyone's delight to finally hear in person.

Apparently, last year Louise ran a few trial shows of "The Glitter Experience", now know as "Louise LIVE" in a handful of venues to see if this sort of event would attract her fans. From what I've heard her plan was to make the "Louise LIVE" experience a more intimate and personal one for her fans compared to Amity Fest which she'd also been involved in alongside a number of other Youtube personalities.

The first half of the show which if I remember right was around a hour and consisted of a "Glitter Quiz" and some hilarious stories about Louise's life which quite literally were brought to life thanks to Louise's bubbly personality. Louise divided the room into four or five teams and named each group after an aspect of her life. For example one group was named "The Chummies", after the nickname Zoe Sugg (Zoella) and her (Louise) call each other. Another group was called "The Baby Glitters" in honour of Louise's nickname for her adorable daughter Darcy. From every group Louise picked two volunteers to come up on stage to participate in the "Glitter Quiz". The two volunteers from each team were given an item that makes a noise such as a horn or a triangle (I think) so that every time they thought they had the right answer they could catch Louise's attention. The quiz had a very similar concept to a game show where each team would compete against each other to correctly answer as many questions as they possibly could. All of the questions had some sort of relation to Louise's life, surprisingly I managed to answer a lot of the questions correctly (too bad I wasn't competing in the actual contest!).

After a rather amusing story about Louise's recent experience of suffering from toothache which had everyone in heaps of laughter, (as funny as it happened to be, I'm sure it wasn't a fun experience for Louise at the time!) there was a short intermission to allow everyone to stretch their legs and nip to the bathroom if necessary. During the break a video that Louise made especially for her tour was shown on the screen above the stage to keep us entertained as we patiently waited for the next part of the show to begin.

 

A little while later, the lights once again dimmed and "Uptown Funk" began to play as Louise entered the stage for a second time. In the second half Louise held a Question and Answer session where again, she picked two volunteers from each of the groups to join her on stage and ask her a question. My sister happened to be one of the lucky girls that Louise picked from the audience. I was so excited for my sister as I know just how much the Youtubers inspire her and I know she's been waiting a very long time to actually meet one of them. So Louise, if you ever read this post which I doubt (but you never know!) I just want to say a huge thank-you for making my sister's dream come true! It really meant a lot to her and I know she'll treasure the memories for the rest of her life!

One by one, Louise worked her way down the line of fans that she invited on stage for the Q&A answering each question as she went. I must admit I spent the entire Q&A snapping photos on my Mum's camera to get a decent photo of my sister on stage with Louise. My lovely sister was the last person to ask Louise a question which happened to be "what was your favourite subject at school?". Louise answered with a great story about how English was her favourite subject, although she didn't receive much encouragement or positivity from her teacher. She told the audience about how she'd like to send a copy of her new book "Life With a Sprinkle of Glitter" to her old English teacher to show her that she'd successfully written a book despite her negativity.

I can't remember if it was during the first part of the show or the second as I'm writing this almost two weeks later, but Louise pulled out her phone to film a short video of the audience wishing her friend Marie (Bits n Clips on Youtube) a Happy Birthday. What a sweet idea and of course very exciting that we all got to be a part of it!

 

Next, Louise with the help of yet more members of the audience told us about an imaginary land she'd created to pass time whilst travelling on trains and planes. One of her stage hands lifted a large white board onto the stage which looked rather heavy-poor guy! The audience members who were invited on stage were each handed an envelope with a word printed on a piece of paper hidden inside. The remainder of the audience then picked one of the words which lead Louise to describe it's significance in her imaginary world and where it would be situated on the map that she drew for us on the whiteboard. Even Zoe, Alfie and Joe Sugg as well as a few of the other Youtubers live in her world which made it all the more interesting! It was most definitely a fun idea and reminded me a lot of the imaginary worlds I used to draw pictures of when I was little.

Louise Land

As the show came towards the end, Louise announced that she would hang around in the main entrance area of The Exchange to meet everyone after the show. Literally the second she mentioned this my sister and I gathered all our things together so we could quickly slip out at the end and make our way to the front of the queue to avoid the mad dash. It's pretty scary when theirs an influx of people pushing and shoving above me and I'm sitting below in my wheelchair and they can't see me. Once Louise said her final few words, left stage and the lights came back on, my sister and I made quickly left the room and joined the queue to meet Louise. Much to our delight we were pretty close to the front. Unfortunately, when Louise came out a bunch of girls pushed their way in front us and my wheelchair and followed her down the queue, pushing and shoving  their way through the crowd which was pretty rude. Had I been standing with my crutches I potentially could have been knocked over as my balance isn't so reliable and that would have been disastrous and anyway I'm extremely short so would never even have caught a glimpse. Thankfully, the gentlemen escorting Louise noticed us and asked Louise to come speak to my sister and I which I was so grateful to him for. We didn't want to keep Louise back for very long as she had a VERY long queue of people waiting but we quickly chatted with her and my sister even managed to take a sneaky selfie with Louise. The funny thing for me was that Louise recognised me from somewhere which to be honest was the last thing I expected her to say to me. To my knowledge I've never met her before, well certainly not since she's been famous on Youtube. Perhaps I've maybe crossed paths with her during one of my many visits to London as some point. I must admit I was a little excited about it though!

Louise LIVE was a fun and girly event which I'm so glad I was able to share with my sister. She's been extremely desperate to meet one of her YouTube inspirations for such a long time and I am so pleased it finally happened! Louise is such a lovely lady who evidently is very grateful to her fans for the success they've helped her achieve. I think Louise's idea of making her live events intimate and personal is the perfect avenue to go down, as the time Louise was able to spend conversing with her fans was invaluable. From what I've heard Louise is already planning Louise LIVE events for next year and if she decides to bring her show back to Scotland I know two girls who would definitely try and get hold of tickets!