How To Concert: My 10 Concert Essentials - Lollie

Hello! It's Lollie here!
It's less then a week now until I see Luke Friend and I have to say I am very excited about it. I've seen him multiple times before but never at his own show as this is his first tour, I can't wait!

I thought, because I am attending a concert next week and I go to a lot of concerts, I'd take you through my 10 concert essentials!

1. The Ticket - You cannot get in without this. DO NOT FORGET THE TICKET. I have done this before, however the security were nice enough to check my booking and let me in, however, I can't guarantee that this will happen for everyone so make sure you have your tickets to get in.
2. Phone with battery, a decent amount of storage for photo taking - I cannot express how many times I have been to a concert and I've either run out of phone battery or storage and have been unable to take any more pictures. 
3. Portable chargers - December 2013, when I was hanging out in the hotel reception of the Hilton in Wembley to meet Luke, I had to charge my phone up using the extension cord that the massive Christmas tree was plugged into, to keep my phone charger. For Christmas I received a portable phone charger and oh my gosh it saves lives well... Battery. Now there are three types. The Phone Case chargers which range from about 5 pound to 15 pound on Ebay. If you want one that lasts longer, buy the more expensive one, it's worth it. The charger sticks are usually about 15 pound found on Ebay and at all good Tech shops and the third type is the charger block which can rang from 10-15 pound.
4. An over the shoulder with purse and essentials inside - Trust me, I know over the shoulder bags don't always look the best but they are the most comfortable bags to have at a concert if you don't want to part with your possessions or pay the amount to put them in the cloak room. You need one that is big enough to contain: your purse, your ticket, you phone and charger equipment, any drink/food you want and any other things that you need for the concert. It needs to be small enough, however, for you to be able to jump around and not cause people around you any harm (I've had this happen to me, it's the worst). 
5. A hair band - either take one with you or just wear your hair up. It can get really sweaty at standing concerts and when you are packed in, the worst thing you want is someone's hair hitting you in the face and going in your mouth (I've had this happen to me before too...). Also, a hair band will prevent you from getting sweat and over-heated.
6. (meet and greet only) your fans letters, presents, scrapbooks, cakes, teddy whatever you have to give to your sunshine - Make sure you have all of this and that its is in order and ready to just hand over as some meet and greet can be very rushed and there will be no time for you to stand and tell the artist what their presents are from you.
7. (Q and A ) Questions - Don't go into a Q and A with nothing to ask. Yes others may have questions, but don't count on it, be prepared and have some ready to ask!
8. ( Soundcheck )  Enthusiasm - Have a smile on your face and don't be afraid to put up your hand as you never know what could happen, your bae might invite you to sing on stage with them for the soundcheck, you never know. Also, enthusiasm gets you noticed, so does a big smile.
9. A comfortable outfit - My usually concert attire consists of leggings, boots that don't hurt if I wear them too long (always flat shoes. No one wants to jump around or stand in heels for two and a half hours), a cardigan, - no coats because, yes, you might be cold queuing outside but once you get in, you either have to keep your coat on and sweat to death, have your coat on your person and cause inconvenience for those standing around you or pay the amount to have it stored in the cloakroom - a t-shirt that has the artist on it or because I am going to see Luke, maybe a grungy shirt... and the bag obviously.
10. Last but, not least, a drink of water - There have been way too many standing concerts that I have attended where people have passed out, collapsed and been taken over the barrier by security, because of heat exhaustion and dehydration due to the amount of people in such a small space and the amount of shoving and pushing that goes on (don't shove or push... it's not great and no one wants to feel like they are going to fall over or be push to the floor). A small bottle of water to take with you to drink while there is great because not only does in hydrate you, your throat will most likely be sore and dry from screaming and singing and shouting so it cools and soothes the throat. At some concerts, depending on the venue and security staff, have security at the front who pass plastic cups of cold water back through the crowd to keep everyone hydrated and to reduce the amount of people passing out.

I hope this helps anyone attending any concerts in the future!

Until Next Time - Allons-y!

Lollie xxx

Lollies brain - I'm so unorganised

Oi Welcome back to Lollie's brain!

As you can tell by the title, I am extremely un-organised. My life is mush of A Levels, coursework and trying to tidy my room, looking after my siblings and writing this blog. Sometimes I'm not too sure how I cope. I find writing lists helps - ticking things off always makes me feel good because I've accomplished something and it feels like I've got control over the mountain of work that I have.

Now let's talk about a TV show...

Nowhere Boys is a series I've been watching since November and about four boys who cast a spell and end up in another world and then come back and they all have elemental powers and have been followed by a restoring demon back to the real world. The whole of series 1 was them in the other universe and it ended with them coming home, now series 2, which I've just started watching is them back in the real world. I think Felix is my favourite... I might have a thing for Goth guys with snake bites, a book of shadows and an elemental power that involves Fire... Anywaayyy.

On the subject of a book of shadows, I study Wicca and a book of shadows is not what it is portrayed as on TV shows and in films, if you want to know about magick and spell casting, I would suggest you research about Wicca. Magick may not be able to do what it can do in films but it can still help in everyday life. I'd suggest researching into it if any of you are curious...

DAUGHTERS OF DAVIS!!!

I know both Belle and Maya have written about the concert on Monday this week, however, I thought it would be nice for my input on Sam Bailey and her amazing support act Daughters Of Davis. Let's start with Sam - Her voice gives you goose bumps it's that good and powerful and if it could, it would probably literally blow you away.

Then to Daughters of Davis - Fern and Adrienne Davis sold everything they had and brought a motor home from eBay and toured around the UK together. Their music is sort of soul and country and folk all into one and it's very good at putting you in a good mood. Their songs are extremely relatable and also, they mean every word they sing. On top of that, they are just really nice people. We met them during the interval and after show and both of them are happy and bubbly people. I now have both albums on my phone and a physical copy of 'To The Water' signed by them and also their 'Where do we go' DVD signed by them too!

And now... I'm going to try an clear some things up about Love.

Don't you dare say you love someone if you don't mean it. Don't do it. It leads them on, gives them false feelings, makes them think you care. If you love someone you don't cheat on them, fall in love with someone else, leave them, hit them. 

The word 'love' is used so frequently now days no one knows the true meaning of it anymore. What is love? Can you answer it? I can't because I really don't know. 

The google definition: 

1- a strong feeling of affection.

2-feel deep affection or sexual love for (someone) to be in love with, be infatuated with, be smitten with, be besotted with, be passionate about; 

care very much for, feel deep affection for, hold very dear, adore think the world of,be devoted to, dote on, cherish, worship, idolise and to treasure. 

This quote from Stardust, is definitely how I would describe love:

So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and... Is this love? I never imagined I'd know it for myself. My heart... It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it's trying to escape because it doesn't belong to me any more. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange - no gifts. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine.  

This is what I think the true definition of love is everyone seems to have forgotten that. Throwing the word love all over the place isn't a good thing. It really hurts if you say it and don't mean it. If you're going to say it, you're going to have to mean it. If you feel like your being obligated to say it- don't. You can lead a person on if you really don't feel that way.

¡SITUATION ALERT! 

1: Someone you've not spoken too much has recently told you they love you. 

What should you do? 

Look back up this blog and see if any of the things about love match up with what you feel, if they do, go for it and tell them, if you don't - don't. Politely tell them.

2: you're in a relationship and you're not to sure you 'love' the person anymore, when they say 'I love you' don't say it back. Try and tell the person you are sorry and you need to find another person.

Does true love exist? 

Who knows, it may, it might not. As for me personally I don't think that as a teenager, you can find true love. In some cases you can and people who dated in high school go onto get married, however in this day and age where it is easier for couples to cheat on one another and go behind each other's backs, it isn't as common as it used to be. 

"Love and lust? There's no difference, they are both the same thing!"

Wrong.

Love and lust are things that these days, get confused with. A friend of mine and I actually had this conversation back in the summer and said we think it's important for people to know the difference between these two thing.

The definition of Love is above.

The definition of Lust is:

1:

strong sexual desire.

2:have strong sexual desire for someone.

There is a clear difference. Lust is having a strong sexual desire for someone. 

You can have Lust without Love, you can have Love without Lust.

Lust does play some part in Love, however, I don't think there is Love is in Lust.

If you 'Love' someone and you think I want to have sex with them and things but I don't want to be with them, then that is not Love. That is straight up Lust.

Okay so, that's this post wrapped up. Just some things going through my mind this week and things I've been loving. I hope you all had a great week! I'll see you next Friday.

Until next time, Allons-y!

Lollie x

Concert Review (My new obsessions)

Heya guys,

It's Thursday once again so here I am to inform you on how my week has been since I last wrote to you.

As many of you may already know by now, Monday night I went to see Sam Bailey in concert with Belle and Lollie. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE. She has one of the most spectacular voices and she is incredibly talented. I love her voice so much, and it instantly improves my voice. 

So yeah, it was an amazing show and I would definitely recommend and be buying tickets next time she's touring in my local area.

And following this, supporting Sam Bailey were an incredibly talented and beautiful duo named Daughters of Davis. Fern and Adrienne Davis are a sister duo who play music with an acoustic soul/folk vibe. 

I had researched them a bit before arriving after the concert (and by I I mean Lollie did on my behalf) and when I heard them on stage I was blown away. It's safe to say I have a new obsession, and their album British Soul (available on iTunes or Amazon) has been on repeat ever since Monday night. Following this, I'm now saving up for their other album, To The Water. Not only this, I think they're both incredibly beautiful and talented and would highly recommended you checking them out and following them on Twitter and Instagram. 

For me personally I find that their music is great for when I'm feeling a bit down and need a bit of inspiration and a "pick me up", but also just because their music makes me happy and smile.   

And on another brief musical-based note, I thought I would share with you all my current musical playlist for this week, with all the tunes I have been loving!

1. Footprints ~Daughters of Davis

2. Heartbeat Song ~Kelly Clarkson

3. From this moment on ~Sam Bailey

4. Up ~Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato

5. Love me like you do ~Ellie Goulding

6. My love is like a star ~Demi Lovato

7. Take me to church ~Hozier

8. Cool kids ~Echosmith

9. Catch me if you can ~Daughters of Davis

10. FourFiveSeconds ~Kanye West, Rihanna & Paul McCartney

That's all from me this week, Have a lovely week and I'll see y'all next week,

Maya♡