Hop Farm Festival

Wow, not blogged in ages! But to be honest, it's because I either haven't had time (which leads to making notes of things to blog about on my phone...many, many lists!) & also because I've been a touch lazy on-line-wise recently. Been doing too much reading of other blogs & not enough maintenance of my own! Tsk. 
Anyway. 

This weekend just gone (the 2nd/3rd/4th) I went to Hop Farm Festival with The Boy, & a group of his friends. It was amazing! Although we only got tickets for the Saturday + camping, as opposed to Friday & Saturday, it didn't feel like we were missing out on anything! 
My trip of joy started on Thursday, when I went to Andover to see The Boy, and generally hang out slash be cooked for by his mum! Which was lush. I also discovered that although I'm shockingly shite at video games, Red Dead Redemption. is actually pretty fun! 

According to The Boy, it's a "sandbox game", which means the type of game where you just run around shooting things & doing missions - like playing in a sandbox, I suppose. 
 Although I didn't do any of the missions (aka couldn't, & didn't want to risk a temper tantrum by trying), it was pretty fun just riding around on the horse shooting people & finding different parts of the map, etc. 

And it looks pretty amazing.


But anyways! Back to my trip. 


So on Friday we went to the station & met everyone with all the bits & pieces, and got group-saver tickets to Paddock Wood which turned out to be a bargain! *Mental note - travel with four, or groups of four people in future! 
After a couple of hours traveling (car, train, train, bus) we arrived at the camp site & pitched the tents...another mental note is to never go camping ever again without one of these (although maybe not green...); 

After a night of strongbow-fulled fun times, it was was time for the music & shizz! 
 The lineup for the Saturday was (in reverse order); 
BOB DYLAN
RAY DAVIES
MUMFORD & SONS
SEASICK STEVE
PETER DOHERTY
LAURA MARLING
JOHNNY FLYNN
THE MAGIC NUMBERS
FOY VANCE


Foy Vance - Didn't see...Don't really know...not a lot to say!
The Magic Numbers - Saw the second half of their set, was really good! Really nice & chilled, bit of a sing-along going on in the crowd, was pretty nice yet mellow. 

Johnny Flynn - Erm...Didn't see...& honestly can't remember why! I have a feeling we were getting food. Which was pretty amazing, to be fair :]
Laura Marling - A lot better than I expected. I suppose this is because I thought that although I like a lot of her songs, I couldn't really imagine her performing live. She was really sweet though! Tried chatting with the audience a little, but seemed pretty awkward. Bless her. But I like that she tried. & the music was really good in that it really seemed to fit the summer-festival mood. Really nice way to warm up the day. 

Peter Doherty - I personally didn't see, as the sun was getting to me a bit & came over all funny...what a weeny. But from what I gather, he played some tunes & was generally okay. 
Seasick Steve - Highlight of the day. Absolutely amazing!! There aren't really words, apart from I think I'd like to marry him a little. Especially when during Mumford & Sons, the stage camera spotted his little head poking around the side of the stage, watching them! Too cute for words. And! His backdrop on stage was a blue flag, with a silhouette of himself, doing pretty much this pose (legend);

Mumford & Sons - Were really good, as expected. Played some real tunes that had pretty much everyone having a bit of a dance around, loving life! Great to sing along to at points as well. 

Ray Davies - Only saw the last couple of songs (due to more food-getting - fatties), but he seemed to be a really good live performer! When we were making our way back into the midst of the crowd, he really had everyone going which was really fun. He also had a couple of laughs with the crowd, & just put everyone in a really great mood! Which was almost a shame, seeing that he was followed by...

Bob Dylan - a bit of a disappointment. I think an article The Grandmother saved me from The Telegraph summed it up pretty well - "if attend expecting to hear the young man of Blonde on Blonde or Bringing it All Back Home, his powers undiminished by cigarettes & time, then you will leave disappointed...The encore - the almost inevitable Like a Rolling Stone - was the one song where Dylan's discipline slipped & he strained to sing like his younger self...Both old & young fans were happy to assist as his voice was left horribly exposed by the rousing melody". I think that the change in the way he sang his old songs, combined with his complete lack of 'performance', and coupled with all the hype surrounding his set was what made it fall a little short of expectations. Which was a shame, but at the same time it was pretty interesting to have seen him live, as it were.& not forgetting, he is 69! 

The rest of my trip consisted of another night in the tent(!), the train back to Waterloo & a mini trip along the South Bank where The London Literature Festival was taking place! A lovely surprise. The boys had some drinks & I purchased a second hand book (A Million Little Pieces in case you were wondering - a book I had previously bought a couple of years ago, read, loved, lent out to a friend & haven't seen since! Highly recommend it). 

I then returned home & had the longest & possibly best shower I've had in ages! & to top it off, someone at work said I looked tanned today! Which, if you know me, is quite an achievement! Ha. All in all, a laaavely weekend!

Now to start making plans for Camp Bestival over my birthday weekend! But more on that in another post. 

xo

Useful Tips on Internships...

I came across a blog by someone called Nubby - the blog is Nubbytwiglet.com.

I've only managed to have a short browse so far, but came across this article/piece of advice & thought it would be worth sharing!

After some thought (especially with regards to living situations) I have decided not to intern straight away - at the moment I'm applying for paid positions, that not only sound really interesting, but also like jobs I could (fingers crossed) actually do!


However if I find myself in a position to be able to intern, this will probably come in pretty handy. Hope you enjoy it too!


" "What is an Intern?"

An intern works in a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training (rather than merely employment). The benefit of being an intern is that you have the opportunity to be mentored and learn without many the pressures and responsibilities that regular employees have. 

Finding an Internship

Many large companies have a section on their website with specific information for internships with openings and contact information. Even if they’re not currently seeking interns, it never hurts to still make contact and forward your résumé.

It's okay if your first choice is also everyone else's

Chances are, your top choices for an internship are probably the same as your peers. So, make yourself stand out! A little confidence can go a long way- you’ll never know if an opportunity awaits if you don’t try. Work harder to uniquely showcase your work. Instead of sending over a plain résumé, design a custom logo, folder and letterhead. Or, how about a fold-out poster? I know of one designer who made a special book (complete with rounded corners) and assembled it by hand! Personally, I’m all for sending over (or leaving behind) a folder of information instead of a book because it can be easily updated and modified to suit the focus of the internship you’re applying for. It can be as simple as building a stripped-down press kit tailored to an internship, complete with a letter of introduction and a beautiful résumé.

Persistence pays off

Contact the appropriate person who handles internship opportunities; often times, this is an HR employee. Don’t feel like you’re being a pest. It’s all about follow-through. The important folks at ad agencies and design firms are often super busy. They have emails to answer, meetings to attend, and proposals to pitch. Getting back in touch with a possible intern is probably not at the top of their lists. A designer at a top agency visited my brother’s design class and told them point-blank that out of the entire class, maybe 10 students would consider setting up an internship and promise to make contact. Perhaps two would actually follow through. Make the effort to correspond and keep the line of communication flowing. If you don’t hear anything back immediately (or ever), don’t be offended! Try, try again. If email doesn’t work, place a call or send a letter.

Adrian Shaughnessy also reminds you:

Never forget, when approaching a design studio, that you will be judged by the quality of your approach. Your phone call, your e-mail, your letter will be scrutinized like a sniffer dog checks contraband at an airline carousel. Get it right and you’re halfway there, get it wrong and the prospect of stacking supermarket shelves starts to beckon.

Treat the inital meeting like a job interview

Show up on time (or early). There’s no need to dress overly fancy, but also don’t look like you just rolled out of bed. If you have a CV / résumé, bring a copy to hand over. Make sure it is impeccable; there’s nothing worse than spelling and grammatical errors on the resume.

Good manners rule supreme 

If you do land an interview, remember that the interviewer is taking time out of their busy schedule to meet with you. Do your best to not over-talk yourself or the work. The interviewer has probably seen it all before and can make an instant judgement whether you and your work will ‘fit in’ with the company’s culture. When the interview is over, thank them for their time. Within a day, send a personalized email (or letter) thanking them again; be sure to include your contact information - you never know; they may be so impressed with your manners and thoughtfulness that they’ll call you on the spot!

Once you land an internship: 

Keep an open mind; always be willing to pitch in to help with any (and all) tasks. If there’s nothing for you to do one day, offer to assist other departments (with permission, of course). I’ve done filing, spray painted shoes in the parking lot, sourced chandeliers, and spray-mounted advertisements to boards.

Even while performing the smallest tasks, I learned something and interacted with people I hadn’t met before. The more you absorb from these varied experiences, the more rounded you’ll become. You might also discover that you’d prefer to work in another department. The interactions you have on a daily basis could strongly impact your future, so treat everyone with respect. Chances are, they know others in the industry. Always turn up on time (ask your supervisor what time they prefer. Sometimes, they might not be ready for you first thing in the morning) and don’t rush out the door as soon as the day is over. Design is about commitment and getting the job done right, not about the number of hours you’ve worked."

Once again, the website I found this all on was Nubbytwiglet.com - check it out! It's pretty swish. 

In other news...

Been looking at Hop Farm Festival - (first weekend of July I think) & the lineup looks amazing! Bob Dylan, Mumford & Sons, Seasick Steve, Pete Doherty, The Magic Numbers, Laura Marling & more to be announced!

All this...and for just £80 for the weekend? I'm there!

Hope you've all been having a lovely time in the sun this week - it's days like yesterday that make it feel like spring's here already. Lovely!

 Picture of the day sums this up pretty well - in the sunshine, Pimp My Ride, Southampton Stylee!

 xo

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