The No-choc Yule Log Challenge

Last year Pete gave up chocolate. This presented a few challenges, not least when it came to filling up the Christmas stocking - out went the maltesers and 2-foot jaffa cake tubes :-( but we did replace those with yummy handmade fudge from the Christmas markets so not all bad.

Somewhat trickier was the obligatory - in our house at any rate - yule log. I'm no domestic goddess in the kitchen department and, whilst I do have shelves of cookery books, most of them have accumulated more dust than Miss Havisham's wedding dress.

So I was quite relieved when presented with "the alternative yule log" - a very impressive affair comprising a vanilla swiss-roll style sponge heavily encrusted in soft buttercream. At least I was until I read the instructions. Now I can manage a basic sponge - it might not make GBBO but it's edible and the chaps like it. But a swiss roll? This requires more than just dolloping mix into tins and slapping two halves of cake together. Hmmmm...

This is where a cake-savvy friend comes in very handy (especially one who can be bribed with yarn). And this is how we did it (I use the term we loosely - my input was mostly of the moral support variety).

The mix for the cake (yes, 5 eggs!)

Only fair to have a pic of the person who did most of the work so here's Julia hard at work...

The roll (the tea towel was part of the instructions)

  
And cake 2 - for the crumbly coating (I cannot tell a lie -there may have been "a bit" more extra cake than we strictly needed here. But don't worry, it didn't go to waste).

And - ta dah! - the cake (yes, it's sitting in a garlic bread dish - it was a bit liable to rolling)

The lovely jammy, buttercream interior...

And a slice to show it off in its full glory...

With grateful thanks from the Tomkies family to the Telegraph's Rose Prince for the recipe and to Julia for culinary expertise. Yule will never be the same again :-) 

Billy Bragg brings his beautiful tunes to Band on the Wall

 Part of the pleasure of seeing politico-pop veteran Billy Bragg is that it's still possible to see him "up close and personal" (metaphorically speaking) and not in some impersonal, concrete aircraft hangar with warm, canned beer at outrageous prices.

 A favourite artist in a favourite venue - it was guaranteed to be a good night out. And indeed it was.

Mr B was on good form, and embarrassing his backing keyboard/guitarist by pointing out that his Mum and Dad were in the audience was such a funny parent-moment (well for the audience anyway!). Having listened to the new album and not being wholly convinced, hearing it live was a conversion moment. It's rarely left the CD player (yes, I have a CD player not an ipod) and it gets better with every hearing. Combine that with some old favourites and it was an all-round great gig.

Oh, and I know he's getting older but this seemed a bit over-cautious....

 For those who haven't yet had the pleasure, the Band on the Wall is a fab venue. Not only does it serve great food and real ale, including local brews, it is also a non-profit charity that offers amazing opportunities and facilities for anyone interested in pursuing a career in music/production and music-related projects. So not only a great night out but one that helps support aspiring musicians, too - you can have a great night out safe in the knowledge that it's all in a good cause :-)
(did I mention the real ale? Just checking.).

Gig update! SB6, Hadouken, Bleach Blood, Sharks, Current Swell, the Skints

Lots of gigs since April, too!

Sonic Boom Six and Hadouken at Manchester Academy
A perfect pairing of two of our fave bands :-)

Take a look at the new SB6 video and, for anyone who likes a bit of drum and bass, crank it up loud and have a listen to Hadouken's Levitate.

A great night followed by a trip down memory lane with a visit to Big Hands on Oxford Road. In our day it was Champers and served carafes of killer red wine, usually accompanied by large slabs of garlic pizza bread (presumably so our stomachs didn't completely disintegrate). Champers holds a special place in my heart as it was where Pete and I had our first kiss (awww!) so it's fun to go back there and find it hasn't changed that much (well, to be fair, it does serve a rather wider range of beverages and the dodgy red wine has gone!). Happy Days!

Bleach Blood and Sharks
Bleach Blood features as its lead singer former King Blues guitarist Jamie Jazz. The band's set was short but punchy and the new songs are impressive with a very slick and powerful performance for a relatively new band. If you fancy checking them out, you can grab a download of their four-track EP FREE! and as it includes my personal fave track, Anything Anything, I'd highly recommend it.

Sharks delivered a great performance and it would have been great to hear more from them but sadly the band announced their split shortly after this gig :(  (pretty sure it wasn't anything to do with us, honest!)

Current Swell
We did miss the very start of this set and my first thoughts were eek, country and western (not my genre of choice by any stretch - me and Robert Plant nearly had to part company over Alison Kraus). However, my bad, this was an unfair early judgement. Hailing from British Columbia the band describe themselves as acoustic rock, blues, reggae and, having heard the rest of the set, that was fair for sure. If I tell you I bought the CD even tho' I had to fight my way back up two flights of heaving full stairs to get it, you'll get an idea what I thought!

The Skints
Our second outing to see the Skints and Marcia and the band did not in any way disappoint. Knitting afficionados note the stylish take on the Fairisle sweater as sported by drummer Jamie in this video - nice!

Yes, we're in a video!

A music video no less!

See if you can spot Pete and I in the crowd in Sonic Boom Six's latest release, Keep on Believin' (hint: Look for the familiar pink hair in the darts-crowd sequence and Pete at the back).

This latest track from the awesome album, the eponymously titled "Sonic Boom Six", is released today. Check out the band's website for more info....

(And if you happen to be a Scuzz TV viewer, you may just catch us on there, too!) A definite (if unexpected) big tick on the Bucket List!

Time spent with friends..

...is time well spent!

Traditionally we go on a trip away with two of our oldest friends (known longest, not years of age oldest!) to celebrate the boys' birthdays in January but this year we decided to celebrate the girls' birthdays, too! So when I spotted a Groupon offer for two nights in the Lakes, complete with spa, pool, steam rooms etc. (and at a very nice price), it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get away for a good old catch-up and some well-deserved r and r.

As you'll see from the photos it was a bit touch and go with the weather. However, it was Rav to the rescue! A quick post on British Knitters and within minutes a very nice Raveller who lives just down the road from the hotel got in touch with an on-the-spot weather report - amazing!

The Whitewater Hotel is well-named! A former mill, it sits right on the side of the river which was very full. The water levels were almost up to the lower level windows of the hotel restaurant (not the rooms which were higher up!). I think you can get a feel for the sheer volume and power of the water from the photos.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner on Friday with plenty of laughs until the wee small hours. A gentle walk on Saturday, a boat trip across the lake and a trip on the Haverthwaite and Lakeside Railway was followed by a Rasul Mud Temple Ritual which was amazing - highly recommended!

 Sunday was dry and bright so a bracing walk was in order. Naturally all good walks end with cake and coffee so we found a gorgeous little cafe and enjoyed doorstop sandwiches with homemade bread and pickles, homemade cake and piping hot coffee - yum!

We wrapped up the weekend with a trip on the car ferry and a leisurely drive home - lovely!