Review - Scaramanga satchel & accessories

With September slowly creeping up on us, I thought it would be the perfect time to start looking for a new University bag.

As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I absolutely love the bags provided by Scaramanga and was very excited when they sent me a few of their products to sample.

As soon as you open the package, you can already smell that beautiful leather scent - so you can already tell that the quality of the items.

The first item I received was this beautiful leather satchel, made with the finest distressed leather. With a sterdy strap, and an authentic satchel feel, I am totally in love with this bag!

With a front pockets with three buckles, the bag looks absolutely gorgeous and gives you that 'official' or 'I mean business' look that us student journalists crave.

The Satchel
£80

The bag itself is of a good size, and I'm fairly sure will be able to carry all the heavy textbooks that university will throw at me (darn it!). 

The front of the bag

 As well as being completely in love with the bag, I am obsessed with the protective covers that it came with! These beautiful Asian-patterned bags are gorgeous within itself, and are great for storing your bag when not in use.

 I was also very lucky to receive a few bonus items and, I can honestly say, these are going to get alot of use. Below there is; a pencil case, a little notepad, a keyring coin holder, a suitcase tag and 3 little purses. They are all absolutely adoreable and are all made from the leather. What more could you want?

All of these items are very affordable, and for the quality you will recieve, seem to me more like a bargain!

If you haven't already, go and visit the Scaramanga website - not only do they sell gorgeous bags, they also sell furniture, notepads and jewellery! Something that I will be investing in very soon.

What qualities do you like in a satchel?

Festival Review: Y Not

With the wellies at the ready – and a promise of wet weather, I had high expectations for the Y Not festival. As the crowds arrived, anticipation about the weekend ahead grew and the excitement soon filled the site.

With this being said, no one would never have expected an evacuation on the first night.

In the midst of watching the performance from Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip on the Friday night, the crowd are told to return to their tents due to the adverse lightning. Surely a first for Y Not?

However, this did not effect the quality of the performance as, after a short half an hour, the duo came back onstage to finish the set. He later went on the ‘rowdy-a**’ crowd'. Not even a spot of unpleasant weather can dampen the spirits of the festival-goers.

Y Not, situated in the Derbyshire Dales, showcased a range of music genres that would satisfy the pickiest of people – from classic rock to dubstep, the festival had it all.

Reaching its eighth birthday, Y Not pulled out the big stops as The Horrors, The Cribs and The Darkness headlined the festival – promising great things.

These wishes were certainly fulfilled as all three bands pulled out great shows – driving the crowds wild and definitely making the festival what it is.

The Darkness closed the festival on Sunday night and gave the crowd a performance to remember. Crowd surfing and banter about their ‘cutting edge’ logo brought a comedic approach to the show which, compared to The Cribs and The Horrors, was fairly unique.

The eccentric personality of Justin Hawkins, lead singer of The Darkness, created an electric atmosphere in the crowd as he made full use of the stage. He later tweeted about how he could not wait to return to the Midlands.

The festival, known for using up and coming bands, brought alternative rock band The 1975 to Derbyshire. The growing band managed to bring an audience so big that it overfilled out of the tent – with the crowd happily singing along with the band. This can only mean great things for the band.

The only criticism I have of the music itself at the festival is the lack of female artists on the main stage. I know the majority of males in the alternative rock industry compared to females is higher but I couldn’t help but find it old. Maybe it’s just me being feminist.

Overall, the festival exceeded the expectations set by the typical local festival and has raised the game for 2014. Can it be beaten next year? We’ll have to see.

Tickets for Y Not 2014 are on sale now at this year’s prices.