Something New each Day

Hiya Guys, It's been a week since Strictly finished and I'm still suffering post-Strictly fever and I don't think I can wait another 8 months until it comes back. I always love looking back and trying to pick a top 5 for my favourite performances of the year and I'm going to be honest, it was almost impossible to pick just 5 so I might do another one as well as a separate one for the latin dances and the pro dances. So welcome to Sonal's Top Strictly Ballroom Dances of 2016: Claudia and AJ - Viennese Waltz I am normally a sucker for a Viennese Waltz but, for some reason, this particular one was a work of art and made me cry! I think it was all aspects of the dance that just seemed to work beautifully together and make me extra emotional. The song itself is a classic song and it was the first time where I thought that I saw Claudia really acting and connecting with AJ and portraying the romantic story. I also have to give a massive shoutout to AJ and his ch...

Hiya guys, What an end to an amazing series of Strictly and wasn't that an amazing ending with a brilliant winner! It's been a long series full of highs, lows and quite a bit of controversy (that I don't want to dwell on because it's meant to be a happy and nostalgic post). There will be a different post on my favourite performances from the series but, based on the final itself, most of the performances could probably have made the top 5 because it was full of spectacular dances from start to finish. I have to start by congratulating the winner's Ore and Joanne because they deserved to win more than most people and epitomises what Strictly is - he started with zero dance training and has literally gone from strength to strength in all styles of dance with the help of Joanne! The two of thaem have this perfect relationship and it shows in their dancing because you can see that they genuinely get on with each other and love learning to dance together. They hav...

Hiya guys, This post is sort of a mini rant but it's also an explanation to all of you. I don't know how many of you are constant readers of this blog but this is for anyone who has read this blog once or every single time I post. I started this blog with so much passion but then things got in the way of letting me use this blog to it's full potential. Once I started university, I tried to put away a few hours each week to write about things and it was going pretty well. Fast forward a year and I am hardly ever put anything up and it really upsets me because this is like my baby that I get to put all my love and emotions into.  Basically, since I started my 2nd year of university, I've been trying so hard to get my grades up by starting essay's way ahead of deadlines, doing all the reading ahead of the lectures and making sure to fill in gaps in my lecture notes. I've also been trying to get further in my journalism dream so I'm now the online...

Hiya guys, These last few weeks have been so stressful for me so I had a great break last night as I made my way to O2 Islington to watch Lawson on their one off show with their new album Perspective *do you get the title pun now?* The venue was small and compact but larger than life in terms of height and acoustics. I was worried I would be near the back because there was the VIP and O2 priority queue that got in before us. However, I didn't have to worry because I somehow managed to get right near the front behind some of the VIP (imagine 2 rows behind the barrier) and my height was happy. John Buckley was the first support act and he was utterly talented. He said that this was his first performance on such a big scale but it really didn't show because he was confident and really knew what to do to get a crowd going. His voice is very special but it's his song writing skills that amazed me because they sounded so professional and meaningful as he sang with his guit...

Hiya guys, I have officially been 20 for 10 days and I am not feeling any different physically or mentally. I was literally filling an online form in yesterday and almost wrote that I was still 19 *note to self stop that* until I realised that I wasn't a teenager anymore. I didn't think much of it until a few days ago when my little sister turned 18 and I was looking through embarassing photos of us as kids to put on her Facebook. That's when something hit me, we were both adults. It makes me think, how does your life go from suddenly passing slowly to blinking and missing it all? It makes me think that I've let my life pass by and only think about things after they happen. I mean with smart phones and people's constant need to take photo's or put stuff on social media, people are less about living in the moment but preserving it for some other day. Have you ever decided to take a camera to a concert to take a few pics but ended up recording most...

Hiya guys, Hasn't the first few episodes of Strictly been amazing and shocking, in terms of talent and the results (book Tameka leaving). I don't remember a year where so many of the contestants are this talented so early because even Ed Balls isn't as bad as people like John Sargeant or Greg Wallace. Before I start, special shoutout to Judge Rinder who literally entertains me every week and Claudia who proves that us short people can do whatever we want. So, what does a new series of SCD call for... oh yeah a list of my favourite's who I think have a proper shot of winning the glitterball this year. I am sorry for the size of the list, they're all too good to just pick a few! LETS GOOOO... 1. Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse I loved Danny in Hollyoaks so I was mega excited when it came up that he was coming on the show and by God he did not disappoint me. I was also thrilled when he was paired with Oti who is absolutely magnificent but couldn't show...

Hiya guys, I'm currently writing this blog post after 3 mental days which included; going to the Fresher's ball as a 2nd year (that's the topic of today), turning 20 and bringing my Mancunian friends to the big city. The latter two are pretty much irrelevant for today's post but I mean they all sort of blend together I think. The Fresher's Ball is done at pretty much every university in England and is a way for first year's to end their 'relaxation' period and get ready for the real work. I missed last year's because I went home for my sisters birthday so I was even more determined to go this and have an epic time. Also, the fact that it was the day before my 20th Birthday seemed like fate because why wouldn't I want to start my birthday with my friends dancing like we were 1st years and drunk - although I was sober the entire night. The Ball was on the university campus and seemed less formal and more like an awesome club night ba...

Hiya guys, So it's officially Fresher's week all across the country. For me, last night was my first taste of a proper fresher's event or a London night out because last year was pretty chilled and mainly about getting my bearings. So I have decided to live my second year as my first and I'm going to bore you all with the dets. Me and my friend decided to get on the QM bus and travel to Ministry of Sound and get a taste of a proper Fresher's night in London. I had high hopes but wasn't feeling the best: 4 hours sleep and eating two chicken burgers *don't worry they were small Birdseye ones* probably wasn't the best way to start a night out. So we got on the bus and it was hilarious seeing all these first years making awkward chat with the people they literally met the night trying to fill silences. Something I noticed pretty much all night was that, once we told someone we were second years, we weren't topics of interest and it started ...

Hiya guys, It's crazy to think that this time last year I was writing a post on here about packing for my first year of university and, although it seems as if nothing has changed, it seems like everything has changed. I made the move to London last year but I am now sat in my front room in Manchester getting prepared to go back to the capital for my second year studying history at Queen Mary's. I think I was probably doing exactly the same thing last but I have definitely learnt a lot of things and changed as a person. When I started university, I had a completely naive view of what university would be like and I kinda think that that's been me my entire life. I always let people in and expected the best from people and situations but I think that it's changed and that isn't a bad thing! I did think that university would be drinking all the time and going out to different places and I knew from the start that maybe the typical student life wasn't...

Hiya Guys, Everyone's got their exam results and celebrated, even if you didn't do as well because who needs an excuse to have a party?  But that does mean that, I hate to say it, it's basically the end of the summer and I know that sucks! The start of term looms whether it is fresher's week at university or your first day back at school or college. That means that you're back to waking up stupidly early and getting homework to do pretty much everyday and I know you'll all be dreading it. Weirdly, I wasn't one of those people. I loved the idea of going back to school and being able to mess about with all of my friends every single day. The work was obviously something I could've done without but, more towards the end of my high school life, the start of the year was something I counted down the days until. But fear not young prodigies *I know you aren't but I'd love to believe: I have dreams* I have some ways to make the start of...

Hiya Guys, I'm sorry for not being active. I went forward and back in deciding what topic I was going to write about. In the end, I thought why not follow on from what I last wrote about and that was the new era of WWE. It's something that I am really enjoying and it has basically consumed my life. So, everybody who watches WWE will know about Dolph Ziggler who has been a huge superstar since he braced our screens in the Spirit Squad in 2006. Since then he has won the World Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental Champion and was one of the best wrestlers and speakers in the entire company with so much potential.  However, since losing his championship, I feel like WWE have underused him and not allowed him to be used to his full potential. So, I have seen many people do this but here are my top ways Dolph Ziggler can be made great again butI am going to be honest and say that Dolph is already working his hardest so most of this is on WWE! 1. Turn Dolph H...

Hiya Guys, I really hope that this week's blog title is obvious to those of you who understand and will most likely read this post! I am a big WWE fan and, before you say 'oh it's fake', well I do know that but I'd like to also say that Marvel and DC and all those films are also fake. So, these last few weeks made history in WWE by having the Brand Split of RAW and Smackdown and making them both live.  Here is my overview of the Draft last week as well as the first week of the so-called 'new era.' Draft Day I will be honest and say that Draft Day was a huge disappointment in terms of the draft itself and the way it was organised. It seemed extremely lackluster and rushed in comparison to the other years and seemed to be very much focused on the Managers of each of the companies (Stephanie/ Mick Foley and Shane/ Daniel Bryan) instead of the superstars. However, when it comes to the picks itself, I was pleasantly surprised and happy. I think...

Hiya Guys, You may be shocked to hear that this post brings back Music Friday **except it's on a Tuesday *so it's Tune Tuesday* bc why not** In 2012, 4 piece band Lawson released their debut album Chapman Squar e which peaked at number 4 in the UK album charts with emotional and heart wrenching tracks like Stolen and The Girl I Knew.  Fast forward 4 years, of which included Andy having a near death experience and months of writing, the long awaited second album  Perspective has finally been released. This album takes a very different approach and style from the first album and is a lot more upbeat and happy than Chapman Square. This is an absolutely amazing album filled with love, passion, some brilliant chord progressions, amazing vocals and some awesome guitar solos! So here is my track by track review of the album and please bare with me and read to the end *it is worth it*: Perspective (Intro) This track is a great way to start the new album and real...

Hiya guys, After I wrote my last not-so-serious post about what to do in the summer (you know the one before the EU debacle) I thought I'd expand on what is really making my summer. BRITISH COMEDIANS ARE SMASHING IT AND I AM ADDICTED! There was once a time where we'd be begging for US comedians like Kevin Hart to come to England to give us our yearly dose of laughter. However, the tables have turned with British comedians being sought after to have slots on huge US talk shows such as The Tonight Tonight Show. Shows like Would I Lie to you, Mock The Week, QI  and many others give new comedians a chance to work with some truly experienced and well known comedians. So I have tried to do what I do best and list my 5 top comedians. I don't not like other comedians because I have way more than 5 favourites but these are the ones I watch the most. Also, many people have different tastes in comedians, like music, so I know that everyone won't agree with me. 1. Ja...