I am such a lazy blogger it's pathetic. Anyway, a fair bit has been happening in the life of this humble Heg so let's get on with it...
Last month was pretty damn epic. And exhausting!
On March 10th I got to see my darling Fearless Vampire Killers for the 5th time (in Bristol again). The morning of the gig I hit the exact weight that indicated a 25% weight loss from my 1st time seeing them which was all kinds of important to me as it was the hideous first photo with Laurence (below, left) that triggered the whole thing off. I was fortunate enough to get to mark the occasion with a new and finally acceptable photo (below, right) and, being the epic sweetheart he is, Laurence even said I was looking good!
April 13th 2013; July 17th 2013; March 10th 2014
The gig line up was Beyond Recall, Ashestoangels (who played How To Tell The Truth) and Fearless Vampire Killers so naturally I had an awesome time. It was only myself and Erin though as Kathleen has become really paranoid about losing her 100% attendance record at school.
Less than a week later all three of us were off to Brixton to see All Time Low. The night did not get off to an auspicious start. We were standing and we made the humungous mistake of getting into the middle of the crowd. I thought I was going to die. It took the shine off my enjoyment of support acts Only Rivals and Tonight Alive (who I really rather liked) but at the start of ATL's set it got even worse and, elbows deployed, I got myself outta there post-haste! Finding a far better spot to the far side I managed to calm down and get into the show. ATL are fab and I ended up having a blast.
Because public transport is appalling nowadays and the National Rail Enquiry Service is CRAP getting home proved...interesting. Here I am enjoying a midnight snack from Burger King whilst uncomfortably ensconced in the luggage rack of the last train from Paddington to Maidenhead:
On the way home from Reading the next day I bought myself an early birthday pressie from Build-A-Bear...his name is Pawrence and he's a lil playmate for Heggo Kitty...pictured here with the tickets for my upcoming 6th FVK gig!
A week after All Time Low was my 36th birthday...and I celebrated by getting on a plane without my mum for the first time ever (does this make me a real grown up?!). We flew up to Glasgow for a single night...to see Fall Out Boy at the Hydro! It was another incredible night. New Politics were great; they had loads of energy and got a great crowd reaction... The Pretty Reckless somewhat less so. Maybe TPR were good, I don't know. Their sound didn't fit the line-up for one thing but they were also painfully loud although it was the excessive use of very bright strobe lighting that finished me off. Fall Out Boy were fab as expected. We had chips on the way back to the hotel and miniatures of single malt whisky as a nightcap to celebrate my flying visit to Scotland.
The next day we visited the Glasgow Necropolis and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for a bit of local flavour and culture before flying back to Bristol where we had another night in a hotel, heading home insanely early. Kathleen went to school but Erin had a cold so she took time off sick. I'd booked a week's holiday which was a good thing as not only was I utterly shattered but I caught Erin's cold which became my 4th cough of the winter!
April 14th 2013; April 14th 2014
On April 14th I marked the first anniversary of seeing FVK and meeting Laurence with a celebration of the most life-changing aspect of that event... Above are our before and after photos; same outfits, same pose, 365 days apart. Kathleen has gone from an 18-20 to a 14; Erin has gone from a 16-18 to a 14; I have gone from a 24 to an 18 (depending on sizes in different stores, obviously).
Modelling my old size 24 'skinny' jeans...
Note: a year ago I couldn't get into a 2XL band t-shirt comfortably; the FVK tee above is an L. Currently 75lbs down on my start weight.
"Look Ma, no hands!"
Kathleen (age 15) has been exhibiting super-strength for a while now - she could lift me BEFORE the weightloss...seriously disturbing... The day was rounded off with the ceremonial burning of the outfit from my 1st FVK gig. I'm keeping the humungous jeans for the giggles.
Working towards the end of my current Open University course (which I will be all kinds of happy to see the back of; gonna sign up for Philosophy next time!) and off to Cardiff this coming weekend...we're visiting the Doctor Who Experience and (surprise, surprise) seeing FVK yet again.
