Hello Folks!
As I'm sure many of you have already gathered, I love attending concerts as well as other lives events when they pop up. This morning my Mum and I were listening to the Radio just like we always do as we dropped my sister off at school. Today, one of my Mum's very favourite bands Wet Wet Wet were on air performing a bunch of live music and to also announce the exciting news that they were embarking on a UK tour early next year. Being such a big fan my Mum was desperate to see them live again and I must admit that I've wanted to see them live for quite a while so between us we decided that we'd try get hold of tickets.
Around less than half an hour after announcing the tour those who'd signed up to the band's mailing list were sent an email with links to purchase pre-sale tickets at 9am. Next to each link was a phone number where presumably gig-goers could also purchase tickets from. As always we were unable to buy disabled accessible tickets online, in most instances this ruling is put in place to prevent fraud and the misuse of disabled tickets which to be honest is fair enough. After all it gives people like myself a fairer chance.
My Mum dialled the provided number and waited in a queue for around half an hour-thankfully she didn't have to endure any of that highly annoying music they usually play in the background as you wait. Eventually, someone answered the phone and Mum explained our situation and asked if there were any disabled tickets left to purchase in the pre-sale. Mum was soon told that there was in fact no disabled tickets allocated whatsoever for the presale which in my opinion is completely shocking!
Recently, my sister and I also had difficulty when booking disabled access tickets for yet another event. The tickets for this particular event were extremely popular and went on sale as soon as the dates were announced. So as you can imagine there was mad dash to actually get tickets in the first place. There was no visible details on the ticket website regarding how to book disabled tickets. We decided to wing it in hope that if we secured tickets we'd be able to contact the venue afterwards and see if they could help us out. So we did just that.
I soon received an email to confirm the booking and on the email was a disabled assistance number. My Mum phoned the ticketing service up and explained the situation to the person on the other end of the phone line. He looked into transferring our tickets and soon discovered that there was no seats allocated for wheelchair users! Thankfully, within a fairly short period of time the situation was resolved and they were able to allocate my sister and I seats in the front row which would accommodate my wheelchair. As you can imagine, we are extremely grateful and satisfied that they were able to help us out and resolve the issue.
Having heard of other situations similar to the ones I've spoken of above, I thought I'd sit down and actually write about it. I more now than ever cannot just sit back and accept this because "it is the way it is"! Just because my legs don't work properly doesn't mean I should be treated any differently from an able-bodied person. No one deserves to put up with second best and miss out on the privileges and treatment everyone should be entitled to.
How would you feel if it were you in this situation? Would you put up with it? I certainly hope not! Everyone should be treated fairly and should be given the same opportunities as everyone else!
Like I said before, I'm just one voice and will of course do my upmost to fight and speak up for what is right! But I could really do with everyone's help and support because the more people who speak up and get the message out there; the more likely change with happen!
Many Thanks,
Robyn x
Music Blog: www.jukeboxrhapsody.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehathippie
Friday, 15 May 2015
Monday, 11 May 2015
Radio Update
Hello Lovely People!
How are you all doing? Just as I promised you in my previous post here is an update to tell you all about everything that's been happening regarding my exciting radio opportunity. I can't quite believe that I'm actually able to say that I'm going to have my very own radio show! For me, its an absolute dream come true!
Since my last post I've visited the station for a look around and got to meet with the station manager, Louis. Following that I have visited the station a further three times for training.
On my first training session I was asked to come in a hour before the other trainees who had already taken part in training the week before. In that first hour I was shown the equipment and how to use it. There is so much to remember; I mean there are four different microphones, one for me the presenter and the other three for any guests you may have in the studio. There is also a CD player which has the capacity to take two different CDs at a time, a vinyl record player and a computer which has a library filled with thousands of songs, jingles and advertisements. All of the equipment is connected to the mixing desk which the presenter has full control over. Initially, there was so much to take in but after a few goes I feel like I'm definitely getting the hang of things! After being shown how to use everything, the other two trainees arrived and we were each given a chance to use the system and experiment a little. Afterwards, I had my photograph taken for my ID badge that I will have to wear when I'm in the station.
Last Friday, I had another visit to the station where I was allowed to use their portable system (I couldn't use the main one as the station was on air). I spent around an hour and a half working with the technology and practicing the skills I had picked up during my previous visit. I played some of my favourite songs and experimented using the jingles/advertisements whilst trying not to leave a silent gap in between. It's tricky and will require a lot of precision when it comes to timing but one thing I know for sure is that the more I do it, the better I'll become!
Yesterday (Sunday) I was given the chance to create my own mock radio show for an hour which I must admit I was extremely nervous about doing. It's extremely weird sitting their chatting to yourself and it's even weirder to think that in the not so distant future people will actually be listening to me whilst driving their cars or streaming from the comfort of their own home using the internet. I know for a fact though that as time goes on, it'll soon become second nature to me!
I decided to start off my first mock radio show presenting and talking about the music I'd chosen to play. Talking about something that I'm passionate about most definitely helped me with my confidence during my first attempt at a show. Had I chosen to talk about something else I think my mind would have went blank which would be rather embarrassing! Next time I do however plan to use newspaper clippings as well as magazine articles and read them out to help me get used to presenting. Overall, I was extremely delighted with my first attempt and cannot wait until I can do it for real live on air!
My task is to now come up with a concept, talking points and a name for my show which is really wracking my brains. My aim is to think of something unique and exciting that people will really enjoy listening to. So if any of my lovely readers happen to have some ideas that you think I might be interested in using, please let me know! Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!
Until next time,
Robyn x
Music Blog: www.jukeboxrhapsody.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehathippie
How are you all doing? Just as I promised you in my previous post here is an update to tell you all about everything that's been happening regarding my exciting radio opportunity. I can't quite believe that I'm actually able to say that I'm going to have my very own radio show! For me, its an absolute dream come true!
Since my last post I've visited the station for a look around and got to meet with the station manager, Louis. Following that I have visited the station a further three times for training.
On my first training session I was asked to come in a hour before the other trainees who had already taken part in training the week before. In that first hour I was shown the equipment and how to use it. There is so much to remember; I mean there are four different microphones, one for me the presenter and the other three for any guests you may have in the studio. There is also a CD player which has the capacity to take two different CDs at a time, a vinyl record player and a computer which has a library filled with thousands of songs, jingles and advertisements. All of the equipment is connected to the mixing desk which the presenter has full control over. Initially, there was so much to take in but after a few goes I feel like I'm definitely getting the hang of things! After being shown how to use everything, the other two trainees arrived and we were each given a chance to use the system and experiment a little. Afterwards, I had my photograph taken for my ID badge that I will have to wear when I'm in the station.
Last Friday, I had another visit to the station where I was allowed to use their portable system (I couldn't use the main one as the station was on air). I spent around an hour and a half working with the technology and practicing the skills I had picked up during my previous visit. I played some of my favourite songs and experimented using the jingles/advertisements whilst trying not to leave a silent gap in between. It's tricky and will require a lot of precision when it comes to timing but one thing I know for sure is that the more I do it, the better I'll become!
Yesterday (Sunday) I was given the chance to create my own mock radio show for an hour which I must admit I was extremely nervous about doing. It's extremely weird sitting their chatting to yourself and it's even weirder to think that in the not so distant future people will actually be listening to me whilst driving their cars or streaming from the comfort of their own home using the internet. I know for a fact though that as time goes on, it'll soon become second nature to me!
I decided to start off my first mock radio show presenting and talking about the music I'd chosen to play. Talking about something that I'm passionate about most definitely helped me with my confidence during my first attempt at a show. Had I chosen to talk about something else I think my mind would have went blank which would be rather embarrassing! Next time I do however plan to use newspaper clippings as well as magazine articles and read them out to help me get used to presenting. Overall, I was extremely delighted with my first attempt and cannot wait until I can do it for real live on air!
My task is to now come up with a concept, talking points and a name for my show which is really wracking my brains. My aim is to think of something unique and exciting that people will really enjoy listening to. So if any of my lovely readers happen to have some ideas that you think I might be interested in using, please let me know! Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!
Until next time,
Robyn x
Music Blog: www.jukeboxrhapsody.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehathippie
Tuesday, 28 April 2015
My Exciting News!
Hello Everyone!
My apologies for being so quiet around here these past few weeks. I have been unwell with a throat/chest infection and after a course of antibiotics I have been left with a rather annoying cough. Hopefully, I will be back to old self again soon!
If you have been following my latest updates through my social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter you will already have heard my exciting news. But for those of you who haven't, I thought I'd share it here. After writing my last blog post on disability discrimination I have received such an overwhelming response from you my lovely readers, which I cannot begin to thank you enough for! I received so many sweet and encouraging comments which really meant a lot to me!
Out of what was a negative situation came a whole lot of positives! Thanks to two of our wonderful family friends and The Irvine Herald newspaper who contacted us almost immediately, I now have some amazing opportunities lined up. I'm unsure how much I am able to give away as of yet about one of the opportunities but I promise as soon as I know you'll all be the first to hear. What I can tell you is 3TFM have agreed to take me on and it looks like I might be getting my own radio show! How cool is that!? A dream come true!
I am going for my first visit to the station later this week to meet with the station manager. So keep an eye on both my Facebook account and here on this blog for details on how it went.
The past couple of years have been a bit of a rocky ride for me but at last things seem to be turning in the right direction and I am finally getting where I want to be. Everything seems to be falling into place and I'm beginning to achieve my goals and aspirations.
I have a long, list inside my head full of dreams and aspirations that I want to achieve so I thought I might actually write them down and share them here on my blog. It might be fun to tick them off as I go along and write a post on each one I complete. I thought it would be a great way to look back at everything I've done over the coming months and relive each memory whilst sharing it with each of you.
Anyway, I shall leave you with this short post for now and I will do my upmost not to leave as long a gap between now and the next post I write.
Until then, I send you all my best wishes!
Lots of Love,
Robyn x
Music Blog: www.jukeboxrhapsody.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehathippie
My apologies for being so quiet around here these past few weeks. I have been unwell with a throat/chest infection and after a course of antibiotics I have been left with a rather annoying cough. Hopefully, I will be back to old self again soon!
If you have been following my latest updates through my social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter you will already have heard my exciting news. But for those of you who haven't, I thought I'd share it here. After writing my last blog post on disability discrimination I have received such an overwhelming response from you my lovely readers, which I cannot begin to thank you enough for! I received so many sweet and encouraging comments which really meant a lot to me!
Out of what was a negative situation came a whole lot of positives! Thanks to two of our wonderful family friends and The Irvine Herald newspaper who contacted us almost immediately, I now have some amazing opportunities lined up. I'm unsure how much I am able to give away as of yet about one of the opportunities but I promise as soon as I know you'll all be the first to hear. What I can tell you is 3TFM have agreed to take me on and it looks like I might be getting my own radio show! How cool is that!? A dream come true!
I am going for my first visit to the station later this week to meet with the station manager. So keep an eye on both my Facebook account and here on this blog for details on how it went.
The past couple of years have been a bit of a rocky ride for me but at last things seem to be turning in the right direction and I am finally getting where I want to be. Everything seems to be falling into place and I'm beginning to achieve my goals and aspirations.
I have a long, list inside my head full of dreams and aspirations that I want to achieve so I thought I might actually write them down and share them here on my blog. It might be fun to tick them off as I go along and write a post on each one I complete. I thought it would be a great way to look back at everything I've done over the coming months and relive each memory whilst sharing it with each of you.
Anyway, I shall leave you with this short post for now and I will do my upmost not to leave as long a gap between now and the next post I write.
Until then, I send you all my best wishes!
Lots of Love,
Robyn x
Music Blog: www.jukeboxrhapsody.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehathippie
Wednesday, 8 April 2015
Disability Discrimination
As I said in my previous posts one of my aspirations is to work in the journalism/media field. Just like any normal teenager I'm doing my upmost to get experience and learn the skills I need to get my dream job. Unfortunately, due to my disability I've been unable to attend school for the past few years and haven't been given the same opportunities that my peers have been offered such as work experience. With that in mind, I've had to go out and get the work experience myself. Yesterday, I contacted one of my local radio stations after reading on Facebook that they were looking for a number of people to train in radio presenting. "Perfect!" or at least I thought so.
I sent an email to the provided contact with the relevant information that they required. I also explained that I was a wheelchair user, briefly explained my story and told them about the handful of media/journalism experience I had previously gained. Hoping that I would be one of the lucky applicants I then sent off my email.
Today, I logged onto my email account to find an email from the station stating that "unfortunately at the moment we are in temporary accommodation and our disabled access is very limited for wheelchairs". Yet again, another organisation that doesn't cater for wheelchair users!
As you can imagine I feel extremely upset and angry that yet again the world only see the disability that I have and not me; a person with real thoughts, feelings and emotions. Throughout my entire life I've constantly had doors slammed shut in my face and have been told that I can't do something because I am disabled! Not acceptable!
My school has treated me in a similar manner, well known businesses/organisations have discriminated against my disability and now one of my local radio station has followed suit. What does this say about society?
My aim through this blog is to make a difference for young people like me who live with disabilities and all of the challenges that the world around throw at us! I will not sit back and let this go, if I don't do something about it who will!?
I beg of each and everyone of you out there who read this post to share it in every way possible whether that is through Facebook, Twitter or any other form that you can think of. We need to educate people on disabled rights and more importantly actually getting things put into fruition, I need people standing by me helping me to get the appropriate bodies to stand up and take notice!
None of us know what might happen to us or a member of our family tomorrow, that is why I ask you to stop and think "how would I feel if this happened to me or a loved one?". If we're being completely honest with ourselves we'd all feel rejected, disappointed, hurt and angry.
That is why discrimination needs to stop NOW!!! Changes need to be made and these changes need to be put into action immediately!
If you wish to contact me on this subject or about anything else please do not hesitate to do so on the following links and I will do my upmost to respond as soon as I possibly can!
Email- thequeenofhats14@gmail.com
Facebook- www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter- www.twitter.com/thehathippie
I sent an email to the provided contact with the relevant information that they required. I also explained that I was a wheelchair user, briefly explained my story and told them about the handful of media/journalism experience I had previously gained. Hoping that I would be one of the lucky applicants I then sent off my email.
Today, I logged onto my email account to find an email from the station stating that "unfortunately at the moment we are in temporary accommodation and our disabled access is very limited for wheelchairs". Yet again, another organisation that doesn't cater for wheelchair users!
As you can imagine I feel extremely upset and angry that yet again the world only see the disability that I have and not me; a person with real thoughts, feelings and emotions. Throughout my entire life I've constantly had doors slammed shut in my face and have been told that I can't do something because I am disabled! Not acceptable!
My school has treated me in a similar manner, well known businesses/organisations have discriminated against my disability and now one of my local radio station has followed suit. What does this say about society?
My aim through this blog is to make a difference for young people like me who live with disabilities and all of the challenges that the world around throw at us! I will not sit back and let this go, if I don't do something about it who will!?
I beg of each and everyone of you out there who read this post to share it in every way possible whether that is through Facebook, Twitter or any other form that you can think of. We need to educate people on disabled rights and more importantly actually getting things put into fruition, I need people standing by me helping me to get the appropriate bodies to stand up and take notice!
None of us know what might happen to us or a member of our family tomorrow, that is why I ask you to stop and think "how would I feel if this happened to me or a loved one?". If we're being completely honest with ourselves we'd all feel rejected, disappointed, hurt and angry.
That is why discrimination needs to stop NOW!!! Changes need to be made and these changes need to be put into action immediately!
If you wish to contact me on this subject or about anything else please do not hesitate to do so on the following links and I will do my upmost to respond as soon as I possibly can!
Email- thequeenofhats14@gmail.com
Facebook- www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter- www.twitter.com/thehathippie
Friday, 3 April 2015
Ten Random Facts about Me
Hi everyone out there!
It's after midnight as I write this and why am I still awake at such an unattractive hour you may ask? Firstly, it's pretty stormy outside and I cannot sleep with the ferocious howls of the wind as it hits against my bedroom window. I am most definitely not a fan of storms and unfortunately they hit Scotland fairly regularly.
Rather than tossing and turning in my duvet as I spend hours on end trying to drift off I thought “why not do something productive?”. I honestly believe that for whatever reason I am most creative at night, the words seem to flow effortlessly. So here I am writing this post for you my lovely readers to enjoy.Before I go any further I want to let you all know that I have created a Facebook page and a Twitter account where you can find all of my latest news and keep up to date with my most recent blog posts. I want to say a huge thank-you to each of the lovely people who have liked/followed my pages so far-you have no idea just how much I appreciate it! So if you haven't already, please pop on over and click the all-important "like" and "follow" buttons on the following links https://www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog and www.twitter.com/thehathippie .
Now getting to the main point of this post; as you'll already know, I've written a bunch of posts here on this blog, but if I'm being completely honest I don't think that I have really told you a lot about myself. From what I can recall, I've only given away little dribs and drabs. Personally speaking, I feel that it's nice to know a bit about the person hidden behind each post. On that note, I've decided to share with you ten random facts about me.
Here it goes...............
1. I play bass guitar and have been learning to do so for the past year and half. During my primary school days I had weekly guitar lessons in school and privately every Friday evening. However, after undergoing knee surgery a few years ago I began to suffer from chronic pain which affected my right leg and eventually spread to my right hand. This caused difficulty when playing guitar so I decided to call it quits and hope that one day my condition would improve and I'd be able to play again.
Let's just say it's difficult to keep me separated from music and instruments for any length of time. I had the opportunity, as part of my home schooling, to work with a professional musician who for the past year and a half has taught me to play bass guitar. Although it can be sore and tiring, it doesn't take as much a toll on me as acoustic guitar did due to the different finger and plucking techniques I use when playing. I am so grateful to be able to play as for a while I thought it would never again be possible. Having been through that period of doubt, I've really learned to appreciate and make the most of every minute that my hand allows me to play.
2. My favourite refreshment is Starbucks’ strawberries and cream Frappuccinos! - Mmmm!
3. I am a major animal lover. My sister and I have two hamsters one named Floyd and the other Hope. They are such wonderful little creatures and have the most amazing personalities! I would also like to get a dog one day as they make such loyal friends and I enjoy spending time with them. More recently I've also decided that I'd quite like my own cat. I've always liked cats but, after reading the book "A Street Cat Named Bob" by James Bowen I realised just how incredible they are. If I am being completely honest I'd happily own a farm filled with animals!
4. My all-time favourite musical is Wicked which I've seen twice. The first occasion was in London's West End with the amazing Rachel Tucker playing the lead role of Elphaba. I saw the show for a second time last year in Glasgow during its tour of the UK. Hopefully, it won't be too long until I'll see it again!
5. When I'm older I'd like to be a journalist as well as an author. Both careers will require a lot of hard work and effort but I'm doing my upmost to get the relevant experience such as writing these blogs which allow me to learn the necessary skills and techniques.
6. My favourite Disney film/fictional character is Peter Pan. Around a month or so ago I wrote a post about my fascination with Peter Pan, if you'd like to read it click here.
7. You may have already guessed thanks to my blog's name that I have a bit of an obsession with hats! Last time I counted, my collection believe it or not consisted of around twenty-four different hats. Perhaps I might even write about my hat collection in the not so distant future.
8. One of my hobbies is photography. I love to take a varied range of photographs but, my favourite subject is flowers. After shooting my latest selection of photographs, I upload and edit them on my laptop's photo editing software. Although thanks to me being such a perfectionist, the editing process is often a lengthy one!
9. I am a terrible singer-but it doesn't stop me from "singing" along to songs on the radio at the top of my voice!
10. My favourite actress is the lovely Audrey Hepburn, who starred in some of the most iconic films to ever exist. My personal favourite would have to be "Funny Face" in which she stars alongside the actor Fred Astaire.
So there you have it; Ten Random Facts about Me.
Hopefully, you will have learned something new about me and the madness that it is my life. I should probably bid you all farewell for now and try and get some rest.
Lots of Love,
Robyn xx
Monday, 23 March 2015
My Experience Meeting Richie Sambora & Orianthi Panagaris
Last July I had the opportunity to meet Richie Sambora, former guitarist of the world famous rock band Bon Jovi and Orianthi Panagaris who has played guitar alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry including Michael Jackson, Prince and Alice Cooper. I've been a big fan of Orianthi ever since I first saw her in Michael Jackson's This Is It film when I was just eleven years old. Watching Orianthi play guitar alongside one of my all-time favourite singers Michael Jackson was what inspired me to learn guitar. I was completely mesmerised watching her perform and wanted to one day play guitar with the skill and talent that she has!
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| Orianthi & I |
One of my biggest dreams was to one day meet Orianthi. With this in mind my lovely Mum managed to get in contact with a member of her team who kindly arranged for me to meet with Orianthi prior to the show in Glasgow! I cannot begin to describe just how excited I was!
On the day of the show my Dad and I were also invited to watch Richie and Ori's pre-show sound check. By the time we arrived at the venue that day there was a huge queue of people also attending the concert spanning right up the street. As we walked past them, I could feel the infectious buzz coming from those waiting.
After letting the appropriate people know that we'd arrived, we were then escorted inside to watch the sound check. I'm extremely interested in what goes behind the scenes at events such as concerts and loved every second of it watching all of the comings and goings happening around me. Instruments were being tuned, the merchandise stall was in the process of being set up and the lighting was being adjusted. So much work goes on behind the scenes to make each show run smoothly and to the perfection that we the audience see. We're all unaware of just how much time, hard work and effort each member of the crew puts into every show. Without them there would be no show! From spending such a short period of time in that environment it was evident that both the crew as well as the band are extremely close. I can only imagine that whilst on tour everyone becomes like an extended family.
After a short wait both Richie and Ori arrived at the venue in time for sound check. They appeared on stage from the darkened wings and began to set up their guitars with the help of the guitar techs. Once organised, Orianthi looked in my direction and waved! It was one of those exciting moments in life where it all seemed like a dream. Even if I hadn't actually met her, having Orianthi wave in my direction would have made my night!
Watching sound check was such a cool experience-it was like having your own private concert! During sound check they performed a bunch of songs by some of the biggest names in the music industry. I can't remember the exact list of songs they performed however, I'm pretty sure it included numbers from artists such as Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and The Beatles.
We were then taken backstage towards the end of the band's sound check. As you can probably imagine at this exact moment I was rather excited! I'd wanted to meet Ori for years and the moment was finally going to happen!!!!
We waited in the hallway outside of the dressing rooms whilst Ori got ready for the show. I'd never properly been backstage before, so I really enjoyed soaking everything in. For whatever reason I had always imagined backstage areas to be quite glamorous (I have no idea why to be honest!). However, it wasn't at all what I expected. I liked it though, there was a nice buzz about the place.
After waiting for a few minutes, a small crowd of people appeared at the other end of the hall. It took a few moments for my brain to click and for me to realise that there, at the other side of the corridor was Richie Sambora himself! He immediately came right over to me and started chatting. Richie was such a lovely, genuine and down to earth type of guy! He certainly wasn't one of those rockstars/celebrities that couldn't care less about their fans. I wish I could tell you more of what he said but I had one those star struck moments-typical me!
I had my photo taken with Richie but didn't realise until later on that our camera had decided to play up and didn't save the photograph which was frustrating-but at least I have the memory! Before bidding us farewell and heading to his dressing room, Richie gave me a big hug and shook hands with my Dad! What a special moment!
Before long one of the dressing room doors opened and out came Orianthi! Both Dad and I shook hands with her and she then gave me a big hug! Ori was seriously one of the loveliest people I've met! I felt at ease chatting with her, which was lovely as I really got to enjoy the time I spent with her. It wasn't one of those moments that I had gotten so hyped up about, my mind went blank and then all seemed liked a blur afterwards. Instead, I can replay the moment in my head, recalling every detail and remembering the exact conversation.
I chatted with Orianthi about her time touring with Alice Cooper, I'd seen them live in Edinburgh almost two years before. She told me about one of their shows (which funnily enough I happened to have watched footage of on YouTube) where during School's Out, Alice and the rest of the guys in the band all appeared wearing blonde wigs similar to Ori's hair. It was interesting to hear her account of what happened, as I often watch concert videos and wonder what it's like from the musician's point of view.
Orianthi even told me about some of the new musical projects she'd been working on such as recording at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and her greatest hits album which at the time was just weeks away from being released in Japan. She also told me a little bit about the new album that both her and Richie are currently working on, which of course I can't wait to hear as it sounds like it'll be right up my street!
I brought along my copies of Orianthi's albums in hope that she would sign them for me. Kindly obliging, she turned to me and thanked me for supporting her work and purchasing her albums. Meeting someone who I really admire and having them thank me for my support really meant a lot! It's lovely to hear directly from the artist that they appreciate their fans support. Before making our way to our seats to watch the show, I then had my photograph taken with Ori. Fortunately, the camera decided to cooperate this time-phew!
This just so happened to be the final show of Richie's tour of the UK and Europe and it was great end to the tour I must say! Richie played a range of songs from his time as a member of Bon Jovi and also performed material from his solo albums. Together, they even performed a song named "You Don't Wanna know" which featured as one of the tracks on Orianthi's latest album "Heaven In This Hell". As you can imagine there was some amazing guitar solos which of course I could happily sit there and listen to for days without end. And of course, I can't forget the amazing Glasgow audience who love to have a good time!
This just so happened to be the final show of Richie's tour of the UK and Europe and it was great end to the tour I must say! Richie played a range of songs from his time as a member of Bon Jovi and also performed material from his solo albums. Together, they even performed a song named "You Don't Wanna know" which featured as one of the tracks on Orianthi's latest album "Heaven In This Hell". As you can imagine there was some amazing guitar solos which of course I could happily sit there and listen to for days without end. And of course, I can't forget the amazing Glasgow audience who love to have a good time!
At the end of the show one of the roadies came and found me with a Richie's copy of the show's set list that he had on stage with him for me to keep. I've never had the opportunity to stand at the front of the stage at a concert before because of my health. Due to that I've never had the opportunity to catch a plectrum from the band or a copy of the set list. As you can imagine I have and will continue to treasure the set list and plectrums I received that evening as memento from the amazing night that I had.
I highly doubt that Richie, Ori or any or their wonderful team will ever come across this post but if they do, I just wanted to say a huge thank-you to each and everyone of them for making my dream come true! They were all so sweet and kind and really made me feel special! I also owe a huge thank you to my amazing Mum as without her this would never have happened!
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Let's Make A Difference!
If you know me personally or have read any of my pervious posts you'll be aware that I was born with a physical disability and suffer from a condition named Complex Regional Pain Syndrome which affects my life drastically. Being born with a disability fortunately meant that I never had to go through adjusting to a new way of life using a wheelchair. I grew up with my disability and never thought of it is as something weird, I always saw myself as me and didn't really care what anyone else thought.
Initially, when I first went to primary school I was treated differently because of my disability alongside the fact that I had to use a wheelchair to help me get around. I despised going to school, I absolutely hated it! I was a quiet, mousy type of girl back then and just quietly went about my business despite how much I hated going to school.
Life completely changed for me when my family and I moved to another town. Both my sister and I were enrolled in a small rural school in the middle of the countryside. If we looked out one window we could see endless fields of green and usually a herd of cows grazing in the grass. Looking out another window we could see the sea far into the horizon. It was simply stunning.
With around thirty-six pupils at any given time, I felt completely normal there. Everyone excepted me for who I was and never made me feel different because of my disability. It felt like being a part of a big family and that most definitely was what I needed. Attending a small, rural school completely changed me as a person. I found my confidence and made so many wonderful friends. I am truly grateful to all of my friends there for accepting me and giving me the chance to feel normal.
Unfortunately, I'm too old to attend primary school and instead I'm now home tutored and find myself in my final few years of secondary school. In recent years I've been let down ALOT by people who I thought would always be there for me. If I'm being completely honest it really hurt and I felt extremely let down. Since my knee surgery in 2011, I've had a lot of ups and downs which has helped me mature and become the person that I am today. It's been really difficult at times but I've managed to get through it. I'm fully aware that the doctors are no longer able to do anything for my condition, with that in mind I have decided do my upmost to enjoy life as much as I possibly can and achieve all of my dreams and ambitions.
My intentions for writing this post and on a much bigger scale, creating this entire blog is to open people's eyes and help change things for the better. I'm sick and tired of everyone being classed as the same! I'm sorry, but we're not all the same! Each and everyone of us are unique and I don't care what anyone says, we should feel genuinely proud of who we are!
Like I said above, I have lived with a physical disability ever since I was born. But what I'm trying to get across to the world is that I am a person with real thoughts and real feelings; I am not the disability!
A few years ago I made the decision to take a firm stance and decided to truly express myself and dress in my own, unique and sometimes crazy style. I'm different anyway, so when people stare at me whilst I'm using my wheelchair, why not give them something else to stare at other than the piece of metal that follows me everywhere I go?
There have been a few professionals that I've come across of late who don't seem to accept the word "no". Yes, they have a job to do and I completely accept part of that is to provide me with information regarding what exactly I'm entitled to. However, I'm no longer a child and I am more than capable of making my own decisions that affect my own life! This means that if I say "no", particularly when I have good reasoning to back up my decision the professionals shouldn't persist with the subject and attempt to make me change my mind. I have had many conversations with my GP, who has always encouraged me to speak up and to make sure the professionals around me listen to my wants and wishes. I sometimes think they forget my age and forget the fact that I know my own mind-set and that I'm entitled to my own opinion.
With this in mind I've decided that rather than sitting back and doing nothing I really want to change things. If I have both the ability and knowledge that is required to make a difference, then I should do my bit to get the ball rolling. We need to work at changing people's outlooks and make the professionals around us listen. In order to get things right for each and everyone of us we need to be included in making decisions that affect us because no one knows us better than ourselves.
Unfortunately, I can't wave a magic wand and everything will be okay but what I can do is begin to set the foundation for change. I have created a twitter account for this blog and also plan on setting up a facebook page which I shall share on this blog as soon as it's up and running. Through my social media accounts I want to support other young people out there whether they have a disability, going through a hard time in their life or feel passionate about individuality. I completely understand how hard life can be sometimes and hate to think that there are young people out there who feel that they can't talk to anyone. So if anyone ever needs someone to talk to or needs some advice please do not hesitate to contact me through one of my social media platforms or via my blog's email address which can be found on my contact page.
Im pretty sure that there are so many people out there that can relate to this post and share the same thoughts and feelings as me. I hope that together we can make a change so that no one feels alone or that they're not listened to by the people who are supposed to be there to help and support us.
Initially, when I first went to primary school I was treated differently because of my disability alongside the fact that I had to use a wheelchair to help me get around. I despised going to school, I absolutely hated it! I was a quiet, mousy type of girl back then and just quietly went about my business despite how much I hated going to school.
Life completely changed for me when my family and I moved to another town. Both my sister and I were enrolled in a small rural school in the middle of the countryside. If we looked out one window we could see endless fields of green and usually a herd of cows grazing in the grass. Looking out another window we could see the sea far into the horizon. It was simply stunning.
With around thirty-six pupils at any given time, I felt completely normal there. Everyone excepted me for who I was and never made me feel different because of my disability. It felt like being a part of a big family and that most definitely was what I needed. Attending a small, rural school completely changed me as a person. I found my confidence and made so many wonderful friends. I am truly grateful to all of my friends there for accepting me and giving me the chance to feel normal.
Unfortunately, I'm too old to attend primary school and instead I'm now home tutored and find myself in my final few years of secondary school. In recent years I've been let down ALOT by people who I thought would always be there for me. If I'm being completely honest it really hurt and I felt extremely let down. Since my knee surgery in 2011, I've had a lot of ups and downs which has helped me mature and become the person that I am today. It's been really difficult at times but I've managed to get through it. I'm fully aware that the doctors are no longer able to do anything for my condition, with that in mind I have decided do my upmost to enjoy life as much as I possibly can and achieve all of my dreams and ambitions.
My intentions for writing this post and on a much bigger scale, creating this entire blog is to open people's eyes and help change things for the better. I'm sick and tired of everyone being classed as the same! I'm sorry, but we're not all the same! Each and everyone of us are unique and I don't care what anyone says, we should feel genuinely proud of who we are!
Like I said above, I have lived with a physical disability ever since I was born. But what I'm trying to get across to the world is that I am a person with real thoughts and real feelings; I am not the disability!
A few years ago I made the decision to take a firm stance and decided to truly express myself and dress in my own, unique and sometimes crazy style. I'm different anyway, so when people stare at me whilst I'm using my wheelchair, why not give them something else to stare at other than the piece of metal that follows me everywhere I go?
There have been a few professionals that I've come across of late who don't seem to accept the word "no". Yes, they have a job to do and I completely accept part of that is to provide me with information regarding what exactly I'm entitled to. However, I'm no longer a child and I am more than capable of making my own decisions that affect my own life! This means that if I say "no", particularly when I have good reasoning to back up my decision the professionals shouldn't persist with the subject and attempt to make me change my mind. I have had many conversations with my GP, who has always encouraged me to speak up and to make sure the professionals around me listen to my wants and wishes. I sometimes think they forget my age and forget the fact that I know my own mind-set and that I'm entitled to my own opinion.
With this in mind I've decided that rather than sitting back and doing nothing I really want to change things. If I have both the ability and knowledge that is required to make a difference, then I should do my bit to get the ball rolling. We need to work at changing people's outlooks and make the professionals around us listen. In order to get things right for each and everyone of us we need to be included in making decisions that affect us because no one knows us better than ourselves.
Unfortunately, I can't wave a magic wand and everything will be okay but what I can do is begin to set the foundation for change. I have created a twitter account for this blog and also plan on setting up a facebook page which I shall share on this blog as soon as it's up and running. Through my social media accounts I want to support other young people out there whether they have a disability, going through a hard time in their life or feel passionate about individuality. I completely understand how hard life can be sometimes and hate to think that there are young people out there who feel that they can't talk to anyone. So if anyone ever needs someone to talk to or needs some advice please do not hesitate to contact me through one of my social media platforms or via my blog's email address which can be found on my contact page.
Im pretty sure that there are so many people out there that can relate to this post and share the same thoughts and feelings as me. I hope that together we can make a change so that no one feels alone or that they're not listened to by the people who are supposed to be there to help and support us.
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