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?

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.

Beach and Baking

It’s finally sunny!  My family and I decided to take advantage of that fact and went for a relatively early morning walk on the beach, along with seemingly every other dog owner in the area.

Believe it or not, the beach was actually pretty busy.  *tumbleweed*

I’ve just realised that my oh-so-artistic shadow portrait makes me look like I have the world’s smallest head.  I never said I was a photographer.

I had a moment of extreme intelligence when I looked down and remarked that there seemed to be twice the number of paw prints compared to footprints.  Er…

I was feeling brave this weekend and decided to bake an actual cake as opposed to my usual cupcakes.  I’ve become a devotee of GBBO alumna Ruby’s recipes as featured in the Guardian’s Cook section and fell completely in love with the idea of a treacle ginger chocolate cake.  

Amazingly, it worked out surprisingly well.  Whenever I bake proper size cakes I’m always terrified that it won’t cook all the way through, but it all worked out.  A confession – there is a stage where you melt treacle and butter together over a low heat and add eggs, and I unfortunately ignored the ‘low heat’ instruction, which led to the eggs almost starting to cook where they collected around the sides of the pan.  Scrambled egg cake – delicious.  Luckily it was not the case.

The cake itself is very rich and quite dense, but the ginger icing stops it from getting too much.  I also had doubts about the icing, as 50g of butter looked like it would stretch to maybe a quarter of the cake at most.  But I carried on and of course the quantity was perfect.  This is one recipe I am definitely making again.  

Harry Potter Studios Tour

It has to be said - I am a major Harry Potter fan.  I've reread the books to the extent that most of my copies no longer have covers, I can quote the films by heart and I'm frankly quite proud to say that I went to a midnight showing of Deathly Hallows Part 2 the same day I was due to go on holiday.  So I think it's fair to say that I am highly biased when it comes to describing this day out.

"You're a wizard, Harry."

As you might be able to tell from the rare blue sky, we went in the summer, so it was understandably busy.  However, this wasn't really an issue.  It's absolutely enormous, and there's so much to look at which means that people are very spread out.  We only had to queue once at the very start in order to actually go on the tour, and while we were queuing we got a look at Harry's cupboard-under-the-stairs.

It seemed like pretty much every outfit worn ever in the films was included in this tour, so you're fairly certain of seeing your favourite character in some incarnation. Seeing the little Hogwarts uniforms worn in the first film was funny - they were so small!

"Wangoballwime?"

Seeing the props from throughout the film series really brought back some of the details I'd forgotten, like the Yule Ball.  I definitely want this for my next party.

This book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince

I make no bones about it; I'm a Snape apologist.  I know he was a horrible bully at times and I know he was cruel, but he's got such a tragic back-story!  The Prince's Tale always reduces me to tears.

"I must not tell lies."

One of my favourite bits of information from this tour was the fact that in order to create Umbridge's kitten plates, they actually had to film hundreds of real kittens to be green-screened onto the plates. Best job ever?

"The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price."

The amount of detail included in these films was honestly amazing, and it made me see them in a whole different light when I rewatched them later.  The wand-room at the very end is well worth a look - it's like Ollivander's, with thousands of wand-boxes all stacked up on top of each other, and each box has the name of someone involved in the films, including cast and crew.  I was tempted to stay there forever until I'd found as many recognisable names as I could, but I was lured away by the gift shop which followed.  I was remarkably restrained, but I couldn't resist a gorgeous cream Ministry of Magic mug.

How To Survive Magaluf - the Real Girl's Guide

• Suncream. Seriously.
• Choose as good a hotel as you can - thanks to the boiling heat (which I personally cannot deal with), I found myself going indoors to seek shade and I wouldn't want to do that in a hovel.
• If a drunk guy on the beach offers you a weird-coloured Calipo, don't take it.
• Don't bother going out before midnight - use these hours for something useful, like napping.
• Having said that, avoid confrontations immediately after naps. They will become explosions.
• In light of this, stick to the golden rule - What Happens In Maga, Stays In Maga. *
• * This rule applies to embarrassing emotional outbursts and / or horrible, drink-fuelled and stress-related arguments. These will happen, but it's best to forgive and forget. The hilarious, 'she-got-with-a-minger' stories on the other hand, are gloriously exempt from this rule.
• Don't wear heels. Don't even bother packing them.
• STICK TOGETHER.
• Frequent ice-cream breaks help keep everything and everyone sweet.
• Avoid usual bodycon-town dresses - a) you'll boil, b) you'll boil, c) nobody wears them. Think vest tops and denim shorts.
• Likewise, take clothes you won't mind getting drink spilt on. Inevitable.
• If a guy says, 'I'm not trying to pull you', he's trying to pull you.
• Stock up on magazines / books - life poolside can be pretty, er, relaxing. Plus even though heat is available all over Magaluf, import prices are higher and issues are slower.
• Blister plasters. Even flip-flops can be lethal.
• Before a night out, make sure your PJs, make-up wipes and a bottle of water are all within easy reach - makes things so much easier on return (a friend of mine fell asleep in her suitcase while retrieving her pyjamas).
• Pedalos are fun, and wet. Your stuff will get soaked, so bear this in mind when taking a bag.
• If you're going as a group, stick like-with-like when allocating hotel rooms. Don't put OCD Monica with Little Miss Messy - even the best of friends clash over things like that.
• Accept that boys will always outnumber girls in Magaluf. You can take advantage of better drinks deals that way, as most places are eager to even out the numbers.
• Within reason, don't be afraid to kick a guy who won't take no for an answer - my friend didn't want to dance with you, OK?
• Set some money aside for post-night-out munchies, and say goodbye to your diet, because Magaluf knows how to do chips.
• Unless you're planning some serious travel days, leave the Spanish phrasebook at home.
• Don't be afraid of the strip - it provides some of the best nights out ever.
• Relax.