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.
Soundtrack: Festival of Lights
The soundtrack from my latest vlog is now available to listen to on SoundCloud:
Vlog: Saturday 18 February 2017
On Saturday night, I went with a couple of friends to the new development at Westquay to go bowling, see the festival of lights and have dinner at Wahaca.
Update (26/2/2017): Soundtrack now on Soundcloud
Daily Echo: You Know That Face
The Daily Echo very kindly offered to feature a short write up about my work with Southampton Music Hub as part of their "You Know That Face" series.
A little quote from myself in that feature:
"The thing I enjoy most is seeing the difference music makes with young people and seeing kids that might struggle to achieve in other areas of their life make a success of music, it is amazing."
That's why we do it!
Auxy: Beat the Clock #4 (Remix)
This week's Auxy “Beat the Clock” Challenge was to remix a short track by DeCruz in to a full track. This is my remix:
Update (6/2/2017):
My track made first place on the shortlist!
Auxy: Beat the Clock #3
Each week, Auxy set a short composition challenge.
This week's “Beat the Clock” challenge was to create a track with no drum sounds. On Monday, they pick their favourite tracks.
Auxy: Beat the Clock #2 Challenge
Each week, Auxy set a short composition challenge.
This week's “Beat the Clock” challenge was to use the existing drum beat and add instruments to make a track. Max Length: 30 seconds. 105bpm. On Friday, they pick their favourite tracks.
Shortlist Winners:
I was shortlisted in Auxy's top picks.
Black Bean Brownies
When these vegan, gluten free, low carb brownies popped up on Facebook today, I knew I had to try them.
The recipe comes from So Vegan and it's basically fool proof: you blend everything in a food processor and bake. The only thing I would do differently next time, is to smooth the mix down a little better before baking: the mix doesn't flatten out in the oven like a regular brownie mix does, so mine turned out a little gnarly, although still quite pretty thanks to the whole walnuts I put on top.
Honestly though — and it's not just the mid-January diet desperation talking — these tasted incredible. Gluten free needed or not, vegan or not, these were packed full of deep, rich flavour and a bunch of healthy ingredients... plus some less healthy ones... but a treat is a treat.
Links:
M-Tech Project: Autumn Term
After a successful bid for £30,000 from Youth Music, the M-Tech project got underway last term, helping disadvantaged children and young people in Southampton and the Isle of Wight compose music using iPads.
It was great to end the first term of the project, asking participants what they've taken away from the project. In particular, its been great to highlight the outstanding work of some of the young people taking part. The M-Tech project has been months in the making: writing a funding bid, planning the project, preparing resources, buying equipment, delivering sessions... it's been totally exhausting at times, but hearing what the young people taking part have taken away from it makes the all the work worthwhile!
Participant profiles are on the M-Tech website.
Find out more about the M-Tech project at www.mtechsouth.com
Banana Pancakes (Three Ingredient Recipe)
It's January and I'm trying to eat healthier. I had some over-ripe bananas to use up, and it felt like a great time to test out one of Buzzfeed's three ingredient recipes: banana pancakes!
For a quick and easy, healthy pancake alternative, they were fuss free and pretty tasty. Would I make these again? Sure. Will I never want to make a full stack of American style pancakes again? Not a chance!
Recipe:
- 2 bananas (mashed)
- 2 eggs (whisked)
- a dash of cinnamon
Plus your choice of toppings to serve: I went with pecans and maple syrup
The method is easy enough, mash the banana, whisk in the eggs, add a dash of cinnamon and fry til golden and fluffy. It's not even worth breaking down in to steps.
Buzzfeed says one banana to two eggs, but I had small bananas and large eggs (no giggling please), and the resulting batter looked a little thin, so went two-to-two. I actually only needed half of that mix for one portion, so feel free to adapt as you see fit.
My Seven Favourite Posts from 2016
Starting this blog has been one of my biggest highlights of 2016. Here are seven of my favourite posts:
- Music and Mental Health: World Mental Health Day
This was the post that I almost didn't post, but I'm very glad I did. - Video Blog: Cornwall
These video blogs, from a great family holiday, were one of the things that started the ball rolling in creating this blog. - Summer Shorts Compilation
The series that got this blog started. - A Special Announcement
Helping my brother's family announce a new baby, what could be cuter? - The Ultimate Christmas Cake
This might seem like a small, quick video, but the edit took me ages, and the combination of music and found sound is something I really love - Vlogmas (Parts 8–10): A Very Brombley Christmas
Christmas. No more needs to be said. - Autumn Pieces 03–06: Isle of Wight
Hard to pick an Autumn Pieces post for this list, as there are so many I love — shout out to Lepe — but I think this was one that I loved making most