Song Of The Month July 2016

Well that's us at the end of July already I'm afraid and next month (August) we'll head back to school or home tutoring in my case. Looking at the brighter side of the situation, at least I'll be starting my final year of school! A slightly frightening thought I must admit!

Anyway, seeing as it's the end of the month I better pick out July's 'Song of the Month'. And some of you might be able to guess what band it's by considering where I ventured earlier this month. So my song choice this month is........

'Penny Lane' by The Beatles

As you all probably know by now, I visited Liverpool earlier in the month and during my trip visited a lot of famous Beatles related sites on 'The Fab Four Taxi Tour'. And well, Penny Lane just so happened to be one of them. I love the buzz of driving into Penny Lane listening to the famous song of the same name penned by one of my very favourite musicians Sir Paul McCartney about some of the places he visited in Liverpool throughout his youth. I love how simple, everyday things inspired him to write such a classic song loved by people all over the world and brings thousands of fans like myself to a visit a certain street in his hometown. It fascinates me to be honest.

Penny Lane is up there as one of my all-time favourite Beatles songs so considering that and the fact that I visited the very location of the song just a few weeks ago it only felt right to pick it as my 'Song of the Month'. I hope you enjoy listening to this cheery number and be sure to pay close attention to the lyrics where Paul describes his observation of a street he visited on a daily basis. Love, love, love it!

Memorable Moments of 2015!

Hello Hatters!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you out there! I really hope that 2016 will bring good things for and that overall, it'll be a great year for you!

2015 for me personally, was one incredible year and I think it'll be difficult to top it but I'll certainly give it a good shot! I started 2015 thinking it was going to be like any other year but little did I know what it held for me! In the space of 12 months so many amazing things have happened to me! The chances of a lot of what happened in 2015 actually happening were very slim; or so I thought anyway and having as many of them happen within such a small proximity of time was even more unexpected! It's been a very long time since I've had such an amazing year and thanks to it I've become so much more confident than I used to be and feel more positive about life in general! I am so excited to see what 2016 holds for me and hope that it also, will be full of amazing things for each and every one of you out there!

I thought that in today's post, I'd take the opportunity to look back on some of last year's best bits and celebrate them one more time before moving on to a new year and a new chapter! So here it goes:

1. Meeting Stevie Nicks & Mick Fleetwood from Fleetwood Mac

So this is by far the highlight of 2015 for me and I don't think I'll ever stop talking about that day back in June! Stevie Nicks as you'll already know, is one of my biggest inspirations/role models and I'd dreamt of meeting for a long time and thanks to the most amazing charity Ray's of Sunshine, my dream finally came true! 

My Mum sent an application to Ray's of Sunshine back in December 2014 in hope that they'd be able to help make my dream come true and they said they'd do their upmost to make it happen. And true to their word; they did just that! Fleetwood Mac announced they were coming to the UK on tour in 2015 and after attending one of their gigs in Glasgow, I was taken to the side of the stage with my parents to watch the final few songs and was then escorted upstairs to the band's dressing rooms where I spent a hour with Stevie Nicks chatting quite literally about everything and anything! During the time I spent with Stevie, a very tall Mick Fleetwood appeared in the doorway of Stevie's dressing and after being introduced to us, pulled a chair up beside us and spent ages chatting with us. Both Stevie and Mick worked their way through my pile of CDs and merch, signing them all for me and admiring my metallic sharpies. Both Stevie and Mick couldn't have been any sweeter!

I owe Stevie a huge Thank-You for all of the encouragement and advice she gave me that night! It has helped and inspired me in so many different ways and has helped me grow as a person and achieve more of my dreams! I love you Stevie!

Like I said, none of what happened would have been possible without my Mum spending the time that she did filling in the application forms which I am so grateful to her for! And of course the fabulous team at Ray's of Sunshine who actually arranged for it to happen! I am currently brainstorming fundraising ideas as I want to say a thank you to them for what they did for me and of course, help in some shape or form give other young people a magical experience just like the one I had!

2. Becoming a Radio Presenter

If you've been following The Hat Hippie since early 2015, you'll have followed my story of becoming a radio presenter at 3TFM. I'll not go into too much details but for those of you who don't know, I applied to volunteer at a particular radio station and was declined due to the lack of disabled access which is absolutely shocking in today's society but you all know my thoughts on disability discrimination and my previous blog posts discuss it in more detail. Anyway, I wrote a post about what happened and a lot of family, friends and readers got behind me, shared my post and helped me find 3TFM. At the same time, the Irvine Herald newspaper got in touch with my Mum and they also got in contact with 3TFM on my behalf and wrote a very supportive article about what had happened. 

Just a short period of time later, I joined the team at 3TFM, started my radio training and just a short period of time later I hosted my first ever show live on air! I now have my very own radio show every Thursday and I love it so much! If any of you would like to tune, I usually post the tune in link on my social media accounts so pop on over to them for more information!

3. I Started A YouTube Channel

I'm always looking for new avenues to venture, new skills to learn and ways in which I can develop my blog. Starting a YouTube channel is something I've considered doing for quite a while and I finally decided to sit down and film my first ever video. I spent ages editing it and eventually posted it and have made a bunch of videos since. Hopefully, there'll be lots more videos to come in future and that you'll all enjoy watching them as much as I enjoy creating them! 

4. Visiting Liverpool and Seeing Paul McCartney in Concert

These were two other big dreams of mine which I hoped to tick off the bucket list at some point in my life but little did I ever imagine that I'd combine the two! Seeing Liverpool was amazing! It's such a great city and everyone is so friendly and would do anything they possibly could to help you! Paul McCartney was incredible and exceeded my expectations despite the fact that everyone thinks his best days are behind him-I beg to differ! I am sitting here in my room absolutely bursting with pure excitement as I relieve the memories of seeing Paul live! Although, I don't think words can describe just how excited I was whilst there in person and I'm sure my Mum could testify to that! I certainly kept the ladies sitting on our right well entertained throughout the show and they just so happened to be the first people I saw when we got back to the hotel after the show (red face moment!).

5. Moving House

I'm writing this post in advance as I might not have internet for a few weeks and don't want to neglect my blog so I thought I better prepare in advance! But basically, by the time you read this my family and I will have moved house! So I'll have a nice new bedroom to my YouTube videos which is very exciting! I might even do a room tour video on my YouTube channel so stayed tuned!

6. Opening My Local Pharmacy

Some of you may have read my post a few weeks ago but I was asked by the staff in my local pharmacy who I've known since I was little if I'd come along and officially open their newly refurbished store. So of course I said yes! I'd never been asked to do something like that before and felt very touched and honoured that they'd asked me! So that was another highlight of 2015 for me!

Anyway, that was just a few of my exciting moments from 2015! It has been great to write about them here on my blog throughout the year and of course share the excitement with you all! Hopefully, there will be many more memorable moments to share with you in 2016, perhaps I'll even vlog some of them on YouTube-you never know! Here's to a great 2016!

Love, Peace & Best Wishes,

The Hat Hippie xx

My 17th Birthday!

Last Tuesday, the 15th of September just so happened to be 17th birthday! To be honest, it only feels like yesterday since I turned 16-this past year has seriously flown in! So I thought in my next blog post I'd write about what I got up to for my birthday last week. So here it goes.......

Like every weekday morning I got up at around 7:30am (or thereabouts) to open my presents and cards with my family before my Dad went to work and my sister went to school. I was a bit sleepy headed I must admit, I am by far more of a night owl rather than a morning person. However, I received some lovely cards and presents including a Beatles t-shirt, hoodie, purse and lanyard that I'd picked out in Liverpool back in May, jewellery, Cathy Cassidy's Looking-Glass Girl book, a new hat (of course!), chocolates and some money from my family and close family friends which I'm going to put towards purchasing a new camera that I've been saving up for. So a huge thank-you to everyone for their kind gifts of money! I am extremely excited to buy my new camera which I'll be able to use to take photos for my blog, for personal photography and I also hope to experiment with the film features in order to create a YouTube channel. I received some truly lovely gifts and my Mum even managed to find wrapping paper with my all-time favourite fictional character Peter Pan printed on it! How cool was that!? Yes, I get excited about the simplest of things in life!

After Mum and I dropped my sister Laurel off at school that morning, my Grandparents came down to visit with my birthday card/present. I had music tutoring in the afternoon meaning that time would be too tight if we decided to go out for lunch so instead we went out for a birthday breakfast, which was lovely! My music tutor arrived at around 2pm like he does every Tuesday afternoon for my bass lessons. I know not everyone would be too chuffed about having education of any sort on their birthday but I for one was actually quite happy! My music tuition is never something I dread as I enjoy it so much and like I said before I am now learning to play songs rather than learning the basics like I started off with. Now, if I remember right last week I was learning to play the bass line to Band on the Run by Wings which was great! As you all know by now, I am a huge Paul McCartney fan so actually learning to play one of his songs is absolutely amazing! All I'm waiting for now is that all-important phone call from Paul himself inviting me to come perform live on stage with him! One can dream right?!

Anyway, after Mum and I picked my sister Laurel up from school, it was a mad rush back home to make dinner because just a short while later I would be heading out to The Gaiety Theatre to see a Beatles tribute band. For dinner, Mum made me probably one of my very favourite meals; roast chicken, mashed potatoes and vegtables-mmmmm! It makes me seriously hungry even just to think about it!


Me and my birthday cake (please excuse the bad lighting!)

And of course it wouldn't be a real birthday without a cake; or at least not in my world! Ever since I was little I have always had a major obsession with birthday cake. As weird as it may sound to some, I think that there's something really exciting about birthday cake; always have and probably always will! So of course everyone sang Happy Birthday to me, took a few photographs (which I'll try and add to this post in the editing stages), made a wish and then I attempted to blow the candles out but there's always that one that chooses to be difficult and takes a couple of attempts to finally blow out! But we always catch it out in the end!

After blowing out the candles, we soon realised that time was ticking on and that I needed to leave the house soon or I'd be late! So it was kind of rush round the house as I flung everything I needed into my bag, popped on a coat and hat and tied up the laces to my Dr Marten boots. Thankfully, we made it to the Gaiety Theatre in time for 7pm for me to meet my friend Heather. Once we met up, Heather and I went inside out of the cold (typical Scottish weather!). Thankfully, the doors to the actual theatre itself were soon opened meaning that we were able to find our seats in plenty of time before the show began at 7:30pm. It looked like the theatre was almost a full house so fortunately, when Mum and I had booked the just tickets a few weeks earlier there were a couple of seats remaining in the second row which of course we snaffled up meaning that we had a great view of the stage! The show itself was absolutely brilliant! Both Heather and I couldn't get over how a like the gentleman playing John Lennon looked in comparison to the real thing-it was unbelievable! If you closed your eyes, it could easily have been the real band performing right there in front of you. Overall, both Heather and I really enjoyed the show and would definitely go again if they were to come back in future! If you'd like to read more about the Cavern Beatles show click here to be directed to the review link on my music blog.

 

After the show, Mum picked us up and gave Heather a lift back home on route to our house. Heather had surprised me with a lovely card and gift which I opened when I arrived home. I don't know how she managed it but a few weeks ago when we went shopping together and popped into the town's new record shop, I'd been eyeing up a Beatles record and unbeknown to me as I later discovered Heather bought it for me as surprise for my birthday! I was absolutely delighted about that! Thank-you so much Heather! To finish off my special day I tucked into a delicious slice of birthday cake before heading to bed just a short while later.

Before I go I just want to say a huge thank-you to all my friends and family for the lovely cards and kind presents that you kindly gave me for my birthday! I really appreciate it! I also want to say a huge thank-you to everyone for the sweet birthday wishes you sent me across my social media sites; it was so lovely to read them all! Here's to a great year as a 17 year old-I wonder what adventures it'll bring!?

Anyway, I shall love you and leave you all for now!

Sending you love, peace & Best Wishes,

Rob, The Hat Hippie xxx

 

Liverpool Day 3: Fab 4 Taxi Tour

Strawberry Fields Forever

I woke up that morning feeling a little star struck, well after all I had seen Paul McCartney just a few hours before! I'm so pleased that we decided to stay an extra day in Liverpool instead of a long day travelling home. Due to the major buzz I was experiencing from the night before, I seriously don't think I could have contained myself in as small a space for a long period of time considering how hyper I was.

We got up out of bed and packed our bags up as we were moving hotels for our final evening in Liverpool. We ate breakfast in a place named "What's Cooking Bar & Grill" which was directly underneath the premiere Inn. The décor was so cool, although I've probably said that about every restaurant/café I visited during my time in Liverpool but they all were unique and exciting in their own special way! I loved how this particular café incorporated the original features within the building creating a similar feel to the Premier Inn. I decided to order the "full monty" breakfast as I enjoy a cooked breakfast every now and then. You should however, have seen the look of shock on my face when the plate was sat down in front of me. I couldn't quite believe just how it big it was! Needless to say I couldn't finish it but what I did manage to eat was of course, rather delicious!

After breakfast we packed up the car with our bags and Dad took it over to the Crowne Plaza hotel where we'd booked to stay for our final evening. Mum, my sister and I made our way to the Pumphouse restaurant which was our designated meeting point for the Fab 4 Taxi Tour we'd booked a few weeks in advance of our trip. Just a short while after Dad joined us we were approached by a gentleman named Graeme who turned out to be our driver/guide. We followed him to the taxi and settled into our seats. We drove through the streets of Liverpool until we arrived outside a pub which we soon discovered was the pub on the front of Ringo Starr's first solo album "Sentimental Journey". Graeme was fairly new to the company, so it was here at this very location where we met John who would be take on the role of the main guide for us and another party of tourists.

The pub on the cover of Ringo Starr's first solo album Sentimental Journey

John told us the story of Richard Starkey's (more famously known as Ringo Starr) life standing in the exact location where it all took place. Just around the corner was the house that Ringo and his mother lived in until he became famous as the drummer of The Beatles. A couple of streets down the road was the very house Ringo where was born, almost directly across the road was his Dad's house and just a little further down the path was the home of his Grandparents. All of the houses in that particular street are currently empty and apparently were intended to be knocked down by the council. The plans have since changed and apparently, Ringo's birthplace is now set to become a museum at some point in future. The remaining empty properties in the street will be sold cheaply with the condition that all buyers promise to spend a certain sum of money on the renovation and maintenance of their property.

The next stop on our tour was the famous Penny Lane which served as the inspiration for the Beatles classic written by Paul McCartney. We had our photos taken next to the street sign, which they've now painted on the wall due to the fact that the street sign had been stolen on numerous occasions, which I find a little weird to be honest. I mean what would you do with a street sign?

Penny Lane Barber Shop

Further along the road was the famous "shelter in the middle of the roundabout" as well as the Penny Lane Barber Shop mentioned in the lyrics of the song. John, one our tour guides told us how Paul was inspired by childhood memories of Penny Lane and how these related to the lyrics of the song. Being such a big fan of The Beatles, I found it particularly interesting to see the exact locations I'd heard mentioned in the lyrics on so many occasions right there in front of me. It's extremely interesting to see how everyday life can create such amazing art loved by so many. Standing outside, we were shown a photograph of The Beatles taken inside the famous barber shop. In the photo was all four Beatles, with Paul seated in the barber chair having his hair cut into the famous Beatles mop top. Believe it or not the barber shop is still open to the public and much to our amusement they sell merchandise such as Penny Lane Barber Shop t-shirts!

Paul McCartney's childhood home

Next in the tour itinery was a visit to 20 Forthlin Road where Paul McCartney lived with his father, James and brother, Michael until he became famous. I'd seen many pictures of his childhood home so it was pretty surreal to find myself standing right in front of it! We were all told the story of Paul's life and how both him and John would skip school, (and art college in John's case) catch the bus back to Paul's house and spent the afternoon writing songs together unbeknown to both Paul's father and John's Aunt Mimi. The strange thing was I could actually visualise them strolling along the path together and sneaking into the house trying to avoid being caught by the neighbours.

Our next stop was Strawberry Fields, the very place that inspired John Lennon to write yet another legendary song in The Beatles catalogue of hits. Strawberry Fields for me, felt rather magical. Literally, the second we arrived there I instantly fell in love with it. I could hear the sound of leaves rustling in the crisp breeze in the trees towering high above us and the sweet sound of little birds singing songs filled the air-pure bliss in my opinion! From what I've heard John Lennon felt a connection with Strawberry Fields and after visiting there myself, (although, I'm sure it's changed a lot over the years) I can definitely see why he loved it so much.

Aunt Mimi's house

Mendips, 251 Melrose Avenue was where John Lennon lived for most of childhood with Aunt Mimi and just so happened to be our next port of call. Just like at the previous homes of The Beatles, we'd visited that day, we were told the incredible story of John Lennon. His story was absolutely heart-breaking to hear and I think standing in front his home made it seem all the more real. John had a really tough childhood and I really admire how he made something of himself and how he became a legend.

We also visited George Harrison's childhood home which looks almost identical to how it looked during the time that George and his family lived there. Apparently, this was the house where George celebrated his 21st birthday and the entire band celebrated it there with him. Our guides also showed us a photo of the local postmen delivering I don't know how many crates filled to the brim with birthday cards from his fans to the house. It was unbelievable, I have seriously seen nothing like it! It must have taken him years to open and read each and everyone of them!

The final stop of the tour was the church hall where John and Paul met for the very first time at a summer fete that the Quarrymen (John's band) performed at. Across the road was the graveyard where the tombstone that inspired yet another legendary Beatles track written by Paul. I'm sure you'll already have guessed that the song I'm referring to is Eleanor Rigby. Seeing the place where the world's best song writing duo met and of course, history was made was quite emotional for me as a fan. I often wonder what would have happened if perhaps one of them had taken ill and never attended the fete that day. Would they ever have actually met? Would The Beatles ever have actually existed? I suppose that's a question I'll never know the answer to which is most definitely a good thing! So it was here where we finished our tour and ironically we finished quite literally where it all began.

We bid farewell to John the tour guide and his party before getting back into our taxi and just a short time later we were dropped off by our guide/driver Graeme outside the world famous Mathew Street. What an incredible tour! Both guides Graeme and John couldn't have been nicer and both gentlemen were extremely knowledge about the Beatles and Liverpool itself. We'd booked a 2 hour tour which in fact actually lasted almost 4 hours which for just £45 was absolutely amazing! Next time I visit Liverpool I'd love to go on one of the longer tours with the Fab Four Taxi Tours and learn more about how Liverpool shaped The Beatles. Seriously, if you ever visit Liverpool and are keen to do a Beatles tours I'd completely recommend booking with them! You'll definitely not regret it! To find out more make sure to visit http://fab4tours.co.uk/

We made our way along Mathew Street before stopping to take a photo outside the Cavern Club and another beside the John Lennon statue situated a little further along the cobbled path. I couldn't visit Liverpool and not have my photo taken there! It had to be done!

A quick photo with the John Lennon statue

Afterwards, we made our way back to the Liverpool One shopping centre and popped into Ed's Diner for a milkshake. My sister has wanted to visit one of their branches for quite a while so we decided to pop in and see what it was like. I have to say I was rather impressed with it. It was like stepping back into the 50s, the décor was so cool and reminded me of the sets I'd seen in the Grease and Back to the Future films. The only problem was I felt like I should have come dressed in a poodle skirt or one of those cute 50s dresses covered in polka-dots, that you find in vintage shops or Camden Market in London. 

After a yummy refreshment, we took the opportunity to do a spot of shopping. I seriously don't think I've ever seen as many amazing shops in my entire life. There was a shop that catered to the taste and needs of almost everyone that stepped foot in Liverpool. Let's just put it this way, if there isn't you're just too fussy! No offence intended by the way!

As it was getting late we decided that it was probably a good time to have a spot of dinner and decided to take a visit to Pizza Hut. We don't visit Pizza Hut very often at home here in Scotland so it's always a nice treat to go there once every blue moon! I must confess I am not a huge fan of pizza, I'm not so keen on cheese (yes, I'm a little weird!) but I have to say that they make some absolutely delicious pizzas!

The Pizza Hut branch situated in the Liverpool One centre was what I would describe as mobbed (extremely busy). Presumably, it was as busy due to the fact that it happened to be half term in England and of course it was a Friday evening. Despite the quickly growing queue, the Pizza Hut staff were able to seat each party within the matter of minutes. The food tasted great and I think I enjoyed it all the more because I hadn't eaten pizza in such a long time!

After dinner we made our way to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, passing my beloved Albert Dock and the Liver Building on route to check in for our final night in the city. The thought of leaving the city didn't sound so appealing I must admit. The Crowne Plaza was very different compared to the Premiere Inn, it was rather fancy which was nice but I definitely have to say the Premiere Inn was my favourite out of the two! The Premiere Inn was very quirky which was right up my street!

I couldn't quite believe that my long awaited Liverpool trip had come to an end the following day. We grabbed the most amazing breakfast at a very cute and chic café/restaurant named "Bills" in the city centre of Liverpool and popped into a few shops to purchase a few bits n' bobs before making our way back to the car and bidding Liverpool farewell for now. I had such an amazing trip and enjoyed every single second of it! Without a doubt you'll already have guessed that my highlight of the trip was seeing Paul McCartney! Never in a million years did I ever imagine I'd see him in his hometown but as I've recently discovered dreams really do come true!

Liverpool Day 2: Macca Mania

 

The big day had finally arrived, the one I'd dreamt of for years. It was the day I'd finally see Paul McCartney live in concert-eeeeeek! (That's probably not the most literate thing to write but I think we can make an exception on this occasion!)

 The concert wasn't until the Thursday evening meaning that we had the entire day to spend exploring the city. But before we went anywhere we had a light breakfast in the Costa Coffee branch beneath our hotel (yes, Costa not Starbucks!). Having a light breakfast seemed like a sensible idea as we'd planned to have an early dinner before the concert that evening.

Sneaky photo of Costa

After breakfast we decided that first on our agenda would be a visit to The Beatles Story museum which again, was right next door to where we were staying. It was a pretty cool museum; they'd created scenes such as the inside of the Cavern Club and EMI Studios which is now famously known as Abbey Road Studios. All visitors are allowed to take photographs which is unheard of these days. Not many museums grant you permission to do that, so of course we took full of advantage of the situation and took plenty of photos (Thanks Mum for doing the honour!).

At the very end of the exhibition was a stunning tribute to John Lennon inspired by probably his most famous song as a solo artist, Imagine. There was a small hallway covered with some fabulous black and white photographs of John that expanded into a large room. To the left of the room was a white grand piano with a cream coloured guitar sitting proudly beside it. On top of the piano was a photograph of John and replica of his famous glasses. The lyrics of Imagine gently filled the room as everyone admired the simple, stunning and emotional tribute.

After leaving the room you then entered a Beatles inspired café which looked pretty cool. We didn't actually eat there so I can't say whether it's worth visiting or not though. I'll leave that up to you guys if you ever decide to stop by!

At the end of the café on the left hand side was a staircase and a lift for people like me who have mobility issues, use a wheelchair or have a child in a pram or pushchair. Both the lift and stairs take visitors to the gift shop and exit which are both situated on the second floor. If you're a huge Beatles fan like me you'll love the gift shop! It has by far the best selection of Beatles merchandise I've ever seen and cost me an absolute fortune! I'd previously visited a Beatles gift store in London which I wasn't impressed with to be completely honest. This on the other hand had so much to choose from and something to suit every price range.

After what was a lengthy shopping experience we decided to visit the Liverpool Wheel which is a much smaller version of the London Eye. The view from it was great but I will warn you that if you ever visit Liverpool do NOT ride the wheel on a windy day. It's not fun being so high in the sky and your pod rocking back and forth in the wind!

The view from the Liverpool wheel

The nest stop on our agenda was the Tate Art Gallery, which is also situated on the dock beneath our hotel (The Premiere Inn). It's such a pretty walk down by the docks, I could happily have sat there all day enjoying the stunning view and relaxed atmosphere. There is a nice selection of quirky, independent shops and cafes on either side. You could easily have spent most of your day strolling along enjoying all that the docks has to offer without visiting the main thoroughfare.

We had a brief walk round the Tate Art Gallery and realised that it wasn't quite for us. I'm sorry, but I find it difficult to understand how a pile of folded linen is seen as a work of art. Even I could fold a pile of material but I highly doubt it would make it's way into an art gallery. I'm sure everyone would laugh at me if I even attempted that. Personally speaking, I find modern art mind boggling. What's even more confusing was seeing people in deep discussion over the exhibits. 

As we left the gallery we noticed that it was getting pretty close to the time we'd booked our reservation for an early dinner at Jamie's Italian restaurant situated at the Liverpool One shopping centre. So it seemed like a pretty good idea to head in that direction and get a much needed bite to eat.

We took a leisurely stroll into the main shopping district admiring our amazing surroundings. As we passed the Waterstones book store we noticed a huge queue spanning up one of the side streets consisting mostly of teenage girls. We could help but wonder what exactly was going on so we went my sister to find out. It turns out that Joey Essex was visiting the store to sign copies of his book. That's all the information I really needed-curiosity killed!

Just a few steps along the path we spotted Jamie's restaurant, we were a little early for our reservation but decided to go inside and hope they'd seat us ahead of our designated time. Thankfully, they was plenty of room so we shown to our table straight away. Jamie's restaurant has a very relaxed and modern feel to it's interior which I quite liked. The staff were very friendly and evidently enjoyed working there. It's not every day you see the waiters dancing to the music playing in the background (Yes, I notice everything!)

On this occasion I didn't have a starter, instead my family ordered a bread basket as well as some stuffed mushroom dish from the specials menu. The bread selection was absolutely delicious, there was a nice variety of actual bread, breadsticks etc which were served with dipping oils-mmm! I didn't try the mushrooms as they were stuffed with melted cheese which I'm not so keen on, however my parents seemed to enjoy it. For my main course I ordered something called "Italian steak frites" which consisted of the most delicious featherblade stake, skinny fries as well as a pickle and crunchy kale slaw. If you ever visit one of Jamie's restaurants, it's definitely worth ordering. You won't be disappointed!

Following such a great dinner we took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel so that we could freshen up and charge our phones before the gig. After double checking we had our tickets and packed our camera safely in Mum's handbag (there was no way we could forget that!) we then made our way back downstairs, across the road and joined the queue outside the arena. The arena sits right by the waterfront so it was pretty windy and rather chilly. Thank goodness I'd decided to wear my winter coat, I'd have turned into a snowman if I hadn't!

The queue was filled with fans of all ages and nationalities which was so cool to see! I was so surprised to hear just how far people had travelled to attend this particular gig-it was unbelievable! In fact when Paul himself asked if anyone had come from outside the UK for the concert, possibly more then half of the room erupted in roars.

Eventually, the doors to the arena were opened and before long the building was heaving with people. Each fan was handed a sign from a steward which on one side read "Welcome Home Paul" and a heart with the British flag was printed on the other side. It must have been really special for Paul to walk on stage and see all these signs waving in the air.

Welcome Home Paul!

Seconds after entering the arena I found myself in front of the merch stall in great deliberation over what t-shirt I should purchase. I'd waited such a long time to attend one of Paul's gigs and promised myself that I would not leave the building without a t-shirt as a memory of the show. In the end I decided upon a limited edition t-shirt created specifically for the Liverpool concert. I also purchased a copy of the tour book/programme which came with a pair of 3D glasses so that you can view a bunch of photographs in 3D. I was extremely surprised when I tried them out for the first and realised just how well they actually worked.

I am currently working on a review about the concert itself for my music blog which will be posted very soon so I won't give too much away about it on this post. What I will say is that Paul McCartney was beyond incredible and did not disappoint! For a man of his age, he had so much energy and not once did he look tired. He certainly knows how to put on a good show; it was like one big party in that room and I'm so lucky to have been part of it!

The man himself

I still can't believe I actually saw Paul in concert and I know for a fact that this will not be the last time I see him in concert! My next big mission is to actually meet him, I don't quite know how I'll do it; but it'll happen one day!

It was such an exciting and amazing night and I'm so glad I got to spend it in Liverpool! So on that note I will bring this post to an end. Make sure to pop back soon to read the next post in my Liverpool series and make sure to pop over to my other blog www.jukeboxrhapsody.blogspot.com to read my upcoming posts including my review on Paul's concert, The Beatles Story museum and much more!

To read to read the first post in my Liverpool series click here.

Liverpool Day 1: Rock n' Roll Road Trip

 

 

Statues of The Beatles

If you're a follower of one of my social media accounts you'll probably have noticed that last week I went on what was for me an extremely exciting trip! Last Wednesday my family and I went on what I like to call a "Rock n' Roll Road Trip". Yes, it may sound rather geeky but I associate road trips with music and America for whatever reason.

No doubt you'll already have guessed (thanks to my blog title!) that the road trip was to the city of Liverpool. I've wanted to visit Liverpool for such a long time but the main reason I actually went there in the first place was to see Sir Paul McCartney! I'm a HUGE fan of Paul McCartney, Wings and of course the legends that are The Beatles! Seeing Paul live in concert has been one of my biggest dreams for I don't know how long. There has been a couple of occasions in years gone by that I've missed out on seeing Paul so I was beyond ecstatic to actually have managed to get tickets for the Liverpool. Ever since my Mum put the phone down after purchasing our tickets I've been counting down each second until the exact moment Paul walked on stage.  

"Welcome to England" sign

 Anyway, I better start writing about the trip itself and not bore you all with my excitable rants about Paul McCartney! So we set off on our journey last Wednesday from our home here in Scotland to the city of Liverpool. Surprisingly, the car journey went by pretty quickly which is always a good thing! I must admit that I did however, spend most of the journey searching for a service station with a Starbucks coffee shop. Can you believe that between Glasgow and Liverpool there was just two Starbucks coffee shops!? I mean there's nothing wrong with Costa but I do love a Starbucks frappucino! Who doesn't?! Thankfully, we did find a Starbucks branch eventually and I was able to get one of my all time favourite drinks; a strawberries and cream frappucino-mmmm!

I finally got a Starbucks frappucino!

Before long we'd arrived in the outskirts of Liverpool and as you can probably imagine I was on a complete and utter high. It really hit me that one of my biggest dreams, the one I'd waited such a long time to actually happen was about to come true!

There was something really special about driving in to the city; there was a complete and utter buzz! Even in the in the outskirts there was some sort of tribute to The Beatles everywhere I looked.

I fell in love with Albert Dock literally the second we drove into the area. Everywhere I looked there were people coming and going, there was a cute merry go round for children, barge boats, swan boats and I even spotted a yellow submarine apartment floating on the water-how cool! The buildings themselves were stunning, the architecture was absolutely breath-taking!

For the first two nights of our trip we stayed at the Premiere Inn, Albert Dock which is situated directly across from the Echo Arena and next door to both The Beatles Story museum and a Costa Coffee branch (Seriously! Why can't it be Starbucks?!). So our hotel was pretty central from everywhere we'd planned to visit over our trip.

It was extremely busy down at the docks and parking was a little hard to come by. Fortunately, a car pulled out of a space right there in front of us so guess where we parked? The gentlemen who pulled out of the car parking space kindly gave us his parking voucher which meant we could park there for free for a few hours which was so kind! Over our entire trip we were overwhelmed by just how kind the people of Liverpool are. They'd do anything to help you out.

We unloaded our car and made our way to the hotel, into the reception, checked in and took the rather small lift to the third floor where our room was. All of the original features such as the brickwork and the old doors had been incorporated in the building creating an atmospheric and quirky feel within the building.

 

The roof in our hotel room

 The view from our room's window was amazing! Our window looked out onto one of the docks where at least a dozen boats were docked at any given time. There was lots of independent shops, restaurants and the Tate art gallery situated around the docklands which meant people were constantly coming and going. I claimed a little armchair which sat by the windowsill and spent a lot of time sitting there watching the world below going by. I really wish I could have taken the window and armchair home with me!

The view from our room onto the docks

We left the hotel to be met by a heavy rain shower, I thought that only happened back home in Scotland! Due to the downpour we decided to take the car to the Liverpool One shopping centre and get a bite to eat as we were all pretty hungry after such a long journey. This meant that our next mission was to find a nice restaurant which wasn't too hard to come by. There was so many different restaurants to choose from but in the end we decided upon dining in a thai restuarant named Chaophraya. Both my parents and sister have been to it's sister restaurant in Glasgow at different times. For whatever reason I haven't dined there as of yet so it was a new experience for me.

For dinner I ordered chicken satay as a starter which came with a delicious peanut sauce follow by my favourite noodle dish, pad thai as a main course. Both courses were absolutely delicious!

The décor inside the restaurant was pretty fancy, they had these huge sparkly, chandelier lights hanging from the ceiling above us. There was even glass windows round the kitchen area so that diners could watch the chefs cooking their meals. I loved watching everything that went on inside the kitchen particularly when huge flames came shooting out the pans (I'm such a big kid sometimes!). When leaving the restaurant one of us looked up and noticed that above our head was a fish tank in the entrance doorway. I don't think I ever seen anything like that before!

chicken satay 

It was becoming rather cold and windy as we left the restaurant and although there wasn't any rain at that point, the sky looked grey and heavy meaning that evidently a rain shower wasn't too far away. With this in mind we decided that it was probably time to make our way back to the the car and head back to our hotel to get some rest before the extremely exciting day that would soon follow!