Nineteen

After a birthday people often ask if you feel any different than you did a few hours before, being a younger age and honestly some things never change-I type this handicap-idly with a fistful of gummy bears. I've learnt a lot about myself since my 19th birthday, whether that's because I'm in a different environment, no longer a full time student but now a full time worker I don't know but I have noticed some changes. Turning 19 was unexpected and without cliché which I have appreciated. I didn't have many expectations and some people think this is good, so there's no disappointment but I've taken everything in stride and embraced emotions as they've come. I've learnt that I can't control everything around me, whether you like it or not life goes on and you have to move with it or get left behind. Some things never change though, being around older guys have taught me that no matter what age, boys who are not yet men are still very dumb, idiotic and insensitive. I taught myself how to distinguish between terms for example calling 16 year old males 'boys' and 24 year old males who are still 'boys' 'guys' instead. Aswell as learning a bit more about the rival species, I've uncovered information about the league of aspirational women and the trail of imbecile little girls who let the side down to garnish attention from the opposite sex. It may seem as though I've discovered information about everyone except myself but this is the joy of being 19; well getting it right first time that is. 19 is an age rarely mentioned or warned against. Being 19 is all about subtlety, if you're an extrovert this is your year to sit back and observe, find out exactly how to read people and spot the bullshit a mile off. Trust me after a while it becomes so easy to do. Learn from older people, study their achievements and their mistakes and heed that warning. 19 is a purgatory state between youth and adult. I still believe it should be made illegal to address an 18 year old as an adult, here in London at least. At 18 you have no where near the mental capacity needed to be and adult and do it properly. 18 is the year of ill informed, uneducated decisions and 19 comes along to clean up that mess. So many people end up starting University aged 19 and not 18 because of those ill advised decisions but they usually end up with a lot more to show of their year of growth, maturity and progression. At 19 you're young enough to fool older generations into underestimating our talents, wit, intelligence and skill. Working hard at 19 shows people you want to be taken seriously, especially if you have the facial features of a 16 year old teenager. No ones going to call you a teenager and no one will respect you like an adult until you show them your edge, and this comes naturally once you've mastered being 19. 19 is a good year, just don't mess it up.  

Seven At Brixton

Ever been to Brixton at 7? These days it's bang on trend, the skater boys are emerging from the infamous skate park round the back of the Brixton O2 academy and flexing in front of the once archaic library. It's always good vibrations at the Ritzy, and the market has it's own currency! And with that I move on to my next question, have you ever been to Seven At Brixton? If so you know it's a small bar at the back of Coldharbour lane inside the actual market! Don't worry it doesn't smell of fish and meat, instead you have a wave of mintyness waft pass as you upgrade to upstairs seating, because this place can get pretty packed; and please mind your head! After securing our seating, we made our way to the bar whilst bumping and with little to no grinding to music by hip hop legends Nas and Jay Z. We watched the bartender make our order, 5 Ginger Beer Basil Mojito's all at one time and he laughed at our bemusement, because honestly, mixology never gets old and these guys are great. We waited a short time to be served and have our drinks made however, I do advise you, this is Brixton, don't be shy otherwise you'll never make it to the front. The Mojito was super sweet, I loved it the ginger beer infused with basil was amazing, then I stirred the bottom where the sugar resided and wow I found heaven for the remainder of that cocktail, and for a fiver that was a good deal. We wanted to try the Buffalo Passion and both of the speciality cocktails just for the fun takeaway box and glass skull bottle, but as Seven closes at 11 we knew we'd never make it through that queue. So now along with the great vibes and lively buzz I have a reason to go back! I also have a question for the guys at Seven At Brixton, is there real actual buffalo in these cocktails!? 

Guys follow their Instagram account for mouth watering temptation at @sevenatbrixton 

Race For Life - Meesh's Racer Angels

Hello Beautiful People!

Happy Easter and blessings all round! 

A week to date was the famous London Marathon, the worlds runners, skippers and fancy dress joggers joined forces to say no to life threatening illnesses and raced for life. Watching the beautiful array of colours of peoples vests and numbers was mesmerising, how could you not want to be apart of something so vibrant, a show of brilliance, bravery, courage and pride?

For the last 2 weeks i've endured an endless barrage of Snapchats of my best friends sweaty face and laughed at her whilst she struggles to train for a 5k run for Breast Cancer supporting her mama and family. So before I could talk my indecisive self out of the idea, I whatsapped my best friend and said I want to do it too! SIGN ME UP GIRLFRIEND! The sheer excitement and thrill I got when I said yes was immense, I wanted to say yes over and over again, tell everybody and their mothers that I, Regina has said YES to A 5K RUN!

Go Team! 

FOR BREAST CANCER! If you know me then you know running is my weakness, my kryptonite, my Harry Styles-Zayn Malik. I have spent the majority of my spare time researching a variety of ways to say the same thing "Will I die if I run 5K?" Think of courage the cowardly dog and multiply that image by 10 and there you have me torturing myself on a treadmill. However, with some friendly advice from my novice runner friends and family, and obviously the everpresent helping hand of Google search engine I've garnered some tips on how to journey from Couch to 5k around Clapham Common.

London Marathon 2014

Everyone has a story or knows of someone who does when it comes to the nightmare that is 'The Big C' but we don't have to whisper in fear anymore because times are changing and we are fighting back!... So help me, my friends and family say it... Cancer, we're comin' to get ya! Do something bold, say yes to something new and frightning, then plough through it and show it whose boss! I cant wait to rip open my starter pack and get fundraising and I'm counting down the days until I can wear my number with pride panting around the common. If you see me give us a wave! 

If you've got a story you should share it too and others can learn from you or help you get through! Drop a comment, and share this all over the world and back again and visit our Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/meeshs-racer-angels and donate anything you can to support us and millions of others in the UK. If this is too much to ask then I give you full permission to laugh at my expense on the 31st of May when I'll be sweating, crying and cussing under my breath. Thank you all for your support Big Love and Happy Easter! x

LoveSounds - Talk To Frank

Posted on Frank Ocean's Tumblr 

It seems like the new trend in music is for artists to literally starve their fans of audio pleasure by committing social suicide-deleting various social media platforms and remaining under the radar for as long as possible. Back in the day and I mean way back, fans didn't have the same instant access that we demand from our beloved superstars. So when Frank Ocean decided to delete his Instagram and Twitter account, it seemed like he was done sharing and shit was really about to hit the fan. But if you're real cool and underground you'll have a Tumblr account, a land where teenage angst is highly prevalent and almost polluting, a place where artists are bred and nurtured; where the real cool hunting takes place. Artists are biting back and some may even say they're biting the bullet by opting out of the

fast lane of marketing and mass exposure, Beyonce did it, Drake is becoming infamously known for doing it and little Frank Ocean is being very prudent in the midst of the Hollywood melodrama. The moment you think you've forgotten about them they drop something mega! Beyonce's self titled visual album featured Frankie on 'SuperPower' and her no promo album is a prime example of what I'm talking about, if you'd of paid close attention you would have seen the signs and felt the heat of the hot album coming your way. Beyonce's Tumblr account was littered with visuals and photographs she took on tour and whilst spending time with family, some of these moments were even sampled in the visuals for songs like 'Blue'. Also who could forget that O2 advert where we first heard the snippet of 'Bow Down Bitches!' from 'Flawless'!? Since Tumblr is for the world of kids who really care about art, artists like Frank Ocean on Tumblr aren't harassed in the same way they would be on say Twitter or Facebook. Tumblr is like an open diary of writings, visuals and montages that when viewed together or separately all make sense to the individual. Ocean is known to share the reveries of his mind and soul in his music and on his Tumblr, it was here that the artist felt most comfortable talking about his sexuality in the simplest of formats, well the language that our generation, the generation he's appealing to understand and speak, a digital text box.

Frank's Letter To Fans 

I scoured through his Tumblr the way I would any other micro-bloggers account because I felt like he was one of us, his blog isn't over done and is just so authentic, I just hoped my wifi wouldn't fail me and refresh the page as his account became my number one go-to source in the run up to his debut album 'Channel Orange', fans could consume the musings and inspiration for some of the tracks by scrolling through his posts, this is how I understood the vibe of the album and knew he made it for me and other like minded young people. Frank Ocean is taking the same approach to music we saw Drake doing through the final quarter of last year, he boasted about how everyone wanted a feature from him since he established his exclusivity on another 'featured' track, Versace Versace'. We were all beaming with pride when we heard Frankie's beautiful voice infiltrate the chorus 'Oceans' for Jay Z's MCHG album, he was just the right man for the job, he surely is shutting down rumours that urban artists don't want to feature him because of his sexuality, you don't get any better

Click here to join the broodingly deep fun over at Frank's Tumblr

than Jay Z my friends. Every track he touched before Channel Orange - The OF Tape Vol. 2, and after on Tyler The Creator's album Wolf and Earl Sweatshirt's comeback album Doris sounds iridescent and dreamy. Frank Ocean smoothed out the rough edges of tracks with his liquid gold lyrics and vocals, his best friends know him best and allow his whole persona and vibe to take over any track he features on for them. With all this analysis I'm excited about the material he has shared with us so far, he answered a fan on Tumblr asking when we should expect some new music and he said we should wait for summer to come back, now we're all doting on summer for another important event! Hearing Frank on 'SuperPower' and 'Sunday' and not forgetting about those golden treasures he performed live in Munich has really got me in the mood for some Frankie Oceeeaaaaan!! 

Bey

Beautiful. Boss. Real. Fake. Hollywood. Houston. Fierce. Fearless. Flawless? Beyonce.

On typing the name and stature that is Beyonce, my somewhat outdated Windows 8 processor prompted me to correct my spelling mistake, well what do you suggest I queried, 'beyond' it replied. Hmm very convincing, as in fact Beyonce defines the word 'beyond' in all aspects. Many may disagree but in the public eye and in the spotlight of the media this is indeed a fact and not just biased opinion.

I am grateful for Beyonce. Growing up I envied my older sister and cousins who were blossoming in the attitude era, an age when girls were telling the world just how independent they really were becoming. In 1999 Destiny's Child released the 'Writings on the wall' album,

Attitude!

I firmly believed that Beyonce owned this album, other voices were outshined and over shadowed by her amazing vocals that I just knew she couldn't wait to shake off her bandmates. The album was a huge success and listening to Chiamamanda Ngozi Adiche's 'We Should All Be Feminists' in 'Flawless' and seeing the visual to 'Pretty Hurts' I realise that I was wrong, it's not about competing with your sisters and your girls, its not about being better per say but being the best you can be and still appreciating the hard work and effort of others.

The 90's calling to me!

In saying this I also understand that jealousy goes hand in hand with unhealthy competition but growing up I couldn't help but think really? I've been mugged off, 1999 what a time to be a teenage girl and not 5 years of age. A time to confront boys with 'Say My Name', lay down the law with 'Bills Bills Bills' and switch the rolls in 'Confession', how could I help but feel cheated when my teenage years was greeted with women who lacked consistency and who were just scared constantly putting themselves down. I have to admit some lyrics were quite demotivating, I was advised that 'sometimes love comes around and it knocks you down' and in attempt to make light of the situation I was told to get back up when it does, however it didn't sound convincing enough. Then there was another female artist who I adored, but she ignited the insecurities I didn't know I had, she was scared of loving a man although she wasn't scared of lions tigers and bears and as a young girl with absent father issues this isn't something I needed to hear.

 Instead I looked forward to Beyonce who was fearless, even though it wasn't right for my situation she showed me how a man should treat a woman when in love with her song 'Daddy' and how not to be scared of any man in 'Yes'. In '09 she released 'Halo' and presented to the women of the world love, in the form of a beautiful, hazel eyed Michael Ealy. (I'll give you a moment to wipe your drool)

That Bootay!

But in a bid to stay relevant in the same year she embraced the single life, in 'Single Ladies' a movement I've always been apart of but I couldn't help but question Beyonce, by this point I was confused, the same way a lot of you were about her detailed sexual adventures with her husband in 'Drunk In Love' 'Yonce' and 'Partition' wasn't this the same woman who cussed out girls in the song 'Nasty Girl'? There seemed to be a double standard when it came to Beyonce, she was able to be half naked in her videos yet we bash video vixens everyday. Isn't she the same I questioned, until recently I was posed in a predicament. Guys in the street see me and my two friends on a night out usually walking tall in air max's or my over used KG boots and yell 'Hey! Destiny's Child!' and hearing them chant 'Beyonce' when I walk by never gets old as does the eye roll they receive. It took me a long time (literally my whole teenage life) to accept and embrace my body, my hips, my thighs and my derrière the way Beyonce does, but now at the age that I am I finally understand the difference between Beyonce and these video vixens. She taught me to love my body because it's mine, these dancers love their bodies because of men and that in my opinion is wrong.

Black & Beautiful

The visual to 'Pretty Hurts' opened my eyes and reinstated her message that you need to fall in love with yourself first. However, this video also stirred up old feelings I had about Beyonce's presence and demeanour, I used to think of her as a beauty pageant contestant, rigid and almost too perfect, a wide and empty smile. I remember watching ITV's 'A Night With Beyonce' and when asked what her biggest insecurity was she replied, 'these ears' and again I found myself thinking Are you for real? That's it, you say it without flinching, wrinkling her nose and cringing, she provided an all too perfect and polished response. So aged 16 I decided Beyonce was fake, a phoney. You're married, not single. 'Run The World' had all my white and Asian girl friends feeling empowered, but the boys seemed to take my pride as the common angry black girl, fuelled with aggression and just a headache. However, Beyonce would always be the first to drive home her pride in being black, although many of you may bear controversial responses to her very light skin tone she is proud of her skin and heritage as am I. But I learnt that without her help! 

It's only now aged 19 that I realised what I had been missing in my teenage years, Beyonce has been

Bey back, back in the day

there for me the whole time. My family were able to play any Beyonce album at all our children parties, passing the parcel to 'Lose My Breathe' 'Crazy in Love' making up dance routines in Grandma and Grandad's front room to 'Welcome to Hollywood'. We never skipped a track on B-Day and all the kids tried their hand at lip syncing the words to 'Listen'. The 'Crazy in Love' booty shake was a world wide phenomenon and it was fun to do, I will never forget my cousin trying to learn the entire dance to 'Ego' and then 'Dance for You' no way did it uphold the same taboo as Miley Cyrus tarnishing the hard work of Youtube's Twerk Team and creating an army of pre-teen girls uploading failed attempts on Vine.

With this self titled album she brings back all the attitude I wanted to be embraced with growing up, she helped me understand that now was the right time that I needed to hear this music. Her message in her words were "finding the beauty in imperfection" and to "enjoy your life, it's short". All of a sudden it made sense to me, the obvious became visible, she is human, she isn't bionic and she isn't always Sasha Fierce, she admits that you're not too big to lose. Beyonce made no mistake with her music but made some decisions that had some people lost. She is a mother and she sings about that, she blogs about it and shares it with us all, she's also a wife and a lover and isn't embarrassed to explore this in her music either, I mean did you see the Grammy's!? Finally she is a woman, who once was a little girl, she shows her growth and I am glad I grew with her. Music never dies and I am still inspired by listening to retro Bey, old albums, interviews and outfits. Although their is a physical change the goal has always been the same. Be fierce, be fearless and be free to be who you are. 'Grown Woman' shows exactly what I'm talking about, the old clips of her younger self performing (and scarily morphed mouth using CGI) shows that some of our best memories are in the past and it's okay to go back and relive it to remind us of where we've come from and where we're going. So I mean it when I say I am grateful for Beyonce. Long Live Queen Bey.

Camden Town

Last week I went to Camden Lock with my cousin to have dessert at Chin Chin Laboratories.

They serve Ice Cream made with liquid nitrogen-generated steam in three flavours, I had the Pondi cherry-vanilla topped with hazelnuts.

It was so yummy! If it's your first time they talk you through it and explain that using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream results in a smoother texture and stronger taste, which contrasts so well from the crunchy hazelnut toppings. The parlour is very small and cosy, neatly tucked away in the midst of Camden Lock but you cant miss it because that sweet smell of ice cream just draws you in! The price is reasonable and they only take cash but don't worry, the staff are so friendly and kind they'll show you where the infamous cash machine is.


I'd definitely go again, for a quirky catch up date with a friend and then do a spot of Camden Market shopping.

LoveSounds-Midnight Memories

Wow! What a way to kick off the pre-birthday weekender for Master Harry 'Prince Charming' Styles who turns 20 today! Ohh my gosh! I mean oohhhhhh ma GOSH!! Boy blossoms into man and the Midnight Memories roll on! Their latest video was released live on Vevo and well what can I say? The video speaks for itself, if you're at the age where you know what you need you obviously understand that the boys have granted your every wish! Except that one when you ask to be that old fogey on the mobility scooter so Mr Styles could blow you a kiss or two and Tommo could smooch your delicate, wrinkled hand!! Pure LOL-age! 

The video captures the true and vital essence of teenage life in London, and the message carries globally as the dynamic fandom strikes again to break the vevo record and crash the system altogether! When I think of Midnight Memories a drunken night filled with endless selfies and a barrage of typo tweets stumblin in the street springs to mind, I mean we've all been there right?!

Liam surely has, whose to say he didn't have to get into character for the video, he became Funky Buddha's most relevant party animal post festival season and is still going strong! Same again please love!

With all this time off, the boys have become restless! Taking chunks out of doner kebabs isn't the only mischief they've gotten up to, they sparked some controversy recently making for some real midnight memories including Liam's sassy tweets, the break up of the boys and the infamous "professional fangirl" in other words, he who shall not be named! Louis' explosive live commentary of CBB on Twitter and some late night rendezvous that most of us just can't Hendall! Zayn's selfishly seductive selfies and Niall's banterous chuckle worthy tweets with the lovely Rochelle Humes! Gosh you'd of thought 9 months of touring would make you tired right!? Maybe we should all take a leaf out of their books and get on with life, make some midnight memories and dedicate it to them! This one's on me boys! 

*These pictures have been sourced from either Google Images or Twitter (I You Doodled the top one myself :)*