Life

Music Monthly: October

- Michael Leave a comment

Won’t lie, this hasn’t been the best month for me in terms of listening to anything particularly different. In part because I’ve been listening to a couple of the albums I mentioned in my last round up. Namely TWIABP – Harmlessness and Shit Present. That doesn’t mean I’ve completely neglected it though. So without further ado:

Foxing – Dealer

Sad music all round this month. This is the second album from this lot, and it’s a superb follow up to The Albatross (which is one of my favourite sad albums of the last few years). Perfect for both sunny autumn days and dark, dank misty autumn nights I highly recommend this album. The whole album just feels like a step up from Albatross and has a generally “bigger” and more mature sound. I’ve still not seen this band and missed them in the summer when they came across with Tigers Jaw because of a family wedding. They’re high on my “must see” list.

Further Listening:
The Medic (Albatross)
Bloodhound (Albatross)
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Bake With Debenhams: Temper that Chocolate

- Michael 2 Comments

Blogger Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago I was kindly invited along by the Debenhams and Kenwood to #BakeWithDebs. They’d chosen the great venue of the Jenius Social in North London for a group of us to be talked through a few basic decoration techniques which I’d not gotten around to try myself yet. Hey, decorating just isn’t my thing. No matter how much I love baking, I’m just not great at decorating and by the time I get to it I’m ready to be done and start scoffing down some cake. This means that I’ve still not gotten around to tempering chocolate and my piping skills need some serious work. Alas, piping wasn’t on the agenda this evening, but chocolate tempering, then what to do with the tempered chocolate, along with honeycomb were both on the cards for the evening.
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My Love Affair With Edinburgh

- Michael Leave a comment

I’ve been to Edinburgh a few times over the years. It’s always been one of those places I’ve said “you know what, I fancy living there”. This last time around, just last week (after my visit to Mull), I was there on my own. Walking around the streets, exploring new eateries, coffee shops and generally just immersing myself in the city, made me realise that I don’t just fancy it, I’m going to have to do it. If I don’t end up abroad, then at some point in the next year or two, I’m gonna pack my things up (again) and move north of the border to Scotland.
edinburgh-81
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A Photo-Diary of Mull

- Michael 6 Comments

So I’ve just returned from a week at my parent’s on the Isle of Mull, just off of Scotland’s west coast. I followed it up with a couple of days in Edinburgh which I’ll be posting about later this week. The days off were very much needed. Despite a last minute break I had between jobs (when I went to Berlin), this was my first proper chunk of time off since Chicago last September (I don’t understand how that’s been a year) and with moving 4 times (soon to be 5) since then, I was starting to get burnt out. I had a lot of time to myself so the trip took in cycling, running and walks from the house, as well as a trip to the picturesque Iona plus a heap of cooking and baking (go see my biscuits here). It was rounded off by a walk along cliffs (including a clamber down a rusty ladder) to see the remains of a fossil tree. I’m simply going to let the photos speak for the rest of the trip:

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Oaty Chocolate Digestives & Mountains

- Michael 5 Comments

Chocolate Digestives

Ben More

So since I posted about my trip to Berlin last week things have gone a bit quiet. Apologies for that. But I was busy almost every night last week, and then I had a photoshoot for a feature in Reveal Mag last Saturday, before an overnight coach (megabus gold again, my FAVE) up to Glasgow. For those follow me on instagram you’ll know that I’ve been visiting my parents in Scotland. You’ll know this because I haven’t shut up about it, and I’ve posted about a million photos. If you want proof of this, go check out my instagram here. There’s a couple from my DSLR mixed in below though if you’re too lazy. I have however, been baking while I’ve been here.
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