Long Days, Long Nights

LONG DAYS, LONG NIGHTS

On Friday my month long placement finally came to a close, ending on the positive news that I had passed, much to my surprise and relief. Although there's still a lot of things I need to work on and do differently next time, it was the best news ever, as was it lovely to get the chance to thank the people that have helped me on this part of my journey, and to walk away knowing that's another tick to put in the box. One step closer to the end goal. So to celebrate the good news, the happy conclusion of this month long learning curve, I thought I'd treat myself to a nice little trip to Liverpool. Near enough every day for the last four weeks, I have been embarking on trains headed for Liverpool Lime Street, and yet I have always had to disembark at some point along the way. Close, but never quite close enough. The city of Liverpool, a favourite of mine since I first visited in October 2013 with my family, exactly two years ago, always eluded me. Just out of reach. So when I got the all clear to leave placement at 1 on Friday afternoon, I headed to the train station and finally completed that coveted journey to Liverpool. I finally made it to the edge of the country, to this wonderful northern city filled with lots of the lovely Liverpuddlians just like those I've been privileged enough to meet this last month.

Although the sky was a resolute pale grey, it didn't rain once, unlike the previous two times I've visited. The city was bustling with life, there were musicians playing in the streets, the architecture was stunning as always (I've decided that I'm now a fully fledged architecture enthusiast, you see), the docks were beautiful... I stood and watched the River Mersey rolling out to sea, I took in all the sights and admired how gorgeous they all were, I went from one end of town to the next, I walked all the way up Bold Street, popping in near enough every shop along the way, I had a chai tea latte in this cute Italian cafe filled with the most delicious creations. Although I had a lot on my mind, it didn't matter because it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt free, and it was amazing. When I finally left Liverpool with the sky turning a sweet dusky blue, my long day was about to get even longer, as I headed back to my beloved Manchester to meet my friends at the train station. From there on, the long day transitioned into the most wonderful long night. It felt a bit like in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, when they spend all night criss crossing the city together, thriving off that impulse of life, youth, and making all these crazy amazing memories along the way.

We headed up to China Town, submersed within all those neon lights, and chose a restaurant that my friend had been to before. We put our faith in our housemate from Hong Kong, who picked some really tasty dishes for us to try, and ate the Chinese way, where everyone shares a variety of dishes together. It was so, so lovely, eating this delicious food, drinking Chinese drinks, laughing rather a lot, having the strangest, most diverse and hilarious conversations, the feeling of being submerged within not only China Town, but the heart of Manchester too. A Friday night spent in my favourite city with some of my favourite people, having fun, enjoying the joys of life and that glorious feeling of freedom. We stayed in the restaurant for almost four hours, as people came and went whilst we stayed talking and laughing, and when we finally decided to leave, we walked through the Gay Village, a part of all the bustling night life, and made a spontaneous decision down Oxford Road to have late night pudding, because why the hell not. So at half 11 we found ourselves tucking into delicious sweet treats and revelling in the spontaneity and joy of the whole night. And walking back home, we were singing, running down the streets, laughing, and it was really, really wonderful. An unforgettable night. The perfect way to finish this little chapter in our lives. And though I know that times will probably get a tougher, and the ride still won't be easy, I can't wait to face the future and what's yet to come. Everything is going to be okay.

http://www.visitmanchester.com/ // http://www.visitliverpool.com/

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-CAPTURING THE MEMORIES-

 

Jenny Seddon

JENNY SEDDON

Oh gosh. Lo and behold, could this be true? Are your eyes deceiving you? An actual post dedicated to art and illustration, almost a month after I last posted an art related post? Well I don't know about you, but it feels like another lifetime ago that I last featured an artist up on this beloved blog of mine. But you see, the thing is, I don't even know where this last month has gone. Where on earth has time escaped to? I feel like I completely missed out on October, so right now I'm dying to put forward a request to some higher power, and ask if we could just rewind time so that I can actually have my October to enjoy all over again. My course placement comes to an end on Friday, and though it's been such an amazing experience, and one of the toughest, but most rewarding learning curves I've ever experienced so far in my nineteen year life, it hasn't half been time consuming. Everything I would normally do, everything I would normally like to indulge in, everything about my day to day life has been taken over and put to the side for this last month. As you probably noticed, due to the noticeable lack of frequent posting, placement has been my absolute primary focus and I didn't really have any choice in the matter. I simply had to give it my all. 

However like I said, as this experience draws to a close, and I suddenly find the time to just breathe and dare I say it, relax, for what feels like the first time in forever, I've managed to finally regain some normality again. So today I got up relatively early (those early starts seem to be sticking around) and headed into town with shopping list in hand. Going into the city on late Wednesday mornings is something I immensely enjoyed doing last year, and still enjoy doing this year. It's a bit like a routine of mine when I'm here in Manchester.  It's me time. It's inspiration time. So I took a nice leisurely walk in, admiring all the fallen leaves and general autumnal vibes that have taken over the city in the blink of an eye. I felt the smattering of little raindrops dampening my face and my hair, but I didn't really mind. It felt good. Really good. I kept my head upwards, looking at the sky, at the buildings, at the built world that surrounded me. I was again reminded how much I love being here. I bought a Bob Dylan CD, which I'm listening to now as I write, and some other things too. And during my wandering, I found myself in Waterstones perusing books for inspiration, and in the architecture section, I happened to come across an interesting little book called 'Skylines' by Yolanda Zappaterra and Jan Fuscoe. 

I jotted the name of the book down. Something to look into at a later date. But one of the things that intrigued me most were the gorgeously whimsical illustrations that brought the book to life. I was utterly transfixed. So I wrote down the name of the illustrator, Jenny Seddon, and in a lightning bulb moment, I realised that I had the foundations for a new blog post. And the immense joy I felt, when I realised that I actually had time to go out into the city and gather inspiration, that I had time to discover wonderful new artwork like Jenny's, and that I actually had time to go home and write about it... well it was just spectacular. Wonderful. Amazing. To be writing about something I love after what feels like a lifetime of not being able to. So as you can see, originally from Cornwall but now living in London, Jenny Seddon is a fabulously talented illustrator. A creator of beautiful illustrations and screen prints that have a comforting simplicity about them, so colourful, wholesome. Her creations are my ideal way of perceiving the world. It's the kind of artwork that's similar to what I like to produce myself. And if I could live in the world that her artwork depicts, I would be one very happy individual. Finding artwork like Jenny's always makes me feel so content. Knowing that there are people out there creating these wonderful collections of imagery that somehow seem to make the world a better place. 

I hope you like Jenny's work as much as I do (which is rather a lot), and if you want to find out more or view more of it (which you really should), just head to her website www.jennyseddon.com and blog www.nelliewren.blogspot.co.uk, which is where all the images below are taken from. 

-All images belong to Jenny Seddon-

10 Things That Have Made Me Happy

-A random photo I found a couple of months ago of me as a baby surrounded by some of my family-

10 THINGS THAT HAVE MADE ME HAPPY

Good news dear readers. Things are looking up. The sun is shining. I'm feeling pretty darn amazing. The tailcoats of last week ended up giving way to a rather lovely weekend in Manchester spent with people I love, and a new week full of positive changes and differences, more special moments spent with people I care about... It never ceases to amaze me how quickly thing can turn around. How life can present you with so much good and so much difficulty, and do so in such an interchangeable way. There really is no point in dwelling in the negatives, because it's never too long before a whole load of positives come flooding your way once again. Another reason to smile and be happy is nudged your way. 

You may recall me mentioning previously, but I vowed at the weekend to make a change to the way I was doing things. To not be knocked down by life's difficulties. I realised that in order to proceed forward, I had to suck it up, stop moping around at my one person pity party, rise to the challenge and come back fighting even stronger and more determined than ever. So I started with small things and gradually built it up, and come Monday morning, I threw myself into the deep end and started to go about enforcing the changes I'd vowed to make. And the honest truth is that it was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and the results I reaped just by making those little changes were so incredible. I couldn't quite comprehend the turn around that had happened. How had I gone from the person I was last week, to the brand new improved version of me now? How had those little changes gone on to make such a massive difference, and so quickly too? I still don't really understand now, but being able to tell people how happy I am, how I've managed to turn things around, to be able to say I really am okay now and mean it, to be able to give them good, positive news, is so fulfilling. And so in line with the happiness I'm feeling right now, I decided not to do the work I actually need to do, and instead jot down the 10 things that have made me most happy this week, because it seemed way more appealing and I want to remember this particular moment in my life. Likewise I really wanted to share it with you lovely people too, in the hope that it reminds you that things aren't always as bad as they seem, and that it inspires you to be brave enough to make those changes to your life and not look back.

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MY TOP TEN

001. Spending time with my friends

This last week I've been lucky enough to do some really nice things with my lovely, lovely friends, and it's such a simple thing, spending time with the people you care about most, and yet it makes me feel ridiculously content. Likewise this week in particular has shown me how strong some of my friendships actually are, as well as make me appreciate them even more. I'm not a millionaire but in the sense of being surrounded by such amazing people, I feel like the luckiest person in the world. 

002. The looming promise of my favourite time of year

When I was walking to the train station the other morning, I happened to pass by uni and noticed that they'd begun decorating the trees with fairy lights. It reminded me off this time last year, the run up to Christmas and the beauty of autumn, my absolute favourite season. All the wonderful things I did with equally wonderful people. That delectable magic in the air. Manchester is really quite something at this time of year, and I love that I get to spend another year here in the midst of it all once again.

003. Nutella Waffles

Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of coming to a pudding themed eatery with me (aka. my idea of haven) will know that I get a nutella waffle ever single time without fail. I am something of a waffle aficionado to say the least, and the lure of the waffle consistently proves too strong for me to resist whenever I am in close proximity. On Friday evening, as my rather full on week came to a close and later inspired this massive post, I was not feeling too good. I was rather emotionally drained and disillusioned with life, however with my sister coming up for the weekend I was forced to put all that emotion to one side and persevere onwards. I had promised her previously that we would go for pudding at my favourite haunt Gelato Passion, and seeing as I'm not one to break my promises, nor can I resist the lure of pudding, our Friday night pursuit for pudding went ahead as planned. And naturally I got my nutella waffle as per usual. And you know what, it sounds crazy but that nutella waffle was exactly what I needed to help put things into perspective. It was exactly what I needed to stop moping around feeling sorry for myself, enjoy everything I do have going well for me in life, and get on with changing the things that aren't going so well. So all praise the waffle, all praise the waffle indeed.

004. Watching live music in intimate venues

Once again I've been lucky enough to acquire a radio show on Fuse FM (more on that to come!) and the joy I feel is so immense, because doing my radio show is one of the best things to ever happen to me ever. And I'm ridiculously grateful that once again I have this chance to do something that makes me so, so happy. Radio gods, you're amazing. And what's more, because I'm part of the Fuse FM team, I've been able to go to some of their recent socials, one of which was at the Fallow Cafe down in my old first year stomping ground Fallowfield. It was so, so nice to mix with other people doing radio, as did I have a fantastic pint of cider and finish off my night with cheesy chips from Kebab King (always the best way to end a night). However my favourite part of the night had to be watching that night's in-house band, Cassia Sounds, play live to us. I used to go to local gigs when I was at school and college, but it seems like such a long time ago now. So having the chance to listen to great new music by great new artists, and in such gorgeously intimate settings as well, was a real treat. As did it make me feel that excitement and promise of being a student on the cusp of something amazing all over again.

005. Discovering Bob Dylan

In particular his gorgeous duet with Johnny Cash (another favourite of mine), Girl From The North Country, which happened to pop up on my iPod as I was walking to placement yesterday morning. A couple of months ago I also stumbled across The Times They Are A Changin' and Mr Tambourine Man, as have I known some of his other classics such as Blowin' In The World essentially all my life, unbeknown to me. I remember reading somewhere once that Bob Dylan is an artist who divides opinion. You either like him and his unique musical and lyrical prowess, or you don't. At the time I didn't understand just why that was so, and to be honest, having now exposed myself to more of his music, I still don't really understand it. To me his music is simply incredible. I don't understand what's not to like about it. Discovering Bob Dylan has been akin to when I discovered The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash... all the music greats that completely revolutionise the way you perceive and appreciate music. And although I'm only on the cusp of the burgeoning Bob Dylan phase, I just know that I'm going to be enjoying his music for a long, long time to come. It's that special feeling, once again, that I'm discovering a soul that's similar to mine, and I love it.

006. Peanut Butter Mug Cake (and peanut butter in general)

Wowee, how great are my photography skills here. Anyway, that obviously isn't remotely the point. The most important thing is that discovering peanut butter mug cake back in August with my friend, has revolutionised my life. I don't know who or what I'd be without it. My housemate from Hong Kong still can't quite understand our adoration for it, but there really is no better feeling than coming in from a long, tiring day and knocking up a quick peanut butter mug cake. You only need 1 egg, a few scoops of peanut butter, and a little bit of sugar, and you mix it all together, pop it in the microwave for a minute or two, and voila, heaven just called to say a quick hello in your mug. Brilliant. And in other peanut butter related news, I am now on to my second jar of the stuff having consumed my first ever jar in less than a week and a half. Wahey. 

007. Late Sunday afternoons in Manchester

Ever since October last year, when I spent the most wonderful Sunday afternoon in Manchester with my family, I have had the sweetest spot of affection for spending that particular day of the week immersed in the beauty of that rather marvellous city. Sunday afternoons are now my absolute favourite time to be in the heart of the city. I still can't quite describe or explain why, because I don't even know myself. Maybe it's because it's my favourite day of the week. Maybe it's because Manchester is one of my favourite cities. I don't know. It's just this feeling I get when I'm there. It's the sweetest little feeling. And now that I'm back, I've been able to indulge in that special pastime all over again, and indulge I have been indeed. With my camera in hand I've been exploring the city, visiting my favourite places, discovering new favourite places, going from one end of the city to the other, and I'm still spotting new places to tick off the list even now. The best thing about the city is it's endless secrets and majesty just waiting for you to discover, and like the most avid of explorers, that's a challenge I accept so wholeheartedly. 

008. Pumpkin Spiced Latte

I still don't really like coffee, and it still makes me feel sick and gives me a headache whenever I drink it. But that can easily be overlooked just for ten minutes or so, where having a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks is concerned. At the weekend a few of us Derby gals made our way through those hallowed doors in pursuit of a warm beverage to heat us up, and I instantly clapped eyes on the pumpkin spiced latte and knew that I just had to have it. No tea would this girl be drinking for once. And it wasn't a decision I regret, because in terms of warming me up it most certainly did, likewise it tasted so lovely and made me feel so cosy and autumnal too.

009. The love of my family

With things being a bit tough for me recently, I've found myself dependent on my family a lot more than usual. And as always, they've never once failed to be there for me whenever and if ever I should need them. Just one text, one call, one visit away. I'm quite an independent person, and I like to think that I can look after and care for myself. I like to think I don't need the support of my family like I used to, I'm doing just fine on my own, but every now and again I'm reminded of how much I still need and cherish their input in my life. I may not always need their help or guidance, but even just being able to call them up and tell them about my day, see how they are, being able to text them in the morning as we all go about our day, seeing my sister when she came to visit... it's all so precious to me. Realising that you're surrounded by people who genuinely love and care about you, no matter the distance between you, people who would drop everything to be there for you at a moments notice, who would stand out in the cold so that they could listen to your problems, who want to know that you're okay, who would travel two hours on the train to come visit you. It's amazing. Truly amazing. And it's sometimes hard to convey just how appreciative I am, but I truly am. Every single day.

010. Making change happen

After the events of last week, this week I vowed to make changes and do things differently. I decided to turn over a new leaf, be the instigator of change, fight back, and it's amazing to see the difference it  Until quite recently I used to be quite complacent, accept the cards that were dealt to me, fall at hurdles and struggle to rise again once more. I never truly realised the influence and control I had over my life. I wasn't consciously aware of the fact that I could change the course of things, make things happen for myself, take control of my happiness. Once I realised all these things, my life literally changed for the better, in ways that I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams. Being proactive has made all the difference to me as a person and my life in general. I haven't always gotten what I wanted, and things haven't always worked out how I hoped, but I always think to myself, better an oh well than a what if. Even if I fail, at least I can say I tried. And if I succeed, well then the victory is even sweeter because I worked hard for it, and I made it happen myself.