Star-spangled from Steam Cream
This just came in the post.
I'm going to look well cool with my ream themed cream. God bless America!
Steam Cream, £9.99
Helenwrites posterous |
Dirty, pretty things that caught my attention for a minute or two. |
This just came in the post.
The perfect bronzer for my Florida adventure! And it fits into the flamingo theme... I love the packaging, but I'm really impressed with the product too. A brilliant summer buy.
Would I wear these? No way José. Would you?
For my final submission to the Virgin Atlantic #RedHotReporter competition I decided to take a trip down memory lane. It would be impossible to remember all the times I've flown on Virgin Atlantic, but there are definitely a few that stick in my mind.
I hope I win the Virgin Atlantic #RedHotReporter competition. Apart from getting a look inside the Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow (I have heard amazing things!), flying to Miami to report on a star-studded party and the chance to blog about it like some jet-setting VIP is right up my street! Well, let's face it, whose street *wouldn't* it be up? It's definitely an experience I'd place in, what I like to call my 'fishtank' life. That is, the bit of my day-to-day which isn't normal. So much so, it's like watching it through the glass of a large aquarium.
Loving this cute 80s Tee. If I am declared @virginatlantic's #redhotreporter I might have to buy it to celebrate 25 years of Virgin flying to Miami.
I love America. It's the land of opportunity. Not because of its varied climate, beautiful landscape and 'go get 'em' attitude, but mainly because it invented Chilli dogs. And Glee.
I get really cross when people slag off Americans. 'They're loud and brash,' so what? Who's interested in a nation of people who go so unobtrusively about their business you forget they're there. Yes, Luxembourg, I mean you.
"They danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing..."
- Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Whenever I visit the States, I like to get as involved as possible with the locals. This can be as simple as shopping for twinkies at the General Store in Round Hill, Nevada or joining in with a high school open-day just because I wanted to see if the lockers were the same as in Saved By The Bell.
So imagine my delight to happen across the Mid City Bowling Lanes in New Orleans, the home of the Rock and Bowl. It's off the beaten track (so far off, the cabbies didn't know where it was) but curious Brits looking for a glimpse of Americana will be literally bowed over. The old fashioned score-sheet-and-pencil bowling alley plays second place to the shiny wooden dance floor where Yanks of all ages dance to Cajun two-step, Swing and Rockabilly tunes played by a live band. Its fabulously camp owner, John Blancher, can often be seen dancing joyfully on the bar. As soon as the party veteren spotted me (an obvious out-of-towner) bopping on the sidelines, he dragged me onto the floor for a Jive lesson. Later, hula hoops were rolled out for people to play with and no-one was having a bad time.
I loved New Orleans; The culture, the history, the music and food (not just the chilli dogs). But the things I most remember after any trip are the moments that made me smile. The best bits of any destination you'll find in yourself, not in the guide book.
I'm entering the competition to be Virgin Atlantic's Vblog #RedHotReporter in Miami http://bit.ly/m37jOE
Tweet them at @virginatlantic and tell them to pick me!
People keep telling me I should write a blog.
'You're always doing something ridiculous you can talk about,' was the last nudge of encouragement.
I did think it might be fun to furiously tap away about every silly thing that happens to me, but until now I've only got as far as writing 'Helen's blog' before changing the font 6 times and then realising I have no idea where to start.
You'd think because I'm a writer by profession this would be a walk in the park, but I found myself lost for a topic on which I can talk about and, more importantly, that people might want to read. I scribble about health and beauty for my day job so I needed something different to satisfy my pea-sized attention span. I don't cook (unless you count burnt toast, and even then I can't handle making a cup of tea at the same time). Kids? No. Besides, mumsnet has that covered. Fashion - too hip. My pet bunny rabbit - too hop (Sorry! Cross off blogging about bad puns while you're at it). Gardening - slugs. Techie, you must be joking. Diets, no way - I like cheese too much.
So just as I start to consider a daily blog about the weather, my eyes drift to the cloudy sky and I start daydreaming about my next holiday....
Then, Eureka! At my mandatory five-minute twitter check, this tweet from @VirginAtlantic pops onto my feed...
Virgin Atlantic
Want to be our #RedHotReporter ? Find out how you could be reporting live from the party of the year in Miami blog.vtravelled.com/virgin-atlanti…
ME ME. I do, I do *jumps up and down*
And therein lies my topic... or at least until 22nd May when the competition closes. But even then I think I can sustain a blog about my first true love; Travel.
I was a toothy eight-year-old when I took my first nervous step onto a plane with my dad singing Peter, Paul and Mary's 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' in my ear. We were off to the destination of dreams (Disney World of course) and so my fever for flying was born.
I'm not sure what my credentials for being Virgin's #RedHotReporter are, but here is my globe-trotting curriculum vitae in numbers:
2167 - followers on my twitter page @helenwrites *and counting, as well as 3570 on @realpeoplemag
32nd - best journalist on twitter as voted by http://tinyurl.com/6bsq4bz
1989 - year I first travelled on an airline
25 - (K) favourite economy seat (and incidentally, the amount of years Virgin Atlantic has been flying to Miami don't you know)
4 - times I have flown on the Virgin Atlantic plane 'Ruby Tuesday' (or Boeing 747-400, G-VXLG. I had to get that from the net. I'm not that much of a plane geek. Although I am enough of geek to know how many times I've flown on it...)
10 - airport codes I know off by heart (hmm)
3 - hours I waited to see the last ever Concorde land at Heathrow (OK, I am a plane geek)
2 - planes missed
3 - times upgraded
1 - time in AMAZING First class - I got lucky after being stranded in Barbados (more on that later)
100 - percent I want to be the #RedHotReporter
So, instead of my usual chit chat about falling down a drain or bumping into an ex-boyfriend whilst carrying two melons (this actually happened), you will see me tweeting lots about being the#RedHotReporter over the next week. Please RT and send me to Miami. If I win, I promise to keep you entertained with my antics across the Atlantic!
PS: You can follow me on twitter by clicking http://twitter.com/Helenwrites
*(the photo of me is from my first trip to America by myself in 1999, aged 18)
All other images courtesy of http://blog.vtravelled.com/
Supposed professional writer by day - lover of sillyness by night.
