Have a little Heart

Heart in the Park

I've recently been doing a bit of work experience with Heart FM as a Heart Angel. This involves being a Heart FM representative and helping with events, which is great fun and also very rewarding. 

A few weeks ago I worked at Heart in the Park which was part of the Barclaycard British Summertime event in Hyde Park. Heart in the Park was a huge family event on the 14th July, which hosted food stalls, funfair rides, and entertainment from acts such as Stooshe, Eliza Doolittle, Beverly Knight, J-Lo and the headliner Lionel Richie!

We got there at 10 o'clock before the gates opened and were lucky enough to J-Lo doing her soundcheck which was brilliant. It was lovely seeing the park all up before people were there as we got to have a good look around at all the cute little stalls and shops that had a very British theme. 

When the gates opened we were greeting the public as they came in and high-fiving them with the Heart foam hands. We were also taking photos of groups or families which went on to the Heart FM website. Some of the other Heart angels were handing our flags and were all face painting for free which was a hugely popular which the children and ladies!

J-Lo performing

For the rest of the day we were taking pictures of the crowds and handing out posters for them to hold up for the headlining acts. All of the Heart merchandise was so popular that we had to keep going back to get more! It was one of the hottest days of the year which helped to make the day a huge success and the feedback from the crowds was very positive. 

I also had a fab time working at the event as I got to watch the acts, interact with the public and have an amazing day out at the same time!

Red Bull Soapbox Race

In three weeks, 70 teams will be competing in the Red Bull Soapbox Race in London. 

For those of you who don't know, the race involves teams creating 'soapboxes,' which are cars created and designed entirely by the teams themselves, and then racing them down Alexandra Palace hill on the 14th of July. The designs can be as outrageous and wacky as they want, with some of this years designs including a soapbox size load of bread, a yellow submarine, a typical London taxi and a Royal baby carriage. 

The human-powered soapboxes will reach speeds up to 40mph as they tackle the jumps and curves that the course throws at them. Each team will be scored on their creativity, speed and showmanship, with judges including Danny MacAskill, Rob Marshall and Gee Atherton. 

Tickets are £5 and can be bought on the Red Bull soapbox website. There will also be live music, face painting and lots of Red Bull(!) to keep you entertained throughout the day so go and book your tickets to ensure a really fun day out!

Also, have a look at this video which shows other soapbox races from around the world taking place, and maybe this will convince you to go!

Let me know what soapbox you'd create if you entered and if you're going to the event :) 

Gemma x

Life as a Londoner

For the last two weeks I've been doing some work experience in West London at a PR company, and I've been experiencing life as a London worker. 

Getting up at 6am every morning from Monday to Friday is a killer, but not allowing myself to snooze my alarm seems to be doing the trick and making me wake up! Walking around like a zombie and sneaking round my house trying not to wake anyone up (and failing... I'm known as the fairy elephant), I slowly get myself ready for the London day. 

The station

My train leaves at 7:24 precisely, and after two weeks I'm starting to recognise the same people every morning. There's the typical business man with his sharp suit and polished shoes, carrying his shiny briefcase and looking ready for the day. Then there are the numerous people who display the 'work clothes with trainers' look... one that never ceases to make me laugh. There is also the same man who is on his Ipad every morning, and every Thursday, he (and me over his shoulder) watches The Apprentice; obviously catching up from the previous night. 

Luckily the station I pick up the train from is half way to London therefore there are always some seats available. I've turned in to one of those people who, as soon as the train starts coming in to the platform, walks ALL the way down to the very end of the platform because this is seemingly where the most seats will be. I've now realised that more and more people do that every day, so it sort of defeats the object...

The train

On a standard London Midland train, amongst the lovely green carpety seats there are the two people seats, the four people ones and the six people ones. Through the two weeks I've trialled pretty much all of these to see where the best place to sit is during rush hour... but all I've found is that you're at a disadvantage wherever you sit if a big man comes and sits down next to you.

I thought i had it sussed, sitting on the aisle of a four person group of seats seemed the best option. However one day a hugely large man came and sat next to me and I ended up having a to share my seat with him and having one bum cheek hanging off in to the aisle. This also then resulted in every person that walked past knocking me either with their arm or bag...

Now I've learnt that RUSH HOUR IS BUSY and you will be crowded no matter where you sit. I'm just thankful I get a seat as I'm always that person who falls over on trains when they're moving. 

London

As the train pulls in to London Euston, everyone starts to pack their stuff up and straighten themselves out after the boring, squashed journey. A few people always stand up as the train is pulling in; something I have never understood... they never get any further than me still sitting down so why waste your energy?

As the doors open that is it. Hundreds of Londeners zoom off the train towards the alarmed looking security men at the barriers, and as the lucky few at the front of the crowd escape through quickly, the rest of us end up getting jammed in the small space, resulting in us waddling like penguins until its our turn to zap our Oyster card.

I then make my way to the underground doing the standard London walk... walking way faster than people are meant to in every day life and bumping in to everyone walking the opposite way. My legs are a lot shorter than the majority of other London workers so I find my legs moving 100 mph just to keep up with the race to the Tube. 

Coming home

After work is the same situation. Finishing at 5:30 means I am in the midst of rush hour once again and the underground is even more crowded that the morning. Everyone looks tired and present glum faces that know they have to travel back home on the sweaty, packed train. 

Getting back to Euston is always the funny bit for me. Waiting in the concourse with the crowd of people under the big screens, we're all waiting for one thing... the platform to be announced. You can see people glancing around and then looking up at the screen hoping a) their train has arrived, and b) that everyone else isn't waiting for the same train. 

Suddenly it is announced and if you are unfortunate not to have seen yet, you will definitely be swept up and taken with the crowd regardless. Once again people walk a million mph towards the train, many people also running as if they're racing Usain Bolt, while the overhead tannoy hopelessly reminds people, "please do not run when making your way to the platform..."

So far my experience as a Londener is going well. I've got two weeks left of my work experience and I'm really enjoying it so far :) I'll let you know of any more updates to my London worker life!

Gemma x

The NTAs

Last night saw the red carpet being rolled out and walked on by our most loved television stars. The O2 was packed with hundreds of fans eager to see who would win awards including Entertainment Presenter, Daytime and Drama Performance. 

Phillip Schofield

Keith Lemon

Walking towards the O2 , we could see banners and screens promoting the National Television Awards high above groups of people excited to go in and see what was in store. Myself and Sian wandered around inside, and as doors didn't open until 5:30, we had an hour to kill. We stumbled across a long queue of people waiting to go out to watch the red carpet. Much to our shock, surprise and humour, most of those people had been waiting in the cold for hours - some people began queuing at 11am. Luckily enough for us, the bouncer wasn't doing his job too well and handed us some wristbands while pointing which way to go. We joined the queue. Twenty minutes later we were being ushered outside and led to the red carpet! Obviously not being as super keen as most of the other people there, we didn't get a prime spot, however we managed to wriggle our way to the front of the barriers which were where the celebrities were all getting dropped off before they stepped on to the red carpet. 

Two hours later we couldn't feel our feet, hands or faces, but we both had cameras full of pictures of the celebs! The highlights for me were definitely seeing Mcfly, Phillip Schofield, Christine Bleakley, Keith Lemon, the cast of +The Only Way Is Essex  and all the stars of Dancing on Ice. 

We made our way in to the O2 arena and took our seats in Block B1 which was situated on the floor. Our seats were great, as we were sat close to all the celebrities are were right in front of the stage. The whole event was amazing, as shows such as Downton Abbey, Strictly Come Dancing and This Morning took to the stage to accept their awards. Colin Morgan, who played the main character in the fantasy-drama series Merlin, won Drama Performance: Male; which I was extremely happy about! Ant and Dec also won the award for Entertainment Presenter, ahead of Dermot O'Leary, Keith Lemon and Alan Carr, making this their twelfth win in a row!

Throughout the night there were also a number of performances, including X Factor's Ella Henderson, Kimberly Walsh who was a member of Girls Aloud, and Ashley and Pudsey. Ella sounded incredible as she sung her own version of Cher's 'Believe,' and Ashley and Pudsey wowed the audience as they danced to the popular routine in +Gangnam Style. The night truly showcased and rewarded the best television talent in Britain. 

Let me know if you were at the NTAs or what your views were of last night's winners...

Gemma x

An amazing end to two thousand and twelve

My 2012 ended with a complete high as I had one of the best weeks I have ever had. My auntie, uncle and little cousins, who live in America, came over to England on the 23rd of December until the 31st December. I haven't seen them for three years, so seeing them and spending time with them meant that I had the best Christmas ever!

Christmas Day
Waking up on Christmas Day with two ten year olds bouncing around on my bed with their stockings put the biggest smile on my face. After opening our presents with the rest of my family, we got ourselves ready, and then all helped out with the Christmas dinner, as well as trying out the new toys and gadgets we received. As usual, my mum made an incredible Christmas dinner, topped off with terrible cracker jokes, hats that were too big and a Christmas pudding that had way too much alcohol on it! (We liked watching it alight...) Traditionally, we always play games after dinner which mainly consist of wrapping people in toilet roll, sticking your face in a bowl of flour and having to play Christmas songs with flutes (dont ask).

Boxing Day
After an exhausting Christmas Day, the day after consisted of a long lie-in and a day in onesies! After successfully reaching 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and having spent the day lazing around eating chocolate and watching films, we were off to the pantomime! I haven't been to a panto since I was little, and I'm a sucker for anything remotely funny... so I was very excited! The performance was a take of Aladdin, and after watching people slip over (not scripted) on custard pies, and being deafened by little children shouting "it's behind you," overall it was absolutely hilarious.


The 27th
My cousins live in Colorado up in the mountains, therefore they are able to go skiing and snowboarding a lot. We live near a snow centre, so we decided to take them there to show of their (and my) "skills." I've been skiing a few times... and I wouldn't say I was good... I can't really control my body when I'm attached to skis, resulting in me heading very quickly down the hill with no elegance whatsoever! However, skiing was very fun and I loved watching my cousins fly down the hill with a lot more style than I had! 

The 28th
As every day was soggy and rainy, most of our activities were indoors. This day consisted of go-karting. This was the activity I was most excited for, and as my two cousins, my brother, dad, auntie, uncle and I all put on our racing suits and got in to our go karts, I knew I HAD to win. Road rage took over me and I was racing round the track cutting everyone up, skidding round corners, and "accidentally" crashing in to people causing them to fly off the track (safely of course). As I raced round, I could see my mum watching at the side of the track telling me to go faster as my brother was catching up... safe to say no one wanted me to drive them home afterwards!

The 29th
Our second last day of activities included indoor skydiving! I've been skydiving before, but I've never been to an indoor centre, so I was looking forward to this. Once again, we got given smelly, sweaty body suits to wear, as well as very cool hat and goggles. We were shown the body position that we were meant to take up once in the skydiving tube, as well as the signs and signals the instructor would give us throughout our time there. After watching both my auntie and my cousins have a go, it was my turn, and I stood at the edge of the tube ready to leap. I managed to get in to the correct position, while being deafened by the noise of the fan roaring below me, and also being very aware of my face wobbling from the strength of the wind...! The experience of flying was really good and it was great fun!

The 30th
This was the last day that we all had together before my family flew back to America, so we decided to take them up to London for the day. Typically, we had to go and see Big Ben and all the sights of London, as well as going for a lovely family meal to end the week. 

Overal it was such a good week and definitely one I'll never ever forget!

Gemma x