October 2018 Archives

Before I visited the Hell-fire caves (also known as West Wycombe Caves) in Buckinghamshire at the end of July, I did not know about the history and the story behind them or the Hell-fire Club, the club that is associated with the caves. The caves are surrounded by myth, ghosts, lavish parties, and secret clubs frequented by the wealthy and the likes of Benjamin Franklin. I found this visit very interesting, and it alerted me to a part of history that I did not know about before. The caves were opened for tourism in 1951.

In short, the Hell-fire caves are various chambers carved into a hillside. The man-made caves were excavated in the mid-1700s for Francis Dashwood, who employed local farmers for three consecutive years to give them a job due to harvest failures; in addition to these caves, a new road and buildings were constructed. The caves are over half a mile long and end at a chamber called "The Banqueting Hall". There are many carved chambers, and I will mention these later.

The Hell-fire caves are built into the hillside where St Lawrence's Church and Mausoleum is located on top of the hill. Dashwood, who commissioned the digging of the caves, was a founder of the Dilettanti Society, a society that was probably established as the London Dining Society and put together by people who were interested in the arts and who had done the Grand Tour of Europe, which included visits to famous attractions. This tour was typically made by upper class men who could afford to travel and see the sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Milan, Rome, Turin, Florence, Malta and Greece. Drinking featured heavily in the club, with members spending time during the tour drunk. In addition to the Dilettanti club, Dashwood was co-founder of the Hell-fire club, which is how the caves got their names. The meetings of the club were held in the caves.

The entrance to the caves resembles a mock gothic church made from flint and chalk at the same time as the caves. The designs of the caves and chambers were inspired by Dashwood's Grand Tour visits. The Hell-fire club was put together to ridicule religion with members calling themselves devils and creating mock religious ceremonies. Members also attended the meetings dressed like Biblical characters. Perhaps this and the architecture seen in Europe is why the entrance of the cave resembles a gothic church.

The Hell-fire Club held pagan beliefs (though more likely inspired by the Grand Tour and ridicule of modern religion) with the worship to Bacchus (god of wine) and Venus (goddess of beauty). Meetings were held twice a month with some lasting over a week in June and September. There were rumours of black magic, satanic rituals and orgies. The meetings probably included mock rituals, drinking, womanising, and banqueting. The club actually did not operate for long as it dissolved in 1766. It flourished until 1763 when political disagreements and an incident with a baboon emerged. The baboon incident involved a baboon dressed as the devil (and hidden in a box) during one of the mock rituals jumped out and onto the back of Lord Sandwich, which caused him and other members distress.

The chambers are known as Franklin's Cave (named after Benjamin Franklin, who was a friend of Dashwood), Banqueting Hall (largest man-made chalk cavern in the world), the Triangle, Miner's Cave, Lord Sandwich's Circle, and the Inner Temple. Outside the Inner Temple is an underground river known as Styx after the underground river in mythology.

Benjamin Franklin moved to America and worked as a printer. He set up a very successful printing business in America, and he strived to better himself by learning several languages and setting up the Library Company, which was America's first circulating library. He made sure that his hometown Philadelphia was on the cutting edge; it was one of the first to have electricity, paving, police, and firefighters. He and Dashwood tried to get Britain and the United States to agree on compromise toward independence, but this failed and Franklin was committed to assist the United States in independence. He became advisor to George Washington and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. He also called to abolish slavery in the 1790s. As a good friend of Dashwood, he also enjoyed hoaxes and playing jokes on people, and they both contributed to inventions and writing.

One wall in the caves has the Roman numerals for '22' (XXII) carved into it.

One of the chambers is called "Children's Cave". The reason for this is that children loved to visit the caves since the mid-1700s. The caretaker would provide them with a small candle.

Before the end of the cave, visitors must walk over the River "Styx", and this leads to a large open chamber called the "Banqueting Hall".

The caves are also known to be haunted and have appeared in a television show about ghosts, and there are often overnight paranormal experiences. There are several stories surrounding the ghosts. The first is of Paul Whitehead. Paul Whitehead was a member of the Hell-fire club who had his heart placed in an urn inside the Dashwood Mausoleum because he was fond of the friendship he and Dashwood had in life. In 1829, the heart was removed by an Australian soldier. The urn was placed inside the caves, and the ghost is rumoured to search for the missing heart. Another ghost could be a lady in a bride's dress who refused the advances of three local boys, who lured her to the caves and murdered her.

After visiting the caves, I walked back down the hill although there is separate parking at the caves. On the top of the hill, the church could be visited.

The caves are open all year but have reduced hours in the winter. They are located in rural Buckinghamshire and are open from April until Halloween, where they put on special Halloween-themed visits. There is a small fee to enter and explore the caves. 

This month, several advent calendars have been released, which means that Christmas is fast approaching. Last year, I ordered the Prosecco Advent Calendar 2017, but I was disappointed overall with it because each bottle was duplicated at least once (except the last day's), and there were a few that I didn't enjoy. I decided to try the flavoured gin advent calendar this year. Gin is not something that I drink a lot of, but I think that I will enjoy these in the lead up to Christmas because it's been a busy year.

The Flavoured Gin Advent Calendar actually comes boxed in a giant Christmas cracker. The ends of the box fold out like the ends of a Christmas cracker. You cannot pull it, of course, but it resembles a cracker. Behind each number is a small bottle of flavoured gin to pull out.

The calendar came with 24 unique miniature bottles of flavoured gin and gin liquer made from a few different brands that I have heard of and also that were new to me. Brands included are Edinburgh Gin, Malfy Gin, Sweet Potato Spirit Co., Wilkin & Sons Ltd., and The Lakes. The alcohol percentages range from 20% to 43% with Edinburgh Gin being 20% and the strongest 43% being Whitley Neill.

1) Malfy Sicilian Lemon Gin
2) Sweet Potato Spirit Co. Raspberry Gin Liqueur
3) Wilkin & Sons Ltd. English Rhubarb Gin Liqueur
4) Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin Tea Edition
5) Edinburgh Gin Rhubarb and Ginger Liqueur
6) The Lakes Elderflower Gin Liqueur
7) Whitley Neill Quince Gin
8) The English Drinks Company The Orangery Gin

9) Malfy Sicilian Pink Grapefruit Gin
10) 6 O'Clock Sloe Gin
11) The English Drinks Company Cucumber Gin
12) The Lakes Rhubarb and Rosehip Gin Liqueur
13) Wilkin & Sons Ltd. English Strawberry Gin Liqueur
14) Sweet Potato Spirit Co. Orange Gin Liqueur
15) Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin Lavender Edition
16) Edinburgh Gin Plum and Vanilla Liqueur

17) Bramley and Gage Organic Sloe Gin
18) 6 O'Clock Damson Gin:
19) Malfy Sicilian Blood Orange Gin
20) Sweet Potato Spirit Co. Lavender Gin Liqueur
21) Poetic Licence Picnic Gin Strawberries and Cream
22) The Lakes Sloe Gin Liqueur
23) Wilkin & Sons Ltd. English Raspberry Gin Liqueur
24) Poetic Licence Fireside Gin Mulled Winter Fruit

I will endeavour to let you all know what these flavoured gins are like and if I have any clear favourites amongst them that I would buy and add to my drinks pantry.

Several years ago, I visited Malmo in Sweden with a friend for a day trip from Copenhagen. This was a short train journey away from Copenhagen, and the skies were clear in Denmark but turned to rain on the other side of the water. Well, at first it was cloudy when we arrived to Malmo, but it rained very hard when we finished seeing Malmo Castle. Malmo's Castle was founded in the 1430s, but part of it was destroyed in the early 1500s and then a new one (the current one) built in 1530. It was an important fortress and it was used as a prison in the later 1500s.

The castle is not in a ruined state, so the rooms can be explored. Some of them have been completed with period furnishings. Another part houses a museum. Unfortunately, none of this was in English so we could not read about it. However, the walk around the moated castle was nice, and the iconic bridge between Copenhagen and Malmo can be seen, though it was too hazy to get decent photographs of it.

Near the castle are the little wooden houses that form a fish market, but there was no one around. We'd arrived in the early afternoon.

After the castle, we went to the Science and Martime Museum in Malmo (near the castle) to have a look around. Again, the text was not in English, so we just had a wander around and welcomed keeping out of the downpour. It was raining very hard then.

Have you ever visited Malmo Castle?

Today's post covers Kastellet in Copenhagen. For those who have been to Copenhagen and have decided to seek out "The Little Mermaid" sculpture in the city, they may recognise this park and these beautiful red buildings that make up the park; it is actually a fortress. The park is designed in a star shape, and it is one of the only star-shaped fortresses in existence in Europe today. The park is open to the public but is also still used for military activities. The area was constructed in the mid-1600s.

The park contains the red buildings, a windmill, a church, and several bastions that make up the walls and earthworks. The whole park is surrounded by a moat.

In the autumn and at the end of October (my visit was at the end of October but a few days too soon), outdoor concerts are conducted here for the birthday of the buildings. There are also summer concerts.

The Little Mermaid sculpture can be explored, though it is very tiny and on the edge of the water near Kastellet. Not far away is a land-version of the mermaid sculpture with a larger anatomy. The Little Mermaid is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, and it was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, whose father founded Carlsberg; he had been fascinated by the ballet and wanted the ballerina to become the model for the statue. She agreed, but she did not agree to the nudity, so that was modelled on the sculptor's wife. The statue was completed in 1913 in bronze by Edvard Eriksen. It sits a few steps away from the shore, but it has been vandalised several times and tourists have started to climb onto it to get photographs now.

The Kastellet is a very attractive area to visit in the autumn as the trees look stunning next to the red architecture.

I visited the Velvet Ice Cream factory in Utica, Ohio. I grew up not too far away from the area where the ice cream is made, but this was my first visit to the factory where the Velvet brand ice cream is made. Velvet Ice Cream is a local brand sold to a distribution in the eastern mid-west states as far north as New England and as far south as Florida. An annual Ice Cream Festival takes place here each spring, and this festival has been taking place since 1974. Several different ice cream flavours are producted here including sherberts (marketed to children mainly) and ice cream sandwiches. We joined a tour of the factory, which included discussions about the history. 

Lebanese immigrant Joseph Dager came to Ohio in 1903 and settled in Cleveland before moving to Utica and started an ice business in 1910. The ice cream was created in small batches for the local area in 1914, and this was a time when homes did not have refridgeration or freezers. Dager had worked in a business selling ice blocks cut from the Licking River, which flows through Utica. At this time, strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate were the three flavours produced.

The old mill had a different history. It began its life in the early 1800s and was a sawmill. In the 1920s, it was used as a dance hall. In the 1940s and 1950s, it took on a new life as a skating area and a popular place for dances and dates. It was only in 1960 that the Velvet Ice Cream purchased the old mill and turned it into a factory. It took a few years to turn it into a factory, and fire damaged it, but it opened to the public in 1970. In 1978, tours are offered until the mill is burned to the ground by a fire in 1986. It is rebuilt the following year and public tours have been taking place since 2000.

We were shown the inside of the factory, which is located in a building next to the old mill. We were shown the machine that makes the sherbert push-pops and the machine that makes the ice cream sandwiches. We also watched the ice cream being put into tubs and sent on their way through the conveying belts.

After the tour and a couple of videos, we went into the old mill. Next to the old mill is a building with antique farm equipment, aimed at the grain industry. The machines separate the wheat and grain from the dust/chaff. There were several different types of machines used for purifying the grain and also for purifying the product of the grain (such as creating better quality of flour for baking).

The old mill building contains a gift shop, museum, and a restaurant. 

The museum showed ice-cream related products and an old phone. We saw a collection of small ice cream machines, scoops, and ice cream moulds.

We had a light lunch at the old mill. After lunch, we tried different flavours of ice cream available in the ice cream parlour. They had nearly fifteen different flavours available. I enjoyed the cinnamon ice cream the best, and I also had a scoop of mint chocolate chip.

Over 130,000 people visit the Velvet Ice Cream factory and old mill a year. It is a family-operated business with the ancestors of the original founder owning and working the factory. The busiest day is the day of the annual Ice Cream Festival, which is always held on Memorial Day. Over five million gallons of this ice cream is distributed annually.

Last week, friends and I went to McPeek's Mighty Maze corn maze in Coshocton, Ohio (USA). A few dates were added for the event "Wine Your Way Out", which included a trip through the maze with wine tastings in the maze. The tastings of wine from Raven's Glenn were paired with Pearl Valley Cheese and brownies, and each area contained two tastings of wine. In addition to the corn maze, tractor hayrides, games, live music and street food were available.

McPeek's Corn Maze is located just north of Coshocton at the Coshocton KOA campgrounds. I actually had a Girl Scouts camping trip here when I was very young, which was the first and only time that I ever went camping. It was summer, and it rained hard, and the miserable weather put me off going camping ever again.

Before we entered the corn maze, we were given a sheet with the wine tastings and a map if we wanted to use it and a small box of the food items to pair the wine with. These included squares of three different types of cheese (jalepeño, cheddar, and Swiss), a few walnuts, and a brownie. 

The first stop included a sweet red wine Mad Raven. I'm not a fan of red wines, but this was a nice one. 

The different wine tasting tables had a bowl of brownies, and this was paired with the second wine tasting at the table, the Raspberry Beret. It was a sweet red blended wine.

After finding the first table, we had to locate the second one in the corn maze.

The second station included my favourite wine from Raven's Glenn, the Reisling. This was a white wine. The other wine was a blackberry wine, and the brownie paired well with this one.

The third table also included two wines. The first was a Sauvingnon Blanc white wine, which wasn't really strong in flavour or didn't taste much like what I am familiar with as a Sauvingnon Blanc. It paired with the cheese. The second wine was a pink wine, known as "Strawberry Lemonade". It was a sweet wine and also paired with the brownie.

The last table included a dry red Merlot, which was my least favourite but paired with the walnuts or cheese. The second option, which was a pink colour, was called the "White Merlot"; it was a semi-sweet wine. It paired well with a brownie or cheese.

After the fourth table, we found our way out through the maze! 

Bahler St. Pizza was the resident food truck on site for the evening. They had two different pizzas to choose from - a vegetarian one and a pepperoni one. The pizza was made with sourdough bread and tasted good. We ate the pizza and listened to a live band playing songs from the 1960s and 1970s.

Afterwards, we went on the hayride, which just went around the corn field.

There were many games to play and a 'sandpit' filled with corn kernels instead of sand. There was tubing, corn hole (pictured below) where bean bags are tossed to try to get into the hole, and ring toss games and a game involving rubber duck races. There were a couple of fires going as well.

This concluded our evening, and it got very busy later when we were about to leave. 

The Circleville Pumpkin Show is an annual event that takes place in mid-October in Ohio each year and attracts over 300,000 people each year to celebrate everything pumpkin. Part of its success is that the event is free to visit, and the attendance to this small Ohio town over the four days in mid-October is outstanding. Despite growing up in Ohio, I had never been to the Circleville Pumpkin Show due to autumn being a busy harvest season for my family; it is something that I had always wanted to do. This year, I finally got to attend my first ever Circleville Pumpkin Show (now in its 112th year).

The very first ever Circleville Pumpkin Show was held in 1903, and it was a small harvest festival with decorated pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns. This year's show was the 112th because the show was not held for three years around the World Wars. 

The pumpkin show runs from Wednesday to Saturday each year. I attended on the Wednesday, which is the first day of the event. On the Wednesday, the show kicks off with the pumpkin weighing. This is to determine which pumpkin is the largest/heaviest. Prizes are given for the largest/heaviest pumpkin, and there are additional prizes given too.

The pumpkins to be weighed arrive in the back of a truck, where they are then placed onto scales. Once the pumpkins are weighed, they have the name of the owner and their weight painted onto them.

The mascot of the Circleville Pumpkin Show is "The Pumpkin Man", and he skates around the streets of Circleville during the event, dressed in orange. He gets photographs with families and makes sure that everyone is having a good time! He stopped and chatted to us.

Another feature of the Circleville Pumpkin Show is the pumpkin pyramid. This was surrounded by all sorts and all sizes and colours of pumpkin - orange, white, cream, grey, miniature, etc. It was also surrounded by all sorts of gourds and squash, all of which are for sale and all of which looked in perfect condition and polished.

The pumpkin pyramid is the centrepiece for the event.

Also at the Circleville Pumpkin Show, Lindsey's Bakery shows the largest pumpkin pie. It measures 14 feet in diameter and was made using 795 pounds of pumpkin and 60 dozen eggs. It requires 15 people to mix the ingredients and takes ten hours to bake! The pie is auctioned off and then donated to local hogs to enjoy.

The Circleville Pumpkin Show has a huge selection of foods throughout the venue. There are also fairground rides (mainly rides for smaller children but also some for larger ones) dotted in various places, and it really is like a large county fair. I started to make a note of every pumpkin-related food that I saw, and I saw a lot! The Pumpkin Man recommended the pumpkin chilli, which is ground beef with pumpkin and tomato sauce and beans.

My first treat was a funnel cake with pumpkin cream, which tasted like pumpkin pie filling and was very delicious. I enjoy funnel cakes as one of my favourite county fair foods! It's hard to describe what this is like, but it is a sweet batter similar to pancake batter that is dripped into a fryer and fried and covered with powdered sugar. It is similar to a pancake-doughnut. Pumpkin funnel cakes were also available with cinnamon and cream cheese icing.

Then I saw pumpkin brownies, pumpkin taffy...

Before my father bought half a dozen pumpkin waffles for all eight of us to share, and these were really nice. I don't know how to describe the taste of these either, but they are deep-fried batter (with pumpkin) and come out like crispy wafers. They don't taste like anything I can compare it with, and it had been years since I've eaten one!

And earlier in the day, my father bought a little bucket from this little van with a pumpkin on top...

...of miniature pumpkin-flavoured doughnuts. Lindsey's Bakery is the best-known for the doughnuts, and they actually sell these all year. I had one several years ago when we drove through Circleville in the summer. There is a long queue/line for these doughnuts.

The deep-fried cookie dough screamed at me; it wasn't pumpkin flavoured, but I tried it. It was good. They also had deep-fried Oreo cookies, buckeyes (the Ohio State tree which is a food item named after the nut of the horse chestnut tree, but these nuts are poisionous and not to be confused with the peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate to look like the nut), and other treats deep-fried. They were actually too sweet for me.

And my father bought my mother and his grand-daughter a pumpkin ice cream, and I tasted a spoonful of it. It was good. (That's my mother posing for the photograph!)

Of course, no county fair event would be the same without candy or caramel apples!

And there was even deep-fried pumpkin!...

...Pumpkin cappuccino, pumpkin smoothie...

...Pumpkin cream, pumpkin mini doughnuts, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin fudge, pumpkin coney dog, pumpkin pulled pork, pumpkin cupcake, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin spice cappuccino, pumpkin funnel cakes, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin shakes, pumpkin shots at the local bar, pumpkin chili, pumpkin cranberry bratwurst, pumpkin swirl cheese cake, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin nachos, pumpkin burger, pumpkin cake, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin brittle, pumpkin shredded chicken, pumpkin cannoli, pumpkin hot chocolate, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin seeds....

...Deep-fried pumpkin cheesecake donuts, pumpkin float, pumpkin chili dog, pumpkin cream puffs, pumpkin spice pork sausage, pumpkin cheese pizza, pumpkin soda, pumpkin no-bakes, pumpkin buckeyes...

...And pumpkin crafts and items for sale. I liked the little sewn pumpkin cushions, and there were also glass pumpkins as well as jams and jellies for sale.

After the pumpkin weighing, the three largest pumpkins were available to view on the wagon along with the other pumpkins. The weather conditions this year were challenging for pumpkins. But, the winners for this year were first place to Mark Litz with a 1,607 pound pumpkin. Second place was Bob Brown's 1,548 pound pumpkin and the 1,331.5 pound pumpkin belonging to Mark Hoffhines.

Other prizes are for prettiest pumpkin, best strange-looking pumpkin, best display, and so on.

Last, but not least, a permanent mural depicts the Circleville Pumpkin Show and the Pumpkin Man on the side of a building.

And, the Wednesday also marks the start of the parades with the Little Miss Pumpkin parade and the Queen Pumpkin parade. The cars were lined up with the little girls waiting for the parade to begin.

Unfortunately, I was told that we had to leave after only four hours exploring the pumpkin show, and I did not get to see all of it or do everything that I wanted to do. One of the items on my list was to watch the parade, and it was just about to start when I was forced to leave. So, I am very disappointed about that as attending this festival has been on my list for many years, going back to the time when I was a young girl.

My tips for exploring the Circleville Pumpkin show are to try to go on a weekday when it is less busy, and try to get there fairly early in order to get a parking space; you will likely need to pay for a space. The early afternoon is when people start to arrive and when the parades begin (with marching bands) and when the music and entertainment. There's also more to see/do then, though you will need a few hours as well to try the different foods too, and there is a lot to see. There were a few things that I wanted to try with the pumpkin food, but I did not get to as we were in a group; I wanted to try a savoury pumpkin dish. Also, there are other areas to see that I did not get to with crafts/arts/produce judging/etc. And I would have gone on the ferris wheel but did not get to. So, in short, there's plenty to keep occupied and it isn't the type of place to rush as there's a lot to see and do as long as you know the schedule and what there is to see and do before you go. It's not all about the food, rides, and pumpkin display. A map of the event would also be useful as some of the areas tend to start to look the same. Also do not forget your souvinirs, which are located not far from the largest pumpkin display.

This is another post for lovers of cats. In August, I made my way over to Nottingham's Cat Cafe (Nottingham Cat Cafe), located in the west part of the city and not too far from the castle. This cat cafe is particularly large and has several resident cats, all of which are available for adoption. Unlike the other cat cafes that I have been to (Lady Dinah's in London, Cat Village in London, and Manchester Car Cafe), Nottingham Cat Cafe does allow smaller children and also provides a large range of tea, cake, drinks, and even cooked food. 

I did not have a reservation, and it was very busy inside, but they did have room for us. The cafe actually takes two buildings joined together, plus a restaurant. I counted over twelve resident cats during my visit, and I know some of them were hiding. My partner's favourite was a silver tabby Maine Coon, which had a similar appearance and disposition to our young cat Lancelot. The largest cat was an orange Maine Coon cross (named Heathcliffe) as large was our cat Merlin, and he sat above me on a shelf in the cafe.

While it was nice to hang around the cat cafe where the cats were, I had a couple of minor issues. For one, some of the children were chasing the cats and some of the cats clearly wanted to be left alone. There were places for them to hide, but there were not many places for them to hide. Even those who wanted to be left alone tried to 'hide' under sofas but were then bothered by other people. The result of this was a couple harrassed-looking cats running around the cafe. However, other cats were chilled out and sleeping or dozing off inside cat furniture or high on shelves. The only other issue was that there wasn't anything printed up about the cats. I understand that they are adoptable, but a binder on each table with removable sheets would help learn about the resident cats and probably help them become adopted.

Without further discussion, some photographs of the cats are below.

Smokey

Pepper (More of a dog's name, I think; we had a dog named this!)

Bandit

Rae Rae and Merry

Marmalade

Bella - this was the Maine Coon that looked similar to and acted similar to my cat Lancelot

Smudge

Crackle

Marmalade and unknown

A cat overdose

A cat overdose

A cat overdose

Heathcliffe

If you enjoy cats and cafes, head over to Nottingham Cat Cafe. If you love cats, you may wish to check out my other cat cafe posts:

Tea, Cake and Cats at London's First Cat Cafe
Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium: London's Cat Cafe
A Visit to London Cat Village
A Visit to Manchester Cat Cafe

Back in July and when the weather was fantastic and sunny, I visited Norfolk. This was a weekend break, and I got to see GoGoHares sculpture trail in and around Norwich as well as visit Norwich Castle and other attractions in Norfolk and the surrounding area. I stayed for a long weekend and chose "The Plough Inn", which is located on a main road just outside the village of Marsham, which is about a thirty minute drive to Norwich. The room had a nice bay window, and this is best described as a pub bed and breakfast.  I am writing this post because the food was so delicious, and I had the best food that I have eaten this year at "The Plough Inn". Normally, I enjoy trying different new places when I am away, but the food was so good that I visited both evenings for my meal in addition to the two breakfasts that were included in the bed and breakfast rate.

The rooms at The Plough Inn are about average; the bed could have been more comfortable and it looked a little tired, but the room was spacious and had a wonderful bay window. What really makes this place special is that the food is delicious. The chicken that I had was perfect and tender with flavour, including a nice sauce and sliced potatoes.

Dessert was equally satisfying with panna cotta served with fruit and meringue, and the chocolate brownie was nice. On the second night, I had ham and eggs, which is a simple mean but delicious. It included chips, and while I am normally not a big fan of chips, these had a lot of flavour.

I did not get a photograph of the breakfasts, but guests can have a cooked breakfast with toasts and fruit. The bacon was delicious here, and I should have asked for my scrambled eggs well done as they were a bit too soft/runny for my tastes. (I dislike runny egg though I know that people in England generally prefer eggs on the runny side.)

Overall, this was a lovely stay, and I do hope to return again next summer to sight-see and enjoy more excellent cooked food. I just hope it does not change before then as I will be disappointed if it does. Oh, and my comments here are all my own; I've not been asked to write this but thought that it was such a nice place that I needed to include it.

Bateman's Row in Shoreditch has been refreshed twice this year with new street art, creating a new place for street art to be painted on in the area. Pure Evil had used the walls for murals (covered here: Pure Evil Street Art Murals on Bateman's Row), and I captured his work just in time because it was painted over shortly after by Otto Schade, one of London's busiest street artists. Otto Schade, originally from Chile, has been painting London's walls for several years, and I first noticed his work in 2012. 

Otto Schade's work is easy to spot because he has two primary styles. One style is the circular silhouette pieces that depict a scene with a social or political message. The other style is the ribbon technique, used here on Bateman's Row. Characters are created using a ribbon style.

This piece is titled "The Lady don't protest enough", though at first I thought it was a tribute to William Shakespeare as it reminds me of the scene in "Hamlet" where the title character refers to a skull, and The Curtain theatre was discovered on the road near this road. However, it may be inspired by that but also by the treatment of women in the world. 

Next to the mural is one of Otto Schade's standing/posing women created using the same ribbon style. This one is unique because the artist uses the shape of the panel/wall to create an umbrella that the lady is holding.

I've previously posted about Otto Schade's work in the following posts:

Otto Schade "Jack the Ripper 2040" Street Art
Otto Schade 'The Believers' and 'WTF'
'Bull in a China Shop', 'Osch-car' and 'Flies Around Sh*t'
Otto Schade 'Peace and Love on the Streets'
Street Artist Otto Schade Paints Southampton 'Zany Zebra' for Charity (and other work)
Street Art Round-up: Spring & Summer 2015
Otto Schade's New Street Art (Meerkats, Portraits, & More) in East London
New Street Art from Horror Crew, Swoon, Otto Schade, HIN, and others
Street Art: Otto Schade

The new "Connectivity Matters" walls are one of Shoreditch's newest street art spots after many walls in the area have been developed on in recent years. Earlier this year, Hunto and MisterThoms painted the front of the wall (covered here: Hunto and MisterThomas Collaborate on Connectivity Matters Mural). Later in the spring, the wall was painted by several street artists, which I covered here: Street Art on ConnectivityMatters Wall. A large section of the wall still remained clear of street art, and I was waiting to see who was going to paint there. It turns out that the artist to paint the wall was Mr. Cenz, and the work was completed this summer.

Mr. Cenz has been painting London since the 1980s and uses a stylised grafitti style for his work. His subjects are usually female portraits painted in a futuristic and fantasy style and almost look part human and part cyborg. The new mural shows a woman holding a blue globe, which spells out the word "Future".

Additional work by Mr. Cenz can be found in the below links:

Loopcolors LooperFest Street Art "Power of Women" in Milan, Italy
Recent Street Art By Mr. Cenz in Winter 2018
Mr. Cenz Paints Tribute to Usain Bolt
Mr. Cenz Refreshes Fashion Street Mural
Mr. Cenz Paints Hanbury Street
New Street Art by Mr. Cenz
Street Art: Mr. Cenz (2015)
Autumn 2013 Street Art Round-up

Good afternoon, readers. When I saw the Halloween-themed Glossybox available on social media and the Glossybox website, I could not wait for it to come through my door. This month, Glossybox have gone all out with special "trick or treat" box designs with products that can be used for Halloween as well as at any other time of the year. October's box includes four full-sized and cruelty-free makeup products and a skincare product. I received the "Treat" edition of the October Glossybox, though I would have preferred the "Trick" edition, but we can't win them all.

Illamasqua Antimatter lipstick in 'Nebula': This is a long-lasting and intensely-coloured lipstick. This is perfect if you want to show off your lips or you're looking for the perfect Halloween party lipstick. I wasn't sure about this product at first as I don't think pink looks good on me, but this one will work with most skin tones.

MUA Makeup Academy Luxe Strobe & Glow Highlight Kit in 'Pearl Gold': This is a highlighter strobe product to help give definition to the wearer's face, and it also can be used to create special effects for that Halloween party you're going to.

Luna by Luna Cosmetics Loose Transluscent Powder: This product is a three in one: mask, primer, and moisturiser. The idea of the product is to apply the primer to skin before foundation, and this minimisers the appearance of pores as well as keeps the face hydrated. 

Sleek Makeup Eyeshadow Palette in 'Oh So Special': This eyeshadow palette comes with twelve different autumnal shades with perfect colours from daytime to evening wearing. The colours are long-lasting and highly-pigmented.

ThisWorks In Transit Camera Close-up: This product can be used as a mask, moisturiser, and primer to create a flawless and glowing complexion so that the wearer is photo-ready.

So, what did you think of the Halloween edition boxes from Glossybox? I thought that we were provided with a good range of new makeup products this month. This month's box was very makeup heavy.

Four years ago, I took a day off for a long weekend to visit Liverpool so that I could watch giants walk across the city. It was the first day of schools being out for the summer, so it took eight hours to reach Liverpool when it should have taken only three (so much for a day off just to sit on the motorway for it), but it was worth it when I finally arrived, and I saw the giants on the following day. The giants had returned to Liverpool in 2014 from having been once before in 2012, four years after the city was "capital of culture". The 2014 event (Giant Spectacle Marionettes in Liverpool 'Memories of 1914' Commemorate World War 1) was to commemorate 100 years since World War I started.

Liverpool welcomed the giants, and they included the little girl giant, the 25-foot grandmother giant, and Xolo the dog giant. Over a million people flocked to Liverpool over the long weekend last time to see them parade through the streets and then be sent off with a finale.

The giants are the artistic vision of Jean-Luc Courcoult of Royal de Luxe. To describe them best would be to describe them as giant marionettes from which an entourage of performers make them come to live through a system of pulleys and motions. This system of movement makes the giants seem life-like. They also have their own wardrobes and accessories!

Little girl giant has different outfits, a scooter, a popsicle, a chair, a radio, an umbrella, and other accessories. The motions of the giants are life-like in the way they walk, blink, and move the head and mouth. When they "sleep" or "rest" during the intervals of the parade, their mouths appear to move to simulate breathing. The grandmother giant also had her own special abilities, including flatulance. Xolo the dog also has his own performance pieces and can drink from a bucket of water; the performers studied canines to be able to replicate the movement of the tongue and the different motions of the face/ears/movements that a dog makes when drinking water. Understanding the aspects of movement and behaviour was important to making these marionettes come to life.

The reason I am featuring these wonderful giants again is because they have attracted much love and inspiration in Liverpool, and sadly, this is their last performance in the world. The final performance was dubbed "Liverpool Dreams", and the giants included the uncle giant and little boy giant; both of these giants I had not seen in real life. Xolo also made an appearance, and the little girl giant appeared for the grand finale, wearing a colourful pink dress. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to see the last ever parade of these magical giants last weekend. This makes me sad because they will not be shown again anywhere in the world. The reason for their retirement is for the company Royal de Luxe to focus on new and challenging performances. Royal de Luxe is planning on a new performance related to gorillas.

I think that the retirement of the Liverpool giants probably brought many tears to eyes during the final parade weekend. They certainly were memorable for me.

To read more about the Liverpool Giants in 2014 and to see more photographs of them, please visit: Giant Spectacle Marionettes in Liverpool 'Memories of 1914' Commemorate World War 1

Street artist JimmyC painted a wall of hearts using his dabbed paint style in the spring. The wall of hearts symbolises the people affected by the attacks on Borough Market a year ago in June. The artist is known for this paint dab technique and has created a lot of work in London featuring portraits and hearts. These hearts mark the second piece of street art by the artist in this area of London as he originally painted William Shakespeare a couple of years ago around the corner from this piece.

More artwork by JimmyC that I have posted about in this blog are:

JimmyC Paints "Royal Wedding" Mural for St. Christopher's Place
Mick's Hands
'Open the Mind'
JimmyC Redchurch Street Heart
JimmyC Paints Shakespeare on South Bank
Street Artist JimmyC Paints Caledonian Road
RIP David Bowie & An Afternoon in Brixton
New Mural in Ever-Changing Shoreditch by JimmyC
New 'Spring Offering' Mural by Bailon and Sliks (JimmyC, Zadok Sonar Uno)
New JimmyC Mural on Joe's Kid (Cafe), Fashion Street
JimmyC Street Art - New Inn Yard, Brick Lane, Hackney Road
New Street Art by JimmyC
Street Art: JimmyC

On one hot day (at last) at the end of September, I went to Camden in London with a friend. We arrived for lunch and went to The Cheese Bar, a restaurant that I have been wanting to try for awhile. We sat outside for a little bit, opposite the statue of Amy Winehouse in Camden Market, and had drinks while we waited for our food to arrive. The Cheese Bar opened at Camden in March of 2017 and was created by the people behind The Cheese Truck, which I went to visit when Bishopsgate Market was a temporary pop-up in 2014 while the ground was waiting to be developed on.

The Cheese Bar is currently looking for funding to open another branch of its restaurant in Covent Garden. So, what did I order at the cheese bar, and what did I think? Read on to find out.

As a starter, I ordered mozzarella sticks, a staple favourite of mine as it is a common dish/starter in American restaurants. I ordered it with the thought that my friend and I could share them, but then I discovered my friend had never had them; he tried one and didn't care for them. I must also say that these are not the greatest mozzarella sticks, and they did not have much flavour. They came with marinara sauce, which actually did save them from becoming a total failure.

The grilled cheese sandwich was actually really good, much better than I thought The Cheese Truck was, but they have had a few years to refine the ultimate cheese sandwich. This is as good as any grilled cheese sandwiches that I have made at home. It is a real winner.

My friend ordered the cheeseburger, but he said that it was not that great. That is disappointing because it does look good.

Overall, The Cheese Bar does do a great grilled cheese sandwich, but the other items on the menu were hit or miss. It would be good to try some of the other items on the menu to see how they are. If you do want to go and try it out, The Cheese Bar is located in Camden Market (Unit 93/94) outside The Stables on Chalk Farm Road. It has seating around a bar and a couple of tables inside as well as outside seating, but it probably gets popular on weekends. The nearest tube stations are Chalk Farm or Camden Town.

Hello, readers! Earlier in the year, I posted a review of five years ago, so I decided to post one for ten years ago. This has not been an easy one to write. Here it goes! Oh, and it's probably not an easy one to read, so be warned. The background is that I started this blog as a quick platform for updates and for keeping track of bits and pieces that inspired me. As a web designer and developer, I am always on the look-out for inspiring designs and ideas to collect. One of my instructors in university (Visual Communications degree) told us to do this because those ideas are always useful and inspiring for our own projects. So, this blog was really started as a collection of ideas, art, and designs in the world of web and graphic design. I mention this because my blog was focused more on that aspect in 2008. However, I do remember 2008 as an eventful year, and it was not great year for me in many aspects, but it was a milestone year with changes ahead.

Approximately three years prior to 2008, I moved from Southampton and started to work for a small company just south of Bristol. I mention this as it is important to 2008. I lived in Bath because Bristol was a bit rough at that time. I enjoyed Bath, and I still do. It is one of my favourite places. In 2007, I had to move from Bath. My daily commute was a minimum of just over four hours a day, my flatmate was mean and did not know boundaries, and I wanted to be closer to work friends; I ended up renting a house on my own within walking distance of work in a tiny 'village' just south of Bristol. 

Unfortunately, the job was a bit dull; it was a male-dominated company with some odd rules. I met some great people and had some great friendships at the company, but I also needed something different and inspiring. With the flatmate issues, I did not want to rent. I just wanted stability. After a difficult time for a little over a year, the person I was seeing in Southampton previously (but turned out to be a jerk for most of the time I lived in Bath) wanted to make future plans. We were changing jobs and decided to buy a house together. We found one near Winchester and found a buyer for his place in December of 2007, and I finally felt like everything was coming together at last as I'd felt in limbo so long. We'd both taken new jobs that started on the same day in mid-December, and the commute was a long one from his place, but the plan was to be moved in to the new home by spring at the latest. 

Unfortunately, we found out in early January 2008 that the housing chain fell through. I was told it was a long chain of eight people. We were at the end of the chain as we were buying a new build, and the bottom of the chain pulled out of their purchase, which meant all the purchases fell through because buying a house in the UK is next to impossible. I lost quite a bit of money as I put down the deposit. At this time, there were news stories which scared people about buying houses, which I knew were silly, but the other people being frightened and the media coverage meant we lost out (while other people who could afford were buying up at cheaper prices). Stupidly, his mother was frightened about it, and then gave him cold feet although I kept trying to say that it was not an issue and knew that smart people would still be buying.

A visit to Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower in February, 2008. After years of watching it being built but late to be completed, I finally got to go inside and up the tower.

Things got worse after we lost the house due to the chain falling through, which leads me to tell my readers to not offer on a house unless you're absolutely serious because pulling out of a house sale in England (I believe the rules are different in Scotland) affects lives and costs a lot of people a lot of money. It was actually very stressful and put a lot of stress on us in addition to the continued long commute.

My commute was about an hour and a half each way to Basingstoke, and his would have been twice that long to Reading. Traffic was a mess, and it was stressful. Poor weather added to the stress because the smaller roads like the ones I lived on in West End (Southampton) were not taken care of in the snow. So, I ended up commuting and trying to get the housing situation sorted. At least I loved my job. My life has always seemed to be unbalanced; when the job is balanced and nice, the personal life is not and vice versa.

Despite the set-backs, which I will continue to explain, I tried to get my mind off of the stress. We went to Lille in France in early March via Eurostar for a long weekend. It was just a short trip that we'd booked a few months previously. We visited just before Easter, so we got to see Lille decorated for Easter.

Lille - chocolate Easter eggs

We also saw the girl band the Sugababes in concert in March (I believe the concert was in Birmingham) and also went to the ruins of Raglan Castle over the Easter weekend when we went to Wales to visit his mother.

Raglan Castle

When more bad news came, I also booked a last-minute trip to go away for a sun break as a surprise for him as I was feeling very stressed and we'd also had a snowy and trying winter. I booked a hotel in Alicante in Spain (Visiting Alicante and Benidorm in Spain) for a long weekend at the end of March as a surprise for him, but the weather ended up still being too cold for a proper sun break (which is what he wanted); we found a national park to explore and went to a theme park and to Benidorm. I really enjoyed the theme park. Overall, it was not too memorable a trip as I was feeling under a lot of pressure by then. Things were not going well at all.

Alicante

While the house problems were going on, my partner became a bigger problem. He wanted a different house because his mother did not like the garden and the house did not have a garage. (The house we really wanted that had both a larger garden and garage was reserved a couple weeks before we found a buyer for his house, so we went for the next best one in the development; we were both gutted but couldn't change this.) So, he complained and wanted to look for another house. I paid the deposits so lost out. Then it came to my attention a few weeks later that he was cheating. That was the reason we had split for a time when I was living in Bath a couple of years previously, but I was not aware it had started up again.

He'd become infatuated with a girl he knew from online who was obsessed with the same girl band that he was. She was also the same girl who caused issues when I was living in Bath and he'd be up most of the night chatting to her, which I later discovered. To put it simply, she was trouble and leading him on because she liked the attention and was frankly immature (she was a lot younger in age than he was and there are few people I know in their early 20s who are emotionally mature), and he wanted to be different because he obviously was not happy with himself. He wanted to act younger and be 'cool'. I often remember when we would visit his mother, he would walk far ahead of her because he did not want to be seen with her, and I thought that was rude and she didn't approve of that either. He'd belittle me as well. Looking back on this, I realise it really wore me down over the years from someone who was confident and creative to someone afraid of being belittled and that any action I took would cause him to snap.

A nice park I would walk to in West End, Southampton

It came to my attention because he got up extremely early one morning to see her. It was to turn up at her workplace at a what was once a large chain video/music shop in Basingstoke to help her take a delivery for the store. He would do anything to try to impress her and then treat me poorly.

Actually, during the whole time of him leading me on about the houses and moving, I later discovered that he was planning to move in with her. Yes, that is correct. He was in the process of renting out his house and moving to London to rent a place with her while he was still planning a house with me and getting me to pay deposits because I had savings and he did not. So, his wasting my time and messing with my feelings and my future is unforgivable and a horrible thing. He was a horrible person anyway, but that was one of the worst things anything has done to me. He did two more things of a similar caliber later on, which I will describe. 

After it came to light what was happening, I went back to see my friends and family on short notice for two weeks (I had no place to go as I was living with him and was very hurt) and then returned at the end of the month. He promised to pick me up from the airport. But again, he was out with her and he left me stranded at the airport and it took me a day to get home with heavy luggage from Gatwick to West End due to no rail services running and having no way to get to the house from the train station. (These were the days before Uber, smart phones like we have now, and a taxi would have been too expensive.) This whole situation was the worst thing that anyone has done to me - and done in a cold and calculating way. This is the second item he did that was absolutely horrible.

Another view from the Spinaker Tower

I've not actually told many people this story, but he was just a mean person. He was controlling and selfish. One of his annoying quirks was that he was late to everything to control the situation. In fact, he was meant to be usher at his step-sister's wedding. I was ready to go and waiting and reminded him we needed to go, but he was on the computer (now that I think back on it, he would have been flirting with that girl) and would not get ready. Then, on the way in the car to wedding in Worcester, he threatened to crash saying his step-sister would probably forgive him for being late if he crashed the car. Thankfully, I talked him out of it. (Yes, he was crazy!) We were late, so he did not get to usher, but arrived just in time for the ceremony. I wonder if she ever knew the reason we were late (which was due to his being on the computer), and I certainly hope she didn't think it was due to me.

Everything had to resolve around him. It was as if I was stepping on eggshells when I was with him. We always had to do what he wanted and very rarely what I wanted. I discovered a few years later that he actually fit the typical narcisstic personality. I lost myself for a long time when I was with him and wished that I had not given him the chances that I did because he wasted my time, and time is the most important commodity.

After I returned form the states at the end of May and discovered he was not there to pick me up from the airport as he told me and that he was with her in London, I packed what little I had at his place. Luckily, most of my items were still in storage after I moved from the West Country. One of my colleagues that I did not know well was so nice and let me stay with her and her family in Basingstoke as I had nowhere else to go and I needed to get back on my feet. It was tough. I then found a place to rent temporarily and had some of my items moved from storage. I did not see him again. I moved on and focused on my job, which I enjoyed. I made good friendships with my colleagues. I basically did not like it when I had to leave work, and weekends were also tough as I was alone. I was still trying to overcome his nasty effect on me as I had lost a bit of myself in knowing and associating with him. He was a soul-sucking parasite.

I had friends that I met in 2003 in Hampshire (but they later moved further away) that had come to visit my new flat in late June. While I was out with them, he tried to ring my number approximately 30 times in a row. He left a couple of crying messages. On the last message, he threatened to call the police to have them find me because he missed me and wanted me to pick up. I did not. I ignored his texts and messages. See how crazy he was?

The Louvre, Paris

I started to make other friends. I went to Paris in early July with a friend for a long weekend and had a very nice time getting away from everything. I had been to Paris before, many years ago, so this was my second visit to the city. I went to the museums and to the Moulin Rouge, which I really enjoyed. I was still very much trying to find myself and recover from a bad relationship that lasted just shy of six years then.

I also went to Disneyland Paris, and it was the first time that I have ever been to a Disney park. I saw the fireworks, night parade, day parade, and went on several rides. It was not nearly as busy (and in high season) as my visit this March 2018.

Disneyland Paris in 2008

I was also making new friends via a colleague at my workplace who noticed I owned a MINI and invited me to meet some other people who owned them. In short, my colleagues at work became friends in addition to attending events with friends from MINI. I went to several MINI events, such as Poole Quay, a meet-up once a month on Portsdown Hill, and various pub and meeting nights in Portsmouth and drives around the country, including the Isle of Wight. I was very much rebuilding my life from scratch as my ex had seen to it that during the relationship, that I could not have other friends as he would become jealous; I has been controlled by him and lost a bit of myself. Like all absuive relationships, it obviously did not start out that way with the control; people like that are wonderful to you at first and then change slowly once they know they have you. If it had started out that way, I would have not been in that relationship. He told me that he was jealous because he was worried that I would cheat on him because his ex-girlfriend did. (I can only think he was projecting that because he was the one who cheated.) 

Isle of Wight MINI Run in September

At the end of September, things changed and I did something that I regret. I had gone to the Castle Coombe MINI event with my colleague from work, and I was not having a great time. This event was the last major event of the year in the MINI calendar. The weather was extremely wet and dreary, and everyone was tired as we'd gotten up very early and arrived very early. Everyone went off, and I was just left to look around myself feeling abandoned by my friend who had taken me. I'd never been to that event before, but I started to feel lonely after looking around at the cars and did not know anyone. While I was wandering around by myself, the ex rang my mobile, and I answered. That was the regretable action. It was a huge mistake. It was a lapse in judgement.

MINI Castle Coombe event at the end of September

The feelings were still very raw and I wasn't recovered. This call would lead to more frequent calls later in October and then later messing up my mind about everything. Absolutely this was a huge mistake and waste of my time. I wish I had never taken that call.

Despite that lapse in judgement at the end of September, the beginning of October was great as I had earlier planned a few things. At the start of October, I went to Marrakesh in Morocco with a friend. I really enjoyed myself and had a good time getting photographs and traveling to places like Essaouira, the Cascades de Ouzoud, and the Atlas Mountains (Morocco Colours and Morocco, Part Two). It was an amazing trip. I had so much fun.

Morocco

After I returned from the Morocco trip, I had a couple of days back to work before going away for another few days. One of my closest friends from the states had a visit to Europe for the first time in early October with her partner for work, and the destination was Copenhagen (Autumn and Halloween Themes in Copenhagen). So, I joined her in Copenhagen for a few days. This was a lot of fun. We had a couple of days in Copenhagen to explore the city and go to Tivoli theme park before going to Malmo in Sweden across the bridge, where it rained but we went to a castle museum and to a few shops and ended up in a protest. Tivoli theme park was the highlight for me, and it was extra special because it was decorated for Halloween.

Tivoli, Copenhagen

Unfortunately, based on that call in September, I met up with my ex when I returned at the end of October. I remember that there was really bad weather storms at that time. One of the people I knew, but I did not know him too well, in the MINI gathering had died tragically. He owned a canal boat, and I guess he'd gone out to walk his dog in the storm and ended up drowning in the canal. He was found in the canal the next morning after the storm passed. I remember that because the night before the storm was the first day that I met up with my ex, and he had decided to work on things. He tried to make an effort. He'd begged me. He'd cried a lot. He cursed the girl he had been infatuated with. I wish I could have seen through his lies; he was just a user. Unfortunately, he knew where I was living after that and used it against me. Then, he was using me to stay at my place so he wouldn't have to commute so far. Again, he was just using me for convenience and I was naive.

Stonehenge

In November, one of my ex-colleague friends from my job near Bristol came to visit for a weekend. We went to Stonehenge because he had never been, but I had been a couple of times before and have driven past it a lot of times. After visiting Stonehenge, we went into my favourite city, Salisbury. We walked around the cathedral and I showed him the water meadows. There is a very nice walk from the water meadows to a little pub called "The Mill", bordering meadows of sheep and excellent views of Salisbury Cathedral. I lived in Salisbury for awhile, so I know a lot about different places to visit. 

Wildlights at Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio

In December, I had already planned to go back to Ohio to visit my friends and family. But on top of that, my ex wanted to go with me as well. I was not too impressed about him going with me. When we got to my parents', he acted like a jerk. He just wanted to be out shopping or on the Internet, which was slow at my parents' house as they live in the country, and we rarely saw my friends and family. All he wanted to do was to be online and out of the house. One time, he made a point of refusing to go on a day trip that we had planned with my parents. On the night before, he faked that he was really ill and on the brink of death; he even wrote a note to his mother because he said he was on death's door! He was obviously being over-dramatic and acting; he just wanted to go online all day. Yes, I thought he was crazy. Others did too.

I think he mainly wanted to come with me because he wanted to go skiing in Colorado, so we ended up in my home town for about a week and then had a flight to Denver right after Christmas to go skiing for a little over a week. Breckenridge and Aspen were the two places we visited, but we only skiied in Breckenridge. Both were very nice places, and we explored a little bit of Denver and Colorado as well. I loved the slopes in Breckenridge because I had not skiied much before, and I can do a partial snow-plough turn on one leg but struggle a little on the other. (I don't actually have great balance!) There was one run that started on the mountain and went all the way down to the main street. There was one small slope that was slightly too steep, but I made it down somehow.

Colorado

So, that year ended up going full circle without progress, but the progress was happening in the background as I had made new friends who would help me escape his abuse. It feels wrong to leave the story hanging here, so I must continue in order to close that chapter.

In spring the next year (2009), I could not afford the flat by myself due to spending money on him (or on account of him) and for another deposit on a house. To be honest, a two-bedroom flat was just too much money to spend on rent on my own, plus a few items were still in storage because the flat was partially-furnished. I moved out of the flat, but I was between staying with him and friends. I moved my boxes and furniture back into storage. Earlier that year, he was already talking about buying a house again, hence the deposit. I stupidly fell for it all again. Of course, things were not good, but I tried to get them to work but I didn't really trust him. After he knew he had me again, the belittling and mental abuse started up again. 

Not long after moving back in with him in 2009, I discovered he was again talking to her after they had had a bust up in the autumn of 2008. This was probably the only reason he got in touch with me at the end of September. I then learned (but not straight away) that they were again planning to move in together after he told me she wasn't in the picture anymore. He was planning on renting his house out to move to be with her. He was telling me he wanted to buy a house but telling her he was going to rent his house and move in with her to London. He was doing all of this behind my back again. 

The final straw was when he hit me when I was asleep; this was when I got out of there and stayed with friends. I already did not trust him, but I trusted him less then. What had happened was I'd gotten to his place after work and had moved a laptop bag from the floor to the sofabed. It was common that I would arrive home before he did, and I would do a bit of tidying up; looking back on this now, he was probably hanging out with her and looking for places to rent, although I did not know about this at this time. I had gone to bed, and he was on his computer again (he was addicted to it). I woke up with a big slap across my face. He said that the slap was due to me moving the laptop bag.

I should have seen the signs that something was up with him earlier. At about the same time, he was freaked out about having mice in his loft, and he wanted me to go up to the loft and move the boxes down because of the mice. He actually set up a survelliance camera to capture the mice moving around, and completely freaked out about it. I don't have a fear of mice, so it did not bother me. What he was doing behind my back was actually moving the boxes into storage in order to rent his place out, and I was oblivious to it. I thought he was just totally freaked out about the mice and that was the end of it. 

All that time, he was telling me that he was going to buy a house with me and we'd go look at houses on the weekend, but then he'd go off with her and look at places to rent in London. I had no idea until later just what he was doing. I even had a couple of friends confront him about the way he was treating me.

So, 2008 was not a great year for me at all and was a year of change and a year of limbo. If I could do it differently (which I would in a heartbeat), I would have made sure to have changed my phone number. He was blocked in other methods of communication except for that. I should not have wasted as much time as I did with him, but he is a manipulative and controlling person. This is someone that I am glad is out of my life. 

I know quite a few people (luckily) who have not gone through what I went through, so they struggled to relate to the situation and were not very sympathetic to me at the time. I tried my best and did not talk about it too much nor talk about this in much detail. I actually never dreamed that I would be someone who would have had to go through something like this as I have never been attracted to bad boys, and I enjoy a quiet life without drama. I did nothing to deserve what he did. There were a few red flags after I got to know him. He used his "my ex cheated on me" scenario to control who I spoke to. In these early days, communication to friends was an email or a phone call, so not as regular as having social media and smart phones/text messages. The other thing that he would do was belittle me to control every aspect of me, which is why it took so long to find myself again. People like my ex start out kind, but then they change once they know that they can because they know they are in control of the situation. I hope that anyone who is in a similar situation to this gets out and is not afraid to escape. Life is so much better without a narcissistic and abusive person wearing you down.

Every now and again I like to have a doughnut, and I recently came across doughnut shop Doughnut Time at their pop-up on Old Street, London. It did not help that I was hungry and had missed lunch that day due to work and had an appointment that I could not be late for. After that appointment, I was craving a little bit of energy and discovered the doughnut shop. A large window with a neon sign shows off the doughnuts; I could not miss them. Amongst the various flavours of filled and ring doughnuts were vegan doughnuts. Doughnut Time have additional branches in Notting Hill and London City Airport.

So, I bought three. I was hungry; of course, I did not eat them all at once! The doughnuts at Doughnut Time are all named with puns on the names. The Stranger Rings contains Oreo crumbs; Sia Later, named after the singer who has an iconic style, is a red velvet with white chocolate; Captain America is made with Hershey's "cookies and cream" chocolate; Life on Mars contains the little candy bars; Bellatwix Lestrange is named after a villan character in the "Harry Potter" series and contains Twix bars; Robert De N'Oreo is named after the actor and features Oreo.

I bought "It's Always a Gay Time" (custard filling and crushed biscuits on top), the vegan "Houston we have Biscoff", and a strawberry-filled one that I cannot see on the menu anymore. 

So, what did I think of the doughnuts? Honestly, the Biscoff ("Houston we have Biscoff") one was amazing. It was just the right amount of sweet and dough and was not too sickly. This is a ring doughnut with icing and a Lotus biscuit on top. It is also one of their vegan doughnuts. It was delicious. However, the other two were filled doughnuts and were much too sickly-sweet for me. I could not even finish them, and I didn't like them. To be honest, those two were not worth the calories. The custard one was not quite as bad, but both contain too much sticky filling. The jam one was too sweet in particular and was mainly sugar without the correct ratio of dough to sugar. Also, the doughnuts are very expensive at over £4.00 a pop. (My total bill was just over £13.00.) If I were to visit one of their shops again, I would opt for a ring doughnut and stay away from the filled ones.

The past couple of weekends have been all about weddings. Last weekend, I attended a beautiful wedding held in rural Kent in England at the church St. Mary in the Marsh, near Romney Marsh. The church is surrounded by farmland. Across the village road is a small pub called "The Star Inn", and a tent was put up to host the reception and after-party of the wedding while the pub catered the food and drink. The beautiful church is a very old building, and it dates from 1133, but a previous church structure existed on the same site prior to the existing Norman-style church. Also, I did not know this at the time, but the author of the books "The Railway Children" (Edith Nesbit) is buried at the church. I was given this book and a set of related books while I was in hospital for a couple of weeks when I was eight-years-old. 

The wedding was a beautiful event, and the weather was perfect with sunshine and warm weather. In the evening, a beautiful orange sunset lit the skies. The church was a lovely venue for the wedding ceremony, and the reception was beautifully decorated with a "Star Wars" (one of my favourite films) theme. The bride looked stunningly beautiful and the groom handsome. It was also great to catch up with friends and to meet new awesome people. Without further hesitation, please see the below photographs from the beautiful day.

I hope you enjoy these photographs as much as I enjoyed the wedding and taking them. Congratulations again Mini and Chris!