Hyper Japan Christmas

After going to Hyper Japan's Christmas event two years ago, I was unsure about attending again when a group of friends suggested going. It had been fun last time, but the venue was cold, and the huge crowds were exhausting to my introvert brain (not to mention the stalls being exhausting to my wallet!)

But I went anyway, and I'm glad I did!

This time, we went on the Friday, which was still busy but thankfully quieter than the Saturday we went last time. I guess going at the end of the week is a good move!

As usual, Hyper Japan had a lot of things going on, including shopping, demonstrations, exhibitions and performances.

We had a good look around the 'Illuminight' exhibition--several rooms that displayed Japanese 'akari' lanterns (seen above!) With the rooms dark and gentle, traditional music playing, this exhibition was really peaceful to look at--a nice sanctuary away from the rush of the shopping area!

Of course, food is always a prominent feature in any day out, and as usual Hyper Japan did not disappoint!
I opted for the mixed set (Takoyaki, gyouza and pumpkin croquette) as I'd eaten last time from PEKO PEKO, Chicken katsu don  from Don Panko Katsu House, and a smores waffle from Miso Hungry!

Among the many demonstrations at Hyper Japan, one we stopped to watch was Taro Fukushika's demonstration of Shodo (Japanese calligraphy). As soon as I saw a guy with a bucket of ink and a huge piece of paper, I knew it was worth watching!

He worked super-fast, creating this piece in a matter of minutes! I hadn't seen anyone do calligraphy like this before, and had always been curious about how the larger characters are drawn (answer: a really big brush). It was impressive to watch!

We also watched part of a karate demonstration, but had to rush off for the next thing...

...a performance by FEMM!
Anyone who has followed this blog for a while will know I first heard FEMM during my one year music challenge. I'd missed their appearance in London earlier in the year, so it was great to have the chance to see them play at Hyper Japan. They only played a short set, but were very engaging. I enjoyed their mannequin-esque style of performance!

After that, we headed for home. I was pretty exhausted by then so was more than happy to take up my shopping bags and go!
(I'd post photos of my shopping here, but it's just nerdy stuff-- One Punch Man DVDs and various charms/pins of anime characters!)

It was a good day out; depending on what's on next year I may go again!

Macramé and Shopping at Stylist Live

Crafting and shopping: two of my favourite things.
So when I heard about Stylist Live, a four-day event in London filled with workshops, talks, catwalk shows, shopping, food and a free Chambord cocktail, I knew I had to go!

I dragged along my youngest sister, who isn't much of a craft-oriented person, but is totally into fashion and beauty and well up for a day out trying something new.

We opted to go on the Thursday, and since the ticket price included a workshop, we went to learn how to make macramé hanging planters!

Charity Zipwire

If you squint, you'll see a tiny pink dot on the top corner of this building.

That's me.

About to ride that zipwire to raise funds for Blind Veterans UK, a charity that supports those who have served in the Armed Forces and are living with sight loss.

Now. You might remember that 'Ride a zipline' is one of the goals on The List...

However, it was an incredibly challenging goal, because I am not a huge fan of heights, and the thought of leaping off a building attached to some ropes seems utterly insane even now.

But when I saw an advert for the event, I thought it was a great opportunity, as it was for a very good cause. So not only was I able to do something I wanted to try, but I was able to raise funds for a charity at the same time!

Thanks to the wonderful people that sponsored me, I was able to raise £205 for this fantastic charity! 

This is my happy-but-questioning-my-sanity face.
Happy that so many people donated
Questioning my sanity over doing this!

Zipwiring is a memorable experience. 

Only once were we on the roof did I realise how high it was, and honestly, the most terrifying part of the whole thing is sitting down on the edge, hooked up to the ropes, and knowing a guy was seconds away from pushing me off the edge.

After the push, there was the rapid descent down the wire to the ground, which was pretty awesome--it made being pushed off the roof totally worth it! ;)

Though I was  nervous, I wasn't going to let it beat me, not when so many people had donated to such a good cause!
Not to mention, the lady who went down the line before me was in her eighties--if she could do it, so could I!

Overall it was a great experience. I was one of some 180 people who participated, and Blind Veterans UK hopes to raise over £10,000 through the running of the event. Am keeping an eye on their Facebook page to find out if they update with a total raised!

On Target

I think the last time I fired any sort of gun beyond a water pistol was when I was about nine years old and on a school trip to an activity centre. We piled into the little rifle range and took it in turns to fire at paper targets, and I ended up being the second-highest scorer in my group (the highest was this kid who was a total gun fanatic).

I'd always wanted to have another go, so when I saw a rifle range set up at the South of England Show (which I blogged about recently), I happily handed over £2.50 for the pleasure of firing little bits of metal at a piece of paper. Yay! 
Firing these as a novice is harder than it looks. The sights are tricky to get used to, and being something of a weakling when it comes to arm muscles, I found it difficult to keep the crosshairs on the centre of the target as I was firing.

Despite that, it was fun, and in doing this activity I was able to cross a goal off The List:

085. Fire a gun

 ....Alright, I admit it, I edited one of the goals on The List, so that I could check it off.
I guess that's kind of cheating, but also something of a reality check.

085. Go clay pigeon shooting

Became

085. Fire a gun

Which is actually a suggestion made ages ago by Marcy at Too Timid and Squeamish, but I never added it because it was too similar to the original goal 85.

Why I changed it:
Mainly, I'm not really interested in trying it anymore.
Then there's the fact it costs money (not too much, but enough) and the places that offer it are all a bit out of the way, meaning I'd either need to pester someone to drive me, or pay for a taxi (which is never cheap) just to get there. Which really is too much money and effort for something that I'm not in a mad rush to do.
Therefore, I broadened the scope of the goal.

The rifle range (which I didn't think to take a photo of, or get the name of, because I was on an 'I Did Something Different!' high) was enjoyable and I was tempted to return for another go, but by that point the place was packed!


As for how well I did?

I think I did pretty well! Especially considering I'm a left-hander who was shooting right-handedly!
It was fun to have a go at, and if I see a stand like this again, I'll probably give it another go.

There are Two Types of Horses...

Two years ago, I blogged about the South of England Show, a county show held in Ardingly, Sussex, that I have been going to with my parents and sisters as long as I can remember! I went last year, but it seems I didn't blog about it for some reason!
But it's a great day out, and always worth a mention!

Hyper Japan Christmas Market

On Saturday, my friend Sara and I headed off for fun and food at Hyper Japan Christmas Market at the Tobacco Dock, London.

The event involved more stalls/pop-up shops than you can shake a stick at, all selling goods relating to Japanese culture.

Let's Play in May!

May is nearly here, and with it comes Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe!

Last year, I went to several free events and exhibitions that were happening as part of Brighton Festival/Fringe, and also went to a ticketed comedy/music show.

I might have gone to more, but due to lack of organisation, I didn't find out about any of the events until it was too late to buy tickets.

This year I am far more organised! I've got tickets to several plays, and plan to head into Brighton for some of the free events too, especially art exhibitions.

Here are my plans so far:

Pre-Easter Trip!

Some may remember that last April, I went to visit a friend in Scunthorpe, and we ended up going to S-con (Scunthorpe's very own annual anime event) and Lincoln.
This year I visited Sara again for the purposes of S-con and Adventures in Northern Towns.

This time around the town in question was Whitby, which is a couple of hours drive from Scunthorpe, so it was a long day.
I'll write a couple of posts about Whitby as I took loads of pictures at the abbey, some in the town, and we also ate in a few places, so I want to blog about those separately.
Once again this trip helped towards some goals...

36. Eat/drink in 30 new places
39. Explore 30 towns/cities/villages
48. Visit 5 different counties

Hurrah, progress!  

As for S-con itself, it was laid back and fun; once again I helped Sara on the Bring and Buy, and this time I sold stuff! I made £30, which just about covered my travel costs. Result!   

Bentley Woodfair

Every year, Bentley Country Park is host to Bentley Woodfair. My parents have attended several years running, but this year Mum was away whilst it was on, so Dad and I went instead!

Spread across two fields, the wood fair is 'a celebration of woodlands, forestry, timber, trees, woodcrafts and more...'

Treasured Transport Parade

As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the events in Hurst Festival Village Open Day was the "Treasured Transport Parade". The name is pretty self-explanatory: a parade of special, treasured vehicles!

Cars from various eras participated, with the parade beginning at Washbrooks Farm and ending at South Avenue Rec.

Broncos, Belfries and Mr Punch: Hurst Festival Village Open Day

Today was the first day of Hurst Festival, an annual event held every September in the Sussex village of Hurstpierpoint.
Now in its tenth year, the first event of the festival was the Village Open Day, which promised lots of events, attractions and performances in various public spaces around the village.

So, clutching my event guide and the leaflet handed to me when I reached the village, I went to explore and see what was on offer!

Chickens and Llamas and Cows, Oh My!

Every year in Sussex, the South of England Show takes place at Ardingly. It's a county show with roots in agriculture--a big thing in West Sussex!
Alongside the livestock and other animals on display there are trade stands, arena events, food tents, a flower show and crafts. For children, there is a fun fair.

Brighton Festival & Fringe

Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe began yesterday, and despite it being a Saturday (meaning the city would be packed) I travelled there to check out some of what the events have to offer! I also made some progress on The List, hurrah!

Read on to hear about the events, art, music and comedy I saw yesterday!

Cars, Fishing & etc.

As mentioned in my previous post, this weekend I went to The etc Magazine Show. A few weeks ago, a Groupon email popped into my inbox, offering me a 2 for 1 entry deal: entry for two people, for a measly £6! I thought, 'Why not!'
My friend V had recently messaged me to arrange meeting up, so we decided to check this event out.

The show was held in Brighton and we ended up roaming the seafront somewhat, too...

London Harness Horse Parade

It's the final day of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, and also the day of the London Harness Horse Parade! 

Despite the name, the event ran at the South of England Showground at Ardingly, Sussex. I guess it outgrew London quite a long time ago! 

Dad is interested in horses, so my parents and I went to check it out! 

Celebration of Spring

On Saturday we went to Burgess Hill to check out their 'Celebration of Spring'.
As it was Easter weekend, the town was pretty busy with people out to see the town's event and buy those last few bits and pieces before the shops closed for Easter Sunday.

The event was fairly small but included a petting zoo with cute lambs, maypole dancing, a band in the bandstand and Morris dancers, seen here. If you look closely on the left-hand side of the pictures, you can see some of the three-piece band that were accompanying the dancers.
It's a shame these ladies were placed in a little corner behind the local market stalls, as it limited the space for spectators and many people were walking past without realising what was going on! However, it was a very cheerful and uplifting performance to watch.

We were only there for a short while, but it was good to see an event that included traditional entertainment.

You can watch a couple of short videos of the dancers on my instagram, here and here


As for Sunday, it was a lazy day. I continued with entering competitions (as per my list goal) and watched a couple of films (also a goal on The List): The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery, and The Addams Family Values. I love me some Addams Family :)

My First Craft Fair

...the title sounds like a kiddy toy, doesn't it? :)

As it says, today I sold at a craft fair for the first time! In doing so, I completed a goal from The List!

02. Sell things I've made at a craft fair.

I've been making jewellery for several years but only started selling last year. Mostly I make necklaces, but include earrings, rings, bracelets and brooches in my collection! Almost everything is one-off because I love unique things!
I incorporate vintage/retro/upcycled items into as much as possible so everything has its own little story to tell.

4th-8th April: Scunthorpe, S-Con and Lincoln

Okay, the next couple of posts will be catchups on my Month of Doing. I went on a trip 5th-8th, so most of this post will be about that! I was also able to work towards several things on The List, including 36. Eat/drink in 30 new places, 39. Explore 30 towns/cities/villages and 48. Visit 5 different counties.

Friday 4th
I did some volunteering. We put out all the Easter stock...this was mostly a lifetime's supply of egg cups!

Saturday 5th
This was the first day of my trip to Scunthorpe! My friend Sara lives there and invited me to visit :)

Random snap taken from the coach, with Steel works in the background

The Ideal Home Show

As I noted on The List, there was a goal I'd already achieved:

037. Go to an event that isn’t an anime convention

 The event I attended was The Ideal Home Show at Earls Court, London.

The venue was dressed up to the occasion! 

I was lucky to snag a pair of free tickets through Money Saving Expert. My dad has always been interested in home improvement and has a few renovations under his belt, so we headed up to the show last Monday. Most of the people in the above picture had the same destination (and most of them had the same free tickets!)