The Brits are the Oscars of the music world – if the Oscars was more dressed down, more drunk and more fun in general. When Universal Music Ireland asked me if I’d like to attend this year’s Brit Awards as their guest, I was tickled pink! Eh, yes please!
We flew to London on Wednesday and checked into the Dorsett Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush (I talk about these places as if I have a clue where they are – in reality I followed the lead and generally went where I was told).
The easiest way to get to the 02 was by the Tube – hopping on at Shepherd’s Bush and changing at Bond Street. The Tube stopped right outside the 02 and the excitement was electric when we got there! That's me in the middle with Amy and Caroline from Universal Music Ireland. 
We were greeted with glasses of Prosecco and shown to our table, and food was laid on almost immediately (weird but tasty vegetarian starter – honestly couldn’t tell you what I was eating. Lamb for mains, and a sherbetty dessert all served with a load of wine).
The celebs were filing in in their droves – it’s very easy to spot them because whether male or female, they’re all very, very tiny and very, very skinny. The first one I saw was James Bay bobbing around, looking all pale in his little hat. On a bathroom break, I passed Ronnie Wood (looking a bit worn out if I’m honest) and surrounded by an entourage of around 8 people.
The show kicked off with Ant and Dec introducing the Brit Awards from the autocue AT OUR TABLE! See?
I can categorically state here and now that I, at 5’2” am a great deal taller than Dec (the one on the right).A great deal taller.
Coldplay kicked off the performances with Hymn for the Weekend – the Brits had officially begun. At this point, tweeting/snapchatting became almost impossible as the networks were jammed but maybe that wasn’t the worst thing because I actually watched the awards with my eyes.
It was phenomenal! Adele was up and down from the stage all night, collecting her three awards. She was so close to our table and I kept thinking, I’ll go over now. It didn’t feel right though, during the awards, so I said I’d wait until after – but after her massive performance of When We Were Young, she left. I’m still kicking myself! 
James Bay (the aforementioned hat-wearer) won Best British Male Solo artist and because his table was so close to ours, we could see his parents almost in tears with pride, which was lovely. He also rocked a great performance of Hold Back The River and it looked like they may actually burst.
At one point, there was a really little girl standing with her back to me, wearing a Fairy Princess dress, with her hair all done up and I thought, awww...that must be someone’s daughter – until she turned around and I saw that it was Cheryl Fernandez Versini, née Cole, née Tweedy.
I yelped because it was Cheryl and also because the outfit was so, um, interesting. You could put her in your pocket. And Dec from Ant and Dec in the other pocket. I'm not sure if this photo does her outfit (mal) justice but this is what it was:
Because we were sitting at Universal Music Ireland’s table, there were a range of people across other stations with us, a lovely mix of craic. I was seated beside Nicky Byrne and after a few glasses of wine, confessed that my first email account user-name was ILoveWestlife1985 - and got the appropriate amount of slagging from the group for that.
The table was so much fun, which added to the already-amazing night I was having. The piece de resistance though, was when Nicky (him off Westlife) was chatting to Liam Payne and I thought, it’s now or never. I love 1D and Liam is my favourite and yes I am 30 and not 13. Nicky was brilliant and even took the photo for me! Sound!
After the awards finished, we all headed to the Universal Music after-party, and the first person I spotted was Brooklyn Beckham - he was lovely and smiley when I asked him for a selfie. I felt like a bit of a creep after that actually, so put the phone away for a while. Jamie Redknapp was there, as was Diplo and Nick Grimshaw, who were DJ’ing. It was brilliant!
The absolute best night of my life – I went back to the hotel with sore feet and a happy head (til my phone rang 3 hours later for a phone-in with Ian and I realised I sounded like Ronnie Drew. But he didn’t mind) :-)
I arrived back in Dublin, thanking the baby Jesus that I live right by the airport, but in general feeling only delighted with myself even though I was in an absolute jocker. 
