My In-Flight Travel Essentials

Hello everyone! So I've been a busy bee recently and have just returned from a lovely holiday in Ibiza. It occurred to me that it might be interesting to see what my top hand luggage bits and pieces were, to help you if you're going away soon, or just to have a relaxing read.

For this holiday I took a small backpack. It's lightweight so wasn't too bad to carry around. I like the style of the bag, with its minimalist black and brown fabric. It has a simple magnetic popper opening, disguised as fake buckles. I do like that this means you can get into your bag easily, but sometimes for extra security, it'd be nice if the bag had a zip or did actually buckle down. Inside, there are two small sewn-in pockets, a small zip pocket and a large compartment at the front.

Ipod and Headphones

I placed my Ipod and headphones in the zip pocket so that the headphones and Ipod were easily accesible. I think it also helped my headphones stay un-tangled, a first world problem I'm sure many people have encountered.

Wordsearch Book

I have had this wordsearch book for a while now. It contains loads of word searches and so it keeps me well distracted whilst on the flight. It's also useful to have when on holiday, to use on the beach, by the pool, or just whilst you're waiting to do something.

Magazine

I love magazines. I am not the type of person to be able to sit down and read a full book. I find that magazines suit my lifestyle. I love to be doing things, going in the pool, playing a sport etc. Therefore, a short one page read, or a look at the latest trends for five minutes is great for me.

Sunglasses

I love my sunglasses. These were just around the £2.50 mark and came with their own travel sleeve which is really handy. I like to pack these for when I come off the flight when the sun can be quite dazzling, or even just when coming off the plane due to the change in brightness. I also like to carry these for tired eyes because often my flights are in the morning or late at night and so they can be a little more susceptible to being sensitive to the light. Also, an extra tip and reason to carry sunglasses is that they're great for hiding tired eyes/ eye bags, which I get a lot. And because I don't wear make-up on flights, you can at least still look human for a bit.

Tissues

Anyone who knows me, will know that I often carry tissue with me wherever I am. The air-con on planes can sometimes make my nose run, or eyes water and so tissues are just convenient to have. I tend to be sensitive to dust or strong smells also, so I'm normally the one sneezing. If don't have the above issues, still take a pack of tissues (yes, I know that rhymed), because you never know when an unexpected sneeze may arise. And they're multi-functional for spills too.

Camera

My camera goes in my carry on so that when I get off the plane, I can start my holiday snaps. On my recent trip to Ibiza, we had a short transfer and so I took a few pictures on the journey. I also just like to have my camera in my bag anyway....I don't really know why.

Passport/Travel Documents

This is a given. Without them, you're not going on any flight. However, I thought I'd mention them anyway, just to remind you that if you're going away, check they're in-date and that all your documents are ready.

Stress Ball

I'm afraid of flying. I have been going on aeroplanes since I can't even remember and have experienced flights with bad turbulance. I have also been on a long haul flight to America, which coincidentally was one of the flights with bad turbulance. None of these experiences even phased me and I actually found the jumpy flights to be entertaining. It wasn't until around four years ago that a little nerve kicked in. Firstly, I wanted to be sat next to my family, then I just didn't like flying and then last year, I just freaked out. Now I have found a way which really really works for me. A simple stress ball. This green, squidgy, foam, stress ball helped so much to the point where take off and landing was a doddle for me. If you're not a good flyer, I would highly recommend trying this out.

So these are a few of the things that I took with me in my carry-on bag. Obviously you may need to take more if on a longer flight and you can take liquids that are up to 100ml. I decided not to take any liquids with me, just for ease and you can always buy drinks once you're through security.

 I hope you enjoyed this blog and if you're going to be flying soon, where are you going? Leave a comment, follow my blog and see you soon!

Follow @Charlottejade77

The British Tag!

I was just watching a few YouTube videos when I found this tag. I liked the sound it that much and decided that it'd make an interesting blog post. I thought the tag would be fun for me to write and it's something different, so here you go....

1. How many cups of tea a day do you have & how many sugars?
Ok, so anyone who knows me really well or someone that has been to my house will know that I am a tea ADDICT. I'm runner up to my Grandad who drinks tea like there is no tomorrow, which explains where I could have got my love for it from. I recently stopped at my Grandparents house and I lost count of how many cups I had. The bad thing about tea is that it really does stain your teeth so I have little detox weeks/days where I'll drink plain hot water, hot water and a slice of lemon or lime or a peppermint tea. All of the other options are a lot healthier for you as well but I do love a good cuppa. To answer the question simply, I have about 5 a day and no sugar, I'm sweet enough ;)

2. Favourite part of your roast?
My favourite has to be a Yorkshire pudding. I remember when I was younger, if my Mum had made too many Yorkshires, we'd have them for pudding with jam in (sort of like a bowl shaped pancake). I also really like roast potatoes but in all honesty, I love almost every part of a roast dinner.

3. Favourite dunking biscuit?
My favourite biscuit...This is a tricky one and I'm sure not all of my answers are British, but I love a Jammie Dodger, Bourbons and Shortbread

4. Favourite 'British' past time?
I sometimes enjoy walks, not all the time, but I do think of these as a nice thing to do. My parents love walking and we do regular walks around Derbyshire and at local nature reserves. It creates good memories, makes you feel better and is good exercise! I don't always enjoy these walks because my parents will walk from early morning until the evening and you will end up just wanting to lie down, but the feeling once you've sat down from one of their killers is amazing and food always seems to taste better when you've 'earn't it'. I will walk come rain or shine, just get your coat on, put on your wellies and off you go. I also like watching British drama's or soaps (especially with a cup of tea).

5. Favourite 'British' word/phrase?
Flipping 'eck

6. Cockney rhyme or slang that you know?
Recently, I was winding up my Nanna by telling my Grandad that she'd locked him out of his car when she hadn't. The phrase she came up with was a 'tea leaf' which means thief. She was really trying to call me a liar, but I understood what she meant and it made me laugh.

7. Favourite Sweets?
Haribo Tangfastics, Vimto rolls, lots of things

8. What would your pub be called?
I think I would call a pub something traditional like 'The Old Gent', or something different like 'The Lemon Tree', but it'd all depend on what my pub looked like and where it would be built.

9. No.1 British person?
Too many to say, but probably an actor or actress; we have some brilliant ones.

10. Favourite shop or restaurant?
I don't really have a favourite shop, but I enjoy going out to eat with my family. However to me, none of the restaurants are really 'British' bar some of the pubs we go to and of course, some good old fish and chips. I went to George's Fish and Chip Kitchen for my birthday and I love it there so go try it out!

11. British song that pops into your head?
Three Lions football song

12. Marmite?
I like it in small doses and marmite crisp!

Thank you for reading my blog! Sorry if the post seems quite long but I really enjoyed doing this tag and I'd love to hear any of your answers so go ahead and write in the comments section below

Follow @Charlottejade77

Weekend in Lincoln

Hello again!

So this post is a bit different and a bit more personal. I thought I'd write almost a diary entry of what I got up to a few weeks ago when I visited my friends in Lincoln. I thought it'd be interesting to tell you what we got up to so that you can take inspiration from it if you're planning a trip out, if you're bored or if you like photography because Lincoln is beautiful, especially if the weather is nice.

So me and my boyfriend headed to Nottingham Train Station, planning to get on the 1:30 train to Lincoln. However, with my misjudgment and frantic manner, we ended up getting there over an hour early, silly really but I just wanted to be prepared....some might say a little too prepared. After this little hiccup, we got on the earlier train. If going on an early train journey, I recommend taking some breakfast food and enjoying the scenery. We had croissants but if I'd have thought more about it, I'd have made something of the outing to make it a little nicer. There are lots of little coffee shops around Nottingham as well, so a little stop off at one of these before the train would have made the trip feel a little more relaxing. If you're in a rush, you could always take a flask of tea or take your own drink. I think this is the best option because buying food or drink in the station is often a rip off!

Our first stop was to go and get some food, so we went to a good old, cheap as chips Wetherspoons, the one in Lincoln is called the Ritz. Now I am definitely a saver and I'm often called tight because of this, but I think that if you want a straight up, plain and simple but enjoyable meal, a Wetherspoon is worth a try. The drinks are good, the food is edible, so you can't complain. After feeling thoroughly fed, we headed to the shopping centre. They have a good variety of shops like Primark, H&M and New Look that are easy to get to. There are also some lovely little boutiques and cafes further up, closer to the Cathedral. The aptly named 'steep hill' is the name of the lane, that leads up to the Cathedral and the Castle and if anyone has already been there, you'll know that it is VERY steep- a good workout for you fitness fanatics.

For those who have a sweet tooth, you should visit the chocolate/fudge shop. The cheap skate in me was screaming when I saw my boyfriend (who would eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner) exit the shop with a bag of fudge, but it was only around £3.50 for the bag. Some might still say this was a lot, but we'd recently had a bad experience with fudge/nougat, in Nottingham's Market Square- a tip to others, make sure you have the confidence to say NO when stall sellers tell you that what you thought would be £2.50, then returned to be £5....Honestly, some of these market stalls are daylight robbers!

We walked to the Cathedral, which is on the right as you walk to the top and the castle walls are on the left. You have to pay to have tours of the Cathedral and can only enter up to a certain point until you have to pay, however, there are free to enter days. The last time I went in was at Christmas, when Lincoln does a brilliant Christmas Market to get you into the spirit. The Cathedral is massive and beautiful and that's really all I can say about it, since I'm no expert. But it is a good little trip and we were lucky enough to enter when there were some choirs on which just added to the atmosphere.

Our lovely friends had planned for us to go to Madame Waffle the next morning for breakfast. This was a new experience for me as 1) I'd never been to a waffle house and 2) I'd never had anything savory on a waffle. The cheapskate came out once again and I opted for scrambled egg, whilst the others had full English breakfast. I'd recommend going if you're ever passing as they serve all day.

I hope you've enjoyed my little diary entry style blog and I hope it has inspired you to go to Lincoln, have a trip out to somewhere new or to try out some new cafes!

Follow @Charlottejade77

Places to visit #1 Jersey

I recently went on a 3 night spontaneous holiday with my parents and my boyfriend to Jersey. I thought I'd share my opinions on the island as I would recommend it to many people.

So first off, the flight is very short. I'm afraid of flying so for a flight to be 50 minutes long was great! As soon as you have lifted off, bought a drink and read a book, you're descending and preparing for landing. I would also like to include that I bought myself a colouring book. This might sound strange as I am not a child, but there is a new collection of colouring books for adults (art therapy) and I figured since I was afraid of flying, it'd take my mind off it. The book is thinner than the Game of Thrones book series that I'm reading at the moment, so it was the right size to fit into my small hand luggage bag.

Jersey is strange and interesting in itself. It is part of the Channel Islands between England and France and has therefore adopted both a French and English feel to it. I also felt at times that I could have been in Spain, due to the weather, the people and the music. The scenery was fantastic with its vast beaches, churches, castles and bunkers.

Jersey has many historical sites

This was not my first visit to Jersey. During my last visit I went to a World War Two army hospital which was really interesting but very cold as it was far underground. This time, we decided to go to the bunkers which were also from World War Two, when the island was under German occupation 

If history isn't really your thing or you're a bit like me and enjoy it in small doses, then there are other things to do. The beaches as I have mentioned are lovely, with soft sand, green/blue clear sea and the gorgeous weather to go with it. And if you find beaches a bit repetitive or want to get out of the sun, then you could always go to; the cinema, shopping, Jersey adventure park or Aqua Splash water park! For me the water park stood out as I love swimming and it looked like great fun and at £6/7 each, I didn't think it was too bad if you compare it to prices in the UK.


Jersey can sometimes be expensive. It is a tax free island, but sometimes prices of other things are higher. They use English pounds but also have their own currency. This makes it less complicated as you don't need to get money exchanged before you go, but just make sure that you spend your Jersey pounds as they cannot be used in England. Food prices vary. Their ice creams are around the £1.80/ £2.00 mark and I know it might seem strange that I'm adding this, but they have the best ice creams and you definitely get your monies worth. There were varying prices in restaurants, so you might just need to 'shop around'. The thing I found funniest was that they had a Cornish Pasty shop (the same company as the one in Cornwall) so it was nice to relax with a pasty and look out to sea.

So that is my Jersey review! I could go on and on about this place. I haven't even mentioned the hotels and there are some absolutely amazing ones right on the seafront! Hope you enjoyed the read

Stay tuned for more blog posts  

Follow @Charlottejade77

Taken- Action Heaven or Action Hell

Taken is one of my favourite films of all time. Why? Well lets see! 

I don't feel like the trailer really lets you see how incredibly immersive the film is. One thing the trailer does show however, is the high dramatic atmosphere, a feeling of him 'hunting down' the criminals who have taken his daughter. The fact that the movies camera angles, many being point of view shots, enable you to feel that you are also going with Bryan, played by Liam Neeson. This makes you watch on the edge of your seat and because of the obvious hero character role of Bryan, people want him to succeed, I mean, who doesn't love a hero?

THE FILM ITSELF

The film shows the hardship of having a high maintenance job, whilst trying to remain an active member of a family. It shows some relatable events such as teenagers growing up, parents being separated and new adventures and the fun or dangers that come with new responsibility. There's also one vital message in the film, which shows us as humans, that we will fight as hard as we can for two things: survival and love. Bryan Mills is a retired C.I.A agent, and in the opening scenes of the film, we can see that his job took a toll on his relationship with Lenore, played by Famke Jassen and his daughter Kim, played by Maggie Grace.

The casting is just brilliant. Not only do we have iconic, 'foreign' criminals but we have some unknown, 'low key' actresses, such as the mother and daughter. By low key, I mean, aren't regularly spoken about, as I am aware that Famke Jaseen may be recognized by her character, Jean Grey in X-Men. This casting allows us to totally believe the story, as well as the fact that Liam Neeson, well known for action movies, acts as the anchor and motive for you to initially watch this movie as it entices action junkies. Secondary audiences, for example my Mum, who isn't the biggest action fan, enjoyed this movie because of the heartbreak caused through Bryan losing Kim, both physically and mentally to her mother and step-father.

The Taken Franchise

This is not the only film in the Taken series. Taken 2 is directed by Oliver Megaton with the original cast which means that the troubles of family life can continue throughout and with the 3rd movie on the way, I'm excited to see how things have escalated. The second film is very much for the action junkie fan from the first movie, with more action scenes and brutalities than ever. This film also challenges the stereotypes of fragile women as his daughter takes a more active role...This comes as no surprise after the torture she had to endure from the first film!  

'I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you'
Movie rating: 4/5
Three words to describe the movie: exhilarating, immersing, impacting
Genre: Action
Director: Pierre Morel
Writers: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Starring: Liam Nesson

Follow @Charlottejade77