5 Tips for Saving Money on West End Musicals

There’s nothing quite like seeing a musical on the West End Stage in London. The lights, the sets, the costumes—it’s magical! But if you’re not careful, the cost of seeing one of these productions can be astronomical, which is why it pays to make your plans in advance and learn how to save money on theatre tickets with the Today Tix app.

1) Buy Discounted Tickets

If you’re looking to save money on theatre tickets, today is your lucky day! The Today Tix app has a terrific selection of tickets at up to 50% off box office prices. Plus, if you buy tickets before noon you can save up to 35%! The Today Tix app allows you to browse current listings by date and performance time (or by show name if you’re in a hurry), which makes it super easy to find seats in advance.  When I was in London just a few weeks ago I managed to see 4 musicals in 5 days for just £88, the price of 1 normal priced ticket.  I saw Anything Goes, Joseph, Be More Chill and Pretty Woman, the Musical.

2) Go for Rush Tickets

If you’re looking to buy tickets to a West End musical, try for rush tickets. Rush seats can be had at a reduced price (usually £25), and they’re distributed on the app at 10 am every morning, the only catch is you can't choose where you sit and the maximum number of tickets you can book is two together.

3) Visit Off-Days

You’ll save a ton of money by buying tickets to off-days. The biggest benefit of going on a Tuesday is that performances are usually sparsely attended, which means you’ll have your pick of seats—and you can score cheaper tickets (and maybe even complimentary ones!). Going midweek also means fewer tourists and lower prices overall. And if Tuesdays aren’t your thing, try Wednesdays or Thursdays; crowds will be smaller then, too.

5) Sign Up For Alerts

One of my favourite features of TodayTix is its alerts system. You can sign up to receive alerts about show discounts, and special offers, or even get notified when tickets to your favourite musical are released. I’ve used alerts to get last-minute deals on shows like Anything Goes, Pretty Woman, the Musical, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat saving anywhere from 20%-50% off ticket prices, in fact, when I saw Anything Goes I paid £25 for a ticket which would have cost me £125 if I'd booked through the official site or the Barbican Theatre.

Christmas in London with the iPhone Xs Max

I love London, when you don't live there it becomes a magical place, a romantic getaway or a family trip, a special thing you don't get to do very often.  The lovely people at Three invited Harriet, Looby and I on a photowalk around Shoreditch and I snatched their hand off before they could even say "Come to London."

After a seriously early train to the capital, we arrived in Shoreditch, now for all of my time I've spent in London I'd never been to Shoreditch but I'll definitely be going again, Shoreditch is simply amazing, it's full of street art everywhere and not just any old street art, you'll even find some Banksy.  it's literally a photographers playground and next time I'll be taking my camera.  On this occasion though, the photo walk was to show the amazing capabilities of the new phones, the iPhone Xs and the iPhone Xs Max, now I should say that I'd already upgraded to the Xs Max and I'm a bit of a geek at the best of times so I knew about the adjustable fstops in portrait mode which I have to say is an amazing feature, being able to adjust the aperture after you've taken the photo is an incredible feature, you can't even do that with a high end DSLR.

I was super lucky to have Looby with me because unlike at home where she spends her life with her head in her phone she was actually willing to pose, in fact, she was pretty much the ultimate model!!

We spent 3 hours meandering around the streets of Shoreditch and even went to the iconic Brick Lane which was super busy, we had a scrumptious lunch and we ended the walk part of the day at Spitalfields market.  Next was a trip around London to squeeze as much as we possibly could into just a few hours, Harriet had never experienced London before so we wanted to make it the best day ever for her.  In just a few hours we went to Harrods, we had dinner in Covent Garden, we went to Christmas in Leicester Square, we went to Trafalgar square walking through the west end, "where's the Palladium?" said Harriet, "You're standing under the entrance" said me.  We even went to see Buckingham palace at night before a mad dash back to Kings Cross in an Uber whereupon we made our train, the last train out of London with 5 minutes to spare, I blame The Queen for that one, I shan't mention the train journey home too much but it took 4 hours via Lincoln, was filled with drunk rugby fans and LNER had triple booked everyone's seats.  Let's just say we were exhausted when we made it back to Newcastle after midnight.  You know what though, it was totally worth it.  We get few chances to visit London so it's crucial to pack as much in as possible and it's not every day you have to walk more than 10 miles, it's no wonder my Fitbit actually checked that I hadn't suddenly put it on Mo Farrah whilst I sat by a pool somewhere.

Thanks to Three for hosting us, thanks to Rob the photographer who I loved chatting too as I don't really know all that many photographers so it's always great to geek out a little and thanks to Looby and Harriet for joining me on our epic day in London.

London, We Love You!

I'm lucky to have one of those careers where I don't know what's going to happen next so when I was offered a day in London to go to play with the latest iPhones by Three I didn't pause before accepting, especially as Looby was also included in the offer.

I'd say that Thursday was a gift, it was one of those rare magical days when the planets align to create near perfection, we had a plan to go to Harrods, and then the event at the Three discovery centre in Islington followed by a swift trip to Hamleys at Looby's request.

We travelled down at 8am and got home at 11pm exhausted because we'd also managed so squeeze in a trip to Buckingham Palace, Looby noticed an open window and concluded The Queen must have been looking for us, the same as she had when we'd had a trip to London when Looby was just 4 years old.

I think there's something magical about London, perhaps because I don't have to live there on a daily basis, I know my way around from all of the time I've spent there in another life and I'm pretty good at negotiating The Tube though I will say £18.50 for an off peak day ticket for Looby and I, we're used to just over £5 on the metro!!

So we began our trip at one of the most magical places of all, the Harrods Christmas department, you'll know from previous articles that I have a big of a love of department stores but Harrods is something else, I mean where else could you purchase a reed diffuser for £22,000 or a Suitcase with internal desk for £99,500?  Luckily all Looby wanted was this years Harrods Christmas bear which at £19.95 I think was a bargain and they don't even charge you for the carrier bags.

Yes, Harrods is the place where dreams can come true and when I win the lottery I shall be heading straight there for a celebratory shopping spree, Looby hadn't been there before and loved it, let loose with spare cash I think she could have come away laden with goodies.

Our main event of the day was of course going to Three for a session on the new iPhones, and iOS11, being an Apple fan girl by my own admission I was thrilled to have some time to test out the new iPhone8 plus, I will say that the camera on it is amazing

This is with the 7Plus my current phone which I love

This is using studio lighting mode on the iPhone8 Plus, now if you're me and you're a photographer you'll notice the difference straight away, the shadows alone with the even lighting are amazing, especially when it was shot indoors under artificial lighting, it should be that my outdoor late afternoon light is better but there's just no contest!  If I was going to upgrade right now I would without question however, what I'm holding out for is the iPhone X, that's going to have completely different and revolutionary new ways to take photos and it's going to be more intuitive, have better lenses and modes, I just hope I can pre-order one on the 27th October and have it in time for Christmas, there are rumours afoot that we may not actually see them in reality until early next year.  I also managed to pick up some new tips about Live Photos, did you know you can change the type of photo, it's a bit like having Boomerang but within the camera.

I thought I knew most of the new features of iOS11 but there were some hidden gems, and if you have never played with augmented reality yet, I'd suggest you check out one of the apps, I think AR is at the very beginning of it's creation and it's only going to get better and better, it's certainly got me excited.

After the event we knew we had enough time to go to Buckingham Palace so we had the loveliest wander through St James Park before finally visiting The Queen, it's a total highlight for me and Looby couldn't remember her visit when she was small except for the fact that she'd seen The Queen waving out of the window at her and she looked like granny, who knows if it actually happened but I've always believed it was possible!

She was definitely at home as the Royal Standard was flying this time around, could she have been looking for us too I wonder?  Looby did get a photo standing next to her this time, even if she was slightly more square than I remembered, definitely her though, I mean, look, she's even got a corgi!

Funny that she seems to live in Hamleys though!  I should mention at this point that I thought that Hamleys was actually hell on earth, it was noisy, crowded, they charged us £5 for a reusable carrier bag when Looby bought a London themed jigsaw, I was wholly unimpressed though she loved it and that's all that mattered.

For me, I got a walk in the royal park, I got to watch the pelicans and I got to spend some time soaking in the atmosphere at the palace, Looby said she wished we could have spent more time at the palace but sadly time was not on our side.  London is so vast that you really can't see much in day but I hope we'll get back down there soon through work or leisure, wouldn't it be amazing if I got more work there?  It's more probable than the train tickets perpetually costing half a months rent.

Thanks to Three for facilitating our trip and inviting us to their fabulous Apple event, they did not sponsor this post and all of my opinions are that of my own, I remain a fan of all things Apple and most things London.

5 Great Views You Must See Before You Die

Since I really got the ability to travel a few years ago I've had some amazing experiences, not just overseas I should add, we have a plethora of amazing places in the UK as well as some more far flung adventures. My number one aspiration continues to be to travel as often as I possibly can, I love to explore new places whether it's somewhere tranquil and dog-friendly or a colourful paradise with friends overseas and so with that in mind and after chatting with my girlfriends about some of my favourite things I've ever done thus far I thought I would take the opportunity to give you my list of 5 things you must do before you die!

1. The view from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in summer you'll queue for hours to get tickets but in November you can pay and pretty much climb straight away, you also get to stay at the top a while and the views are amazing, as you climb the tower you are all too aware that the tower is leaning and at the top where they've rehung the bells it's even a little comical.  When I climbed I was on my own and after travelling through several countries on my own for the first time on a cruise with Norwegian Epic I sat at the top and cried realising just what I'd achieved, from agoraphobia to solo traveller in just a few years.  I love the fact that you can see Pisa and Tuscany from the top so if you get the chance go do it and for an even more special experience, why not do it on your own?!

2.  Climb Le Suquet on a warm sunny morning and you won't be disappointed, Le Suquet in Cannes refers to the old town and right at the top you'll find a castle and a museum, for just a handful of Euros (I think I paid about 5 euros) you can climb to the top of the tower and be master of all you survey, just for a while anyway.  When I visited on a pleasantly warm Novembers day Cannes still felt like summer for this girl from the frozen North.

3. The view from the Talaia at sunset, Mount Tibidabo, Barcelona, Spain.  as well as being called the magic mountain, Tibidabo is home to a historic theme park, and it's signature ride, a rickety old basket (it's safer than it sounds) which takes you up 1500 foot above sea level for the most amazing views you have ever seen, when Harriet and I went in the summer we were able to experience it at sunset, it's one of the most magical views I've ever captured and an experience I'll never forget.

4. The View from the Shard, London, you don't have to go too far afoot to discover the best views of London and for the best value ticket choose to go up at sunset, for one it will be quieter with no queues and you'll also be able to see London in the daytime and London as it lights up, London is the prettiest city in the world when viewed from above and as night falls it ups it's magic quotient to something akin to a fantasy world, you've seen nothing until you've experienced London twinkling in all its glory.

5.  The views of the winding canal network in Amsterdam, take a trip on a small boat with a local captain and you'll find out the most interesting stories from Amsterdam, there's nowhere quite like to soak in the atmosphere of one of the finest cities in Europe but definitely stay away from the larger tourist boats because it really is worth paying a little extra for a small tour along with 15-20 others. It's an experience Abigail and I both adored, even if she did lose my sunglasses over the side of the small boat, never to be seen again.

In the next year there are so many views I'd love to see, my biggest wish is to visit Japan and also I know that I must see New York from the top of the Empire State building, I'd love to hear from you if there are any great views you've experienced on your travels, any recommendations for places I need to visit?

When Bloggers Date, a First Date in London with Martyn

Late Sunday afternoon and I've just got home from my weekend in London, a first real life (as opposed to Skype) date with Martyn, my brain is kind of scrambled, it's been a bit of a full on 24 hours  and I promised Martyn I wouldn't write a blog post where a flock of unicorn seagulls lifted us high on clouds whilst bluebirds sang, I'm sure you would have read it anyway and all clapped wildly but I promised that I would be real and write from my heart and with my head just as he told me he's going to do and that means taking off the rose tinted glasses and that's hard for someone who is by her own admission a bohemian romantic.

So here's some facts about Martyn, he's 34, a single dad, blogger, he's got facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy which is life limiting and he's also got dependent personality disorder, he's a genius, an actual genius, he plays 13 instruments but not the harp (I know, disappointing, right?), he home educates his 2 sons, he teaches piano, he's kind, funny and on an attraction level, my face definitely likes his face.  He blogs about his disability and his mental health (as well as many other things) and since he came into my life he's helped me become more real and I've blogged more about my own mental health.  We as writers need to put this out there, we need to help people talk about mental health and we need to encourage people who might be feeling helpless that even if you are messed up in the head that it's ok, you can be brilliant and funny, you can be entrepreneurial, most importantly you can live a life where you own your shit and just carry on, carrying on, living your life in the best way that you can.

I want to jump now to something I believe about relationships and dating, something I've always believed.  I'm lucky to have experienced good relationships and bad through my own experiences, that of others and through my work I'm always humbled to share the moments from others relationships at the most poignant moments in their lives, I've seen true love in all of its glory and I've known hurt, betrayal and had my heart broken and shattered into a million tiny pieces.

I think in the best relationships you always see a great combination of friendship plus the spark of attraction, the chances are if you want to rip someone's clothes off after 5 minutes on the very first date then it's just going to be lust which will die out after a month or possibly turn into something darker.  I've never been into the whole lust based thing because I don't want my life to be full of quick passionate relationships, I realise they work for some but essentially I start by looking for friendship and this is something Martyn and I have established over the last 3 months with messages and our once weekly Skype dates, we have laughed a lot and talked about more serious things and I'm pretty sure I could talk to him about anything.  When we met up yesterday it was just easy, I'd had my nervous half hour before he arrived but that was mostly due to hoping he wouldn't be a serial killer after I'd travelled the length of the country on a train surrounded by snoring black men, falafel eating mummies, smelly footed youths with their shoes off and an old man with a sheepdog, my cancelled earlier train meant a comedy journey of epic proportions, no wonder I was anxious!

I'm not a flirt, I am rubbish at it, always have been, always will be, I like laughing and talking and I like people who are smart and also people who'll not mind so much that I can't flirt.  It's on first dates that I always make sure that I kiss my date, if they don't want to kiss me, it's always a fail because I'll never know if there's a spark and if they kiss me and it's like kissing cardboard, well then that's also a fail because you need a spark, it's the difference between friendship and a potential relationship.  My point here is Martyn and I spent about 7 hours together having dinner, laughing, just being friends and when I walked him to his car at midnight we kissed (I should have perhaps just done this earlier but at the age I am, I always feel a bit uptight about public displays of affection) and, (remember, just the facts) we both felt a spark, a big spark, I said "wow" and I'm going, to be honest, we woke up together this morning!

So, what happens now? Martyn went off home to process his thoughts as did I, a smoother train journey home and I smiled a lot!  Martyn is a complicated enigma and to be fair so am I, you get two messed up people together and they either fix each other's broken pieces or they're just two messed up people messing each other up, I rather hope it's a Deadpool scenario and I do think that my crazy matches his crazy but it's still early days really.  I'm going back to London at the end of March for another date (seriously, how much easier would it be if he lived in Killingworth instead of Kent) and in the meantime, we'll continue to message and Skype each other.

What I want to do now is only write what's real and true so I'm afraid for you unicorn loving readers you might miss out on the whimsy (dang it, I nearly managed a blog post without mentioning it).  If anything strikes me I'll no doubt write but I think we need to be allowed to just go and find out ourselves if this has a chance of working without the expectation of half of the internet (as lovely as you all are and I want to thank you all so much for being there every step of the way).  Human relationships are hard, some work, some don't, some are honest and some are not, some are kind and some are harsh, some are imaginary and some are real and there are no magic formulae to make sure it works even if you want it to with all of your heart so you just have to be true to yourself, open your heart and try to be real and honest.  What I do know In my heart is that I think we have the chance of something which could be bright and shiny, even if it is just a couple of half broken silver spoons lying in a muddy puddle on a moonlight night.

Whatever happens now, we'll always remember London...

London from above, part 2, as viewed from The Shard.

Ever since I first saw images from The Shard in London I've wanted to visit, I mean I've really wanted to visit, a bit like an expectant child on Christmas Eve, it's something of a photographers dream being so high above the city and although the entry fee is high (£30.95 for just me) I would have to say that it is worth every penny.

 Now I should add to that statement, I think if you're a family with little ones then maybe they're not going to get the most out of the experience but if you are at all interested in cities, London, viewing great landscapes, taking great photographs well then this might just be the experience you've been waiting for.

 I chose to go at sunset because for me that's when the magic happens, the fading natural light of the day adds to the quiet beauty of the city down below.  You stand watching amazed as the city starts to light up artificially with something akin to the biggest set of illuminations you've ever seen, this is something so incredible that you can't possibly imagine it until you see it, I've viewed a lot of cities from above both during daylight but this one was the first I'd managed to view at night, mostly because London is just open later for business, especially during the months of chaotic tourism in summer.

 I'm so glad I went in late though as it wasn't busy or crowded and there was an easy pace of gentle calm as the remaining guests, lets call them guests because that's what you feel like, you feel like London itself has invited you to view it's iconic structures, it's crowded urban landscapes from such a height that the whole city looks like an enormous ever changing piece of art.

There are two heights on which to view these epic landscapes from, the 68th and the 72nd floor both offer amazing vantage points, I wandered around for just over an hour collecting more and more images that I can keep, to enjoy forever.  

On the 72nd floor you can grab a deckchair, you can buy a cup of tea from a little Fortnum and Mason cart or a glass of champagne to sit enjoying the views with that special person, for me though, a champagne glass would have inhibited my ability to hold the camera so I was happy just to wander around the 360 degree panoramic windows drinking in the sights whilst all around felt eerily calm, I don't think there are many places in London where you get such contrasts of calm and quiet whilst knowing that down below the hustle, bustle and chaos of the city continue long into the night.

When I return to London again in the autumn I will return to The View From The Shard again, there's no question that the seasons change the light just as the hours of the passing day does and I'm fairly sure I could never get bored of towering above the beauty of the urban landscape and photographing it slowly and carefully with love.  For me, this is what travel and photography are all about, whilst you can press record in your mind and whilst you can accurately describe a place or view to take people to the same places in their mind if you can put together those images with gloriously worded descriptions then you can truly take people on a journey with you time and time again.