Davina McCall hits Bromley!

Britains favourite presenter, Davina McCall appeared at Bromleys WHSMiths to promote her new book 'Davina's 5 weeks to sugar free'. The book aims to aid readers through the transitioning process of cutting out sugar with various substitutional healthy recipes. Advice from the fitness savvy icon herself, who wouldn't want to give Davina's book a read? The book has all you need to know to lower your sugar intake and improve your diet, Davina provides her readers with healthy eating tips, nutritional advice and a keep fit mentality to embrace, making her book an all rounder!



The celebrity certainly caused a stir in Bromley's WHSMiths, causing queues and commotion well ahead of her scheduled 2pm appearance. Fan's gathered in anticipation waiting for Davina to arrive. They certainly weren't left disappointed, Davina entered the scene with a friendly attitude, more than delighted to hold conversations and pose for pictures with fans. It's rare to see real celebrity engagement these days but Davina McCall implemented genuine care and time into answering all her readers questions, one by one.

     



If you haven't already, grab yourself a copy of 'Davina's 5 weeks to sugar free' available on offer now at WHSmith's for £8.49. Happy reading!

Growing talent scheme- my experience

I was recently given the opportunity to be put forward for the Growing talent scheme created by PwC in partnership with JobCentre plus.

The scheme has been set up to provide young people like myself the opportunity to be nurtured through a step by step process of various training upon work experience in various job placements which advances into a full time job hence the term 'growing talent'.

How it works

On the 22nd of September I attended the  Devere Hotel in Holborn for the induction stage considered as round 1. I was joined by a number of around 14 young people where we were seated in a meeting room. Within the meeting room contained four round tables each headed with different categories. We were asked to distribute ourselves evenly and joined by a company representative once settled. Before getting familiar with our table members a short introduction was given by the leader of the scheme Jane James. She kindly greeted us before giving a short summary of what the days activities would consist of: A short film and group activities which would be rotated around each table. 

Once the short film had finished I was a little more educated on some facts not quite grasped before. The film revealed that there would be 2 stages, round one and round two. This consisted of the group activities which I was getting ready to embark on. If fortunate to get through these phases, stage three would offer a 2 night stay in a luxury house complete with spa and swimming facilities. This sounded great to me, training would be offered during the day and the evening would then be yours to leisure to your hearts content!

Next came the team stages, introducing and familiarising yourself with your table and company representative. Various companies were present as part of joining the growing talent scheme including: Portico and recruitment companies. It was interesting to learn of the different interests/background forming my table members and to share similar difficulties which had been faced during our job search. Many people had completed and gained their university degree but still found that experience was a huge factor blocking their job success. I took comfort in knowing that I was not alone and the worry of not actually going to university myself slowly deteriorated. Our company representative assured us that we all contained great qualities to make good employees and helped us brush up on how to really sell ourselves with the group activity. The activity was set out as though you were producing a google advert and needed to pitch appealing aspects to produce a great campaign. Factors such as audience, colours and wording came about during our group discussion. The aim of this task was to relate back in terms of how we were promoting ourselves to potential employers. I immediately stated that I would often list creative as one of my traits and was instantly given points for improvement. When learning of my hobbies the representative suggested that it would be more effective to hit employers with the opening, 'I am a fashion and lifestyle blogger, culture enthusiast and hunger for the next controversial topic.' The simplicity yet powerful effect of this one line really opened my eyes, it is so easy to get lost in the frequent pitches of being 'hardworking', 'committed', 'determined' that we forgot to really individualise our skills to stand out from the crowd.

After completing this activity I went on to be apart of various group discussions and got to talking with other company representatives. Upon talking to a managing director from Portico I feel that my interests had been appealed to. She gave me an accurate description of the role of a welcome host as Portico specialise in placing welcome hosts in various companies such as PwC Welcome hosts are the first point of contact for employees so it is essential to contain friendly attributes as well as being organised and passionate in designated tasks. I felt this type of role really matched my character and I would be able to thrive in a position like this.

Overall I feel my experience at Growibg talent was a success. Unfortunately I did not get through to the third stage but I was able to take away the information and knowledge provided to me from the company representatives. It was great to speak directly with them and grasp exactly what employers are looking for. I feel that young people really do benefit from schemes like this as it allows us to showcase and work on our strengths in the job field and keep proactive.

Perception is reality

When you hear the term 'perception is reality' what does this mean to you?

Are you immediately drawn to think of your self image? Or perhaps how you might be seen by others?

Lately, I have been taking the time to really focus on self reflection. It's come to my attention that part of the reason some fail to reach their full potential is because not enough time is dedicated to truly examine our qualities. 

When we look at ourselves it always seems that we immediately think of things that we can be doing better. Dreams, things we'd like to achieve maybe even a change in our appearance. Time is never truly set aside to recognise the strengths and good qualities that we already have...in this present moment. 

Perception can be based on a number of factors such as: your actions, words, dress sense, attitude, morals, religion to name but a few. Sometimes the perception of others may not exactly match the type of character you are as judgements can be made based on the qualities you portray. 

To stand as someone strong and very confident is exactly how you will be taken . This becomes the perceivers reality as it influences their actions and thoughts towards you. Your name will be signified as someone who is in control of their life and knows their own self worth which builds a positive perception. 

However in some circumstances, a negative image can be built towards you based on someone else's pre conception. For example, if you were to provide poorly structured answers during an interview you are more than likely to be perceived as the wrong material fir the company. This in fact may not be the case as you may have been well prepared but simply nervous which as a result effected your answers delivery. Your reality however now becomes based on the interviewers perception of you, determining whether or not you get the job.

Although how others judge you is not everything, how you are perceived is a big deal. It can widen opportunities and attract certain people towards you. It is very important to think about how you choose to promote yourself in this world. Take the time to self reflect and think about all the good qualities you pocess...once we nourish our abilities we can continue to grow.

It's time to move onward and upwards to better things and flourish into being the best version of ourselves! Perception is reality.

Selfridges: The Beauty Project

In celebration of all types of culture, Selfridges have put together The Beauty Project. This is to promote the beauty which lays amongst all heritage types, some hidden and yet to be grasped.

In respect of this modern era, we as a society are coming to grasp with flauting our individuality and shaping the way in which beauty is percieved.

Culture is Beauty. Culture is Life.
This Saturday, i will be joining Entertain Etc for what is shaping to be the hottest cultural event of the year! I will be capturing images from the evenings performances including Entertain Etc's very own act Tribal Roots.

If you would like to purchase a ticket, please go to the Selfridges website: selfridges.co.uk, where you can find more information on The Beauty Project event.

The evening is set to include: 'headline talks, inspiring brand experiences and interactive debates led by industry insiders'- as stated on the Selfridges website.

Ticket prices: £15- This includes a tasting plate and a glass of wine from Farmacia del Dolce

Venue: London Selfridges-The ultra lounge on the lower ground level

Time: 6PM-8PM

A full review will be posted on my blog on Friday 13th sharing details from the event. Please make sure to have a read: rhibee1.blogspot.co.uk

Ethical fashion-is this the new trend?

What am I up to?

....I've got some exciting news!

Just recently I've started doing an online internship with a fashion brand called Little Hill people and I thought it would be great to share my ongoing experience.

Well to put it shortly I'm loving it! I'm constantly provided with so much helpful resources on how to boost my writing and how to even approach online magazines and blogs. And what's great is I get to correspond with fellow fashion brands on upcoming events which means ...yep you guessed it- fresh topics to blog about woohoo!

Why choose an internship?

Speaking as someone who has had the opportunity of doing both an apprenticeship and internship I can definetly give my views here. Now it's true what they say, one route doesn't suit all and in this circumstance I decided Uni wasn't my path. I'd gone from sitting in the classroom through my school years to being faced with an important decision...and I chose an apprenticeship. I have no regrets because its given me an in look into the world of work and shown me how tough it can be from an early stage. I'm taking the skills I've gained and embracing it, and now I'm on a mission to achieve greatness in all of my choices. 

What is Ethical fashion?

As Little Hill People are an ethical fashion brand this gets me involved with alot of research into other brands which create sustainable fashion. 

Sustainable fashion consists of economically friendly methods taken to create clothes and accessories. The type of resources and design also play a big part in sustainable fashion.  There are a wide range of ethical fashion brands which focus on delivering trendy sustainable wear through featuring tribal designs and vibrant colours.

It's really great to culture your fashion knowlegde as you never know what you might just learn. A persons fashion sense is a big give away into their ethics, and it's possible that ethical fashion is becoming the next best thing. Are designers dealing with a more Eco-friendly society? Or could ethical fashion simply be a phase for when festival season comes around. Whatever the case it's definetly high in demand and more fashion brands are embracing sustainable fashion. Green is the new black!!

Links

Here is a list of 'go to' blogs and sites for the latest trends in sustainable fashion. Don't be shy, take a look:

For my next post I will be featuring Little Hill People, providing some brand information and their latest accessories. Be sure to check it out! 

Fashion revolution day

Fashion is...

Fashion is the important outlet in which people showcase their style and personality in order to stand out. It allows freedom and in most cases expression of our individuality. As fashion consumers it is quite easy to get caught up in the latest trends of what's hot and what's not, but how many of us really question where our clothes actually come from?

In the less econimically developed countries around the world such as Asia, there are many artisians who stand by applying ancient weaving technqiues in order to produce our clothes and accessories. Would you know if your outfit had been hand woven or even delicately stitched with raw material?

Alot of detail and resources may have gone into creating that fine ensemble you have hanging up in your wardrobe but instead of showing our clothes the appreciation they deserve, we are constantly craving and demanding more and more. More style, more trends, more edge! This is no suprise as the media plays a big role in blowing our minds with the latest trends convincing us that the next big thing is right around the corner. We feed on these resources and take on a subconscious mind frame into believing we must have it! The latest  issues of Vogue, catwalks and celebrities, it's all set in place to captivate our society and enforce looks that we should achieve.

Our values are slowly starting to drift from the efforts injected into creating our clothes in the first place. Thread by thread we are getting intwined and losing a grip of the real importance. Its time to address the question...Who made your clothes?

Fashion revolution day

Wouldn't you be intrested in unravelling the mystery of where your beloved dress, top and other favourites originated from? It's time to show appreciation towards the makers...lets peel back a layer and journey into a world beyond the media, past the red carpet and into some of the factories located all around the world.

On April 24th last year, the unfortunate collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Dhana left 1133 killed and a vast amount also injured. The factory was home to Bangladesh and although this was a huge disaster to hit the fashion world there are still many artisians who put themselves in danger for the fashion supply chain.This is where you come in...

This Fashion revolution day I am encouraging you to take part with your best foot forward. All you need to do is decide that you would like to show an interest to the people who made your clothes and take to social media. You can wear your favourite jumper, top or any item of your choice inside out in order to make the label visible. Then simply take a picture and using twitter post an image using the hash tags #inside out #whomademyclothes. Try and tag the brand or shop which you purchased your item from and lets try and get some attention. 

This is the good type of hype which society needs to stir up. Raising awareness can ensure we won't forget the value of fashion and will continue to support those who are behind producing our clothes. 

For more information and posters on fashion revolution day please take a look at http://www.fashionrevolution.org/home

Thanks for reading and please spread the word.

Rhiann x

Jumping on that juicing wave

Hey bloggers,

Wow it's been a while, let me be the last to say Happy New Year (last...d'you see what I did there? = D )

2014, can ya believe it? Well I suppose you've had some time to accept it seen as January's nearly over for goodness sakes = O.

Speaking of which, who else feels robbed this winter?! I've got one question for you, WHERE'S THE SNOW AT? I suppose that's two questions when u look at it but hey ho ; )

Anyways moving swiftly on because I can see myself getting caught up on this snow issue rather than what I came to write about haha... Don't ya just hate when that happens?

So guys and gals, I've decided that this year I really want to focus on being fit and healthy. Before you say it, no I'm not about this 'new year new me' junk that seems to fill people's status' every year! I'm talking about a healthy life style choice, Mind, Body and Soul baby!!! Mind you I'm not obese or anything... I just think it would be really beneficial to be health conscious in all aspects of my life.

So lets do a little revision/checklist here:

*Join the gym- CHECK ( done that in 2013, staying ahead of the game ; )

*Healthy eating- hmm... Well I do try to eat a balanced diet BUT I am determined to cut down on the junk food and sugary treats!!! 

Next step: Juicing

I'm quite excited to try juicing and I've already started looking up different recipes. But my knowledge isn't all from scratch though...my mum jumped on the juicing wave before me and she's mixed up some really great tastes in the past.

My only worry is that 1. Buying all these fruits an veg may be a bit costly and 2. The idea of incorporating vegetables into my juice scares me ; (. But I shall prosper!!! I'm not too sure what angle I'm taking on this yet, whether I'll do it as a challenge for a certain time period or just juicing as frequently as possible but I'm definitely taking this on.

Going to team this with some healthy eating and record the benefits and my experience as I go on by blogging. I'm already certain i want to try 'green juicing'  * brave face. Come on, having your 5 a day in a cup?... This has got to be great right? = D

The 1st of February it's on!!! I'm going to shop around this weekend to try and get my lovely resources without breaking the bank!!! Off to do some more researching.

Later folks!

Rhibee xx