When life gives you lemons

Make hot water and lemon drinks!


I have just recently started drinking this every morning and throughout the day and I have really noticed a change in my energy levels. Having gotten sick last week with a head cold I have been really struggling to try to get healthy again and this has really helped.

Its an acquired taste for sure but its actually a really easy way of drastically improving your digestion on the cheap.

Team this with a gentle yoga practice first thing and you are on to a winning day!! 

Spice of Life

yay yay yay

This glorious shop now has a super functioning website where you can even order online and click and collect!!

Every student must be aware of this fantastic, Cardiff's version of "Whole Foods" found in Roath, just off Albany Road. The shop is family run and has been going for 35 years! They sell all manner of healthy delights including spices and dried soya for us veggies (yay).  I went in there looking for ingredients for Vegan Bacon using coconut (yes I know, its not actually bacon) and whilst there was a super friendly greeting and offer of help, I was actually really happy just wandering around on my own in amazement at how cheap everything was (I still mentally live in London ok....!)

I didn't find everything I needed, and due to a human till error I was almost charged £2,340 for some coconut and brazil nuts, we had a good ole giggle and I was on my way.

This is such excellent news especially as the only day I was free whilst freelancing was a Monday and they were closed *cries*  and they are also closed Sunday, but they have their own stall at the Riverside Market which is open from 9.30-2 every Sunday :)

Cardiff is truly acting up!

In my quest for an injection of delicious culture before I move over to Turkey and not understand a word anyone says (true story) a few weeks ago I began looking for some theatre productions to attend.

A first glance and I was disappointed, Wales Millennium Centre, New Theatre and Sherman Theatre (I hasten to add I was not disappointed with these beautiful places but in the capital of Wales I could only find 3 theatres!). But, and this is a big BUT this is why I love Cardiff, there are loads of theatres you just have to take a bit of time, like Carole King said. Cardiff is like the friend we all want, quiet, polite but a total catch who we want to hang out with everyday but we need to give them a bit of time to warm to us. London is the loud, boisterous friend who is the life and soul, who is our instant friend but sometimes is a bit "too" much. Cardiff has taken me a little time to adjust, having lived in London for so long where everything is at my fingertips, I lost my Cardiff mojo, but its back!

Anyway, I digress. So for anyone who is looking for some culture in Cardiff, I present the following after a painstaking afternoon of googling, twitter stalking and Facebook hunting.

1) New Theatre Cardiff
The New Theatre is located just off Queens Street and is the place to go for Christmas Panto and jolly musicals. I was lucky enough to watch Hamlet by the Clwyd Theatr Cymru there on a matinee performance. It hosts a wide range of performances, I personally don't enjoy musicals so I do get disappointed when I cycle past and see some cheesy cast is taking up valuable Shakespeare space, but they do overall put on a good range. I saw Alfie Allen in Equus here (and yes he did get naked but I was sat right up top and couldn't see much...)

2) Wales Millennium Centre
This glorious building has only been with us since 2009. Its an amazing venue for a whole range of offerings, I have since musicals, opera and plays there and have never been disappointed. This statuesque building is found in the charming Cardiff Bay.

3) Sherman Theatre
The Sherman Theatre was the thing you did when I was growing up (I didn't obviously) and I always admired people who did belong to the theatre group. The theatre can be found in Cathays, right in the heart of student land. It had a refurb whilst I was in London but now its open and its lovely, a cool little cafe and restaurant as well as looking a lot smarter than it used to.

4) The Gate
The Gate is one of those secret only locals know about it and I love it! You can find The Gate in Cathays, off City Road. Here you can do dance, theatre, music, and it has a beautiful cafe in the original schoolroom (yes it used to be a church)

5) Chapter Arts Centre
Chapter Arts Centre is located in Canton and it hosts films, theatre and talks. If I am being completely honest, I find this place to be a little pretentious and I don't go that often. I find the box office staff to be snooty and unfriendly, that being said, the production team are super nice. The cafe is always busy here and the cinemas are uber comfortable, just a shame about the staff. I did see a superb production of Measure for Measure by the Everyman Theatre group, who were great.

6) YMCA Roath
This place is a precious find! It hosts the Act One theatre group which is Cardiff Universities theatre group and its fantastic! The Theatre is located about a 10 min walk out of the city centre in the Roath area. The acting by the group is always top notch and the space is cute and traditional. I watched Pride and Prejudice there a few years back and I still have such fond memories of it.

7) The Other Room
This is a new theatre which is part of Porters Cardiff, a bar, cinema, a host for cabaret (found next to the Motorpoint Arena in the city centre). I haven't yet visited the theatre but its been added to my mental list to visit at some point before I depart.

Have I missed any? There are a number of amateur dramatic theatre groups but all their websites are out of date so its hard to tell who is still going!

Cardiff Life

What a busy week! I have been so busy with students and nights out I haven't been getting enough sleep and its finally caught up with me as today I got sick. Thankfully a punnet of the strawberries at 9pm this evening has totally perked me up as I have a busy week coming up and I am house sitting for my parents which will mean long cycles in the beautiful Spring Cardiff air.

I was so lucky to attend an event my friend was involved in at this really cute bar off Churchill Way, called Gwdihw. The event was organised by staff from the Atrium, which is the arts and media school of the University of South Wales and it was a busy night. Gwdihw is so cute and cosy, its always busy but it never feels like its jammed. The perfect balance between calm and busy. Anyway I got there late and almost missed his performance, I caught the last 3 songs of his set and I loved it. I love folk music, and in that venue it was just perfect. We stayed for a bit to see the next act, the "main" act but I actually thought my friend's band was better, but maybe i'm biased.

I did have a date at the theatre but was just so tired I skipped, but I don't feel so guilty as I have been to the theatre a lot in the last week. I saw Man to Man in the Wales Millennium Centre last Thursday which was chilling and amazing. The story was of a woman who took on her husbands identity after he died and she was Jewish in 1940s Germany, it was based on the play my Manfred Karge and I was fortunate to score tickets to see Measure for Measure over at Chapter Arts Centre, which was a light hearted Shakespeare production by Everyman Theatre.

I am also trying to go to the cinema more, the last film I saw was the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, so am hoping to see Suite Francaise this week if I have time.

I have eaten badly this week, not sure what is wrong with me, I feel like I don't care about my health and thats so stupid, so have started running and now that I have a date for Turkey, I don't think theres any point in joining a gym but hopefully will find somewhere in Turkey.

Chapters beginning and ending

The countdown has begun. 

Ramazan has left, after tears, sadness, shocking levels of chocolate consumption and a lot of moping, I am excited now. Its a month until I move over to Turkey to begin a very exciting new chapter of my life. 

There is so much to do, I have to box everything up, sort out shipping, tie up all my students here, book flights, arrange insurance, breath and remind myself that although its scary, its going to be an amazing experience. 

I have been slurping up the culture that Cardiff has before I leave for Turkey as where I am heading is severely lacking in any sort of culture, and no, not British culture, Turkish culture. I am going to move to a small coastal town, one that is quiet but is popular with tourists, there isn't a lot to do. 

I have been reading a lot lately and some seriously good books, and I love getting recommendations for books.

I have just started My Brilliant Friend

 But those I have read in the last few weeks

- Station Eleven <- this is up for the Baileys prize and it was AMAZING

- Mrs Hemingway

- Not without my daughter

- Travelling to infinity

- The Girl on the Train

We have a rough plan of what we want to do, Turkey in the summer, hopefully Thailand for the winter where I will be working there. So ramadan will work for 6 months of the year and I'll work for 6 months of the year and we will support and love each other whilst the other relaxes :)

I am really hoping that I can find the odd student in Turkey, to prevent my mind being numbed by the sun :))))

Fringe benefits

After a lot of uhming and ahhing, I decided to get myself a shiny new fringe. I have had a fringe a few times in the past but have always looked back and thought "yuck". I think thats a lot to being overly critical to myself, but also because sometimes I did have a fat face :P

But I poured over pictures of gorgeous boho hippy spritely beauties and I thought sod it, I am going to join you. I decided on a thick fringe, a bowl cut fringe all the way across the face (you know the kind that someone put a bowl over your head and cut). Yep thats right, I look like I put a bowl on my head and cut.

I had it cut in a cheap salon in Cardiff and I am seriously impressed. For £4.50 I have the best fringe I have ever had, because she listened to what I wanted, "are you sure you want to do this"? "YES".

I LOVE the results

Whirlwind

Its been a whirlwind three weeks as Ramazan surprised me with a visit whilst I was sick with a 24hr bug. One minute I am watching Call the Midwife, the next he is sending me pictures of his plane at the airport and he's taking off and coming to me.

I have been giving him a tour of my lovely city. We have been cycling, walking, eating, sipping coffee, laughing, cooking and basically having what everyone else gets everyday, a real life. The teeny tiny room we have been living too has not been easy at times, its fine for me and smallest but add an extra human into the mix and it becomes a little...erm...cramp. But we have managed, looking forward to having a nice apartment to move into next month :))))

Its really re-affirmed my desire to move to a new country with him, its been hard to say the least and I have been worrying about whether I am ready to do it, but him being here, making the effort to come to me despite what he is dealing with at home, well it just helps me see things clearly.

I have been working lots whilst he has been here, which in a way has been good, because when I am over there in the summer, he will be working massive amounts, hopefully I will be. But if not, we'll be heading to Istanbul in September for work for me. I basically have an amazing 6 months coming up. Which doesn't even include coming to London for Fleetwood Mac with my parents :)

Yoga has suffered, but I shall double my efforts to get my certificates all signed off before I head off.

JOY