The smoke that blushed

Street art I found in East London

Yesterday i was walking through Camden and infront of me a bellow of blue and pink smoke was coming out of a huge industrial dark chimney. It was one of those tiny details amidst a normal routine that puts a smile on your face, I was just waiting for a suitable accompaniment of rainbows, fairies and candy canes to shower down upon the unsuspecting landscape. Below the dreamlike smoke were swarms of preoccupied individuals going about their daily lives with their heads down looking at their phones or buzzing in their own thought bubbles. 

Even though we all share the same environment, we are such seperate entities and our society only emphasizes the fact. We have our own entertainment to start, ipods, phones, books, newspapers. We're tuned into our own thoughts and feelings, and we rarely attempt to merge into the more communal world and really interact with/ feel what's going on around us. We have conversations and link in to one or two other people's fields of existence but we are primarily individuals. Yet what strikes me as odd, is in psychology, one of the sociocultural principles is 'humans feel a need to belong'; within this principle lies the idea that we rely on each other to survive, our whole community and society is built up of various blocks, from farmers to shopkeepers to businessmen, if one stage didn't exist, the rest of our pyramid would fall apart. It's so hard to switch everything off when sometimes it's just a force of habit, and it almost instills fear when you think of the idea of not being able to communicate with everyone in your life for one moment. It scares me when I start to panic after only a day of not checking my emails - but at the same time, in feeling 'connected' to everyone, it creates such a huge disconnect with your physical reality causing a whole percentage of our awareness, and sense of presence to fly out the window. 

East London again

It's funny, when we were younger in 'world studies' we went over the theory's that two great philosophers had about the true characteristics of human beings. Aristotle and Plato I think it was, were more positive about us, they truly believed humans were able to act for the benefit of others and not for self-gain. Whilst Hobbes on the other hand believed humans were completely selfish and every act was for self-gain even if it wasn't conciously done for that purpose. Lets look at a few examples: In helping someone carry their bags up the stairs, you gain satisfaction and content. In having a child, you set yourself up with what will become a physical, emotional and financial support system (that especially benefits you in your older years), in opening yourself up in a relationship 'for' the other person, you gain love, support and all that jazz. Hobbes commonly used the example of letting individuals loose in a sweet shop, or a bank, and taking away rules - what happens? We'd go crazy and grab everything we could, not stand around holding hands. A more recent and solid example is last year when the raids took place in London and the more primal side of the community was revealed, looting shops, stealing whatever there was to steal, getting violent, using weapons etc.

.. And again

When I first learnt about these philosophies, we were asked to give our opinion on whom we agreed with, I chose the more optimistic view. Thinking of humans as purely selfish and evil just didn't float my boat. But as I've grown up and my eyes have widened to the reality of the world, I do believe Hobbes was right, as pessimistic as the idea may be. Our main goal as mammals is to survive - but to do this it does involve helping, supporting and interacting with others, so though at its core our nature may not be full of rainbows and fairies, it does manifest positive outcomes.. but back to where I started.

Street art in Neasden

As I was watching the smoke drift over the conker trees, grey buildings, and billboards advertising the latest and most lustrous hair shampoo! I thought of a poem that made me smile, it was written by a great friend that sadly passed away last year - but her gift of writing should always be appreciated:

People don’t look up. 
They spend their lives absorbed in their feet,
in the pavements,
in the leaves and dirt,
in the rubbish discarded on the streets. 
This is what we seem to be fascinated by, 
only daring to lift our heads when someone points out how beautiful the sunset is, 
or a bird, or rarely, 
occasionally, 
something above their normal eyeline.
There could be entire goddamn cities on rooftops and no-one would notice. 

- Cameron Krokatsis 

I remember this poem when I lean over my windowsill and watch passers by. It reminds me to look up once in a while when I'm strolling through an empty street. The other day a little girl in a blue school uniform with dark red hair, was sitting by the window gazing out at the empty street with a melancholy stare. What was going on in her mind was a mystery to me but the image the mystery created was beautiful. 

Time to get out of my head and check what's next on my to-do-list, deep breath!


 Recipe of the day: Fairy Cakes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/fairycakes_93711

Ranting and raving

My stream of conciousness is about to commence, brace yourselves..

London's quirks - a car covered in grass

Slowing down. I've found when you move to different places you tend to absorb your environment.. you adapt if you will. Different people, trends, weather. It kind of brings out different sides of your personality. I've landed myself in one of those weird limbo situations where everyone's either about to go on holiday or working really hard; it's tough to find a balance with that fresh newfound independence. But ayway, I've temporarily developed this really quiet persona - London's quite a loud and full on city it's quite humbling being constantly confronted by such a strong 'individualist' society. We spent years studying this in psychology, and while I was able to reciprocate all the studies etc. on paper, I didn't truly apply my knowledge to my surroundings, until now. Asia's generally labelled a 'collectivist' society, in which the culture is to work for the benefit of your community, while individualists tend to work for the benefit of themselves/ the individual. This rather selfish mindset is so evident now, everyone paces around with their own agenda here, there's not that lacksidazical sense of community that is so inherantley present in every Asian country i've lived in.  It's interesting people watching, just noticing the little things around you - a man sitting in the corner playing a xylaphone, a group of little girls running around while their mums drink coffee.. waitresses, shopkeepers, business men and women. When you stop to see it instead of being constantly distracted by your non-stop thoughts, it changes your perspective on things.

Caterers digging into irresistible chocolate

Catering has opened my eyes a bit more as well, having to endure all the tiny details of setting up a dinner, the angle of the knives, the different wine glasses, the position of the chairs, every detail has been though of before hundreds of guests swoop into the room. When the celebrities are present it's when the dynamics get interesting. The other night there were two big-shot MBA players invited to a dinner that I was catering for at the British Museum; though i had to strain my neck to offer them canopy's, their personalities shone through their celebrity status and we conversed about how their time in London had been. Other guests however did not have such a polite demeanour, though they were without the sticker of fame they still had the sticker of wealth, that had manifested itself into a snobby attitude with no respect for 'those working below them'. Some people brush you aside with no effort to make eye contact, while others merely shake their heads and pout as they turn away from the calorie infested platter of goods. The main point of my rant is just that by observing the behaviour and attitudes of people around you really allows you to check yourself and appreciate the small details that go into customer satisfaction.

Totally unrelated but I love the madness:
Food art - Joli Lapin

In the background Giles Peterson is playing on itunes.. he's a radio presenter interviewing David Roddigan an old time amazing reggae DJ. Discussions on racial repression, the age of reggae, the best and the worst. It feels like such an achievement to enjoy a buzz and feed your brain something at the same time, 'when you choose to take control and not let it control you.' As a friend G.M would say ;) Speaking of substances - I was sitting on the tube today listening to this man standing next to me, attempting to pass on his worldly knowledge onto a seemingly naive ukranian woman. "You know Yoga? Meditation? Incense? Yeah I do it all.. I take Ketamine and just meditate until it wears off, it's really good for you". I couldn't help but smirk at the convincing tone in his voice, and the total lack of awareness in her face. She nodded passively as he continued his rant about how more people should follow in his footsteps otherwise he'll have to 'wind up a few fingers and tell them to fuck off'. Totally dillusional - but then again aren't most people?

Food art - Joli Lapin

I was asked the other day whether I had many fake friends and I replied no. Acquaintances that put on a smiley face and make meaningless small talk whenever they see you, yes, but everyone has that crowd - it's not possible to have a significant depth of friendship with everyone so it's inevitable that with some, the relationship's remain shallow, and that's ok. But then we began listing the qualities that our friends had in common: Green smokers, intelects, partyers, a sense of culture, it goes on - but one thing that I did pick up on was this concept of 'theories'. I have many friends that come up with 'their own' theories and that ties back to this dillusional world that we all live in. I believe theories are like flashes of awareness or realization, about something that was black and white before and have just gained access to the edge of the colour spectrum. It's almost like getting to the next stage in a Maths lesson, when you finally unlock the box of understanding to trigonometric relationships or any of that insignificant info. You feel a sense of achievement at being able to apply your own knowledge to a real situation. When you can figure something out without being told, it's when you rise above that standard conciousness and access human potential that we don't take enough advantage of. I mean think about it - everyone has a human brain, and we've seen countless examples of 'geniouses', creative minds, inventors, artists, writers etc. who've all utilized theirs to discover another piece of the infinity puzzle. If we all tuned into that, we'd have a crazy world full of crazy, subjective and 'dillusional' ideas. The conversations my friends and I engage in always leave me thinking.

Food art - Joli Lapin

But now the day's winding down. I walked for 40 minutes down a busy street today, in my own bubble listening to the rythms of acid jazz. The clouds were all overlapping and forming scale-like shapes, intertwined with the light blue background. My eyes have been drooping since 6pm due to the miniscule amount of sleep we managed to attain last night. Another little 'did you know' fact for the day - once you've lost sleep you can never get it back, whether you sleep all day, if you've lost sleep at night, when you're natural circadian rythm (biological sleep cycle) is programmed to sleep - recovery isn't actually possible. So i'm planning on giving my body a treat and staying in tonight, TV remote, lighter, tea, blanket - sorted.

 Recipe of the day: Sundried tomato, spinach and feta quiche

http://www.food.com/recipe/spinach-tomato-and-feta-quiche-33454

Through the looking glass

 It's always interesting having a few days of country living - with a slightly luxurious edge. On one hand it's fantastic being able to catch up with relatives, skimming over the years events and future plans over a delicious lunch. A few days ago I fed into the English spirit with a typical tea party, canope's of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, glazed sausages and salmon bites; just to add a touch of class we took our pick of Pimms, wine, rosé or elderflower cordial. All the ladies were in flowery dresses and hats - for when the sun decided to momentarily peep out. And the men all had their black suits and funky ties on, their shoes newly polished and looking rather suave. Unfortunately, my 11 cousins (all of whom are a range of ages, me being in the middle) somehow escaped having to socialize and make small talk with mysterious adults all afternoon. So i pranced around looking jolly and entertaining the old folk. At first I dreaded the thought - and found myself repeating the same lackadaisical words to the first few people I spoke to, with a smile of course. But I decided I didn't particularly want to waste my time not making an effort - and I began speaking to one lady who was about 75 years old, called Linda.

1930 - Frida Kahlo 

1940 - Lennon

Linda indirectly opened my eyes to my ignorance towards 'the elders'. Our family calender hangs by the side of the fridge, on which we have a scheduled date every year to see the rellies, somehow it always feels like a slightly laborious task, especially when you're younger. The traditional view towards children was that they should be 'seen and not heard', correct table manners were always expected, and a sweet smile in return for a sugary pudding. Then it was off to bed early while the adults had their 'time' mingling downstairs. Growing up is a funny thing; one of the major facets that makes me feel 'adult' is when others treat you like one, when the intellect within conversations is that much higher, when you're responsible for slightly more than not losing your lunch money, and when adults talk to you with purpose instead of condescendingly patting you on the head. But seeing grandparents, who will always view you as their little grandchild, somehow takes away from the ability to truly learn who they are. Or perhaps it's just laziness on my part in not trying to really find out about their intriguing past.

1950 - Munroe

1960 - Hurston

What fascinates me, is that these people have lived such long lives, to think of the experience I feel I've had in only 18 years is already eye opening. But multiply that by 4 and your perspective widens considerably. Oh the stories Linda began to tell me, none of which made me yawn. The incredible people she'd met, and places she'd lived, her casual reference to historical events like World War 2 and what she'd been doing during that time. It was funny hearing first hand accounts about events that I'd learnt about at school and in textbooks. The swinging 60's and flower-power 70's - I heard about it all; as the Pimms and wine continued to flow, everyone's voices became slightly louder, and their stories raunchier. Being a wallflower was the best role to have played in that scenario.

1970 - Presley

1980 - Jackson

In a series I used to follow, 'One Giant Leap' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gla2IgD52eU) that features two guys who travel around the world interviewing the most fascinating people on all of the most 'deep and meaningful' subjects that exist today: Love, death, age, sex, music etc. and inbetween the interesting speeches there's an eclectic combination of music from various cultures, all synthesized into one amazing tune. Portuguese singers over Indian drummers alongside a melodic tune on a korean flute with some brilliant American guitarist - you get the picture. But one of the episodes on 'age' interviews a lot of older people; you journey through their take on getting old, and the changes that occur around them as a result. I remember one lady talking about how she couldn't look at herself in the mirror because she couldn't accept her 'ugly' wrinkles, while another was full of acceptance and viewed ageing as a sign of beauty. A discussion took place regarding people's reactions and attitudes towards them, how they're suddenly 'outcast' in society and placed in various homes to make others lives easier. (Hobbes's theory on how humans are ultimately selfish creatures and do everything for their own personal gain rings true in this case). The only people they can really relate to or talk to without being spoken to in a fairly condescending manner, or looked at sympathetically are other people of their age. At lunch today someone mentioned their best friend having passed away earlier that week, and though there was sadness in their eyes, they stated the fact with ease, as it had almost become normal to hear that another of their friends had gone. Can you
imagine that? Everyone dropping like flies and not knowing when your turn will be..

1990 - Dhal

2000 - Swayze

One of the biggest concepts I struggle with is imagining my grandparents in their youth, as the image I see them as is 'sweet old grandma who cooks amazing food and grandpa who dosses and reads the newspaper'. I'd never picture them clubbing, getting completely smashed or dancing stark naked on bars in feather boas - but today, I learnt, their youth was far wilder than many people's I know today. It's not too hard to imagine considering they grew up in a world of psychedelic music accompanied by abundant hallucinogenics.

2010 - Obama

This is the peak of my youth, of many of ours, but to think about the drastic changes that occur as we age, slotting us into different roles. We're confronted with examples of old age that people almost conform to as they reach it, the clothes, the lifestyle, the house. But hearing stories and experiences of the years that led up to it, from such an open and interesting perspective, really gets the mind going - let's just hope the rumours concerning the colossal damage that will 'wipe out'  the human race in 2012, doesn't happen, so we can experience whatever lies beyond this peak.







 Recipe of the day: Pesto chicken with roasted tomato's 
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10416/creamy-pesto-chicken-with-roasted-tomatoes

Focus

Just thought I'd begin with a little interesting fact I picked up on the radio the other day. I've always heard that females are better at multi-tasking than males, but never really understood why - especially when I didn't really fit into that stereotype. My attempts at multi-tasking generally end in a breakdown. But it turns out there's a scientific explanation - women have a thicker corpus callosum than men (the part of the brain that separates the two hemispheres) hence we have a larger mass of nerves and receptors within that area and can more easily switch between different areas/functions of the brain, giving us the increased ability to switch concentration between tasks. Yet it strikes me as rather odd that they were discussing this, when in actual fact multi-tasking isn't really possible. So google defines multi-tasking as "The handling of more than one task at the same time by a single person" So I suppose it is possible -but my point is it doesn't allow for a good and complete execution of those tasks. 

How it's changed

As we only have one brain, we can only focus 100% of our attention on one task at a time - multi-tasking therefore should be cast in a negative light as it infers that we're half-heartedly doing various tasks instead of doing your best at one. But isn't that what society's slightly turned into? The ability to do everything all at once while living a fast paced existence, as we attempt to conserve as much time as possible to doing more more more... Isn't that what so many of us subconsciously strive for? One of the things that I used to get upset about was catching up with friends while they simultaneously stared transfixed at their phone screens. Having a conversation and being brushed aside mid-way as a far more important matter on their phone came up that they had to attend to immediately. I remember sitting in the canteen at lunch time, I sat on the table that was constantly engaged in heated arguments and debates over social or political issues. Generally revolving around the legalization of marijuana or another taboo subject. But there were some tables on which 5 - 7 people would sit (predominantly girls) with their heads all bent over as they 'multi-tasked' - picking food up with their left hand, and tapping tweeting/emailing/facebooking/texting with their right hand. It was so funny to me, because when we all got home, my newsfeed would fill up with  news about those same people writing or posting things to each other - so who were they writing to at lunch?! I still don't understand the desire to constantly live in a virtual world when so much is going on around you.

I'm not going to lie, I can see myself doing it sometimes; my granny was talking about how rude mobiles were the other day, especially at mealtimes - how they completely destroyed the social dynamic - and I couldn't disagree. Looking around me in the fish and chip restaurant, I'd say at least half of the people in there were tapping away at their phones, while the other half were trying to control their screaming children. My phone was placed on the table next to me, as was dads - ready to grab at the slightest buzz. The need to be constantly connected and talking to others without focusing all of your efforts on engaging in the situation you're presently in. We can't really be blamed though, seeing as we're constantly being offered various mediums to do this through - Facebook, phones, emails, skype - yes this is the generation that we are. We're in the age of technology, but can people really be surprised at the increased cases of ADD when we're being taught to focus our attention on a million things at once?

Jeanloup Sieff

On the subject of straying attention, 'woman's hour' can faintly be heard playing on the radio. They're discussing the subject of monogamy. Staying with one person for your whole life - what a task! The divorce rates have never been higher, and the average age of marriage is also increasing with time as people begin to feed into more 'alternative' ways, 'commitment ceremonies', not putting a label on it, all that non-permanent jazz. A lot of it I think is psychological, I know I'm only 18 but I can still infer. Putting label's on relationships and suddenly having to live up to all of these 'rules' and 'expectations' freakspeople out. I studied a sect of psychology called 'human relationships' and one of the most interesting things I looked into was the satisfaction curve. As couples start out, the honeymoon phase occurs and satisfaction rates are obviously high due to the lust and passion etc. (these 'rates' are measured in terms of happiness levels for different criteria, feeling appreciated, whether routine questions like 'how was your day' are still asked, engaging in sexual activity ladidadida. The studies occured cross-culturally with both men and women of different ages, all of whom were in relationships) but as time went on, the rates of satisfaction went down - a lot of people refer to this stage as 'reality' but I don't really like that idea. Reality doesn't have to lack satisfaction it just has to be handled right, whatever that means. But as couples reached the 20/ 30 year mark of being together, the rates rose again to where they were at the beginning. So happy ending's do exist in the world of data and statistics. It's just a question of whether couples can actually hack it out for that long to reach that the ecstasy they'd once felt.

The reality?

On the radio, the main theme was surprisingly infidelity in relationships - and the focus was more on the positive aspects of it. How it brings couples closer and allows for that adrenaline rush that gets lost over time. I wondered whether that's what we were all moving towards.. open relationships? I still don't really see how someone can be totally attached and want to stray without feeling a sense of betrayal or hurt. Being someone who has cheated before - I understand how and why it can happen, I think most people do. I don't regret a thing because it taught me a lot in the long run - about myself, the relationship I was in and what I needed at the time (a taste of single-dome). And I know it may seem hypocritical, but I still don't really believe in, or like the concept of cheating, if everything's supposed to revolve around trust and honesty - how exactly does cheating fit in? I know I still have a lot to learn - but at the rate we're going now, I'm not neccesarily looking forward to learning from experience, movies and books are good enough.

Lackadaisical

There's an organization called the Honey Trap, that a lot of women, and men use. It's basically hiring a woman or man to hit on/ attempt to seduce your significant other. And what did the stats show? 99% of men fell for it. I think the statistics with women were below 80% - 'great' news there. Then again, to be a relativist, if you're going behind their back to hire someone to seduce them you're not exactly setting yourself up for a good scenario - as well as revealing a few trust issues. It's interesting to see who's attention span lasts longer, yours or your partners. Watching how all the extraneous variables come into play.
Time for an over-done, predictable hollywood rom-com for a taste of fantasy! Followed by lamb chops and new potatoes for dins, I got a little over-excited earlier picking raspberries so we have a bucket to get through for pudding with a bit of cream, omnomnom.



 Recipe of the day: Lamb chops (serve with mint sauce and new potatoes) 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/lamb_chop

The philosophical mind

'Vintage thought'

I understand the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' and 'ignorance is bliss' but we've got to where we are because of curiosity and change - that's evolution isn't it? So I allowed my mind to look into that unknown place and ask those unanswerable questions. While lying on my turquoise sarong on the white sand beach today, slightly blazed and delirious from a spliff and a few swigs of cider, I soaked in the philosophical conversation that my mum and her great friend were having. Some of it was airy fairy 'we just exist, we have to make the most of now and enjoy the 'wow' moment of realizing that this is everything'. But then I started getting into it, think of the idea that some philosophies of life (yogic or buddhist especially) are about detachment from our material possessions, letting go of such strong emotional connections with people and enjoying them purely for what they are (so objectively). Yet if one's enlightened, everything around you shouldn't seem a distraction or something to get away from, as everything around us is what shapes our reality, hence it should be embraced and accepted, we need to live a subjective life to truly be present. I think of enlightenment as a pyramid... similar to Maslow's hierarchy of human needs - enlightenment can't be reached until all the other layers have been completed/ met. But the needs on Maslow's hierarchy revolve a lot around what our society deems to be the most important aspects, money, security, love etc. and of course I agree to a certain extent, but when someone reaches pure acceptance, where the light and the dark (yin and yang, good and evil, whatever you want to call it) are balanced within your perception and understanding of the world, your reality lifts to a higher vibrational frequency and everything 'makes sense'. That's what I believe anyway, if you can understand my thought train.

S. with her dogs

So that's one philosophical thought - 'oh the meaning of life', I give you permission to roll your eyes, but bear with me. I rolled over onto my other side, just to ensure I didn't end up looking like a piece of bread at the end of a loaf: brown on one side and white on the other. I gazed at the expansive blue sky that just seemed so ethereal and never-ending. I couldn't imagine that only a week ago clouds had littered this view, and now there was absolutely nothing. It made me feel so insignificant and vulnerable under such a wide-spread sheet of aqua. So I'd pondered about life, now I pondered about death. When do we disappear?
My brother has this slight obsession with fame, or people associated with fame. Anything famous has top priority and I'm sure one day I'll turn on the TV, or whatever new technology exists, and he'll be on it rocking away with shaggy hair on his guitar. But I don't totally understand the desire of fame unless it's just an accessory to success after pursuing your dream career. It brings so many toxins with it and envelops you into a tough world that's hard to not conform to. Just look at British TV today - Made in Chelsea, The only way is Essex, Geordie shore, The Kardashians, we're all obsessed with watching other 'famous' people's lives instead of entertaining ourselves with our own- isn't that weird? But anyway, back to my point, so while I think being famous has so many downfalls, it does ensure that your name lives on in some way - whether it's on TV, through records or CD's, in documents or books, or even on google. Having your name out there means that when you do eventually die - your name won't only live through the people you knew until they eventually die and your stories stop being told. Your legacy gets read about or listened to or watched. So for that (slightly morbid) reason I understand the pull that celeb-dome has.

I woke up a bit with a splash in the ice-cold waters, managing to stay in for longer than 5 minutes until my lungs felt as though they were going to collapse and hypothermia was fast approaching. A slight exaggeration I admit, but something has to be said for the freezing british seas and their drastic impact on the human body.. it's my last day with my mum before she leaves our lovely cottage to go and spend a few days in London with family and friends. I'll see her next at Christmas, and the impact of really 'leaving the nest' is hitting me as I can see it happen before my eyes. And because I've almost developed a 'script' that I recite when asked 'so what are you planning on doing on your gap year?' constantly repeating something always brings with it a sense of normality.

What a laugh - These were being sold at the 'Pigs Nose pub'
"PIGS NOSES, DOGGIE TREATS 20p"

How are you supposed to spend your last day with your mum? Today we've just been enjoying it like any other. Yoga, a great BBQ for lunch (spiced chicken, sausages, burgers, beautiful organic salads, brie, salmon, fresh walnut-date bread, avocado's and tomatoes and lots of sangria), a walk to the beach, a stop-off at the pub where we replenished our sun-struck bodies with fizzy elderflower and scrumpy (local cider) and Devonshire burts-crisps and ice cream. Roast pork and apple for dins, if we can fit any more in! Today's been the philosophical day, passing on the last 'words of wisdom' before I gain independence from my maternal pillar. "Every choice you make is a vote" that was one conversation I held on to - when you choose to buy a certain brand you take on the responsibility of supporting their morals and what they stand for - child labour? Their CSR? Their treatment of animals, produce or farmers? It's all about awareness I guess..

Kids in a sweetshop?

Pasties on the pier

Out of the corner of my eye I can sea the pink and white striped 'Cranches' bag that we got this morning, it's from our traditional sweetshop that has been around ever since I can remember. When you walk in all you see is containers of every sweet you can imagine, old and new. 1p cola bottles, flying saucers, bon bons, maple-walnut fudge, liquorice, sour apples, turkish delight, oh my god it goes on forever. You take your little basket and walk around filling it to your hearts content - despite being 18 years old the concept of 'a child in a sweetshop' still remains. My brother's panic-stricken eyes as he rushed around under time-constraint as we had to get back in our little motor-boat before the tide went down. I pranced around in an orderly manner knowing exactly what I wanted to choose. We asked the shop-keeper who supplied the sweets and he told us about this fantastic sweet factory that had sweets from any era you wanted - different sections for sweets from the 1920's, 30's, 40's etc etc etc. How amazing would that be. About 20 minutes after leaving the shop I had a tooth ache from eating half my bag in a sugary rush of excitement.. We sat on the edge of the dock watching the seagulls and eating a pasty before boating back (just in time) to get the BBQ set up.. sorry about the non-chronological order of my comings and goings but the mind just doesn't work like that.

I'm still lightly buzzing and the golden hue of another summer sunset is casting long shadows behind the tall sail boats that are moored near our cottage, the tide's high and another beautiful evening is about to commence (accompanied by a few glasses of red).

Recipe of the day: Spiced marinated chicken (serve with natural yogurt)
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/indian-style-marinated-chicken-10000001215931/

Drink of the day: Sangria (Yummy with fresh mint leaves)

 http://wine.about.com/od/redwines/r/basicSangria.htm)