Brighton & Book Writing

I'm back! Seriously, I am this time.

Did you all miss me? I certainly missed this, but I just didn't feel like I had the motivation/creativity to create posts with decent content that would keep you all interested. Luckily, I've recently had a burst of creative energy and in the last week I've actually picked up a pen & paper and managed to get some ideas together! So, here's a few things you may have missed whilst I've been 'away'. 

Firstly, I now live in Brighton and I could not be happier or feel more settled with my living situation. My flatmate is a total dream and is also vegan which makes my life so much easier! 

I'm still working at Lush however, I am in a better position now and working a lot more hours. As great as Lush is, I am still trying to plan my career path which will hopefully involve writing and animals. 

Finally, I'm writing a book! It's a fictional novel, and that's all you guys need to know right now. The plan is to keep up to date with this blog so that you guys can follow me on my writing journey.

That's all for now, thanks for your patience and expect to hear from me soon! 

Bex

What I'm listening to: Sugar - System of a Down

What I'm reading: Dorothy Must Die - Danielle Paige

What I'm eating: Mint Choc Chip Almond Dream Ice Cream

Do what makes you happy//A ramble from Boolie

Hello everyone! So I was going to do a post on National Vegetarian Week however, I've already done a video on it (you can find my YouTube link on my blog), so I decided to ramble for a bit.

When I was 17 I moved to London from Cornwall which was a really big, scary move for me to make; I left my family behind and got a full time job at Boots in Farringdon. When my parents eventually moved to Chelmsford, Essex, I moved back in with them and after deciding that I couldn't see myself at Boots in 10 years, I left and started an apprenticeship at Essex County Council.

Going to apprenticeship after full time work obviously meant I wasn't earning half the amount but I thought it might be a good idea to gain some qualifications whilst working in an office environment. After about 9 months at the council I was so unbelievably bored. I had moved departments to try and inject a bit of excitement into my role but I was at the point where no matter where I was working in the office, I was not cut out for office work. That area of work seemed far too dull for me, I know that plenty of people enjoy that line of work, but I just needed a bit more colour in my career path.

I have always loved and had a passion for writing and after being given the opportunity to go to London Fashion Week (Thanks Ozzy x) I decided to pursue a career in Journalism. Seeing all the bloggers and writers at LFW really opened my eyes to a more exciting lifestyle and I thought 'I want a piece of that!'. I left the council and enrolled on a Journalism Diploma course at uni.

I am very close to completing that course and have also managed to bag myself a part-time job at Lush; over the past few years I have become more and more passionate about animal rights as you all well know and I feel that being a part of Lush is such an excellent way to have an ethical job that involves animal rights as well as amazing, innovative products.

I am now in a strange position where I am so happy where I am at Lush that I have no intention of leaving the company. I know that perhaps people close to me may feel that I need a bit more direction in my career or a more stable job but I have come to a point in my life where I am determined to do what makes me happy. Obviously, I would never make any decisions to purposely hurt or upset anyone but if having a stable, high paid job means that I will be miserable then I will not be doing that!

Happiness is such an important thing; no one likes to disappoint their family but you have no idea what's around the next corner and where you may end up if you choose the unpopular option.

An example of this would be my brother. I never thought I would say this but I find him such an inspiration. My brother has made some decisions in his life that our parents may not have agreed with however, he is now living his dream, touring the world with his band and making enough money from doing what he loves that he can maintain a stable life in Brighton.

My next steps are a bit hazy at the moment but I hope it involves travelling a bit and eventually ending up in Brighton. I would love to stay with Lush and continue with my blog and YouTube videos alongside it. We shall see!

BB

For The Oceans

Life update & vegan travels: Morrissey, Cookies and Scream & Vegfest

The weekend of March 27th I was a busy bee and did a bit of traveling and exploring with Jake. During the weekend we got to see Morrissey in Birmingham, pop to Camden and eat too much at Cookies and Scream, we finished our weekend at Vegfest in Brighton...

On the Friday we travelled up to Birmingham to go see Morrissey at the Barclaycard Arena which was such a good night. I had never seen Moz live unlike Jake and Sam (who also came along with us) so I was really excited. The strange thing about seeing someone like Morrissey is you forget how old they are until they come out and you realise that they don't look the same as they did 30 years ago! As most people know, Morrissey is very vocal about animal rights and has taken part in many Peta campaigns; it was cool to see that the venue was only selling vegetarian food at request of the artist and that Peta had a stand to flyer! There is something quite spectacular about Morrissey's stage back drops and the moment that the animal cruelty videos started playing, the atmosphere completely changed; one bloke even passed out. I think it's great that someone with such a high profile can use it to spread the message about animal cruelty. The performance itself was great too, Moz played a mixture of old & new tunes with a few of The Smiths' tracks thrown in too. His general persona was not half as miserable as you would expect! It is certainly something that I have crossed off my bucket list. 

On Saturday we were just in London for the day so decided to visit Camden and pop to Cookies and Scream as I had heard so many great things about it. Oh my...it was so good! We all had a milkshake and a little treat each; I picked a chocolate brownie milkshake & a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie. I can honestly say that since turning vegan I have never had such a tasty treat and I definitely plan to go back! The boys had vanilla milkshakes & Jake had a chocolate orange brownie which I had a little taste of and it was incredible. The only thing I would recommend is to maybe save some for later as it's very sweet and it wasn't long before we were all full up! 

Sunday we headed over to Brighton for Vegfest; it was a bit of a long journey and the weather was naff but it was still a good day. First off we stopped off at Kensington Gardens for a coffee and vegan breakfast which set us up for the day. Then we braved the wind and rain and headed to Vegfest which was in the Brighton Centre on the seafront. Unfortunately my camera was playing up so I couldn't get any photos but there are plenty up online and over at the Vegfest Facebook page. Vegfest was home to a food hall and stands where you could pick up some delicious food; I had a crepe with chocolate and coconut and a Jamaican patty, yum. There were a ton of charities holding stalls where you could buy their merch or just have a chat; Sea Shepherd were of course there! Vegfest holds different dates around the country, next stop being Bristol. Hopefully I can go again in the future.

What a busy weekend! I could have slept for a week afterwards. 

Here's some Facebook links so you can check out these places:
https://www.facebook.com/vegfestuk

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cookies-and-Scream

 BB

For The Oceans

P.s Keep updated via Facebook for info on new posts etc. at https://www.facebook.com/boolieblog some recipes coming soon!

9 weeks, 9 shows - Part One

I'm back finally! I know I have been away for a while however a lot of changes have occurred in my life and I have been unbelievably busy, I finally feel like I am at a good place to sit down and write, hooray! 

So, I am sure you are all desperate to hear what I have been up to and as per usual; gigs, gigs & more gigs, so here is a breakdown (part one) of some of the shows I have been lucky enough to attend! 

Gnarwolves//The Black Heart, Camden//15.09.2014
I was extremely lucky to attend this intimate debut album release show, and of course Gnarwolves did not disappoint. The excitement of the release really shined through in the band's stage presence and this was reflected when the packed-in crowd erupted. If you are familiar with this band then you will of course be aware that no Gnarwolves show is complete without stage dives and crowd surfs, and having no barrier certainly allowed more than the odd stage dive. 

The Libertines//Alexandra Palace//28.09.2014
You can imagine the surprise when I discovered an email confirming that I had won tickets to see The Libertines, especially when I had forgotten that I even entered the competition! After a bit of faffing I managed to confirm that the tickets were legitimate and off I went. What an incredible night! The anticipation for the band to come on could be felt seeping out of the surrounding fans and when they finally did arrive there was not a drop of disappointment. Everything from the sound to the back drop was spectacular and the shorties like myself certainly appreciated the live cameras projecting onto a screen directly behind the stage. The Libertines steamed through their set and pulled out all the classics and most certainly ended their third night at Ally Pally on a high note.

Carry The Weight Fest//The Parish Hall, Brighton//05.10.2014
So, this was a very last minute decision I made. My best friend was travelling up this way for CTW Fest which meant I got to see him & some cool bands all in one day, plus I will always take up the opportunity to visit Brighton. Despite the long, rainy journey, this was a really enjoyable day. It had been a while since I had been to a Hardcore show and I only knew a couple of bands on the bill however, I came away with more than a few new bands to add to my playlists. Negative Approach headlined and Violent Reaction, Breaking Point & Renounced were in my top three bands for the day, every band showed buckets of enthusiasm. One of the top points of the day was the general atmosphere, everyone was super friendly and chilled. Also, I must add that the Vegan kebabs that were made on site by Beelzebab were INCREDIBLE. 

More Than Life//The Borderline, London//19.10.2014
I anticipated this show for so long! The last time I saw More Than Life before this show was on their 'last ever tour' and I travelled from Cornwall to Brighton for one night! This time it was a lot simpler, the train from Chelmsford to London is pretty easy. I don't handle excitement very well and can tend to be quite a hyperactive person therefore, you can imagine how I am when waiting to see a band that have been near the top of my list for a good few years now. I was pleased to see that Up River were supporting as I saw them a few years back and after their last performance they made their way onto my iPod. When More Than Life finally came out I was ecstatic, they played a substantial mixture of old and new tracks and could not be faulted on their set list. In all honesty, I don't think they could be faulted at all for their performance that night. Front-man, James, oozes emotion when projecting powerful vocals and the last song played, Love is Not Enough, was dedicated to his mum who had previously passed away a few months earlier; this hit me like a ton of bricks and the repetition of the line 'let me take away the illness that is dragging you down' resulted in a tear or two being shed by myself. More Than Life have continued to create excellent music and have built up an impressive fanbase. Musically, I believe that their sound was a lot tighter than when I saw them a few years ago and I think they will only improve. I will definitely be keeping my eyes and ears open for any more tours or one-off shows.

Buzzin' after More Than Life
Guest appearance from my best mate Jake.