Megan Goodier: day in the life

23 October 2016

A Very Bichon Day!

In life you have many decisions; are you a red or a blue? Red or brown sauce? Are you Northern or Southern? They're all the big questions people need to know. However one of the biggest decisions you will ever have to make is whether you're a dog person or a cat person. I am definitely a dog person, not that I have anything against cats of course, but my dog is my life. I am a very proud owner of a beautiful little Bichon Frise called Buster and he is my best friend. I don't know how I would cope without him and I can't remember a time when we didn't have him which just proves what a huge impact he's had on our lives, particularly mine. I'm a firm believer that my dog knows when something is wrong, he's been a complete life saver through my struggles with my mental health over these past few years and when I'm having a bad day he'll come and sit with me, put his paw on my knee or just fall asleep next to me whilst I'm watching a film. He helps in his own little way and I don't think I could ask for a better companion.

That got extremely deep very quickly, but anyway back to the blog post. Today the whole family took a trip to Crosby to go to our first Bichon Frise event. My Mum saw an advertisement on Facebook inviting people to go to the beautiful Crosby Marina where a lot of Bichon owners were going to meet for chats and a walk in the fresh air. It was an opportunity we couldn't turn down so we got into the car and headed down to the beach.

As soon as the car pulled into the car park we were greeted by little balls of white fluff running around the grass. Buster couldn't wait to get out of the car to go and make some new friends, and he definitely enjoyed running round with everyone. It was so nice to just go for a walk in the fresh air and talk to other people about their dogs. Being surrounded by more than forty Bichon Frise's at one time was a dream come true, they are my favourite breed of dog and every time I knelt down to take some photos I was bombarded with loves and cuddles. It's true what they say, Bichon's are the most loving breed of dog in the world.

Personally, my favourite part of the day was making friends with the adorable Peppa. Peppa is an 11 week old Bichon who has special needs. Because she is so young, she can't be taken for walks yet so her owner kindly asked if I could look after her whilst she took her five other Bichon's for a run on the beach. I willingly agreed and I fell in love. Peppa was shaking due to the cold so I wrapped her up in my woollen scarf and held her close whilst I watched Buster run around with his new friends. The next thing I knew she was sleeping, and that's how she stayed until her brother Eddie came to visit.

I absolutely loved going to the Bichon meet up today, everyone was so lovely and it was so easy to get talking to people. No one was left out or got left behind, it was like one big ohana. I've seen meet ups for dogs done a lot recently so if you do have a four legged friend then I would definitely recommend to go to one and make some new friends!

How cute and happy does Buster look on his photos?!

Lots of Love,
Meg

xox

Rocky Horror Show

I'm very late writing this blog post, which annoys me a lot because I wanted to blog about it as soon as we left the show, but here I am, a week late, finally writing about one of the best experiences I've had this year.

The Rocky Horror Show is something I've always wanted to go and see live. My Mum absolutely loves it, and she always banged on about it when I was little. When the time warp would play at a party, she'd tell us all about how she went to Rocky Horror and dressed up as Frank N. Furter with her friends and how it was one of the best things she'd ever seen. I personally didn't see the hype over it, and I didn't understand why everyone would go dressed up to the theatre. Oh how stupid I was when I was younger.

The show last came to Liverpool when I was around 12, but mum thought I was too young to go and see it, so decided not to take me. I was going to go in my halloween costume I'd bought for that year; a tutu with spider webs on it, a black t-shirt and my Dr Martins. I can see now why she probably didn't want to take me. So then, when my best friend Liv text me last November and told me she was thinking of booking tickets to go and see it, I squealed with excitement and they were booked within the hour. We didn't quite know what to expect, so we just booked some seats on the back row in case no one in the theatre got up and started dancing, because if there was one thing me and Liv were going to do in that theatre; it was dance.

We then had a 4 month wait until we were going to see the show, so we spent a lot of our time looking for costumes. In terms of being unorganised, I got my costume a week before we were due to go and see the show, Liv got her costume the day of the show; but all worked out well in the end. Finding the costume was so stressful, we didn't know if people would be going all out or if we'd look stupid being the only people in costume. At one point I remember saying to my mum that I couldn't be bothered anymore and I'd just go in normal clothes. She looked at me, laughed and said "If you go to see Rocky Horror in normal clothes, you'll look stupid. If you do anything, you must dress up".

So, I raided my wardrobe, found an old black skater skirt, a black top, an apron, some knee high socks and my trusty Dr Martins. There we had it; I was Magenta.

Last week, Liv and I strolled down to the Empire Theatre, both dressed as Magenta, being stared at by people who didn't have a clue what was going on. We were then greeted by hundreds of people dressed as the characters from Rocky Horror. The majority of the males had gone as Frank N. Furter, and they looked incredible. We were amazed, we'd never seen anything like this before. Finding our seats, we settled down and looked at all the people's costumes; some of them had seriously gone all out. My Mum was definitely right, the people who had come in their normal clothes looked absolutely stupid.

Then, the curtain was opened and we were launched into the weird weird world of Rocky Horror. Immediately, the crowd started to heckle the narrator, and at first we were like "wait, what's going on? should this be happening?" but then we realized it was all just part of the show. I'll give credit to the crowd because some of the stuff they came out with was just hilarious. Everyone was singing along, and the whole theatre stood up to do the Time Warp. This was personally my favourite part of the show; it's my favourite. The actors were absolutely amazing, especially the guy playing Frank N. Furter and the guy playing Riff-Raff. The show ended with the cast doing renditions of the Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite, to which the whole crowd stood up and started singing and dancing. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced, but I loved it!!

I think the thing with Rocky Horror, is that it doesn't actually have a story line. It's not like Wicked or anything where you have to pay attention to everything that's happening to follow the story. It's just completely bonkers, and I think that's why I loved it so much. However, I don't think the people who were sat next to us knew what they'd come to see; they didn't laugh once and when everyone else was up, dancing and singing, they stood up with their arms folded and didn't move. They were also calling everyone for being dressed up, so I don't think they were too happy with a Magenta on one side of them, and a Riff-Raff on the other.

When the show had finished, we headed to the bar next door to the theatre for a few drinks before we headed back to my flat. This is where, yet again, we were greeted by the whole cast of Rocky Horror. I would say around 80% of the pub were dressed as Rocky Horror Characters and as I was ordering drinks at the bar, a man dressed as Riff-Raff put his arms around me and screamed "THIS IS MY MAGENTA". It was a great experience.

The Rocky Horror Show is a touring production around the UK, I'll link the dates HERE so that you can see if they're coming to a theatre near you. If you get a chance to go and see the show, I can't recommend it enough! And you have to go dressed up, no questions asked!

Lots of Love

Meg

xox

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Chinese New Year Celebrations

Firstly, I'm going to start by saying Happy Lunar New Year!
We've just entered into the year of the Monkey, and although I'm not too sure what the whole thing means, it's pretty darn cool! Chinese New Year has slowly become an event to be celebrated in most cities around the world, and I think it's the one thing I actually love about the start of each year.

When I was a little girl, my Mum and Dad always used to take me to Liverpool for the Chinese New Year Celebrations. It became a tradition; we'd get all wrapped up in our coats, boots and woolly hats and make our way to Liverpool to watch and take part in the celebrations. I've always been fascinated with the dragons, they're so beautiful. Then, after watching what was going on, we'd head home and get some chinese food, to obviously fit the theme of the whole day. Then, one year, we just stopped going. I can't remember when we stopped going, but I know I haven't been there in a very very long time. I think we just got lazy, and it's not a nice thing to say. It's always been celebrated in our household, well when I say celebrated, I mean we'd order in a Chinese takeaway and then end up with a food baby. But there was just something missing about Chinese new year for me, something that just wasn't the same, and this year I found out what it was.

I always seem to say this, but moving here to Liverpool was one of the best things I ever did. And, on Sunday, I went to re-live my childhood. My Mum & Dad surprised me by getting the train down to come and see me, and we headed over to Chinatown to go and see the celebrations. The streets were packed full of people, you couldn't really move. The fire crackers were exploding all over the place, my mum was particularly scared of them; they were so loud! We walked further down the street, and saw some beautiful girls dressed in traditional Chinese dress with little parasols; they looked amazing. The markets were always one of my favourite parts of going to Chinese New Year in Liverpool, I remember one year I got this really cool book mark with my name written on it in Chinese lettering; I still have it to this day. I don't actually think I've used it yet, and I've had it for about nine or ten years; but I just don't want to damage it.

For the majority of the day, I was trying to convince my dad that it was a really good idea to go on some of the rides, but it was just too cold. The wind was icy cold, so we didn't want to stay out too long. I was particularly fascinated by the Chinese Dragons parading around the streets, they were so beautiful; I was mesmerised by them. They were very cheeky, and I got to touch one of them, which is traditionally good luck, so hopefully I'll have some luck in this lunar year!

I loved going to Chinese New Year this year, but there was something about it that wasn't as great as when I used to go when I was younger. Has that ever happened to you? When you used to love something so much when you were younger, but now it's just not the same and you don't know why. Anyway, it was such a fun day regardless, and I'll definitely be going again next year (I just hope it's not as icy cold!)

Lots of Love,
Meg
xox

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Sea Breeze: A relaxing beach walk

I think one of the best things about moving away from home, is actually going back. It seems that you get on better with everyone because instead of arguing, you actually appreciate the time you have together. I really value seeing my family and friends because I don't get to spend a lot of time with them, and I really miss the little things like taking the dog for a walk.

I decided to take a trip home last weekend, because I hadn't been home for a while, and I had washing that needed doing. That's the student life!
I had quite a chilled weekend; catching up with old friends as well as just having some time to sit down and write. I don't really get a lot of chance to write at University, because I really dislike my flatmates, and they make lots of noise to keep me awake, so I don't really get a lot of sleep.

On a very chilly Sunday afternoon, my parents, pooch and I decided to take a trip to Blackpool. I miss going on day trips with my parents, it was always something I'd really look forward too on a Sunday. There's nothing I love more than getting wrapped up in a cosy jumper, wooly hat and scarf and a big coat and going for a walk by the sea. The dog really loves it too.

It was lovely to just walk, feel the sea breeze in my hair and forget about everything for a little while. There's something so calming about being by the sea, I don't know what it is. I love everything about it; the smell, the sound, everything! Buster seemed to be enjoying himself, he was running up and down like a little kid when they go to the beach for the first time. I wish everyone could be as happy as my dog. It makes me realize how much we take things like walking down by the sea for granted. To take Buster for a walk means the absolute world to him, and it's just the simplest thing. I wish our lives could be like that too. He looked extremely cute so I had to take some photos of him, if you look closely, it looks like hes actually smiling; the little love. Whilst we were walking back to the car, the sky was purple. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

What's your favourite thing to do on a lazy Sunday?
Lots of Love
Meg
xox

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Lighting up Blackpool

Hello Everyone!

One of the main highlights of my year is going to see the Blackpool Illuminations. I've been going to see them since I was a little girl, so much so, it's become a tradition that we go every year. I'm not going to lie to you, every year, the lights are exactly the same: the same design; the same order; the same colours; everything. Okay maybe I'm over exaggerating there a little, there are some tiny little changes from time to time, but mostly, they are always the same. I guess that's what makes it fun to visit.

There's always been something about going to see the lights that has fascinated me. I think I just really like all the pretty colours and the way everything changes. I love the way families always look so happy when they walk through the lights together, and as I have grown up, I love seeing how happy the kids are walking through in bewilderment. I remember when I used to be like that as a child. In my family, it's tradition that we have some fish and chips (it's something northern people have to do) and then walk through the big lights, get back into the car and then drive through the little overhead lights. If you've ever been to see the illuminations, then you'll know what I mean.

When the lights switch on at the beginning of September, you know that Autumn is approaching. There's nothing I love more than walking along the promenade at Blackpool, wrapped up in my woolly scarf with my bobble hat and gloves. I love the smell of the sea and how spectacular the lights look when you actually get to see them up close. I always prefer to walk through the lights, one day, I'd like to walk through all of them. I don't think it'd be possible to do it in one night, but I'd love to do it in two halves. It's a dream of mine. However, the highlight of my year is seeing the teddy bears picnic. This is my favourite attraction at the lights every year and it has been since I was a little girl. It's basically a lot of teddy bears who play in a park; they swing on their swings, spin on a roundabout and slide down the slide. I know it sounds quite creepy but I promise it's not, it's the cutest thing ever. I would also like to speak about the house that sings. Yep. A house that sings. If you think I'm joking then you'll just have to go and see for yourself.

Yesterday, I went to see the illuminations with my family, and being the dedicated blogger that I am, I thought I'd bring along my camera (or my phone) and take a couple of lovely photos to upload on here. Enjoy!