THE GEORDIE SHORES

THIS weekend saw us driving from Birmingham [in what seemed like God's wrath] to Newcastle to see family.

What you don't see here is the gigantic bolt of lightening that appeared

two seconds earlier.

And though the weather was as dubious as Hugh Heffner's libido, the journey taught me that

      a] Service stations look practically space age compared to the last time I went into one, and

      b] Family car journeys are just as fun ten years on.

Here's a few things we did when we arrived:

Dodged the rain to see the sights,

walked alongside the Baltic,

admired the many wonderful bridges [definitely reminded me of London and Paris],

marvelled at the stained glass windows of the Crown Posada, the

second oldest pub in Newcastle, also boasting excellent taste in music

and lovely wooden panelling [girl talk],

had some Crabbies at the Crown Posada

[consequently passing out from the sugar crash]

and took the 'Curry Train' to The Valley Indian Restaurant in Corbridge.

This was an experience in itself! Two gentleman greet you at the train station dressed in

traditional Indian clothing. Once on the train you're offered drinks and asked for your order; starters and main dishes only as you are given a selection and unlimited supply of side dishes and rice to accompany your chosen plates.
After a very scenic journey through beautiful fields and lots of greenery you arrive at the station and, at the same time, at the restaurant which is located on the platform [how convenient?!]. Once at the restaurant and after a few drinks, you're taken to your table [already having ordered on the train]. What follows is some beautifully cooked, completely fresh food and possibly the largest Tandoori King Prawns I have ever seen. We were a party of eight and all had nothing but good things to say about the food, as well as the service. I thoroughly recommend this experience if visiting Newcastle!

This weekend will see me venturing no further than Birmingham city centre so I can perform for Elicit at Talk Bar where i'll be playing through an acoustic set at around 8:30pm. You'll get five live acts, three DJs and a partridge in a pair tree for your money which is pretty good going.

love

STANLEY

HENS AND COWS

THIS weekend saw the weather miraculously change into what can only be described as what I imagine the British weather in Heaven to be like. As a result I managed to get outside a bit and do a few things:

ONE] Attend a Hen Night at Moxhull Hall: For my first ever Hen Night [at least in the UK] I was invited to Moxhull
         Hall in Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield. The first thing to say about this hotel is that the grounds are beautiful.

I could have taken a much better photo of the actual grounds and the

grass piano but I was too busy doing Hen Night things.

            The features and general style of this Victorian mansion have definitely been preserved, with stone

         windows, wooden panelling and original-looking tiling present throughout.

         Each guest had their own name card and was greeted with a lovely little goody bag filled with treats:

Satisfying my sugar needs on every level

        After this came a fresh and filling three-course dinner ranging from Mozarella to Paté, Belly Pork to Sea

        Bass and Eton Mess [complete with an upside-down ice cream cone] to a Chocolate and (spot the)

        Blueberry Brownie with an oozy hot chocolate sauce. And then this happened:

       Thank you Maria for a wonderful night and BEST OF LUCK with the final planning stages! See you at the
       wedding!

TWO] I went to Sutton Park: This is something I like to do a lot in my old age, not least because I literally live
          opposite the place [I hear the ducks quacking more than I hear traffic]. This weekend wasn't much
          different, except for the fact that:

We were followed by cows.

I mean, at first we just bumped into them,

but then they followed us.

They stopped to scratch themselves, yes,

but they definitely followed us.

This scene was beautiful, but we couldn't stay there longer than

two minutes on account of the overpowering smell of

fresh cow shit.

So we opted for a grassy bank where we stayed for a while, 

dozing off in the sun.

And then [I'm not even joking] the cows returned.

        Having said that, they were probably the friendliest cows i've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Also I urge

      you all to have a wander through Sutton Park at some point whilst we still have the sun in our reach. Not

      only is it the biggest Urban Park in Europe, it's quieter than any park you'll ever go to [esp if you live in
      London] and there's an abundance of wonderful little doggies running round enjoying life.

THREE] I bought a guitar: I felt it was time, plus it was my birthday last weekend:

Hey there beautiful Tanglewood

                 I bought this from Fairdeal Music which is pretty much opposite the Sunflower Lounge in town. They sell
             all sorts of things from pedals to Mandolins and are very very helpful to boot. I'll be trying my new friend
            out on Saturday 31st May at Talk Bar for Elicit, tickets for which can be found HERE. Stage time to
            follow!

Please by Sunscreen.

love

STANLEY 

BIRTHDAY: AY AY!

THIS weekend saw me turning twenty six, amongst other things. Here's how I celebrated:

Here's me with an AMAZING card that my 3-year old cousin

  Harry made me - and some weird wallpaper.

ONE] Eating at Annexe, Birmingham:
         This restaurant on Corporation street opposite the Law Courts is a complete hidden gem. I wanted to go
         somewhere that had a good atmosphere, was reasonably priced but had great food to show for it; this
         made Annexe the perfect location to say goodbye to my twenty fifth year. The service is impeccable, from
         the moment you are greeted outside the front door to the minute you leave, something which is lacking at
         many places at the moment [not least at new Turtle Bay where a bar manager actually pulled a face at us
         after speaking rather abruptly/sarcastically just before we promptly headed to The Lost and Found
         then Annexe]. The first thing that struck me was the music: all the 30s classics with a pinch of le
         Francais. The second was the decor:

Yes that is a piano placed in front of a large projected Fred Astair (I think) 

Yes that is a wonderfully 30s pattern on french-style mirrors.

    Whilst my photographs had clearly felt the effects of alcohol, my stomach hadn't, and I tucked into every

    freshly- made and delicious course as though I hadn't eaten in a week. We did have an altercation with a piece

    of cod that had been overcooked and left out, but this was dealt with swiftly and professionally as we were

    offered a champagne and cherry cocktail by the manager amid several apologies. Needless to say a new

    piece arrived that was brilliantly flakey and worth the wait. Dish of the evening for me had to be Scallops of The

    Day wrapped in pancetta and served with celeriac purée and pesto which practically melted in the mouth. I

    was told that the Rosemary Beef was equally full of flavour. Unfortunately this is where my photographic imput

    ends but you're going to have to take a wander down and have a look for yourself! 

    FACT: Annexe holds 'Show Nights' every so often which basically consist of dressing up like a 30s
              Hollywood star, enjoying the live performances and eating like a king. The next one is
              THIS FRIDAY 16th May with the theme of 'Opulence, Burlesque, Hollywood Glamour'

TWO] Learning to Ski:

          That's right - my wonderful boyfriend surprised me with a fast-track skiing lesson with Snozone at Xscape

          Milton Keynes on my actual birthday. This, my friends, is an amazing gift. If [like me] you get to your

          lesson and suddenly find yourself overcome with fear DO NOT WORRY. THIS IS NORMAL. Was I scared?

          Yes:

Here's me looking scared

          Did I have an amazing time? Yes. Did I want to go back yesterday and today? YES. I have no idea

          how much the lessons are [and will not look] but am assured they are great value for money. 

I'm not sure how but I mastered everything. Birthday luck.

        The great thing about this place is the real snow. It's one thing to learn how to ski on a completely smooth
        surface but it's another ball game to be able to handle your skis when they're buried under a mound of

        snow. 

Actual amazing snow

          Thanks must go to my instructor 'Lemmon' who:

                  a] was patient, encouraging and uplifting in instances of frustration [of which there were a few]

                  b] pushed me down the slope backwards, about fifteen minutes into the lesson, and

                  c] taught me how to ski in three hours.

        I'll definitely be back soon to complete levels 3 and 4 and basically rule the slopes. NB These lessons are 

        not age-specific as far as I can tell on account of the four year old twins who showed me up.

THREE] Ordering a 15" Pizza from Joes Pizza: OBVIOUSLY

love

STANLEY

THE REAL FOOD MARKET + STREETS OF SPAIN: SOUTHBANK CENTRE

THIS weekend saw us back in London visiting family. Thankfully the weather realised and put on a great display which resulted in one slightly tanned nose and the whole of the city 'hanging out' in the same place: the Real Food Market which is held every Friday to Sunday at the Southbank Centre until December. 

Source: Real Food Market website

Bizarrely I didn't take a single photo, but that may have something to do with the fact that I could barely see my feet due to the sheer volume of people [not due to the amount of food I ate]; I have however stolen a photo from someone I was with:

Thanks Iain Fenton!

These brownies were from the Outsider Tart stall, the shop for which is described as an 'authentic American bake shop' with the two owners heralding from New York. All I can say is that they tasted like the best brownie i'd ever tasted had spent the weekend in heaven and come back topped with smarties as a memento. Heard enough? Their address is 83 Chiswick High Road and they're open EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. They're also always as the food festival so pick the one that's nearest and go! P.S I opted for a falafel wrap topped with Harissa, obviously.

Here's Jo and I giving it a thumbs up because that's what it deserves.

Rond the corner was also Streets of Spain, an entire stretch of Spanish food and drink stalls with offerings from paella to queso Manchego and plenty of places to buy as much Sangria as you could hold. I managed not to take any photos of this either [it's like I was never there] but here's a photo that someone else took of a couple of incredibly large paella dishes that I can confirm were at the market:

Source Rachel Phipps

Unless you're round the corner and you've read this, you'll probably miss it because today is the last day it is on, HOWEVER it is open until 10pm so technically you still have a lot of time..

Some other things that happened this weekend include:

ONE] The devouring of the two largest Lindt bunnies I have ever seen. I wish I had something else in this picture           to act as a scale setter.

TWO] Trees were climbed in a lovely garden so that CDs could be put up to scare away shitting pigeons:

THREE] I saw a photo of my boyfriend trying on an exceptional suit for a family wedding that we're going to in

             July and my expression was something similar to this: 

I hope you're all enjoying your Bank Holiday weekend.

Love.

STANLEY