Jammin'

The beautiful LP and I recently decided to give jam-making a go. With very little experience under our belts, but with an optimistic outlook we rolled up our sleeves, dug out the jam pans and got stuck in! (And believe me, we got very sticky!) After several minutes we realised that we had actually no idea what we were doing and quickly consulted the jam-making gurus……our mothers, who provided us with the idiots' guide to jam-making.

Our first stop was a trip to Borough market to pick up supplies. After shopping round for the best deal and choosing the freshest fruits we managed to buy several bursting bags of raspberries, persimmons and several unidentified fruit given to us by the very friendly market-man.

Next step, lay our your ingredients, wash your fruit, test a couple and then pretend to be Amelie by eating raspberries off your fingers.

Always make sure you test the jam-goo-mixture at every stage, this is a crucial step…..do NOT miss it out!

As you stir, do not forget to do you best witch impression, cackle loudly and murmur “hubble bubble toil and trouble”.

Pour into jars, leave to set, give it a good sniff and then clean the pan….with your fingers!

I would love to be able to give you a recipe, but we followed our mothers’ instructions, stirred in some experimentation, added a generous dollop of “make it up as you go along” and finished with a pinch of LP/BT love. I am pleased to say though that we ended up with fifteen jars of crimson red, sweet, raspberry jam, perfect for spreading on toast or scones, so it can’t be all bad.

At this rate I am going to be a domestic goddess in no time!

Mood – Sticky! 

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T'was the week before Christmas

Well nothing quite kills the Christmas mood like essays, but now that they are out of the way there is nothing for me to do but to party! I had the most wonderful time last week catching up with old friends, meeting new ones and really enjoying having time to catch up with my nearest and dearest. It makes me wonder why it is often only Christmas that we make this special time for people, why are we not better at finding time for people all year round? 

My week started with an action-packed trip to London with AN and included a wander around the Tate gallery. I have not been to the Tate for years and I loved seeing all the weird and eccentric pieces of art.  The cafe in the Tate is definitely worth a visit because of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that allow for an excellent view of the river, St Paul's and the London city-scape, I couldn't resist snapping a few photos!

After a spot of culture what better but afternoon tea? Dalston Junction may seem like a small expedition to get to but let me tell you, the Other Cafe is worth every minute stuck on the tube. Walking into the Other Cafe is a little like falling down the rabbit hole and being transported to a crazy-mixed up world where nothing is as it seems and yet everything fits together perfectly. AN an I opted for afternoon tea and we were served a large plate of sandwiches, huge freshly-made scones and three-tiers of cake! Yes, three tiers! I was a very, very happy girl! 

 (Photo taken from the Other Cafe website) 

After walking off all the cake I had consumed I met up with the ever-wonderful JJ to go to the ballet. There is nothing quite like seeing the Nutcracker to get you into the festive mood, the music is so perfect and wonderful and the dancing literally transports you to a magical, exotic world. From the moment the orchestra stuck up their first note I had goosebumps which lasted the whole ballet, I might even have teared up at several parts. Thank you JJ for organising the trip, it really was magical! 

A couple of days later I was back in London again, this time with JT to attend the Albert Hall Christmas Carol Sing-along. It has been almost ten years since I was last at the Albert Hall and in fact the last time I was there I was dancing, so it made a lovely change to just be able to sit back and enjoy the show. From start to finish we sang our little hearts out and it was just incredible to be part of thousands of people singing Christmas carols and filling the hall with noise! A wonderful way to kick Christmas off in style. 

I cannot believe it is Christmas eve already, where has the time gone? I have butterflies of excitement for tomorrow but I am going to try and enjoy the day, filled with preparations, family and festivities!

Mood- well and truly Christmassy! 

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Pre-Christmas festivities!

Finally the time has come to deck the halls, get merry and bright and to rock around the christmas tree! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas, it is the most wonderful time of the year, truly. I have been secretly listening to Christmas music since November, googling scarfs and jumpers since September and researching mince pie recipes for far, far too long. I can now finally share my Christmas joy and excitement with the rest of the world because now is an "accepted" time to do so, until December I have to a member of Christmas anonymous and hide my festive-feelings from everyone for risk of being judged. Despite advent calendars and christmas music the rest of my preparations had been put on hold until this week because of the dreaded D-word.....deadlines! After handing in my final essay (for a few joyous weeks) I practically skipped off to meet Dasher and Rudolf.

No I am not joking, Dasher and Rudolf really did come and visit us, they loved posing for the army of student paparazzi and of course were more than happy to deliver whispered christmas messages to Father Christmas. Let me tell you, there is no better way to get into the festive mood than to spend some time with the reindeer.

Fun fact - Reindeer have velvety ears that are super-soft to stroke, not scary at all!

That evening I decided to invite some friends over for a mince pie or two.....or five and some mulled wine. We had a great time ending the term in style, making paper snowflakes and spreading Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear.

A week or so ago I was cursing my degree, counting the minutes until I could escape uni and the dreaded fun-sucker that is the library. But now, I feel rather sad to leave, especially having to say goodbye to the girls for a whole month!!!

Mood - feeling well and truly "Christmassy

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