Liverpool chicken is bad for you.

So this month, I've been abouts one of the largest cities in the U.K next to London, Birmingham and Manchester. Truth is, I'm getting on, "I'm seventeen going on eighteen", in a years time I'm looking to leave the family nest in rural East Cheshire to fly out in to the big wide world out adulthood, 2 for 1 shot "happy hour" nights in student bars and the creeping existential crisis awaiting me when I start paying heating bills.

I remember last year when I turned seventeen and blew out my candles on my birthday cake, I can just remember thinking to myself: "Another two years to get through until I'm free from all ties, rules and traditions, finally I can write my own story, move on from deadbeat friends and actually live." I was outgoing once, fearless even. But the thought of me moving away from familiarities and living off noodles day and night makes me choke back tears and hide under my duvet, both feet tucked under.
That was when I firmly adjusted my gut and asked an acquaintance to show me around Liverpool, my most desired location to study Fashion Communication at the large and prestigious John Moores University and work on fashion advertising, designing, trend prediction, art film, branding and more. The idea of this makes me so excited, I can't breathe normally; the actual act of being part of creative projects, you putting forth valuable ideas? You can say I'm extremely passionate about it.

So I packed up for a day up in the northern port town of Liverpool for a little sight see day. The guy who gave me the grand tour that spanned from 10:30pm-5pm, he was an absolute delight for putting up with a younger, eager-beaver who did nothing but ask questions landmark to bar. He's a student at one of Liverpool's universities: a music, stage speciality school where he had formed a band and tours around the u.k. He was thrown in to the social life of Liverpool and could rattle off every single meal on every single menu of every single restraunt in the city and could still tell you what was better for money and taste. Luckily he is a massive food lover as I am and led me to exotic, yet reasonably priced exotic supermarkets and cafes.

This is what I have learnt from a day in Liverpool, the do's and don'ts and advice for any wannabe Liverpool students:

• There IS an existing china town, being beautifully decorated and all, it is incredibly small and most of the shops are going out of business. A place to be at Chinese New-Year but not one for a little dim-sum snack.
  
• There is fantastic graffiti art all about the city, strategically placed and gorgeously done up. You just need to look for it, so keep your eyes peeled and camera ready if you are inspired by street art like I am.

(This one had my mouth hanging open by the hinge, sci-fi inspired.)

(There was a ton of typography in the city.)

• If there are any modern art galleries advertised within walking distance, don't hesitate to wait! The artists from around this city are so inspirational and talented, you never know what you could see.
• When you go out drinking, never end up eating a greasy half a chicken in those corner fish and chip shops, they heighten any hangover that you may acquire the next morning but 110%. (But apparently you'll do it anyway.)
• Scene kids should stick to "Bold St.", they have the best retro, vintage stores that have little clothing, games and comic covens. You sit in culture coffee shops with the latest music paper and can find secret, second hand book shops that also do vinyl. Massive tick from me.
• You can get belts from vintage stores for 90p-crazy I know.
• The best nights out are those in Mexican bars: mariachi + tequila = The best night ever (according to source.)
• Cocktail bars are "little shits" as they serve the tastiest little treats imaginable and suck all your money out of your pocket, like THE WORST for undergrads with badly paid jobs.
• Head to the Zanzibar music venue for pure folk and rock soul, your feet will hurt from dancing. Stock up on the Scholl guys.

I don't know man, I got these from an actual student, put faith in him.

So to sum up my day, china town is crazy disappointing, Bold St has THE ULTIMATE coffee blends and never drink a high-end martini.

To check out my ultimate tour guides band, head to their Facebook page for info on gigs, new realises and other crazies: https://www.facebook.com/edgeofedenband?fref=ts Their sound is pretty cool.

 

Rad.

Madison xxx

 

 

Paper cuts and fictional adoration

So I was very recently given a swag-bag full of hard back copies of classics and lesser known stabs at fiction to rifle through and find new adventures within the coffee-stained pages and new loves. There was a selection of at least a dozen assorted books in a heap, all different genres and plots but I decided variety is the spice of life, right? (Plus, I love good novel however if there is a cheeky vampire romance, I'm not exactly going to say no)
If you're a reader similar to me then you'll be reading three books within a week, hard backs are easy reading in my opinion, something to keep my creative juices flowing whenever I'm low on inspiration for blogging, writing, learning, living.

So to dig in to all the fictional goodies I started off with one dinger of  a good-hearted, comedy classic: Bridget Jones Diary: The Edge of Reason by -, this is because curiosity got the cat in this instance, I'd absolutely loved the two remake films and the original novel and wanted to see if this one could make me laugh and relate (most embarrassingly) as I did in the films and previous book.
If no one has read or seen Bridget Jones Diary then you a missing out on a good belly ache of comedy gold. It's fundamentally about a 30 something British woman going through a patch in her life where there are changes in the romance, weight, friendship, career area that reflects honesty and clarity. She is awkward, impulsive, un-decided and a wonderful flurry of a female. It is relatable to the younger and older generation of females as it shows the inner struggles women have to be accepted in a male dominated modern world, to be accepted in their friendship group and just in general trying to find long lasting love. There is no polished off edges in these books, they uncover the reality of living away from parents, sex/one night stands and trying to make it in a dead end job but through the view of one with a wicked sense of humour.

Read this one, it's a cracker, you'll feel liberated and understood at the very same time!

Until I speak again, keep rad.
Mads.
xxx