Emirates cable cars

I am so far behind with the posts I want to write for this blog it's unreal. There's so much that's been going on lately that blogging has taken a bit of a back seat whilst life shuttles along at full throttle.

The past few weeks have been full of activities with family and the kids. It's been great and I feel so blessed. The next few posts will probably involve me sharing the escapades so sit back and enjoy.

So where do I start? Well a few weeks back, slap bang in the middle of the Olympics, my sister and I took my nephew and kids to Royal Victoria Docks in the Docklands to experience the Olympic buzz.

It was a great day, lots going on and lots to see. I was particularly taken in by big clear balls bobbing on the water and for £5 you could get into one and run about on the river. It looked like a lot of fun. There were also young boys who had set up a stall selling real fruit smoothie drinks. We bought some for ourselves and the children. They were ice cold and delicious and at £1.50 for a medium sized cup, great value for money. It was so uplifting to see young black boys getting stuck in and enterprising in such a positive way. I would love to see more of that. Really inspirational.

We strolled along drinking in the great atmosphere and my sister wanted to go on the Emirates cable cars. Now I'm not a lover of heights, so I wasn't too fussed about going on one, but my sister was keen to, so I obliged (as you do).

We went through the barriers, it was a bit like going on the underground, only it wasn't underground but you had to touch in and touch out with your oyster card. The cars rotate slowly on a cable, they never stop so you have to hop on as quickly and carefully as you can. With two adults, four kids and a buggy this was no easy feat but we did it. We sat down and the doors shut. The cable car slowly began to make its ascent. My little sis who I thought was prepared for what lay ahead sat down confidently, then as it climbed higher she began to look unsure. The cars do wobble a bit and I don't think she was aware that would happen. As the car climbed higher and higher the fact that we were being held up by a cable in however many tons of steel bought my fear of heights to the forefront and I sang 'Yes Jesus loves me' whilst tightly gripping onto my one year old for the entire journey. Thank God for Jesus!!

The views were amazing, but the car does wobble quite a bit in my humble opinion and this wasn't a particulary windy day. My eldest daughter refused to let go of the bar inside the car bless her. She has definitely inherited mummy's dislike of heights. My younger daughter and nephew had a whale of a time, throwing their hands in the air and squealing with delight. My one year old was completely non-plussed. Ahhh the joy of infant innocence.

So the Emirates cable cars. I would recommend you go on one if you get the chance. The beautiful views across London alone make it worthwhile. If you are afraid of heights you may struggle a bit, but it's definitely an experience worth having.

View from below

These look so fun.

Cable cars across the river

Great views of London from the cars.
Beautiful sky and gorgeous clouds.

Nephew and daughter number 2 loving it.

Look at that face. She is grinning but she is scurred.....

Back track

I take it back. London is by no means empty. I don't know what I was thinking even saying such a thing *slaps wrist*. On Friday, my li'l sis, nephew, my kids and I pootled over to Docklands, despite the completely packed DLR. We had a great time and even went on the Emirates cable cars; which if you are afraid of heights like me, were quite scary - lol (I'll blog about the experience later this week hopefully).

On Saturday the OH and I ventured out to the West End. We passed by the African Bridal Show, but got there quite late, so we weren't able to get the most out of it. We had the kids with us too so we didn't stay long. The highlight was bumping into Nicola from Belle Noir Bride blog. She really is lovely.

So we left the bridal show and hit the town. London was heaving. I suppose the weekend was always going to be chaotic in the city, Olympics or not. It was nice for the children to experience the hustle and bustle though. We squeezed ourselves through Regent Street and made the obligatory visit to Hamley's which the children LOVED as always. We then ventured through Carnaby Street and took a leisurely stroll through the intricate backstreets showing the children the hidden gems of London. (If you're on Instagram you'll see more pics I took on the day.) My feet were burning me by the time we began to head home. But then that's always a sign of a perfect day.

Here are a few pics. No captions I'm afraid. Still blogging on my iPhone......

Event - Curlvolution - Curlfriends day out!

Source
Curlvolution baby

I'm disciplined. I'm focused. I'm done. 

I'm disciplined. I'm focused. I'm done. 

That was the mantra that came courtesy of motivational speaker Action Jackson, the host for Saturday's 'Curlfriends day out'. The day was organised by the fabulous Curlvolution and took place at the Crown Plaza Hotel in London's Docklands.

The event was truly inspirational with a whole host of gorgeous ladies rocking their mainly natural tresses in all their  fabulous glory. Action Jackson kept things moving along nicely with words of encouragemnt, stories of self affirmation and plenty of humerous anecdotes. We also watched clips from the hilarious Chris Rock docu movie 'Good Hair' which set the scene for the day.

My sister and I attended the event along with the kids. I don't quite know what I was thinking when I decided to bring them along, so needless to say I spent most of my time trying to keep a toddling 11 month old occupied, whilst being pestered to death by my girls who wanted copious amounts of sweets from the sweet bar. I didn't get the chance to mingle or take as many pics as I'd like but I still feel I took a lot from the day.

Action Jackson doing his thang...

Hair blogger and vlogger legends, Laila aka Fusion of Cultures, Pelumi - Care for your hair blog, Crystal Afro - United Kinkdom blog, Fiona - Love your tresses blog and Wunmi - Woman in the jungle vlog, took to the stage and answered an array of questions and queries from the audience about their own natural hair journeys and advice on best products and regimes. It was great to hear the different stories and witness the sharing of knowledge on such a big scale.

There was a nice selection of vendors selling a variety of natural hair products, as well as stalls selling bespoke, handmade jewellery. There was also a nail bar offering special deals on group bookings - hmm nice idea for a hen do maybe?? 

Most vendors had special events rates which were too tempting to ignore. So of course I got involved. Would have been foolish not to and after months of pining I finally got my hands on some Jamaican black castor oil from Akua Wood of Shea butter cottage.

Yay - I got me some JBCO!

Jamaican black castor oil is brilliant for promoting healthy hair. One of the main benefits of Castor oil is its ability to help grow and thicken hair and seal in moisture when applied to damp hair. It is extremely softening on hair and skin and acts as a humectant, helping to maintain moisture levels. Goes without saying then that I am really looking forward to using it.

I also bought some Be Unique Mango Twist butter and Moisturising Custard from the Be Unique Hair Care stall. I have heard rave reviews about this range and was really indecisive about which products to go with. Luckily the lovely Crystal Afro was on hand to give me some really good product advice based on her own experience with them. 

Laila (Left) Crystal Afro (right) at the BeUnique stand

Of course I went with her recommendation and I'm glad I did. I used the Mango Twist on Saturday night on damp hair ( I spritzed with my water, olive oil and conditioner mix) added to each section and plaited. On Sunday morning when I took my braids out I was really impressed with the results. My curls/waves were more defined, smooth and shiny than they have ever been. Woo hoo. I'll try again on freshly washed hair and this time take photos to make sure the results were not a fluke. I'm pretty certain they were not.

Anyway back to the event. Two ladies had there big chop carried out live and in front of nearly 300 people. Stylists from Adornment 365, the expert natural hair salon based in Brixton did the honors. One lady had only an inch of regrowth so her big chop was pretty dramatic as she was left with a very low crop. Lady number two had been transitioning for a few months like I did so she had her ends cut and her natural hair was braided into a funky fro hawk. Both ladies cried, I don't think so much because their hair was being cut but more because of the emotions tied up with returning to the hair that God blessed them with. 

It's a big deal when you make the decision to begin accepting and embracing what grows naturally out of your scalp. Well maybe that's not the case for everybody but that's certainly what going natural meant for me. It was amazing to watch yet so emotional at the same time  (I welled up) and their big reveals which included a clothes and make up overhaul too was truly STUNNING!

The brave volunteers getting their hair chopped
in front of hundreds.

The big chop reveal.
The lovely ladies looked amazing.

There was spoken word poetry and a model shared advice on how to grow long natural hair and retain it. She'd also written a book too. I bought some more lovely button earrings courtesy of Beautella's Boutique. 

My Beautella's Boutique stash

Then I darn near had heart failure when my eldest daughter went missing for nearly 10 mins. Felt like an eternity. I couldn't find her anywhere, then just as I was about to scream the place down I find her sitting in the front row with her new best friend Laila happily eating a massive cupcake....kids!!!! I was so relieved but gave her a stern talking to about wandering off and not telling me where she was going. Lesson learned. Don't think I'll be bringing my kids to future events like this, although they did make lots of friends with other children so that was sweet to watch.

Daughter number two with her new found friend. It was after taking this pic
I realised my eldest had gone AWOL. All three girls had been joint at the hip.

I really enjoyed Curvolution's Curlfriends day out because it was informative and motivational and there was plenty of encouragement to speak to other attendees and build meaningful connections. 

Curlvolution team congratulations on a magnificent event. I would definitely encourage all those who have had their appetites whetted by this post to attend future Curvolution events. I for one can not wait.