Wow is it really July? Already?!?! These last six months have flown past, I haven’t even had time to fully catch up with everything. The paperwork piles get higher, blog post draft lists are building up and not to mention all the half finished craft projects I just can’t seem to find time to sit down with.
There have been some good positive times and some bad ones. So I thought rather than look back and reflect on everything thats happened, why not look ahead at some of the super exciting things I’ve got coming up: (maybe you’ll want to join in?)
Tatton Park Foodies Festival
For the last few years this Food festival has always fallen during the fasting month of Ramadan. But not this year! As one of the official foodies festival bloggers, I’ve been reading up about what’s involved over the last week and it’s going to be a goodie.
Just some of the things I’m looking forward to seeing:
Street Food Avenue
An array of international flavours are being served on Street Food Avenue. Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, Argentinian, Turkish, Indian, Korean, Mexican, French and African are just some of the cuisines on offer. One thing you won’t do is go home hungry. There’s a special focus on Brazilian street food this year to celebrate the Olympic host’s cuisine, including traditional Brazilian BBQ, it’ll be good to reminisce about being back in Rio.
Artisan Producers Market
There are a number of Great Taste Award winners setting up stalls with plenty to shop and sample from, each being hailed as a producer of ‘Exquisite, Outstanding and Simply Delicious’ food and drink. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet artisan producers from the local area and across the country, learn their story and stock up on award winning produce.
New Vintage Tea Room and Cake, Bake & Tasting Theatre
A beautifully decorated new Vintage Tea Room offers visitors Afternoon Tea with a selection of cakes, scones with clotted cream and jam, and finger sandwiches served on china from a tea trolley by vintage styled tea ladies and gentlemen. YES!
Baking extraordinaire Charlotte White, master chocolatier Fiona Sciolti and top local cake-makers will be working their magic on the Cake & Bake stage, inspiring us all to reach for our whisks and spatulas and create show-stopping cakes and delicious summer bakes. There’s even going to be a Chocolate, Cake and Bake Village!?!
Into the Jungle
Take a trip into the depths of the jungle this summer with a trip to the Vietnamese Street Food stand, where those with a taste for the exotic can indulge in insects, including grasshoppers, caterpillars, mealworms, beetles, scorpions, locusts and ants. Yup you read it right.
For those brave enough, there’s a daily Bush Tucker Trial on the Challenge Stage, where you can compete against other people by eating jungle insects, the contestant eating the biggest and the most will be crowned champion.
Childrens Cookery School
The Olympic theme continues into the Childrens Cookery School, where little foodies can decorate their very own gold medal with coloured icing, glitter and edible ribbon. Pizza and cupcake making classes also allow kids to explore their taste buds and learn basic cookery skills to practice at home. I wonder if they’ll let us big kids have a go…
Chilli-Eating Challenge
The famous Chilli-Eating Challenge is also coming back, a popular spectacle. Inviting spice lovers to beat an eye-watering 16 million scoville record set by Shahina Waseem last year. Participants start at the low end of the chilli spectrum by eating bell peppers, but things quickly get a lot hotter with Habanero, Scotch and Carolina Reaper (world’s hottest chilli) chillies being added to the menu. Those still standing are then inflicted to pure chilli extract, increasing in strength, until a winner is crowned. I’ll go and watch but I seriously doubt I could stomach taking part!
Live Music and Pop-Up Bars
As it’s set in Tatton Park, theres plenty of space for a picnic on the grass to soak in the atmosphere with live music from award-winning local bands at the Unsigned Music Awards Stage.
Sounds good right? (Tickets are still available here if you fancy it!)
If you haven’t got your tickets yet, keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for the chance to enter to WIN 2 TICKETS for the day of your choice…
Road Trip
Mo and I decided this year we wanted to embark on a Microadventure. I can’t take the credit for this one, Mo came up with a perfect route and we’re looking at finalising our itinerary any time now. I’m not going to say where yet, I’m not going to say when… but we’ve been thinking and planning this for some time and I can’t wait for us to get on the road!
FriendsFest
If you saw my piece last week on the emotions I feel when fasting, you’ll have maybe picked up on the fact that I am, like many others, a massive Friends fan. I could watch them all day, every day and have done for years and years. My sister and I can laugh out loud at the jokes, even before they’ve said them, they just don’t get old. SO when I heard that FriendsFest was coming up North at Harewood House in Leeds (after selling out in minutes last time it was in London) I jumped at the chance of getting tickets.
Who wouldn’t want to hang out in Monica’s apartment and sing smelly cat karaoke?!?! IT’S GOING TO BE EPIC!!!
Big Cat Photography Experience
Two of our dearest friends surprised me with the most PERFECT gift for my 30th. Not only was I not expecting a gift of any kind, but not one this perfectly suited to me. It involves photography and big cats – two of my greatest loves! With my calendar being pretty jam packed (and the wait list for this thing is huuuuuge) I have finally booked a place at Woburn Safari Park to fine tune my photography skills.
It’s been, well, maybe eight years since the last time I was behind a lens with a lion on the other side so I am definitely counting down the days… (Thank you again S & D and mini Z)
& the list goes on…
There’s anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, lots of beautiful new babies to visit and we’ve still got our annual-bi-annual friends weekend to look forward to! Needless to say I couldn’t sleep last night thinking of all this excitement. Today will be a day of rest at home, to organise and get ready for the chaos that is likely to descend starting this week. First up my darling sisters birthday & Eid – when I’ll be launching a fab giveaway!
So I’m pushing back all that negativity post-Brexit (although that sh*t still burns) and I’m going to concentrate on bringing back some joy into everyday living. Let the good times roll!
Have you got any exciting plans coming up soon? Share them in the comments below, and let’s all get excited for one another!
