LongBlogs

While visiting Chester, we enjoyed lunch at the Jaunty Goat cafe. I found the place on FourSquare  as one of the highest recommended coffee shops in the city. Service was lacking when we arrived. There were no seats, it was a Saturday afternoon and the place was packed. Still, we queued patiently at the counter, waiting for our turn, when we ordered some coffee and lunch. The barista asked us for a table number to take our order. We told her that we didn't know where we'd be sitting as there wasn't any space. We were told -get this- that we needed a table number to order. We again told her that we didn't have a seat yet, which totally confused her to the point that she nearly refused the order. Luckily, common sense prevailed and we were able to get a seat at a table. The coffee was, as advertised, fabulous, rich, flavourful, aromatic, perfect. I ordered smashed avocado on toast, which was nice, but very oily. Neil had a peanut butter blondie. I'd love to tell y...

This weekend, we stayed at Trafford Hall Hotel, Chester. The hotel is part of a registered charity, The National Communities Resource Centre, which offers support and training to people working and living in deprived areas throughout the UK, to develop their skills and ultimately empower them to improve their situations. We chose to book this hotel as a change from the usual faceless corporate hotels we find ourselves in. Trafford Hall is a grade II listed Georgian Manner House situated in beautiful gardens and woodland just a short drive from Chester city centre. We stayed in one of the hotel's 42 eco-chalets, which were clean, comfortable (although very,  very basic), and had a large window overlooking the forest. It was perfectly restful, quiet and tranquil. The room, as I mentioned before, was very basic, the whole chalet is made of wood, meaning creaky floorboards and thin walls. There was little on the walls, a very old carpet, no artwork, nothing to make th...

This weekend we dined at Chester Fields Gastropub, just five miles outside the city centre. http://www.thechesterfields.co.uk/ The restaurant was gold winner of best use of local products in a menu for 2016 & 2017. Chalkboards in the bar area ask that if any of the customers are aware of any local suppliers who may benefit from supplying the pub, that they should get in touch. The theme of hyper-local produce is evident on the menu, I had "Goosnargh chicken liver parfait, with toasted brioche", and "Reg Johnson's Duck & Cuttelford Farm Dauphinoise Potato". The parfait was lot lighter than those I have tried in the past, it was almost like a mousse, it tasted very fresh, a much more delicate texture than I'd expected. It was served with a side salad, which I think was drizzled in sesame oil. It was a very well put-together dish, however, not impervious to my pet peeve with parfait, there was not enough bread on which to spread the pate. There...

Over the weekend, we saw  Still Alice at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. in Leeds. Based on the award-winning 2007 novel of the same title by Lisa Genova, Still Alice depicts the life of Alice Howland, a 50-year-old Harvard professor throughout her descent into the holds of Alzheimer's disease. Source We begin with a cluttered stage and Alice and her inner-self,  (played out on stage as a character who talks directly to Alice), while she and her family are rushing about their lives as usual. Soon, however, Alice begins to suspect that something wrong as she finds it difficult to recall memories.  The main character is portrayed sympathetically by Sharon Small, who takes us on a journey through frustration, denial, panic, and anger at a loss of self. A large screen is wrapped around the back of the stage, displaying the month  between scenes, reminding the audience of how quickly the disease can take hold, and with each monthly change, parts of the stag...

This week I've been perfecting my creamy mushroom soup recipe. We've had heavy snow in the UK this week, and nothing warms my cockles like a warm bowl of soup, mushroom soup in particular always seems to hit the spot. I find that people either love or hate mushroom soup, but for me it's up there with my favourites. ½ red onion 2 cloves garlic 300g mushrooms, sliced 1tbsp rosemary  50g butter 100ml soya milk Fry the onion and garlic in the butter until soft (not brown) Wipe any soil off the mushrooms and chop roughly Fry the mushrooms until lightly brown. In a food processor, add all ingredients and whizz up until creamy. Warm on the stove until  piping hot Serve and enjoy

This week I've been dancing along to Paloma Faith on the first date of her The Architect Tour. We'd booked the tickets months ago, but were concerned that the whole thing might be cancelled due to the snow. Paloma made it though, as did over 98% of the audience, proving that northern grit prevails. The stage was set with a retro sci-fi feel, seeming like a silver mountain with a matching disc in the background signifying a planet or star. Opening with the title track of her latest album The Architect, she proceeded to sing tracks from her first two albums, and we were back to the retro, brassy tracks that bought her world-wide success. Paloma maintained her good-girl image between songs, thanking the audience for braving the weather conditions to come see her, and imploring the audience respect their bodies in an age of narcissism and body-shaming. Another three songs, tracks from the politically charged new album mixed with her original hits, which is when things got ...

Almost Famous is a burger joint I've been meaning to try for ages. It has a casual bar feel, it looks a bit like after 10pm tables are shoved in a corner somewhere and it might become a nightclub at a moment's notice. Because of this I had low expectations when we first arrived. In the large dining area we were sat next to one of the only other occupied tables by a friendly server, and given menus, as well as a roll of kitchen cloth that hinted the meal would be a messy affair. Graffiti artwork covers the walls, with Disney characters, and a dog holding a cartoon gun up to a rubber duck, it felt whimiscal and offbeat which I liked. The atmosphere was great, there was good early naughties music playing. Source I ordered a Brooklyn lager, which came on draught, a "River Phoenix", (Double cheeseburger, bacon, shoestring onions, frazzles, red chilies, redneck BBQ, bacon mayo, bacon ketchup) and "Phoenix Fries" (bacon rain, JD maple glaze, shoestring onio...