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| Steak and ale pie |
Sunday, 6 October 2013
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:
Saturday, 5 October 2013
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.
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.
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.
Friday, 4 October 2013
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!!
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!!
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| my humble brownies - cake B |
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| and hopefully the winning cake A |
Thursday, 3 October 2013
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...
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