Life is one big yo-yo

No, literally, I mean that.

This whole month is so hectic I just HAD to write a blog post on it. How is it like a yo-yo? Well, I'm commuting from home to Bristol and back more than anything currently. In the last two weeks I've been travelling on a train more than I think I've ever been. Essentialy, I'm doing work for my dad during the day, commuting to Bristol for my evening shifts and then commuting back. I don't mind it at all, I've always liked train journeys. However, standing on a platform at 10 in the evening with nothing bu a vanilla milkshake to keep you going is not the most pleasant an interesting expeience. Nevertheless, it's putting money in my back pocket, and with a holiday coming up I should start saving.

Oh yeah, and THEN I have Soul Survivor, literally the day after my holiday. Words cannot describe how excited I am to be going back. It's my first time there in three years and I'm really looking forward to it. For all of you who don't know, Soul Survivor is a Christian festival in Shepton Mallet in Somerset. Every year, 8-12,000 people turn up for a week with a lot of tents, set them up in a field (well, the Bath and West Showground) and worship God. There are morning and evening worships in the biggest tent in Europe, and throughout the day there are various seminars, activities etc to get involved in, all around the teachings of Jesus. In the evening after worship there's live music, time to chill out etc - it's an absolutely fantastic week which also sees maybe 500-1000 people become Christians over a single week. And this goes on for three - Weeks A, B and C. Even if you're not a man or woman of faith, I would recommend you go along just to see what it's like. You may even surprise yourself ;)

After that, I have my church festival at Gorsley and then it's back into my third year at uni. Despite the fact I only have a year, I'm going to make the most of it and try to have an absolute blast in the process. For now though, I should probably be getting on with some work haha. One final thing though - congratulations to Spain for winning Euro 2012, even if you DID leave me £10 out of pocket.

Laters xx

I hate jobs.

You wait ages for one, and then all of a sudden two of them come along at once.

Oh yes, THIS blogger is back in employment!

So, what are you doing, I hear you ask? Well, the first one is at a place called ELM Legal Services, about 15 minutes away from my house in Bristol. It's a job in a call centre, but it's nothing like sales work - I ring people up and ask them if they have a will in place. If they say no, I ask if they would like to receive a letter of information through the post about our services. If they say yes, I confirm their details and hang up. Easy peasy. And it pays well and will fit very nicely in and around my studies when I go back to uni in September. Perfect.

The second one is a little more 'cooler' - I'm also working for Planet Mosh, a metal webzine, reviewing albums and the like. It's pretty cool, I have two reviews up so far with more to come as time goes on - you can find the one for Kids Can't Fly here and my Whitechapel review here. I recommend both of them to you highly. My next one will be up in over the weekend, I should imagine. I'll also be able to cover gigs and stuff too, I am so happy I'm working for them: a lot of experience and help on my Creative Writing front, for sure.

What else has been going on in the past month? Well, I performed in the Creative Writing Showcase, which saw me play a very gay director from New York, which was a lot of fun. I've got immensly jealous of everyone who went to Download Festival, I've recorded a radio play for the Drama Soc (which, with a bit of re-recording and editing will be aired on UWE Radio, yay!), I've booked myself in to attend Soul Survivor this year for the first time since 2009, and as I type this I'm sat at home having done a few shifts in Gloucester this week at the Cathedral Coffee Shop and done some work for my dad. Phew! A lot goes on in a month. Oh, and I've had my heartbeat pushed into hyperdrive by England at Euro 2012, which is a standard nowadays.

Iron Maiden kick off their new tour tonight in Charlotte, NC. It's based around 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son', which is my favourite album by them EVER. The setlist won't be posted on here for the benefit of spoilers and the like, but it's going to be an utterly wonderful tour - even if they'll most likely play Download, which annoys me. Oh yeah, and to all the people who fucked off home without seeing ANY bands at Download 2012 due to the weather, and then complained about everything - shame on you. It's your own fault for spending £200 on a festival and not dealing with the rain. You all need a good healthy dose of Man the Fuck Up. Yes the festival could have been better organised, but you should have been prepared as well.

Anyway, rant over, I'm going to stay up and wait for Maiden's setlist. I will be back in touch soon.

Laters xx

More things about this week.

Look at this!

This is my Reader Review of Skindred in Bristol last month printed for all Metal Hammer readers to enjoy for the next month! I apologise for the average quality, the camera on my phone appears to have taken one too many knocks to bring it in focus properly. Proper chuffed it got printed, they're a magazine I'd love to work for in the future, haven't missed an issue for four years straight. I hope that my minor in Creative Writing will give me a good footing should I apply to work there. Of course I want to be an actor, and I probably always will, but should a career on stage and screen not work out then I'd be very interested in music journalism. It's little things like this that will be very useful in the future when it comes to showing what I've done in the past.

On an entirely different note, I have really got myself into Back to the Future in recent weeks. Not just film-wise: I genuinely believe I was born in the wrong era. Living in the 50s or the 80s would have been so much greater, as far as I'm concerned. I hasten to add that this would be AMERICA in the 50s or 80s. Don't get me wrong - I love where I am now, it's amazing to be able to contact the entire world with the tap of a screen and the push of a button, the ablility to watch live sport on the TV in 3D and have 1000 channels at your fingertips. But life back then seems so much SIMPLER. And cooler. Plus, I appear to be developing an attraction for females in 50s-style outfits. The woman who plays Lorraine in the film is simply smoking wwhen she's playing her teenage self.

That said, I know that it's from a film and would have been given the 'Hollywood treatment' that coats everything with so much sugar even the foulest piece of shit can taste sweet. I imagine young adults experienced the exact same problems we do now, and living conditions probably weren't as they are portrayed. But I'd love to go back and spend a week or two there, see how I get on.

Talking of the past, I have really got back into my old PS2 games. My PS2 itself is cream crackered, it only plays PS1 games for a start. So it was a welcome relief when my housemate's boyfriend set his PS3 up in my room. I have been playing Dark Cloud, Simpsons: Hit and Run and Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction for hours at a time. It's been so much fun revisiting my past in the smallest of ways, even if I've found things about it as frustrating as before.

And today? Well I had another rehearsal for the Creative Writing Showcase I'm a part of, and then yet another spontaneous student barbecue. I'm loving the time I'm spending with friends, out in the back garden with smokes, drinks, food and laughs. It's absolutely wonderful and I am looking forward to more of them.

Right, I'd best start winding down this evening.

Laters xx

The Twenties: Chapter One

So, I have now been 20 for eight days. Or twenTEEN, as I was informed the other day. I apologise for not updating sooner, this week has been taken up by drinking and partying. Let's begin on the past week.

Monday saw me at my friend's house party - she turned 21 on the same day as me, so I spent the night there. It was all going well until I bought vodka...I remember very little now of the night in question - only photographic evidence reminds me that I was there.

Tuesday saw me recover, and much needed too!

On Wednesday I went for a meal with the cast of Titanic to ZaZa Bazaar's, an all-you-can-eat joint on the Waterfront. A very enjoyable time was had, I must remember to go back again. After a small time spent outside watching an exceptional travelling brass band. This was then followed by pre-drinks in Lloyds (again on the Waterfront) before some of us headed on down to OMG, a gay club on Park Street, with free entry and drink from 99p. And despite me catching three people in the face with my elbow and not getting home until 4am, I once more had a brilliant night.

Thursday was about recovering again, as the following three days were hectic.

Friday started by heading to Clifton Downs for more time with the Titanoraks and listening to the most beautiful voice message ever from one very drunk Paul Bailey on Wednesday night. Then it was down to St. Matts for the Summer Last Orders - which included a large football match on the sunken lawn - and THEN onto the Bierkeller for their Phuct Video Games night, which I admit would have been better if more people had turned up.

Saturday saw the annual Drama Ball, which was a lovely event on Campus again. I had a bit of a moment due to severe loneliness but on the whole it was really good.

And then we come to Sunday. From midday St. Matt's held a Fun Day on the sports pitch which included a barbecue, gladiator poles, a bouncy castle and sumo suits. After living over two decades on this planet I FINALLY learnt how to do a forward roll/roly poly, whatever you want to call it, so that was something of an achievement, but again it was just great to chill out and have a lot of fun with my friends. That evening saw a Summer Ball, which I went to, then went home and got changed and then returned because I felt horrifically overdressed. That evening, a few of us hit Mbargo's in town and I rolled into bed a very happy bunny.

So, that ended my first week of being a 20-something. And now I have to look forward to the Creative Writing Showcase on Wedensday and Thursday where I aam playing a world class director. It's gonna be amazing, you should all come down and watch it. Half 7, St. Matt's campus, Room M1. It's gonna be great.

Talking of the showcase, I'm off for a rehearsal now and I'll be abck later with a bit more of an update on life.

Laters xx

The end is nigh.

In 90 minutes I cease being a teenager.

 In an hour and a half I will have lived on this planet 2 full decades.

Yes, at midnight, I become 20 years old.

It's a very weird feeling, given that I've spent the last 7 years of my life being a teenager. I've been through so much, and am planning a huge number crunching session tomorrow that will explain. But now I have to face the fact that I'm into my twenties.

Nevertheless, growing is old is inevitable, and growing up is optional.

See you on the other side.

Laters xx

We Don't Need No Education.

As many of you will probably know, I am far too nice for my own good. I always see the positives in people and I want every single individual that I meet and know to be happy and successful in life. I believe that every single person in this world can do anything - all they have to do is set their mind to it. And it really gets on my nerves when people are given the tools to make something quite brilliant and they end up pissing it away.

Why am I saying this at half 11 on a Friday morning? Because whilst casually browsing Twitter earlier today, I came across a tweet saying:

'Attended 1 day of sixth form so far this week, nice going.'

Now, I don't like to be an old so-and-so about this, but people like this really get my goat. We in this country are lucky to have a free education system, that from the ages of 4 until 18, it is a compulsory requirement for us to go to school five days a week. Of course there are still the private and boarding schools that charge tuition fees, but I went to a free comprehensive and have come out of it with 3 A Levels, 4 AS Levels and 12 GCSE's. We really take it for granted sometimes just how fortunate we are, there are countries around the world (particularly the poorer nations) where school is just for the rich, and not for the intelligent. There are kids on this planet who actually DREAM about going to school and learning about things. Perhaps we should switch them all over? Any person that does not want to learn is shipped out to wherever and replaced by someone who would jump at the chance to learn Maths, English and Science. We'd reduce the amount of people leaving school with next-to-nothing and Jeremy Kyle would be out of a job in 5 years.

What gets me even more, though, is that this individual is in SIXTH FORM. Now, although the laws changed in 2010 to state that all children must stay in school until they are 18, that law only applied to the Year 7s around the country that year. For everyone Year 8 to 11, they were still allowed to leave at 16. This person consciously CHOSE to stay on for A Levels and actually obtained the grades to do so. As far as I can see, they are wasting the opportunity to build their foundation for life even more and seem to be happy about doing it in the process. Yes, I was very happy that I was finally studying less than 5 subjects and that I had at least one free period a day, and when it came to Year 13 I was going home after half a day as well. But I still put the effort in. I attended every single class whether I wanted to or not, and it paid off. Only an error by the exam board scuppered me of the B that I deserved for my Drama A Level. Again, there are people who would KILL to go to Sixth Form and improve their chances of going to university, so to see people like the above who are apparently abusing the system just rubs salt into the wounds.

I won't get on to university because it's an entirely different board game, but let me just finish with this - when Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997, he began his opening speech with the words 'Education, education, education.' Now, I can fully see why. It appears that many people in the UK DO believe that 'We don't need no education.' Fine by me, enjoy just being another brick in the wall.

Laters xx

Scar Symmetry feat. Bobby McFerrin

The vast majority of us will know Bobby McFerrin for being pushed down a flight of stairs by Stewie Griffin in an episode of Family Guy, but I can't lie, he's done a wonderful job on this. One of the best theme tunes on the planet and he deserves a medal for what he's done.

On the subject of music, on Friday I went to a gig at the O2 Academy. Or rather, The O2 Academy 2. I've never had a gig in the upstairs room before: the capacity is less than a quarter of the main room and the stage is in one corner - there are two sides of a square to for the audience to stand around. It's actually quite a nice venue, but DAMN it was loud. My ears have usually stopped ringing the morning I wake up after a gig - this time it wasn't until midday. I would like to say thank you to Jay and Katt for getting me on the guestlist for this event - a free concert is always welcoming.

Anyway, the bands! Openers Deal's Death [6] got a bit of a rum deal as far as this review goes - I turned up half an hour late and after sorting myself out only caught the very last song. Nevertheless, they made me bang my head and were good - I will have to catch them again. Betraeus [7] brought together a fine blend of prog and death metal, clearly inspired by Gojira. Main support Xerath [7] continued the trend with gusto and strength. But everyone was here for one band, and one band only, and despite the abscence of guitaris Jonas Kjellgren, Scar Symmetry [8] proceeded to play 13 songs in the space of an hour with pace and aplomb so great I didn't want it to end. They didn't let up from the opening strains of 'The Anomaly' to the closing notes of 'The Illusionist'. Roberth Karlsson and Lars Palmqvist make a formidable vocal assault, Roberth's growls perfectly complementing Lars' cleaner tones, and when Lars re-appears in a Union Jack shirt the small yet dedicated audience roars in approval. Through tunes such as 'Pitch Black Progress' and the brilliantly-titled 'Rise of the Reptilian Regime, the band give us songs from each of their five albums. And despite the curfew of 10pm so the Academy can prepare for the club night at 11:30, the band proceed to hang out with us for a bit and sign my setlist, written on a paper plate. All in all, a very fun night!

Today I got an essay back which leave me four marks outstanding before I know everything about Year 2. That said, the 62 I received today meant I am now averaging 59.1 for the year as opposed to 58, which I'm very happy about - 4 big scores in the last 4 assessments and I could push this up to a 60/61, which is massive if I want a 2:1 at the end of university as a degree. I also have been cast as the 'Director' in the Drama Society Original Writing Showcase on May 30th/31st, in a play by the wonderful James Bonser called 'Noir', an absurdist piece. I am very much looking forward to this as acting roles have been few and far between this year, so I'm pleased I have something to really get my teeth into.

Mumford and Sons are brilliant for writing these posts - they really help me reflect and bring back all I need. Seems a bit weird that I should listen to them, considering my usual music taste, but they're incredibly calming and I think they're excellent. Seeing them live would be brilliant

And with that, this post is done. In a bit people.

Laters xx

UPDATE: I've just noticed this is my 69th post. I couldn't help but giggle. Wow, I'm so mature.