Flo Vs The America's Cup

How excited were we all when it was announced earlier this year that the America's Cup was coming to Portsmouth in July? only a lot!! Plus when they also announced that there would be free tickets available to locals to access the Waterfront Arena I was straight on the website ordering my tickets. In hindsight I wish I had got tickets for both Saturday and Sunday but alas I do not have a crystal ball and could not forsee the horrific weather that was due to come our way on Sunday 26th July 2015....

We awoke at the crack of dawn and got the 7.45am bus to the Gosport Ferry, we arrived Pompey side around 8.30ish and headed straight for the seafront. 
When we left Gosport the weather wasn't too bad however by the time we got to Southsea it was already windy and absolutely chucking it down with rain, we were already soaked so stopped in a cafe for a quick brew and a chance to warm up. We arrived at the gates at around 9.40 to be advised that todays racing had been bought forward 90 minutes to midday to try to avoid the worst of the weather.

10am they opened the gates and everyone rushed forward, nobody even checked our tickets and we were told we would be asked for these once we were "inside" anyway as we discovered the only area they appeared to be checking for tickets was the entrance to the "VIP area" and "Fanzone arena" no one ever asked us if we had tickets.

Wanting to get out of the rain we decided to have a trek around the few shops that were on site, I was hoping to get a poncho of some kind, preferably one that maybe had the America's Cup logo on it so it would also be a souvenir of the day. Finally we managed to find someone selling some, sadly they were just clear omes and not souvenir ones at all, but it was nice to finally have a bit of protection from the wind and rain on the front.

About an hour or so before things were due to start we decided to head to the front and find a good place to watch the first race. We were soaking wet and absolutely freezing but still very excited about watching this event live, we had watched both the races from Saturday live on BT Sports and now could not believe we were going to see Team LandRover BAR in action.....

Drowned rats but still smiling

Dad selfie

      

Unfortunately the weather had other ideas and just kept getting worse, although the rain had finally stopped it was the wind that was the problem, I for one could no longer feel my toes and my hands had turned blue!!, so we decided we would stay for the first race atleast and then head to the pub to warm up and grab some lunch.

Sadly this decision was taken away from us when at around 11.30am it was announced that Health & Safety had shut the site down and we were being evacuated, we couldnt even stay to look around the village. Really REALLY disappointing but the conditions were terrible with winds of up to 30mph. Offical Statement

We left the site (cold, wet and  gutted) and headed off to find a pub to drown our sorrows, Also there was a little bit of hope that maybe...just maybe, the race wouldnt be cancelled and we  could head back to watch it. Unfortunately this was not the case 10 minutes after we arrived at the pub the announcement was made on Twitter that for the safety of the crews and the general public *salutes* racing would be suspended for today. GUTTED but completely understandable!! So we finished our lunch, did a spot of shopping in Southsea and headed home.

Sunday was a pretty disappointing day, but most people we bumped into were in high spirits (like us) and were completly understanding as to why the event had to be cancelled. I for one will not hesitate in getting tickets for next years event when it returns to Portsmouth in July!!

I am sailing

And so as one chapter abruptly comes to a close (sadly one I thought was going to be much longer) another one begins....


Yesterday I got into work and found this little gift on my desk:

Yes you are reading that correctly "Competent crew" (Dont worry I laughed too although mine was possibly more of a nervous laugh....) So apparently I am going to be racing yachts, omg I must be mad, this is not something I have ever done before but I thought what the heck, lets give it a go.

Here's the babe I will be going out on:

This was taken last year and was my first experience of sailing

And here's me taking the whole thing VERY seriously:

Why are Pirates called Pirates? They just arrrrgh!

I currently have mixed feelings on this new venture, Im really excited by it but also very terrified as I have no idea what I am doing, I have a great crew with me though so Im sure this will be a fun new adventure and something else to tick off the "Before I'm 40" list.

So wish me luck on my new venture (God knows Im going to need it) training starts in September and Ill try to keep you up to date with how things are going! Im off to brush up on my nautical terms "Shiver me timbers!"....

TTFN

LFCC 2015

Not much to say about this years event really, just a massive thankyou to Showmasters for putting on yet another amazing Comic Con.

After the manicness (yes that's a word) of last years event I decided to take a step back this year and not book any photoshoots. It was actually really refreshing being able to just mooch around the stalls and soak up the atmosphere without having to clock watch and spend the day going from one queue to the other.

Again, but not as bad as last year,  it was crowded and extremely hot (I went on the Sunday) but this was only in the morning, it really seemed to thin out shortly after lunch (possibly with people heading out for fresh air or maybe, having accomplished everything, they had left for the day). 

I think I saw more this year than I have any other and it was really lovely chatting with some vendors as I made my way around the event spending lots of money. I think the way forward now is if there are any photoshoots I want to do I'm just going to have to do the whole weekend so I can atleast enjoy this event and take it all in my stride.

I have been going to this event for several years now (since 2007 I think) and have watched it grow and get busier year after year, as well as the guests getting bigger and more awesome. Every year this event gets better and better and I consider myself lucky knowing it is just on my doorstep.

I now find myself suffering from a major Comic Con hangover so Im off to book tickets for the Bournemouth Con and also the WinterCon **Happy Happy Joy Joy** 

See y'all there!!!

Going it alone

Back in January I decided to get myself a Cineworld Unlimited Card, £16.40 a month and unlimited cinema viewings as well as many discounts in and around the cinema (Bargain), since then I have seen tons of films and was going once or twice a week.
However recently I found myself without my usual "cinebuddies" and not wanting to drag people to the cinema every week I decided to bite the bullet and see what it was like going on my own. And you know what? It wasnt half bad. Having the freedom to turn up when I wanted, to leave when I wanted and not to have to wait around whilst food/sweets/drinks are purchased. The hardest part was not havig anyone to chat with about the film on the drive home, compare thoughts and judgement.
All in all though it wasnt' as horrific an experience as I initially imagined it to be and Ive already booked for my next solo viewing. 

Time for Flo to be doing things outside of her comfort zone!!

Something new

Welcome back :-) once again I got pretty slack with keeping this up to date let's see if I can stick with it this time.....

So shiny new blog as I thought I needed a fresh start on this and so decided to try something a bit different. Dont worry though all the old posts have been transferred over - no chance of you having missed anything.....

TTFN