Yes please....

Ashton Court - my new favourite place

With all the lovely (and not so lovely) weather we have been experiencing lately I have visited Ashton Court in Bristol quite a few times over the last few months. It really is one of my all time favourite places. I love all the walks in the woods, all the big green open spaces, the massive trees that make you feel so small and just knowing that even though you are in such a bustling city, this haven is two seconds down the road. I can't wait for Autumn when all the leaves on the trees go brown and it will look completely different again. 

Millenium Square, Mooching and Macaroons

So we were going to go to the beach this weekend but because a.) the weather decided to turn cooler on the weekend - typical and b.) the beach we were going to go to was where that awful cliff collapse happened, we thought we would enjoy a lie in and explore the sites of Bristol that we still had not ventured.

Friday night we set up a picnic on Millenium Square and watched the amazing site that was the Olympic Ceremony. All I can say is Danny Boyle done good. And it was made all the better by watching it with hundreds more people also enjoying picnic wine and sunshine in the middle of Bristol, cheering along with the familiar faces of Daniel Craig, David Beckham and anything that resembled something remotely British getting whoops and rounds of applause. Also made me very proud (and also quite emotional) when everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, got to their feet and sang the National Anthem. Goosepimples. 

The crowds begin to gather... 

The Big Screen

More and more people came throughout the evening

Saturday we thought we would visit all the places in Bristol that we are yet to visit - Gloucester Road and Stokescroft and rather than drive (we were feeling rather energetic) we ended up walking a 7.5 mile round trip! Gloucester Road was great, I finally understand the passion behind keeping the independence of Bristol trade alive, every single shop and cafe along there are pretty much all independent, apart from the Costa which was dead compared to the hustle and bustle of all the cafes and bars with tables and chairs outside that were full of people (including us) enjoying the sunshine. It was like being abroad somewhere!  


We then carried on down to Stokescroft and mooched in and out of all the eclectic furniture, fashion shops and what not. We then headed into The Bear Pit as there were some pretty enticing smells coming from down there to find it's very own little community including a stall selling the most amazing looking jerk chicken, The Hip Hop Chip Shop (eats and beats!) and some local artists and jewellery makers. Very unexpected and very cool. More can be found about the Bear Pit revival here as I know it still has a bit of a bad rep : http://www.the-bear-pit.org.uk/

Also loved all the artwork in and around the Bear Pit, including the Shelfless Book Exchange where people leave books to be enjoyed by the next person to pick it up. Love it. 

We then visited Christmas steps, aswell as stopping off at a cheeky bakery and picking up my first ever macaroon. If you have never had one you are missing a right treat! These ones we bought and then devoured minutes later at www.patisserieleila.com so so good! 

And then this evening I have just got back from finally watching The Dark Knight Rises. All I can say is - wow. Hardy is unbelievable, I want to be Anne Hathaway and straddle a motorbike clad in leather and a cat mask and god dammit Michael Cain, I can't help blubbering when you are crying too! So so good. And so good to see Joseph Gordon Levitt coming into his own after watching him as an awkward teenager in 10 Things I Hate About You, ironically starring good old Heath who played the Joker in the first of the Dark Knight Trilogy. Well Done. 

Nas & Amy Winehouse

I will always have a great love for Amy Winehouse, and since it was a year ago that she passed and a mixtape has been released of varous remixes and mash ups of some of their work, remixes that they never had time to finish before she died. You hear all these things coming out about all the collaborations that she had in mind when she apparently was getting her life back on track and it seems such a shame. Have a listen to the mixtape - called Me & Mr Jones, and also their track together "Cherry Wine" also features on Nas' new album 'Life is Good'.


The mixtape can be found here and Cherry Wine can be found here


Goes well in the sunshine... 

Coffee that thinks its tea...

I'll let you know what it's like!

Carrying a knife for all the right reasons - Gerber advert

Bloody good advert. I want to go and buy a knife and conquer the world. 

Songs I have on repeat right now..

There always seems to be a bit of a lull and then all of a sudden there is five or six songs that I cannot get enough of. Here is what is on repeat at the moment...

Ellie Goulding Ft. Tinie Tempah - Hanging On

Haunting voals and a disorentatingly beautiful video to match. Love Tinie too. 



Major Lazer Ft. Santigold - Hold The Line 

I don't know whether because Carnival is upon us (or maybe it is the subliminal use of this as a sample in a new Cheryl Cole song) but this has danced it's way back onto my playlist.. 



Wiley - Heatwave

Ultimate Sumer 2012 song. Fact. Hit play and try not to dance your shoulders. See. Impossible.



Now if this jet stream just does one we can all go out in the sunshine and have a dancey dance. 

New single from No Doubt - Settle Down

It's been a hella long time coming, but it's been worth the wait. Stefani has still got it - how the hell has she not aged a day?! 


Love it. 

New Hampstead Tea packaging, hmmmm looks familiar...

2000 Gallons of Mud....

So it's been a busy few weeks with not a lot happening, other than the usual day to day busyness of life, but this weekend saw the annual trip to 2000 trees festival with my good friend Phillippa.
Basically, we put in a few shifts at the bar, which I kind of enjoy anyway and we get free tickets. Bonus.
Although this year was a hella lot muddy than usual (literally, never seen mud like it), we pitched camp, pulled pints, had a bit of a dance and dressed up as Sims, as you do (this years fancy dress theme was video games characters, I would like to think I excelled myself this year, I am known as The Don of fancydress) and had a muddy good time. Also now have a few more favourite musical likes to add to my playlist. Good times all round.
Below are a few snippets from our muddy weekend, and a few samples from my new musical finds... 

Excuse the squiffyness of the image, haven't quite figured out how to rotate images in blogspot! 


And here are my musical likes of the weekend... 


Lucy Rose has a gorgeous voice... 

As do Lanterns on The Lake.. 

Goodnight Lenin are a local brummy band (well local to me), and were a lovely bunch of chaps.. 

And I have once again rekindled my love for The Futureheads after seeing a brilliant acoustic set from them, followed by there much more lively one on the main stage.. 

So even though it was a complete mudfest, it was definitely a weekend to remember, and we managed to catch a bit of sunshine as well as polishing my driving in the mud in the middle of a field skills. Win. 

Something to make you smile on a rainy day...