Happy New Year, New Decade....wow!

Happy New Year all!

Last year went so quickly, possibly quicker than before it feels, but maybe I'm just getting a bit old - haha!

To celebrate the New Year this year, we stayed in at a friends house and I organised a New Year quiz. We are regular Sunday night quizzers, so quite the experts at quizzes we like, and quizzes we don't!

There are certain topics I had to include:

Anagram
Dead or Alive
Chemical Elements
1 Sports Question
Medical Question

Also picture rounds including photos of famous people born on New Years Day, Predictive Texts, Close Up Pictures.

Then, because I got really into it and was writing it for a long time, I invented some new rounds.

The first was a water waterfall. Remember the days of waterfalls at parties, and having loads of bubble up your nose? Well with a water waterfall, it was much easier to drink, still hilarious, and also we were all nicely hydrated, to carry on with more drinking. Winner!

Secondly, I added to write a Haiku (2 team members had recently been to Japan for their honeymoon). This was also hilarious. 1 team went for a poo theme (winners), one went for one about me being an amazing quizmaster (very flattering), and the other took it more seriously, and wrote one about rainy London. I loved them all, and definitely want to do this again!!

And finally, I finished with a paper snowflake competition. Because who doesn't' want to get creative at the end of some more serious questions.

I loved it, and hope my fellow quizzers did to! Here's to a fabulous new year!

Coastal Cabins - A Weekend in Devon

We've just got back from a long weekend in Devon, staying at the fabulous Coastal Cabins in Hartland, near Bideford which were gorgeous, and so luxurious! We went for a friends 30th, and it was such a perfect location. I just love being outside all the time (even if it is cold and raining!) and especially walking along the coast paths and being by the sea.

Here are some photos from the stay:

Waking up to this skylight was fabulous!!

I organised team fancy dress for the Saturday night and everyone put in such a great effort!

The beautiful Clovelly harbour!

Adventures New in She Bu

Adventures new in She Bu (pronounced Shay Boo - as in Shepherds Bush for those in the know). I love living in Shepherds Bush, it's a very lively area to live in and we're lucky to have 2 beautiful gig venues right on the doorstep, the Shepherds Bush Empire and Bush Hall. So last night we went off to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes at the Empire and they were amazing.

I'd seen them twice before (Latitude and at the Mumford & Sons Festival) outdoors and so wasn't sure if they'd have the same presence at an indoor venue but the atmosphere was as amazing as always. It is such a beautiful venue, and not too big that it's a great place to watch live music. 

Afterwards, we headed to Goldhawk Road as my boyfriend had heard a rumour that a Brewdog Bar had opened up there (http://www.brewdog.com/) and was outraged that he had failed to notice this (he prides himself on having an encyclopaedic knowledge of pubs in West London). There was indeed a Brewdog at the end of Goldhawk Road and it was brilliant. They have an amazing selection of nice Beers (and a few good bottled ciders) and a really nice atmosphere. I have a feeling this may become our new local.....

Croatia has a lot of steps & so does Montenegro!

Croatia has a lot of steps!! I'm sure that I had read this but I didn't really pay much attention, but we walked up a ridiculous amount of stairs in Croatia...and in Montenegro too!!

So as usual, I had too much holiday to be used before the end of the year, and just about managed to squeeze in booking a week off between finishing shooting Spring 2013 and starting shooting Summer. Me and my boyfriend had been talking about Croatia all summer so thought why not, and booked some flights. Much to the horror of my colleagues, we only took hand luggage (it was going to be sunny and you can fit a lot of dresses in one hand luggage bag) and also didn't book anywhere to stay! They thought we were mad!

The benefits of going to Croatia in October is that there are far less tourists (meaning old people wandering off their cruise ships) but it is still warm and sunny, and plenty warm enough to swim in the sea and go snorkelling. The downsides are that everything switches to 'Winter' from the 1st October and so lots of shops and restaurants close down, and the ferries switch to their Winter schedules which involves not running/running much less.

I definitely think it was worth it, as the slight annoyance of things being closed was way better than being overrun by annoying old tourists!! We spent a day and a bit wandering up and down all over Dubrovnik, and swimming in a little cove with some locals, then headed to the Island of Korcula which was equally stunning, and had the added bonus of also growing lots of grapes! We passed a very happy few days in Korcula drinking local wine, swimming in small coves, and eating pastries! Heaven!

From here we headed back to Dubrovnik, and then onto Montenegro, which had an equally ridiculous number of steps! We spent the night in Kotor,  a beautiful walled city completely surrounded by mountains, and walked up an old fort pretty much to the top of the mountain which had incredible views.

Sadly on our return to Dubrovnik, the sea was incredibly churned up and so although we headed back to our little cove to swim, we were scared of death and so didn't get in the water. Still, an amazing holiday!

When We Camped in a Lake....

So as usual for the August Bank Holiday weekend, we headed off to Greenbelt, one of my favourite times of year!! Now going on the horrific weather we've had this Summer (??) I wasn't expecting too much, and had my new wellies and rain coat packed. However, I did not expect it to be quite as horrific as it was!

On Saturday we had so much rain in a few hours in the afternoon that when we got back to our tent, which we'd happily pitched on an area that seemed on much higher ground than the areas around us, we found that instead of nice tufty grass, our tents were now....in a lake!!

One of the most distressing things was that all of our nice clean washing up which we'd done that morning had now all started to float away in the muddy, grimy looking water (the doctors staying with us told me we'd probably get Cholera!).

We survived the weekend, the waters went down slightly, but we did get VERY soggy and many less hardcore festivallers went home early as it just all got too much!

A Weekend of Sewing & Buttons

So for a change, this weekend has involved a lot of sewing and some buttons. Ok well maybe not for a change but I've been so busy with work recently that I actually haven't been sewing all that much (shocking - I know!)

On Saturday I went to the Roxeth School fete which was a fun day, although we were outside in the playground and as it started to pour about half an hour before we were due to finish, it was a hasty pack up! So I've been busy making and finishing lots of little bits for that, and also finishing my African batik print mattress covers. I've now finished them all and they look amazing! I can't wait to see them in place, on all the mattresses!

Then on my Saturday night adventures to the South Bank, involving cocktails, a comedy night with some very annoying people in the front row who ended up basically being thrown out by the comedian, more cocktails, and a party on the beach (the tide of the Thames was waaaaay out) in the rain. So a pretty standard night out in central London. In the middle of these adventures, I found this picture in a shop next to the National Theatre. It's amazing! I want one please....

What A Strange Country - Oh Wait, It's Malaysia!

Malaysia! Such a beautiful, underrated holiday destination, but also a rather strange place! We crammed a lot into our 3 weeks, and hopped all over the country, visiting the capital, an island, the jungle, another island, with Sharon's house on the mainland, some tea plantations in the mountains, another island, a historical city, then a short stop in Singapore, before the overnight train back to KL.

On Pulau Tioman we saw loads of fish, quite a lots of monkeys, and I got sprayed by a cat whilst at dinner one night!

We had the most amazing Satay one night, as well as some scrumptious Singapore noodles and far too many cocktails.

After a short stay in the jungle where we encountered far too many leeches than is necessary (only about 5 but that's 5 more than I' comfortable with) we headed to Penang for a stay with Sharon! She was an amazing tour guide and took us to all the best places and made us eat all the local delicacies. Including Cendol. Do not eat cendol - it's weird! Who puts noodles and beans into their pudding??

Onto another island, and we headed to Pulau Pangkor which was very calm and quiet compared to Tioman, but we did manage to persuade one of the local barmen to bring us mojitos on the beach at sunset every day. And there was an inflatable obstacle course in the sea. And a temple with a Mickey Mouse and a mushroom. What more could you want?

From Pangkor we headed to Melaka (my Greek housemate says this means 'arsehole' in Greek so finds it pretty funny every time I mention this!) which was a beautiful old city. It was baking hot but we still managed to fit in lots of wandering and a visit to one of the local night clubs.

Then we headed South to Singapore (followed by a Frenchman who we were very rude to) and spent a classy day and a bit in a posh hotel with a rooftop pool, a cocktail at the Raffles Hotel and then a good explore.

We overnight trained it back to Kuala Lumpur and did a final bit of sightseeing and finished off our bargainous shopping, before partying in style at the Reggae Mansion - the best hostel in the world!

I loved Malaysia (so much more than Thailand!) and would definitely recommend it as a holiday destination!!

Alternative 5's.

Sometimes, when you're eating out a lot, or staying with friends who are scared of vegetables, it can be hard to get your 5 a day. And that always makes me think about unexpected places to get your vitaminy goodness...


I was quite surprised to recently discover that Heinz Spaghetti Hoops count as one of your 5 a day. I always thought of them as 'Spaghetti' (no idea where I got that thought from?) and so counted them more as a carb than a vegetable. On slightly closer inspection of a can, I discovered that they are 47% tomato, and it seems that the spaghetti has lessened and the sauce grown in order to make them more healthy. So, half a can of tomatoes is pretty good for you. Tick one. 


Cider? Anyone who's met me will know that I am a cider lover, and being from the West Country, that's exactly how it should be. Now, my favourite thing to drink is proper warm cloudy cider with only one ingredient....apples (well and a bit of yeast), and lots of them. Wikipedia tells me that you need around 10lb of apples to make a gallon of cider. So that's a lot of apples. Does this mean then that if you drink a gallon of cider, it count towards one of your 5 a day. I know that obviously all the pulp and pith will be strained out, and so it's not as good as actually eating an apple, but if apple juice is good for you, and counts as a 5 a day, how can cider not count?


Sweets. Another thing you will probably learn within minutes of meeting me is that I am a sweet addict. I have an incredibly sweet tooth and have been know to eat half a bag of Haribo instead of dinner. Oops. But what if there was some sort of goodness in there. Maybe not Haribo, but I am also a big fan of Natural Confectionery sweets, and these definitely have lots (?) of fruit juice in them. One 150ml glass of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice can count as a portion to be one of your 5 a day, so how many sweets would equal 150ml of fruit juice?


I've been doing some Googling but I haven't really found any definite information. Concentrated Fruit Juices are the 5th or 6th ingredient though, so there's obviously quite a bit in there. Maybe a few packets would be enough to be a portion of fruit, but my dentist would probably murder me!


But in my researching, I have found out that Jelly Tots are 25% fruit juice. So roughly converting fruit juice from g into ml, this would mean that 100g of jelly tots contains 25ml of fruit juice. So you would only need to eat 6 packets to get one portion of your 5 a day. Again, my dentist may kill me. And I probably wouldn't be able to sleep. 


Another alcoholic one. Wine? Main ingredient is grapes. You need to eat about 15 grapes to count this as one portion of your 5 a day. Again, after some Googling, it seems the average answer is that it take 1.2kg of grapes to make one 750ml bottle of wine, which is about 7-8 bunches or 600 - 800 grapes, and definitely a lot more than 15! So you wouldn't even need to drink a whole bottle to get a portion of fruit, although you may wish to to ensure that you have absorbed all the grapey goodness.


Lastly, how about cake. I am a great lover of cake, in all varieties (except chocolate - yuck!) but I particularly love a good gooey carrot cake. When I make it, there's at least 2 or 3 carrots, some walnuts, orange juice and sometimes pineapple in there, so surely that's 2 or 3 portions of fruit and vegetables straight away. Cooked vegetables still count as a portion so why don't vegetables cooked in cake count? Not that I have ever eaten a whole cake in one go, but if it was divided into 6 scrummy slices, that could be half of one of your 5 a day, there sorted.


I'd love for a nutritionist to read this some day and actually let me know if there is any truth in my rambles, but for now I am very happy to keep up with the cider and wine drinking, and sweet and cake eating, along side my salad nibbling.   

5 a day

I am a big follower of the 'you must eat your 5 fruit or vegetables a day' rule. I love fruit, so it's not too hard and I usually end up eating more than 5 portions, but on the odd occasion that I don't , I feel terrible. Not ill, as I doubt I'd notice after only one day, but as my mum would say 'I'm not angry, just disappointed'.

It really annoys me then, when people don't even make an attempt. I do know some very fussy people who will only eat about one type of fruit and one type of vegetable, so I suppose it would be a bit difficult for them, but even just eating a portion of each every day would still be better than nothing.

I did struggle to eat my 5 a day when I was travelling through some countries last year. In Ethiopia, where the staple dish in 'Injera' which is like a vinegary stodgy pancake, we struggled. Well actually, this was mainly because we didn't eat anything. We spent a lot of time travelling and lived mostly on bread and water, and got quite thin.

In Kenya, after 2 days in the back of a lorry, mainly surviving on biscuits and the odd 'soda' (fizzy drink - in this case Blackcurrant Fanta was the favourite, although I'm sure it didn't have even a trace of one Blackcurrant in it) and so by the end of the second day, I cracked and bought a very expensive tin of Pineapple. On first glance, I was quite pleased to see that it was 'Produce of Kenya'. However, reading the small print below, I realised that although this Pineapple had been grown in Kenya, it had then been packaged in the UK, and then shipped back to Kenya to be sold to me! Ridiculous, I would have much preferred a fresh one!

My stay in the Cook Islands was the most expensive part of my trip, especially on Aitutaki (where Shipwrecked is filmed) as there is no 'backpacker' accommodation, and so the cheapest was NZ$35 a night (Only about £17 but my average night was more like £3 or £4). Luckily, Mariati who owned the guest house, also owned a fruit plantation, and so fresh bananas, pineapples, mangoes and passion fruits were included in the price of the stay, as was toast. That's me sorted!

In Argentina, when I first landed in Buenos Aires, I'd picked up some sort of stomach virus in Peru and was feeling pretty rough. Randomly, the only thing I fancied eating (and could keep in me) was cherry tomatoes and skittles. Whilst I'm sure the cherry tomatoes did me quite a lot of good, I wonder how much nutrition I got from the Skittles?

Then, I met a group of girls, and we would wander around Buenos Aires and eat empanadas (like small pasties) all day, so then return in the evening and want to eat salad to counter balance this. Some fruit and veg, like tomatoes, apples, oranges were really expensive, but bananas and root vegetables were really cheap, as they are all grown locally, or in neighbouring countries.

I was in heaven when I discovered that you could buy an entire large Butternut Squash for less than 50p!! The sort of size that would cost at least £3 here. Amazing!

It really annoyed me then, when I got back to England and saw a programme about a family of really obese people living just outside Buenos Aires, who claimed that they wanted to eat healthily, but could only afford cheap fatty meat. They were filmed going into the supermarket and holding up one apple and all tutting over the price, and then left the fruit and veg section. Now I realise that apples were expensive and definitely out of the budget of the poorer families there. But potatoes, carrots, bananas, squashes were all passed by, and these were easily affordable and much less than the cheapest pasta and crisps.

Equally, it annoys me in England. There is an obesity crisis and no one can deny that as a population, we are getting fatter and fatter. It suits me in some ways, as it means children's clothes are made in bigger sizes to accommodate the expanding younger generation, and so I can easily buy children's clothing, but it is worrying. Again, you read reports of poor families saying they'd love to eat fruit and vegetables, but just can't afford to. Yet they can afford to eat McDonald's.

I read a report in the Metro (apologies if this means it's not true) recently, saying that you can eat your 5 a day for 42p a day. People sometimes only think of fresh fruit and veg, when of course, you can count frozen, tinned and juiced fruit and vegetables. This seems amazingly cheap and unrealistic, but then not so much when you actually look at how much, a tin of basic peaches, costs. Considering there are usually 2 portions in a tin, that's less than 10p for one portion. Sorted.

Sainsburys also seem to be on a mission to make the 5 a day accessible and so fruit and vegetables are always on offer, making it easy to eat healthily...but sometimes I wonder where else I could get my 5 a day from?

Birthday Rain & Other Adventures

My Mum always tells me about my first birthday. It was a beautiful sunny day and so we had a tea party in our garden, with all my Mum's friends and my new little friends, and the Mum's spent all day worrying that we were all going to burn. 


Since then I seem to remember April Showers always making an appearance on my birthday and it being decidedly grey and rainy most of the years. Now I LOVE a good summer thunderstorm. I love the smell of rain on hot ground. I think it's a lovely way to spend an evening watching an electric storm when your wrapped up inside a duvet and all safe inside, but it's not fun when it's your birthday and you want to go out and the rain just encourages people to stay in. 


On birthdays at the Nakuru Baby Orphnage in Kenya, the children traditionally get 'washed'. This is a cleansing of the past year and a fresh start to the new year. I've never been visiting when it is one of the 
children's birthdays, but I've heard that they are more of a full on water fight rather than a simple 'cleanse'.

(check out www.missioninaction.com.au)

Although I seemed to have always picked rainy seasons to go to Kenya, a lot of the year it is really warm and dry and so the rain can be really welcomed.  


So maybe that's what's happening to me in the UK? The weather is inadvertently cleansing me from the things I've been up to in the past year and then giving me a start for the next year.


I've been lucky enough to be in some exciting places for my birthdays, never through my exact birthday planning, more making general plans which happen to fall over my birthdays. 


My 16th birthday happened to fall on the same day as a trip to Alton Towers, which was fantastically fun, and the first time I'd ever been...but of course it rained...a lot!


And I don't think any of my friends will let me forget my 18th birthday when I dragged about 12 of my friends down to  Ilfracombe to go camping and it rained almost the entire time! And camping in the rain is just never as much fun as in perfect sunshine. 


Then my 19th birthday was spent in Rotorua in New Zealand and was fantastically fun. We went to a smelly sulphur thermal spa and boiled ourselves, and then partied in a ridiculously empty pub/bar until we ended up in a campervan with some boys we'd met....so no rain this year! The first since my 1st birthday I think which was very exciting! It meant me and Lizzy could wander home in our flipflops at silly o'clock in the morning, only to find that our pillows had gone missing (they'd been hidden in the fridge and after a warm, drunk evening theres nothing better than a chilled pillow!).

(worlds worst timer photo!!)

My 24th was spent in Panama, where you were sweating just lying in bed and not even doing anything. After a day of yoga, zumba, Spanish lessons and making fresh pineapple, coconut and rum cocktails, we headed over to one of the islands which has a club on it set out over the water on some decking. When we got too hot and sweaty from dancing, with the free drinks for ladies, you could climb up onto a platform and jump into  a whole cut into the decking, so kind of like a swimming pool in the sea! I suppose it had the same effect of being very refreshing and cleansing, but it also was really exciting.

(too sweaty!)

With April this year being incredibly hot (I was paddling in the sea last weekend) I was wondering if and when the weather would break to bring my traditional birthday rain. Although at lunchtime it clouded over very heavily and looked as if we could have a summer shower, but it held and we spent a lovely evening on the Southbank, (where there is a beach) with cocktails and dinner sitting outside - Perfect.


So, maybe my spell of birthday rain is coming to an end. I'm guessing it's down to global warming and less rain in general, rather than the idea that maybe I've been more well behaved in recent years and so need less cleansing.....