Variants on this theme have been going around for a little while now, but this was the first that I thought was really good enough to share - it's so true!
Monday, 27 February 2012
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Spring is coming!
My amateur green thumbs have been busy - and look at what I've got! Looking forward to the rest of them coming soon...
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Having a riot
On a whim at the end of last year, a group of us decided to take advantage of the cheap fares to Ireland, and booked a long weekend in Cork. I've been wanting to go to Ireland for ages, so it was definitely something exciting to look forward to.
We headed off bright and early on Friday morning and arrived in Cork keen for a look around. Our first stop was down in the middle of town for a quick snack at the English Market, which was filled with all sorts of delicious food and has been going since 1788 which is pretty impressive! I tried a 'chester cake' which was extremely rich, and is basically a cake within pastry, covered in icing... It was one to share!
After a quick scoot around Cork we drove to Blarney Castle to check out the famous Blarney Stone, say hello to some horses, check out a poison garden and generally marvel over the technicolour of the green, green grass. It was a nice surprise just how interesting the whole grounds were - if you go don't just head straight to the castle!
From Blarney it was down to Cobh (pronounced Cove) which is on the coast and was where the Titanic stopped in on her ill-fated journey. After checking out the cathedral high up on the hill and the edge of the harbour, it was time for a late lunch. And this is where the incredibly friendly and accommodating locals came in for the first time - the pub didn't have food, but the cafe didn't have Guinness, so you can just bring your food down to the pub! Excellent. There were some old guys having a sing-a-long as well which contributed to a very Irish-sounding meal accompaniment!
From Cobh it was back to Cork to check in to our grand old hotel high up on the hill, then a quick walk down to town for dinner at the delicious Market Lane. I have to say, I wasn't expecting much from the food in Ireland, but I was very gladly mistaken - everything was delicious!
After a (very) hearty breakfast the next morning (who knew that you could get white and black pudding), it was off to St Anne's Shandon to try out hand at some campanology. What's that you say? Well, at this particular church you can actually ring the bells in their tower and they even provide music to try out. While I definitely feel very sorry for their neighbours as uneven peals of 'Jingle Bells' roll out across the city all day, it was so much fun! We got some pretty good tunes out and absolutely loved the friendly lady at the entrance who regaled us with some very entertaining stories.
After St Anne's it was off to Kinsale. This is another picturesque coastal town just down the road from Cork, but sadly seemed to be mostly closed until Easter - don't they know there are still a few tourists in winter! But the pub was open so we could watch some football and have some more Guinness - it's all about priorities.
From Kinsale we drove west to Kenmare where we stayed with Edel in her amazingly retro house - it was so perfectly preserved! Apparently Kenmare's a popular haunt with the oldies, and Edel said it was so lovely to have young folk in the house - I didn't want to disappoint her by saying we were all over 30... Kenmare's a very pretty town with loads of pubs and restaurants. We tried hot whiskey which is a delicious concoction of whiskey, hot water, lemon and cloves, and then had a feast at one of their restaurants - steaks the size of two fists put together!
The next morning it was off for a drive around the Beara Peninsula, which was absolutely gorgeous. I was really taken aback how different County Cork was from County Kerry - the former is really green, quite pastoral, whereas County Kerry is all rugged mountains and exposed rocks. It was so nice to get out and see the sea all around and smell the fresh air - it was a definite change from London that's for sure!
And then it was all too quickly back to the airport and back to the big smoke. I was so pleasantly surprised by Ireland - I guess it reminded me of home a lot - it was a lovely restorative break and I would say well worth the trip.
More photos here...
We headed off bright and early on Friday morning and arrived in Cork keen for a look around. Our first stop was down in the middle of town for a quick snack at the English Market, which was filled with all sorts of delicious food and has been going since 1788 which is pretty impressive! I tried a 'chester cake' which was extremely rich, and is basically a cake within pastry, covered in icing... It was one to share!
After a quick scoot around Cork we drove to Blarney Castle to check out the famous Blarney Stone, say hello to some horses, check out a poison garden and generally marvel over the technicolour of the green, green grass. It was a nice surprise just how interesting the whole grounds were - if you go don't just head straight to the castle!
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| Tamara and I saying hello to the horses at Blarney Castle |
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| Getting the gift of the gab! |
From Blarney it was down to Cobh (pronounced Cove) which is on the coast and was where the Titanic stopped in on her ill-fated journey. After checking out the cathedral high up on the hill and the edge of the harbour, it was time for a late lunch. And this is where the incredibly friendly and accommodating locals came in for the first time - the pub didn't have food, but the cafe didn't have Guinness, so you can just bring your food down to the pub! Excellent. There were some old guys having a sing-a-long as well which contributed to a very Irish-sounding meal accompaniment!
 |
| Lunch in Cobh |
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| Cobh harbour |
From Cobh it was back to Cork to check in to our grand old hotel high up on the hill, then a quick walk down to town for dinner at the delicious Market Lane. I have to say, I wasn't expecting much from the food in Ireland, but I was very gladly mistaken - everything was delicious!
After a (very) hearty breakfast the next morning (who knew that you could get white and black pudding), it was off to St Anne's Shandon to try out hand at some campanology. What's that you say? Well, at this particular church you can actually ring the bells in their tower and they even provide music to try out. While I definitely feel very sorry for their neighbours as uneven peals of 'Jingle Bells' roll out across the city all day, it was so much fun! We got some pretty good tunes out and absolutely loved the friendly lady at the entrance who regaled us with some very entertaining stories.
 | |
| Very cool concrete art near to St Anne's Shandon |
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| View over Cork from St Anne's Shandon |
After St Anne's it was off to Kinsale. This is another picturesque coastal town just down the road from Cork, but sadly seemed to be mostly closed until Easter - don't they know there are still a few tourists in winter! But the pub was open so we could watch some football and have some more Guinness - it's all about priorities.
From Kinsale we drove west to Kenmare where we stayed with Edel in her amazingly retro house - it was so perfectly preserved! Apparently Kenmare's a popular haunt with the oldies, and Edel said it was so lovely to have young folk in the house - I didn't want to disappoint her by saying we were all over 30... Kenmare's a very pretty town with loads of pubs and restaurants. We tried hot whiskey which is a delicious concoction of whiskey, hot water, lemon and cloves, and then had a feast at one of their restaurants - steaks the size of two fists put together!
The next morning it was off for a drive around the Beara Peninsula, which was absolutely gorgeous. I was really taken aback how different County Cork was from County Kerry - the former is really green, quite pastoral, whereas County Kerry is all rugged mountains and exposed rocks. It was so nice to get out and see the sea all around and smell the fresh air - it was a definite change from London that's for sure!
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| Beautiful scenery on the Beara Peninsula |
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| Me on the Beara Peninsula |
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| Loved the scenery |
More photos here...
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Learning to play the gamelan
Do you know what a gamelan is?
I didn't until a few weeks ago, but now I even know how to play it!
In 1987 the Southbank Centre in London was given a gamelan by the Indonesian government and they run taster sessions for people to have a go at learning how to play it. So of course, when I found out about it, I booked us in!
Now, what is a gamelan? I think the best way to describe it is as a percussion orchestra which about 20 people can play at once, and the whole thing is called a gamelan. This link gives a really good description of all the different separate instruments and you can also see some videos etc. of what it should sound like. We only learned to play a simple melody (2-3-2-3, 2-1-2-6) but it was hard enough! Some of the instruments play the melody, and some play beats (like the drums or the gongs).
Here, Adrian's playing a slenthem, and as well as hitting the keys, you also have to then tamp down with your thumb on the key as soon as you play a new one (basically to stop the resonance of the previous note interfering with the new note). It was tough!
Here you can see Sophie our teacher, and the kendang (double ended drums) with some other instruments.
This is the kenong which was the first instrument I played. You hit the top bobble bit when you play it.
Adrian's getting to grips with it!
And here's Alexandra in with the gongs (the big ones at the back which made an amazing wooh-o, wooh-o sound) and the kempuls (the smaller ones at the front). You also hit the bobble bits on these ones.
This is Mazida, a friend from uni, in with the gongs and kempuls, and some other people on the sarons in front (those are the things that look like xylophones).
Alexandra's playing the gambang - it's quite high pitched and tough to get right!
And finally this was my last instrument - the gender - which was also part of the melody.
It was such a fun way to spend a couple of hours - if anyone's in London you should definitely try it!
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Lemon cumin cookies
Cumin is far and away my favourite spice - and considering it's apparently the second most popular spice in the world after black pepper, it seems that I'm not alone in my preference!
So when I saw this recipe for cumin cookies in the paper the other day, well, I obviously had to give it a try. It called for the zest of one lemon, but having now tried one fresh out of the oven, I'd definitely put the zest of two lemons in, or substitute the milk for lemon juice, just to give it a bit more of a zing.
They're pretty delicious though, very cuminy (I was generous with my tablespoon of cumin seeds) and I'd definitely make them again as they're really easy to whip up.
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