Springtime | "The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money."

I bet you didn't think I could be doing much more with my life than working non stop and buying things for my house, did you? Here is a little peek into my life for the last month.

I've just created a Facebook page for 'Note To Charley' so go ahead, click this link and like the page.

McBUSTED @ LG Arena, Birmingham
3rd May 2014

For weeks, this was the thing I was looking forward to the most. Meeting up with my favourite girls and dancing to our favourite band (plus 2/3 of Busted). I wouldn't have met any of them without McFLY so seeing them with anyone else would just be wrong. I love the fact that a band can bring so many people together. Tour time is my favourite.
First off, we met up with some McFriends for lunch and a catch up, then waltzed back to the hotel that Abby and Amber were staying in to have a few drinks and a chat. The support acts were pretty rubbish at the gig so we skipped them and made our way in on the cool air shuttle from the airport to LG Arena. Megan had booked the tickets and we had great seats so there was no rush to be there. It turned out that the seats were so great that they were only a few feet away from the B Stage. Awesome, right?
Even though there were fewer McFLY songs than I would have liked, it was great to reminisce my childhood with Busted. I know I'm not the only one, but I really do hope that McFLY come back as themselves and let McBUSTED go out on a high, rather than pushing away the die hard fans that got them where they are now.
The best part of the whole night was getting to experience it all with my best friends, and I wouldn't have changed it for anything. Not even a kiss from Dougie Poynter...

Katy Perry @ LG Arena, Birmingham

14th May 2014

 Okay, so I've never been a huge 'recent' Katy Perry fan. She's released the odd recent song that I've liked but I always preferred her older songs. Danny managed to get us tickets on Tickets For Troops, which is a great website that gives free tickets to people in the military. We queued from 3pm so I could get Danny as near to the front as possible (he's a little bit in love with KP) and we ended up right on the barrier. The photos you see above aren't even zoomed in. She started with her popular single, Roar, in which she arrived in a prism (shock...) and began what became the best concert I'd been to in my life.
The whole concert was split into sections; Prismatic, Egyptian, Cat-oure, Acoustic, Throwback, Hyper Neon, Encore and each of these required another gorgeous costume. Honestly, the Acoustic section was the most incredible thing I've ever seen. She came to the front of the stage and performed a few songs up close with the crowd. By The Grace Of God is the most beautiful song I've heard for a long time and completely relates to me so when she sang it, a few tears may have fallen out of my eyes. If you've not heard it before, please go and listen to it. Infact, let me help you. Click here and you'll be transported to the beautiful sounds of KP. It was the first time I'd ever seen the super confident Katy Perry look vulnerable and dare I say it, human. We put celebrities on pedestals and sometimes, I think that we can easily forget that they are real people, just like us. Katy's new single, Birthday, was the second to last song she performed and being the wonderful person she is, revolved the whole song around a competition winner who's birthday it was that night. Talk about the best birthday present ever, right?
All in all, I would 10/10 recommend you go and see her if you get the chance to.

Red Arrows Arrival @ RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire

8th June 2014

Sunday bought out the plane geek in me. Somehow I got wind that Red Arrows would be arriving at RAF Scampton around 6pm and being someone that has never seen them before, really wanted to go. Danny, being the lovely person that he is, gave up his evening and drove there to take me to see them land. We found somewhere to park and walked across a field to the end of the runway. There were a few people there already with their children, getting all excited to see a national treasure. Luckily for us, the Red Arrows did a little display before they landed and I don't think I've ever been so awestruck in my life. A few of the pilots waved to their admirers on the ground as they flew over our heads, ready to land. This experience has just made me so excited to be attended the RAF Waddington Air Show in July (which my family are coming to visit for... even more exciting!).

So there you have it. A little look into the not very interesting but hectic life of Charley. It may not be a lot but it's mine. I have so much to look forward to in the coming months and feel so lucky to be in the position that I am now. Maybe I don't have everything I ever wished for, but I have everything that I have ever needed and that's the important thing. For the first time in a long time, I can finally say that I am happy with where I am in my life. If there were one thing I could change, it would be that my family were closer, but I have the joy of them coming to see me for a weekend soon.

Note To Charley: Don't take your family for granted. Spend as much time with them as you can. You'll miss them far more than you ever expected to.