I have always been someone who feels the cold, but before my operation I was always cold. So a constantly cold person I have become a master of little tricks to keep warm, and today I'm sharing some with you, to help get you through this sudden cold weather.

This is pretty much the best feeling ever (Some people may say Love is the best feeling, they have never put on a pair of warm pants on an icy morning!). All you have to do is put some of clothes on the radiator when you go to bed and then they are all ready and toasty when you put them on.

Warm clothes and if you plan your outfit the night before that's an extra 10 minutes in bed!

 



3, Not having to leave so early to get the bus!

I'm similar fashion to my walking up hill excitement, I am generally walking faster, so to walk down the hill to my bus stop doesn't take me as long and allows me and extra three minutes indoors!

(It used to take me six-seven minutes to walk to the bus stop, now only four-five, so on a good day that a whole three extra minutes!)

4, Going back to work!

Yup, after three months off work, it was nice to actually have something that I had to do, that didn't involve doctors and blood tests. I'm only back part time but it is good to be getting back to normal.

5, Looking red not dead!

Recently, since I've been being more active other people have noticed not only the difference in what I can do, but also how I look afterwards!

Last week I went to a gig, had a bit of a boogie and afterwards not only did I feel okay, but my sister noted that I was all red and flushed, where as before when we went to gigs I would feel awful after, and apparently look it. So yay for looking red not dead!

 These are some of the things that have been keeping me positive through the bad days, as well as excited for the future. Comment below and let me know what little things keep you motivated and positive .

*It is 2am and I can't sleep, so I'm not 100% sure if its 25 weeks, I'm pretty sure it is though.



It was a Friday night, we sat in Pizza Hut after only ordering chocolate fudge cake trying you work it out.
What could out happened to make something that was so great go so so wrong?

What was going to happen next?

Would we ever see them again?

Why would Charlie leave Busted?

That was 10 years ago, when a lot of my friends weren't old enough to drink and when Pizza Hut was considered a nice place to eat out, and how things have changed. Since then we have finished college, got jobs, seen the world, moved out, and some of us have got degrees and babies of our own while some have moved back home and had three lots of heart surgery.

 With the announcement of their comeback earlier this week I got thinking to what else has changed in the time Busted went away and came back...

1) We can tweet, Instagram and Facebook our 'feels'.
Yup, when Busted broke up we couldn't read about it all on Facebook, and let everyone know we were devastated with a status. There was no live tweeting our reactions or instagraming our tear stained faces in front of our poster covered walls.
Twitter didn't launch until July 2006, by which time we had mostly recovered, Facebook also launched later that year (it had been around before but only to those at select universities, colleges and companies) and we did Instagram anything until 2010.

2) We can't shop in Woolworths, Borders  or Virgin Megastore :(
Need new music, films, baby clothes, school stationery, sweets or random home accessories with a bit of pick'n'mix on the side? Head to Woolworths! It was pretty much Santa's workshop, where you could get a gift for anyone. Including Busted albums, but we could also pick them up at Virgin Megastores  (later known as Zavvi) and when we were a bit older, we could go to Borders for our music, books and coffee needs. Sadly Woolworths, Zavvi and Borders all closed in 2009.

3) Doctor Who is back!
Doctor Who made its comeback in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston playing the 9th Doctor and Billie Piper as his assistant. Since then The Doctor has regenerated 3 times, had 6 main companions and swapped his sonic screwdriver for sunglasses.


4) We got pretty cool mobile phones now.
Back when Busted were breaking up most of us had pay as you go phones, costing 12p per text and each text being only 160 characters. How on earth did we manage!? Now we are all attached to the internet, its generally cheaper to have a contract and  we are always having the Android vs iOS argument. Yes the phone you can't live without wasn't a thing until 2007, when the first iPhone was launched with the app store coming a year later along with the first release of Android software (with a snazzy HTC dream).




5) SMASH HITS MAGAZINE!!!!
Smash Hits stopped being published in 2006. No more fortnightly 'juicy secrets' from our favourite bands DEVASTATING!



So is the new world ready for the return of Busted? Can they still do the Busted jump? Can I still do the Busted jump? Well we shall all find out when they tour the UK next May.


What do you think about Busted's reunion? Let's discuss it in the comments...





 

 

 

If this post seems a bit inconsistent, with the theme of my blog, then yes it is, but I do love a good ghost story and Luckily I live in one if the most haunted city's in the UK!

So if you're out and about in Brighton this Halloween, make sure you keep your eyes open for some of the city's resident spooks.

 

If you're in The Lanes;

Look out for one if the many ghosts that are seen walking around the Meeting House Lane area.

Numerous people have seen ghostly Nuns and Monks wandering the lanes before vanishing into walls.

Nile Street is the former site of St Bartholomew Chapel and is now supposedly haunted a hooded figure, thought to be that of a monk from the chapel. Another mediaeval ghostly monk, who had an affair with a local girl and paid the ultimate price for it is also said to walk around the area.

The most famous ghost of The Lanes is The Blue Nun, regularly seen in the area between Middle Street and Black Lion Street, when seen she has been described as looking distressed. She gets her name due to her asphyxiated look, some people have also reported her to have a blue glow around her. This poor soul is thought to be that of a young Nun who was bricked up alive into one if the walls in Meeting House Lane as punishment for a love affair with a local fisherman.

 

 

 

 And when you go into the shops; 

Plenty of shops in the Lanes have similar tales of ghostly Nuns and Monks but more mysterious are the reports of phantom children in the basements of some shops in North Street.

However it is Angry Mick also known as Black Belly, who is said to haunt Churchill Square and the surrounding area. Rarely reported and never  reportedly seen in the by the shoppers or in public areas of the shopping centre. Thought to originate from one of the old Georgian houses that used to stand in the area, he is described as being bald and has a shirt that is open at the bottom showing a bruised and bloated stomach.

Many sightings are just a side view of him, if you see him face on he it is said he begins to wail before running forwards and vanishing. As I said not many people have reported seeing him but one credible and most recent sighting was that by a telecom engineers who was so terrified he called the police, who watched CCTV footage all that could be seen was the terrified witness and his reaction to something invisible to the cameras.

 

 

St Nicholas Church yard;

If you find yourself walking on Dyke Road, past this great old church keep your eyes peeled for the spirit of Earle De Warrene.

The most famous story from St Nicholas is that of Earle De Warrene,  his son and his future daughter and father in law.

His son, Manfred was returning from a pilgrimage on the ship 'The Saint Nicholas Galley'. The Earl, Eldona his sons betrothed and her father gathered in the church yard to watch the ships return to Shoreham, but just outside the port the ship suddenly sunk taking all the men down. Eldona who was watching  from the town fell to the ground and died. (The other version of this says that the church was built on the hill after Eldona's death, paid for by her father and the Earl and there is the remains of a cross on the floor marks the spot where she fell).

It is said that you can still see the Earl in his armour, lurking near the door of the church on moonlit nights, and some say that he is the knight that rides across the church yard and out down the road on his horse, and that some times you can still see the ship out at sea re-enacting

its last fateful journey and it can been seen from the beach on May 17th, the anniversary of its sinking.

 

The Old Steine;

Walking across the Old Steine do your best to avoid the entity that made a police officer sick!

John Robinson was an adventure who had his eyes burnt out after a disastrous trip to Persia. He was helped back to his home town of Brighton by a merchant where he died on the Old Steine. His phantom corpse has been seen in the road by a police officer  who stopped to investigate the body in the road and was sick at the sight of John's burnt out eyes while another witness had to spend the night in hospital suffering shock after an encounter with the horrifying entity.

 

And if you do find yourself face to face with one of Brighton's ghostly residents maybe don't run into the nearest pub for a drink to calm your nerves as there are so many haunted pubs across the city,

including The Mash Tun, reportedly haunted by a former landlady from the First World War, The Pump house where a woman in black has been seen at the bar before she fades away, unexplained footsteps and voices heard in the cellar, and the Druids Head where you may see the ghost of a smuggler, who died on the staircase to the basement, out of the corner of your eye.

 

So which ever part of the city you find yourself in this Halloween keep your eyes peeled for one of Brighton's many ghostly goings on and let share your Brighton ghost stories in the comments below.

 

Happy Halloween!!!!

 

 

 

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about my Winter woes. This year I'm writing about how awesome I feel going into Autumn!

 

I was going to write this a couple of weeks ago, but I've been super busy having super fun times including Hamlet at the Barbican, Young Guns, a gin taste test and soaking up the last of the warm weather in pub gardens.  

For the past few years I've had a love/hate relationship with this time of year. While it's one of the best times of the year it had also been one of the hardest, with the cold weather leaving me breathless and the cold would leave me blue and unable to function. Normally by this time of year is be so cold is be wearing 4 layers over two pairs of tights!

 

But not this year!!

 

Since I've left hospital one been distinctly warmer and it's so exciting, not having to wear all my layers, think about how long I'll be outside. I have only just began to wear my winter coat, which I usually wear from about September to May.

  So I'm super excited for this winter! Hopefully, I'm not going to be blue the moment I step outside (means less make up), I won't have to wear so many layers (less washing, cheaper cloak rooms) and I can go and enjoy all the festive fun without worry of feeling Ill the minute I have to walk anywhere (which means more Christmas shopping, winter wonderland and firework fun!).

 

I am always excited about this time of year, but this year is going to be extra awesome. And for the first time in a very long time I'm excited Autumn and beyond!!

Stamner Park.

 

 

What are you excited for this winter?

 

I've been out of hospital for 4 weeks now, and the have been a tough 4 weeks. I'm still struggling to focus, I'm going out for short walks and returning feeling shattered then finding it hard to sleep and its even a bit of a mish to get in and out of the shower.

so while all this frustrating stuff is going on its nice to have little things to keep me motivated, and to make me feel better in myself.

1. Dyeing my hair!

I always dye my hair and hate it when it's faded or in bad condition,

but after 10 days in hospital without a proper wash and another 3 weeks until I finally dyed it(well my Mum did). Using my trusted Stargazer magenta we got my hair back to a bright pink, which really made me feel like I was getting back to myself again.