Category Archives: Girl About Town

Life, lashes and laughter

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That title sounds like a Lambrini tagline, right? Not that I’ve ever drunk the stuff, but still…

Life It’s been quite the crazy week, life-wise. While last week was insanely busy with doing stuff, this week has been mostly spent working at home. I tell you what, readers – I’d got to the end of my tether with freelancing all the time. I’ve been so lucky since I last left the office environment last June. I honestly never expected to be able to be my own boss, and it’s not something I planned at all. But project after project came in, affording me huge freedoms, and the chance to get paid to write; not something I thought I’d be doing for a very long time. But this month? I found myself between projects, very poor, and desperately yearning to flirt over a photocopier or make some foul instant coffee in an office kitchen.

Oh, obviously it was more than that. I wanted some structure, the knowledge of a regular paycheck, and a chance to actually reclaim my weekends. I read a wonderful quote on Twitter the other day, and sadly I can’t remember who said it, but it was something like ‘Being a writer is like having homework for the rest of your life’. And that’s truly how it feels. Can you remember that Sunday night/end of the holidays slightly sick feeling? The panic of ‘oh GOD, I’ve left it so late! This is insane. I can’t manage it. Can I?’ And that’s what I’ve been having a lot lately. Even if you get on top of things you still have more to do. It’s weird – it’s the same thing that makes me love writing!

So, I’d been applying for full time jobs and part time jobs. Part time would probably be ideal – that way I can keep doing the things I’ve worked hard to do, as well as having a bit of stability. I haven’t applied for a job or used my CV in over a year, and it’s been slightly exciting and slightly weird to do so. I got my first rejection on Thursday! I got a bit upset at first and then grew up, got over myself and forgot about it after an hour or so. It is odd though – I’d got used to talking my way into jobs or projects. For the past year it’s just been a matter of going ‘yeah, that sounds really interesting, I’m up for that’, and you get to do it, because the person employing you has specifically sought you out/knows your skills. Anyway, one rejection, but a rather interesting top secret project has also popped up. I’m saying nothing for now, but it has massive potential for awesomeness.

What else was awesome? I popped up to South Kensington to the Becca boutique, to review eyelash extensions for LadyMPresents.co.uk. I’ve thought about getting some for ages, so it was nice to try them. It’s definitely taken some getting used to – I crawled out of bed looking like a glamour puss and freaked myself out in the mirror this morning – but now I can do my entire makeup in about 3 minutes. Foundation, bit of bronzer, bit of lip balm, good to go. YES. Full review will be going up on LadyMPresents.co.uk next week, and I’ll be sure to link y’all, with some photos for good measure.

Last night I went to my very first TV recording. I’d heard that one of my heroes, Adam Buxton, was recording a TV version of his ‘BUG’ shows that he regularly hosts at the BFI Southbank. India and I saw him at Latitude last year and cried with laughter, then we saw him do BUG on the Southbank, and that was extremely awesome as well. Since seeing him at Latitude, I’ve listening to days worth of Adam and Joe radio shows, and they have truly made my life better. At the end of 2011/start of 2012, I was going through some difficult times with the end of a relationship, and general Winter blues, and honestly? Adam & Joe made it all better. Definitely should be prescribed to unhappy people. Since then I’ve turned into an A&J superfan. It’s against my nature to get so obsessed with stuff. I get bored extremely easily and, well…I’m waaaaay too cool for superfannish behaviour. (Ahem.)

But I made an exception for these chaps. I now know what Justin Bieber fans must feel like. I was massively overexcited about seeing Adam finally get a well-earned break with this TV show, and I wasn’t disappointed. We turned up at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, not really knowing what to expect – although I did get a bright pink wristband (YES) and the camp man checking us in said that my name was ‘amazing’ and that I ‘should be on Downton Abbey’. It’s a funny old business, TV recording. We had to do stuff like recording laughter – we were directed to do ‘polite laughter’, and then slightly more hysterical laughter, and then all out insane laughing, cheering, and clapping. It’s for this reason that I have no voice today.

I have to give massive ‘props’ (is that right??!) to Mr Buxton. I thought he was brills before, but he worked SO HARD. He had to stick to the autocue and often redo things a couple of times, but make the audience laugh each and every time. He was just amazing to watch – he would also keep joking about inbetween recording, so the audience had a proper evening of comedy instead of just stop/start-ing all night. He must have been absolutely exhausted, but he kept really cheerful throughout the evening, which kept the audience in a good place. I have a huge amount of respect for anyone presenting a show – Dr Buckles had an earpiece in with a producer talking to him, loads of camera people, the usual stress of a live recording, and obviously an autocue to do, and certain places to stand.

Talking about certain places to stand – one of the markers had come off the floor of the set, and because I was in the front row, Mr Buxton decided to use me as a marker! He asked me my name, so I told him, and then he said ‘Amelia, you’re looking very beautiful tonight’ (I’m not making this up, it really happened), and then he said he was going to stand in front of me. He made a joke about that being a bit provocative, and he did a ‘sexy’ dance across the stage. I seriously think that my own wedding will have to compete quite hard to improve on last night, because that pretty much made my life. Anyway, all round it was a fantastic night, and I have even more respect for Adam after seeing it. Today, I’m happy, achy, and lacking in voice, and it was all worth it. Check out the video below to see Adam in action. I love you byeeee!

 

My family and other dinosaurs

Posted in Girl About Town, Positive Thinking by

(Not a rude title. I genuinely saw some dinosaurs)

So my last blog post finished on Thursday night, because I’d broken through the 1000 word mark with a vengeance. On Friday I headed back up to London for some National Gallery and dinosaur fun, because it was the perfect remedy to a champagne and fashion filled week. I love the Natural History Museum very much, and I spotted two amazing things on Friday that I’d never seen before: 1. A dinosaur whose name translated as ‘chicken mimic’, and 2. A dinosaur called ‘Albertosaurus’. I’m not sure if I can describe quite how delighted I was about this. Watch out! Here’s the Tyrannosaurus Rex…and over there, you can see the Diplodocus, and ambling over the hill is….Albertosaurus.

The Natural History makes me very happy, and if you haven’t been in a while, I strongly suggest you do so IMMEDIATELY. Well, maybe not right now, but, you know. That said, if you can get to Oxford, their Natural History Museum is wildly superior because you can actually TOUCH STUFF. Yes. I know. It’s an illicit thrill. And the National Gallery is always fun, and I’m always wearing the noisiest shoes in the world. Again, I would urge you to make a visit. It’s so easy to overlook places like this, because you went when you were at school, or you think they’re too touristy, but honestly? It’ll make your life a bit better if you go. Also, you can tell me if I’m odd because I still find the animatronic T Rex in the NHM really rather scary.

So Friday was perfectly lovely, and Saturday I raced over to beautiful Italian restaurant La Luna in Godalming, for a family party. Specifically, my aunt and uncle’s 40th wedding anniversary. I’m quite conscious these days of writing stuff in my blog that only I will care about, and that I should just write it in my diary and be done with it, but I wanted to share this. My family are absolutely wonderful, and I am so so proud of all of them. We’ve got quite a big family, and quite a few different generations, making family parties absolutely brills.

As I said, I’m not going to bore you with infinitesimal details, although the food was absolutely tremendous, and if you’re in Godalming you should definitely give La Luna a try. But I will just say briefly what an absolutely megadude my Uncle Chris is. A 40th wedding anniversary is a Ruby thingamajig, and Uncle Chris had bought my beautiful Auntie Sandie a gold ring with three rubies in it. Here’s the bit which qualifies him for megadude status: as he knows the staff of the restaurant really well, he’d got them to pop the ring into my aunt’s chocolate mousse, where she was amazed to discover it. What?! Absolutely adorable, and such a romantic gesture.

He then made an amazing speech about how much he loved her, and how lucky he was – my Auntie Sandie is a completely phenomenal woman, so I don’t blame him – and then she in turn made a speech. I tried videoing them, but I was crying AND laughing so I’ve achieved a Blair Witch style shaky cam effect. When we were back at their house afterwards, Uncle Chris spoke some wise words to me about love and life, and also told me that he’d managed to secretly book the honeymoon suite they stayed in after their wedding, for this weekend.

They’re both such sweet, kind, thoughtful people, and it made me feel so proud and happy to be at the celebration. The loveliest thing of all is that, when talking to them, they each thought they were so lucky to be with the other! I just wanted to share the experience with you all because I found it really moving and inspiring to see how in love two people were after 40 years, despite life’s ups and downs. I feel like being a part of my amazing family has taught me some great values, as well as making me believe in love! I hear so many cynical people talking these days that I love things like this. It probably explains why I’m a bit of a romantic idealist, and that isn’t something I intend to change. I’m a lucky girl. If you’re still reading, why not give your family a call? See your parents? Hang out with your cousins? Family is the most important thing, and let’s not forget that.

A crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy week

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Thought I’d pop in a nice T Rex reference in the title for you, just so you can get it stuck in your head all day long. It’s also appropriate, because of what I got up to on Monday. It’s been an obscenely busy week, and I’ve been from Guildford to Sussex to Leamington Spa to Sussex to London to Sussex….Sleeping in my own bed has become a luxury of the highest order this week! It’s been an extremely exciting week – though very, very tiring – and I thought I’d share it with all of you. It’s been insanely busy but I’m finally free today, to bake cakes and loll around, and to read the beautiful copy of ‘Style Me Vintage’ that the charming Naomi Thompson sent me!

Mr B, the Gentleman Rhymer If you’re not acquainted with Mr B, then I seriously suggest you sort yo’ life out. Mr B aims to bring old fashioned values (ish) and elan to the art of hip hop, forging a new musical form called ‘chap hop’. While he may often sample rap in his ‘recitals’, as he calls them, he’ll usually perform in a three piece suit, and his moustache is always in tip top condish. India and I sort of found him by accident at Latitude last year. It was a rainy Thursday night in July (yeah, THANKS, England), and we actually just perched ourselves in the poetry tent to shelter from the rain. Little did we know that we were about to embark on one of the finest musical experiences of our lives.

We were lucky enough to see the chap at the Boileroom in Guildford on Monday, and we weren’t disappointed. We also managed to push ourselves through to the very front, so there was nothing between us and Mr B apart from a pair of tweed trousers and a microphone. We also saw an incredible group perform called ‘UkeJam’. I suggest you look them up if you like ukuleles, and jamming. I hope you like jamming too. I also recommend you Youtube Mr B, because he has a magical power whereby he makes everything right with the world. Try it. If you’re having an appalling day, Mr B will make it vanish. If you get a chance to see him live, you’ll find yourself feeling all warm inside. That’s the sensation of your cockles being thoroughly warmed. Enjoy!

After lunch in Guildford on Tuesday, then a race home to finish a job application and do some writing, I had something completely different to do. On Wednesday I had a bit of a journey to go for a networking event. I’m not going to go into detail or even mention any names, but let’s just say, it really wasn’t for me. I have rather specific taste, and…well, this wasn’t to it. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. So with that in mind, on to Thursday!

Fortnum & Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon My editor Rachel at LadyMPresents.co.uk received an invitation to go to the launch of the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum’s. I’ve been madly in love with the place since I was small and my parentals took me there, and as Rach was unable to go (she’s a strong contender for ‘busiest woman in the world’) she asked if I’d like to take her place. Would I?! Stepping over the threshold into a haven of true Englishness was a wonderful feeling. We were greeting not only by the fantastic PR team, but also by a chap playing a grand piano. I can’t quite put into words the glorious feeling of well-being that settled on me the longer I stayed in the tea salon, but I’ll just say that it made me phenomenally happy to know that things like this still exist.

I’m writing the event up in full for Lady M Presents, so won’t go into all the details here, but I’ll just say that despite the full blown, cockle-warming Englishness of the occasion, it also fulfilled my Marie Antoinette fantasies. If you’ve seen Sofia Coppola’s film, you might remember the abundance of cakes and cocktail saucers. It was like that. Endless champagne being poured, tea-based cocktails, and cakes EVERYWHERE. Sumptuous macaroons, phenomenal cherry and almond cakes, a reinterpretation of a peach melba…I almost cried. And they just kept coming. Waiters were moving constantly across the room, bearing plates of food. In the cold, hard times of this double dip recession (although surely we’ve passed double dip and we’re now the equivalent of some grossly unhygienic party guest who’s thrusting their carrot stick into the hummus repeatedly?) this was the perfect remedy. Check LadyMPresents.co.uk later in the week for my full write up.

Sundance After Fortnum’s, we dashed along to the O2 to see a film as part of the inaugural London incarnation of the Sundance festival. We had tickets to a film called ‘Liberal Arts’, directed by and starring an actor called Josh Radnor. I’d never heard of him, but I was reliably informed by my companion that he was in a TV show called ‘How I Met Your Mother’, which is, I believe, the methadone to the heroin of Friends. That aside, the film was absolutely incredible, and well worth seeing when it’s released in cinemas in the Autumn. It’s ostensibly about a 35 year old man who falls in love with a 19 year old student called Zibby, played by the magnificent Elizabeth Olsen. I unashamedly love the entire Olsen family, so I was happy about this.

The love story element is quite reminiscent of Lost in Translation, but it’s extremely well played and cleverly done. 35 year old Jesse (Radnor) doesn’t seem to just be in love with Zibby, but with youth itself, that he now feels is something he lacks. It’s a fascinating portrayal of getting older, and yet not being Old. Jesse in turn is young in the eyes of his old professors. If you’ve had an arts education like me, please see this film. It turns over ideas about how the arts can slightly mess with your mind a little bit, and seal you too much inside your own head, or your own romantic ideas about life. There’s so much I could say about the film, but I’ll try and keep it short. The performances were masterful, including a wonderful and surprising turn from Zac Efron, of all people. The soundtrack is also beautiful, containing lots of classical music, and the setting for the film is the verdant campus of Kenyon University in Ohio.

In terms of themes, it really resonated with me. Not just the arts education, which I’ve had a double whammy of with my English and Drama degree, but I also found I identified with both Zibby and Jesse in different ways. There was a comment on how young people talk in constant hyperbole – ‘this is the best song EVER!’, which is something I do an awful lot. Even though I’m a long way off 35, I’ve been struggling with the idea of getting older lately, although I’m not sure why. In the Q&A at the end, Radnor said some interesting things: ‘There’s an arrogance to youth. You don’t understand that time is happening. Then suddenly, you’re not the youngest person in the room’. But ultimately, the film was about acceptance of getting older, or being at a different stage in your life, saying ‘what gifts are here for me?’ I can’t recommend the film enough, and I’ll definitely be seeing it again.

So, that was Monday til Thursday of my week…another post coming soon just to finish things off, but I’m SO HAPPY to be at home this Sunday, and looking forward to chilling and baking!

Masterchef 2011’s Tim Anderson, Citroen and FareShare

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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!

Martinis, scarves, and The Scottish Play

Posted in Fashion, Girl About Town by

Hello chaps and chapesses. Hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend so far! I’ve had a rather busy one, but luckily I’ve got a free Sunday. A free Sunday to catch up on work, that is! And I may also be trying out the white chocolate, passion fruit and coconut cake that featured on http://thegentlemanbaker.blogspot.co.uk/ earlier this week. Yummykins.

New feature! Seeing as I’ve got so many events coming up, I’ve created a new ‘Girl About Town’ menu tab at the top, just because it’ll be easier to store them in one place. So this is what I got up to:

Martini Masterclass at Hotel Du Vin On Friday night, I touched down at Hotel Du Vin in Tunbridge Wells with my lovely LadyMPresents.co.uk editor and chum Rachel, and her friend Becky. Now, I actually violently dislike martinis. I’d always found them much too strong, and the only ones I can drink can be found at the Cellar Door in London, because they make yummy versions like cucumber martinis, or ‘breakfast’ martinis with marmalade in. I was hoping that, by going to this event, I’d gain a new found appreciation for the cocktail. As it was a ‘masterclass’, I assumed we’d be guided through the ways to create our own perfect/signature martini. I was looking forward to impressing my friends.

Well, I think I estimated it a little bit wrong. It was held in one of the beautiful back rooms of the hotel, which, as Becky and Rachel said, felt like ‘a Russian ballroom’. We were given several sheets of info (sadly not proof-read. Wish I could turn off my writerly brain in my free time, but I can’t.) We also had three glasses: one vodka, one vermouth, one gin, and a jug of water. The sheets of information had a lot of tasting notes for different gins and vodkas at the back, which is where I started to get excited. I love to try new types; Ketel One and Hangar One vodkas are usually my favourite, but I’m always up for trying new things. Drinks-wise. Ahem.

I assumed that, because we had the tasting notes, we’d be allowed to choose which vodka or gin we liked the sound of best as a base for our martini, and then we’d learn what would go well with the notes in that particular spirit. We were talked through the history of the martini by a man who I think was called Marco – I missed the very beginning. He was a very nice chap, but whizzed through all the info extremely quickly. I was frantically trying to scribble it down: ‘right, so if I shake the martini, it adds oxygen, which makes it…sweeter? Or…what??’ I got a little bit lost. To be fair, I didn’t really need to write it all down, but I wanted to. We were given a dirty martini to try, and I realised very quickly that I wasn’t adept at drinking the things. I was wincing quite a lot. We also had a few canapes passed around, but being a vegetarian, there was nothing I could eat apart from the sweet ones that came out at the end.

I’d also assumed (and when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me, as we all know) we’d be set up on tables with ingredients. Instead, everything was at the very front of the room, by Marco. At the end of the talk, we could all go up and try making our own martini. I’d been dreaming of creating an elderflower and cucumber version, but we had limited supplies. One gin, one vodka, Martini, Martini Rosso, peach liqueur, raspberry liqueur, Midori, blue curacao, olives, lemons. Becky and Rachel decided to try mixing raspberry with gin, and adding lemon. It was more palatable for me than the dirty martini, but ultimately I still didn’t have more than a few sips.

So it wasn’t entirely what I’d hoped for. But I have to be fair on HDV: I went knowing that I didn’t like the cocktails that much, which was probably a silly idea. I’d also built up expectations of the evening in my head, which was again unfair. Oh, and I’d been to an excellent wine tasting event at the Tate the week before, which I blogged about on here. I must mention one more thing. The NOISE. At the back of the room were some extremely rude and noisy people, which put me in something of a bad mood from the start. It’s unbelievably rude to hold a conversation at a normal volume while someone is trying to speak. Arrogant and cocky, and despite many people turning around to give them glacial stares, they didn’t stop. Maybe try a bar next time, chaps?

So, not a roaring success for me. They mentioned there might be a Mojito Masterclass in June, which I’d probably like a lot more. That said, tickets for this event were £20. That’s a little steep when you can only eat one canape, and when you can only manage a few sips of your drink (but again, the latter comment is about me, not HDV). The wine tasting at the Tate was £15, and we had heaps of food, a glass of Prosecco on entry, and about 12 different wines to try. On the plus side, the staff at HDV were charming, the man leading the masterclass was sweet and engaging, and HDV is absolutely gorgeous to look at. I’d say save the £20 from the workshop, and go and spend it in the Hotel Du Vin bar instead. Or better yet, put it towards supper.

What I wore - sorry for the grumpy face

Scarf Photoshoot Rachel and I met again on Saturday morning – luckily neither of us was hungover from the previous night of drinking! We were joining forces with wonderful scarf designer Kate Hasted (http://www.katehasted.co.uk/) to style out some different scarfy looks for Rachel’s gig on http://moderngirlsguideto.blogspot.co.uk/ Rachel wanted to come up with some different ways of wearing scarves, and who better than Kate to provide them? Kate makes absolutely gorgeous pieces, and we worked with her Spring/Summer collection. Pastel shades, soft as a cloud, printed on silk and hand-marbled.

And I got to do the modelling! I actually sort of hate having my photo taken. I only like it if I can control it and see exactly what’s going on. But Rachel did an amazing job. She put me at ease, gave great direction, and was very encouraging. Although we did have one or two ‘move to the left. Your left. No, my left. No, my right!’ moments! We did a lot of laughing, a lot of listening to bizarro music, and ultimately, we had a great time. Thanks very much to Paul of http://www.photoshootstudio.co.uk/ who set us on the right path! Strongly recommended as a venue if you need to do any shoots. Paul helped us hugely with the lighting and even our camera settings. Think Rachel and I will be paying him a visit for photography lessons, as we’re both self confessed ‘for god’s sake leave it on the automatic setting!!!!!’ girls.

The Scottish Play Very quickly rounding this up, as I can see my word count growing exponentially and you’ve probably all stopped reading already! Anywho, straight after my photoshoot I hopped on a train to Carshalton to see The Scottish Play, directed by my chum Paul. I genuinely can’t bring myself to say Ma***th. Once a superstitious actor, always a superstitious actor. He’d transposed it all to a modern setting, aligning it against the violence and insanity of the rioting last year. Seeing Shakespeare done in a chavvy setting is always fascinating, and it was a bold choice and an excellent Shakespearean directorial debut.

That’s me done! Got a crazy busy week next week but I’ll see you back here when I can. Thanks for reading 🙂 xx

Cornwall Part Three

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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?