Today I felt like Hermione Granger

I've made it my mission to appreciate England more. Whenever anyone say's 'holiday' we automatically picture ourselves on a plane out of England and somewhere exotic. And don't get me wrong, the world has many fantastic holiday destinations to offer but since returning from my travels last September, I realised that I have barely explored the country that I actually live in. When speaking to people from other countries, they seemed so excited about the prospect of travelling to the UK to experience it's beauty and history. I began to feel a little embarrassed about how I felt that England was just, well, a little boring. I've been to London a couple of times,visited a few of the seaside towns, once even ventured up to Northumberland, but all in all I haven't spent much time exploring this place which really is quite a shame.

There are SO many cool places to visit here, even if just for one day. That's the beauty of it I think- we all love to get away from the ordinary and to have a break from the mundane, so why not spend a Sunday visiting one of the beauty spots of England and getting to know your own turf a little? 

So I kickstarted this mission with a day trip to the fascinating Lacock Abbey. Set in rural Wiltshire, you can't help but walk around this place and feel like you're on the set of some period drama. It's rich in character and holds 800 years worth of history. Back in 1232, the abbey was founded as a nunnery by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, and you can wonder through the 'Cloisters' which is where the nuns would have spent most of their day sat on cold, hard benches practising their prayers and reading. These cloisters are also famous for their part in the Harry Potter movies. There are even cauldrons dotted around which make you feel like you're actually wondering around Hogwarts, "experiamaaas". 

There is also a museum here which celebrates the achievements of William Henry Fox Talbot, who began pioneering the photographic negative in 1834 whilst working at the abbey. The museum holds a fantastic display of his work which is really interesting whether you're a keen photographer yourself or not. 

I read somewhere that the abbey once cost £750ish to buy. If only I could go back in time and take that amount of money with me, I can't imagine how surreal it would be living in a building like that. Lacock village itself is just as beautiful. It's very traditional and has lots of cute little houses and a couple of pubs where you can go to relax at the end of your day spent wondering around the grounds of the abbey.

If you're after a relaxed day of wondering around a beautiful village whilst learning some history at the same time, then I would highly recommend this place. I can't believe this lovely this corner of the world has been on my doorstep for the past 7 years and I have only just visited it! Definitely looking forward to taking more days out like this. England, I am sorry for abandoning you.

:)

Beer garden

A rare photo of me and my Dad :) 

sun is shining, the weather is sweet

HOW amazing is this weather? And where did it come from?! It's beautiful. Even the air tastes beautiful with the smell of BBQ's being the signature scent of the summer, mmmm. As much as I love this weather, I do wish that the men of Swindon would refrain from taking their shirts off- it's like planet of the apes out there!

I've had a lovely few days enjoying the sunshine and seeing friends. On Friday night I went to a 'Forbidden Fruits' party, a new Ann Summers-ish style company that my friend, Gemma, has recently become a rep of. They sell all sorts of things that will definitely spice things up in the bedroom if they need spicing. From lingerie to vibrators, and from naughty shaped mints to gags, it was a real eye opener. Check them out! forbiddenfruit.com

The rest of the weekend I mainly spent sprawled in the sun trying to tan my pasty legs which just refuse to tan for some reason. On Saturday we found our own little spot in a forest and spent the afternoon paddling in the river and sunbathing which was cool.

PLEASE STAY SUN PLEASE PLEASE I LOVE YOU DON'T LEAVE ME

CALL ME GEORGIE HOT WHEELS

It's happened. I am FINALLY back on the road after passing my test a whole year ago. Feels great to be driving although I definitely need a bit of practice on the ol' parking..

After years of being the designated driver, I think Mark is equally as happy about my new found freedom. For the first time ever I will be the one driving him around, waheeeey! Here we are in my new whip... "Promise we never go back? I promise." 

Getting lost is not a waste of time

No matter how careful you are, there's going to be the sense you missed something, the collapsed feeling under your skin that you didn't experience it all. There's that fallen heart feeling that you rushed right through the moments where you should've been paying attention. Well, get used to that feeling. That's how your whole life will feel some day. This is all practice - Chuck Palahniuk.

Do cute kids like Radiohead?

I heard this on Radio 1 a couple of days ago and found it HILARIOUS. "Dude, cummon, my name's Alice." Noisey gathered a bunch of adorable baba's and asked them to review Radioheads 'Paranoid Android’, and the result is priceless. Check it out.

I'd love to watch the bands reaction to this video. I'm sure they would be thrilled to hear the younger generation comparing them to the likes of N-Dubz, and saying their songs are sad because they 'have no friends.' I hope they make make more of these reviews, they're genius!

One of the kids claims that "People just pretend to like it to look cool" - absolutely hitting the nail on the head when it comes to describing the jist behind todays hipster culture.

One thing is for sure, I hope these kids grow up to realised how fucking shit N-Dubz are and how great Radiohead are!