Ski Monday

Posted in Adventures, Challenges by ameliaflorencesimmons

I’ve never been skiing. Ever. I successfully avoided years of ski trips at school because, while I quite liked the sound of the apres ski part, I was mildly terrified about the actual…well, skiing. It’s just not in my realm of experience. I love being active, but my experience has been in things like dance and running, where you’re completely in control of your own body and not strapped to two big planks of wood (although there was that one avant garde physical theatre piece….) Growing up, we always had beach holidays as my dad is a body boarder and surfer, so I’m far more at home in the sea than on snow.

There’s another aspect to it too – up until a few years ago, I hated going outside my comfort zone. It came of not being too confident in myself, which meant I only liked to do things I had control over, and putting myself in a situation where I’d probably fall over a lot and look an idiot didn’t come under that remit. A few years ago something clicked and now pretty much everything I do is outside my comfort zone in one way or another. I love pushing myself, I love trying new things, and I really don’t mind if I look an idiot while doing them.

When my friend Mikey told me that Bowles, the local outdoor activity centre, was looking for six completely inexperienced people to come in for a free skiing session, I knew I had to give it a go. Bowles is amazing; you can climb rocks, learn to canoe, and obviously ski or snowboard. The staff were extremely cheerful and welcoming, and I didn’t for one minute feel worried. Well, apart from having to write down the name of my next of kin…

We were there to form part of an interview for a potential new instructor, the lovely Jonathan, who was wonderful. We got used to our boots, then our skis, and eventually we got to go down a very teeny slope and practice running and stopping. It was all perfect for a total beginner like me, and it was just enough to give me the skiing bug. I’m so surprised at how much I enjoyed it! It’s such an alien activity for me but I wanted to keep going and going. Huge thanks to Bowles, and I’m DEFINITELY going back for more! If you’re around Sussex/Tunbridge Wells and keen to give it a try, I can’t recommend them enough.

26Jan2013

Burns Night Supper

Posted in Adventures by ameliaflorencesimmons

Good day bonnie lads and lassies, and a hearty och aye the noo to ye.

Also, sorry for that.

One of my promises to myself this year was to celebrate more things during 2013, as I’m a sucker for themes. I also vowed to host more gatherings, as I absolutely love entertaining, but the past year has been such a whirlwind I haven’t had a chance to do much. That said, things are busier than ever for me on the work front, but that forced me to step it up and really make time for entertaining, and so I invited a few chums over for a cosy Burns Night dinner.

I spent a very bizarre day yesterday alternately sorting through model portfolios and shoot locations while popping to the kitchen for 15 minute intervals to make cock-a-leekie soup, clapshot and whisky cream for the cranachan. If the evening taught me anything, it’s that Scottish food is HILARIOUS. My lovely friends really threw themselves into it, and one of them recited Tae a Moose for us to rapturous applause.

I’m afraid I didn’t take any photos of the supper actually prepared, as we were eating by candlelight and all was rather dark. I had a playlist of modern Scottish bands (Biffy Clyro, Franz Ferdinand, Belle & Sebastien) running, plenty of heather on the tartan tablecloth and a roaring fire in the sitting room. A lovely evening all round, and huge thanks to my friends for really getting into it and indulging a crazy girl who loves themed parties….

5Oct2012

I Scream, You Scream…

Posted in Adventures, Pretty Things by ameliaflorencesimmons

Wow, we’ve well and truly plunged into Winter, haven’t we? On Wednesday, it seemed to be supremely dark most of the day, with icy rain appearing intermittently. Still, it wasn’t going to put me off my purpose for the day: ice cream tasting. It was part of the Lewes Octoberfest, and I wasn’t going to argue with such a fine tradition.

I was also in the mood to celebrate, having been officially named as Beauty Editor on upcoming glossy magazine Sussex Style, so ice cream was definitely on the cards. I was also planning on stocking up on some interesting magazines to butcher to make moodboards, so a day trip to Lewes seemed perfect. It was most definitely time to break out the fur trimmed items in my wardrobe, of which there are quite a few…

Lewes was rather gloomy weather-wise, but picking up some lovely magazines cheered me up hugely. I was pleased to finally get my hands on Wonderland magazine, which was full of the most beautiful editorials and which I’m still waiting to read so I can give it due care and attention. Teen Vogue is something I should really feel embarrassed about buying due to my non-teen status, but I always find it fun and inspiring. Also Company, which is fast becoming one of my favourites. A £1 cover price and packed full of interesting features, AND featuring someone I know from Twitter. Exciting times!

We headed to Limetree Kitchen, tucked away off the main high street on Station Street, a gorgeous little bistro-y type concept. We were warmly welcomed and swept in for some Illy coffee and ice cream tasting. We tried (if I can remember correctly): lemon meringue pie, rose petal, butternut squash and Amaretto, muscovado sugar and vanilla, and gin & tonic. Hands down, my fave was G&T – very refreshing, zesty and light. The chap behind the kitchen, Alex, was very charming, trained in classic French cuisine, and an ice cream maestro.

It was the perfect place to escape to on a miserable afternoon, and felt a bit like sitting in a friend’s kitchen, thanks to the relaxed and friendly nature of the people working there. The ice creams were out of this world delish, as were the truffles we were also treated to afterwards. You can have proper food too – Alex let us look through lots of old menus, and we were hugely impressed. The menu changes week to week, and the dishes are creative, appetising and well conceived. I’m planning on popping in for a proper meal so I can give it a real road-test.

Ta ra for now chaps, and remember, it doesn’t matter how cold it is, ice cream is ALWAYS acceptable.

2Jul2012

Pantiles Fashion Festival

Posted in Adventures, Fashion, Girl About Town by ameliaflorencesimmons

First post in absolutely ages. I’m sure any bloggers will know the ghastly, niggling feeling when you suddenly lose your blogging impulse. I just lost the will to blog for ages, and when that happens I usually opt to leave it alone as opposed to cluttering up the site with half-hearted posts that I’ve dashed off in an afternoon. I’ve got ideas for a few posts yet to come, lying half written on my computer. By the way, I’m now the proud owner of a Mac, and I couldn’t be happier!

I’ve got some exciting ‘news’ to share hopefully in the next few weeks, but in the meantime this is a little post about what I got up to at the weekend. Rachel Montague-Ebbs, my editor over at Lady M Presents, has organised a weekend-long fashion festival on The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells for the past two years now. I walked in it last year and had an absolute ball, so was delighted to get involved again.

One of the designers involved was Latvian-born Anita Anna Benko, who had created extraordinary dresses that felt incredible to wear. Some of the things we wore were high street clothes, but it was very exciting to wear something a little different, a little elevated, and very striking. The weather was a little dodge, but luckily Tunbridge Wells came out in force to support us (and lots of women came down to see the rugby boys modelling!) I had a quick browse of the stalls and spotted an amazing jewellery collection called Rosewreck. Great prices for beautiful pieces, definitely worth a check out.

Anyway, thought you’d like to know a little about what I’ve been up to, and I promise to write more! Usually once I break the freeze, I’m good at catching up. Lots of love!

23Apr2012

Masterchef 2011’s Tim Anderson, Citroen and FareShare

Posted in Adventures, Girl About Town by ameliaflorencesimmons

What a cracking day I had last Thursday. I’m a very lucky girl! I got to go along to a special press day for Citroen, in association with Masterchef winner 2011 Tim Anderson and food charity FareShare so I could cover it for http://www.LadyMPresents.co.uk. All I knew in advance was that we’d touch down in Dulwich village, get to go for a spin in the new Citroen DS5, the first hybrid car for the brand, go on a scavenger hunt for ingredients, then watch Tim cook two courses for lunch. I was massively overexcited at the prospect, as Tim was one of my favourite Masterchef contestants, thanks to his innovative approach to food, his love of Japanese culture, and his extremely ace glasses.

Thanks to Southeastern and their appalling service, I was delayed by an hour, but the extremely patient team got me into one of the DS5s, and I was chauffeured around Dulwich Village. Oh, how we foraged for ingredients. When I say foraged, I mean that we parked in a pretty street and I raced into a lovely boutique food shop called Romeo Jones to purloin some milk and luxury coffee. The car is absolutely gorgeous. My family car has always been a Citroen, so I’m used to them, and this new hybrid incarnation is spectacular. It has a ‘cockpit’ inside, a heap of cool looking buttons (technical car terminology there, guys, don’t be intimidated), a built in Sat Nav and reverse parking cam, the driver’s seat has a seat massager, both front seats are heated, and there are four sun roofs, so each passenger can choose their own environment!

Back at the house, I got a chance to mingle with some of the other bloggers and writers, and I met the lovely Coralie of teatimeinwonderland.co.uk, and Peter from aboutmygeneration.com. I was lucky enough to get a perfect seat, right opposite Tim, and I could watch what he was up to. Watch it, sure, but the hopes of me being able to recreate any of the stuff we saw is slim to none. Tim got almost all of us involved in creating the pudding, so a few of us brewed infusions, others created a masterful chocolate ganache, and some poor souls peeled grapes. The infusions I worked on had lapsang souchang, coffee, tobacco, liquorice bark, and peppercorns in. The smell was absolutely phenomenal, and I was intrigued to see tobacco being used. Quite frankly, readers, I lost track of what went into the pud. There were so many different processes all going on at one time, it was nearly impossible to keep up!

Tim used a top notch futuristic blender to prepare grape jelly, and set about creating a foam, and a delicately flavoured cream. Then the really intriguing part started. Tim produced a strange implement with ‘The Smoking Gun’ emblazoned on the side. We all watched, transfixed, as he poured wood chip into the top, and lit it. A haze of smoke began to sputter out, carrying the rich tinge of bonfires, Cornish cottages with smoking chimneys, and childhood campfires with it. The smoke was directed into the little glass pudding pots, before they were sealed with a lid that was ironed on. A chef with an iron? I can dig it.

Once we’d all gasped at and revelled in the extraordinary pudding, Tim then moved on to the main course. I’m a life-long veggie, so I don’t have any kind of reference point for the dish he made, but it smelt delicious. Is it weird that I’m vegetarian but I’m not put off by the smell/look of meat? Meh. Anyway, he accompanied it with some extremely creamy mash with blue cheese, and Romanesco in cashew butter. When I describe it, it sounds quite pedestrian, which isn’t remotely doing it justice. I got to eat mushroom arancini for my savoury course, and it was absolutely heavenly. A world away from the gloopy, solid balls (sorry) you find in Italian restaurants. These were so savoury, packed with blue cheese, mushroom and rice, and packed a big punch of umami. Ooooh mammy.

The pudding was out of this world. I highly recommend that everybody peels back the lid of a jar to be hit by a fragrant, smoky smell, before diving into a rich chocolate ganache. Before we started the puddings, a chap came over with a kettle and said something like ‘sorry, I forgot to water these earlier’, gesturing to a large vase of red roses and eucaplytus in the middle of the table. He poured the kettle into the vase, and we realised he was using one of the red wine infusions from earlier. If you’ve never had a cloud of red wine combined with dry ice engulfing you at the dinner table, then I suggest you remedy that instantly. After lunch, I had that feeling of being at peace with the world that I only get from eating extremely good food, or when I’ve had a rather heady cocktail.

The food was divine and the new Citroen was beautiful. So what now? If you hop along to the Facebook page for ‘Delicious by DS5’, you can like their page. ‘Why should I do that?’ I hear you ask. Well, on Monday, you can apply for seats at the ‘Delicious by DS5’ pop up restaurant near Liverpool Street, London that will be open from 16th-19th May. You won’t pay for your five course dinner, rather you’ll be asked to contribute a small amount to the charity FareShare. FareShare are an incredible food charity who tackle food poverty by tackling food wastage. They take food that supermarkets would have paid to have taken away to landfill (all the food is within sell-by dates and nothing is wrong with it) and give it to over 35,000 people in need across the UK on a daily basis.

So that’s all you need to do. Visit this link: http://www.facebook.com/CitroenUK/app_398919960132937 on Monday and apply for those places!

16Apr2012

Cornwall Part Three

Posted in Adventures, Girl About Town by ameliaflorencesimmons

Cornwall is a fairly magical place. If you’ve been, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s as if, once past Exeter, you begin to slip into a different world. In a lot of ways, it is a different world. For one thing, no Waitrose, which I believe means that civilisation ceases to exist? Anyway. It certainly feels like a different universe, compounded by the fact that dodgy 3G and WiFi signals conspire to entirely cut one off from the real world.

Predictably, for the first few days, I was sunk. ‘BUT I’VE GOT IMPORTANT EMAILS’ I nearly yelled, marching around the streets with my mobile brandished several feet above my head. And not just emails: during the first week, I spent a few days trudging backwards and forwards to the library (£1.80 per hour for internet access, the bloody crooks!) to complete some job applications. Both were exhaustive, one required me to print out everything and mail it off, and I also entered a writing competition. I wrote over 6000 words in about three days, nearly wept when the whole lot was finally packaged up and sent off, and got to know the librarian by her first name. Florence, in case you’re interested. Good name, eh?

Once my obligations were done with, and I’d slaked my lust for writing about the Samantha Brick saga, I began to unwind properly. I stopped missing London – although I couldn’t stop longing to be in my favourite park, St James’s, when it got sunny. What? They’ve got hilarious birds, lots of blossom, and the people-watching is excellent! Anywhoodle. I walked for hours every day, nearly fell off a cliff while pretending to be a Thomas Hardy/Jane Austen/Bronte heroine, ate a stupid amount of food, and slept amazingly well. And once again, as predicted, I went from itching to get home to really, really not wanting to leave.

People aren’t exaggerating when they talk about the different pace of life Cornish chaps and chapettes seem to work at. I chatted to a girl who has only ever been to London three times in her life. Three times. IN HER LIFE. My mind boggled. I’m not exactly an urban gorilla – I mean, I grew up and still live in Sussex, for god’s sake – but I tend to be up in town around two or three times a week. Three times in a lifetime? No wonder she was quite scared by the prospect of going to uni there! To many Cornish dwellers I spoke to, ‘London’ was like this totally unknown, bizarre concept.

Anyway, I’ve been wrenched back, and I feel unbelievably refreshed. I spoke before about having a creative/writer’s/general block, and how I couldn’t seem to get anything done. It’s cleared! Thank you Pastyland, you’ve worked a treat. Here are a few assorted photos of the wonderful place, and may I recommend you consider it for your next holiday?

I was just thinking – this is the 2012 equivalent of forcing someone to it through a slideshow of your holiday snaps, isn’t it?