Weekly Update!

Lentil Moussaka, Clothes Swapping and a Formal Bar Crawl!

This week hasn't been the best social wise, purely as it is the first performance of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest tonight (!) so the rehearsal schedule has been rather demanding. I did get a couple of nights to myself though, so made the most of them.

My mum makes a really nice lentil moussaka, and I was determined to try my hand at it at some point this term, so chose Tuesday. I got a recipe off the internet, and combined it with my mum's in the hope of making it even better. I made it for my boyfriend and I, and it scored highly (he even went for seconds, which considering he is a serious carnivore, means it must be a success!).

We had to eat quite quickly as there was a Clothes Swap on at the Duke's Theatre, which I'd given some clothes in for, so wanted to get there before all the good stuff had gone! It is a really good idea; you take in upto five items

of clothing that you no longer want during the day, and get given tokens in exchange. You then return in the evening, where everything has been hung up and put onto rails, and you use the tokens to'buy' new things. It is all completely free, and I got a couple of formal dresses, a Gap shirt and a nice baggy jumper out of it, all in exchange for a few boring t shirts!

After rehearsal on Wednesday I popped round to my friend's house for a catch up which was nice and on Thursday I opened my house up for my friend Timna to make a secret birthday cake. It was my old flatmate Joe's 21st on Friday, so it was in aid of that, and was great as it meant I got to eat the leftovers!

On Friday we had all been invited out to do a bar crawl for Joe's birthday, and it was formal wear themed, so my new dress came in handy! Some sneaky adjustments and it looked perfect, and I was very happy with how it turned out. We went to The Borough, The Dalton Rooms (I had never been in there before and it was lovely, a

nd I had a gorgeous cocktail!) 1725, The Merchants, The Robert Gillow, The John O' Gaunt, Wetherspoons and The Friary. We stayed in The Friary until we were basically chucked out, by which point we were all very much worse for wear and craving our beds. Especially me, as I had rehearsals at 12pm yesterday! They went well though, and I am looking forward to performing this evening, despite having a stinking cold. Break a leg fellow thespians!

Novel In Progress...

Q - Part 3

Cleo glanced at the clock; she’d always liked it as the hands were shaped like cutlery. She had ten minutes before her mum got in from work; normally she’d have set off for the café by now to avoid her return. The microwave trilled and she took out the flimsy tray, its sides bending slightly at her touch. The pain from the heat was delayed, and she enjoyed the sensation of the burning plastic on her fingertips. Peeling back the cellophane, she opened the back door of the house with one hand and poured the macaroni down the drain, being careful not to spill any of the lumpy sauce onto the spotless patio. She left the empty container on the work surface and grabbed her bag from the floor.

“Hello, anybody home? Tricia messed up the appointment book so I’m a little early.” Cleo turned her back to the door as her mum entered. “Cleo, why must you insist on wearing those awful boots? They look so crude next to your little legs. Oh, while I remember, I noticed that the dress I bought you for Christmas got muddled up with the things for the charity bag, so I put it back in your wardrobe, I can’t wait to see you all dressed up for Gabrielle’s party. When did Mr Bennett say it was again?”

“It was last Friday” Cleo said.

“Oh, well it’s a shame I didn’t get to take any photographs of you. By the way, I’m having dinner with a client tonight, so you can sort yourself out can’t you? Your dad won’t be home until gone nine and then I thought tomorrow we could all…”

“I’ve already eaten.” She moved so her mum could see the empty packaging.

Keeping her eyes on her boots, Cleo walked into the hallway, her footsteps echoing on the wooden floor. She unlatched the door, relishing her mother’s voice gradually disappearing behind her as the door shut.

She arrived at the café at just gone ten past three, so the surge of people on their way home from school and work were yet to arrive. There was a young man she hadn’t seen before sat at her usual table. She considered leaving altogether, as it was a place she had specifically chosen so as to remain inconspicuous. With a sense of bravery, she opted for one in the opposite corner, next to the fire exit, which meant her face was visible from the serving counter. Fishing her purse out of her bag she went up to order, feeling conscious that she wouldn’t be able to hide her expressions while she drank. A black coffee was already there waiting. She felt taken aback at this assertion, and plucked up the courage to retaliate.

Autumn Views...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1- 3 stars ***

Last Saturday I ventured to see the latest instalment in the Harry Potter saga. Given that it is a hugely popular series, I was glad that I got to see it so quickly, before other peoples' opinions began to taint my view of it.

As a whole, I was pleasantly surprised. Over the years the constantly changing directors and styles have been a bit of a scattered bunch in terms of quality, but this time it really hit the mark. Obviously now that a lot of the 'child' actors in it have been in the film industry for a while, they are reaching a point where they are no longer cringeworthy to watch which made it much less of a task to view. In fact, much as I bare a grudge towards her, Emma Watson really shone in the role of Hermione; the section where she erases her parents was quite heartbreaking.

This was definitely the darkest film so far, I certainly wouldn't take any children I know to see it! Voldemort has always been frightening, but he was nothing compared to watching Bathilda Bagshot splitting in half to reveal a snake inside! To be fair, the books do get increasingly more dramatic and scary, so it is only fitting that the films do so as well, and it was done tastefully. The alternative aspect was continued through the use of an animé style cartoon to depict the story of 'The Three Brothers', which though very unexpected, was actually pretty effective at getting the information required out there in an entertaining way.

There were some bits that grated on me though. All of the slightly risqué scenes still came across as forced, in particular the one involving Harry and Hermione in a passionate clinch, which was overly computerised and awkward to watch. There was an unnecessary scene where Harry was shown in various stages of undress, which when he has quite a pale hairy body just made me feel grossed out!

Probably the main problem for me was the excessive padding out of the story. This was obviously done in order to create two feature length films, but I personally think one longer than average film of maybe three hours would have been much better (and not left the whole country in suspense for eight months!).

I would definitely recommend this, especially if you have seen any of the other films as it is one of the better in the bunch. The scenery is all beautiful as well, so even just for the pans of Scottish countryside, go see it!

Weekly Update!

Spar, Friary Food and Fashion Soc Fun!

This week was my reading week, so the beginning of it was spent at home in Cheshire. I thought I'd make the most of my spare time and so offered to do a couple of shifts at work, which earnt me a nice seventy odd quid (which I seriously needed!). It was nice to see all the familiar faces again; Don, (who gives me Lindor chocolates if I give him his change in fifty pence pieces) Phil who is the real life Frank Gallagher and John who tells the same joke every time he comes in are particular favourites.

I headed back to Lancaster on Wednesday, and barely had time to drop my bag off at my house before I was on a bus back into town for a Cuckoo rehearsal at the Sugarhouse. It was good to finally see the space we would be performing in, and although we didn't have time for a proper run through, we at least got to work out our entrances, exits and other fiddly bits, so I was slightly less nervous afterwards. The whole cast (or most of us) went for food at the Friary once we'd finished, and it was much appreciated after a long day with nothing to eat! I had the 'smothered chicken' which was a chicken breast topped with cheese and bacon, served with chips and peas- yum!

Thursday and Friday passed in a blur; but involved the gym, a LOT of creative writing, and a lovely evening in with the boyfriend (a very tasty chilli also featured). On Saturday I managed to cram a whole lot of stuff in, which meant a 7.30am wakeup despite a 2am bedtime the previous night. I did a photoshoot in the morning with three other girls for Tattered Lace, our Fashion Society's magazine that was a lot of fun. Luckily the makeup was in abundance, so I managed to make myself appear awake. Graham Binns, a local photographer, took the shots in Pendle Bar as our original location was double booked, but he used a backdrop so it didn't make much difference. We had a winter theme; so brought out the fur coats, heeled boots and pale makeup (with glittery eyes of course; can't have it too boring!) and I'm so excited to get the edited pictures back!

In the afternoon I went to the Friary again for food (shhh, it's two meals for £6) and then saw Harry Potter with my boyfriend and a couple of my old flatmates (review to follow next week). In the evening was our next LUFS social. We pre drank at our social sec's house again before heading to Sugarhouse for a good ol' boogie. This time we didn't impose a fancy dress code like previous nights out, so it was good to see everyone's individual style. It was an awesome night, filled with giggles, hilarious stories and many drinks, and we even got free entry and queue jump- the perks of being in a society!

Inspired by tradition

Rhymes for the Cynical

Little Miss Muffet who sat on her tuffet

eating her curds and whey;

didn’t she have anything better to do

than chomping on food all day?

And Humpty Dumpty who sat on that wall,

why not use a chair?

Why did the King send his horses and men?

It’s clearly a doctor’s affair.

When Jack and Jill went up that hill

and poor Jack broke his crown;

why did young Jill follow him there?

She knew she’d come tumbling down.

The Three Blind Mice that ran around

chasing the farmer’s wife;

why complain at a lack of a tail?

At least you have your life.

Poor Mary with that little lamb

constantly at her flank,

if that were me I’d cook it up -

I love a good lamb shank.

So while as kids we sang these songs,

as adults we just laugh.

Huge spiders, blind mice, eggs that speak?

It’s really rather daft!

Autumn Reads...

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters- 5 stars *****

This was another course book, but unlike The Butcher Boy, I enjoyed this from the beginning and actually wanted to read on. What I particularly enjoyed was how the author created lots of different characters, and flitted between their stories, which eventually all interwined. This was successful as the link between each character was often very subtle and unexpected, so there were certain parts that genuinely shocked me.

It made a nice change that a book set in wartime didn't go into great detail about the actual war, as I find that this often bogs down a piece and diverges from the main plot. The focus was more on how the war affected each character, which I found interesting as it added much more dimension to them.

The style that the book was written in was lovely, I really like figurative prose and lots of description, and this was in abundance in The Night Watch (I had picked out two pages containing extracts I particularly enjoyed, but since I have now given the library book back, I don't have access to them!)

A technique I have not come across before was employed by Sarah Waters in this novel. The story begins in 1947, but then backtracks to 1944 and then 1941, so by the end although for the reader all the characters have become enmeshed, some of them have yet to meet in the time sense of things. I found this fascinating, as the suspense is still just as gripping despite us wanting to find out what happened to begin with, as opposed to what will occur next.

Although this book is set in World War II, the subject topics seemed like those often touched upon in more modern novels; lesbianism, abortion and suicide, so I really liked hearing about these issues within a different era, as I felt like I learnt things that I didn't know before, which I believe is always a good thing when reading. Unless you are a die-hard fantasy book reader,
or massively into sci-fi, I really think The Night Watch has the potential to be enjoyed by anyone, as there are so many different viewpoints and plotlines that it can affect a large number of different audiences.

Weekly Update!

A theatre social, Paris plans and home!

This week had a nice mix of events to keep me entertained. Monday was the second social with the cast of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, so after rehearsals we went to the lead's house for drinks and frivolities. I didn't intend to stay too late as I had a 9am seminar on Tuesday, yet still found myself stumbling home at 2am having had to down the offending mix of alcohol in a game of King's Cup!

On Tuesday I made a tasty meal of cheesy cauliflower and leek with beef and cheese burgers, and my boyfriend brought round a lovely bottle of red wine, which was a welcome change from a microwaved readymeal and a cup of tea! On Wednesday we went to the cinema to see Burke and Hare, which was really good (see previous post).

Thursday saw another LUFS meeting, this time held in Mint cocktail bar, who are sponsoring us for the year. We got buy one get one free on house cocktails, amongst other offers, so while discussing exciting plans such as a trip to Paris in April, and our formal Christmas meal at Merchants, I sipped on a variety of scrummy cocktails, yet still managed to catch a bus home due to the 8pm start!

Friday was my final day in Lancaster before heading home for five days, so I wanted the chance to have a night out with my friends. Our college had an event on where it was the aim to spend nine minutes in each of the nine campus bars therefore having nine drinks; a 999 night, continuing the theme wearing emergency services fancy dress. We, however, thought this seemed a pretty silly premise, purely because we didn't want to have to down drinks and race across campus, but decided to do a crawl of the bars anyway. We didn't do them all as we met some friends who were already halfway around, but we managed to get a few in before heading off for a night in the Sugarhouse as always.

Days Out...

Manchester, LUFS Style!
Today has been marked in my calendar for a few weeks, as the day that Lancaster University Fashion Society would hit Manchester for a day of quality shopping as opposed to traipsing around the disappointing shops that form Lancaster city centre. Most of the group got an early train, but I met them all slightly later outside Primark. After a quick dash around inside resulting in a new pair of black studded flats (greatly needed) we headed onto the main high street.Despite a sale in Miss Selfridge, there was nothing within my price range that caught my eye, so we 'popped' into H and M. It is one of my personal favourite shops, as it has elegant evening wear, a huge range of accessories and a permanently quirky young trend section; as well as being very reasonably priced. It appears that I'm not the only one who has a loyalty to the store though, as we spent nearly an hour in there! I got a fabulous black leather shift dress for just £15 that fits perfectly, I'm so excited to wear it! A couple of the other girls got things as well, including two who bought the same pale pink silk dress, that I very nearly succumbed to myself; it was a bargain at only £10!

At this point we were all a bit peckish, so decided to go to Pizza Hut for lunch. En route we stopped for a flit around Urban Outfitters, which is one of those shops that I both adore and resent at the same time. The displays are always so eye catching and I love the homeware and the coffee table book collection that is always out to have a flick through. However, I just can't except the extortionate prices of the place. I understand that the individual designer pieces are always going to be extravagantly priced, but when a pair of cut off jean shorts with a little flower patch on them are £40, and a (not real) gold pocket watch is £25, I just can't take it seriously. It just looks like a charity shop collection adjusted for a market that don't want to admit that an old lady has worn it before them. Just because it's four times the price, doesn't erase an item's past. Besides, I thought that was the beauty of vintage anyway?

Pizza Hut was decked out in Christmas gear already, which I loved as I'm such a sucker for this time of year! Being able to eat a steaming Farmhouse pizza (ham and mushroom) whilst sat next to a Christmas tree covered in twinkly lights and watch as the winter evening drew nearer was simply gorgeous.

After our late lunch we went around River Island, Topshop and New Look, but by then I'd also spent £12.50 on a new MAC lipstick (Myth- I swear by it) so had to be satisfied with window shopping. We then split up as I had a train to catch. I snuck into Afflecks to buy a new tongue bar (again much needed) and made it back to the station in time to collect my bag from storage and hop on my local train to go home for part of my reading week. If only it was a reading week that I could spend doing nothing...

Autumn Views...

Burke and Hare- 3 stars ***

Last February my boyfriend and I went to Edinburgh for a weekend; and whilst there we visited the Edinburgh Dungeons. The story of graverobbers Burke and Hare was featured in the attraction, so when we heard that a film was being made about them, we were keen to see it once it was released.

The first thing I noticed about the film, was the huge amount of cameos throughout it, which made watching it like playing Guess Who. Some of my favourites were Ronnie Corbett as self-important Captain McLintock and Paul Whitehouse as a random drunkard (not a far cry from a certain Fast Show sketch...) but Bill Bailey, Tim Curry, Christopher Lee and Stephen Merchant all cropped up at various points, proving that it really was an 'all star cast'.

The plot wasn't overly complicated, but then that set up the comedic aspects of it well, as people wern't expecting it to have moral messages or heartfelt relationships and could just enjoy it for what it was: a lighthearted comedy with some classic slapstick thrown in for good measure. I also really liked how the whole cast attempted to do Scottish accents, even if some were very shaky. It always surprises me that films set in certain regional areas often ignore this obvious key to making the performances more credible, so I admired the effort.

Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis (Gollum from LOTR) played the famous duo of Burke and Hare, and I thought they did the parts huge justice. Serkis as William Hare was brilliant, encouraging Burke to continue in their escapades with no second thoughts, together with his wife Lucky (Jessica Hynes). Pegg as Burke had a much more sensitive side to him, falling for a girl (Isla Fisher) and always feeling guilty for the deeds that the pair get up to. Together, they are hopelessly unlucky, clumsy, unreliable and incompetent; which makes for interesting viewing!

The set and costumes I adored, as Edinburgh has some beautiful scenery, and I love the attention to detail with the fashion of the era; corsets, lace, hats and buckled boots- I'd be in my element living in the 19th century!

I would recommend this to anyone who wants an easy going film that will leave you feeling like you haven't wasted your money (a rarity in the cinema these days). It may not go down in the books of history, or win lots of Oscars, but I think it showcases British talent well, and is definately worth a watch.

Nights Out...

Lancaster Fireworks
After Friday's night out, most of my friends left for home (after they'd had a full English brekky obviously!) but one of my friends had decided to stay an extra night so we could have a proper catch up. We lounged around in pyjamas until around four, and then finally decided to do at least one thing productive on our Saturday. We headed into town and met some others before walking to Ryelands park where there was a funfair advertised.

Well, it was a funfair, thing is it was very small, very muddy and very busy. So after about ten minutes there we decided to trek back into Lancaster and just go for a drink before watching the fireworks. Given that Ryelands park is over the bridge, we went to the Three Mariners for our drink, seen as it was close. My friend and I were on pints of Coca Cola after how drunk we were on Friday, but it was nice just to sit in a cosy pub and have a natter. They had a hog roast on outside as well, so the smells wafting in were lovely!

We left at about half seven, as the fireworks were due to start at eight, and we didn't want to be on the edges of the crowd (it kept us warm being in the middle as well!). Despite this being my third year at university, I've never actually watched the fireworks in Lancaster, so I was quite excited. They didn't disappoint. They lasted nearly twenty five minutes, and had a good variety of different ones; which considering it is completely free to watch I thought was brilliant.

After the fireworks were over, our group split up and my friend and I headed to Verdes, the cheap and cheerful Italian restaurant on the high street. It must be the fifth time I've been, yet I'm still not bored of the Capricciosa pizza- it is divine! We then wandered back (slowly after how full we were!) and watched a film before hitting the sack. A great lazy Saturday!

Weekly Update!

A candied up Carleton and another 21st!
This week has been mental. Seriously, my diary looks like a novel the amount that has been scribbled in it over the past seven days. That's not to say that it hasn't been awesome; just that in terms of progress on work/ dissertation, well, there wasn't any. But hey ho!

After my lovely meal on Tuesday (see previous post) Wednesday was pretty manic. My dad decided upon the most awkward day to come and visit for the night with his friend to do a bar crawl, and I thought it would be rude not to take advantage of a few free drinks and lunch. I met them both in The Park pub at about 1.30pm, but skipped a drink as I arrived when they had basically finished theirs. From there we went to the Water Witch, which I had never been to before, despite hearing good things about it. It is lovely inside, very cosy yet contemporary, and they happened to have an ale festival on this week, so my dad was very happy! After one in there, we went to the Penny Bank, another first visit for me. We ordered some food, and I was hugely impressed with it. I had a massive prawn marie rose baguette, and my dad had steak and ale on chips; the pair coming to less than ten pounds (£8.50).
It was getting towards half three so I skipped off into town to pick up a few things before going to rehearsals. I left early so that I had time to get ready for my social that night with LUFS. The theme was 'California Girls', and I went all out with my costume; with a marshmallow belt and necklace, ice creams on my skirt and pastel shades of makeup. Everyone who came put in so much effort and looked amazing! We predrank at our social secretary's house and then got a minibus to the (usually dreaded) Carleton. I am not a massive fan of alcopops or cheesy music, so normally don't get on with the place, but it proved that it's not where you are but who you're with that makes the night, as I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The majority of Thursday was spent in bed, although I did cram in a cheeky gym session in the afternoon, which I was very proud of. Friday saw an early start to prepare for my friend Charlotte's 21st, as I had offered up my house so there would be much more space for gallavanting in the evening, and also more beds for friends from home to stay. I spent my day making lots of cakes and decorating them with different toppings, putting up banners, blowing up balloons and generally prettifying my house ready for the crowd to descend. It was awesome to see lots of my friends from home, especially as some I hadn't seen for nearly three months!

It was probably the most people I've had in my house at once, but everyone seemed to have a great time, and the cakes got a good writeup. We headed to Sugar in different groups as some people had guestlist places, and partied the night away!

New Tastes...

Quite Simply Food, Lancaster

This evening, my boyfriend and I headed to Quite Simply Food in Lancaster for a meal out. We visited Quite Simply French, its sister restaurant, for my birthday last June and it was fantastic, so thought we'd sample the English equivalent.

The restaurant has a lovely ambience when you walk in; low lighting, plush sofas and inviting colours on the walls, it is hard to imagine that it is a simple cafe and deli during the day. We went quite early to take advantage of an offer that is available during the week where you pay different amounts for a main course depending on the time you order it (at 6pm it's £6, 6.30pm it's £6.50 etc) which considering the main courses are normally £11 a go, is a really reasonable deal.

As we were saving money on the main course, we decided to have a starter to begin with, and both chose the fishcake. It was served with a little salad with balsamic vinegar, and was absolutely gorgeous. You could tell that the fish was good quality, as it melted in the mouth and was deliciously fresh, and there were bits of pepper and onion in it that complimented the flavour well. For the main course, I had the beef bourguignon, while my boyfriend opted for the monkfish cheeks. My dish had huge chunks of steak in it, in a lovely mushroomy bourguignon sauce, and the portion was a very healthy size! I was quite dubious about the monkfish, as I have had it before and not enjoyed it, but it was cooked to perfection. The main courses don't come with any side dishes unless specified on the menu, but as we both had starters, it was ample food to fill us up.

Being a fan of desserts, and spotting the long menu, I pushed the boat out and had a third course. I got the almond creme brulee, a personal favourite, and the french roots behind the restaurant were apparent in the dish, as it was very traditionally made. I love hearing the crack on breaking through the caramelised sugar coating!

Overall I couldn't recommend this restaurant highly enough. Not only does it have a good variety of food, but there are a number of different offers available throughout the week, so there really is something for every budget. The service is timed exactly right so you don't feel rushed, but are not sat around hungry waiting to be served. The only thing I would say is that alcoholic drinks are quite pricey, but then it's not the kind of place you would go to get hammered. A small glass of wine is around £4.50, which easily lasted me for my meal, and you can tell that they have chosen to serve quality wines rather than compromise to make it cheaper. I shall be returning at some point I'm sure!