Birthday fun

So it was my birthday yesterday....one year older but a lady never reveals her age, well not when she's past 21. I got some great bits and bobs, from work vouchers for all my favourite things; a local record store called Adrian's (Wickford), H&M and Atlantis Spa (Tiptree). I have been very much spoilt, as well as that I have got a ticket to see The Who in December from my parents and True Detective box set from my room mate. I still have more to come too which is very exciting! 

The reason why I am writing this post is because I went to the cutest tea room called The Loft - Tea by the sea (Tollesbury, Essex). Its a vintage style tea room with quirky interior, hand picked pictures, plates and bunting hanging up to give it a very 50's homey feel. This fantastic looking tea room is set in the working marina of Tollesbury but watch out for the high tide as you might have to paddle back to car like we found out but its all part of the fun.

You receive very friendly service and there is also a board up warning you of high tides, just in case you have left your car in a difficult place. The Loft has a really good lunch menu; penni, sandwiches, soup, lunch platters and cream tea's.

I mean what else do you need from your perfectly situated vintage esque tea room?

I would recommend The Loft to anyone who lives or is visiting Essex, you get a nice feel of rural Essex as well as a good long walk down the sea wall with some fantastic scenery. I will be at Colchester Aqua Springs spa on Sunday, I will hopefully be able to give you a nice little review of there to. 

What to do next month...?

So like I said I will try and keep this going every month, I have been busy searching the internet looking for exciting and interesting things to do...I managed to come up with a few ideas for you all to have a look at. Some I wish I could go to but I'm sadly doing other things (everything happens in the same weekend!) 

Walk down the Boardwalk -

A big fan on Boardwalk Empire or just love 20' and 30's Art Deco? Well this fair is right up your street! 13th-14th September at Eltham Palace £10.20 for entry but by the sounds of it, it's well worth the entry fee. 

http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/art-deco-fair-5

Get your dancing shoes on -

This sounds amazing to me, but what do you think? If you like 60's R&B, Soul, Gospel, R'nR and Ska then this is going to be heaven for you! On it's 3rd month and only £5 entry fee, it's worth a try...5th September it's your chance to WOW the dance floor. For a list of DJ's see the link below. 

http://www.trapezebar.com/basement-club/event/chain-gang1


Spitalfields Market - 

The vintage market at Spitalfields is on every week but it's a good idea to pencil it into your diary to go and visit at some point. Selling Vintage clothes starting from 20's and going all the way to the 80's, you are bound to find some hidden treasures! From hats to furniture, they have it all. With events happening every week of the month, you will always find something to do while your there other than shopping.

http://www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/events 


Look like Elvis - 

Now although having your hair cut at a Rockabilly hairdressers isn't actually classed as an 'event', you should make the trip to this London hairdressers who do some fabulous do's! I follow them on Instagram and they upload some fantastic pictures of their clients before and after hair and it WOW's me to see the transformation. 

http://www.rockalily.com/blog/rockabilly-hairdressers-in-london.html


If you attend any suggested events, would be great if you send me some images for me to upload. Have a great weekend! 

Northern Soul Dancing

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the wonders of Northern Soul dancing. Now I'm no where as good as I would like to be but I know many people that are, one of which has had 206,000 views on her most recent YouTube video where she dances Northern Soul to Pharrell Williams song 'Happy'. I've seen her on the dance floor and she glides around the floor like she's on roller skates, with a lot of rhythm and a hell a lot of soul !

I do understand that Northern Soul isn't everyones cup of tea but I think everyone should at least give it a try, even if you just purchase a Norhtern Soul collection on CD or give it a listen to on Spotify. After going to my first All Nighter I was completely hooked, everyone who goes to a Soul night are so friendly and welcoming. People who have been going for years love new comers to the scene, its a way to spread the word about Northern Soul nights and therefore keep the All Dayers and Nighters functioning.

If your not sure about going to a popular night as your first encounter then research to see if there's one locally to you which is always a good starting point. The best website for finding out what's on at the weekend and due in the week all over the Country, Europe and the World is; http://www.soul-source.co.uk/. This website has a great deal of information and also a forum where people talk about Soul and sell/buy records off of each other. Soul Source tell you about the main events such as Stoke, Blackpool and 100 Club but also about all the little events that happen too.

 

 

Levanna Mclean, ifthisislev youtube video and twitter account https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZLLPaX4SS4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

you must watch this video her dancing is fabulous!

 

Give Northern Soul a go, you won't regret it!

 



 

 

 

Soul all nighters & all dayers

I recently went to my first soul all nighter, the 100 club 34th anniversary. Having never been to one before I was worried about not being able to dance very well or not looking the part. But everyone there was so nice, like a massive soul family. I now have the Soul all nighter bug!

They always have great DJs who play rare soul. Some nights such as Crossfire have different rooms that play different music; Soul, R&B & Ska. All the best tunes played by the best DJs.

Once you go to your first one, you'll want to go to them all. Ways to find out where & when they are happening; is the 6Ts website, new untouchables website & Black Bee Soul Facebook. The best place to find out the most information is at an actual soul night/day, they give out loads of leaflets to different events. 

Events to look out for; 100 Club anniversary, New Years (Va Va Voom), Kings Hall & Black Bee Soul. 

New Untouchables Brighton Mod Weekender 2013

So last month I went to the Brighton Mod Weekender and to Brighton for the first time.

High lights of the weekend: Great DJs due in the evening events I went to, I mean I'm not a massive fan of Ska but that night I danced my ass off to it! Soul and R&B was blasting away for most of the night, so I was in my element.

Scooter rally on the Sunday; I was shocked with the amount of scooters that were there on the Sunday. Not just your generic Vespa's & Lamberetta's either, there were some great beasts of scooters there. The smell of 2stroke filled the air on that sunny sunday afternoon.

As I took my camera with me I was very happy with the amount of people who didn't mind getting their picture taken. Everyone their definitely looked the part, all suited and booted wither they were Mods or Skinheads. There was a great atmosphere surrounding the weekend, even on the Saturday when it was raining for most of the day. Brighton showed Quadrophenia on the beach Sunday evening, to get everyone ready for the last night of partying and dancing.

The only thing I would mention is if your planning on going next year, get tickets for Komedia venue. I went to Volks and it was very small, you could clearly tell it was the back up venue especially on the Sunday when Komedia's all nighter was on. 

I wondered around Brighton due in the day after I had taken all the pictures I wanted to. Brighton as a place is nice (in the sun), there are plenty of places to go to eat, drink & shop. Great independent clothing and record shops.  

I enjoyed my first Mod weekender & Brighton experience.