A side effect of cats..

There are a few side effects to owning cats, of course: not being able to have a decent sofa (a plus to poor students anyway I suppose, since we have an excuse to use our money elsewhere!), having dirt trailed through the house on a regular basis and, of course, as Milton Jones would point out 'our house smells'. But the point I am referring to here is simply: critters.

Now, we are relatively lucky with our cats. Yes, they like to hunt (although with an irregularity that means we often forget about this side of feline life), but they have never, as far as we have seen, killed any prey. They have never even injured it as far as we can tell. By the speed the shrews and birds manage to dart around our house, you would assume that anyway- no broken limbs or wings here!

They do though, when hunting, like to grace us with 'presents'. The problem with the gentle, purely intuitive nature of our two, is purely as described above. They bring the things in, all the way in- and then we have to get them out again. Not aided by the cat trying to climb up our legs and back to get to the bird, which has so handily decided to perch on a swinging lampshade.

The other night I got a distressed phone call from my boyfriend telling me to come home asap. Was it a family emergency? Had something happened to the cat? Luckily, no. We just had a curled up baby rabbit hiding amongst the junk we hide under our table in the corner (please say that isn't just us?) and he had no clue how to extract it. I returned home two find four saucer like eyes glaring at us through the back window and had to commence my mission. It was quite a long process really, the poor little thing being scared, as it obviously would be, but with co-ercing, and a few different poking devices, I finally got it into the plantpot which I had, luckily enough, bought earlier that day.

Luckily, he was definitely a wild rabbit (I dread trying to explain that one to your neighbour's children), and a real cutie. The road our cul de sac comes off happens to back onto grassland, fortunately, so we took a walk (quite a long one, since we didn't fancy seeing him again, no matter how cute his twitchy nose) and off he ran, faster than I have ever seen any rabbit run before. Even when Elmer Fudd is chasing them.

We still don't know how the managed to catch the poor thing, or how long he was carrying it around waiting for us unwilling owners to let him present his goods (neighbour reports seem to suggest a while, since there were a few sightings). At least we can say life is never dull though and we don't even have to wait for leisurely summer countryside ambles to see a sampling of local wildlife.

Happie Loves It

A few weeks ago now I went to London with my best friend, purely on the mission, if I am honest, of seeking out Bob (of the 'Streetcat Named' fame) for her. We are both massive cat lovers, so deemed this a perfectly acceptable reason to take a train down from the Midlands. Anyway, unfortunately there were no cats to be found, although there was a man playing a traffic cone in a rather tuneful way (strangely not the first time I had seen him either- he was in Leicester Square last time I was in London), but we did stumble upon a cute looking shop. There were fabulous dresses and jewellery adorning the window and the name 'Happie Loves It' was just too cute to enable us to walk past.

Inside was a treasure trove of sparkly things and amazing vintage looking dresses. Unfortunately we are both still poor early twenty-somethings, so they were out of our price range. I am still lusting after a couple though. What I did decide was that, although I didn't have a great deal of spare cash, I did deserve something to commemorate the trip, and upon spotting a cat themed item, I was decided.

This cute little ring set set me back a not so bad £15. There is a cat ring, with a blue bejeweled bow tie, and then a silver solitaire style ring to accompany it. To be honest, I will probably stick to wearing the cat one mostly, but it is nice value for money to get a second in the set, and the packaging is simply adorable.

Find them online here, or visit their store, in Covent Garden. It is definitely worth a look in if you are anywhere nearby, as they have some lovely accessories for all budgets and tastes, and some beautiful clothing if you are lucky enough to have a bit more spare cash to spend.

'The Empress' impresses

This week I went to the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon to see play 'The Empress'. It is the first non Shakespeare RSC production I have seen, although I am not sure why that is. I heard a review of the play on Radio 4's Front Row and just decided to book it, on a whim. I am so so glad I did, because it was such a magical performance.

I was happy to see Anneika Rose playing female lead Rani, after having previously seen her in the 2008 (was it really that long ago??) RSC production of Romeo and Juliet. I was also pleasantly surprised to realise Ray Panthaki, who played Ronny in Eastenders, and Vincent Ebrahim, who was of course Ashwin in The Kumars at Number 42, were both in it too- it is always fun to see actors you recognise treading the boards before you!

Anneika Rose and Ray Panthaki as Rani and Hari
Photo Credit: The RSC- Steve Tanner, from rsc.org.uk

 

I have to say that the acting standard was supberb. I managed not to cry like a baby at the ending, but I was certainly welling up with the emotion the fabulous, believable, acting brought to me. Combined with fairly minimal effects; live music played by musicians located around the theatre; songs from the cast, which provided great, touching and relevant audio and a great set, it combined to really drive home the feelings and seriousness of the plot.

Tanika Gupta wrote the original play and did something that I absolutely love, in novels too, by combining two different plotlines and major viewpoints, and having them run parallel to one another. Our first viewpoint, from Rani herself, is a depiction of the treatment of Indian Ayah's in Victorian Britain. These were young women coming from India (part of the British Empire at the time, of course) who helped to look after the children of more wealthy families. Unfortunately Rani experienced a plight that apparently happened to many, by being dismissed by her employers straight off the boat at Tillsbury Docks and finding herself lost and alone in London. After friend/ romantic interest, and crew member from the boat, Hari managed to find her accomodation for the night at Sally's (a character who ceratinly provides the vibrancy that runs through much of the later play), Rani then finds her life being catapulted forwards into the deeply unknown and we follow a fairly harrowing tale at times, without it being too depressing or heavy in tone.

Our other main character is Abdul Karim, Queen Victoria's servant and then 'Munshi' (teacher)- who remained a loyal companion to her and forged a strong bond. Karim is a real historical figure, who is represented here, and it is engrossing to hear his story and see a side of Queen Victoria that many may not know existed. The play is set over the final 15 years of the Queen's reign and takes in the highs and lows, as well as the deep friction her relationship with Karim caused amongst the royal household. Gupta cleverly tied the storylines together, having Abdul and Rani arrive on the same boat, and we eventually come full circle for a very touching final sequence.

It sounds like a serious play from what I have written, but it is full of life and vibrancy too. There is a strong focus on human connection and relationships and this is celebrated, coming to a final hurrah with a beautiful scene, filled with flower garlands, tikka tape and lit origami boats being floated out onto small patches of water surrounding the stage. It is a full singing and dancing production, with sets varying from the elegant royal household, right down to a 'rat infested, smelly' inn, of sorts, owned by Sally, where the regulars are close knit and boisterous. Showing varying sides of London and two, different, yet remarkably similar, experiences of Indian immigrants within the time period, the contrast provides a wonderful array of situations and much love, laughter and heartbreak throughout. There is a well rounded cast of characters as support roles as well, who allow extra experiences from Indian immigrants to be brought to attention too.

Built upon the set of a boat, with pools of water and boards making up the stage, the staging was fantastic and well thought through. The use of a large white sheet as a sail, in some scenes, and screen to project various images onto in others, was an inspired touch and allowed the transformations that were needed between Rani and Abdul to be seamless and easy. Another interesting touch was the use of coat hangers, carried by cast members and topped with bonnets, showcasing boys' and girls' outfits, as the children Rani often encountered. This meant children did not needed to be added to the cast, but also gave a strange, unnerving at first, but good effect in the process.

Overall I loved the play and left feeling very contented and glad I had taken a random decision to book, off the chance encounter with another review. The play finishes it's run on Saturday May 4th, and does not seem to be moving on to anywhere else from my Google researching, which is a real shame, as I would have loved to have taken my best friend or boyfriend to see it too. If you do happen to spot it coming to a theatre near you though, then I definitely recommend it. It was a lovely and memorable night, which actually taught me something too.

All a Flutter

For the other half's anniversary present I wanted to get him an experience for us, for some fun, quality 'us-time'. So I went browsing on local deals site Travelzoo. When I spotted a Birds of Prey experience I knew I was on to a winner. Seriously, he awws more than me when we see an owl- and I think those things are pretty darn cute. The experience entails a talk with the keeper about each bird, and then small walks along the absolutely stunning grounds, to places where we could take it in turns to fly the birds off our arms.

The centre we went to is a small one, where we got to see one of each type of bird and learn about their care, before flying 3 of them. To be honest though, even in a group of just 4, that took us a good couple of hours and was more than enough. The man giving the talks was an absolute minefield of information and I learned a lot of cool stuff. My inner English geek, for example, reveled in learning the fact that the phrase 'fed up' actually originates from the bird world, and refers to when animals such as owls have gorged on food over one session, so then go to sit in the treetops for the next couple of days to digest, where they just sit and assess the environment to monitor the prey patterns in the area. To be 'fed up' means they are just sitting there (although doing far more than when I proclaim to be bored!) and, of course, they have full stomachs. So there you go. I would give a plug for the centre, but unfortunately it is closing its doors in the next few weeks due to maintenance costs :( people tend to prefer experiences where they can handle lots of different species, which is a real shame as you don't necessarily get the time with each one really and such a fantastic array of information.

We couldn't fly one bird that would have usually been out, unfortunately, as he was in mating mode and hopping around everywhere flexing his wings. He was content to watch us from a little podium though, before going to have some food and a nap inside the van.

Anyway, here is the fantastic setting (near Coventry), a lush green landscape canopied with Magnolias and with borders full of Heathers and other alpines.

We first flew a beautiful little owl- I have included a picture of him on the OH's arm to show you the scale. He was such an amazing little thing and was still in his training stages, learning to fly to and from people on a rope.

Next up was a member of the Hawk family (the bird of prey that happens to feature in my partner's surname, so he was excited about this one!). I think he was one of my favourites in appearance as he was exactly what you picture when thinking of a bird of prey and has the beautiful feathered legs. He was very powerful taking off from your arm too. We went up onto a peak for the Hawk, as they are birds which soar, and tend to fly in circular patterns using updrafts. Excuse my, not quite impressed, face in these pictures, think I was finding him a bit heavy at that point! He would hop onto our arm, fly off into the treetops and then swoop down again on a long circling path, it really was a sight to behold.

The last bird we flew absolutely astounded me- he was lightweight, but large and so powerful. He was just a baby and we were amongst the group fortunate enough to give him one of his first ever flights in public. All I can say is that this bird knew how to pose- he looked positively regal, but with an amazingly cute face (if that is even possible to say about a bird who could seriously damage you if it felt the need!).

As you can see, my boyfriend was a very happy man from his day out and I am so glad we got to do the experience before they closed their doors (originally I had booked us in for June, after the dreaded exam period). I really would recommend these flying type experiences, as they are a bit different and it is amazing realising how powerful and varied these birds are. And how much they enjoy wolfing down the chicks we fed them.

I didn't know what to expect, but had a fantastic time which was unforgettable, so for people who are massive bird fans to begin with then I highly recommend it.

Gameboy Cake

Lookswise, this isn't one of my best over the years, as I unfortunately had the space of half an hour to make decorating happen (one of the problems of Easter break falling at the same time as a birthday, so my boyfriend was in all the time). But I absolutely loved the concept and would really like to give it a proper go sometime.

The cake inside is just a regular Victoria Sponge as that is our favourite. I made this in square tins and then cut off one edge and sandwiched it on to the adjacent one, using buttercream, to create the rectangular shape needed. Gameboys have one rounded corner edge (bottom right), so I cut this in at this stage too.

For this I used grey roll out icing, black roll out icing, red, blue, green and orange food colouring (I used the pen variety for the orange and green, as did not have a small brush to hand) and a single red Smartie.

Start off by rolling the grey icing so it smoothly covers the cake, and blend in the corner seams so it lies flat. Then you need to cut a square of the leftover grey, to make your screen, two circles and two very small rounded ended oblongs to make the 'Start' and 'Select' keys. Pop these aside for one minute and roll out some black icing. I bought ready made as did not have the time to dye it, but you only need a little of this really, so is worth colouring it yourself if you have time, to avoid too much excess.

Cut out a rectangle, once again with a rounded bottom right corner, like the cake shape itself, and make this so you can just see some grey around the outer edges of this when placing atop the cake. Your grey square should then fit inside this, leaving slightly more space either side than at the top and bottom. It took me a couple of cuts to get the right fit.

The next stage is up to you- as you need to decorate the screen. I opted to do this once on the cake, but it may be easier to do it at this stage, so you can press less lightly and are ok if you need to scrap it and start again. I chose a Mario design for mine, with the rolling green and orange hills, a blue cloudy sky and some question mark boxes hovering up above the landscape. Pick your favourite game though, or even recreate the start up Nintendo screen. One discrepancy in my cake is that I did a colour screen and modelled it on the original, non-colour, Gameboy in terms of shape, so you could do the original screen colours if your prefer. I just found it easier, in a hurry, to do colours. If I had time I would have either made a Gameboy Colour console, or changed the screen to match the original.

Once you have cut these all out, and decorated them if doing now, then fix them onto the cake (I used apricot jam, but obviously the choice is yours). Then add a single red smartie to the centre left, as the little light.

Make a directional pad out of black icing too and attach this below to the left, with the two circular buttons diagonally, across from it on the right. I painted these with red food colouring. It was still wet when I took the original picture, as you can tell, as it is best to leave it to dry for a while if possible.

Then below, centre, pop on your Select and Start buttons. Now all you need to do is the writing. I opted to scratch the majority of mine in with a toothpick, but you could use a pen to write them on if preferred. I used writing icing just to write GAMEBOY, as wanted this in black. You need Nintendo Gameboy TM below the screen, A and B below the red keys and 'Select' and 'Start' below the oblong ones. It is easy to get a picture up online to copy if you need.

The last stage is to use a knife to score diagonal lines along the curved bottom edge, to create your 'speaker', and also a line across the top of the cake, horizontally, to match the Gameboy's markings. There is also a light indent around the two circular keys, that just follows around them. Then pop it to dry for a while before serving up.

Someone else in our house fancied a little as well!

Tis the season to don Knitwear

I fricking love Autumn and Winter. They are by far my favourite seasons of the year: cosy knitwear (I think it is just so much easier to throw on with anything and still look normal), getting to use the open fire and just that joy of crunching leaves, feeling the cool breeze, waiting for the first flurry of snow and so on! I must say, the knitwear bit has got to be one of the best parts in my book, I never used to wear jumpers when I was little (they made me claustrophobic :s odd), but since last year especially, I can't wait to get mine out. The summer we have had has meant a couple never even went away, but I haven't really worn them much, opting for a cardi instead, as I think there is something special about those first days there is enough of a nip in the air to pull open the jumper drawer and pick from all your old favourites. I'm a bit weird, I know.

Anyway, I got paid last week and made the mistake of wandering into New Look, to find they were stocking their shelves with this year's winter delights. I can't help but think there is a bigger range than normal out there, as I tend to find a couple I like most years, but this time I wanted to BUY THE WHOLE SHOP!

I cannot justify buying anything this month really, September is the dreaded utility bill month- the quarterly gas and electric bill (not too bad this time fortunately!), the water bill (still waiting for this *hides head in hands*) and my car insurance are all drains on my already meagre finances around this time. Once the water bill comes out though, I have a feeling I will justify spending a portion of what's left on updating my autumnal wardrobe: I don't want to freeze after all.





I couldn't resist buying one basic jumper, because I used to have a blue one exactly like it and wore it til it basically fell apart. It is comfy, warm but not too warm and still gives you some semblance of a figure, whilst being easy to add a coat on top of if needed. At £9.99 I thought it was great as, for me, this is a complete wardrobe staple. I went for red as it is a favourite of mine and they only had that or black (which I wear way too much of) in our branch. Unfortunately, upon looking online to find the picture to share, I now know they also do purple, along with other colours, and will probably be adding them to my already extensive want list.

My mum also happened to be with me and owed me a little money, so I let her buy me a jumper too instead of giving me the cash. Meet my new snuggly amazing jumper, complete with elbow pads! This was £19.99 which I think is reasonable :) It is definitely the most I am prepared to spend on any one item at the minute.

Excuse the ridiculousness of my posing, was trying to show off my elbow pads to a friend! It is the first really baggy jumper I have owned, I actually tried on two sizes and went for the bigger even though they both fit. It is lovely and cosy without being too thick or thin and will look great with slim fit jeans and maybe my beloved winter boots. It is one of those purchases that you can't wait to wear and I had it on as soon as the sun set last night. I hate raving massively about one thing, but I really do love this.

I also have my eye on H&M (the only other shop I dared venture in- they have a fab sale on atm by the way!) and their range of jumpers featuring animals. I really want a plain grey jumper with a big black bat on that I saw in there. No idea why, but I hope it will be mine one day! Bats and owls are animals I am loving at the moment. This year will be a big year for baggy jumpers for me I think. I am just feeling homely and cosy (yes, I know I have overused this word today!) and am a bit heavier this year than last, so could probably benefit from the extra volume too if I'm honest.

If someone handed me £100 right now, I would be seriously tempted to just buy jumpers. The animal jumper trend, and big baggy knits, are both so my style- roll on the next pay day (please!!).

Pie and Ice Cream

I have been having a rubbish time lately, for reasons I shan't go into here, but have to say that I came home today to something that put a smile right on my face!

B, the man in residence, had gone and picked some blackberries with his grandma that day and decided to make me a pie :D I will admit, I am not usually a massive pie fan, or pastry in general, I tend to be the girl who opts for crumble as my hearty fruity desert of choice. But boy, he did good and pulled off a very tasty pudding!

To be honest, even if the pie didn't taste great, the gesture itself was wonderful. Luckily it turned out that he is a master pastry chef in the making (he made some pasties for himself too which also turned out very well- think I will be relegated from the kitchen soon!) and seems to have inherited his grandma's skill.

I don't know the recipe, but he used shortcrust pastry and for the filling boiled some apples in sugar water before blending them into a deliciously apply mush. Then he added whole blackberries and some slices of apple too (as well as a little more sugar) and popped the lid on to bake, brushed with a little egg. It came out golden and melt in the mouth perfect. The little heart on top was very sweet too <3 think he is a keeper!