Victoria hits 30....

....Next!
Victoria turned 30 yesterday and celebrated with drinks, (and plenty of them), at The Alibi in Dalston.


Victoria

Lovely to see some old faces again on a raucous East End night.


Nick and Tom


Ems and Kel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Susie hits 30....

....Another day, another 30th. This time, the early, (for she is a Christmas Eve babe), and surprise birthday of Susie Palmer.


Susie & Kelly

We spent a wonderful evening with Susie, her husband Ian, family and friends at the Circus in Covent Garden. In many ways a similar venue to last week, (Proud Cabaret), but in many ways, so, so much better.


James & Ian

The performances were in the shape of an acrobat, a burlesque dancer, fire throwers and a yo-yo artist(!), all performaning at intervals atop a vast concrete dining table in the middle of the room.


Tassled breasts n' all

The food was a well thought and well imagined group of sharing plates that allowed us to pick freely whilst watching everything that was going on. I'd expect nothing less of the venue, designed by the famed Tom Dixon, with the food, drink and entertainment living up to the high design of the interior.


Fire n' all

We ate and drank, sang our Happy Birthday's and moved on to a private section of the rear bar area. A really fun birthday, for a really fun girl. Many Happy returns!


Blowing out the candles

(Full reel):

The Friday Night Take Out - TESTED!...

....After blogging about this a few weeks ago, it was only right that Kelly and I road tested it. First off, I love the premise - a skilled chef taking the gastronomic staple of restaurants, and turning it in to an entirely more personal, fun affair.



Frank Hannon, an Irish former chef at Moro, was parked out side my front door tonight. On a bike. He was on his rounds, with a vast crate of food attached to a rack above his rear wheel. He passed it over, a couple of boxes, and described the best way to reheat the food. I thanked him, tipped him and wished him a safe cycle. Good old Frank.



Dinner tonight was poached guinea fowl casserole with winter vegetables and puy lentils. We reheated as directed, opened a bottle of rouge and Kelly and I bedded in and thoroughly enjoyed our winter feast. Far better than your average take away. But then this was a Friday Night Take Out. If you live in East London, look him up and see if he will deliver to your area. It's worth it.

Is that a mic in your pocket Freddie or....

Rachel hits 30....

....Kelly's good friend Rachel celebrated her 30th birthday, with a night at Proud Cabaret, where the evening's events were hosted by the Tassle Club.


Rachel dresses accordingly

A sit down dinner for 12 friends whilst a burlesque backdrop played out behind. Wonderful. Once the show was over, the DJ kicked in, so we had a boogie until the small hours.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!



(Full reel):

Kelly & Roy hit 1....

....I know anniversaries should be of the post-wedding variety, but Kel and I decided to celebrate one year together with a jaunt to Hastings. The reasons were two-fold. To get out of London for a night, but also to, (sad but true), go for a walk in our new shoes, bought for our South American adventure.


Foyles B&B

We stayed at a wonderful little B&B called Foyles. Set in a listed 18th Century building, right on the front in Hastings Old Town, owners Sharon & David, (and dog Charlie), have created a World War II memorabilia cafe, above which sits three twee rooms.


Cafe scene, complete with bunting.

We arrived on Friday evening and decided to stay in. After being greeted by Sharon, we were left to ourselves in the cafe, so we sat amongst the paraphernalia and got stuck in to plenty of pre-bought cheese and wine.


Say cheese!

The plan for the walk the following day was along the coast, up to Hastings Country Park and back. About 10k. It proved to be a wonderful and indeed testing walk. The ups and downs along the cliff edges made for stunning scenic views and ultimately a rewarding, strenuous walk. (Our new shoes will have been pleased with their introduction to the outdoors).


(That's the sea behind us).

We finished our brief visit with a wander around the Old Town, with George Street in particular a really lovely parade of shops and cafes. (We took advantage of one, of course, with a coffee and a cake).
A lovely, if brief, way to celebrate our first year together. (And I thoroughly recommend staying at Foyles B&B too).

(The full reel):

Nick hits 30....

....And he has done so with the annual joint celebration with Aimee. We worked out this was the tenth time they'd held centre stage together. The evening started at Aimee's for a quick champagne reception, before heading on to the Hemingway pub.



There, everybody gathered and had a right old knees up. A great time was had.


Nick & Aimee

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK x

(full reel):

Aimee hits 30....

....As a warm up to the joint extravaganza that is Aimee & Nick's 30th this Saturday, the former invited guests to dinner at Rivington Bar & Grill last night.



Lovely food and an intimate affair....well, an entirely civilized celebration befitting a 30 year old!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY! x

Bill Bailey, Dandelion Mind....

....Tonight I surprised Kelly with an early Christmas present, with tickets to see Bill Bailey at the Wyndham Theatre.



We began the evening with a quick bite to eat at the marvellously unpretentious and hearty eaterie that is Gaby's cafe, in the heart of Leicester Square.





Kel & I were really excited to see Bill Bailey, after becoming fans from his numerous appearances on panel shows like Buzzcocks and QI, alongside brilliant comedies like Black Books. Tonight's performance was along the theme of doubt.......or was it?!.....and allowed Bailey's idiosyncratic comedy to come to the fore.


Bill Bailey's Essential Guide to the Orchestra

He is like a more musically proficient Stewart Lee in terms of his intelligent, surreal, punk-ethic routines. You can sit there and split your sides, or alternatively have a five minute period where you haven't laughed, but remain totally and utterly engaged. The show covered topics from football, to politics, advertising to music and of course doubt.


Apocalyptic rave

Interestingly, Bailey raised a story about his use of Spanish on a trip to Columbia. Kelly and my ears pricked as he continued on about Santa Marta and the Lost City Trek - exactly what we'll be doing come January. If it's good enough for Bill, (even if he was stoned), it's good enough for us. And so was tonight. Rambling, surreal, infectious, musical, intelligent, hysterical comedy genius.

The Friday Night Take Out....

....I have just been made aware of this rather curious little take away - a chap in East London has turned to making a big ol' dish every Friday night, which is available for take away.



He posts the menu at the start of the week, here, and it can be picked up or delivered from his kitchen. Costing £8.50 a pop, it is the price of standard take away but with a more personal touch. (Not sure how he'll fill out his tax returns mind......)

Top tog....

....I finally treated myself to a new duvet and a set of four new pillows, whilst an early Christmas present from mum & dad, of new bed clothes, has resulted in an altogether more comfortable sleep. Zzzzzz.

Ian & Susie to dinner....

....Our ongoing dinner parties with Ian & Susie continued as we treated them to a three course banquet a la Roy & Kelly.


Goats cheese, beetroot and pomegranate seed salad, to start

We ate a great meal, whilst (obviously) watching the latest developments in X Factor.


Seated and ready to feed, Susie, Ian & Kel

After a small starter we tucked in too a deep South favourite, (via Nigella), of ham cooked in coca cola.


The ham post coca cola cooking


Coca cola ham, with mustard mash and green beans with almonds & mixed seeds.

Kelly had made a Guinness & chocolate cake for our dessert, which turned out incredibly well.


Finishing touches to the icing


The proof is in the.....

The cake was phenomenal and a great end to the meal, which was, as ever, amongst fantastic company. A great evening, cheers.

In the oven....

....Ruth and Andy are expecting their first child in March of next year. We're all a little bit excited. I'm already a little bit scared I might drop the bairn. Today was Ruth's 20wk scan and we're happy to say, all is well.


Baby Preston.

Hallowe'en....

....It seems that this year's was more hotly anticipated and celebrated than others I remember. I am not sure why, but with Hallowe'en falling on a Sunday, the dressing up began as early as Friday on the streets of London.



Kelly and I were invited to a Hammer Horror themed night. But starved of horror films as a kid, I had to research what the potential Hammer options were.....and rather then the more obvious Dracula or Frankenstein, I adopted a more lateral approach. The Snorkel from 1958, (in which the victims are asphyxiated whilst the killer survives by wearing a snorkel), was my choice.



Kelly was a glamorous, runaway victim of The Mummy.




Frightful

Chris hosted a great night in his fantastic warehouse / studio / flat. I must say though, the theme hadn't been strictly adhered to and I was a little disappointed that my outfit wasn't instantly recognisable to all(!)


Phil, (anon), Chris




Gemma, Nico, Kelly, Branca

A fun night and one that has opened up a whole horror genre that I feel compelled to explore further.

Stewart Lee, Vegetable Stew....

....As a belated birthday present to his brother Stevie, Richie treated him, and brought Liam, Doug and I along, to Stewart Lee's 'Vegetable Stew' tour. The gig was at Leicester Square theatre and got underway after some dinner in China Town at Far East restaurant.




Richie, Stevie, Liam, Roy

A few of us had seen Stewart Lee before, at the same venue back in January, but this tour was testing new material ahead of filming for the 2nd series of his 'Comedy Vehicle' on the BBC.



The show was broken in to three parts, named, 'Charity', (90 benefit gigs a year and lots of free crisps) / 'Adrian Chiles', (a face like a Toby jug full of hot piss) / 'The Government', (David Cameron asked me to put on a gig / Gentlemen bombers).



Lee also weaved in a couple of songs, with a particularly memorable ditty mocking Russell Brand's recent wedding. Short of being funny, it reminded me again how much I actually like his singing voice! Lee's subversive comedy, (perhaps more so tonight, on what was press night), has a way of leading you down a garden path. Surreal, rambling fictional stories heading nowhere, until a hook, (or a 'call-back' as he rightly tells us), brings us back in the picture and splits our sides completely.



This second helping of 'Vegetable Stew' will likely be my last, but I cannot recommend him highly enough. If there are still tickets available, go. If not, hang about until early next year when he'll be back in your living room via your telly box.

The Social Network....

....Kelly and I went to see The Social Network tonight and in line with the critical acclaim it has received to date, we enjoyed it very much.



However, I found it a slow starting film, as the story is set about computer whizz kid Mark Zuckerberg, with his friend Eduardo, and their creation of what we now know as FaceBook. This pedestrian beginning had me twitching slightly, as did some lazy camera effects, showing clearly that in one scene, freezing condensation from the mouths of the actors was computer generated.



But from them on, the film is well shot and the very fact it is based on reality, is fascinating. In fact, I am not certain that the positivity toward the film from all angles, is not simply down to being given an insight in to the making of a $25billion business. For director David Fincher, this was a fairly subdued directorial piece, but classy and convincing all the same. In fact the only scene that noticeably smacked of his touch, was the Henley Regatta scene, where use of soft focus and tightly cropped camera angles, added intensity and beauty to a piece that didn't even necessarily need it!



The cast were all superb, with Jesse Eisenberg entirely convincing as the genius, but fairly unlikable, Zuckerberg and I was also impressed with Justin Timberlake as smooth talking womaniser Sean Parker.



The more I post rationalise the film, the more frightening I find it. The reality of it all, that is. On getting home and writing this up, it has left me feeling both modern, (to live in this technological era), and a machine, (to be a slave to it). I feel I'm looking at my laptop screen in an altogether different way.



A very good and intriguing film, but one that also made me glad I'm not on FaceBook. But, boy, am I in awe of its power. It is insanely powerful.......as is Zuckerberg, and this film only marks the relative embryonic beginnings for both that man, his business and their plausible bid for world domination.

Clementine Ardagh is two....

....Not to be outdone by all the adults turning 30, Clementine celebrated her own 2nd birthday this weekend.


Make a wish!

Showered with gifts and cake, Clem received plenty of Iggle Piggle items - this umbrella in particular going down a storm.



We bought her a gift with longevity, we hope! A design classic by Luigi Colani, in the guise of an elephant shaped money box.


Clem's more interested in handbags than money boxes

The gift

It was lovely to see Clem and other members of the Ardagh / Soward family. She's growing up mighty quick and it seems her favourite current word is, "Mine!". Indeed. Many happy returns Clem.