Elephant wine and a chardonnay I didn’t hate

Last month P and I visited the Country Living Spring Fair and whilst there P booked for a wine tasting at home with the company Pieroth. I’d never heard of them before, but for £20 four of us were able to taste 10 wines in P’s home and have a jolly good time.

I didn’t really take any photos, apart from the spread P put on. I was juicing that week but I may have fallen off the wagon and eaten 10 chicken bites. Yes 10. But they’re protein, so I figure they’re not too bad. Oh, and I ate a chocolate as you were meant to taste one of the wines with chocolate. And then maybe I ate some bread. Yes, I definitely fell from high up on the wagon! Anyway, enough about food.

I won’t go through all the wines in detail as I didn’t make many notes on wine names, but all the wines were from Pieroth vineyards and can only be bought from a Pieroth distributor, not in the shops. We did try five white, one rose, and four red. Before the evening all of us said we were big red fans, and I think we were all surprised at how much we liked some of the whites.

The biggest shock for me was wine number three, a chardonnay from Corsica, which was actually drinkable. I am a complete ABC girl (Anything But Chardonnay) when it comes to ordering wine, but this was actually pleasant. I even scored it a 7/10. It made me think twice about branding all chardonnay’s with the same brush, and I’d now be open to drinking it again as opposed to shunning it previously.

Number four smelt delicious, so much so I pronounced that if they could bottle it I would wear it as a perfume, much to S’s amusement! It was a Sauv Blanc from Chile, with lychee and vanilla, scrummy. I scored it 8/10.

The other stand out wine of the evening was a red called Big Feet. The story has it that a husband vineyard owner and his animal loving wife adopted some elephants and then used the elephants to press the grapes from their harvest one year. You can even watch a video on it!  I really enjoyed the wine, and even gave it a 10/10.

After tasting all the wines we were given the opportunity to sample any again we liked or couldn’t make our minds up on. Our host for the evening, Carla, was very good, she let us know the cost of all the different wines, ranging between £15 and £21, but wasn’t too pushy about us buying anything. I only wanted two bottles of Bigfeet so the ladies I spent the evening with were kind enough to help me make up a box for the minimum order of 12 bottles.

It was a really fun night at home, and for £20 I couldn’t fault it!

Bloggers do Hogwarts

On Sunday I travelled up the M25 for a long awaited trip to the Warner Brothers studios for the Harry Potter tour. Jenny very kindly organised the trip (thanks J!), and a big thanks to the people at Warner Brothers for their generosity with tickets and awesome, unexpected goody bags!

When I got to the studios I met up with some of my blogging faves Bess (Thoroughly English), Alice (The cup and saucer), and Jenny (Sunny sweet pea), and met some other lovely bloggers and tweeters, Charlotte (The tea drinking English rose), Sara (of sounds), Sarah (@sarangacomics), Sophie (Sophie in the sticks), Hazel (Hazel’s world of joy), and Beth (@missbw1505). Once we’d queued up for our tickets were were taken into a holding room, which left a few of us feeling like cattle!, and then into a cinema to watch an introduction to the tour. When the tour finished, the screen went up, and you were taken into the great hall – great touch Warner Brothers!

There were a couple of things that struck me as I made my way round the tour. Firstly I was surprised by the size of it, I imagined the great hall to be vast, but in reality it wasn’t too much longer than my school hall, and the size of Dumbledore and Umbridge’s offices were smaller than I expected too. I’m surprised they could fit so many people, and equipment into some of the spaces and make it look spacious.

I was also struck by how much detail went into every part of the film sets, with oil paintings being done by hand, frescos in the great hall that have now faded and couldn’t be seen in the films, emblems in fireplaces unseen in films, thousands of wand boxes done by hand, the matching of characters costumes and their props, and so much more. I guess I completely underestimated just how much goes into making eight huge films, and getting continuity between all of them.

We visited on an #animalactors day which meant that some of the animals from the films were there. It was fun to see Crookshanks, Hedwig, Fang, and Scabbers. I was a bit too scared to see the spiders and snake, they give me the heebiejeebies.

Every which way you looked there was something to see, and then when I looked up above eye level there was even more to see! When you combine that with nine other blogging Harry Potter fans chatting away it didn’t feel like long before we were half way round, and queuing up for some Butterbeer. Bess and I both decided that we had to try some Butterbeer, because it has to be done, right? I was really looking forward to it, and I have to say, I didn’t enjoy it! Despite having probably one of the sweetest tooth out there, it was just too sweet and sickly for me, and I couldn’t get over it when combined with being cold and a bit fizzy. A few of us agreed it would probably have tasted a whole lot nicer if it had been warmed up.

Outside we got to see some more of the sets, including the Knight bus, Privet Drive, and meet Hedwig! Very cool.

Inside the second hanger we got to see some more of the behind the scenes things, like the masks, and some of the most incredible sketch drawings. I could not get over the level of detail that went into designing and thinking about every part of the films, it was insane!

My favourite part was walking through Diagon Alley, it was narrower than I imagined, but it was full of so many things to see, I wish it was a real street!

By the end my head was swarming with more Harry Potter bits than I thought possible, so I thought it was lovely to reflect overlooking a model of Hogwarts, which changed in the lighting. The model reminded me a lot of an exhibition I saw whilst I was in Berlin a couple of years ago, of an ancient city and you walked round in a spiral, watching it change time of day. Very cool.

Then, it was time for the shop! We’d already been generously treated to some goodies by the kind folks at Warner Brothers, but I couldn’t resist without leaving with a couple of extra bits. I treated myself to two mugs, because they look like my coffee could go on forever in them, and a little ornament for my Mum’s Christmas tree.

Overall it was a pretty perfect Sunday. A huge thanks to Jenny for organising for everyone, and a massive thanks to Warner Brothers for their generosity, it was a fantastic experience and I’d definitely recommend to anyone who’s in the South East for a day out, or who’s a massive Harry Potter fan!

The Magic Numbers and Cool Hand Luke

Last Wednesday I went up to London after work with my friend Megan to go and watch The Magic Numbers, followed by a showing of their favourite film, Cool Hand Luke. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it on here, but The Magic Numbers are my favourite band. I must have seen them over a dozen times, and every time I go and see them I love them a little bit more. So when I saw them advertise this show, I couldn’t say no. The event was to celebrate Screen on the Green’s 100th birthday. It’s a beautiful little cinema in Islington with the most comfortable sofa seats ever. I am very much considering going to watch every film at this cinema from now on, even if it does take me a long while to get there!

Before the show started Megan and I decided to go for dinner and after wondering up and down the high street, we narrowed it down to Wahaca (which I’ve seen loads of bloggers rave about) and Byron Burgers. We settled on a comforting burger and I’m glad we made that choice, Wahaca will have to wait! Megan and I both ordered Le Smokey, a 6oz hamburger, smoked Cheddar, streaky bacon, crispy fried onions, shredded iceberg, pickles and smoked chilli BBQ sauce. Oh what a good choice, it was absolutely delicious! We also shared some onion rings and fat chips, yum. In fact, I was so full it was a little uncomfortable, and once sat down in the cinema I had to undo my skirt zip to allow my belly to expand!

After dinner we walked over to the cinema to get our tickets. Once there we witnessed this women have a hissyfit, claiming that the running times weren’t what was published online. I’m not really sure why she expected The Magic Numbers to play a 30min set straight away at 8.30 for the film to start at 9, but her hissyfit got her a refund so maybe she made her point. I’d have been pretty disappointed if the band only played for 30 mins!

Instead the band played for a super long time, not finishing until gone 11pm. They played songs from their favourite films, and then some of their own stuff. The whole band are so talented and once again, I was not disappointed. I particularly loved the covers they did, projecting clips from the films and then performing in front of the screen in silhouette, it was very effective.

Whilst watching the band play Megan and I sat in some squishy sofas at the back which you just sunk into and we so comfortable. We also lived it large by having a bottle of water and a tea/coffee each. Rock and roll!!!

Sadly (not that I’m complaining), the band finished quite late in the evening which meant with rubbish train times from London Megan and I had to leave before the film started. I’ve bought the film from Amazon though so I will get to watch it! I was also able to have a good catch up with one of the members of the band, Angela, who is pretty awesome and I have a bit of a girl crush on her, and her style.

I would love to go and see something else in a similar style with a band and then a film, apparently they do it quite often at the Screen on the Green so watch this space. Only next time I’m hoping not for a midweek showing!

A delicious weekend hanging out with the bestie

Last weekend my BFF Tara came to visit. It felt like we hadn’t seen each other in forever, so I was really excited for her to come up to Surrey and hang for a few days.

Friday night when she arrived we went out for a walk and a mooch, enjoyed a drink in the park, and had a super long catch up. We came back to my flat and got started on the wine before deciding where to go for dinner. We settled on Thai, and a restaurant I’d never tried before. It was seriously good and I am trying to work out when I can next go back!

We had crackers and dips to start whilst deciding what to eat. I particularly enjoyed the satay sauce. For starters we chose to share a couple of dishes, a good choice I think. We shared some fish cakes which were ok, and some really delicious prawn and pork dumplings. Oh I could have gorged myself on these delicious dumplings. Mmmmm!

For our main again we decided to share as we were both torn between a few different dishes, and again I’m so glad we did. I love having a friend who I can share a few different dishes with so I can try more things. We opted for the ‘weeping tiger’ which was chargrilled sirloin steak strips in a sweet and smoky dark sauce and again, really, really tasty. We also shared  chargrilled king prawns topped with a spicy chilli sauce. I loved the prawns, they were so fat and juicy and delicious with just the right kick of spice, although I would have been a bit gutted to just have four prawns as my main! On the side we chose some coconut rice, which was sticky and coconutty and yum. Wonder if I can recreate this at home?

We were so full from all this food we decided to skip dessert and just go home to watch tv, chill out, gossip some more, drink more wine, and snack on some chocolates. A really perfect Friday night with my BFF!

Saturday we decided to head up into the big smoke and go round all the big posh department stores. Attempting to do them all in one day was maybe a bit ambitious, but we saw a few and were pretty tired by the end of the day! We walked the length of the King’s Road, spending an inordinate amount of time in my new favourite shop Anthropologie, and sampling some yummy treats at the food market in Duke of Yorke square outside Partridges.

From the King’s Road we headed to Harrods in Knightsbridge, and went all the way to the top on the Egyptian elevator. We also spent a very, very, long time going round all the food halls and deciding which treat to buy, having decided we both needed to come away with a Harrods green bag! We both opted for a macaroon, and as is the theme with the weekend – they were delicious! We also spent ages in the Christmas shop in Harrods and I even went so far as to buy my first Christmas thing this year, a present for my Mum!

From Harrods we headed up to Oxford St and did Liberty’s and a quick stop in Choccywoccydoodah. I bought some chocolate (quelle suprise for the chocoholic!), and then we headed down Regent St for a mooch. There was a really strange festival on for NFL the whole length of Regent St, and I still don’t really get it, apart from being a pretty elaborate marketing gimmick.

From Regent St we headed over to Covent Garden for cocktails, a sit down and some dinner. We were both pretty knackered by this point! My favourite place to go in Covent Garden for drinks is Dirty Martini, a hidden away cocktail bar in the main Covent Garden square that does crazy good happy hours most of the time. Hailing from Plymouth I love a good gin cocktail, so we picked a Cherry martini and a raspberry prosecco fizz thing, both of which were really good.

After a couple of cocktails we headed to TGIs for dinner and more cocktails and that is where the photos end I’m afraid, as we just enjoyed ourselves.

I had a really super, delicious, weekend with my best friend and I can’t wait for her to visit again soon!

Wine tasting at Denbies

My new friend Megan is a girl after my own heart, she loves exploring new parts of Surrey. So when I saw a Groupon for a trip to Denbies wine estate, I knew she was the girl to come with. Aside from driving past it a few times on my way to and from other parts of Surrey, I didn’t know much about Denbies.

Situated just outside of Dorking, Denbies is an English vineyard that makes lots of different types of award winning wines, including sparkling, red, rose and white. They cover the whole lot. And for none wine drinkers, they even have a brewery onsite making Surrey ales.

Megan and I walked down from Dorking station to Denbies, and walking into the estate we were immediately greeted by row upon row of vines with little green grapes drooping down.

On arrival at the main house we confirmed our booking, were handed two empty glasses and made our way out to the train (not really a train but a Land Rover pulling along some carriages) which took us through the vineyard.

Glasses topped up with some sparkling wine, the train tour took about an hour through the estate, with a couple of photo stops. We had a good tour guide who stopped and explained about the different varieties and a PA system gave a history of the vineyard.

Once back to the start Megan and I walked around the shops, but were very restrained. They have their own farm shop on site too, and sell the fruits and veggies they grown on site, as well as beautiful flowers.

It was a really fun way to spend the afternoon and I really enjoyed the wine we were given. The vineyard is really interesting and full of public rights of way. The views we saw and the backdrop of Box Hill and Leith Hill were beautiful. Apparently they do an Autumn marathon and half marathon, which I would definitely be interested in  doing next year. You can expect me to go back to explore some more along the public pathways, and maybe even attempt a few runs around there!

Ps, who can resist this man totally photobombing us!

Bowled over

Last week I played in my first ever bowls tournament, made up of lots of local companies. To be honest I wasn’t looking forward to it, and I almost pulled out, but it turned out to be a lot of fun!

I spent the day leading up to the event joking about how I would be a natural at bowls. Hailing from Plymouth, I said it must be in my genes, what with the infamous story of Francis Drake finishing his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe before the Spanish Armada invaded. I think I almost fooled my manager!

I learnt how to hold the ball properly, about woods and jacks, different tactics and techniques, who knew there was so much to it?

By the end I think I was doing pretty well, I’m pretty sure the normal members of the bowls club wanted me to join. Sadly, I belong to so many clubs right now I don’t think I can join another, especially where I’m the youngest member, again…

I would definitely play bowls again, it was a really great night! Roll on next year’s tournament!

Chocolart

Between bowls tournaments, WI meetings, and craft club, last week was a busy one for me. I did manage to find time for some fun with friends though at an evening chocolate workshop.

Chocolart is based in Reigate, Surrey, which was isn’t too far from where I live. They run chocolate workshops, where you can chose to learn about chocolates, and most importantly, have fun playing and making chocolates!

I went to a two hour evening workshop, which was £18. We learnt a little about chocolate, and then got stuck in to the fun stuff.

We were each given 4 sets of moulds to paint using different coloured chocolates, and then once set, we filled them with milk chocolate ready to set again and eat. In fact, mine didn’t even last 24 hours! It was so easy to do, and I’d love to do it again.

 

Whilst the chocolates were setting we were given time to natter and then treated to a delicious pot of melted chocolate with some fruit and marshmallows. So simple serving in an espresso mug, I’m definitely going to try this again at home.

 

I had a really great time, and if I ever had the opportunity again, I would definitely go back! And I’d definitely recommend it to any of my local Surrey buddies :).

The awkward turtle

Ever heard of the awkward turtle? No? Thought not. A Slovakian friend introduced me to the awkward turtle, and now I want to share it with you. My friends think it’s really funny and hopefully you will too!

According to Urban Dictionary, the awkward turtle is designed to be used to mark a situation or conversation as awkward. It either makes the situation more awkward, or clears the air!

Awkward……

A perfect Friday night

Sunshine
A chilled bottle of fizz
Fresh air
A friend
Gossip

My quilt – A work in progress

I still have another hour and half to make today’s post! O thought I’d share the quilt I’ve been working on. It’s very much a project and I can see it taking me a good few months but I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far!

I can’t wait for it to be finished and I can use it!