Cake International Birmingham

Met up with a group of girlies from our Cake, Cake and More Cake Group.  I drove Gemma and Janet and when we got there it was fun trying to find the others.

I enjoyed walking around the exhibition and here are some of my favourite cakes.

Great night in Belfast - 4 Nov 2012

Well when Rob told me last weekend that he was playing in Belfast on Sunday with Brian Houston, I could not resist but buy a plane ticket to go to this epic event.  £96 later here we go...

It would be my first time seeing Brian with a band and Rob solo.  

Arrived in Belfast in the morning and Rob had already been there a couple of hours.  We could not check into hotel yet.  

Rob was a bit tired as he was at hospital all night with Gemma witnessing the birth of his little boy Charlie.

The gig was not as busy as anticipated but Rob was very well received and we sold quite a few EP's.  It was a very emotional time for more reason than one.

Both Rob and Brian were outstanding and we finished the night off with a splendid curry!

www.robertvincentmusic.com
www.brianhouston.com

Florence + The Machine Gig Review - 06.03.2012

This is a review I wrote:


On Tuesday 6th March, 2012, Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena saw Florence + The Machine headline a sold out evening of quality music with support from Spector and The Horrors. Resident AltSounds photographer Stephanie Webb went along and took photographs, whilst her friend Margi Marshall wrote the review.

First support, electronic outfit Spector took to the stage earlier than anticipated, so a review of them wasn’t possible.





When the second support, The Horrors came on the stage I guess I expected a bit more “horror” looking band and I couldn’t help thinking how incredibly skinny frontman Faris Badwan is, dressed in blackwith fuzzy hair and a fringe like a pelmet.





The setlist largely comprised an excellent balance of songs from latest album Skying and and its predecessor Primary Colours. The songs from both records sat very well alongside one another.





They kicked off their set with the very long intro into the aptly named 'Endless Blue' with shoegaze basslines and lazy swirling guitar. This was followed by 'Who Can Say,' a track from Primary Colours which had a distinct 80’s feel to it, especially the spoken section of the song. This was followed by 'I Can See Through You' and 'Changing The Rain' which is the next single and had a definitely more relaxed style to it. The crowd then got woken up with a very electric sound, sirens blazing and great booming drums echoing the ghostly Factory Records funk of Mirror’s Image.



Primary Colours track 'Scarlet Fields' radiated with particular vivacity. The line “collapse into a dream” appeared like a command that couldn’t be circumvented. The hypnotic synth-line that immediately followed it took you under whether you were prepared or not. 'Sea Within A Sea,' arguably their greatest song to date, doesn't quite have the same spooky atmosphere live, and the beautiful arpeggio ending was cut a little short, but it was still a wonderful experience.





Badwan didn’t have a lot to say to the audience, but the music spoke volumes. The set was finished off with the first single from their last record in the effect-drenched Echo and the Bunnymen-style anthemics of 'Still Life.'





Then it was time for the main act. In a packed Nottingham arena the first thing that struck me was the beautiful Art Deco Stage set, with beaming stain glass effects, complete with matching side video screens. There was a distinct gasp from the audience when the concert harp was unveiled.





A barefoot Florence appeared on stage wearing a black beaded cape swirling around the stage like some kind of gothic princess. She opened the set with the first track from her latest album Ceremonials, 'Only If For a Night.' This was followed directly by the anthemic, spine-tingling 'What the Water Gave Me,' backed by thudding drums, dainty piano lines, delicate harp pluckings and a gospel-style chorus.





'Strangeness and Charm' is a very mechanical sounding fast paced lively song with Florence giving the occasional scream in a very Bjork-like fashion. It's more than just a love song with the way its exploring of how amazing it is that all this crazy chemistry and physics and so on has formed her feelings. You could argue it both ways, that it’s using physics to explore the concept of love, or that it’s using love to explore physics. In reference to the latter concept, I really appreciate the way she turns all that stuff into all those metaphors and poetry... the "drug for angels" line is really cool.





The start of 'Between Two Lungs' had the seated part of the audience on their feet. This anthemic song from her debut album which features great pace changes and a clapping sequence had the entire crowd singing along. This rolled nicely into 'Shake it Out' which saw Florence shed her cape to reveal a very tight-fitting black cat suit as she sang the lines “always darkness before dawn” for the first time.





During 'Dog Days Are Over,' the place erupted into some kind of evangelical rally - just one of several purging moments. Florence referred to this as the audience participation section as she asked everyone to jump up and down.





Welch was joined on stage by acoustic guitar and she told the tale of how she wrote 'Heartlines' about what ties you to those at home - but obviously with a dark Florence twist.





The crowd were on their feet again for Florence’s dancy cover of The Source’s 'You got the Love' which was vocally perfect! 'Rabbit Heart' was another sing-along favourite with the chorus of “Raise it up” bellowing from the crowd. This song featured a great harp and keyboard solo.





Florence finished with the very catchy 'Spectrum' - another song from Ceremonials. Catchy lyrics and melodie in a song that to me is about falling in love and the euphoria one feels a “goosebump moment” definitely ensued. To say that Florence Welch turned the audience to putty in the palms of expressive hands, would be an understatement. She has the most domineering stage presence that exudes confidence even though she comes across as very humble. At times the music can sound vaguely familiar; yet overall it sounds unlike anything else played on mainstream radio today.



The encore featured two songs from Ceremonials, their second album, which is only a few months old. Nonetheless, many in the crowd were familiar with the lyrics to both songs: 'Never Let Me Go' “and all this devotion was rushing over me”, which I still haven’t been able to get out of my head, and 'No Light, No Light' “you want a revelation, some kind of resolution”. As the big crowd made its way to the exits, some looked like they’d received all the resolution they’d bargained for. Others looked afloat in devotion, still mesmerised.



Florence + The Machine’s new single 'Never Let Me Go' is out on April 2nd on Island Records.

Read more at http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/145169-florence-machine-w-horrors-capital-fm-arena.html#Ay3OGUbBTshKk9yY.99 

Mauritian Curry Review

I got the chance to try out a brand new product from the Werner Durban Curry range - a Mauritian curry.  I can honestly say that I have never tried one, so did not quite know what to expect.

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Its a brilliant idea for those of us who want an easy life with already measured out quantities of herbs and spices ready for you to add some meat, veg and any of the fresh spices you might need.

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I used chicken breast for this curry, the instructions suggested 500g of meat.  We had 3 huge chicken breasts so not entirely sure how much it was - but there was a lot. 

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Next I coated the chicken with the powedered spices included in the pack whilst the oil was heating in the pan and then seared the meat and removed from pan.

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I then added the rest of the spices to the pan to toast and infuse and then returned the chicken and remainder of the ingredients along with the 400ml of stock.  I remember thinking when I added it to the pan how it was far too "wet" for my taste.

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Well I was wrong!  I cooked the curry for about 20 minutes and it thickened up lovely.  I served mine with brown rice and a coriander nan.

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Verdict

The curry was really nice, unlike any other curry I have tasted.  The combination of the aromatic spices along with the mustard seeds and plenty ginger made for a lovely well balanced depth of flavour. I found it very hard sticking to the recipe as I had the urge to chuck all sorts in.  I would probably prefer a hotter curry and would next time perhaps add a chilli to the mix or request a hot pack as opposed to a medium one.

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I whole heartedly recommend this product and look forward to my next curry.  To order your spice packs or Werners Original Durban Curry visit their websitehttp://www.wernersoriginal.co.uk/index.html