Video Blog: Abbotsbury
During half term, I drove west along the south coast, to meet my very good friend Corrie in Abbotsbury.
Corrie works at The Clock Workshop, just at the bottom of St Catherine's Hill. After meeting her for work, we walked up, past St Catherine's Chapel, and sat overlooking Chesil Beach.
We walked back down for dinner at the village pub — a halloumi, pepper and humous burger, followed by a chocolate brownie for me — before going to watch the sunset from Chesil Beach.
Video Blog: A Sunny Afternoon in Winchester
Last week seems like a million years ago — it's been a busy first week back at work — but it was so good to spend a lazy, sunny afternoon in Winchester with Alice.
Vintage Camera
When my parents got engaged, 40 years ago, they bought a cheap ring, so they could afford a good camera. This week I loaded it up with film and took it around Ocean Village.
Eggs in Clouds
Never one to shy away from an Instagram food trend, I tried my hand at Eggs in Clouds this week.
The making is fairly simple: you separate the eggs, whipping the whites in to clouds which you bake briefly — 7ish minutes, so I'm told — and then add the yolks for another short flash in the oven — 3ish minutes, apparently. I chose to fully embrace the hipster food trends, and serve mine along side mashed avocado, sour dough toast, halloumi and grilled tomatoes on the vine, all of which, frankly, were by far the better elements on the plate.
Video Blog: Saturday 20 May 2017
After a walk around Ocean Village, I took myself for a late night treat at Five Guys...
Video Blog: Wahaca with Corrie (Saturday 6 May 2017)
Corrie came to visit this weekend, and we went for dinner at one of my favourite places: Wahaca,
Video Blog: Monday 1 May 2017
As the bank holiday weekend comes to an end, I spent the evening grabbing junk food with friends.
Video Blog: Five Guys Friday (Friday 28 April 2017)
What better way to start a Bank Holiday Weekend than with a Five Guys (burger and fries)?
Video Blog: Saturday 22 April 2017
I spent the last weekend of my Easter Holidays exploring the New Forest with Emma and Annora Bird; drinking and heading out in to town with friends; and then recovering the next day with Nandos and drinks with Alice.
Video Blog: Friday 21 April 2017
Friday 21 April 2017: vocal session with Pyra follwed by dinner and drinks with Dave and Livi
Video Blog: Wednesday 19 April 2017
It's been so good to have time off work to spend with friends. Video blogging these simple, lazy days helps to make memories from moments that are all too easy forgotten,
Video Blog: Monday 17 April 2017
Vlogging my day on Monday 17 April 2017 — Easter Monday.
After a lazy start, I met Wez and Dan at Weatherspoons for lunch, followed by a drink at Maritimo Lounge. The day ends with a relaxed evening with Ellie and Dave in Chandlers Ford.
A Day In London
I was in London this week for a day with the Musicians Union. After staying overnight, I spent the day seeing family and friends.
After a morning at the British Museum, taking in the 'American Dream' exhibit, I met Dan and Luke on the South Bank, for lunch, drinks and a visit to the Tate Modern. After dinner with my brother and (soon to be) sister-in-law, it was time to head home.
Becky's 30th Birthday
My sister-in-law turns thirty today, and this weekend we threw a little party to celebrate.
Throwing someone a party is way of showing them how special they are. To me, that means that every party has to be unique. As with my sister's party last weekend, all the hours spent making food, or time spent gathering supplies, or money spent on balloons and gifts is all in service of making that person feel loved and appreciated for who they are.
So, with a baby less than two weeks old — whose arrival was more than a little stressful — this weekend's celebrations had to be simple and stress free: step up rent-a-party!
Disposable everything makes for easy, hassle free, clean up. A mix of Tesco's summer range — cute little pineapples, watermelons and cactuses — along with extras from Hobbycraft and little Easter bits Sainsbury's, all create a simple, but cute selection of birthday treats.
Lets not also forget that cake! Becky is our family's expert baker — the one who does the cakes for everybody else. So, it's only fitting that on her special day she has a cake much better than we could ever make for her, courtesy of Hummingbird Bakery!
We're very lucky to have Becky be part of the Brombley family — Happy 30th Birthday Becky!
Brombley Family Celebrations: Free-From Afternoon Tea
We spent last weekend celebrating lots of special Brombley Family events — my sister's birthday, my brother's engagement and Imogen Faith coming home — with a free-from afternoon tea and lots of other treats.
Free-From Afternoon Tea
Complications from endometriosis has meant that my sister has to avoid all kinds of allergens — gluten, eggs, dairy, soya — and as someone who has had to survive on a free-from diet, I wanted to make sure she experienced what is very rare for someone on a free-from diet: to look down on a table full of treats and know you can have anything you want! With some help from my sister, I spent Friday evening baking ready for an afternoon tea on Saturday, made up of...
- Vegan Blueberry Cheesecakes
- Black Bean Brownies
- Cashew Butter Cookies
- Lemon Drizzle Bars
- Free-From Scones
Plus a selection of sandwiches and wraps using gluten-free bread.
I think the stand out for me was the scones. I was genuinely worried that I would be making gluten-free rocks, but, surprisingly, they were really, really good. Also, I'm going to say this: but vegan cheesecake is better than dairy cheesecake.
A Surprise Engagement Party
After getting engaged earlier this year, this weekend was the first chance we had to celebrate my brother and his fiancee getting engaged. Balloons, cake, and prints of a lot of Instagram selfies all helped to create a surprise celebration.
Welcome Home Imogen Faith (and an Easter Egg Hunt)
What a joy it was to have Imogen Faith home and able to come join us for our celebrations. There was a never ending queue for cuddles from Aunties, Uncles and Grandparents. And as a well done to big sister and brother for dealing with a tough week, two huge Easter eggs!
Imogen Faith
My niece, Imogen Faith, arrived a week ago — Friday 24 March 2017 — and after a difficult first week in the world, is finally home!
It's been a tough first week for Imogen Faith and her family — to say the least.
Late last Friday night, Imogen had some trouble breathing, and had to be taken in to intensive care. After a week of incredible care, along with some scary moments, she finally arrived home today, to a delighted family, particularly her big sister.
I can honestly say, I'm totally in awe of my brother and his wife. The way they have held it down over the past week, coping with moments that are unbearable even in the retelling, leaves me without words to say how proud I am. Clearly, Imogen is made of the same strong stuff that they are made of too.
Where words can often feel lacking, music helps me to make sense of, and understand difficult situations and feelings. When I wrote this piece for Imogen Faith this week, it ended up that the full whirlwind of emotions cleared the way for a peaceful calm.
M-Tech: Heart for the Arts Award
The M-Tech project has been nominated for a "Heart for the Arts" award from the National Campaign for the Arts.
It was with huge delight — and an equal amount of surprise — that Southampton Music Hub got the news today that the M-Tech project — the project I currently manage and deliver across Southampton and the Isle of Wight — has been nominated for a Heart for the Arts award as one the best Local Authority Arts Initiatives this year.
Breakout Youth: Hampshire Pride Awards
I was very honoured to spend sometime with the Breakout group late last year, helping them put together a short video, for the Hampshire Pride Awards, all about the ways they celebrate LGBT+ people — an award they won last weekend!
Soundtrack: Festival of Lights
The soundtrack from my latest vlog is now available to listen to on SoundCloud: