Photos

Photos from the weekend:

Feeding the ducks (make that geese) was AMAZING!! 

This swan bit me. Charming.

A grey flamingo?!

I had to get this as a reminder of our time at Slimbridge. He's called Domingo.

Bodleian Library, loved loved loved it. I made Michael do a walking tour of locations in my most favourite recent read 'A Discovery of Witches' by Deborah Harkness. 

This is just an example of wrongness.

We had a super weekend away - despite terrifying single track country roads everywhere, I had to stop to let two peahens cross the road, we saw some pheasants and on the way back from Oxford at 11pm we saw loooads of rabbits, they were super cute and I managed not to squish any of them - success!

Since then I have done my first solo presentation at uni which I think went alright and am preparing for the Easter break. 

All my immediate family left the country today to go to Heidelberg and left me behind - nice! I have uni which I can't miss. Yawn. At least it means I get to have the little car, which means I can drive to uni tomorrow - hooray! - and drive to Bristol this weekend - hooray! - and it means I can go and visit my great aunt, great uncle and my lovely cousins, Nicholas and Katie in Weston Super Mare on Saturday. Candyfloss and seaside pictures to follow, woohoo!

Tomorrow I plan on doing more work to the dress I posted about previously here.  I wore it on the weekend in it's very unfinished state as a shirt with a tie at the bottom, it looked rather good so now I'm wondering whether to scrap it as a dress and make it a shirt, but I'm not sure yet. Will have to think about this one! 

I had my first job today via the JobShop at my uni and my GOODNESS it was KNACKERING!! I've never worked hospitality before and now I have a lot of empathy for people who do it full time. I was a 'hospitality runner' which basically entailed me running round the suites at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff bringing food, drink, extra cups to the suites and then clearing it all up afterwards. I had to panic buy black shoes this morning as I didn't have any that met the very precise description; and my feet were absolutely killing by the end, as I didn't sit down for 6 hours. Yikes, I'm probably not going to be doing that again in a hurry! 

Gute Nacht.

You! Me! Dancing!

My dad is sitting next to me with his nose stuck in a wine glass saying 'Lemons... Italian?... Is it a Pinot Grigio?... No... Smells lovely' HA and he's got quite a big nose too.

Anyway, I've been recovering since Wednesday as I went to see Los Campesinos! at (The) Thekla in Bristol - it's a boat! A gig on a boat! I've only been once before a while ago and it was loads of fun, Wednesday night was twice as fun, maybe even thrice as fun. We got there quite early as our friends are at the front for EVERY gig they go to, Yatin has quite a following on YouTube; so we stayed at the front for the support band, Tall Ships, they were just fantastic, I really liked how they set the stage up and I will definitely be listening to them more, you can hear their music here.

They managed to persuade me to stay at the front for Los Camp, and oh gosh it took me back to being 14, I absolutely loved it. I was sweated on, crushed, pushed and pulled and it really was super fun. Here are the few pictures I managed to get in between getting squished

I really like Kim's shorts, they were black front and back and at the sides there was a panel of purple leopard print, they're sort of visible in the picture above.

At the end of the gig the drummer got up on another band member's shoulders and fell to the floor from a great height - apparently breaking his nose! (Saw a big fat fan-girl outside holding his bloodied towel, she was sniffing it and licking it, I'm not joking).

As you can see I was a bit of a fan girl getting a picture with Gareth (the lead singer), both of us looking slightly dishevelled and me looking more than slightly manic, also got my first set list, it was a proud moment. Went for a pint in Start the Bus afterwards and this is how my drink was served

So, I looked like a right old man. Thanks Start the Bus. It was good ale though. Mmm ale.

Today I went to Abergavenny and picked up these little beauties for the princely sum of 99p at St David's Foundation Hospice Care:

I also saw a good few other items but money meant alas they had to stay there as my mum thought they were disgusting. Well, thanks mum.

I'm off tomorrow to the Cotswolds with my boyfriend for our one year anniversary so have a good weekend! The only thing we have lined up so far is going to see a lake full of ducks tomorrow on our way to my good friend Sam's house as she's putting us up tomorrow night before we crack on to the hotel. My suitcase is stuffed to the brim, as always, good job I'm driving!

I'm being nagged to make my famous toad in the hole now so off I go.

Huzzah

I almost set myself on fire yesterday. I went to the hospital for my last physio appointment, I could smell burning when I first went in to the bathroom but didn't think anything of it. Then I started using the hand dryer and oof it was ponky and making a funny noise so I swiftly removed my hands from underneath - then the lady behind me started using it and it was sparking all over the place! Let me tell you, it took me a very long time to get the smell of burning off my hands. Yuk.

I have already had rather a productive day today and I'm loving it. Started the day with some sewing, I altered a housecoat my Grandma made over 30 years ago in to a dress for me. I didn't take a before picture (damn it) but I have got an after picture. As it was a housecoat it's quite large, well very large, so it will have to be drawn in with some ribbon or a small belt I guess but I love the fabric so much I couldn't bear to not use it. It was Betti's idea to turn it into a dress, I was ready to hack it to bits, very glad I didn't! All I did was unpick the arms (and my gosh, my Grandma hand sewed it about a million times so it took a good while) and shorten it.

The piece I took off the bottom is going to make a rather lovely bandana. As it's the first day of Spring it seemed apt to create a dress ready for the dreaded Summer (I'm much more a Winter person).

Nearly half way through my essay on the origins of alchemy too, hence the blog as a bit of a break. I've become a bit obsessed with alchemy recently, the last and current fiction books I read both involved alchemy and now I'm writing a full blown essay on the origins of it.

Since making my blog I've been reading a lot of fashion blogs, well my next room neighbour has one so that was a great place to start! I didn't intend for my blog to be about fashion but I suppose it's bound to creep in here and there and where's the harm in that, eh? I thought I'd post a photo of my pride and joy which I am loath to take off. Ever.

My olive Barbour with limited edition Liberty print lining. I got it for Christmas and I haven't taken it off since, I am in love. As I've started reading numerous fashion blogs it's got my excited for the end of April because that means STUDENT LOAN! YES! I'm so b.o.r.e.d. with my wardrobe at the moment, hence I'm getting thrifty with what I've got to work with. A few charity shop buys here and there is great but I've realised what I'm lacking are shoes, well a wider variety of shoes and this must be remedied. Seeing all the great photos on other blogs has given me exciting ideas for how to wear what I've got for the moment and to think about new items in advance, which helps otherwise I'd just go out and buy everything and end up with no student loan to speak of. Hmm.

Well that's given me a bit of a break, now to make some lunch and crack on with alchemy.

Finally found a spare moment to carry on with my musings. My boyfriend Michael is down for the weekend (he lives in Bristol) and thought I'd catch up while he's in the shower, nice.

On Friday I decided to make my first toad in the hole, Michael was getting in late so I had a while to prepare and consult my mum and Delia's recipe and to get started. It was beautiful - especially the gravy. Oh my gosh, I couldn't stop rabbiting on about that gravy. It was immense, it really was. Well worth making if you're a fan of gravy, which I most definitely am, plus, as far as gravy goes, it's quite a healthy low fat one too so everyone's a winner! Michael snoshed his down in around 5 minutes so I take it he liked it too.

I also became quite disturbed on Friday by these. Elasticated cuff trousers. Blurgh. They are just grim on men or women, but I find especially men. Blurgh. That's all I can think to say. Just blurgh. Yuck yuck yuck.

So yesterday Wales won the Grand Slam - huzzah!! Managed to get a good view of the screen in the relatively empty Bogiez and at half time we trotted over to the big screen outside the police station in the Civic Centre of Cardiff. There was hardly anyone there, very good view of the mahoosive screen plus no queue for drinks - which were actually the same price/cheaper than pub pints! Michael (who is English by birth, Scottish by heritage (by heritage?!) and Australian by naturalisation) purchased a Wales scarf because he was 'cold' - likely story. After the game we headed off home for some ragu (which I made the night before - prepared!!) before we headed out to see The Maccabees!

We realised we had been waiting over 6 months to go to this gig (Michael bought my sister's ticket for her Christmas present) and unfortunately the crowd really spoiled it. As soon as we walked through the door we were in the middle of a fight, my sister and I got royally bashed by two men having a scrap, where is the security?! I didn't realise that The Maccabees would attract such a crowd, the majority of whom had obviously been to the rugby and probably drinking since midday, were over 40, were male and were "lads". We managed to find a quiet space at the back having paid £3.50 for a warm plastic bottle of Fosters mmm, delish. My sister was somewhat annoyed by a woman who decided to dance in a very odd way right in front of her, it was quite amusing; I think she was there alone... I only have a photo of the ticket as I was too busy have a bop the whole time to take pictures - especially when they played 'X-ray', my most favourite song of theirs ever!!

Anyway, standing around for the encore near the exit and we find ourselves getting rather wet because the said yobs in the crowd decide it would be a super idea to throw bottle and pints in the air - still being reasonably full. After The Maccabees finished 'Precious Time' we took this as our cue to make a quick getaway, didn't fancy hanging around to try and get out through the tiny double doors in that crowd, no thank you.

After a reasonably late night I had a reasonably early morning for a Mother's Day breakfast with my mum, my sister, my grandma (mum's mum) and my uncle at Carluccio's. It was really lovely, I had the Breakfast Bread Tin, which had 3 (small) pieces of toast and a massive croissant! Plus fig jam. Nom. I'm all breaded out for the day after that. I made my mum some origami swans as she has the idea of putting them in a frame and having a little swan family. Cute! Also sporting my sparkly black shirt from Tenovus (originally M&S) for the second day in a row, bit gross I know but I love it too much to take it off!

I will leave you with this picture of a hat my mum made me yesterday, can't wait for her to teach me how to make pompoms.

Thanks Mum and Happy Mothering Sunday!!!!

Second day success

I think this is probably the first time I've managed to write two consecutive blogs! Huzzah! 

I'm currently supping on some wine in my old bed at my parents' house. I've come home for some free food, and of course to see my super lovely mum and dad. 

I've been with my mum pretty much all day today and we've had a smashing time, she picked me up from my house and took me to uni, even though my sister was supposed to, but she overslept. Exciting. Then my mum picked me up from uni an hour later, when my sister didn't show up for a second time. She'd overslept again. Brilliant. 

Had an exciting time at CostCo then with my mum and my grandma, picked up some gammon steaks for the weekend. Mmmm. My sister decided she was awake now so we met her at Chapter Arts in Canton for lunch, where my good friend Lily was just finishing her shift. Lily is moving to Egypt at the end of April - SOB! Anyway, I had a rather nice cheese baguette (brown) and tomato chutney, it really could have done with more chutney. 

Skipped off to my physio next, I have a rather lovely student physio named Tom, he was very pleased with my progress (I've had a very bad rotator cuff problem since October last year and had to wait until March for my first appointment) and thinks he'll only have to see me once more! He took me into the 'gym' to show me my new exercise regime, I was stood next to a woman probably 50-60 years my senior doing exactly the same as she was, that was great. And then they'd run out of the stretchy stuff I was supposed to use for my exercise so he told me to use a can of beans instead. Great. Glad physiotherapy supplies can be so easily replaced. Next appointment on Monday and then he thinks I can be discharged! Amazing, I must say that, even though it took me 6 months to get there, now I'm there the treatment I've had has been amazing, even though I think Tom is possibly, definitely, younger than me. And at 23, I think that's a bit weird. Anyway, he definitely seems to know what he's talking about. And enough about physiotherapy.

Next my mum and I had a few hours to kill before we picked dad up from work so we headed back to my locality (Roath) for some charity shop browsing and tea. I took my mum to see an amazing cardigan I found yesterday in Tenovus, at £3.95 unfortunately a bit out of my price range, as depressing as that is.  She saw it and said that as it was a Basler cardigan for £3.95 it was amazing quality and she'd get it for me incase it wasn't there when I went back. Aren't mums super. Mum reminisced about a Basler jacket she gave away years ago - according to my mum, original Basler items, such as my beautiful cardigan, would be about £80 new! Bargain or what! Oh yes.

Mum decided to pop into Holland and Barrett to get some Zinc and Vitamin C lozenges as she's feeling a bit sniffly. I spotted this in there and, even though I am 23, it made me chuckle quite a lot:

Lol. Oh dear. 

Now I'm a bit squiffy off two glasses of red wine and ready for sleep. Funny how, whenever I come home, I seem to drink a quarter of what I usually drink on a night out and it gets me very tipsy, must be something to do with the environment, or just being with the 'rents and getting sloshed. 

I dunno.

I have decided to start up writing a blog again for the 50th time and I will stick to it this time! Having recently started reading a lot of blogs again I thought I'd give it a whirl. Particularly inspired by my good friend Betti's blog (http://www.torchthetreasure.blogspot.com/), I fear mine will not compare, but we can but try eh! I also thought it might assist with my creative writing independent study which is coming up too... hm.

Today I am trying to start writing my essay about the origins of alchemy for my Science and Technology in the Graeco-Roman World module, I've done piles of reading for it and it's so interesting but I just can't seem to find the words to start. Setting this page up is the last in a long list of time wasting activities which have gone on today.

It started with being greeted by our amazing posh plumber, sitting, in a shirt and heavy grade mustard cords, on the landing with a new toilet, still in bits, strewn around our landing (trust me, if you had the same problems we have had with our toilet since we moved in, you'd be ecstatic when you see a new one, with an intact lid and working flush, even if it is just in bits) and trying to force a beverage on him, which he politely refused, damn, no time wasting there then. I made myself a coffee instead.

Next on the list was charity shop shopping with aforementioned Betti, trotting around Wellfield Road, Albany Road and City Road. Picked up some lovely fabric and amazing turquoise harems from Islamic Relief. The harems are only suitable to wear around the house because they are truly ridiculous, but so comfy!! These came to a grand total of £2.30, ridiculous but I'm not complaining! Also picked up a delightful sheer black shirt with a bit of sparkle from PDSA for £2.95. Brilliant.  

Took a trip to Home Bargains next to pick up some drain unblocker, what a glamorous life this is, full of toilets and drain unblocker. Anyway, while picking up the necessary items we saw a little boy being dragged in to the back room by a member of staff, allegedly having shoplifted. As we were queueing one of the cashiers said to the other 'yeah, he was here with his mother, she's legged it' - ! The look of disbelief on Betti's and my face were stuck there for a while. Shocked and appalled we moved on to Pre-Fab where Betti deliberated over a rather lovely jumper but as she kept calling it a jacket while deciding to buy it, we figured this was reason enough to leave it for some other lucky shopper.

Lastly we stopped in at Albany Convenience Store to pick up work supplies - i.e. Doritos, Haribo, tobacco and Lucozade amongst other things. I say work supplies...

Since I've been home I've watched last night's Eastenders, an episode of New Tricks (guilty pleasure), have read a lot of rubbish on theantifeminist.com and Betti's new blog. Currently watching 'SheWolves - England's Early Queens' - on demand, I might add, you pesky TV Licence beasts!! - hoping the historical content will spur me on to start, and hopefully finish, my own historical assignments.

Here's hoping.