Determination is key - Portsmouth & Milton Keynes

I booked a lovely apartment for the Portsmouth gig, so the plan was to leave early and go via shops to get us some midnight snacks and wine and some breakfast items.  Set off at about 1pm with stereo blazing in the car as I was listening to some Brian Houston albums.  Sugar Queen is just one of the most fab albums ever!  It also reminded me how many great songs the man has.

I got as far as Bicester when I heard a pop and the car started pulling to the right.  A man in the car next to me was trying to get my attention and then I followed him into a lay bye.  I could see the tread coming off my tyre and it was completely flat.  He said there was a services a couple of 100 yards ahead so I drove there and decided to ask for help changing my tyre.

Well as luck would have it my Polish knights in shining armour couldn't speak a word of English and it took me taking the spare out before they knew what I was asking them.  They jacked up the car and took the wheel off and then all I heard was "Problem".  The guy then went to show me that there was only 4 holes in my wheel and the spare had 5!!!  Well who the hell checks this sort of thing when you buy a new car? It is now 4pm and I was supposed to be in Portsmouth already.  I got on the phone to Phil to see if he could find me a mobile tyre company.  None of them were able to accommodate me till Monday, which was a little too late for the gig.

I then phoned a taxi to take me to Bicester Kwik Fit, wait for me and then bring me back to my car.  Only snag is that Kwik Fit closes at 5pm.  It reached quarter to and I was convinced it was tow truck home for me tonight.  Next thing my taxi arrived, we quickly shoved wheel in the back and she apologised for not getting there sooner.  We arrived at Kwik Fit with 3 minutes to spare.  Took 15 minutes to get new tyre and then got dropped back.  As time was of the essence now, I asked another kind looking man to help me.  He had my tyre on in no time and I was on my way!

I got to Portsmouth at 18:55 and Jackie was waiting outside as the door to the venue was still closed.  I then phoned Rob to see where they were and we went to meet them in the pub on the corner.  Rob was having dinner with Brian and Pauline.  Well after I moaned a bit, Jackie got me a cider and I relaxed a bit, very relieved to have made it.  I then told Brian how much I would like him to play "Queen of  Hearts" and "Someday" to which he said no.  I then told Rob he had to play my song after the day I had, especially since I hadn't asked for it for a long time!

We left for the venue and set up merch in the back corner.  Jackie and I got talking to a lovely old lady Sheila who was 72 and went to 3-4 gigs a week.  I really hope this is me in a few years to come!

We were treated to an extended Robert Vincent set and I had a lovely dedication of "I'm Still Here" and it sounded so fab.  "Second Chance" got another outing tonight and sounded beautiful as ever.  

Full set list below:

Brian was up next and came on stage sporting a top hat.  

Brian was in full story telling mode again tonight.  After he played "Sugar Queen" I ran for a quick loo break only to hear him starting to play "Queen of Hearts".  Well I had to go as quick as I could to get back seeing I asked for the song.  I sat down and Brian then asked me what the words to the next verse was as he had forgotten.  He caught me on the hop and I said as much.  He then told me to take out the words from my CD sleeve and read them out to him.  Surprise surprise, I couldn't read them lol.  I then gave them to the lady on the next table and she held them up to Brian, who asked why the hell the print was so small!  

Brian also played "Womans Touch" which was amazing!  At the end of the gig he called Rob on stage again, luckily he had a few drinks less than the night before.  They gave an awesome rendition of "Let it Be".

Packing up tonight seemed to take forever as everybody was having a laugh and a joke with the owner of the venue.  It was now 12:30 and I was starving so we went in search of a curry house.  Rob's sat nav said it would take 1.5 hours to go to Southsea which was 13 miles away.  Yes that was Southsea on the Isle of Wight!  We eventually found the main street which was a curry mile and Jackie treated us to a lovely meal.

We all went back to the apartment and chatted for a while.  It was now after 3pm and we managed to persuade Jackie that she did not want to drive home at that time, so we took the twin room and Rob got the double.

Woke up at 9.30am and Jackie was sat in the lounge since 7am!  She didn't want to leave as there was no safe place to put keys and she did not want Rob's guitar to get stolen.  What a lovely woman!  She then made us some coffee and we had slutty brownies for breakfast.  Jackie took Rob to fetch his car and went home.

We went for a little drive by the seafront on the look out for a nice place to have brunch.  It was a glorious day indeed. We stopped off for some pizza before driving to Milton Keynes.  

Deep in thought....

Something I said? 

View from the restaurant

Rob arrived before me and found a pub that showed Liverpool v Chelsea match.  I met him there and we went to venue after match.

We sat in back room and phoned for pizza after we saw the size of the pityful rider.  So I went to fetch them along with some mozarella sticks that are 251 calories each!!!  They were so not worth it.

Brian was showing Rob a video of Kings of Leon and they were laughing so much I had to video them.  This was what they were laughing at:

And this is them laughing:

Tonight's performance was again to a full house and Rob put in another splendid longer performance. He opened up with "Light of the Stars", we had "November" and I got "I'm Still Here" and he finished the tour off with a lovely rendition of "Demons".

Brian was joined on stage by band again tonight, so we were treated to an awesome energetic performance of all the old classics.

As Brian hardly ever stands still on stage, the only time to get a good photo is during tuning!

I spent tonight mostly watching and being totally mesmerised by drummer Matty.  He was really loving the gig.  At one point he lost a drum stick but carried on.  I had to film it:

At the end of the gig some wise asshole was giving Rob his "words of wisdom", spoke to him like he was 17 and just played his first gig!  How condescending can one person be?!!  It took all the will I had in my body to bite my tongue and not tell this prick what I thought of him!!

We all said our sad goodbyes and Jackie and I were sitting in the car listening to some old school Night Parade.  I was giving her a taste of things to come.

Driving home tonight I was feeling very sad but also very grateful to have been part of such an amazing 5 days.  

All roads lead to Matlock...

Well after only 2.5 hours sleep I had to get up to go to work.  It is Friday and I really wish I had taken the day off!  One good thing is the show to look forward to tonight.  I got through the day ok and managed to slip away from work around 5.30pm.

I arrived in Matlock to Steph waving at me through the window.  Emma was still sound checking, this time with Christoph on violin too.  I was so hungry I could eat a small child, Rob told me there was food in the back room and to go and help myself.  Well what a lovely ciabatta I had!  At this point Rob also warned me that this was going to be a drunk gig as he already had 4 pints and it was still 2 hours before he would be going on stage.

Got talking to Brian and Pauline at the top of the stairs and I remember telling Brian how amazing he was last night and how he is going to have to be even better tonight.  It was at this point that Helen & Mark arrived and chatted with Brian for a bit. 

Pauline and myself set up merch in the back of the hall and the place soon filled up and ended up being quite packed.  Emma then took the stage and it was great, except I did not think the sound did her any favours tonight as the violin was far too loud.  She received a wonderful reception which was quite evident by the 13 CDs we sold.

Rob has now taken the stage with Stephanie on Cello.  He was obviously a little tipsy and he was so funny.  He kept saying he had to decide between brown or clear, referring to the beer or the water in between songs.  Jokes aside, he gave an incredible performance and it was lovely as there was just the right amount of Cello in the mix.

Well the star of the show tonight had to be Brian as he was in top form with his great songs and entertaining stories.  He had everybody in stitches from start to end.  We had all the hits again tonight and a really awesome rendition of "Oranges".  I loved the way that Brian just ask the audience what they want to hear.  To which somebody shouted "Bohemian Rhapsody", well Brian got the audience to sing a whole chorus of this which was hilarious. 

Well we all know that Brian always finishes on "Childish Things".  But not tonight he called Rob and Emma on stage to do a little song with him.  

Brian wanted to do a Van Morrison song but then someone shouted for "Stand by Me".  Brian said he didn't know the second verse and Rob said he did.  Well what ensued next is best understood by just watching the video clip and an excellent reason why Rob should not play gigs whilst under the influence!

This is not my video as my copy is that shaky because I was laughing that much, I nearly cried.

I grabbed hold of Brian after the gig and hugged him saying that the gig was better than last night.  He said that he rose to the challenge I gave him.  

We then had some silly photos after the gig.

Rob with bragging that he was drinking out of a vase.  This vase was discovered in his bag the next day!

It was nice to have the hubby here for this epic gig and I even managed to get some pics of my two men together.  It even looks like they are in love ha ha.

Then outside Rob was taking pics of the fishes in the stream and kept shouting the word "Shotgun", this he had to explain to me.  I guess you had to be there...

Went home with huge smile on my face buzzing and excited about tomorrow night in Portsmouth.

Its finally here, the start of Robert Vincent & Brian Houston Tour

I  have just about come down to earth after an incredible 2 days on the road with Robert Vincent and Brian Houston.  The tour started in Cambridge which was the first of the 3 dates that Emma Stevens opened the show. 

Happy to be playing together again!

Cambridge venue was sort of theatre artsy venue which happened to be in the middle of nowhere, which I think was one of the reasons for the lack of punters.  Still we enjoyed fab sets from all.

Emma got a sunflower during "Sunflower".

Rob played a blinder with the best ever rendition of "You Wouldn't Let It", it was a proper goosebumpy moment!

Well it has been 4 months since I saw Brian and I think he made everyone cry, great hearing "Red Badge of Courage" again.  That is the song that made me cry first time I saw Brian.

After the show (AND NO NANDOS despite it being next to venue) we headed off into London.  I left my car at Redbridge tube station and Kev drove us to Pat's in Wapping near Tower Bridge.

Pat was a darling and laid on an Indian fest for us before we headed to bed.

Rob and Kev were up before me (no surprises there then) and Kev said there were plenty of cafes around to grab breakfast.  Well we must have walked in the wrong direction!!  We finally stumbled upon this pub in a little square and had ciabattas each before heading back to flat to fetch car and drive to Waterloo.  

Rob had to go and sign some contracts and Kev and I stayed in the car.  Well just as well as the heavens opened up and we had hail and torrential rain.  Rob and Andy came back and we now had to go and meet Graham.  After circling in traffic for a while we picked up a drowned rat which vaguely resembled Graham and three squashed in the back.  Rob then drove to Andy's car parking space which was right by the London Eye.  (It would have been a lovely day for it).

Mustang Rob was eyeing out in car park.

We then went for some lunch at Slug & Lettuce for a spot of lunch.  I had forgotten what it was like being with a bunch of men where innuendo was part of normal conversation.  It was pretty funny though and one definitely needs to give as good as you get.

We then left for the restaurant we headed for Surya which is near Kings Cross.  Andy was driving faster than the speed of light, I think he thought we were in Monacco or something.  We arrived in time for soundcheck and Brian was on stage with full band.  

Emma on stage after Rob's soundcheck!

Venue was a strange little basement room, but most definitely the poshest dressing room I have ever seen and the perfect place for Rob to chill.

 Loved this sign on the wall, made me chuckle!

Emma and Sam indulging in pre gig snacks.  Exceedingly healthy humus and carrots!

Jackie, one of the Justin Currie fans turned up (punctually as usual) to see Rob and it was lovely to see her again.  Rob's performance was immense again tonight and we heard "Second Chance" for the first time on this tour.

Brian was on fire with the band tonight.

We then departed and Rob gave me a lift back to Redgridge tube, which sadly was very much out of his way.  I then saw him again in Gateway Services which was quite funny as he set off quite a bit before I left Redbridge.  

I needed petrol and a toilet so decided to go to Tesco in Watford, where I had my arm twisted (well not really) to have some Krispy Kreme donuts to sustain me on the long trip home.  Busy chomping away and then Janice Long played Anna Corcoran's new song "The Show" on Radio 2 and that was very exciting!

Several snooze stops later, falling asleep behind the wheel I finally arrived home at 04:50am!!  I flopped into bed and woke up at 7 :-s   Lovely day at work to look forward to before tonight's Matlock gig.

Excited.com - Tour starts tomorrow!!!!

Really looking forward to the start of the tour tomorrow.  I have not seen Rob for like 3 weeks and its been nearly 6 months since I have seen Brian Houston.

Bienenstich Cake (Bee Sting Cake) for Clandestine Cake Club

Well if making a loaf wasn't enough I decided to also make a bee sting cake, which has texture like a brioche and is made with yeast!  There are umpteen recipes online, but I of course decided to put  my own spin on it.  Springform tin is a good thing!!!

For dough

• 2.5 cups plain bread flour
• 1 tablespoon dried instant yeast
• 2/3 cup caster or superfine sugar
• 1 cup warmed milk
• 55g/2 ozs butter melted plus some extra for greasing the bowl and tin
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• zest from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons honey

For nut topping

• 7 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup caster or superfine sugar
• 1 cup whole almonds roughly chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon honey

For the Custard Filling (I decided to use Creme patissiere)

• 500ml milk
• 100g caster sugar, divided
• 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways
• 6 egg yolks
• 4 tablespoons plain flour
• 60g unsalted butter
• 1 pinch salt

Method:

Start by making the dough.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook mix the flour, yeast and sugar and knead for about 4-5 minutes until elastic. Add the butter, eggs, salt and lemon zest and mix for another couple of minutes until it forms a cohesive but sticky dough. Grease a large bowl with butter or oil and place the batter in the bowl and cover with cling film. Place in a warm area to prove and rise for an hour or so. 

Whilst dough is proving, you can make the topping by combining all of the ingredients to a small saucepan and stirring on low heat until the mixture thickens.

Preheat the oven to 170C/340F. Grease a 21cm/8.5 inch springform tin and line the bottom and sides (line all the way up the sides as it rises high) with baking parchment. When the dough has risen place it in the lined baking tin, cover with cling film again and allow it to rise again for another 30 minutes. Once it has risen again spread the topping mixture over the top of the risen dough and bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool in the tin.

While you are waiting, make the custard filling. Place the milk, half the sugar and the vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat.

Combine the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a bowl and whisk until light in colour. Add in the flour and the salt, mix to combine.

When the milk just begins to boil, remove from heat and remove vanilla bean. Very slowly dribble the hot milk into the yolk mixture, stirring all the time. When about half of the milk has been added, place all of the yolk mixture into the saucepan over medium heat. Using a spatula or a whisk, mix the pastry cream as it heats, making sure to reach all of the corners of the pan when you stir. Bring the mixture to the boil. Let boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. The mixture will be thick.

Remove from heat and add the butter. Place into a bowl and cover directly with cling film to stop a skin from forming on the cream.

Remove the cake from the tin once cool and slice in half horizontally. I then piped the cold custard filling in the middle for a neater effect and place the top half on the custard.  

Note:  This cake didn't like me and took me 3 attempts!  I would suggest just making a madeira and adding honey to it and do the topping and the custard.

Et voila!

It was enjoyed by all at April's Clandestine Cake Club meeting.

Talking of cake clubs, the next Guilty Pleasures Cake club meeting takes place on Saturday, 4th May (Star Wars day apparently!) at Derby Lodge Cooperative Tearooms at Shipley Park.  Event details can be found here.

Rye, Ale & Oat Bread

Well I have been meaning to have another bash at making bread lately, but find that I am just too impatient for it.  I want the bread now, now 4 hours later when its proved twice and baked in the oven!

Anyway I remember as a child my dad loving rye bread, I did not really have a taste for it myself but I am also aware that our tastes change as we change so it was worth a try.  Plus it had ale in it which had to be a winner with my man.

I decided to try Paul Hollywood's recipe - you can find it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/rye_ale_and_oat_bread_52123

So I got my ingredients together.

As Paul mentioned it was a wet dough I decided to try out my dough hook attachment on the mixer.

Finally got the dough all mixed and set it in an oiled bowl to prove for 2 hours.  Then I decided to go against Mr Hollywood and instead of placing dough in a ball on a flowered baking sheet, I chose to use a loaf tin.  At the time the dough fitted in perfectly fine.

 I then smeared the ale and rye flour paste on top and sprinkled with oats and left it to prove for a further hour and half.

Well it certainly rose to the point where it was overflowing around the sides of the tin.  I now know why we use a baking sheet.  In hindsight I would just make 2 loaves next time.  After 30 minutes in the oven I had no way of knowing if it was cooked as the bread was stuck to the pan so I couldn't lift it out to tap the bottom to hear if it is hollow.  I trusted my instincts and took it out none the less.

Well I finally had some today and I am impressed.  OMG I made a loaf and it nice and soft and moist and ever so bread like!!!

Enjoyed it as part of a lovely ploughmans this evening.