Wet Wet Wet Hit the SSE Hydro!

It's almost 1am, I'm wide awake, my ears are ringing and my throat hurts; the sign of a good gig if you ask me! What gig might you ask? Well I'm just home from Scotland's very own Wet Wet Wet of course! Yes, I was one of the lucky 13,000 people to catch Wet Wet Wet's hometown gig at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow.

Despite previously seeing different band members as part of solo projects on a number of occasions, I'd never seen Wet Wet Wet live. My Mum tells me that she had tickets to take me when I was roughly about 5 years old but typically, I came down with the flu and didn't get to go. Over a decade later (gosh that feels weird saying that!) I finally got to attend one of their gigs!

Whilst waiting for the band to hit the stage we were treated to two support acts; a gentleman named Ben McKelvey followed by Markus Feehily from Westlife. In between acts a soundtrack of some great songs from the 80s/90s filled the arena which certainly kept me happy as I sung away to myself as my Mum popped in and out with a couple of Pepsis and a big bag of chocolate buttons for me (very rock n' roll!) and a wine or two for her so that we didn't need to move once the band hit the stage.

At 8:55pm to be exact the lights went off and the band walked on to a very loud eruption of roars followed by lead singer Marti Pellow wearing a pair of black sunglasses. They immediately began with 'East of the River' from their debut album 'Popped in Souled Out' released back in the mid 80s. Now, at most gigs I've attended in past it usually takes a good few songs before the crowd really get into it and let loose. Not on this occasion! From the word go everyone were singing along at the top of their voices, up on their feet dancing and generally just having a good old time! Continuing with the 80s numbers 'Wishing I Was Lucky', their first ever single which was also from the 'Popped in Souled Out' album came next. Brilliant songs and a great opening to the show!

This was followed by songs such as 'Sweet Surrender' from the 'Holding Back The River' album and 'Julie Says' from the 'Picture This' which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year hence 'The Big Picture Tour'. And just a little while later, the UK number one song 'Goodnight Girl' which saw the entire arena filled with around 13,000 people singing along at the top of their voices. As you know, I've attended a lot of gigs in recent years but never experienced an audience quite like that before. Incredible atmosphere! 'Glasgow, you're in the band!' said lead singer Marti Pellow. 'You all have the X Factor' he also added quite evidently taken aback by the reception from their hometown audience.

A medley of songs from the early days consisting of 'Angel Eyes', 'Temptation' & their cover of The Beatles' 'With A Little Help From My Friends' soon followed. Yet again, the audience gave their best performance as they loudly sung along with the band to some of their favourite songs.
'Love Worz' a new track recorded last Summer when the band visited a recording studio in the South of France was debuted at the beginning of the tour and introduced each night of the tour to a new audience. A brilliant song if you ask me and a great glimpse into future material from the Wets. It has a funk vibe which reminds me a little of one of their earlier tracks 'Lip Service'. So if you liked 'Lip Service' you're bound to enjoy this one!

The setlist continued with tracks such as 'Morning', 'Somewhere Somehow', 'All I Want', 'Don't Want To Forgive Me Now' and 'She's All On Mind' before coming to a mini acoustic set performed by Marti Pellow alongside Graeme Clark and Graeme Duffin on guitars. If you followed my old music blog, you might remember me writing about seeing Graeme Clark perform at An Clachan, a small café in Glasgow last June. The mini acoustic set was reminiscent of Graeme's gig so of course I was in my element as I absolutely love live acoustic sets! 'Roll 'Um Easy' was the first of three songs which lead to a story filled with banter between Marti and Graeme as they told us of filming a couple of songs for a documentary at 'Loch Lomondo' (Loch Lomond) after a night out-need I say more? It was certainly a laugh! This was followed by 'Gypsy Girl' (my Mums favourite) and a cover of John Martyn's 'May You Never'.

Next was the amazing 'Sweet Little Mystery' where everyone was asked to bring out there phones and use the new SSE app to create a colourful light show around the arena. And as Graeme rightly put it 'this is when technology fails us'-couldn't have said it better myself! So thank goodness for the flashlight on my iPod! Although, I think half of the arena shared the same problem whilst attempting to use the app-oh well! But for those of you who're interested click here to see Neil Mitchell, keyboard player of Wet Wet Wet's video filmed from the stage of the phones lighting up the arena-it's quite magical!
Anyway, 'Sweet Little Mystery' was as colourful and vibrant as it sounds on the record and had everyone up dancing. It was so cool to actually hear that one live considering that it's probably the first Wet Wet Wet song I ever heard. This was followed by 'I Can Give You Everything' and at the end of the song the band disappeared off to stage leaving it in darkness as the room grew progressively louder-gotta love a big build up!

Soon enough, the reappeared and performed 'Lip Service' which for me was one of my favourites of the night. Again, everyone was up on their feet, letting loose and really getting into the groove. I must confess that my dancing probably looked absolutely ridiculous but who cares! I was just letting everyone know that us gig goers in wheelchairs know how to have a good time! (good excuse Robyn!)

Take a wild guess as to what the final song was?! Yep, you guessed it! 'Love Is All Around' of course which was a great finale to an amazing gig! Thousands of people singing in unison whilst waving their arms in the air; where else would you experience that other than at a concert? And before the very end it was time to take the band's nightly selfie with the audience in the background. However, this time a lucky competition winner was invited up on stage to join them-so cool!

So that was that! My very first Wet Wet Wet gig! What an amazing show; an incredible band, amazing songs and such great atmosphere! I'm surprised that I can actually speak just two days later with all the singing I contributed to evening! But anyway, I had such a great evening and am already looking forward to my next Wet Wet Wet concert whenever that may be! Here's to the next tour folks!
 
 
 

My Road Trip Playlist

My family roadtrips a lot and I recently found out about, which is a site with car rentals directly from car owners. It's pretty cool and you should check out their site next time you hit the road! Now usually if my family and I go on a long road trip it's been for a concert so we tend to listen to the artist we are going to see but I this is slightly different so this my playlist of songs that I'd choose to listen to on a road trip! So next time you're on a road trip crank up your radio and why not blast a few of these great songs?!

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

 Now we all know that famous scene from Wayne's World where there sitting in there car listening to the iconic Queen song? Well, I think that alone is reason even enough for this song to be included on your road trip playlist. I can assure you within seconds you'll be belting out the lyrics, singing the operatic parts and attempting to air guitar all at once!

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers

 A good Scottish favourite by our very own; The Proclaimers! This is a great, feel good song that's bound to get everyone singing along at the top of their voices-a must for any road trip if you ask me!

No Surrender by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

 Like I said earlier, I associate a good old road trip with concerts and funnily enough my first gig was Bruce Springsteen in Manchester back in 2012. For me Bruce is the ultimate artist to listen to on a road trip because he has so many great songs that get you in the zone. No Surrender for me personally takes me straight back to my very first gig/ first proper road trip experience and bring backs great memories!

Now or Never by Orianthi

 Another great song that I love! The music video is sort of road trip inspired so perhaps why I think of it as a road trip song. It has a great pop/rock vibe and of course a fabulous signature guitar solo by the lovely Orianthi!

Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd

 An amazing song semi acoustic song! (well, at least that's what I'd describe semi acoustic as) I don't think any road trip would be complete without this much loved song. It puts me right in the mood for the Route 66 road trip that one day I'd dream of experiencing. Let's face it; it would be criminal not to include this one!

The Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys

 There's something really special about this song and although it may not be your typical road trip song, I think it's nice to include a varied selection of songs. This song would be particularly great to listen to on an evening road trip as you drive along the highway with a hazy moon shining in the sky above and hundreds of tiny twinkling stars. Pure bliss in my opinion but then again I'm a full time night owl!

Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac

 Now it's me we're talking about! I couldn't not go an entire road trip and not include at least one song by my favourite band! This song is another sing at the top of your voice number that ends up becoming a contest between you and your companions to see who can sing the loudest.

Three Little Birds by Bob Marley & The Wailers

A completely different genre of music but this is one of my all-time favourite songs. I sing it so much apparently, that my sister recons it should be played at my funeral (depressing or what eh? This should be a happy post!). I thought a reggae number would be a great addition to the road trip playlist as it's so laid back, relaxed and of course; there's nothing quite like the legendary Bob Marley! So if the stresses of driving are getting to you; pop this track on, take a deep breath and relax-ahh!
 

Mr Blue Sky by ELO

 I loved this song ever since I first heard it in Disney's 'The Game Plan' when it was released, although I had no idea it was an ELO song at the time. Again, not your typical 'road trip' song but it's another fun and vibrant number and I think if you intend to have a good time; then your playlist should reflect that.
 

Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

 This is such a feel good song and I don't know about you guys but Brown Eyed Girl reminds me of Summer and I for one, associate road trips with Summer. So if you're setting off on a Summer road trip roll down the windows as the sun beats down on your car and play this song out loud-I can guarantee you'll have a big smile on your face!

Thank-You so much for stopping by and checking out my 'Ultimate Road Trip Playlist'! I hope you enjoy listening to these amazing songs and will perhaps even use a couple of them on your next road trip or at least inspire you to create your own playlist! Be sure to let me know in the comments down below what your road trip playlist would consist of!

I'm Off To See The Boss!

Hello Guys!
 

Just stopping by to share the latest excitement in the crazy world of 'The Hat Hippie' as well as my latest YouTube video with you all! So what's all this excitement about you ask? Well, I recently purchased tickets to see Bruce Springsteen aka The Boss and The E Street Band later this year as they set off on their UK & European tour! The excitement when I heard he was hitting the UK was unreal! I'd been waiting for this to happen for absolutely ages and finally, it was official! The River Tour is hitting the UK; including bonnie Scotland-thanks Bruce! Oops! I've just realised that in a couple of sentences I may have overused the exclamation mark. But I'm excited so I think I might let myself off  just this once!

As you can probably tell, I'm pretty hyper so I thought rather than keeping the excitement to myself I'd share it online and create frequent videos to post on YouTube. 'The Bruce Springsteen Countdown' videos will be posted on a fortnightly to monthly basis between now and June when I see him live in concert. Perhaps I might even film a vlog of me attending the gig as a big finale! I thought this might be a fun way to connect with other fans out there and share the excitement. So perhaps if it's successful and you guys enjoy it; I might decide to do this more often for other bands I'm going to see.

I'm still working on ideas for each of the videos so if there's something you'd like to see me create based around The Boss, then please let me know! I have few ideas in my head so we'll see how they turn out-wish me luck! Oh! And be sure to let me know if you're attending any of his gigs or perhaps you've already been to see him; in that case let me know what you think and your highlight of the show!

But in the meantime, check out the first video and I'll be back very soon with the next in the series so keep an eye on my social media accounts for all the latest updates about when I'm planning to upload them.

 

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xxx

Song of the Month February 2016

Hello out there!

 

It's that time of the month where I pick out a song of the month to share with you all! Now, I must say it's been a difficult decision as there's quite a few contenders that I could of chosen but I'd eventually picked out 'the chosen one' and well perhaps I'll choose one of the others at a later date. Anyway, let's cut to the chase shall?

I am pleased to announce that February's Song of the Month is.....................

 

'Adventure of A Lifetime' by Coldplay! 

 

 

 

Now, I know this song was released at the end of 2015 but I've heard it ALOT of late whether that be in shops or on the radio. It's a brilliant song in my opinion and goes perfectly with that colourful theme that Coldplay have chosen for their latest album and live performances. The song is very vibrant and overall a great number which I'm totally lovin' right now!

So make sure to click on the link I've provided and have a listen to 'Adventure of A Lifetime' by Coldplay, February's Song of The Month here on The Hat Hippie! Also, go check out their latest album 'A Head Full of Dreams'  which features this song as it's filled to the brim with more great music! Have a listen and let me know in the comments if you enjoyed it and what your favourite song on the album is! I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

 

Until next month,

The Hat Hippie xx

My Experiences of Frames & Leg Lengthening

I wanted to use my blog to write a lot about personal experiences and actually, when I think about it I haven't written very much about my time in London at Great Ormond Street Hospital. So today I thought I'd make a start and tell you a bit about the leg lengthening surgery I underwent and the frame that they put on my leg. This will be followed at a later date with posts on staying in hospital and my experiences of London as city during my frequent trips to hospital. I also want to create an open door policy for anyone who is undergoing leg lengthening, perhaps going to stay in hospital for treatment etc. to ask me questions which I'll try my best to answer. So if you'd like to ask me anything feel free; I want to help put as many people's minds at ease as I possibly can. No question is too ridiculous so please don't feel embarrassed either-trust me I've had to ask my consultants questions that I thought were silly in past, but knowing the answer helped me feel better about the situation!

Well I was born with my right leg shorter than the left and the long and the short of it was that I ended up under the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. I underwent treatment when I was just a year old and just a few years later at around four years old, I had my first leg lengthening operation. So I was pretty young but I believe I coped remarkably well.

Basically, what happened in the initial operation was (please excuse how gruesome this might sound; it makes me squirm too although, it didn't feel as bad as it sounds-I promise) that my consultant broke one of my bones either the tibia or fibula (can't remember what one) in half and put a metal cage called an Ilizarov frame around my leg with metal pins attached to it which went through my bone. After the initial operation we had to use a pair of spanners every day (yes, spanners that you'd find in a toolbox) to twist the rods on the Ilizarov frame which were connected to the pins in my leg. What this did was stretch my bone in order to achieve the required growth over a period of a few months. Although, taking a pair of spanners with us to the airport on our fortnightly trips to London was fun and games. Every time without fail we were stopped at the security check (whatever you call it!) and questioned about why we needed a pair of spanners. Try explaining the strange contraption on my leg and the spanners to go along with it was certainly interesting-it's a wonder how we managed to persuade them to be honest!

A few weeks after the initial operation I had to undergo a follow up operation in order to insert a thicker pin through my other bone and attach it to the frame. After a seven month period I underwent a third and final operation to have the Ilizarov frame removed from my leg and in comparison to the seven hour operation to put it on in the first place; it only took around twenty minutes to remove which is quite unbelievable!

Me and my physiotherapist at GOSH

Following the first lot of leg lengthening, the required amount of growth in my leg was successfully achieved and for a good five or six years afterwards I would visit GOSH every six months for check ups. However, as time went on I began to grow and the difference in my leg length became more problematic as expected. So at ten years old I had the leg lengthening treatment all over again; except this time they used a more modern and up to date contraction called a 'Taylor Spatial' frame. Again, it was the same surgical procedure however the difference was that I was quite a bit older, the orthopaedic ward was in the newer part of the hospital and I'd forgotten what exactly to expect as I was only just a little girl last time round; so it was all pretty scary for me I must admit.

Fortunately, there was so many people in the hospital that helped put my mind at ease such as the doctors who explained things in a matter of fact way so I always knew exactly what the procedure involved, the nurses who did their best to make the experience as easy as possible, the play leader who sat down and explained things to me and always found a fun art activity to keep my mind off of any procedures I had done. And of course the other patients that I came across were also a great support to me; there was always something fun going on to take part in and they overall, they made everything seem not so bad. But I'll tell you more about the actual hospital experience in another post in the not so distant future.

Apart from having the actual surgery itself, there was a lot of work on my part to help make the treatment a success. Like I said earlier, we had to use the spanners every single day for a period of a couple of months to tweak the rods and in turn stretch the bone. I also, had to have my wounds cleaned on a regular basis which was an experience that I wasn't so keen on. Basically, my Mum had to remove the old dressings and clean round each pin site on my leg with antiseptic wipes which stung like mad and often made my cry. The new dressings were soaked in some sort of antibacterial solution which were put around the pin sites and secured with either a plastic clip or a rubber tube type thing. My Mum would clean my wounds for me as well as the district nurses who'd visit at least once a week to clean them, check for infection as well as providing us with more wound cleaning supplies. The nurses I had were great and I got on very well with them! I'd often put on a DVD usually something like Camp Rock or High School Musical as I was a part of the generation that were obsessed with those movies. Sometimes, I'd even get out my joke book and tell everyone a joke or two-bless them having to put up with those awful jokes! 

On a couple occasions my pin sites got infected and up until then I'd been too afraid to look at my wounds. I accidentally caught sight of one of the infected wounds one day and although, it wasn't particularly gory I got quite a fright. Following that incident, I put a towel above my leg in order to hide the frame when my wounds were being cleaned so I wouldn't catch another glimpse as it really freaked me out!

I also had regular sessions with my physiotherapist which started off in hospital to get me up and moving although, I wanted out of bed the day following surgery. There was no physiotherapists as it was a Saturday so with the help of my parents and the nurses we had to use a banana board to transfer me to my wheelchair without bending my leg. For the two weeks I spent in hospital, I attended regular gym sessions with my physio to get me moving which were actually quite fun-more on that in a future post though! I then carried out the exercise by myself at home and in regular sessions with my physiotherapist here in Scotland.

Riding my tyre swing with a frame on my leg

You'd think from the appearance of the frames that it would restrict what I was able to do however, I soon realised that this was not the case. The possibilities were endless! I was able to ride my bike and was even able to play on the tyre swing in our old garden! So it certainly didn't restrict me; in fact it probably made me all the more determined. 

Was it painful? Well, there was times when it would cause me pain and discomfort particularly just after surgery. I suppose my bone had been broken after all. However, the doctors kept me well stocked up on pain relief and as time went on I required less and less of it. I'd probably say the worst part for me was having my wounds cleaned but even that I managed to get through by distracting myself with other things.

Of course no one wants to have surgery but I choose to look at what I've been through as a positive thing and although it didn't quite go to plan and I was unable to have a third leg lengthening due to problems with my knee resulting in me having quite a difference in length between both legs; I had some pretty great experiences in the process! I've visited some pretty cool places and met some wonderful people so really, it could have been a lot worse!

I've tried to keep this post to a minimum as there's so much I could write about. However, if you are about to go through this sort of surgery, are going through it or have went through it and would like to ask a question or chat about it, then please feel free to get in touch with me via the contact page above! I'd love to hear from you and would be delighted if I can help in anyway. I'm thinking I might also make a YouTube video on this subject as it'll reach another audience and might help at least one person out there! Thank-you so much for reading, I'll be back again very soon with another new post so make sure to pop back and see what's happening!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx

My 7 Dream Dinner Party Guests

I thought since this was one of my first posts since I returned to my blog after the break I took over Christmas and as well as the lack of Wi-Fi due to moving house, I thought I'd write something for a bit of fun. I don't know about you but do you ever have those conversations about who your dream dinner party guests are? My Mum and I quite often bring up this subject and turns out ours are quite similar.

Then there's that thing that appears every so often on social media where it asks you to pick your 7 dream dinner party guests and it always gets me thinking. So today, I thought I'd finally put it in down on paper and tell you my "7 dream dinner party guests" this also includes people who are unfortunately no longer with us.

Anyway, here it goes:

 

1. Sir Paul McCartney- Might as well get over with the usual suspects ha ha! But I mean seriously, wouldn't it be awesome to invite a member of The Beatles to your dinner party? If you let me away with it, I'd have all 4 members but considering it's a strict number of guests I'm going to pick Paul. Perhaps he'd give me a few bass playing tips whilst we're at it-one can only dream right?

 

2. Stevie Nicks- Yep, big surprise there! I find Stevie so intriguing, interesting and very inspiring as both a person and an artist. I could easily talk with her for hours hence, she'd have to be on the all important guest list!

 

3. Audrey Hepburn- My all-time favourite actress; I'd loved to have met her but sadly, I won't have the opportunity. However, she would be one of my dream guests. She seemed like such a beautiful person both inside and out and I think would be so sweet to talk to.

 

4. Ellen DeGeneres- Who doesn't love Ellen?! She is definitely one my favourite TV hosts; she's absolutely hilarious, extremely charismatic and everybody seems to get on like a house on fire with her! I think Ellen would be the 'perfect' dinner party guest who'd keep a constant flow of chat and laughter!

 

5. Orianthi Panagaris- Another of my very favourite singers/musicians as well as a style inspiration to me-particularly when it comes to hats! And again, she is so easy to chat too and has had such an exciting life, I'd really love to learn more about her!

 

6. Brian May- I've just realised that more than half of my list are musicians/singers but that's typical for me after all! You all know I'm a huge fan of Queen and I think Brian May is one of the most amazing guitar players out there. Again, to have him as a dinner party guest would be a dream come true; there's so much I'd love to ask him about his life and music so for me, Brian is a must!

 

7. Chris Evans- Chris Evans is my favourite radio DJ and has been part of the inspiration for me wanting to become a radio presenter. Again, just like Ellen DeGeneres he is very charismatic and I think would be an amazing dinner party guest. Perhaps I could get a few tips for radio presenting whilst I'm at it?

 

 

So there you have it; my 7 dream dinner party guests! I could easily add a bunch of other people to the list but all the things I've seen on social media usually specifies just 7 guests (or least that's what I think it said!) so I thought I'd stick to that to keep this post to a minimum, otherwise you'd be here all day-you poor souls! As you can see there's quite a few singers/musicians in there perhaps there'd be a wee impromptu jam session!? Keep dreaming Robyn!

Make sure to leave a comment on this post and tell me your 7 dream dinner party guests and why! Or if like me, you're a blogger and decide to create your own version of this post, make sure to send me a link as I'd really love to read it!

Song of the Month January 2016

I know it's a little late but I wanted to post a song of the month for January but could only do it now that I have internet on my phone-thank goodness! As we all know, January was a sad month for the entertainment industry as the world lost alot of big names. I want to pay tribute to one of those legends so with that in mind and I am delighted to announce that January's song of the month is........

"Starman" by David Bowie
 

 

 

A huge loss to the music industry, loved by so many! It was touching to turn on the radio that day and hear every single station playing his songs and remnising about their memories of David. Needless to say, I played my part as soon as I was back on the radio at 3TFM and played a few of his wonderful songs.

Starman is one of my very favourite David Bowie songs and as soon as I hear his name mentioned that is the first song that comes to minds. I personally, think it's one of his finest pieces! There is something really special about it hence why I've decided to pick it as my song of the month. So pop on over to the YouTube video I've linked to this post and enjoy listening to this wonderful song!

Make sure to leave a comment below and tell me what your favourite David Bowie song is! I'd really love to know!

 

R.I.P David Bowie