Job vs travelling

Having had the travelling bug since I completed a two-month trip to Thailand and Australia a coupla years back, I wanted to globetrot this year.

But it seems that my career, journalism, is something of a lifestyle choice, so I have been working pretty much since I graduated from university.

Don’t get me wrong – I love journalism and want to continue to pursue it as a career, but sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day, or that you could stop time, pop across to another country or two and then continue with work.

If you fancy travelling to Ireland at any time in the near future, be sure to check out Dublin airport car hire service sixt.ie.

Just Passed

That much sought after pink jewel belongs to me… it is mine, all mine.

The driving licence that is…

Throughout university, I was in the minority of people who thrusted my green provisional at the bouncer to get into a club, whilst all my pals had the pink licence which signifies driving prowess.

Meanwhile, all my school friends passed before we got our A Levels.

Talking of which, I found learning how to drive harder than my A Levels. Maybe not History… but give me an Economics paper or English Literature essay to write over doing that test again any day!

I feel Relieved with a capital R.

While we're on driving, why not check out Dublin car rental sevice sixt.ie next time you're in Ireland?

Shameless adoration for Sex And The City

Although I concede that the Sex And The City ladies live the most frivolous, shallow and self-absorbed lives, I just love the series and first film.

And now I’m busting with excitement as I am going to a screening of the second movie next week, which means amazing unaffordable outfits and more glamour than you can shake a stick at.

I wonder if there will be a third film - I can’t see female viewers getting bored of Carrie&Co. for the foreseeable future.

Then again, I would have loved a third series of The Office but Ricky Gervais decided against that.

To make like the Sex And The City ladies and ooze fashion fabulousness, check out summer dresses at awear.com.

Summer lovin'

I may be speaking/writing to soon, but if the beaming sun outside my window is anything to go by, SUMMER IS HERE! Bring on the barbecues, beach trips and that much anticipated summer holiday!

We British apparently love to chit chat about the weather, so why not dedicate a blog post to this subject?

I’m actually sick of the constant cold that has plagued my life since about this time last year until today. If I migrate, the UK weather may be the deciding factor.

If you’re thinking of going to Ireland over the summer and want Dublin airport car hire services, head to sixt.ie.

My new addiction

Nail varnish. I love the stuff. I suppose it’s better to be addicted to nail varnish than smoking (unless you’re sniffing it). Recently, my nails change colour on a weekly basis. Last week they were pink. This week they’re black which led to kiddies at my little cousin’s birthday party today deciding I was a witch and making plasticine spider rings for me.

Working for a lifestyle magazine means I get to buy some products on the cheap which may be partly responsible for my new nail polish craze.

I wish I could get clothes on the cheap. I really need a new dress.

I think I’m going to check out dresses online at awear.com now.

Long weekend elation

Since having started working 9-5, I have become one of those people who gets deliriously happy when a long weekend, such as this one, comes around.

It seems strange to think that almost a year ago, I was lolling about my much-loved, dilapidated student house, not even knowing when a Bank Holiday was on the horizon.

Those were the days!

The strange thing is that I love my job, but I must enjoy doing absolutely nothing more. We are just animals after all, meant to eat, laze around and make merry.

If you’re stuck for ideas over the next long weekend that comes around, head to Dublin and hire a car.

Happy shopper

There was a distinct lack of chocolate eggs in my life this Easter weekend, but an abundance of shoes.

Walking past Covent Garden's amazing shoe boutiques on my way to work for two months has become too much for me to bear. Consequently, I have had shoes on the brain for the last week, and now I've got a brand spanking new pair on my feet. Pictured below is one of my new worker boots.


Indeed, I parted with £65 of my hard-earned cash to invest in these bad boys earlier today.

I'm not really a fashion victim, but these boots are all the rage at the moment.

I might be spending more money that I don't have tomorrow as I've got my eye on these fabulous 70s style multicoloured high-heels.

And then my lovely mummy bought me a pair of purple shoes for no reason, but we'll call them an Easter present seeing as I got no choccie eggs from her.

What I could really do with now is a whole bunch of summer dresses. I might have to check out ladies summer dresses at awear.com.

Attending press events for Closer Online

I was absolutely lovin' being a fly-on-the-wall at two press events I recently attended for Closer Online.

I hit up a party launching new international Walker's crisps flavours with a dear friend by the name of Emma Petela. We nattered away to Tara Palmer Tomkinson in the ladies' loos, and had a chinwag with a rather sun-kissed Gary Lineker about crisps and football, before cornering other celebs to get the latest from them.

I was absolutely shattered after the event, but being the keen bean I am, I attended the Channel 4 Comedy Gala press event the next night to get the lowdown from some of the nation's favourite comedians.



Alan Carr and Michael McIntyre were predictably hilarious, whilst Noel Fielding's gentle sense of humour and original fashion sense were a pleasure to encounter in real life. Channel 4’s Comedy Gala will air on Monday 5th April on Channel 4 at 9pm.

To read my detailed accounts, head to the Closer Online blog and check out entries dated for March 30th and March 31st.

And if you're upset that the long weekend is almost up, book a holiday! Why not check out Dublin car rental services and go for a weekend to Ireland?!

Some of my published work

Below are links to some of my published pieces.

FOR WWW.INTHENEWS.CO.UK:

Pre-Budget report 2009: What the papers say

Interview with Matt Damon

A news story on Lloyd's Banking Group

FOR WWW.CLOSERONLINE.CO.UK:

An article on Alex Reid's news and views (Reid is Jordan's hubby for those not in the know)

An article about Cheryl Cole's first interview since her husband Ashley's alleged cheating

A feature on St Patrick's Day

A feature on fighting the workout blues

FOR WWW.DIGITALSPY.CO.UK:

Story on reality TV star Kerry Katona being caught snorting cocaine

Story on musical legend Michael Jackson about his personal life

Today's top stories

What do Gordon Brown, Cheryl Cole (Tweedy?) and Jordan all have in common? They all wake up to see their faces splashed all over the papers of course!

Whilst I imagine that Gordon detested the bullying headlines and Cheryl winces when she sees speculation about her marriage, Jordan has admitted to loving the drama!

As a journalist (ha, feels weird saying that but for now I am employed woohooo), I sometimes wonder whether I’d enjoy reading headlines about myself.

Probably if the news stories centred on how amazing I was... everyone loves their ego to be flattered.

But I reckon I’ll stick to dishing the dirt on others and relaying current affairs information to the world!

If shopping is more your thing than news journalism, be sure to check out awear.com’s amazing evening dresses.

Celebrity Big Brother is celeb ex central

The Celebrity Big Brother house is stuffed to the brim with celebrities' exes this year.

These contestants may have gained some recognition in their own right, but the fact remains that they are in the house because of their former relationships, or in Alex Reid's case, his on/off partner.

Do these people have no shame in thriving off someone else's glory? No, no they don't.

Glamour model Jordan's ex Dane Bowers and on/off boyf Alex Reid are both in the house because of their association with her. People thought there might be friction between the twosome, but they actually get on quite well.

At least Bowers and Reid have personalities, unlike Ekaterina Ivanova who famously broke up Ronnie Wood's marriage after stealing him from Jo Wood. She's so boring she makes pairing socks seem interesting. I'm glad she has been voted out.

Ivana Trump is the final ex in the house. Despite having wed again since her marriage to Donald Trump, she has retained his surname. For her kids? Possibly. For the money and fame this surname signifies? Probably.

The rest of this year's housemates are: nice but dim WAG Nicola T, Sisqo of the Thong Song fame, Bible bashing Baldwin brother Stephen, posh actress Stephanie Beacham, Hollywood hardman Vinnie Jones, Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss (VOTED OUT), rapper Lady Sovereign (VOTED OUT) and horny dance DJ Basshunter. Who do I want to win? Who cares!

Nevertheless, CBB is my guilty pleasure - don't judge me.

Book a ski holiday instead!

Vivienne Westwood does hobo chic

If you were a top fashion designer, what would inspire you? Homeless people by any chance?

Vivienne Westwood added glamour to homelessness in a menswear show she staged in Milan last week.

The "roving vagrant", quoted from the press release, inspired Ms Westwood's range after her husband proposed that she opt for this theme.

Westwood confessed that she has never experienced homelessness, saying: "The nearest I have come to it is going home and finding I don’t have my door key."

During her show, one model emerged from a cardboard box carrying a sleeping bag. Another sported crazy headgear and wore a T-shirt advocating for climate change.

The Times suggested that a model donning an orange boiler suit alluded to the appearance of an inmate at notorious prison Guantánamo Bay.

The audience apparently enjoyed the show very much.

What do you think? Is Viv's homeless theme radical or contoversial?

If skiwear is more your thing than hobo chic, book your next skiing holiday by clicking on the link.

Slumdog Millionaire: Keepin' It Real

So I’ve met a couple of people who didn’t enjoy Slumdog Millionaire.

People have criticised it for not being ‘real’ enough. The idea of a ‘chai wallah’ or tea boy from the slums knowing all the answers to those questions is simply inconceivable, say the sceptics.

However, it must be remembered that the film is based on a work of fiction. Therefore, at no point does it claim to be anything except fiction. Yet, it retains an intrinsic link with reality.

Having Jamal (Dev Patel) become a millionaire by answering all the questions correct on a game show is idealistic/heartwarming (depending on how much of a cynic you are), but it is not Slumdog Millionaire’s most important feature. It is the fact that every question prompts a flashback in our hero’s mind which ensures the book/film is rooted in reality. Through the flashbacks then, the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire game simply becomes a plot device, an ingenius one that also brings a lot of entertainment to the tale, which allows the reader/viewer to experience the simultaneous colour and poverty that characterises India.

Danny Boyle’s adaptation of Slumdog Millionaire has already had some impact on the world. Interest in Indian culture and providing aid for the slums in Bombay has soared. There was a documentary on Channel 4 today about a millionaire investigating the Bombay slums and deciding how to help people there. It was called Slumdog Secret Millionaire, a pun and marketing ploy that would ensure more people would watch it.

The documentary was thus titled because most of us love Slumdog Millionaire. It showcases fantastic acting by Indians and Brits alike, great cinematography and a country that enthralls and horrifies.

And the esteemed Academy Awards agree so there. :p


Do you know what else is real? How bloomin' freezing it is. Womenfolk, stay warm in these ladies' coats.

The noughties in a nutshell (especially for the UK)

The noughties - the first decade of the millennium (cue Robbie Williams's 'Millenniuuumm' single), the second decade I have lived through (fully), and the decade I received all my formal education in, (ha!)

You might want to start this decade by renting a car in Dublin and driving around Ireland. You might instead simply want to reflect on what characterised the glorious noughties. I have narrowed my list down to six key aspects of the last ten years:

1) THE INTERNET - I remember the days when you had to go and watch half an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S while you waited for a page to download on the internet. I must have been 14 so this inefficient way of surfing the web was rife in around 2002. Before then, the net was still a work in progress. By the mid noughties however, the great British public became spoilt. Most people now have Broadband and if you’ve got wireless as well, then you’re laughing.

Most influential online website: it’s got to be either Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia or Google. I’m gonna go for Facebook as it usurped MySpace’s place as the everyday person’s social networking site and even managed to mess up Simon Cowell’s plans for the Christmas number one this year. Google is a close second, but we had Altavista and Yahoo before then.

2) REALITY TV - Watching people sit there and do something remotely entertaining every 10 hours became popular with Big Brother. George Orwell was prophetic when he said that "Big Brother is watching you". And there’s reality TV for everyone, everyone who enjoys reality TV anyway. If you prefer the sardonic tones of Simon Cowell, you can watch The X Factor one half of the year and Britain’s Got Talent the other. If the old-fashioned, loveable cringe-factor is more up your street, watch 81-year-old Brucey strut his stuff on Strictly Come Dancing. And if you prefer viewing non-celebrities, you can tune into The Family, The Apprentice, Wife Swap, Supersize vs Superskinny… the list goes on.

Most influential reality TV programme: It’s got to be Big Brother as this was the foundation of the reality TV era. It's entirely appropriate that BB complete with Davina and her excited tones, (I am a fan though) is coming to an end in 2010. Singing competitions such as The X Factor have also gone global so this comes in respectable (hmmm debatable) second place.

3) CELEBRITY CULTURE - The above two technologies have contributed to the way celebrity culture dominates our society. And the idolisation is on a global scale. Take David Beckham as an example. People in China love the England footballer. People closer to home in the UK also love Becks, even dubbing him Golden Balls at one stage. Meanwhile, he’s living in the USA making friends with A-list Americans like Tom Cruise. He personifies celebrity culture taking over the planet.

Most influential celebrity: David Beckham or Mr Barack Obama (first African-American to be named American president in case you hadn’t heard.)

4) ISLAMOPHOBIA – 9/11, The War On Terror and 7/7 are expressions that have developed in the noughties. People think of Islam as an extremist religion although there are plenty of peaceful Muslims around. Let’s hope fascists like Nick Griffin don’t exploit any Islamophobia in the west at the moment.

Most influential Muslim: Osama Bin Laden. Barack Obama said it would be one of his priorities to find this Saudi who changed the lives of people across the globe post-9/11. No one knows where he is, but his presence remains strong.

5) THE SUPERNATURAL: Arts and literature of this decade have featured wizards, vampires and werewolves and people have been going crazy for them!! J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series thrilled adults and children alike, while the Twilight books and films have left millions of teenage girls lusting after vampires and/or werewolves. Who knows what next year's literary craze will be?

Most influential supernatural work: The Harry Potter books. These showed that people needed a bit of magic in their lives and made author J.K Rowling, who lived in council accommodation at one point, one of Britain's richest ladies.

6) OFFBEAT FASHION – the clothing of a decade becomes the theme for future fancy dress parties. The noughties’ fashion trends take most of their inspiration from the eighties with the comeback of skinny jeans, leggings and legwarmers. Topshop/Topman being the high-street store of choice in the UK indicates the fashion of the noughties to be less manic than the eighties, but still a little funky. Other than the grunger fad some of us went through, fashion trends have improved since the nineties. No question.

The clothing item of the noughties: Skinny jeans, no matter what sex you are. Crotch alerttttt if you are a man though. Be warned.

New Year's Resolutions

So I can’t wait ’til Christmas even though there will be no family ski holiday.

And then we welcome in the new year and all the resolutions that come with it.

Unfortunately, I don’t smoke so I can’t just attempt to quit this habit come January 2010.

Instead, I am resolved to carry out two of the following:

1) Pass my driving test
2) Land a slick journalism job
3) Learn a language (preferably Spanish or Urdu)
4) Travel

At the very least, I will raise the money to go travelling and become a qualified driver.

No more buses, no more pain.

Driving: the chink in my armour

I HATE THE BUS. Except for the 65 and the 34 of course, the amazing buses that delivered me safely to and from school and university respectively.

In other news, driving is going okay.

I’m not gonna lie, I’m not a natural.

However, I am slowly but surely getting there.

I have mastered roundabouts and the three point turn.

On the flip side, I’m always putting my gear into first when I want to go into third.

Swings and roundabouts eh?! Roundabouts galore. First, second, third exit – I’m on it.

But my ambition to hire a car in Dublin is far off in the future.

Jacket Love

All good things come in jackets. Jacket potatoes for a start - yum.

This year’s Christmas present of choice: a leather jacket please.

I know Santa is following this blog. This post may or may not therefore be a massive hint for him/her.

I’ve found a decent range of leather jackets so Santa can just click on the link to check them out.

I must say I am getting into the Christmas mood. You can call me the Anti-Scrooge if you like.

Bring on the mince pies, festive music and bloated television-viewing.

However, no matter how Christmassy I feel, jacket potatoes will always be better than roast potatoes.

The X Factor Final 2009

So, what is The X Factor about other than Simon Cowell pocketing a lot of cash? Impressive singing ability or performance swagger? Tonight’s final might give us a clue.

It’s Joe versus Olly: the voice vs. the moves, the boy vs. the man, the north vs. the south… the list goes on.

So far this evening, we’ve had this year’s X Factor hopefuls sing a Take That number, George Michael perform his dodgy new Christmas song and Sir Paul McCartney give an… interesting… performance. (He remains a legend though.)

And now we’re about to find out who this series' winner is.

Cue Dermot: "The winner of The X Factor 2009 is... JOE."

Anisa’s verdict: it should have been Danyl.

Pre-Budget report 2009: What the papers say

A PIECE I WROTE FOR INTHENEWS.CO.UK

Alistair Darling yesterday delivered his final pre-Budget report before the next general election. Today, inthenews.co.uk rounds up the papers' views.

Beginning on a positive note, the Mirror nodded its approval. The paper declared that the government's spending plans "make sense when the private sector is weak", whereas the Tories' ideas would have caused another Great Depression.

While praising Labour for "being open about a tax increase", the Mirror also conceded the rise in national insurance would not "be greeted by dancing in the streets".

The Times was less impressed with the report. Full of ridicule for Darling's spending plans, the paper called them "the latest instalment of a long-running British comedy – Carry on Spending" while emphasising that the need to reduce the deficit is "severe".

Contrasting Tony Blair's approach to that of the present government, Darling was said to have missed "the big picture" by policies such as free school meals and reducing bingo duty.

The Times concluded that the government had "decided to give up governing".

The Guardian was not so scathing but thinks Darling could have been "bolder" by reforming the tax system to a greater extent, and getting extra revenue out of capital gains and green taxes.

Despite beliefs that the report had gone for "small manoeuvres" such as the boiler scrappage scheme, the paper commended the government for introducing free school meals and increasing child and disability benefits.

Similarly, the Independent said that the report dealt with menial issues, or using their vegetable metaphor, "small potatoes", in the scheme of things.

The Independent deemed Darling's plans on how he would reduce the structural deficit to be unclear, and therefore this was the "glaring hole" in his pre-Budget report, words which dominated the headline.

The paper added its belief that Darling's report was "shaped more by politics than economics".

The Financial Times also thought "little information" was given about public spending plans and reducing the deficit.

Although the paper described the report as "dissatisfaction delayed", it said the tax on bonuses was "justified" and "welcome". It warned the government not to embark on a "wider assault on the City", but to ensure banks do not "escape" the tax.

The Financial Times is eager to know how the Tories plan to raise revenue if they reverse the increase in national insurance.

The Sun fumed its disappointment in the pre-Budget report, agreeing with George Osborne that it was a "pre-election report", tiptoeing, or "skating" around the £800 billion Britain owes.

According to the paper, "Sun readers" will have to "pay for fat cats and wasteful government" due to the increases in national insurance contributions and VAT called for by Darling.

Extremely unhappy with the government's plans for dealing with youth unemployment, the Sun did however admit its support for £2.5 billion more to be sent to troops in Afghanistan.

As far as the Sun is concerned, we are all "staring into the abyss" and Darling wasted his chance to show he wanted to pay off Britain's debts and reduce the deficit.

The Nature Of Surprise

Surprise is one emotion that does not have positive or negative connotations. It’s not like anger which is obviously a terrible feeling, or happiness which is entirely positive.

That’s why you usually have to describe a surprise, e.g. ‘What a wonderful surprise!’ – which, in fact, it was.

Indeed, my friends and family had been plotting and scheming behind my back over the last two months to arrange a surprise party for my 22nd birthday last Friday.

I think it was such a good surprise because everyone was making an effort with each other and mingling – older people, younger people, family, friends, the good, the bad (not the ugly, there were no ugly people at my party thank you very much).

However, some people would not enjoy a surprise party being thrown for them. Looking rough compared to everyone else as you enter, feeling the pressure as the centre of attention and hoping everyone gets on is quite stressful.

But I loved the stress. And I loved the party. Thanks everybody.