tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39945137070646981002024-03-14T18:49:21.306+00:00MiscriantThe lifestyle blog of a Canterbury girlAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.comBlogger288125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-41629125398814044872016-12-05T11:47:00.002+00:002016-12-05T11:47:48.208+00:00Long Term HiatusIt's probably quite obvious (seeing as the last post was in May!) that I'm not really blogging at the moment.<br />
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I've got a lot going on right now that I am focussing on, both at work (which is crazy right now) and in our day to day lives and Miscriant has always been the outlet that suffers the most when I need to divert my energies elsewhere.<br />
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I'm not saying that I am closing this blog for good; I'm too fond of it for that, but I am going to put it on a period of indefinite leave.<br />
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Watch this space?<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-44713941502429345992016-05-20T20:34:00.000+01:002016-05-23T09:36:00.694+01:00The Bluebell is the sweetest flowerThe Bluebell is the sweetest flower<br />
That waves in summer air;<br />
Its blossoms have the mightiest power<br />
To soothe my spirit's care<br />
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We've been friends for sometime now, haven't we? In that case I think it is about time I showed you around my office.<br />
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Well, not the boring parts of the office. The bits that are a hop, skip and a rabbit jump away and at this time of year, simply glorious. You could not pay me to work in London at the moment when I have all this mere minutes from my desk.<br />
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Steve bought me a Fitbit about a month ago, and it has been encouraging me (quite literally; the thing buzzes at me every time it thinks I have moved enough recently) to get up and get going. This, combined with the need to hit 10K steps a day, and the fact that the weather has suddenly become warm(er) and sun(nier) have all combined to mean that I have been using my lunch breaks as an opportunity to get out and explore the glorious countryside that surrounds my campus, and in some cases, still very much part of the campus. <br />
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Much as Bronte said in her poem, I have also found that these walks amongst the bluebells and wildflowers have had a deeply relaxing effect on me. They are a wonderful de-stresser, helping me to focus and breath deep, great gulps of fresh air, inhaling the sweet scents of hawthorn and cherry blossom that litter the pathways. When I have returned to the office, I have been much more focussed and productive, and I am also sleeping better at night.<br />
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Amazingly, although all of this is right there on our doorsteps, most students and staff don't even realise it exists as, for the most part, you access it by either going off the footpaths or behind buildings.<br />
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I have to say though, as far as lunchtime strolls go, it doesn't get much better than bluebell woods, wildflower meadows and sweeping views of the Cathedral.<br />
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There are secret cubby holes made out as fairy glades where people can pull up a quiet mushroom and get stuck into a book.<br />
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Great old trees just begging to be climbed<br />
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Glades and secret pools where ducks snooze contentedly, unless disturbed by one of the hundreds of wild rabbits that litter the hillside.<br />
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Places that remind me of one of my <a href="http://miscriant.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/art-in-barn.html">favourite paintings</a> at the Tithe barn exhibition<br />
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Bluebell woods transforming the secret walks into a sea of gently waving shades of blue.<br />
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I've been walking the paths every lunch break for the last month, and I am still finding new trails, new pathways and new secrets to unlock, each adventure lasting just long enough to have me back at my computer just as my lunch break is over.<br />
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Will you have a lunchtime adventure next week?<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-14633126925304190832016-04-19T16:01:00.000+01:002016-04-20T09:23:00.411+01:00Beyond The Barriers @ Howletts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is a long post with a LOT of pictures! You have been warned! </div>
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Just before Christmas I was sat with Steve on the sofa, casually flicking through various channels on the tellybox. I was on leave, recovering from a nasty virus the week before, and didn't have to be back at work until the first week of January. It was a pretty relaxed time.</div>
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Steve was perched on the sofa, cushion on his lap, laptop balanced on top. We were talking about nothing in particular, when he suddenly looked up and said "you have to see this, you would love it".<br />
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The 'this' in question was a <a href="http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/photography-course">photography experience</a> at either <a href="http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/howletts">Howletts</a> or <a href="http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/port-lympne">Port Lympne</a>, the two Wildlife Parks owned by the Aspinell Foundation. As I read up on the experience days, I got more and more excited by the idea.<br />
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The premise was pretty simple, you get to go beyond the barriers with your camera and up close and personal with the animals to get some brilliant shots. You have the Aspinall photographer, Dave Rolfe, with you for the day, who can give you advice and information, and you also get the benefit of the keepers' wealth of knowledge and experience as they tell you about the animals in their care.<br />
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I absolutely loved this idea - I'm a big fan of both parks anyway, and the concept of getting that bit closer to the animals was just too good to miss out on.<br />
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Both days were pretty similar, but Howletts is just down the road from me (about 6 minutes door to door with a fair wind) and I also preferred the idea of their day as it involved getting a bit more up close and personal with the animals as opposed to being on the back of a land-rover. Plus which Howletts had a baby rhino. Who could say no to his little face?!<br />
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Now, the experiences are not cheap. The day costs £195 and this does not include lunch. However Christmas and my birthday were coming up, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to drop some hints. My sister, after I told her about the day, was also really keen to do it, and seeing as her birthday is only three weeks before mine, it made sense for us to go for it together. The end result was that we were both booked onto the photography experience on the first weekend that it was available on for the new season.<br />
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I met Lotts at Howletts bright and early on our Sunday, and after a quick safety briefing and cup of coffee, we were off in our group of eight, headed to the rhino enclosure. <br />
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Dave advised us to switch our white balance to cloudy as this would help to bring out the differentiation in the rhino's skin. I looked at him blankly, handed him my camera and he did it for me. I had decided at the last minute the night before to switch to my old Nikon that I haven't used in about three years and I had forgotten 1) where everything was on the menu and 2) that it wasn't a touch screen, so it was taking me ages to find anything. I also had my Canon with me, whilst my sister was using her favourite Lumix. <br />
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I really did not know what to expect, but we got to the Black Rhino enclosure and waited for the keeper, who came out, opened the first barrier and let us through. All that separated us from the rhino's was a low fence, and people started snapping away at the beautiful creatures out in the field.<br />
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Then the keeper bought out the food and the rhino's suddenly got a lot closer. As in, nose to nose closer.<br />
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When I thought it couldn't get much better than this, the keeper upped the stakes once more and told us we could stroke the rhino, and give her a good rub below her thigh. At that moment the rhino rolled over, much like a blissed out dog getting a belly rub. This was one of the most surreal experiences of my life, tickling a rhino's leg who was basically purring in pleasure. All thoughts of photography went out of both of our heads. <br />
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As you can imagine we gathered quite a crowd of jealous onlookers! <br />
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After an amazing 15 minutes with the rhino, where we all got as many shots as we wanted, including some of the new rhino mum and her baby, Kasungu (we kept our distance as she was obviously very protective of her young) we moved onto the lions.<br />
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Now, it doesn't look like it, but that is a male and a female. The male had to be castrated for medical reasons and shed his mane shortly afterwards! Again, we were let through the barrier and right up close to the fence. Dave told us to press our camera's against the mesh to get the shots through it, although we had to be careful of our fingers. If the lions came up to the fence, we were advised to step back. We were also advised to try and get eye contact with the animals as much as
possible for the shots, but not to prolong it as this could be seen as
aggressive. <br />
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Once again the keepers chucked food over the fence for the lions, helping us to get the shots that we were after. These guys were a lot harder to photograph - they moved surprisingly quickly, and their pacing up and down the fence meant that it was difficult to keep them in frame and in focus in time to take a picture. It was at this moment that I switched to my Canon as it has a much faster shutter speed than the Nikon, and it was the only way that I could get any pictures.<br />
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After another wonderful 15 minutes with these giant cats, we moved on again to the first of the two tiger enclosures. The tigers were a whole different kettle of fish.<br />
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These two were some of my favourite animals of the entire day. First up was this handsome fellow who absolutely loved playing in his water, dunking his great head fully under, pawing at the meat that the keeper threw to him and shaking great shining droplets from his whiskers. His pads were enormous but he didn't make a sound as he moved around his enclosure.<br />
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We then moved onto see Arina, the beautiful female Siberian tiger, who was just incredibly friendly. She came up to the fence as soon as we came through the barrier, chuffing at us, so close that she could lick our fingers through the mesh if we had wanted.<br />
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She also reared up when Dave asked her to, pressing her full weight and 8 feet of height up against the mesh, although I was too far away to get a picture of that. Arina has had a pretty sad start to life. Both her brother, Kazimir and her were abandoned by their mother as cubs and have been hand-reared by the keepers. At about a year old, Kazimir succumbed to an epileptic fit and died. Arina herself also was born with brittle bones, had surgery early in her life to correct a limp and has a definite squint when you look at her face on, but is a beautiful big cat.<br />
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The final stop before lunch were the gorilla's. Howletts and Port Lympne have one of the largest families of gorillas in captivity, and are world leaders in breeding and conservation of this highly endangered species, with over 130 successful births to date!<br />
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We were advised with the gorillas not to get too close, but instead to stand behind the protective glass and make sure our camera lenses were flat against it to obtain shots without a reflection. We could also go up to the mesh, but in all honesty, these animals demand a lot of respect and you just don't want to get that close! The gorillas would put on impulsive displays of strength and agility, running up and down the boundaries of their pen, banging the fence and throwing the straw into the air.<br />
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The odor is also incredibly strong with a definite waft of ammonia! With the gorilla's we were advised to ensure that our flash was on if possible as it was needed to light their eyes and bring them out of their faces.<br />
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One of the female gorilla's came off slightly worse for wear in an altercation with one of the males, and lost one of her forearms as a result. As you can see below though, she has fully recovered from her ordeal and seems perfectly content!<br />
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We had over half an hour with the gorillas, swapping between the two pens and just enjoying being so close to them. Their keepers were on hand again, dropping food through the ceiling bars for them and answering any questions we had about them. <br />
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We split off into groups for lunch after this, and I used the opportunity to charge my camera battery which was wearing down a bit. I wasn't too sure how much I would need in the afternoon and wanted to preserve as much as possible! We had an hour for lunch and were able to use some of that time to wander around the park, before heading back ot the Moloch Gibbons and Javan Langurs enclosure for our first stop after lunch.<br />
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Now I knew that we were getting up close and personal. I just didn't realise how up close and personal until we were taken beyond the first barrier, down to the access gate, into the holding pen and then into the enclosure itself. There was nothing between us and these beautiful and highly mischievous little monkeys!<br />
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Once again food was laid out on the tables for the monkeys, and then we just went crazy with our pictures. The running comment seemed to be 'I can't believe I am doing this!'. Everyone had the biggest, silliest grins plastered across their faces as we followed these monkeys around.<br />
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Of everything we could see that day, these little fella's were the ones I wanted to take home the most. Just look at the personality in those faces!<br />
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The deer and antelope tour was where I really felt the lack of a decent zoom lens on my camera. We were piled onto the back of an open air trailer attached to a tractor and sat on hay bales with giant sacks of carrots and feed perched precariously on the end. The gates to the deer park opened, and we drove right into the centre and parked up.<br />
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Once there, the keeper jumped out and laid lines of feed out for the deer to graze on. These are incredibly timid animals, so we kept our distance. Even so, it was a while before the bravest deer could work up the courage to approach and chow down on lunch. Tigers and their prey animals are a feature of Howletts, and many of the species of deer present in the deer park would be the natural prey for the tigers in the wild.<br />
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The shot of the day that everyone was after was one of the deer pronking (jumping in the air with all four hooves off the floor and the back arched). Unfortunately, I didn't manage a single shot of this as they were just too quick, too far away and there were absolutely no signals that one was about to start - they just launched into it and stopped just as quickly! I did however manage a shot of the newest addition to the park, the four day old baby fallow deer curled up in the hollow of a fallen tree. Look closely and you can see it tucked away, camouflaged from predators.<br />
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The second to last stop on the day's adventures was the elephant pen, where a new arrival was getting settled in and had already made a rather positive impression on the ladies! We were told to stay out of trunk's reach as, and I quote the keeper here, 'if he gets hold of you with his trunk and takes you into the enclosure, I'm not positive I could get you back'. The words and warning were heeded and we all maintained a respectful distance from these gentle creatures, who move a lot faster than I would have otherwise given them credit for! <br />
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These creatures are also highly intelligent, able to navigate between their pens quickly and easily and roaming around a huge section of Howletts quite freely. It's a little disconcerting seeing the tigers and the elephant pens so close to each other (you could see the tigers in the background) but they all seem to exist relatively harmoniously together, although one of the staff members did confess to me that they got a bit upset when the tigers started stalking one of the baby elephants when it was still very small. The baby was never in any danger though.<br />
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Howletts Lemur Walk is where all visitors have the chance to get quite close to the animals as you walk a path through their enclosure, and the lemurs will often hang around on the path, keeping you company and balancing on the railings.<br />
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Once again though, we were allowed to go a lot closer and step over the railings into the enclosure proper as the keepers laid out food for them.<br />
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There are a lot of photo's in this section. Sorry. They are just so photogenic though! These are the black and white ruffed lemurs, who are the largest lemurs that live at Howletts. <br />
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There are also the red bellied lemurs, smaller and dinkier than the black and white ones, and the black and crowned lemurs. I think the keeper said that only the males have the black triangle on their head.<br />
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Just look at that face! I think they look a bit like meercats. If you want to know how close we got, the little guy three pictures up spent a good 5 minutes sat on the foot of one of the other members of our group. He didn't dare move but just kept snapping away downwards at the top of the lemurs head.<br />
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Once we had finished with the lemurs, our day was officially over and we were free to roam the park as we pleased. There were a couple of stops that I wanted to make, but we were agreed that we wouldn't linger for too long as by now we were shattered and were in the mood to start heading home!<br />
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A few tips here if you are planning on doing something similar:<br />
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1) Make sure your camera's are charged and you have your chargers with you to boost the batteries at lunch if you need to. You will take a lot of pictures<br />
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2) Make sure your memory cards are empty and bring spares. You will take a lot of pictures. One of the others on our tour hadn't emptied her memory card prior to the experience and by the time we got to the deer park she was desperately trying to delete old pictures to free up the space for new ones.<br />
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3) Bring additional zoom lenses but make sure you can whip them off quickly and into a convenient storage bag as the animals get a lot closer than you realise!<br />
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4) Wear comfortable shoes that you don't mind getting muddy<br />
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5) Don't bother with a packed lunch, just grab something at the cafe.<br />
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Other than that, if you have the opportunity to do something like this, I highly, highly recommend it. It was a simply incredible experience and you don't have to be a pro with a camera - as long as you know your way around it, you can set it to auto and still get some brilliant shots. <br />
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Howlett's, this was an amazing day. Thank you!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com2Bekesbourne, Canterbury, Kent CT4, UK51.2587884 1.142207099999950551.2488514 1.1220370999999505 51.2687254 1.1623770999999505tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-38958044248944699892016-04-08T14:15:00.000+01:002016-04-08T14:15:08.273+01:00Chatham Historic Dockyard (Part 2)As part of our entry tickets to the Dockyard, we were given the opportunity to sign up to two tours; one aboard the submarine HMS Ocelot, and one around the Victorian Ropery. The sub had two tour options; a quick 15 minute tour or a 30 minute tour, whilst the Victorian Ropery would last 30 minutes.<br />
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We went for the short option on the sub. I don't do that well in enclosed spaces. <br />
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The tour was given by a gentleman who looked like the picture perfect naval captain with his white roll neck fisherman's sweater matching his white, neatly cropped beard and weather beaten brown face. All he needed was a pipe.<br />
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The tour started outside the sub, with an overview of what life would have been like on board and her naval history as a Cold War spy vessel. 69 souls would have been packed on board for months at a time, with water supplies strictly rationed and used from everything from cooking to washing, to flushing the toilets. As our guide explained with a wry smile, the air would have been rather ripe after a few days. <br />
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The Ocelot is an Oberon class diesel electric submarine (no, I have no idea what that means in practice) that was first launched in May 1962 and then retired in August 1991. Life on board was narrow, crowded, noisy and hot, with little personal space and only three changes of clothes per person for the three months you could be at sea for. The mere thought of that makes my stomach flip if I am honest. A naval career is not one I am even vaguely drawn towards.<br />
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We were warned before going on board that to move from one end of the ship would involve being able to navigate through three hatches. The choices were to grab the rail above your head and swing both feet through, or go through one leg at a time. Belly diving was not recommended. I navigated the first two sideways and got braver for the final hatch and swung my way through. I didn't really have any option though, the width of the hatch base on the final way was significantly longer than the others, and going sideways would have left me stranded like some form of beached sea creature. A whale seems like an unnecessarily harsh description, but it is the one that came to mind. For obvious reasons, this tour is not one that is suitable for individuals in wheel chairs or with mobility issues.<br />
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By far the coolest part of the Ocelot is the central command chamber where the periscope is stored. This feels like something out of a 1970's Bond film. I commented to my father that I am in awe of anyone who can build something this convoluted and complicated - the amount of wires, dials, switches, gauges, pipes, clamps, valves and other paraphernalia is rather jaw-dropping and yet it somehow all connects together to make a giant boat that quite happily floats underwater for months at a time. Ain't technology an amazing thing?<br />
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The second tour of the day was the Victorian Ropery at the far end of the Dockyards. This is one of the older sections of the Dockyard and this time our tour was given by the foreman of the Ropery. The year is 1875 and we are shown what life would have been like in the Ropery for the hundreds of workers. <br />
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What is intriguing about this place is the fact that it is still operational today, and rope is still being made traditionally for hundreds of causes, from movie props to dog chew toys. You can even buy it <a href="http://www.master-ropemakers.co.uk/">online</a>! <br />
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The forty minute tour teaches you how rope is made, from the raw hemp from cannabis plants shipped over from Asia, through to the laborious process of cleaning it, picking out the bristles and burrs, to the hatchlings; sharp spiked devices that the hemp was ripped through to comb it before it was sent to the spinners after being drenched with whale oil to soften it. Once spun into yard, the ropes are then sent to the tarring shed for waterproofing so that the ropes can survive the rigours of a sea voyage. This process was so successful that perfectly preserved Chatham Rope is still being recovered from ship wrecks 150 years later. We learn about the role of that rope played in the success of the Royal Navy throughout the years, and the different names for different types of rope.<br />
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We are told about how people's roles were defined by the size of their hands and their fingers; women and children being more suited for the delicate work in the mills, reaching between spinning bobbins to join snapped strands together whilst men with larger hands were assigned to the heavy lifting roles on the Rope Walk and in the Hatching House and Tar Shed. Women and men were kept strictly segregated, with different entrances and staggered start times to ensure that they could not accidentally find a husband whilst at work. We also were told about some of the first women to demand equal pay, better working conditions and fair working hours to allow them to balance children and work. 80 women all signed a petition to the owner of the factory, requesting a meeting to discuss standards. All of it fell on deaf ears but it was some of the early indications of the pre-vote era of women who were starting to want a fairer society. <br />
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On the Rope Walk, a vast, stretching, 1/4 mile long single building where rope to this day is still made, you can also make your own rope if you volunteer for the demonstration. At least you don't have to do this at 6am when the Victorian Workers would have started work, finishing at 6pm after a gruelling day of back-breaking labour for very low pay. To get a feel for The Rope Walk and the importance of rope to Victorian life, try reading <a href="http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/longfellow/birds_of_passage_ropewalk.html">this poem</a> by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.<br />
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Yarns from the mill are stretched out and attached to large hooks at each end, then the machines are hand cranked to twist the yarn into the distinctive rope patterns you see today.<br />
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The Rope Walk itself was cool and quiet on the day we visited, but it would have been bitterly cold in the winter, noisy, dusty, and the vibrations from the machines would have rattled your teeth.<br />
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I don't know about you, but I'm grateful I don't have to work in those conditions.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-66763115244389493832016-03-21T11:00:00.000+00:002016-03-21T11:00:26.869+00:00Chatham Historic Dockyard (Part 1)You know how people often say that they are never a tourist in their own county? Would you believe that in 15 years of living in Kent, I have never once looked around the Historic Dockyard in Chatham? <br />
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This becomes even more shameful when you take into consideration the fact that the University of Kent has academic buildings on the site, and that Stephen has been based just opposite for the last 10 years. I have run through the Dockyard trying not to fall over in heels on my way to a meeting, I have toured around it with colleagues, I have eaten in the cafes, I have even interviewed for a job in the Old Clocktower, but I have never taken the time to actually look around it properly.<br />
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I knew that it was the kind of place my father would love though, and so on a cold and breezy but utterly beautiful first day of spring, I left Stephen watching Man Utd vs Man City (Man Utd won, he was happy) and went on a proper tour of the Dockyard with Dad.<br />
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Full disclosure - because I work for the University of Kent, my staff card gets me free access to the Dockyard and its attractions, but Dad had to pay the full entry price. He decided to upgrade from the £13 day pass to the £22 annual pass which gets him unlimited access for a full year. Good job he did as well as the Dockyard is enormous; there is no way you will explore everything it has to offer in one visit. I've had to split out what little we saw over two posts as well!<br />
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If you have seen Call The Midwife, Sherlock Holmes films, Downton Abbey, Foyles War, Mr Selfridge, The Golden Compass, The World Is Not Enough or Les Miserables, you may recognise some of the locations.... although it is still a working dockyard and museum, it is also a popular filming location.<br />
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The Dockyard is 400 years old, and some of the most famous British naval vessels, including Nelson's flagship, the HMS Victory, have been built and launched on the premises. The first warship known to have been built at the Dockyard was the Sunne, a pinnace of five guns, launched in 1586, and the last was built in the 1960's.<br />
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Whilst we were there, the 1st Battalion 42nd Highland Regiment of Foot 1815 (also known as The Black Watch) were practicing their drills to the beat of the drum. The Black Watch are a re-enactment society, dedicated to preserving; as accurately as possible, the uniform, drill, musketry, tactics and daily life of the regiment in 1815, the year of the Battle of Waterloo. The 42nd Foot was the most senior of the Highland Regiments and the sombre appearance of the tartan and its original role of policing the Highlands led to the nickname 'The Black Watch'. Modern re-enactment organisations are now based all over the UK and abroad, including at Chatham. </div>
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First stop on our tour was the No 1 Smithery, originally built between 1806 and 1808 and bought back to life in 2010 as a museum and exhibition space by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, National Maritime Museum and Imperial War Museum. The most interesting section, the model boat archive, unfortunately did not allow photo's for copyright reasons, but believe me when I say it was amazing, and an area that Dad is tempted to book a private tour in. Kids would love it here, there is so much for them to see and do!<br />
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The Smithery is a Grade II listed building that, as the name suggests, was originally used for iron-working. It also enjoys status as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and houses 4,000 ship models in total. Inside is a totally immersive experience - you could spend hours in this one location alone.<br />
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There are the original forges used for making the metal pipes, great hulking masses of blackened iron surrounded by decades of soot and ash embedded into the brickwork. Beyond is the Courtyard, a huge imposing space where the enormous anchors can be viewed in pits<br />
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Past the galleries (no photos allowed) filled with giant ship models, cutaways and original paintings, is the Pipe Bending room, where metal pipes were superheated in the furnace then bent around pegs in the floor to make them the right shape for the ships. The original brickwork mixed with the steel girders are the type of details that modern architects can only dream about working with.<br />
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After spending over an hour moseying through the galleries, we headed back outside into the sunshine to go and ogle at the three historic warships in dry dock.<br />
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The HMS Cavalier, a retired C-Class destroyer, decommissioned in 1972.<br />
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The HMS Gannet, a Royal Navy Doterel-class screw sloop launched in 1878 and preserved in 1987.<br />
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The HMS Ocelot, an Oberon-class diesel-electric submarine, and the last Royal Navy vessel built in the Dockyard. She was launched in 1962 and did her service during the cold war as an intelligence vessel then decommissioned in 1991. A tour aboard her cramped living and working conditions forms much of Part 2 of these blog posts.<br />
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All three vessels are open for exploration, although we did not have the time to explore the Gannet and the Cavalier on this occasion. I did say that the Dockyard was huge!<br />
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Near the dry docks are other remnants of the Dockyards military past, including a Royal Navy Chopper and anti-aircraft guns. The whole place is incredibly atmospheric, made even more so when you realise that this is still a working dockyard and some of the crafts practiced 400 years ago are still in operation on site, as we discovered in our Ropery tour.<br />
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As you may have guessed, the Dockyard is situated on the River Medway, and it is clear that this is still a working river for both leisure and business. Part of this adds to the feel of the Dockyard as you are surrounded by the clangs of steel and industry from over the river and the smell of tarred rope.<br />
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We stopped at the Wagon Stop Canteen located inside the Railway Workshop for a bite to eat and drink halfway through our visit. There is a big new project being undertaken at the moment to improve the catering arrangements as part of the Command of the Oceans project, so the Wagon Stop is very much a temporary holding alternative before the new facilities come on line. I really enjoyed it though! They specialise in Kentish pies and doorstop sandwiches surrounded by some of the locomotives and rolling stock that form part of the Dockyard Railway that criss-cross and ribbon their way throughout the entire site, and are still in operation today. I had a cappuccino (machine, not freshly made) and a lamb cobbler pie, which was stuffed full of chunks of meat, piping hot and lightly flavoured with mint, potato and carrot in a rich gravy with a thick and crumbly pastry. Dad had a Kentish pastie, which was basically a lamb version of a Cornish pasty. The two pasties and 2 cappuccino's came to £12 in total.<br />
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Right next to the Wagon Stop is the Nelson Brewery, which first opened in 1995 where it established a five barrel kit brewing up to 100 firkins a week. Now it has a strong reputation as one of the UK's major ale suppliers, all with suitably nautical names, brewing from a seven and a half barrel kit. The Brewery isn't open on Sunday's but you can book tours by appointment and see them in action during the week.<br />
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When we first arrived on site, we asked for some advice from one of the guides about what to see. He told us that the submarine and ropery tours were a must (check back for the next post!) and that also we needed to climb to the top of 3 Slip, otherwise known as The Big Space, to look at the incredible roof space.<br />
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He was so right.<br />
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It is incredible to think that this space was built in 1838, and at the time it was Europe's largest wide span timber structure. The scale of it is breathtaking and the weatherbeaten bleached grey timbers and criss-cross lattice steel girders are a photographers dream.<br />
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Below though is the real talking point. The Big Space is not just named for the building's scale, but for the collection of really 'big things' housed underneath that grand roof. On the ground floor is a Midget submarine, dozens of boats, giant tools, steam machinery, Kitchener's Railway Carriage, the D Day locomotive 'Overlord', bridge-building machine, mine clearance equipment and, just to add to the scale of it all, a Chieftain AVRE tank.<br />
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Also in The Big Space is a huge collection of RNLI historic lifeboats, in partnership with the RNLI Trust. The 17 life-crafts shown have all saved lives in peril in truly life-threatening conditions. Like most of the exhibitions, this one is also interactive, allowing you to board the lifeboats, listen to audio recordings of heroic stories and imagine that you are at the helm, fighting driving wind, rain and high seas to save a life.<br />
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The entire space is just amazing, there are no other words for it. It would take you a week to absorb everything there is in The Big Space and we didn't have nearly enough time. We flew through The Big Space as the site was closing shortly, and still spent close to an hour there, just looking around and grabbing a few quick shots before heading back to the car. <br />
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Check back in a couple of days for the tours of The Ropery and the Submarine at the Dockyard....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-68786320375126480782016-03-03T11:00:00.000+00:002016-03-03T11:00:05.319+00:00Half a year in single post....<br />
Well now, I'm not really sure where to begin. Grab a cuppa if you are planning a read. This is going to be a long post.<br />
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It's been a really up and down six months and my head has not been into blogging at all. It's been like this since July and I've really struggled to remember why I enjoy blogging. To be honest the thought of even taking and editing pictures, thinking up copy or testing a recipe has made me just want to crawl back into bed and go to sleep. I'd fallen completely out of love with it and could not get up the energy to think of anything to write as nothing felt interesting or inviting.<br />
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I think part of that was firstly just tiredness and then the autumn and winter kicked in. Don't get me wrong, I love the warm clothes and cosy nights as much as the next person, but in terms of feeling excited about anything I tend to go into hibernation mode and only really start to emerge again when I start to sniff out spring.<br />
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I also had personal stuff going on that meant that actually, I had bigger priorities than a blog to worry about.<br />
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Now though, whilst I'm not completely there yet, I'm going to try and get back into it again. I was looking back through old posts over the weekend and remembering good times with friends and I realised that I would be quite sad if I didn't have that in the future. This blog was always supposed to be an online diary, somewhere to reflect and look back on, so let's try again.<br />
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With that, here is a summary of all the things that I meant to write about and didn't and that now it seems silly to go back to with a bunch of individual posts. I don't really want to lose those memories though, so I'm just going to throw them all in the mix here!<br />
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So in the words of Julie Andrews. Let's start at the very beginning.<br />
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Late July, and I made a paella dish that I was really proud of, and don't have the first blue clue now how I made. Seriously, I wish I could put the recipe here, but I can't for the life of me remember what I did. It did taste good though.<br />
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Then there was the trip to see The Tiger Lillies with Sinead for a night of macabre performance and punk esq music. You probably know them from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-PfqVlBUuQ">Cravendale </a>advert. Brilliant night out, highly recommend if you get the chance to see them! Their music has a dark edge to it which has been described as being influenced by pre-war Berlin. Cookie cutter pop this is not.<br />
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RV presented his tour de force, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) at the Marlowe Theatre Studio at the end of July. I absolutely adored this production - I saw it three times and was still howling with laughter the last time I saw it as the cast raced us at breakneck speed through every Shakespeare play, including Hamlet three times. Once of which was backwards. I've seen the professional version and this was just as good. Simply wonderful, joyful theatre with the brightest, gaudiest set I think the Players have ever designed, courtesy of Stephen and Nick. I painted Will's portrait. Look closely and you may be able to spot it.<br />
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At the beginning of August we spent a couple of weeks in Kalkan, some of which I have already shown you in previous posts. In our second week there Steve and I got out and about and went for a drive along the coastal road to see some spectacular views where the cliffs met the ocean.<br />
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Just look at the colour of that water! </div>
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Sandy beaches along the Kalkan coast are few and far between, and to compensate many 'beach' restaurants offer diving jetty's straight into the ocean down steep steps or ladders, with the bars on balconies up above.<br />
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There is the odd, rather crowded exception! Just be prepared for a lot of huffing and puffing down the cliffs edge to get there.<br />
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Further down the coast though, near the ruins of Patara was another beach, one that was slightly more deserted. We settled here for a bit after exploring the ruins, but the sand was so hot that actually getting to your lounger was a challenge all on its own! We didn't particularly enjoy it called it a day and headed back to the seclusion and peace of the villa for a swim instead.<br />
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The ruins that I wanted to explore though were those of Xanthos. The history of Xanthos is written in blood and tears as it was conquered time and again through the ages, first by Alexander the Great, then the Persian Empire, then the Romans. There are stories of the men slaughtering their wives and children rather than leaving them to the enemy and then hurling themselves in a suicidal attack against their would-be conquerors in 540BC. We wandered the ruins in the late afternoon light, away from the main heat of the day and found the place deserted apart from the goat-herders and their goats and a small handful of other tourists. I found the place to be incredibly moving and almost spiritual and it was with great reluctance when, faced with the very real possibility of getting stuck up the hill (which was littered with large rocks, thorns and overgrown shrubs) and a swiftly setting sun turning the way back to the car pitch black, I agreed to leave. <br />
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We spent Thursday mornings in Turkey in the market, strolling down avenues filled with traders selling everything you could imagine, from leather goods to ceramics, spices to underwear. Fake designer gear was juxtaposed with handmade craft jewellery as far as the eye could see and masses of fresh fruit and veg spilling out of containers inviting us to stock up on for cooking with later. Late breakfast would be pancakes purchased from the women who sat cross legged on the tables, great pans filled with oil and batter in front of them, utterly impervious to the heat and noise.<br />
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When we got back my life got taken over with rehearsals for Arcadia, the play by Tom Stoppard I had been longing to direct for years. It became all consuming and obsessive, with detailed research being undertaken into everything from the costumes to the music to a reference guide for the actors so they understood what they were talking about. I was so pleased with the final result though - cast and crew were on-point and wonderful, and my set took people's breathe away. I loved to listen to the audience as they came into the auditorium before the play began and sat talking about the details in front of them. How clever were Stephen and Nick to build something so beautiful for me! I'm constantly in awe as to the magic the set designers, constructors, light design and other techy people can weave for an amateur productio.<br />
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My absolute favourite moment every night came when the lights switched
to night, the music from the garden party started in the distance and the fairy lights began to softly glow in the
windows, illuminating the stage in a mix of deep blues and purple
shadows. It nearly broke my heart when we had to dismantle it for get
out. <br />
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Arcadia will be my last play for a while - I've promised Stephen that we are going to have a year off. Trouble is, I've got visions in my head for an adaptation of Electra.....<br />
<br />
November saw a bunch of us up in ol' London Town for Jo's hen do. We piled into a small room in the middle of Camden Lock on a damp and windy Saturday for a quilting extravaganza, followed by a night out on the tiles.<br />
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Everybody got the change to make their own square and the quilt was then professionally finished and returned to Jo as a gift. My square is top right, with a very obvious blue fox cut out. I'm hopeless at craft!<br />
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I don't actually have many pictures of the night out - which is probably a good thing! <br />
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The next day saw us hungover, tired and in need of food. We ended up in <a href="https://www.ozonecoffee.co.uk/">Ozone Coffee Roasters</a>, a place that was far too hipster for us - they saw us coming and promptly made sure we were squirreled away into the basement. Although, thinking about it, this could have been due to the sheer volume of bags that we had. Packing light is an art that continues to evade me.<br />
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That coffee is a stereotypical blogger pic if ever I saw one. Total lack of imagination there, forgive me, I was still probably drunk. Coffee wasn't too bad either, if a little bitter. Food was OK, bit overpriced and I hate my bacon that overdone, but that is just personal taste. My main issue was the fact that it was full of people who were very pleased with how alternative and non-mainstream they were though - we all left and burst out laughing at how pretentious the entire place was! Seriously, when somewhere serves you tea in a glass with no handle so you can't pick it up, you realise that aesthetic is more important to them than the practicality of actually enjoying your meal. Poor Jo could only stare in longing as her desperately needed restorative cup of tea got colder and colder as she waited to not burn her fingers on the glass.<br />
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December saw the usual Christmas routine (I didn't put a tree up this year - that's how little energy I had after the play!), a shopping trip to Brighton with the girls for a LOT of Irregular Choice shoes (it was ostensibly a trip for Claire to buy her wedding shoes that got a little out of hand), and a horrible bug that I got just before Christmas day that meant the cat spent a lot of time curled on the bed to keep me company as I watched back to back trash TV and overdosed on honey and lemon. <br />
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To cap off the festive period in true style, we had the wedding of Jo and Peter in that weird area between Christmas and New Year when you don't have any idea what day of the week it is. <br />
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I also made an igloo cake as our contribution to the annual ham party. I was pretty pleased with it! Jo's wedding cake was, however, better. How cute are the two little fox cake toppers (see, I didn't just make a fox for the quilt for the sake of it, there was method in my madness!)<br />
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Then came January, when the only time I actually ventured out of the house that wasn't for work was to go and see my sixth form girlies for a catch up lunch back in Bromley! I don't get to see the ladies that often, so it is always lovely when I do! Apologies for the picture quality, it's the only one I have of that afternoon!<br />
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Stephen and I threw a dinner party to try and counteract the January blues that required us to purchase an oyster shucking knife (middle class horror) and a bouquet of flowers from my favourite florist in Whitstable, Jane at Graham Greener, and I've spent the last few weekends searching for the perfect outfit for RV and Claire's wedding at the end of this month.<br />
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I've also read a LOT of books. 17 whilst I was in Kalkan alone.<br />
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So that's it - the last few months of my life captured in one very long winded post.<br />
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Let's see if it gets me back on blogging schedule. I'm aiming for a couple a month to start with......<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-70961717427908442552015-11-23T11:00:00.000+00:002015-11-23T11:00:02.281+00:00My FairylandA little bit of a different post today as the photo's were all taken on multiple occasions. I want to share somewhere quite special with you, somewhere I happen to love. <br />
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Just around the back of my house is a deserted paradise, filled with gently waving reeds that rustle in the late afternoon breeze. There is rarely anyone else there and it is somewhere I can escape to when I need some peace and quiet.<br />
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It is just as beautiful in deepest, darkest winter when the sound is muffled by heavy snowfall and the light is that half awake dreamscape you get when the sky and earth mirror each other in shades of twilight blue.<br />
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I discovered it one day when I was out jogging and it quickly became my favourite circuit. I must confess that I would often just sit on one of the hillsides, the fields stretching out below me and take in my surroundings, headphones playing a soundtrack to the landscape in my ears. I love it so much, I even had my trash the dress shoot there when I got back from my honeymoon!<br />
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I think one of the reasons I love it so much is that you access it through a tunnel more suited to inner city London than rural Canterbury. The juxtaposition between the gnarly, graffeti covered walls and ruined fences, twisted gates of stainless steel lying abandoned on the floor, all closed in by claustrophobic concrete and the sheer scale of the fresh open space beyond is something that appeals to the romantic in me. It's like accessing paradise after passing through an apocalypse, or a mythical gateway to Narnia.<br />
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Whenever I dog-sit Jackson it is my favourite place to take him, looping through the fields and down to the derelict, long forgotten old barns with their roofs caved in and metal skeletons showing their nakedness to the elements, each one taken back gently into natures embrace.<br />
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Jackson loves it as much as I do, both of us running down the overgrown pathways, him chasing after large sticks that I lob as far as I can for him, and we walk for miles together with the freedom of being able to be off the leash, far from any roads or even other people. In the height of summer he looks as though he is swimming through the fields, and I frequently lose sight of him altogether, golden body blending in with the golden sheaves of wheat.<br />
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Even when I am on my own though I will visit so that I can just walk and recharge, mentally unwinding and relaxing, getting rid of the stresses of the week. I will climb to the top of the chalk pits and sit there, drawing swirling designs on the rocks around me or find one of the old trees with jutting out branches that are perfect for sitting in and watching nature go by, or go and relax in one of the groves straight out of a fairy tale. There are the foundations of long forgotten buildings that have been taken over by twisting walls of thorns, thicker than the ones in Sleeping Beauty. It feels as though it was designed by man and nature in unintentional symbiosis with the sole purpose of allowing a child's imagination to run wild.<br />
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If fairy tales were real, I could believe that they came alive here.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-19993634106309600482015-11-19T10:00:00.000+00:002015-11-19T10:00:00.241+00:00Steak on a Board with RatatouilleHave you ever craved a meal for so long that you finally caved and just made it? Well, this is what kind of happened with me. I had dreaming about a good ratatouille for ages and kept meaning to make one. Ideally the same one that features in the film (I later found a <a href="http://www.justasdelish.com/ratatouilles-ratatouile-confit-byaldi/">recipe </a>for that version and, quite honestly, for a simple quick rat, that seemed far too complicated!)<br />
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In our house as well, one cannot simply subsist on vegetables alone. I am fairly sure that was incorporated into our marriage vows, so I needed to provide a suitable red meat accompaniment to the pile of courgette and tomato I was preparing to serve.<br />
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That's where the steak comes in. I must confess, steak and ratatouille is not an original concept- <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/grilled-steak-ratatouille-saffron-rice/#c82lF8ig8eQFk4m1.97">Jamie </a>got there long before I did and I have no doubt that thousands more got there before him, but my rat is not the same one as his, although the steak part most definitely is. <br />
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It is however quite quick (relatively speaking - you can't get the complex flavours of a good rat with only 30 minutes of cooking, no matter how many tricks and cheats you use) and easy. I cooked it as a mid-week supper for after work and it feels positively virtuous before the onslaught of Christmas decadence. You can also cook the ratatouille a few days in advance and just warm it up when you want dinner - this actually makes it even better as the flavours have time to develop and it will save you even more time when you are stressed after a long day at work.<br />
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Now, the purists out there are going to argue with me and tell me that this is not a traditional rat as it does not involve cooking all the individual elements separately before bringing them together and I am not pan-frying the main veg element first. I'm sure that creates an outstanding version that any French grandmother would be proud of, but frankly, when it is 5.30pm and I need dinner served by 7.30pm, who has the time?!<br />
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I took a tip from Felicity Cloake and made mine with a piperade on the bottom and balsamic vinegar to add a richness and depth of flavour which it could otherwise lack, especially if you are using vegetables out of season and this more than compensates for the cheats method of layering your veg without pre-cooking. <br />
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So lets start with the ratatouille<br />
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3 courgettes, thinly sliced<br />
8 plum tomato's, 4 peeled and diced, 4 thinly sliced<br />
2 red peppers<br />
1 aubergine , thinly sliced<br />
1 medium onion, diced<br />
3 tbsp garlic infused olive oil<br />
3-4 fresh basil leaves <br />
1 tablespoon dried thyme<br />
1 teaspoon dried thyme <br />
1 clove garlic, minced <br />
1 tsp good balsamic vinegar<br />
Pinch of sugar<br />
Salt<br />
Pepper <br />
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<b></b>Heat the oven to 140C,<br />
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Place the peppers over the open hob flame, or scorch them with a cook's torch, or halve them and place them cut side down on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. You are looking to blister the skin so that you can remove it, so do this anyway that works for you. Heck you could even put them on a slab of marble in your wood fire if you want! <br />
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Whilst your peppers are blistering, heat 2 tablespoons of the garlic infused olive oil over a low heat in a pan then cook the onions gently and slowly until translucent and soft (8 minutes or so should do it depending on how finely you chopped your onions). Stir in the diced tomatoes and tablespoon of thyme and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.<br />
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Remove the skin from the blistered peppers and cut them into small dice, then add them to the tomato's and cook for another few minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.<br />
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Spread this tomato and pepper sauce (the piperade) over the bottom of a baking dish then arrange your sliced vegetables (tomato, courgette and aubergine) in alternating layers on top. Mix the remaining garlic olive oil with a teaspoon more thyme and drizzle over the top, then sprinkle the basil leaves.<br />
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Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 1.5 hours. Uncover for the last 30 minutes of cooking to crisp up the top layer of vegetables a bit. Garnish with a few more fresh basil leaves and serve with the steak.<br />
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While the ratatouille is cooking uncovered for the last 30 minutes, you can get on with the steak.<br />
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2 x 250
g quality sirloin steaks, fat removed
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1 teaspoon paprika </div>
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1 tablespoon good (but not extra virgin) olive oil
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½ bunch
fresh flat-leaf parsley</div>
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1 heaped
teaspoon Dijon mustard</div>
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1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil </div>
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Juice of ½ lemon</div>
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Start by dressing your board. Mix the mustard with the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and some salt and pepper and drizzle over the board. Scatter the parsley over the top.<br />
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Get a griddle pan nice and hot and rub the steaks with the olive oil and paprika and some salt and pepper. Always oil your steak, not the pan!<br />
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Sear the steak on one side and then turn until cooked to your liking.<br />
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Allow to rest for the same amount of time as you cooked it for (at least), then carve it into strips and place it on the board.<br />
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Serve the board with the ratatouille and allow people to dig in, wiping up the mustard dressing as they do.<br />
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There are no carbs in this meal, and to be honest it is filling enough that you don't need them. If you feel an overwhelming desire for starch though, try with some fresh baked crusty bread - perfect for mopping up the the ratatouille and steak juices.<br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-8203159742913314602015-11-16T10:30:00.000+00:002015-11-18T16:46:04.606+00:00Feeling Festive: The Best Kent Attractions This ChristmasI'm going to start sounding like a broken record soon, but when did Christmas suddenly appear around the corner? It's always the same way; I finish the leftover Halloween sweets, spend a week in the theatre for the autumn production (ooh I need to tell you about this!), remember I've missed all the bonfire night displays because I'm in the theatre and suddenly realise with horror that Christmas is just a few weeks away. I'm not ready at all, and have a huge to do list before the big day (buy a Christmas jumper, bake mince pies, write Christmas cards that I never remember to post, sort out the tree, oh and actually buy people some Christmas presents!). However, round the corner it is, and so to start getting into the Christmas spirit I've teamed up with EventBrite<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;"></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span>- <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/l/event-management-software/">an event management platform</a> - to bring you a little summary of all my favourite things to do in Kent this winter to really get you feeling festive!<br />
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<b>Markets</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit: Visit Kent</td></tr>
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Is there anything better than a Christmas market? I love them, and have been known in the past to leave the country in search of a goodun'. There are a host of them right here on the doorstep in Kent though, some small and intimate in local village halls and school playgrounds, others huge and sprawling in castle grounds, but every one of them guaranteed to get your toes tapping to carols whilst grasping that mug of hot chocolate sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. Here are some of my favourite ones to get you started!<br />
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<b>Canterbury Tales Magic Medieval Christmas, 19th and 20th December:</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit: Visit Kent</td></tr>
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Ever wondered what a Christmas market would be like if it featured bawdy songs and spiced mead? Well now you need wonder no longer as the Canterbury Tales is transformed into a festive wonderland for you to explore! Santa's elf can be found by the fire in the Tabard Inn where you can sing your heart out with the other pilgrims, then venture off through the snow-filled streets of Ye Olde London Town in search of the traditional medieval Christmas tree decorated with fruits and animals and the whole family can dress up for a photo! In Santa's Grotto every child get a gift while the adults get to try some of the sweet honey mead and try to read what the little ones are writing to Santa! For more information, visit the <a href="http://canterburytales.org.uk/events/magical-medieval-christmas" target="_blank">Canterbury Tales website</a><br />
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Times - 10am - 4.30pm<br />
Cost - £10 per child (aged 2+, includes gift), and £7 per adult <br />
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<b>Leeds Castle Christmas Market, 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th-23rd December</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit: Visit Kent</td></tr>
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Where can be more magical than a Christmas market in the grounds of one of the most breathtaking castles in Kent? There is a vast array of gift ideas, toys, decorations food and drink and you can just wander around to your hearts content taking in all the sights, sounds and smells, hands clasped around hot mulled wine. There are nostalgic fairground rides and the Leeds Castle reindeer and birds of prey are also on hand to meet! Every day has a host of musical entertainment at the band stand. Your ticket price is included in the price of admission to the castle so this is a truly wonderful day out for the whole family.<br />
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Times - 10.30 - 5pm (last admission 3pm)<br />
Cost - £24 adults, £21 concessions, £16 children (up to 15), infants under 4 free. All tickets include access to the usual Leeds Castle attractions and the Notes of Christmas Attraction and last for 1 year's worth of repeat visits. <a href="http://www.leeds-castle.com/What's+On/Events+and+Activities" target="_blank">See website for details.</a><br />
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<b>Rochester Dickensian Christmas Market, 5th-6th December</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eKXtTLpbUTw/VkYQHIdAy0I/AAAAAAAAVMM/3Euy1MkPU6I/s1600/DickensianChristmas4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eKXtTLpbUTw/VkYQHIdAy0I/AAAAAAAAVMM/3Euy1MkPU6I/s640/DickensianChristmas4.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit: Visit Kent</td></tr>
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A market you can get into full fancy dress for and no one will bat an eyelid? Now that is something I can get on board with! <a href="http://www.visitkent.co.uk/events/9577/" target="_blank">The Rochester Dickensian Christmas Market</a> makes the magic of Victorian England a reality, with lamp-lit, parades, street entertainers, live music, Father Christmas and a guaranteed snowfall against the backdrop of the beautiful Cathedral, surrounded by some of Charles Dickens most beloved characters bought to life before your eyes, all alongside artisan stands, gifts, food and drink and traditional Victorian activities. Don't miss the Seven Poor Travellers Procession, the Grand Parade or the Open Air Carol Concert! <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jHUGrl65PtA/VkYQHfonOhI/AAAAAAAAVMQ/EvhwG6eFjCM/s1600/DickensianChristmas5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jHUGrl65PtA/VkYQHfonOhI/AAAAAAAAVMQ/EvhwG6eFjCM/s640/DickensianChristmas5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Times 10am-6pm<br />
Cost - Free entry (it is entirely up to you how much you want to spend at the stalls though!)<br />
<br />
In the unlikely event that you have had enough of markets, how about something a little different?<br />
<br />
<b>Howletts Wild Animal Park and Santa's Grotto</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-709nwD24E2E/VkYQHQBqZkI/AAAAAAAAVMc/DoR-Ac7UBE8/s1600/Christmas%2B%2528c%2529%2BDave%2BRolfe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-709nwD24E2E/VkYQHQBqZkI/AAAAAAAAVMc/DoR-Ac7UBE8/s640/Christmas%2B%2528c%2529%2BDave%2BRolfe.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit Dave Rolfe via Visit Kent</td></tr>
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Christmas came early for <a href="http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/howletts" target="_blank">Howletts </a>this year with the arrival of the first baby black rhino born there on the 1st October in 40 years! This little cutie is well worth a visit just to see him but if you need more excuses, then Howletts is a wonderful winters day out for the family, and the animals are always a bit livelier this time of year, away from the heat of the summer! Check out the lions and tigers, be awed by the UK's largest herd of African elephants and don't forget the world famous family of gorillas! Walk with the lemurs and when you are done laughing at the antics of the monkeys, take your little monkeys to see Santa in his grotto for a <a href="http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/howletts#Whats-On" target="_blank">day out to remember</a>. <br />
<br />
What's not to love?!<br />
<br />
Times: 9.30am-5pm. Last admission 2.30pm. Christmas Eve 9.30am-2pm with last admission at 12.30pm<br />
Cost: Adults £20.95, Children (3-15) £16.95. Passports are £10 more and give you free access all year. <br />
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<b>Chilham Village and Kentish Down Walks </b><br />
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Want something a bit more sedate and away from people? Kent has a huge number of beautiful walks through the Downs which, at this time of year in the crisp winter air, are particularly breathtaking. If you want somewhere to start, try the <a href="http://explorekent.org/activities/chilham-walk-lost-landscapes" target="_blank">Chilham East Walk</a>, making sure you stop off in the charming and historic Chilham village to buy one of a kind Christmas gifts in the Tudor Gift Shop. If you are a bit chilly from the brisk Kentish air, warm up with a proper cream tea in <a href="http://www.shellystearooms.com/" target="_blank">Shelley's Tea Rooms</a> or settle with the dogs by the huge inglenook fireplace in the 600 year old <a href="http://www.woolpackinnchilham.co.uk/" target="_blank">Woolpack Inn</a>. On second thought, you don't really want to do the walking part at all, do you!<br />
<br />
Times - Up to you. Shelley's is open 10am-6pm at weekends. <br />
Cost - It's free to walk! The rest is up to you. <br />
<br />
<b>Macknades Fine Foods, Faversham</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://welovefood-itsallweeat.com/2013/03/24/a-mini-food-lovin-road-trip-to-faversham-canterbury/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="540" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pC5D8AfDvE4/VkoGweqo_hI/AAAAAAAAVPw/zl21ZxD-Cuw/s640/img_0673.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://welovefood-itsallweeat.com/2013/03/24/a-mini-food-lovin-road-trip-to-faversham-canterbury/">Photography Credit: We Love Food It's All We Eat </a></td></tr>
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If, like me, the thought of the Christmas Food Shop fills you with dread, I have just the place to make your shopping experience not only a breeze, but actually enjoyable! Not possible? It is at <a href="http://www.macknade.com/" target="_blank">Macknades</a>. I absolutely love this fine foods market and have frequently been known to pop in, just for a looksee and come out laden with goodies. It's hard not to be tempted when you visit the impressive cheese and charcuterie counter, the local ales and wines and juices and when items such as white truffle honey, pineapple jam or vats of olive oil straight from Italy are staring at you from shelves bulging with tempting treats. The last time I was there I had to physically drag Stephen away from the fudge display (courtesy of Fudge Kitchen). The whole place is a foodies paradise! Top tip - eat in the rather wonderful cafe BEFORE doing your shopping. Otherwise you will just want to buy everything in sight. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tKQCUeUS7ME/VkYd1T80BPI/AAAAAAAAVN8/lWj_bG8hRyI/s1600/Macknade-600x596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tKQCUeUS7ME/VkYd1T80BPI/AAAAAAAAVN8/lWj_bG8hRyI/s320/Macknade-600x596.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
If you are ever stuck for a gift for someone, then why not make a 'Build Your Own Hamper' from their huge variety of goodies (and impressive selection of wicker baskets). It is always a crowd pleaser and you can tailor it specifically for the luck recipient.<br />
<br />
Just remember - the whole point is that you are supposed to gift the hamper to someone. Not keep it for yourself.<br />
<br />
Times - 9am - 6pm<br />
Cost - completely up to you! <br />
<br />
<b>Canterbury Christmas Light Switch On - 19th November </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-44yf6VffcwI/VkYYZb5rCDI/AAAAAAAAVNk/3V1WXcG0bP0/s1600/IMG_2274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-44yf6VffcwI/VkYYZb5rCDI/AAAAAAAAVNk/3V1WXcG0bP0/s640/IMG_2274.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit: Uh that would be me</td></tr>
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To kick start your festive spirit, head down to Canterbury high street on the 19th November from 5pm onward to see the Christmas lights being turned on, with the honours being done by EastEnders star Rita Simons. You will also be able to see the cast of the Marlowe Theatre pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and there will be live music and a snow machine! <br />
<br />
Times - 5pm-7pm, with the switch on taking place between 6.30-6.45pm<br />
Cost - Free <br />
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<b>Ice In The Park, Royal Tunbridge Wells, 20th November - 3rd January</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fL2_Qkjc9jk/VkYap7ydvUI/AAAAAAAAVNw/-LVC3rSIpzo/s1600/two-girls-from-back-730x430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="376" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fL2_Qkjc9jk/VkYap7ydvUI/AAAAAAAAVNw/-LVC3rSIpzo/s640/two-girls-from-back-730x430.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council</td></tr>
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If you have more grace than I have been blessed with, this next one is most definitely for you! Ever looked at the Christmas skating in Central Park in New York in all those Christmas movies and thought, 'now THAT is Christmassy?'. Well now you can make all your Big Apple Christmas Fairytale dreams come true at the <a href="http://www.tunbridgewellsatchristmas.com/" target="_blank">outdoor skating rink in Royal Tunbridge Wells</a>. For the fifth year in a row, this popular attraction returns to Calverley Grounds for skating with a spectacular view of the park. Those of you with little ones who are worried about them getting knocked over on the ice, have no fear. Special parent and toddler sessions are available so that you can enjoy your time without speed demons hurtling past you. Or in my case, desperately clinging to the side as my legs go shooting out in opposite directions. <br />
<br />
When you have had enough fun on the ice, go and see Santa in his cosy and warm log cabin, and then visit the gorgeous <a href="http://www.tunbridgewellsatchristmas.com/chalets" target="_blank">Christmas chalets</a> set up rink side which host a huge variety of charities and organisations so you can pay it forward and help someone who may be desperately in need this Christmas.<br />
<br />
Times - 11am - 8pm for the main rink sessions, parent and toddler times vary<br />
Cost - Varies depending on when you go, but range from £9.50 adult ticket off peak - £40.50 for a family pack peak ticket. Check the <a href="http://www.tunbridgewellsatchristmas.com/times-and-prices" target="_blank">website </a>for details<br />
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<b>Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Marlowe Theatre, 27th November - 10th January</b><br />
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I can't remember a Christmas from my childhood (or, ahem, my early twenties) that didn't involve me going to the theatre to see the pantomime. As children my cousins, sister and I would head to our local theatre with our grandmother and give her the shock of her life as we all shrieked 'He's Behind You!', yelled 'Oh No He Didn't' and jumped up and down to catch the sweets that were thrown on us from the stage and tried to avoid getting hit by the bucket of water that was thrown on stage (that inevitably turned out to be a cloud of glitter). A pantomime is such a classic British tradition and one that it is celebrated up and down the country and is guaranteed to leave children grinning from ear to ear. This year's panto at the Marlowe is the classic story of <a href="http://www.marlowetheatre.com/page/3009/Pantomime#-TheShow" target="_blank">Snow White and the Seven Dwarves</a>, starring Rita Simons ( <i>EastEnders</i>), Phil Gallagher (CBeebies Mister Maker), Ben Roddy, and Lloyd Hollett and will most definitely get you into the Christmas spirit.<br />
<br />
Times - Vary<br />
Prices - Vary depending on show, but range from £10.50 - £34.50 <br />
<br />
<b>Carols in the Cathedral, Canterbury, Christmas Eve</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFzGfR9cQWE/VkYQH5e04dI/AAAAAAAAVM8/eZ0Aa0uHsRM/s1600/Snow%2Bdark%2BCanterbury%2BCathedral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFzGfR9cQWE/VkYQH5e04dI/AAAAAAAAVM8/eZ0Aa0uHsRM/s640/Snow%2Bdark%2BCanterbury%2BCathedral.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit: Visit Kent</td></tr>
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<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
For
the fifth successive year, the open air ice rink is returning to Royal
Tunbridge Wells. It will be open seven days a week from Friday 20 Nov
'15 – Sunday 3 Jan '16 (closed Christmas Day).<br />
The outdoor ice rink situated within the natural amphitheatre of
Calverley Grounds offers spectacular views of the park and really is a
unique and special festive experience.<br />
<b>This year we are delighted to announce that the rink is going
to be even bigger – with capacity for 250 skaters, and due to popular
demand we have added an extra morning parent & toddler session.</b><br />
Get your skates on!<br />
- See more at: http://www.tunbridgewellsatchristmas.com/#sthash.7o4FXxtC.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
For
the fifth successive year, the open air ice rink is returning to Royal
Tunbridge Wells. It will be open seven days a week from Friday 20 Nov
'15 – Sunday 3 Jan '16 (closed Christmas Day).<br />
The outdoor ice rink situated within the natural amphitheatre of
Calverley Grounds offers spectacular views of the park and really is a
unique and special festive experience.<br />
<b>This year we are delighted to announce that the rink is going
to be even bigger – with capacity for 250 skaters, and due to popular
demand we have added an extra morning parent & toddler session.</b><br />
Get your skates on!<br />
- See more at: http://www.tunbridgewellsatchristmas.com/#sthash.7o4FXxtC.dpuf</div>
I personally think I have saved the best for last. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that says Christmas to me as much as carol singing does. If you were lucky enough to get your paws on a ticket (they are like gold dust and are already sold out) then the 3pm Carol Service in the Cathedral is simply magical. For those of us less lucky, there is always the <a href="http://miscriant.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/here-we-come-acarolling.html">Lord Mayor's Carol Service</a> in the high street at 6pm on Christmas Eve. Hundreds of people, all raising their (surprisingly not too bad) voices in unison, led by the Arch Bish bopping along on the open air double decker bus. Follow it up with a meal in one of Canterbury's restaurants with your friends and family, followed by a leisurely walk and candlelit midnight mass, then warming up at home with a thick and creamy <a href="http://miscriant.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/ciocolata-calda.html" target="_blank">hot chocolate</a>. It simply cannot be beaten.<br />
<br />
Times - 6pm onwards in the High Street<br />
Cost - Free, although a charity donation for the song sheet to the Lord Mayor Of Canterbury's Christmas Gift Fund, which raises money for grocery parcels for people in need in the Canterbury district, is appreciated.<br />
<br />
Happy Christmas.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-taO6fghE5HQ/VkYiDSqJiAI/AAAAAAAAVOY/hV2I-lOyfkQ/s1600/IMG_7561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-taO6fghE5HQ/VkYiDSqJiAI/AAAAAAAAVOY/hV2I-lOyfkQ/s640/IMG_7561.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography Credit. Me. Again. Boring I know.</td></tr>
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<span class="_5yl5">For more inspiration on things to see and do in Kent this season, go to the Visit Kent website <a href="http://www.visitkent.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.visitkent.co.uk</a></span><br />
<br />
If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-86474396196727511152015-09-18T11:00:00.000+01:002015-09-18T11:00:01.047+01:00FethiyaAt the end of our first week in Kalkan, we drove Mum and Dad to the airport, and then decided to stop off for a bite to eat in Fethiya on the way back.<br />
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Fethiya is a fishing town that definitely feels like it has recently had a tourism hike, although, like Kalkan, it is in no way as touristy as Mediterranean centers in Spain and Portugal. Dad had recommended that we head to the fish market where he promised that they would allow us to choose our fish and then seat us at a table while it was cooked up before us. This sounded like a wonderful idea, so we came up with the simple plan to drop my folks off at the airport at about 8pm ready for their flight back to the UK and then drive to Fethiya for a simple supper.<br />
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It would have worked too, if we hadn't gotten hopelessly lost trying to get to Fethiya (the signs just stopped and we ended up guessing which direction we needed to head in) and ending up miles away. By the time we made it, the market had closed for the day so instead we (un)graciously admitted defeat and went for a stroll to stretch our legs along the harbour front, admiring the boats and the sunset.<br />
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Fethiya is a very pretty area, and you got the feeling that later on it would become very lively as the locals clocked off and rocked up to unwind in the bars and restaurants that littered the harbour front. Neon colours blazed out over the bay and many of the restaurants featured little rivers or pools looping around the front.<br />
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In one bar a bunch of young local boys and girls were cheering on the Turkish football team in front of a giant screen set up outside whilst in others couples sat outside smoking shisha pipes and talking quietly. There were also children's parties set up in the many restaurants facing out over the bay.<br />
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The boardwalk was packed full of local Turkish people enjoying the early evening breeze and there were a multitude of places to stop and indulge in a cocktail or three, turning your back on the world and gazing out over the water. <br />
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We didn't linger too long as we knew we still had a good couple of hours of getting lost in front of us (we didn't get back until midnight, at which point we ordered a pizza). Next time we return though, we will make sure we get to Fethiya in time for the fish market restaurants. <br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-73811715465104393482015-09-16T11:00:00.000+01:002015-09-16T11:00:02.414+01:00Lobster at SunsetWhen Mum and Dad were first wondering whether or not to build in Kalkan, the first port of call was to come over and conduct a wreckie of all the potential sites. This could not be completed in one hit, so they needed somewhere to hole up and stay whilst they completed their research.<br />
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They chose the <a href="http://www.likyakalkan.com/" target="_blank">Likya Residence Hotel and Spa</a> as their base and were impressed with the quality of the food in the hotel restaurant, so on our final night with them at the end of the first week, they treated Steve and I to a slap-up meal there, high on the cliffs above Kalkan Town, overlooking the harbour.<br />
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We wandered down the hill (top tip, don't bother with heels in Kalkan, you will just fall over. Wear flats) just before sunset to have a look at the view out over the bay before being escorted to our table.<br />
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When I say escorted, I don't mean by a human being. There are packs of stray dogs in Kalkan, all of whom are very friendly, and they each have their own turf. When you enter one of their patches, they will pick you up and walk with you down the hill until you arrive at the patch of another pack. The dogs will then hand you over to the next pack, making sure you are in safe paws before trotting off back to their business, and the next pack will then escort you further down the hill. It is a very surreal experience. Most of the dogs are collared and tagged, and they are all looked after by the local restaurants, bars and hotel owners. This blonde boy was our restaurant escort.<br />
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The view from the hotel was stunning, a panoramic sweeping vista of Kalkan Bay framed by the Taurus mountains. You could see right down in Kalkan Harbour and when the sun set and the lights came on, the entire hillside lit up like a Christmas tree. It was a simply stunning location to sit in, enjoy the light breeze off the hillside and enjoy one of the best meals I think I have ever had.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I started with a cocktail, one that was easily one of the most delicious things I have ever drunk and I only wish I had the first blue clue as to how to recreate it. It was a gin (obviously) fizz and was muddled through with a simple basil sugar syrup and slices of cool, fresh ginger that infused gently as your stirred. It was sublime.<br />
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The Likyan clearly likes its table theatrics, and this was evident from the start when they delivered the traditional bread basket, served with its own table toaster for you to toast your own. This came with a herb infused butter and was closely followed by an odd combination of a homemade ravioli and hummus. We didn't order this - it just showed up and Mum and I then spent the next 10 minutes cooing over the crockery. Those white plates are so impractical, take up a ridiculous amount of space on the table, look nigh on impossible to store and yet I must have them. Just have a look at the other plates and bowls further down as well, they are things of pure beauty, like the sails of the ships in the harbour below us.<br />
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Dad and I then opted for the oysters with chilli for our starter. Not as good as a Whitstable oyster I must say (they were rather small) but tasty nevertheless. I am probably slightly spoiled when it comes to oysters though, living where I do. By the way. You can't eat the starfish so don't try.<br />
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For my main I opted for the lobster. The waiter came and asked me what size I wanted, and I did originally ask for a small until Mum told me to go larger and she would have some of it. So I did. I also ordered a portion of chips, as I am of the firm belief that you can't have lobster without chips.<br />
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I realised my error the second my 4 plates arrived, all for me. This was an obscene amount of food.<br />
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I tried, I really, really tried but I could not touch the edges of the chips, or the salad, or the cooked vegetables. I did eat all the lobster, even after Mum decided that she didn't want any after all, and the lightly pickled crudites were crunchy and delicious, an amazing counterpoint to the lobster and one that I must remember for the future. This meal was just divine and the others all had similarly wonderful meals, although none were quite as large as mine was.<br />
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After gorging myself on shellfish, I went for a walk around the bar and pool to try and alleviate the overstuffed feeling I was experiencing. The pool and bar are wonderfully camp, and look like something straight out of Cocktail. It was a really lovely place to sit and digest, before the waiters bought over the dessert menu. <br />
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I couldn't face the thought of anymore food, but Steve had eaten decidedly less than I had and tucked into the mezze platter of sweet things, with a plethora of fresh fruit, ice cream, macarons and baklava as well as Turkish delight and sweet fudge..<br />
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As the night deepened the moon rose above the mountains and cast shimmering reflections over the bay. I tried to capture it with my camera but the photo's really did not do the landscape justice, it was truly beautiful<br />
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Mum, Dad, thank you for a wonderful meal and a wonderful holiday. You really spoilt us.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-40394893282229064662015-09-14T11:43:00.001+01:002015-09-14T11:43:27.900+01:00Kalkan Catch UpLast night I dreamt I went to Sandele again....<br />
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It's been a busy couple of months, and, as always, the blog always falls to the bottom of my priority list when things are a bit crazy. I'm currently directing another play which is taking up all of my time - I'm at rehearsals three nights a week after work, sometimes four nights, and when I'm not at a rehearsal I'm sourcing props or costumes or music or doing the risk assessment. Shit, I haven't done the risk assessment yet. Add that to the to do list.<br />
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We have also had BBQ's (fairly damp ones), birthday meals for friends, I caught up with Leonie in Tunbridge Wells for cake and a walk (not at the same time) one Saturday, grabbed lunch at Bill's in Soho with Kate and Jo one Sunday, went to Steve's cousins' wedding in Henley (they had the same band as we had at our wedding, a fact that didn't register with me until the car journey home when I told Steve how much I had loved the band and he informed me who they were!), had lunch at Byron Burger in Bluewater with Jo and Ellie, and we also got to go and see Madness perform at the Kent County Cricket Ground which was just amazing. Shay was nearly in tears at the gig as she was so happy! Needless to say, a couple of hours to sit down and draft a post has been a little hard to find when you also add in regular life stuff like cooking, sleeping and laundry.<br />
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We did manage to get away for a couple of weeks though to my parents place in Kalkan in Turkey which was just amazing and I can't wait to show you some of the places we went to. There will be some posts up this week about some of things we did.<br />
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Sandele is the villa and it is heaven. The pool has a view straight over Kalamar Bay to Snake and Mouse Islands. We were there for two weeks, the first week with my folks and the second was just the two of us. We did nothing, apart from a couple of trips out to see some of the sights. Other than that, we rested and talked and swam and I read 15 books in the two weeks. 15. The next few editions of The Reading Nook will be fairly cramped I think!<br />
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My parents designed and built the villa about 18 months ago, and they chose Kalkan for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is still remarkably underdeveloped and unspoiled and I really hope it stays that way. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of hotels and privately owned villas there, but there are no high rise hotels obscuring that beautiful view. We were based in Kalamar Bay (it means Squid Bay, think Calamari) which was on the other side of Kalkan town. The town itself is lovely, full of history and boutique shops with bars and restaurants open to the sky and water along the harbour, often with sofa's set out on the pavement to entice you in for a cocktail and a shisha pipe.<br />
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We didn't venture into town too often though, mainly because it was incredibly hot when we were there and it just got hotter and stickier later into the evening in the town centre which can be a bit uncomfortable. There was more of a breeze up on the hill and we were content to BBQ for ourselves, sit outside, listen to music and talk late into the evenings. It was perfect.<br />
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I did come home with a brilliant (and now sadly faded) tan and a catalogue of injuries. We knew that the villa was not suitable for our friends with small children. Apparently it is also not suitable for people as accident prone as me. Just look at the inside - all that glass, steel and marble and steps that have a larger drop than normal? I walked into / fell down most of it and came home with an inventory of bruises down my legs, stubbed toes and a gash across my foot. At least I didn't bleed on anything white.<br />
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We ate well, finding lots of places to stock up on fresh fruit and veg, and surprisingly even managed to get hold of some of the best BBQ pork ribs I have ever had. We also got what we thought was a leg of lamb, but later suspected to be goat, which was just wonderful.<br />
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We also took full advantage of the hot tub on the roof, staring up at the stars as the light faded away behind the mountains. The second week there was an internet outage and we were completely cut off from the rest of the world for 5 blissful days. I highly recommend it. Steve was a bit more upset about this. The Ashes test was on and he missed it. <br />
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This week I am back at work. It's raining. I'm in cardigans, jumpers and tights. The students are back soon. It feels like summer is well and truly over.<br />
<br />
Can I go back to Sandele please?<br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-58740766941132159222015-07-20T10:56:00.001+01:002015-07-20T10:56:27.879+01:00We've Got The StoriesOne sultry summer evening while the light still blazed through the clear blue skies and the scent of meadow grass filled the air, I headed into the deepest depths of the beautiful Kentish countryside for a wonderful evening in an old cow shed.<br />
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Not just any cow shed though. This is the new home of <a href="http://www.wisewordsfestival.co.uk/" target="_blank">Wise Words,</a> and I was there for the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wisewordsfestival/weve-got-the-stories?ref=video" target="_blank">launch of their kickstarter campaign for a new yurt for the festival.</a><br />
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It sounds so simplistic when you put it like that - a new yurt, but the reality is that a new yurt will enable Wise Words to grow, develop and continue to enrich the lives of people in Canterbury and Kent through the celebration of the written and spoken word. It will ensure that everyone has the stories, shares the stories and creates new stories. It will bring people and communities together who will create new concepts, new ideas and new philosophies. <br />
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It will allow for writing retreats, slam poetry, live music, literature, theatre, debate, discussion and exploration. It will bring people to nature, sleeping under the stars, huddled in blankets and at peace with the world around them, away from the hustle and bustle and stress of today's modern world. A place to unplug, to grow and to challenge. A place to rewrite your own story surrounded with the lyrical backdrop of birdsong and humming bees deep within the orchards that the garden of England is so famed for. A place where you can dare to dream<br />
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The kickstarter launch party was a chance for Wise Words to showcase what it was all about. There was poetry and music, theatrical food and one of a kind cocktails, all in the cowshed with the book birds floating gracefully over your head and jam jars tied with fresh flowers and candles glowing in all the nooks and crannies, surrounded by the whimsy that the Wise Words Festival has become renowned for.<br />
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The first thing to catch my eye were the Gastro Guys and their giant, bronze liquid nitrogen tube and slightly mad scientist look in their eyes as they played havoc with people's tastebuds. <br />
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Gastro Guys play with food the way I used to play with flowers in the back garden trying to create perfume. Only their results are rather more successful. I was treated to Mango Bubbles, little morsels of tropical explosions created using a techniques of reverse spherisfication. In layman's terms that means that these genius' can take any liquid and wrap it
inside itself! Their mango bubble with edible flowers is a fantastic
combination that explodes with flavour
in your mouth<br />
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Then there are the Nitrogen Meringues, poached at minus 196C with the subtle flavours of lemon, beetroot, apple and
blackberry which melt on the tongue, leaving you you exhaling a
vapour trail and releasing your true inner dragon and best Smaug impersonation!<br />
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Curiosity temporarily sated, I went in search of a more liquid form of refreshment, and found it with Wide Eyed Theatre's cocktail bar, run by the amazingly talented Paul Oliver and Latham Dent, previously responsible for the cocktails in one of my favourite bars, <a href="http://miscriant.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/bramleys.html" target="_blank">Bramleys </a>(no wonder I love their creations!) In honour of the occassion, Wide Eyed Theatre (who are one of the three partners in the Yurt kickstarter campaign) had created some original cocktails to celebrate, which they were handing out in return for a small donation to the fund. <br />
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First up was The Gin Hedge, a cardinal concoction of gin, elderflower,
cassis and berries all shaken over ice. It was everything I loved
served with a straw. <br />
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Next was the Herby Honey, a sultry blend of lavender honey, vodka and drambuie served tall over ice with mint. Not something I would choose to be honest, much preferring my berry and gin mix. If experimentation with your cocktails was not something you were in the mood for, you could choose the classic perfection of a G&T.<br />
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Drink in hand, I settled on the cushion covered stools by the upturned cable spools that served as tables whilst others drifted onto rug covered pallets in front of the handcrafted stage to listen to Emrys Plant and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l_hGVrh3p4&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Luke Jackson</a> perform their specially crafted tribute to the kickstarter, a haunting mix of poetry and music.<br />
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Luke then took the stage, performing roots and folk classics. <a href="http://lukepauljackson.com/" target="_blank"> A young and rising Kentish star</a>, his vocals provided the perfect husky counterpoint to heat of the evening. So it wore on, to the soundtrack of the guitar and the hum of conversation against the backdrop of the rolling fields and setting sun low and gold in the dusky sky.<br />
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This was an evening of enchantment, filled with creativity and hope for a future that is filled with stories. <br />
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If you would like to donate to the Kickstarter campaign to help Wise Words realise their dream of owning their own yurt, you can do so <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wisewordsfestival/weve-got-the-stories?ref=video" target="_blank">here</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-86180874983639321412015-07-15T11:00:00.000+01:002015-07-15T11:00:09.787+01:00Chilli Con CarneSteve and I have quite a good system when it comes to the household chores. We share basically everything, bins are him, laundry is me, back garden is his responsibility, front garden is mine to maim, butcher and destroy. We take it in turns to do the cooking as well, and much as it irks me to admit, he is at least as good a cook as I am. Sometimes I think he is better. He, at least, doesn't completely bugger up oven chips every time he tries to cook them. Seriously, the last time I cooked them, I followed the packet exactly and they still came out frozen and burnt at the same time. It's a unique skill.<br />
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This particular weekend he was let loose on my spice cupboard and recipe books and came out three hours later with bowls of the most delicious chilli con carne I had ever tasted. Naturally it was a Thomasina Miers dish - everything in her books is just delicious, I once made my way through a jar of her chipotles en adobo sauce at a friends house who had just made approximately two gallons of the stuff - and I was more chuffed by the fact that I already had every single ingredient in stock in the house.<br />
<br />
Every. Single. One.<br />
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I apparently keep a well stocked kitchen. I am my mother's daughter.<br />
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This is one of those recipes that you can quite happily leave cooking merrily on its own whilst you go and attend to all those pesky chores that life demands you keep on top of. Like accidentally pulling out that large plant in the front garden you thought was a weed and turns out to be quite an expensive shrub your husband had planted three years earlier and was finally getting to be a decent size. <br />
<br />
Turns out the only green fingers I have are those caused by wearing cheap fashion rings.<br />
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So if you fancy a bloody good chilli this weekend, this is what you will need to check you have in your kitchen:<br />
<br />
1kg minced beef<br />
300g spicy chorizo<br />
3 onions<br />
4 cloves of garlic<br />
olive oil<br />
2 teaspoons allspice<br />
2 teaspoons ground cumin<br />
1 teaspoon cloves<br />
1 large cinnamon stick<br />
3 bay leaves<br />
2 teaspoons dried oregano<br />
2 deseeded ancho chillies<br />
2 chilies de arbol<br />
2 teaspoons sea salt<br />
black pepper<br />
3 tablespoons cider vinegar<br />
800g tinned tomatoes<br />
2 tablespoons ketchup<br />
2 tablespoons muscovado sugar<br />
800g kidney beans<br />
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Preheat the oven to 120C and bring the meat to room temperature. <br />
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Finely chop the onions and garlic<br />
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Sear the meat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large casserole dish.<br />
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Set the meat to one side and add another small glug of oil to the casserole dish. Brown the chopped chorizo in the oil until it is scented and golden brown with the sausage oils. Remove the chorizo.<br />
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Add the onion, garlic, spices, herbs and chillies and cook in the chorizo oil until soft. Season with salt and pepper, add the vinegar, tomatoes, ketchup and sugar.<br />
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Return the meat to the pan and top up with 400ml water, bring to a simmer and cook, covered in the oven for 2 hours. <br />
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After two hours, give it a stir and add the beans. Cook for another hour.<br />
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Serve with a big pile of rice, some chopped coriander, salsa, cheese if you want and lime wedges. Add sour cream if you need to cool the heat down a little.<br />
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This chilli would also be amazing on top of jacket potatoes, on a hot dog or piled onto a mound of nachos with a group of friends, some beers and a good film.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-31590401567571468142015-07-08T11:00:00.000+01:002015-07-08T11:00:02.045+01:00Reggae BurgersIt's the height of summer and if the blazing sunshine and soaring temperatures are anything to go by, then it is most certainly BBQ weather. <br />
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The Nottinghill Carnival is next month and if, like me, you really wish you could be there but can't, then I think that these are the perfect substitute to add a little Jamaican flare into your summer parties!<br />
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These succulent burgers have a wonderfully warmth to them, nothing too overwhelming and the distinctive combination of heat and sweet that Jamaican food is so famed for. Add some sweet potato chips and you have a Caribbean feast.<br />
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<u><b>Burgers (makes 4 good sized patties)</b></u><br />
500g good quality minced beef<br />
1 scotch bonnet, de-seeded and minced. Leave the seeds in if you want more of a heat hit. If you can't get hold of scotch bonnets, use habanero's instead although the flavour profile won't be exactly the same. Don't substitute with birds eye chilli's - the taste will be completely different.<br />
1 clove garlic, minced<br />
2 teaspoons cider vinegar (white wine or rice vinegar would also work, not malt)<br />
1 tablespoon water<br />
1 teaspoons ground thyme<br />
1 teaspoon runny honey <br />
1 teaspoon allspice<br />
1 1/2 teaspoons Jamaican Jerk seasoning<br />
1 teaspoon ground ginger<br />
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon<br />
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg<br />
1 tablespoon reggae reggae sauce (I used Levi Roots).<br />
Good sprinkle of freshly ground salt and pepper<br />
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<u><b>Salsa </b></u><br />
50g mango, finely chopped<br />
50g pineapple, finely chopped<br />
Juice of 1 lime<br />
4 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped<br />
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Mix all the ingredients for the beef together, apart from the mince.<br />
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In a large bowl break the mince up and form into 4 patties<br />
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Split the seasoning evenly over each pattie and work in, smushing it around and moulding it back into a patty shape. You can just pour the seasoning over the mince in the bowl first if you want, but I find that the split and then pour method ensures a much more even distribution of flavour.<br />
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Put the patties on a plate and rest in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking. This is important as if you don't let them rest you will find that your burgers simply fall apart when you try and cook them. You can grill, BBQ or fry these - up to you!<br />
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Mix all the salsa ingredients together and leave to rest, covered, in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the flavours to develop.<br />
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When you are ready, griddle, BBQ or fry the burgers until just cooked all the way through, melting some cheese on the top if you are that way inclined.<br />
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Layer up your buns with salad and the burger, top with the salsa and add a little extra Reggae Reggae sauce to really make it sizzle.<br />
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Steel band playing as you eat optional.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-71785893513404660482015-07-06T11:00:00.000+01:002015-07-06T12:17:20.104+01:00Canterbury Folk FestivalThis year saw the first Canterbury Folk Festival in full swing in the Dane John Gardens over the last weekend in June. A full weekend filled with sunshine and folk music, in the beautiful parkland setting of the Gardens overlooked by the bandstand where all the acts would be playing from.<br />
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All you need for a good folk festival, apart from good music of course, are craft beer and local ales, with fruity finishes and deep malty flavours. I had the <a href="http://www.rockinrobinbrewery.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Rocking Robin</a> Robin Redbest ale (the same one that Sally is enjoying below) which was seriously yummy, a light bronze easy drinking bitter made with Kentish hops. I must admit, for a determined non-ale drinker, I am finding more and more that are quite quaffable!<br />
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To keep everything balanced, you also need delicious food from independent food stands, including Wimbledon ready strawberries in pots with lashings of fresh cream, carried around on trays by ladies from Simply Strawberries, duck wraps and duck fat chips, piles of fresh olives and huge containers of pad Thai noodles from A Taste of Thailand. I had the plantain crisps and chilli balls from <a href="http://www.vinn-goute.co.uk/" target="_blank">Vinngoute</a>, which lived up to the translation of its name.<br />
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Music, food and ale is also best shared with a bunch of friends as chilled and relaxed as you are (Ben even more so as Green Diesel would not be playing until the Sunday afternoon, so he was completely off duty). Shay, Ben, Nick, Sally, Ellie, John and I had already arranged to meet by the Bandstand in the early afternoon but we ran into other familiar faces throughout the day who would pull up a pint and join us. Canterbury is really very small and at an event like this you are pretty much guaranteed to bump into a number of people you know.<br />
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Finally, to really make you folk festival experience complete, you need a dog. The ultimate hipster accessory that every good folk aficionado should not be without. I should have tied a red scarf around his neck. Opportunity missed.<br />
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James was in Malta with Steve on a lads holiday, and Sasha was visiting her sister so I was dog-sitting Jackson for the weekend. With James and Sasha's permission, I packed up his water bowl, a litre of fresh water and a bag of dog biscuits and brought him along for the afternoon. I quickly discovered that if you have a dog at a festival, especially one as large and good natured as Jax is, you very, very quickly make friends with a lot of people who will just come up and cuddle him. He was like a magnet for small children and mid-30's gruff men who insisted on calling him 'good boy'. He looked rather bewildered by all the attention, but took it with good grace.<br />
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This was the first time Canterbury had hosted a folk festival - Broadstairs and Faversham are the traditional homes of folk around here, but its popularity is growing, evidenced by the 5000 people who descended on the Bandstand for the weekend. From 11am to 6pm each day we had the delights of folk in all its format, from rock to acoustic to blues (Thomas Ashby, second photo above) bluegrass (Gentleman of the Few) and reggae, courtesy of Jimmy and the Riddles. There were a plethora of delights for your ears to feast upon, all repeated again on the Sunday with more bands playing, including old favourites Green Diesel.<br />
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There were also Morris Dancers (of course, its a folk festival in England, you can't get more traditional folk than Morris Dancers), balloon twisting clowns (one little girl had a balloon version of Ariel from The Little Mermaid, it was quite something), Mr Softee ice-cream and of course craft stands.<br />
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Kids dressed in Tinkerbell outfits were twirled in dizzying circles by their parents whilst teenagers hoola-hooped and flung diabolo's high in the air in time to the percussion beats and older couples dangled their feet in the cooling waters of the fountain.<br />
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We sat and chatted in the sunshine, occasionally taking it in turns to walk Jax in the shadier areas of the park under the trees where the scent of South American BBQ was drifting through the air from the newly occupied Kiosk.<br />
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Eventually I had to pack up and get the dog home as his dribbling was getting a little out of control and he kept eyeing up people's food, but the others carried on their festivities long into the night (I know as I kept getting text messages asking if I was walking back into town to meet them. The texts got noticeably drunker and more demanding every hour), but by that stage I was tired and my feet hurt, so I was rather lame and just curled up on the sofa with a film.<br />
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Here's hoping this is just the first of many years of folk in the gardens.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-58018510028774298802015-06-17T11:00:00.000+01:002015-06-17T11:43:30.714+01:00Gin and Grapefruit Salty DogsLet me introduce you to my new favourite summer drink. This, ladies and gentleman, is the sour perfection of a Salty Dog. Gin and Grapefruit juice mixed with fresh lime, poured over flakes of ice and sipped through a salt rim.<br />
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Summer cocktail? Nailed it.<br />
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As for the summer statement, well, we can live in gleeful anticipation can't we! I was reliably assured last night by Steve that our summers start AFTER longest day, something to do with Gulf Streams, but I am taking that to mean that I can go paddling in the sea down at Broadstairs from this weekend onwards. <br />
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Now, I love a margarita - the salty sour tang is just perfection in a glass, but I am not a big tequila drinker. If you love the idea of a margarita but don't like tequila, then this will most definitely tick the box.<br />
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It was also National Gin Day last Saturday, which means it is officially Gin Week so, basically, you have to drink one - it's the law.<br />
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You may recognise gin and grapefruit juice as a Greyhound and in all honesty it is only the presence of a salted rim which turns this dog into its peg leg cousin who likes to sail the high seas. Either way it is seriously delicious. It just exudes summertime and is a major step up from an Orange Blossom, which in my opinion is just harsh on the palate<br />
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All you need is some gin (I used Gordon's Cucumber for that extra fresh hit, but any good quality gin would work), some good grapefruit juice (golden, not pink if possible, pink is a little too sweet) and a fresh lime.<br />
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Add 200ml of grapefruit juice to 50ml of gin and squeeze some lime juice in. Mix well. That's it! No mixology courses required here!<br />
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Salt the rim of a highball or martini glass by moistening it (the leftover lime is good for this) and rolling it in salt and add some crushed or flaked ice to the bottom of the glass. Pour the cocktail over the ice and garnish with a slice of lime.<br />
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Enjoy whilst lounging indolently in the summer sun.<br />
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You could even freeze this and crush it for a very grown up, very refreshing slushy! <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-68807921913624742162015-06-02T13:54:00.000+01:002015-06-02T14:07:50.609+01:00The Reading Nook: Bombsites and Lollipops, Morphine and Dolly MixturesWhen I was little there was a bookshelf in the downstairs toilet at my parents house. It was filled with Debrett's Book of Etiquette (a very old copy), a dog eared copy of The Pillars of the Earth (I now have my own) and the good, but very dated and not so subtly xenophobic Not Without My Daughter. There were other books there but those ones stood out in my mind.<br />
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Occasionally my mum or dad would find me lying on the carpeted floor of the toilet reading one of those books, normally with a cat curled up next to me. It never occurred to me to remove the book from the room and take it to the decidedly more comfortable sofa. I was a bright child but distinctly lacking in common sense.<br />
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One of those books I don't think I should have been reading at the tender age of 8 was Carol-Ann Coutney's Morphine and Dolly Mixture. I was drawn to the picture of the girl on the front who looked about my age and her smiling family and over the course of a few months, I read the entire book. I didn't know what the morphine in the title referred to, but I knew what dolly mixtures were and I assumed that the book would be a variation on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. <br />
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It wasn't, and I learnt some things that I was probably too young to properly understand, but that book has stuck in my memory ever since. A little while ago I tracked a copy down and re-read it and it is only now that I realise that not only was the book decidedly unsuitable for children, but that it was a true story, the autobiography of a desperate 11 year old girl left to care for her three younger brothers and baby sister after the death of her mother whilst trying to avoid her drug-addled, violent father in the slums of 1950's London. <br />
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Written in the 1980's, Morphine and Dolly Mixture is the story of a childhood no child should be forced to endure. Compelled by necessity to grow up quickly after her mother dies, Caroline fights to protect her family from being separated by social services, endures violence at the hands of her father who is addicted to the morphine medication he was prescribed for his lung cancer and suffers continuous guilt at her father's accusation that she murdered her mother when she accidentally bumped her mothers head the day before she died. This guilt lasts with the author until she is an adult and requests a copy of the coroners report.<br />
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You see the effects of drug dependency on a family already struggling and living in poverty, flashes of the man her father used to be when he loved and supported his family before his dependency on morphine, and the desperation in Caroline as she tries to protect her siblings innocence for as long as possible. The world through Caroline's eyes is a sad and daunting place yet you also feel the love and warmth within the family unit between Caroline and her siblings, and even sometimes her father.<br />
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It is a book that not many people have heard of, yet it won the Arts Council of Wales Book of the Year award in 1990 and has been made into a major television film adaptation. To say I enjoyed it would be a mistake, however it was gripping, moving and difficult to put down.<br />
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Bombsites and Lollipops is another memoir set in the slums and hovels of London in the 1950's, yet with a very different tone to it. Written by Jacky Hyams, I came across this by chance when I was updating my kindle with books for a holiday. I was struck by the similarity of the title to Morphine and Dolly Mixture (indeed it was that that prompted me to go looking for a copy again) and instantly downloaded it.<br />
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Jacky tells the story of her childhood in post-war Hackney. At a time when poverty and deprivation were rife and community was everything, Jacky lived a life of almost unheard of luxury, provided for by her father's black market deals and illegal betting. When a lot of people around her have nothing, Jacky has a chauffeur, a cleaner, posh meals and seaside holidays. Not all is as rosy as it seems from the outside as a growing darkness spreads from within and threatens to bring everything tumbling down around them faster than a blitz bombing.<br />
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Hyam's has been praised for her honesty and truthfulness in her writing and her attitudes towards her parents can be shocking at times. I was hoping for more insight into life in post-war London and Jacky's experiences cannot be described as typical of the era, but the book was neverthelss entertaining and moving in places.<br />
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I have yet to read the sequel, White Boots and Miniskirts which gives an account of life in London's swinging sixties, but I am eager to.<br />
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Both books are recommended, but Morphine and Dolly Mixtures is, for me, a must read.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-67947722409882061022015-05-26T11:00:00.000+01:002015-05-26T11:00:06.012+01:00Vietnamese Mussels with Crispy Pork Belly How about this for a twist on a surf and turf!<br />
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Canterbury used to have an amazing little Vietnamese restaurant that sadly closed a few years ago. I loved the food there, and recently picked up a Vietnamese cooking book by Charles Phan to try and recreate some of those dishes at home. They are light, healthy and big on flavour!<br />
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Like Burmese food, Vietnamese is heavy on the shallots, shrimp paste, fish sauce and soy and also has a strong reliance on herbs. This dish is no exception. The original recipe calls for the pork to be cooked in a cast iron pan that has been placed directly on charcoal coals. I live in a townhouse and don't have much call for a charcoal grill, but a regular gas or electric hob will do the job! Add a couple of drops of liquid smoke to the stock if you really want the smoke flavours in the pork.<br />
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You can substitute the chile paste for the stuff you can buy in a supermarket if you wish, but it is just as easy to make your own and will make a huge difference to your finished dish. See below for the recipe for the paste.<br />
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250ml chicken stock<br />
1 tablespoon fish sauce<br />
2 teaspoons sugar<br />
500g skin off belly pork, sliced 1/4 inch thick<br />
60g thinly sliced shallots<br />
2 red chillies, stemmed and minced<br />
2 jalapeno chillies, stemmed, seeded and julienned<br />
2 teaspoons minced garlic<br />
2 teaspoons roasted chile paste (see below)<br />
1 kg cleaned and de-bearded mussels (discard any that don't close when you tap them)<br />
60ml rice wine<br />
60g fresh Thai basil leaves<br />
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In a measuring cup or small bowl, stir together the stock, fish sauce and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside<br />
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Heat a griddle pan until very hot. Add the pork belly slices in a single layer to the hot pan and cook, turning occassionally for about 8 minutes until some of the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown. <br />
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Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of the accumulted fat from the pan (keeping the pork in the pan) and return to the heat. <br />
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Add the shallots, chillies and ginger to the pan and cook, stirring occassionally for one minute. Add the garlic and chile paste and cook for 30 seconds more. Transfer to a large pan.<br />
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Add the mussels and rice wine, pour in the stock mixture and add the Thai basil. Cover the pan with a metal bowl or wok lid and cook, uncovering and stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes until all the mussels have opened.<br />
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Pour the mussels, pork belly and juices into large bowls (pasta bowls are good), discarding any mussels that have failed to open.<br />
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Serve immediately with crusty fresh bread to mop up all those wonderful juices swimming at the bottom of your bowl.<br />
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<u><b>Vietnamese Chile Paste</b></u><br />
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You could use shop bought chile paste, but nothing beats a homemade version. The punch and depth of flavour it adds to the dish cannot be replicated, and any extra can be frozen and used in curries, soups and stews to add an extra dimension! It's also great with nacho's or prawns as a dipping sauce - basically just play with it, you will be amazed at how versatile it can be!<br />
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1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns<br />
1 tablespoon annatto seeds<br />
60g finely chopped shallots<br />
120ml canola oil<br />
8 crushed garlic cloves<br />
30g chilli flakes<br />
40g ground bean paste<br />
2 tablespoons rice wine<br />
2 tablespoons sugar<br />
2 tablespoons light soy sauce<br />
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Bash the peppercorns and annatto seeds in a pestle and mortar until they are coarse<br />
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In a small saucepan, combine the shallots and oil over a medium heat and cook, stirring frequently for about 6 minutes until the shallots are light gold<br />
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Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently for about 4 minutes until the garlic and shallots are lightly browned<br />
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Stir in the chilli flakes and the peppercorn-annatto seed mixture and mix well. Add the bean paste, wine, sugar and soy sauce and continue cooking, stirring for 1 minute longer. <br />
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Remove from the heat and let cool completely. It will store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months, or 6 months in the freezer. <br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-43214301401973633012015-05-22T11:39:00.001+01:002015-05-22T14:20:17.873+01:00The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeWarning - there are small spoilers ahead. <br />
<br />
Last night was an interesting night for a number of reasons.<br />
<br />
1) The second Eurovision song contest semi-final was on (admit it, you love the cheese factor as much as I do)<br />
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2) I was woken up in the middle of the night by the room shaking as Kent was hit by a mini-earthquake. We braved our way through it, huddled together in a ball and in the morning went outside soberly to view the horrific aftermath. One patio chair was knocked over. Although, thinking about it, I'm fairly sure it's been like that for a good month or so already.<br />
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3) I finally got to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the multi-Olivier Award winning play!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.curiousonstage.com/" target="_blank">Curious Incident</a> is currently on tour and into its second week of residency at the <a href="http://www.marlowetheatre.com/" target="_blank">Marlowe Theatre</a>. I had known it was coming for months, and, having read the book ages ago and heard all the rave reviews about the staging, concepts and creativity of the production, I was really keen to go and see it.<br />
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I was also intrigued - in London the play is performed in the round, which isn't physically possible at the Marlowe Theatre, and I had no idea how they were going to translate the play onto a more traditional stage structure.<br />
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Apparently with ease! The grid box is one of the most ingenious stage concepts I think I have ever seen and offered the actors and stage crew boundless opportunities to have fun with lighting and visualising concepts.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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For those of you who have been living under a rock, Curious Incident is the story of Christopher, a 15 year old boy with an extraordinary brain, one which grasps mathematical and scientific constructs with ease, but is ill-equipped to integrate with society, and his quest to solve the mystery of his next door neighbors dead dog that he finds speared with a garden fork in the early hours of the morning; a quest that leads him in an unexpected direction and changes him forever.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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Although never explicitly stated either in the book or in the play, it is insinuated that Christopher is on the autistic spectrum with possible Aspergers Syndrome. The portrayal of a person with Aspergers, or any form of autism on the stage, is one that needs to be handled sympathetically and this production beautifully demonstrated the balance between academic brilliance and social awkwardness Christopher experiences, and the challenges he has to overcome in everyday life in a world which is not designed to help or be sympathetic to people who struggle in social situations. The use of sound, lighting and strobe to signify the times when Christopher needs to retreat into himself to cope with the overwhelming sensory overload around him, and the use of mathematics to stabalise and reassure him are beautiful constructs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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Rather than a first person narrative, the production was presented as a play-within-a-play, with the cast acting out the story that Christopher has written in his book as it is being read out loud by his teacher, and later converted in a play that his school puts on. The physical movement was particularly effective, with dance elements used when Christopher is imagining himself tumbling through space as an astronaut or trying to navigate the streets of London on his own. Hardly surprising when a group as well respected as <a href="http://www.franticassembly.co.uk/" target="_blank">Frantic Assembly </a>have choreographed the play!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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Standout sequences for me were the tube, the building of the railway sequence just before the interval (such a shame one of the letters landed on the line and stopped the train from reaching its destination) and the flight through Christopher's imagination as he describes his wish to be an astronaut. These sequences in particular stand out as you are seeing the world through the eyes of someone that sees it very differently. The author of the book, Mark Haddon, has stated that he does not want the book (and by default the play) to be about autism, but about difference, about being an outsider and seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. <br />
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From an acting perspective, the majority of the performances were exemplary. Joshua Jenkins, who played Christopher, was simply outstanding. He conveyed the strength and determination of Christopher's character mingled with the raw emotion of someone struggling to cope in a world not designed to meet their needs. He was on the stage for the entire performance and did not once let his energy levels drop or slip up with the incredibly difficult scientific and mathematical theories he was explaining that bought order and routine to Christopher's world.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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Stuart Laing and Gina Isaac, playing Christopher's parents, were exceptional at delivering the love and frustration they both feel at trying to communicate with a child who doesn't respond in the way that they expect, their desire to protect him from the world and also their coping strategies for compensating for Christopher's particular physical needs, such as the fingertip touch to replace a hug as Christopher violently eschews physical contact.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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Geraldine Alexander portrays Christopher's teacher, Siobhan, whose calm demeanor and teachings help Christopher make sense of the world around him and provide him with valuable coping strategies when faced with high stress situations. It is her voice that tells him to follow the red line and tap out the rhythm when Christopher is confronted by the chaos of a big city, who he hears telling him to work through the numbers and try again when he fears he cannot achieve a task. She is his comfort blanket and has a relationship with him that is in stark contrast to his mother, who clearly struggles to cope with Christopher's challenging behaviour.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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Now the staging. There is a reason that Curious Incident has won the Olivier Award for Best Sound Design, Best Lighting Design and Best Set Design and it is simply incredible. The set becomes a vehicle for seeing inside Christopher's mind, for visualising the connections that he makes, the theories that he uses and the stress that it goes under when he is upset. White cubes glow and become television screens, fish tanks and wheelie suitcases. Windows open in the wall and props appear. A table is pulled from the back wall as if out of thin air. The set glows and moves and becomes a home, a train station, a tube station and a park. It needs to be seen to be believed. <br />
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I am ridiculously lucky to have the Marlowe Theatre on my doorstep, and I become even more aware of that fact when I get to see touring shows of the calibre of this one.<br />
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<a href="http://www.curiousonstage.com/tour/" target="_blank">The UK tour is running until mid-November.</a> Check it out, and if you get a chance to go and see it, please do.<br />
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It will open your eyes to a world you may not have even been aware existed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Brinkhoff Mögenburg</td></tr>
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-87598481968360179792015-04-15T13:36:00.000+01:002015-04-15T13:36:00.309+01:00The NutcrackerEvery since I was small I have loved The Nutcracker. My mum had an old copy on video and I used to watch it at Christmas; it was one of the sure signs that Santa was on his way. <br />
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Everything about it screams of the yuletide festivities and the music by Tchaikovsky will instantly take me to a romantic winter dreamland where toys come to life and snowflakes dance. The fact that I am writing about this in April must seem very odd then!<br />
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For Christmas this year, mum got me two tickets to see the Russian State Ballet and the Orchestra of Siberia's touring production of The Nutcracker at The Marlowe Theatre in March. <br />
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Steve was certainly not interested (not really his thing) but I knew that Claire would be (she is a classical ballet buff) so invited her to join me one very cold Wednesday evening after work. The show was part of two productions that the Company were touring with; The Nutcracker and Swan Lake and friends of mine in the area would be going to see both. One of my colleagues commented the next day that they had been waving madly at me from the stalls but I was completely oblivious in the Circle!<br />
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Choreography in this production was by Vasily Vainonen and Sergei Bobrov with the full orchestra conducted by Alexander Yudasin. From my position in the Circle I had a brilliant view down into the orchestra pit and some of the percussion instruments being used were like nothing I had ever seen before. <br />
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The entire ballet was just magical. It opens at the Christmas Eve party where the children play games with the magician and Marie and Fritz receive their presents. The touches here were lovely, with the children coming to and from the party wearing capes dusted with snow and throwing snowballs at each other. The changing of the nutcracker into a lifesize doll was masterfully performed and the dancer remained as a life size doll for longer than normal, only changing into a full prince at the end of the act.<br />
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The Dance of the Snowflakes was one of the high points for me, and I loved their cone hats and snowballs dangling from their costumes; it was a different spin on a classical costume that I hadn't seen before and added some more personality to this production.<br />
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It has been a long time since I have seen a classical ballet production, having seen mainly modern dance interpretations in recent years. You would think that I would have grown out of the childish desire to be a ballet dancer (despite the fact I hated my lessons) by now, but seeing the Waltz of the Sweets always rekindles it in me. The Arabian Dance was particularly beautiful, using fabric reminiscent of a Dance of the Seven Veils to add movement and grace to an already beautiful performance. The Tea Dance (Chinese) had all the fun, energy and vibrancy you expect from it. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The one major criticism with this production? There was no Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy! This is such an iconic part of any Nutcracker production and I am utterly bemused as to why they left it out! The music was played, but Clara danced to it instead. No idea why they chose to do this.<br />
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It did feel very strange to be watching The Nutcracker when it wasn't Christmas, but the magic and wonder of the show is still enough to spellbind you, no matter the time of the year.<br />
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All images were sourced online (apart from the images of the Marlowe Theatre which are my own) but original photography credit could not be found. If you know who should be credited for the ballet images, please let me know and I will add it.<br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-10291253778634570592015-04-10T13:02:00.000+01:002015-04-10T13:04:23.737+01:00The Reading Nook: Their Eyes Were Watching God"Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come
in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out
of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in
resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of
men. Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to
remember and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is
the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly". <br />
<br />
One of the original purposes of establishing The Reading Nook was to get myself to read books that have been sat in my collection for year, including (ahem) a number of books I was supposed to have read for my degree and, well, didn't. Mainly because at the time I was far too interested in all the other things going on around me that involved interacting with other people, such as my show on the radio station or playing hockey, or producing the pantomime, or working at my part time job in a student bar or running for election, or..ok fine I admit it...drinking.<br />
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So it has finally happened, 13 years after making the purchase and 13 years after I was supposed to have read it, I have finally read one of my course books. <br />
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I really wish I hadn't waited so long to be honest! Their Eyes Were Watching God is an American classic. Written in 1937 in colloquial folk language by Zora Neale Hurston, to say that the book bombed when it was first released would be an understatement. It was slated by a number of prominent African-American authors involved in the Harlem Renaissance movement who accused Hurston of pandering to stereotypes of language, behaviour and culture. It was not until the 1970's and 1980's that the book became valued as a work of literary art in its own right as Universities across America started to develop Black Studies programmes which included a focus on art and literature, whilst simultaneously women such as Alice Walker (author of another of my favourites, The Color Purple) and Mary Helen Washington were leading the Black Feminism movement in America, all of which created a culture which allowed for a rediscovery, and a new appreciation for Their Eyes Were Watching God and other forgotten novels of the era. <br />
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Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of those rare stories, a book written in the 1930's that describes a woman who, after suffering two marriages that have stifled her, will not be subjugated any longer, who will not behave in a way expected of her station or gender, and who will follow her own heart, wherever it may lead her.<br />
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Warning: Spoilers ahead - if you don't wish to know the plot, jump ahead to after the next picture! <br />
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Janie Crawford sits on her porch with her best friend, Phoeby Watson. Now in her mid-late forties, Janie tells the story of her life through a series of flashbacks to Phoeby, who, in turn, relates the story to the rest of the nosey residents of the town of Eatonville in Florida.<br />
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Janie's story is framed by three distinct chapters and marriages to three very different men, only one of whom has allowed her to be herself. Her first marriage is arranged by her grandmother at the age of 16 to an older man and a farmer. Janie finds this marriage suffocating as her husband requires a domestic help rather than an equal partner whilst Janie desires love and romance in her life after seeing a bee pollinating a flower in her back garden as a young girl. One day, whilst working outside the house, she meets the smooth talking and confident Jody Starks who woos her with his dreams of being a 'big man'. Janie elopes with Jody to Eatonville where the two gradually become prominent figures in the society there; Jody becomes mayor and owner of the village shop and Janie is expected to behave in a way expected of the wife of the mayor. Throughout the novel Janie's exceptional beauty is emphasised, as is her hair, her crowning glory that attracts admiration and envy from all who see it. Janie soon realises that Jody is after a trophy wife, he forces her to keep her hair bound and beats Janie when she tries to engage in the social activities and life that Jody enjoys. Jody eventually sickens and passes away, but not before Janie tries to heal the growing rift between them.<br />
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Shortly later, Janie, now a wealthy widow in her mid-thirties with hordes of suitors, meets a young vagabond and gambler called Tea Cake. Tea Cake is the complete antithesis of Jodie; young, vibrant, free from restraints and restrictions and he draws the initially reluctant Janie out of her shell and the two fall deeply in love. They move to Jacksonville where they marry and work side by side in the Everglades with the other itinerant workers. The life Janie has now is one of friendship and laughter; night after night the workers gather at Tea Cake and Janie's house where Janie cooks for them and Tea Cake plays the guitar or they gamble. This period of bliss cannot last though, and the entire area is hit by the Okeechobee hurricane. As the workers try to flee and gain higher ground, Tea Cake, unbeknownst to Janie, is bitten by a rabid dog whilst saving her. Within a few days Tea Cake has contracted the disease and by the time he is able to see a doctor, it is too late. He gradually starts raving, becoming increasingly jealous and eventually pulls a gun on Janie. She grabs a rifle to defend herself and as both guns go off, hers kills Tea Cake.<br />
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Janie finds herself in front of the magistrate for the murder of her husband; the all-white court rule in her favour though, recognising the desperate nature of her situation and, as everyone comments, the fact that Janie's love for Tea Cake was legendary in the neighbourhood. Despite the requests of the people of Jacksonville, Janie decides to return to Eatonville and live alone, content and at peace with herself, and the story finishes where it started.<br />
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The book covers themes of gender, religion, fate and free will, romance vs reality, society and class, race, jealously, appearance and, above all, the importance of dreams. Modern day readers may well find some of the attitudes hard to stomach; wife beating is prevalent, women are seen, particularly by some of the more traditional individuals, as second class citizens who are unable to think for themselves (Jody, at one particularly memorable moment, comments that 'somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves.") and the book was written at a time when class and race divides were still deeply entrenched in society.<br />
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There are two references to watching God in the book; the first is from Janie as she stares peacefully up at the sky. Tea Cake approaches her and asks 'Watcha doin' Janie?'. 'I'm watching God' she replies. The second comes where the refugees are huddled in shanties, waiting for the hurricane to subside. "The
wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last
time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their
eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He
meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be
staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God." This final reference is commonly though to summarise the central conflict of the novel; humans against God, humans against nature, fate against free will. The bonds of human interaction and
intimacy provide refuge against the forces of nature. Tea Cake and
Janie share an intimacy that allows them to struggle and survive
these forces, and even when she is left alone, Janie continues to survive everything that is thrown against her. <br />
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I struggled with this book when I first sat down with it, and I have tried to read it on numerous occasions since. I don't think that this should be a required curriculum reading; it is one that younger people are likely to struggle with as the language can be quite challenging, and the story line probably isn't all that exciting for people looking for adventure and drama. It is only with age that I think I can appreciate the novel as a work of art in its own right, and as story of a women finding out about life, love and who she is though, it is beautiful. <br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-33696669967411129572015-04-07T11:39:00.002+01:002015-04-07T11:47:09.099+01:00Complete History of Comedy, Reduced Shakespeare CompanyExcuse me while I blow the dust off my screen. <br />
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I don't think I have ever gone so long without a blog post since I first started! A combination of 2 of the busiest weeks at work in my annual work cycle directly followed by a temperature of 101.66F and a seriously nasty bout of suspected gastroenteritis, play week for Charley's Aunt, the in-laws visiting for the Easter weekend and a bit of bloggers block (I have had absolutely no creative inspiration at all recently, it seems to have all been diverted into areas which actually pay my bills, sorry) has meant a whole host of draft posts just sitting in my planner, filled with pictures and absolutely no end material.<br />
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Oops<br />
<br />
I'm back now though so let's start to catch up! The 3 week gap does mean that a few of these events happened a little while ago...sorry...this won't exactly be real time blogging for a bit, but we have to start somewhere!<br />
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As I mentioned, Charley's Aunt has now finished, so I get my evenings back. Whoohoo! At least for the time being. We are actually doing The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Reduced) next, with RV in the directors chair, so, as part of his very serious 'research' (and not an excuse for a jolly to the theatre at all) he suggested we head up to the Gulbenkian to see <a href="http://www.reducedshakespeare.com/" target="_blank">The Reduced Shakespeare Company</a> perform The Complete History of Comedy. <br />
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For purely serious research purposes you understand.<br />
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So it was on the 1st March (I said there was a bit of a backlog), on a Sunday evening before the start of the working week, a large group of us dutifully filed into the Gulbenkian to take our seats and be entertained with a rip roaring stomp through comedy through the ages.<br />
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I have had the absolute pleasure of seeing The Reduced Shakespeare Company twice before, once when I was about 15 and watched them perform The Complete Works Of Shakespeare (Abridged) and once in my early twenties when I watched them perform the Bible (Abridged). <br />
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Both times I have been doubled over in my seat, completely helpless and crying with laughter, desperately clutching my stomach to try and alleviate the laughter cramps that are shooting across my abdomen.<br />
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For those of you who haven't heard of them (seriously, where have you been?!) they are the company that perform all 37 of Shakespeare's plays in 97 minutes, including Hamlet 3 times. Once of which is backwards. They are a three man troupe that dart in and out of roles with slick brevity, using a cap or a moustache to convey a change. The stage was littered with roosters and scarves, caps and swords by the time they had finished in previous shows. <br />
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Originally from California, the RSC have an impressive comedy pedigree, boasting the longest running comedy show in London, 7 stage shows, 2 television specials and numerous radio pieces that have been heard the world over. Other tours include Western Civilisation (Abridged), Sports (Abridged), America (Abridged), Books (Abridged)....you get the idea. If something has a long, complicated history with a huge amount of material to cover, The Reduced Shakespeare Company will roll their sleeves up and have at it with gusto.<br />
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The Complete History of Comedy took us on an irreverent ride through, well, the Complete History of Comedy. They poked fun at the high brow and the low, from the Ancient Greeks (hello Aristophanes) to Shakespeare, chicken crossing the road jokes, Moliere, mimes and clowns, Vaudeville, Chaplin and Chekov (whom I have never thought of as funny!) as the three actors desperately search for the missing chapter on The Art of Comedy that has been lost to time. In doing so, they take us through every chapter of the book, acting out the principles of comedy and how they have shaped the genre. They interact with the audience, dragging audience members onto the stage and exchanging banter with people.<br />
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I think covering specific comics is one of the disadvantages of a show like this. Comedy, and what people find funny is intensely personal. For example, I have never found Moliere or Chekov, or even Chaplin to be funny, and unfortunately, having their plays and sketches acted out by a troop of comedians still doesn't make them funny for me. There were parts that I did guffaw at, and the audience was definitely tickled by the show, but in comparison to their other productions, it just didn't engender the same continuously cackling reaction in me that I was expecting, and that was a shame. The funniest joke for me involved Abraham Lincoln and the phrase 'too soon?'.<br />
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As we left, we did discuss whether they were now running out of ideas, and whether or not the same format just wasn't as fresh as it used to be. <br />
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What the Reduced Shakespeare Company are know and revered for is their impudent, breathless, quick fire routines that is choreographed to a frenetic pace that leaves you gasping for breath. The very thing that makes us want to emulate them, and terrified about even trying to do so. 'Comedy', for me, was missing that edge, that fire and punch. <br />
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Would I see the Reduced Shakespeare Company again? Absolutely, in a heart beat and I would recommend that everyone tries to see them at least once.<br />
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Would I see 'Comedy' again? I'm not sure. I felt that, out of all the shows I have seen by the RSC, this was the weakest by far. It was pleasant and perfectly nice, it just didn't leave tears of joy running down my cheeks like their other shows did.<br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-89263441030498897172015-03-19T10:59:00.000+00:002015-03-19T10:59:38.298+00:00Fudge KitchenThere is a place in Canterbury near the Cathedral, at the top end of the Kings Mile, that smells devilishly divine. As you walk past you are hit with wafts of warm caramel, indulgent notes of toffee, vanilla drifts of superheated sugar and sinfully rich hints of melted chocolate. What makes this a real test of will is the sign outside that tempts you in with the promise of free samples.<br />
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I'm talking about the <a href="http://www.fudgekitchen.co.uk/index.asp" target="_blank">Fudge Kitchen</a><br />
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The hunter green shop front gives way to a business that has been perfecting its fudge recipes for over 30 years, using traditional techniques and methods that are nearly two hundred years old. All the fudge is made in-house in the great bronze fudge cauldron and on the marble slab where, if you get lucky with your timings, you can watch the fudge artisans doing their stuff. <br />
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If watching isn't enough for you, then you can always get down and sticky with the fudge yourself in one of their fudge making experiences! For the cool price of £60 for two people, you can learn the basics of fudge making, put yourself into a sugar coma on free tasting samples and walk out with 4 slabs of fudge to take home. Not bad value to be honest! They also do the Fudge At Home kits where you can get scientific in your own kitchen with your very own sugar thermometer and fudge tools and a <b>lot </b>of cream. <br />
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We will get onto the fudge itself in a moment, I promise.<br />
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For now, let me tell you a little bit more about fudge in general. Fudge was originally 'born' at a female college in Virginia in the States, not in Cornwall or Devon surprisingly. Apparently a college lecturer was taking a class in toffee making when the
temperature of the concoction was not taken high enough. The end product
was called ‘fudge' and in one fell swoop two things were invited; a creamy, delicious treat and the term to 'fudge' something. <br />
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The Fudge Kitchen specialises in American style fudge, using a recipe that relies on the creamiest of cream instead of butter to give their fudge its distinctive, addictive texture and help the vanilla flavour maintain its creamy colour. They must be doing something right as they now have Fudge Kitchens in Canterbury, Bath, York, Cambridge, Windsor, Edinburgh and Oxford (all of which, coincidentally considering the origin story of Fudge, are towns and cities with major Universities present). They are a proper Kentish company; their head offices are in Lyminge, not far from Canterbury. Can't get to a store and currently clawing and the screen to get your paws on some? Don't worry - they deliver. You may even get really lucky and find them at a stockist near you.<br />
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They don't just do big slabs of fudge. For those of you who prefer your fudge in liquid form, they also do sachets of drinking fudge in a multitude of different flavours, from Tangy Orange to Gorgeous Ginger (I married one of them) and the original Sea Salt Caramel. You can have these hot in the winter or as a seriously different milkshake in the summer. <br />
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Then there are the fudge sauces. Pancake Day is admittedly behind us, but I'm a firm advocate for pancakes throughout the year and these would make an amazing topping. They would also be awesome in a sticky toffee pudding, poured over ice cream, in a bread and butter pudding (the chocolate and ginger would be especially brilliant for this), baked into cakes and cupcakes or as an indulgent icing or as a fudge fondue with marshmallow and fruit skewers. <br />
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So that's all the little added extras that the fudge kitchen specialises in. Now onto the main event - the fudge itself.<br />
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The first thing to note is the variety of fudge you can get - from your traditional toffee and chocolate flavours to seasonal classics (at the moment Hot Cross Bun and Lemon and Ginger are on the menu for the spring time). <br />
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You can try a sliver of any of the fudges before you buy one of the enormous, 175g slabs that they have for sale in the the window. We had come in to build a box to take to the pub for my birthday for everyone to share - a little goes a long way.<br />
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We got a 6 slab box for £22 to take home and filled it with Traditional Toffee (very sweet and warm), Vintage Vanilla (pure white with a warm vanilla taste that comes from pods and not essence), Caramel Swirl (made from the Vintage Vanilla fudge which has homemade caramel swirled through it), Chocolate Classic (my favourite, dark and velvety and most definitely not for children - it has an almost bitter edge that cuts through the sweetness of the fudge), Double Trouble (dark chocolate fudge with great chunks of white Belgian chocolate running through it) and Belgian Chocolate Swirl (dark Belgian chocolate and the classic Vanilla fudge swirled together). <br />
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The flavours are like no fudge you have tasted before. All of them are decadent, rich and creamy; a small morsel goes a very long way and will satisfy even the strongest of sweet tooth cravings. Our box lasted for ages. Half of the box fed 8 people as a dessert, the other half we took to rehearsal with 15 people there who gradually munched their way through it. <br />
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Why not consider something a little bit different from your traditional Easter eggs this year, and go for a box of fudge for the family, or a home kit so you can make your own fudge at home with the kids over the Easter holidays (supervised closely of course!) They would absolutely love it!<br />
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You can find the Fudge Kitchen on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fudgekitchen" target="_blank">facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fudgekitchen" target="_blank">twitter</a> and they have a <a href="http://www.fudgeblog.co.uk/" target="_blank">blog </a>so why not say hello?<br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3994513707064698100.post-78571575960677773492015-03-17T13:47:00.000+00:002015-03-17T13:47:58.233+00:00Prawn Stir FrySometimes there is nothing better than a simple, straightforward stir fry. Crunchy fresh vegetables, prawns and noodles all coated in a zingy, lightly spicy sauce. The leftovers make for a brilliant packed lunch as well!<br />
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I've tried a few packet sauces for stir fry from the supermarket, and have found every single one, without fail, to be utterly bland and flavourless. I'm not sure what it is about pre-made stir fry sauces, but it seems as though companies are just afraid of tickling the taste buds. <br />
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That is not what I want when I am eating my dinner. I want flavour and zing with contrasting hot and sharp tang. After being utterly fed up with the offerings, I stuck my head in my kitchen cupboards, pulled out every bottle of Asian inspired sauce I had and started pouring, tasting and tweaking in a bowl until I had created my own stir fry sauce that is, as far as I am concerned, a flavour sensation. <br />
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Patent pending.<br />
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<strong><u>Prawn Stir Fry</u></strong><br />
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200g packet raw king prawns (or chicken or lean strips of beef or pork)<br />
1 packet stir fry vegetable mix (or make your own with chopped red and green peppers, shredded cabbage, baby corn, finely chopped red onion, diced courgette, mange tout, shredded carrot and broccoli)<br />
1 x 350g packet bean sprouts<br />
1 x 350g packet vermicelli noodles<br />
Couple of handfuls sweet corn <br />
1 teaspoon wok oil or vegetable oil<br />
1 lime<br />
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<strong><u>Dressing</u></strong><br />
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2 tablespoons siriachi sauce<br />
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar<br />
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce<br />
2 teaspoons ground ginger (fresh would be better, peel and julienne 1 x inch strip of ginger, I didn't have any in the house though)<br />
2 teaspoons chinese five spice<br />
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil <br />
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce<br />
1 tablepoon sesame seeds<br />
Juice of 1 lime<br />
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Get everything lined up and the dressing pre-mixed before you turn the hob on. Once the heat goes on, everything happens very quickly!<br />
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In a large wok (or deep frying pan if you don't have a wok) heat the oil. When the oil is very hot (hold your hand over it, you should feel the heat on the palm of your hand almost instantly), throw in all of the mixed vegetables and stir continuously for 1 minute. <br />
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Add the bean sprouts and noodles and stir for 1 more minute<br />
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Add the prawns and sweet corn and stir until all prawns turn pink.<br />
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Throw in the dressing and stir for a further minute or until everything is lightly coated.<br />
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Sprinkle some more sesame seeds on the top and serve with the lime cut into wedges.<br />
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If you can eat this with chopsticks, then I commend you. I'm normally not too bad when I use them, but for some reason I really struggle with noodles, and this dish has oodles of noodles!<br />
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By the way, did you know that elephants are a symbol of good luck and good fortune in Asian cultures? I have a few elephant statues and ornaments in my house, and my grandmother always taught me to make sure that the elephants' trunk points towards the entrance of the house. That way only good fortune will ever enter.<br />
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It's probably all supersititious nonsense, but I still make sure that all my elephants always have their trunks pointing at the front door, no matter where they are.<br />
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If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">cheeky follow,</span></a> or say Hi to me on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Facebook </span></a>group or <a href="https://twitter.com/Miscriant" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twitter</span></a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/miscriant"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Instagram</span></a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09177681934862350078noreply@blogger.com0