New Year, New... Never Mind.

2013 is nearly over, kids. NY parties are being planned all over the world (not just in New York... geddit? Never mind) and I am once again wondering what to wear to greet January the 1st.

Social media sites are being bombarded with 'New Year, New Me' messages and great long statuses about how amazing/crap/boring/exciting/life changing/miserable 2013 has been and so here is my contribution to the masses. 

I wouldn't say that I am a different person from the person that I was this time last year. I don't even really look particularly different other than my hair colour and length. I'm still the disorganised, forgetful, scatty person who loves absolutely anything that is covered in glitter and can be labelled 'camp'.  But then again, I don't think I really wanted to be a different person.

I live in a different place and I am no longer at Axe Valley (Praise. The. Lord.) but other than that, I don't think I have really changed. 

I'm an Aunty now? Does that count? I'm jobless. That's new. I have become well acquainted with my overdraft. That's not fun.  And I've met more people than I ever thought that I would. I guess when I thought of this time this year this time last year (decipher that), I didn'tr

 think that I would be here. I knew that I'd be at uni and that I'd have a load of work to do and I'd be living in Bournemouth with people I didn't know at the time but... I don't know. I don't think I ever thought that it would ever actually happen?? After applying to uni the first time, not going and then returning to TAVCC, I guess that I felt in a bit of an endless cycle. It felt that the whole process was going to end in nothing again and to be honest, it was horrible. But it turned out that it wasn't a cycle and here I am now. 

Hip hip horray! 

I did have some really good times in '13 though. You want a list of my favourites?? Fine. Pushy... 

Emily Hayward

Okay, so not a moment as such, but a person that I got closer and closer with throughout the year and really do love. Girl be cray and I've said so many times in the past that she really isn't 'my type of person'. She's loud and opinionated and pushy and stubborn and....okay I think it may actually be that we're too alike. But it works this time, okay? She took my hand and dragged me through the last months of sixth form, provided endless teas, coffees and fry ups and she's a home away from home. Prom was made enjoyable because of her and I miss her a lot a lot a lot when I'm at uni. 

(I'm also stealing her cat. We have a contract) 

Splashdown 

The week before I went to uni, myself and the 'gals' all went to Splashdown in Poole. I have been bugging them to go to Splashdown for bloody years and they had always fobbed me off with 'yeah we will'. We even set a date and made plans once and Evie cancelled the day before. I'll never forgive her for it. But anyhoo, we got there in the end and it was a really good day. Subways followed by mahoosive sundaes at TGI's aferwards. Hellooo? Yum. 

It was a really nice send off to Evie and I. Thanks, girls. 

Carboot Sales

I hadn't been to a carboot sale in bloody yonkes because I had a job that meant I had to work every sunday at 12 and I just couldn't get there and back and still be on time. However, this year I went to one nearly every single week during the summer. I'd stay at Monica and Sophies flat after a night out and then Monicas amazing 'rents would bring us to the carboot sale the next morning. Score! I was only late for work once when I came home and then fell asleep whilst getting ready and so... yeah. Bosses weren't too happy but I got there in the end? 

Anyway. I picked up some amazing stuffs and my book collection grew ten fold. When is that not good?! Hint: Never. 

Thanks to Mary and Andrew for putting up with hungover Megan every week and for buying me coffee/tea/food every week. Stars! 

Oh and cheers for the wake up calls, Mon! 

James

My little baby boy. My nephew. I've always wanted to be an aunty and from August, I a finally am. James is just beautiful and I love him so much. I can't wait to watch him grow up and say 'I love my Aunty Megan more than I love my Aunty Becky'. Because he will. Fact. 

This could go on for a while and is in danger of becoming sickly so I'll cut this one short. 

I love you, James Willam. 

Uni 

This doesn't even really need an explanation. It's incredible to be away from everything that you know and to be dumped in a flat with 6 people you don't know. I love it. I've made some amazing friends and some even more amazing memories. Knowing that this is just the start of another 4 years and (hopefully) a career is ridiculously daunting but change is what life is all about, I guess.   

I can't wait to see what else it brings me. 

And 2014 is already look pretty exciting. I have tickets to see the amazing DWV on the 22nd in London. They're a band made up of three drag queens, two of which were on Rupauls Drag Race, a kind of 'Americas next top drag queen' type show which is camper than anything you have ever seen before. The bottom two have to lip synch for their lives each week, for gods sake. It really is too much for me to handle. But I can't wait to see them!! 

I also have tickets to see another drag show in Bournemouth. The Supreme Fabulettes. 

Whatever. I love Queens, okay? 

So I don't know what else 2014 is going to bring me, but whatever it is, I'm sure it will be fabulous. 

I hope you all have a fantastic new year and 2014 brings you absolutely everything that you want it to. 

And if not, just whack on that good ol' song, "Don't worry, Be happy" and have a cup of tea. It fixes everything. Really. Try it. 

M x

More Books. Whatever.

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."

- C.S. Lewis

Oh, hello! 

So my life has pretty much completely changed since the last time I added a blog post to my archive. I'm now officially what they call a 'student'....bizzaro. I've moved in to my halls and share an amazing little flat with 6 other people (all of whom are very nice (so far)). It's always a mess. My room is set up with all the crap that I rammed, jammed and threw into boxes. It's always a mess. Our recycle bin is constantly filled with empty bottles and cans because, hey, we're students. We're always a mess. 

So far, my course is brilliant and every lecture and seminar reaffirms in my mind that I want to do PR. The lecturers are fantastic and they really know what they're talking about - something you would very much hope, but to know that they do is reassuring. The course is quite small with only 60 odd people on it and so I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and fingers crossed remembering their names. I'm bloody useless with names! It's been a nightmare so far! 

I could sit here writing about the ins and outs of my first two weeks of freshers and that's what I thought I was going to end up doing, but you know what? Nahh. I've just been online and looking at books for one of the assignments that we have. The 'Writing for PR' unit requires a portfolio that needs to include a review of a book that has won, been shortlisted or longlisted for the Man Booked award. Obviously, this means that we're going to have to read a book. Who'd have thunked it? So I was quite looking forward to finding a book and having a read because, as we've already established, I love me a good book. But I know that my enthusiasm isn't shared by all and there are a couple of people who really aren't keen, trying to find a book that they've already read to review. There really isn't anything wrong with that, but personally, I still find it baffling that someone wouldn't want to read and I feel incredibly lucky that I do. Sure, there's the argument that if the book's that good, it'll be made into a film and then you're not missing out, but you are. So much. And what about the books that aren't made into films? There are millions and millions of books that will never be made into films and a large percentage of them should never be. When authors write a book, they make something that is special to them and most of the time, that comes across in their writing. You can feel their passion for their characters and tales and when that's made into a film, a lot of it is lost. As is the individuality that every reader has. Sure, you can CGI in a magical battle or a gigantic explosion, but it'll never be the same as when you see it in your own head. 

Having said that, I do love films and they're fantastic for bringing books to a wider audience. (Did someone say Harry Potter?) I just can't imagine not feeling a little bit excited when looking through a book shop or ordering online and waiting for them to be delivered. 

And then there is also the benefits of reading. In my first lecture we were told that if you want to be successful, you have to read. Read read read read read. Okey dokey, I can do that and I want to do that. But if you have a career goal that means that to be good at it, one of the best things you can do is pick up a book and you hate doing that then it's going to make life hard. And miserable. So I feel pretty lucky. As the God that is Dr Seuss said... 

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

In fact, the amount of times I've been told this week that you have to do something that you love? I might just look into book publicity.

Speaking of waiting for books to be delivered, I've just ordered a couple and I cannot wait for them to get here!! 

Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett 

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell - Susanna Clarke 

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

Come on, Mr Postman. Deliver them!! 

 

M x 

Goodbye, Devon. Hello, Bournemouth.

I've not blogged a lot this Summer. Why? Well, I've been pretty bloody busy. I can't say that anything extremely eventful has happened to me, but I have been kept sufficiently occupied to seemingly abandon this little blog of mine. Well do you know what I say? No more! It's time to dust off the interweby cobwebs and bring out the cyber vacuum cleaner.

And now, for those that care, here's a post on what I've been up to in the Summer of 2013.

Work

As previously mentioned, I worked in a fish and chip shop for the summer. Lovely. That beautiful heatwave we had? Yeah, I didn't see any of it because I was working every day in an absolutely horrifically hot kitchen. It's safe to say that the boss really doesn't give a damn about his workers and point blank refused to get any form of air conditioning. Charming. I previously wrote about how I was head of house. In theory, it was a very good job. I got a pay rise, I got three days off a week and I didn't have to do half the amount of work that I was required to do as a waitress. Reality? The pay rise was by 75p, I worked at my other job 2 out of the 3 days I had off and usually ended up waitressing for my remaining day off and I ended up doing far more work than I was supposed to be doing which I really wouldn't have minded doing, except I was pretty much just doing my old job with a whole load more crap to do. Also, my discovery of the summer was tourists are jackasses. Yes, I understand that you're on holiday and are out looking for a nice evening/time. No, that does not mean that you have to be an absolute jerk to anyone that you come into contact with. People can be downright rude and by the end, I had simply had enough of it. So if you were one of the customers that were screaming in my face (especially the particularly charming woman from Essex) then I have this to say to you; badly done. 

But the good news is that I am officially finished there. I've handed in my apron (and kept my name badge) and so I now, thankfully, done with working in chip shops. I've done my time. Never again. 

University

This is where things get really exciting. I am finally packing my bags and making my way to university. It's been a long time coming and I really cannot wait now. I'm studying Public Relations at Bournemouth. My A level results turned out to be absolutely shocking and it's something that I will never forgive my school for (see previous post explaining the absolute shambles of my exam day) so well done, Axe Valley. You've managed to mess up every single year of my sixth form education without fail. And yes, I know that I have to take responsibility but the things that have happened just shouldn't have and I can't help but feel incredibly let down. But anyway. Bournemouth accepted me and I, by some miracle, managed to get into the Halls that I wanted to as well. I move on the 15th of September which is hurtling towards me far too quickly, really. I've started (yesterday) sorting out my clothes. This is most definitely the largest item on the agenda but boy oh boy do I hate washing and ironing. Weep. Sob. Expect future posts all about moving in and Freshers. EEP! 

Baby James

I am now an Auntie! The very biggest of congratulations to my brother and his fiancée, Nadine. James William Ruddy was born on the 28th of August and he's absolutely gorgeous. I've been waiting to become an auntie for so long now and it's amazing to finally have a baby in the family. I'm the youngest in my family and so there's never been a baby around for me to see growing up and coerce into being a badass. Honestly, absolutely every little-person thing I've been seeing I've been wanting to buy. The money I've slaved away for is trying to spend itself on every pair of booties, every soft toy, every hat with ears and every rattling, noisy, fluffy, adorable thing that I lay eyes on. Welcome to the World, James. I hope it's kind to you. 

M x 

Frost Hollow Hall - Emma Carroll

Quite a few weeks ago, I received a message on Twitter from my (now ex) English teacher, Emma Carroll, asking if I would be able to read and review her new book for her. Big yays! I'd heard a bit about said book from her and had fully intended to place my Amazon order at
some point but, being completely useless as I am, I never actually got round to it. So I was thrilled to get a copy before it's release date in October. After collecting it from her at the school, I started it on the bus home and absolutely devoured it. 

And so here is the promised review that has been a long time coming. 
I repeat. Useless. Tut. 

Plot

Frost Hollow Hall is a gorgeous Victorian ghost story for Young Adults. The prologue tells us about the 'terrible tragedy' that is the death of Kit Barrington, the heir to Frost Hollow Hall, who died after falling through the ice of a frozen lake. Intriguing. 

We're then very quickly thrown into the life of Tilly Higgins as she waits for her dad to come home. We don't actually meet the dad, but we find out that he's a dreamer, always sharing his dreams of grandeur with Tilly. (Although only a side plot, I particularly loved the idea of the father and the way in which Tilly speaks about him.) 

Local butcher boy, Will Potter, soon shows up and so the story really begins. Dragging her out to the frozen lake Kit Barrington fell through 10 years before, Will dares Tilly to skate on  it. Tilly is a fiesty young thing - part of the reason that I really liked her - and so refuses to turn down the dare and consequently falls through the ice ala Kit Barrington. She should have drowned. She doesn't. Perfect and beautiful Kit brings her to the surface and saves her life. Tilly then makes it her mission to find out why the ghost of Kit seems to be haunting her dreams and crying out for her help. After being offered a job at Frost Hollow Hall, Tilly settles into the life of a house maid under the watchful glare of Mrs Jessop who seems to have her fair share of secrets. The reader is really thrown in to the life of a housemaid in the Victorian age. We're introduced to the odd Lord and Lady Barrington who, the Lady in particular, can't seem to move on from the death of their son. One of my favourite parts of the book is actually when Lady Barrington decides to hold a seance led by Madame Martineau (who "everyone knows [is] just Mrs Martin from the next village") to get in contact with Kit. It's a brilliant chapter that throws out many more questions that really builds up the 'what's occurring here?!'ness. I loved it. 

And so it continues. Tilly goes on trying to solve the mystery of Kit whilst finding out that he's perhaps not the only ghost haunting Frost Hollow Hall... 

Verdict

Honestly, I absolutely loved it. It's one of those fantastic books that you don't realise you've spent 4 hours reading until it's dark outside and you need to turn a light on. The settings are so beautifully described that you feel you're there, freezing by the lake or making your way up the narrow staircases of  the hall. The Victorian era is so clearly defined without the over-explanation of details or the time that I've occasionally found with YA books. The way that the house works, the duties of the staff and the hardships of the times are subtly explained without drawing attention from the plot. 

I especially liked the relationship between Tilly and Will. There's a spark between the two stubborn characters that you definitely want to see more of and the banter that passes between them is brilliant. 

The other characters are equally as good, each bringing something else to the story. Mrs Jessop is unforgettable and adds even more intrigue to the story with her odd behaviour towards Tilly. Maid Gracie is particularly charming and easy to love with her innocence and distress at being blamed for the smashed crockery she swear she didn't break. Even Tillys' unlikable mother has redeemed herself by the end of the book.

I definitely think that young readers will adore Frost Hollow Hall for it's perfect balance of mystery and history. Younger Megan would have loved it just as much as 19-year-old-Megan did.  

I admit, I started reading Frost Hollow Hall because I know the author. But I finished  it because I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, it's cheesy but it's no word of a lie; I read the last page or so with a smile on my face. 

Thank you for the copy, Mrs Carroll. Good luck! You didn't grind my gears at all. 

It was fabulous. 

M x 

Summer Sun

The last few weeks have been nothing less than beautiful. The sun has well and truly put its hat on and boy what a fabulous hat it is. 

Have I seen any of it? Have I hell. The closest I have got to sun bathing has been on my way to work and there really is nothing more depressing than seeing everyone lolling around in shorts and sunnies when you're not. 

But lets not be blue. 

I've recently been given a temporary promotion at work to fill in for someone whilst they're away in the Philippines for 3 weeks and so you are now looking at the writings of the Head of House at the chip shop. Oh yeah. That's right. Feel the responsibility. It means that I now take people to their tables and do the whole 'is everything okay with your meal?' thing and then take payment. It can be pretty boring seeing as I'm not technically supposed to do anything else (ie any waitressing) but I do what I can to help out. It does mean that instead of melting of heat in the kitchen, I'm out the front standing by the door catching the breeze that comes through if I can. And I also have a particualrly fetching waistcoat and orange shirt to wear that contrasts beautifully with my ginger hair. (Note: It doesn't). My hours have changed from a mix of full and half days with only one day off a week to 11-close three days a week with one half day and the rest of them off. Yup. 3 days off a week. This is very exciting. So, yeah. Megan's in charge. Boom. Fun fun fun. 

Other than working, I have done very little. I've been out every weekend to the local 'club' which can barely be called that due to its tiny size. I've worked. I've eaten. Slept. Played Candy Crush. The usual really. 

I am excited though because my English teacher has a young adults book that is coming out in October and she's asked me to have a read and review it for her. So I'm picking that up tomorrow and I'm sure that it'll be fabulous. I love a good Victorian story! And it's free.....I love free things! Well, I'm pretty sure that that's all folks! 

How dull. 

M x

Prom 2013

Against my better judgement (and because my £30 ticket was half price) I decided that I would actually go to Prom, Class of 2006. Now, as I've said many many many times before, I don't really feel a connection with the lower year and so the idea of going to their prom left me dubious to say the least. But nope. I decided that I wouldn't be left out of this one and so last minute, I gathered together something to wear in the hopes that I would, at least, look semi-presentable. 

The dress I ended up wearing was one that I brought 2 or 3 years ago for a friends birthday for £10 online. It's safe to say that it wasn't made very well so the night before I had to spend a good half hour or so with the ol' needle and thread making sure that it actually fit/wouldn't fall apart half way through the night. My sewing skills must be far better than I thought they were because, phew, the dress is still in one piece. Yay for me. 

I got ready with a girl that I absolutely adore, Emily. After leaving work late in the day, having a haircut that ran over and then hitting ridiculous traffic, I had all of 30 minutes to get ready and so flying around and throwing makeup at my face whilst Emily casually made her way through two bottles of wine wasn't the start to the night that I had envisaged. But that's okay. The result was reasonably charming. 

Arriving in the back of a van (classy) was all part of the fun and then the night got under way. The girls that had arranged prom had done a bloody brilliant job and it made for a night that was far better than I had expected it to be. The photo booth was fantastic and the chocolate fountain even more so. Although there were times when I was a complete loner and ended up having in depth chats with the teachers because noone I really knew was around, it all added to the evening and I'm pretty sure that I wasn't the only one who really enjoyed it. The girl that won prom queen thoroughly deserved it, being the one that organised the entire event. Well done, Shiv. You're a superstar. 

I have to say though, my feet and my head weren't enjoying themselves so much the next morning though. Wearing heels for almost 7 hours isn't particularly fun. And I'm sure that we all know the pain that a good hangover can inflict. 

Ouch. 

Hannah and I. Boy, do I love this girl. 

My Economics and Law teacher to whom I owe my love for Despicable Me. 

The gorgeous Miss Lucy (Have a looksy at her blog right her right now)

Thanks to everyone that made it such a fantastic night and the very best to you all!! 

M x 

Daddy Ruddy

I'm not sure about everywhere else in the world, but Sunday the 16th was Fathers day in England. My dad doesn't live with me and I don't get to see him that often and so when my brother suggested that all us kids (there are four of us) get together and make our way up to London to surprise him, I was very excited! One of my brothers lives with dad, the other lives down near me and my sister is a couple of hours away so it's not often that we all get together. In fact, it's pretty damn rare. So I took the day off work and my brother and I made our way to the arranged meeting point to meet my sister. 

Now, I love my sister. And I mean a lot. I don't see her anywhere near enough but she's one of the biggest influences on my life, which may explain why I turned out the way that I did. So although the day was about seeing my dada, I was also pretty damn hyped to see Rebby. We all then proceeded to dads place and met the brother who lives with him outside and then traipsed in. Cor, was the old man surprised! He didn't recognise us at first, thinking we were a group of Jacks friends, but he seemed pretty overjoyed when he eventually realised that we were, in fact, his children. Bless him. David (my older brother) had already booked somewhere for a meal and when we told him that we were going out to eat, he looked pretty pleased for us and said something along the lines of 'oh, that'll be nice. Have fun'. Ermmm... it's Father's day. You're coming with us, you dope.

The meal was lovely and the company even better. Despite burning myself on a hot plate - yup, I mindlessly reached out and tried to move it depsite the guy having just warned us it was hot and using a towel to place it down - we all had a lovely evening. Dad seemed truly speechless about us all having turned up which was great. Secrets usually aren't our forte. 

It was so lovely to all be together and it was a shame that mum couldn't come with us, but we all had a really good day and dad thoroughly enjoyed his surprise present. 

I love you, daddy :) 

M x