Victorious Festival, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Sunday, August 25 2013

Over the Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday up to 50,000 people ventured to the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth to indulge in food, drink and great music.

For £15 a ticket a day it was well worth the money and me and my boyfriend went to the Sunday where music acts included Charlotte Church, Maximo Park, Reef and The Cribs.

Included in the ticket price was a real ale festival, boutique market, kids area and you could also go to all the dockyard attractions. So we had a look around the HMS Warrior and the brand new Mary Rose museum which I personally thought was really good. I have never seen the Mary Rose and all the artifacts they found on the boat it was really interesting and amazing that it all lasted so long under the water.

There were a number of stages - acoustic, main stage, Little Johnny Russell's, real ale and bandstand.

We stayed mainly in the Little Johnny Russell's stage - where we saw The Joy Formidable, The Cribs and a DJ set by The Streets' Mike Skinner, which was excellent. We were a little disappointed though that we weren't treated to any 'Dry your eyes mate'.

There was so much on the day we got there at 11am and left about midnight. 

The Cribs were very rocky and got the tent bouncing it is a shame though as quite a few people seemed to leave to watch Maximo Park who were on the main stage at the same time.

The Joy Formidable were excellent also. I had never seen them before but really want to see them again, they only played for half an hour but I'm sure if they go on tour again I will check them out.

We caught a bit of Katy B - who has an great singing voice, Bog Rolling Stones, Fenech-Soler and loads more.

The real ale was a hit but sold out quickly. The food was also fantastic we opted for Camp Cooks, who had drag queens serving and the food was delicious. My boyfriend tried the jambalaya with chicken and smoked sausage, it was a big portion and was very spicy. I had the Hill Billy burger with tomato, lettuce, homemade slaw and cheese a mammoth burger but really yummy.

Another fantastic thing there was the silent disco, a strange concept everyone wears headphones, and there are two DJs and you pick which channel you want to listen to. It was great as when you put your headphones down you could hear the room singing out loud to one of the channels. It was strange but equally brilliant and I managed to convert my boyfriend who was a little unsure but loved it by the end. The first time we went in was a lot better as there was Nirvana and other indie bands but the second time was more of a rave.

Overall the day was amazing and I really hope they do it again. There was probably so much more but to be honest I had such a great time it is hard to remember.

Katy B on the main stage

Running from girls

I enjoy running, crazy I know in the past year I have done the Great south Run, a Santa 10k and the Marwell Zoo 10k. And I have already booked another Great South Run, another 10k and the Brighton half marathon. in the next year.

After the London 2012 Olympic games the country seemed to be a buzz with people wanting to get into sport and girls in particular had role models they could look up to - Jessica Ennis-Hill, Laura Trott and Ellie Simmonds. 

However, I still feel there is a bit of a stigma among some girls about taking up sport and one reason I think for this is other girls. 

Now there will be people out there who love sport and have the drive and determination to deliver and do the training, but if these girls are caught off guard at certain points in their training I think they can quickly be turned against the idea.

The reason why I feel other girls can put girls off sport doesn't really come from school as I was never interested in sport education mainly because it was always highly competitive and put me off. With running now I know I am never going to win and the only person I am competing against is myself.

So back to my argument I run quite a bit with my boyfriend but on some occasions when I am either on my own or he has run ahead I have be met with bitchy comments and sniggers from teenage girls who frankly make me worry about the future of women.

When I run I don't like glossy and glamorous, I look sweaty, bright red and a bit out of breath, but does this mean they can make snide comments to me? 

I don't think so and at 27 I know  better than to raise to the bait and simple jog on but it does make me wonder if the need to look perfect all the time puts girls off as either they don't want a hair out of place or are worried what other girls in their class might say. 

It is really sad if this is the case as sport can be fun, and it has taken me many years to finally feel like that. I just hope that any girls reading this who are considering quitting sport for the wrong reasons think again.

A brave new world

I have been in my new job for about two months now and love every minute of writing for a magazine.

I thought I would plug etc Magazine in a bid to get web hits and people reading it.

The August edition came out about two weeks ago and was the first Hampshire edition alongside the three well-established Sussex editions which was very exciting especially since I live in Hampshire and I am very proud of my home county.

So, what can you expect from the magazines?

Well in Hampshire I went to a piloxing class which I am obsessed with and have signed up for six weeks - http://etcmag.net/high-energy-piloxing/

I also had a shrinking violet body wrap and lost in total about eight inches  Read it on page 26 here - http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk//launch.aspx?pbid=7ff12f34-a8e7-4615-959d-6cb2dfd41b85

And had a lovely meal at Italian La Piazzetta in Petersfield p.66

In the Sussex edition http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk//launch.aspx?pbid=cdbd86eb-0ed9-41e5-a590-031651c44a1c

I interviewed Alexandra Heminsley about her book 'Running like a Girl' which I can't recommend enough especially if you have just started running p. 134

Plus I talk to a couple about their home which used to be a water pumping station on p. 82


Plus there is lots, lots more in the e-mags and online at www.etcmag.net so check it out.