Why I I do Internetz

Yesterday, my granddad (I call him Poppa) asked me what Summer in the City was about and why I make videos and do all other sorts of things on the internet, and suggested to me isn't it all a bit “codswollop”? Yes, he said codswollop. He thinks it's pointless.

I use the internet mainly for social networking. I've met most of my friends via youtube and other social sites and it introduced me to the wonderful world of vlogging and the youtube community. It introduced me to gatherings and Summer in the City, events that make me feel like I am part of something unique and special that also provides me with the opportunity to travel to places I've always wanted to go, like Edinburgh, and a great excuse for frequenting London. I once appeared on an episode of “Genius” by Dave Gorman because of twitter.

I explained to Poppa that not just youtube, but there are many adventures the internet can take you on, whether it be new career opportunities, raising money for charity or meeting amazing people you never thought you would meet. The internet is changing the world as we know it, and I thought it was about time I explained why I think the internet is important. There is a lot of current bad press about the internet at the moment in regards to bullying and the ask.fm website, which is why I want people with concerns about it to stop freaking out.

I spoke to Poppa and explained that many successful youtubers have gone and worked with the BBC, such as Chris Kendall, and Dan & Phil who have regular slots with BBC radio. YouTubers who have made a career for themselves as a musician, even getting their music in the top ten charts. People like Charlie McDonnell and his mum who raised a lot of money for charities. There were many examples, and I think he at least has only started to learn that the internet isn't an evil place full of trolls trying to make other people's lives a misery.

Poppa mentioning to me what has been going on in the news with people calling out for more restrictions on the internet, I had an idea. How about encouraging people to beat bullying in a more encouraging way rather than discouraging from the internet all together. I made a lot of my best friends via the internet, and people who are having a hard time can do so too if they feel like they have no one else to talk to.

My idea is to create a website, a forum in which people can post advice, experience and their current problems in regards to bullying. A place for a community to be born to help fight bullying. Bullying won't go for good, it's every where you go, you can't escape from it. It's in schools, work, the internet. It's in every day life, and no amount of fighting it will ever get rid of bullying. It will always exist. That's the sad fact.

That doesn't mean we can't make ourselves stronger and build immunity to it however. So I've decided to create the mentioned forum. When it's ready, I will post it in the information box in this video and mention it again in my next video. You can also look out for it being mentioned on my twitter at @tarka98, or my facebook page in which I'll provide the links for below.

In the meantime, if you'd like to share with me the reasons you use the internet such as youtube, tumblr, facebook, twitter – any of those social networking sites, please comment below, as I'd love to read them.

If you have any stories on bullying you'd like to share, please comment below, and I will try to share some advise with you, and I encourage other readers to do the same too. 

Dog Tease

I uploaded this a while ago, but it really is funny and needs to be appreciated when possible! :)

The Edinburgh Nerdfighter Gathering Part 1. The Journey.

This Thursday just gone, I took a 10 and a half hour train journey to Edinburgh for the big Madness in the Meadows gathering to meet loads of Nerdfighters and have fun!

My train departed at 9:42pm from Lincoln, and that train would take me to Newark, then from Newark to Newcastle. A four hour stop in Newcastle and then finally from Newcastle to Edinburgh, arriving in Edinburgh the next morning at 8am.

I usually find that majority of my train journeys go far from smoothly as I would like them too. This one was not going to be an exception to that rule.

Part of that reason  - that reason being I wasn't expecting Edinburgh to be so hilly, I thought it would be a great idea to take me bike with me. To take your bike with you, the train people like you to book your bike on your train journey in advanced, rather then just showing up with it - as there might not be enough room to store it, and you could risk having to leave your bike behind at the station. I booked my bike in days before, so I knew my bike was safe for the whole journey there, and back.

At the Lincoln train station, I hauled my bike from the platform onto the far end carriage, the only carriage labeled to store bikes. It was neglected to be mentioned from any of the train staff that the front three carriages would only fit on the Newark Castle platform. Not only that, but the carriage I was in was the one that would be furthest away from the platform. The train driver thought to only mention this once we were just approaching the platform. No way enough time to work my bike all the way down three carriages in time to jump off onto the platform before the train continued its journey to Nottingham.

I bolted down three carriages and swung my head out of the carriage door screaming at the top of my lungs; "HELP! CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME, PLEASE?!" I could see the driver down the far end, opposite end to me, either ignoring my cries for help, or simply couldn't hear me.

I continued to shout, as loud as I could. Another passenger helped me, as I flailed my arms wildly in the air and continued to shout, he managed to shout louder then myself, and finally, the train driver turned and glanced our way, showing recognition of my pleads for help. He walked swiftly down the platform and asked me what the problem was.

"No-one told me that the end carriage wouldn't meet the platform. My bike is down there. How am I supposed to haul it all the way back up here with all my other stuff and before the train leaves?" I panted, breathing rapidly in blind panic.

"Bring the bike through the carriages and be quick." The train driver replied simply. I was flabbergasted at his blunt, yet unhelpful answer.

"Will you wait then, as it is three carriages I need to get through!" I exclaimed.

"Yes. But hurry." He replied. With the other passenger helpfully accepting to look after my handbag while I charged down the three carriages to retrieve my backpack and bike. In my blind panic of thinking how the hell am I supposed to get this bike through three carriages "quickly" the only thing I could think of was to haul my backpack on my back, as it's supposed too, then I lifted my bike above my head, and started to run through each carriage, looking like a total idiot with a puffy red face and sweating like an arse, hitting the odd seat, or luggage shelf as I made my way down the carriages. Half way down the second carriage, the train driver meets me and tells me to stop.

"Wheel it down on the back wheel." He tells me. Confused by what he meant, I just stare at him puzzled. "Here, give it to me." He says, and takes the bike from me, propping my bike on it's back wheel and wheeling it down the rest of the train. Feeling like a total fool for not thinking of the same thing, my red cheeks of unfitness of running down the train with a bike over my head was now redness of embarrassment for not thinking of that obvious solution. I hastily followed after the driver, and thanked him for his help once I met him back on the platform. "That's alright, I'll just charge you double!" He joked before he jumped back on the train and set off. I laughed nervously not knowing for a brief moment if he was being serious or not, and then shaking my head to myself, tutting at my stupidity that he couldn't possibly charge me extra.

I wheeled my bike away from the platform and away from the station, noticing my handbag felt slightly damp. Weird, I thought. I stopped and lent my bike against the fence and took my backpack off before examining what was going on with my handbag. The two energy drinks I had purchased earlier to keep me awake for the whole of my over night journey had burst! Everything in my bag was now drenched in sweet smelling energy juice. "Argh!" I couldn't help exclaiming. For fuck sakes. The liquid is stored in a tin. How on earth did I manage to burst them in my handbag? When I was running down the carriages with my bike, and the handbag hitting the edge of all the seats as I was running? Somehow denting the tin to the point of a terrible leakage? That is the theory I assumed anyway. One can seemed to have burst quite badly, so I took it out my bag and attempted to down what was left in it, before checking over the second can. It seemed alright, I couldn't see any sign of leakage from it, but to be on the safe side, I propped it the right way up securely in my backpack. I checked the rest of my stuff in my backpack. Yep. It had got the majority of my things inside the bag soaked. My "Catching Fire" (2nd book to the Hunger Games series) book was fine, but my two note books, make-up bag, "Mockingjay" book (3rd book to the Hunger Games series) and purse were soaked. Sighing with frustration, knowing there was nothing I could do about it right now, I hopped on my bike and headed to the Newark Northgate station.

As I arrived at the Newark Northgate station, a train was just departing. To Newcastle. For a moment, I panicked, thinking it was my train, but then quickly realizing that my scheduled train wasn't for another hour yet. I spoke briefly to one of the train staff about what happened at the Newark Castle station, and then he ran through with me the procedure for checking in my bike for the next train, which was a lot different to what I had to do on the previous train. Apparently they had a carriage for just luggage and bikes etc that was separate to the passenger carriages, which was reassuring to the fact that my bike wouldn't be easily at risk of being stolen on each stop.

The journey from Newark Northgate to Newcastle went smoothly, I got off on the platform, retrieved my bike and locked it up safely where a load of other bikes were kept too. Now I had a four hour wait until my next train. The four hour wait had to be spent in the train station too, as the station was closed, and I was locked in. Nothing was open. So I sat in the waiting room on platform three, and read. Read until I was so tired, that the words I was reading on the pages started to make no sense anymore, and my eyes couldn't focus properly. I decided to attempt some sleep for at least a little while. I tried lying down on the seats, but this wasn't easy. Each seat had arm rests, and so I had to slide my legs through them, and yep, not at all comfortable. I think I lasted ten minutes before giving up on the idea. So I tried half lying on a seat and table, and used my bag as a makeshift pillow. This worked for about twenty minutes before I gave up on this idea too. Eventually, a few more trains pulled in the station, and people started to fill the once empty, bar myself, waiting room.

Eventually, two hours since I had arrived passed, which meant the Costa shop was finally open, and I could get coffee and a breakfast roll to wake myself up and obtain the energy to continue reading my books for something to do whilst waiting for the next train which wouldn't be for another two hours.

Four hours finally passed, and I was waiting at the platform with my bike for my next train that was the final stretch to Edinburgh. Again, I popped my bike in its designated carriage with no problem and sat in my designated seat, and drifted in and out of sleep for a little while. The train was quiet, but at each stop, more people got on. I was surprised at this for it being so early in the morning. I had a booth to myself at first. Three out of four chairs vacant with a table. Myself in the occupied fourth seat. About twenty minutes away from Edinburgh, we stopped in Dundee, and three middle-aged women got on, and sat in my remaining three seats of a majoritivley empty carriage. I was a bit annoyed about being boxed in, and having to listen to them natter away whilst I sat isolated and quietly in the corner. So I closed my eyes after smiling awkwardly at them and pretended to be asleep until we arrived in Edinburgh. I probably would have fallen asleep properly if they didn't keep nattering loudly and quickly. Thank goodness this only lasted twenty minutes.

The train eventually pulled up in Edinburgh, and I gathered my things, waiting impatiently for people to move off the train so I could run and fetch my bike from another carriage that was quite far away from the carriage that I was on. One of the train staff people, whatever their official name is, I'm unsure, off loaded my bike for me just as I was approaching the carriage. I thanked him, and wheeled it down the platform towards the exit. It took me a good five or ten minutes to navigate my way out the station, stepping onto a surprisingly busy high street for eight in the morning. I took my surroundings in. Finally! I was in Edinburgh. Now... to hunt down my hostel.

Edinburgh! Here I Come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2voYfe1XJ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player



As always... My train journeys are never smooth and simple!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Oyu3MZRjg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Dramatic Train Journey. Part 2.

This blog may switch from past to present tense as I am half writing it whilst on my train journey, so please bare with me!

After a lovely day with my Mum and Duncs, visiting a falconry centre, eating a hotdog, visiting my friends Mark and Vanessa, and finally dinner, Mum and Duncs were driving me to the train station so I could begin my journey back home to Lincoln.

I told Mum and Duncs that my train would leave the station 5 minutes earlier then it would just to make sure I got there on time. After my farewells at the Banbury train station, I only had a short wait until I would catch my train to Birmingham, and then change there for a train to Nottingham.

Surprise, surprise, I get on a majority quiet train, and coach, to find that my booked seat is sat on already, and not by me. Even though there is a sign above it stating that it is reserved. Every time I book a train journey, my seat always seems to get sat in, even though it is clearly reserved! Dead annoying! Then it is a 50/50 percent chance that when I ask the intruder to vacate my seat, they either do so politely and apologetically, or rudely make a big fuss of it all.

Like my trip down to Banbury. Was fine in terms of people sitting in my seat. The lady was polite so I didn't make her move. I sat next to her instead. No big deal. She was getting off the train after me anyway so it worked out best for the both of us.

So yeah, given the train was almost empty, I was expecting this chap to not cause too much fuss. He looked the type of gentleman that would abide by a certain set of standard customs with grace and respect. So I said to him "Hi there. You are in my seat. But don't worry, I'll sit in the other booth as it is quiet." To which he replied rather sarcastically "I'll move now, just in case it 'gets' busy, I don't want to have to move later." He said this in a doubtful, grumpy manner with an awful attitude I did not care for. I couldn't help feel bloody pump furiously to my face, making my cheeks flush. I was annoyed. How dare he give me that kind of attitude. It was my right to that seat, seeing as I had booked it over a month ago. Like I have ranted before, if you want a particular seat, book it. Like you are supposed to. Don't leave it to chance. I don't moan when I don't book and can't get a decent seat. I take what seats I can get, and quite often on these occasions, I don't get a seat at all.

I'll be travelling to Edinburgh and London soon via train, I better not get these same types of problems! Cuz it is really going to wind me up beyond measure!

I'm beginning to really dislike trains. I mean really dislike them. When I got to Birmingham, I nipped to W H Smiths to get myself a couple of drinks and chocolate bars for the long 4 hour journey. My Grandma had given me a tenner on Saturday when I went for dinner at my cousins Becca's. When I fished in my bag for the tenner, I couldn't find it any where. Swallowing my rage I told the guy at the counter to serve other people whilst I checked all my bags for it. Nope. Nothing. So I had to reduce the drink and chocolate amount to one each as that was all I could afford on my card. Thoroughly embarrassed by the ordeal, I hurried away to wait on my platform.

The train to Nottingham is quiet. But yet AGAIN, there is someone sat in my seat. But in all fairness, no-one has marked it as reserved, and I can't be bothered to move her, so I sit opposite her. Which is a mistake. She keeps coughing. Loudly and really annoyingly. Really looking forward to this journey being over!

Girl coughing loudly, frequently and without covering her mouth, so spreading germs too! Great!

So the final part of my train journey really improved! A lovely old man, 79, boarded the train with his handsome golden lab, 9, called Chubb. Very obedient good dog. I spoke to him and told him he has a beautiful dog, and that I have a golden lab myself, that lives at home with my mother back in Oxfordshire, and we engaged into a conversation about our pets and what they mean to us.

The picture attached to this blog is of Chubb, the 9 year old golden lab. Cute isn't he? My golden lab, a female called Tarka is now 14 an a half years. A very good age for a Labrador dog. You can tell she is old. Most of her hearing is gone, her back legs aren't what they used to be, but she is still very well spirited and still trots along happily and a good walk with her 'sister', Ruby.

It was such a nice change to have a friendly fellow engage in conversation with you. It's not often you get strangers willing to talk to you. People seem to fear too much strangers nowadays, I do understand sometimes for good reason! There are wackos out there, but that is only a small minority. I've noticed this in cities and towns mostly, that people are more reserved. As you know, I grew up in a remote little village. Everybody knows everybody. A new neighbour moves in, everyone rushes to greet and welcome you to the community. It's a shame society now shys away from communicating much with one another. I hope this changes sooner rather than later. We are social beings after all.

Dramatic Train Journey. Part 1

So I am currently travelling down to the Oxo-shire to visit family and for my Mother's birthday. Her birthday is on Monday, but she works weekdays, do visiting the weekend before was the only option.

This morning, my journey began from Lincoln Central train station which would then take me to Sheffield, and then from Sheffield to Banbury, where I would walk to my Dad's house and wait for my Mum or her partner Duncs to pick me up and take me back to Shenington, the village I grew up in before I moved to Lincoln.

The journey from Lincoln Central to Sheffield was basically, I eventful. I was quite content having my nose stuck in the book "The Hunger Games". Yes, that book by Suzanne Collins that a bunch of whinging trolls on the Internet claim to be a direct copy of the graphic novel "Battle Royale". I can't actually judge this myself as I've read neither the graphic novel or seen the film, compared to having seen the film of the "Hunger Games" months ago and now just reading the book. But I digress.

As soon as I step off the train and onto the platform of the Sheffield train station, my instant instinct is to headroom Burger King for some much needed food. I had snacked on some cheese triangles on the way, but I needed something with a little more substance. I checked which platform I needed to be at for the Reading train that would drop me of at Banbury on my way to the fast food shop.

With burger and fries in tow, I retreated to platform 6, where I parked myself on one of the many benches and snacked on my lunch greedily. It was delicious as always, and a little more so after having just haggled a 20% discount when they wouldn't take my vouchers.

The train soon arrived at the platform and I headed straight or coach 'f' and located my seat. As usual, someone was sat in it. But it was no big deal as the seat next to her was available. I asked her where she was getting off, and she explained to me it was the stop after mine, so I told her not to move, as I got off sooner. All was fine.

The train was fairly busy, and this other young, really skinny woman with a baby in tow had sat in several peoples reserved seats. She then struggled to find a seat for herself and her baby, who was in a car carrier. Eventually, she felt she had to air her opinion on the matter. "People just have no consideration these days. No-one will give up their seat for me and my baby. I had the exact same problem when I was heavily pregnant. It's ridiculous."

She made me mad. I held my tongue though. I thought, no, I won't say anything back to her. I'll save it for my blog, and possibly a YouTube video. So my exact thoughts are these. Cheeky cow. She never asked ANYONE on the train to give up their seats. Secondly, if she wanted to guarantee a seat for herself and her baby, she should have booked seats. Like everyone else has to. Just because you have a baby, and couldn't keep your twiglit legs shut, doesn't give you any more superiority to seats on trains. This might be different on a bus. But not a train. I booked and planned my journey over a month ago. Why should I move and be inconvenienced because your flutter brain didn't think to take 5 minutes on a computer to book your tickets?btell me the whole train load of people are inconsiderate? Take a look at your own reflection silly cow.

I'm not being harsh here. It's not the whole story. She did manage to point out in her glorified speech that there were seven spare, unreserved seats available. But singular. So she could have seated her baby if she wanted to, it just meant she would have to stand with the baby, or, stop being a lazy bitch, and take the baby out of the seat carrier and held the baby and tuck the seat carrier away like any other sensible person would do. It's not rocket science. She seemed like the type that probably didn't have any GCSEs though - ok, that was harsh of me. But c'mon!

Her stop was one before mine, and it transpired in the last 10 minutes of her departure off the train, she was intact with her partner, who was in a seat, with a seat spare next to him. So what was stopping HIM giving up his seat, sitting next to someone else, and allowing her to sit in those two free seats with the baby carrier and all?

Really, peoples ignorance and stupidity amaze me.

She left the train still rambling, loudly, on her phone this time, about the train full of people's disrespect for not giving up their seats for her. So I whispered under bated breath, loud enough for those sitting around me to hear, but not loud enough for her to hear "Should have booked a seat then love, just like everyone else has to."

And that be the end of my rant. So apart from a couple of minor dramatic incidents, I got to Banbury no problem. Walked to my Dad's until Mum's partner, Duncs, picked me up and took me to the beautiful village of Shenington. Where I grew up.

Madness in the Meadows

Less then two weeks until I am off to Edinburgh! My train is booked, my hostel is booked! I'm so excited! This will be my first time ever visiting Scotland. Also, my first holiday alone too. As in, no family or friends accompanying me! The people I will meet are people that I've only known via Facebook. It's a lot less dangerous then it sounds. Honest.

So 'Madness in the Meadows' is pretty much the same as 'Summer in the City' But in Edinburgh not London. It will be my first ever YouTube gathering so I am very excited about that too! Finally meeting people with the same interests as me! As in videoing yourself talking to no-one and plastering it all over the Internet.