Frosty Goodness

Due to a good friend of mine being away for the week I've decided to try to do a blog post each day to take my mind off being bored. Whether I manage it or not is another thing.

Today I was puzzling over what to write about until I went downstairs to the kitchen, and then I saw it, the frosty gorgeousness that is our brand spanking new fridge. Now call me sad if you like, but I love this fridge, for starters it's massive (and with my food shopping sprees it wont take long to fill it!), it's metallic and somewhat sexy for a fridge. I think I adore kitchen appliances far too much for my liking.

That's the fridge in all its' glory, see why I love it. It also has water and an ice machine. I'm in kitchen heaven!

Now all that's left to do is to go and eat the 4 tubs of Ben and Jerrys I popped into the freezer section last night, toodles!

A spot of selfishness on my part

We had stumbled on the shop purely by chance. In fact you could have said it was fate that we ended up there. We were desperately searching for hats for my cousins wedding in a weeks time and we had had no luck. Mum had looked up some hat hire shops and we set off for the first one, which was closed, on a Saturday. We grumbled and set off for the second on the list, a little further away.

I knew the road it was on, I had driven along it many a time, but this shop was hidden. It was not only a hat shop but also something called a dress agency. We went in for hats and came out with bags and bags of fabulously priced designer gear, most of which had never been worn before. Shoes, dresses, bags they had them all, and so did we as we strolled out of the shop clutching our purchases.

"Tell your friends!" they said as we headed out the door.

So I came onto the blog to tell you all about this little gem, and encourage you to go, but then I started thinking. What if telling people leads to me one day going in to this little treasure trove and one of you has just snatched up what would have been the perfect shoes/dress/bag for me? What if I lost out because I was good enough to pass this secret onto you all?

So I'm keeping quiet, there's just no coming between a girl and her fashion.

If it makes you feel better I wont be telling my friends either...

Green fingered

I'm sitting here eating a stir fry with my very own home grown courgettes, mangetout and spring onions.

Life is good.

Happy Birthday

Not to me, but to my blog. One year ago today I made the first post in the Cafe. It doesn't feel like a year. I've "met" so many funky people while writing this blog, and I'd like to thank everyone who's ever read or commented. Now down to business, party at the cafe guys!

Things that go bump in the night

There's nothing quite so irrational, yet also rational as our fears. To us it makes perfect sense that we are afraid. To others, we may seem a like bit of a weirdo.

I was listening to the radio last night when a female listener confessed that as a child she had been petrified of buttons and had to have everything fastened with velcro up until the age of nine. I found that odd, but then I had to admit that as a tot I always cried hysterically when the music video for Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson was played anywhere near me. This then extended to me being afraid for the song for most of my childhood.

Thankfully I've now come to my senses and I'm only scared of sensible things, like spiders, daddy long legs, enclosed small spaces, clowns, death, walking upstairs in the dark, pitch dark, ghost stories, etc, etc, etc.

He's fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun

Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I know exactly where I'll be at 7:10pm next Saturday. I have an appointment to find out what happens in the second episode of the final three part episode of the Doctor Who series. It's set to be the biggest challenge facing the Doctor and certainly one hell of a ride. What will happen with the devious Mister Saxon and will the Doctor, Jack and Martha escape from the "future-kind" at the end of the Universe without a Tardis? It's all hotting up and this is just the beginning. Those who dare, watch!





For those who missed the episode this Saturday, the episode Utopia can be seen at www.tv-links.co.uk

He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the Universe..

A good note to finish the night on...not

I've just drove home from a friends house, it's late, about 11:45pm and the streets are dark and rainy. I pull into my drive and just before I turn the engine off I see something out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head, a drunken chav is standing by my car window, looking in at me. My heart starts to race. He mouths something at me, but there is no way I'm opening my car window. My laptop is in the front seat with me along with my mobile and my cash cards in my bag, and my town is known for its' scally, inbred inhabitants who cause trouble for kicks. He speaks again and steps closer to the car. At a loss for what to do, I shrug. He straightens up, nods at me as if to say, "ok then" and staggers off down the street after some other drunken blokes. I wait until they are further down the street before I grab my stuff and cautiously head into the house, my heart still pounding and my hands shaking.

That brings me up to now, I'm safe and sitting in my warm bedroom. I'm eating Lindt chocolates to ward off my shakiness (it's just what the doctor ordered). And above all I feel a bit of a prat because after going into complete "flight or flight" mode the drunken chav seemed to only want directions. Still you can't be too careful I suppose...

Belly's gonna get ya!

The unthinkable has happened, I'm actually fat!

I have a tendency to retain water during certain times of the month, and then look all svelte afterwards. Well it's not longer that time of the month and my bras don't fit and I actually broke into a sweat getting into my tight jeans. In fairness, these jeans were actually tight when I bought them, but now they are cutting off my circulation.

My lazy lifestyle has come after me with avengence, the belly has finally got me...

Meh-ness

I feel trapped on this blog, I don't have the freedom of being completely anonymous to talk about certain subjects. I feel like that today, If I was anonymous I would blog about it, if only to get it out of my system. People who know me, god love them, would know what and who I mean though, and that would almost be like me betraying a confidence. So for now I feel grouchy, listless, and oddly for me, not hungry. I may have to resort to old fashioned pen and paper, and then the shredder for this one.

A grumble

I have one reason and one reason only to stay home on a Saturday night. That reason ladies and gentlemen, is the latest episode of Doctor Who. This Saturday, due to cooking dinner for my lot I missed Doctor Who. No matter I thought, since I can catch the repeat on BBC 3. This would be a great plan, except we don't have BBC 3 anymore. The world is conspiring against me, to stop me watching yummy David Tennant-ness.

On a side note, sometime today the cafe had it's 3000th visitor, I hope they enjoyed what they saw here, and that they stuck around for a bit.

I've been tagged

Actually I was tagged a while ago but I've been unobservant. Sorry Merys. I'm getting my act back together so here it is, The 8 Things Meme;

8 Things you never wished to know about Miss Cherry Cola

1) I am constantly burning myself, my current "war wound" is on my lower arm, and was caused by a disagreement with a hot grill.

2) I fluctuate between being really vain, and hating how I look. Some days I put on my clothes and think "wow, I'm a right fitty" and others I'm constantly changing clothes because I look too fat/ugly/scruffy etc.

3) I can shop for England. If I had the means to do so there are so many things I would buy. Money isn't the keys to Lola's happiness but it does help a tad.

4) I'm getting broody, but not for children. I am suffering from "house broodiness". I'm finding myself watching property tv shows, wishing I could afford a house, wanting to go shopping for kitchen utensils, bathroom suites, sofas etc. The downside to this is that I'll never be able to afford a house until I graduate, again...

5) I feel very green-fingered at the moment, my peas are really coming on as are the courgettes, and plus I have managed to grow some rosemary seedlings from seed (I've been told that it's fairly difficult for a complete beginner to do)

6)I am in no way photogenic, as judged by my old and new work ID card...

7) I often wish I could have a pole in my room for random pole dancing practice

8) I'm getting the traveling bug, there's so many places I want to go and see, the downside is that a) I'm meant to be saving for Uni and b) I have no one to go with :-(

Well that's me done for now. I'd like to tag; The Thinker, Sara, Mrhunnybun, Karen, Dory, Kindablue, The Domestic Minx (although I am aware you did a similar one recently, so feel free to ignore the meme) and JR's Thumbprints. Have fun guys.

Same place same time

Well here I am again exactly one week later, at the end of my first working week at the new place. I miss my old working colleagues and I'm noticing a nasty habit of mine to refer to them in the present, i.e. my colleagues, my team, etc. I suppose it's fair enough for the first week, but I'm going to have to keep that in check.

I've been training all week, so I can't comment on the work, although I've been told that once we're trained up we will be busy. Which I'm not looking forward to. We can't take mobile phones on site, and I'm really missing sending sneaky texts during a toilet break. The place smells due to the manufacturing of the drugs they make, it's sort of a cross between gone-off yoghurt, bread dough and manky cheese. Did I mention that I miss my old colleagues?

I think I have a downer on this place before I've even begun, but for more money in the bank, I'll get over it. It's only until September...

Back from the Depths

Apologies for not posting for a while, things have been hectic to say the least. I needed some time away from my beloved cafe.

For this weekend I am unemployed. I've left my first proper job since leaving Uni, and I start a new job on Tuesday. This job is closer to home, and pays a lot more than my now previous job. There's flexi-time too.

Still, I have a bad case of the new job jitters and I've been really sad to leave the other job. I haven't been there long, I only started last August and changed departments in December, but I will miss my colleagues a lot. I could be myself with them, take the piss, and have the piss taken out of me (I'm not a plastic Scouser!). The exchanging of joking insults made the time go so much quicker, and they were always ready to help when things (invariably) went wrong with a test.

At this new job I will have to be on my best behaviour, to be polite and never rude, even jokingly so. Work time is a long part of the day, and I don't like the idea of having to go back to suppressing my natural tendancies.

At least it won't be for long, I've just received my term date start through from Uni. On the 17th September I shall be a student again. Hurray for student life and boo to lack of money.

Enjoying the wonders of Spring

Well, just call me Lola Greenfingers. I've seduced by the lovely Spring weather, and have been bitten by the gardening bug. I've not been out redesigning the garden groundforce-style (or even tidying it up to be honest) but I've started to grow some veg.

I bought a mini plastic greenhouse, some seeds, compost and tools, and last Sunday morning I was up with the birds and out in the back garden planting rocket, lettuce, spinach, peas, spring onions and courgettes (bra-less too, I think my inner minx is emerging).

Today while giving the plants (or pots of dirt as my sister calls them) the once over after work, I was ecstatic to see some greenery. The mangetout has started to pop up, and the salad has made a move too. Unfortunately I forgot to mark out what was where in my container and so I don't know which is lettuce, rocket or spinach, but I'm sure it'll taste good whatever it is. I've also been growing basil on my windowsill for a few weeks now, and as I used the whole packet when sowing them I now have a startling amount of herbs. Anyone fancy some basil plants...?

More wine dear

I can't remember the first sip of wine I ever had, however I do remember being given a small glass of white wine at Christmas. The wine was to celebrate the season, and cleanse my palate between bites of Christmas turkey, gravy and stuffing. I may not have realised that at that young age, but this single glass of wine each Christmas day helped shape my ideas about alcohol.

I know that a glass of wine is best enjoyed with a good meal. I do not drink alcohol purely to get drunk, and in my teens I never hung around street corners swigging from a bottle of cheap cider, or stood outside the off-license begging the over-18's to buy some alco-pops. I have had my moments, mainly in University when I've gone over the top, but I can count those times on the fingers of one hand. On the whole I have a relaxed, well-adjusted, sensible attitude to drinking.

So when I heard about this story about banning parents from letting their children under 15 years old consume alcohol, even with a meal, I'll admit my hackles got a little raised. I understand that binge drinking among the younger population is becoming more and more common, but isn't that a sign that we need to change their way of thinking? Teen, and pre-teen pregnancies are rising at an alarming rate despite the legal age of consent being 16, so what makes people think that a blanket ban of alcohol for under 15's will work? How will it be policed? Why can't (sensible) parents make an informed decision about their own children?

In my opinion this idea will not work. To beat binge drinking, attitudes about alcohol must change. If parents want to they should be allowed to introduce the child to alcohol, as I was, at a young age. In this way we can teach how alcohol should be treated with respect. I often think that under 15's are so desperate to start drinking because they see it as a grown up thing to do. If they're used to having a glass of wine every now and again, is it such a grown-up thing to do anymore? Education about alcohol will be more successful than bans will ever hope to be, just look at 1920's prohibition in America and you'll see what I mean.

The best chat up line ever

I promised MB in my comments about my Grand National post that I would reveal the best chat up line I have ever heard.

Unfortunately this isn't a chat up line that was directed at me, a dear friend of mine (and old housemate) had the pleasure of this line. She was sitting down in the University courtyard waiting for a friend when this guy shows up and begins chatting to her. He starts of with the general uni chit chat, and their conversation goes something like this.

"What course are you doing?" he asks.
"Mathematical physics."
"What? With tits like that?"

For some reason this guy believed that intelligent women couldn't have a fantastic pair. How wrong he was.

As for chat up lines directed at me, I don't tend to get any unless I'm in uniform and drunk people are about.

999 Ambulance Lottery

No doubt those of you living in the UK will have heard about this story. A rather one-sided look at ambulances, paramedics and technicians. For those of you over the pond, basically the program is criticising the lack of paramedics on ambulances, and implying that the use of ambulance technicians is putting lives at risk, a very one-sided, sensationalist piece of journalism (Sir Trevor, I'm very disappointed with you!). Ambulance technicians are not unskilled, as you claim. They are not bumbling side-kicks waiting for "Super Paramedic" to come and save them from themselves. There are a few rare situations when a paramedic would be able to administer a drug to better treat the patient, but these situations are not the norm. I would rant on more about this, but Reynolds has already said it a lot better than I could, so here are his words on the topic.

Finally, I just like to say a few words of condolence to those caught up in the tragedy at Virginia Tech, and their families. My thoughts are with them all.

Grand National 2007

Well, the big day of the Grand National arrived, and I blew the dust off my high vis jacket and went along to do some first aid.

Over the course of the day I got hit on seven times, only one of these people was sober. I'm not sure whether that boosts my self esteem or not yet. The chat up lines weren't the most original this year, just the usual "oh I feel faint" or "I need some mouth to mouth". Lads, although Lola isn't really one for chat up lines, a good original one will have her chuckling for days.

I got rather worried when a fight broke out right next to us, we scarpered to a safer spot, although we couldn't actually get out of the enclosure the fight was in. Luckily security contained it quite quickly, leaving us to deal with the first aid related aftermath.

The most pointless job of the day was being called upstairs by control to a lady with a cut foot. As control had sent us, as a response team, we imagined there would be a fair bit of blood. We got there after a bit of directing by stewards, to find a lady who smiled at us and said, "My foot's fine, I just need a plaster." Why she couldn't have gone down to the first aid post and gotten one herself was a bit beyond me.

Despite being an aed and medical gases team, we didn't get called to anything that would require those skills, thank goodness. The weather was lovely, although I found it quite difficult to cope in the heat. Just imagine that the past three grand nationals I have spent freezing cold, in the rain in some years and this year is lovely and I still complain. There's no hope for me.

One of my horses came in second, the problem being that I bet on 4 of them. Ah well, Bewleys Berry was in the lead when it fell, again I'm not sure if that's more annoying than it is anything else. It just goes to show the evils of gambling, I'm sure it won't stop me doing the same thing next year.

Finally on the way home, a couple of gents gave up their seats for us on the train so we could sit down as we had been on our feet all day. Yes, the gents were steaming drunk and sang to us for most of the train journey, but they were nice drunks, and it brightened my day.

Oh Lola, your geekiness is showing

I'm finding myself getting more and more obsessed with Doctor Who. It's a little worrying as obsessions of mine have been known to take over a large part of my life. Previous obsessions have led to me almost constantly thinking about the subject of the obsession, getting fangirl-ish (I can range from crazy to sane fangirl), and the ultimate sign of being obsessed with something, writing fanfiction (yes my fanfiction is online, no I'm not posting the link).

So as you can imagine, I'm trying to keep my cool about Doctor Who (it helps that Mum tells me how sad I am for watching it...). Of course this new interest in the show has nothing to do with David Tennant, or his quirkiness, or his attractiveness, or how good his legs look when he's in drag ahem.

You're not buying any of this are you?

New Blog

I've set up a new blog for UK restaurant reviews, and I've been getting to grips with Wordpress for the set up of it. I like blogger, but if I'd used my blogger account to create it, then people I know in real life whom I wouldn't really want in my little cafe would have been able to find it easily. As I've said before, I'm only semi-anonymous. Anyone I know who finds this blog knows it's mine instantly (a few people I know have already found it through various internet searches). So call me paranoid, but I don't want to link my real name with this blog.

I'm actually quite impressed with Wordpress, but at the same time I really don't have a clue about it. I think I'm safer sticking with blogger for this one.

For anyone who's interested the link is http://goodrestaurantfood.wordpress.com

I'll be linking to it on my page here, but no mention of the cafe will appear on there if that makes sense.

Next post: Is Lola really becoming a Doctor Who geek?