Just Life

The past week has been one of my most hectic. The uni deadlines are piling up as we're getting towards the end of term, and I've had events or things to do every single evening this week. 

Monday was the perfect way to start the chaos with dinner with one of my best friends. There's something so  beautifully relaxing about spending time with people that have known you for near enough forever. I cooked some chicken, made some bread and we drank some wine. Rather rustic but absolutely perfect after a day of writing essays. 

This week I also had the opportunity to go to one of the coolest events, courtesy of the ParliaMentors programme I'm on. I trekked up to North London (surprisingly far when you live out East) and went to a discussion evening with the future Chief Rabbi. The whole night was an attempt to create dialogue between London's Muslim and Jewish communities, and we were invited along to catch a glimpse, get a tour and share some hospitality. Incredible opportunity. 

After all the running around London, an interview, another dinner and some training with Church, I felt it was a good time to visit one of my favourite places in London, the Fleet River Bakery. I've written about them before, and cannot rave enough the quality of their coffee. I popped in on Wednesday afternoon as I was in the area, and though it was late afternoon, the place was heaving and I had to weave through chairs to find a spot in a corner. Definitely worth it. With some coffee and some cake I settled down to do some reading, and in the end made a long phone call to catch up with another far away friend. 

Coffee Cake, Fleet River Bakery

Other highlights of the week included a spontaneous run around Kings Cross Station to see Platform 9 and 3/4. Being a huge Harry Potter geek I don't really know how I've survived without taking a visit, so I could barely contain my excitement when we walked in. In all honesty I might have skipped. 

Overly Excited Geekiness

After such a mental week of reading, writing, thinking and such I was very much ready for chilling at home tonight, with pyjamas, wine, the housemates and An Education (which is an incredible film!)

The weekend is set to be busy, but tomorrow will be a week until I'm back home to the seaside! And as much as I love London and it has captured my heart with it's bursting streets and swirling river, I will be pleased to paddle my toes in the sea, and breathe air that tastes of salt and childhood. Bring it on.

And apologies for not writing, I've been doing some other things and blogging has taken a backseat. Soon to be rectified! 

Love and peace xxx

Recent Reflections

This weekend I took a brief visit back to Bournemouth, leaving London for a couple of days to visit the family and attend my friend's engagement party. I wouldn't normally head back so early into term, but it was a lovely opportunity to hang out with the mother and sister, and visit the coast. On Saturday we drove east to a local little market town called Lymington, and poked around in the stalls and shops. I bagged a bargain, and picked up a Hilary Mantel book for just a pound! and bought some beautiful prints of Dorset to remind me of home whilst at Uni.

Saturday evening was spent with friends celebrating the engagement of one of my oldest friends and her new fiancée  There was lots of pizza making, cake and charades. Very, very fun, and great to be together with people that aren't often in the same place at once.

Before I had to dash back to the City though, there was time for a quick trip over Hengistbury Head. Still one of my favourite places, with it's view over Bournemouth and Christchurch, the choppy sea, and the rows of beach huts. It is one of the things I miss most about living in East London where wide open spaces are hard to come by, and are inevitably surrounded by offices and ugly high-rise housing. 

Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth

I was fortunate enough to make a coach that got me back to London in time for church, which was just exceptional this week. The preach was all about stories - how our lives are stories, and yet we're invited to live a bigger story, a more exciting adventure, by becoming characters in God's story, in the great story of all the earth. Anything to do with literature is obviously going to get me from the start, but it was just the most beautiful look at the invitation God gives to his people to live as part of something that is so much bigger than any one individual. We were looking at a passage in the Gospels where Jesus calls the disciples, and I was blown away that he didn't offer them safety, or worldly security, but he did promise them adventure through a relationship with Him. 

The evening was finished off with some student training on working out what you want to do in life. Always helpful, and always needed. As a result, some friends and I grabbed some wine, some chocolate and our notebooks and went and chatted and dreamt about the lives we want to live. It was the best end to a lovely weekend. 

Wine and chocolate to inspire dreaming

And yet there was some incredibly sad news I heard over the past couple of days too. Not directly affecting me, but someone I'm very close to. And in amongst all my reflections on life, I've been faced with the unexpected, by the fact that life is not infinite, at least not in this world. And neither are we masters of it. 

In the face of all that, a quote from Lord of the Rings which was referenced in church on Sunday, has stuck with me. Our stories are always going to involve conflict, they would be very dull tales if they didn't, and yet in the face of conflict, there is hope; a promise of grace. 

“I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself! Is everything sad going to come untrue?” Samwise Gamgee speaking to Gandalf.

The High Life

Yesterday I met up with an old friend for a bit of a catch up, and to walk his dalmatian. Obviously. 

Being the shortest day of the year and all, it was getting dark rather early so we decided to give our usual Purbecks trip a miss, and go local, rather than braving the hills and the rain. Unfortunately, we made a bit of a mistake (possibly my bad choices) and went for a wander in some local fields that surround the river Stour.  Needless to say everything was a bit muddy, and by the time my boots were sunk, we decided it was time to abandon ship, and so headed to the beach which was much less squelchy. 

Throop Mill

Squelchy Fields

Charlie the Dalmation

Flooding River

 We topped the evening off with an incredibly civilised dinner (made entirely from the reduced section of Tesco) including Crab Salad, Coffee Martinis and Ben and Jerry's

Crab and Salad. Om nom nom.

Coffee Martinis. Oh yes.

New Festive Flavours!

I can wholeheartedly recommend. 

All in all a very fun, very Christmassy day.

PS - This is my new favourite website - it recommends drinks based on your music choices! I can't think why I didn't come up with such an idea. It's called Drinkify. 

Friends and Things

Considering some of my oldest, bestest friends now live in London, we still don't see each other enough for my liking. My wonderful friend Sarah came and hung out for the evening tonight though. She's a bit beautiful. I rustled up some fajitas, she brought pudding and we scoffed food and watched Love Never Dies. There was a lot of banter. 

I'm a bit of a people person, and the friends I have from school, are some of my favourite people in the world. We've survived most of them doing degrees, moving towns and houses, and more recently getting pregnant and things, but it still saddens me that we don't all live in the same place and spend every day together. Don't get me wrong, we're all stubborn enough that I think we'd kill each other surprisingly quickly if we lived together, but I miss seeing their faces and laughing hysterically at absolutely nothing. 

 Some of them are meeting up this weekend but I'm in Kent so can't go so I am excited about Christmas and seeing them all together, in the same place at the same time. It has been TOO LONG. This C.S. Lewis quote always makes me think of them. Our friendship is based on mutual geekiness, a love of all things strange, and a willingness to let-the-crazy-out. I love them a lot.

London and Bournemouth Combined

Rather shamefully it's been a few long weeks since I last blogged, and even longer since I blogged anything of significance. University essays, a trip home, and generally being inundated with things to do has kept me away from the laptop for a little. But no longer, I'm back to fill you in on a few things. 

Firstly, this is my new favourite retreat...The Gallery Cafe

http://www.stmargaretshouse.org.uk/gallery-cafe/gallery-cafe

They're based in Bethnal Green, so just up the road from me, and they've got the most chilled, casual atmosphere. Good coffee, good looking cake (alas I cannot say I've tried it) and all their food is vegetarian and vegan.With a conservatory type area at the back, overlooking a garden, and free wifi, it's the best place to go and do work. I was there late afternoon, and with fairy lights, and darkness settling in outside, it was more than a little bit atmospheric. Nicely inspiring. 

I'd heard a few people from Uni go on about these guys, but they really are great. And what's even better, is that they're involved in helping the local community! Super ethical; means eating cake is totally excusable...in fact, it's encouraged! 

Secondly, I'd like to reiterate my absolute love for the Purbecks. Coming from the south coast, I've often forgotten just how lucky I am. The beach is ten minutes down the road, the New Forest is one side of my town, the Purbecks the other. 

This weekend I went home to see the family, whom I've missed A LOT. It'd been about two months, and I was in need of my cats and a roast dinner. Also some friends from home, were rather wonderfully also back i this weekend. I spent a lot of time trying to relax, and eating good food, and chatting. It was just what I needed. On Saturday the family and I went out to Durdle Door, and though it'd been grey and rainy the entire day, the sky cleared and we saw the most incredible sunset. 

The Purbecks and I are good friends. It always just seems to work out. It's like they know I'm not there too often. 

So anyway, I'm now back in London, had a packed day of Uni, meeting up with an old American friend from last year, and then we headed to the recording of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Free entertainment is the best. 

I'm finally beginning to feel like I'm winding down, perhaps it's the alleviated guilt now I've finally written about some of the things I've been meaning to! 

Lots of love xxx

Visits and Things

London has apparently jumped with both feet into the season that is a hybrid of autumn and winter. Something like autunter. There are piles of leaves outside my door, perfect for running through, and yet it's freezing cold, and I'm still wearing winter gloves whilst on the tube. Funnily enough, I'm actually kind of loving it.

This weekend saw friends visiting from all over the place. The beauties I went to school with were about, and considering I've not seen one of them since June, it was a mighty good chance to catch up. This essentially meant doing what we do best; eating and chatting. Friday night we made a Moroccan concoction, and spent the night discussing the past few months. We might also have watched a lot of David Attenborough on youtube. I feel his voice helped us sleep, despite our excitement at being reunited.

Saturday we visited the coolest exhibition, by someone called Mr Brainwash. Kinda bold, slightly garish, and very, very uplifting. Oh, and it's free. Yes, that's why I love the city. We got to go and have our photos taken with a gorilla made of tyres, and then got free posters. It was a pretty sweet afternoon, made even more so by the wonders of the Fleet River Bakery. This cafe has to be one of my favourite spots in the city. It serves Monmouth coffee and is hidden down an alley not far from Covent Garden. I might have been there twice in the last three days.

And then this morning, some of my closest friends from Citygate in Bournemouth, who've been in London for some things, had a spare couple of hours to catch up. Again, friends I love seeing nearly every day when at home, I've not seen in months, so there was lots to talk about.

My day was completed with Church activities. It was a little bit of a special afternoon, with some training time and another epic Sunday at Christchurch. It seems to be a real time for challenge and change and growth and I'm really loving being surprised by what God does each time.

For the sake of the world burn like a fire in me. Light a flame in my soul for every eye to see. 

Pimms and Peacocks

The past couple of weeks have been a blur of work, and seeing friends. I've been a little dazzled by the sunshine too, hence the lack of blogging. Also, I recently acquired a phone that hasn't come from the Stone Age and so I've been spending less time procrastinating on my laptop.

So yes, LOTS of work. It's been kinda great I've had hours so I'm super thankful about that. Did involve me working 51 hours last week though, and being out every night doing things too. I am tired.

In the past couple of weeks I've enjoyed a lot of good food. Some friends and I cooked pizza from scratch, dough and all, and then layered the very best combo of ingredients on top. This involved prosciutto, goats cheese, olives, and rocket. Om. I also went out to Brownsea Island for one of my favourite evenings of the whole summer. It was a baking day, and we sailed across the harbour, taking the most luxurious picnic I think I have ever experienced. There was wine, and a lot of M&S food, and a wicker hamper and wool picnic rugs. And then we watched Shakespeare in the open air, as the sun set. It was stunningly beautiful.

Friday night I went and had very civilised drinks on the beach with the mother, and were surprised by a rather nice firework display, and then it was back to the beach for a birthday BBQ on Saturday. In fact, I feel like I've been living at the beach recently. Think someone needs to build me a house down there; it'd totally be worth it. 

Yesterday was one of my favourite days. Sundays are always wonderful. I love going to church. The fact I get to see friends after is an added bonus. We went out to one of my favourite picnic spots in the New Forest, and then migrated to the pub when it began to pour with rain. There was a lot of laughter, and a jug of pimms, and it was just beeeautiful.

And then today I got some really good news, and that combined with the promise of adventures in Salisbury tomorrow and shopping on Wednesday, makes me rather cheery. Summer is just superb.

Pizza Extravaganza

Early morning beach walks.

Brownsea Island Peacocks.

BBQ's, Friends and Sunsets.

Quaint Dorset

Pimms and Pubs.

Catching Up

True to form, I've somewhat struggled to blog regularly since coming home. It's been a bit of a blur since coming back, and though I'm still struck every so often for Mile End and the joys of city life, I've got used to being back in the south. 

(After watching the football the other day, which in itself was a bit of a surprise, I caught some of the hackney weekend being aired and all I could see was the beautiful East. I might have squealed and got a tad emotional. Woops.) 

Anyway, tonight is my only evening in for the next two weeks. I've somehow acquired a job, but unfortunately it means working til midnight most of the time. Boo. I fear this could hinder seeing friends, but we shall see! The pennies will certainly be helpful as we've finally booked our summer holiday! to PISA we shall go. Well near enough, it's some sort of villa in the middle of nowhere. I am insanely excited considering it is months away. 

So for some more recent news, I've been to the beach and the forest a fair bit, might've got caught in some some sort of bog a couple of days ago too. Oh and it was the bessie's 21st birthday, so we had a huge BBQ and a lot of pimms. Today I went swimming, and then watched Toy Story 2 which was an absolute treat. I am one of those shocking people that has yet to see the third one, so I was getting prepared. 

I've also begun to learn guitar. Well, I say learn, I've learnt the strings or whatever for about five chords. I was greatly saddened by the need to chop my nails off though, so have yet to proceed. Also, it hurt my hands!

With all of that going on, there's not been much time for blogging so I do apologise. I've just found photos from my last days in London and my return to the coast, so enjoy some cocktail inspired photos, and a few with a nice dose of nature.

Jubilee Celebrations

Afternoon Tea at the Primrose Bakery

Our last night out in Shoreditch

The overflowing car as I packed up my life!

The view from campus to Canary Wharf

The hometown

The lake by Hengistbury Head

Watching the Sunset

A rather disgruntled cow

That's probably enough photo spamming for now! No doubt there'll be a few more over the next few weeks. I am ever so excited about the return of the rest of my friends. They've all become very old and are graduating and such, which is nothing but scary pyjamas. I am uber proud of them though, and think they're the absolute bees knees so I can't wait til we're all reunited!

Enough rambling, I must go to bed. In the meantime, I hope you are all as freaked out as I am that Harry Potter is 15 years old. The fact that I remember it all coming out makes me feel ancient.

You can check out old article clips here at The Guardian!

Love and peace amigos xxxxxxxxxx