A little favour for my friend Alex...

WANTED

Loving Girlfriend for Single, Hairy Male.

20 year old unneutered male, regulary treated for fleas and litter trained (supposedly). 

Looking for a young lady who is willing to cook, clean and wear jodphurs (boat optional).

 Comes with motorbike and a crude sense of humour. 

Cheap date as cannot hold his drink.

He did ask for a mention on my blog...in fact this was his idea! He's a lovely lad really (although I'm dubious if he has been treated for fleas as he keeps scratching his head alot) and we'd all be ecstatic if he did find a nice young lady who's willing to put up with his weird little ways! 

*WARNING* This young man requires a diet of purely potatoes and meat..attemtping to feed vegetables or any "foreign" food will result in strange behaviour. Also recommended that any interested parties have a secure room that can be used around a full moon...

Anyway, my friends' love lives aside, I haven't got that much to discuss! I spent today revising at the fantastic "Animal Inside Out" exhibition at the Natural History Museum (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/animal-inside-out/index.html); whether you're into science, art or just the weird and wonderful this has definitely got elements that'd appeal to everyone and for anyone who needs to do anatomy revision it is really rather useful! I then spent this evening cooking Spaghetti alla carbonara for my lovely flatmates; I combined recipes from the BBC by Rick Stein and one by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from Channel 4 food and it resulted in a really rather nice meal. I fried smoked pancetta, garlic and parsley (dried...they unfortunately didn't have fresh when I went shopping...oh to be home again with a supply of fresh herbs!) and added a hell of a lot cooked spaghetti with 4 beaten egg yolks, about 400ml double cream, pepper and LOADS of parmesan. It fed 6 although the portions were slightly on the small side so make sure you cook plenty of pasta! Nothing went to waste either as the left over egg whites went into making a pile of yummy meringues...I'll start the diet tomorrow!

I made the mistake of watching the Disney film "Tangled" with friends a couple of nights ago and now find that I have a hankering to be a princess with a pet chameleon, a frying pan and a handsome rogue willing to die for me...why do you do this to me Disney....why?!

Anyway revision calls (as does a cup of tea) so I shall love you and leave you! If there are any young ladies out there who are attracted by the lovely Alex just let me know...I'm sure something can be arranged!

 Ciao!

 

A week of not enough work and too much play...

Hello all! Been a little while since I last had the chance to ramble on here (well just over a week...) but already I’ve been missing the therapeutic effects of “blogging”. It’s been a busy old week with a couple of brilliant nights out and uni work and attempting to find somewhere to live and unfortunately I can foresee it getting gradually more chaotic!

Me posing in the flat before heading out!

The lovely birthday girl.

Anyway enough of me moaning! Got a couple of things that I feel deserve a mention, starting with another fantastic London bar. A couple of nights ago a few of us ventured out into “the City” for the lovely Alice’s birthday (one of the people unfortunate enough to live with me). We started the night in the brilliant Leadenhall Revolution bar and I can honestly say it was one of the best nights out I’ve had in forever! It was such a nice change to be away from the student scene and to mingle with businessmen who were willing to buy you a drink and just chat...although I did get some rather bizarre compliments concerning my cheekbones and the oh so attractive gap between my front teeth...What was also surprising was that the price of the drinks wasn’t as extortionate as expected; still London prices but we could actually afford a tray of 6 shots (which were all really yummy apart from the Black Jack one). There was a live band when we got there who were also really good and they were followed by DJ (well ish) who refused to play most club songs...a refreshing change! It’s a bar when you can dress up a bit and definitely worth a visit!

I managed to wear these ALL NIGHT...

Living in London in the rain is a little miserable it must be said and I’m definitely craving the fields and woods of home so, in the brief burst of sunshine we had today, my flatmate Penny and I headed up to Parliament Hill to try and clear our heads and to get some much needed fresh air. I haven’t been up there since the snow and it was lovely to see everything so green and springlike so here’s my advice to one and all: next time we get half an hour of sun, get out! Drop that revision and throw that paperwork on the floor and go for a walk because I’m pretty sure that it’ll make you smile (even just a little bit). I don’t know if I’ve said this previously (probably have...I quite often repeat myself) but Spring is probably my favourite season (when it’s not raining). Just watching everything come to life gives me a boost and little things like blossom and bluebells and the like will often result in me walking down the street grinning like an utter idiot.

Trying to think what else I can tell you all about; a week spent doing neurology, virology and bacteriology leads to a very dull Imogen it must be said. I do seem to spend a lot of time indulging in online retail therapy when I ought to be working and my current focus has been on hunting down earrings. I got my ears pierced just after Christmas (and made a right fuss about the whole process...I’m dreading childbirth if I do have children!) and therefore have been after getting new pairs. Topshop has a particularly nice selection at the moment and I shall have to admit to treating myself to this rather sweet pair of pony studs: http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=5388659&langId=-1&categoryId=&searchTerm=pony%20stud%20earrings&pageSize=20. Call me animal obsessed but they’re ponies, how could I say no!?

Anyway I think I’ve bored you enough so I shall leave you in peace to go to bed and get some sleep ready for lots of lovely revision tomorrow! Bon nuit mes amis and bien dormir (yes, my French grammar is horrific...fat lot of good my AS-level was!)

PS. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference sultana scones...lush! Cup of tea and a film and a couple of these with lots of slightly salted butter, unhealthy but divine!

Girl about town

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!”...yes, I did just quote Scene II, Act III of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (yes, I did have to look up the scene and act on Wikipedia...highly reliable!!). Anyway I thought I’d try and appear vaguely cultured; it will go downhill from here!

So the past couple of nights I’ve been out and about with friends and have some seriously good recommendations for all you lovely people! First and foremost is Fifty-Five Bar; this cocktail bar just off Camden High Street is my main guilty pleasure and resisting Happy Hour is nearly impossible. It’s got a real buzz (it’s always busy so sometimes there’s a bit of a wait for your cocktails...but they are so worth it!) and the music is perfect if you’re like me and like anything a bit rocky/ indie. A recent girly night out with the lovely Mel, Emma and Jess started with a round of ice cream cocktails; I recommend the Razzbaretto...it’s gorgeous (here’s a sample of the menu for those who are interested: http://fiftyfivebar.co.uk/menu.php?menu=8554). We also ventured in again last night, this time joined by Caitlin (queen of the cakes and chats) and Nick (we do occasionally allow boys to join on these little trips!); I tried my first Mai Tai and have found yet another drink that I love! Both evenings resulted in us moving to our local Wetherspoons, otherwise known as “Ice Wharf”. Before you groan and roll your eyes, anywhere that offers 2 pitchers of cocktail for £12 makes me very happy! 

Second recommendation for you anyway; for those of you who have not heard of it let me introduce Proud, Camden (www.proudcamden.com). This is one of my favourite clubs in London and you’ve got to love a student night that has both live bands (indie for me again) followed by brilliant DJs who seem to cover a whole spectrum (or should that be spectra?) of musical genres. For those horsey people amongst you the whole club is set up in a disused stable block and all the looseboxes have been kept for use as seating areas...even better each stable has been named after a famous racehorse (imagine my excitement at seeing the names Desert Orchid and Red Rum the first time I visited!).  The whole night was absolutely fantastic although my feet are still recovering from wearing stupid shoes...will I never learn?

I do seem to have a sign on my forehead saying “Old Creepy Men – Apply Here” (or maybe just “Desperate”) but after being interrogated about my football knowledge at the bar at Ice Wharf and the whole group of us being chatted up with the line “Hello ladies...I feel like a foreigner standing here” by some 40 year old (this was on the girly night...it’d be ever stranger if it’d been when in a mixed group!)  I decided that there is definitely something wrong with me (stop saying “I told you so” Misses Mel, Jess, Emma and Caitlin). My theory to counter this and find romance caused so much hilarity amongst my flatmates that I was told that I had to share it. It involves my next recommended London destination, the Kentish Canteen, but I’ll talk about that in a sec; you just need to know that it serves amazing food and tea and is really rather wonderful. My plan is to make that my “local” and spend lots of time in there with pots of tea and intelligent looking books while wearing a tea dress and pearls. By some coincidence a tall, dark, handsome, young chap with beautifully tailored suits will also spend far too much time in there until one day our eyes meet across the room and he buys me a cappuccino...oh dear I’m turning into Bridget Jones (I did just buy the perfect dress for it though...sleeveless shirt dress with a blue and white floral pattern).

Daydreaming aside I’ll now tell you all about this lovely little restaurant/ cafe. It was destined to become my favourite place on earth when I found out it served brunch ‘til 4pm (little fact about me...I love brunch and afternoon tea...forget breakfast, lunch and dinner!) and then I tried the food. This morning Caitlin and I delighted in brunch at 12 (only one of us had to get up for 9 o’clock lectures); French toast with maple syrup, bacon and pistachios is definitely something I shall be eating again, especially with tea and followed by choccy brownies (and the remains of Caitlin’s apple crumble). The whole feel of the KC (I can only say Kentish Canteen so many times) embodies everything I love about this part of the capital with its friendly staff, arty photos on the walls and fresh, bright colour scheme. Here’s the link for you all: http://kentishcanteen.co.uk/

Now I realise this is a ridiculously long entry with no piccys (my laptop’s refusing to play nicely and rotate the photos Caitlin kindly sent me from last night) and I apologise for this profusely; just one more thing that I love at the moment...look up Daughter on Youtube...especially “Youth”. I now really need some sleep as tomorrow I’m going to attempt to work and maybe go for a walk on Hampstead Heath if this weather EVER cheers up (I love England but why must it rain as soon as the words “hosepipe ban” appear), plus I really need to tidy and clean my room...fun, fun, fun!

Sweet dreams beautiful people!

PS Tomorrow if I get time I really must tell you about the joys of Innuendo Bingo...and see if I can get hold of the video footage!

Farewell to the countryside and hello to London!

I think I'm in love...

I’m writing to you from my really rather messy room in London (I’ve only been in a few days and already every surface is covered in stuff...how on earth does one accumulate so much of it!). Since returning to the capital I’ve found myself swamped with a hundred and one neurological terms so decided that the best thing I could do is to head to the shopping Mecca that is Oxford Street for a little therapy! Needless to say that after an hour in Topshop I left with a lighter purse and a dress for the May Ball that I did not need (it is beautiful though...blue, floaty and with a lace back). It was definitely one of those moments where I knew I had to have it just because I didn’t want to take it off! I did manage to restrain myself for the rest of the trip (it was hard though as there are so many beautiful clothes out there at the moment, mainly lots of little summery dresses in pretty floral prints and linen blazers and the like!).

I’m now facing the consequences of my little trip out as I have a mass of lectures to write up; of course I’m currently ignoring those and writing this instead. I love procrastinating! My other option to avoid is to colour in pictures of brains which I shall probably start once I’ve posted this...yes I think I have regressed to being a 6 year old again.

Of course there's a hat!

Hip flask!

Anyway I did promise to describe Caitlin’s and my adventures at the point to point; for those of you uninitiated with the rural social life this is one of the highlights of the year (well for me anyway) and involves horse racing over jumps with betting and drinking and far too much food! Our attempts at betting weren’t brilliant (it’s a mug’s game anyway) and I hate to admit it but Caitlin’s skills at picking horses were far superior to mine (so much for all this money training to be a vet)! That aside my spirits were kept up by frequent swigs of homemade sloe gin, free wine from the hospitality tent (thanks to my stepsister for getting us in!) and a rather delicious hot choccy avec Baileys...divine! This was accompanied by my mother’s picnic which resulted in me ending up eating so much food that I felt slightly ill, but who can resist homemade quiche, lemon tarts and Caitlin’s and my butterfly cakes! Even better I got to spend the day wearing my Barbour jacket (enough pockets to fit a hip flask, sunglasses and a bottle of wine in...just the essentials!) and a tweed flat cap (hat alert!). Brilliant day with decent weather (even maybe to “sunbathe”) but rather exhausting as demonstrated by the fact that I went to bed at half 6 that evening and did not wake up ‘til 7:30 the next morning!

Think this says just how tired we were...

Just thinking of what else I can bore you lovely people with! I’ve got a TV recommendation for you all actually; much as I hate to promote American sitcoms I have to say how much I’m loving “2 Broke Girls”, all about two very different girls working in a Brooklyn diner trying to find the money to start up a cupcake company. It’s not the most original concept I know but thoroughly enjoyable and for those of you who were fans of “New Girl” it’s definitely the programme to give you that fix of American girlie comedy that we’ve come to crave! Here's a link just to save you some time (knowing how lazy I am, I just assume everyone else is too): http://www.channel4.com/programmes/2-broke-girls/4od .

Hmm I’m thinking time to colour for a while then bed (9am lectures and then work...may even attempt to go and use the gym equipment that we have at uni...I’ll let you know how that goes!). I’m one of these people that can’t sleep unless I’ve read for a few minutes and at the moment my current bedtime reading is “Vet in a Spin”, one of the brilliant James Herriot books. For those of you who aren’t quite as animal obsessed as Yours Truly then you may have missed out on this wonderful series of books, which combine tales of humour, nostalgia and occasional sadness in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Not intellectually taxing and a great comfort read so perfect for just before bed!

So I suppose that’s all from me today! Not sure when I’ll ext get time for this as I need to get my head down but knowing me it won’t be long before I start procrastinating. Ciao!