Spoilers – Not seen season 4 or the end of 3? Don’t look!

The first episode is basically a pisstake of England. We drink coffee, what the hell was all that about? How hard is it to know that a red light means stop. Does America do that differently? That’s so confusing. It was pretty funny to see Boreanaz trying to get out of the back of a traditional Mini, but I don’t know. Something was missing.

I didn’t expect Clarke to last long in the labs, and he didn’t. The girl that replaced him was so annoying, I’m glad they got rid of her pronto, although if Sweets really is sniffing up that tree, then maybe we haven’t seen the last of her.

The thing which shocked me the most was the breakup of Angela and Hodgins. Clearly the strike messed this up and there was supposed to be more of a back-story to it. Two people so in love, so committed to marriage, to seemingly so suddenly break up, and then not have that dealt with at all in episode 3, was just weird, and I expected them to be far more upset about it, considering how long it took them to get together. Maybe this’ll be redeemed at a later date, I am curious to see where it goes.

We’ll just have to see!

We spent the day down at the main stage, enjoying the atmosphere and dipping in and out of the crowd for the bands we wanted to see.

We inadvertently saw the Futureheads a second time (they supported Muse at the Albert Hall) and I still wasn’t impressed although that song with the noises did get the whole place making the same silly noises, which was pretty entertaining.

We then made our way into the crowd. It was pretty early in the day so it wasn’t too busy just then. I was quite excited to see Alanis Morissette. I’ve never been that into her music, but the chance to see it live seemed like too good to miss.

Turns out I was right. Songs like Thankyou and Ironic were amazing. I didn’t realise quite how busy it had got either - whenever the camera panned back on the crowd I got quite a shock as we were quite near the front and there were just so many people! That many people singing in unision is awesome. Alanis was awesome, if not a little crazy

Following Alanis were the Lostprophets, who I also wanted to see. I wasn’t familiar with all their music, but it’s pretty easy to pick up for the most part.  The crowd had a great energy for their set, really screaming from the rooftops. The lead singer got a good rapport going with the crowd, singling out a guy waving a giant, inflatable penis (heh), telling him to represent. They played one new song, and plugged their new album quite excessively (out 2009, dontchaknow?). I was quite impressed, for some reason I thought they might be a band who produced good sounding albums and then wouldn’t be able to cut it live. I was wrong.

Watch @ youtube

Can’t Catch Tomorrow & A Town Called Hypocrisy

We took a break for lunch, not really interested in Maximo Park or the Kooks, although we did mooch back into the crowd during the Kooks – figuring when they left that we could make our way forward (it was necessary to be in front of the sound stage, otherwise there was a large stretch of crowd where you could barely hear anything) during the break between them and the Stereophonics, and then again in the gap before Muse.

The one thing I will comment on about the Kooks, is their crazy notion of making everyone sit down on a piss soaked, beer covered, rubbish strewn floor. Needless to say it didn’t work. We think he wanted everyone to jump up at the same time. No one did it. They threatened to not continue until everyone did. No one much seemed to care.

The Stereophonics were amazing. I had no idea what to expect, what they looked like, what the majority of their songs were (turns out it was a bunch I liked and had never bothered to find out what they were). I’m sure it’s been said, but the lead is sex on legs. Honestly. The sun was setting while they were playing and the camera got some great shots of him against the sun. It wasn’t until sometime during the week I found out his name was Kelly, and the whole idea of him was ruined Back to the night, they did a great set, all the classics, got the whole crowd singing, and performed a new song. I thoroughly enjoyed the set, and would definitely go and see them live again given the chance.

Watch @ youtube:

Dakota

And then, we just had to wait patiently for Muse. Or pretty impatiently. Standing up for 10 hours, being pushed and shoved, not drinking a lot to make staying in the crowd easier – we were exhausted, but not disappointed.

We were right by the sound stage for Muse, getting any further forward would have been impossible although it didn’t stop people from trying. We and some others tried to form some kind of impenetrable wall and just refuse to move, but it seems nothing stops the selfish people who didn’t bother to get in the crowd in time to see the show. Nevertheless, Muse did not disappoint, playing Dead Star which I’d never seen live, and it was totally awesome.  Saw Butterflies a fifth time and it just gets better and better.
They had lasers decorating the sky, and things reminiscent of the Wembley setup, which was cool. I was a little disappointed they didn’t live up to all the promises they made leading up to V (new songs, collaboration, space ships), but it was still worth the trip, and the standing up for much too long.

Watch @ youtube:

Knights of Cydonia
Hysteria
Supermassive Black Hole
Man with a Harmonica

We staggered back to the mister’s dad’s car, and were driven back to my little flat, ready for my birthday the next day, much in need of a shower and some sleep.

We started with the skin analysis where they basically measure your skin’s moisture, elasticity, tone etc. They then tailor your facial based on this and give you some information on how to improve these factors.

The majority of the visit was spent in a private room for the hot stones, facial and pedicure. The hot stones massage was enjoyable, but very peculiar. I found it quite hard to relax which made some parts a bit uncomfortable. I then had a 45 minute facial where I have no idea what she did but I thoroughly enjoyed it. My face felt lovely and clean afterwards, and during the facial I had a head massage (which was nice, but the noise of my hair rubbing together was a bit off-putting) and an eyebrow tidy. Having never had my eyebrows waxed that was a pretty interesting new experience :S

Following this she gave my feet a treat (I tend to forget about them, as I’m told a lot of women do), and painted them a snazzy pink to match my hair. I foolishly forgot to bring some suitable shoes to prevent smudging, and was provided with some little foam sandles, which lasted about two seconds once I got out the door, but at least they tried. The result was one smudged big toe, but the rest still looked beautiful. Word to pedi-noobs: take suitable shoes.

I was then taken downstairs for the finale – the manicure. I naturally have long nails, but unfortunately had lost one of them somehow, meaning the rest of them had to be taken down to be the same length. Because of this my French manucure was perhaps less effective than what it could have been, but I still really liked the way it looked. The one thing I will say is it didn’t last very long, however a lot of nail varnish doesn’t last very long now that I have to clean my own place, and am doing more active things at lunchtime and in the evening.

It was £268 for both me and my mum, who had a shorter facial. From what I understand, as a total noob, it was worth it and I’d recommend a visit. I did take a look at the products they used to see if I wanted to purchase any, but at £30 for a moisturiser I had to pass. One day

http://dovespa.co.uk

The last two months or so has been quite a rollercoaster, so much so I’m still not sure what normal is!

July 21st the mister and I graduated from university with a bachelor of arts in design for interactive media. I managed to get my first class honours despite glandular fever doing it’s level best to ruin my second year.

Dressing up in the gowns was great fun, I got to do a batman impression (if he had pink hair…).

The ceremony was great, it felt good to have a final “closure” as it were for something I worked so hard for. Sheila Hancock, the chancelor of the university gave an awesome speech at the end. She’s such a great lady and it was an honour to meet her, allbeit briefly.

I also enjoyed watching the mister and my friends graduate. The trip to the pub afterwards was well deserved

You can view more graduation photographs on my Facebook.
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I moved into my little apartment not long after that. I’m on the third floor from the car park entry and it was the hottest day of the year.

Fortunately for me I had an ever helpful mother and mister, and the help of Paul’s Moves. He was a great help - if you need a man and a van, check that link and ignore what the website looks like

With the arrival of “The Sims 2: Apartment Life” I’ve made a sims version of my apartment block. Once The Sporum returns and I find the time, you’ll be able to peruse and download the lot for your games.

I love my little flat and it feels quite homely now I’ve been here a while. I had a housewarming with excessive pizza, and my birthday drinks out on the balcony.

I’m not too keen on being so close to town, the estate agent and it is a bit expensive, but it’s more than adequate for now.

I’m plotting a massive blog post. I don’t have the internet at home so I’m going to try to write it all there, and sort the photos out and then put it all up in one big chunk. I still need to update wordpress :S and my template. Ugh. Need a to do list.

Anyway, I had an awesome 21st birthday. I did lots of things, much fun was had. Including a trip to V Festival, a spa, and my balcony.

Stay tuned!