Why did I buy a sledge?!

OK so I have already broken first rule of the blog...I didn't actually purchase the sledge. But this was for very good reason!!

As I was walking out the the tube station I noticed a very interesting advert for Decathlon (tube advertising is not pointless...it does still attract consumers attention!).  It was advertising a sledge. In central London.

Yes it has already snowed back home in Scotland, and I have been told on numerous occasions that London does get snow (suuuuuure) but I highly doubt that there is EVER enough snow to sledge in London. EVER. And if by any miraculous turn of events that enough snow does fall in London and it's cold enough to lie without the entire population of Scotland trampling all over it, where do you actually go??  I have yet to see a decent hill in London let alone a large grassy one.  So while in Scotland people have actual snow days where there are physical snowdrifts against your front door and getting to work is impossible, selling sledges in London appears to be as useful as selling flip flops in Antarctica. 

Here is a picture from a BBC article entitled "Heavy snow severe weather warning issued for London"...

And a picture from Scotland, which doesn't even begin to show the time I was snowed in for 3 days. Or had a 6 foot high snowdrift in my street that we built a tunnel through...

So lets be honest. Sledges are not required in London. Do not advertise them....no one needs to buy one!

Why did I buy the X Factor charity single?!

It happens every year. The X Factor finalists release a cover of a big ballad (previous singles have included Hero, You Are Not Alone and Heroes) with the proceeds going to various charities.  They have worked with Help for Heroes and Great Ormond Street Hospital, but it was this year's charity that really encouraged me to buy the charity single this year.

This year's charity is Together for Short Lives, and the VT before the X Factor finalists really struck a chord with me.  The family in the VT had 3 children all suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a horrible condition which causes progressive muscle weakness.  It was horrible to watch a mother describe the pain she will face as she will lose all 3 of her little boys.  It was even more horrible to think that I know someone who will also have to go through this.  My Mum's best friend's little boy also suffers from the condition and I couldn't help but well up. 

So today I bought the single. The actual physical CD.  And not because One Direction are also in the single (I have seen lots of people say that JLS and 1D are on the single to help sell more copies) but because I genuinely wanted to give to such a great charity.  When I got to Tesco and saw that singles now cost £4 I was shocked...I swear they used to be £2 (no wonder single sales are all online now!) but I was happy to pay that knowing that all the money was going to a great charity.

So whatever you think about X Factor, and however much you hate the song, please buy the single.  £4 could help make a child's short life just that little bit better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndsp5BVt2jY

Why did I buy that Easyjet breakfast?

So I flew home today.  This involved getting up at 5am, getting a bus, 2 tubes and a coach (which I only just managed to get on as the driver did not approve of me taking a picture of the booking confirmation instead of printing it).  After arriving at the airport I had to wait to check in (I stupidly forgot to print my boarding pass) and then queue again for 35 minutes for security. After checking my smashed Blackberry was not a bomb and a short speedwalk to the gate, I was on the plane. But I hadn't eaten, and obviously missed out on my leisurely breakfast at Luton airport.  I thought flying was meant to be glamorous?!

As the captain provides some light banter and the cabin crew announce they will shortly be passing through the cabin with a selection of beverages and hot snacks, I weigh up the pros and cons of passing the hour flight with no food or liquid passing my lips. The pros won.

At first I thought I'll just get a drink...8.45am is the perfect time for a Diet Coke. Aaaaa great it's Pepsi Max only..suck it up and deal with it. And minimum card spend is £5? That's a clever one Easyjet! So bacon baguette it is. I'm currently enjoying any opportunity to eat bacon at the moment.  When my local Subway at Aldgate told me they didn't do bacon, only Halal meats, I immediately wanted it. A Halal Subway is a bizarre concept for me, and without offending multicultural London, it's Subway and I love a good BLT.

So I asked for my Pepsi Max and bacon baguette, and then the clever sales strategy was thrown right back in my face..."Would you like to add crisps for only 25p more?"...."Ummm yes, OK. Salted thanks."  I fell right into that one. I didn't even consider my usual "will the passengers next to me think I'm a total fatty?" dilemma. I just thought there is a bargain right there.

I didn't even eat the crisps. They are in my bag upstairs.

In other food related news I had a half fried pizza supper for my tea. I'm at home....and only in Edinburgh do they ask "salt and sauce?" and know not to even ask what colour sauce. Easiest consumer decision ever.

why did i get a blog?!

So, since deciding to do a masters in consumer psychologyat the start of this year, I've become a bit obsessed with social media. I was already an avid Facebook user (you have to be at uni don't you?) and decided to get Twitter. First it was following the celebrities (mostly Made in Chelsea stars....) then I thought I have got Twitter to try get my dream job and get somewhere in London. So I started following fashion PR companies and branding agencies. It was interesting but I was really getting Twitter or how influential it could be!

Then I had a lecture from Matthew Zorpas (@prwonderland) on social media. He scared me when he said fashion PR's need to have 1000 followers to get anywhere....I had around 60. He talked about blogging, and how it can get you places. A few of my friends blogged, Lyndsey Clark (@lyndseyyy) and Carolaine Pino (@carolainepino) so I thought i should jump on the bandwagon. But what to blog about?!

I love fashion, love my vogue subscription and get a little obsessed with who is wearing who, but I'm not the sort of person who wears the latest trends and can tweet great pics of my outfits. I play it far too safe! So as I'm doing a masters in consumer psychology I thought I should stick to what I know. What makes me buy things? Why do i actually spend huge amounts of money (what I believe to be huge amounts considering how much I earn!) on a dress I believe I can only wear in London and not at home in Edinburgh?! So here it is...why did i buy that?!