Vlogmas (Part 7): Festive Sausage Rolls
This quick three ingredient recipe was a bit of a freestyle, but sausage rolls are a must-have at Christmas, and homemade ones don't come easier than this.
Puff Pastry and Sausage Meat (plus optional egg wash). Easy. Buy the good stuff (it's Christmas) and make Sausage Rolls. Is it easy? Yes. Is it cheating? Sure. Is that worth worrying about? No.
Vlogmas (Part 5): Starbucks & Shopping
One of the blessings of time off work is when a two hour Starbucks and shopping trip with a friend can feel like a whole day's activity.
Vlogmas (Part 4): Christmas Dance Party
After helping them out this year, I joined the Integr8 Dance Company for their Christmas party in Winchester.
Vlogmas (Part 3): Wrapping Presents
I love wrapping presents. I know it drives some people mad, but I love it.
For me, at Christmas, it has to be brown paper. No other novelty, shiny, patterned nonsense will distract me from the pleasure of a lovingly wrapped brown paper package, tied with ribbon. I used two page this year, brown and glittery from Tiger, and red and christmassy from East India Company. I like to wrap gifts in tissue paper before they go in to brown paper: the extra layers prolong the opening, adding to sense of occasion and extending the ephemeral and momentary joy just that little longer.
Vlogmas (Part 2): Finishing the Ultimate Christmas Cake
After weeks of patient waiting, feeding my ultimate Christmas cake with rum, the time has come to enjoy the rewards of my hard work.
After much debate, I decided that I would ice my Christmas cake this year. Although, breaking with my usual shortcut of buying ready-rolled sheets to throw over the cake, I decided to just ice the top of the cake. Where too much icing can be too rich — yes, such a thing is possible, yes, even at Christmas — I could not resist the marzipan sweetness and bright white shell of an iced cake, and so icing the top seemed like a good compromise. I was going to leave the icing plain, but with lots of spare icing, I couldn't resist a little decoration: a few flat white shapes to create a simple winter scene.
Taking the first cut from the cake is always a nervous moment — even more so when a camera is pointing straight at it — so many mistakes can stay hidden until that first slice is taken — undercooked, overcooked, fruit all fallen to the bottom — but I'm pretty happy with how this year's cake turned out! And the taste, is, well, frankly, incredible!
Christmas Decorations
Putting up the Christmas tree at my parents' house is always a family affair, and this year is no different.
With each passing year, Christmas brings new treats and surprises. Having little ones in the family, and with more on their way, each festive season brings new ways of keeping fresh what, as an adult, can so easily become so familiar.
Christmas, for me, is a time which serves as a reminder that little things have a big meaning: little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness shine far brighter than expensive gifts of large quantities of presents.
Black Friday Shoes: Oliver Sweeney
I'm a firm believer in buying the best quality shoes you can. After years of owning a wide variety of cheap footwear, I made the investment a few years ago in a good pair of shoes, and never looked back since.
The shoe brand I'm obsessed with it Oliver Sweeney: I now own three pairs. I bought my first pair a few years ago and have worn them basically every day since. They are well worn and well loved. After a re-soling a few months ago, they have had a new lease of life, but despite my love for them, they have a couple of short falls: the leather sole makes them unpractical in winter, and their well worn appearance makes them less suitable for formal occasions.
So, with 20% off in the Black Friday sales, I decided to buy two new pairs of Oliver Sweeney shoes.
I got a new pair of my current shoes, Aldeburgh Brogues, to keep for best, along with a pair of new Pennell Brogues, with a commando sole, to see me through the winter season.
The Ultimate Christmas Cake
Mid-November is the time of year to bake the annual christmas cake: leaving just enough time over advent for it to be fed and mature. With a mix of alternative Christmas songs playing, it is time to bake.
I must confess, despite the title of this post, I don't subscribe to the idea that there is any one ultimate version of a food. As someone who love to cook and bake, I do have countless personal preferences on ingredients and techniques, but I also love to try new things.
If you're looking for a tried and tested fail-safe christmas cake bake, then I suggest you use the Delia Smith recipe that forms the basis of my own and read no further. However, if you're interested in some of my own personal and opinionated takes on a classic, then read on at your own risk.
1. Say No To Currents
Currents — and candy peel whilst we're at it — are evil and wrong and have no place in a cake, let alone one of the most important cakes of the year. Currents, or "dead flies" as I prefer to call them, are a far lesser dried fruit than so many other great options. My personal preference is for raisins, dried cranberries and dried apricots. I also prefer a dried cherry (preferably sour) over a glacé cherry too. And totally avoid the deplorable ingredient that is candy peel.
But honestly, you do you: stick to 900g in total and you'll be fine. I've never once used the same combination of fruits, and I've not had a disaster yet.
2. Rum Not Brandy
It might seem like sacrilege, but honestly, swapping dark rum in place of brandy is one of the best ideas I've ever had. Sailor Jerry's works — the old recipe even more so — and Bacardi Oakheart is this years choice, and I've every faith it will be just as good. Delia says to soak the fruit in 100ml over night. I find that to be far to stingy. I soak my fruit in lots of rum and that works for me.
3. No Nuts
No nuts.
4. Maple Syrup Not Treacle
Honestly, I just go fed up of having a sticky red tin sat in the cupboard that only gets on tablespoon taken out once a year. So I've given up on treacle and, in danger of becoming someone who puts avocado in a cake and calls it "healthy", replaced it with maple syrup.
5. To Ice Or Not To Ice?
Whenever I do Ice, it is always ready rolled. I have no time for rolling my own icing, let alone making it. I've not decided on whether to ice or not this year, as sometimes even the minimal effort of unrolling single sheets of marzipan and icing seems like too large a barrier to place between the choice to take the cake's first slice and actually being allowed to cut it open. However, I always appreciate the seasonal joy that comes from the look — and additional sugar — of an iced cake, so I expect I will endeavour to do so again this year.
With the cooled cake fed with rum, wrapped in baking parchment and foil, and stored away in an airtight container, it will come out every two weeks to again be splashed in rum up until Christmas arrives.
So, what makes your ultimate christmas cake? What you would put in or leave out?
A Special Announcement
My brother's family asked me to help them make a special announcement...
Self Care Sunday: Brunch, Baking and Music
Sometimes, you have to take a day for yourself: turn off notifications, write a todo list for work that can wait until Monday, and just relax. For me, that means food — food and music.
Brunch
I've never made hollandaise before, and I'm terrible at poached eggs. So what better way to relax than to try both? But actually, taking time to make poached eggs and hollandaise without any rush meant that it was much easier to get it right.
I followed a Jamie Oliver recipe for the sauce, and free-styled the rest. I will confess that I substituted sourdough in place of the muffins: a much better carb option in my humble opinion.
The results were delicious: well worth a bit of effort to have such an enjoyable treat for an easy Sunday morning.
Lazy Baking: Salted Chocolate Blondies
Lazy Sunday baking requires the right soundtrack, that's why I put together a playlist of some of my favourite songs to lazily bake along to. Raveena is one of my favourite new artists right now. And Ashanti is a given. Honestly, I can't even preheat an oven without hearing the worlds "Awww Baby".
I've not made my favourite salted chocolate blondies in a long time, so there was frankly no other option for baking today. I use this recipe from The Whole Bite blog and it has been fool proof for me. I use cup measures for everything like the recipe gives, but I use weight for the butter (110g) because, even though this is lazy baking, I still don't have the patience to shove butter in to tablespoons.
Other Treats
Burning candles is a must for any kind of self care activity in my book. And this Zoella Lifestyle candle was a birthday present I'd been saving for just such an occasion. The smell is a little sweet for my usual taste, but not unpleasantly so.
It wouldn't be a self care day for me without a bath and some time to take care of my skin and hair. I use Elemis face care daily, and it just gets along with my skin so well. I use a Liz Earl cloth to wipe the products off for a gentle exfoliating effect. The Happy Naturals sea salt body scrub is a great body exfoliator, with a fresh, clean smell. And the Super Drug Argon Oil Hair Treatment is an absolute star find: affordable, yet so nourishing for my hair.
Autumn Pieces 03–06: Isle of Wight
Setting off at 8.30 a.m. last weekend, I took a day trip to the Isle of Wight. After some work in the morning, I set out around the Island to create more Autumn Pieces.
Autumn Pieces 03: Isle of Wight Ferry
8.30 a.m. on a Saturday morning is an ungodly time to be at a ferry terminal, but I made it — and on time. Once again with my GoPro, my Nikon and my iPhone, I was ready for a day trip to the Isle of Wight.
The weather was crisp, and the clouds were clearing, and as the ferry set out from Southampton on the journey to Cowes, I found spaces out on deck to sit, film and compose.
Through Southampton water, the ferry journey takes you past Calshot: it was a satisfying moment sailing past the place I was the week before, but this time, seeing it from the other side.
Approaching Cowes, the call comes to go back to the car, and I must go complete a morning's work before I can explore that afternoon.
Autumn Pieces 04: Newport
After working the morning at Medina College, I drove in to Newport to visit Quay Arts, a cafe and art centre on the bank of Medina River.
Quay Arts is an old industrial building, with a bridge over the river leading you from the gift shop through to the cafe and arts space. The out door area over looks the river, and it was the perfect location to grab lunch, and recharge.
Walking along Newport Harbour after lunch — I had the hand-made burger — it was great! — You see a mix of disused and renovated industrial buildings and along the edge of the industrial riverside, flowers grow through the cracks in the concrete over the water's edge.
With lunch finished, batteries charged, and a brief explore of Newport Harbour, it was time to head off to Alum Bay to see The Needles and explore the coastline.
Autumn Pieces 05: The Needles
Arriving at The Needles at 3 p.m. I spent some time walking and sitting along the cliff tops, capturing time-lapses, taking in the expansive views over the water and turning them in to music.
Grey clouds started to fill the sky, the light started to fade, and with only a few hours left before my ferry back, It was clear that I wouldn't have time to walk along the cliff tops as well as down to Alum Bay beach. And so, with the rain starting to fall, I decided to walk down the steep steps to the beach.
Autumn Pieces 06: Alum Bay
Film arriving Friday at 6pm
As the rain started to fall, I was determined to make it down to Alum Bay to see the needles from the beach. I knew my GoPro would be fine in the rain, but I was tempted to leave my DSLR behind. However, I decided to tuck my D5100 under my jacket and chance it.
The steps down to the bay are steep, but reward you with incredible views across the bay and out towards the Needles: the windy stairs providing perfect stoping points for photos and a quick time-lapse.
Once down on the beach, the soggy walk was repaid with beautiful clear views and an empty beach: I guess the rain had put everybody else off. The view across to the needles was uninterrupted, and I was glad for my (now worryingly rain covered) DSLR to capture the clouds over the bay.
With clouds continuing to gather, and the rain continuing to fall, it was soon time to make a run back up the steep steps, back to the car, and back to the ferry home. With the fan heaters set to full, I tried to dry myself (and my gear) out.
GEAR:
MUSIC:
FILM:
Music and Mental Health: World Mental Health Day
Today is World Mental Health Day and I wanted to take a moment to join together three thoughts around the music I have made and my mental health. I want to take a moment to do what today calls for: to talk about it.
For me, music and my mental health over the past few years have been inextricably linked.
In June 2014, I released the song 'Collide'. This song was written about the darkness I experienced when I was ill with Ulcerative Colitis. Only looking back afterwards could I see what a huge effect that illness had on me far beyond the physical symptoms. The fatigue that came along with my inescapable and intrusive symptoms demolished my confidence and made me withdraw from the world around me. Whilst my recovery, both physically and mentally is well progressed now, I still carry with me what that time felt like and the effects of it I still feel around me, even with the passing of time.
At the time, I wrote a blog post about the meaning behind the song. I never shared it. It still sits in my drafts folder. I was too afraid, too shy, to talk about it. Even now, listening to this song still makes me cry. Every time.
Perhaps I am being too hard on myself. Because, just like it has taken me over 2 years to finally open up and talk about the meaning behind this song, at the time, it had already taken months to build up the courage to write and record a song that held such a deep meaning for me. Each step has taken time, but has also been cathartic.
In September of this month, I released an EP under the moniker Invaleurs. At the time I wrote:
I have a confession.
For too long, the anxieties I experience around sharing my music online have kept me from creating things I love. But when I set out writing these songs, I made them just for me.
With that freedom, I could explore more freely, able to push beyond the boundaries of my own comfort zone, to create songs I am proud of. And so, I am sharing them with you.
If you enjoy them, if you share them too, then I feel honoured to know that these songs have found new connections beyond the ones I hold with them. If you don't, that's fine too. I've already done what I set out to do.
Being so honest felt scary. But following the release, I had many people share with me how my experiences resonated with theirs. The response I got back is what has given me the confidence to share this blog post now.
This brings me to the third and final thing I wanted to share.
Immediately after releasing the Invaleurs EP, on the spur of the moment, I took my camera and, as I blogged at the time, escaped to Lepe to find some time and space to clear my head. That trip kick started a process that has led to finding myself writing this blog, starting a new Instagram and creating short films and soundtracks that have become one of the most liberating and enjoyable creative processes I have ever been part of.
This process has been quite the opposite experience of releasing songs, EPs and albums. As I blogged just this weekend:
There is something mindful about heading out in to an unknown space and creating my own space within in: through the camera lens and through channeling my focus from the world around me in to the music I compose.
Music and mental health will always be inextricably linked for me. Finding a way to make and release music that is good for my mental health has given me a huge creative boost.
Talking about mental health is scary.
Talking about mental health is important.
Talking about mental health is liberating.
Summer Shorts: Compilation
As the year turns to Autumn, it felt right to bring together the short Instagram films from the Summer Shorts series.
Over the summer I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
These 11 short films and their accompanying compositions represent a body of work created during the summer of 2016.
Music was all composed using the app Auxy (www.auxy.co) and films were shot on a Nikon D5100 with a Nikon 50mm f1.8 FX Lens.
Birthday (Part 2)
This afternoon, the whole family went to the Huntsman of Brockenhurst for a birthday lunch.
The pub was so pretty — full of beautiful details and special touches — and the food was delicious. This is the kind of pub you could go back to every week and find something new to enjoy each time.
It was so special to be in a wonderful place with family and enjoy an afternoon together.
After lunch, it was time to have cake and open presents: plus the opportunity to see the scans of the new niece/nephew for the first time!
Travel Films: London
Earlier this year, Solent University nominated me for an 'Outstanding Contribution to Music' award from UK Music, and this week I traveled to London to go take part in the award presentation.
Carrying on from my Summer Shorts series of films, I took my DSLR and my iPhone with me on my trip to make films and write music inspired by my surroundings.
Day One: Southampton ▸ London
I took the train from Southampton Central to London Waterloo, and as I traveled I wrote a piece of music that was based around a motorik beat.
UK Music Award Presentations
I video blogged the award ceremony for the M-Tech YouTube channel.
The award ceremony, held at UK Music HQ, was a great opportunity to meet the academics, industry representatives and nominees that were part the partnership. After a meal at the Clarence we went to the O2 Academy in Islington to see the Broken Brass Ensemble perform. I'm so incredibly grateful to Solent Uni and to UK Music for their nomination, and for the award evening.
Day Two: South Bank
After staying over night night (and a lazy morning) in the Strand Palace Hotel, I spent the afternoon on Friday around the South Bank. Lunch included amazing street food, and there was a chance to find a spot by the river and write another piece of music, this time, inspired by the busy movement of the South Bank.
Day Three: Hackney Wick
fter a stay over in Bow Quarter with family, we spent Saturday around Hackney Wick. There was brunch by the canal, a trip to Broadway Market, walks through Victoria Park, all ending up with a late lunch at Billy Smokes. The day was too quickly over, and it was time to be on a train back to Southampton again. Using the travel time to reflect on the day, I wrote a piece of music to accompany the video I had shot throughout the day.