Weekly Update!

Breakups, Morrissey & Hungover Flying!

This week has been pretty stressful to be honest - after work on Monday I went to Lydia's for a chat as I needed talking to! On Tuesday I broke up with Sam, which was horrible but definitely for the best. We are still going away to Turkey together which could be interesting; but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

On Wednesday I babysat until half eight and then went to see the Dark Knight Rises (see next post) with Lydia, Tasha and Abi which was really good - although it finished at nearly 1am! On Thursday after work I went into Hale for a few drinks which was nice. We started in Hogans, but there was an event on that made us feel like spare parts so we quickly moved on to the American Bar after one. We only stayed until midnight as we had work the next morning, but Lydia came round to mine afterwards and we shared a bottle of wine, so it wasn't as early a night after all!

On Friday I had my nails done and prepped ready for my holiday on Sunday. It was my last day at work so I said goodbye to Aum and then drove home to get packing! My bag was 2kgs over, but I chanced it as I couldn't cut anything else out! 

I worked at the pub on Saturday, and then went into Manchester to see Morrissey, as I had got free tickets from my dad's friend Phil. I took my ex Chris and his friend Jess, which wasn't my best choice in hindsight, but the gig was great and I met up with Mike, Benn and Grey from Beni afterwards (after a wild goose chase!) so I ended up having a really good night.

The following day I was rather worse for wear, so spent the day sleeping before grabbing a shower and having a roast dinner ready for my flight to Tenerife. It wasn't until 7.50 so the worst of my hangover had subsided, but it wasn't my best flight! We arrived about an hour ago completely knackered, but excited for a week playing in the sun!

Summer Views...

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift - 3 stars ***

Last Friday I had Aum and his cousin to occupy, so I took them to the cinema to see the latest offering in the Ice Age series. It being the fourth film, I expected it to be pretty poor, but it was actually very entertaining and all three of us enjoyed it.

This time around, the group of prehistoric critters face the wrath of Mother Earth, when the land they know begins to break up, separating Manny, Diego and Sid from the rest of their friends.

Trapped on a drifting iceberg, the trio stumble across the fearsome Captain Gut and his band of rogues, who capture them and threaten their death. However, the group escape, infuriating the pirates, so that a pursuit ensues across the ocean.

As well as all the usual favourites (and yes, Scrat is back!) there were a few new faces in the movie, my favourites of whom were Sid's granny, who came out with some brilliant one liners, and Captain Gut, who was truly villainous.

The visual quality of the film is second to none, as the landscapes and characters are all in gorgeous colours and look fab. There is also a really fun catchy song that the pirates sing when they first meet the group of stowaways which was stuck in my head for hours!

I think all 'kids' films nowadays have a great many elements that are aimed at adults, to prevent a boring experience every time you accompany a child to the cinema; but this film especially tickled me as an older viewer, so I would recommend it!

Benicassim 2012

Days 5- 6

By Saturday the booze and lack of sleep were catching up with us, and it was a very subdued group that went for lunch at a little Spanish restaurant at the end of town. I had a massive tuna salad that I just couldn't finish, and a few of the guys left their food too due to feeling rough!

We went and slept on the beach all day, and went back to camp fairly late as Benn and I lost everyone else and ended up waiting around for no reason! Luckily the first main act - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, weren't on until quarter past eleven, so we caught a fair bit of Buzzcocks first, who were really good, and then went on to see Noel. The Stone Roses followed, who I was obviously excited to see with them being so popular and a good Manc band. Halfway through though I just felt so tired and drunk that I headed back to my tent and slept! I didn't regret it as I really felt I would have slept on my feet, and I saw most of the biggies. I intended getting up to go back in for Crystal Castles, but noone else was really bothered and felt as drained as me, so I hit the hay at 3am (early for Beni!).

On the final day I woke feeling fresh, and started packing up a few bits as I was leaving after the last act that night to catch my coach shuttle to the airport. We spent the morning wandering for somewhere nice to eat before settling on a restaurant down a sidestreet where I had a bacon and ham pizza and the lads had unlimited paella. We made the most of our last day on the beach, then made cheese and ham baguettes for tea before going back to camp.

That night we saw The Vaccines and then went back for a few more drinks - I was on 'champagne' with freshly squeezed orange juice which was really tasty, and despite saying I wouldn't get drunk as I had my coach to catch, I found myself pretty tipsy! We headed back in to watch New Order and then again at 3am to watch David Guetta, but I ended up watching him by myself as the others got bored and went to the dance tent. Typically just as they left he started playing all the well known tracks, so I'm glad I stayed as it meant my third Beni experience ended on a high.

I went back and met a couple of the camp afterwards, and finished packing up my stuff to go and catch my coach. I didn't manage to see Mike to say bye before I left, but luckily everyone else was there, and Grey walked me to where I was getting my transfer. I literally slept the whole way home from start to finish, and Dad picked me up from Liverpool at approximately midday. Once again it was a brilliant week away, and a refreshing take on the festival being with a different group of people again, who were all awesome. Take me back!

Weekly Update!

Spending, Pub  Lunches & Sunshine!

This week has been a bit up and down to be honest. I was on a serious downer after coming home from Benicassim on Monday, so spent the day unpacking and moping around feeling sorry for myself! On Tuesday it was my first day back at work, so it was tiring and really dragged, especially as it is my longest day, finishing at 7.30pm.

On Wednesday after work I went to Sam's and we made pizzas, only for the oven to break! We had to resort to a backup plan, and went to Strada in Wilmslow. I had butternut squash and pancetta risotto, which I actually had the last time I went there a couple of years ago, but it is so good! Sam had a pizza with salami, peppers and chilli which was pretty spicy, but good.

On Friday I went to the Trafford Centre, armed with my birthday vouchers which I had yet to spend. It was quite a successful trip actually. I came away with a chunky gold necklace of dog bones from Topshop, in the sale for £10, and a gorgeous electric blue dress from Miss Selfridge for £20 which has a large lace panel across the whole of the back. I also got a cute pink dress for £5 in the H&M sale along with three little stretchy crop tops in different colours for my holiday, that were only £2 each. 

I worked on Saturday and then went out in Hale with my girlfriends, which was a lot of fun. My friend Abi who we stayed with in New York is now home, so it was great to see her and have a few drinks and a boogie!

Today the weather has been amazing, so I went for lunch at The Plough and Flail in Mobberley with Lydia, and we sat outside in the sunshine. I had fish and chips, it was huge! I couldn't finish it all, but it was delicious. Then we came home and went to the field across the road from my house and just had a good chinwag and a chill out. It has been a really pleasant lazy Sunday, I'm now just hoping the weather stays nice for this week and it goes quickly, as I go to Tenerife a week today!

Benicassim 2012

Days 3- 4

Thursday was our first full day at the festival, so after we'd all got up we ventured out for some proper food for breakfast/ lunch. We went to a place called Utopia that both groups of us had been to before, as it has a lovely little terrace out of the back that has a vined roof. I had a cup of tea and a ham and cheese bruschetta, and all the lads had two baguettes!

After we had eaten we walked to the beach and to a swimming pool that the boys knew about. We technically weren't allowed there, but we managed to get an hour there before being 'moved along'. After a couple of hours napping on the beach we headed back to camp to get ready for the first night of music. Unfortunately Florence and the Machine (one of the main reasons I was there) cancelled which I was pretty bummed about, but never mind. That night we watched The Horrors, De La Soul and apparently Example, although at this point I couldn't remember a thing!

Friday was perhaps the day I was looking forward to the most, as Chase and Status were playing. I saw them last year and they were insanely good, so I knew it was a pretty dead cert. The day was spent in a similar way to Thurs, we had lunch at a cafe called Jays where I had a salmon and prawn sandwich which was tasty, and then did the pool and beach again (this time the pool lasted ten minutes!).

Once we were back, a few people went to watch Bob Dylan, but I wasn't really too bothered, and could hear it from the tent anyway. We had plenty of time to drink before going in to watch the Maccabees who I really enjoyed despite barely knowing their stuff, and then Chase and Status were on at 3am, so we were all suitably drunk for it. The set was even better than last year - I'd definitely say they were my highlight, and Friday was easily my favourite day of the festival.

Benicassim 2012

Days 1- 2 

I'll be honest, writing about parts of this festival will be difficult, seen as I have very little recollection of what I was watching and doing. However, I will try to improvise the gaps to as best of my ability, and hope that it is somewhat close to the truth.

I left my house on Tuesday July 10th to drive to Liverpool airport, where I was flying to Madrid from. The time went pretty fast, and before I knew it I had checked in, bought a Boots meal deal for the plane (my standard procedure since the lack of plane food) and was sat drinking a coffee before boarding. I had arranged to meet Grey, a friend of the people I was going to the festival with, in the departure lounge, as he was on the same flight as me. This was a slightly bizarre process, not dissimilar to meeting someone on a blind date, but we found each other fine and it was nice to have some company on the journey.

Once we had landed and picked up our bags, we decided to negotiate the metro system, as it was only 5€ to the hotel, instead of 30€ in a taxi. It was really simple to use, and we were at our stop in less than half an hour. In fact, it was only because we started walking the wrong way down the street that we weren't in the hotel within the hour! We were staying at the Petit Palace Santa Barbera, which was probably the best hotel I've ever stayed in! We paid £96 for the night between 3 of us, and it had a huge double bed plus funky pull down bunk beds, free Internet and wifi, a bathroom bigger than my bedroom, a lovely little courtyard, and was in a very swanky area, with bars and restaurants directly outside.

By this time we were both knackered, so had a little sleep and then watched some tv until Mike and Benn arrived. Their flight was supposed to arrive at 9pm, but not only was it delayed, but they had problems picking up the hire car, and then got a little lost so it was nearly midnight by the time they got to us! We parked it up in a car park, then went to get some food, before ending the night in a jazz club that was next to our hotel. It was 5€ to get in, but then you got a free beer, so wasn't too bad.

The next day we packed up and got some food, before collecting the car and driving to the festival. It was supposed to take us 5 1/2 hours, but somehow we managed it in 4! We went straight into the town, got some food from a tapas bar, then headed to the campsite and got our festival bands, before meeting the others in the group we were camping with that Mike and Benn camp with every year. They had a pretty good spot right near the beer tent and showers, although it was a bit of a squash with our 4 extra tents!

By the time we had pitched up it was getting pretty late, so we had showers, got changed and then Benn and Grey did a booze run which lasted us most of the week. Then we got on the booze! We were all so tired from the drive we were asleep by half 2, but we all put in a pretty good effort with the drink, we made a cocktail of rum and pineapple juice, and then I had a bottle of 'champagne' that was only 1.59€! It was fun getting to know the other lads we were camped with, they are all lovely, which was a relief seen as I was the only girl in the group, so was a little dubious!

Weekly Update!

Bowling, Packing and Mud!

This week has been really lovely, a good week to end on before I go off on holiday on Tuesday (so there will be no posts next week). I had a couple of articles to do for Candid, and worked at the pub as usual, so the start to the week was fairly quiet, except I booked a holiday to Tenerife on Monday. I also had my eyebrows threaded on Wednesday, which was a new experience. It was a lot more painful than I had anticipated, but the results were well worth it, even if they are a little thin for my liking.

On Thursday I went to the Museum of Science and Industry (see previous post) which was fun, and on Friday I took Aum and his cousin to the Trafford Centre to go bowling. Aum had never done it before, except on his Wii (!) so it was lovely seeing them do something a little different for once. We had lunch at McDonalds, and then I drove them both home. In the evening I went to Sam's house and got some work done, while he slept off quite a lot of alcohol!

On Saturday it was our three month anniversary, so after my shift at the pub (where I was delivered some gorgeous roses!) we went out for a meal at The Bulls Head in Mobberley. I started with the prawn and monkfish thermidor, which was delicious, and served so prettily in a large pink shell. For main I chose the manly homemade steak and ale pie with chunky chips and minted mushy peas. It was gorgeous, but the portion was massive so it defeated me, and I didn't have room for dessert, which was a shame as they sounded amazing! Sam opted for the mushrooms on toast followed by haddock and chips, which was equally humongous. We went for a few drinks in the Greyhound afterwards before heading home. 

Today has been a very packed day actually. I started off with a trip to the gym, before packing everything up ready for Benicassim on Tuesday. I then went round to Sam's and we had a lovely walk around Ashley, Hale Barns and the River Bollin, although it was rather muddy! Then I caught a quick drink in the Moss Trooper with Mike and Benn who I am going away with, before going back to Sams, where I am now. Bring on the sunshine and music of Beni!

Candid Article 17

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Straight off, I would just like to say that this film is definitely worth a watch. It took a while for me to get into it, but once you familiarise yourself with the format, you find yourself drifting along with it until you are so hooked you can’t wait until the mystery is solved.

The basic plot summary for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close would be that it follows the story of Oskar Schell (played by fifteen year old American Thomas Horn) and his quest to find the lock that a key he found in his father’s (Tom Hanks) closet will fit in. To add more detail to this plot summary, Oskar is somewhere on the Autistic spectrum, and his father died in the September 11^th disaster. Therefore upon discovering the name ‘Black’ on the envelope he found the key in, he writes a list of every person with that surname in the city of New York, and vows to speak to each one to try and solve the mystery in homage to his dad. As he does this, he takes photographs of each person and forms a scrapbook telling of his journey to solve the puzzle.

Along the way we learn of the relationships he has with various people, and this forms a pivotal role in the film. Oskar was very close to his father, who helped him to overcome certain fears that he had related to his autism, and encouraged him to be creative and knowledgeable by setting him adventures that they used to go on together. His grandmother seems to take over this role after his death, and there are a few emotional scenes where she is seen to be one of the only people who can relate to him as he struggles to get along with his mother (Sandra Bullock) when she fails to give him a plausible reason for why the World Trade Centre was attacked.

The first set of praises has to go to the outstanding cast, who all portray their characters with brilliant conviction and talent. Thomas Horn, considering this is his first role and he has never studied drama or acting before, provides a truly stellar performance. In particular, there is one scene approximately halfway through the picture where Oskar is explaining his plight so far to his grandmother’s lodger, a man voluntarily mute for over a decade, who we later discover is his grandfather. The heartfelt emotion and anger in the young actor’s face as he vents his frustration is simply beautiful to watch, and would put many more mature thespians to shame.

Another scene that was particularly poignant was when Oskar was explaining the things that make him ‘uneasy’ as he puts it. The film shows visual images of the list he says (examples are screaming, crying, people eating meat etc) sped up to be in time with his voice, which together with the actual noises of the objects, gradually reaches a crescendo to be broken by the bashing of a tambourine, the thing he uses to calm his nerves. This technique really added to the believability of the character’s condition, and showed how difficult and challenging living with Autism would be.

Overall, I don’t think I can give this film the justice it deserves in a short review. What I hope I have done though, is piqued your curiosity, and encouraged you to try and catch this movie at some point. It is complex yet interesting and sad yet heart-warming. Any piece of cinema that can do all that in 130 minutes deserves some credit. And watch out for Thomas Horn, I’d tip him to be the next teenage indie film star. 

Days Out...

The Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester

Yesterday, Aum's cousin Euan joined us for a day out to the Museum of Science and Industry. We set off from Oldham where they were staying at about eleven, and got to the museum just before midday. Parking is a fiver, but entrance to the museum is free (though a suggested donation of £3 each is appreciated).

There are five buildings to explore, and we started in the Great Western Warehouse, which has sections on textiles, 'science' which includes parts on famous scientists and their experiments, and 'Revolution Manchester' which was about famous inventions, energy, engineering and many more. In this section, the children were given a barcode, which they could insert into various displays to interact with them. It was good, as it made more complicated subjects more interesting for them.

Then we moved onto the Power Hall, where examples of all the steam, gas, diesel and hot-air engines were. It took the least time to do this hall, as it was mainly big exhibits and not much information to read. Afterwards we went for lunch in the restaurant, which I was really impressed with. They do a children's lunchbox where they can choose 5 items for 3.95, so I got them a sandwich and bag of crisps each, and then a packet of banana cake to share, and that was them sorted! I chose the main course with salad option, and had trout frittata, which was lovely. The salad was enough on its own -  there was a butter bean one, potato salad, normal lettuce and tomato one, and then a chorizo and kidney bean one. I was stuffed afterwards! 

After lunch we went to the Air & Space hall, which had huge aeroplanes and old fashioned cars which the boys enjoyed looking at. There is also a planetarium which you can pay to go in, and it is like a simulation ride, but unfortunately it was closed when we were there. 

At this point the boys were getting a little tired, so we did the last two sections - the Station Building and 1830 Warehouse, rather quickly, but between them they had sections on electricity, communications, the industrial revolution, Roman times, the Victorians and the water system. 

I was rather saturated with information at the end of the day, it is probably the most I have learnt since being in school! It was a really good day out though, and the boys loved how interactive the exhibits were. I would not hesitate to go again, as it used up a lot of time, which is often difficult to do in the school holidays with two demanding children!

Weekly Update!

Hockey, Holidays & Hana!

This week started very nicely, with a belated birthday present of £50 gift vouchers from the family I nanny for to spend in Topshop, Miss Selfridge or Dorothy Perkins.

I went into Altrincham to have a look for a birthday present for my friend Emily on Monday, and got her a skirt from H&M, as well as a necklace and kaftan from there for myself- I couldn't resist the sale!

On Tuesday I went for a run as the weather was nice, and in the evening I went to watch Sam play hockey and then afterwards we went for a meal at Danilos in Hale which was really good. I had penne primavera which had spring vegetables in a creamy sauce, and it was nice and light so I didn't feel like I'd eaten my calorie intake for the day as with many Italians meals!

On Wednesday I babysat until 11.30pm, but earlier on I took Aum to the Cake Gallery where I had a black cherry cupcake and an Appletiser, as it was really humid so I didn't want to have a hot cup of tea!

I spent Thursday evening eating fajitas and making cupcakes for dad's party (see previous post) and then Sam and I booked a holiday to Turkey! Very excited. On Friday it was my friend Emily's birthday so we went for drinks at her house before going into Hale for a few and then to Suburbia. It was a good night, but not a super late one as Sam was working on Saturday morning.

Saturday was my dad's party (see previous post) and then today Sam and I went to Wales for the day as he had a job to do there. It was good as we called in on my friend Hana on the way back and went out for pub grub at a place called The Four Crosses. I had a chicken breast stuffed with bacon and mushrooms in a creamy mustard sauce, served with chips and vegetables. As there were 3 of us eating we got a large bowl between us and it had everything in it - broad beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato mash, squash, beetroot, sweetcorn, it was amazing! I would definitely go back again.


We drove home and got back at ten o'clock, shattered after a very busy weekend and not much sleep!

Dad's 50th!

Dancing, Drinking & Surplus Food!

Last night was my dad's 50th birthday party, which was held at Navigation Working Men's Club in Altrincham. It started at 7pm, but I didn't arrive until gone 8 as I'd been so busy after work sorting everything out!

I wore a patterned dress that I'd got from Laundry Boutique in Altrincham, and purple suede heels. Loads of people turned up for it, and the drinking got underway! Dad had hired a band called The Invaders to do some music for it - they do indie and rock covers from old and new artists such as The Stone Roses, Oasis, The Killers, Echo and the Bunnymen etc. They did a 45 minute set earlier on at 9pm, and then once they had finished that we served the food out.

Mum had done the buffet, which had southern fried chicken, Chinese and Indian starters like onion bhajis, spring rolls, pakoras and samosas, sausages, olives, nachos, cheeseboards - there was absolutely loads! It all went down a storm, but as usual mum thought she was feeding the five thousand, so we have so much left over!

The band came back on for the second 45 minute set at ten, but not before Dad did a little speech and thanked everyone for coming and bringing lots of presents for him. The second set was a bit more lively and plenty of people got up and danced. Dad, Jasmine and I got up and sang 'Laid' by James which was a laugh, and everyone was well into the swing of things at that point so were all joining in. The iPod went on after that, with a specially constructed dance playlist on to get people moving!

We had the room hired until 12.30pm as that was the latest they would serve until, but afterwards a few of us young 'uns went into Altrincham to Heart and Soul and finished the night there. It was a really good night that everyone seemed to enjoy - and apparently back at home all the neighbours came back to our house and cracked open the port!