Short Stories: Big Bets, The Girl With the Black Skull Scarf & The Technicoloured Gorilla

Today is about so many things that I don't know where to start.  The day was really full and it seems that there were so many great parts to it that I'm remembering them as separate short stories rather than 1 big memory.

Big Bets: It's the Grand National today and like millions of others, we wanted to have a go at winning some money to fuel what would be the makings of a mammoth shopping trip in the afternoon.

We placed our bets in William Hill and it was like we had a massive sign with flashing lights hanging over our heads that screamed, 'Novices in the Room'.  However they were prepared for such novices; we were greeted by a guy dressed in bright yellow with 'I'm here to help' emblazoned across his chest, as we walked in.

The race kicked off at 4.15pm with a cup cake and commentary from the cute gay barmen, who were convinced that they had seen it all before.  Minutes later, Amee was euphoric and jumping up & down as one of her horses, Auroras Encore, finished first and had won her a windfall... of £4.  My horses barely placed at all.  Typical!

The Girl With the Black Skull Scarf: Shopping was at Cabbot Circus and is Bing's least favourite activity.  But she grinned and bared it nevertheless.  Thanks for humouring us Bing.

We all had our hit list of what we were looking for; mine was to find a scarf with skulls on it.  Dark, gothic and Alexander McQueen's signature design.  I kept spotting it everywhere I looked, to the point where I had to ask a girl with the black skull scarf where she got hers from; a website called ioffer.com, selling what I can only assume are knock-offs for a fraction of the price.  A site that I will have to visit later when I'm back at home.

I thought that would be the last I'd think of the scarf that night.  But someone else had other plans.

Our night was spent drinking and dancing it away at Poo Na Na's and on leaving, we collected my coat from the cloakroom and it came with an unexpected surprise; a white scarf with black skulls on it.

I barely had time to register what I had in my hand before Bing was shouting 'Run! Go! Go!' and Amee & Jess were pushing me out the door.  Could I ask for better friends?

 

The Technicoloured Gorilla: It is funny the things you remember and the things that you don't of an evening.  I remember Bing and Amee "riding" this Gorilla, but the memory is as black and white as this picture.  I only realised through revisiting the pictures on my phone that it was in fact technicoloured.

The main thing I remember is Sarah letting the world know she was a little cold.  I'll leave it to your imagination to spell out what was cold, but I do love this picture as it somehow summarises our trip and the craziness of it all.

Lots of love to the girls that made this a great weekend.

xx

Bubbly, Chicken Wing Roulette & Cover Stories

This weekend is dedicated to our girls trip to Bristol.  You know it's going to be a great weekend when:

a)  The 1st activity you do on reaching the hotel is to fill the sink with ice and get the wine on chill down, while another cracks open the bubbly.

b) The 1st meal of the weekend is finger lickin' good chicken from Nando's and top of the order list is Chicken Wing Roulette, A.K.A Chicken Swinging as renamed by Bing.

c) The alcohol starts to control our faculties and the clumsiness starts to kick in e.g. dropping plates of food on our laps and hoping that no one has seen.

d) The 1st meal is the source of our code names and our cover story for the rest of the weekend.  In Bristol we will forever be known as:

• Chicken Swinger (A.K.A Bing): works at an aquatics centre looking after and studying Dolphins.
• Chicken Crotch (A.K.A Amee): who is a dog whisperer with her claim to fame being that she trained Bonnie, the dog off Blue Peter.
• Chicken Virgin (A.K.A Jess): who is the certified trainer of horses that are on TV e.g. In Downton Abbey.
• Chicken Liver (A.K.A Me), who is the secret genius behind great Chef's such as Nigella Lawson and the real creator of all those delicious recipes.

I wonder how this weekend is going to unfold and what memories and stories we will have to share.

Rambling in Wolverhampton

It's Bank Holiday Monday.  The last day of the long Easter Weekend.  It seems to have gone so quickly.  But we still have one more thing on our agenda - a 6 mile walk in Wolverhampton with the Ramblers.

This morning we were like clockwork.  We got up one by one; I washed the dishes; Alicja changed her sleeping quarters back to its original occupation as a living room; Estherita made us a packed lunch for our walk.  It was great teamwork and we were out the door on time.

The weather today was perfect for a walk.  It was cold, but dry.  The only downside was the snow that had not yet melted on the pathways; I being Miss Clumsy managed to slip twice and I ended up on my back in the snow on the latter.  I would have started making snow angels, but the others in our Rambling Group were quite a bit ahead and Miss Alicja would have only been too happy to be snappy happy with her camera if I'd indulged.

Estherita had to also 'moonwalk' on the snow to get through it.  But I guess that means that we were having to work extra hard and this will contribute to us having 'buns of steel'.

The end of the walk led back to the farmhouse that we started out at.  The farm had a mini area where you could visit animals such as cows, sheep and cockerels.

We even got to see some piglets that can't have been that old as they were kept in a barn under red lights to keep warm with their mama. Very cute.

A perfect end to what has been a very happy and chilled weekend.  Thanks Ladies.

P.S. I completely forgot it was April Fool's Day today.  A missed opportunity to play some pranks.  Next year.

Socarrat

'Socarrat' - is the description given to Paella that has been cooked to perfection.  By definition standards it is 'the delectable crust that forms at the bottom of the Paella Pan when the liquid is rendered and the rice has reached its peak of succulence.'  For the Spanish a Paella without Socarrat is not a Paella.

For my Spanish friends, particularly those who come from Valencia where this dish is most famous, a Paella must also meet other criteria; it is made with chicken, rabbit, green beans and white beans.  Anything else is a variation on tradition and is not the real thing.

Paella is one of my favourite dishes.  My love for it began when I went to visit Valencia a few years ago.  I ended up having it everyday for the entire weekend, each day I tried a different variation of it.

I have been asking Estherita for some time now to show me how to make an authentic Paella, and today was the day.  We did it step by step and hopefully I'll be able to remake it through memory.  But the result was 'socarrat' and so unbelievably tasty.

Muchas Gracias Estherita for the lesson in Paella.

xx

A Day of Much Needed R&R

This year so far feels like all work and no play.  The stress seems to be getting the better of me and is following me into my free time when I should be having fun.  Which is why this Easter Weekend I'm determined to have some R&R.

It's Good Friday and that means a road trip with the girls; Estherita and Alicja.  Our destination of choice: Cambridge.

The best part of this road trip is the spontaneity.  We discussed it on Wednesday for an hour and voila we are on the road Friday, with no real plan in mind other than to have a wander around this town.

On arrival in Cambridge, our trip began with a little tour of its car parks. We couldn't decide where to park and with Tom Tom issues, we ended up visiting a number of car parks before we settled on the cheaper and more convenient option.

The BBC also had the same idea of visiting Cambridge.  The town was armed with photographers and video crew.  With Easter being a religious holiday, one of the main photographs taken was of a guy dressed up as Jesus on the cross, which must have been for an editorial piece.  It was quite graphic.  I am not sure of the picture, but make of it as you will.

Spontaneity being the theme of this trip, we called Estherita's friend, Michal, for recommendations of where to eat.  He joined us and took us to a local Pizzeria, where the chef was  Cambridge's own version of Gordon Ramsey.  Had the kitchen been filmed we would be just hearing a series of beeps.

Fed and watered, our walkabout began with a visit to the Colleges that make up this prestigious University of Cambridge.  It is home to some of the greatest scientists in the world, such as Isaac Newton.  He studied here and his College is marked with a statue of him holding an apple ... and a table leg?  A prank by previous students that replaced whatever he was holding with a table leg, but it's good to know that the academics in this town have a sense of humour.

All the walking and fresh air got us a bit thirsty, so we took a pit stop at a local watering hole; Anchor, which was where Pink Floyd first started out.  A nice little place with fire places and high beams.  I can understand why Pink Floyd was inspired by such a place.

A town with lots of history, academic and otherwise.  Definitely a place to be inspired if you are searching for some.

P.S. Thanks ladies for being my photographic muses! xx

Snow

A fresh white sheet of snow, snow tracks caused by my wellies, hot cocoa to put warmth back in the body following a walk outside.  A perfect winters day...

...only it is the end of March!  The chill of the winter months should be disappearing, the thaw should be seeing the start of flowers beginning to bud and soon we should be seeing blossoms for Daffodils appearing in time for Easter.

Snow is the last thing that anyone should be expecting at this time of year.  Talk about Global Warming.  Flowers peeking through the cracks in the snow is just unheard of around this time of year.  Especially in the UK, we're used to rain, not icicles.

I'm not a big fan of the snow.  It is pretty when it first falls and has been untouched.  But as soon as people start walking and driving over it, it soon becomes an ice rink.

Let's hope the snow is of short duration and that we don't see it again till the winter months at the end of the year.

Annual Birthday Celebrations

It's the last weekend of February, and that means party time to celebrate another year of age.  For the past couple of years my birthday has been at the weekend and usually the month's pay check is sitting nicely in the bank ready for the festivities.  This year it was the weekend before payday so the purse strings were a little tight.

However that didn't stop the festivities on Saturday of takeaway and then drinks at the local watering hole, The Jam House, for alcoholic beverages and live music.  Luckily for me it was the same band that played last year for my Birthday and so an hour queueing in the snow was well worth the wait.

The actual day, was an amazing pamper day at the beauty salon; facials and a mani-pedi.  It was nice to finally have a relaxing day considering all the travel that has been necessary for work.  I didn't realise how draining all the travel was until I was lying on a bed with relaxing music and someone massaging different concoctions of scrubs, masks and lotions into my face.  Some R&R was definitely over due.

The evening was spent dining with friends at the Malmaison Brasserie and they provided us with a private room and a nice big oval table with our own waiter, Paul.  A nice surprise considering it wasn't a request when I made the booking.

A great day and weekend.  I could not have asked for more.  

P.S. The Rose is a picture of the flowers I got from my parents for my birthday.  I forgot to take a picture when they were fresh but I think there is still some beauty in how it is has dried with age.