SLS

JULY 2010 - Dubai

2010-07-29T14:19:00.001-07:00

Our last stop was Dubai,

Me in the Rolls Royce

Our suite at the Burj Al Arab - The Worlds Most Luxurious Hotel

Beach time. The water was so clear you could see right to the bottom.

Mall Of The Emirates - SNOW DOME!

Atlantis

JULY 2010 - Bali

2010-07-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

The next stop was Bali, Indonesia.

Road up to the villa

The villa itself...

Our other villa

Around Seminyak (Beach town in South Bali)
In Bali the roads are manic! You don't need a licence to drive and you can ride a motorbike at the age of only 8, also their price of petrol is 30 X cheaper than ours!

Offerings to the Gods

The Temple of War and the Temple of Peace (PS: We had to wear the skirts...)

Monkey Temple...

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. The monkeys that live in this sanctuary are called Balinese macaques. About 300 monkeys currently reside in the forest. Balinese macaques society is centered around groups of related females, males usually migrate in from other areas and attempt to associate themselves with the females.

More temples, an active volcano and paddy fields

JULY 2010 - Singapore

2010-07-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

This July I went on a little adventure to Singapore, Bali and Dubai - stopping off in Singapore first.

The view from our hotel room in Singapore, we were on the 34th floor, it was really lovely, especially at night time.

It was quite a way down...

The following photo was our Club room at the Pan Pacific Singapore

Me in the hotel bar...

On our 2nd day we visited the Jurong Bird Pack. It holds over 8,000 birds belonging to more than 600 species, and is one of the world's best in conservation and display of birds in its natural settings.

In the bar again...

Singapore Slings!

Raffles singnature peanuts!

Me @ Raffles

Cheeky

Me and my mum

Me in the outdoor lift at night

By the pool...

One night we went to the singapore Night Safari which was so unique and amazing! With over 1000 nocturnal animals of around 115 species inhabiting 40 hactares of dense secondary forest, the Night Safari is the world's first wildlife park with a night view.

Koi Carps at the Japanese Restaurant

After I visited Bali we went back to Singapore for a few days before jetting off to Dubai...

The worlds best Airport Hotel...

Glass wall into the bathroom

Pool...

my heart is a drummer

2010-07-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

I'd see you light a cigarette, and then you'd ask me to pass your asthma inhaler.
I'd say "Don't you ever think about cancer?"
You'd say "Baby, you don't know but my heart is as strong as a drummer"

IMF

2010-01-03T11:45:00.001-08:00

Everyone vist: http://www.indiemusicfinds.com/ and http://www.sophiestratford.com/

Happy New Year from me!

Why Men Look Better In Suits

2009-12-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

Without suits, men would be nothing. In the hierarchy of style a good suit remains to be a man's greatest asset. The suit carries an air of success, sophistication and class, and can help climb the social ladder. A suit is an outfit that can never fail, unless you are wearing an ill-fitting suit, then there is no point in actually wearing one in the first place. Suits like these are terrible and look terrible, unfortunately the majority of men don't know how to wear a suit correctly. In my opinion every man should take a trip to Savile Row or a classic Designer and purchase an expertly fitted and tailored suit, no matter the cost - this should be no exception.

Prompting this article was the wonderful X-Factor finalists John and Edward. From the start I knew they were beautiful but for those who beg to differ take one look at their Grazia photo shoot then give me an answer.

Exactly. These outfits give John and Edward an air of complexity, superiority, and give them a more refined manly look.
This is the same with the following men...

And I could go on for hours...
Take note men, and also don't take any hassle from friends for looking good.

Frankmusik

2009-11-08T08:48:00.000-08:00

Frankmusik has just kicked off a natiowide search for the UK's best unsigned musical talent! The "Kit Kit" Battle of the Bands will hit Newcastle University Student Union this Tuesday as part of a tour of student unions across the UK to unearth the next big thing. It doesn't matter whether you're an indie, electropop or heavy metal artist- talent is talent.

You can register at battleofthebands@frankpr.it

The winner bags £3,000, a rehearsal masterclass with Frankmusik together with a chance for him to remix one of your songs and have a link posted on his Myspace; alongside some other online promotion.

My week in pictures

2009-10-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

The Northern Echo

2009-10-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE RECENT LIVE REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS, SUCH AS MR HUDSON

Diamonds Are Forever

2009-09-01T02:50:00.000-07:00

Long time no see. This is going to be a long blog, maybe.

Firstly, I have fallen in love with http://www.graze.com/. Perfect little boxes that are nutritionally balanced, personallised to your tastes and delivered straight to your desk or home. I have mine delivered every Friday, to give me energy for the weekend, or indeed Friday nights. Graze boxes can be suited to everyone, whether you're in to exercize and need a specially hand picked box for pre workout, or you just want to loose a bit of weight, or just for all day energy. For only 2.99 with FREE delivery, I would.

Secondly, I have just come back from Leeds Festival and it was amazing no doubt obviously. It was my 3rd year and I'm pretty sure its toppped off all the others. Full review coming soon.

Thirdly, it's the gig season and I'm going to be very very very busy!

This hasn't been that long actually...

Until next time.... have a listen, its AMAZING.

males

2009-08-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

1,000

2009-08-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

one thousand views LOL.

I've been doing a lot recently, lots of work. I've interviewed Frankmusik and The Rumble Strips and I've been doing lots of album/single reviews.

Frankmusik was a really nice guy, v.interesting too.

Loving Mr Hudson atm.

2009-07-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

fyi

2009-07-27T11:20:00.001-07:00

and fyi i would never ever ever express my feelings on blog-spot.

2009-07-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

i love http://www.hedislimane.com/diary/

Also, I've never met anyone like me...

Catch Up.

2009-07-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hi, sorry for the lack of posts. and the once in a while, very special my week in pictures.
Anyway, just wanted to say the biggest thing I've learnt after years of Music journalism; interviewing, reviewing bands ect, that the majority of band members are some of the thickest people ever. Most of these aren't massive headliner bands, but still are pretty big.

COME ON

My week in pictures

2009-06-28T04:18:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

2009-06-26T10:14:00.001-07:00

Today and last night the news of Michael Jackson's death shocked the world. I am a huge fan of the king of pop and have always loved not only the music but Michael himself. I've always fought back the gossip and lies of his past and like many others I am behind him all the way.

At first I could not beleive the news, I had just been to see Blur at Newcastle O2 Academy and saw the news that there was an unconfirmed death of MJ. Only this afternoon has his death registered with me. I still hope that he is alive and has faked his death because he cannot cope in the public eye or because of the stress of the three year tour, whatever. I was set to see his This Is It tour in September for my birthday, and I'm devasted I will never be able to see him live.

Now the world didn't know what it had until it was gone. My love goes out to his family and friends, Michael Jackson Rest In Peace 1958-2009 you will always be in my heart.

"I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On My
Favourite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind
I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See
Their Needs
A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got Nowhere
To Go
That's Why I Want You To
Know

I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place"

Collection Of Short Stories P. 2

2009-06-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Street artist Hush worked as a toy designer in Hong Kong after studying graphic design in Newcastle. Now back in the UK, his urban art is characterised by wide-eyed girls and pop art kitsch. His prints are on sale between a couple of hundred pounds up to a few thousand pounds. Visit: http://www.studio-hush.com/ and http://www.opusunderground.com/artists/Hush. He is also a lovely man, and I have two of his original prints in my house.I enjoy his art because it is different and unique, there is a psychedelic array of colour and it is very 21st century.

Looking Back On Fantasies

Tits and Terror

Collection Of Short Stories P.1

2009-06-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

Ribbon Lakes

2009-06-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hey hey.

I Spent most of my time in Newcastle Central this weekend. Kicking of on Friday night I went to review a very exciting new band, called One EskimO. Their music is a sweet melodic mix of funky soft riffs and powerful vocals. The venue was fairly empty giving you the feeling that the band aren’t very widely known, however after hearing just one track you can’t possibly understand why the show wasn’t sold out. One EskimO are a band accompanied by animation created by Passion Pictures , the team that brought us Gorillaz, each member of the band is represented by a cartoon character, a penguin, eskimo, giraffe and a comical monkey. The animation was shown on a large screen behind the band and the music seemed to be the soundtrack to the film giving the performance a unique modern take on the silent movie.

[see full review on sophiestratford.com soon]

One EskimO are a great band and they certainly deserve more recognition than they are getting. Check them out here: www.myspace.com/oneeskimo

On Saturday. Went to the beach for camping, great fun.

On Sunday. Had a roast at Sheri's then went into central for a lazy sunny sunday in Leazers Park.

PS: 110% glad Fressie aka Half-Wit stayed in BigBrother, he is awesome. Glad the public like him. Also I find it quite strange that I have 570 + profile views and no followers hahahaha.

goodnight.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Questing, Not Coasting

2009-06-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

"I said...Hey you, what's new?I know your face?"

Been layered down with books books and more books for the past few months, can't wait to do some living on the 19th! I got a new blackberry and a nice dress yesterday, they're sexy.

Loving Moby's Wait For Me at the moment and the bad weather. Need to get to London soon. YEAH.

j.u.s.t. k.e.e.p. t.a.l.k.i.n.g

2009-06-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

just keep talking, talking, talking

A celebrity is a person who works hard all their life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized...

TEESSIDE

2009-06-09T11:07:00.001-07:00

2009-06-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hey yall,

Haven't blogged in a while. Got a lot to say! Firstly Sims 3 was released last Friday, that's the main reason I haven't been blogging... It is awesome, addicted already. Many people say its disappointing because its not like Sims 2, but of course its not going to be otherwise there is no point bring out a new Sims. At first its quite tricky but you soon yet used to it, the create-a-style tool is the best feature of the game as it allows you to be completely unique. Also BIG BROTHER is back on the nations screens, I absolutely love Freddie aka Half-Wit he is fabulous and also Kris is the only good "eye candy" of the series, I'd like to see a romance bloom between half wit and dog face please.

Yesterday I interviewed Moby about his new album Wait For Me, interview will be up on my website soon, oh and speaking of http://www.sophiestratford.com/ ;), it is UNDER CONSTRUCTION as its being created by a fabulous designer.

and lets leave on a good note, isn't Gordon Brown having a wonderful time at the moment?

2009-05-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

hey

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.

2009-05-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

2009-05-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

EVOLUTION FESTIVAL 09

Vitamin Water

2009-05-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Vitamin Water

What's the hype? I've recently come to LOVE glaceau's different waters, whether it is psychological that my mind thinks’ they’re good for me or they actually are, I cant stop drinking. Anyway, alot of album's came through my door this week and as busy as I have been, I've still managed to sieve out the great from the poor. Patrick Wolf's new album The Bachelor caught my eye and I have to say the albums amazing. It's a much more revealling album than the others, he says: “This new album is very much who I am and what I’m feeling, giving everything I can, some people won’t get it, some will”. This continuation of his self exploration will follow next year with a second album The Conqueror, which will showcase a new mind and being, since shedding the hedonistic lifestyle for love.

To be continued...

Maximo Park Album Launch Party

2009-05-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello! Born and Bred Tyne and Wear fivesome Maximo Park had their album launch party in Newcastle last night and it was fabulous. It was a very intimate meeting with only 120 VIP's, and I was glad to be one of them. They showcased their 68-minutes film called "Monument" and then played their new album which was out on the day cover to cover (Paul Smith said this is the only time they would play the album front to back), also adding in Lady Gaga's Just Dance which was very comical. See the full review: http://www.sophiestratford.com/

Also not forgetting the camping was just a-okay, the weight I was carrying was unbelievable and I was in alot of pain, however on the plus side think of the calories I burnt.

Very very very first post.

2009-05-08T13:24:00.001-07:00

Hello bloggers.

This is my first ever ever blog and it springs to mind that I should of started one of these a very long time ago, however we can't go back in time now, can we?

I've been exceptionally busy these past few months, turning out more gig and album reviews and ofc interviews than ever before. Also I've just recovered from Seasonal Flu not Swine Flu for all of you out there awfully disappointed.

Tomorrow I'm off to North Yorkshire to experience the wonders of camping.

Check out: www.sophiestratford.com it's wonderful.