What Fandom means to me

Firstly a fandom is a group of people with a similar interest. You are all a 'fan' of something. Could be a sports team, TV programme, film series, actor, band, anything really. The fandom is the group of people who chat about whatever it is. I have many things that I'm a fan of, but the main fandoms I interact with and will be thinking about for this are: BBC Sherlock (and separately Benedict Cumberbatch), Doctor-Who, Marvel, Lord Of The Rings, and Harry Potter. Most of the interacting I do on Twitter though fandoms can be found on Facebook or any social media platform.

So that's the actual real description, but what does it mean to me personally? A community, a group of people who I wouldn't meet in 'normal life', and a wide range of ages. Some of these people have become really good friends that I hope I always stay in touch with. I have met a few of them 'in real life', and I want to meet more. You start talking about the 'fandom' (the thing you have in common), but you end up sharing a lot more (if that's what you want – you can be part of a fandom and just interact at that level and still make friends I believe). For someone who doesn't find making conversation easy, this has been a joy for me. I started just talking about the shows/films /stars and mainly retweeting (sharing), what was already there, but I found it was easy to interact because of the same interest, people are more interested in what you have to say, so I posted more and more original stuff, and sometimes more about my life. There are some negative people who pick fights or are rude, but you get that in any community; on the whole, my experience has been positive.

I guess as a lot of it is escapism, we are mainly talking about things that are different from 'real life', but that's good because we all need a chance to escape. Also, as you bond and form friendships, you always support each other through rough patches, I have seen this.

Another awesome thing about fandoms is the amount of creative stuff that other people in the fandom manage to produce. From artistic edits and stories to making actual things to sell. You wouldn't know how much was out there to enjoy if you weren't in a fandom. Also, just buying and enjoying merchandise. Everything from T-shirts to mugs to keyrings to prints of edits, etc. There is so much available now, some official or other mass produced stuff, some handmade by other fans, Yes, it's just something else to spend money on, and I try not to buy too much, but it feels personal because it's focused on something you're interested in, and it's a nice way to expand your enjoyment of your favourite thing. I love my fandom t-shirts, mugs, and other bits.

 
The other point I want to cover is why a TV show or a film become a major hobby. Aren't they just something to watch and then forget about? Well, I don't think so no. Talking about your favourite things can help you see things about them that you wouldn't notice on your own. You're talking over every point good/bad, which generally helps me to enjoy the good parts better. Where it comes to the really good ones, you can a lot of the characters and the stories. They can give you good life lessons, and quotes to guide you. See the edit of a Doctor-Who quote below. Or you see a situation similar to something you have been through, are going through, will go through in the future, and seeing how the character reacts in the show can help you deal with it in your life. Fandoms, meeting with people and talking about this side of your favourite programmes, just helps extend this side mostly, which is another reason they are such a good thing.

So if you have a show or film or something you enjoy, is it necessary to join the fandom? No, but it could be a good thing if you do.

*Review* Costa Coconut and Vanilla Latte's - Are Coconut Coffees a fad?

*I wasn't given the products or any incentive for this review, and all thoughts are my own*

Coconut coffees are something I've noticed more coffee shops offering. Even if you don't have a Costa near you, you might see coconut coffees offer somewhere else. Also for anyone who doesn't know Costa is a chain of Coffee Shops (similar to Starbucks). There's a lot of them in the UK, not sure about other countries.  So what is the point of a coconut coffee, is it just the syrup they add? No, they are made with coconut milk (some places use a combination of coconut/soy milk, but I'll refer to it as coconut milk for the rest of the post for ease) instead of normal milk. Because they are dairy free they're very popular with vegans and people who can't take dairy, but of course, anyone can order them. As a non-vegan the main reason I wanted to try one was because of the taste; I like coconut. I aslo wanted to see what the fuss was about? I was sceptical, would it change the taste of the drink too much?

 The drink I chose was a Coconut and Vanilla Latte. This is a latte drink with vanilla powder and made with coconut milk. Costa also does a Coconut Flat White and a Coconut Mocha. So onto the review (finally I hear you shout). 

My first opinion of the drink was that it looks really nice (see picture below), I think Costa always presents their drinks well, but the 'toasted coconut chips' on the top made it look even nicer than a normal latte.Now for the taste. I loved it, I would certainly order this or any other drink made with coconut milk again. It did taste different than a normal vanilla latte, but it tasted better. Yes, coconut does taste great in coffee folks. It also mixed very well with the vanilla, and I could taste the vanilla all the way through, whereas sometimes with an ordinary vanilla taste you can only taste the syrup at the bottom, or have to stir really well.This is probably because instead of a vanilla syrup they use a vanilla powder, anyway it made the drink nicer. The taste was sweeter than normal, and I love sweet things. It is also had really creamy thick texture to the drink, which you don't always get with a Latte; this might be a disadvantage for you but I enjoyed it. The toasted coconut chips lasted right to the end of the drink, I spooned them up with some froth when I had finished my coffee. They also added a different texture/element to the drink, which I thought was really tasty.

 So to finish if you like coconut I highly recommend trying a drink with coconut in. I'm looking forward to trying more coconut coffees soon. Have you tried a coconut coffee, are you interested in trying one?

2018, a year for achieving goals?

This post is about my 2018 goals/resolutions, I find making goals helps me to achieve more of what I want by the end of the year, as does reviewing how I'm getting on with them. Yes, I know we are close to the end of January, but bear with me. This blog is new so this is the first chance I've had to write about this, and I feel it is deserving of a piece. Anyway, they will continue to be goals for the whole year so.

I'm going to start with the bigger, more life-defining stuff. 2 years ago I made the decision in January to 'Live Life More'- for me, this means valuing experiences more than possessions; trying to save towards to do the former (trips, plays, events) rather than spend on the latter. I believe that experience means more because they give us memories that last longer, and usually a more joy at the time. You end up living a fuller life. I still take this goal every year, I am getting better at it, though I probably still spend to much on possessions. I'm not sure of what I've done this year to reach this goal, but I'm making some plans in my head including hopefully meeting some of the friends I have met through Twitter, I've added to my savings, so not bad for January.

Alongside this, is giving in less to fear. Partly because of my disability, I have/do spend a lot of time being scared of trying new things and moving out of my comfort zone. Again to combat this is a goal that is continued every year, as I do more. Yes, I do think I'm making progress so far this year, starting this blog itself is the proof of that. As I 'Live Life More' that will bring more out of my comfort zone too.

Some of my goals have more towards doing more with my hobbies, as I have things that I enjoy doing, but I'm usually not good at finding the time for. The first of these is my writing. Well, this blog is proof that I have excelled the goal so far in 2018. As I said in my last post, I assumed this would be fiction oriented, not for anyone but myself till I got into it again. Then in the first week in January, I thought about starting a blog, and I have written something, even if it's just planning a post, every day since then. I have never been the type to write every day, so I'm not sure what's happening or how long it will continue, but I'm rolling with it.

The other hobbies I enjoy are photography and picture editing. I've done some photography this year, not sure how good, but I'm happy with them. I will probably do a post about this at some point, for now if you want to see my photos, I'm on Instagram as @kb_wholocked, The pictures accompanying my posts are my own, this was taken outside my church a few weeks ago. I hope this continues or increases this year, it would be good to use my camera more instead of just my phone camera. The editing is twofold, editing photos using the apps/settings on my camera which I have been doing this year, and using my computer software, to make edits/pictures – I made the header for my blog, but apart from that I haven't done this, so I hope I find the time for it soon.

My final goals, like my first two are continuing every year. One is to get closer to God, and move on in my Christian life. I think this is going well, I've had a few good quiet/prayer times, I can feel the presence with me more. The other is to love myself more – remember that I do have great qualities as-well as bad ones, also it's okay when I make mistakes. I think this is a good goal for all of us.

So that's it. On the whole, I'm doing pretty well for January, the whole post isn't meant to be bragging though, just letting you into my life, and showing goals that are achievable and might be helpful. I'll probably do a following post later on in the year. Do you have any goals for the year? Do you agree with me about Experiences over

Possessions? Any Comments, post below or to my Twitter.

New Year, New Blog

I'm Kirsty I'm in my 30's and live in the UK. I can't work at the moment due to a disability called non-classical-Marfan's syndrome; which means my muscles are weaker than an average person. This affects a lot of everyday things like writing and holding/carrying things. It affects my stamina so I get tired very easy. I was also born with a dislocated hip which, although being operated on to stabilize it, has still left me with a limp. This has left me more reliant on my parents than most people my age, but I'm working on becoming more independent, that's for another post anyway.

Enough of the boring stuff, especially as I don't believe my disability defines me. I am also a Christian, and my faith is very important to me. Feel free to ask me a question about my faith here on my twitter (link on my blog), I'll do my best to answer. My other interests are TV (BBC Sherlock, Doctor Who, Victoria, Call The Midwife, Strictly Come Dancing, Bake Off and others), Films ( The Marvel – MCU or Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lord of The Rings, It's a Wonderful Life, I also like a lot of Disney and DreamWorks stuff) I'm not always good at the latest films because I wait for them to be on free-tv, or occasionally buy/rent online unless I really want to see it. My other hobbies are Reading, Photography, and cooking/baking.

So why am I here, writing a blog? Well, I've always been interested in writing, but usually find it hard to stick too, especially as I'm not sure if I'm ever going to be a professional writer although that would be awesome. I had a blog here years ago, but have deleted old posts to start anew. To get back to writing was one of my New Years Resolutions, more in my next post; I assumed it would be fiction writing as that's usually what I enjoy, but since about a week ago, I've been inspired to write a blog, so I am. I have a few interesting ideas at the moment, I should be able to keep it going, we'll see. I have a few different ideas for types of posts; probably a lot of my-life type, some reviews of TV/Films/Products etc., some positivity stuff because I need it and I know others do too.

That's enough rambling on for now, until next time.