Weekly Musings

2018 - Week Eleven

'When we were kids a year would last forever. Then we grew up and were told it was all over. Now we are old and the memories returning are like the last stars that fade before the morning.'

(When We Were Kids - Clive James)

This week I feel like I have spent a lot of time discovering and digesting new knowledge, a pastime which since uni has hugely dwindled. I was starting to feel really stagnant and uninspired; my magazine job keeps me up to date with new music, and I am a dab hand at Key Stages 2 and 3 from nannying, but I don't do a lot of learning just for myself. So I decided to make a change, and I now set aside time each day to enjoy a decent book. I finished John Williams' Stoner this week that I've been dipping into on and off for about the past year (!), and sped through the first in a tweenager fantasy series of three connecting trilogies that I love called The Edge Chronicles. I also discovered the joy of podcasts to fill my 2.5 hour daily car journeys, listening to everything from Intelligence Squared (episodes such as 'The Science of Buoyancy' and 'An Anatomy of Truth') to Savage Lovecast, a show based on answering questions that people ask on a sex and relationships helpline.

 

On Tuesday I had the afternoon off, so went into Altrincham with Jasmine to Common Ground, one of the many coffee shops to open there recently. We started with lattes, but then progressed onto wine - a spontaneous day off deserves a tipple right?! On Wednesday my new CHVRCHES vinyl arrived so I danced around the flat to that, and after work Chris came to mine and I had a full Swedish massage as I am one of the case studies for his course, girlfriend perks!

On Friday I stayed at the boat, and Chris and I popped out to Pizza Express in Poynton for tea. We each had a pizza; I got the Camponata with aubergine, olives and capers, and Chris sampled the new vegan one which he said was tasty, and we shared some polenta fries. Chris also tried Seedlip which is an alcohol free gin, mixed with mediterranean tonic; I was impressed at how similar to real gin it tasted, and would order it in the future as an alternative if I were driving. Good ol' Tesco vouchers meant the whole meal and a tip cost us less than a tenner each, definitely worth saving on the washing up!

Yesterday I had a proper cosy boat day, it was snowing and Chris was out teaching guitar lessons until lunchtime so I holed up next to the fire with copious brews and my book whilst the doggies dozed. I went straight from there to my mum's to get ready for a night out with my sister in town. We started in Dive as some of the lads were watching the football in there, and then ended in Hula in Stevenson Square for some dancing. Double spirit and mixers were an eye watering 8 quid though, so I moved onto tequila zombies, if I'm paying that much for a drink I want to feel it!

Today I woke up to news of road closures and potentially cancelled plans... Mum and I were booked in for afternoon tea at Shrigley Hall as a belated Mother's Day present for her, but the snow was chaotic during the night and a lot of the more rural areas of Cheshire were inaccessible. Luckily for us as our table wasn't reserved until 3.30pm, the majority of roads had been cleared so we managed to get there, with a quick swing by to the boat as it was en route and my mum had never seen it. When we reached Shrigley we had prosecco, finger sandwiches, homemade scones, macarons, chocolate cake, Victoria sponge and bakewell tart, washed down with lots of tea. It was really lovely to get my mum on her own for a natter; much as I love my sister some one-on-one time is always appreciated.

  

So yet another busy week! Although I still found just enough time to get a new poem up on Instagram here, and above, my track for this week is the return of Everything Everything, a band who I have seen countless times and always entertain me.

Weekly Musings

2018 - Week Five

'Oh the things we would do and the chances we would take, if we could only realise that there is no such thing as tomorrow.'
(David Jones)

The start of this week was rather quiet, made up for by a bustling weekend! I did get to spend Wednesday morning with Chris as he had the day off which was a pleasant surprise; I made us pancakes with raspberries and brown sugar for breakfast, and then ventured to Altrincham Market for some lunch with Abi to celebrate her birthday. I had a tasty cheese and spinach quiche from Great North Pie Co, and a chai latte from Market House Coffee. It is such a cosy, friendly atmosphere there and the food is top notch; I love that it is right on my doorstep. I also got a poem up on Instagram that evening, read it here.

I babysat on Thursday, and on Friday after work I went to visit Chris on the boat for the night. We watched Whiplash, another off our film list, which we really enjoyed. I left early on Saturday morning as I had some cooking to do for a surprise afternoon tea party the girls and I were holding for Abi's birthday. I made tomato, pesto and goats cheese tartlets from Fearne Cotton's Cook Happy Cook Healthy recipe book, and aubergine, feta and olive filo rolls from a Marie Claire cook book I have. We all hid in Abi's kitchen until her little sister Anna ushered her home at 2.30pm, where we were armed with party poppers, balloons and lots of yummy treats. She had no idea, and it was so nice having all of us together, especially now Hana is back from Australia, all my goodies were wolfed down!

I had to leave at 5pm as I was going into Manchester for a meal with Mum and Jasmine at Zizzi in the new Corn Exchange. It was part of Mum's Christmas present along with tickets to see The Script at Manchester Arena afterwards. We shared two starters, the Fonduta Formaggi (gorgonzola, gruyere and pecorino fondue with dough balls) and the wild boar polpette (meatballs with mozzerella and chilli threads) which were both amazing, and then Mum and I went halves on the king prawn linguine and the pasta della casa which had chicken, pancetta, spinach and cheese oven baked in a mushroom sauce. We had trusty Tesco vouchers to pay for it, so it was cheap a chips as well as being bloody yummy!

The concert afterwards was brilliant. Ella Eyre supported, although we only saw a couple of her songs once we'd stocked up on wine at the bar and found our seats, which were some of the best in the house. The Script played all their classics old and new, and had everyone singing along and dancing in their seats (I have included my favourite by them as my track of the week above). At one point the band came out properly into the crowd, keyboards and all to perform a couple of tunes which was cool.

Today has been very civilised, I had a lie in for the first time in ages, and then Mum and I went to The Village Hotel in Cheadle to an antiques fair for a wander around. I was hoping for some inspiration for furniture pieces for the new house, but it was mainly ornaments and jewellery, albeit beautiful. I bought a gorgeous bracelet, but I could have spent a fortune on all the vintage rings! Chris and I have just had veggie fajitas for tea and watched the first episode of House of Cards (late to the game I know) I definitely think it will be a grower, so ep two awaits!

Days Out...

Lymm Dam & High Legh Garden Centre

Today Mum suggested we do something to take advantage of the beautiful weather, so we decided to go for a walk. I've never been to Lymm Dam before and have heard it's pretty, so we drove there and had a wander. It was quite busy, with a few picnicers, and we went into the town of Lymm as well, which was really cute with a little stream running through it and some gorgeous cottages. I relived my childhood and had a Ribena lolly from the ice cream van, and then we drove on to High Legh Garden Centre.

I've never been, and was surprised at how huge it is, especially when High Legh is a tiny village! We had a look around, they had lots of concessions selling interesting knick knacks, but nothing that I was interested in buying (a blessing given my current finances!).

Mum got a voucher for 2 for 1 on afternoon teas there, so we sat down and ordered. It wasn't anything grand, but then for £6.99 we didn't expect it. It was pleasant enough though, 4 sandwiches each (egg, tuna, cheese and ham) accompanied by ginger tea bread, Victoria sponge and a scone with jam and cream. Generous portions; the cakes were a little large if anything, I felt quite sick after eating it all! Luckily we had left wandering around the outside garden section so got some fresh air before drivin back home. A lovely little jaunt out!

Weekly Update!

Sunshine, Haircuts & Afternoon Tea!

This week has been jam packed! I like a busy one now and again, so it's been loads of fun. On Monday the weather was gorgeous, so I went to The Church Inn in Mobberley with Abi, Dave and Tasha for some lunch outside in the sunshine. I had the club sandwich with chips, which was hearty and stuffed with chicken, bacon and salad, I didn't need to eat much in the evening as I was still full.

On Tuesday I ate at the country club, and had one of the specials - eggs benedict but with crab meat rather than salmon or bacon, topped with asparagus spears. It was amazing, and the crab really went well with the poached egg and Hollandaise sauce combination. I stayed at Mo's afterwards, and on Wednesday I took the plunge at the hairdressers and had my hair chopped off, which was scary but I love it! It's so much easier to do stuff with now, and takes ages off getting ready. I ate at The Blue Pig afterwards with Mo on his lunchbreak (see previous post) and then he stayed in the evening.

On Thursday my friend Kirsty came round during the day for tea and cake, bought from Peter Herd, the bakery in the village where I now live. We had a homemade warm hot cross bun each, and then I had a mini battenburg cake, but it was chocolate and lemon sponge with lemon curd, and then half dipped in chocolate! I think I prefer it to the traditional version.

On Friday I went out for a few (non alcoholic) drinks in Piccolinos and Hogans in Hale with Tasha and Abi, and managed to make it until nearly 1.30am before I drove home as I was knackered. Yesterday after a lovely yoga sesh  I spent the day cleaning the flat and preparing food for the Spanish dinner party I had (see previous post).

It was nice to wake up today sans hangover, and I had a great day out with my mum in Chester as a belated birthday present for her. After a spot of shopping (and some purchases in Primark!) we went to Oddfellows for afternoon tea where I have been before. We got mini sandwiches (chicken caesar, cheese and coleslaw, tuna mayonnaise and egg and cress) currant scones with cream and jam, and then a selection of mini cakes - a lemon cheesecake, almond bakewell, tiramisu and a weird thing a bit like a large jellytot (this wasn't so nice!). We washed it down with cups of tea before heading back home, and now I am chilling at home before the start of a new week!

Weekly Update!

Food, Food & More Food!

This week was half term, so I've had a busy one filled with fun activities and lots of yummy food! Monday was a restful one as Aum had a busy weekend, we just chilled out at home and didn't do very much. On Tuesday we took two of his friends to the Trafford Centre to play Laser Quest and for some lunch. We bumped into two more of his classmates whilst we were there so all went to Zizzi together, which was lovely. I had the Calzone Pollo Spinaci, which was filled with chicken, spinach, mushroom, thyme and bacon in a mozzarella and bechamel sauce topped with ham, it was worth the 1500 calories!! 

We still ate at the country club in the evening, but as I had such a mammoth lunch I opted for a small plate - deep fried duck egg with cauliflower mousseline, caviar and micro herbs. It was a really good combo - the egg was gorgeous and runny and the cauliflower mousseline had a surprisingly strong flavour which went well with the caviar. On Wednesday we ate at Cafe Gourmand before travelling to Pontefract where Aum was staying with his grandparents for a couple of days. I had simple scrambled eggs on a wholemeal bagel, followed with an amazing honeycomb cheesecake, it had lumps of Crunchie, Malteasers and Daim in it. In the evening I was pretty tired from my drive, so watched the Brits and made some white chocolate 'cookies' that turned out like rock cakes!

On Thursday I had a lie in before doing a gym class, and then I travelled to Leeds to see Jasmine to break up my trip to collect Aum the following day. We went out for dinner at Ask (see next week's post) thanks to Mum as she gave us some vouchers, and then watched the first Hunger Games as I'd never seen it before. I picked up Aum on Friday at 2pm, and finished as soon as I'd dropped him at home.

That evening I popped to see Mum and then went for dinner at the country club with Tasha, Emily and Smeed. Em and I got two lots of sushi - the dragon roll which I have had before, and the Country Club Roll which is 'Hot black sesame reverse roll with tuna, barbecue unagi, baked scallop and prawn delight'. We got the broccoli and asparagus as a side, and I was stuffed afterwards!

Yesterday I did an awesome yoga class and then went to Ikea with Mum in the afternoon, and in the evening a few of us went to James and Kelly's for drinks and nibbles. I have given up alcohol for a month, so was very good and stuck to soft drinks - and still made it to 1.30am!

Today I had a surprise treat from Mo, so we got ready and set off at 3pm. Turned out we were going for afternoon tea at Harvey Nichols which was very nice! We had finger sandwiches on the bottom layer (cucumber and cream cheese, salmon, prawn mayonnaise, ham and mustard, and beef and horseradish) big raisin scones with jam and clotted cream in the middle, and then a selection of mini pastries on the top. It varies from day to day, but we got pear and apple crumble, a belgian vanilla slice, a purple macaroon and a chocolate truffle. There was so much we had to take a goody bag home with us, and finished it this evening after a yummy roast pork joint. Such a calorific week!

Weekly Update!

Early Starts and Binging Weekends!

This week started with me seeing the new flat that Mo has moved into, which was exciting. It's in Rusholme and is small but ideal for what he needs and in a pretty good location, takes me twenty minutes to work so nowhere near as bad as I expected. On Tuesday I went to Hale Country Club for dinner, where I had another amazing dish - slow cooked veal's cheek with Jerusalem artichoke purée and sticky mushrooms. The veal was quite dark and flaked apart almost like duck, and had a strong Chinese style taste to it, which worked really well with the creamy artichoke purée and sweet mushrooms. After I had finished work I went to The American Bar with Tasha and Abi for a drink, but we were all quite tired so were home by 9.30pm!

On Wednesday I had to get up at 3.30am to take my parents to the airport, though obviously I went back to bed afterwards. I babysat that evening and then Mo came round, and Thursday was a quiet one too. On Friday I met Abi at The Cake Gallery and had a toffee latte with a chocolate orange cupcake which had glitter on and tasted rich and delicious, and then I collected Aum from school early to drive him to see his grandparents in Pontefract. I was really tired after driving there and back so though Mo came round we stayed in and I made a Shepherd's pie and we went to bed pretty early, super exciting Friday night!

On Saturday I met Claire in Chester for afternoon tea and in the evening I went to see The 1975 with Emily (see previous posts). Today has been spent driving my sister back to university in Leeds, though I took Mo and we stopped off at Ikea on the way home to have a look around and indulge in some meatballs and Daim cake. As if that with a McDonald's for brunch wasn't enough, we then also got a takeaway pizza from Rusholme to share for tea, proper fat Sunday!

Days Out!

Oddfellows, Chester

My friend Claire who lives in Luxembourg is currently in the UK, staying with her boyfriend on the Wirral. She suggested meeting in Chester as it is halfway for us both, and getting some lunch. As I know we are both avid fans of afternoon tea, I suggested that instead, mentioning Oddfellows as a good place to go having been recommended it by a fellow cake connoisseur who lives in the area.

We ventured there yesterday at around 1.30pm, and despite our lack of booking, were shown promptly to a table in the bar area. The venue is a hotel, bar and restaurant, and is decorated in a contemporary meets period style, with dark wood panelling and chandeliers directly contrasted with giant woodland animals transferred onto the walls and modern plush seating.

We were served our tea by a very professional young man dressed in full waiter's garb, and then told the sandwich selection for the day, which was cheese and onion, chicken with lemon and pepper dressing, and ham and tomato. After about fifteen minutes these sandwiches appeared, along with two other platters containing our sweet treats.

The sandwiches were in delightful little 'bridge' rolls, lightly floured and gorgeously soft and fresh. They contained plenty of filling, and I thought that the flavour selection, though not hugely adventurous, was a good variety that had something for everyone to enjoy.

The scones were fruited, and clearly homemade due to their irregular rustic shape, which I love. They were served with miniature pots of strawberry jam, and a dish with three huge curls of clotted cream in, delicious! Personally I prefer raspberry jam with my scones, so a choice would have been nice, but that is being really finicky.

Finally we moved onto the choice of cakes and desserts. There was a pink meringue garnished with a blackberry and yellow gooseberry, a piece of carrot cake and a chocolate sponge. All were beautifully presented, and the sponge had an almost brownie like texture which was lovely. The carrot cake was very moist, and was a huge piece, I had to take a break between it and the rest! The meringue was well made, but the pink was just colouring, it wasn't flavoured which I was slightly disappointed at.

An afternoon tea at Oddfellows is £15, or £19 with a glass of champagne, and is served between 12 and 5pm every day. I consider this about average price, most places that are cheaper are not in as luxurious surroundings or as meticulous in how they serve you. I would thoroughly recommend this venue to anyone visiting Chester, and would certainly return again - I think my Mum would love it here!

Weekly Update!

Cocktails, Afternoon Tea & Singing Practise!

I have just come back from the most beautiful wedding (see previous post) but aside from that, this week has been pretty quiet, despite it being my final week off.

On Monday I went to Cheshire Oaks with my mum (see previous post) and on the way home we brought Claire, the uni friend I stayed with in Paris, back with us, who came from  her boyfriend Greg's on the Wirral. We went for a few cocktails at the Slug and Lettuce in Altrincham, and then on Tuesday spent most of the day practising the songs we were singing together at the wedding. We got the arrangements sorted and I felt quite confident with the tracks we had chosen so it was worth the effort. That evening after Claire had left we had fish and chips for tea, and then I stayed at Mo's and we watched the fifth Harry Potter.

On Wednesday I had a lazy day, though managed to drag myself to the gym for a class. Mo came round in the evening and we watched the sixth instalment of Harry Potter.

On Thursday I had my nails done in the morning, then got the train into Chester and met Hannah for afternoon tea. We went to a place called Edgar's which was in a Georgian house overlooking the river, it was gorgeous in the sunshine. We paid £15 including a tip, and got finger sandwiches, fruited scones with jam and cream, and three assorted mini pastries each which we shared - there was lemon meringue pie, strawberry cheesecake, a chocolate cup filled with mousse, a chocolate eclair and 2 Bakewell tarts. I wasn't a huge fan of the sandwiches as we didn't have a choice of filling and I didn't like two of the three (a rather strange concoction of coronation chicken, egg with cheese, and ham with mustard), but the scone and cakes were really good, especially the meringue!

Afterwards we went for a wander around the shops, including a cool designer vintage shop, and then I caught the train back and was greeted with a lovely pork casserole upon my return.

On Friday I did a spinning class, and then had my car valeted ready for a trip to Giggleswick in Yorkshire for the wedding. Mo had a half day off work so we set off at 2.30pm, and called in to Claire's grandparents house near Skipton (where she was staying) en route for a cup of tea. Their house is amazing, a proper country manor set in rolling fields, and Claire and I had a very nerve wracking first performance in front of them and Mo and Greg. It went well though, aside from the lack of confidence, but Mo assured me we were good which made me less apprehensive for the big day. 

At around 5pm we popped to the shops for some barbecue food, and then checked into the hotel before meeting up with Geoff and Brian at the bunk barn they were staying at. I went to pick Joe and Chris up from the station whilst they got the barbie going, and then we had a chilled evening drinking and eating meaty treats. Mo and I got a taxi back at around midnight, and went to bed in preparation for the big day.

New Tastes...

Afternoon Tea at the Caledonian Hotel, Edinburgh

On Saturday it was my friend Laura's Hen Party, and it began with a very civilised afternoon tea at Peacock Alley, the restaurant inside the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh. We had a table booked for 4pm, and the first thing we had to do was choose which tea we wanted. It may sound like a simple decision, but there was a staggering array of different ones, ranging from the traditional Scottish blend (like English breakfast) to Strawberry Rooibos, Chamomile and Flowering Jasmine. Most of us went with the Scottish blend, except a couple who opted for Assam and Earl Grey, and then we were brought champagne to toast the Bride-to-be!

After about twenty minutes of waiting, the waitresses brought over our platters, which were shared between three of us. The bottom layer was savoury - little finger sandwiches made with white, wholemeal and brown bread. There were a variety of fillings, egg and cress, ham and mustard, cream cheese and cucumber and smoked salmon. Between us all we did some swapping to get rid of our undesirables (mine is egg and cress) so ended up with what we wanted, my favourite was the salmon, it was amazing! All of them were lovely though, you could tell they were freshly made, and had just the right amount of filling in.

The next layer up was scones, one plain and one currant one each. They were miniature ones with it being a proper afternoon tea, and served with a pot of clotted cream and tiny pots of raspberry and strawberry jam. I love a good scone, and these were the perfect texture, a bit rough around the edges, but soft and still warm in the centre, perfect with the cream and jam (raspberry for me!).

The top layer was perhaps the most exciting, as it contained the cakes and pastries, but after the first two tiers, we were beginning to feel a little full! We ploughed on though, and each of us chose a different one to try, so we could give our opinions on which ones to go for next. The first one I went for was the strawberry tart, which was a hard pastry case filled with confectioners custard, topped with a strawberry and a syrup glaze. The custard was nice and cold and not super sweet, so complimented the strawberry and syrup, and the pastry had a nice crunch to it to add to the overall texture. Next I had the tea cake, which was basically fruit loaf with nuts in, but was deliciously moist and had a savoury bite to it, which was good after my first choice. 

After that I had what turned out to be my favourite - the raspberry mille-feuille - which is two thin shortbread type biscuits, sandwiched together with vanilla cream, with a raspberry hidden inside. The raspberry was huge and really tart, which gave a great bite to the otherwise sweet centre. The only problem with it was it was difficult to eat; I chose to twist the two halves apart to eat them both individually.

Then I had cherry madeira cake, and a chocolate eclaire, which are both fairly self explanatory. I wasn't too fond of the eclaire, as the chocolate on the top was dark, and the cream in the centre didn't have much flavour to it. The madeira was lovely, although I was slightly disappointed that glace cherries had been used rather than fresh ones, as personally I find them too sweet and the texture a little artificial.

The last two things I had been saving; the Battenburg as it is a personal favourite, and the opera cake as it looked so impressive. An opera cake is layers of sponge sandwiched together with a coffee cream and vanilla cream, topped with a chocolate glaze. In theory it sounds delicious but t was so sweet and sickly that I didn't finish it, and that's a first for me! The Battenburg was really good though, glad I saved that until last. 

After we had just about stuffed ourselves to the extreme, we left and went home to continue the celebrations. Definitely the best afternoon tea I have had, despite the rather pricey cost of £34 plus an automatic 10% service charge!

Weekly Update! (part 2)

Cousins, Chester & Catchups!

Continuing on from my last post, on Saturday my Aunty Sarah came to visit with my cousins. We didn't do anything as they only popped 'round for a couple of hours, but it was lovely to chat and hear what they had been up to. In the evening I went with Mo and Natasha to visit Hannah Gordon and her boyfriend Matt in their new flat in Chester. We got there at about half seven and had some pizzas for tea before starting the drinking! 

We got ready and left the flat at just gone half nine to go to a place called Bar Rum Bar which surprisingly sold rum. I had a Margarita cocktail, then a Long Island Ice Tea and then a double gin. Needless to say coupled with the half bottle of gin I had already consumed prior to leaving the flat, I was rather drunk, and can't actually remember a great deal of the next two bars that we went to! One was called Red Door, and the final was Cruise, a club with different levels with different music.

The following morning I felt very sorry for myself, which worsened as the day continued. We drove back at half twelve, and I had a mad rush once I got home to get ready to set off driving to Lancaster, where I was meeting my university friend Claire. I picked her up from campus where she was staying, and we went for afternoon tea at The Borough. It is the third time I have indulged in one from there, and they never fail to win me over. For only £6 you get three finger sandwiches, (ham, salmon and cucumber) a scone with jam and cream, a piece of chocolate cake, a fruit skewer, a jam finger doughnut, a pot of jelly with fruit and cream and a cup of tea. It was just what the doctor ordered for a bad mood and the hangover munchies!

On the way home I called in to see my friend Luke who I met whilst skiing over Christmas. He has moved back in with his parents in the middle of nowhere near Garstang. We drove to a cool place called Guys Thatched Hamlet, which was like a self built village and had a restaurant, pub, bar and hotel all in one! Because he was suffering too we were both hardcore and had a cup of tea and a hot chocolate, but it was nice to have a chatter and catch up. I drove home at half six, and then Mo came round for the night; it was good to have some company to chill out with whilst I was moping around!

Weekly Update! (From yesterday)

Paella, High Tea & Shameless!

This week I didn't do a lot until the end of the week. I made some chocolate crispy cakes with Aum on Thursday while I was babysitting which were really nice, and then on Friday I went to Emily and Smeed's house for tea with the girls. She had made a tasty chorizo and chicken paella, and I took a camembert which we baked and had with breadsticks for our starter. Natasha bought a lovely dessert that was a mixture between a pavlova and a cake - it had sponge, then whipped cream and forest fruits, topped with lemon cream and white chocolate shavings!

On Saturday I worked at the pub, and then drove straight to Lancaster afterwards for a night out there. There were a lot of us out which was cool, although Geoff and I somehow managed to lose everyone else and ended up wandering around until 3am! We caught the last bus home and stayed up

chatting for a while before I slept until midday - it's a long time since that has happened! I felt awful the following day, my body has obviously lost its alcohol tolerance! I pulled myself together though and got ready to go out with Timna for afternoon tea at The Borough. We had it last summer as a goodbye celebration and so thought it would be nice to go back for a catch up. The mini sandwiches and cream cakes perked me right up, and I drove to Chris' house after dropping Timna back at uni.

We had a gorgeous lamb roast dinner, and then watched a few episodes of Shameless before going to bed. I now have a week off work which is going to be amazing - I definitely need to recharge my batteries!

Weekly Update!

Afternoon Tea, Last LUFS Meal & My 21st!

This week has been so much fun, due to it being my last full week in Lancaster, so it involved lots of socialising. On Monday I got a lift back to Lancs with my mum, and then in the afternoon/ evening went for a barbecue at my friends house, where we'd literally just dragged the sofa outside when it began to rain. Luckily we'd finished cooking everything by then though!

On Wednesday my friend Timna and I went to The Borough, a pub in Lancaster, and had a champagne afternoon tea service to celebrate finishing the year. We got a flute of champagne each, finger sandwiches, fruit jelly with cream, custard slices, cream buns and a fruit stick, followed by a lovely cup of tea and scones with jam and cream, all for £12. Feeling sufficiently full (and a bit merry off the champers) we bought a bottle of bubbly and went to the cinema to see Bridesmaids (see previous post). A thoroughly enjoyable and girly day.

On Thursday it was our last ever LUFS meeting, and so the exec all went to Julie, our media officer's house for lunch. We each took something (I made a veggie chilli) and totally pigged out on chocolate marshmallows, strawberries and cream, crisps, cakes and champagne again! Because it was our last get-together, we all dressed up for the occasion, which was really fun; even if we did get some strange looks walking to the house! In the evening I went for a few drinks in town with friends with it being my last night out in Lancaster. We went to the White Cross, The Sun and The John O'Gaunt which was nice.

On Friday morning I had my hair dyed, which took 3 hours! It's finally the colour I've wanted it for ages though so it was worth it. In the evening Chris and I got the train back to Manchester ready for my party the next day, and we went for a carvery at a local pub for tea.

Saturday dawned and after prettifying myself, I set about helping to sort everything out for my 21st birthday party. People started arriving from about 1.30pm, but I managed to save myself and only had my first glass of wine at 3.30pm! My friends from uni got trains and arrived at tea time, which was great. It was such an amazing day, lots of people came, I got some gorgeous presents, had an awesome buffet courtesy of my mum and stayed up partying until 6am!

Needless to say Sunday was spent catching up on sleep and seeing off everyone who had stayed. An absolutely brilliant week!