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Thursday 27 August 2015

Summer in the City 2015

I was so fortunate again this year, after 2 years of this tradition, to attend 'Summer in the City' - the biggest Youtube convention in London. This time, I went with my best friend Libby (libbyjade26.blogspot.com - her blog is brilliant, you should check it out) and that was it. Just the two of us against the world. She had some internet friends that she knew beforehand, but I didn't know them yet.

The main thing that I have learnt this weekend is that the Youtube community is wonderful. There were people of so many ages with so many differences but one similar interest, and yet it was so easy to become friends with anyone. My favourite thing to do was to look around at everyone around me and just think about how diverse everyone was - tall, short, female, male, transgender, straight, gay, bi, lesbian, musically talented, magicians, gamers, and so many different hair colours! Every single person that I spoke to was so lovely and I'm glad that I have made some new lifelong (hopefully) friends.

Another thing that I realised is how much I love 'smaller' youtubers. By this, I mean like those with less subscribers than I feel like they should have. I would like to mention some of my favourites here, in the hope that you can agree with me or find some new people to subscribe to!

1) Carrie Hope Fletcher, itswaypastmybedtime

Granted that she's not a 'small youtuber', she is also an actress (performing as Eponine in Les Mis) and an author ('All I Know Now' and 'On The Other Side'). When I met her, she was waiting for somebody to pick up her call and, once she saw that we wanted to chat to her, instantly put her phone away and spoke to us for a long time. She gave me great advice, had a laugh with me and made me feel like we were on the same wavelength. I love her so much, she is like my honorary big sister and I feel like, whilst she has recognition for her performances and videos, she needs more recognition for her genuine kind heart, warm nature and friendliness. I am so thankful for her!

2) Dodie Clark, doddleoddle

Let me tell you, Dodie Clark is the most amazing performer. Known for strumming on her lovely ukulele, she has a bubbly personality, bursting with sweetness and excitement. Her videos consistently make me grin and she gives great hugs. Over the weekend, she stood and met so many people whilst also performing, participating in insightful panels (which I was lucky enough to go and watch) and also sold lots of merchandise, which was sadly sold out when I went to pick up the tote bag! At the end of the Sunday, she stood by this fairground ride and did not move until she met every single person who hadn't met her and had a quick chat and a photo with everyone. I respect her so much and my heart weeps when I hear her music (and my eyes, WOW I was bawling during her live performance of 'One for the Road'!)

3) Jenny, thatjennybee

I have only recently discovered this little gem of a channel, containing short, quirky videos about Jenny's life and stuff. I went over for a chat on the Sunday of SitC and we stood for ages whilst she gave me brilliant life advice, we had a laugh together and really cute pictures! Such a genuinely lovely sunshine of a person - I think that's the best way that I can describe her. 

4) Chloe, scarfdemon

Chloe does really amazing things for a charity called 'Save the Children', which is a brilliant charity that does wonderful things. Her short but sweet vlogs are entertaining, educational, enjoyable and heart-warming. Her recent series in which she read diary entries from her younger self was so insightful and whilst it made me chuckle at times, it made me feel better for thinking and acting the way that I did when I was 16. Chloe made a video about Polycystic Ovaries, which is something that I deal with and made me feel like I wasn't alone. When I told Chloe about this blog, she seemed to love the sound of it and even wrote down the address to look at later. That made me squeal!

5) Daniel J Layton, actor

All round hilarious man, Daniel J Layton actor (full name, obviously) is an aspiring west end actor who shares the realities of the industry and also created comedic anecdotes in vlog form. He had a chat with every single person that he met and wasn't weirded out by Libby and I stroking his cardigan. He is so kind, gentle and very funny. His 'Baking with Layton' series makes me laugh until I cry and motivates me to start creating youtube videos purely so that I can feature as a guest in the series.

6) Lucy and Lydia, beauty gurus

These twins are the most beautiful girls that I have ever seen in the flesh. Their make up is always flawless and fashion senses are so good! That's not the most important thing that I wanted to tell you all though. I wanted to explain that they spoke to every single person and had a proper conversation filled with laughter and hugs. Their meet up that I went to was accidental, though they were kept out of that green room for a long time due to not only the amount of people who wanted to meet them, but the engagement that they had with every single viewer. I completely respect these two gorgeous youtubers and bloggers.

I could probably talk about so many more people that I met but I wouldn't want to keep you reading forever! I loved meeting every single person that I spoke to, regardless of how many subscribers they had. Everyone was so kind-hearted and I made so many new friends out of this weekend. If you ever feel like you are sitting on the fence trying to decide whether or not to go to a youtube convention, you should definitely do it! If you go with the mindset of wanting to meet everyone, then you may be met with a huge feeling of disappointment. But going to the panels, watching the mainstage and even meeting other people with the same interests as you are all amazing aspects of the weekend that cannot be missed. 

-LF, LR and MG
xxx

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