The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden

This has to go down as one of my cheesiest blog post titles of late, but I am a big believer that a bit of cheese (food and sentiment) is needed at times.

Anyway, you've seen this garden before (ruining the titles promises), it's one of my favourite places in South London. It's always gloriously overgrown and peaceful - it really does feel like the garden has opens itself up just for me. I like the quieter, less showy and more genuine parts of London, it's places like this, that make me feel calm and at home here.

A couple of weeks ago I invited a couple of pals around for a late breakfast and since the ever so shy sun made an appearance, we took our brunch catch up to the the garden - since it was me and Amy (Vintage Reflection) wandering, taking a few sneaky shots of the days artfully prepared outfit was always going to be the natural progression. I call this my 'grown up toddler' look, any childlike behaviour is a bonus and only accentuates the look (just in case you were going the restyle...)

Any secret places in London you know about? Leave them below and I will explore.

Trainers - Adidas, Jacket, Top & Brooch - Second Hand, Dress - Topshop

When in Rome

When in Rome

'When in Rome' - yeah, I'm that guy.

I'm also the guy that quoted Gladiator whilst walking around the Colosseum... I mean, who wouldn't?

If you have been slinking over to this area of the internet for a while, you will have probably heard me endlessly gush about my travelling experiences. If not, here is the short version, breath and....

I went travelling for just under a year with one of my best buddies, we visited some of the most exciting, stunning and awe-inspiring places on the whole entire planet, including Moscow, the Trans-Siberian Railway via Mongolia to Beijing, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and North America. When our year was up, I had obviously had an incredible time, but it also made me realise that I had a lot of European destinations / places I could hop for a long weekend that had been un-explored. Un-touched territory.

My European takeover started in 2015 with Berlin, before scooting over to Italy... ah Rome, you were endlessly sweet... So, I thought I would share some of my pictures and thoughts as to why Italy is so goddam beautiful, here we go:

1. Rome is kinda rough around the edges, nothing looks primped and perfected. The paint on the walls is crumbling away, the graffiti shouts wherever it likes and the buildings are worn. To me, that is beautiful, it shows history, fun and a life lived. The wrinkles of the world not being hidden away, but celebrated.
2. The food - pizza, pasta, pizza, pasta..... a revolving stream of delicious carbs that manage to taste nicer in the cheapest places that Rome has to offer than the fanciest places of anywhere else. 
3. The drinks - anyplace that serves me the most delicious wine and coffee and every occasion is a bloody banger of a place in my eyes. 
4. I love how old Rome is, how steeped in history, how many huge events in the history of the world has happened there and how many stories began in Ancient Rome. I spent my time wandering around in complete awe, my eyes had no idea what to look at first and my brain was constantly wishing wikipedia would pop up in the street and describe a certain paving stone or fountain to me (best idea ever?).
5. Rome (I'm assuming all of Italy possesses this..) is the most passionate city I have ever encountered. Everywhere I looked there were young couples, old couples and new couples openly in love and showing it - not worrying for one second that people would stare or find it remotely unusual that they were snogging each others faces off at every moment, and why should they? 
6. Also much amusement was gained from witnessing the male sculptures genitalia being carefully hidden away with a strategically placed leaf....

We stayed on a campsite, yes a campsite... sounds like a rather odd choice for a November trip to Italy, but hear me out. We had wanted to visit Rome for so long and we knew it would be rather expensive to stay in a city centre hotel / apartment so we started to look into alternatives. My friend suggested 'Camping Village Roma' and the deal was done. This place was great, super close to the centre of Rome (10 minute bus), clean, friendly and above all, super cheap.

Anyway, I adored Rome, have you been? What are your thoughts? Favourite parts?

I know need to pick my next European destination... any ideas?

2015 Can Get Lost

2015 can well and truly get lost, that sentiment stands but... despite 2015 being one of the most difficult ones yet, there have still been some excellent moments and I think reflecting on those will be far more fun. So, let's forget about the shitty / dark parts of this year and crack on with feeling good at the shinier moments:

1. Visiting Berlin for the first time with a couple of truly excellent, wondrous pals. Realising that eating sausage, drinking beer by a river and jumping head first into vintage heaven really does bring a smile to my face.
2. A trip to The Ritz and peeing in complete luxury.
3. Cracking on with YouTube, 2016 is going to see my face far too much. Soz.
4. Having the best ever birthday brunch, making 28 slightly easier to face.
5. Watching 'Whiplash' and being well and truly blown away.
6. Accepting a break up and doing my damned hardest to make sure I felt better. Realising that I'm pretty strong.
7. Knocking three more cemeteries off 'The Magnificent Seven' cemeteries of London list. If you are slightly morbid but love Victorian cemeteries, architecture and overgrown wondrousness. Add this to your 2016 bucket list, start with Highgate and then go wild...
8. Discovering the infamous 'pickle back' with the work gang. If you have no idea what this is, then I urge you to go and find out. Now.
9. Seeing 'This is the Kit' live, this band makes my heart swell with how pretty their music is.
10. Making new friends in unexpected places. 
11. Completing a 10K run despite being a prior exercise-phobe... half marathon in 2016...
12. Creating, organising and celebrating my first event at work - 'The Great Architectural Bake Off'. Mary Berry's sponge has nothing on an edible Serpentine Pavilion.
13. Seeing Blur sing 'Tender' live and weeping (just a little bit)
14. The 'Lambeth Country Show' - a firm favourite every year. A day of beautiful people, dancing and litres upon litres of Chucklehead cider.
15. A summer full of rowdy rambles and BBQ's.
16. Witnessing small greatnesses, who can forget the badass old lady who shouted down a guy trying to humiliate a girl? 
17. Playing with glitter, realising that I have the most fun when spontaneous ideas, creativity and mess are involved. 
18. Having the courage to put myself out there - I am part of two book clubs and a 'Lean In' Circle... Line dancing, you're next. I'm coming for you.
19. Playing tour guide for the family around London.
20. End of the Road Festival with a group of old and now new best ones. Discovering new bands, wearing ten layers and still feeling cool, getting rowdy, drinking cider, beating everyone at a random game and feeling... free.
21. Cooking my first big Indian feast for a gang of hungry visitors from scratch AND making people make those irritating yum voices rather than vom ones. Winner.
22. Visiting Rome for the first time with one of the best ones. Feasting on more delicious food then my brain knew what to do with, drinking red wine and generally just taking my eyes to look at all the beautiful things... blog post is on it's way.
23. Receiving a print I had wanted for years.
24. Getting my best ginger bun back from Australia.
25. Realising that I have the best pals / mates / buddy's... even when this year has been at its shite pinacle, they have been there to perk me up, slap me on the back, listen to me whine, get me drunk and generally just be complete bloody wonders. 
26. Being around a strong, brilliant family that prove you can get through the hardest of things together with a lot of mocking, random conversations and laughing.

2016 guys, it's going to be a good'un, I can feel it. Happy new year! x

The Wondrous World of Tinder

The Wondrous World of Tinder

After being in a relationship for almost ten years, dating was a completely foreign concept...

...Enter, Tinder.

To me, Tinder seemed to be the easiest way to dip my toe into the dating pool, see how it felt, see if anything 'bit' or if I would drown...  I am still around to tell the ever so entertaining tale. I thought I could tell this tale best via the medium of video. I have thrown in a few stories, a lot of realisations and the tips to live by on Tinder. 

I have actually found Tinder fun. After being in a relationship since birth, I am quite rightly not heading out into the wondrous world of dating looking for (to quote someone who seems to know the business) 'mr right, but instead, mr right now'. After a big break up, I've discovered that you need to get to know yourself again on your own before sharing yourself again.

Anyway, enough waffling and sentiment, there is a fun video to feast on.... Ashley's YouTube Place

Walking With Dinos

Walking With Dinos

Oh Sundays, glorious Sundays - I wish there were so many more of you in the week.

This particular Sunday was spent dino spotting in Crystal Palace... yes, you heard that entirely correct - dinosaur spotting. Crystal Palace is a wondrous place - it has foregone the usual route of chained restaurants and big superstores - they have instead embraced independence. I would take a quirky coffee establishment over a Starbucks any day, big bravo CP.

The Palace has a pretty fun history, apparently when the park first opened in 1852, a full dinner party for 12 people was held inside the 'Igaunodon'... oh to be alive in a time in 1852 to feast amongst the extinct. We did manage to blow some bubbles, drink some cider and eat a few snacks whilst viewing the creatures, same?

This also happened to be a typical England Sunday - flipping between extreme heat, icy wind and rain, which is where 'the flasher' comes in extremely handy. I have begun to live in this coat (I am sure you must have noticed its overwhelming presence by now...) and I am happy in my new habitat, it appears to just 'go' with everything and makes me feel a bit like Batman in the wind - all things I am pretty happy with.

Go to CP and report back? Until next time...

Trainwreck, A Run Down

Trainwreck, A Run Down

Firstly, I adore Amy Schumer - I think her comedy, her mentality and general outlook on life is spot on. It shouldn't be the case at all, but when somebody comes along who is willing to be bold, speak their mind and ultimately be themselves, it's overwhelmingly refreshing.

Which is precisely why I was beyond excited for Trainwreck. I watched the trailer repeatedly, giggled madly and told everyone I came across about how good this film was going to be. Now, I get it, I built this film up to the top of the top - the rom-com to end all rom-coms.... and it kills me to say that I was disappointed...

I liked the character Amy's attitude - she was successful, had a great flat, great friends, a great job and  was single - and not sad single, not a single girl constantly on the look out and pining for a partner to make her life complete... she was single, happy and content enough in herself that she could date, call the shots in her own life, have sex freely with exactly who she wanted and be happy with it.

I enjoyed the fact that Amy went on a few dates and didn't (in standard rom-com behaviour) fall at his feet - there was no last name squiggling in her diary, no mooning conversations to her mates just pure, realistic pessimism.

The film diverted from that direction slightly... There were parts of the film that made me laugh out loud (yes LOL, but writing LOL makes me feel nauseous) but parts of the film were just a bit uncomfortable and not in a good, self realisation way. There was a lot of emphasis on the fact that her sister got married, her sisters husband was portrayed like an oddball for following 'the well trodden route', there was an intervention and a dance scene, oh god, a dance scene - I get that this film was designed to mock the standard rom-com story lines and stereotypes, but there was something just slightly 'off'.

I have been partial to a Judd Apatow film in the past and that is exactly what this feels like - Apatow rather than Schumer, should have been Schumer.

Have you seen it? Am I talk a load of bull? Tell me..

A Week in July

A Week in July

I filmed a week in July and thought you may like to see... (Ashley's YouTube)

Filming, The Aftermath | Hearts & Glitter

Filming, The Aftermath | Hearts & Glitter

If you have seen the latest video to go up on my YouTube channel (if not, please oogle here – Ashley’s YouTube space) you may be wondering on how I managed to pop balloons full of glitter / confetti without making a mess...

Well my friends, I made a mess, but at least it was a big glittery mess – the type of mess that makes rubbish and outdoor spaces look fancier. I think it is an improvement to our garden if I’m honest, luckily my housemates share the same opinion.

My video is entitled ‘what happens when you break up?'. I decided that popping (bursting the bubble, if you will) heart balloons full of glitter and shiny things would be a great way to signify the end of a relationship. I also had the idea of making the balloon gather all of it's contents and sealing itself up again at the end, signifying a more mended, post-break up you, ready to take on the big bad world (aka, Tinder). 

I hope you enjoyed the video and I hope you enjoy seeing the beautiful mess :)