Mars 20 (yes really!)

 

Yes this is me onstage at the O2 Arena with 30 Seconds To Mars ..... You probably wondered how I got here ......

Let's start from the beginning  .....

Yes it actually happened, I saw 30 Seconds To Mars for the 20th time since 2007!

And yes of course there was a meet & greet involved .....

I hadn't seen them since waaaayyy back in 2018 when I saw them in London and Birmingham consecutively (you can read all about it here), I would have loved to do the same again but unfortunately since my unexpected bunny arrival in April (Maverick decided he actually wished to identify as male after all so you can guess what happened next) I just couldn't afford it, plus my post-covid autistic brain is struggling to cope with going anywhere, even to seen my favourite band in the world. As you can imagine the FOMO is super strong knowing that they're still here and playing other shows. Anyway back to what you all came here for, my blow by blow account of the show.

I stayed at my regular Travelodge as it's a 5 minute walk from East India DLR station which is approx a 10 minute journey to the O2.

Not a bad view

Obligatory hotel room video coming up. 

You can imagine my autistic delight when I realised it happened to be under the flightpath to London City Airport .....

I made a little Mars corner in my room

As you can imagine 17 years worth of Mars fandom has left me with a lot of merch accessories to wear (plus my headband I made) so I wanted to include them in my outfit as well as my traditional glyph face paint. 

My Instagram will attest to this

I got these in 2010 and they were signed in Lille in 2011

This is from Download 2013

The earrings are made from guitar picks and the key necklace references their Hurricane video (If you know you know 😉)

Obligatory lift selfie

I think I'm in the right place 😄

Like last time we did the Meet & Greet and photos before the show. There was a question and answer session too where we were invited to submit questions including my submission "Aside from the obvious 😉 what are your favourite British slang terms?" this had the effect of a giggling fit from Jared & Shannon and the trading insults with them ('tosser and 'wanker' being among the favourites 😂). There was also the discussion of the correct way to pronounce 'Michael Caine'  for those with a Non-British accent "My cocaine" which lead to the session descending into further giggling chaos. The question and answer sessions are never particularly formal but this one was even more casual and 'chat-like' than normal which was nice.

After the Meet & Greet it was time to head into the arena and in my case up to the side of the stage. I had a side of stage ticket way back in 2013 when I went with Helen (blog here) and it is nice to have more space and a closer view, especially whilst my anxiety is still so bad.

I loved the triad backdrop

They started the show in the crowd, what I've always loved about the band is that no matter how big the arena they still manage to include everybody no matter how far away they are. 

En route to the stage to start the show proper

The view was great, my photos aren't as great because I was using my ancient camera and my phone but this should give you the jist of how close we were.

As captioned by Jared "The world's biggest confetti bomb"

They played my favourite song in the world "Kings & Queens", the song means everything to me. As with all the videos from here on in I apologise for my singing 😕

I was pleased with how close we were!

There was plenty of pyro too which was fun and we could really feel the heat from them. Here's Stevie showing off his awesome guitar work.

Some more close photos

Jared on another run through the crowd

I really liked that Shannon had a 'portable' drum kit so that he was able to come forward and interact with the crowd too.

The guitar came out for some old school 'Attack' which I haven't heard live for years!

At the end of the show the unbelievable happened - I was ushered up ONTO THE STAGE!

I was so paranoid that my clumsy, dyspraxic self was going to fall up the steps but my balance didn't betray me for a change 😂

I can't begin to describe how it felt to be onstage with my favourite band in the world, it was just amazing. Admittedly I did hide behind some tall people so that I didn't get caught on camera 😂

Pretty lights on the way back to the hotel

Another obligatory 'slightly more dishevelled' post-gig lift selfie

I can't put into words the wow factor of what happened, getting a 'band's eye' view of the stage. Or indeed the sheer joy between the band and the crowd. I remembered even more whilst they're my favourite band. Hopefully they keep their promise to return next year!

Roll on gig 21!

Love Jen

XxxX

A much needed return to Glastonbury

 

*Just adding my regular pre-Glastonbury blog disclaimer that I'll be chatting about my witchy practice and I know that's not everyone's jam*

On Saturday I finally made a much-needed return to Glastonbury. It's been a challenging 2024 for my and family and me so far and the opportunity to re-charge for a few hours was much appreciated. 

Looking very awake for 6.15am

Just as with last September's trip the weather was lovely and the sun was shining down on me as I made my way to the Chalice Well. 

I was able to sit straight down at my favourite spot at the well-head.

Some lovely flowers at the well head

I genuinely believe that I gain a lot of my 'witchy power' from my visits to the well and taking in it's amazing energy. I sat at the head and felt the power gently surround and replenish me. 

I left some rose petals at the statue of the mother and child as a thank you for to the well for it's calming power. 

Wearing my crown from my lovely friend Crystal

I wandered down through the gardens listening to the birds singing and watching the bees and butterflies flitting around.

Looking down to the 'paddling pool'

With the tree canopy the waterfall and paddling area feels like a grotto. 

A frozen foot & Chalice Well tattoo after braving the pool

The bottom of the well is a garden-type area where I like to sit on the grass and cleanse and charge my tools and tarot cards.

My crown taking a splash -

My tools drying in the sun

All too soon I had to leave the sanctuary of the well and head back into the town to visit the other places that I love.

Glastonbury really does have the most colourful high street!

My kind of shop

Last time I was there I found a nice cafe called Coffee Zero and I was delighted to find they were serving rainbow cake! 

The irony of my gothy self eating a rainbow cake is not lost on me ...

Nice and refreshed I headed to the shops to peruse books and stock up on spell and ritual supplies. I also treated myself to this lovely Chalice Well ring for my birthday next week.

Whilst I was waiting to get back on the coach home I found this lovely post box and peered over the wall of the Abbey.

Here are some of the goodies I picked up on my trip -

This lovely necklace

Some crystals (Pyrite and Blue Obsidian) -

The obligatory Goddess Temple Candle

I also stocked up on Starchild's colourful candles (I love putting the red & black ones on my Halloween altar)

The candles sitting pretty on my altar

I definitely want to try and stay in Glastonbury for a couple of days at some point so I can spend more time at the well, visit the White Spring for the first time and have a proper leisurely browse of the bookshops.

I might even try and tackle the Tor 😂

Love Jen

XxxX