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doctors-star · 3 years

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writing challenge prompt: apricity - the warmth of the sun in the winter. (Pairing Peter/Alex/Ruth if you fancy it)

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apricity - the warmth of the sun in the winter

The farmyard looks like it’s on fire. Great coiling, curling masses of steam are rising off it and ascending heavenward, for all the world as if a large dragon had set up shop beneath the chickens’ feet and is now puffing away to itself. The steam is solid silver and grey in the midmorning light, swirling on invisible thermals like Degas’ ballerinas, and edged with sunlight that is altogether too bright to look at.

He is looking anyway.

His eyes are scrunched up with an intensity usually reserved for awkward texts and inscrutable hill forts, brow furrowed and creased over heavy, dark brows. He’s got one hand on his hip, the other wrapped thoughtfully around his chin; his feet are planted squarely in boots coated in solid, cloying mud. He looks immovable as an oak tree, there in the farmyard. The world around them could end, he thinks, and Peter would still be standing.

Peter shifts, hand moving from chin to forehead to form a slight shield against the vivid wall of brightness. His sleeves are rolled up and it is possible to watch his muscles shift under his skin, as has been impossible for the past few weeks of seemingly endless rain. It has been cold and wet and miserable for all of January, feels like, and the dawn of February has not given them much cause for hope; but now, the rain has stopped, the clouds cleared, the mercury in the thermometer made the effort and risen above five degrees, and Peter has his jacket off and sleeves rolled back right away, as if this is the only sunshine he expects this year and he had better appreciate it.

In fairness, it is Britain. Stranger things have happened.

And anyway, Alex can understand the idea. He is, after all, watching Peter as though the man might disappear; as if this is his only opportunity to lean propped up on the cart in the sunlight and see him, sleeves pushed back and squinting and lit up by light and steam. How very long the winter has seemed.

Alex leans back a little and folds his arms, glaring into the east a little more himself, to look the same way as Peter. Ruth - of course, of course they are watching Ruth - is talking with great animation to their flock of chickens, hands on her hips as she chides them. They keep ducking about around her feet rather indignantly, dipping their heads with their strange stop-motion movements to tap their beaks unenthusiastically against the frozen ground as if to say why aren’t you feeding us? we cannot possibly be expected to feed ourselves in this weather! And Ruth is laughing at them, with the sun behind her head and behind the trees so that the rays are oddly defined; segmented spikes, like a great art deco sunburst.

“I will not feed you,” she is telling the birds with stern amusement. “You do not need it. It is a glorious day, at last, and you can go and enjoy it. And eat all the other things who are out enjoying it, too. It’ll be good for you. Lazy sods.” One of the chickens, the buff-coloured, famously bad-tempered one, darts forward and then struts nonchalantly away towards the pig sty. Ruth sputters an indignant laugh, jaw dropped in surprise. “Did you just peck my shoe?” she cries after the retreating bird, who puts on a burst of speed. “The audacity!”

Alex can feel the grin that’s lodged on his face; Peter, face still screwed up against the light, snorts inelegantly and she looks his way and beams. “Are you no longer a chicken authority?” he asks her very solemnly and sympathetically.

“My shoe has been pecked!” she informs him, rather redundantly, but it makes them both grin all the same. “They’ve lost all respect for me.” She watches the other chickens follow the vicious ringleader towards the patch of grass by the pigs where they peck morosely at the grass and dirt as if they don’t expect to find anything and reckon they’ll have starved by lunchtime. The various worms and insects which have ventured to the surface to enjoy the rare sunlight and which are now being snapped up by the sharp, aggressive movements of the chickens appear to do little to make them feel better.

“Get free-range chickens, they said,” Peter sighs, not unhappily. “It’ll be so rewarding to watch them hunt for themselves, they said.”

Ruth turns back to him, hand dropping from over her eyes, to laugh. Then she tilts her head on one side, offering him a lop-sided smile. “Are you alright?” she says. “I’m sure the camera crew would lend you some sunglasses until we film, if we haven’t got any thirties specs - face all screwed up, you look like a gargoyle.”

“I’m feeling great, thanks,” Peter says, voice all level and dry to make her laugh. “Really complimented and supported too. Have we actually got any proper shades, though? Alex’ll love them - he likes pretending he’s in Top Gun.”

“I do not,” Alex protests automatically and without a great deal of conviction.

Peter and Ruth turn to the sound of his voice, faces open with pleasure and slight surprise. “Oh, hello lurker,” Peter says cheerfully. “Was wondering where you’d got to.”

“I do not pretend I’m Tom Cruise,” Alex tells Ruth firmly, ignoring the lurker comment. She raises her eyebrows, one finger pressing against her mouth in futile prevention of a smile, and waits with interest for him to elaborate. “That - that bloke in The Mummy,” he finds himself saying, snapping his fingers as the name escapes him. “He’s got to wear sunglasses at some point, hasn’t he? I’ll be him.”

“Who, John Hannah?” Peter says, chirpy and obtuse with a grin from ear to ear and his hand cupped around his eye to shade against the February sun. Alex sends him a mock-withering glare and his smile somehow widens; Ruth laughs, bright and affectionately evil. “You do kind of look like John Hannah, you know,” Peter says, very deliberately reasonable.

Alex points at him warningly. “I’m going to take that as a compliment,” he tells Peter’s smirk, “but you know I was talking about the other one. O’Connell,” he says, snapping his fingers again in triumph.

Peter tuts and shakes his head sadly. “Nope, the hairstyle will out - you’ll have to be Hannah and I-” he places his hand on his heart like an old-timey Shakespearian actor about to monologue his way through a half-hour death scene, “-shall be O’Connell.”

Alex spreads his arms in indignation, appealing to Ruth in supplication for aid; as expected, she laughs at him.

“Ruth can be whatsherface. Evie,” Peter adds happily.

“No, no, I’m being Lara Croft,” Ruth corrects. “I want to run about in temples and have a mansion and a butler.”

Alex nods, conceding this point. Peter wanders over and places one large, sun-warmed palm on Alex’s shoulder, gesturing at him with the other and squinting towards Ruth. Heat leeches from the sun to the air to Peter, and he presses it into Alex’s joints like a balm. It soothes and steadies, even as Peter says “Do you want Alex for your butler?”

“Oh, yes please,” Ruth says cheerfully and Alex sighs, as deliberately and falsely put-upon as the chickens. Peter snorts and hauls him closer, half hug half headlock; he goes willingly, even as he makes an effort to look hard-done-by for Ruth.

“Why aren’t there any more cool archaeologists?” he says.

“Well,” Peter says, sounding rather apologetic, “there is always…”

“Indiana Jones is a terrible archaeologist,” Alex says firmly. “Great jumped-up cowboy.”

Ruth huffs a laugh at the tired old argument and tips her face up into the sun rather than engage with its well-trodden lines. She breathes deeply, inhaling great lungfuls of warmed, clear air; against his back, Alex can feel Peter breathe slow and steady and perfectly in-time. There’s something soothing about it, in the same way that there was something soothing about watching Peter watch Ruth: it is nice to know, sometimes, that other people operate the same way he does. For a moment, there, in their long-awaited sunlight, the whole thing had been as mana from heaven, all warmth and brightness and that peculiar kind of beauty that cannot be looked at head-on. He’s not sure he had really noticed, before, how much the interminable, rainy January had worn on him, until he had been confronted by the sunshine; by Ruth’s art deco halo, and Peter’s scrunched-up gargoyle face; by truculent chickens for the laws of farm and man. And intensity of emotion can be isolating, if the moment is not shared - but it is. Ruth is breathing it; Peter is holding him a little too tight; they are all together under a sun a little too warm for the season.

“There should be more films about historians,” Ruth declares to the sky, eyes resting closed. “What’s not cool about this?”

“Right,” Alex says. “We haven’t been rained on for, ooh, must be twelve hours now. Hours of action and entertainment in this line of work.”

“What’s it mean for Candlemas weather predicting,” Peter says, shaking Alex’s shoulders slightly but letting him stand fully and lean into his side, “if Candlemas itself is disgustingly wet and rainy but the day following is worryingly sunny?”

“Worryingly?” Ruth snaps, cracking an eye open to frown at them.

Alex ignores this and sucks his teeth. “Oh, nothing good, I’m sure. We’re being lulled into a false sense of security, mark my words.

Peter frowns with deep and false concern. “Snowed in by the morning?”

“If we even last the night.”

Ruth works one glove off her hands and throws it at them, nailing Peter in the chest; he scrambles to catch it. “Worse than the chickens, you two are,” she says, fighting a smile. Peter holds out the glove and she presses her lips together and crosses the yard. Her fingers fold around the leather in his palm; his thumb falls gently to rest over her knuckles. Ruth looks up at them, all amused reproach. “Can’t you just enjoy it?”

Alex and Peter share a look, and then Peter shrugs. Alex looks back at her, and the sunlight, and the chickens and the pigs and the way her hair shines copper and Peter’s scrunched-up face and the warming, thawing ground - like spring is coming. He shrugs too. “We’ll give it a go,” he says.

#all heavily influenced by the time i yelled the audacity! in a public place because a pigeon peckedd my shoe #a pigeon!#the audacity!!#i'm not over it.#incidentally it's minus two and snowing today so this is based on a day last week #i'm cold :(#thanks for the prompt!#i am working on the others #this is your captain speaking

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jefaisducso · 4 years

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FAQ: (Long post under the cut)

Who are you? My name’s Emily, I’m in my mid-20′s and I’m a student in Viking and Old Norse studies with modern Norwegian. I live in France but go to uni in the UK (bilingual English-French). I have generalised anxiety disorder, hypermobiity and am hard of hearing, on top of suffering the results of several nasty injuries - a twicefractured neck, a broken hand, dislocated shoulder, dislocated ankle and broken pelvis - all of these injuries were riding related except one of the neck fractures, which was due to a bullying attack in high school where three boys in my class threw me down a flight of stairs. I’m an asexual lesbian, potentially non-binary and occasional gamer - all gaming reblogs/talk goes under the tag “Cast Gaymes” for this reason. I compete in amateur dressage and showjumping currently, but want to branch out with some dabbling in eventing, TREC, extreme trail riding and livestock working.

Tell me about your horses:

Hermes - 2007 bay zangersheide gelding (Quadrillo x Chanson de Kabaret) This is my main guy, the love of my life and also my problem child. He’s a stunningly talented horse with shit for brains. He’s competed up to 130cm classes with my trainer as well as flouncing around smaller stuff with me, but is banned from dressage shows due to his inability to complete a test without throwing a strop. I’ve owned him since May 2011.

 Freyja - 2016 chestnut zangersheide mare (Untouchable 27 x Leader M) Moose, as she’s sometimes called, is the redheaded demon horse I fell in love with last year (2019). She’s got an enormous personality to match her 17.2hh body and is hopefully going to be my next showjumper, dressage horse and possibly take me eventing too.

Vigo - 1997 black Welsh section D cob gelding (Cathedine Telynor x Ffoslas Caradog Ap Daffyd) This old man is my darling pony, donkey of the swamps, sir of the wiggles. He has a million nicknames, as you can see. Vigo lives at home year round and rules the roost. I’ve taken him competing in jumping, dressage and TREC as he’s a massively polyvalent little beast. He’s been with me since 2013. Given his age he’s partially retired, but it’s an active retirement as he needs to be worked to keep the weight off him. Recently we’ve been dabbling in western riding, which suits him a lot.

 Sana - 2001 grey arab gelding (Pegase EF x Neman) We took Sana on as a companion for Hermes in 2013 as he and Vigo couldn’t live together at that point. His old owner took him to CEI160 endurance competitions, but he had to retire due to DJD in both knees. These days, he spends his time being a grumpy old man and occasionally farts around bridleless or ponies other horses.

 Horsie - 2017 grey anglo-arab gelding (Business x Pastel d’Olympe) I bought him as a project mid June 2020 with the intention of selling him on eventually due to him needing someone to bring him on in a relaxed manner whilst he continues to grow and mature. He’s got an absolutely wonderful temperament and is generally pleasant to have at home so he’s staying with me for the moment. I plan on casually campaigning him in the ammie YH dressage, showjumping and eventing classes (Hunter too if there are any shows).

What other pets do you have? I have 3 barn cats (Monkey, Oliver and Rocket Launcher), and a purebred Maine Coon (Grimnir). Two family dogs - both Newfoundland’s but one purebred (Bear) and one rescue who was abandoned on us in 2018 (Bruno). 1 Dwarf rabbit (Smak) who was born in 2019. 27 chickens - farmyard X-breeds, a group of ex-production layers (the babbling biddies), purebred Brahmas (Magnus, Vulture, Brunhilde and Valkyrie) and a bunch of chicks from my Brahma cockerels (Balti, The Void™️, Soggy, Pingu, Chocolate, Yeller and Marbles). One peacock called Peanut. 7 elderly and partially feral llamas (Amy, Didier, Delia, Dolly, Esther, Ete and Edward) - Ete is the llama I occasionally show jumping things. Two tanks of tropical fish - one 300L community and a 450L with a now-solitary Oscar called Gilbert.

What are your hobbies? I read/write fanfiction and original fiction, occasionally do art, make stained glass windows/display pieces and participate in Vulture Culture (the collection of bones, fur and wet specimens) - my favourite pieces are my horse skull, coyote pelt and legacy human skull (teaching specimen given to me by my grandfather - he got it in the 60’s in Turkey when he was a teacher). As I mentioned above, I also game; my preferences are for long, open-world RPG’s - Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassins Creed Valhalla and Zelda: Breath of the Wild amongst others.

 Who was Rethy? Rethy was my old horse, who unfortunately had to be put to sleep due to sudden posterior paralysis in 2019. He was a 2005 anglo-arab gelding who I’d mainly competed in showjumping. Most notably, he had serious aggression issues due to having been abused in his youth and took a very particular handler to manage. Partly because of his aggression, and partly because of his larger-than-life (if that can even be said for a 17h giraffe of a horse) personality, he took a lot of patience to love but rewarded my efforts greatly. I miss him a lot.

 Who was Cool? Cool was a 2009 zangersheide gelding that I part owned with my trainer back in 2015. He and I weren’t a terribly good match (horses don’t come much lazier than him) but he took me up to amateur showjumping. We sold him in 2016 and from what I hear, is now loving life with a far more suitable young rider in Belgium.

Who was Burrito? Burrito was a rescue donkey I briefly owned in 2020. I’ve long loved donkeys and was very excited to bring one into my herd. Unfortunately, he had something terribly wrong with him. On Halloween he suddenly flipped out as I was feeding him and attempted to kill me; he knocked me to the ground, dragged me around by my boot, bit my leg, trampled my head (luckily I was wearing a hat) and savaged my right arm whilst attempting to go for my throat. I spent 4 days in hospital and had to undergo surgery to fix my injuries. Upon returning home I had him put to sleep, I’ve plenty of experience with aggressive animals but I couldn’t risk another attack like what he did and frankly didn’t want to keep him alive after it either.

#about me #pinned post #updated last: 22/12/2010

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imagine-loki · 5 years

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Pride and Prejudice

TITLE: Pride and Prejudice CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 24 AUTHOR: wolfpawn

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths. RATING: Mature NOTES/WARNINGS: Forced Marriage, not all fun and games. My first real step back into the Loki scene in over a year.

toga-honk was Norse tug-of-war.

Tags - @skulliebythesea @asimovethroughthisworld @blackcherry26-blog @we-shadowhunter2901

Loki did not rest most of the night. He thought over the evening, over everything that occurred and how Ella had ensured everything went as smoothly as possible, even when he was confused. He was grateful for that. He looked to the other side of the bed. She had turned to face him in her sleep, her face peaceful, almost serene as she did so. He was envious, he could not rest yet she did so with ease.

"What's wrong?"

He jumped slightly when she spoke, not realising she had been awake. "Nothing."

"You have been twisting in the sheets all night, what is it?"

"It's too odd."

"Being here?"

"The bed."

"Too soft?"

"And too warm." Loki did not wish to complain, but it was bothering him and she seemed to understand that much at least. A moment later, the bed glowed green and to his surprise, Loki felt the bed cool and the mattress beneath him harden.

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you. But what about you?"

"I am used to hard ice beds by now." She commented, turning to face the window again. "Now, try and get some sleep, it will be a long day tomorrow, regardless. You may as well rest for it."

Being more comfortable, Loki did as she suggested and closed his eyes, grateful that sleep seemed more willing to come to him after her alterations to the bed.

The Jotnar did not need much warning about Nigel, it was clear from the off that he had nothing but contempt for them. But for the most part, though there were those that were wary, most seemed simply curious by the Jotnar. Their height caught everyone's attention, even Loki, who was the shortest by far towered over many. His wife seemed almost dainty by his side yet for an Aesir woman, she was fairly tall. They sat and ate quietly, speaking mostly only when spoken to and watched as everyone entered and exited the dining room.

Loki spent the majority of his time between Arden and Ella, the three of them discussing different matters to do with Jotunheim and how to extract good trade deals from the Vanir. When Thor entered the room, he did so with one of the King’s other sons and his friends who seemed to have arrived during the night. They quickly noted the Jotnar dining at their table, both groupings looking at each other curiously. As they approached their table, they looked at Ella, who gave a slight nod of recognition to her brother and his friends as they passed. She noted the odd looks on their faces as they did so. Beside her, Loki and Helbindi, who had come closer to his brother and sister-in-law to speak to them on some matter, noted it too. When Hogun leant towards Thor and stated something, Thor’s confused look became slightly colder. On him doing so, Loki actually leaning forward slightly in a manner that would suggest he was protecting his wife from the other Aesirs’ stares.

“Dare I ask?” Helbindi looked between Ella and Loki.

“I have no idea,” Loki confessed. When Ella looked at him, she shook her head to imply she had no idea why her brother reacted in such a matter.

“Ella?” She turned to see her brother not far away. “I need to speak to you for a moment.”

The manner in which Thor demanded her attention and not simply asked for it irked her. “Arden, could you please tell Loki that I will be with him in a moment?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Arden bowed and walked off.

“Have I insulted you in some manner, Dear Brother?”

“What are you doing?” Ella stared silently at him, not knowing why he snarled at her. “The whole palace is talking about you.”

“Really?” Ella was sincerely doubtful of such a statement, as she had done nothing to warrant them doing so and of the grouping she was in, she would be, by far, the least interesting. “What for may I ask?”

“Your hair is loose and the way you are dressed. You are supposed to be married.”

For a moment, she thought he was joking with her, but realising her brother was serious, she began to laugh. “Thor, firstly, have you any idea how warm it is for me and the Jotnar on this realm after the most of a year in Jotunheim, I feel like I am in an oven, and with regards my attire and my hair, on Jotunheim, women wear less than we were reared seeing women dressed, as you so quickly pointed out when we got there, and on the matter of my hair, I am not held to Asgardian standards any more. I am of Jotunheim now. I hated having it pinned. My husband happens to like my hair like this, so do I for that matter.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Thor turned slightly to see Loki and Helbindi walking towards him. “I think it suits her far better. Anyone in possession of sight can see so. Pulled back it looks too harsh against her features, they look better framed by loose tendrils.” He commented as he came closer to them. “Surely, having been raised with my wife, you would know that she does not tend to mince words and none can make her do something she does not wish to. So when she says she wishes to wear certain clothes and do her hair in certain ways, you surely know that it is her decision and hers alone.” Loki stood between Thor and Ella, though his build was slighter than the Aesir prince’s, his height was more and he showed such in his stance. “By Jotnar standard, we think her overly dressed, yet not one being on Jotunheim ever thought it appropriate to make mention of such as it is her choice how she should dress and hers alone."

Both crowned princes stood almost chest to chest in a challenging manner by the time Loki had ceased speaking, though his words were more growls than comprehensible sentences. Hogun and Fandral seemed to appear at the end of the hall at that moment. Ella would not have been startled if she were to find out that they had stationed themselves there when Thor had sought to speak to her.

“Enough, both of you. The last thing we need is an argument.” Ella stood between her brother and her husband. “We are all guests here and so help me but if I have to be embarrassed by either of you, I will turn whichever of you it is into farmyard poultry and set you out amongst the hunting dogs...again.”

Thor took a step back while Hogun and Fandral ceased walking towards them and looked apprehensive, telling Loki and Helbindi that this was no mere idle threat, the ‘again’ adding to the situation.

“After what he did,” Thor began.

“And I thank you for your concern, Brother, I sincerely do. But what occurred between my husband and I has, for one, been rectified by our better communication with one another and for two, is our concern, alone. Loki and I will deal with Loki and I, no one else will be welcome to interject, not you, Father or even the Norns.”

“They’d be brave to try,” Fandral whispered to Hogun, who nodded in agreement. One warning glare from Ella made both warriors take a step back in caution.

“But…” Thor began.

“No, no buts, ifs, or any other objections, just no. This peace has been long overdue and I am not risking it because you and your friends don’t think my clothes and hair are appropriate. For Norns’ sake, this is a fraught enough peace as it is, both sides are wary of the other and in the middle are Loki and I, the two to actually be forced to sacrifice for it and neither of us should have to deal with further issues, it is not fair to expect that.”

Loki looked at her sadly at her words. Her acknowledgement of the situation was nothing new, but seeing her acknowledge his sacrifices as well as her own validated some of the thoughts he feared to vocalise.

“It is your business, none others,” Thor acknowledged. Ella gave him a slight smile. Then he turned to Loki. “But surely I am permitted to be angry at nearly losing my sister because of another’s actions?”

“We are all permitted to have our emotions,” Ella commented. “But with them, we should have all available information. My isolation and subsequent illness were indeed partly because Loki did not wish to be in my company, but so too was it due to my not knowing social etiquette on Jotunheim and him thinking it was snobbery that caused me to not talk to others. I have my part in this. I said nothing of my ill-health, Norns, but he is not a mind reader, you cannot blame him for my not saying anything.” Thor was forced to admit her statements to be true. “We also have enough to be concerned about with Prince Nigel getting the notion to think it something of an amusing idea to try and imply the Jotnar are nothing more than mindless beasts by antagonising them into a fight and I am not risking everything for an idiot with limited intelligence.”

“Wait, what?” Thor’s interest piqued at the mention of a fight. “How do you find out these things? It’s like the time you knew we were going to the forests hunting instead of training all over again. What sort of magic do you use to learn the things you do?”

“There’s no magic involved, I just use my ears. Sometimes keeping your mouth shut and your ears open is far more useful than the other way around.” She growled. “He is planning to use you and your hot head in this, I might add, as well as digging up what happened with me. So do not fall for his tricks.”

“I am not as dim as you think me to be,” Thor growled. Ella gave him a look of scepticism. “That was years ago. We all grow with time.”

“Well, good for you, you get a chance to prove it. Keep your cool.” She had ordered, half pleaded.

“I am not as volatile as you make out.”

“You’re a Berserker, Thor. You are a Berserker who wields thunder, you are the very definition of volatile.” Ella pointed out, Thor clenching his jaw at her saying so, shame filling his face.

Loki looked at Ella and Thor in shock at her words. He then looked to Arden and Helbindi who both had similar looks. They did not know this before now, and it terrified them all.

#loki #others #submission #Submitted fic #Pride and Prejudice #Chapter 24 #wolfpawn

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wolfpawn · 5 years

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Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 24

Story Summary - Based on an idea I had that I submitted to Imagine Loki. Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths.

Chapter Summary - Loki cannot get comfortable in bed but Ella assists. When Thor speaks to his sister, she is not overly happy with his comments.

Previous Chapter

Tags - @peppermint-j @damalseer @perpetual-fangirl @tinchentitri @inspired-snowflace @raphaelaisabella @alexakeyloveloki @caffiend-queen @devilbat @nonsensicalobsessions @skulliebythesea @majoringinlife @salempoe @lotus-eyedindiangoddess

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"What's wrong?"

He jumped slightly when she spoke, not realising she had been awake. "Nothing."

"You have been twisting in the sheets all night, what is it?"

"It's too odd."

"Being here?"

"The bed."

"Too soft?"

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you. But what about you?"

"I am used to hard ice beds by now." She commented, turning to face the window again. "Now, try and get some sleep, it will be a long day tomorrow, regardless. You may as well rest for it."

Being more comfortable, Loki did as she suggested and closed his eyes, grateful that sleep seemed more willing to come to him after her alterations to the bed.

“Dare I ask?” Helbindi looked between Ella and Loki.

“I have no idea,” Loki confessed. When Ella looked at him, she shook her head to imply she had no idea why her brother reacted in such a matter.

“Ella?” She turned to see her brother not far away. “I need to speak to you for a moment.”

The manner in which Thor demanded her attention and not simply asked for it irked her. “Arden, could you please tell Loki that I will be with him in a moment?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Arden bowed and walked off.

“Have I insulted you in some manner, Dear Brother?”

“What are you doing?” Ella stared silently at him, not knowing why he snarled at her. “The whole palace is talking about you.”

“Your hair is loose and the way you are dressed. You are supposed to be married.”

“Really?”

“After what he did,” Thor began.

“They’d be brave to try,” Fandral whispered to Hogun, who nodded in agreement. One warning glare from Ella made both warriors take a step back in caution.

“But…” Thor began.

“I am not as dim as you think me to be,” Thor growled. Ella gave him a look of scepticism. “That was years ago. We all grow with time.”

“Well, good for you, you get a chance to prove it. Keep your cool.” She had ordered, half pleaded.

“I am not as volatile as you make out.”

“You’re a Berserker, Thor. You are a Berserker who wields thunder, you are the very definition of volatile.” Ella pointed out, Thor clenching his jaw at her saying so, shame filling his face.

Loki looked at Ella and Thor in shock at her words. He then looked to Arden and Helbindi who both had similar looks. They did not know this before now, and it terrified them all.

#Pride and Prejudice #wolfpawn #loki fic #chapter 24

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ibulletin12 · 4 years

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Hobbies

Art and Craft

by Ipshita Biswas

More on Art..

by Pallavi Porwal

Some of us picked up some exciting hobbies

Vivek Dev - Meditation

Himanshu Kumar - Cooking

Nimesh Kumar Gupta - Photography

Pratyush Anand - Weight Lifting

Prasanth Purushothaman - Lockdown Baking

It has been no different for me as it has been for the rest of you guys being at home during this COVID lockdown. Spending time with your family members for most of the day than the usual without entering into a fight could have been a tough choice for many in these turbulent times! I do know of the constrained situation of my friends who were living in the metros have had no other choice but to stay in their limited space in their apartments and were restricting themselves to step out, except for getting their essentials or for disposing of their garbage. In a way I can say, I was quite fortunate in that aspect as I was away in my countryside home, in Mala, a small town in Thrissur district in Kerala on the outskirts from the city amidst green surroundings having paddy fields and cows to bemused with along with our limited family members and the two neighboring state homeworkers. We had that liberty at least to move around a little bit more!

Out of nowhere, I had the lavish time in the world, to wake up a little later than usual and engage myself in the morning jog in the farmyard, found myself plucking cashew fruits from jack trees along with my wife and mom. All the members of the family had fun by spending our time together by playing monopoly, poker, and Scrabble without having any work pressure just the way it was in my childhood. Other times were spent trying to abridge with our knowledge by attending the free webinars that had popped up now and then, and meeting friends and extended family members on the ‘zoom’ portal and the regular IIMK online sessions to keep us busy. I had also tried my leg in Latin dance on an online dance session that came up- it was a disaster!

Ironically put, it can also be interesting to note how we, the EPGP participants, attending classes for our second term, happened to get a real-life experience of the dynamics of the macroeconomic during the pandemic, very well relatable to the economic classes we attend. It has helped us get a paradigm shift in our views on how the monetary and fiscal policies of governments work in an economy, and so on during these tough times of recession. Baking or cooking new recipes was no new wonder either, as it was one among the trending things in social media, doing many rounds. And it looks like the lockdown is not going to end until each one of us has baked at least one cake in this quarantine! And here I am, to share with you a piece of joy that I had in making one such recipe.

-The No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake! Tadaaaa….!

Well, it’s never too late to try something new!! And here is my attempt at cooking this gorgeous Blueberry Cheesecake at home during this lockdown for the first time, which surprisingly turned out pretty well!! I had a great day baking this with my wife, who is an architect turned pastry chef in the making. And it’s a lot of fun learning how to make one!

Here’s the recipe! - it’s super easy and delicious. Enjoy!

No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

For the Crust

Ingredients:

Digestive Biscuits (preferably Mcvities): 100gms Butter: Enough to bind the biscuit crumbs.

Preparation:

Crumble the digestive biscuits and mix with warm melted butter until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press into the bottom of an 8” or 9” pan. Refrigerate the crust while you prepare the rest of the Cheesecake. This will chill the butter and help firm up the crust.

For the Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Egg yolk: 5 Nos.

Sugar: 90g

Mascarpone Cheese: 180g

Gelatin: 15g

Whipping Cream: 350g

Blueberry Filling: 200g

Preparation:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar lightly. Place in a boiling water bath with constant stirring until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Add dissolved melted gelatin. Allow cooling.

Now add the mascarpone cheese and blend the mixture well. Add the blueberry filling to the mixture and mix.

Whip the cream to soft peak consistency and fold into the cheesecake mixture. Pour over the biscuit crumb layer and keep it in the freezer to set.

Once set, cover the top with blueberry filling and cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before slicing. Top with whipped cream and fresh blueberries(optional) and serve chilled!!

Serves 8, 6, or 4 depending upon your helpings! :D

Bon Appetit! ☺

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade…!

Adjusting to the new normal…

by Ipshita Biswas

The last few weeks made me realize how much I love staying indoors and not having to meet people every day. Well, I do miss the parties, frequent café visits, road trips. But, hadn’t we already made peace with sacrificing most of these luxuries when we decided to sign up for EPGP? 😊

Since November end, all of us are going through a roller-coaster ride, juggling between office, studies, and home. So, this lockdown is probably the only time since then that we got a breather.

The current situation unfolded so unexpectedly; it felt initially kind of surreal. Especially by mid-march when the situation started impacting us with the spreading awareness of using sanitizers and maintaining distance from people. But since then, within just two months (which might feel like

Two years to some people), most of us have passed the phases of denial, acceptance and finally of adjusting our lives around it.

As for me, hobbies have always been an essential part of my life, and I have always tried to stay in touch with them. But this lockdown helped me invest a bit more time in them than usual. Since the start of our course, I haven’t been able to spend any time reading books. But lockdown helped me finish one and start two others. I finished reading the book ‘CEO Factory’ and have begun reading ‘Good Economics for hard times’ by Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo | ‘Black Swan’ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

I am currently working on writing a review of the book ‘CEO Factory,’ which is going to take some more time. Probably, I can finish it by the time the next newsletter is published. Till then, I can only recommend it. It’s a fantastic book, especially for people pursuing an MBA or thinking of doing the same in the future. In just around 250 pages, the book would take you into an enlightening journey of the business strategies behind pricing products, profit maximization, product positioning, ways of reaching the customers, and much more.

On a typical day (in a COVID free world), CrossFit classes used to form a very significant part of my daily schedule. After the office, I used to have something to look forward to every day. But lockdown changed that, and I had to resort to home workouts. It was a little demotivating and dull in the beginning. I missed the energetic ambiance of the class, the small competitions we used to have to motivate each other, and of course, the weights ☹️ . But, along with every adjustment that we are doing right now in getting used to the new normal, getting used to online workout sessions is another part of it. All thanks to the CureFit masterclasses and the packs meant for enticing even the layabouts to work out every day 😊.

Then, I could finally find some time to create 3 short dance videos as opposed to my previous record of creating one dance video in every 3 months. Since the start of our course, my frequency of finishing an artwork had reached reach a record low. I had to keep myself happy with miniature paintings and quick sketches. I had almost given up on creating portraits or A3 sized paintings that needed nearly 6-7 hours. But lockdown enabled me to create a few portraits and some time-intensive paintings too. I was always too lazy to take pictures while creating artworks. But this time I gathered some patience and created a few art tutorials videos too.

Links to dance videos:

Dance Video - 1

Dance Video - 2

Dance Video - 3

I always had a terrible sleep cycle which received good support from my flexible office timings :p. I slept after the sun-rise :p . But, by some grace of God, for the last few weeks, I am sleeping and waking up like a normal person! I sleep by 12-1 AM and wake up by 6-7 AM. People who know me are having a hard time accepting this recent development :p

Similar to the above-mentioned unthinkable incident, another unusual activity that the lockdown prompted me to do are the household chores. Cooking is something I have always been terrible at and all the experimentations mostly resulted in some disasters, leaving me with the plight of having either a half-cooked food or a burnt one. But lockdown changed that too. Finally, I could prepare edible food, especially my favorite dishes.

#1st ISSUE #June 2020 #Hobbies #DIY

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thefaeriereview · 4 years

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Taking Stock by A. L. Lester

Historical Gay Romance

It's 1972.

Fifteen years ago, teenage Laurie Henshaw came to live at Webber’s Farm with his elderly uncle and settled in to the farming life. Now, age thirty-two, he has a stroke in the middle of working on the farm. As he recovers, he has to come to terms with the fact that some of his new limitations are permanent and he’s never going to be as active as he used to be. Will he be able to accept the helping hands his friends extend to him?

With twenty successful years in the City behind him, Phil McManus is hiding in the country after his boyfriend set him up to take the fall for an insider trading deal at his London stockbroking firm. There’s not enough evidence to prosecute anyone, but not enough to clear him either. He can’t bear the idea of continuing his old stagnating life in the city, or going back to his job now everyone knows he’s gay.

Thrown together in a small country village, can Phil and Laurie forge a new life that suits the two of them and the makeshift family that gathers round them? Or are they too tied up in their own shortcomings to recognise what they have?

A 1970s historical gay romance peripheral to the Lost in Time universe. Stand alone, not paranormal.

A gentle story about two people who are hurt and angry and tired, finding their way toward each other and healing.

4 out of 5 fairies

Taking Stock is sweet. Honestly, I was little worried this was going to be a bit boring and dry. Instead, I kind of felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie unfold. It's sweet, and although I wouldn't say it's very fast-paced, but the way Lester writes, the slow pace feels right. Normally that sort of thing would drive me up the wall, but curled up with a hot cup of tea and a warm blanket on a cool night this was the perfect sweet escape. If you like Lifetime movies and love reading, you'll fall in love with this book.

Excerpt

Phil found his feet turning up the lane toward Webber’s Farm a couple of days after his meeting with Laurie Henshaw almost without thought. He had got in to the habit of walking regularly early on in his sojourn in the cottage. Some days he took sandwiches in the knapsack he’d bought and just went up the footpath at the top of the lane and headed off into the winter woods. It was quiet and peaceful and he found that if he could get in to a swinging rhythm, one foot in front of the other, the swirl of anger and betrayal that seemed to accompany him like a cloud quieted, gradually draining down in to the earth as he walked.

Today though, rather than his feet taking him up the hill in to the burgeoning spring, they took him down toward the farm. Henshaw…Laurie…had grabbed his interest in a way that nobody had for months. The man had been on his last legs sitting in the Post Office and his frustration with himself had been obvious. Phil had enjoyed coaxing a smile out of him. Sitting in the farmhouse kitchen with the quiet warmth of the Rayburn at his back, he’d spoken more about his personal life to a complete stranger than he had opened up to anyone since that awful day when Adrian had got him out of the police station.

It would only be neighbourly to pop in and see if he was all right. That’s what people did in the country, didn’t they? Phil had been here months now, apart from a brief visit to Aunt Mary over Christmas and New Year, and if he was going to be here much longer he should probably make an effort to get to know people properly.

That made him pause for thought. Was he going to be here much longer?

He didn’t know.

He walked through the farmyard cautiously. He knew enough to go to the back door, not the front. The two sheepdogs who had cursorily examined him earlier in the week shot out of the open porch and circled round, barking and wagging cheerfully. No need to knock, then. He did, regardless. And called out “Anyone home?”

“In here,” Laurie’s voice answered, distantly. “Come in, whoever you are!”

He stepped in to the porch, past a downstairs bathroom and through the scullery with its stone-flagged floor, and pushed the door into the kitchen fully open.

Laurie was washing up. His stick was hooked on the drainer and he was resting against the sink with one hip. He turned as Phil came in, propping the final plate on the pile beside the soapy water and reaching for the tea-towel flung over his shoulder to dry his hands.

“Mr McManus! Phil, I mean,” he corrected himself, “what can I do for you?”

Phil paused. He hadn’t got this far in his head. He had just…walked.

“Erm. I was just passing?” he tried. His voice lifted at the end, in a question.

“You were?” Laurie looked at him, one side of his mouth twisted up in a little smile. Or was that the side affected by the stroke? He didn’t know. Didn’t matter, anyway.

“Yes. I was.” He made his voice firmer. “Sally is at my place this morning, so I thought you might let me hide here.”

“Only if you’ll let me retreat to your place when she’s cross with me,” Laurie replied. “Although that will probably mean I have to move in, at least for the moment.” He pulled a face.

“Have you upset her?”

“No. Yes. Sort of….” He turned toward the Rayburn and dragged the kettle on to the hotplate. “She wasn’t very happy about me over-doing it the other day. Patsy told tales on me.”

“Ah. Yes, I can see that. She obviously cares about you a great deal. She talks about you all the time when she comes up to do the cottage.” He paused. “Have you been together long?”

Laurie choked and dropped one of the tea-cups he was moving from the drainer to the table. He fumbled for it and at the same time Phil stooped to catch it. They both missed and it smashed on the stone floor into a thousand tiny pieces. “Shit!” Laurie said, trying stifle his coughing. “That was one of the good ones, too.”

He bent to pick up the pieces, still choking and Phil said, “Stop it, you bloody fool, let me. It’s everywhere.” He put his hands on Laurie’s shoulders and pushed him upward from his bent position and then back and down, in to one of the kitchen chairs. Laurie’s leg gave as he sat and he made the final descent with an unglamorous wobble.

He was still coughing. “Sally!” he got out, around between coughs. “Bloody hell!”

“Where’s the dustpan?” Phil asked, ignoring him.

Laurie gestured to the cupboard under the sink. “Under there.”

It was the work of moments to sweep it all up, on his knees at Laurie’s feet. Thankfully it had been empty. He rested back on his heels with with full dustpan. “Where does it go?”

“Put it in one of the flower-pots on the window-sill,” Laurie said, gesturing. “I’ll stick in the bottom of a pot for drainage when I plant the new ones up.”

Phil nodded and got to his feet. He lurched as he did so and steadied himself on Laurie’s knee as he rose. Warm, he thought. The man smelled nice. A mixture of soap and fresh air and woodsmoke. “Ooops,” he said, pushing himself upright. “Sorry.”

Laurie grinned at him as they briefly made eye contact. Something flickered in his eyes. “Not a problem,” he said. He pointed at the window-sill behind the sink. “Knock those dead chives in the middle pot out the window in to the yard.” He grinned again, but it was a different sort of smile this time, with slightly too many teeth. “I can’t really balance to water them properly at the moment anyway.”

Phil opened the window and emptied the dead plants outside ad then tipped the pieces of crockery in as instructed. He replaced the dustpan under the sink and stood up and leaned against it, crossing his arms. “Doesn’t Sally help with that sort of thing?” he asked, looking down at the other man.

“No. Yes. Sometimes.” Laurie wouldn’t meet his eye and started to stand. “Sit down, let me get a new cup.”

Phil put his hand back on his shoulder and gently but firmly pushed him back down on to the chair. “What do you mean?” he asked, in a voice that matched his grip, “No-yes-sometimes covers all the wickets.” He removed his hand and turned round to collect another cup and saucer, moving past Laurie to put it on the table beside him and then reaching to pull the kettle off the Rayburn and put both tea-leaves and the boiling water in the teapot.

He brought the teapot over and put it on the cork table-mat in the middle of the table before opening the pantry door and rummaging in the fridge for the milk-jug. Laurie sat and let him, watching him slightly warily.

As Phil sat down and folded his arms again, waiting for the tea to brew, Laurie muttered, “I told her not to do it.”

“You told her not to do it?” Phil repeated. “Ah, I see.” And he did, in a way. He wouldn’t be in Laurie’s shoes for anything.

Laurie worked his thumb over and over one of the whorls of wood in the table-top. It was smoothed from long use. “I hate it, Phil,” he said in a low voice. “I hate not being able to do all the simple things. It makes me feel useless, having them all run round after me.”

“You’d rather let the plants die than accept help?”

Laurie bit his lip and continued to worry at the knot in the table. “It sounds daft when you put it like that,” he said.

Phil didn’t say anything.

“Okay, I know it’s daft.” He looked up and met Phil’s eyes, his own anguished. “But I hate it,” he said, vehemently. “I hate it, Phil.”

Where to buy: Book2Read

* * * * *

Add to your TBR list

About the Author: A. L. Lester is a writer of queer, paranormal, historical, and romantic suspense. Lives in the South West of England with Mr AL, two children, a badly behaved dachshund, a terrifying cat and some hens. Likes gardening but doesn't really have time or energy. Not musical. Doesn't much like telly. Non-binary. Chronically disabled. Has tedious fits.

Connect with A. L. here

Review: Taking Stock https://ift.tt/34CX0Cf

#IFTTT #Blogger

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rainbowstargazerlilies · 9 days

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Mechs Doll Pattern Notes

At least one person asked in the comments on the raffle form, so here's some quick notes on making the Mechs dolls under the cut!

These are based on a pattern in Mini Knitted Farmyard by Sachiyo Ishii (isbn 978-1782215387). Usually, I use US size 2 knitting needles and DK yarn in the various shades required for each of them. I like having three needles on hand for this pattern. The pattern base is "farmer", but I do pull from other patterns. The author appears to use this same base pattern across several of the books in this series, so if you can't find a copy of this book, the Mini Knitted Cosmos book has variants of this pattern (look at "Ground Staff"), as does Mini Knitted Ocean (look at "Fisherman" patterns).

Specifically, the pattern for doll coats is a modified version of the "vest" pattern under the shepherd doll instructions in the same book (Farmyard). I usually make it slightly longer than listed, and if it's a coat, I'll match the sleeve color. I use the same pattern for vests, just not matching the sleeve color. Once again, there's a version of this under the "Fisherman" pattern in Ocean as well.

The shepherd doll also has the instructions on how to make boots, rather than shoes. I've found that useful for different dolls, and I don't seem to see it in any other places in the series.

TS's hat comes from Mini Knitted Ocean, and is used for one of the fishermen in that book. I've also made TS without, but I like the way it looks with the hat, don't you?

For dolls that have pointed ears, I've pulled from the animal ear patterns in the Mini Knitted Safari book, and somewhat adapted it. It's really, really simple-- cast on two stitches, knit one row, bind off. The bind-off should be pointy. If you want longer ears, knit an extra row or two.

Finally, Raphaella's wings are initially from a different book in the series, Mini Knitted Toys, and I've adapted them from the "fairy" pattern. (Those adaptations are just doing half-double crochet in brown yarn around the outside edge, and then sewing down a crochet chain for the middle brown lines. I also do attach them differently than how the pattern suggests-- flipping them around so that they curve downwards.) This is the only pattern for the Mechs that uses a different size knitting needle (US size 6). I've also done them for other dolls, and I highly recommend doing a fun stitch for texture-- remember that both the back and front of the wings could be visible. Last time, I ended up doing moss stitch on them with some fun colors, and that ended up looking really cool.

Another tip: these will require a yarn needle. I've done the hair by knotting it on or by doing backstitch and loops, and while the backstitch and loops takes more time, the extra time's worth it. Doing that with a crochet hook instead of a yarn needle sounds incredibly time consuming and painful.

As well, while there are instructions for a "farmer's wife" variant with a skirt, I've found it just as easy to either pick up and crochet a skirt around a completed doll, or to increase through the back loop and set aside all increased stitches for later during that second row of the shirt color, and then use that to knit the skirt later. Either way, make sure that you increase appropriately as you make the skirt-- too many, and it'll ruffle.

If you're interested in the series, I'd highly recommend Woodland and Safari if you want to make animals, and Farmyard if you're interested in people of various sizes. I've made a lot of the patterns in these books, and they're fun to make and to experiment with. Ocean also has a good variety of fish and similar creatures, which could be fun depending on your interests.

If you end up trying to make any of these dolls, feel free to ask me questions! I'm sure I've got more tips, but I can't think of them, and they'd probably not make much sense out of context anyway. In short, have fun!

#stargazer crafts #stargazer's four inch friends #mechs dolls raffle

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mariaclaragomez276 · 4 years

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25 of the best family-friendly boutique hotels to bring you back together

Without dwelling too much on the doom and gloom of lockdown life, this year has seen the separation of loved ones and kept many households around the world in social isolation. When reunions become possible again, our selection of family-friendly boutique hotels will bring you closer than ever – all you need to sort is your social bubble.

Escape to the Country

Domaine des Etangs, Massignac – France

A turreted castle set deep in the Charente countryside, Domaine des Etangs will make your little ones feel as though they have stepped into a storybook filled with woodland creatures and farmyard animals. Make friends with the local wildlife – from herons and otters to deer and Limousin cows – with a visit to the nearby farm, or the Haute Charente Adventure Park. After a day spent enjoying the great outdoors with horse riding classes or lakeside fishing (for seven year olds upwards), a selection of rustic retreats await within the hotel grounds, from the Farmhouse to the Métairies rooms, six smallholdings nestled between two ponds which have been named with youngsters in mind – Unicorn, Dragon, and Pegasus complete the fairytale picture.

Castello di Reschio, Umbria – Italy

A timeless collection of nine bespoke farmhouses dotted across a 1,500-hectare landscape on the Umbrian-Tuscan border, immerse your family in Italian rural life at Castello di Reschio. The surrounding countryside – both on and off the estate – gives you plenty of reasons to go off the beaten track. From horse riding, tennis lessons and pizza making classes, to wildlife watching, truffle hunting, hiking and biking, there is something for everyone at this meticulously restored one-thousand-year-old castle.

The Fish Hotel, Cotswolds – UK

A quirky country estate quite unlike any other, The Fish brings you back to nature in boutique hotel style. Suitable for broods of all shapes and sizes, families will find 400-acres of Cotswold countryside to explore right on their doorstep. A village-style collection of houses, huts and hideaways, there are several family-friendly options to choose from – whether it’s the interconnecting Veranda Suites, the standalone, six-bedroom Farmhouse which sleeps up to 15 adults and children, or the Treehouses with a magical woodland setting and bunk beds for two little ones, The Fish is made for laid-back luxury family breaks.

Hacienda Zorita Wine Hotel & Organic Farm, Salamanca – Spain

Dating back to the 14th-century, Hacienda Zorita Wine Hotel & Organic Farm is a blissful retreat encircled by vineyards in the Duero Valley. There is fun for all the family at the hotel’s organic farm, where guests can sample cheese and an authentic hacienda meal, to get a taste for the Spanish countryside. Plan your visit for next autumn, to take part in the annual harvest festival – pick, collect and chop your own grapes, before a traditional barbecue, live music, and lots of wine (for the grown up members of the family!)

Hotel Casa Palmela, Setubal – Portugal

Down a long, vineyard-lined road with the rolling hills of Arrábida Natural Park on all sides, lies Hotel Casa Palmela. The serene white 18th-century house has been completely restored into a luxurious countryside casa, moments from secluded beaches and verdant mountains. The Garden House is the perfect option for larger groups, located in the most secluded area of the hotel grounds and with a spacious set of suites, you will be made to feel instantly at home. Gather round the table (or picnic blanket) for a taste of the renowned Azeitão regional cheese, or explore the Natural Park by bike, on horseback, or simply on foot, before cooling off on the Atlantic coast.

Beachfront Bonding

Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay, Ibiza – Spain

Set on the quieter side of Ibiza beside the waters of Talamanca Bay, Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay is sure to be a hit with teens, tweens, and tots (not to mention parents, of course). The Kid’s Club is as trendy as the rest of this stylish White Isle setting, with a series of island inspired activities for children aged 4-12. Little bohos can discover the art of jewelry making and basket weaving from local artisans at the hotel’s Hippy Market, whilst those with inquisitive minds will love learning about the environment through Balearic crafts lessons using repurposed material from the beach like fancy dress parties, mermaid and pirate days, sandcastle creations and master chef sessions at Nobu and Chambao. The musically minded can find their rhythm during the DJ workshops, while parents can enjoy some peace and quiet in the hotel’s Six Senses Spa. Get together in one of the family pool cabanas for a blissed-out beach day, nibbling on bento boxes from the sashimi-serving Nobu Restaurant.

St. Nicolas Bay Resort Hotel & Villas, Crete – Greece

Overlooking Mirabello Bay on a secluded private beach, St. Nicolas Bay Resort Hotel & Villas is the epitome of laid-back island luxury. Families of up to six can choose from an array of quintessentially Cretan accommodation, including interconnecting rooms, Family Suites, Club Suites, and villas with their own private pool. Children can make a splash in the seawater paddling pool next to the hotel’s large outdoor swimming pool, just a few steps from the sea, while the protected sandy cove is perfect for all ages. There is also an early dining room service menu for youngsters, and special baby food can be prepared on request. Parents can make the most of the cocktails at Astra Bar, or a candlelit dinner under the stars at The Minotaure Restaurant, safe in the knowledge that their little ones are being looked after in the Mini Club.

Smiths Beach Resort, Yallingup – Australia

This environmentally-friendly and picturesque resort is set within a National Park, providing the ultimate Australian beachside experience. Smiths Beach Resort‘s beautifully furnished Two and Three Bedroom Garden or Ocean View Villas and Three and Four Bedroom Beach Houses make the perfect home-from-home for any family gathering, each with their own pool and self-catering facilities. Take a picnic lunch from the Gourmet Deli to the beach, or visit the nearby Animal Farm just outside of Margaret River where you can meet over 350 animals and feed baby kangaroos in the farm’s nursery.

Hidden Hills Villas, Bali – Indonesia

Tucked away in the peak beauty of Uluwatu, Hidden Hills Villas borrows the best of the boutique hotel experience to create perfectly private residences at the height of luxury. Taking inspiration from China, Java, the Mediterranean and, of course, Bali, no two villas are the same – but they’re all set up for larger groups, and boast spectacular Indian Ocean views. And with a special Family Package, including a fresh fruit basket, babysitting, pool toys, a full day of Bali, and a couples’ massage for parents, the whole family will be more than taken care of at Hidden Hills.

Koh Russey Villas & Resort, Bamboo Island – Cambodia

A blissful retreat on Cambodia’s remote Bamboo Island, the ocean is only ever a short walk away at Koh Russey Villas & Resort. The resort’s Two and Four Bedroom Beachfront Villas can accommodate six to eight guests respectively, and have been designed to blend with the backdrop of palm trees and bamboo groves, home to colourful local birds. The island is little more than a mile wide – and nature is all around. During the day, there is a whole host of island activities to try – from kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, snorkelling and fishing, to beach picnics and cooking classes. As the sun sets, gather under the starry sky for an open-air cinema night, or experience a bioluminescent swim with glowing plankton.

Culture Trips

DUKES LONDON – UK

With its heritage style and warm hospitality, DUKES LONDON is a sophisticated home-from-home in the heart of the city. Children will find a thoughtful selection of in-room amenities, including a colouring book, a Dukesy toy and milk and cookies, while grown ups can enjoy a tipple in the DUKES Bar, world-renowned for its martinis – from here, retire to the Drawing Room or the Cognac and Cigar Garden. When you’re ready to explore, you’ll find many of London’s must-see sights at your feet. Borrow a bike from DUKES LONDON and cycle around St. James’s Park. Visit the royal palaces, or book a private tour led by a hotel guide to hear the stories of the kings and queens who called them home.

Hangzhou Rose Garden Resort & Spa, Hangzhou – China

Set in the once ancient capital of China, Hangzhou is renowned for its beautiful natural scenery, fine green tea, and lakeside temples. Nestled in pretty gardens, close to the Qiantang River and the famous Six Harmonies Pagoda, Hangzhou Rose Garden Resort & Spa is an intimate resort with just 50 well-proportioned rooms and one suite. Families of four will have plenty of space for fun and games in the Family Room, which comes with an indoor tent and toys for little ones, in addition to mini slippers and bathrobes in every room. Choose from a child-friendly menu at breakfast, sample the delicious local cuisine in the Jade Hall restaurant or enjoy Western cuisine in the British Bar.

Palm Suite, Rome – Italy

A colourful collection of eclectic Roman residences, Palm Suite puts the history of the Eternal City right at your feet. Within seven minutes, you can be at any one of the ‘big five’: Capitoline Hill, the Forum, the Pantheon, the Colosseum and Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains. The boldly decorated Family Suites sleep four to five, making Palm Suite the perfect base for a Roman Holiday. After a day spent exploring ancient landmarks and awe-inspiring sights, take in Rome’s famous skyline back in the comfort of your private residence.

Altstadt Vienna – Austria

Housed in a 19th-century town house in Vienna’s historic and artistic quarter, Altstadt Vienna puts the Austrian capital at your feet – located in a quieter part of the city, just a fifteen minute walk from the centre. Spread across five floors, modern works of art by Gilbert & George and Andy Warhol decorate the walls throughout the hotel. Families of four will find more than enough space to stretch out after a day exploring the city (by horse-drawn carriage for a traditional tour) in the Family Suites, which are set over two separate bedrooms and have their own living rooms.

Urso Hotel & Spa, Madrid – Spain

Originally an early 20th-century palace, Urso Hotel & Spa has been lovingly and meticulously restored to create a beautifully styled, contemporary boutique property. Surrounded by embassy buildings, independent boutiques, tapas bars and restaurants, the hotel is just a ten-minute walk from Madrid’s famous golden triangle of art galleries. The Urso Family Rooms are made up of an elegant Junior Suite with large floor-to-ceiling windows connected by a private hall to a comfortable Urso Double.

Adventure Time

Bay of Many Coves, Queen Charlotte Sound – New Zealand

Set in a tranquil cove with beautiful views of the Marlborough Sounds, Bay of Many Coves is an exclusive retreat offering a truly unique New Zealand experience. The Two and Three Bedroom Apartments make the ideal base for an adventure-seeking family, with all the natural beauty of this eco haven to explore. Kayaks and paddleboards are available for discovering the bay’s abundant marine life – watch out for dolphins, often spotted around the resort, as well as fur seals. Back on dry land, wander down one of the many forest tracks and discover a wonderful range of native birds.

Rawah Ranch, Colorado – USA

This self-styled ‘dude’ ranch and fly-fishing lodge on the Colorado-Wyoming border is an authentic slice of the Wild West. Rawah Ranch keeps their youngest guests busy with a daily morning programme of cowboy pastimes, giving the more grown-up members of the family to escape on their own adventures. Make your own dream catchers to keep nightmares at bay, paint your imagination’s creations onto rocks found around the ranch, or shape and decorate some leather designs – if you want the Rawah Brand on it, simply ask the staff around the campfire. The wilderness will be yours to explore, with endless activities which make the most of the great outdoors – from panning for gold, horse back riding, pond fishing, and guided nature walks, to meeting the ranch animals up close on the Tiny Hiney Farm. Read all about a recent family visit to the ranch here.

Los Altos Resort & Spa, Manuel Antonio – Costa Rica

Tucked into the rainforest canopy, Los Altos Resort & Spa offers relaxed luxury in the pristine eco-wilderness of Manuel Antonio. Wake to the sounds of howler monkeys, glimpse toucans among the trees, and breakfast with hummingbirds – you’ll be surrounded by restorative nature here. Rooms at Los Altos vary from spacious to huge. Each has an immersed-in-nature feel, with sweeping outlooks over rainforest, sea or both. And all suites come with kitchens and sumptuous lounging spaces – which are especially great for groups or families. Enjoy a Family Time offer where children eat for free, and parents can enjoy a discount in the outside-inside luxury spa.

The Marine, Hermanus – South Africa

This beautiful clifftop retreat on South Africa’s rugged Hermanus coast looks out over Walker Bay, where guests can get a glimpse of the Southern Right Whales from the comfort of the stylishly decorated rooms, if visiting during June or December. Family time at The Marine is spent in the comfort of interconnecting rooms, enjoying a morning of marine safari – get up close with seals, dolphins and penguins – followed by a picnic on Fernkloof Nature Reserve, ending with a family dinner at Origins Restaurant.

The Plettenberg, Plettenberg Bay – South Africa

Poised above one of South Africa’s finest bays, The Plettenberg makes the ideal boutique base to explore the diverse 200km Garden Route, one of the country’s most popular experiences. Families of five can make themselves at home in the two bedroom Beach House, while larger families of seven can stretch out in the three bedroom Lookout Villa, both with their own private pools. Get to know the local wildlife with a morning Canopy Tour to Monkey Land or Birds of Eden, or a visit to the nearby elephant sanctuary, before taking a stroll down to Lookout Beach – perfect for families with its shallow lagoon.

Winter Wonderlands

Le Refuge de la Traye, Méribel – France

Hidden away in the Alps, Le Refuge de la Traye is a collection of eco-luxury chalets dotted about a miniature hamlet, in enviable proximity to Les 3 Vallées ski region. This Alpine retreat gives mini snow seekers plenty of reasons to spend their days in the fresh air, from an electric snowmobile track, 5.5km of sledge runs (which can be organised day or night!), to a treasure hunt on the mountain which teaches children how to use an avalanche search device. After a day on the slopes, hang up your boots in the Edelweiss Family Cottage, a wonderfully rustic wooden chalet with exposed beams and soft furnishings.

Crans Ambassador, Crans Montana – Switzerland

Escape to the great outdoors in style at Crans Ambassador, a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps. With sublime mountain views at every turn, this contemporary chalet offers the chance to immerse yourself in your surroundings. In winter, pick up snow-sport supplies at the on-site ski shop and stroll to the nearby lift, then warm up with a Swiss sharing platter or raclette. If you or your little ones begin to feel ski-weary, spend a day dog-sledding as part of the hotel’s family package, which will be available from 2021.

El Lodge Ski and Spa, Granada – Spain

Cosily kitted out with vintage ski posters, antler chandeliers and animal prints by designer Andrew Martin, El Lodge Ski and Spa redefines the luxury log cabin. El Lodge offers everything from private snowsports lessons, a fun-filled Kid’s Club to a boot warming service – all with ski-in ski-out access to the surrounding 45 pistes and six off-piste ski runs. Families of six can cosy up in the Two Bedroom Corner Suite, with bunk beds for the youngsters and a separate living room for post-ski down time.

Kristiania Lech, Lech am Arlberg – Austria

An exquisitely decorated Alpine retreat with the feel of a private residence rather than a hotel, Kristiania Lech will make every member of your family feel instantly at home. The 29 bedrooms and suites are individually and charmingly decorated with original pieces of art and wonderful views over the village of Lech and towards the Alps. Children up to the age of ten can enjoy breakfast and biscuits throughout the day free of charge, and will find mini bathrobes, towels, and bed linen in each room. Besides the snowsports, the hotel is happy to organise ‘sofa cinema’ evenings, picnics in the snow, and all your bedtime reading will be prepared by your butler before you arrive – simply request your favourite books two weeks before your stay.

Hotel Firefly, Zermatt – Switzerland

One of the most stylish hotels in Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn, the all-suite Hotel Firefly offers spellbinding views of the soaring peaks of the Valais Alps. The sleek and spacious Maxi Suites sleep up to seven, while the larger Chalet Suites and Skylight Loft can accommodate up to ten guests. If you’d prefer not to dine out, cook up a meal in your private kitchen, to make yourself really feel at home. Beyond the front door, there’s Zermatt’s exhilarating ski runs to explore – including the all-year routes on Theodul Glacier.

The post 25 of the best family-friendly boutique hotels to bring you back together appeared first on Small Luxury Hotels.

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johngarrisonmusic · 7 years

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Tour Diary Part 2

Arrive at JFK fully expecting a thorough, Trump era inspection and interrogation. However, I breeze through immigration and even have a nice conversation with Errol, my inspector. Although his authority muscle was flexed a little when questioned what music I was playing. “I play bass for James Blunt” I reply. “Who?” he says “That’s Showbiz” I quip……..!!!! An icy stare falls onto the once happy face of Errol. “I only like rap” are his final words as he stamps my passport and shouts “Next”

June 26

3 hours sleep. 4am lobby call. It’s Good Morning America live performance today of “OK”, Blunt’s new single here in the States. This track is quite personal for me as they are releasing a version of the track that I remixed along with James, as the main version to radio here in the States. You need to have many strings to the bow to make a living in music these days. We’re all in a daze as we check our hire gear. God knows what time our crew arrived but all the gear is set up and ready to go. Writing this a few days later and I can’t remember much about the performance but the label and management all seemed happy. I think. Or maybe I dreamt that…!!!

youtube

Jet lag and the general buzz of being in New York means an attempted snooze doesn’t happen. So Pembers (keys), Kristoff (drums) and I go for a power walk around Central Park. Gotta take the opportunities to stay in shape on the road. Something I’ve learned over the years. And failed at mostly..!!! Central Park is such a wonderful place. It never fails to impress. A perfect way to pass a few hours off. Days like this I feel very privileged to be doing what I do.

We then head off to another TV studio to perform on the Seth Myers Show. The studio is bloody freezing. It’s always the way with US TV shows. God knows why. There must be a reason. No idea what that is though. But it’s full jacket wearing performance for this show. Which is odd as it’s 27oC outside. A planned big night out in NYC is thwarted by jetlag that eventually kicks in too hard to ignore. Early night for us boring folk. How very un rock n roll…!!!

June 27

5am wake up. Not for any particular reason. Just jetlag. But that’s ok in NYC. I go out and wander the streets for 4 hours interspersed with coffee breaks. I still love this city. I lived here for 2 years back in 2006/7. It still feels like home. There’s an energy that emanates through the floor here. You can feel it coming out the walls of the buildings and skyscrapers. Everyone is here for a reason. There is a focus here that brings out the creative side in everyone who has one. I still love it and today I soak it up.

We are performing on Kelly and Ryan TV show today. Another freezing studio. A trailer filled with farmyard animals is parked right outside our dressing room. The odd ‘Moooo” and Baaahaaaa” interrupting James’ vocal warm up are highly amusing breaks to the tedious boredom of TV world. Still no idea why they were there as they never appeared on the show…!! Slightly gutted that the very cute Kelly is on holiday. It’s always a treat for the eyes playing on her show.

The boredom is abruptly shattered when we are told we have to lose 30 seconds of the track. We have already soundchecked so it’s a strategic edit arranged, board meeting style, around the table with no way of checking. Times like this we are thankful we are a fully live band with no backing track. We visually cue the changes live on air while being broadcast to millions. It’s times like this you know you are alive. It works. No time to stress or panic. We nail it. 3 mins dead. Everyone is happy. And we are done for the day. With nothing but a fight tomorrow, there is a palpable air of excitement amongst the band.

We head downtown to my favourite Italian restaurant in NYC called Emilio’s Ballato. It’s an old school mafia style Italian that I was introduced to when I lived here. Emilio is a terrifying, yet lovable character who sits at the door. Always does. Has done for decades. You only have to imagine a mafia style Italian restaurant owner with a gravelly voice who has to occasionally pop out to “take care of business” to know what he looks like. The mental picture you have now……. That’s Emilio. The first time I came here, Sting was sat at the first table with Jay Z and Rhianna. It’s that kinda place. Emilio Jnr takes us to a table and explains the menu in his “baddabing” way. It’s so cliché one or 2 of our party suspect it’s all a show. But I know for a fact it is not. The family back in Sicily send over the ingredients twice a week. All 3 of Emilio’s sons work at the place. It’s the real deal. And it’s awesome.

Tonight we are all on the guest list of the Imelda May gig at Webster Hall. Pembers, our keyboard player, is Imelda’s player too. He depped out the last 2 Imelda gigs as they clashed with the Blunt tour. But coincidence means we are all here in NYC. The band are amazing and Imelda’s voice soars in this place. A great old school sweaty gig. We hang out with the band at an Irish bar around the corner after the show. God knows what time we finished but it was a long hazy walk back to the hotel.

Goodbye NYC

June 28

Flight to Kansas today. We arrive to find they have not sent the mini bus that we asked for, but a car….!!! For 12 of us. So we squeeze in 3 cars with gear and bags on our laps. It’s not all glamour…!!

June 29 It’s the first day of our Ed Sheeran support today. Kansas City the first show. Still jetlagged. I’m up and wide awake at 5am. I decide to check out Kansas. I set off on a head clearing 90 minute walk. In the space of a few minutes, the sky turns apocalyptic black and I’m suddenly in the middle of an almighty downpour and a violent thunder storm. Flash floods come hurtling down the street. It’s actually pretty scary. But awesome too. Mother nature flexing her muscle and reminding us how insignificant we all are. Trash cans hurtling down the street. I run back to the hotel and watch the storm from the safety of my hotel window.

A post shared by JohnnyVic (@satellites_johnnyvic) on Jun 29, 2017 at 5:38am PDT

The tour bus pulls up outside our hotel. Always a hugely exciting moment. There’s something about American tour buses. It’s probably subconsciously linked to the childhood dream of touring the States that most musicians had at some point. But also just how cool the busses look. This is home for the next 2 months.

We get to the venue. The Sprint Arena. Sold Out 16,000. We meet Ed and all the crew. They are all super nice and friendly which is a welcome relief. It’s not always the case. The support act can occasionally be treated as a lesser entity. But not here. I think the fact James is such a big name in his own right helps. And the fact James and Ed are friends. Ed co-wrote some of the tracks on James’ new album and we even recorded one of them at Ed’s house earlier in the year.

We soundcheck the whole set. It feels a bit weird. Ed does his thing with just an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal. And rarely sound checks. So seeing all our full band gear on his stage feels a little intrusive on his minimal set. But again, Ed’s crew are all super helpful and asking if we need anything. We iron out a few issues from the rehearsals and drop a song as we creep over our allocated 40 mins.

My Bass Set up.

James and I then play a quick 3 song set unamplified on acoustic guitars for 25 competition winners. We haven’t worked out the songs before on acoustics so it’s very much on the fly. But they all seem thrilled.

Ed pops in to wish us luck as we all do our vocal warm ups. We go on.

It’s a younger crowd than we are used to. It’s quite clear pretty early on that a few of them have no idea who James is. I guess it is 12 years since his debut album was no.1 here in the States. But rather sweetly, you can see a lot of the crowd are holding their phones with the lyrics on and are attempting to sing along. So cute.

James announces “most of you were probably conceived to this song” as he strikes up the opening chords to the world wide smash that is “You’re Beautiful”. You can see the penny drop in the audience. And in a scene reminiscent of an 80’s style cheesy high school movie, the crowd slowly all get to their feet and whoop, with fists in the air as they all realise ‘it’s that guy’. It’s an amazing moment. And from that point on it’s an amazing show. James gets all the 16,000 to their feet as he piano surfs during the outro of our set.

We all come off and have a post gig huddle. It’s a success. There’s always a slight element of doubt before a support gig. But those doubts are put to bed tonight. Ed pops in before his set and pours us all a mandatory Tequila.

Ed hits the stage to an ear splitting shrill of 16,000 very excited people. It’s an amazing spectacle. Just a man and a guitar with a loop pedal. He is a master of his craft. Everyone is on their feet. From the hardcore fans at the front to the reluctant parents on the very back row, Ed has them all in the palm of his hand. With just the occasional look down at his loop pedal multi track set up, the accompaniments he makes on the fly with his voice and beating the guitar body for percussion, it’s seamless. And mighty impressive.

#ed sheeran #james blunt #nyc #kansas #johnnyvic #john garrison

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crackinthecup · 7 years

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Question meme

@kashyurio, @markedasinfernal, and @prackspoor have all tagged me in this meme, so I’ll answer underneath a cut so this doesn’t take up lots of space! (thank you for tagging me, guys, and sorry it’s taken me a million years to respond to this <3)

@kashyurio‘s questions

1. If you could know a language without studying it, what would it be?

Japanese.

2. Name 3 places you’d love to visit.

Peru, New Zealand, Iceland.

3. Do you play any instruments?

Piano, very badly.

4. Dream job?

I’d love to do something like herding sheep somewhere remote while also magically having enough money to live on :P

5. A talent that makes you envious of others?

Not falling over on the tube!

6. Your favorite way of passing the time on a rainy day?

Wrapped up in a blanket, reading or watching a movie / TV show.

7. An unpopular opinion you might have?

I don’t really like Snapchat.

8. A book that left a mark?

Well, technically it’s three books, but The Lord of the Rings!

9. Favorite scent?

I’m not sure I have one single favourite scent, but here’s a few of the many scents I like: roses, lavender, cinnamon, chocolate, lemongrass.

10. Favorite season?

Spring.

@markedasinfernal‘s questions

1) Do you like pumpkin spice lattes?

I do like them, yes, but I often find that they’re a bit too sweet for me.

2) What is your favourite farmyard animal?

Cows are pretty great!

3) What is your favourite translated work (a book / play / poem not originally written in English)?

Rumi’s poems.

4) Listening to any cool music at the moment?

I’ve been listening to the acoustic version of Scrape by Blue Stahli on repeat for the past few days.

5) How do you commute to work / school?

Bus and then a short walk from the bus stop to where I work.

6) If you could live the life and storyline in full of any fictional character, who would it be (and why)?

Probably Treebeard—I don’t like being hasty any more than he does, it’d be pretty cool to be around through all the ages of the world, and I would get to hang out with the Entwives.

7) If you could study any subject and be guaranteed a good job in that field of work, what would subject would you choose?

English literature or neuroscience.

8) Do you think that money can buy happiness?

Not in and of itself, but it is conducive to acquiring things and having experiences that might make one happy.

9) What is your favourite meme?

The distracted boyfriend meme or the meme where pictures of cats were overlaid with the word ‘bode.’

10) Would you rent / buy a Halloween costume or just throw something together out of things in your wardrobe?

If it was for a special event, I might consider buying a proper Halloween costume, but otherwise I’d probably just use clothes I already own.

@prackspoor‘s questions

1. Do you believe in ghosts?

Not per se, but I am open to the possibility that they exist.

2. What is the weirdest movie you have ever watched?

The Fountain (2006)

3. Reading or writing?

Ahhh this is hard: reading, because I miss having the time to sit down with a book (or a fic)!

4. If you could choose to master one skill within a day, what would it be?

Martial arts.

5. What is your favourite YouTube channel?

Ozzy Man Reviews.

6. What is the most interesting random fact you know?

There are two neural pathways in the brain for processing visual stimuli. The main one that does most of the work goes to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe, but there is a more primitive one that goes to subcortical structures like the pulvinar nuclei. Some suggest this might explain the phenomenon of blindsight, i.e., the finding that when you ask people who are for all intents and purposes blind to point out the location of visual stimuli (or respond to visual stimuli in some other way), they are able to do so at an accuracy level above chance. The proposed explanation is that even though the primary visual pathway may be damaged, visual stimuli are still being processed by the more primitive pathway, enabling us to respond to them.

Also! The CA1-4 areas in the hippocampus are short for Cornu Ammonis, named after the Egyptian god Amun Ra.

7. If you could choose any era of human history for a two-week vacation, where - or rather when - would you go?

I’d go to the early days of the Roman Empire!

8. If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?

Being able to stop time.

9. What would you like to recommend to other people?

I’m not really the best person to give life advice, but I can recommend a book! The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy has stayed with me ever since I read it.

10. Which skills or languages would you still like to learn?

I like languages, so my immediate response to this question was ALL OF THE LANGUAGES PLEASE. I have no current plans to learn new languages though, but I do hope to get my driver’s licence sometime in the near future! It would also be cool to learn to sew properly. I can mend small rips in clothes and the like, but I’m by no means good at it.

11. If you could change one thing about a book/movie you love, what would you change and why?

I’d make the scenes with Faramir in the LotR movies more like the ones in the books.

#meme things #about yours truly

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sophielouisemilligan-blog · 7 years

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Zambia - the Lower Zambezi and Chiawa Camp

I had no pre conception about what Kenya Airways was going to be like as an airline, I mean I'm used to the hap hazard easy jet, Ryanair or monarch, but you know you're onto a goo-dun when you ask for a glass of wine with your supper and instead of the measly one bottle per person, (with the bottle practically a shot of wine, usual form. I should have a tattoo on my forehead reading #drinksalot just for clarification!) Not Kenya Airways people, they were practically spraying the cabin with wine, excellent! These long haul flights can be seriously tiring; sandwiched in between two rather large men in the middle aisle, taking both arm rests, I felt like a proper sardine. The one gentleman on my left was adamant I needed things doing for me too - very sweet. Don't get me wrong, he was being totally charming but you kind of want to get into your own zone, organising your own things - even if I was looking like something similar to the lady in the van with bags and layers of coats drapped from practically every limb. Also, why couldn't he have been vaguely 'hunky'? Would have been more enjoyable. We seriously need to make some more 'real' movies, my expectations in life have been, so far, really not up to scratch quite frankly. Personally - mainly in my dreams - I will definitely be flying first class, business, premium - anything, anything other than cattle class. There's always a crying baby two or three rows away from you as well (🙄) 8 hours later and I land at Nairobi airport. Standing one behind the other in yet more queues like sheep at a market. Usually there's some wily lad amongst the throng of people - usually a Brit - that makes a farmyard noise, either cow, sheep or pig... This time it didn't happen, thank god, too much out of they're comfort zone probably. The smell of a foreign country is always different and exciting. The texture of the air strange and unfamiliar conjuring up a medley of memories from my time in Africa this time last year as well as stirring my imagination into gear, prepping me for the unexpected. The air is most definitely fresh for this time in the morning. Then the sun rises above JKIA and you feel the heat almost immediately hitting your skin, bliss. With a hop skip and a jump I climb into a smaller Kenyan airways plane onto my next destination, Lusaka. It's like playing with Russian dolls; I'm taking 3 flights in total, each plane getting smaller and smaller the further into Africa I go. Once I land in Lusaka I catch an internal flight to the Lower Zambezi. I land on the Royal Airstrip don't you know, makes me sound ever so grand...! Landing in Lusaka airport I not only had serious sense of de ja vous, having been here exactly the same time the year before, I was ever so sightly bereft. Feeling at a loss without my university friends who accompanied me the year before, this time I was on my own. Ever so slightly worried, my nerves were sated when I saw a sign with my name awaiting me. The gentleman that had greeted me went ahead and grabbed my hold luggage whilst I sorted out my visa, as well as accompanying me through the (small) terminal, even checking in my bags for the next flight without me having to lift a finger. Hopping onto a small prop plane in Lusaka, I was accompanied by only the pilot who gave a marvellous 'Welcome to Zambia' speech, his air stewardess, Maggie who was Australian and headed to a neighbouring camp, myself and finally the owner of Chiawa Camp, Grant. Well, spoilt doesn't even cover it. Grant made me feel welcome from the word go, telling myself and Maggie detail after detail about the environment we were flying over and flying into, Zambia as a country and the history of Chiawa camp. How he came to find himself running it after a brief stint in America, his parents felt he needed to take the reigns on the family business. Journeying down the Zambezi I had already had my fair share of excellent wildlife sightings; crocodile basking on the river shore, Impala, hippo, bird after beautiful bird, then came the money shot, two adolescent bull elephant chilling on the river bank. Arriving at Chiawa, I was greeted off the boat by what seemed to be the whole team. A cool drink with lychee to quench my thirst before I was whisked off to my room. My room was what can only be described as jaw dropping. Forget the king sized bed, how about godlike - a huge bed facing out towards a large deck area looking down into a dry river bed and onto the Zambezi. And, AND there were three bull elephant looking up at me from the river bed... I thought I was dreaming initially ... But on second thought this was clearly my pre organised welcoming party right?! Chiawa camp on the lower Zamabezi. I literally have no words to describe what a place this is. Not only has it the most beautiful panoramic views of the mighty Zambezi river, but is shadowed by some of the national parks dramatic hills. 'Chilapeta' which roughly translates as 'never again' in reference to how steep it is (naturally) and the mission it is to climb it. Quick turn around and I was off on a canoe safari. We travelled by boat back upstream, where we were met by our guides, settled into our canoes and headed off down a small river channel. It was stunning; Impala and baboon, bee eaters, duga boys (old buffalo who are usually found on their own) masses of elephant, even a family of 6 with two tiny babies crossing behind us. When the family had crossed, the tide mark of water was just above the adults elbows and the babies are obviously only small and had been completely submerged! Coming back into camp we stopped for a brief breather, change of clothes and I headed out on my own private night drive. For about an hour we saw and heard very little - the occasional baboon alarm and resident chirruping of crickets in the bush, but other than that all was quiet on the western front. Admittedly I was beginning to fall asleep, travelling in cattle class beginning to catch up with me and the gentle rocking motion of the vehicle making me sleepy. I asked to stop for a while and listen to the sounds of the night and look at the stars. It was on the subject of the coal spot, within the milkyway we suddenly heard it. That familiar deep booming echo that gets right under your skin, into your soul, it could only be lion. Who's King, who's King? Me, me, me... And we were off, racing through the bush in the direction of the roar. We came across a male and female lion lying on the side of the road. In the background there were a further 6 lion to complete the pride. The next minute, it all happened quite quick, the lioness disappeared behind our truck and I can only describe it as sounding like someone running hard into a wall was what we heard. The next second, with a flash of red tinted light from the spotter, the lioness had a small Impala between her teeth. We had just witnessed, or rather heard, a kill. Queue David Attenborough! The male lion rather ungraciously took the lionesses kill from her and had it all to himself, of course though, he's king of the jungle, he can do what he likes! We then saw a herd of elephant encircled around their babies protecting them from the encroaching lion pride. Luckily the lion weren't interested in the Ellie's, they were still on the hunt for Impala. Following this excitement, we arrived at bedrock, where a pop up bush camp dinner had emerged. Small bush bar, by a circle of chairs around a camp fire. Lanterns hung up, embedded within the Rock and the smells of supper being cooked below was just bliss. Barely stepping off the truck, about turn! A radio call came in to say a pack of wild dog were just round the corner. Back in the truck and off we went. Like the lion pride, the wild dog were hunting Impala. This small pack of 8 were giving it a go. They raced off into the bush after about 5 minutes which was our queue to return to supper. On return to camp after supper, I HAD to run myself a bath. Bath with a view and the most amazing soundtrack of the bush was a must. The following morning we met for breakfast on the river bank, watching the sun rise over the Zambezi. We went out in search of wild dog again, sure enough we found them within the first half an hour. After watching the pack play and eventually relax, we continued on our morning drive. Ellie's, Impala, waterbuck and even a heard of buffalo. We stopped for tea and coffee on the side of the Zambezi. I was quizzing Baoz, our guide, about stories he has from guiding for more than 18 years, one of his highlights being how he saved the day when a pride of lion interrupted sundowners on the river bank and he courageously crept, whilst the lion were still around, back to rescue the table and nibbles but most importantly the drinks! (He loves a good story!) Back to camp to pack up the remainder of my bits. Chiawa were then going to transport me via boat to the next camp, not before I had lunch though. Having packed all my belongings, and a brief tour around camp looking into their six river facing tented camps, their new family suite which is in the process of being built which will be pretty impressive. I arrived back at the jetty where a boat was waiting, with a small table and lunch prepared. I had a date with Grant (!) and had the most delicious steak with zucchini and new potatoes, accompanied with a bottle of bubbly. We drifted down the river and then I had to say bye and move on to my next stop. Sausage Tree.

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beerandpresentdanger · 7 years

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Food for Thought

I like MasterChef. I used to like it in the olden days, when it was Loyd Grossman cogitating and digesting, and I like it now, when it’s a shrieking costermonger and an Australian Droopy Dog lookalike pulling faces at each other. I still don’t know why Gregg Wallace is there, but I appreciate the fact that he is.

It’s not the parade of own-brand celebrities I really like, or the ominous voiceovers, or the weird use of indie music at moments of high drama - for me, the best bits are when the hapless contestants are sent off to professional kitchens to see how the culinary world really works. It reminds of my own time working in a kitchen, washing dishes, scrubbing pans, burning endless cardboard boxes in the yard out back, and generally trying to survive the endless shifts without suffering too many cuts and burns. The chefs, powered by misanthropy, cigarettes, and other combustibles, weren’t artistic geniuses so much as school dropouts with anti-social hours and a lack of vitamin D, but I liked the camaraderie and the dirty jokes, and the MasterChef segments give me brief, slightly harrowing flashbacks.

One of the most memorable visits was when they were packed off to Noma, the Danish restaurant masterminded by culinary whizzkid René Redzepi, which focuses on reinventing and reinvigorating Nordic cooking, and has won every accolade going in the pursuit. I remember watching it as the chefs finessed fronds of foraged herbs into artful arrangements on the hand-glazed earthenware plates, using ingredients poached that day from the harbour-side, or brought in fresh from local fields and woodlands. It was all about creating an intimate sense of place, a unique and one-off creation that could only exist at that time and place, a joyful hymn to setting and season.

So why, I wondered, did they accompany this offering with fermented grape juice from hundreds, if not thousands of miles away?

I like to think of myself as a drinks critic, and yet, I confess, I’ve never really understood why wine, or any drink, is paired with food. I understand the principles, how the two can complement each other, add light and shade to their counterpart, highlight parallels or draw out differences, but it’s just not something I really “get”. Especially when your cooking is so rooted in a particular place - by what logic is it that a wine, of all things, will be the appropriate partner? Why not Sprite? Why not chocolate milk? It feels more like tradition than actual taste, a convention we can’t quite shake off. The fact that restaurants make most of their meagre profits from the mark up on booze can only be part of the equation.

Don’t get me wrong, I like a packet of salty, fatty, ever-so-slightly hairy pork scratchings alongside a cool pint of Burton pale ale as much as anyone, but I’m just not sure food and drink pairings are really for me.

When Brooklyn Brewery sent me a bottle of their new beer, Cloaking Device, in the post, alongside some meats, cheeses, and half a loaf of crusty sourdough bread, I was delighted, but I wasn’t sure I would necessarily appreciate them together, despite their claim it would make a versatile partner for various foodie treats.

I needn’t have worried. The snacks were delicious, but the beer was plenty fascinating on it’s own, with or without other flavours to counterbalance it, even if they extend to, in the brewery’s own words,”Barbecue, venison, dry-aged steaks, science fiction, hearty cheeses, pubs with old wood paneling, dark chocolate, fine tobacco, fireplaces, and elegance.”

Cloaking Device is a 10.5% porter fermented with Brett and aged for nine months in French oak red wine barrels. It pours an inky black with a sense memory of something chestnut brown, with a light tan head that dissipates quitely into the room. From that promising start, the nose is actually fairly unappealing, a patina of farmyard with a substrata, somewhere, of Burgundian shit (a sommelier once told me, in proud tones, that good Burgundy should smell of shit), though the Diva, my drinking companion, sensed plastic, the kind of fume that comes off our baby’s toys when we first open the packet.

But this isn’t a beer that reveals itself all on first impressions. The first sip is such a confusion that it’s hard to make anything out at all, but slowly, over the length of a glass, and the bottle, it begins to organise itself into some kind of sense. There’s that unmistakable Brett character, all lithe and perfumed with violets and old medicine cabinets in mildewed bathrooms, combined with a square of chocolate so dark it’s never quite known what sweetness is. There’s some peppercorn, slightly drying tannins, a hint of blackcurrant, and the feeling of hard, bullying London water. There’s a roast note that broadens as it warms, becoming richer, thicker, more sure of itself. The whole thing is smooth, decidedly unfizzy despite a refermentation in the bottle with Champagne yeast, and there’s nary a whiff of booze despite the double digit ABV. It’s intriguing and complex in the best possible ways, and yet strangely indistinct despite all of that. I’m confused and seduced by it, I want to know more while it’s already winning me over. You could drink bottle after bottle without scratching the surface, pair it with every cuisine under the sun and find new facets, without ever really understanding what it is. I think I like it.

I dread to think what Gregg Wallace would make of it.

#beer #review #writing #brooklyn #brooklyn brewery #cloaking device #porter #brett #masterchef #gregg wallace #john torode #wine #food #craft beer

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instantdeerlover · 4 years

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Eat Out To Help Out The 10 Best Al Fresco Restaurants Taking Part added to Google Docs

Eat Out To Help Out The 10 Best Al Fresco Restaurants Taking Part

The government’s ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme offers diners a discount of up to £10 per person, excluding booze, when they eat out from Monday to Wednesday throughout August.

We’re not going to lie to you. Anytime we use a deal of any kind we pretty much consider ourselves to be the world’s best accountants for the next week. “So, I bought this pair of socks, and then I got the other pair of socks for free! That’s four individual socks, four, when I only paid for two individual socks,” we declare to the poor humans we count amongst our nearest and dearest, as they placidly nod along.

But seriously, there’s no denying the deep satisfaction of a good deal especially when it comes to eating out. And what’s better than using the Eat Out To Help Out scheme to save money on your meals? Using the Eat Out to Help Out scheme to save money on eating out al fresco. Here are the ones you need to get involved in.

We’ve got more guides if you want to ‘Eat Out To Help Out’, from the five best pasta restaurants taking part in the scheme and where you can get a full meal for a tenner, to the best vegetarian and vegan spots.

Sorry—looks like you screwed up that email address

INFATUATION NEWSLETTER Get our newest guides & reviews first,

plus more restaurant intel you won't find anywhere else. ATL ATX BOS CHI LDN LA MIA NYC PHL SF SEA DC Subscribe Smart move. Excellent information will arrive in your inbox soon. Do you have friends and family who also eat food? Enter their emails below and we’ll make sure they’re eating well. (Don’t worry, we won’t subscribe them to our newsletter - they can do that themselves.) Help Your Friends No Thanks Well done. You’re a good person. All good. We still like you. Want to quickly find restaurants on the go? Download The Infatuation app. the spots Ciao Bella £ £ £ £ Pizza , Pasta , Italian in Bloomsbury ££££ 86-90 Lamb's Conduit St

Ciao Bella’s terrace should come with a good times guarantee. Seriously, we’ve never had a bad time out on their pavement, sipping wine, shoveling spaghetti al cartoccio into our smiling mouths, and listening to Norman the piano player singing inside. Cut a tenner off your bill on top? Perfection.

Rochelle Canteen £ £ £ £ British in Shoreditch ££££ Rochelle School

Let us tell you all about eating outdoors at this seriously excellent British restaurant. Oh wait, we already did, in our report from our very first meal back at a restaurant. TLDR? This place is fucking fantastic.

Fish, Wings & Tings £ £ £ £ Caribbean in Brixton ££££ Brixton Village

Scientists might tell you that sunshine comes from that big, sexy ball of fire in the sky. And sure, they’re probably right, but in our humble opinion, sunshine is also emitted from Fish, Wings, & Tings. This Caribbean spot in Brixon never fails to put a smile on our faces and the same applies to eating jerk chicken in the sunshine. All in all, it’s one of our favourite places for an al fresco summer hang that’s as affordable as it is feelgood.

Quo Vadis £ £ £ £ British in Soho ££££ 26-29 Dean St

It doesn’t get more Soho classic than Quo Vadis. A few glasses of wine, their smoked eel sandwich, a little eavesdropping. Sign us up any day, any week, and any lifetime. Plus, for the very first time - dun dun dun - Quo Vadis has outdoor seating. Eating al fresco on Dean Street has peak people watching potential and be sure to leave enough room for a round of profiteroles.

Padella £ £ £ £ Pasta , Italian in London Bridge ££££ 6 Southwark St

We have a theory that heaven is just one big pasta bar. Sure, there’ll probably be some pretty clouds and that childhood dog that your parents told you ‘moved to a magical farmyard’, but mostly, we think there’ll be pasta. More specifically, pasta in the form of Padella’s handmade cacio e pepe. This legendary spot will not only be taking part in eat out to help out, but for the first time they have outdoor seating at both their Shoreditch restaurant and OG spot in Borough Market.

Llewelyn's £ £ £ £ Modern European in Herne Hill ££££ 293- 295 Railton Rd

Some people want to spend their retirement in Spain. Some people want to spend it surrounded by miniature poodles. Us? We want to spend the entirety of it sat at Llewelyn’s eating our way through a whole Cornish lemon sole with no teeth and zero worries. This Herne Hill restaurant is as idyllic as you can get this side of the home counties and their food is just as good. Heads up, they’ve also extended their outdoor seating for the summer.

Brat Summer Residency @ Climpson’s Arch ££££ 374 Helmsley Place

It’s not that we’re saying that we love Brat’s whole turbot more than 90% of our friends. But we’re not not saying that. Judging us? That’s okay. We’d judge us too, right up until the moment where you’re met by an epiphany in fish form. But Brat’s turbot isn’t the only thing on the menu you should be getting involved in, they also serve some of London’s best bread. Find them throughout August at their al fresco pop up at Climpson’s Arch.

Kricket White City £ £ £ £ Indian in Shepherds Bush ££££ 101 Wood Lane

Now and again - approximately every 18 seconds - we get a craving for fried chicken. And a lot of the time, when we think of fried chicken, we think of the kerala fried chicken with curry leaf mayonnaise from Kricket. This Indian-inspired spot in White City is what we believe the kids call ‘trendy’. Basically, it’s cool, the food’s great, and their huge outdoor terrace overlooks the old Television Centre so it’s perfect for a little people watching.

Kiln £ £ £ £ Thai in Soho ££££ 58 Brewer Street

Kiln used to be known as one of London’s best Thai restaurants. Now, Kiln is known as one of London’s best Thai restaurants with outdoor seating. Thanks to the pedestrianisation of Soho’s streets, Kiln now has several tables along Brewer Street. Expect a jolly sort of street party feel, only instead of sharing a sad little Victoria sponge, you’ll be eating excellent lamb and cumin skewers and clay pot baked glass noodles.

Sager + Wilde £ £ £ £ Wine Bar , Italian in Bethnal Green ££££ Arch 250 Paradise Row

Sager and Wilde is the poster child for summer outdoor hangs. Housed in an old Bethnal Green railway arch, it’s got that whole cool industrial thing going on, with enough nice bottles of wine and small plates on the menu to keep things feeling a little classy. It also benefits from being much larger than your average London al fresco situation and you can even have a little holiday moment, involving a great plate of mussels and some flickering candles come evening.

via The Infatuation Feed https://www.theinfatuation.com/london/guides/eat-out-to-help-out-best-restaurants-outdoor-seating-london Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://trello.com/userhuongsen

Created August 3, 2020 at 03:42PM /huong sen View Google Doc Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xa6sRugRZk4MDSyctcqusGYBv1lXYkrF

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Teleprompter Interview: Daniel Mays ‘I’d jump at an Ashes to Ashes Return’

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‘He pops up absolutely everywhere doesn’t he?’ says Daniel Mays about his Code 404 co-star Stephen Graham. You could say the same of Mays. A draw on any cast list, between them in the last year alone they’ve appeared in almost 20 major titles – 1917, Good Omens, White Lines (Mays), The Irishman, The Virtues, Line of Duty, Save Me (Graham) to name just a handful.

Why Mays and Graham are in such high and regular demand is no mystery; they’re two of our best. Mays has an instant affability on screen that he’s able to turn to tragedy or comedy or both at once. Graham’s characters are often the reverse, unknowable and dangerous before he lays their vulnerabilities bare.

In sci-fi comedy Code 404, they play detectives with a tangled personal history. Mays is a DI unexpectedly brought back from the dead via some bug-ridden experimental AI tech. Graham is the trusty partner who’s been keeping his colleague’s wife (Anna Maxwell Martin) company during his absence.

Already renewed for a second run, Mays tells Den of Geek it’s the most binge-watched show on Sky in eight years. “We’re all buzzing about doing another series.” As the first is released on DVD, he talks us through his TV memories…

Which TV show inspired you to start your acting career?

Robbie Coltrane in the Jimmy McGovern drama Cracker. I find his stuff heart-breaking at times but it’s astounding social realist television. Any script written by Jimmy is nuanced and powerful. He’s one of this country’s most amazing writers.

More than anything though, it was Robbie Coltrane’s performance. I remember all the incredible performances, Robert Carlyle as the skinhead with those fantastic interrogation scenes, Christopher Eccleston… but Coltrane as this antihero, a gambler and a womaniser and a drinker, a maverick copper, he was amazing.

That and Prime Suspect.I could go further back, but in terms of when I was really getting serious about becoming an actor, those were the two that were compulsive viewing. I’ve subsequently gone on to work with Jimmy McGovern so it feels like it’s gone full circle.

Which TV character did you want to be when you were younger?

As a kid I was really into The A Team and whassisname, David Hasselhoff! Michael Knight from Knight Rider. As a kid I was obsessed with that show. I had all the action figures. That car was so cool wasn’t it? And when he did the turbo boost and jumped over everything!

In The A Team I probably wanted to be Face, but in reality, if I was to be cast as anyone now it wouldn’t be Face [laughs], it would be Murdoch wouldn’t it?

And which TV character would you like to be now?

When I was working, I didn’t really watch much telly at all but obviously that’s all changed now we’re in lockdown. Before, I hadn’t ever delved into The Sopranos, and I love that character, Tony Soprano. If I could pick one TV character I’d like to have a go at now, that’s the one.

Has any TV programme ever given you nightmares?

Oh man, I’m telling you! There was an ITV adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde with Michael Caine. I’m going back years and years, I must have been about 10 or 11. The make-up that they used in this show when he changed from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde, the Hyde make-up was absolutely terrifying, to the point where it really affected me.

I was far too young to watch it and I even had to sleep in between my mum and dad at 10 years old, I was absolutely petrified of that character. Even in preparation for these questions, I went on YouTube and typed it in and there he was again, petrifying, even today!

When did you last laugh out loud watching TV?

The new Alan Partridge when he’s doing the talk show with Susannah Fielding, that particular sketch when he was attempting to use the toilet on the train without using his hands, when he went into that whole routine of opening the door with his knee. Anything with Alan Partridge I find absolutely hysterical.

I’m an absolute sucker for Only Fools and Horses as well. I’m such a die-hard fan of that show and whenever that pops up on UK TV or Gold, if I end up watching five minutes, I have to sit down and watch the whole episode. I’m such a lover of that relationship between David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, I think it’s absolute gold, all of those characters, John Sullivan’s writing, it’s part of my fabric growing up. It’s probably my favourite ever TV show.

Name an iconic TV moment for your generation

The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics was an amazing moment of television isn’t it? It started out in like a farmyard [laughs] and I remember thinking, ‘what have we got going on here? We’ve got the eyes of the world watching us…!’ But it then proceeded to be the most engaging and emotional extravaganza. In terms of Olympics opening ceremonies, nothing comes close to that, even in Beijing when you had that huge number of people. It was so brilliantly British. I don’t know why I ever doubted Danny Boyle. He hit it out of the park.

What was the last TV show you recommended to someone?

I recommended Save Me, the Lennie James show. I watched the second series of that in lockdown and the second series was even better than the first, and I absolutely adored the first series. I thought that was an absolute breath of fresh air, I think it was really amazing that Lennie had written this piece set on a sink estate and yet it felt vibrant and I loved the characters. It was just a wonderful piece of television. They’ve got to do another series. I definitely recommend that.

Life on Mars Creator Wants to Bring Back Sam Tyler

By Louisa Mellor

Lennie James interview: Save Me, Storm Damage, The Bill

By Louisa Mellor

Starring your Code 404 co-star Stephen Graham

Yes! He pops up absolutely everywhere doesn’t he?

Which TV show does everybody keep nagging you to watch that you haven’t yet seen?

Ozark and Succession. They’re two shows I’m yet to delve into really. They’re two on my list I’ve got to tick off, along with everything else!

Which TV show would you like to bring back from the dead?

There’s all this talk that there’s going to be a final instalment of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, which I keep hearing rumours about. From what I’ve read, it’s more based around what happens to John Simm’s character Sam Tyler. I don’t know if it’s going to be a modern-day thing but I always wanted to see Gene Hunt in the 90s. It’s difficult to make that happen because Ashes to Ashes was sewn up brilliantly. I’m sort of hesitant to say it should come back but Gene Hunt is such an iconic character and Phil Glenister was so incredible in that role.

I’ve always gone on record and said that Jim Keats – the character I played, the devil – was one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done so if there’s an opportunity to play that role again, I’d jump at that. Is it egotistical of me to pick a show that I’ve been in myself?!

Which show do you wish more people would watch? If you were forced to pick another one of yours?

I did a single drama on BBC Two called Mother’s Day about the Warrington bombing. That’s a really important moment in history and it’s such a heart-felt drama. If anyone’s not seen it, that would be something I would recommend to people to watch. It’s not for the faint-hearted.

Have you ever done fancy dress as a TV character?

[Laughs] I went to an EastEnders fancy dress party dressed up as Frank Butcher! My then-girlfriend went as Pat so we were Pat and Frank. Then when I got there, there was another guy dressed up as Frank Butcher but he was gangster-Frank so he had all the bling on. We had a bit of a Frank Butcher-off.

Tell me you were the Frank Butcher with the spinning bow-tie?!

[Laughs] I didn’t go that far! Actually, scrap the Olympics opening ceremony, do the Frank Butcher bow-tie as the most iconic moment of my generation [laughs].

Which TV theme song do you know all the words to?

I know all the words to Friends and I have to say, Only Fools and Horses again, whenever that comes on I always end up singing all over it.

Which TV character would you like to beat in a fight?

What’s the TV show that The Rock does? It’s set in LA, Russell Brand’s been in it as well. I wouldn’t mind beating up the Rock, because my wife loves a bit of the Rock! So I could beat him up in a TV drama. Who wouldn’t want to beat The Rock up?!

What is the most fun you’ve had making television?

White Lines for Netflix, without a shadow of a doubt. That’s a complete no-brainer. The locations, the character I was playing, the actors I was working with and the scripts were just absolutely brilliant and bonkers. Fingers crossed we get a second series.

If you get a second series, your character Marcus has quite a different role set out for him, doesn’t he?

Yeah! He’s going to become the drug baron of the Calafat family. It’s all to play for isn’t it, especially for Marcus, the whole thing’s been left wide open for him to get into all sorts of mishaps and scrapes.

That character was probably the most enjoyable character I’ve played, him and Jim Keats. I just had such a ball, he was so funny and he had this sort of tragedy to him as well. He’s just so hapless. The thought of Marcus in Colombia or Bolivia or wherever just makes me howl even thinking about it.

And when else do you get to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dog?

That’s true! I forgot I did that scene. That’s mad isn’t it. Though I actually only punched the dog’s chest. At one point I did say ‘Shall I give the dog actual mouth-to-mouth?’ and the director Nick Hamm said ‘I think that’s too much Danny, even for this show.’

Code 404 is out on DVD & digital 6 July.

The post The Teleprompter Interview: Daniel Mays ‘I’d jump at an Ashes to Ashes Return’ appeared first on Den of Geek.

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