I've realised one of the strangest things about having given up smoking..
A complete inability to feel as drunk as I truly am.. and so I continue drinking.
If I said I was never drinking again, would anyone actually believe me?!
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The War of the Worlds - LIVE!
I bought tickets for this for the husband, as its a big childhood favourite of his. We went last night to the one at Wembley Arena, and it was great. OK, it had its cheesy moments for sure (it was very 70's *giggles*), and I ended up in fits of giggles every time Justin Hayward came on stage as he was aging rock star through and through. Time flew, even if Wembley Arena was about 100oc and we were squished in like sardines.. I enjoyed it so much more than expected. The lighting was stunning, and worth the ticket price alone.
Click the mosaic to view flickr set of my pics
I bought tickets for this for the husband, as its a big childhood favourite of his. We went last night to the one at Wembley Arena, and it was great. OK, it had its cheesy moments for sure (it was very 70's *giggles*), and I ended up in fits of giggles every time Justin Hayward came on stage as he was aging rock star through and through. Time flew, even if Wembley Arena was about 100oc and we were squished in like sardines.. I enjoyed it so much more than expected. The lighting was stunning, and worth the ticket price alone.
Click the mosaic to view flickr set of my pics
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Chocolate Tasting Box 2
(click to go to flickr for notes on which choc is which!)
Little Water Truffle by Peters
Milk Chocolate Vodka Truffle
8.5/10 Lovely and smooth.
Graceland by Paul Vincent and Bruyerre
Create a chocolate competition winner
Chocolate cup, with sweetened peanut butter with milk chocolate ganache with creme de banane liquer. Topped with white chocolate and crushed peanuts
6/10 Good texture, but tasted like medicine!.
Santiago Dark by Valentino
Smooth hazlenut praline with conflakes, topped with a white jumbo raisin.
8.5/10 Gorgeous, though the raisin wasn't very exciting
Pecan Butterscotch by Ickx
Butterscotch in a milk chocolate shell with a half pecan pressed in the top.
8/10 Sweet, but the flavours worked very well together
Victorian Garden by Helen Ireland and Van Coillie
Create a chocolate competition winner
Light, rosemary flavoured butter cream, with a dark chocolate and then white chocolate shell.
5/10 Not nice. I'm not a big butter cream, or white chocolate fan anyway, but the rosemary really didn't work. Too much of a savoury flavour for me.
Nero by Bruyerre
Dark chocolate and cream ganache, flavoured with coffee and amoretto, covered in milk chocolate.
9.5/10 Wonderful! I normally detest amoretto, but this just all worked together so well, and melted perfectly in the mouth.
Palet Citron by Van Coillie
Dark chocolate ganache blended with real lemon and cointreau, in dark chocolate with a peice of candied lemon on the top.
8.0/10 Very fresh tasting. Zingy *L*
Swiss Milk Chocolate Baton
Higher cocoa content than is usual, for deeper cocoa and caramel flavours!
8/10 OK. Nothing special and a slightly strange tang to it.
Sao Thome 72% Dark Chocolate Baton
From small island of Sao Thome off the western coast of Africa.
9/10 Wonderful. Rich and smooth, though the flavour didn't seem to last.
Bianca by Daskalides
A whole hazlenut, surrounded by fluffy mocha buttercream, all on a layer of hazlenut praline, in white chocolate
8/10 Mmm. Very smooth and yummy!
Chocolate Mousse by Ickx
A milk chocolate cup filled with a light and fluffy mousse inspired ganache with a dark chocolate lid, sprinkled with cocoa nibs.
8/10 Should have been perfect. Wonderful textures, but lacking something in flavour.
Gianduja Cup by Coppeneur
Crisp dark chocolate shell, then soft milk chocolate ganache and finally a nutty gianduja made with piedmont hazlenuts piped on top.
8.5/10 Lovely textures, and good nutty flavour, but it didn't linger.
Jardin Amandes by Daskalides
Inspired by the Lava rocks of Mount Etna (!!). Caramalised almond "rocks", on a smooth hazlenut praline in dark chocolate cup.
8/10 Really nice. Wonderful textures
Advocaat Cup by Hermes
Thick advocaat at the base thickened with white chocolate, topped with a layer of hazlenut praline blended with peices of crushed nougat in a milk chocolate cup, topped with milk chocolate mixed with nougat.
8.5/10 A little too sweet for me, but stunning texture thing going on!
Cognac & Orange by Coppeneur
Real cream ganache blended with natural orange and cognac in a milk chocolate shell
9/10 Mmm, orangey. Loses the point for lack of interesting texture, and a little strong on the alcool taste
All in all..
A really good box. No really evil ones (though the rosemary came close!).
(click to go to flickr for notes on which choc is which!)
Little Water Truffle by Peters
Milk Chocolate Vodka Truffle
8.5/10 Lovely and smooth.
Graceland by Paul Vincent and Bruyerre
Create a chocolate competition winner
Chocolate cup, with sweetened peanut butter with milk chocolate ganache with creme de banane liquer. Topped with white chocolate and crushed peanuts
6/10 Good texture, but tasted like medicine!.
Santiago Dark by Valentino
Smooth hazlenut praline with conflakes, topped with a white jumbo raisin.
8.5/10 Gorgeous, though the raisin wasn't very exciting
Pecan Butterscotch by Ickx
Butterscotch in a milk chocolate shell with a half pecan pressed in the top.
8/10 Sweet, but the flavours worked very well together
Victorian Garden by Helen Ireland and Van Coillie
Create a chocolate competition winner
Light, rosemary flavoured butter cream, with a dark chocolate and then white chocolate shell.
5/10 Not nice. I'm not a big butter cream, or white chocolate fan anyway, but the rosemary really didn't work. Too much of a savoury flavour for me.
Nero by Bruyerre
Dark chocolate and cream ganache, flavoured with coffee and amoretto, covered in milk chocolate.
9.5/10 Wonderful! I normally detest amoretto, but this just all worked together so well, and melted perfectly in the mouth.
Palet Citron by Van Coillie
Dark chocolate ganache blended with real lemon and cointreau, in dark chocolate with a peice of candied lemon on the top.
8.0/10 Very fresh tasting. Zingy *L*
Swiss Milk Chocolate Baton
Higher cocoa content than is usual, for deeper cocoa and caramel flavours!
8/10 OK. Nothing special and a slightly strange tang to it.
Sao Thome 72% Dark Chocolate Baton
From small island of Sao Thome off the western coast of Africa.
9/10 Wonderful. Rich and smooth, though the flavour didn't seem to last.
Bianca by Daskalides
A whole hazlenut, surrounded by fluffy mocha buttercream, all on a layer of hazlenut praline, in white chocolate
8/10 Mmm. Very smooth and yummy!
Chocolate Mousse by Ickx
A milk chocolate cup filled with a light and fluffy mousse inspired ganache with a dark chocolate lid, sprinkled with cocoa nibs.
8/10 Should have been perfect. Wonderful textures, but lacking something in flavour.
Gianduja Cup by Coppeneur
Crisp dark chocolate shell, then soft milk chocolate ganache and finally a nutty gianduja made with piedmont hazlenuts piped on top.
8.5/10 Lovely textures, and good nutty flavour, but it didn't linger.
Jardin Amandes by Daskalides
Inspired by the Lava rocks of Mount Etna (!!). Caramalised almond "rocks", on a smooth hazlenut praline in dark chocolate cup.
8/10 Really nice. Wonderful textures
Advocaat Cup by Hermes
Thick advocaat at the base thickened with white chocolate, topped with a layer of hazlenut praline blended with peices of crushed nougat in a milk chocolate cup, topped with milk chocolate mixed with nougat.
8.5/10 A little too sweet for me, but stunning texture thing going on!
Cognac & Orange by Coppeneur
Real cream ganache blended with natural orange and cognac in a milk chocolate shell
9/10 Mmm, orangey. Loses the point for lack of interesting texture, and a little strong on the alcool taste
All in all..
A really good box. No really evil ones (though the rosemary came close!).
Thursday, April 20, 2006
The Wolves in the Walls
A couple of Christmas' ago, knowing my love of childrens books, the husband bought me The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. Its really gorgeous, and a great scary story.
Anyway, a friend of the husband let us know that the National Theatre of Scotland and the Improbable Theatre Company had transformed it into a musical!!
Very luckily, its short London run is in Hammersmith, at the Lyric, so we got tickets and went along last night.
It was.. well, it was good and I did definately enjoy it (even if the chairs were terribly uncomfortable!). Some of the cast were much better than others (I really wasn't taken with the actress playing Lucy), and some bits worked better than others. The staging was amazing - the set worked fantastically. The Wolf puppets were really good, and I liked how they were used.. But there was something about it, that I can't put my finger on, that didn't work for me.
We ate at Sagar afterwards, and it was lush *g* Had a thali and it was way more than I could eat, but the muttar paneer was the best I have ever had!!
A couple of Christmas' ago, knowing my love of childrens books, the husband bought me The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. Its really gorgeous, and a great scary story.
Anyway, a friend of the husband let us know that the National Theatre of Scotland and the Improbable Theatre Company had transformed it into a musical!!
Very luckily, its short London run is in Hammersmith, at the Lyric, so we got tickets and went along last night.
It was.. well, it was good and I did definately enjoy it (even if the chairs were terribly uncomfortable!). Some of the cast were much better than others (I really wasn't taken with the actress playing Lucy), and some bits worked better than others. The staging was amazing - the set worked fantastically. The Wolf puppets were really good, and I liked how they were used.. But there was something about it, that I can't put my finger on, that didn't work for me.
We ate at Sagar afterwards, and it was lush *g* Had a thali and it was way more than I could eat, but the muttar paneer was the best I have ever had!!
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