Weekly Update!

Biryani, Convoying & 

Masquerades!

This week got off to a good start, as after a pleasant walk in Styal and a roast dinner with the family, Mo came round and we had a proper talk and decided to get back together. I was really nervous as had no idea which way it would go, but I am happy we both agreed it was what we wanted. On Tuesday I went for a coffee with Rick, as I hadn't seen him in ages, and then after having an amazing steak, roquefort and mushroom sandwich at the Country Club for tea, I popped to Mum's for a drink to catch up.

On Wednesday Mo came round and cooked a gorgeous chicken biryani for our tea, it was pretty spicy but delicious all the same! I visited Abi on Thursday, who I hadn't seen in a month, and then babysat in the evening. I also managed to crash my car, literally half an hour after collecting it from an MOT. It is a little scratched and dented on the bumper, but surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be - although the damage to the other car was too much to pay out for, so I am having to go through my insurance, gutted!

On Friday I went round to Mo's and we watched a film called Afflicted, which was average at best. The next day we convoyed down south as he was going to Portsmouth on the bike, and I was bound for Surrey to stay with Laura and Dickon. We stopped for lunch and then split up to go in different directions. I arrived at about 3pm, and Laura and I went into Guildford for a wander around the shops while Dickon played golf. We stopped for a coffee and brownie at a place called Harris & Hoole, which was a lovely independent seeming cafe; then I found out afterwards it is owned by Tesco!

We drove back to Laura and Dickon's and had a delicious meal of fig and goats cheese bruschetta followed by seabass with couscous and ratatouille, and then Dickon drove us to Clapham where Claire was having her 25th birthday party in a bar called 64th & Social. It was masquerade themed, and Laura and I had bought Facelace - basically fine leather lacework that sticks directly onto your face. It looked really cool, but when we walked in noone else was wearing a mask! Once they saw us everyone put theirs on though which was good. We had some free prosecco (we'd already shared a bottle in the car en route!) and then stuck to gin and lemonade for the night. I can't remember getting home! It's a long time since I have had one of those nights, but I remember it being lots of fun which is always a good sign.

Today I had a great cooked breakfast before setting off home at 12.30pm. I had to take a detour for petrol so it took me 4 hours, but was a relatively easy drive. I am now awaiting Mo's arrival after his epic ride from Portsmouth!

Spring Reads...

Around The World In 80 Days by Jules Verne - 4 stars ****

This is one of those books that I have heard so much about, yet have never actually read it. Upon seeing it in Oxfam, I decided to buy it and actually make my own mind up about the well loved classic. 

Everyone knows the story - Phileas Fogg, a wealthy British man, makes a bet with a group of men at his local social club that he can travel around the world in 80 days. An easy task nowadays, but given that the novel is set in the 1870s, when rail travel was relatively new, and aside from that travel was done via ship and carriage, means it is quite a challenge.

Accompanied by his trusty servant Passepartout, and picking up an Indian princess along the way, the motley crew encounter various setbacks and trials upon their journey, not least that they are pursued by Police Inspector Fix, who is convinced that because of his swift departure, Fogg is behind a major bank robbery that occurred in London the night before he made his bet.

I really enjoyed this book - it is an easy read that is fulfilling, funny and interesting. It is very factual in style, often sections sound like they could be taken from a guide book or non-fiction writing, but this was refreshing for me, as the type of books I read can be very heavily descriptive and wordy. This was straightforward and uncomplicated, and I felt like I had learnt things after reading it!

Travellers' Tales...

Bergerac, France (Part 2)

Continuing on from my last post, on Thursday we had a lazy day outside, and for lunch we made an incredible salad with chicken, pine nuts, homemade croutons and honey-mustard dressing, so lovely to eat fresh tasty dishes in gorgeous sunshine! 

That evening we drove to Pierre's for a barbecue with a few other people, he lives about 40 minutes away, but it was nice to drive through all the vineyards whilst the sun set. He made potatoes and ratatouille, and on the barbecue we had steak, beef kebabs and some delicious sausages that were really well seasoned and flavoursome. Two of the other guests brought a cake with them that was from a patisserie, and was similar to a cheesecake, but with very light sponge on the base, and more custard to the topping. We drove back at midnight as we didn't want too late a night after our last couple!

On Friday Claire and I got up fairly early and went for a run in the country around her house which was lovely, although we got chased by dogs at one point! After we had showered and had breakfast we drove into Bergerac for a wander around the shops and town. It is really pretty, so I took lots of pictures of the buildings, and bought a cool black scuba-type skirt for only 15 euro. We had coffee and huge paninis at a little side street cafe, and then I bought some Easter chocolates for my parents and sister from a cute chocolatier called Jeff de Bruges (not French, but oh well). 

Afterwards we went to Chateau de Monbazillac, which is beautiful, set among acres of vineyards up on a hill. We took a tour around the castle which was amazing, and then did a tasting of their signature wine - which is very sweet but strangely good, I normally hate sweet wine! It is made as a drinkable one, so is not meant as a dessert wine which is unusual, but I could definitely sink a bottle! We also stopped at a patisserie on the way home so that I could buy some cakes for Claire's family as a thank you present for that evening's meal.

We enjoyed the last of the sun, before getting ready and having a champagne aperitif and nibbles followed by a meal of pan fried duck with potato balls and celeriac puree. It was nice to eat with the whole family, I love the French relaxed way of life and felt very welcome in their house. Afterwards Claire and I went into Bergerac to meet with some of the boys for a few drinks in a bar known as PQP (Au Plus-Que-Parfait) which had a salsa class on when we arrived. We didn't get involved though, and stuck instead to shots and glasses of 3 euro wine - can't be bad. Despite me having an early flight to catch the next morning, we ended up getting very drunk again and slept at 4am, for a grand total of four hours before I had to be up and ready to go - not ideal!

It was such a great holiday, really chilled and fun, and catching up with Claire was great. It was also cool to practise some of my French out, even if it is awful!

Weekly Update!

Nights In & Tiki Heads!

This week was mainly spent on holiday in France (see previous post) but I got back yesterday at lunchtime, so had a little bit of the weekend left (bonus that it's the Easter Bank Holiday as well!). Yesterday Mum and Jasmine came round to mine for lunch, and then we went for a shop around John Lewis and the retail park nearby which was nice. Jasmine has only come back for the four days over her whole Easter holiday due to having her dissertation to do, so it was good to spend some time together. In the evening Emily and Smeed popped round, originally it was supposed to be a bit of a gathering with a few others and drinks, but people weren't really up for it, and I was super tired from my trip (surviving on 2 hours sleep) so I was glad!

Today I chilled out for most of the day, did a lot of blogging to catch up, and then got ready for a night out to Manchester with the girls. I wore a black pencil skirt that is almost scuba material that I bought on my holiday with a new sheer top with bronze collar and cuffs that I bought just before I left. Tasha, Lydia and Emily all came to mine for predrinks, and we had a proper catch up, as we've not seen Lydia since January! We only realised the time very last minute so had to run for the train at quarter past eleven and just made it luckily. 

We went to Deansgate Locks for a change, and ended up in Lola Lo's, a tiki style bar which is really funky inside. For a Bank Holiday I thought it was quite quiet, and they were obviously expecting it to be busier as there were lots of bar staff on. We got a zombie cocktail to share to begin with which was served in a Tiki head pottery cup, and then I had a few gins. It wasn't a really heavy night, but that was better as it meant we all got chance to chat rather than dancing and not being able to hear each other. Nice to make the most of a Sunday night! (finished this off on Monday to recount the night!)

Travellers' Tales

Bergerac, France (Part 1)

Today I got back from a lovely little holiday to Bergerac in the south of France. My friend Claire from university has a house there, so I stayed with her, and travelled from Liverpool as flights are direct to Bergerac airport for really good prices (I paid £93). I left very early on Tuesday morning, so was in France for 10am, and Claire met me at the airport. We went back to her house, and sunbathed all day as the weather was amazing, about 24 degrees which is unheard of for this time of year. That evening we went into Bergerac with Claire's sister Margaux for a mohito at The Riverside bar, and then had dinner and drinks back at hers with her brother Tom as well. We were all pretty high spirited, so ended up staying up until 3am drinking and dancing to cheesy music - it's a good job she hasn't any neighbours close by as we were making a racket!

On Wednesday we had a nice lie in, and then sunbathed again until mid afternoon before having a rice salad for lunch and heading out for a wine tasting session. We went to Chateau de Tiregand, which is about 15 minutes drive from the house, and famed for its aged red wine. I am not normally a fan of oaked wines (something I get from my parents preferences) but I really enjoyed the ones we had, and I found that I could actually taste the difference between the different years when Margaux described the flavours to us (she works as a guide there in summer). Afterwards we popped to the supermarket for some drinks for that evening as we were having Pierre and Greg, some of their friends, over for dinner.

We had cubed potatoes, a steak with a fried egg on top and green beans, followed by a peach and custard tart for dessert - it was all so tasty! We played drinking games and danced until silly o'clock again getting very drunk. It was exactly what I needed to cheer myself up and take my mind off the break up with Mo. I eventually dragged myself to bed at 2.30am, whilst the others continued downstairs.

Candid Article 49

New EP from D/C

Click the link below for my latest article, a review of the new EP from D/C:

http://candidonline.com/new-music-dc/

Weekly Update!

Breakups & Distractions!

This week has been pretty challenging, as not only was it the school holidays, but Mo broke up with me on Tuesday, so I was having to contend with all kinds of emotions whilst entertaining Aum! On Monday and Friday he was at a science club so I had my days free as usual, and he went to his Grandparents in Pontefract from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday, so it was a relatively easy week. On Tuesday morning he had two friends for a play date, so I took them all to Laser Quest and for Pizza Hut, which was a nice distraction.

On Friday Mum came and dyed my hair and stayed over, and we had Nasi Goreng for tea which was really yummy. On Saturday I had my nails done and then Timna my friend from uni and her boyfriend Sam came to stay, and we went out for food in Manchester (see previous post). Today I made us all blueberry pancakes for breakfast and now I am cosy at Mum and Dad's for the night after a nice roast dinner. A tough week, but its over now!

New Tastes...

Lucha Libre, Manchester

Last night my friend Timna from university came to visit with her boyfriend Sam. I organised for a few of us to go for a meal and drinks in Manchester so we had something to entertain us, and to keep my mind off this weeks' happenings!

I chose Lucha Libre, a Mexican street food restaurant that is in the Great Northern in Manchester. Tasha has been to the one in Liverpool and said it was lovely, so I was looking forward to it.

After booking a table, we arrived and sat down and were explained the premise of the place - it is similar to tapas in that the dishes are small and come out when they are ready, so they recommend choosing three each. We got some nachos with guacamole and salsa to nibble while we chose. I opted for the chicken and chorizo empanadas (£4.50), and the prawn tacos (£5.75) - which were mini versions of the soft variety as opposed to the crunchy crisp type ones. Aside from the prawns, they also had minted quacamole, coriander, chilli and mango salsa in, an interesting combination of flavours that worked well - the hotness of the chilli was soothed by the cool mint guacamole, really delicious. Each of mine were nice little portions, I could have eaten a third dish but decided to hold off, however some people got burritos which were ample as a singular dish, yet they were only £6-8!

A few people got desserts, but I didn't really fancy anything on the menu so got a cocktail called the Gecko instead. It was amazing - Hendricks gin, elderflower foam, apple tequila and soda; I was lucky not to have discovered it earlier in the evening or I could have spent a lot of money on them!

Altogether the bill for me came to £28 and I had extra wine to everyone else and the cocktail, so I was pretty happy with that. Its a good place to go with a big group, but next time I think I'd like to share lots of dishes rather than ordering my own, as it makes it a bit more sociable!

Spring Performances...

Pygmalion at Leeds Grand Theatre - 5 stars *****

On Saturday I went to visit Jasmine in Leeds with Mum, and the three of us went to watch Pygmalion at the theatre as a belated Mother's Day present. When we arrived we were told that there were spare seats nearer to the front, so despite paying £24 for balcony seats, we got ones worth £36!

I studied the George Bernard Shaw play as part of my GCSEs, so am familiar with the storyline, but Jasmine and Mum weren't, so I was interested to see what they thought. Henry Higgins was expertly played by Alistair McGowan, who put his accent talents to great use, creating brilliant comedic value. In fact, the cast as a whole were very good, although a couple of actors had to have stand ins, one of whom awkwardly forgot some lines - but it wasn't that noticeable. I particularly liked the portrayal of Higgins' housekeeper, Mrs Pearce, a brash and blunt Irish redhead, determined to knock some sense into Henry. Rachel Barry did a sterling performance of Eliza Doolittle, though her animalistic calls did get on my nerves a little! 

The set was a hugely detailed one, that was fully moveable in order to create different scenes. It was very different from a lot of the lower budget performances I watched with school. A main 'box' was in the centre, which could be moved around in order to change from outdoor to indoor scenes, and create doorways for entrance and exits. Props were used to great advantage in my opinion, although McGowans facial expression and mannerisms alone were enough to bring the stage to life.

Overall the Grand's production was a great success, and I would have gone back to watch it again given the chance. The relationships between characters, particularly Higgins and his mother, played by Rula Lenska, were very believable, and a number of lines and deliveries had the audience in stitches! It also had its moments of sadness, and infuriation, which is always the a sign of a good play. Pygmalion was a chance and lucky find, which my mum and sister both thoroughly enjoyed.

Weekly Update!

Fish, Steak Pizza & Prosecco!

On Monday Mo came to mine and cooked a really nice bit of salmon with veg and potatoes for tea, makes a change for it to be so healthy! Tuesday I had fish again, but at the Country Club, this time it was sea bass with crab and cauliflower salad and asparagus and was amazing as per usual. On Wednesday Tasha came to mine and I made a spaghetti bolognese and we booked the hotel for our holiday - so excited!

I babysat on Thursday and then on Friday went out to Manchester for a meal and drinks (see previous post). Yesterday I got up early and drove Mum and I to Leeds to see Jasmine as a belated Mother's Day present. We bought her a ticket to the theatre to see Pygmalion, and went to Ask in Headingley for lunch beforehand. We got the mixed Panzerottini (filled dough balls) and a sharing platter of meat, cheese and bread as a starter, and then for main I had the most amazing pizza type thing that was a rosemary and sea salt flat bread topped with steak, rocket, tomatoes and grana pardano. It was absolutely huge, and tasted phenomenal, the waitress recommended it and I'm glad I trusted her judgement!

We were really full, and pushed for time afterwards so skipped dessert and went straight to watch the play, which was really good (see next week's post), and then I drove back home and quickly got ready for a night out! Emily and Natasha came to mine for predrinks, and then we met my friend Amanda in Manchester and went to Neighbourhood. It was a really fun night, we were on the prosecco and the music was awesome, we stayed so late and got free shots! 

Today I felt pretty ropey, I'd stayed at my parents so was in bed until lunchtime, then had a bacon and egg sandwich and was given a lift home. Mo came round and we've just had a much needed Chinese, though it took nearly an hour and a half to arrive, not the best on a hangover!

New Tastes...

Byron Burger, Manchester

Last night a group of us wanted to go out somewhere for dinner and a couple of drinks, so I suggested Byron Burger, on Deansgate in Manchester. It is always rammed when I walk past, and has a sort of 50s vibe going on, so after looking at the menu (pretty cheap) I thought it was a good choice.

We booked a table for 8 people with no problem, and ordered some drinks whilst perusing the menu. It is quite limited, but I like this as it shows that in theory, what they make should be top notch. I have been to a few burger places recently and if truth be told, I'm not even a huge fan of them (hell knows why I chose the restaurant!) so I decided to be different and went for the veggie burger. 

It had a huge portabello mushroom, pepper, tomato, spinach, red onion and aioli on, and was supposed to be goats cheese, but I swapped it for some Monterey Jack instead. I really enjoyed it, and got the skin-on fries as a side, which were really tasty. We shared a bottle of wine and all the guys had beers, so we just split the bill for ease, with a tip it came to just over £20 each, which I thought was decent for what we had.

Afterwards we went to a new cocktail bar with a similar vibe to Alchemist called Elixir on Deansgate for a couple of drinks, before moving on to Liars Club, a last minute decision as I missed the last train, so thought I might as well stay out late if I was forking out £25 for a taxi home! It was a really fun night, a good distraction from the monotonies of life!