Things I'm looking forward to in March...

I won't be going for this scrunchie tastic look when I hark back to the 80's...

1. Eee by gum, I was a right tinker last month. Posting seldom and not to mention, late. This is due to lots of "behind the scenes stuff" with The Wardrobe Angel, like starting a subscription service for clients and ....drum roll...starting my own YouTube channel!! I spent loads of time in February learning about what camera to buy and which lighting to use, how long videos should be, plus lots of time practicing filming my crazy face and getting over the idea that my face will be there for people to watch, my words will be there for people to listen and the keyboards will be there to capture any comments on what I have to say
2. My niece's first birthday. I have bought her a couple of super cute totally non-pink tops from COS. Ok, one of them has a pink pocket BUT they are mainly blue and white, and did I mention super cool?
3. Easter. Cos EGGS. 
4. Final stages of planning for our honeymoon. West coast of America here we come! It's a rucksack / travelling type holiday and my wardrobe preparations are well under way. 
5. Entering an Oxfam Decades of Vintage Fashion and Style competition to be the the face of the 80's on their vintage clothing website. I know the 80's are supposedly the decade fashion forgot but my wardrobe just reeks of it and I bloomin love it. Apart from scrunchies. #VintageFaceandStyle ahoy!
6. New sofa and rug arriving. For the past year Rich and I have had an assortment of largely uncomfortable seating in our lounge. Our current sofa is Rich's sofa bed which is padded with about 1mm of cushion. We also have a green chair which I love, but again, uncomfortable for anyone over 5,3"due to height ratios when sat. And then there's Rich's reading chair which is the most comfortable chair ever but can only hold 1 bum at a time. So we are awaiting the arrival of this Prussian blue velvet Bluebell beauty from Sofa.com. YUM.

Maybe I'll film all my vlogs sitting atop this beauty...

Pork Pie Lovin'...

I love a pork pie. When I moved back from Dubai (pretty much a pork free zone - you had to walk through a special door in the supermarket to retrieve any pork products; it felt very naughty) just over 4 years ago I ate a Sainsbury's Melton Mowbray pork pie each day for lunch for 6 months.

No kidding.

And I did the leg work that summer - Asda, M&S, Tesco - I tried them all. Tesco pork pies were far too salty, M&S were insipid, Asda although now much improved, were just rank. So Sainsbury's it was and is still the best. Until I tried Best Pork Pie from Bradley's Bakery. I had met Gillian, the co-owner with husband mark, at a networking event when I first started The Wardrobe Angel but never tried one of her delish pies. Roll on two years I spent a morning at the mothership: Bradley's Bakery (click here for their website).

Bradley's Bakery is a family run business which has been going since 1960 which is a staggering 53 years. Mark's Mum was the original maiden of the pies and Mark took over the business in 1990, "It's all I have ever done since I was 12. I turned down an apprenticeship at British Aerospace to work in the shop and have never wanted to do anything else. I love my job." The pies are all handmade, hand filled and baked on the premises.

The shop employs 9 members of staff: 5 shop staff, 3 bakers and a shop assistant plus Mark and Gill. To keep the business fresh they have branched out into Good Luck pies, birthday pies and even Pork Pie wedding cakes. YUM.

On an average Saturday they sell 300 pies ...300 pies!!!! 

This works out at 1,500 pies in a week! 

 

Pork Pie AND Pork with Bury Black Pudding. Awesome. 

We wanted to have an outdoor picnic but the alas the Great British Weather was raining...so an indoor picnic it was!

Why I love tea

Steeped in my history, pouring through the bloodlines of my family, caveat to my life, an entity so inextricably linked to the ups and downs of my existence that it has created an enduringly unfathomable love… tea. It scares me when people don’t like tea. I’m sorry, what? You don’t like tea? We could never be friends. Our family is practically founded on tea: its meaning in our house is what a steadfast currency is to a thriving economy. My mum requires two cups in the morning (which, FYI, has progressed to a whole pot now she has retired), my toddler nephew offers up tasty hot beverages to teddies at his tea parties but it was my Grandma who ultimately won tea top trumps, raising the stakes to a previously hitherto unknown level: steaming hot tea within which contained the forbidden fruit: one teaspoon of sugar. We weren’t allowed sugar in our tea at home. How’s that for a crafty game of one-upmanship with her daughter-in-law? And to put that into perspective in case you are thinking “but I have two teaspoons in my brew every time!” we were only allowed sweets on a Saturday and a Sunday. At a non-negotiable rate of 5 per day.

Then there’s the time my friend Joban and I spent £165 on tea whilst on a trip to San Francisco. Yes. You read that correctly. £165. We had fun getting that through customs – a large cake of Chinese Pu-erh tea which looked suspiciously like hash. When I was training for a half marathon and gave up drinking alcohol for a month I needed a drink replacement so, naturally, tea it was. The half marathon complete, I celebrated by giving up drinking entirely and my tea intake rocketed. The mark of my friendships is how well I know my way around their kitchens in order to get my brew fix.

Pumpkin Tea

Tea is routine, structure, order, mental balm, comforter and confidence all wrapped in one tasty package. And it’s not just me. That molten brown mass is a national sticking plaster:  where would we be without it? How would the plot lines of Corrie play out if they couldn’t put the kettle on in a time of crisis? And remember that iconic image of tea being served on a riot shield after the London riots in 2011? 



Tea makes everything better. Been dumped? Passed over for promotion? Putting the kettle on is a proven formula for guaranteed pain relief. There is something so wonderfully blissful in the routine of running the water, selecting your mug, retrieving the milk from the fridge all the while accompanied by the cacophony of steamy noise exiting the kettle. And you are rewarded with the ultimate pleasure of that rich dark liquid touching your lips and soothing your soul. So, what’ll it be? Mug not cup, soya milk if you have it, no sugar, and, do you know what? Leave the bag in a little while longer. I like mine strong.