My Dream of Meeting Stevie Nicks Came True!

 

 As some of you already know one of my biggest dreams was to meet Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac, one of my all-time favourite bands. Around six months ago my Mum applied to a charity named Rays of Sunshine to see if I fitted into one of their categories to have a wish granted. We soon discovered that I was in fact entitled to a wish so my Mum began the process of filling in the paperwork in hope that my wish might actually come true. Once all of the paperwork was submitted we quickly received a response from Rays of Sunshine to say that they would do their upmost to make my dream of meeting Stevie Nicks come true.

Last week, Mum received a phone call from Rays of Sunshine to tell us that they had successfully managed to arrange for me to meet Stevie at the first Fleetwood Mac concert in Glasgow. As you can probably imagine I was beyond excited and time always seems to go slower when you're excited.

Thankfully, Tuesday finally arrived and I was absolutely hyper as well as a little nervous I must admit-this was such a big deal for me! I'd dreamt of meeting Stevie for years and couldn't believe that finally it was going to happen!

We were contacted by a member of Stevie's team that morning to finalise the smaller details and we were told that we could park our car in the backstage car park where the band's private cars would pick them up and drop them off. The tour buses filled with equipment were all parked there too which was pretty cool! A member of the band's security met us there with our backstage passes and escorted in through the backstage door. Directly in front of us was the door leading directly behind the stage and on our left was the staircase to the dressing rooms. There was a door to the kitchens where I could see the caterers busy cooking what I'm sure would be some delicious food!

A member of the Hydro's staff was asked to escort us through to where all the food and merchandise stalls were situated to wait on the doors to the actual arena being opened. As we were making our way through the seated area in the arena we caught a glimpse of Mick Fleetwood hosting his meet n' greet. It was quite unbelievable to see Mick just a few steps away from us as we walked on by, it all felt rather surreal. 

Eventually, everyone was allowed inside to find their seats for the evening. At around quarter past eight the lights dimmed and the band walked on stage to receive a warm reception from the Glasgow crowd. Throughout the duration of the show we (the audience) were treated to a setlist of back to back hits all of which sounded absolutely amazing. I'd have to say my favourite song of the night was "Gold Dust Woman" which was both magical and simply mesmerising. I will hopefully write a review of the show itself for my music blog so keep an eye out for that!

The view from the side of the stage

During the second last song the gentleman who met us on arrival at the venue came and found us with a member of the Hydro's staff. They escorted us right round the arena, zipping in and out of the crowds of people dancing in the isles. It sort of felt like I was a celebrity! Before we knew it we were being ushered behind the barrier to watch the final couple of songs from the side of the stage which was completely unexpected. If you've read any of my concert reviews on my other blog you may have noticed that on a few occasions that I often find myself wondering what it's like from the bands point of view looking out towards the audience. Although I wasn't directly on the stage, my question was finally answered. It was quite a breath-taking sight; a sight that I never thought I'd see for myself. I don't think I realised just how big the Hydro is until I saw it from that exact angle.

At this stage I was beginning to become extremely excited and very nervous, I think being in as close proximity to the band as we were hit home and made realise what was about to happen. The show soon came to an end and the band gathered together at the centre of the stage to take a bow and bid their fans farewell. Before long the stage was empty, the house lights were turned on and quickly, the arena began to empty. We watched as the roadies carefully covered Mick's beautiful drum kit for its performance the following evening here in Glasgow.

It wasn't long before we were met by another member of the band's team who we followed behind the stage, through a door and round a small corner to the elevator. We clambered into the elevator as we chatted with the gentleman who had been appointed to take us upstairs. Seconds later the elevator doors opened to reveal a narrow corridor. On my left I could see a bunch of doors with familiar names printed on signs outside each one. Yes, those were the names of each member of Fleetwood Mac which was pretty cool! On the adjacent wall were framed posters of bands such as Eric Clapton and Prince who have performed in the Hydro since it's opening back in 2013.



A sneaky backstage photo

We waited with a member of staff in the hallway until we got the go-ahead to enter Stevie's dressing room. As we waited a bunch of people came and went from all angles, one of which just so happened to be Mr John McVie, Fleetwood Mac's bass player!

Just a little while later we were called down the corridor to Stevie's dressing room. As they fiddled around with the doors to open them up so I could enter the room in my wheelchair, I caught my first glimpse of Stevie Nicks sitting at her dressing table. I couldn't believe just how close I actually was to her-my heart was absolutely pounding!

Once the doors were opened, we were introduced to Stevie who pulled her chair right up to me so she could talk face to face with me. I have to admit I was a little tongue-tied for the first few minutes or so but thankfully, Stevie was very good at calming me down and quickly made me feel at ease. I'd brought her a little gift and card to say thank-you for taking time out of what I'm sure is a crazy schedule to meet with me. She opened the card right there and then before realising I'd written a rather long letter to which she asked me if I minded she took it back to her hotel as she loved reading letters before going to bed. She then opened the gift we'd given her which was a flower brooch/clip that Mum had handmade for her. She took it over to her dressing table and clipped the flower onto one of the stunning shawls she had hung over mirror. Apparently, she keeps things that are special to her on her dressing table as they bring back memories. So I feel pretty honoured she put it there!

We spent a while quite literally chatting about everything and anything, it seriously didn't feel like I was talking to a world famous singer instead it felt more like I was talking to a friend which was pretty special. Stevie was so genuine and extremely caring towards me which really meant a lot. I really felt like she "got me" in a way that very few people ever has and I'm not just saying that because of who she is; I genuinely mean it! To be honest I sort of forgot who I was talking to, it seriously felt like I'd known her all my life.

After a while, the door opened and I was so engrossed in conversation with Stevie I never even noticed until she said "Mick come in, this is Robyn, I'm making her wish come true" (words to that affect). As I turned round, standing in the door was Mick Fleetwood himself and oh my goodness was he was extremely tall! He shook hands with both my parents and I before pulling a chair over to sit next to Stevie. He spent quite a while chatting to my Dad as Mum and I continued to speak with Stevie.

Stevie's eyes fell upon the tour programme that I'd been clutching in my hands the entire time. "Would you like us to sign that for you?" she asked me motioning towards it. And of course I said yes! I began rummaging through the bag I'd brought to find the CDs and tambourine I'd brought in hope that Stevie would sign it for me. Kindly, they both signed every single item I'd brought with me. To be honest, I'd have been happy to have Stevie sign just one item but she happily worked her through my pile handing each item to Mick who also signed them for me.

Next, one of Stevie's team (I think it might have been her assistant but I'm not 100% sure) asked us if we'd like her to take a photo of us all with Mick and Stevie which of course was an offer we really couldn't refuse! After having a group photo Mick bid us all farewell shaking our hands as he did. Stevie and I had a couple of photo taken together where Stevie wrapped her arms right round me giving me what felt like the world's biggest hug. It was such a sweet moment! One of her best friends, Mary who I'd seen in photographs with Stevie when they were younger had been hanging about in the background so we asked her to come over and pose for a photo of her, Stevie and I together. It was such a cute photograph by the way! 

It was getting close to midnight and Stevie's car was waiting on her-although it seemed like she'd happily have chatted with me for a while longer, so we decided it would probably be a good time to make our way back home. We gathered up our stuff and said goodbye to Stevie who gave me a hug and blew me a kiss as we left with security leading the way to the elevator. We walked past Stevie's fancy car which was waiting to take her to her hotel and made our way to ours after thanking everyone for taking such good care of us. I was absolutely hyper the entire journey home and didn't get much sleep as I was far too excited!

It was an incredible night and I still can't quite believe it actually happened! A huge thank-you to the amazing charity Rays of Sunshine who worked tirelessly to make my dream come true! I can't begin describe just how much this meant to me! If you want to find out more about the amazing wishes Rays of Sunshine have granted in past or you'd like to make a donation to help make another young persons dream come true please click here.

I also want to say a huge thank-you to my Mum for taking the time and nominating me to have my wish granted. Thank-you so much to my best friend, Heather who is like a big sister to me for kindly signing some of the paperwork in order to make this happen. Finally, a big thank-you to Stevie and her team for being so sweet and making my night so special! I will cherish the memories you gave me for the rest of my life!

 

 

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!

Buying Accessible Tickets for Concerts & Events

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

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

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
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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