Let's Talk About Some LGBTQIAP+ Topics | A Ramble About Being Myself

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! This post may be controversial for some, it may be relevant to others, but, as it's Pride Month, I thought that it was best if I had a little discussion with you all about some stuff. Without sounding self centred, most of this post will be about me, and it will be rambly, but I hope that you don't mind that.

It's probably going to be best to sort this rambling thread out into sections. I felt that it was mainly important to create this post, because not only is it Pride Month, but the LGBTQIAP+ community as a whole, are still very marginalised and as I'm a part of the community, I thought that I needed to speak up about some stuff. Some stuff is positive, some is negative, and some is in-between.

Non-binary

If anyone didn't know, I identify as non-binary. This is defined as, a term that is used for people that are not exclusively masculine or feminine‍. ‌Identities that are outside the gender binary and cisnormativity. I did a post a while ago about being non-binary (click here if you want to read that.) Being non-binary is sometimes a weird concept to explain to anyone that is cisgendered (someone whose gender identity matches their anatomical gender at birth), because being both masculine and feminine can come across as a new subject to them, even though it has been around in many cultures for many years. Being 'enby' is still something that I am trying to express in a way that I want to and is still something that I am working on. I think that celebrities coming out as enby has definitely helped. It's showed me that the representation is slowly getting better therefore more people are learning to understand and accept enby, but also that no one fully has it together which helps my state of mind a lot with my gender. When I came out as non-binary, I got a fair few people asking me, can you be non-binary with a beard? Doesn't facial hair instantly make you conform to the attributes of one gender? Well no, why should something that grows on my face instantly define who I am? Society has told you to think that beards are ultra masculine, and well in my opinion, they are not. Clothing, again. shouldn't be categorised into gender specific sections. Yes, I know that many within society and media have had this debate, but for me, having gender specific sections, scared me when starting to understand my gender and who I am. I felt awkward going through female clothing sections in stores in case someone stopped me. I know that sounds stupid, but that's because society has told us that if someone that isn't a cis woman is looking at women's clothing is dodgy and weird, which is not completely true. We need to realise that most just want to look at female clothing, because, well there's sometimes better designs for certain aesthetics in the 'women' section. That was about a year ago, and I can't thank my female presenting friends such as Abbey and Michelle, who would help me look through such sections in stores so I didn't feel anxious. This year alone, I've dabbled more in makeup (an expensive and tricky hobby), worn crop tops and dresses outside and had genuine fun presenting as feminine when I've felt it in front of random strangers. All things that I was scared to do on my own this time last year. Dysphoria still and will happen,

Being Polyamorous

Polyamory is defined as, engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved. (I have also done a post on this before so click here to read it). When writing my previous post about being poly, I didn't really know how to explain any of it I just knew that it was something that I knew that was for me? I've slowly figured that it's more to do with mental health and that it helps my anxiety as I have a tendency to push some away when feeling 'bleh'. I also think that polyamory has a sort of stigma around it. I know that sounds slightly silly seeing as we live in an inclusive society, but stay with me. Polyamory has kind of being perceived as this thing that only a small minority do, that may be true, but its also been shown to be portrayed via hippies or America. By that I mean, polyamory being the centre of a communal lifestyle where many people come and live together and they share everything, or, something hidden in the corners of America in places such as Utah for it to be gawked at by the mainstream media, due to it being niche. The first one sounds kinda interesting, and, like a Marxists dream, but also sounds problematic. Also why was the stereotype with hippies? I guess that media didn't;t know what to do with it due to it not being mainstream and therefore decided to seek the first sighting of polyamory and just lump it altogether? That was wrong to do then, and, it's wrong to do today. When others ask me about polyamory, they get confused and anxious. I get that, being confused and anxious about something that you're not used to is expected. However, when I try to educate someone on it, they either just don't want to grasp it, slut shame, or, instantly come back with, 'oh well, I'd get jealous'. First of all, Karen, if you're confused about something and I educate you, the nice thing to do is to at least listen and nod. If you don't get it, that's fine, but ask questions, that's what questions are for. If you're not going to listen then why should I bother? Second of all,  you shouldn't slut shame anyone, no matter what. If I don't judge you, then why should you judge me? Third of all, everyone gets jealous, we compare and contrast within life. We shouldn't but its an innate thing to do, so of course polyam's get jealous, but communication is key. For me, polyamory is something that is still new in my life, but the way that I view polyamory, is something that improves my life. I'm not sure where I am with it, just like my gender, but I love love and I love people, so shouldn't that be enough for right now?

Holding Peoples Hands In Public

Most of you may think that holding hands in public is nothing, but for anyone in the LGBTQIAP+ community, it's not just a simple mundane thing. Homophobic/anti-queer attacks still happen. They happen in the UK, they happen around the world, and they probably happen in the town that you live in. Holding hands shows that you're being intimate within public grounds. Sometimes, this might be within safe spaces, sometimes this might just be shopping, but this still shows bravery. It shows that you know that someone might come up to you and shout slurs at you, they might punch you in the face but it shows that you're being your true authentic self. I'm still getting used to this for many reasons. Not only am I holding hands with people to show that I'm being myself, but I do it with my closest friends, due to needing help with seeing sometimes. I have an eye condition that means that I can't see that great within dimly lit places or well dark lighting/no lighting. Frankly, this isn't going to stop me going out at night, nor is it going to stop me going on nights out and adventures. This means that I let friends help me by holding my hand and guiding me, and that's fine, but to strangers they may not realise. By this, I mean that, invisible illnesses or even eye conditions, aren't recognised unless there's a visual cue to go along with it. No one gets that someone has a disability unless there's a wheelchair or a cane to show the disability. This means that I have still gotten scared that my face might get punched, or I'll get slurs shouted at me. I know what you're thinking. 'Jamie, it's rare that it will happen.' That's true, but it has multiple times. That's the only problem, most want to say that we've come a long way within queer rights, but have we? Should anyone be scared to hold hands? Hell no. Should someone be scared to show their loved ones affection in public? No. Yes, the LGBTQIAP+ community have some rights under the Equality Act, but that doesn't solve everything. We are slowly getting there though. This is why I've started to not care. Why should I be scared in case one thing happens, when I know that even if someone did punch me for being myself, that won't stop me being myself. I've started to hold hands with anyone and everyone that I know (after consent of course) because well, why should we care what others think?

Finding A Tribe

A lot of the LGBTQIAP+/queer community, decide to create their own family, as sometimes we're not lucky to have a family that accepts us as our true authentic selves. I have a family that does. I love them a lot, but I think that having a tribe/second sort of family was the best decision that I could have ever made. Not everyone in what ever tribe you find are the same, and that's fine, because its the best thing about being in a part of a smaller tight knit sort of community. You learn new things, you get educated on things that you would never know about otherwise, but, you get to do the same back. You can also rely and trust the people around you. and honestly, its fabulous. Finding people that share the same ideas and values has opened my mind up. It's also boosted my confidence, showed me that I can be open and not get hurt for doing so, and so much more. I don't talk about my mental health on here much anymore, but, its calmed my anxiety down so much. Honestly, if I hadn't had found people that I could trust, I wouldn't be able to write the above. Hell, I wouldn't really be able to write this post at all.

Thank you to, Alex L, Richard and Alex, Jim, Shaun, Mike, Vince, Johann, Kevin and Richard, Ben, Jos, Toby, Kris, Axel, Abbey, Michelle, Dan and anyone else that I've forgotten. (I'm writing this in the early depths of the morning.) Not to be cheesy, but to quote a misfit character that I relate on a spiritual level to, 'this is my family, I found it all on my own. It's little, and, broke, but still good. Yeah still good.' (Comment down below if you know the quote.)

Businesses With Rainbows/Commercialisation Of Pride

I read an article whilst planning this post that talked about how sticking rainbows onto brands logos isn't enough by one of the members of Years and Years. They said that they were sick of businesses just changing their logo to rainbow and thinking that it's enough to show their pride. I think that this is true. A brand can't just change its logo for a month and think that this is enough. If a brand is truly wanting to show their pride, then why not give a percentage of your profits to an LGBTQIAP+ charity? Why not make sure that your LGBTQIAP+ staff are being treated equally? Why not have a Pride range all year round? Pride can't just be a gimmick for a month to increase sales. LGBTQIAP+ can't be reduced down to a BLT with some added Guacamole to make it inclusive. It's pandering and it cheapens your brand as a whole. I'm glad that some brands have ensured that their Pride ranges do donate to a charity, but the ranges are only out for June which is problematic, because well Pride isn't just in June. Rainbows can happen at any time, and so can Pride and celebrating equality around the world. If you're going be loud, be so loud that they can hear from you the other side of the world and keep with it.

I hope that you've enjoyed this post and that you've had a good Pride Month. If you're going to any Pride events this year, be inclusive and be accepting. If you know any LGBTQIAP+ people, talk them, ask questions, let them educate you and accept and love them.

Thank you for reading this rambly post. 
Jamie x

Getting Beefy Without Some Of The Meat | Trinity Kitchen

Hey everyone!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new blog post. The wonderful guys over at Trinity Kitchen at Trinity Leeds, invited me to go and try out some of the new vendors that have arrived for the Winter season, so I thought that I would tell you all about, the vendors, dishes, and my opinion of the dishes that I tried at Trinity Kitchen.

Trinity Kitchen is a open plan food court in the heart of Leeds city centre, that offers a plethora of food from different cuisines and countries, such as Vietnam, America, Mexico, and many more Trinity Kitchen also offers the citizens of Leeds, brand new food vendors on an eight week rota, which ensures that they get to enjoy a selection of different food vendors throughout the year.

(I decided to try some of the new vendors at Trinity Kitchen with Jim, my good friend from, near Wigan. If you want to check him out, then just click on his name throughout the post. If you want to check out any of the vendors, then do the same.)

Me and Jim started off by going to Tortilla, he decided that he wanted to try one of their Burritos, so, I stool in line with him, whilst he decided on what he wanted within the Veggie Burrito that he had ordered. He liked it, and thought that, the Hot Salsa went well with the cooling Sour Cream in the Burrito.

We then went along to Sela Bar. Sela Bar is back by popular demand with outstanding burgers and all the toppings! We love the super double cheesy, two steak and caramelised onion patty's with double American cheddar, onions, pickles and of course loads of ketchup.

I decided to get a BBQ Burger, which was filled with all sorts of goodies, including, Bacon, BBQ Sauce, delicious Cheese, Pickles, and much more. Jim enjoyed a Halloumi Burger. He mentioned that he enjoyed the mixture of salty and sweet, that was going on within the Burger, due to the sweetness of the sauce, and the saltiness of the Halloumi Cheese. He also ordered some Fries, which I had a couple of. They were crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside. The showings of a perfect fry.

Next up on our trail was Doh Hut. Only the best will do, say hello to The British Street Food Awards 2018 winner! The finest and only DIY donuts in the city. Our favourite is the Vanilla Bean Crème Patisserie filled donut with Salted Caramel Sauce, Homemade honey comb and homemade shortbread- unbelievable!

When we walked up to the vendor truck, the lovely guy that was on shift there, offered us a try of a mix of Creme Pat & Raspberry Jam. It was divine. Fruity and creamy at the same time. Reminiscent of 'Pink Custard.' After tasting that amalgamation of amazingness, I decided to choose a Raspbery Jam one, and Jim decided to go for a Creme Patisserie one. I loved the contrast between the sugary exterior, with the tart fresh interior. It was sticky but definitely worth it. Jim said that the Creme Pat filling worked with the sugar on the outside.

Lsst on our adventure around was, Village Deli Scotch Eggs. Scotch egg lovers are in for a treat! Sample a modern take on the traditional snack at Village Deli Scotch Eggs with European varieties including chorizo and red pepper, and black pudding.

I decided to go for a Chorizo Scotch Egg. I love that thick spicy sausage in absolutey anything. The Egg was slightly runny on the inside, crispy on the outside, and had the warming spice of Paprika running all the way through it. It was absolutely amazing! I rarely eat Scotch Eggs, mainly because, I associate Scotch Eggs, with being dry and powdery from the supermarket. As Jim is a Veggie, he got to enjoy the salad garnish.

The other two vendors at Trinity Kitchen, include, Let's Go Wild Boar (they were mentioned in my last Trinity Kitchen post), and, Little Red Truck, that specialises in Cheese Sandwiches, but wasn't open, when I was there.

Have you tried any of the new vendors in Trinity Kitchen. whilst getting some Christmas shopping done? Let me know down below!

I hope that you have enjoyed this food based post! Don't forget to check everyone that is linked within this post.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x 

The Truth About Beauty Influencers

Hey! 

How are you? 

Welcome to a brand new post! I thought that today, I would talk about my 'truth' on the beauty influencer sort of drama that has been happening lately. Honestly, I think that I'm going to talk about the beauty influencer thing from a blogging aspect. I have a few opinions on the stuff that's happened and I might mention it at the bottom of the post. I am a beauty influencer myself so I felt like it might be good to talk about it. (The photo is owned by Pexels and is a stock image and not of anyone specific.)

Warning: This post will content language of an adult nature throughout the post. 

So, let's break down the beauty influencer drama. It's about, 1: influencers forming cliques (let's call it the Matte Plastics, get it?), 2: money, 3: contracts and collaborations, and, 4: brands deciding to work with big influencers. I'm probably missing something, but it's probably best if I stick to a fair few.

Cliques:

Okay, so cliques are going to form no matter what. We're shown early on in life that it's good to make friends, and end up in groups that share a common interest. We're shown via primary and secondary socialisation that a friend is a friend, and that it's good to bond. The only problem with that is that cliques form and the whole message of becoming friends with others and being friendly and open, are well, thrown in the sea somewhere with all of the other suffering sea creatures in the world. Cliques become well, messy and disgusting just like when you leave your makeup on overnight after a good night out, and you decide to look in a mirror the morning after. They promote exclusion and honestly discriminatory behaviour. This is all well and good, when you're a child in school still learning your times tables, you learn from it, but when you're still doing it in your twenties and owards? That's when it becomes problematic. When you're doing it professionally, when you have a mass audience following your every single move and they see that you're being messy and childish, they might think that it's okay to do the same and it's not. The fact that you know that you're in the public eye and you think that no ones going to clock you for being a five year old? Newsflash, they are going to, they will and you will suffer the consequences for doing so. When it comes to bloggers, Youtubers, influencers, whatever you want to label us all, doing this, it does the above and shows brands that might want to work with you that you're unprofessional, but also, it shows that you're pushing people that are in your own community trying to do the same thing out of the way. Why? Because you might not like them, they might have different views to you, they might make a different bracket of money than you? Doing that is petty and dirty. Trust me, I've seen it with my own eyes, it's just wrong. We all say that us digital workers need to stick together, then you join cliques with other influencers and decide to talk crap about them and be shady? Bullshit. Practice what you preach or expect consequences to your actions. Don't write shady posts about other influencers. Mean Girls came out 14 years ago, have you learnt nothing from it?
Cliques do not work. End of.

Money:

Okay, so as I mentioned a bit in the previous paragraph, when it comes to working as a digital influencer, money comes into play. You are doing a job, whether that be creating images for instagram, posts or videos, and brands may think that you're suitable for their brand, and approach you to work with them on sponsored content. They may ask you for a fee, and they will normally negotiate what they can offer you, and vice versa. If a brand pay you x amount then that's fab, but do not try and come for them and ask for more money. You're not god. The brands know that you're doing a lot for them. Being an influencer isn't easy, yes its full of amazing things, but there is admin and editing and so forth. Brands get that, but as soon as you've set down a price, don't try and get more money out of them. Where the fuck do you think you are? At an auction? No, a company can only give you so much, so get down from your pedestal and stop thinking you're the shit. All of us influencers are trying to make a living out of something that we love to do, and honestly brands are more than likely going to offer us a measly price for a lot of things that we're doing for them. Why? Because you've screwed up their experience with working with influencers and now guess what? They think that your behaviour is how all influencers act, when it's very far from the truth. Yes, you might have a large following, but you never know, your audience may drop dramatically if you're churning out the same content. When that happens, what are you going to do for your obscene amount of money? Stop thinking that you're the shit, you're not, you're like the rest of us. A influencer making a living via something they love. Honestly, I've seen this happen quite a bit via various influencer groups on the internet.

Contracts and Collaborations:

A lot goes into a collaboration,  and the way that most collaborations are secured are via a legal contract. When it comes to a collaboration, a contract will state things like the brand or PR company you're collaborating with, the fee, the deadline, what the brand want you to do, hashtags to use, handles to include when promoting the post. Once you sign this, you are legally bound to do what the contract says, and the brand pays the amount they've stated. Sometimes, the brand might not pay. I've seen that happen, it's happened to myself, but you don't randomly pull out three quarters through a contract, because you want to. That's not how it works. You don't just cut out of a contract when you want. If you accept a contract, then you and the client have a legal obiligation to follow it through. Don't get shitty and shady/one answered questions when the client asks you something. If you knew that you weren't able to do it or wasn't sure then tell them. Brands need to follow through and pay us when we've done a post but we also need to make sure that we read the contract well, and know what we are getting ourselves into. If you cost a brand a lot of money by pulling out of a campagin without a good reason as to why, then expect the professional bridge to be burnt. They've spent a lot of time, just like you do in everything that you do.
Communication is key.

Problems Working With Big Influencers: 

Before, someone tries to come for me in the comments, trust me, I'm not a big blogger. I guess that I'm slowly getting there but I still wouldn't class myself as a 'big blogger'. My social following is nowhere near what a 'big blogger' would have. Brands work with big influencers is that they are normally only doing it due to their following. I get that. Brands want the most amount of audience checking out a new product or campaign, but the problems with big influencers is that they might have a large following, but where's the substance? You might get a click from their audience, but will you get any organic interaction? Probably not. You'll get a big influx of people checking out your brand but they will instantly fly to the next thing that the said influencer says is great. That's another thing, do you get an honest opinion from a big blogger or will you get a general this is good or bad? Can you improve your product or brand from that? Hell, no! With a smaller influencer, you'll get an honest and probably in depth review/opinion, telling you exactly what they think of it, as they want to be honest to their trusting audience. You can build on that, you can resend the influencer the product once it's been sorted and see if it's better. You might not get a massive amount of traffic compared to a bigger influencer, but, you will get substance. You'll get the audience probably buying something or checking other things that the unfluencer hasn't mentioned. Who knows? They won't be unprofessional and cancel halfway through a campaign, which means that you can create a trusting yet professional relationship with them, hence being able to rely on them for future opportunities.

That's the tea spilled. What do you think about the whole beauty drama at the moment? Would you like me to create more beauty based posts? Let me know down below! 

I hope that you have enjoyed this post, and that you come back next time for another post.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Posting Onto The Internet | Digital Drop In With Google Digital Garage & Post Office

Hey everyone!

How's your day going? Good? Bad? How are you coping with the weather? Have you finished your exams? Have you finished uni? Let me know down below!

Welcome to a brand new blog post! Today, I thought that I would talk to you in depth about the digital confidence event that I went to with Leeds Central Library, Post Office, and,. Google Digital Garage.

I started off the day by rushing to get ready. For all you fashion headed people out there, I thought that I would take a slight bit of inspiration from Queer Eye, and, attempt a sort of french shirt, jean combo where the shirt is french tucked (the front of the shirt is tucked, but the back isn't) with the Jeans. I grabbed my DSLR and headed to Leeds Central Library. I used Google Maps to get there, because, like most independent students, I hate awkwardly asking a stranger for directions to a probably obvious location. After finally finding the beautiful building, I made my way to the workshop.

When arriving at the workshop, I met the wonderful Lucy from Lucy At Home, and, Sophie from, Mama Mei. It's always great to meet some fellow Yorkshire Bloggers! I took a few snaps and then got to talk to a couple fo the people from Google about all things technological, such as Google Home, and how they've helped people with disabilities, and, how Hey, Google, has helped cut time for busy people such as students.

The main reason why I wanted to come along and improve my digital confidence, was because, even though I'm pretty young, technology is improving at a alarming amount. Ten years ago, I would never think that I'd be able to get so many opportunities with great brands via just typing my opinion and thoughts down on a laptop. I never thought that we'd be able to use our phones for things such as Just Eat, Uber, and the likes. So, I want to stay on top of technology and ensure that I have the best skills possible so I can make sure things such as my blog are in good form, and, that I'm improving just like technology. I also wanted to make sure I knew my stuff for when certain members of my family ask the inevitable, 'how do I do this?' because it's best that I know the easiest way to do things like that.

At the workshop, I got to help out a couple of people with their technological problems, including, a wonderful woman who wanted to know more about Social Media and how to promote the things that she wanted to, via social media. I also helped out some of the team from Post Office with camera and photography tips. Trust me, I'm definitely not a professional photographer, but, it was nice to actually spread on information that I had learnt from others who are amazing with photography!

The workshop also talked about how broadband can affect your digital confidence. i mean, if your broadband has a constand bad signal, then it means that it takes longer to do anything, thus, making you want to give up on doing something digitally quickly, because let's be honest, we don't always have the patience to wait for something to finally do it's thing! If your broadband isn't that great, then it might be a good idea to check out Post Office's Broadband which is £18 per month.

After the workshop, we got to have an amazing tour of the library. That might sound a bit boring down on words, but honestly, Leeds Central Library is beautiful. You could shoot a sort of period or high class (think like Dynasty) sort of film, and no one would know that, it's 2018 Leeds! i adored the rooms, the history, and even the tapestry behind the library! Theres even a sort of Art Studio that's connected to the Art Gallery, a digital based room for 16-29 year olds, and even a space to talk about starting your own business!

Carrying on with the day, we all then went for my favourite thing in the world. Food! We went to banyan in Leeds which is actually located in the old Post Office. When entering the restaurant, you're met with grand chandeliers, cool modern accessories and cute chairs. I decided to go for a Steak Sandwich with Bearnaise Sauce and Fries. I first had Bearnaise Sauce when I was in Paris a good few years ago, and, I've loved it ever since! The Steak were succulent and juicy, the sauce added a cremy yet herbal punch, and, the bread had a bit of crunch against it which went well against the Steak. Banyan definitely seems like somewhere perfect for a date or a special occasion,

I then chatted to the guys from the Google Digital Garage, about everything, from SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), to trying to cater a blog more towards it's audience. We even talked about things such as the 3 second rule when it comes to food, to, the world being taken over by cyborgs, and, literally everything in between. I loved talking to them, and, honestly I learnt quite a lot from them!

During all of this amazing talk, dessert happened. Dessert is always a good thing, and, as I had already had lactose, I thought that I would treat myself and enjoy something. I decided to go for a Chocolate Delice, mainly because, the blogger in me wanted to see what it was. This was a sort of cross between a Cake and a Torte. It was delicious but very rich. The dessert came with a Lime Sorbet which was to die for, especially in the weather that we've been having recently!

We chatted some more and the wonderful guys from Google showed me how to make a GIF on my Phone, and, gave me a Cardboard VR, which I'm still very grateful for! If you want to see me do a separate post on that, then, let me know down below!

Click here to check out Google Digital Garage.

Click here to check out Post Office Broadband.

Click here to find out more about Leeds Libraries.

I hope that you have enjoyed this student/lifestyle/food/technology based post. I hope that you come back next time for another post!

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

This post was in collaboration with Google & Post Office. All views, opinions and ramblings are my own. 

All The Toppings In The World | ,MOD Pizza Leeds City Centre

Hey everyone!

Welcome to a brand new post. A while ago, I got to go along and check out the fairly new MOD Pizza branch in Leeds City Centre, therefore, I thought that today, I would talk to you all about what I got up to and what the pizzas were like. Mmm, Pizza.

Just like other posts, if reading about Pizza isn't your thing, then please go and read a different post. There are nearly 400 posts, so there should be something for everyone on Jamie Sowden.

We (myself and Luke), walked into the spacious establishment which had a sort of, rustic yet Instagrammable boho diner feel to it with wooden chairs, terrific tables and eclectic wallpaper mixed with the stainless steel feel of the counters, mixed with the rustic feel of the Pizza Ovens.

The way that MOD works is that you can order one of their amazing but pre-created topping combination on your pizza, or, you can build your own. From Lactose-free Cheese, to, Gluten Free Bread, to a pizza with Cauliflower, Asparagus, or, Pineapple, to a Pizza with all meat on. The limit does not exist when it comes to Pizza toppings at MOD.. MOD actually stands for Made On Demand. If you're more of a Salad person, then, that can be made to demand too. Want a Milkshake? Well that can be made to your personal order. Chocolate with Salted Caramel? Done! MOD's soft drink selection is a Freestyle based machine, which means that, you can custom your drink to your own liking. Love Cherries? Get a drink with all Cherry in! MOD Pizza's are £7.87 which I think is great for an eat in/takeaway pizza!

I went up to the stand and ordered everything that myself and Luke were about to eat, (okay, I went a bit over the top, but I was excited to eat Pizza), then I received a buzzer to put on our table. This meant that the order comes straight to the table!

Let's talk about drinks first, Luke got a Strawberry Milkshake, because well, he loves Strawberries and Milkshakes. I decided to go for a Chocolate Milkshake with Oreo pieces crushed up into the drink. I loved the dark contrast between the sort of rich chocolate taste with the Vanilla creaminess of the crushed up pieces of Vanilla from the Oreos. The milkshake was thick and cold, which is, everything that you want from an amazing milkshake! I also decided to get a Freestyle drink, mainly because, I have quite a dry mouth so I end up drinking like a fish. I enjoyed checking out what flavour combinations I could have, but when I found Vanilla Pepsi, I knew that I had to have it mixed with a bit of Cherry!

Onto the main star of the show, the Pizza's! Luke decided to go for the Mad Dog, as he wasn't really feeling the Create Your Own. This Pizza consists of, MOD Red Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, Pepperoni, Mild Sausage, and, Ground Beef. I decided to go for a Pizza that consisted of BBQ Sauce, Mozzarella, (I was tempted to go for Lacto free due to me and Lactose not being the best of friends, but, I thought screw it), all of the meats, Red Onions, Sweetcorn and, Peppers, with a Blsamic Fig glaze drizzled on top. The base was crispy, the Cheese was gooey, the Meats tasted amazing and the crisp Vegetables went well against the cooked Meats. Y'know what the best part was? That Balsamic Fig Glaze! It was tangy, but sweet, and it just made the whole Pizza pop with taste!

Carrying on with all this food talk, we then got Cinnamon Strips. Yeah, you heard me right. Cinnamon. Strips. These were the best thing in the world. You can choose between Chocolate, Strawberry or Cinnamon Glaze to be embedded in the actual strips. I went for Chocolate but mizing the gooey in the middle, crisp on the outside strips, with, the sweet sugary Cinnamon dip was the best thing in the world. Honestly, I'm tempted to drag friends along just for those strips on their own. Mmm, I want some more right now!

Have you ever been to MOD before? If so then let me know what your favourite Pizza is? If not, then tell me what your favourite combo would be!

Check out MOD here.

Thanks for reading my food based blog post. I hope that you come back next time for another blog post.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Flashing For The World To See | Jessops Leeds

Hey everyone!

Welcome to a brand new blog post! Today, I'm talking to you all about an event that I was invited to a while ago. I've been busy for a plethora of reasons, but, still I thought that I'd tell you all about it.

Like every other post, if this post isn't what you're interested in, then please don't read it. There is nearly over 400 posts on Jamie Sowden, therefore, there is probably something that you will enjoy reading, even if you don't enjoy reading this post.

Jessops are a photography brand that specify in all things cameras and technology. They also have courses to help with things such as photography and technology.

I made my way down to the store (which is located on the Headrow which also contains stores like TK Maxx, Homesense, and, Argos), I instantly was shown around the amazing new store which mixed cool metals with bright colours. Everything was in sections which made it easy to locate what you needed. Lenses? Over there! Cameras? Over there! Drones? Over there!

When you walk in to the Leeds branch, you're met with screens which mean that you can sort out the photos that you want to print off. The amazing store staff even showed how simple it was to upload and print off photos. All you had to realy do was put in either an SD card or connect the bluettooth from your phone to the screen, select your photos, choose what sizze and in moments they would be able to be printed for you to keep forever.

I then got to have a go with an Instax Mini, which I had never tried before. I love the concept of a sort of smaller, on the go, Polaroid, that means that you can take pictures of memories that you will want to cherish forever and have physical copies to put into scrapbooks or whatnot, right there and then. I honestly thought that I would get an awful shot, as, I'm more used to a viewfinder on the back of my bulky Canon DSLR, or, the screen of my iPhone, but, I got quite an alright shot.

After this, I got to experiment with Jessops' new digital masterpiece, the Shuffle Print, you connect your phone to the printer via bluetooth, or, enter your SD card, select 13 photos and the machine puts them into a random order and then you can adjust them however you want. As it was my first time using it, I might have made a picture of myself from a photoshoot, have no head... Oops.. You also get to choose what colour frame it goes with to suit the room that you will be putting it in's, aesthetics.

Following on from this, I had one more good look at the store, printed off some photos, and, said my goodbyes.

Check out Jessops here.

Thanks for reading this post. I hope that you come back next time to read another post.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x

Strutting Into Spring | Female SS18 Fashion Trends

Hey everyone!

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I thought that today, I would talk to you all about the female fashion trends that are at the centre of the fashion world right now.

Gelato Shades 

Why are we using the term, gelato shades, and what does it mean, you ask? Well gelato shades is simply just another term for pastel shades of clothing. So, shades like pastel yellow, or Lemon Sorbet, oastel pink, or Strawberry Ice Cream and so forth. We've seen them all over the runway within 2018 alreadt, via brands such as Victoria Beckham, Tom Ford and Michael Kors, featuring them on the catwalk at Fashion Week. The best way to pull this trend off, is to wear anything with a pastel colour to it. I think that it is best to, attempt to wear items of clothing with a matching or similar pastel shade, but you could just, pile the pastel colours on, and imagine that you are a triple scoop ice cream.

Tailored Denim 

Remember when dark, tailored denim ruled the world, around 2000? Well, its back with a bang! 2018 is all about tailored denim, instead of the punk inspired ripped style of denim jeans, thanks to designers such as, Kenzo and Nina Ricci. Team them with a smart structed blazer to keep it smart, or, olay it down with a tank top and an oversized jumper.

Trench Coats 

Spring is all about, taking a staple wardrobe item and updating ti slightly, so this year is all about, pimping up the trench coat. This has been done via, embroidery and flashy colours. Brands such as Alexander McQueen have done this in their own quirky way. I think that, the best way to style this is to wear simple items underneath so that the trench coat takes centre stage.

Bright Colours 

Bright colours are still here for SS18. Primary colours have decided to take focus during Fashion Week this year, and designers such as Aalto and Versace have been been including them into their collections. I think the best way to style this, is to either wear a full outfit using one colour or, maybe have one statement piece that speaks for the full outfit.

What fashion trends are you loving at the moment? Tell me down below! 

I hope that you have enjoyed this fashion based blog post and I hope that you come back next time for another blog post.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x

Surfing It Up In Wet Leeds | Limeyard White Rose Event

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I was invited to try out some of the amazing food and drinks at Limeyard at White Rose Shopping Centre last week, and I thought that today, I would talk to you all about it! 

Limeyard, All Day California Kitchen, brings you delicious West Coast-inspired treats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Serving up their signature delicious dishes including, Coca Cola Glazed Ribs and a Yards of Tacos, just to name a few.! From early morning breakfast to late evening dinners and drinks, you will always find something to cool and breezy at Limeyard.

Sadly, Luke couldn't come along, so instead, I brought along a friend who I shall remain anonymous or the purposes of anonymity throughout this blog post. We made our way throughout the glass doors of White Rose After making our way through the ultra modern food court, we found Limeyard and made our way into the relazing looking building. 

We sat down in a comfy booth in the corner of the restaurant, and chatted for a few moments. We were then allowed to choose two things from a list of the new menu and whatever drink we wanted. As there were four different cocktails, I made it my mission to try all four, because well, I love a good cocktail! The first cocktail of the night was a Koko Mojo. I love saying and typing it for a start... This drink contains Coconut Rum, Lime, Mint, Passion Fruit and Soda. I love anything that starts off with Rum. I loved this slightly more tropical version of a Mojito as the Passion Fruit and Coconut offset the tartness of the Lime. The Passion Fruit just muted the Coconut a bit which is good as sometimes Coconut can make drinks a little bit sickly I could drink these over and over again whilst chatting with friends after some shopping, but also, I could see myself drinking these on a beach! 

The first dish that we tried was, Mississippi Street Wings. This dish contains House Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip, Coriander and Lime. I rarely eat Wings. I'm not really sure why, but I think its just one of those things that you have to be with good company for, you know? These Wings were delicious. They were succulent on the inside and crisp on the outside. The House Rub that was on the Wings were delicious, but they did come with a kick once you had eaten the wing. I didn't mind this due to the refreshing Koko Mojo. The Lime added a bit of zing against the sweetness of the Chicken and the Coriander added a touch of freshness. 

The second drink that I enjoyed was, Frosé. Frosé is well, Frozen Rosé. This drink contains Rosé Wine, vodka, Watermelon, Strawberry and Simple Syrup. I wasn't sure if Wine and Watermelon would work but it kind of did. It gave the drink a refreshing kick! The Strawberry and Simple Syrup took the bitterness away from both the Wine and Vodka, as Vodka is known as that Spirit that no one drinks due to the burning afterwards. I think that this would best during alfresco dining in the middle of a Summers afternoon. 

Next on the food truck was, Popcorn Chicken. This dish came with a Chipotle Mayo Dip. The Popcorn Chicken were super crisp and warming on the outside and succulent in the inside. I loved the size of them as you could just pick them up, dip them in the dip, and pop them into your mouth. The Chipotle Mayo Dip was sweet but refreshing,. The coolness against the warm chicken was gorgeous, but the addition of Chipotle was amazing, as I'm not the biggest fan of straight up Mayo. The only problem that I had was that I wanted more! 

Carrying on with the dishes, the next plate was the delicious 1/2 Yard Of Tacos. These are described as soft Corn Tortillas with a choice of delicious fillings, all served with house Guacamole and Sour Cream. We chose to go for BBQ Pulled Pork, but there is other choices such as, Steak, Spicy Chicken, Crispy Cod and Spiced Black Turtle Beans. The Taco's were delicious. The sweetness of the Corn Tortillas against the smokiness of the BBQ Pulled Pork was gorgeous. The Pork was melt in your mouth which I love and the Guacamole added a splash of coolness and freshness against the deep and warming flavours of the BBQ Pulled Pork These and a Cocktail are good on their own, but they become addictive especially as they just about fit in the mouth all at once. Trust me, I know as I tried it... 

Sadly, the third and final drink was Mango Spritz. This contains Sauvignon Blanc Wine, Vodka, Mango, Pink Grapefruit, House Triple Sec, Simple Syrup and Peach Bitters. The other drink that was on offer during the night was Bay Breeze (this contains Vodka, Coconut Rum, Pineapple and Cranberry), but I didn't finish my Mango Spritz until I finished my food, and it looked a bit weird asking for another drink without any food at the end of the night. I'll have to come back for that last drink! I liked the fruitiness of this as the Mango complimented the Peach Bitters which also cut some of the bitterness out of the Vodka. I'm not massive on Pink Grapefruit but I liked it as it added a bit of zing to the drink. 

Now to the last dish, which was, Coca Cola Glazed Ribs. First of all, I love Ribs so I instantly knew that I had to try them. I also had to try these due to the fact that they were glazed in Coca Cola, and I wanted to know what that tasted like. These ribs are slow cooked for 8 hours which means that the meat is easy to remove from the bone, for those who hate bones. The meat was succulent and the glaze was sweet but spicy at the same time which I adored. Spice as in that sort of Cinnamon and Clove way, not the Chilli sort of spice. I could eat these for days! 

Have you ever tried out Limeyard before? Let me know down below! 

Check out Limeyard and White Rose for more amazing food including desserts and for a great shopping experience within Leeds! 

Thanks to the PR for invting me to this Blue Monday event, and thanks to the staff on the night for taking care of all of us bloggers that attended. 

I hope that you've enjoyed this blog post, and that you come back next time for another blog post! 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x

This blog post was in return of goods and or services. All views, opinions and ramblings are my own! 

Spinning Into Your Ears | 12 Inches Of Vinyl

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I thought that today, I would talk to you all about a new music
blog that I want to promote.

A large circular black vinyl on a record player with a dark needle on the record on a dark background. 

As you can tell by the name of the blog, 12 Inches Of Vinyl talks about everything there is about music and well vinyls. The blog is founded by two close friends, Nate and Luke. They will be both sharing creating content on both social media and the blog. The blog has been created due to the two friends having an avid passion for music of all genres, but like ourselves, they both have a favourite type of music. Nate loves the classical rock genre includiong artists such as, Metallica, AC/DC and Def Leppard whereas Luke prefers the metal genre and if you have him on Snapchat, like myself, then you will know that he also loves cheesy pop music. (He's also told me as Nate and Luke are good friends of mine, to tell everybody that he's the best looking of the two... If 12 Inches Of Vinyl decide to go to publish their content onto Youtube, then you can decide for yourself...)

The main focus of the blog is to talk about all things vinyl and music, due to both of the founders having a big love for music and a huge collection of vinyls but to also talk about music as a whole especially the genres that they love to listen to. They also want to create blog posts with the music community in the mind via talking to them on places such as social media platform Instagram etc.

12 Inches Of Vinyl are based around the Yorkshire area so expect blog posts that are based around that area, including their second blog post, Leeds Record Fair which talks all about what they got up to at the Record Fair that is based in the beautiful listed building that is Corn Exchange.

What music do you love to listen to? Do you collect vinyls? Let me know down below! 

Click here to check out their blog and click here to check out their Instagram.

I hope that you've enjoyed this music based blog post! I hope that you come back next time for another blog post from me.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

What's Going On At Trinity Leeds Student Lock In 2017 This Year?

Hey! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! Trinity Leeds Student Lock In is happening again very very, very soon and I thought that today I would talk to you all about it today! 

Trinity Leeds love to celebrate students coming to study at Leeds via the many universities and educational facilities that are within Leeds via putting on a student event for one night of the year which is filled with discounts, giveaways and freebies to ensure that students are introduced to the friendly shopping community of Leeds in a positive way. 

I thought that today I would tell you guys the events that are going on throughout the night which means that if you find something that you like the sound of and you're a student within Leeds then it means that you can go along, have a look and take advantage of the offer. 

Offers: 

360 Champagne & Cocktails
20% off
T&Cs: selected list of cocktails. No shots.

Asics
20% off

Boots
10% off skincare, haircare, cosmetics and more!
T&Cs: Exclusions TBC

Bose
10% off
T&Cs: Excluding sale items. Cannot be used in conjunction with other offers.

Bubbleology
Buy one get one free and Boba jars 3 for £12.95.

Burtons
20% off

Cabana
20% off food and 2-4-1 cocktails
T&Cs: All day 26th September

Caffé Nero
Buy any food item and get a free hot drink

Centros Unico
1 free session when purchasing any package.
T&Cs: Excluding aesthetic medicine

Charles Tyrwhitt
10% off and 15% off suits

Chicago Rib Shack
30% off, happy hour on selected drinks, lucky dip
T&Cs: On food only, must have valid student ID, not to be used with other promotions. Lucky dip wth loyalty cards with any purchase.

Chip + Fish
£5 Haddock & Chips and £5 crispy chicken wrap & chips

Duck 'N Roll
Spend £10 get 20% off

Claires
25% off and discount voucher given with any piercing
T&Cs: exclusions apply.

Comptoir Libanais
25% off

Costa Coffee
10% off
T&Cs: closing at 8pm

Cote Brasserie
Offer cards and open all evening!

Crepeaffaire
40% off food
T&Cs: All day 26th September.

Deichmann
10% off
T&Cs: With valid student ID only.

DKNY
Open all evening

Dorothy Perkins
20% off

Eurochange
2% off on foreign currency
T&Cs: Valid with student ID

Everyman
Giving out vouchers inclusive of a mixture of tickets, drinks and food.

Everything Everywhere
20% off live rental discount off contracts.

Footlocker
10% off
T&Cs: Excludes 2-for-1 deals and any other offers. 28 day return policy (exchange or gift card only)

Fraser Hart
10% off
T&Cs: Except Tudor watches and sale items.

Fuel Juice
50% off everything

Giraffe
50% off food and happy hour 50% off selected drinks/cocktails/bottles/wines

Gobstoppers
10% off and free Jelly Belly samples

H&M
20% off

Handmade Burger Co
25% off
T&Cs: Food only

Hollister
15% off
T&Cs: All day 26th September

Hotel Chocolat
10% off
T&Cs: Valid on entire bill

Jack & Jones
25% off
T&Cs: Valid on everything apart from sale/ discounted. Exchange only.

Joe Delucci's
Buy one get one free smoothies & milkshakes

Juice
10% off

Krispy Kreme
£12.50 classic double dozen  and £1.50 upgrades
T&Cs: Valid with student ID only.

Lambretta
20% off
T&Cs: Full price items only

Lindt
10% off full price purchases over £10
T&Cs: Full price items only

Love Aroma
20% off
T&Cs: Excludes sale items

Lovisa
20% off

Mango
10% off
T&Cs: With valid student ID.

Marks & Spencer
Sparks promotion and open all evening!

McDonalds
£1.99 vouchers up for grabs

Meatliquor
50% off food and Propaganda DJ all night!

Menkind
20% off and half price offers

Moss Bros
15% off

Models Own
Spend £20 and get 20% off, 5 for £20 on nail varnish, free gift for every customer and first 50 paying customers will receive a free gift set.

Mr Pretzels
£1 off pretzels
T&Cs: Excluding pretzel bits, sticks and pizza pretzels. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer

My Cookie Dough
50% off

Nando's
10 free meals!
T&Cs: Winning tables and times are picked at random in advance of the student evening, the competition will run between 6.30pm and 9.30pm, valid only on food - drinks are not included, winners will be notified at the point of payment.

New Look
20% off

Next

50% off Selected departments!

10% off Lipsy

T&Cs: On lipsy range only

O2
20% off all refresh handset plans and accessories
T&Cs: Must have access to uniday

Oasis
20% off

Office
20% off
T&Cs: Only valid with wristband or student discount card. Exclusions will apply. Discount not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Not to be used on sales of gift cards.

Pho Cafe
25% off food and drink

Pizzaluxe
Margherita 12” £5, Margherita 12” + soft drink £6.50, Pepperoni 12” + pint larger £9.95 and 25% off food menu, meal deal offers excluded
T&Cs: Only valid 26th September

Primark
Open all evening!

Replay
20% off
T&Cs: Only valid on 26th September

River Island
20% off

Roast & Conch
20% in the Café
T&Cs: Valid on entire bill

Rola Wala
50% off rolls and bowls and 20% off cards up for grabs

Skechers
20% off full price shoes

Superdry
10% off
T&Cs: With valid student ID only

TGI Fridays
2-4-1 cocktails and 10% off food bill
T&Cs: 10% off all night and 2-4-1 cocktails during 4.30pm - 6.30pm & 8pm - 10pm. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

The Alchemist
20% off food and social media competition, with a chance to win a sharing cocktail!
T&Cs: Only valid with a student card or lock-in wristband and only available on day of event

The Botanist
20% discount cards and £50 bar tab competition
T&Cs: Valid until 26/10/17. Sign up to mailing list to enter the competition.

The Pen Shop
10% off.
T&Cs: Excludes repairs.

The Perfume Shop
15% off and free gift when you spend £40 or more after discount
T&Cs: whilst stock lasts, 1 per person.

Topshop
20% off

Topman
20% off

Tortilla
10% off and free burrito/chips cards
T&Cs: With valid student ID

Trade Nation
20% off preowned purchase and 20% extra trade.

Trinity Kitchen- #FoodForAFiver

£5 meal deals from Pizzaluxe, Persian Kitchen, Steak Out, BakedInBrick, Chowdown StrEATery, Chicago Ribshack, Duck & Roll and Chip & Fish

Trinity Nails
20% off.
T&Cs: Discount can be used on all treatments.

Trinity News
Open all evening!

Urban Outfitters
20% off
T&Cs: Excluding some branded products

Victoria's Secret PINK
20% off

Victoria's Secret
20% off

Wagamama
Prize Wheel with voucher giveaways

Warehouse
20% off
T&Cs: Full price items only

Wasabi Albion St and Link Bridge
20% off

Watch Station International
50% off selected lines and 20% off all others. Goodie bags and drinks.
T&Cs: 20% off full priced prices lines only.

YO! Sushi
25% off.
T&Cs: Need to sign up while in store

If you're a Leeds student and you attend your Freshers Fair then there is a chance of collecting a VIP wristband which gives you more freebies and great things! If you can't attend then you can get one via Trinity Leeds' Customer Service but they are first come first serve so you better be quick!

Which offers would you take advantage of? Let me know down below! 

I hope that you have enjoyed this student based blog post! I hope that you have enjoyed it and I hope that you come back next time for another blog post!

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x