A Day at the Races & Kylie Minogue Live!

Saturday was my 22nd birthday and along with some lovely gifts and lots of chocolate cake, my mum and dad took me on a surprise trip to what I thought was a going to be a fancy meal, as I was told to dress up. So off we headed down the motorway, still non-the-wiser as to where we were going, only for us to pull up outside Haydock Park racecourse. At first I was confused but then it all became clear when I was handed my ticket to Harry's Bistro (the fancy meal part of the day) and to see Kylie Minogue sing live later in the evening!

Now it may come as a surprise to some but I've never actually seen anyone sing live before but have always hoped to someday see Kylie as I love her music and her concerts always seem so much fun, so it was a huge shock and of course a surprise that she was playing on my birthday and that my parents got us tickets to see her. So first we headed to Harry's Bistro where we were seated at our table for the rest of the day and asked to choose what we'd like to eat from the menu. Now anyone who knows me well will know that I'm not exactly adventurous when it comes to food, I usually stay safe and opt for a burger or chicken but I decided to have a change and I chose the peppered steak and potato, which I actually thoroughly enjoyed. The came dessert and normally if there's chocolate on ten menu I'll choose that but once again, I opted for something different and went for Eton Mess and I have to say, it really did taste as good as it looked. 

Once the meal was over it was time to place our bets for the upcoming six horse races and having never betted before, I used the skilled tactic of choosing the name/jockey's outfit I liked the best - who really needs to look at the odds anyway!? On reflection, maybe choosing a horse with a 20-1 odds isn't the best idea but it was fun cheering my horses on, despite them coming last in pretty much all of the races. I did however end up winning £70 on one of the races and experiencing the exhilarating feeling that comes with that, as well as the disappointment that comes when your horse runs first all the way round and then gets pipped at the post. But it's all just a bit of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed this whole part of the day. 

The final part of the day and probably the part I was most looking forward to was seeing Kylie Minogue live and she really overtook all expectations I had. After pushing through the crowds (we got a lot closer than in the photo above) we ended up with a great view and could take in the outdoor concert atmosphere while listening to Kylie sing some of my favourite hits and even add in a few unexpected acapella numbers! I thought I'd include a few of the clips I managed to film just for good measure.

I had such a fantastic day, it was filled with things I've never done before and it was such a great surprise, which I'm so so grateful for from my parents. Kylie was fab, I had fun cheering on the horses and the food was yummy, what more could I have asked for? Part two of my birthday outings comes on Tuesday when I'm going to another concert to see Idina Menzel. I've gone from seeing no one live to seeing two people over a few days! Crazy!