The waiting was over. We’d received the notification on January the 1st that we were finalists in the UK Blog Awards 2018. Our category was Parenting and Baby. The nominees had been whittled down to 8 and we were in with a chance. So the only way to find out would be to travel down to London on April 20th and attend the Awards in person.
UK Blog Awards 2018.
Us Hoopers are slightly cynical… OK very cynical. I’ve seen so many award ceremonies where the winners need to pay for a ticket to attend/partake. So, when I researched and found out that this was FREE for the finalists (you paid for your plus ones), I felt happier. This seemed to be genuinely about celebrating blogging versus, making money out of the content creators.
We had a tough choice to make as Cat was at a Brownie Camp weekend that very weekend. So I was to go alone… until I convinced one of our friends to join me. Stephen Coulson had written on our blog before so he is an honourary Hooper for the night.
Getting to the Blog Awards
We’d only just been in London and our go to Hotel is the Travelodge at Park Royal. It isn’t because of the luxury or comfort. We go there purely down to location and price. It is on the Picadilly Tube Line and is literally at the end of the M1. Which makes driving an easy option. Our car is very economical and I’ve estimated our return trip costs £50 in Diesel. Comparing that to the usual family of 4 on the train seems like a bargain. Parking isn’t an issue either. They have plenty of spaces and as the lift is broken are giving free use of the car park to guests.
Marriot Grosvenor Square
The Awards were at the Marriot Grosvenor Square, which wasn’t that far from Park Royal. A change of tube lines and a 5-minute walk got us there. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a bloggers award ceremony and I was slightly overwhelmed with what I found!
The queue of London Cabs was stuck at the entrance pull in as the crowd of selfie-ing bloggers took over the cobbles. I’m partly to blame as I videoed. Everywhere we looked a mobile phone was pointing at its owner from an extended arm.
What is included in the UK Blog Awards?
Upon entry, there was a prosecco reception. I love Prosecco, but I noticed it was heading nearer to the front door the longer we stood. I assumed it was one per person and headed to the bar to buy some lager. The barman questioned, “It’s a cash bar!” “Ermmm… Yeah! Two bottles of lager please!”I was £13 lighter after picking up the 2 bottles of London Lager.
It was only then that I realised, people were getting prosecco top-ups. There were more trays of the stuff around the room. I’m not sure I’ll go into the full details, but it circled around me keeping balanced with a drink in both hands… most of the night.
As we took our seats for the ceremony (and a couple of drinks) there was a programme sitting on the chair lining out the schedule for the awards. I flicked through and spotted our name in the Parenting and Baby Category. It was official, we were now in print.
The winners were announced in a very rapid fashion. There was no time for speeches, just winners collect their awards and on to the next category.
We didn’t win our category though. The Winner was Rainy Day Mum, with Miracle Max being the Highly commended (runner-up). We weren’t really expecting to win. When it comes to Parenting our blog doesn’t really hit deep and meaningful, or currently cover topics of advice or drama. We’re a North East Family of Four that goes out for meals, visit attractions and have a fun time sharing our experiences.
Regardless of not winning, we feel that becoming bloggers has opened up so many opportunities for us. If we hadn’t started this only catalog of family adventures we wouldn’t have met so many new and good friends through blogging. The support and fun we’ve had with our North East Network is amazing and I feel that I should drop a few names her to thank people for their support and advice along the way. Sam (North East Family Fun), Steve (Big Stevie Cool), Chloe (New Girl in Toon), Nyomi ( Nomipalony ) and Katie (Katie Jane Online) stand out as bloggers we meet up with and stay in touch with. These are people we can easily count on if we need a hand or advice and we’re so thankful for their support.
Cue the tears and cut to the closing credits… Or maybe you can watch the vlog I created!
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