Weekly Update!

Pet Hens & an Edinburgh Hen Party!

This week has been pretty placid to be honest, mainly as I was gearing myself up for my friend Laura's hen party this weekend. On Monday we got some pet chickens! It's been a seriously long time coming, but we are now the proud owners of Mildred, Daphne, Fifty Something and Little Poppy! In the evening I went to see Kings Of Leon with my friend Rick (see previous post) and on Tuesday I did a spinning class and then had dinner at the Country Club in the evening. This week I was a little naughty and went for the club sandwich, which had chicken, bacon and salad in it on ciabatta bread, with a side order of chunky chips! Aum has had it before and it looked so good I had to try it myself, and to be fair I shared the sandwich with him this time so it wasn't a huge portion. It comes with a gorgeous paprika mayonnaise dressing that really adds to the flavour of the meats.

On Wednesday I did a Body Pump class and ran a few errands, then Mo came around in the evening. It was payday so I finally paid off all my debts and booked a bag for our flight to Mallorca which is coming up soon! On Thursday I collected Aum early from school and drove him to his grandparents in Pontefract for the weekend, meaning I had Friday off work which was a nice bonus. I didn't do much, had a lie in, did a Body Combat class and then popped to Stockport to pick up some bits for the hen party, the weather was awful so I got drenched despite having an umbrella!

It was Emily's birthday so I went round to hers with a card and to say hello, as I missed her party with being away this weekend. I packed my bag, had fish and chips for tea and then went to Mos for the evening. He left early on Saturday to do his CBT test (which he passed!) so I went home and got ready to catch my train at 10.20am to Edinburgh. When I arrived I shopped for a bit until the rest of the girls got into the city centre, I bought an amazing dress in the Topshop sale for just £10! At 4pm we went for afternoon tea at the Caledonian Hotel (see next week's post).

Afterwards we headed back to the house we were staying at, and got ready for a night out in formal evening dresses! We had a toast to the bride-to-be and a few predrinks and nibbles before getting taxis in to the city at 10pm. We started in a bar called Dragonfly where we had some very tasty and unusual cocktails, mine had basil, pepper and raspberries in with gin, and I bought Laura one that had egg white, elderflower syrup and gin. They both tasted amazing and it's always nice having something a bit different. We moved on to the next place after a while, called Lulu's, where we had tequila shots and skittle bombs to get the night going! We ended in a club called Opal Lounge that was underground, it played some good tunes and we were lucky enough to be on the VIP list so got entry into a separate room with tables and a different DJ. We only stayed in there for a while though, as the main room was more atmospheric and had better music on! We eventually got home and had a feast of cheese and bread before bed at 4.30am.

This morning we were up surprisingly early, and dressed in a Secret Garden theme for a beautiful brunch that Laura's sister and mum made. We started with fresh fruit with yoghurt and granola, followed by poached eggs with asparagus and sourdough bread, and finally homemade cinnamon buns that were incredible! It was lovely to all sit around recounting the night, and then we all gave Laura a few presents and a scrapbook for her to make with letters from us all (including some who couldn't make it) and some bits and bobs to remember the occasion. Then we all packed up and headed off in our separate directions to go home!

I got back just before six, and got a lift home from Mo, who then stayed for a Sunday roast with everyone, including my Grandpa who has been to stay for a few days. I am so tired after the weekend's activities that I feel I will crash into bed fairly soon!

Summer Sounds...

Kings Of Leon

Last night I went to watch Kings Of Leon at the Manchester Arena with my friend Rick. They were supported by The Weeks, but we skipped them in favour of a few more drinks - I'd not heard of them anyway! The main act came on at 9pm and weirdly opened with a song off the new album that not many people knew, so it wasn't the best start. It was still a great atmosphere though, and the arena was the most packed I have ever seen it. It apparently wasn't sold out, but must have been incredibly close to capacity as there didn't look to be spaces anywhere!

They did a pretty good set list, really mixing the old and new, including Four Kicks, Molly's Chambers, Taper Jean Girl, The Bucket, On Call, Pyro, Radioactive and a couple of tracks off the new album. I was a bit disappointed they didn't do Charmer as I love that song, but overall I was pleasantly surprised at the number of songs I knew, as I am not a die-hard KOL fan. I loved the fact that they played Knocked Up, as it is a personal favourite, and the chorus kicking in always makes me a bit emotional!!

They left the stage after an hour, and then came back on for the encore. They did Sex on Fire and Use Somebody as well as another new track in the middle which was quite heavy and pretty good. Everyone started filtering out, and we managed to get on a met by 11pm - it's just a shame some idiot pulled the emergency cord so we were stranded on it for the next hour, and I eventually got to bed at half midnight!

Summer Views...

Man Of Steel - 2 stars **

On Friday Mo and I went to see Man of Steel, the new Superman film, at Parrs Wood cinema in Didsbury.  It is directed by Zack Snyder of 300 fame, and stars Henry Cavill as the leading man, who it must be said is rather pleasing on the eye, and this is coming from a fan of skinny indie boys, so muscle men are not usually my thing.

Having never seen a Superman film before I didn't really know what to expect - I didn't even know the basic storyline. The film begins with Jor-El (Russell Crowe) strutting around a space age room during the birth of his son Kal-El (who we come to know as Superman), and then zooms to a view of an apocalyptic scene of the planet Krypton, where they live.

Crowe enters a chamber where what appear to be leaders are all sat around in a council, only to be disturbed by head of the military, General Zod, who declares a coup. He is reprimanded, and his team sentenced to hang in space in pods for a long period of time; but not before he has murdered Jor-El, and vowed to kill his son. Shortly afterwards Krypton begins its final destruction and Superman's mother shoots him towards the safety of earth in a probe, just before the planet is seen to self destruct.

Action then zooms to Earth and Clark Kent's (Superman's Earth name) current situation as an adult, detailing a few of the 'miracles' he has been a part of in the past, including one where as a child he drags a school bus out of a lake where it has crashed, saving all his classmates. It is then that he makes a decision influenced by his father to hide his abilities so as not to disturb the balance and create fear with the people on Earth.

Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is then introduced as a scientist working on a glacier that has been found to be thousands of years old. On a late night walk, she discovers a ship hidden inside it,  which turns out to be Zod's, the rebel leader who has now come to Earth to fulfil his promise. She becomes endangered by technology onboard, and is saved by Superman who hears her and comes to the rescue, before disappearing. Lane then begins to search for her mysterious saviour, and discovers his whereabouts, just as Zod makes a threat to Earth to hand him over or he will destroy the planet.

The citizens of Earth comply, but then it becomes apparent that the Kryptons wish to steal the planet for themselves, abolishing humans in a mass genocide. So begins Superman's battle to save Earth and at the same time convince humans that he is on their side and won't harm them.

The first thing that I can say about this film is the special effects and action sequences are incredible. Technology is shown in a really finely detailed light and despite being literally light years ahead of what is currently possible, you find yourself believing it. Apart from that though (which, granted, is a large part of the film) I didn't have many more positives to say.

The dialogue is stunted and often cringingly cliched at times, and Superman just isn't that likeable as he is too flawless - he takes the moral high ground, cannot die and is very nicey nice all the time. It is also pretty laughable that he is still getting around in a rubber suit with a cape when everything else in the film is so high-tech and advanced. His relationship with Lois is pretty far fetched; they meet a few times, barely talk, and all of a sudden seem to be a legitimate couple! Amy Adams is like a blushing schoolgirl around him which doesn't fit with her hard-as-nails scientist persona shown originally either.

I don't know if this is the start of a series of films or simply another remake with a slightly different slant, but whichever it is, I will be remaining someone who just isn't that bothered about Superman's adventures!

Weekly Update!

Tattoos, Fancy Dress & Rusholme!

This week started nicely with a meal out at Strada in Wilmslow for Dad's birthday (see previous post) which was a good reward after a spin class during the day. On Tuesday I wrote an article for Men's Fashion Week and then had dinner at the Country Club. The weather was great yet again (I can't believe it's lasted) so we sat outside and I had chilli edamame beans and the king crab and asparagus sushi roll, which I have had before and really enjoyed. It is still not as good as the crunch roll though!

The rest of the week was fairly quiet, Mo came round on Wednesday, and on Thursday I babysat; then on Friday I had my tattoo done! I went to Loaded Forty Four in Swinton as it had good reviews online, and a friend had also been and said it was good. I got a treefrog in colour on my left side, which cost me £120. It was pretty painful, especially at the top of my ribs, which just happened to be where the most colour blocking was, but it was over in a couple of hours and I'm so thrilled with the result - the pain was definitely worth it!

In the evening I went to watch Man of Steel at Parrs Wood cinema with Mo (see next week's post), we were both really tired and nearly didn't stay awake until the 11.30pm finish time! Saturday and Sunday were lazy days involving lounging around in bed and eating, broken up by my birthday night out on Saturday that was 80s themed and awesome! 

Everyone made so much effort with costumes; there were Dallas housewives, Kiss members, glam rockers, neon ravers, yuppies, Kylie, Del Boy, Cher and myself as Madonna! Emily made an incredible Rubik's cube cake and Abi baked some gorgeous treacle and cherry cupcakes, and my Mum made a few 80s nibbles, including cheese and pineapple hedgehogs. We went to Poptastic which was really fun, and had bacon sarnies on Sunday morning to soak up all the excess alcohol!

This evening Mo and I went to Rusholme to a place called Jaffa, where we had mixed chicken and lamb shawarma, falafel and hummus - it was amazing and just what was needed on a hangover. I couldn't eat it all as the portions were huge, but I snaffled what I could and it was only £13 for us both including a drink each, bargain!