First thing I've finished in a while

Film of the Week: Submarine

It's a dark coming-of-age comedy about a lovelorn teenage boy in 1980s Swansea, written and directed by Ayoade, adapted from a novel by Joe Dunthorne, and executive produced by Ben Stiller, who appears in a subliminal cameo. Ayoade's film has absorbed the influences of Wes Anderson and Michel Gondry in its deadpan ironies and block capital sans-serif titles, but it's still really personal and confident. For sheer technique, Ayoade can hardly be faulted, though introducing characters in freezeframe/voiceover is getting to be a cliche. His film is shaped with flair, coolly allowing us to enjoy its unrealities and to savour the suspicion that a thirtysomething's sophistication and cinephilia have been sneakily backdated into a teenager's life to offset his emotional vulnerability: a protective nostalgia.

Watch it, it's beautiful and a hidden gem if you ask me.

Album of the century

An album that is faultless

Summer 2011 Trek

Yup, I was missing my boyfriend

Lunch

A folding Cruiser did the job!

During August of 2011 I decided to join a trek across North America and Canada, when I say trek I mean part trek, part everything else. We did everything you can imagine including white water rafting, horse-riding, glacier walking, canoeing, mountain biking etc!

On the last but one day of this adventure I decided that I would break away from the group I had spent the last 13 days with and take back some me time. At this point we were in the beautiful city of Vancouver, therefore I hired a bike and saw the famous Stanley Park and Vancouver's stunning bay. I had blast, weeeeeeee.

Let's go outside!

I've started climbing outside Crags, boy is that fun! Here is a couple I climbed in South Gower, Swansea.

I'm baking again!

I'm working my way through a book of bread and making many mistakes along the way!

Food for Free

At the end of every Summer I have taken to obsessively foraging. As a child I would always pick Blackberries, Blackcurrents and Gooseberries and find ways to make the fruit more exciting. As an adult I am equally as enthusiastic. Anything which can be found in a hedgerow or field or mountain top which is edible I will help myself too.

A good friend of mine has a steady source of Damsons and I froze some Sloes two years ago, so It was time to get my next batch of Winter drinks underway. The fruit was added to Gin and Vodka accompanied by a heap of sugar. In 3-6 months time we shall try out our stock with friends and some wine and cheese.