Oh, well hello!

Boo! Some pretty nifty news this week surrounding me getting a life. Finally pulled my finger out and went to meet events manager for the local magazine http://www.moseleyb13.com/ we popped along to a silent disco which I had to review. I missed out on the silent disco at uni fresher’s week so was pretty nervous. Not only out of my comfort zone meeting a new person but also going to a place where I didn’t know what to expect, luckily it wasn’t awkward and it was absolutely bloody hilarious watching a few of the people dancing in silence. Utter silence. Going to try and upload/download (which one is it kids?) a video below to show you. As for the article you’ll have to pay £1 and buy a copy of the magazine from one of the many local newsagents ;)

I’ve also had the go-ahead to write a short story which is hopefully being published in November. The collection of short stories will all be set along the 11A bus route in Birmingham. For those that don’t know, this joyous journey circles the entire city taking you along the beautiful suburbs enroute without dipping into the centre at all. The day the stories are set in will be the day which the riots kicked off in Birmingham. I had to pick from a list of 10 characters to write from the point of view of which is fab. I have missed writing fiction so much over these past few months so this gives me something great to really sink my teeth into. I will be writing from the perspective of a 40 year old white man who is on the bus as he’s had his driving license taken off him for drunk driving. Where the story goes from there is up to me... 3000 words to play with.... my mind is on overdrive!

Last nugget of news is one I’m rather proud of... I wrote a poetry anthology as part of my final assignments at uni last year and it seems it has won a prize... I had no idea this prize even existed but I got a nice little cheque through along with a certificate. I’m so glad people like my poetry, it means rather a lot.

All this has given me a boost and now I remember my passion. Putting on my purple shirt over the next few weeks won’t be quite so painful as I will be carrying Adele (my trusted laptop) under my arm with me on my quiet evening shifts.

Over and out for now. Enjoy the video at the bottom here... bless :)

Happy Campers

Hello bloglings. Today is a sad day. Today I return to work after a lovely week off. We went to Wales for three nights camping. Gumtree.com came up trumps again (I swear by this website) and the tent we bought off there second hand was not only huge, but had every single peg and didn’t leak a bit! (Believe me it was fully tested in the Welsh weather!)

If you are interested in a spot of camping near the Brecon area of the national park I completely recommend this campsite http://campingatynysfaen.co.uk/ for a gorgeous, quiet and tranquil stay which is completely off the beaten track but close enough to amenities if you need to stock up on marshmallows for your campfire! Bliss. It’s a small field, part of a family home (Jane and Nigel are lovely by the way – nothing is too much trouble) and they purposely keep numbers of campers down so that everyone can enjoy the peace – and the river running right nearby. Grab yourself a fire basket – and a waterproof coat for the unpredictable weather and you’re off! Just don’t tell everyone or they’ll spoil it!

Jerky Smirky

I always do this. Start a new blog with good intentions. I had so much to blog about last week, Amy Winehouse died and the massive tragedy in Norway which took so many lives. Somehow, although this is all “breaking news” I can never bring myself to write about it. I don’t know if its death that I am avoiding because quite frankly it scares the crap out of me or if I just think nothing more needs to be said. Sometimes there are so many articles you just can’t write anything new about what’s happened.

I’ll tell you what though I’m not half craving a white chocolate magnum after my dinner. Inspired by Levi Roots I took two chicken thighs out of the freezer earlier and gave them some spicy lovin’. My mouth is on fire and I didn’t even touch the scotch bonnets this time! I hope my flat smells like Jamaica because I think it does. Below is the recipe (if you can call a bowl of mixed spices a recipe!)

2 chicken thighs per person (because in our house we don’t eat like thin people)
TIP: wash the chicken under cold running water and slap lemon juice all over it and then pat dry with kitchen roll. This dries the skin helping spices stick and better chance of it going crispy. And crispy is gooood.
SPICES! Basically you just rub the hell out of your chicken with this beautiful little arrangement of herbs and spices:

Tsp All Purpose Seasoning
Tsp Pimento
½ tsp chilli flakes
Combination of mixed dried savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil and tarragon - all a couple of pinches each. Mix all these beauties up in a bowl and rub rub rub!

Whack into a HOT oven and cook for half an hour. You might need to turn it over as the oven might burn the dry spices but not to worry.

Bloody enjoy that with corn on the cob and a big bowl of rice. Spoon the rest of the herby/oil over the rice to flavour. Mwah!

Hot Hot!!

Currently watching 24 hours in A + E, these people are absolutely amazing. This poor elderly guy is having a tube put up his penis to drain his bladder... owwww poor bloke! This programme makes me wish I was a nurse or one of these amazing people in the hospital. But I know (just like giving blood) I can’t, I’m too flipping squeamish. I think I am going to have to work on this bad point of mine to chase this fulfilling career I am after.

Oh my GOSH I made an incredible beef-chilli-stew type thing today by total accident. Got some cheap cubes of beef in Aldi and whacked in my slow cooker. Here is how you can do it too:

Cubed beef (Aldi – bargain)
Red wine – Just chuck in half a glass then have the rest with dinner
Massive squirt of tomato puree
All purpose seasoning – teaspoon
Chilli powder – teaspoon
Scotch bonnet pepper – only half, little burny buggers they are.
Onion & Garlic
Salt & pepper

Okay so : brown your beefy bits with chopped garlic and onion and whack it in the slow cooker on “high”. In the same pan pop your red wine and tomato puree and simmer with a bit of stock as well. Simmer for a few mins and slap it into the slow cooker all over the lovely steak. Slip in all the spices and season it. Chop up a red pepper to make it a bit more exciting and chuck it in the mix as well.
I went out and bought a lip balm, by the time I got back – about an hour and a half the stew was almost ready... if you fancy it thicker pop in some corn flower. Serve with rice & some veggies if you’re feeling it.

Flippin’ lush.

Ta Da!

Welcome to my brand spanking new blog. I am now an official graduate (2:1 don’t you know...) I'm on a mission. This mission is to find someone willing to pay me to fulfil my passions all day long. Only thing is I can’t figure out what my passions are. I know what I like to do. I certainly know what I DONT like to do. In this blog you can expect to follow my journey from leaving my job at a well known budget hotel (where every day is a struggle not to shove my purple shirt down my throat to end the pain of constant patronising) and to each stage where I will hopefully find myself where I want to be.

At the moment I have a few writing jobs in the pipe line as well as private tuition for the kids of Birmingham.

I also love to travel. Obviously on minimum wage this is difficult to master but I love the UK and exploring local areas as much as I love foreign holidays so expect posts about travelling and also what’s going on in the local area. Kings Heath and Moseley Village is an inspiring place to live when you've lived for so long in the bum-hole end of town for three years so I'm here to tell you what’s going on around these parts too!

Over and out for now... got to iron my work shirt ready for 3pm...

Ta for now!