Second piece of coursework - create a text of an entertaining nature.
A dream assignment
Just before Christmas I was given what could be seen as the dream assignment for a self confessed wine-aholic such as myself, to attend the Oddbins Nottingham Christmas Wine Tasting event, sample some of the upwards of 50 wines on offer and produce a review of the best ones. Unfortunately I did not just taste the wines; I drank them, all. In shockingly large quantities. Therefore, this has become more of a how not to taste wine manual.
I should add that this is not my first foray into wine tasting. Through a previous job as a waitress/bartender at a local Gastro Pub, which boasts an excellent wine list, I have attended several 'wine training' evenings. The focus of these events has been on the staff being more knowledgeable about the variety of wines served and able to steer customers away from ordering endless bottles of house wine in favour of a more expensive option.
As getting hideously drunk on work time is frowned upon I have always tried to exercise restraint on these occasions, taking sensible notes and attempting to remember the difference between a Grachetto and Pinot blend and the more expensive Chardonnay. However it has been known after the sensible training is over for the left over wine to be consumed and then general chaos to ensue. One particularly memorable event was a now ex-colleague attempting to prove his sobriety by performing a cartwheel; he somehow landed it then staggered into the road, narrowly missing being hit by a bus!
The tickets for the event arrived, I arranged to take some mates along to help with the reviewing and the general plan was for a sophisticated evening: put on a dress and heels taste the best and recommended wines, be home in bed by midnight. Not a chance.
I feel the downfall of the evening was my first pint of cider being at approximately 3.10pm. This I blame entirely on popping in on a friend to check what she was wearing that evening, it became a trip to the pub and a pint. We did take the sensible option after this and returned home to glamorise ready for the night ahead. Before returning to the pub about six to meet with the assorted gaggle of friends who were coming along too. Naturally another pint was needed.
Bring on the wine
We arrived at the tasting around 7.15pm, slightly later than the others, and quickly attacked the cheese table before grabbing a tasting guide and making a start on the white wines.
From my notes, which both helped fill in the gaps of the night and served as an amusing note to pass round the office, the first few white wines were nothing special. Lemon notes were found in the 2009 Chablis Drouhin-Vaudon, the Di Majo Organic Falanghina again, from 2009, had ‘no length and didn’t follow through’.
The real mayhem began when my party moved on to the table being looked after by a good friend, sensible sipping measures went out the window to be replaced by generous half glasses. At this point the notes became more ‘descriptive’ but did not really describe the wine, tastes or even make sense. There was the chance to taste the difference between Organic and non-Organic wines by the same producer, the opinions on these were mixed.
As we reached the Sauvignon section a ‘new favourite’ emerged with each wine sampled, amazing citrus flavours of grapefruit could be tasted, leading to conversations about having wine for breakfast. This was particularly evident in the 2009 Matahwahi Sauvignon Blanc, priced at £10.99 had exceptional taste, body and scent for a very reasonable price. The final white tasted was my favourite of the night, 2007 Three Amigos White, from the Margaret River region of Australia. It strangely smelt like a red wine, but in fact was an amazing smooth and creamy white. At £12.99 for a blended wine it is pricey but the flavours more than make up for the price tag.
After finishing the white wine tables our group moved on for a cigarette and toilet break. The nicotine probably dulled the taste buds, but the amount of wine already consumed probably wasn’t helping much either.
Following the break we moved on to the red wine, but due to the amount of time taken on the white wines and fag breaks sadly many of the more pricey bottles had run out.
For the lady in Red
The seven red wines we were able to taste were all apparently excellent, well according to my notes which appeared to have been scrawled by a five year old that had not yet grasped pen man ship. It took about an hour and various opinions to work out what ‘fruity with blackcurrant and liquorice tones’ related to.
The favourite red wine appeared to be rated on how attractive the person pouring it was, the winner was named as the 2008 Argentinean Dona Paula Malbec, which came on the recommendation of a good friend, Tom. Sadly the wine was far better than his looks. It had intense spicy flavours, a sure dinner party hit which would be excellent with lamb dishes.
The pricier 2008 Gemtree Bloodstone Shiraz wasn’t deemed worth the £14.99 price due to it being a little obvious and forward in taste. That was all the comment on the red wines which could be deciphered.
Finally we hit the champagne, dessert wines and brandy: the expensive taste hit. The lowest priced champagne wasn’t even sipped; the first champagne of note was Pol Roger NV, amazingly flavoursome yet with a soft palette. Yeast and citrus notes led it to be compared to a lemon cheesecake. The firm favourite was the 2000 vintage Pol Roger which at £57.99 should taste good, the NV Pol Roger was not obviously lacking in any area, yet the 2000 simply filled invisible gaps in the drink making it exceptionally palatable.
The final offerings were the 2006/7 Concha y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon, our wine guide told us that it is not an ice wine; the grapes are picked pre noble rot. I don’t know what the means but it seems important. Scent of papaya and dried fruits were followed by a aroma of honey. The definite find of the night was the 2007 Alvear PX Solera, an intense naturally sweet dark mahogany coloured wine, it smelt exactly like Christmas pudding and tasted of Fig Rolls. Nearly my entire group ordered a bottle or two as a Christmas gift; at £12.99 it’s defiantly affordable.
Step away from the alcohol
Once we had thoroughly exhausted all the wines on offer, begged for more and shamelessly flirted with the staff for ages we were asked to leave.
So a little more than slightly intoxicated and clutching our tasting notes we went off in search of somewhere to continue drinking.
My wonderful idea was to go to one of the dingiest student bars in town, which on a Thursday night offers pints for just £1, mainly as I knew my ex boyfriend would be in there. Oh dear, oh dear....
The pub was even more vile than I remembered and compared to the four star hotel the tasting had been held at it was a definite step down. Representatives from the student union were handing out Chlamydia testing kits at the door and encouraging people to take the test there and then. The ex was located and, as predicted in my state I embarrassed myself. Also going back to pints of cider after a lot of wine meant that I quickly ended up on the floor with my best friend in tow, at this point we sensibly poured ourselves into a taxi and headed home.
The morning after the night before
The next day I woke up, in the dress I had worn the night before, with a pounding head. After a pot of tea I felt ready to face the seven text messages flashing on my phone. One from a friend telling me I was late for work, one from the ex saying I was hammered, three from a mate who we lost in the course of the evening saying she was at Rock City and one from the friend who kindly delivered me home saying I owed her big time.
So after much deciphering of illegible wine tasting notes and a little help from my friend filling in gaps I was able to order a very good mixed case of wine for Christmas and also have been able to turn something in to my editor.
My tips for How Not To Taste Wine
1.Don’t have your first pint mid afternoon; in fact don’t drink before starting the tasting.
2.Don’t set yourself a challenge to try all 40 wines; they will taste the same in the end.
3.Don’t decide to go to the pub after a wine tasting: go home, drink tea and get to bed.
4.NEVER take a bunch of wine-aholic mates along on a work assignment, it will end badly.
Next time, How Not To attend a Christening.
The life of Lette, her loves, thoughts and happenings.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Incase you're interested
My AS level English language coursework.
The brief was to write a piece of a persuasive nature.
42% of 11 to 16 year old girls admit to cutting down or restricting certain foods in a bid to lose weight.
Increase of 800,000 sufferers of mental health conditions since 1993.
Upto 100% of images in women’s magazines airbrushed.
Guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31st March 2011
To Mr Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media, Olympics and Sport.
I write to you regarding the fact that the UK population is facing a crisis. There is a generation of young women with crippling low self esteem because they are having their minds poisoned and distorted by the daily bombardment of images of women who appear to be flawless. The seeming permanence of images in the public domain via the media and advertising industries that are digitally manipulated to show an unnatural and warped view of what beauty and the female form is a national scandal. This has been proven by a report from the Mental Health Foundation to have a direct link to the shocking rise in mental health issues and eating disorders being suffered by young women in the UK, the figure stands at around 800,000 more sufferers of such conditions than in 1993.
Further evidence of this came to light in 2009 when Girl Guiding UK, in conjunction with Beat and Child Wise carried out research called the Girls Attitudes Survey on over 1200 girls and young women aged 7 to 21, it looked into five areas; Education, training, skills and careers, Environment and world events, Family and relationships, Health and well-being and Society, community and culture.
The results of the Health and Well-being section were alarming, it revealed that 50% of girls in the 16 to 21 year old category would consider having surgery to alter their appearance, also 42% of girls in the 11 to 16 year old category admit to cutting down or restricting certain foods in a bid to lose weight.
National Health Service research shows that Anorexia Nervosa affects 1 in 200 women and 1 in 2000 men, whilst Bulimia is estimated to affect 8% of women at some point in their life time and women are also ten times more likely than men to suffer from Bulimia.
This research started a campaign by Girl Guiding UK to help improve the self esteem of both its young members and the wider population. The Dove Foundation funded a unique educational resource aimed at tackling body image issues, schemes such as this have been noted to help curb the anxieties felt around body image in girls and young women.
Air brushing is not a new technology; an early example comes from Stalin and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1930s. A photograph from 1920 picturing Lenin giving a speech with Trotsky in the foreground, later as political tensions emerged Trotsky was removed from the image and film was destroyed. In the 1980s the use of airbrushing became much more prevalent, most home computers have software to alter images and many professional photographers working on weddings and such like will edit the final images to remove imperfections. It is now seen as normal to simply airbrush away any undesired features.
The publishing industry will not release facts on how many images they publish that are digitally altered but research indicates that in women’s magazines close on 100% of all images are in some way altered.
The American National Press Association hold a Code of Ethics which is adhered to by all its members, it states that restraint must be used in the degree to how drastic an alteration can be made to an image without it carrying a warning caption, however it is not known how widely this is enforced. The UK government could use this Code of Ethics as a starting point for any law which may be created.
Katie Metcalfe, 21, from Whitby suffered from Anorexia between the ages of 14 and 19, she says “The pressure of being the only girl with hormone-raging teenagers was enormous. I had no self-confidence, and my body became a focus of paranoia, coupled with family disruption and daily media bombardment of images featuring perfect women I set a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and gain a perfect body similar to my idol Mary-Kate Olsen”
Katie describes that as she lost weight, she began to “feel that life was worth living. At last I seemed to be achieving something. A voice began to whisper in my ear, and as I lost more weight, it became louder. Eventually, it was all I could hear. Nothing mattered more than satisfying the voice’s need for weight loss and, ultimately, perfection.”
Eventually Katie’s weight dropped by 3.5st to under 5st, this caused her hair to fall out, periods to stop and skin to crack and bleed. Despite this Katie would cycle between 8 and 15 miles per day in a desperate bid to lose even more weight, this led to her collapsing. Finally Katie had to be admitted to hospital, where she stayed for 9 months, costing the tax payer in the region of £50,000 for this extremely long hospital admission.
In August 2010 a petition was launched by Girl Guiding UK calling for the compulsory labelling of all airbrushed images, so that the British public as a whole, but with particular emphasis towards girls and young women can make an informed decision and be able to distinguish between real and digitally altered images. The hope is that if the labelling of images came into effect it could halt the rise of eating disorders and enable a generation of self confident girls and young women to emerge.
By November 2010 more than 25,000,000 people had signed the petition when it was presented to a committee of MPs by a group of young members of Girl Guiding UK. An official response to this petition has still not been given and the matter has not been debated in parliament.
I urge you through your role as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport to push for a full House of Commons debate on the issue and support the motion for the compulsory labelling of airbrushed images in an attempt to help the emotional well-being of girls and young women. This alone will not curb the alarming rates of eating disorders and mental illness suffered by young women in the UK but it will go some way to help.
Further funding of specific Personal, Social, Health and Emotional education in schools and through youth and community organisations such as Girl Guiding UK would mean that girls who already suffer low self esteem and body image issues can get the help that they need to mature into confident young women.
Key Demands
A full House of Commons debate into the issues surrounding the ‘Air Brushing’ campaign.
Government support for a law compelling publishers to label all air brushed images.
Further funding for educational projects targeted at improving the self esteem and metal health of young people.
Signed,
Colette Morgan, Student
Siobhan Bedford, Youth Worker
Victoria Wallace, Student
Nicola Foyle, Teacher
Chloe Pilbeam, Physiotherapist
Katie Reynolds, Student
Di Harrington, Data Analyst
Pippa Gardener, Student
Vicky Powers, Policy Advisor
Bridget Wilson, Childrens Nurse
Sylvia Chanford, Lawyer
Sam Orchard, Support Worker
Alex Boniface, Designer
Helen Morris, Artist
Nicole Cooke, Cyclist
Kirsty Thorpe, Student
Emma Thompson, Actress
Annie Bowden, PR Officer
Stacey Moore, Solicitor
Cherie Booth, QC
Tregi Worsley, Theatre Technician
Marion Jenkings, Librarian
Kate Silverton, News presenter
Elizabeth Albery, Church Assistant
Nicola Rowlson, Mediator
Ellie Cooper, Student
Laura Duncan, Healthcare Assistant
Katie Beverly, Chemist
Barbara Morgan, Facilities Manager
Pixie Lott, Musician
Nikki Thompson, Chef
Tracy Abegg, Linguist
Lisa Taylor, Environmental Scientist
Mandie Young, Lecturer - Maths and ICT
Jo Beamish, Foster carer
Pam Paige, Retired
Viv Hamilton, Business owner
Helen Peterson, Sales Rep
Anne Lynn, Civil Servant
Jennifer Hill, Teacher
Denise King , Chief Executive
Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Athlete
Marie Pearson - Teacher of the deaf
Helen Sharman, Astronaut
Dame Kelly Holmes, Athlete
Carol Pike, Business Change Manager
Katie Webber, IT Technician
Jacqueline McComish, Occupational Therapist
The brief was to write a piece of a persuasive nature.
42% of 11 to 16 year old girls admit to cutting down or restricting certain foods in a bid to lose weight.
Increase of 800,000 sufferers of mental health conditions since 1993.
Upto 100% of images in women’s magazines airbrushed.
Guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31st March 2011
To Mr Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media, Olympics and Sport.
I write to you regarding the fact that the UK population is facing a crisis. There is a generation of young women with crippling low self esteem because they are having their minds poisoned and distorted by the daily bombardment of images of women who appear to be flawless. The seeming permanence of images in the public domain via the media and advertising industries that are digitally manipulated to show an unnatural and warped view of what beauty and the female form is a national scandal. This has been proven by a report from the Mental Health Foundation to have a direct link to the shocking rise in mental health issues and eating disorders being suffered by young women in the UK, the figure stands at around 800,000 more sufferers of such conditions than in 1993.
Further evidence of this came to light in 2009 when Girl Guiding UK, in conjunction with Beat and Child Wise carried out research called the Girls Attitudes Survey on over 1200 girls and young women aged 7 to 21, it looked into five areas; Education, training, skills and careers, Environment and world events, Family and relationships, Health and well-being and Society, community and culture.
The results of the Health and Well-being section were alarming, it revealed that 50% of girls in the 16 to 21 year old category would consider having surgery to alter their appearance, also 42% of girls in the 11 to 16 year old category admit to cutting down or restricting certain foods in a bid to lose weight.
National Health Service research shows that Anorexia Nervosa affects 1 in 200 women and 1 in 2000 men, whilst Bulimia is estimated to affect 8% of women at some point in their life time and women are also ten times more likely than men to suffer from Bulimia.
This research started a campaign by Girl Guiding UK to help improve the self esteem of both its young members and the wider population. The Dove Foundation funded a unique educational resource aimed at tackling body image issues, schemes such as this have been noted to help curb the anxieties felt around body image in girls and young women.
Air brushing is not a new technology; an early example comes from Stalin and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1930s. A photograph from 1920 picturing Lenin giving a speech with Trotsky in the foreground, later as political tensions emerged Trotsky was removed from the image and film was destroyed. In the 1980s the use of airbrushing became much more prevalent, most home computers have software to alter images and many professional photographers working on weddings and such like will edit the final images to remove imperfections. It is now seen as normal to simply airbrush away any undesired features.
The publishing industry will not release facts on how many images they publish that are digitally altered but research indicates that in women’s magazines close on 100% of all images are in some way altered.
The American National Press Association hold a Code of Ethics which is adhered to by all its members, it states that restraint must be used in the degree to how drastic an alteration can be made to an image without it carrying a warning caption, however it is not known how widely this is enforced. The UK government could use this Code of Ethics as a starting point for any law which may be created.
Katie Metcalfe, 21, from Whitby suffered from Anorexia between the ages of 14 and 19, she says “The pressure of being the only girl with hormone-raging teenagers was enormous. I had no self-confidence, and my body became a focus of paranoia, coupled with family disruption and daily media bombardment of images featuring perfect women I set a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and gain a perfect body similar to my idol Mary-Kate Olsen”
Katie describes that as she lost weight, she began to “feel that life was worth living. At last I seemed to be achieving something. A voice began to whisper in my ear, and as I lost more weight, it became louder. Eventually, it was all I could hear. Nothing mattered more than satisfying the voice’s need for weight loss and, ultimately, perfection.”
Eventually Katie’s weight dropped by 3.5st to under 5st, this caused her hair to fall out, periods to stop and skin to crack and bleed. Despite this Katie would cycle between 8 and 15 miles per day in a desperate bid to lose even more weight, this led to her collapsing. Finally Katie had to be admitted to hospital, where she stayed for 9 months, costing the tax payer in the region of £50,000 for this extremely long hospital admission.
In August 2010 a petition was launched by Girl Guiding UK calling for the compulsory labelling of all airbrushed images, so that the British public as a whole, but with particular emphasis towards girls and young women can make an informed decision and be able to distinguish between real and digitally altered images. The hope is that if the labelling of images came into effect it could halt the rise of eating disorders and enable a generation of self confident girls and young women to emerge.
By November 2010 more than 25,000,000 people had signed the petition when it was presented to a committee of MPs by a group of young members of Girl Guiding UK. An official response to this petition has still not been given and the matter has not been debated in parliament.
I urge you through your role as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport to push for a full House of Commons debate on the issue and support the motion for the compulsory labelling of airbrushed images in an attempt to help the emotional well-being of girls and young women. This alone will not curb the alarming rates of eating disorders and mental illness suffered by young women in the UK but it will go some way to help.
Further funding of specific Personal, Social, Health and Emotional education in schools and through youth and community organisations such as Girl Guiding UK would mean that girls who already suffer low self esteem and body image issues can get the help that they need to mature into confident young women.
Key Demands
A full House of Commons debate into the issues surrounding the ‘Air Brushing’ campaign.
Government support for a law compelling publishers to label all air brushed images.
Further funding for educational projects targeted at improving the self esteem and metal health of young people.
Signed,
Colette Morgan, Student
Siobhan Bedford, Youth Worker
Victoria Wallace, Student
Nicola Foyle, Teacher
Chloe Pilbeam, Physiotherapist
Katie Reynolds, Student
Di Harrington, Data Analyst
Pippa Gardener, Student
Vicky Powers, Policy Advisor
Bridget Wilson, Childrens Nurse
Sylvia Chanford, Lawyer
Sam Orchard, Support Worker
Alex Boniface, Designer
Helen Morris, Artist
Nicole Cooke, Cyclist
Kirsty Thorpe, Student
Emma Thompson, Actress
Annie Bowden, PR Officer
Stacey Moore, Solicitor
Cherie Booth, QC
Tregi Worsley, Theatre Technician
Marion Jenkings, Librarian
Kate Silverton, News presenter
Elizabeth Albery, Church Assistant
Nicola Rowlson, Mediator
Ellie Cooper, Student
Laura Duncan, Healthcare Assistant
Katie Beverly, Chemist
Barbara Morgan, Facilities Manager
Pixie Lott, Musician
Nikki Thompson, Chef
Tracy Abegg, Linguist
Lisa Taylor, Environmental Scientist
Mandie Young, Lecturer - Maths and ICT
Jo Beamish, Foster carer
Pam Paige, Retired
Viv Hamilton, Business owner
Helen Peterson, Sales Rep
Anne Lynn, Civil Servant
Jennifer Hill, Teacher
Denise King , Chief Executive
Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Athlete
Marie Pearson - Teacher of the deaf
Helen Sharman, Astronaut
Dame Kelly Holmes, Athlete
Carol Pike, Business Change Manager
Katie Webber, IT Technician
Jacqueline McComish, Occupational Therapist
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
July 2010
Is it bad I am using Facebook photo tags as a diary for basing these entries on?!
July was going to be a chill out month, but as usual it ended up being mad.
From memory I worked allot, as one of the full time girls at the pub got married. I covered her hours basically! It was a shocking day when I learnt I had to pay tax, sad times all round.
I went to Skegness for the first time in years - took a group of older Guides from Nottinghamshire who had completed their Baden Powell Award. It was hilarious fun, I do love Skeggy.
Party week also took place in July, my parents went away and so my brother and I held a week long bender. Messy does not describe it, but all in all a right giggle.
Working all of July meant that August was free for me to clear off camping and sailing - will explain that in the next blog.
July was going to be a chill out month, but as usual it ended up being mad.
From memory I worked allot, as one of the full time girls at the pub got married. I covered her hours basically! It was a shocking day when I learnt I had to pay tax, sad times all round.
I went to Skegness for the first time in years - took a group of older Guides from Nottinghamshire who had completed their Baden Powell Award. It was hilarious fun, I do love Skeggy.
Party week also took place in July, my parents went away and so my brother and I held a week long bender. Messy does not describe it, but all in all a right giggle.
Working all of July meant that August was free for me to clear off camping and sailing - will explain that in the next blog.
Monday, 23 May 2011
June 2010
Mmm so what happened in June?
I finished exams - went on one of the more insane nights out of my life.
So myself and a very good friend of mine Alex went for dinner at a lovely pub, The Larwood and Voce. After a bottle of wine we hit the local bars, literally going into every bar in West Bridgford. Then after bumping into someone Alex vaguely knows we decided town with these people was a good idea.
It was a Tuesday night after all the students had gone home for the summer - it was dead.
We found a slight pulse of a night life in Dogma, the rest of the night was carnage.
I just remember ending up in Lenton, a student part of town drinking Sainsburys Basics Vodka and pineapple juice. Getting back to Radcliffe for 9am was simply hilarious, Alex had to be at work and the taxi was sent via McDonalds drive through.
As I say an epic night out.
From memory that rounded off June nicely!
I finished exams - went on one of the more insane nights out of my life.
So myself and a very good friend of mine Alex went for dinner at a lovely pub, The Larwood and Voce. After a bottle of wine we hit the local bars, literally going into every bar in West Bridgford. Then after bumping into someone Alex vaguely knows we decided town with these people was a good idea.
It was a Tuesday night after all the students had gone home for the summer - it was dead.
We found a slight pulse of a night life in Dogma, the rest of the night was carnage.
I just remember ending up in Lenton, a student part of town drinking Sainsburys Basics Vodka and pineapple juice. Getting back to Radcliffe for 9am was simply hilarious, Alex had to be at work and the taxi was sent via McDonalds drive through.
As I say an epic night out.
From memory that rounded off June nicely!
Bloody hell I'm a shite blogger
I'm officially shite at blogging - I just forget to blog.
Well once again it is exam season - I have the best procrastination plan.
A blog for every month I have been absent for.
Hello exam failure :)
Expect blogs soon,
Laters, Lette xx
Well once again it is exam season - I have the best procrastination plan.
A blog for every month I have been absent for.
Hello exam failure :)
Expect blogs soon,
Laters, Lette xx
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Go to bed Lette.
50 Questions
1. What time did you get up this morning?
About 7.30am, was on a Guide sleepover and we had to be out the hall by 8.30am - the leader in charge actually woke us all up!
2. How do you like your steak?
Medium-rare, but only since recently, used to be a well done person but am used to rarer meat since thats what were given at work.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Can't remember, how bad.
4. What is your favorite TV show?
Greys Anatomy
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I honestly don't know.
6. What did you have for breakfast?
Bacon and poached eggs, I skipped the cereal on offer at the sleepover.
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Good honest British classics, with a nice little twist.
8. What foods do you dislike?
Gerkhins
9. Favorite place to eat?
Edins
10. Favorite dressing?
Avocado oil, balsamic vinegar and some herbs.
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive?
None, well a bike sometimes.
12. What are your favorite clothes?
Mood dependent!
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? . . .
South Africa
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
1/2 full, well I try to.
15. Where would you want to retire?
My bed.
16. Favorite time of day?
When I feel alive.
17. Where were you born?
The City Hospital, Nottingham
18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
American Football
19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
N/A
20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
Not a clue
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
I don't expect replies.
22. Bird watcher?
Sometimes
23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night
24. Do you have any pets?
None
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I'm falling for someone, I think, again.
26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Something to do with horses.
27. What is your best childhood memory?
My brother falling from the top level of the garden, to the bottom (8ft drop!) into a flower bed, when playing wink murder. Was so funny.
28. Are you a cat or dog person?
Either
29. Are you married?
Nope
30. Always wear your seat belt?
99% of the time
31. Been in a car accident?
Car has been shunted at lights before, but nothing at all major.
32. Any pet peeves?
Rudeness to staff in bars/restaurants
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
Cheese
34. Favorite Flower?
Californian poppies
35. Favorite ice cream?
Honeycomb (From work!)
36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
None of them!
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
None so far.
38. From whom did you get your last email?
Ebay
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Vivienne Westwood
40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Applied for jobs abroad!
41. Like your job?
Not really.
42. Broccoli?
Yes, especially purple sprouting.
43. What was your favorite vacation?
Recent girly weekend away to Brownsea Island.
44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
Family, Mum, Dad, Brother and two sets of Grandparents.
45. What are you listening to right now?
Glee
46. What is your favorite color?
Purple
47. How many tattoos do you have?
None so far.
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
None
49. What time did you finish this quiz?
23.07
50. Coffee drinker?
Black coffee or a skinny latte. Both in bucket proportions.
1. What time did you get up this morning?
About 7.30am, was on a Guide sleepover and we had to be out the hall by 8.30am - the leader in charge actually woke us all up!
2. How do you like your steak?
Medium-rare, but only since recently, used to be a well done person but am used to rarer meat since thats what were given at work.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Can't remember, how bad.
4. What is your favorite TV show?
Greys Anatomy
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I honestly don't know.
6. What did you have for breakfast?
Bacon and poached eggs, I skipped the cereal on offer at the sleepover.
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Good honest British classics, with a nice little twist.
8. What foods do you dislike?
Gerkhins
9. Favorite place to eat?
Edins
10. Favorite dressing?
Avocado oil, balsamic vinegar and some herbs.
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive?
None, well a bike sometimes.
12. What are your favorite clothes?
Mood dependent!
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? . . .
South Africa
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
1/2 full, well I try to.
15. Where would you want to retire?
My bed.
16. Favorite time of day?
When I feel alive.
17. Where were you born?
The City Hospital, Nottingham
18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
American Football
19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
N/A
20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
Not a clue
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
I don't expect replies.
22. Bird watcher?
Sometimes
23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night
24. Do you have any pets?
None
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I'm falling for someone, I think, again.
26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Something to do with horses.
27. What is your best childhood memory?
My brother falling from the top level of the garden, to the bottom (8ft drop!) into a flower bed, when playing wink murder. Was so funny.
28. Are you a cat or dog person?
Either
29. Are you married?
Nope
30. Always wear your seat belt?
99% of the time
31. Been in a car accident?
Car has been shunted at lights before, but nothing at all major.
32. Any pet peeves?
Rudeness to staff in bars/restaurants
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
Cheese
34. Favorite Flower?
Californian poppies
35. Favorite ice cream?
Honeycomb (From work!)
36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
None of them!
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
None so far.
38. From whom did you get your last email?
Ebay
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Vivienne Westwood
40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Applied for jobs abroad!
41. Like your job?
Not really.
42. Broccoli?
Yes, especially purple sprouting.
43. What was your favorite vacation?
Recent girly weekend away to Brownsea Island.
44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
Family, Mum, Dad, Brother and two sets of Grandparents.
45. What are you listening to right now?
Glee
46. What is your favorite color?
Purple
47. How many tattoos do you have?
None so far.
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
None
49. What time did you finish this quiz?
23.07
50. Coffee drinker?
Black coffee or a skinny latte. Both in bucket proportions.
A lovely walk home
I live about a 20minute bus ride from town, but there is a lovely walk from town to West Bridgford along the canal I sometimes do.
So I set off, with Camera Osbscura for company (Gutted I missed them live last summer, I had swine flu!) - my route took me out of college, which is at the Adams Building (An old lace factory) in the Lace Market area of Nottingham, past St Marys Church. Then I cut down the steps at the Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery, down the side of Broadmarsh Bus Station, crossed over Canal Street and got onto the tow path by the Capital One buildings.
From then on I just followed the tow path all the way upto Meadow Lane lock, which is where the canal meets the River Trent. The tow path was busy with lots of people out cycling and running, there were people just sat chilling and guys fishing.
It was about 7.30pm but it was a warm sunny night so it was lovely to just wander along, the canal just seems so peaceful despite it running through in places a building site and later along side a busy main road. But I think water has a calming influence on me, so I chilled.
As I walked the last bit from the Trent Navigation pub upto the lock it struck me that the last time I went along that stretch was a freezing cold winters morning at least five years ago. Prior to getting ill I did high level kayaking and in winter we trained on a Saturday morning, it was deemed far too cold and windy to paddle on the river like we usually did so we went over to the relatively more protected canal.
I don't think I will ever miss the freezing cold training sessions, when you get into the shower fully clothed and gradually strip off as you thaw out enough to bare it. But as I reached the lock, which has had allot of work done to it recently; it looks fantastic and I stood looking out over the stretch of water between Lady Bay and Trent Bridge, the sun gleamed across and I could see Nottingham Kayak club a pang to paddle again hit me. That stretch of water was home, I spent so long out there training, messing about and having so much fun. But ultimately it was paddling and the lovely water in the River Trent that made me ill, I think I got some sort of infection from the water and its taken me five long years to recover.
So, maybe my kayaking come back isn't imminent, but I do want to paddle again, I miss it too much.
By the time I made it to the bus stop by the cricket ground it was ten to eight, but there wasn't a bus for another 20 minutes so I walked along the bus route a bit further rather than standing about. Once I had got that far I was really tempted to walk the rest home. But that was another 3 miles or so, I was starving and wearing not the best shoes. Maybe another day!
My exam was on Friday afternoon and it went really well! I have a really good feeling I wrote the right stuff for the questions. It was a re-sit of a module I did in January and it went far better than the first time, so lets hope the grade reflects it. I totally lucked out on the essay question, before the exam a friend and I were going over some sample questions and one we looked at was the role of Transnational Corporations in Development. - It was one of the essay choices! So I wrote tons of what I think was really relevant stuff. Happy!
Friday night I went to see 'The Families of Lockerbie' at the Nottingham Playhouse. My brother was working on the show as a dramaturg/researcher/assistant director - so I got some free tickets. He keeps telling me off for saying I enjoyed it, but I did. I enjoyed being engaged by theatre on a subject I knew very little about as I wasn't born when the bombing occured and was only ten when the trial took place. It was also set in an interesting way, through the format of tv talk show, with flash back type scenes.
It was certainly thought provoking about what happened and why the people tried came to be tried ect. Also it was a great reason not to watch the football.
Afterwards Georgina and I hit a couple of bars and just gossiped. Was a lovely, girly but cultured night out!
All in all a good couple of days.
Will write about the weekend soon, I'm so behind and also half asleep.
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