Highlights of 2013 - Part 4 - Moroccan Barbecue

I am lucky enough with my job that I'm able to sample some amazing food. One of my favourites this year has to be this Moroccan BBQ menu. Who doesn't love a BBQ?

The Menu

On the BBQ...

Chermoula chicken (paprika, ginger, parsely and lemon marinade, 

Rose harissa marinated lamb fillet skewers

Garlic and saffron king prawns

Roasted vegetable skewers with chilli and mint glaze

Roasted peppers with garlic, goats cheese and toasted cumin

Salads...

Spiced carrot salad with cinnamon, coriander and almonds

Roasted aubergine salad with Babaganoush, spiced yoghurt and toasted pine nuts

Rose harissa cous cous with roasted vegetables

Chick pea, chicory and cumin, with tahini and sumac

Chermoula Chicken enthusiastically cooked by Alistair.

Bring on Summer 2014 for next BBQ season!

Highlights of 2013 - Part 3 - Glorious Goodwood Indeed

Hurrah! Tickets had arrived for Goodwood - we were going to celebrate my lovely friend Sarah's birthday and it was time for a new dress. I opted for this number from ASOS (it has now become one of my trusty favourites in the wardrobe, and you lucky things, it's now in the sale here).

And it wasn't 100% accidental that my boyfriend and I were so well co-ordinated. Love the Panama!

This man and I were slightly less well co-ordinated, although thankfully he wasn't my boyfriend, he was just casually photobombing my photo.

We headed out to buy our lucky tickets and waited excitedly for the first race. I'm not really much of a gambler. After having the odds explained, and how best to make your selection, I opted to go for the 'I like the sound of that one' technique. I'm pretty sure this is what most people do, but just pretend to have some well thought out reasoning behind their choice. Surely?

After watching a few races from the ground, we headed upstairs to get a different view, and ended up setting up camp in the sun in Gordon's bar.

The day raced by (no pun intended, honest), and a few jugs of Pimms later, we went to place our final bets. Now, a fair few of my 'I like the sound of that one' selections had some relation to my furry feline friends. When 'Pal of the Cat' was listed as a runner in the final race, it was an easy choice. We took to our seats in the Grandstand to watch the horses come in.

And would you believe it that Pal of the Cat won? I placed a £5 bet, and won £140! As I said, I am not a gambler, so this was a first for me.

And so, with the races over, and the sun still shining, we headed down stairs to celebrate. 

And celebrate we did, dancing about in the afternoon sun to some great live music. Beginner's luck? Probably, but I think my love for the furry ones worked in my favour that day!

Highlights of 2013 - Part 2 - Henley Royal Regatta

Henley Royal Regatta - the perfect excuse to get dressed up and spend the day drinking Pimms in the sunshine.

It was the hottest day of the year so far, and we started off on the river banks with a few bottles of fizz. The banks were packed with people cooling off and dipping their legs into the water. With little space or shade out there, we were pretty pleased that we were lucky enough to have badges for Stewards enclosure this year, all thanks to my lovely friend Sarah who organised them for us. This meant we had access to the stands to watch the rowing, and also to the large array of champagne, Pimms and seafood bars. So once we'd had been checked that we were all appropriately covered up in the right places, we headed in and hit the champagne bar.

It really was so hot, once we had a cool glass in hand, I don't think any of us even thought about rowing for the next hour at least!

Once cooled off, we made our way over to the stands to watch some rowing. I can't really claim to know much about rowing, but it was still exciting none the less, and who doesn't enjoy cheering on very fit men in lyrca?

Oh hi beaut!

Oh, and another!

Oh and a few more. Aren't my friends looking dapper?

Phew, that was hot work - time for another Pimms or tw. At this point our group of 12 had become a three, so we hedged our bets and headed to the Mahiki tent to find our pals. It wasn't long before we found them sipping on their Pina Coladas and settled down with the rest of the tent to watch Andy Murray win the title at Wimbledon.

And what better way to end such a good day? A party in the car on the way home. (I do have videos, but I've decided to be kind and keep these to myself - I'm not sure I'd be forgiven for sharing!)

And one final drink at our local. I think I might get this dressed up for a trip to the pub more often! :)

Henley Royal Regatta is on from the 2nd - 6th July 2014. Tickets to Stewards were great fun, but not essential if you can't get them - just plan to get there early so you can get a good spot on the river bank and set up camp. More info here.

Highlights of 2013 - Part 1 - May Day Bank Holiday

2013, in my book, has been a pretty excellent year! I began writing this blog back in August, so I didn't get a chance to write about some of the fun I'd been up to before then. As the year is drawing to a close, I thought this a perfect opportunity to share some of these missed highlights with you.

May Day Bank holiday always has the potential to be a great weekend - it's the first Bank Holiday of the year since Christmas, almost half a year away, so you can't blame people for really making the most of that weekend can you!

Norman Jay was playing Up On The Roof at the Brixton Club House, and knowing this was always going to be a good night we booked our tickets.

Though it doesn't look it in some of the first photos was a pretty hot weekend, and we got started with a few G&T's on Clapham Common before we made our way to Brixton.

Being on the rooftops, the venue is perfect on a hot Summer's day with great views and lots of open space. For those sensible enough to line their stomachs, they had a BBQ going - we didn't indulge, but it looked and smelt amazing!

And perhaps getting a burger or two would have been a good idea as yes, that is a pint of wine in myself and my lovely friend's hand. 

As the sun set, the party really got started and we danced the night away until it all came to a rather hot and sticky end. They had to close down the outside space, and herded us all like cattle into the club downstairs. There were no windows. No air con. Lots of dancing, and definitely a few to many sweaty people. 

The next day, any trace of a hangover was blown away by a ride on a scooter (my friend's preferred choice of transport at the time) and we made our way to the Common again for a nap or two in the sun.

Followed by a pedicure.

And a spot of lunch in the sunshine! It was hot enough that we felt like we were on holiday on a city break. Just no-one dared mention going back to work the next day...

Cheers!

Norman Jay is playing Up On The Roof at Brixton Clubhouse again next year on the 14th July. Definitely one worth booking in advance as they can sell out. You can find out more info here.

'Twas the night before Christmas

I've been a bad girl. I haven't posted in over a month!

Actually, incase you're reading this Santa, I haven't actually been a bad girl, but December has been a whirlwind of a month! My work has meant I have worked all hours of most weekends, and in between that has been my birthday amongst many other fun activities. So here's a bit of round up of the festive season so far. Get your mulled wine in hand...

So, as you can see from the fetching picture of Lola above, Christmas starts in my house at the very beginning of December with the cats dressing up in their Christmas hats and scarves while we put up the tree. (They don't stay on very long, but it pleases me :) ). Putting up the tree is a very exciting activity for a cat, and particularly for a kitten (Louie) - so many new shiny balls to swing from and chase - the whole affair results in a big snooze on the sofa to recover.

Now, if you've never been to Winter Wonderland, on your first visit, you might, like me, think it looks like a giant fair ground with a few Christmas trees thrown in for good measure. But don't be put off, once you make your way through the rides, you enter the real reason to visit - the Bavarian bars and street food stalls! It wasn't long before we stumbled across the Christmas bar where the gorgeous smell of hot mulled wine and cider fill the air and we were tempted in.

And then we came across the food. I had my eye on this crepe stall, but thought I ought wait before I had dessert, and when we stumbled upon the hog roast stall, I was easily distracted! Wanting to save room for something else later, I went for a pot of hog roast - all the yummy bits minus the bap.  Topped with crackling and apple sauce, delicious!

My plan of sampling other food from the market stalls sort of went out of the window at this point when we came to the famous Bavarian Village and got stuck into some more mulled wine (this time with a shot of rum for good measure), and steins of beer for the boys. We had all donned our Christmas jumpers for the evening, and we weren't alone - I love how everyone has really got into them this year.

It wasn't long before the Christmas music, mulled wine and beer started to go to our heads...

And the night ended with some rather spectacular dancing.

Next of the list of festive activities was our shopping trip to Westfield. We went late on a Monday night, and started our shop with dinner at Bills. I've been to the Bills in Angel which I loved, and Westfields efforts were equally as good. Friendly staff, and cosy, relaxed atmosphere, not to mention the food.

If calamari are on the menu, then it's almost a dead cert that I will be having them. So the crispy lemon squid it was for me to start and toasted pita, houmous and tzatiki for my other half.

Knowing that we had an evening of shopping ahead of us, I should have opted for something light for main, but when I saw the sticky ribs served with chunky coleslaw and rustic sweet potato fries on the menu, I couldn't resist. 

Needless to say, there was no room for pudding, and I spent the rest of the evening waddling around Westfield. 

My birthday was at the beginning of the month, and I was a very lucky girl and treated to tickets to see The Book Of Mormon. We headed up to town and stopped for a spot of dinner at Cafe Pacifico before it started. I'd never been to a Mexican restaurant before (much to the horror of my boyfriend!), and so I got stuck in with a Margarita (easy choice!) and a Chimichanga - a deep friend burrito, topped with guacamole and sour cream, served with rice and black beans. I'll be going back!

We then strolled down the road to the Prince of Wales Theatre, got some drinks and took our seats for what I can say was a brilliant and hilarious performance of The Book Of Mormon. Tickets are hard to get, but I would urge you to be persistant, I would highly recommend it! Every detail was so well executed, from the incredible set design to the fantastic cast. Make sure this is on your to do list for 2014.

With work finished, Christmas cards written and delivered, presents are wrapped and under the tree, I'm just about to spend my Christmas eve with my family before hitting the pub tonight to catch up with old friends (I'm sure there will be plenty of Christmas jumpers out to play tonight!)

I hope you all a fantastic Christmas - eat, drink and be merry!

xxx