14 hours and 37 minutes later...

I finished watching all 6 Harry Potter films in one weekend; a great achievement!

Me and Gemma also found a tour of all the attractions in London - http://www.the-magician.co.uk/ :) has to be done!

mark harold

My brother does a variety of creative activities in his spare time. I think that he is amazingly talented so I am going to share some of his work with you.

DJ Earcandy

Find him on Facebook, YouTube or his website.

Mark is a self taught DJ. He started teaching himself in 2006 and started it as a profession in 2009. He found inspiration to start DJing from his passion for music. He enjoys DJing because he has the opportunity to meet new people and gets a sense of achievement when he sees the crowd enjoying themselves. He also produces his own music and remixes past and presents classics to form new and original songs.

Photography and Graphic Design

Find him on Flickr.

Mark has always had an interest in photography as an influence from his Dad. He was able to develop this hobby at College and gained an A Level in the subject. His likes to focus on landscape photography and anything weird and wonderful. As well as taking photographs he also edits them on Photoshop.

Mark studied Art at school. He become increasingly interested in the graphic aspect of Art and Design and studied it as an A Level at college. Sometimes during his spare time he creates his own work ranging from logos to digital paintings.

Video Production

Mark studied both photography and film studies at college which helped him develop an interest in video production. He likes to both film and edit videos. He will usually edit film and photography to music but is also very good at documentary type films. His current project is a Summer 2011 video in which he hopes he can involve people from all over the world to show how they spend their summer.

Mark is so talented and I hope that one day he will be able to do what he loves and have the whole world see it too ♥

join me...

... in joining Join Me. I'm reading Danny Wallace's book and it will make you want to sign up. A great opportunity to meet new people and brighten someone's day!

"The Karma Army has now been going for getting on ten years… good people committed to performing one random act of kindness a week, being nice for the sake of… well… just being nice. People do good deeds – some secret, some public – they chat on the forums, they meet up around the country, and once a year we all end up in a pub after a properly fun day of random acts of kindness…" - http://www.join-me.co.uk/

To Join Me, send one passport photo to:
Join Me
PO BOX 33561

London E3 2YW

keep calm and carry on

I adore anything slightly retro or vintage. Today, whilst browsing Amazon, I come across a brand called East of India. It is vintage heaven. Everything is really reasonably priced and I also get to feed my stationary addiction. They have signs, tea cups, candle holders, sewing kits, jewelery stands, gift tags, ribbons... ♥. I know I shouldn't have but I bought this Keep Calm and Carry On sign. It's vintage and British and I fell in love instantly.

Barcelona, Spain

I have just got back from Barcelona. I went with two friends to celebrate Cathy's 21st birthday! It was an amazing few days!
The first day we went out for a "quiet" meal. We found a place called TapaTapa. We had Sangria, ate lots of food and checked out the Spanish waiters. After dinner we went for a walk around the city. It is so beautiful! All the buildings were lit up, it was warm and we had fun. We went to the city centre where there were lots of fountains. Of course, I thought it would be a good idea to stand in the fountain. Our walk took us to a small bar down a side alley. We decided on Mojitos which was the worst idea ever! They were so strong and only Becca could finish her cocktail. Good on her! It was late but still there were a lot of places open. We had waffles as we walked along finding our next place to go, which were amazing! The best waffles I have had. We decided on the Hard Rock which I am pleased about! One mention for 21st birthdays and we got a free surprise cocktail. A great night!

The second day was Cathy's 21st birthday! We basically spent the day walking around Barcelona and taking in the sights. We saw the Cathedral, many more beautiful buildings and street performers and the beach! We stood in the Mediterranean on 3rd January 2011! Who'd of thought! After a siesta (when in Spain...) we went to another Tapas restaurant, Piscolabis. It had pretty much the same food as the night before but the atmosphere wasn't the same. After dinner we walked around the city some more and ended diving in to small cafe in desperate need for the toilets and ended up ordering another jug of Sangria et Cava. We made our way back to our hostel and had a bit of an early one! A lovely day indeed!

Our last full day in Barcelona was spent walking around Barcelona again. We went to Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. It is amazing! The detail gone in to making the building is astonishing. It is going to take another 20 years to complete it and I can not wait to see the finished piece. We then got a train to Park Guell. When we decided to go to the park I was thinking grass and picnic benches, I even took my book along to read!! We was in for a surprise. The park was basically made up of mosaics. The ground was pebbled, the stairs, ceiling and seats were all mosaic! It was amazing to see! The open grounds was covered in tradesmen, a band and performers. The atmosphere was brilliant and there was a view of Barcelona. One of my favorite places. Whilst we was there the Policia turned up and all of a sudden all the tradesmen were running all over the place and hiding in bushes!! It really was one of the funniest things I have seen! After a long day we chased the sunset then ended up at TapaTapa again. It was an eventful meal which ended with me going on a date with a Spanish waiter then meeting my friends and getting free wine. Not a bad way to end a great city break!

new year, new hair

New year, new hair.

2011

I had a very good new year's eve this year. My friend Sara from Wales come to spend new year's in Essex. We spent the day in London and took in the sights as Sara has never been to London before. We started at St. Paul's Cathedral then walked across The Millennium Bridge. From the bridge we got to see a brilliant view of London, The Thames and Tower Bridge. We then walked to The Tate. I met Sara in Australia and so it was only right that we celebrated the new year of Australia in. We stopped at a pub and had a few drinks. In Australia there are different time zones, so obviously we celebrated new year's of 3 different time zones in. We then went to the London Eye and walked over the Waterloo Bridge and towards Trafalgar Square whilst passing Big Ben. We finished our day at Buckingham Palace and made our way home ready for the party.

My friend Becca had a house party and had all her family and friend's there. It was a really good party and a lovely way to see the new year in. We had many laughs and a lot of fun!

2010 has gone quickly. Most of my year was focused on going to Australia. The saving, the planning... it was all worth it! My 2010 has been an amazing year and I am looking forward to 2011 and new things and new faces.

♥