Monday 16 July 2012

South adventures

Hi all,

WOW,what an amazing few days away i have just had.For those of you who don't know i was selected to audition for a new BBC show calls Paul Martins homemade revolution.
I had to attend on Saturday and was super excited and very nervous as i have only really been needle felting for 7 months now and felt a little out of my depth.
Before we go into all the details i want to start with my journey....lol....Now most of you will know i live in the Shetland Isles miles away from anywhere[bliss!!]so getting to Birmingham on time was going to be a challenge and very expensive.....yikes.I did think about not going as we are financially challenged at the moment to say the very least.Cue 2 ladies on white horses AKA Karen Neicho[sister in law and best friend] and Jenny Neicho [mother in law and the best person i know!!]
They insisted that i should,if possible try to get there so stumped up most of the money for me to travel,what a kind,loving pair they are and i couldn't be more grateful!

OK...so i was going...eeeeek.....everything go booked up for me and last Thursday i bid a fond farewell to my family and Shetland and headed south......i was so EXCITED!!!

So you are thinking a few hours on a train at worst i guessing...lol...you couldn't be more wrong.
My journey started at 3pm Thursday morning when i left my house[leaving for children with their Nan]and headed for the ferry to get me from Whalsay[where i live...have a google,it's stunning]This takes half an hour,then a half hour to an hour drive to the south boat terminal....i boarded at 5pm for a 7pm sailing.At this point i should say that i had a terrible time leaving my hubby....we haven't really spent a night apart since we got together over 16yrs ago.....it was hard for both of us :(

Anyway, on-wards....lol....The boat crossing was as calm as could be....the sea was being kind to me thank goodness.....weirdly i felt so calm about going away....maybe the sea's knew and followed suit.Leaving Shetland is always a bitter sweet time for me as i am so exciting to go away as this is usually a holiday and shopping trip combo but i love Shetlands fresh air and safeness so much....yes i ran away 6 yrs ago for the good life and never looked back...so far it's working although like anything in life there have been a few sticky moments!

Right,back to the travel........the ferry is an overnighter and gets in at 7am although you can stay on until 9am.....i left about eight thirty and headed for a costa coffee to use the wifi...haha....and feed my facebook addiction!

The next leg was at 10am which was a train from Aberdeen all the way through until London kings cross station.......OMG.......a long long ride.....7 hrs later and a very numb bottom....lol....i was standing in a new world,the noise,the people....so many people,they reminded me of bee's buzzing about all very busy and with no time for eye contact or a polite hello[something i am not use too at all]
Then i was at Kings cross station in London....oh my goodness...it had changed so much so after swallowing a panic attack which was rising in my throat i made my way through the hive of people and tried to find my next train to Hatfield to meet my family!

What a relief i felt when i was sat on my final train of the day and saw my niece's little smiling face :) I was worn out but happy to be 'home' for a while.

The next leg of the travelling was to Birmingham the next morning so it was up and ready,trying not to show my nerves as away i went again...lol.this leg started at 10am and i got to the audition by half past one in the afternoon.

Now,this is where the fun started.....i meet a lovely lass called Jess who was just out of Uni....she was amazing at what she did and she will go far i am sure of that!
The audition for this craft show was wonderful,i had a blast and really enjoyed myself....we all showed our work and although i did feel a bit out of my depth as i am new to crafting i decided to put that all behind me and just live for the moment....something i am getting better at..haha.

Butterflies fluttered around in my tummy as i was waiting for my turn and then it was my go.....eeek.
I composed myself and stood up.....took my crafts to the table and sat in front of the camera....WOW...i was here....i was doing this....as soon as i started to talk about my work the fear melted away.....needle felting to me has not only saved my life from depression it has also opened up a whole new world.....i was out there,showing my makes, discussing the design,the fiber,my craft.
Everyone was genuinely excited to see this relatively new craft and i even got to demo it which i had never done before either.....i was smiling.....this was fun!!!

We got to watch everyone do there interview which was really interesting...some you could tell would get in as the craft and face just worked...some maybe not.As for me,i really couldn't say,if it was craft alone then maybe not but my interview went really well so you never know!

Of course i would love to be on the show but even if i don't get through i feel i have done well to get so far.....i am not allowed to say but there were a lot of applicants and to get down to the last 85 is epic in my eyes........they are to pick 25 to be on the show which will be on air later this year...lol....no matter what i shall be watching and i will keep you all posted.

I am sitting on the train home feeling refreshed as well as sleepy...a very weird feeling indeed....but i can say i have had my little south adventure and go back to Shetland and breathe in the air once more......speak soon xxxx

1 comment:

  1. Oh wow.. what a wonderful adventure for you Natasha! Keeping my fingers tightly crossed you do get in, but either way, glad you got to experience this & enjoyed it. :o)

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