I don't need any more clothes

And I still keep shopping (all H&M):

am returning the necklace, just didn't look great when worn

And when I returned the necklace, I picked up this skirt in the sale:

Just £7! Still cheaper than the necklace :-)

Simple but yummy

Cooking is currently limited to a couple of nights a week. And I greatly appreciate the luxury of dining out so regularly. Not least, as there is no washing up to deal with afterwards!

The other day, I faced the dilemma of being too lazy to venture downstairs to the shop (yes, it's literally 2 minutes from my flat) and having only very limited supplies in my kitchen... I ended up frying some rice with an onion. That's it. Very simple and very nice!

Eleven

I can't remember how I came across this book by the English comedian and novelist Mark Watson. I don't even know Mark's comedy stuff very well. I probably have seen him on one of the panel shows (Never Mind the Buzzcocks/Have I got news for you/Mock the week) he has appeared on, but other than that I wouldn't consider myself a fan. Whatever it was, I'm glad I bought the book! I really enjoyed it. Yes, it's an easy read - but I like easy reading.

Eleven tells the story of DJ Xavier Ireland (not his real name) and ten other people who are all somehow connected through Xavier's action. One of the things I liked was how he introduces new characters into the story, some of whom are just on the sideline and adds an after-sentence on what would happen in their futures. It's a bit like the 'And this is what happened after we stopped filming' bits after some movies.

Don't expect comedy though. A lot of it is actually rather sad. Scary how one little moment can change lives forever. And nothing you do can ever undo what ensues.

Chocolate...mmmmmh

Touch me

The perfect end to a Monday. Especially a busy and stressful Monday: getting pampered!
And thanks to Amazon local a 60 minute facial and 30 minute neck and shoulder massage at the Purecare Spa only cost me £24!

First of all though, their address is stated at 40 Mortimer Street (~5 minutes from Oxford Circus) - and there are just a number of offices at that address. It's actually next door to it, in the basement of a tanning shop. The waiting area is surprisingly nicely decorated.

It was a very relaxing treatment and just what I needed to calm myself down - but I wouldn't go back for a number of reasons: I had to lie on the table fully dressed (well, without my shoes). The towel only covered me up to my knees so at one point I had to ask for another towel to cover up my feet which were getting cold. She started nearly 10 minutes late - but finished 'on time'. The neck and shoulder massage was a bit strange, especially as I was lying on my back and was fully clothed. The facial felt nice but I didn't get this squeaky clean feeling afterwards.

Some unrelated advice: most shops on Oxford Street are open until 21:00 (which I hadn't realized) and after 20:00 most shops are empty: perfect time to go shopping without queuing for the dressing rooms!

I WANT a chaise longue!

Party in my cabana

Just realized that I haven't posted nail polish photos for a while. This is partly because I'm usually too lazy to do anything fancy with them. It's just one plain colour and I've resorted to just painting them once a week due to lack of time. Still makes me a little twitchy though when they've started chipping by Friday... but hey, you need to set priorities! ;-)

OPI Party in my cabana

Very difficult to describe this colour - depending on the light it either looks more red-ish, or more pink-ish. I really like it, but for some reason I don't pick it very often.

Ricky's word of wisdom

No need to repeat that I am a huge fan of Ricky Gervais. Follow him on facebook and you'll be rewarded with his hilarious and sometimes even inspirational words of wisdom:

Remember, no one can hurt your feelings without your permission.

And my favourite from today:

Remember, don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself. 

Because no one gives a fuck.

Wake me up

Indulging in 'Peter Andre: My life' on a Saturday morning :-)
(as part of which they played this song - in case this didn't make any sense to you)

A litte bit of Australia in Shoreditch

A while back I walked past Salvation Jane (near Old Street tube) and thought to myself I should check it out. And of course, immediately forgot about it.... Today I eventually met some friends for lunch there.

From their website:
"The name Salvation Jane comes from a beautiful flowering plant that was brought to Australia in the 1800s by an English immigrant named Jane Patterson. The plant took hold and became an iconic Australian weed. It is extremely hardy and in drought times, is a source of food to grazing cows, hence the name Salvation Jane. In farming circles it is also referred to as Patterson’s Curse because if too much of the plant is eaten by certain livestock it can kill."

It's a relatively small place and very popular (we had to queue for a table).  A very nice and relaxed atmosphere, great coffee and a short but yummy brunch menu. Given how close it is to my office, I will definitely be back to try their dinner menu!

My Mocha - which looks misleadingly massive in the photo. I had the poached eggs on sourdough bread with extra fried haloumi and streaky bacon. Photo below shows the corn fritters with fresh spinach and slow roast tomatoes served w an avocado chilli lime salsa and crème fraiche and a poached egg.

Beauty delivery

I finally gave in. After months of re-visiting the Birchbox website, I finally signed up. Bonus month seemed like a good time to commit to a yearly subscription (which also means you get three boxes for free!). A box costs £10 + £2.95 for postage and package. While I of course paid for this, it still feels like a present when the box arrives. I haven't tried anything just yet, but here's what I got this month:

• Laura Mercier Tinted moisturizer with SPF 20
• Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant
• KMS California Free Shape Deep Conditioner
• theBalm cosmetics Stainiac - lip and cheek stain
• Dr. Lipp Nipple balm for lips
• Lifestyle Extra: Eyelash Curler
• Beauty Extra: Egyptian Magic - a multi-purpose healing skin cream

Comic Con and bad timing

The Comic Con is on at the ExCel this weekend. And the DLR is suspended from Canning Town to Beckton this weekend. Which means that the hundreds (thousands?) of visitors had to either get on a replacement bus or walk - past my apartment block - to Canning Town station.

I was of course unaware of this. And left my place for a quick shop just at the time, when the show finished last night. Slightly bizarre experience to be swallowed up by a massive group of people, a lot of them dressed up. I was surprised to see that Pikachu is still en vogue! Lots of supermen around, too.

1.5hrs=two buttonholes

I hadn't even realized that you could use a sewing machine to sew buttonholes. You sew the edges first and then cut the buttonhole open. A fascinating process (I'm not joking!), and it took me a few trial runs until I settled for this result:

this is where the drawstring for my skirt will go in;
the puckering is due to the lightweight cotton and not my poor skills, of course...

Dumplings and bubble tea

Jen Cafe is on the corner of Newport Place, just a short walk from Leicester Square tube station. It's a rather unimposing little place, with very simple decor and you can watch them make their dumplings in the window. While I had walked past hundreds of times, I had never gone inside - until recently.

So far, I've only tried the fried dumplings and the apple bubble tea. Both were very nice! I probably wouldn't recommend it for a proper sit down meal, but it's great for a quick snack.

Gingerbread biscuit chocolate deluxe

A little present at the MIMA dinner - delicious chocolate!

I noticed the slightly strange translation from 'alcool' to gin. And the asterisk regarding the added sugar: 'no added sugar - or the minimum when impossible otherwise'. Interesting marketing tool...

And the MIMA goes to...

I had never been to an awards dinner, so I was quite excited when I got an invite to the Meetings Industry Marketing Awards (MIMA) dinner this year. Why I got a free ticket (on sale for £175+VAT), is still a mystery to me, but then I never quite know why/how I end up on certain guestlists. Obviously, I am not complaining!

The dinner/ceremony was held in the Champagne Suite (capacity for a banquet for 1,200!) at the 4* Novotel West, near Hammersmith and unfortunately right across town for me. The evening started with a champagne reception and me running into a friend! What are the chances of us arriving at the same time? Just to say that there were about 450 invited guests that evening.

I also got excited about seated at table three in the front row. Given that we got served our food last, it seems that the tables at the back were the better ones after all...

The evening started with two charities supported by the Meetings Industry Meeting Needs (MIMN) charity got the opportunity to present themselves. Both absolutely worthwhile causes but I hate to say that the presenters did a rather terrible job. They both rushed through and it all seemed rather random. The second guy kept getting his numbers wrong and claiming that 30,000 people losing their lives in a recent storm was a low number seemed very wrong indeed. And whoever abbreviated the school in India they support with 'PUSS' either had a twisted sense of humour or didn't think very much about it. The presentation ended on the rather somber motto of theirs: 'As long as children are allowed to suffer, there is no love in the world.' Which I don't agree with at all. 

Don't get me wrong, by the sound of it, both these charities are doing amazing work which I have so much respect and admiration for. It's just that I don't think their presentations really reflected this very well.

Dinner followed and then the awards ceremony. I had hoped for a celebrity to do the compering, but no such luck. And the next hour turned into a very boring affair. Winners in 10+ categories were announced. Each group had a shortlist and then a bronze, silver and gold winner. The gold winners were then interviewed together with a representative of the jury who had picked them. And far from being inspirational and innovative, we got to hear about the importance of mixing social media channels (really?) and using postcards for marketing purposes... To be honest, I might have missed out on all the meeting marketing gems, as I stopped listening.

After the awards, desserts and coffee was being served outside. As it was quite late by then, I headed home pretty soon after that. Overall, it was an interesting experience (people had warned me, that it would probably be a rather boring affair...), and I had pleasant conversations over dinner. And met my friend. And enjoyed the main course and dessert. All good.

my golden ticket; pretty flower centrepiece;
crayfish with cocktail sauce; venison with a fantastic apple sauce and celeriac dauphinoise

Liebesbotschaft

I can't remember whether I've written about this blog before: Liebesbotschaft. Not only does Joanna have great taste in fashion and interior design, I love her take on life. Whenever I read her entries, I usually have this 'Aha' moment. It's probably not rocket science, but she reminds me to look at life in a (more) positive way. It's very refreshing and inspiring.

I emailed Joanna recently to ask her whether she was happy for me to publish the below (translated) bit from her blog. To be honest, I didn't expect a reply as she surely gets hundreds of emails every day. So, I was  happily surprised when I got a very sweet note from her!

Here's some advice from a recent blog post about having more fun in every day life:

1) Yesterday is over
You can't go back in time and can't change the past. So, get over it and make the most of today instead of dwelling on yesterday's shortcomings.
2) Enjoy every activity and especially yourself
You get to spend every single minute with an amazing, inspiring, funny and beautiful person: yourself! Enjoy!
3) Don't think on behalf of other people
What does it matter to you what other people think? And especially what they think about you? Don't take on other people's negativity, stress or worries. Don't try to analyze or judge other people's behaviour. You are only responsible for yourself.
4) Don't take things so seriously.
Spread joy and serenity whenever you can. Be silly and have fun.

just a random but pretty pic taken in Lisbon

Filth

I hadn't read any reviews, nor did I know what the film was about. But I'd seen James McAvoy in an interview promoting the film. To be honest, I have no idea what made me want to watch it - but I did. And thanks to some Amazon local vouchers, tickets at the Odeon were only £6 [you can still buy vouchers, valid until 18 November]

It doesn't seem quite right to say that I 'enjoyed' it. It is very brutal, it's rude and crude and there are penises on display. But I did think it was a good film. Very strong Scottish accents though and I didn't understand everything. Enough to follow the story though.

Define 'priority'

My PC at work broke down last week. It suddenly just switched off. While I was waiting for my new PC to be delivered, I played musical chairs and was using the desks of my colleagues who happened to work from home (and man, their desks seem so much bigger than mine! It does pay off to be a bit tidier...). I was delighted when the new PC had already arrived this morning. My IT colleague was asked to set up the PC as a matter of urgency. Cause really, it would be quite good if I was able to work at my desk again. One would kind of think that that is a given.

Well, 'priority' seems to be a term open to interpretation.
16:30

It's a skirt! - No, it REALLY is!

It just happens to look like a pillowcase...

On the upside, I FINALLY (only week 6 of the course...) started doing some actual sewing! And I have found my new favourite toy: the overlocker sewing machine! Never even knew such a thing exists. The set up with three (or even four) different threads feeding into the machine looks very complicated. Fortunately, it's all done for us and ready to uses. It's used to sew over the raw edges of clothing and can also be used for hemming and seaming. It comes with a little knife that cuts along the raw edge before it's overlocked. And it's so much fun to use!

this is inside out - the white seam won't be seen (not that I think I will EVER wear this...)

Royal China, Canary Wharf

Royal China has 5 branches across London. The one in Canary Wharf (closest DLR stop Westferry) was refurbished in 2011 and is very popular on a weekend. They don't take bookings for lunch, so best to come early (~12:00) to get a table. They have a wide selection of Dim Sum at very reasonable prices. Service is quick and we were left to sit and chat despite people queuing for a table. I'll definitely be back!

BBQ pork buns are missing in the photo

The competition is hotting up!

I again forgot to take pictures of last week's Office Bake Off cakes... But we had an additional participant competing against last week's cake (which I didn't get to try...):

such a yummy berry cheesecake! And it looked so professional!

Kitsch Lounge Riot

We were invited to the Kitsch Lounge Riot at Cafe de Paris as VIPs. Well, at least the wristband said VIP and so did the invite. It didn't seem to mean anything though... Neither food nor drinks were included and eventually we didn't have anywhere to sit either. The show acts were great though! And the venue is very cool, too. Acts included The Magnets (three of their six members anyway), and David Julien from the Voice.

The celebrity junkie that I am, I was most excited about Lee Mead being there as a guest! Not that I even knew him... but my friend pointed him out. He won the BBC casting show 'Any dream will do' where he also met Denise van Outen who he was married to and has a kid with - but they apparently broke up this summer. I wonder whether one of the reasons that I don't ever see celebrities in London is, that I don't know/wouldn't recognize half of them...

And his hair wasn't actually grey!

Move over, Philip Treacy

I attended a fascinator making class today at MWH & That's Gallery. The three hour class was reduced from £65 to £24 and included all materials. It was very much a learning by doing class and - not surprisingly - I went for a rather simple design and was therefore done after about two hours. It was a lot of fun and I am actually quite pleased with the result! Not entirely sure when I will wear it though... But I've bought some more materials anyway. :-)

impossible to take a good photo of it....

Bunnies and cakes

I forgot my phone charger in the hotel in Eastbourne the other week. And yes, that's something that would normally NEVER happen to me... (I'm sure this is making certain people laugh right now!) Fortunately, I still had the cable for transferring data/photo from my phone to my laptop which doubles up as a charger, too. But it's not very convenient needing a laptop/PC to charge my phone. So, I got a replacement charger via ebay. And once on ebay, I found these super cute phone cases. Not that I needed a new one - but my current one was looking a bit greyish (shouldn't have picked a white one...), and for just £2.17 for two, I had to get them. Super fast delivery, great ebayer and my phone is now guarded by vampire bunny!

Welcome to my wardrobe!

With a bit of a delay, here are the three dresses I decided to keep from my Zalando order (terrible photo quality as per usual....):

the neckline of the dress on the left is the perfect frame for my tattoo :-)
and the dress on the right looks much nicer when worn!

I hope you find it

I hope we all do!
Yes, I watched the X-factor last weekend.... And Cher looked amazing!

Taste of Siam in Camden

A nice little restaurant close to Mornington Crescent tube station. Quick service, nice food and cheap! What else do you nee?

Dumplings and Pad Thai were mine - yummy!

Fortunately, the milk

One of my friends is a massive Neil Gaiman fan.
To be honest, while I had seen Coraline and Stardust, I had never heard of him... But I agreed to accompany her to his reading of his latest children book 'Fortunately, the milk' anyway. And it was great! Maybe I should read more children books - I loved the random and bonkers story. And it made me want to go home and write my own crazy story.

The event took place at Central Hall Westminster - opposite Westminster Abbey and an amazing and beautiful venue. Neil had invited a number of guests for the warm up as well as to assist with reading his story and his wife made a special appearance and performed a song on her ukulele at the end. I have to admit that I didn't know any of the special guests... (turns out that one of them was Lenny Henry - who I do know! But he looked so slim and young from our faraway seats on the balcony!) And I could have done without the warm up intro, but I did really enjoy the rest of it. And it was very sweet when he told how his wife had surprised him by returning early from the USA. Isn't love lovely?

Cover, signed copy and special bookmark

The Great Hall at Central Hall Westminster

Tim Minchin's 9 Life Lessons

Not just funny - check it out:

“Sometimes it is better to use simple gestures than to speak at all”

I somehow think they are not referring to what I am thinking of...

Module two of my TEFL course completed. There is a lot of very obvious stuff in there (I should not be laughing at the student's mistake? Really?) and some of the true/false statements made me laugh out loud but there is also some good stuff in there to think about. Which is applicable to other situations, too (e.g. motivation). 

Test - teach - test and other stuff

Over the years, I have had a few moments of frustrations with my current job (as most people, I am sure). And along the way - on and off - I've been playing with the idea of getting into Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Now, I am not a born teacher by any means nor is it something I am particularly interested in, but I thought that it wouldn't do any harm to have a TEFL qualification as it offers another route of (additional) income and should I ever decide to move to another country, I am hoping it will come in handy.

Back in the summer, Time Out offered vouchers for a 140 advanced online TEFL course with TEFL247 for just £19. So I signed up for it. And realized that I needed to start the course before 20 October. And I have 75 days (I think) to complete it.

So far I completed module 1 of 10 which was an introduction to teaching and learning styles. You take short tests (usually multiple choice) along the way. The final assessment can be taken two times - and a third time if you pay extra. I have my doubts how much an online course can prepare you for real life teaching but I guess it might still be a foundation on which one can build.

Chinese a la Tastecard

Haozhan offer 2 for 1 on everything from the main menu, excluding rice and noodle dishes. I'm afraid to say there wasn't anything outstanding about the place. It was ok and service was friendly. My lemon chicken was rather dry and didn't come with any vegetables and very little sauce. The crispy duck with pancakes looked nice (I didn't get to try any - my dinner companion is clearly not a food-sharer ;-)). I had the Black Cod Siu Mai as a starter and was a bit surprised that I was only given two siu mai - for the price of £8.30. Maybe I underestimated the value of black cod?

Overall, a lovely evening but I don't think I would go back.

Tender stir fried rib-eye beef in red wine sauce served with black pepper, garlic and spring onion
Maybe I simply picked the wrong starter and main...

my lemon chicken

It's Lebkuchen time

And I got some hand-delivered from Germany (much appreciated, by the way!). I should actually check Aldi and Lidl over here cause this one package won't last me long...

Yummy!

The world of extreme happiness

Go and see it! It's on at The Shed until 26 October.

'There are only two roads to walk down. You can see the truth – and always be in pain. 

Or we can look away and be rich. And safe. And happy.'

I'm terrible at summarizing plays or films or books, so I won't even try... Check out the website for the story. Katie Leung plays the main character, Sunny. She is known from the Harry Potter films (which I personally haven't watched - so just checked that on google...) and has a lovely Scottish accent. The whole cast was absolutely brilliant!

The Shed is a temporary venue built just outside the National Theatre. It opened in April 2013 and will be there for just a year. It only has 225 seats and tickets are just £12 or £20.

It all started with a rainbow

Journey into work was a bit nightmarish in terms of crowded (not unusual) and then having to wait for ages for the doors to open at Bank station. Then had to sit through 4 hours of a massively boring meeting about databases. But a day that starts with a rainbow simply has to end well!

We had some great news (work) confirmed and it triggered a number of very nice emails acknowledging my contribution to the successful outcome of this particular project. And in my sewing class, we were finally allowed to use the sewing machines! And finally, when I came home, the dresses I had ordered online were ready to be picked up!

When I look back at the last 4-5 months, I am very proud of all the changes I've made to my life. I feel so much happier than I have in a long time. I also feel really fortunate when I think of the people who have come (back) into my life. And in terms of my job: when I had to prepare my appraisal document a few weeks ago, I looked back at the last 12 months and realized just how much I've achieved there, too. Thanks to a number of interesting and challenging projects, I have learned a lot and have gained so much confidence. Who would have thought... I certainly didn't! Life is good! :-)

haven't tried them on yet - I do hope that they won't ALL fit!
I fully banked on returning some of them for the benefit of my bank account

North Bank

Until yesterday, the weather in London was surprisingly un-autumn-like. Sunday was another warm and sunny day, so I decided to take the DLR down to the Tower of London and go for a walk along the North Bank of the Thames. (and then over night, temperatures dropped to just 13C and this morning I wished I had taken gloves with me....)

learned a new word!

No bake off cake for me this week

I missed out on this week's bake off cake. Cake A withdrew from the competition for reasons unknown to us. And cake B was gone so quickly, that I didn't manage to get a piece! Not a bad thing maybe. With all the cake I've been eating lately, I decided to start walking a bit more. Earlier this week, I was planning on walking from the office to Tower Gateway. And gave up at Bank... But that already took me about 30 minutes. Along the way, I came across the Guildhall Art Gallery - which is one of the reasons why walking across London is so nice: you discover all these hidden (or at least less known) treasures.

The Guildhall Art Gallery

And the guildhall next to it

Oh, and I also found out that my cake won last week... I demanded a recount - with no effect... It also turned out that my assumption about my competitor were wrong - it was actually my boss who had baked that wonderful cake!

Steak night!

Monday and Tuesday it's steak night at Zilouf's on Upper Street, Islington - 2 for just £20! I went for the rib eye for the simple reason that it was meant to come as 8oz version and the rump steak was 10oz. When the food arrived mine looked actually even bigger than the rump steak! In any case, both tasted very nice. And so did the tripple cooked fries and the bearnaise sauce was delicious, too. The side salad on the other hand came with an unusual dressing. We couldn't really identify what it consisted of, but I'd probably not order it again.

I only managed about half of this....

The skirt project

Finally my clothes making class started a few weeks ago. The fact it’s on a Friday night from 18:00-21:00 is a bit of a nuisance. As I usually am so knackered that I just want to go home... But hey, I do want a skirt at the end of this, so I am persevering!

In lesson 1 we were told that we wouldn’t start sewing until week 5. Which was rather disappointing. Quite quickly it became obvious that the class is moving very slowly indeed. I partly blame the teacher who doesn’t seem all that familiar with the pattern we are working on. Several of us had to point out that we needed to make sure that we can pull the skirt over our hips, as there is no zipper included. Which means the waist measurements need to take account of our hip measurements. Calculating the final garment measurement also turned into a bit of a headache – adding the seam allowance: yes or no? At the end we all seemed very confused.

On the up side, the other girls in the class (we are making a skirt, so it’s not surprising that there are no guys attending at all) are all really nice and so at least we are having a good laugh, while sometimes pointlessly sitting around. Last Friday, we finally started on the fabric and I of course went for pink! (well, also, because it was cheap... John Lewis has a nice selection of fabrics, but all at hefty prices - at least for a beginner project!) I still have serious doubts that I will be able to wear the final product...

I am already signed up for the spring class, which will be about making a top. And I managed to secure a place on the Monday evening class. Which will hopefully be a tiny bit better than having a class on a Friday night!

And not to forget: pink really is THE colour!

Eastbourne had me won over the minute I saw the pink goody bag in my (5*) hotel room! It came with a pink mug and pink pen, which doubles up as a USB stick. Now, that’s useful!

Black is (also) the colour

My first ever shop at COS. A lot of their clothes I find a bit too straight cut and they look a bit boxy and even baggy. But I found a couple of tops and a cardigan, each with a little 'twist':

'Folded front cardigan', £55

'Draped neck knit top', £55

'Front drape top', £39

And - very excitingly! - as I recently had to bin a handful of tights (damn those bloody ladders!), I went to stock up at Primark and M&S:

Es gibt Reis, Baby

One of the rare occasions that I cooked: chicken curry with basmati rice

Just made me think of Helge Schneider's song from the '90s:

Pay-Day-Pie-Day

We get paid on the 26th of the month and it's become a bit of a tradition to get chips and pie on the Friday of that week. Here's what I had on September Pay-Day-Pie-Day:

Steak and ale pie

Cabaret

I had no idea what the musical 'Cabaret' was about. When I was offered free tickets to the show featuring Will Young (him from Pop Idol) in Eastbourne, I very happily accepted them and with hindsight, I should have at least read up on it beforehand.

For those who also don't know the story:
It is set in 1931 Berlin at the seedy Kit Kat Klub. At the centre of the story is the English performer Sally Bowles who meets and falls in love with the American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Then there is also the romance between Fräulein Schneider - Sally's and Cliff's landlady - and Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor and one of her tenants. In the second act, the political changes brought on by the Nazi regimes are becoming clearer and clearer.

It was an amazing show with great and very raunchy dancing and excellent singing. The first part had quite a few comical elements, too and Will was superb as Emcee, the master of ceremonies. Well, all of them really had amazing voices! After the interval it all turned very dark, culminating in the very last scene, which alludes to the concentration camps.

While it is a very good show, I did leave the theatre feeling upset. Some of human behavior seems impossible to comprehend really.

Eastbourne - not quite Brighton

But hey, it's on the seaside! On this week's mini fam trip, we did get to see the stereotypical Eastbourne: pensioners everywhere. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great and we also didn't have any time to just sit on the (pebbled) beach, as we had a tight schedule of site visits.

We got to stay at the Grand Hotel - according to their website the only 5* hotel on the British coastline. It's certainly an impressive building. But to be honest, I don't quite understand why it's rated 5*. My room wasn't particularly big, the 3* hotel we saw had a bigger TV and the bathroom is carpeted. The windows were rattling quite badly in the wind and even with earplugs in I could still hear them. Thankfully, I was able to fix it with the help of stuffing in a magazine.

It's certainly a very traditionally British hotel. With carpets and plush sofas. I personally prefer a more modern design.

Sheldon's words of wisdom

Finding happiness within yourself. How hard can it be?

Office Bake Off round 2

I’m delighted! I think my chances of NOT winning this round are extremely high! My brownies with walnuts and dried cherries are competing against an absolutely delicious orange and almond cake. Whoever baked it, was of course well prepared and had a print out to identify the cake and it came with a tub of crème fraiche. That alone should give it the edge over mine! (and also made it rather obvious who of my colleagues baked it - I had even forgotten whether mine was A or B...)

Unfortunately due to meetings today, the result of the votes has not yet been announced. I somehow think that my colleagues should be taking this more seriously. Get your priorities right, people!!

my humble brownies - cake B

and hopefully the winning cake A

Swearing in the workplace

I’ve only just discovered the British comedy ‘The thick of it’ – and I am loving it! I thought I swore a lot (no, I’m not proud of that at all – one of my very bad habits) – but boy, in comparison to that lot, I am a saint! The series takes place at the Ministry for Social Affairs and Citizenship and follows the regular f*ck ups of the minister and his/her team as well as interference from Malcolm Tucker, the government’s director of communications. Malcolm is played by Peter Capaldi (the new Doctor Who) and is probably the most foul-mouthed but very witty character I’ve seen on a TV show. His strong Scottish accent just adds to his 'charm'. 

Too bad they only made four series, and I am already on episode 1 of series 4!

FINALLY!

Internet and phone are working again! Thanks to my smartphone (and work, of course) I wasn't actually really offline for the last week but it also meant that I have already used my data allowance for the whole month...