father's day weekend

It was one of those weekends where I barely had 5 mins to myself, which is totally cool - I love socialising - but dear god I'm knackered!

Saturday was spent in little old Surbiton. I'd not been back since Mitch and I moved to Brixton nearly two years ago so it was good to return and meet up with some of my friends who still live in the area. I had a nosey around the charity shops - the ones on surbiton highstreet always had a few gems and I was happy to see that that hadn't changed - before heading to The Grove, the local pub just a minute walk from our old flat. It has a massive beer garden but sadly the weather wasn't great so we ate inside in their newly refurbished restaurant. I had the best tart I've ever eaten. It was huge. Wild garlic and mushroom filling inside shortcrust pastry to die for, plus a side of truffle mash. Heaven. Food was followed by loads of catching up with everyone, much drinking and a rather late taxi ride home (I could not face a 2hr night bus ride).

Charity shop haul - a childhood fave and an amusing purchase originally published in 1945.

The beast of a tart.

Getting in at 3:30 was not a smart move as I had to be up at 7:30 to join the rest of my family for father's day and my nan's 89th birthday celebrations in the New Forest. Needless to say I was a little worse for wear but nothing that some sausage, bacon and homemade oat cakes on arrival at my auntie and uncle's house couldn't sort out! Bellies full we spent the afternoon at one of my favourite places, Milford on Sea. It's not a fancy coastal spot, just a small pebbly beach (with an cafe that sells good icecream) but I love it. We all enjoyed some afternoon tea (including salmon and cream cheese sandwiches, flapjacks and muffins) and some birthday cake back at my auntie's house before driving back to London.

Milford on sea and homemade coffee cake

A lovely weekend but I feel like I need another weekend to recover from it!

Cut Off

So, dear readers, it's been a while since my last post. One was scheduled for last weekend but the powers that be (in this case virgin media) prevented me from posting anything and indeed watching anything. No TV and no internet all weekend? I asked in utter shock. The man at the end of virgin's support line apologised profusely (poor guy, it wasn't his fault) as well as light-heartedly suggesting I buy and read a book.

Being cut off when you're away from home - fine. There's things to do and new places to explore (see previous post). Being cut off with the prospect of another fairly empty weekend in Surbiton yawning before you (I'm broke and impatiently waiting for payday) - not cool, not cool at all. So what did I do? I enjoyed a (relatively) cheap weekend in Surbiton.

Saturday morning/afternoon was spent in the Crafty Cafe painting a ceramic teapot (one of Mitch's birthday presents). They charge just a fiver for the paint and varnish + the cost of the item (they have a range of stuff to paint too, from egg cups to piggy banks). The two and a half hours spent painting was fun and very relaxing. I love making and painting things and now I'm older I find I rarely have the time...

Taking place that very same afternoon was the Surbiton dog show. I only caught the contestants from the 'Waggiest Tale' category. I never thought I'd be a potential dog owner but...they are beginning to grow on me and to be fair, they were cute - jumping around, wagging their tales, gazing lovingly at their owners. Definitely cuter than the attention-seeking child who had chosen to climb a nearby tree and yelled out it's progress at 20 second intervals. "Mummy, I'm climbing the tree"; "I'm very high mummy"; "Mummy I won't go any higher, I think I might need a harness" (eugh).

The rest of the afternoon reminded me very much of my Uni days - watching a lot of Futurama in bed. Thankfully my flat-mates returned in the evening to pull me from my uni regression.

Sunday I went to the gym, which isn't free but I've already paid for this month. Followed by a game of giant Hungry Hungry Hippos. Yes, that's right, remember that game when you were young? Well the awesome people at a local pub made a giant version in their garden. Sadly I was just a spectator (like a lot of other people) but it was hilarious to watch the contestants (mostly grown men) furiously working their hippos to eat the most balls. Loved it. And all the proceeds went to charity.

Lastly, as Sunday was father's day, dinner was had in Richmond. The Jamaican burger at GBK should definitely be tried, delish. By the time we returned Virgin had got their act together and our connection to the world had been restored. However, at the risk of sounding corney, I probably wouldn't have done half the things I had done this weekend had everything been working as normal...it was a lucky time to get cut off.

my last 40 quid

That felt like the longest wait for pay day ever, I even had to use my emergency £40 (stashed away two years ago incase I ever had a particularly poor month - hello May 2011). So this is how that money was spent over the last four days with (v.gratefully) a lot of help from Mitch.

Saturday was Surbiton's Farmers Market. I'm fairly new to the occasion but it happens every third Saturday of the month and there are lots of very tasty things to be had whilst chatting to the lovely people who run the stalls (particularly the lady at the olive stand).

On Sunday I took a trip to Essex. After a bit of rummaging at a car-boot-sale where couple of bargains were unearthed (A Jamie Oliver cookbook for 50p!), we went for lunch at a very cute little village pub. The steak and mushroom pie was delicious.

Monday: To Brixton to see Attack the Block at the Ritzy (probably my favourite cinema experience along with the Curzon in Soho). Prior to the film we went for some Japanese cuisine at a restaurant which is fast becoming a regular haunt. A giant bowl of pad thai and a very tasty beer later we settled down to watch Joe Cornish's latest creation. Verdict: It's brilliant. The script is funny and well delivered by a convincing set of characters (you'll want to talk like the young cast upon leaving the cinema - I didn't believe my friend when he said that but it's true - brrrap). It's jumpy and, in some places, pretty grim. Cornish is not afraid to kill people off and show you how! Highly recommend.

In truth my emergency 40 quid ran out fairly quickly over the three days and most of the things wouldn't have been possible without Mitch (don't worry I'll take him for dinner and a film, hopefully X-Men First Class)... And lastly, as it's been quite some time, here's a beard update.

Blossom&Beard

My first post! The sunglasses are on, the green parakeets have returned to the trees of Surbiton, I can smell freshly cut grass (hello hay-fever) and there are people in shorts playing cricket in the road – it can only mean one thing…British Springtime (let’s hope so anyway, the temperature has climbed into double digits at least). It’s a little too early for flip-flops, but there’s a definite promise of picnics to come and the blossom tree outside my flat looks beautiful in the sunshine. I’m completely ready for the Summer.

And here’s the first beard update, it’s fairly modest at present.