Something that I love most about the blogging community is the support and friendship that can grow out of the smallest of online interactions. Since coming onto the scene about a year ago, I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with so many awesome people, and am lucky to consider more than a few pretty sweet friends too.
One such lovely lass is the stunning Meg (@megzmoz). As soon as we started talking it was clear that we had so much in common – and so it was only a matter of time until the inevitable happened: worlds collided in an explosion of Fake Ginger, and I made the long trek from London to Sunderland.
It’s no secret that I’m pretty apprehensive about meeting new people – I can get very conscious about how my gender and identity might be perceived by people, and that’s if I actually turn up! Such is the nature of gender fluidity, there’s a very real possibility that my ‘male’ self (@MoreToJack) will turn up to an appointment – fine if you’re expecting it, but maybe a little bit disconcerting if you’re not. I’ll speak some more about this when I finally(!) finish my post from this year’s first London Edge.
Luckily, I needn’t have worried – it was me, Charley, who had awoken that sunny Thursday morning, and after an insanely early start and one too few coffees I stumbled off my train and into the beaming face (and camera!) of Meg. All my apprehension was immediately washed away, and my nerves eased by Meg’s absolutely beautiful smile. It had happened: we’d met!
We didn’t have a particularly solid plan for our day, but fortunately the weather was on our side! After a week of heavy snow and wintry weather, the sun had appeared and we were greeted with a near-cloudless sky, although the chilly March temperatures persisted. One thing that we did want to do though was to have a photo shoot in our matching Missguided star skirts, vibing massively on YouTuber Helen Anderson’s ‘Styling My Twin’ vid. And so, after an amble from the railway station to Meg’s flat, the transformation commenced! I’d arrived ‘bare faced’, for Meg to complete my make-up and hair in exactly the same style a her’s – and didn’t we look cute af?
Meg wanted to show me some of the delights that Sunderland has to offer. I’m no stranger to the North East, but I’ve spent remarkably little time on Wearside so it was nice to be given the grand tour by a ‘knowledgeable local’ (it says here). We headed back into town so I could check into my hotel, and then set out in search of some awesome street art. It didn’t take us long! Right across the street from my hotel was a pretty awesome mural (and we all know that, in Meg’s words, #BitchesLoveMurals) and we spent a little bit of time shooting each other in front of it. If you’ve never seen Meg’s photography you absolutely need to go and check it out! She managed to make me look beautiful – no mean feat! – and I have no doubts that this girl is gonna go on to great things.
Once we’d exhausted all possible photographic angles we set off for our next destination: Roker beach. This little suburb just outside of Sunderland itself is located right on the North Sea, providing some stunning views and, of course, a beach! We took a nice meander through the backstreets and across the Wear, before then romping down the hill to the Promenade and onto the sea front itself. Despite the sunny weather, it was still chilly, and I for one certainly wasn’t wearing enough layers! We sat and watched the world go by for a while, getting to know each other, before continuing on our journey where we stumbled across even more cool Alice in Wonderland-themed street art facing right onto the sea front.
My favourite piece was definitely the stack of tea cups left over from the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. I felt the slightly grungy, dark vibes on a deep level, made all the more apt as I was wearing my awesome Alice in Wonderland bracelet by My Clockwork Castle. We also took the opportunity to get a few snaps of both of us together in our nearly matching outfits, and just generally had a laugh and a great time. Seriously! This girl is the absolute bomb and all of you need her in your life.
But our day wasn’t quite over! I’d been up since 5 and was ravenous – I needed some food! Well… we were by the sea-side, weren’t we? So there was only one possible option…
…CHIPS!
Seriously! Is there anything better than chips (and, obviously, scraps) by the sea with amazing company? I think not.
By this stage we’d also made it to Seaburn, including a brief detour into a local well-known supermarket chain to warm up, and the sun had slowly started to set. With temperatures dropping and poor preparation in terms of outerwear it was time for us to return to our starting point and head back into Sunderland, duly fed and watered and pretty solidly at the conclusion that this was a friendship forged to last!
Sadly, our return to Sunderland also signalled the end of our time together – truly heartbreaking. Like the scene in Doctor Who where Rose and the Tenth Doctor say good-bye, this was our own Parting of the Ways – albeit less glamorous and on a street corner, rather than the far more excitingly-named Dårlig Ulv Stranden (Bad Wolf Bay), aka Dunraven Bay in South Wales. And not before we educated some yoofs about gender either!
Meg truly is one of the most genuinely lovely, bubbly and kind-hearted people you’ll meet – make sure you check out her stuff! And, if you want to witness what we got up to yourself, make sure you go and check out Meg’s video of our adventures – she’s got some amazing make-up skills in particular.
I can’t wait until we get to go on another adventure! Make sure you also check out Meg’s blog and Instagram for all of the amazing content.
https://youtu.be/E1wtGVa3JXo
