Weekly Update!

Chilling & Good Food

This week has been a much needed quiet one after a hectic few weeks, and more to come. On Monday I went with Mo to A&E to get his leg looked at - thankfully nothing broken, just bad muscle damage so movement is difficult and recovery will be a long process. On Tuesday I had a day to myself at the flat - for the first time in over a month I worked out! I made a bacon, cheese and mushroom tart (for once we didn't eat the Country Club) and chilled out with a glass of wine.

Wednesday and Thursday passed by unnoticed, although Jasmine found out she got a 1st in her degree on Thursday which was fantastic news. On Friday I went into Manchester for a meal for Emily's birthday (see previous post) and then I went to my parents where my sister was having a house party to celebrate her results - which was rather messy and didn't end until 5am! As a consequence, I was horrifically hungover yesterday, I haven't felt so awful in a long time, so slept until 5pm and then went to Mo's where we had lasagne and garlic bread which made me feel much better.

Today I slept in for a while, and then drove home and got ready for a day of shopping in Manchester with Jasmine. We stopped for a late lunch at Home Sweet Home (see previous post) and I bought a few things for my holiday, a couple of little tank tops and a pair of shorts. I am now at Mo's where we have got a takeaway pizza to see off a lazy week; mushroom, sweetcorn, prawns and olives on a margarita - delicious!

New Tastes...

Home Sweet Home, Northern Quarter

Today, Jasmine and I took a trip to one of our favourite cafes in Manchester - Home Sweet Home. We went at around 2pm, but didn't get there until 3pm as the traffic was awful. We decided to shop first (just a couple of quick trips to Primark and H&M) so eventually sat down to eat at 4pm.

As it was nearing tea time, we decided to have a full meal. We started with shakes - I had the Cookie Monster whilst Jasmine went for a nutella one that was really nutty and delicious, and surprisingly not too rich. For main course I chose chicken tenders in buttermilk batter served with seasoned fries, and Jas had a halloumi and falafel wrap. Mine was so huge I struggled and had to leave a couple of pieces, and though Jasmine wolfed hers down neither of us had enough room for dessert so we got our cake slices to take away.

I ordered the chocolate mud fest cake, a homage to Glastonbury taking place that weekend. It was multicoloured vanilla sponge with chocolate buttercream and decorated with chocolate 'rocks' which were basically super sized smarties! I was still so full later on that Mo ate most of mine, but I tried enough to know that it was amazing as usual, you can't beat Home Sweet Home for inventive looking cakes that taste great.

New Tastes...

Sapporo, Manchester

Yesterday for Emily's birthday, a group of us went to Sapporo in Manchester, a teppanyaki restaurant on Liverpool Street off Deangate. I had been recommended it by one of Jasmine's friends from university, so suggested it to Emily as it sounded like a good venue for a celebratory meal.

We arrived at 8.30pm, and waited at the bar with some drinks for a while whilst our table was prepared. Because there was a large group of us (13 in all) we had two sides of one of the large tables - they are arranged in a horseshoe shape around a cooking area in the centre, where the chefs prepare your meals in front of you.

I didn't really fancy the teppanyaki as I wasn't that hungry, although it did sound delicious; instead I went for a sharing platter of sushi, which was amazing. It had spider, crunch and dragon rolls on which I have had at the Country Club before, but then there were also a few other rolls that I hadn't tried before, so it was a good mix. I even attempted to use chopsticks for the first few, although I am so slow at using them I gave up after a while. 

Hannah and Tasha next to me both chose giant prawns as their meal, and they were huge! I thought they were langoustines when they were first brought out. The teppanyaki dishes included sauteed potatoes and vegetables which were also cooked in front of us - the potatoes they tried to throw in our mouths!

Aside from the yummy food, it was a real experience to eat there, as it is like watching a show when the food is made. Our chef did tricks with eggs, throwing them in the air and catching them in his hat, pocket, and even cracking one straight onto the hot plate by throwing it up and making it land on his knife! I would recommend it if in a large group or for a special occasion. Prices aren't extortionate (I suppose you pay more for the theatricals) - my meal was £23 and that included a tip, a glass of wine and then a bottle of wine shared between 3 people. I'd love to take my parents and Jasmine there - I'll have to suggest it for the next meal out we have.

Weekly Update!

Holidays, Cake & Curry!

This week has been spent (amongst other things) perusing for another holiday! My friend Laura and I decided we'd go away somewhere as I have two weeks off in August that I may as well make the most of, saving money can wait! We have decided upon a week in Zadar, a coastal university town in Croatia, as it has cheap flights, cheap beer, sunshine and good nightlife - the perfect combination. We got together today for a pint of Strongbow (hare of the dog for me!) and a lovely bargain curry at my local pub, The Flying Horse, to catch up and book everything. It made dropping my parents off at the airport today for two weeks in Crete that much more bearable knowing it will be my turn soon!

Earlier in the week, I went to Strada for a meal for my dad's birthday (see previous post) and on Tuesday sampled something off the new menu at the Country Club - crispy panko halloumi (breaded sticks) with a red onion and ponzu dressing with a side of green vegetables. Aum and I went round to my parents afterwards for some birthday carrot cake, and once I had dropped Aum home I went back to mine as Mo was coming round. Unfortunately, he crashed his bike on the way, so although unhurt, was in a bit of a shaken state and I had to go and collect him as his bike was a mess, such a shame - he has no luck with it!

On Wednesday I went for a coffee and cake in Didsbury with Laura (where the planning began...) I opted for a gluten free chocolate cake, which was actually pretty nice, if a little stodgy. On Thursday I made a chicken and mushroom casserole and Lydia came round for dinner which was lovely, and then I stayed at Mo's after she had gone. On Friday after a gruelling Armageddon workout (don't ask!) Tasha, Abi and I met up for lunch at the Country Club where I had a halloumi, rocket and houmous ciabatta with chunky chips, which was nice but had a little too much houmous for my liking. That evening I stayed at Mo's and we chilled out as he was off to Dorset early in the morning.

Yesterday I went to John Lewis with Jasmine and Mum during the day, we had a shop around and then stopped for cake (we had toffee apple pie, chocolate cake and carrot cake to share) and then in the evening I went out in Hale with Tasha - what started as a few glasses of prosecco in Hogans soon escalated into a night in Suburbia with shots and dancing! It was a lot of fun though, and I feel surprisingly OK today - the curry has perked me up!

Summer Reads...

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters ****

This book has been sat on my shelf for a while; I love Water's work so save it for when I have to rely on a good read - usually whilst on holiday. This one didn't disappoint!

Fingersmith is set in Victorian times and is all about a young girl named Sue Trinder, who is brought up in Oliver-esque style by a family of thieves after being orphaned as a baby when her mother was hanged. She forms an attachment with the matriarch of the family, Mrs Sucksby, who treats her like her own daughter, much to the disdain of some of the other residents.

She is given the chance to earn herself a good deal of money by joining forces with Richard 'Gentleman' Rivers, a young man who is a friend of the family. She poses as the handmaid to a young girl named Maud Lilly, living in a countryside estate named Briar, who is the heir to a great fortune. She befriends her, and persuades her to marry Mr Rivers (already a potential suitor), who in turn plots to commit her to a madhouse after their nuptials and therefore steal her money. The whole first section of the book is told from Sue's perspective, so the reader sees that despite her cruel intentions she is actually a nice person, who just wants a better life for herself.

*Spoilers*

However, it all goes wrong when after the plan has seemed to work, Maud and Gentleman tell the doctor that Sue is in fact Miss Lilly, the madwoman, a story which is convincing given that over a period of time Maud has been feeding her all of her food, and given her some of her pretty dresses, confessing she prefers more plain attire. Sue is forced into the madhouse, and desperately tries to convince the doctors of the mistake, only to be chastised further for refusing to accept treatment or admit her illness.

The second part of the book is told from Maud's perspective, who reveals the extent of her cruel inhabitance at Briar. After her mother died during childbirth in an asylum (having had her out of wedlock) she has been brought up by her uncle, and made to read pornographic novels in order to help him create a bibliography of all the existing literature in the field. She becomes vicious and unruly and resents her mother for abandoning her.

She is visited by Gentleman who promises to set her up in a house in Chelsea if she follows his plan to trick Sue; but in the end he tricks them all as she is taken back to Mrs Sucksby to live a life of squalor in the city. Eventually Susan escapes the madhouse and returns to her original home, where she sees what has happened and Gentleman is killed. Mrs Sucksby takes the blame and is hanged, and Maud returns to Briar. Later on, Sue finds the will of her dead mother, which reveals that she is in fact the heir to the estate's fortune, and that Mrs Sucksby switched the babies at birth to save her a cruel upbringing. She goes to Briar and her and Maud confess their love for each other and live together in the house. 

This book was full of twists that were totally unexpected, but when they began to happen, everything clicked into place and became completely obvious. It was kept fast paced and thrilling, the writing was brilliant as ever and the characters complex and despite their human flaws, remained believable and likeable. Another storming novel by Waters, whose repertoire I am slowly exhausting!

New Tastes...

Strada, Wilmslow

It is my dad's birthday today, so last night we went out for a meal to Strada in Wilmslow to celebrate. It was Mum, Dad, Jasmine and I, which was really lovely as we don't get to all eat together very often anymore. Mum had got her ever trusty Tesco vouchers, so we could choose whatever we wanted, it is only on food but I was designated driver so wasn't too bothered about drinking anyway!

We ordered a sharer platter to start, as is customary at family meals out it seems. This one had bruschetta, tapenade and warm ciabatta sticks, mixed meats, buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes, and mixed leaves. Not the best we've had, but it was all nicely prepared and tasty, so can't complain. We also ordered a separate flatbread, that had tomato puree and pesto on which was delicious.  

Main course was a tough choice, as they had a new menu with lots of amazing sounding dishes on that I wanted to try. I eventually went for a chicken, pancetta, cheese, rocket and pesto burger with fries, which sounds fairly simple, but I usually go for fish or risotto in Italian restaurants, so thought I would step outside the box for once. I'm glad I did as it was so good and a nice change, even if a little more calorific!

We decided to go for some desserts as well seen as we had plenty of vouchers to spend, so I chose the vanilla panacotta topped with blueberries and raspberry coulis. It was lovely and light, and looked very pretty on the plate, a good one for a sunny summer evening. We all had a wonderful time, it was fun to catch up and have a giggle, and made even better when the parents were paying!

Weekly Update!

Hair, Bar Crawls and Birthdays!

This week it was nice to get back into routine. With Aum being back at school, I had a lot more time to get things done and to get back in the gym (although I failed miserably at the latter). Monday/ Tuesday were relatively boring, I babysat and did some food shopping, caught up on some washing and cleaning; basically everything I have been too busy/ knackered to do when Aum was off.

On Wednesday I went into Manchester and had my hair cut. It hasn't been that long since I had it done last, but as the style is so much shorter now I find it looks scruffy when it is visibly grown out of shape. In the afternoon I took Aum to an open day at Manchester Grammar, which was intimidating when everyone there was a parent and seemed to know others, but was over quickly and he seemed to enjoy it which is the main thing. 

On Thursday I went round to Tasha's and we dyed each others hair which was funny - her dad didn't know where he'd walked into when he came home to us! The orange colour has taken a lot better this time, so I am happy with the results, and glad to have nice hair for my birthday. On Friday after work Mo and I went round to my parents for an early birthday tea. We had a gorgeous barbecue (nearly called off due to a rain shower that came out of nowhere) but luckily it had cleared by the time we sat down to eat outside. Mum had made me an incredible lemon drizzle cake which she served with strawberries in the centre, and I opened my cards and presents from the family which was lovely - I got some great stuff! We had Pimms in the sunshine which eventually returned, and then Mo and I left at half ten and came home to watch some Breaking Bad.

Yesterday was my actual birthday, and it started with salmon and poached eggs in bed courtesy of Mo! He left mine to sort out the last bits of my present, so I showered and got ready for my guests arriving. I had to pop to his to pick up my present (4 Cath Kidston teacups and a cake stand and a watering can pandora charm!) as it was too breakable for him to bring on his bike, and I brought him back to mine just as Claire arrived, followed shortly after by Brian. Lydia and Rob arrived in the nick of time to catch the train into Manchester with us, where we went to Dukes 92 and sat outside in the sun with some prosecco. Unfortunately a downpour descended shortly afterwards so we spent most of the afternoon indoors, where the rest of the group met us - there were 18 of us in total, so nice that everyone made such an effort!

We moved on to Bar Ca at about 5pm, and had some food there - I shared the Fisherman's Platter with Mo, which had calamari, king prawns in chilli sauce, battered cod, chips and scampi on it - perfect accompaniment to more prosecco, and definitely filled me up so I didn't get too drunk! We then went to Atlas Bar, which specialises in gin, my favourite! We all had a few there including some sambuca shots, and then caught the train back at 8.45pm to continue at my flat. We all stayed up until 4am drinking and chatting, and we had the England game on, not that there was much point when they lost! 

Today I was surprisingly OK, I made bacon and sausage sandwiches for everyone and tidied a bit before people left, before dropping Mo home and going to my parents for Fathers Day. Dad loved his presents, and once I was back at mine Mo came round again and we had a hangover Chinese. This weekend has been the best!

Parklife (Part 2)

Sunday

The second day of Parklife dawned, and I dragged myself out of bed at 9am to shower and get ready, despite an oncoming hangover. I made a cooked breakfast for those that wanted it, and we again started drinking pretty earl, this time at about 11am. Because we were all slightly flagging, we got the later train at 1.30pm instead, and stopped in the station to get some sandwiches for lunch.

We did the long walk again, although this time the queues were much worse, so despite us only setting off an hour later, we didn't get inside Heaton Park until 3.45pm, narrowly missing Clean Bandit, which we were all pretty gutted about. We stopped off at the bar for drinks (we were on Strongbow dark fruits this time) and then hung around at the main stage until Sam Smith came on. I am not a huge fan, I think he has a great voice but he's just not my thing, but live he had a great rapport with the audience and did all the well known ones, as well as a great cover of Arctic Monkeys 'Do I Wanna Know'.

Directly after him was London Grammar, whose album I have been listening to recently. Their music was top notch, but the performance was let down slightly by their lack of on stage presence, at times we ended up talking through the set as they just weren't holding our attention. Their tracks are quite chilled out and mellow, which would have been great for say early afternoon on the Saturday, but wasn't ideal for 6pm on the Sunday when everyone was starting to feel the effects of a long weekend of drinking and dancing!

Luckily it was Bastille on after them, who completely made the weekend for me. I have already seen them once before and they haven't released another album since, but it made no difference as everything about them is just awesome in my eyes - they can perform well, write unique songs, draw the crowd in, mix up the stage show, and this time they even brought Ella Eyre on to do their song 'No Scrubs' a mashup of The xx's N'o Angels' and TLC's 'Scrubs'. Ella was brilliant, her voice is just phenomenal live, and after London Grammar it got the energy levels up again.

At this point it was getting quite late and we were a bit peckish, so Laura and I went to get a pizza, which was definitely worth the extra money I spent compared to the other takeaways - it was like one from a restaurant! We took them over to the main stage again, where we watched the final act of the day, Foals. They are a little pretentious as a band (the lead singer thinks he's some kind of demi-god) but their music is a bit more like my usual taste, slightly rocky, which was refreshing to hear after a weekend of dance and pop. We caught 15 minutes of Disclosure before having to leave, which would have been good to see the full set, but as I had work the next day I just couldn't chance being ridiculously late home.

We were even earlier home that day, but this time ordered some pizzas in which took a while to arrive, so I got to bed for just after half past midnight, not too bad really. I had a fabulous weekend, much improved on last year, and hope to go again in 2015!

Parklife (Part 1)

Saturday

This was my second year doing Parklife, and last year's was a bit chaotic for a number of reasons, so I was looking forward to a better experience being a bit more clued up about the festival. I went with my sister and four of her friends that I knew, and everyone was staying at mine for ease, so we started early on the Saturday; I was alternating between a cup of tea and an amaretto and coke at 10.30am! We got the tunes pumping and the drinks flowing, and after getting ready, set off to get the train into town at 12.30pm (armed with premixed vodka and lemonade).

The transport situation was much better this year - after getting the train we jumped straight on a met (a combo ticket was £5) and were at the Bowker Vale tram stop very quickly (it's the one before Heaton Park but is less crowded and not much further to walk). At this point we were all pretty tipsy, but needed a toilet stop, so went into a pub en route that was playing club music, and then had a shot each before moving on. The queue to get in wasn't too bad, so we were inside, bags checked and wristbands collected for 2pm. First stop - the bar. Unfortunately unlike last year they didn't have large bottles of wine, so we had to make do with smaller individual ones and make more trips, but at least the price wasn't any different.

We milled around for a while, bought a program and sussed out where the toilets etc were before heading to see our first act - Bondax. I personally hadn't heard of the DJ, but all the girls seemed to be buzzing for it so I went along. The atmosphere was great, for so early on people were pumped and dancing away like it was already 9pm. The mixes had lots of well known tracks so I got into it and was singing along before ten minutes were up. We stayed for the whole set before moving back to the main stage to see Foxes - an act I was particularly looking forward to.

She was so good live, a great voice and gorgeous as ever - she totally did the album justice. I am a big fan of her so knew all of the songs. At this point the rain we had endured on the journey there and for the first hour or so had stopped, and the sun had come out which was lovely - too bad the mud had already formed so there was no sitting on the floor!

After Foxes we went to get some food (chips with minted peas over them - classy!) and then stuck around for the next act, Katy B. This was the one I was most excited for - having played her latest album Little Red to death, mainly whilst dealing with a breakup, which I find always keeps songs and artists close to your heart. Not going to lie, I was crying through quite a lot of the set, though that was totally due to the wine...!

Annie Mac was on directly afterwards so we did a quick bar trip and then took up places quite near the front of the stage. The sun was starting to set at this point, and Annie brought her A game, so the crowd went wild and everyone was singing along until the end. 

We attempted to find the tent that A$ap Rocky was playing in next, but failed miserably so consoled ourselves with the last bottle of wine for the day and went to catch half an hour of Snoop Dogg before leaving at 10.30pm to beat the rush to the mets. We were home with pizza and chips in the oven for 11.30pm - a great first day of the festival!

Weekly Update!

School Holidays and Parklife Prep!

This post is being done today due to impending Parklife Weekender Festival which I will tell you all about next week! This week has been another busy one - looking after Aum (and friends!) full time is exhausting! Monday was spent at the Trafford Centre again, this time at Laser Quest so I got a bit of time to shop whilst they took part. We ate at Pizza Express this time, where I had the superfood salad with chicken, which I never get bored of, I think I have had it three times now!

On Tuesday we were supposed to be going to Legoland, but Aum hurt his shoulder during Laserquest so we decided to have a restful day until the afternoon, when he had a tennis lesson. I made red velvet pancakes for breakfast (out of a packet), they tasted good, but I think i prefer normal ones to be honest. I took the hour whilst Aum was at tennis to go to The Cake Gallery for a slice of chocolate cake and a salted caramel hot chocolate, was a good break if a little sickly! The following day we went to Cafe Gourmand for lunch, where I had a salmon and prawn salad that was nice and summery and then we had a wander around Altrincham.

Thursday was a lovely sunny day so we decided to go to Tatton Farm. It's a lovely little place, and had horses, cows, sheep and some tiny piglets that were very cute. Aum seemed more bothered about the outdoor play area though! 


Today we got chance to go to Legoland, taking his friend Joshua with us. We just ate at the little cafe inside, and I sat around while they went in the play area and modelling section for a few hours before dropping Josh home. After work I had my nails done (mint green with glitter for Parklife!) and then went round to my parents house for dinner, we had a big selection of Chinese startery type things and then duck with pancakes. One of Jasmine's friends from university was there for the weekend for Parklife, so we had some wine and a catchup before I left to come to Mo's until he arrives back from a night out... could be a while!

Candid Article 52

AWOLNATION

For my most recent Candid article on the AWOLNATION gig I went to last week, click here:

http://candidonline.com/live-awolnation/

Candid Article 51

Klaxons - Love Frequency

For my latest Candid article on electro group The Klaxons new album, click here:

http://candidonline.com/new-music-the-klaxons/

Weekly Update!

Tampopo, Ikea & Nights In!

After my relaxing break in Portugal, it was straight back to work on Wednesday, and I've had Aum full time as it's the school holidays, so it has been pretty full on. On Wednesday I took him and a friend to the Trafford Centre to play crazy golf. We ate at Tampopo (their suggestion!) where I had Char Kway Teow which is noodles with squid, clams, prawn and pork in a chilli, garlic and soy sauce. It was really tasty and very filling, I actually couldn't finish it, not like me! That evening I stayed at Mo's and then the following day was a fairly lazy one at work, we went to my flat to do some maths work, did a Tesco shop and practised piano. That evening I went to see AWOLNATION in Manchester with Lydia (see next week's post) and we went for a few drinks as I found out I wasn't needed in work until 9.30am the following day - bonus!

Friday was another uneventful one, Anjali came home at 3pm so I finished early and went back to mine to write two articles. Mo came round but later on so we just stayed in and watched some TV. Yesterday I went to Ikea with Mum, and finally bought the baskets to go in my bedside unit, amongst other things. We had a hotdog for lunch for 89p (love Ikea!) and then I drove home where Mo had made a gorgeous lasagne for tea.

Afterwards we went to Jack and Anna's for some drinks with James and Kelly, and a few 'nibbles' which was basically full on food. Jack had made Chinese noodles and dumplings, prawns, flatbread, wedges - I ended up eating so much! It was a lovely night and we all stayed up until the early hours chatting; Mo and I stayed over so getting home wasn't a problem.

Today has been a chilled one; we only left Jack and Anna's at 12pm, then I pottered around the house and we have just been to my parents for a good ol' roast. Now ready to start another busy but fun filled week!