New adventures are always exciting but also daunting. I find writing stuff down puts my mind at ease which is one of many reasons why I am starting to write a weekly blog of what is going on in my life. Some weeks it will be fun others perhaps not so much but it is a great way to document this new chapter of me starting university and hopefully discovering much more music because of that.
Even though I haven’t started term yet, I thought now would be a great time to start because there are a lot of preparations and I have been up to some cool stuff.
These posts will be up on a Friday of each week. So please, enjoy.
My first day of this month was spent at Wolverhampton Racecourse with some fellow Kaiser Chiefs fans where in the lovely sunshine we had a laugh waiting at the barrier whilst keeping an eye on the horse racing passing us by. It was a great way to kick off a month with so much promise and new experiences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day for many reasons such as meeting more fans and another strong set list but my day peaked at around two in the afternoon – hours before the band were due on stage – when I had a visit at the barrier from a certain drummer. I have said it before and will say it again: he’s a dude.
The band played new track People Know (How To Love One And Other) which I recorded so check it out here.
Wolverhampton one day and Birmingham the next very early in the morning for my World Cup Cricketeers interview session. Next summer is the ICC World Cup in England & Wales which is very exciting for cricket lovers and I wanted to be part of it. This is why I signed up to volunteer for the event at Edgbaston Cricket Ground. I can’t talk much about it because the interviews are going on until the end of October so not allowed to give anything away but it was a great morning. Met some interesting people and got a pin badge so I am happy.
From there I went to my old bosses’ party where I drank too much Pimms and tried to avoid the dreaded “goodbye”. I left my job the week before after working there for a year and I really enjoyed my time with all my brilliant colleagues and now friends. So much so that the thought of saying farewell brought tears to my eyes. So I avoided that shit like that dude from The Matrix.
After a busy weekend you would think a rest would be needed but there was no time for that. I was up early as I was heading to London to catch the train to Brussels, Belgium. It was the first time I had been away abroad with pals and also my first time in Belgium so I was very excited. The journey was surprisingly trouble free so much so I will definitely use the Euro Tunnel in the future.
Brussels is a beautiful yet surprisingly quiet city that I recommend you should visit. We went for the perfect amount of time of a couple of nights and explored the entire city, ate a lot of food and bought chocolate to bring home with us. We also experienced all methods of transport: metro, tram, bus and taxi. It took us some time to work it out but with some help from a friend of mine we were away.
We stayed in a hotel called Jam which was very cool and edgy. I have never stayed anywhere like it before and I really enjoyed it. It was comfortable, had great facilities including terraces and a games room but it was great for us because we could all share one room without feeling cramped. They made good use of the space.
My favourite place we visited was probably European Parliament. As someone who is very interested in politics and is a lover of the EU it was definitely worth while. We went to one of the Hemicycle Visits which was slightly surreal being in the building which you see so much on the news.
We also ate in different places each meal and went around two shopping areas which were quiet on the Tuesday but very busy on the Wednesday morning. I did buy some chocolate for my family on the last morning before we set off for the long journey home.
Even though there were two other days this week that’s all that happened. I spent yesterday and today recovering from a busy five days. It was a lot for an introverted teen like me but I wouldn’t change any of it. Everything was brilliant and I have made a lot of memories.
You may have noticed that in the title of this blog I mention “saying goodbye” and that isn’t just because of me leaving work. It was also it being my last Kaiser Chiefs gig until who knows when. Their gigs have become a massive part of my life over the past few years and now I am unsure – because of student financial struggles – of when I will get to have that experience again. I have a lot of friends through the band and a day out to one of their gigs is not only just about seeing them live and hearing their music but to me it is about hanging with so many people I care about.
I definitely have concerns about how I am going to fund these gigs and see these people again but it is definitely not goodbye just an unsure-about-when-I-am-going-to-see-you-all-again-bye.
Hopefully it won’t be too long.
Picks of the week:
Song: Ready For War by Spring King Listen.
Album: Joy as an Act of Resistance by IDLES Listen.
Gig: Yungblud (Playing O2 Academy Birmingham 12/09) Tickets.
Music, Drums and Me 