Things I Would Ban on TV

• Title formats like Person Name: My Something and Me.  
• News presenters starting the show sitting down, then standing up, then sitting down again.  Let people sit!
• On the subject of news, sending some poor journalist to stand in the rain outside an anonymous building that is somehow related to the story they're covering. It could be anywhere! 
• The news using overly literal metaphors.  "Some may be on the fence - " ... cuts to picture of a fence. No. 
• Police dramas where suspects or witnesses are ridiculously hostile and rude to the police. See also: "We're done here." Er, no, the police decide when the interview is over, not you, mate.
• Love scenes where they zoom in on interlocking hands. This has been done many, many times. Enough. 
• Bad fake drinking. I don't even mean acting drunk, I mean literally drinking any drink. Next time you watch TV, watch when somebody drinks, and see if their mouth will be open when the cup comes away. If they were actually drinking, they'd be dribbling all down their chin. Double whammy if they don't visibly swallow. 
• Police dramas where someone says to the lead detective, "You're going to want to see this." 
• Police dramas where the police are shouting distance away from the suspect they want to arrest, and they decide to shout "Police!", thereby alerting said suspect to their imminent arrest and giving them an ideal opportunity to leg it. 
• Anything with the word 'Benefits' in the title.
• Presenters who think it's OK to punch a producer.
• Endless female murder victims. 
• That car insurance comparison ad with James Corden.  I'm not even a Corden-hater, but I don't think that advert is anyone's best work. As someone who has recently purchased car insurance (what a fabulous life I lead), it actively put me off using that site. 
• 'Paradise' by Coldplay.  Really?

Lately

A gorgeous day on Skomer

Lately I've been

reading: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.  I've never read anything by her before and saw that this one was recommended as one of her best.  I'm about three-quarters of the way through and I'm definitely enjoying it, but after tearing through the first half I reached a bit of reader's block, so I put it down for a while and now I've resumed it once more.  It's interesting because I think a lot of us assume we know what Victorian life is like, but this shows a darker side to the usual 'posh person' or maid stereotypes. 

watching: too much! I'm at university now and am studiously ignoring the pile of books I've just got from the library.  At the moment it feels like all my favourites are back on - GBBO, Gogglebox, the Graham Norton Show - and so there's so much iPlayer and so little time.  I really enjoyed Victoria, despite the snottiness that surrounded it, and I'm going to watch the new series of Ordinary Lies (I hope they've still got the funky little theme tune).

Speaking of snotty, I went to see Bridget Jones's Baby the other day, and I really don't care what critics thought.  I laughed out loud, and had a really good time. Emma Thompson was a scene-stealing obstetrician, although I was slightly confused by a couple of cameos given to actors who really could have been given actual roles, such as Shazzer and Jude's partners. When it comes to upcoming films, I'm looking forward to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as Denial. 

listening to: Christine and the Queens, whom I saw on the aforementioned GN Show, and loved immediately. Check out It and Narcissus is Back.

eating: student food, woe is me!  In fact, I've been a bit better this time, and have been cooking actual meals as opposed to toast and pesto pasta.  One of my favourites things to cook is Sabrina Ghayour's lamb and sour cherry meatballs, but I've not had the patience or money to add every single ingredient and cook it for quite that long, so I've made my own simplified version. Of course, despite my best intentions, I've been snacking like mad on pretzels and amaretti biscuits.  Niche, I know. 

London Calling

pricy ane?

I've probably said this before, but I love London.  I live a few hours' drive away, so I usually make do with the odd day-trip here and there, but a few months ago a friend and I decided to bite the bullet and actually stay there for a couple of days. We rented a gorgeous Airbnb right on Brick Lane, aka hipster central (I say this fondly).  I think sometimes Airbnbs can be hit-and-miss, but ours was definitely a hit, despite the initial horror of unlocking the door only to find people inside - luckily they were the cleaners, rather than other double-booked guests. We didn't meet our hosts, but they left a very sweet folder of tips and recommendations, which was thoughtful.

My parents visited Shoreditch a year or so ago and were amazed to find themselves usually being the oldest people there. Walking around, I could really see what they meant. It is a hub of young, arty types with beards.  What was weirder to me, though, was the fact that this art hub was nestled right next to the City.  You could turn a corner and go from graffiti'd lanes full of ironic jumpers to Suit Central.

One of the brilliant things about Shoreditch is the fact that there's always something to look at.  Almost every building had something quirky about it, whether it was the design of the building itself or just street art of a giant cobra.

I am so hungry right now

Obviously you can't really go to Brick Lane without getting a bagel.  Generally I am not a big bagel fan. I find them too much hard work - too chewy, unwieldy and sticky.  But Brick Lane bagels are something else, particularly the salt beef bagels.  Not only is the bagel itself far softer than standard shop-boughts, but they are seriously stuffed to the brim with tangy tender beef. The ladies behind the counter may be slightly brusque (to me, anyway, a sheltered small town girl), but they are very generous with the salt beef.
However, salt beef bagels are not the only thing worth a pilgrimage to Shoreditch for.  Brick Lane is also the home of Dark Sugars, the ultimate chocolate shop.  When you step in and are instantly breathing in pure chocolate with a hint of air, you know you're onto a winner.  When their hot chocolates involve actually hacking off slivers from a lump of solid chocolate, it's a double win.  Those hot chocolates are the stuff of dreams. They're practically a pudding.  Needless to say, it's ruined hot chocolate for me forever and I will never be able to drink it from anywhere else again.

LOL

Did I mention that my friend pretty much took the reins completely when it came to what to do, where to go etc?  Well, she did, and it was a good thing - I am one of the most indecisive people in the world, and I think she knew if she left it to me we'd never get anything done.  One of her 'suggestions' was going to see a comedy show.  I've never seen live comedy.  I get easily embarrassed and I was convinced that I would be cringing throughout. How wrong I was.
We went to the Comedy Store on a Wednesday, which meant that it was the Comedy Store Players' night of improv.  I had even less clue about improv, and wasn't really familiar with many of the players (clearly I don't listen to enough Radio 4, because my dad was).  It requires audience participation (two words that would usually strike fear into my heart) but only a little bit, and only if you want to. The 'games' are all explained here.  Needless to say, I had an amazing time, and part of this was because everyone - audience and performers - also seemed to be really enjoying themselves. The atmosphere played a big part in making it such a good night.

London is currently under construction

On our last day in London we went to Skygarden, which is at the very top of 20 Fenchurch Street, aka the Walkie-Talkie building. I was pretty amazed that it was free to visit, only requiring booking in advance for entry.  Even that was less of an issue than I'd thought - my friend had somehow booked us tickets for three weeks' time, but they let us go on up anyway, complete with our going-home suitcases.
The gardens themselves are unfortunately a sideline to the amazing view of London that you get from the vast windows, so most visitors are staring out rather than looking in. From there you can see St Paul's, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, as well as other assorted skyscrapers. Photos-wise, I am always amazed at the people who manage to get beautiful blue-sky photos, or stunning sunset shots.My photos are almost inevitably shades of grey, but I love London all the same.

What the Fudge

A couple of months ago our neighbour brought us some of the best fudge I've ever tasted, and trust me when I say as a fudge fan I've tried a fair bit. Said best fudge was (of course) homemade, using Nigella's vanilla fudge recipe.
It's taken me this long to try making it myself because I was scared, and I might have had a good reason. Fudge bubbles up a LOT.

Toil and trouble 

The thing with fudge is patience - and if you're using a sugar thermometer, make sure it works. I'd like to blame that for my less-than-stellar results, but they also say that a poor workman blames his tools.

The blob 

As you can see, my fudge didn't set. It wasn't far off, but it wasn't exactly choppable, either. The flavour was fine, but consistency? No bueno. Time for plan B.

Roly poly 

I took advantage of the fact that my fudge was super malleable, and rolled it into walnut-sized balls.

Chocolate chestnuts 

The obvious solution to any culinary problems is to cover it in chocolate, and this worked out pretty well. I used dark chocolate which stopped the extreme sweetness of the fudge from being too overpowering. Keeping them in the fridge also keeps the chocolate crisp and snappable.

Lately

A recent dishy purchase

Lately I've been
reading: Diary of an Ordinary Woman by Margaret Forster.  This book totally hoodwinked me.  It's written as if the author, Margaret Forster, has been presented with a collection of diaries written by Millicent King, who was born in 1901 and kept a record of her life from 1914 until 1995.  The idea was that Forster was given the diaries to edit and perhaps publish.  What I didn't fully grasp was that Millicent King is a work of fiction, as is the entire book.  It's amazing because Millicent is such a believable character, as are so many others in the novel, and she has such a strong narrative voice.
Next I'm planning on reading The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters by Charlotte Mosley.  After reading Brideshead Revisited I became quite interested in Evelyn Waugh and the others of his generation, and so I've read a couple of books about that sort of period (Bright Young People by D J Taylor, Paula Byrne's Mad World).

watching: TV-wise, The Secret Life of Four / Five / Six-Year-Olds.  Like Gogglebox, this was something that I thought sounded awful when I first heard about it, and then as soon as I watched it I fell in love with it. Some of the lines the kids come out with are absolute gems - who licked the cake? "A giant bird came down... a mini-beast!" They're also so insightful at times, like when a six-year-old explained the concept of a democracy.  Really addictive viewing.
Film-wise, I saw Spectre and really enjoyed it, thanks to the amazing cast (mainly Ben Whishaw, if I'm being honest), although I can't help but find 'Bond girls' a bit ridiculous in this day and age. The film I was more excited about, though, was Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I've seen it twice already - the first time being the midnight showing because I'm a cool cat - and loved it both times. No spoilers, but Han Solo and Leia have always been my number one favourite film couple.

listening to: mostly (slightly cheesy) 60s stuff, like this gem from the Shangri-Las, Leader of the Pack, and Da Doo Ron Ron by The Crystals.

eating: everything.

Up, Up and Away

Hot air balloon in action

The older I get, the harder it is to choose a birthday present.  I know, I know, that's such a tough problem to have, but the way my mum nags, it kind of is.  It got to the point where I was actually asking for help in choosing, and in the end my dad (with an air of desperation) suggested a hot air balloon ride.  Why not?

Mixed salad

The balloon took off (if that's the right phrase) from gorgeous Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire.  The hot air balloon held about 17 people including the pilot (again, I think that's the right phrase) and a co-pilot - I had no idea the basket would be so big! The journey was so, so smooth, as well, and it felt really serene just drifting along.

Moo

Seeing everything from above like that is quite odd, as well. I suppose the nearest I'd come in the past is that moment when taking off and landing in a plane, where you're just under the clouds and everything looks like a patchwork blanket. Flying over the Westonbirt Arboretum area we obviously got to see a lot of gorgeous countryside, as well as Westonbirt House and Highgrove.

Oh, and did I mention it was a champagne flight? Only the best, naturally.
The landing was the only bumpy moment during the whole flight. There are seats and hand-holds in the basket, so we were all prepared and it was pretty soft, really.  As this took place in September the weather wasn't exactly sunny, but it was clear and not too cold so I was pretty comfortable and got a lot of photos.  It's definitely an experience I'd recommend.

In Bruges

First things first, if you haven't seen In Bruges, get thee to Netflix right now, because it's good. OK, it may not be everyone's cup of tea - the language is uniformly foul and there's a hugely generous helping of black comedy - but Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are fab in it, and Ralph Fiennes's evil streak doesn't stop at Lord Voldemort.  Also, I doubt there are many other films where Bruges is such a central character.

This is the only beer brewed in Bruges itself, and it's brewed in the Halve Maan brewery right in the centre.  We toured the brewery and saw the whole process, as well as seeing the view from the top of the building, where my photo above was taken.  As part of the tour every visitor got a glass of Brugse Zot to try (but only at the end, once everyone was safely downstairs and nowhere near any staircases).  Brugse Zot means Bruges Fools, but apparently it's also a slang word for drunkard, which could be apt.  I have to confess that I was not a beer drinker before I went to Bruges.  My only experience with beer was when I was on a school trip to Germany and drank Bitburger every night, and that was only because that was what everyone else was drinking.  However, Bruges was an education for me.

Yes, that is an actual beer glass.

Yes, Brits like beer.  But when you go to a pub in the UK, if you order a pint of Stella it's just as likely to be poured into a mismatched San Miguel glass as it is an actual Stella glass.  Not so in Bruges.  Each beer seems to have its own distinctive glass, and that beer will come with that glass.  Kwak, above, was probably my favourite, and not just due to the frankly ridiculous glass, although that was what caught my eye in the first place.  A word of warning, however - once the beer level gets below the narrowest part of the glass, it can tend to run all over the place when you tip it to drink, meaning that you suddenly feel an awful lot drunker than you are thanks to the beer running down your chin.
The above photo was taken in Staminee de Garre, which is an amazing place to learn about and try different beers.  It's located in a tiny, easily-missed little lane off one of the main streets of the Bruges city centre, but it has no trouble attracting customers.  The upstairs, where we sat, felt almost like a beer restaurant, in that there were tables with menus as well as a traditional bar. Luckily for us beer novices, the staff were friendly and knowledgeable with recommendations and advice.

A light snack

On to Belgium's most famous food.  These monster waffles were courtesy of Lizzie's Wafels, again right in the city centre.  I don't think any of us were quite expecting something so huge, but luckily we opted to skip lunch.  Waffles, with vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate sauce - what can I say?  Go big or go home.

This is the Belfort, which is probably the best-known Bruges landmark and is pretty much what the rest of the city is shaped around.  Of course, that means huge queues to get to the top, and no, there's no lift.  Duh.  We visited on quite a hot day and there was a fair amount of time spent queuing in bright sunshine, which is not my favourite thing in the world.  The ticket lady was also not the politest person I've ever met, and yes, the stairs are very narrow and crowded, as there are people going up as well as going down.  I think I was a bit too British for my own good that day, as I found myself stopping and giving way for people and waiting for thank-yous that never came. Such is the life of a tourist.

However, the view was lovely. As negative as I sounded, I was really glad I'd done it, because there was no end of views to take photos of.  That was what struck me about Bruges - the fact that pretty much every building, every house was pretty.  You could wander down a side street of residential houses and see something beautiful.

Like I said, I've no idea what if any significance these buildings have, but I saw them as we were wandering on our way somewhere else.  It was just so easy to stumble across something lovely, which I think is really important.
In case you couldn't guess, I would highly recommend Bruges.  We were only there a relatively short time, but we saw so much beauty in such a small space.