I put on my shoes, and I'm ready for the weekend.

Today, I've decided to chitchat about the favourite thing I've done this summer. No, not abuse twitter and tumblr to mild extremes- although I am mildly proud my tweet count has almost doubled over this summer, score for small achievements!- turning up to my first music festival.

During June, I attended Glastonbury festival of performing arts. It's one of the longest festivals in the biz, the grandaddy of music festivals keeping those whippersnappers like the Reading/Leeds festival and T in the Park in line. This year was the forty year anniversary, and I've gotta admit I was pumped for weeks beforehand. This was a big shebang, as I'd always wanted to go to Glastonbury, see the sights, soak up the atmosphere, and catch some killer bands and finally this year I was ticking one major thing off my life list.

One of the things I'd definitely advise is- be careful while packing. If you're like me, you'll want to pack the kitchen sink. Different shoes for different occasions, clothes in case it rains, clothes in case it's sunny, clothes in case there's a sudden freak clothes shortage and all your other clothes mysteriously fall down the rabbit hole, and as much homely comforts as possible. But when you try to fit all that on your back you soon realise that maybe less is more, and you won't need to beg forgiveness to your spine again soon after. It's like 'let's play at camping and roughing it for a weekend.' And one word that for some people would send shivers down their spine- practical. Yes, practical.

But don't get me wrong, what you choose to wear is important. The festival fashion thumbs up (almost alliteration there, gutted!) for this year at Glastonbury was 'keep cool, keep stylin'. It was so hot that weekend that people were ending up in hospital with heatstroke, so nobody really minded if you looked a bit sweaty and had skipped the make up sess that morning. I wore cheap tops, mostly from Primark and Peacocks, because no matter how careful you are, at the end of the day your clothes are all covered in dust, grime and stains that you don't even want to know the origins of. So it might be best not to take your favourite tees. Have a few spare items of clothing is a good idea too. Sensible shoes are a must, sandals and flipflops will eventually make your feet ache walking around the festival, and anything like pumps won't work on the uneven ground. If you're wearing skirts or dresses be careful,you don't want anything too long dragging on the ground but not too short either, you're still camping out, after all. And being bang on trend isn't so critical either- nobody wants to have to step out a playsuit in a portaloo that hundreds of thousands of people have used that weekend, eek (more on those later!)

So, you're packed. You've struggled with your tent and put it up inside out and the exits all in the wrong place a couple of times. Got yourself a nice cup of cider (at Glasto you're in Somerset, can't go there without trying some homegrown cider my friends! Yes, I'm a southern belle, ssh.) and chilled out on the fields a bit which believe me, amazing atmosphere.



Now it's time to dare the loos. My top tip for the festival? Baby wipes, and antiseptic hand gel. They were a godsend with every loo trip, grass stain and at the end of the night. As for the loos, they're not very nice. But you'll be surprised how quickly even the most squicked out girlie (IE: me, Miss OCD, Germs are gross and the enemy and must be avoided at all times) learns to cope.

And now, to my favourite part, the music! During the weekend I caught 22 bands. 22?! That's insane! Some of my favourites were found hovering around tents and giving new bands a go, something I definitely recommend. If you have an opportunity to hit up a festival, go to the jazz tent, the accoustic, the BBC Introducing. There might be your new favs out there to find.

My personal favourites were Muse, as their light show was incredible and their performance is so top notch, I'm not surprised they're one of the most successful live acts in recent years. I also enjoyed Florence and the Machine as she was so hyped up (her little giggles were adorable) and her enthusiasm was incredibly infectious.


(Photo taken by Winona H.)

I Blame Coco were also a lot of fun, as were Rodriego Y Gabriela whose instrumental based jazz was just the thing to make a Sunday afternoon perfect. And although I wasn't able to catch Slash properly which was such a bummer due to the heat, these Slashes more than made up for it:



There's far more going on than just a music festival, though. There's a chance to get involved in quite a few good causes if you're so inclined, or get in touch with your spiritual side. The main message is of peace and unity, treating people nicely how you'd want to be treated which isn't such a bad thing to stick to, now is it? I loved how friendly and open to chat everyone was, families and teenage girls felt equally safe and you could dance and mess about to your heart's content without anyone taking the mick out of your dodgy Shakira moves. (And believe me, my hips lied. My hips lied quite a lot.)

It was a fabulous experience- I can't wait to go next year- and have some amaze memories from it. So lucky with the weather as well, although at some points over the weekend I would have loved a classic Glastonbury rainstorm, haha! I also had the best bath ever when I got back, you never appreciate a good bath until you've been away from it for a few days. I'll leave you with this:



Ems xx

Geek is the new Chic

One of my favourite shows is the IT Crowd, which you haven't seen before is centred around a group of socially awkward IT technicians living in the basement, one of whom being their 'relationship manager' who has not a clue what IT even stands for, and their boss who continually tries to hit on the ladies but nobody really seems to mind. It isn't important to find a plot as such, it's an amazing comedy show and all the 'geek' references make any fellow 'nerd' have a bit of a smug moment to themselves while watching.

I like the references. I like the references a lot, which probably shows my 'geek' credentials quite well. And believe me, 'turning it off and on again' is like magic! But anyway, the popularity of the show has led me to think that maybe there are a lot more 'geeks' out there enjoying the show than we were led to believe. Maybe the illusion that we're a minority and the cool kids overpower us isn't true and 'geek' is actually the new 'cool.'

Maybe one day. But one of the definite favourite references for fans of the IT crowd to spot is Roy's tshirts. If you spend a lot of time on the interwebs, you'll recognize the injokes and internet memes and smile to yourself when nobody else you're watching with quite gets it.

For example keyboard cat tshirt:



one of the most popular cat-based internet memes, second only to lolcats and Icanhazcheeseburger. Wow, people on the internet really do like cats, don't we? After being featured on the show sales of the tshirt soared, showing how we 'geeks' not only have good taste in comedy shows, but in fashion too.

Other t-shirts I've seen about are those referencing other television shows, such as Doctor Who. I saw a girl down town wearing a tshirt saying 'the angels have stolen the telephone box' which was clearly handmade by her and I thought that was such a rad idea. Like a quote or reference on a TV show or film you like? Write it on something you wear! A bag, hoodie, tshirt, even your shoes- believe me, people do read what it says on your clothes and they might look it up on google later just to be nosey. And who knows, if someone recognizes it and talks to you, you could make a new friend.

So embrace your inner geek and be proud! Who knows, geek could be the new in thing.

Ems x

How to be a professional magpie.

Now, I've always been someone who loves jewellery. When I was little (well, littler- I'm still only 5ft now!) I used to make those little beaded necklaces and make my own pendants out of those craft sets you could buy. Most of the jewellery I had then was bright and all the colours of the rainbow, definitely eye catching for those games of kiss chase in the playground, haha.

Claire's accessories was definitely popular when I was in my teens, it was one of the places to be and some of the more fashionista girls at my school could tell a mile away whether you had the proper pierced Claire's earrings, or were chancing it with magnetic. And now I'm older, I'm just as passionate about my jewellery- I wear my rings everywhere I go, (even the shower!) so people almost recognize them as a part of me and they've become far more special to me than just an accessory. But I've become quite picky with what I buy-I like my jewellery to be something unique, retro, vintage or just a bit quirky.

So where do you go if you want something unusual? It's fun to browse about, often in the internet or in the non-chain stores near you. I've found jewellery boutiques on the internet are perfect if you want a bracelet or brooch that nobody else is likely to have on in the high street. Often stores on sites like Etsy are made by the seller, so you're guaranteed to have something nobody else will quite have like it.

Temporary Secretary has some lovely jewellery on its site which I'd definitely recommend checking out. There's something there for every taste, whether you'd love to fall down the rabbit hole with Alice, the more girly and floral accessories, or something a little quirky like a bambi necklace.

And in honour of my blog, I've just bought a pretty damn rad moustache necklace.



Just £8.00, and I reckon having a moustache would definitely suit every outfit, haha!

Ems x

Hello!

And welcome to my new blog, fingerstaches and sons. I'm Emma, nineteen, I'm taking a creative writing degree at university and I'm about to go into the second year in September. Wow, I'm a little nervous actually!

So, what can you expect on these pages, apart from apparently plenty of finger moustaches? Quite a bit on fashion, a smidgen of an outlet on life, a lot on music and to top it off, a generous helping of geek chic because we always seem to have more fun.

I hope you enjoy x