tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28766166812288259692024-03-18T21:57:54.004-07:00Afternoon TeaseAfternoon tea reviews, cake and recipes, clandestine cake club and alternative cakes, burlesque, tea and WI info all on one page!Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-19263424672984636772013-08-29T03:38:00.001-07:002013-09-11T05:51:58.246-07:00Shoreditch CCC/Death Cafe "Mash Up"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">My last 'Clandestine Cake Club'</span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You may have noticed this blog isn't being updated as much as it used to be and that's because I'm getting way too busy now! As much as I love running the Shoreditch branch of the </span><a href="http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Clandestine Cake Club</span></a><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and reviewing afternoon tea, it's becoming apparent that with my job and the fact that I'm writing a book about the museum's collection (as well as starting a CILT course) I just can't dedicate as much time to it as I'd like! I'm still blogging a lot, although mainly from the page I set up for my </span><a href="http://www.potts-pots.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">museum</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #45818e;"> which describes the conservation of the specimens.</span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHobH2vV-kXicwhD5zJc1jMiFmJ_OV5TmvBFB_Dd0mvqZbY6gSQalePzFvzmUTvK4TzIwA4yQVpI78YdIdLJY-PVC3r1zbMn6BN6V18FY4iTS2ZRIriUrqHuwrHojQV7qAHUM8EKemCRg/s1600/DeathCafe2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHobH2vV-kXicwhD5zJc1jMiFmJ_OV5TmvBFB_Dd0mvqZbY6gSQalePzFvzmUTvK4TzIwA4yQVpI78YdIdLJY-PVC3r1zbMn6BN6V18FY4iTS2ZRIriUrqHuwrHojQV7qAHUM8EKemCRg/s320/DeathCafe2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So with all that in mind I decided to make my last ever CCC a 'Death Cafe' themed event, since death is the area I work in and is very close to my heart. </span><a href="http://www.deathcafe.com/"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Death Café</span></a><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> is a concept created in Sweden as a way for people to talk about death and have their questions answered in a relaxing environment with nice cake, comforting hot tea and good company. It's not a bereavement support group, more a facilitated discussion.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Death Café events will have a qualified person to lead the discussion, and many of them will be therapists and bereavement counsellors or similar. I am a qualified person working in the death industry but in a different way: physical rather than mental. As a Mortuary Technician I'm able to answer questions about the aspects of death which affect the body etc rather than the emotional impact, so that's what we focussed on last night.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">First I have to say the cakes were amazing! I was so impressed with the effort everyone made. Look at the ones below!:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfmZdcneI0vTm9gZhlsGAugGo5zXvohyphenhyphenvxaGArRDRHgrL1DZheOshL3v9iIrEAZiPGjO_fdtHGNbEzdL0Nr1-zQYV2JT9tc2J81tLeMy4LkSOnzBrsMBdVrXe4daF0B15PTB5taYs-dg/s1600/DCPotCakeBEST.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfmZdcneI0vTm9gZhlsGAugGo5zXvohyphenhyphenvxaGArRDRHgrL1DZheOshL3v9iIrEAZiPGjO_fdtHGNbEzdL0Nr1-zQYV2JT9tc2J81tLeMy4LkSOnzBrsMBdVrXe4daF0B15PTB5taYs-dg/s320/DCPotCakeBEST.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">By Louise</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSI2Uqm30ohTpSaJnkPgQI2Pa2xmO3f9V7XDkVlAiIWTNalY9MAHbCx6NIz9F29LG_B-waxmXZcDSKeUmtl_UD4TRcyiU1MeKVreM2lH9nwlX8L6Jb-KZ83_h9c5DiTyZmKzTqaYmD2c/s1600/DCMask.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSI2Uqm30ohTpSaJnkPgQI2Pa2xmO3f9V7XDkVlAiIWTNalY9MAHbCx6NIz9F29LG_B-waxmXZcDSKeUmtl_UD4TRcyiU1MeKVreM2lH9nwlX8L6Jb-KZ83_h9c5DiTyZmKzTqaYmD2c/s320/DCMask.JPG" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">'Masque of the Red Death' By Rebecca</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7R2FRTMzEIScr7sLmnxaNY7hoAkJzwxJOBsjC92uTQTadxDu_kfvq90nG73d9S7jpnWjbvvOiOxd6IFWzc7NCGBiSRkGGxWLn-VNq4FlwzOf6CGUi774Zo5VswAMMtho7OGpfc-Nipo4/s1600/DCScheeles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7R2FRTMzEIScr7sLmnxaNY7hoAkJzwxJOBsjC92uTQTadxDu_kfvq90nG73d9S7jpnWjbvvOiOxd6IFWzc7NCGBiSRkGGxWLn-VNq4FlwzOf6CGUi774Zo5VswAMMtho7OGpfc-Nipo4/s320/DCScheeles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Amanda's 'Scheele's Green Arsenic' Cakes</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguKHpSmkfF0lm-EYgl2D5gtBd2fOiZ13bLPLmt0qqmn6tHEUSuhHcOsWBfw9CAD-uqGFg28dz6F30o7exADbrtcbfEmAJX2PmeU2Thql2brMlMW3jHm3iZlohWTrnVueobCzB5r_5khc/s1600/DCGrave.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguKHpSmkfF0lm-EYgl2D5gtBd2fOiZ13bLPLmt0qqmn6tHEUSuhHcOsWBfw9CAD-uqGFg28dz6F30o7exADbrtcbfEmAJX2PmeU2Thql2brMlMW3jHm3iZlohWTrnVueobCzB5r_5khc/s320/DCGrave.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Kirstin's 'Death By Carrot' Cake with grave saying 'Fluffy'!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKJuyLO5_bgchlWH26gwLOc9SzJdH-f_u2q5VhkBmgHOGPOHmM2EclmMKEEZxBuXk25LB5uTJRpcXW8E0jmkDGVVLUKhFmLBJ4okVSwPTZDebTTFUS4F2h8L7DYsdoLf7sSeoiyvscn8/s1600/DCSkull.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKJuyLO5_bgchlWH26gwLOc9SzJdH-f_u2q5VhkBmgHOGPOHmM2EclmMKEEZxBuXk25LB5uTJRpcXW8E0jmkDGVVLUKhFmLBJ4okVSwPTZDebTTFUS4F2h8L7DYsdoLf7sSeoiyvscn8/s320/DCSkull.JPG" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">By Louise (well, mainly Steven)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I opted to make a 'GingerDead Men' cake which was sticky ginger sponge decorated with white chocolate. The GingerDead Men are made using a cookie cutter and stamp which I purchased but I have to say it was really difficult to find a recipe to make these work properly - it's a shame they don't have a 'suggested' recipe on the box. I've had a <em>lot </em>of trial and error and a lot of deformed and decapitated Gingerbread Men on my hands over the last few weeks! I'll post the recipe for the biscuits on this blog in autumn if people would like it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0x9oZ9EHuDiWRxwhkFV3mxbjXrOlY7CUzb4fGHuR2HZF_saMfO-shyFK7Yq45QlPhD9HYR2WIbJCvW_c8fx779QX25U9m4yCIorgYFNsMn-9QsPNnWFrcX9ZGiNp2T-EnKqS0r5WUYM/s1600/DCGinger.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0x9oZ9EHuDiWRxwhkFV3mxbjXrOlY7CUzb4fGHuR2HZF_saMfO-shyFK7Yq45QlPhD9HYR2WIbJCvW_c8fx779QX25U9m4yCIorgYFNsMn-9QsPNnWFrcX9ZGiNp2T-EnKqS0r5WUYM/s320/DCGinger.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My GingerDead Men</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The links to the Death Café and CCC sites are in the above text and if you'd like any more information then do get in touch. I won't be holding any more myself but hopefully a Death café event will be a part of a larger conference I'm holding at </span><a href="http://www.potts-pots.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Barts Pathology Museum</span></a><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> in the new year. In the same was as Death Café, the event will be a chance for people to come together and comfortable/intellectually discuss death in a relaxed environment.</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The more we know about death, the more we can become comfortable with it. Knowledge is power and can help us <em>understand</em> life and death. In fact, in certain circumstances, knowledge can help us to <em>delay</em> death - for example knowing basic first aid and knowing how to look after your body or how to spot signs of illness. All these things are important to discuss and that's what Death Café can help facilitate. (For more cake and death related info see my article on Funeral Biscuits entitled <a href="http://www.afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/p/mourning-coffee.html">Mourning Coffee</a>) xox</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLttr2ojhTJs7jSxqtBFfvWF4GdyPsmKUchefxIw_V3Ml_s0GUMcZYxTO_x06ONAhEODtnd98E-uXPMWTGphgMonWzwe4m8IaHRbTYeNvZA8q0ZkKvAj0N0bEvyiyrd2rQPGUimKjIOM/s1600/DCChocSkull.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLttr2ojhTJs7jSxqtBFfvWF4GdyPsmKUchefxIw_V3Ml_s0GUMcZYxTO_x06ONAhEODtnd98E-uXPMWTGphgMonWzwe4m8IaHRbTYeNvZA8q0ZkKvAj0N0bEvyiyrd2rQPGUimKjIOM/s320/DCChocSkull.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Cross Bones Cake by Helen</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArRTxRUM_PIs7DqgJ8Fy7PVBNV3cQSyK7xVWpG53t8383NPSwZIgCPpmExM36XC15dTS7UKiPG6FXs07eynGwWTx2R8haRCKx6lOP0TpF6X8kmKPFcoo4ANvmw0mEck5ualDPMF6dlsk/s1600/DCMilk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArRTxRUM_PIs7DqgJ8Fy7PVBNV3cQSyK7xVWpG53t8383NPSwZIgCPpmExM36XC15dTS7UKiPG6FXs07eynGwWTx2R8haRCKx6lOP0TpF6X8kmKPFcoo4ANvmw0mEck5ualDPMF6dlsk/s320/DCMilk.JPG" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"3 Milk Mexican Day of the Dead" Cake by Jordi</span></td></tr>
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Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-86832789124302628722013-03-22T06:32:00.003-07:002013-03-22T06:33:32.603-07:00Dillinger's/Sapphire Lounge (Liverpool)<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">1920s Afternoon Tea</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNRHFKHwn_4XjNGtO0mH3YAO1j16KB7vCVGW_mGIx6GpF4EVEC3dudZrYGGqKfXN6ldOTqNipDClBaNFOqlhlIxcqYQv3pTYHyiMKtEYVFDSHNjaqi-TB_XC2jOzG8aaN7RG5dJqDSK0/s1600/DilC.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNRHFKHwn_4XjNGtO0mH3YAO1j16KB7vCVGW_mGIx6GpF4EVEC3dudZrYGGqKfXN6ldOTqNipDClBaNFOqlhlIxcqYQv3pTYHyiMKtEYVFDSHNjaqi-TB_XC2jOzG8aaN7RG5dJqDSK0/s320/DilC.PNG" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Many moons ago I watched the movie Public Enemies with Johnny Depp because I literally devour any film set in the '20s, '30s or '40s, and I fell in LOVE with Marion Cotillard's wardrobe amongst other things. The glitz and glamour and gangsters (and gin) of the depression era always appeal to me, so you can imagine how crazed I was when I discovered a bar called 'Dillingers' serving afternoon tea in sumptuous Art Deco surroundings,. However, this little jewel is NOT in London...it's in my beloved home town of Liverpool. This is wonderful news for Liverpool but really annoying for me having relocated to London 6 years ago... Anyway, it was a perfect excuse for a working holiday so I scheduled it into my diary and off I went.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The first thing that struck me was the fantastic music which was nearly era perfect (it was a mix of '30s and '40s tunes but that's fine - I was just relieved it wasn't something like Justin Bieber, whos fans I had to spend all weekend running from as his entourage was in my hotel). The decor was spectacular with the signature clean Art Deco lines, tiffany style lamps and fixtures, and sumptuous sofas, but the added flat screens with moving flame images all along one wall were unusual and gave the bar real warmth.</span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then the waitress came to take our drinks order and she was dressed in '20s gangster's moll garb so by now we were really feeling like we'd gone back in time. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We opted (appropriately) for hooch to start and my other half was pleased to see they had 'proper' cocktails on the menu - real depression era concoctions of gin and bourbon and more gin. I went for a boring Prosecco (I'm not sure why now!) but ther was plenty of time for cocktails afterwards too.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">They arrived quickly, and not long after we also had a pretty afternoon tea stand with all the usual suspects - finger sandwiches, scones and mini patisserie and Art Deco plates</span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The sandwiches were delicious and included salmon, which I think is an indication of a good quality afternoon tea, as well as egg, cucumber and cream cheese. I think Mr Carla would've liked some meat in there though.... The scones were moist and there was plenty of clotted cream (my pet hate is having to thinly scrape cream onto scones: I want DOLLOPS of the stuff) and individual jam pots so no fighting over that either.</span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The cakes included mini versions of lemon curd, chocolate sponge, apple pie and walnut cake and by the end of it we were really stuffed. However, I just had to try the namesake's cocktail on the menu 'Dillinger's Punch' which was a teapot and 2 tea-cups so I ordered that as a <em>digestif</em>. I was so pleased when it came in one of these pretty Hendricks Tea Sets!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was so delicious! I won't tell you what was in it - you'll just have to go there and see for yourself and believe me you should go. The thing I forget (living in London) is that you CAN get a very good afternoon tea for under £20 and you can get a good cocktail for around £5 so it was a really lovely afternoon that cost me hardly anything and I'd definitely recommend it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">The tea is served in The Sapphire Loung which is the upstairs part of the bar and this is the website for all information: <a href="http://www.ludusbar.co.uk/">http://www.ludusbar.co.uk/</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Downstairs in true speakeasy style (behind a bookshelf) is a hidden doorway into Dillingers which can also be hired for your own events and the best website for that is here: <a href="http://www.sapphirelounge.co.uk/dillingers/">http://www.sapphirelounge.co.uk/dillingers/</a> so be sure to check them out. the staff were attentive, the food and drinks were fabulous, the prices were great and I could have literally stayed for hours xox</span></div>
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">"Sip"-tease rating *****</span><br /><span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Pa"Tease"erie Rating ****</span><br /><span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Boudoir or Boring Rating*****</span><br /><span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Cheap or Chic Rating *****</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(This is one of my Highest rated teas ever! )</span></span></div>
Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-84541881390187550042013-02-20T11:20:00.001-08:002013-02-21T05:58:58.622-08:00"Eat Hearts, Sweethearts" Valentine's CCC<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Pots of Tea Among the 'Pots'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #45818e;">Despite the current fascination with anatomy, and trends in 'subverting-the-form' when it comes to old ideas, I have to say Valentine's Day has ALWAYS been about anatomical hearts for me. In one way or another I've worked with Anatomy and Pathology for 10 years so the association has been a long one. I explored <em>actual</em> anatomical heart cakes in my project 'Eat Your Heart Out' (above) but for this CCC I just thought it would be nice to have my Pathology Museum (@BartsPathology) as the venue so that those who had never been could have a sneak peek at this amazing building, amongst the pathological 'pots' after dark...</span> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatkOHSscJpzaMw4JwWtSZt4rcm8CWQ_WAUS_LAR6vKu8ov6LyxYheyueRX52DdubDUciEqWWTY7XBLSbevc04g4Vd_RVrmLQ16EpAjfQiU7TJ5EibkdtTgrWtIsWwfohAWzfpUihartE/s1600/Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatkOHSscJpzaMw4JwWtSZt4rcm8CWQ_WAUS_LAR6vKu8ov6LyxYheyueRX52DdubDUciEqWWTY7XBLSbevc04g4Vd_RVrmLQ16EpAjfQiU7TJ5EibkdtTgrWtIsWwfohAWzfpUihartE/s320/Heart.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One of the wonderful specimens under my care</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">nd so it was the Shoreditch CCC sat amidst the real hearts (hearts like the above specimen) with endless cups of tea and delved into topics such as Valentine's dates we'd had in the past, what we planned to do this year and whether or not we'd seen a dead body....</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">I can't tell you how amazingly imaginative the cakes were and they tasted unbelievable! here's a selection:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYn8Gu0mH6ZpsjKXv7Ov1d8FGvf0FHA0qHfmEfBZ3Kei0NMGVWIOR93dBZjKdrkDN_KdOLg-et288H1-5UZPRNFdVvYK72gGuwmgxC-CFdpfgVXZl2tu95R9be41BkL7Eg4VydPC8OxMk/s1600/CCC3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYn8Gu0mH6ZpsjKXv7Ov1d8FGvf0FHA0qHfmEfBZ3Kei0NMGVWIOR93dBZjKdrkDN_KdOLg-et288H1-5UZPRNFdVvYK72gGuwmgxC-CFdpfgVXZl2tu95R9be41BkL7Eg4VydPC8OxMk/s320/CCC3.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Madeleine's 'Hot Date Passion Cake' with sticky date, choc and toffee</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfijFy47igncu_o7e9R20roKngBYN28muPF2Sr5U_UkrvNXrhzdTN2zcUcfU-1EB-Wa-56QJXJ76xN0dlHuNLDMZWOmsSqHEvgSlcVjAGB7GBRV5ygsNGYordxGzDF1tzNIPbTBT9-HVY/s1600/CCC4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfijFy47igncu_o7e9R20roKngBYN28muPF2Sr5U_UkrvNXrhzdTN2zcUcfU-1EB-Wa-56QJXJ76xN0dlHuNLDMZWOmsSqHEvgSlcVjAGB7GBRV5ygsNGYordxGzDF1tzNIPbTBT9-HVY/s320/CCC4.JPG" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Louise's 'Red Velvet Surprise' with gorgeous gooey heart centre</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">But I think my favourite had to be <em>Valentine-hating</em> Tilly's 'Black Widow' cake (above) which was an incredibly exhilarating choking hazard experience full of chopped up plastic army men!!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">We had wonderful 'special guests' in the form of Bethan and colleagues from the publisher Quercus who are of course responsible for making the Clandestine Cake Club cook-book a big success! For a review on that book read the previous post and there's a link to purchase at the top of this page so don't wait too long to get yours!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">And I even did a Valentine/Hearts themed quiz with the prize being two lovely AVON lipsticks in the shape of a heart (I am an AVON Lady of course)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRj9PpOFI-mcZHkiL30SHs9USB1SsME8lXB7yuebl84qNd-9bVe5QqucWRJD53ljx9_Hsd-vIHyqHejpKzZRk61g7Vc2dQzSrbEUpgd_PUqaqyaLxj8Q9HtZuOTH9sxEuIQ6_4PyjfGWU/s1600/avon+lippy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRj9PpOFI-mcZHkiL30SHs9USB1SsME8lXB7yuebl84qNd-9bVe5QqucWRJD53ljx9_Hsd-vIHyqHejpKzZRk61g7Vc2dQzSrbEUpgd_PUqaqyaLxj8Q9HtZuOTH9sxEuIQ6_4PyjfGWU/s320/avon+lippy.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #45818e;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">All in all it was a fab way to spend an evening a few days before Valentine's Day and we've already started on the next theme "Slice of Life: Dexter Cakes" in March.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Go to <a href="http://www.clandestinecakeclub.com/">www.clandestinecakeclub.com</a> to join the network and see you at an event soon xox</span></div>
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Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-8883140625446429002013-01-29T14:15:00.001-08:002013-01-29T14:15:54.426-08:00The Secret is Out.......<div style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">'The Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook' by Lynn Hill</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93S6ignH1wZFNDQrGo7J1zvSOt0OIiPtk-rka5EVIAialimwAIEreWkU9iM5XVW6Zx298BFkVd1fK4xeOGSAvJKbf9V9-8r3F5II-tQJG0vvDQGK2xpVMPm41pxt1cLjRuvhQrKtavtM/s1600/Book5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93S6ignH1wZFNDQrGo7J1zvSOt0OIiPtk-rka5EVIAialimwAIEreWkU9iM5XVW6Zx298BFkVd1fK4xeOGSAvJKbf9V9-8r3F5II-tQJG0vvDQGK2xpVMPm41pxt1cLjRuvhQrKtavtM/s1600/Book5.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #45818e;">Lynn Hill came into my life like a great cakey captain over a year ago. I was feeling quite low, watching TV at my mother's house (probably attempting to get some sympathy) when she popped up on The One Show. (Lynn did I mean - not my mother..) </span></div>
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A link to my first CCC blog post with video clip is here... <b>http://tinyurl.com/by98yfu</b></div>
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I was suddenly inspired to join her army of cake cadets and start a club in my own corner of London: <b>Shoreditch</b>. I bombarded her with e-mails, literally as soon as the piece on BBC1 was over and told her that I too wanted to earn my stripes of icing and lead the people into the promised land of fondant and cream and jam...</div>
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A year (and many CCC Shoreditch events later) I am one of the contributors to the CCC cook book!<br />
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My recipe was selected, my face was plastered on its pages (well half my face...I appear to be shoving cake into my gob, above) and my group of cake club members now exceeds 80!!! I've held events such as<i> Blitz Bakes: </i>Ration Cakes, <i>Film Fatale</i>: A Film Noir Night and <i>Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree</i>: A 1950's Kitsch-mas. And don't worry, I still have plenty of ideas. The next event is an <i>Eat Hearts, Sweethearts</i> party for Valentine's Day as well as a special event in Waterstone's, Islington to celebrate the book release. Coming up in the next few months we'll have <i>That's a Damn Fine Piece of Pie</i>: Twin Peaks evening, a 'CCC and The Death Cafe' mash-up and <i>A Slice of Life</i>: DEXTER cakes, so make sure you register on the club's website to join in the fun: www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk</div>
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My copy of the book arrived today, but its general release isn't until February 14th which makes it a perfect Valentine's gift. In fact, there's a recipe (from Rachel McGrath, CCC Bolton) for an 'Achy Cakey Heart' cake which you would get points for if you baked it for your other half as a Valentine's treat.</div>
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I literally have no idea where to start as there are so many to choose from, but the 'Chocolate and Marmite Caramel Cake' (Becs Rivett, CCC Leeds) is too intriguing not to try ASAP and I <i>have</i> to make Lynn's own 'Elderflower Cordial Cake' as elderflower is a weird addiction of mine</span>.<br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The book itself is crammed with recipes in chapters like <span style="color: #e06666;">Classic Cakes</span>, <span style="color: #e06666;">Celebration Cakes</span> and <span style="color: #e06666;">Creative Cakes</span> with wonderful pictures and beautiful styling by Anita Mangan, well-known for her work on the LEON Cafe cook books. So get yourself a copy on pre-order (see link to your right) or head to your local bookshop on February 14th as this is a book worth owning and cherishing. After just one leaf through its pretty pages I'm sure Lynn Hill will inspire you as she inspired me xox</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-90395465294909109432012-12-07T05:05:00.002-08:002012-12-07T05:05:46.113-08:00Afternoon Tea Review<span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">'The Reform Social and Grill' at The Mandeville Hotel</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">It’s
the most wonderful time of the year…and for me that means several things: The
Rockabilly Christmas album, the movie ‘Elf’, food and booze - and not much else
until January.</span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"></span><span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Given
that my whole reason for setting up this blog is to review afternoon tea, I
thought it was about time I headed off for a ‘festive’ themed one so I could do
the job properly (like I needed an excuse to munch mini mince pies and quaff
mulled wine…) Also, in the name of proper scientific testing I had a ‘control’
to measure against (remember that from GCSE science?) which means I went for a
‘festive’ tea at a place I’d <em>already been to</em> so I could compare. I take it dead
seriously, me.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOva6CH_ZOcvhYtXyC4ExLNL71getREEKV3hl9GOEh88aKylFT6Cbqj0HEECvohh1SUce2zdS9ud9TaPvujI3SOo2TuqW1XEPlljG5OScb5Zp2GWZ62s9zbPa_NYxqfCIkuBdorz8H2I/s1600/mand1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOva6CH_ZOcvhYtXyC4ExLNL71getREEKV3hl9GOEh88aKylFT6Cbqj0HEECvohh1SUce2zdS9ud9TaPvujI3SOo2TuqW1XEPlljG5OScb5Zp2GWZ62s9zbPa_NYxqfCIkuBdorz8H2I/s320/mand1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">So I
headed to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Reform Grill and Social</i>
@ The Mandeville Hotel with my long suffering other half who is continually
forced to imbibe champers and eat mini fondant fancies in my serious quest to
impart knowledge of afternoon teas to the public. I opted for this one in particular
as they had a free <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unlimited</i>
champagne offer with the festive tea, which is the same reason we went the
first time back in September.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">It’s
a really nicely decorated place (as you can see from the above pics) – it’s new so it’s squeaky clean and it’s in a
good location so no complaints there. Another bonus is that they offer two
different afternoon teas: for the ladies they have a ‘Vintage afternoon tea’
but there is also a ‘Gentlemen’s Afternoon Tea’ and when we first went there
the gents was better and I was jealous! Instead of finger sandwiches, the gents
get a piece of pork pie, a mini burger and steak and snails on a
bruschetta!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">In
comparison, the lady gets 4 finger sandwiches. Sorry but this is one occasion
where 4 fingers will not fill the hole (ahem...) Also, the sandwiches aren’t even good.
They’ve obviously been made ahead so they’re crispy on the outside where they're getting stale, and there's not
much filling inside at all. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">You can therefore imagine how happy Mr Carla was when he saw that the special ‘festive’
afternoon tea was being offered alongside the usual Gents menu. I didn’t learn
from my September mistake and went for the ladies festive this time (in the name of research…) but he
stuck with his tried and tested favourite.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">We
got drinks to begin with (an Old Fashioned for the man and a mulled wine for
the lady) which is great. You can’t go wrong with mulled wine, or mulled
anything for that matter. We also got a glass of champagne straight away too, which was nice.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2B8bCM2ZtKMZHx3K_wrFRLzmEutrLzpPejF36TzXpXVQdUF3dRKT0T-Y4BlA0eUhuqLm60pZ6vBigEycC2h6kp3CwqUf4_0zy9O5DnffQ83eNLL-gn0YEIuGanszwQCREmXUwGJbm4g/s1600/mand5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2B8bCM2ZtKMZHx3K_wrFRLzmEutrLzpPejF36TzXpXVQdUF3dRKT0T-Y4BlA0eUhuqLm60pZ6vBigEycC2h6kp3CwqUf4_0zy9O5DnffQ83eNLL-gn0YEIuGanszwQCREmXUwGJbm4g/s320/mand5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">And we received our tea as well (they have an extensive
list to choose from.) I went for their own Mandeville blend but my man likes
their black tea with vanilla and they’re both delicious. There was an awful lot to drink at once though!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">I was excited for them to bring out the food and when they did the Gents looked <em>amazing</em> but the ladies was still
a bit pitiful. So this time I thought I’d ask if I can have extra sandwiches after I'd finished mine in about 1 minute flat
and they said it would cost extra!! Now in some places its free to have extra
sandwiches (for example, in Volupte Lounge they’re very generous) so paying £3 for that
pitiful array is not good news. However the issue was compounded when I was
told that if I wanted to purchase the Gent’s platter (of pork pie, burger,
steak, snails etc) it would cost £4. That’s a great price and makes the £3
sarnies seem yet more ridiculous. I don't know what they're thinking! I would have been tempted to do that but of course we had scones and cakes to get through so I just waited for Mr Carla to devour his delicious platter and readied myself for the sweet part. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">The cranberry scones were really nice, the jam came in individual little jars and the clotted cream was delicious!! And there was enough for two scones each. (There's nothing worse than having to spread microscopically thin layers of anything onto dry scones...)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Also the cakes were nice and they did fit the festive theme: there was a mini mince pie, dundee christmas cake and an almond crumble. However I have had <em>incredible</em> cakes before so really I just weighed up the pros an cons of the whole meal when reviewing this. For example it says on the menu "dark chocolate yule log" so I was expecting a mini log on the plate. But it actually seemed to be a piece of mini yule log so I felt that was a bit misleading...</span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">However, given that we had 4 glasses of champagne in total (it may have been prosecco but it was really nice and I'm happy with either) as well as the cocktail I'd say this is definitely one to go for when they have the <strong>unlimited champagne offer on</strong>. The link to it is here and it runs until 23rd of Jan on Friday, Saturday and Sunday <a href="http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1399&Itemid=1">http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1399&Itemid=1</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">It's a great place to head to after your Christmas shopping and I would suggest that if you go for the Ladies tea (which is the festive one) then ask if you can pay £1 extra to get the mens platter for your savoury portion so you can get the festive treats :) xxx</span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">"Sip"-tease rating *****</span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Pa"Tease"erie Rating ***</span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Boudoir or Boring Rating****</span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Cheap or Chic Rating ** (or **** with champagne offer)</span><br />
<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">PS - I will be posting all afternoon tea offers on here in the future so subscribe for quick updates!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-34135414416071830412012-12-04T09:36:00.000-08:002012-12-04T09:37:11.367-08:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Shoreditch Clandestine Cake Club (6)</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree: A 1950's Kitschmas"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I think the whole reason I wanted to do this theme was because I discovered The Love Shake in Shoreditch and I wanted a good reason to spend a lot of time in there. It's a cute, tiny 50's style diner right at the end of Kingsland Road and not far from where we had our "Monarchy Anarchy" Jubilee Cake Club (<a href="http://www.afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/2012_08_01_archive.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://www.afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/2012_08_01_archive.html</span></a>). Look at the cute interior!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">The Love Shake was the perfect place to don my Vivien of Holloway cupcake dress too, of course, and I always like to have an excuse to set my hair - in fact icing my cake with my rollers in always makes me feel like I'm in Edward Scissorhands... I'm not sure why!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPj4fbHfG_W5tihMaG9W6l9sNRXAM-kf1byZLydi-pY0hFdbDnVJ2gzgrEf_K92PsM4ZNHvf-6bexPrYv0FvPt5Wj9oTD719osKwFZLOXsCecSIwPsLFQDIL5FIFDHCwyHlN5QlZZ0duA/s1600/kitsch11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPj4fbHfG_W5tihMaG9W6l9sNRXAM-kf1byZLydi-pY0hFdbDnVJ2gzgrEf_K92PsM4ZNHvf-6bexPrYv0FvPt5Wj9oTD719osKwFZLOXsCecSIwPsLFQDIL5FIFDHCwyHlN5QlZZ0duA/s320/kitsch11.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">I found the perfect retro recipe for a 50's kitsch-mas on a genuine vintage advert that was taken off the back of a Swans Down Flour box.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3oqZJYqBD4VcyDJu4N3Y8f7T6CWlHQDtEjXBiOUCqdEvywdK1upU8aDJWQozIuCT6FCpSpednwZolC5_tauYmc-m-T_Yj6briSivmQ1YgVEt7nqgldnDFjkMzth38fCrsD8_i0brtfqM/s1600/Retro-Cake-Box.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3oqZJYqBD4VcyDJu4N3Y8f7T6CWlHQDtEjXBiOUCqdEvywdK1upU8aDJWQozIuCT6FCpSpednwZolC5_tauYmc-m-T_Yj6briSivmQ1YgVEt7nqgldnDFjkMzth38fCrsD8_i0brtfqM/s320/Retro-Cake-Box.png" width="241" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;"> </span><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">It's a weird recipe with so many eggs in it and of course the tackiest ingredient ever...Glace cherries!! I even <em>kitsched it up</em> more by making glace cherry and fondant holly for the top and covering the whole thing in those little silver balls that nearly crack your teeth. I was really pleased with how it looked though as it fit the theme well, although it wasn't quite as white as the illustration.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">The other girls brought cakes that were just as retro - we had a gingerbread Christmas Tree, a peach Christmas wreath, a spiced apple bundt cake and a fruit loaf with a lovely tree on it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">We had a 1950's 'fill in the blanks style quiz' which ended in a tense, nail-biting tie-breaker question at the end ;) It was a picture question and I was dismayed to find that the girls in question didn't know who this lovely pin-up was:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-8IbJOMYVWbywtCG48Ysk-bPZ9TKeyJVFsI6k4eEttP2KNdGGlAx-atVgTISn_ZEcdyBuSuoW71fvviOC01w2pjIN_DgdBzQ8CcXbTjuKCrcodt4P5YgPNy3aVavkPDN66ZmdADl69k/s1600/diana+dors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-8IbJOMYVWbywtCG48Ysk-bPZ9TKeyJVFsI6k4eEttP2KNdGGlAx-atVgTISn_ZEcdyBuSuoW71fvviOC01w2pjIN_DgdBzQ8CcXbTjuKCrcodt4P5YgPNy3aVavkPDN66ZmdADl69k/s320/diana+dors.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Diana Dors - for future reference!!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">I think you'll have to get yourselves to my "Cake It On!" vintage AVON tea parties more in future ladies... ;) xox</span><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">Cake It On: <a href="http://www.make-upbake-up.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: #45818e;">www.make-upbake-up.blogspot.co.uk</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: #45818e;">The Love Shake: </span><a href="http://www.theloveshake.co.uk/"><span style="color: #45818e;">www.theloveshake.co.uk</span></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: #45818e;">To join the Clandestine Cake Club network go to </span><a href="http://www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/"><span style="color: #45818e;">www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk</span></a><span style="color: #45818e;"> and search for my Shoreditch group :)</span></span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-31400494517895993312012-11-06T13:17:00.000-08:002012-11-06T13:17:35.776-08:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fancy a Double-D Cup (cake)?</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm really excited and honoured to be a part of the new campaign from Coppafeel. It's called Cake O'Clock and starts later this month. </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coppafeel is a breast cancer charity aimed at raising awareness in younger women after its founder, Kristin, was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at just 23. See more info about Kristin on their site: <a href="http://www.coppafeel.org/">http://www.coppafeel.org/</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Cake O'Clock appeal will aim to get people across the country to have a bake sale and raise money for the charity from November 20th. But it's not just <i>any</i> cakes - it's boob cakes! And why not? Cupcakes come in various sizes, as do boobs. </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One thing I learned from our Eat Your Heart Out 2012 project is that cake is a fantastic way to engage people with a topic that's important. Also, my experience fronting the Shoreditch Clandestine Cake Club has shown me that cake is a sharey-lovely way to get to know people, chat and generally have a good time.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The amazing Miss Insomnia Tulip who created the anatomical breast cake below will be donating one of these to auction off during the event in Islington on the 24th:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I will be making smaller boob cakes but I will be flavouring them Vanilla as it is said that men enjoy vanilla as it reminds them of their mother's breast milk! Who knows if that's true but it's a good experiment to see how many cakes I can flog to the boyfriends of the attendees. All money goes to Coppafeel of course :)</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See more info about how you can get involved here:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vC4IW3sx3gFc6Ib1F3mnHk-AHi96Ub3XOWMp9SzFAdoZ8rqBhx2d7t8oM5ZLoDQMPQyZm-5qdOdPweyYUzHohn473Vba9vMZ_NSjvCaDXeXEUSpcVV6Wv8fn_U8fH2LsEXeNew-ytrc/s1600/CakeOClock+logo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vC4IW3sx3gFc6Ib1F3mnHk-AHi96Ub3XOWMp9SzFAdoZ8rqBhx2d7t8oM5ZLoDQMPQyZm-5qdOdPweyYUzHohn473Vba9vMZ_NSjvCaDXeXEUSpcVV6Wv8fn_U8fH2LsEXeNew-ytrc/s320/CakeOClock+logo.jpeg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.coppafeel.org/cakeoclock"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.coppafeel.org/cakeoclock</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Coppafeel have patrons such as Fearne Cotton who are young, funky and stylish and their charity events reflect the youth and enthusiasm of the organisers. Recently, they had a Boobie "Flash Mob" in St Christopher's place off Oxford Street and it looked like so much fun! You can see the footage for yourself:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was so impressed by this I mentioned it on a recent podcast I did for Londonist Out Loud. I wanted to talk the flash mob for ages but alas we also had to get through various other cake and death topics. If you have an hour and fancy hearing more about Eat Your Heart Out and the other events at the Pathology Museum where I work you can listen here:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://londonist.com/2012/10/londonistoutloud26oct.php </span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll be updating with more Cake O'Clock details as I get them but for now please do check out their website. You can apply to have text reminders for boob checks and you can even get your boyfriend involved. I got mine to name my boobs for the purpose of the text reminder and he opted for Mickey and Mallory... What names can you come up with? xox</span><br />
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Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-69160381905169619072012-11-01T05:21:00.001-07:002013-01-30T03:52:20.981-08:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">'Pumpkin Pie' Cheesecake</span><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Years ago when I first started baking it was quite difficult to find recipes for things such as Pumpkin Pie. I'm showing my age a bit here but I used to have to read - wait for it - BOOKS to get a recipe. There was no surfing the net...well certainly not in my house. So if you couldn't find an American baking book anywhere you were stuffed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then, on actually discovering a recipe, I'd have to use the left over flesh from my actual pumpkin carving to make the cakes as it certainly wasn't available anywhere in cans! Life is easier now and Waitrose is one of a good few places to sell canned pumpkin puree but if you do have flesh left over from carving then that can be used too.</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I know enough about baking to put together my own Pumpkin Pie<em> inspired</em> cheesecake just for something s little different so read on for the best Halloween recipe you'll ever eat (in my humble opinion...)</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>Biscuit Base:</u></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">220g Digestive Biscuits</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">100g Unsalted Butter, melted</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 tsp cinnamon</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 tsp all spice</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia;">Dead easy - bung it all in a bowl and mix. </span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia;">(Obviously you're supposed to make the biccies into crumbs first and my method is to throw them all into bowl and bash the crap out of them with the end of a rolling pin #CakeRage) <span style="color: #e06666;">Then just pour in melted butter and spices and mix up.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">I'd say use a 20cm springform tin and put baking paper on the bottom, greased. Also grease around the walls of the tin with butter too. This is a baked cheesecake (New York style) and as it cooks you want the cheese filling to be able to peel away from the sides of the tin) Now you can spread your biscuit mix onto the paper and leave to chill for 30 min (ish)</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>Cheese:</u></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">700g full-fat cheese (3 1/2 tubs)</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">120g golden caster sugar</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 tsp all spice</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3 large eggs</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">150g tinned pumpkin or pumpkin puree</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia;">When you're ready to make this bit, heat your oven to Gas Mark 3 (160C) - nice and low.</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia;">The cheese, sugar and spice can all be creamed together, then add the eggs one at a time making sure each is mixed well before you add the next. Then pop in your garish pumpkin flesh or puree (it will become a much less offensive Magnolia colour...)</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: #45818e;">This mixture can now be poured onto your chilled biscuit base. Put the whole thing into a <em>bain-marie</em> (i.e. a roasting tin big enough to fit your cheesecake tin in and add a few cm of water to.)</span> <span style="color: #45818e;">Again this is because during cooking you don't want it to dry out too much and crack - the steam from the tin will keep the cheese soft and moist. If you're worried about water seeping into your springform tin (believe me the LAST thing you want is soggy biscuits...) then wrap tin foil around the bottom. I also popped foil around the top to stop it browning too quickly as it needs to stay in the oven for 50-55 min. When out it should look like this, then leave it to cool for a good long time (2-3 hrs):</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-9PybRDBkBT5X2S0GiUMmMxlaRcwpa1qkVIDyMm3zm9zEcp8z6WvcnCwPpJQpCE3k8VXq7u1KBbMfK_nDehzBooIc4QvXjfVjB4EUXkP270V66WxL4Ck4R2sZN-iTo65jSk9UyGJg-k/s1600/cheesecake1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-9PybRDBkBT5X2S0GiUMmMxlaRcwpa1qkVIDyMm3zm9zEcp8z6WvcnCwPpJQpCE3k8VXq7u1KBbMfK_nDehzBooIc4QvXjfVjB4EUXkP270V66WxL4Ck4R2sZN-iTo65jSk9UyGJg-k/s320/cheesecake1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>Topping:</u></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">50g walnuts or pecans</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">50g butter</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">85g muscovado sugar (or similar)</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Again, bung in the pan and melt together then throw/slather it all over the top of your cheesecake. Wait to cool again (yes...it's tough to wait so I suggest licking your bowl and spatula for the time being) and eventually devour</span>.</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">If you give this recipe a go, let me know how it turns out and I apologise in advance for your Diabetes...xox</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<br />Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-30853380667646484502012-10-30T05:03:00.000-07:002012-10-30T05:04:41.781-07:00EYHO - Funeral Biscuits<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">A Sugar & Spice (and not-so-nice) History of Funeral Biscuits</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeXeTwHZmhXcBWCDT2mIYgeYd4L7tZ_n5VzALzImCeTdP5ZcRGrUo3rj5nL6cYv1Nkr1Rt10WgxT5x1LJ1ZIYnMuFOqibHQGH2focE-zmKAMn_utnHgoVnpHGpF6Ge7agjlslAPrGX7c/s1600/Funeralbiccy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeXeTwHZmhXcBWCDT2mIYgeYd4L7tZ_n5VzALzImCeTdP5ZcRGrUo3rj5nL6cYv1Nkr1Rt10WgxT5x1LJ1ZIYnMuFOqibHQGH2focE-zmKAMn_utnHgoVnpHGpF6Ge7agjlslAPrGX7c/s320/Funeralbiccy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">As part of my involvement in Eat Your Heart Out 2012, I gave a lecture and presentation to over 100 journalists on press night. The lecture was about one of my favourite topics - Victorian Funeral Biscuits - and was based on an article I wrote a while back. It was entitled 'Mourning Coffee' and was all about the link between cake (or various sweet foods) and death...yes, there IS one! You can read the full article here: <a href="http://www.afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/p/mourning-coffee.html">http://www.afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/p/mourning-coffee.html</a> and do e-mail me if you have any questions.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">The above biscuits were made by Tasha and Fi of the food curiosity company Animal Vegetable Mineral and we gave them out during the first British Biscuit Festival. She recreated the recipe for the press night so as well as anatomical cakes and lots of Kraken Rum, the attendees had them to try as well. Spoilt!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's Halloween tomorrow (my favourite holiday) so expect many more posts about my random spokky baking adventures over the next few days.</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.avmcuriosities.com/">www.avmcuriosities.com</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.krakenrum.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">www.krakenrum.com</span></a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Until next time xox</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-38764424386607616732012-10-29T07:45:00.003-07:002012-10-30T05:04:53.753-07:00My 'Tease Maid' Necklace<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Bete Noire Jewellery</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">As part of Eat Your Heart Out 2012 I was asked to do several broadcast interviews. I wanted to make sure I had a personalised necklace from the fantastic Beth Noire to wear and many people asked me where it was from so here is the link: </span><a href="http://www.betenoirejewellery.com/#!untitled/mainPage"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://www.betenoirejewellery.com</span></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I opted for the large double heart version and of course I chose <i>Tease Maid</i> to personalise it:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFFwFG9TcxkHpyO0JR-dlIwq8gOWSODMuSKpz97DX-6d-fGzJqwDPBGJVCts_huxWdM78p7N5Fzb-09SFD9cdl-LheTAKAGtv4OjCdD9jxtibs01xXfv7Md_si6kgt33GD4ozug8fBhk/s1600/necklace1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFFwFG9TcxkHpyO0JR-dlIwq8gOWSODMuSKpz97DX-6d-fGzJqwDPBGJVCts_huxWdM78p7N5Fzb-09SFD9cdl-LheTAKAGtv4OjCdD9jxtibs01xXfv7Md_si6kgt33GD4ozug8fBhk/s320/necklace1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's the cutest thing I've ever seen - I literally squealed when I opened it (and honestly squealing is NOT something I would ever do without good reason!) Look at the tiny spoon and sugar cubes! I'm just in love with it and have already decided on other things I want to buy and in fact a friend of mine, Zoe, has purchased one too :)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByQFG7hqdWYyc-uDNKPIH6JCfr1xJkPLZ1iP8dm2Z08zVvFR5Ujk2CaNnQjYjJWbuCmw-ZUO9lUc9dDW9Y_oYZOldUhE8HC2u3RMR2DRP-enlW3AhHRgHEvVs5OQAlti7x-IRFwverQs/s1600/necklace2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByQFG7hqdWYyc-uDNKPIH6JCfr1xJkPLZ1iP8dm2Z08zVvFR5Ujk2CaNnQjYjJWbuCmw-ZUO9lUc9dDW9Y_oYZOldUhE8HC2u3RMR2DRP-enlW3AhHRgHEvVs5OQAlti7x-IRFwverQs/s320/necklace2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also did a radio podcast interview for Londonist Out Loud and I wore the necklace then (and yes I do realise that people couldn't see it on the radio...) so I'll pop the link here for you in case you want to hear me discuss flagellation, scousers, cake and drilling holes in someone's head. Random, - but these are the things I know about......</span><br />
<a href="http://londonist.com/2012/10/londonistoutloud26oct.php"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://londonist.com/2012/10/londonistoutloud26oct.php</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a fairly short post as I'm recovering from the incredible #EYHO - I'm having a nice day off, baking Halloween goodies and watching Addams Family in preparation for Halloween, so expect more soon xox</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-51194353076122484042012-10-08T10:56:00.000-07:002012-10-30T05:05:06.124-07:00Eat Your Heart Out 26th-28th October<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Official EYHO Shoot!</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I was so honoured to be a part of the photoshoot for the event which is going to combine cake and Pathology and is happening at my pathology museum (St Bart's) this October (for full details click on the tab at the top of the page).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Here is an example of the pics: </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-pb1fMNkDbg74kiCwm0wBk58aWRDcYwptF7oN-ijJDZtnahtwgl-ZFF_fRy_1zJljNEjlfl-K1w0AH9ePNIeISg8gUTgKtO9EJ1TvZxde5J6dbxraahyphenhypheneg6LozZDf6Kt3e4x0t56oGI/s1600/meEYHO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-pb1fMNkDbg74kiCwm0wBk58aWRDcYwptF7oN-ijJDZtnahtwgl-ZFF_fRy_1zJljNEjlfl-K1w0AH9ePNIeISg8gUTgKtO9EJ1TvZxde5J6dbxraahyphenhypheneg6LozZDf6Kt3e4x0t56oGI/s320/meEYHO.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Photos: @NathanPask. Styling: @katieantoniou @shinythoughts</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMRL-62cxLZcioyu9GAGSP0ghnu1XRMiVCcaO43bDNIdjqUSxn1vj793RF7-cWV_yyvHoz3B-fVI0AtPKF79MHkFBrvlpTqhZuE7vLegL6JzkLsuF_ugZ5TjGeeNZr2et5098dlAQ-MA/s1600/meEYHO3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMRL-62cxLZcioyu9GAGSP0ghnu1XRMiVCcaO43bDNIdjqUSxn1vj793RF7-cWV_yyvHoz3B-fVI0AtPKF79MHkFBrvlpTqhZuE7vLegL6JzkLsuF_ugZ5TjGeeNZr2et5098dlAQ-MA/s320/meEYHO3.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hair: @Holly_Rudge. Make-up: @EmAlexandraMUA</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzg6tohmSgAZmqVyHQ2a_vtMAtG88N_bzFVVLlIFY9jhVWoIM1lbkQvTWBMdfBopPULS1Ags0t_SyCMoDMMbAoc1uCaUdS1JbIjLrUMOlAeRDHPwZHsOtACAeHgiohoROFk91D0b8amI/s1600/EYHOnecklace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzg6tohmSgAZmqVyHQ2a_vtMAtG88N_bzFVVLlIFY9jhVWoIM1lbkQvTWBMdfBopPULS1Ags0t_SyCMoDMMbAoc1uCaUdS1JbIjLrUMOlAeRDHPwZHsOtACAeHgiohoROFk91D0b8amI/s320/EYHOnecklace.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Edible necklace by Miss Insomnia Tulip: @missinsomniatul</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">I'm with a cake made by Lashanthie Chandrapala of 'Leshie Loves Cake' (orders to <a href="mailto:leshielovescake@gmail.com"><span style="color: #e06666;">leshielovescake@gmail.com</span></a>) which looked exactly like flesh with a syringe in but smelt divine and was difficult to resist while trying to pose...!</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Other contributions will include those below:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nc5tMq0vSxLVgBhLjS12yfzw30zTcJFQQLzafDN2VJVbHnZ01zRugmg8R3GAwrbplfnE2VdysNc4AnYsHSyJUGFDbwgUE3_pLwOGk3bx_p4wFM41aa6mwAh4dv6WZQs4mna_Qt4YXS0/s1600/EYHO6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nc5tMq0vSxLVgBhLjS12yfzw30zTcJFQQLzafDN2VJVbHnZ01zRugmg8R3GAwrbplfnE2VdysNc4AnYsHSyJUGFDbwgUE3_pLwOGk3bx_p4wFM41aa6mwAh4dv6WZQs4mna_Qt4YXS0/s320/EYHO6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">STD Box Set by Two Little Cats</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhuHoGpA5PR_iJHXr_JJsjIQ-OchntElAaL3BSTDyRSwtHmJq01LRlwia8HBpZRhaauLUO7_8gBLlh8NtUezmggunRvZ5ghRXxohPM9W-71hee0H-mJCtjMQZcza9DqJ6fBmKElp271U/s1600/EYHO5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhuHoGpA5PR_iJHXr_JJsjIQ-OchntElAaL3BSTDyRSwtHmJq01LRlwia8HBpZRhaauLUO7_8gBLlh8NtUezmggunRvZ5ghRXxohPM9W-71hee0H-mJCtjMQZcza9DqJ6fBmKElp271U/s320/EYHO5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">'Fungus Toe Cookies' by Nevie Pie Cakes</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjba-8gt597AMzRqLhkEjUqcg_POXvaIlct2DA2pnEDtFl1ikymsCjZmHu25Ri45HqLebRYcT9sJYiJKXogzK941ynVHKp46FEVTW9qAgXwUrqOW5sdUZ55BVl9NkGxMYMw0cSRCgdIA/s1600/EYHO1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjba-8gt597AMzRqLhkEjUqcg_POXvaIlct2DA2pnEDtFl1ikymsCjZmHu25Ri45HqLebRYcT9sJYiJKXogzK941ynVHKp46FEVTW9qAgXwUrqOW5sdUZ55BVl9NkGxMYMw0cSRCgdIA/s320/EYHO1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Breast Anatomy cupcake by M.I Tulip (The Biscuit Barrel)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">The aim of the event is to combine my two loves: Pathology and baking into one large public engagement extravaganza to teach people about medicine, anatomy and disease in a totally new way. Co-curated with the notorious Miss Cakehead (<a href="http://evilcakes.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://evilcakes.wordpress.com/</span></a>), who I previously worked with on the Resident Evil 6 launch, this is going to be an incredibly unique experience so get yourself down. If you'd like to volunteer in some way, contact me the <a href="mailto:teasemaid@gmail.com"><span style="color: #e06666;">teasemaid@gmail.com</span></a> xox</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Two Little Cats - <a href="mailto:jenni.powell@yahoo.co.uk">jenni.powell@yahoo.co.uk</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Nevie Pie Cakes - <a href="mailto:nevie-pie@hotmail.aco.uk">nevie-pie@hotmail.ac.uk</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">The Biscuit Barrel - <a href="mailto:orders@thebiscuitbarrel.com">orders@thebiscuitbarrel.com</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Katie Antoniou - <a href="http://www.katieantoniou.com/">http://www.katieantoniou.com/</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Nathan Pask - <a href="http://nathanpask.com/">http://nathanpask.com/</a></span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-86114723783641097622012-09-23T07:13:00.002-07:002012-09-23T07:15:28.151-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shoreditch Clandestine Cake Club - Meeting 5: </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Whodunnit?"</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do I pass for Miss Scarlett?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Far more people than expected descended on an unsuspecting, dimly lit pub last Monday night. I had chosen the location for its red velvety walls, dark </span><span style="color: #134f5c;">turquoise furnishings and</span><span style="color: #134f5c;"> plenty of wood as I thought it would be a good place for a Cluedo-inspired Cake Club. The theme was pretty much any 'super-sleuth' you could think of but considering Cluedo was first made in 1949 and that's pretty much my favourite era, I chose the glamorous Miss Scarlett for my own costume inspiration:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Others went with Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Mrs Peacock:</span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Madeline as Poirot and Caroline as Marple</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The lovely Polly as Mrs Peacock, complete with Peacock feather</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The cakes were absolutely fantastic and I was so impressed with the different interpretations of the theme. I had opted for a fairly simple 'Miss Marble' cake as I had a lot of other things to do for the evening...namely my hair..! However, the array of cakes was totally amazing and I wish I could've taken pics of them all. Here's just a few:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'Miss Marble' and 'upside-down <i>Professor</i> Plum' cakes</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'Tom <i>Banana</i>-by Midsomer' cake, Belgian Chocolate Moustache cake and 'Columbo coffee cake'</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOD8M6sSPXYSUp463ItBtPc5I3CpsLY0VPePLF4y5Gz_eS2XFbQfDQksZTuv1Lea8kyqn51CRUai63V1Sg9g2GpdnuKEaMj834BQ92UFRNSd6qKGBo71vfQ6eMHWsTTvA6wUSutYw3XQY/s1600/W8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOD8M6sSPXYSUp463ItBtPc5I3CpsLY0VPePLF4y5Gz_eS2XFbQfDQksZTuv1Lea8kyqn51CRUai63V1Sg9g2GpdnuKEaMj834BQ92UFRNSd6qKGBo71vfQ6eMHWsTTvA6wUSutYw3XQY/s320/W8.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pistachioed Moustachioed Belgian Choc cake, 'Colonel <i>Custard </i>and Miss Scarlett cake' and 'Mrs Peacock cake'</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Martha's sponge cake with jelly gun!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My initial plan had been for us to split into teams of two and play Cluedo - I brought two boxes of it with me and tons of pencils and prizes. But the pub was so dim, we couldn't see a thing and there were really far too many of us. Thankfully I had a back-up plan of my <i>'fill in the blanks of the famous detective's name'</i> game. It even included a picture round :) It was obviously quite difficult as can be seen by these ladies trying desperately to work out if Colombo even <i>had</i> a first name (Incidentally Debbie, Bergerac's first name was not <i>'Cyrano de'</i>) haha</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After </span><u style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2</u><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> tiebreakers (it really was nail-biting stuff) the winner </span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">received</span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> a brand new CSI box-set. (By 'new' I mean, it was in plastic packaging...it was actually Season 1 but it's not bad for free!) I also had an array of little prizes in evidence bags. You can just see the mini Cluedo playing cards and magnetic bookmark with a noose on it. There was also a Miss Scarlett compact mirror:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The rest of the evening was spent discussing our favourite detectives and enjoying cake, although I'm pretty certain that in the darkness everyone was suddenly expecting to trip over my bleeding corpse and have to find out Whodunnit. I might save that for my birthday party....</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the end of the night, Zoe ran off with my rather fetching Crime Scene tape and I forgot my tupperware so I took cake home in evidence bags:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks so much everyone for coming and eating cake in the dark and expecting to be clubbed over the head with a candlestick at any moment. And thanks so much to Lynn Hill for devising the Clandestine Cake Club and giving me a reason to get people together to act nuts and dress-up once a month. Hope to see you all at the next one :) xx</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Go to </span><a href="http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;"> to join the network, then click on my Shoreditch group to join us :) For info on how to do hair and make-up, go to my vintage site at </span><span style="color: #e06666;"><a href="http://www.make-upbake-up.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://www.make-upbake-up.blogspot.co.uk/</span></a> </span><span style="color: #134f5c;">xx</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-65278310255112285412012-09-10T05:58:00.000-07:002012-09-10T05:58:13.082-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">'The Park Lounge' at The Milestone Hotel, Kensington</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Despite the fact that we just had a heatwave, we <em>have</em> crossed the threshold into September and that means it's Autumn. Does anyone else remember years ago we'd be getting ready for our new school term and purchasing new tights and jumpers and a 'big coat'? As the years have passed it's like the seasons are getting later and now September is fairly summery for us. Even most of winter is quite mild until we get to Jan and Feb and freeze our asses off... Oh, bring back cold September mornings with the smell of burning leaves in the air and chestnuts underfoot!</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anyway, musing aside, I absolutely LOVE Autumn - it's my favourite time of year. All the great things happen: Halloween, Bonfire Night, My Birthday (to name a few. E-mail me for details of the latter...) and of course you can mull cider and wine so you have a great excuse to drink all day, especially if you're at a market or in the park. </span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">I've decided to start reviewing some great autumnal places to fit in with the time of year and I recently went to The Milestone Hotel, basically because in the pics on the web it looked like Sherlock Holmes' drawing room, or a place where Oscar Wilde may have sipped champagne and dreamed up 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRtPJT8Al9WRUu4pDT6FBz1Jk_ijq_z0eFjbimUrAAwnslh6usfIAPyVFntDkEa-iGfFW9yJ7iJmUwZX04qLkyaTUm2K0RyuT-Vd-TUpyGl5BlefW7NiTFHK2c9MX2OtZYE9jYrhIOvw/s1600/Milestone1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRtPJT8Al9WRUu4pDT6FBz1Jk_ijq_z0eFjbimUrAAwnslh6usfIAPyVFntDkEa-iGfFW9yJ7iJmUwZX04qLkyaTUm2K0RyuT-Vd-TUpyGl5BlefW7NiTFHK2c9MX2OtZYE9jYrhIOvw/s320/Milestone1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">You can see what I mean: rows of books, soft lighting, velvet and giant paintings - The Milestone really didn't disappoint. The only thing is that photographs of places tend to make us imagine there are blanks to be filled in with our minds so I pictured this room with its grandiose decor as much larger than it was. It was gorgeous but it's really only the size of someone's lounge in their house.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRU-2QJTqhkATZl9410r700aNRVyGHuQs1-dsMpGG7AvTXqKpjvZkPsnn0FGoFZJR8_G5DeIHq2_EUPkBi523zzYriMIJl84vk1ho5dbagDrOFcLy_2HAtIEvnjpbJr6VLImEFLPJ3LNM/s1600/milestone2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRU-2QJTqhkATZl9410r700aNRVyGHuQs1-dsMpGG7AvTXqKpjvZkPsnn0FGoFZJR8_G5DeIHq2_EUPkBi523zzYriMIJl84vk1ho5dbagDrOFcLy_2HAtIEvnjpbJr6VLImEFLPJ3LNM/s320/milestone2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">That's quite nice though - it's not a negative. Less space = less people and noise (yes - I am an old person and I want to be able to hear my conversations...) so me and my guest (the lovely <em>Amanda Sutton</em> from Amanda's autopsies who I met during Taxidermy and Tea, see here for that review and her details <a href="http://afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/taxidermy-and-tea.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/taxidermy-and-tea.html</span></a>) thoroughly enjoyed it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">The problem with reviewing tea for a magazine or similar publication is they treat you really well because they know who you are. Amanda and I were treated like royalty with a free full afternoon tea <em>as well as</em> champagne. The food was truly delicious with the typical finger sandwiches: smoked salmon, egg and watercress and ham and mustard to name a few. However there were a couple of very strange circular chicken mayonnaise sandwiches that had been rolled in chopped almonds that neither of us particularly liked (you can see them in the pic). Perhaps if they were Coronation Chicken circles the almonds would make sense, but with only mayo the combination was a bit strange. </span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">The cakes were gorgeous but I think it's fairly difficult to go wrong with any kind of cake! We kept ourselves busy with mini eclairs, Black Forest cupcakes, almond financiers and coffee macaroons etc, and the room was very silent for that little episode...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoqoVvKCbOhYpXxmpEvFyEty0OwJGX_A11dWQ60o1SZkIsKDnusuhv1dFblM8cnD0azu2GnG1N-ap-irSO7_5ZeeNFq56bY9vN5-YIysCZH9NdZw3naws6GAN8_FXRNbXAtKBkIBdRaw/s1600/milestone3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoqoVvKCbOhYpXxmpEvFyEty0OwJGX_A11dWQ60o1SZkIsKDnusuhv1dFblM8cnD0azu2GnG1N-ap-irSO7_5ZeeNFq56bY9vN5-YIysCZH9NdZw3naws6GAN8_FXRNbXAtKBkIBdRaw/s320/milestone3.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Despite it being gorgeous it was also filling, so we had to ask for a doggy bag to take the rest of the cakes home. The Milestone provide you with a little carrying box plus handles so you can take them home in a dainty little case - however, I totally forgot to bring ours with me so that was a little fail right there :(</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All in all it was a lovely ambient place to have a civilised afternoon tea with beautiful decor, gentle piano music drifting in from the conservatory and very helpful staff and I certainly want to go again and take tea in the conservatory itself (it has a totally different feel to the Lounge and would be lovely after a shopping trip with the girls):</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLI1OBBC_GkS85BNzNEarhX2j8m7pIW2eymwRmQ01DY89w7AMBndCG95uoXbX5AljYO7xeVDn_xhXb8Hq2hsVvLfUhbENrFTWy7QAIGgOD_PRlm5dxrvcCSLS2pzKMHSBevz6Q-sy1Xw/s1600/milestone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLI1OBBC_GkS85BNzNEarhX2j8m7pIW2eymwRmQ01DY89w7AMBndCG95uoXbX5AljYO7xeVDn_xhXb8Hq2hsVvLfUhbENrFTWy7QAIGgOD_PRlm5dxrvcCSLS2pzKMHSBevz6Q-sy1Xw/s320/milestone.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.milestonehotel.com/bar-and-dining/afternoon-tea"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.milestonehotel.com/bar-and-dining/afternoon-tea</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Head to the conservatory if you want to extend your summer but if you want to speed up the cosiness of autumn then do what I did and go to the Park Lounge xox</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-8925237836311041552012-08-01T04:52:00.000-07:002012-08-01T04:52:25.130-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Shoreditch Clandestine Cake Club - Meeting 4 "Blitz Bakes": Ration Cakes</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In order to be safe from the inevitable bombs dropping, I opted to have this 1940's Wartime Cake Club in the underground bunker known as Crimson Heart on Leonard Street.</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">Despite the cakes being made from only ration ingredients and in some cases original ration recipes, they were incredibly tasty! Here's a selection:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijc9cp0LPFj6tcynjqhVZUuhqM4hXHUYhw_7LhV-U9BYsKlnz9NZd3_VrUy8eKKQKKHpprjxa5VA7c32wGWEvJfFNj_u-Xkqn9AoNhcdLxt27EP2BbciUqy0PAwAh3lBeB7qwh1srlBGg/s1600/blitzbake2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijc9cp0LPFj6tcynjqhVZUuhqM4hXHUYhw_7LhV-U9BYsKlnz9NZd3_VrUy8eKKQKKHpprjxa5VA7c32wGWEvJfFNj_u-Xkqn9AoNhcdLxt27EP2BbciUqy0PAwAh3lBeB7qwh1srlBGg/s320/blitzbake2.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hedgerow Drizzle, Date & Walnut and Eggless Fruit Cake etc</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">New attendees Jasmine, David, Madeleine, Tori, Jordan and Yvonne got right into the spirit of things by shoving my little Union Flags into the cakes and waiting patiently while we took the obligatory CCC photos to get everyone salivating. Here they all are!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnV25tiVslvpBJdDBWDjCQMLXxCywQfXi6RNeE4tNOaVtaDKoZWn0MX62t0-3fxKmLtT3YbSMRUjT4tfQHD-UP_rr92xzUc43QR_NcYeVH8faMHejdID2PwLZ93IiWHLJgem88wd79p5o/s1600/blitzbake5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnV25tiVslvpBJdDBWDjCQMLXxCywQfXi6RNeE4tNOaVtaDKoZWn0MX62t0-3fxKmLtT3YbSMRUjT4tfQHD-UP_rr92xzUc43QR_NcYeVH8faMHejdID2PwLZ93IiWHLJgem88wd79p5o/s320/blitzbake5.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">From L-R, Yvonne, Maddy, Jordan, Jasmine, David, Tori</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #45818e;">I gave David a prize for being the first male to attend Cake Club. Despite the fact that I always tend to have at least one man book every time, they don't turn up! Are they not aware that Cake Club is an untapped reservoir of lovely and talended ladies?!</span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">The unusual thing about this event was that it was combined with my other event, a retro Avon tea party called Cake It On! which happens once every 3 weeks. Inevitably there was going to come a time when both events clashed, but that just made for a really interesting themed evening where I was able to give out relevant prizes for competitions and quizzes. The real wartime one was attempting to draw stocking seams down the back of your own legs...!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEm_yOyeimUtma8lFoG_fj15II1G-HrlmIrV3r5FDlIweiV4WYEi7fT9gpWp9qX_YLlwCR4YJli1pRFKiuuD0_k8lCdNQrMs0mWgUMOsGmWBPOtR1e726E43NhUSkC-3AWCh_QjGnXBjw/s1600/twit7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEm_yOyeimUtma8lFoG_fj15II1G-HrlmIrV3r5FDlIweiV4WYEi7fT9gpWp9qX_YLlwCR4YJli1pRFKiuuD0_k8lCdNQrMs0mWgUMOsGmWBPOtR1e726E43NhUSkC-3AWCh_QjGnXBjw/s320/twit7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I need to have less tall friends!!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #45818e;">The prize for this was a fab British themed Baking Book and it went to Jasmine for doing very straight lines down BOTH legs! Great effort :)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5l-XAy97W-6VAsbpsKsSaf8zI9tbNpt0lF2Km8vZa_j5jwx_SWcwaeYn1C5RGadSjCr59zZDJi9s1Yp3zuNcBjExqrIBnVmDwuHFjBb6B1yt3OwCyt3qYb1WG54ENe2CVEcRBRvHcGQ/s1600/blitzbake6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5l-XAy97W-6VAsbpsKsSaf8zI9tbNpt0lF2Km8vZa_j5jwx_SWcwaeYn1C5RGadSjCr59zZDJi9s1Yp3zuNcBjExqrIBnVmDwuHFjBb6B1yt3OwCyt3qYb1WG54ENe2CVEcRBRvHcGQ/s320/blitzbake6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As usual the evening did descend into chaos, and that always ensures that certain people (such as Martha who shall remain nameless...) use my quiz as an opportunity not to win the fabulous prize and instead to entertain us all. Cue the 'fill in the blanks' debacle which has given us such beauties as <em>Anthea</em> TURNER rather than <em>Lana</em> TURNER and GENE <em>Simmons</em> rather than GENE <em>Tierney</em> before... This time it was wartime baddies such as Herman Goring who became Herman MUNSTER haha.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia;">Thankfully some people did take it seriously so here is the fabulous Kim recieving her prize of patriotic Avon earrings:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81aMuHQcqrPOK11r67hI5WYhyXg-6Bb-sZKyf2cUo2jYWNnWd3-82ug7W4YrQ2UKvGYRIoPAu3x1oSjtVp2gg4Y_xHfcHaUX9mt7CCqI4b3GCkbFtXZ50FoNFB8OTgV70tkWjkBiK9iA/s1600/blitzbake4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81aMuHQcqrPOK11r67hI5WYhyXg-6Bb-sZKyf2cUo2jYWNnWd3-82ug7W4YrQ2UKvGYRIoPAu3x1oSjtVp2gg4Y_xHfcHaUX9mt7CCqI4b3GCkbFtXZ50FoNFB8OTgV70tkWjkBiK9iA/s320/blitzbake4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlAS6M9OHrpggG1WxLCOHp3SaFUtDxGJNReV9V_7qkKlShbg_FG5dezFq6M46TUAygv-rwf8GMZJasK2FFimRC_v69JoYiYdnrm1IOndgm6q7aJiTWHYUxnbFll8GXlkC_fNnso2PE9U/s1600/twit1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlAS6M9OHrpggG1WxLCOHp3SaFUtDxGJNReV9V_7qkKlShbg_FG5dezFq6M46TUAygv-rwf8GMZJasK2FFimRC_v69JoYiYdnrm1IOndgm6q7aJiTWHYUxnbFll8GXlkC_fNnso2PE9U/s320/twit1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For more info on the rest of the night (and further pics), make sure you go to<span style="color: #e06666;"> </span><a href="http://www.make-upbake-up.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: #e06666;">www.make-upbake-up.blogspot.co.uk</span></a> for my other blog!! If you'd like to join the Clandestine Cake Club there is a link to the International network at the top of this and then you can join my Shoreditch group :) xox</div>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-53701000820047780182012-06-04T08:08:00.001-07:002012-09-07T05:35:42.371-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">"Time for Tease" at Volupte Lounge, Norwich Street</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ntcsOfXqizfsHo0uw51ze2g9Onlqja21LKB-77YRMj218jfflsQOBhmU7_wCqju3nW2n8gE-SI5lzbnLEIZVr5mtglo7W1LuGzftsa-nFLIYPCFDPjmR5xNeZv8LyXeM8FtU8GDnmhM/s1600/TFT1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ntcsOfXqizfsHo0uw51ze2g9Onlqja21LKB-77YRMj218jfflsQOBhmU7_wCqju3nW2n8gE-SI5lzbnLEIZVr5mtglo7W1LuGzftsa-nFLIYPCFDPjmR5xNeZv8LyXeM8FtU8GDnmhM/s320/TFT1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.timefortease.co.uk/"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.timefortease.co.uk/</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Perhaps I'm kinky or perhaps I just like value for money, but if I can have a cuppa </span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and</i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> baps at the same time then I certainly won't say no. My penchant for a bit of titillation with my tea, and nipples with my nibbles, is fairly well known since I dreamed up the concept for this blog a couple of years ago: I wanted a nice tongue-in-cheek way to review afternoon tea, a supposedly innocent past-time that has its fair share of double-entendres (finger sandwiches anyone..?)</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I later discovered that someone had actually <i>created</i> afternoon tea which involved burlesque, it's safe to say I'd be there with knobs on - or tassels - I'm not fussed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The day finally arrived and I crossed Volupte Lounge's dim threshold into a world of fabulous wallpaper, beautiful crockery and pin up pictures, and left the busy Jubilee streets behind.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUaFrm7beXxDjpJ21O9D19zQ8bre1QO6wB4tDmVZP66f-n6n3HWPs-cAoIs2BO_21juxYpfYYEo91S4_HPhqRPwecGgFvnOYPMVpyGM6AMU36ggip9T4SM3lnvyot6pn-KzSy9SSvU_uA/s1600/TFT10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUaFrm7beXxDjpJ21O9D19zQ8bre1QO6wB4tDmVZP66f-n6n3HWPs-cAoIs2BO_21juxYpfYYEo91S4_HPhqRPwecGgFvnOYPMVpyGM6AMU36ggip9T4SM3lnvyot6pn-KzSy9SSvU_uA/s320/TFT10.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It absolutely did not disappoint - it was everything I hoped it would be. From the moment we sat down at our table we were treated like Royalty (how apt) and offered a glass of bubbly. We then had plenty of time to peruse the menu of tea and tea based cocktails which are served in large or small teapots (This, I </span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">really</i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> like, as it means you can be an absolute booze-hound and no-one can tell...because the tea cocktails are actually HOT!)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbO15zgujtlg55susXFxzsAbdTKoaBDX4Li3G4zQZ7JvC9lzDyUL8bJ5grFEckGUkle4VPRZC1rGEIjOb0wu3qo3KkLI4RdAdriFhy1fJs9utKahjjHMcx537ZLI4HfSvl3p60HCSS1dA/s1600/TFT2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbO15zgujtlg55susXFxzsAbdTKoaBDX4Li3G4zQZ7JvC9lzDyUL8bJ5grFEckGUkle4VPRZC1rGEIjOb0wu3qo3KkLI4RdAdriFhy1fJs9utKahjjHMcx537ZLI4HfSvl3p60HCSS1dA/s320/TFT2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY4WnbLa-b2bBZod9_a2S5U9Of71IXrFbI94EsuWOICP22Cl3aap1SZ1HpEL4EBAHYjHiI-B0j8zL9l9guA8LDFhJSJBnPEyG2vCtmmAqUQ72SYc84FXtRTXIVURxahBBSfto9wTJ9eM8/s1600/TFT5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY4WnbLa-b2bBZod9_a2S5U9Of71IXrFbI94EsuWOICP22Cl3aap1SZ1HpEL4EBAHYjHiI-B0j8zL9l9guA8LDFhJSJBnPEyG2vCtmmAqUQ72SYc84FXtRTXIVURxahBBSfto9wTJ9eM8/s320/TFT5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">As soon as we had chosen our delicious cocktails (and stipulated that although my companion was a vegetarian, I was happy to eat anything put in front of me) we were served a gorgeous array of finger sandwiches to nibble on almost immediately. I was pleased to discover that my favourite Coronation Chicken was on the menu, and happily not just for the Jubilee! (I was also given extra Coronation Chicken sandwiches as they are my favourite and for this reason alone I was ready to marry the waitress.)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sxtruZmwI-oGfLapcd5urkfSKFQLmwNGbDdHBOqABX1GMPWD5XlFh1OfqselR4cEcREaVonshusdmS2fmky5xfk3cJL3C8W3eRtjK4QK_QE33QIiM_DLJydSy1p8CRxQf_KThrxSH5A/s1600/TFT3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sxtruZmwI-oGfLapcd5urkfSKFQLmwNGbDdHBOqABX1GMPWD5XlFh1OfqselR4cEcREaVonshusdmS2fmky5xfk3cJL3C8W3eRtjK4QK_QE33QIiM_DLJydSy1p8CRxQf_KThrxSH5A/s320/TFT3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">The tea cocktail arrived in delicate matching china pots and we got down to the business of diving straight in.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">Nibbling and sipping aside, we were able to have some time to chat (with mouths fairly full) before being pleasantly interrupted by the compere, the fantastic Ophelia Bitz, who regaled us with songs and jokes to warm us up. I have to say I was feeling pretty warmed up by the time the first burlesque artist came on, but that may have had a lot to do with the Gunfire (Lapsang Souchong and Rum) too....</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">After the first couple of acts, yet more delicate china arrived, this time a cake stand with scones and patisserie:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01GauzJc9hzHBWT-SsM_gTAwVo06GOsxqtx9XoNb5QqqKzzC96yeHcW4SzQAE7we5Mf11xJYD99Js9Ljt2-aTS-vk-mTv8HqN5T3D9zplW_VVnUPz8RHZQkXEF8pnqKtuu0exnvEUf04/s1600/TFT4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01GauzJc9hzHBWT-SsM_gTAwVo06GOsxqtx9XoNb5QqqKzzC96yeHcW4SzQAE7we5Mf11xJYD99Js9Ljt2-aTS-vk-mTv8HqN5T3D9zplW_VVnUPz8RHZQkXEF8pnqKtuu0exnvEUf04/s320/TFT4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I first saw it I did think it looked a little bit sparse compared to other selections I've had, but sometimes quality </span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">is</i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> more important than quantity. The little brownies were a </span><i style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">divine</i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> gooey chocolatey mouthful, and the lemon posset with passion fruit was just tart enough to counteract any sickliness brought on by the copious amounts of booze and sugar. And realistically, we'd had so many nice sandwiches that any more cake would've killed us off.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Further welcome interruptions included more Ophelia Bitz, more acts (I won't put their pics on as it would spoil the surprise) and also some nipple tassels for sale courtesy of Rae Jenkin. My budget won't stretch to nipple tassels and pasties at the moment (there's another naughty joke: pasties and pastries...) but I took a card to browse the on-line selection. If I can get some of the cupcake pasties one day I'll know if finally 'made it' in the world of cake ;)</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We really could've stayed there a lot longer - the decor was gorgeous and decadent and even the toilets were glamorous:</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uwS2Book6BML8DspZ0DP4g59t7xFWF6a949cANbLR-cRb8eRmX9JQmAGf59nJ0CnrYEUcHwMSRiqEoC4BNuekzNYRuwHTBdGEe8sKmLnix6ZLBqUfJYMSZSPJijAb5JIBc3Fde65oik/s1600/TFT6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uwS2Book6BML8DspZ0DP4g59t7xFWF6a949cANbLR-cRb8eRmX9JQmAGf59nJ0CnrYEUcHwMSRiqEoC4BNuekzNYRuwHTBdGEe8sKmLnix6ZLBqUfJYMSZSPJijAb5JIBc3Fde65oik/s320/TFT6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">The music was great and the ambience was fantastic. It was with a fairly reluctant heavy gait that we ascended back into the bright London day around 2 hours after we'd arrived. I think next time I'll just head into the fabulous little upstairs bar and while the night away.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And there will be a next time for certain, for me and my companion who's already planning on bringing friends. </span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not only do the acts rotate so you will see different artists during different sittings, meaning you can keep returning and never get bored, but Volupte also host silent film in their Cine Illumine on the first Sunday of every month! I knew that afternoon tea and tease would be a match made in heaven and I can't wait to see if their Silent film and supper club is just as good.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkKTHYhZjPUSb1s54CPLw5FiKkidogl7SX97N1Jxb0od9Ly5a57UJ4UAV1vGu6Sp2d5QWLTrteULu7Mqso2IXH6PIC-RVYx3n46cdJJRZbBuSHiLwyFMTm5stsuUSSCfE05r5GiBvFbE/s1600/TFT8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkKTHYhZjPUSb1s54CPLw5FiKkidogl7SX97N1Jxb0od9Ly5a57UJ4UAV1vGu6Sp2d5QWLTrteULu7Mqso2IXH6PIC-RVYx3n46cdJJRZbBuSHiLwyFMTm5stsuUSSCfE05r5GiBvFbE/s1600/TFT8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.volupte-lounge.com/"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.volupte-lounge.com/</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Sip"-Tease Rating: *****</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pa"Tease"erie Rating: ****</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boudoir or Boring? rating: *****</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Service with a Smile Rating: *****</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cheap or Chic? Rating: ***</span></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">Volupteas are on Saturdays and Sundays from 2:30pm - see website for more details,</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">Until next time....xox</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-41416677717295680552012-05-29T13:47:00.000-07:002012-05-29T13:47:08.018-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Shoreditch Clandestine Cake Club - Meeting 3</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">"Monarchy Anarchy": Royalty Past and Present</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZeggGXBH2p2G-Rvf-DmznPGcj9ELSkLYEioFI3Lrg01v4P63LH5GbPWPAKX1O8yE7mEXGIvO6t8_HLZGfms7JzM63818ijwJgTSi9ZTU9SyAZwkakS1IBtsbG91EnV20s_R69eJiBvII/s1600/Mon2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZeggGXBH2p2G-Rvf-DmznPGcj9ELSkLYEioFI3Lrg01v4P63LH5GbPWPAKX1O8yE7mEXGIvO6t8_HLZGfms7JzM63818ijwJgTSi9ZTU9SyAZwkakS1IBtsbG91EnV20s_R69eJiBvII/s320/Mon2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My jubilee-themed May CCC meeting was a celebration of all things British, so it was apt that in typically British fashion the weather went all unpredictably bi-polar on us... A month ago I had chosen the perfect indoor venue, draped in regal velvets and silks; cluttered and cosy with gilded mirrors, thrones and velour galore. Then, of course, we had a heatwave (pretty unexpected after the wettest 'drought' we've ever had and yes, that <i>is</i> an oxymoron...) </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So on a sweltering May evening the surroundings and heat could easily have been a total disaster. Thankfully with a typically British stiff upper-lip the members of the Shoreditch CCC 'kept cool and carried on' despite the heat, and we had one of the largest funniest gatherings yet.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Bridge Cafe and Bar, Kingsland Road<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">There was a </span><i style="color: #0c343d;">little</i><span style="color: #0c343d;"> disaster in the form of my edible marzipan Imperial crown covered in gold leaf just dying and becoming a molten blob. And we certainly had to work quickly to take all the pics of our cake porn as the butter-cream and chocolate seemed to be melting before our very eyes like the Wicked Witch of the West. So, as soon as pics were done we dived in and OH MY GOD there were so many cakes and they were all gorgeous:</span></span></div></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOeJHGzhNMbgsA3l3ZwsA9xUrYUvlakBmqdb4mc0Ni1Q1O0NhqfF0r7ida8nlKxLiOnXhG_kF09zG2PC8N6dxsNOOuxormXGSvSQ49oJCFcQJGhnPb00-19YGb3WqVQrNqMLP-o3oQAY/s1600/Mon3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOeJHGzhNMbgsA3l3ZwsA9xUrYUvlakBmqdb4mc0Ni1Q1O0NhqfF0r7ida8nlKxLiOnXhG_kF09zG2PC8N6dxsNOOuxormXGSvSQ49oJCFcQJGhnPb00-19YGb3WqVQrNqMLP-o3oQAY/s320/Mon3.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Victoria Sponge</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXLKTG9PXld3FuwfQvRpl6w7Co8JhbBH65XdTwBpMJd_Hr5uCVaH7snWFhKL-12EwP5dQJf5zpIQSw_vYXvvfmME9uz6NV7QufjIb_bFlyN8CFnbUWKKqDakFoNrHfsczlNwG9EnSPrY/s1600/Mon4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXLKTG9PXld3FuwfQvRpl6w7Co8JhbBH65XdTwBpMJd_Hr5uCVaH7snWFhKL-12EwP5dQJf5zpIQSw_vYXvvfmME9uz6NV7QufjIb_bFlyN8CFnbUWKKqDakFoNrHfsczlNwG9EnSPrY/s320/Mon4.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Citrus and berry cake</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8USmezfCWl3fbrFF8p5m0uhsVz8P2yBLqUi90MmRJSnyeenntTxQRnoATfZ5GcXkx8FR_W2RyJMT_dNCibM3s67j-vH4FGYgdFy1TN5ytiVNsd8LHkU1PG7hpUcAm7sG_UhDR8ArhY4/s1600/Mon5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8USmezfCWl3fbrFF8p5m0uhsVz8P2yBLqUi90MmRJSnyeenntTxQRnoATfZ5GcXkx8FR_W2RyJMT_dNCibM3s67j-vH4FGYgdFy1TN5ytiVNsd8LHkU1PG7hpUcAm7sG_UhDR8ArhY4/s320/Mon5.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Prince Regent, Pimms Cake and Battenburg</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcIff4Wbm0xQ4UQMM02_jrG-RRnwXHrqdwXYUpOLjrby9TdxAWGu-8sD8x4LT9qeXULSj4bWR2UADMjW88x0AupiykNjnXZzPGeciMLsJxSYxi3xpAUCdxe2jG8gh-1m9TQzUJ7q2vm0/s1600/Mon7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcIff4Wbm0xQ4UQMM02_jrG-RRnwXHrqdwXYUpOLjrby9TdxAWGu-8sD8x4LT9qeXULSj4bWR2UADMjW88x0AupiykNjnXZzPGeciMLsJxSYxi3xpAUCdxe2jG8gh-1m9TQzUJ7q2vm0/s320/Mon7.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Earl Grey cake and Patriotic M&M's!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">Not only were the cakes amazing (I literally can't put all the pics in) but the effort everyone went to for their attire was fantastic! We had tiaras, Union Jack bows, regal jewellery and a home-made crown which made us all look pretty silly amongst the regular (by which I mean <i>normal</i>) clientele of The Bridge. But we didn't care :) We were busy playing our <b>Guess The Royal</b> game and drinking our rather appropriate Corona's:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoVmpD9FExNmykqzgIhkXmU1lucy06UMpq0wY1nT4qnTOMaeHeoUsrBTnbOyOz9yyPp6sYQGgo4HgL_NwCEJzE01ZCGTLiShRpcY9EHkDvVlUe7YUEErLJ4Av3TGy4esqQidUC1G5PqY/s1600/Monn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoVmpD9FExNmykqzgIhkXmU1lucy06UMpq0wY1nT4qnTOMaeHeoUsrBTnbOyOz9yyPp6sYQGgo4HgL_NwCEJzE01ZCGTLiShRpcY9EHkDvVlUe7YUEErLJ4Av3TGy4esqQidUC1G5PqY/s1600/Monn.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">*weirdest pic I've ever taken at CCC... What u up to Maarf??</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And I had to lay down strict rules that when you wrote on your neighbour's Post-It must be a </span><i style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">real</i><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Royal and not Princess Leia or King Kong....! Anyway, Helen was the winner and she bagged herself a cute set of Avon Union Jack earrings worth £6 (courtesy of me and my other life as an Avon Lady). Can't complain!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKJManjZVajg-3gKZmg8mc_NNhHtrREN68A0oIpa_sFbJ2pwu0wccfplVI3wK1rTMbdcleK-JhKHHe5_3oJHDiu-sp1OiFrfGESJHAB92rmlJnJojnFnsC9SBWagBZrzfITxl130hZyI/s1600/Avon2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKJManjZVajg-3gKZmg8mc_NNhHtrREN68A0oIpa_sFbJ2pwu0wccfplVI3wK1rTMbdcleK-JhKHHe5_3oJHDiu-sp1OiFrfGESJHAB92rmlJnJojnFnsC9SBWagBZrzfITxl130hZyI/s1600/Avon2.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1R3Fw_jYC2kRtrRUqYn3D6Q4_dNvKX688BDgWTSo1dN6JNBWaess10BZnOBXkkwyi-of7ED0k_OU9J2u8EGXYB8G6BjU3xRJQhP6DDSkeR33bfTRzmIPpQzMAlkS1cJSTH3vQKROoGLw/s1600/Mon9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1R3Fw_jYC2kRtrRUqYn3D6Q4_dNvKX688BDgWTSo1dN6JNBWaess10BZnOBXkkwyi-of7ED0k_OU9J2u8EGXYB8G6BjU3xRJQhP6DDSkeR33bfTRzmIPpQzMAlkS1cJSTH3vQKROoGLw/s320/Mon9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think I speak for everyone when I say a jolly good time was had by all and I'm looking forward to the real Jubilee if our Corona/Cake-fest was anything to go by! God save The Queen and all that - until next time..xox</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-27075985186614954662012-05-03T06:33:00.001-07:002012-05-29T12:46:46.640-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Shoreditch 'Clandestine Cake Club' - Meeting 2:</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">"Film Fatale"...a film noir theme</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"<em>I stumble down a dimly lit street, swirling tendrils of fog caressing my stocking-clad gams. I've been searching for a joint to re-touch my lipstick, kick off my high heels and grab a rum-cola. Ahead of me, through the smog I see the dimly lit windows of Shoreditch Grind - the welcoming glow beckoning me in. It seems as good a place as any to shake Big Johnny off my tail, and it's full of dames like me - dames in heels eating cake and getting tight.... I enter and the music of Nat King Cole envelopes me like an embrace. I walk, relieved, towards the bar...</em>"</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06fQWWHe0Gj4E4uAwmYnkkRN_pzME7GGMwu5uukwuETTk9A_UohB86PRlNegXYGfqabeNaHY3ooNK-FojQB2lWBwfEltmbH05NzQXlRegTbHDKAygXOP49Tx9cnI7ll2JEmh7LJaY-CQ/s1600/SG4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06fQWWHe0Gj4E4uAwmYnkkRN_pzME7GGMwu5uukwuETTk9A_UohB86PRlNegXYGfqabeNaHY3ooNK-FojQB2lWBwfEltmbH05NzQXlRegTbHDKAygXOP49Tx9cnI7ll2JEmh7LJaY-CQ/s320/SG4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ok so that <u>didn't</u> happen, but we <em>did</em> have our 2nd CCC in Shoreditch at the Grind, a fabulous cinema style cafe that stays open late during the weekend to serve alcohol. It was the perfect setting for my Film-Noir inspired theme and I was so pleased with the effort everyone made, not only with their cakes but with their outfits:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwaclST_asGtCwnafZG1CBA8dEvIz907VrLpJl7vSUhaB1d1V5NNIpAP7L-EYfwYV6QVSWAe3HpEo6aP5gUEhZK0qD4raS_aT4qL0qZRajkMGNMm8W7gn8b8i1Qv2z16ToefRMz_jZ2t4/s1600/SG2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwaclST_asGtCwnafZG1CBA8dEvIz907VrLpJl7vSUhaB1d1V5NNIpAP7L-EYfwYV6QVSWAe3HpEo6aP5gUEhZK0qD4raS_aT4qL0qZRajkMGNMm8W7gn8b8i1Qv2z16ToefRMz_jZ2t4/s320/SG2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8YjcOKsQ96nvcl2i_-WYnCX985sdJ2ZBnh9SdBNbpUVoy0-nF0ZPVXoQAUmpRH5Hy9JuGRZK52cn89n1-R97HTWuzXH1Iz2XX3P-IhfPfTGq7toFtqYzw5qpPaUj8W_Wm4jdLO7iMY1c/s1600/SG1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8YjcOKsQ96nvcl2i_-WYnCX985sdJ2ZBnh9SdBNbpUVoy0-nF0ZPVXoQAUmpRH5Hy9JuGRZK52cn89n1-R97HTWuzXH1Iz2XX3P-IhfPfTGq7toFtqYzw5qpPaUj8W_Wm4jdLO7iMY1c/s320/SG1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">We had really fantastic staff on duty who were willing to humour us, playing my Noir playlist over the speakers and even helping out when I assembled everyone for a film noir quiz. the prize was a tiny bottle of Jack Daniels that was meant to be a homage to all the Scotch drinking that was done back then, but I couldn't find a more authentic brand...</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">The stars of the show were the cakes though - they were so creative!! Here's just a few:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_Ok2ui3n84XNCcxK-IU1OPkVgg3LIzsC2sdnwFESTJB12IrIN-oMvvS2GqgXEHiJ-pvTffiG3q8HU55UugC471wFxhY8FNT8mAMe4zknwUsYDmZD-ibFZUkN0Sa15ihU5aRObwK49f4/s1600/C1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_Ok2ui3n84XNCcxK-IU1OPkVgg3LIzsC2sdnwFESTJB12IrIN-oMvvS2GqgXEHiJ-pvTffiG3q8HU55UugC471wFxhY8FNT8mAMe4zknwUsYDmZD-ibFZUkN0Sa15ihU5aRObwK49f4/s320/C1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Black Dahlia - Mugshot Number!</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1UK29LP4CgJM_d4QbMWACoBfPQAtfbWwxIn1olQ7aGPuHO9ms5f0YD6q52yOQ1TjmgQJ5kqhlOLojGRcpO1VSkOgOcPjbdH_BgkP4j2fVNT6O1z6Iqb0t3b66-5206xYUCYTgFMxHHU/s1600/C4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1UK29LP4CgJM_d4QbMWACoBfPQAtfbWwxIn1olQ7aGPuHO9ms5f0YD6q52yOQ1TjmgQJ5kqhlOLojGRcpO1VSkOgOcPjbdH_BgkP4j2fVNT6O1z6Iqb0t3b66-5206xYUCYTgFMxHHU/s320/C4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzunMN0WyivAGmyl4CG2_Zd8DvR4I6QkcbVZeS3HVuLlX7m-C5kmC8kn9aDXrvOdIJG5zafYrVX6MWeTZCB_mXn66cVLw-cgd9X-QDaGbkcTDZkzztk5BKQv6vk4qqId0__Logi2VELcg/s1600/C3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzunMN0WyivAGmyl4CG2_Zd8DvR4I6QkcbVZeS3HVuLlX7m-C5kmC8kn9aDXrvOdIJG5zafYrVX6MWeTZCB_mXn66cVLw-cgd9X-QDaGbkcTDZkzztk5BKQv6vk4qqId0__Logi2VELcg/s320/C3.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">D.O.A Inspired</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">There was also my Neo-Noir 'Blue Velvet' cake and a couple we never took pictures of as we'd had some wine by then and just totally forgot! It was a fantastic evening and I really can't wait to see what everyone does for the 'Royalty:Past and Present' theme on May 24th. Of course there'll be more games and prizes and if anyone wants to recommend some songs for a Royal soundtrack that doesn't just include Prince and Queen then let me know! xox</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-88764730210849765322012-04-29T05:12:00.002-07:002012-04-29T09:14:09.831-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">"Taxidermy and Tea" Bethnal Green</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If some unfortunate person wired themselves up to my brain and intrepidly explored it's recesses (a bit like a Bear Grylls version of 'The Cell') they would encounter some very particular themes. I'm fairly convinced somebody did indeed do this and was inspired to create the following: </span><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Taxidermy and Tea"</span></span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!!</span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> And as well as doing exactly what it says on the tin and providing tea and taxidermy, the event also included some of my <i>other</i> favourite things, such as 'tease in the form of Burlesque act Coco Deville and an Alice In Wonderland/Heston Blumenthal food mash-up courtesy of </span><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Animal Vegetable Mineral</i></span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I honestly don't know where to start...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWwSeD9iiTPjg9vvOkgHXUb7nQrMkHXT9E0sgYuD32VJJv6FP_IMRtnkAkKURSakvj98HKSGO8J5Z0bRZx2P7jQoNICmgoD0aAvhYOfYCEdbO5XChaxWSLondJbT9Bi6U-e1UlXltscY/s1600/TT1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWwSeD9iiTPjg9vvOkgHXUb7nQrMkHXT9E0sgYuD32VJJv6FP_IMRtnkAkKURSakvj98HKSGO8J5Z0bRZx2P7jQoNICmgoD0aAvhYOfYCEdbO5XChaxWSLondJbT9Bi6U-e1UlXltscY/s320/TT1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVhwl2mDxY_zsQd5ZDH8hfx_wcx_rKZYs5KC5vbVkvQ2G2Zw0JPmxUib5g21KlH-P-vBZ7enBza56HSLYK2-M5-LqD6RV1H660QvDN2wu2c89CJPZpGAdFXdACsKkHsPtVSMo93hxXYs/s1600/TT8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVhwl2mDxY_zsQd5ZDH8hfx_wcx_rKZYs5KC5vbVkvQ2G2Zw0JPmxUib5g21KlH-P-vBZ7enBza56HSLYK2-M5-LqD6RV1H660QvDN2wu2c89CJPZpGAdFXdACsKkHsPtVSMo93hxXYs/s320/TT8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My friend and I arrived fairly early which gave us carte blanche to dig into the amazing Mad Hatter's style spread before anyone else had a chance! The first thing we did was try the inhalable cakes which were vanilla or toffee apple flavour helium gas in colourful balloons - of course they came with the added surprise of making us sound like chipmunks which we hadn't anticipated, and made me laugh and snort the lovely 'Teapigs' tea out of my nose when Debbie started talking like Alvin.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also available were scones, jammy dodgers, iced mushrooms that tasted like crispy cinnamon biscuits and marzipan bumblebees. I dug in to some of the savoury sandwiches first: perfect ham and mustard, buttery cheese and cucumber and spicy egg mayonnaise, before devouring the sweets.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhof5LtTfxBHfv6hlKC84yOoPDjPEOY_XV5_fD5lv2XUtq6_cJPdmbGNjy2X_73fg-zqwXyHQygilTj2eFx-9vqKs79G3azX9w6d1mR-nN3Ky_b6zqUtG6jR204hV_bUBk0kNcgksoLKMs/s1600/TT9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhof5LtTfxBHfv6hlKC84yOoPDjPEOY_XV5_fD5lv2XUtq6_cJPdmbGNjy2X_73fg-zqwXyHQygilTj2eFx-9vqKs79G3azX9w6d1mR-nN3Ky_b6zqUtG6jR204hV_bUBk0kNcgksoLKMs/s320/TT9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6FWHDtXjNk_CmfGlLf-Ws720tPIL1eNVLT3eioLqPYmxcmNxlTKVDt-V5MGvyo92_opHIIKjkC6vTuqophlc58WKppghydVzCWkzX4wtTCQxqv8pDxaPju6pgVHctQkHy91nT-hUR5c/s1600/TT6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6FWHDtXjNk_CmfGlLf-Ws720tPIL1eNVLT3eioLqPYmxcmNxlTKVDt-V5MGvyo92_opHIIKjkC6vTuqophlc58WKppghydVzCWkzX4wtTCQxqv8pDxaPju6pgVHctQkHy91nT-hUR5c/s320/TT6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There was a chocolate tower which needed to be smashed with a mallet, candy floss trees containing the best candy-floss I've EVER tasted and also little chocolate and beetroot mousses with chocolate 'soil' crumbs and mint leaves that made them look like little potted plants. And even though the food did taste amazing, half the fun came from putting things in your mouth that you weren't quite sure about...were the mini ice cream cones going to be sweet or savoury? Did the marzipan bees contain real honey..or real <i>bee</i>?! It was all so Willy Wonka - it was amazing!</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After we'd filled our bellies we waddled off like Augustus Gloop and took a seat in front of the shabby heart-shaped stage to await the amazing Amanda...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6AzuHT9jXh5161xURYlRlShBtQ0eDwNsZ-OBXx5UuesFVnxYXamvkoOqmhToHja9FgJz7D41Pv_yg4K1uCOhZ-FoHUvAsKYG98c0O31nl862x4nkjJsImavzYoX8redgfTphmrLUso0/s1600/TT2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6AzuHT9jXh5161xURYlRlShBtQ0eDwNsZ-OBXx5UuesFVnxYXamvkoOqmhToHja9FgJz7D41Pv_yg4K1uCOhZ-FoHUvAsKYG98c0O31nl862x4nkjJsImavzYoX8redgfTphmrLUso0/s320/TT2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Wua8Ao7HYSX8ZC_-cQbZqVCGF6Ybj0VJD-bIpEWivmagJNrW4UXBtqrGesrZCqM94yMivbczZL3MqCxvFmj4yu19dv66vRF6nMkGjuiMQFQw6R8_PMzzVoNeJenVSgLfzuZgftYPwoI/s1600/TT5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Wua8Ao7HYSX8ZC_-cQbZqVCGF6Ybj0VJD-bIpEWivmagJNrW4UXBtqrGesrZCqM94yMivbczZL3MqCxvFmj4yu19dv66vRF6nMkGjuiMQFQw6R8_PMzzVoNeJenVSgLfzuZgftYPwoI/s320/TT5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What then ensued was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative session with Amanda as she 'taxidermied' a rabbit before our very eyes! The process was done in two stages with the skinning occuring for the first hour. It was very interactive, and the audience were able to shout out questions to Amanda and join in the discussion as she worked. Even better, we had a break in the middle which allowed us to re-fill on tea (or at the bar if we preferred) and shove more sweets into our eager mouths. (For an audience like us, it wasn't as if the taxidermy put us off the ham sandwiches - if anything, I really wanted a nice rabbit stew...)</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then, as we digested a bit we were regaled by the fantastic burlesque performer Coco Deville and her Alice In Wonderland inspired act. See here for a snippet:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzyQvDdmx1MmdIYW5QKSgJIFBDvFZx8Pxc7GrU51kD2wicHSOB0n5hjjoZTfjoDptN9fGeBsoI4rYXl0lORqA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Part two of T&T consisted of the 'stuffing' part of the taxidermy, again with step-by-step instructions and Amanda's fantastic stories and patter with the audience. The only problem is she was so good she made it look too easy and I have a feeling lots of people will try their hand at this in their kitchens at home, much to their 'other halfs' horror!</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After the session we had a lovely chat with Amanda who I'd like to work with in future on various projects, and I couldn't help but wonder if taxidermy may overcome things such as knitting and crochet as a 'group' activity. Why go to <i>Knat and Natter</i> or <i>Stitch and Bitch</i> when you could take part in a </span><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gut and Gossip</span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> session, or go to </span><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stuff and Nonsense</span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">?! There's definitely a market for it ;) And living in a London flat where pets aren't allowed, I certainly think I've found a loophole...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnkv7SbG4NjAQZW-gMZ2b6vwH369k9kIAkWPW3kdCReeIYAQfmbk5kz9oHCumNXC9x5-7PdJNtUjV4TFM_mpG5eLg7lop8tEGmyA6YcuIXIZwzTprwmQfrxT3zW5sadQlE2ERAu2tHJ8/s1600/TT4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnkv7SbG4NjAQZW-gMZ2b6vwH369k9kIAkWPW3kdCReeIYAQfmbk5kz9oHCumNXC9x5-7PdJNtUjV4TFM_mpG5eLg7lop8tEGmyA6YcuIXIZwzTprwmQfrxT3zW5sadQlE2ERAu2tHJ8/s320/TT4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All in all, the perfect way for me to spend a Saturday - it had absolutely everything...nearly... The only thing it was missing was Bear Grylls :( </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Until next time...xox</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amandasautopsies.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://www.amandasautopsies.com/</span></a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tashamarks.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://</span></a></span><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.avmcuriosities.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e06666;">www.avmcuriosities.com</span></a>/</span> <span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Animal Vegetable Mineral)</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.therobincollective.co.uk/"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://www.therobincollective.co.uk/</span></a> </span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Experimental Pop-Up Events)</span><br />
<a href="http://www.coco-deville.com/"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.coco-deville.com/</span></a>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-62047251773030480542012-04-11T01:22:00.002-07:002012-04-11T01:30:09.462-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"Big Chocolate Tea Party!" For....</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg-gXuRB_qNKjSohYy9KLSl3W7GYWZ27cYiNYRXgMxoQD6P2w0iVFaBPK_Luqr0F03LPx97j4b_tNDUvuYbqLWJyKmm4M2vMrvwGWd1QsDDSFt1vRsRDHxhAqlgc3ogcY-HGf41w2nSgI/s1600/SCT8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg-gXuRB_qNKjSohYy9KLSl3W7GYWZ27cYiNYRXgMxoQD6P2w0iVFaBPK_Luqr0F03LPx97j4b_tNDUvuYbqLWJyKmm4M2vMrvwGWd1QsDDSFt1vRsRDHxhAqlgc3ogcY-HGf41w2nSgI/s320/SCT8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Every April the SCT encourages people to throw a choccy tea party and also has stalls to sell donated cakes. This year one was in Borough Market and I baked a cake as well as helped out on the stall for a few hours. Oh my gosh it was so difficult <em><u>not </u></em>to shove my face in all the lovely cakes!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcjfypbfqG5DmGH2zyw_w6FzHNdd3JNIVt7K6ySGGwOzrT1TKl7YatuR54sH-0v7tzpYMxTbA0VVTsTFg_7CjHXgDHvB_J0wu-yr4iwAjsZ76tiDjcEQMeB2iATcYPw2ydJ7K7jwEdZA/s1600/SCT1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcjfypbfqG5DmGH2zyw_w6FzHNdd3JNIVt7K6ySGGwOzrT1TKl7YatuR54sH-0v7tzpYMxTbA0VVTsTFg_7CjHXgDHvB_J0wu-yr4iwAjsZ76tiDjcEQMeB2iATcYPw2ydJ7K7jwEdZA/s320/SCT1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUgxxBcnjAf3-MUxN2Md1NqNzsffLaobzEjY9JkMa4AlVU6XeZRCPNXyCnoNPeVFlg3QdpD3Br1mUzBayjCIlHNhFU7Y9QJHUPoxi64Q3915gU3ke3qmtKuoiuhfOTeX6a0G2R-G8-OY/s1600/SCT2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUgxxBcnjAf3-MUxN2Md1NqNzsffLaobzEjY9JkMa4AlVU6XeZRCPNXyCnoNPeVFlg3QdpD3Br1mUzBayjCIlHNhFU7Y9QJHUPoxi64Q3915gU3ke3qmtKuoiuhfOTeX6a0G2R-G8-OY/s320/SCT2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyB4D619pBBeiwf1r3motHHyFgOUfAeQ3R4jfHLsHBMJPpAglnnlPvcCQRBAVmLI3npC4xPGP4p92FlnPn2n1wV5ejVAWKyGJIHG_ZZWnrDDDBGjJiv6L_6SSveVaYrbg7lp23L-MNmQ/s1600/SCT3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyB4D619pBBeiwf1r3motHHyFgOUfAeQ3R4jfHLsHBMJPpAglnnlPvcCQRBAVmLI3npC4xPGP4p92FlnPn2n1wV5ejVAWKyGJIHG_ZZWnrDDDBGjJiv6L_6SSveVaYrbg7lp23L-MNmQ/s320/SCT3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwL4bOti1IBS5ZFNztANXtcywH3CtphmYGPFxIUKHg16Uk73da6nMNzxOH3GT_BfLPavhAAZ16ARhwfT5nMGlaZo3vGRi2H_UIcncFN6vRxIQZ_jgTGWB8WSiEm1jTiAfIeNP29xzhSM/s1600/SCT7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwL4bOti1IBS5ZFNztANXtcywH3CtphmYGPFxIUKHg16Uk73da6nMNzxOH3GT_BfLPavhAAZ16ARhwfT5nMGlaZo3vGRi2H_UIcncFN6vRxIQZ_jgTGWB8WSiEm1jTiAfIeNP29xzhSM/s320/SCT7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A nice little surprise was the organiser of 'The Cake And Bake Show 2012" which will be in earls Court during September. He donated lots of pink and glittery vanilla cupcakes that went like hot-cakes...or like <em>cup-cakes</em> I guess..!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEWrKWY5HDmaPdrXT8rVq5YaASxzTBuBh9HoIsCsxHm_1gw97j_6bnfiBRGtf-ZNiCon_CqgF-E7Y5P_XHwOaVsgahc6DIpMNzrPeONkPrcIDbplm6Lu8ExPkAijiv0o54-Xv-IxDIwE/s1600/SCT5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEWrKWY5HDmaPdrXT8rVq5YaASxzTBuBh9HoIsCsxHm_1gw97j_6bnfiBRGtf-ZNiCon_CqgF-E7Y5P_XHwOaVsgahc6DIpMNzrPeONkPrcIDbplm6Lu8ExPkAijiv0o54-Xv-IxDIwE/s320/SCT5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I think it's definitely time to change that phrase from hot-cakes to cup-cakes as it seems the delicious single portion delights have never been so popular. In fact the lovely organiser of the campaign, Sophie Dean (Community Fundraiser for SCT), tells me we took over £1000 that day for the SCT so all in all it was a massive success :)</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Thanks to everyone who came down on the day and thanks for the donated cakes from The Cake and Bake Show, Beas of Bloomsbury and Ms Cupcake among others. hope to see you at the next one xox</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXw-vhY6PlyXX7owETrEKsmw4iMpzpEHUMDy_4z83zXbfJjav2SVWoDAgmxanWDD6wSwi3SPs8NHAs-dHQMLMSZ8ABreblZwF6WVyBuUYkiP_EQHdBOkt5B8rhiGkd_nVkDHAHsDvCkW0/s1600/chocteaparty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXw-vhY6PlyXX7owETrEKsmw4iMpzpEHUMDy_4z83zXbfJjav2SVWoDAgmxanWDD6wSwi3SPs8NHAs-dHQMLMSZ8ABreblZwF6WVyBuUYkiP_EQHdBOkt5B8rhiGkd_nVkDHAHsDvCkW0/s1600/chocteaparty.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sickchildrenstrust.org/"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">www.sickchildrenstrust.org</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-37938809940484370582012-04-09T02:40:00.000-07:002012-04-09T02:40:54.294-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">"Lost Society" 1920's afternoon tea (@Blind Tiger)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYen8MLFMfsfecEHfcCPc2niYgYsZMr4pSa7G_Adi-SoTTShZBryUulYsTRuy-bmDOtUDY06U96zIPbRPU93l_VKeMGq3ZDrAa_xkPUN-ft_tZSq9CCGRoNPw5s6DZbAW7349NgroeZI/s1600/Tiger8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYen8MLFMfsfecEHfcCPc2niYgYsZMr4pSa7G_Adi-SoTTShZBryUulYsTRuy-bmDOtUDY06U96zIPbRPU93l_VKeMGq3ZDrAa_xkPUN-ft_tZSq9CCGRoNPw5s6DZbAW7349NgroeZI/s320/Tiger8.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blindtigerlondon.co.uk/"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.blindtigerlondon.co.uk/</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Finally Easter arrived which meant I could go back to my usual creamy, meaty, chocolatey eating habits. Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against vegetarians or vegans and I absolutely love things like Quorn and tofu, but life for me is certainly about choice and balance so it was nice to be able to treat myself after a good internal spring clean...!</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So I did it in style at "Lost Society" in South London, a little gem of a place that I <i>annoyingly</i> never knew about when I lived down that way.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiap2EjD-aKmiv2F_75Hfu9zliFfPv2_KRDiwYhVXIyJbnVrlvOJXD2F5l45bgQ8AkLZvDYx3IhdstDU6Smw4cLe4QeNegkfa_JtnGJ3CpY-wQ45kAIgg1bq85Bm8QOYpgr5wGO-nTzY-I/s1600/Tiger5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiap2EjD-aKmiv2F_75Hfu9zliFfPv2_KRDiwYhVXIyJbnVrlvOJXD2F5l45bgQ8AkLZvDYx3IhdstDU6Smw4cLe4QeNegkfa_JtnGJ3CpY-wQ45kAIgg1bq85Bm8QOYpgr5wGO-nTzY-I/s320/Tiger5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For everyone who thinks that you can only find decent places to eat, drink and be merry North of the river then think again: South London has some brilliant places which aren't as full of hipsters and aren't as expensive so it's well worth taking a trip to the deep, dark South...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-s9LhntcJ96NLb3qKN_YxiAmAO2xvJHd7Wo8D3jByiq8t4K52FrGd44Kcs6_91BjsY0kMMsU3PwMotDGaz1sOiClcxkQVjVFBVlDyCix04UIW8nUPUp_4YHuTGgufb5M08pZJVrFZE18/s1600/Tiger3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-s9LhntcJ96NLb3qKN_YxiAmAO2xvJHd7Wo8D3jByiq8t4K52FrGd44Kcs6_91BjsY0kMMsU3PwMotDGaz1sOiClcxkQVjVFBVlDyCix04UIW8nUPUp_4YHuTGgufb5M08pZJVrFZE18/s320/Tiger3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The decor at Lost Society is really luxurious and vintage with a theme that relies heavily on Prohibition. Cocktails are served in teapots and there are lists of pre- and post-prohibition drinks on the menu, and the music I'm happy to say was also of the right era.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4_MvrNyr9Q7ZK_gY8Om2MJ_jC6qzQFIxuelXtfebY24RTg5UfnmXyfJsHm-ZwKs5NdBI0OoPkhwn8iCSMqW4kW2VV5kD3farwsqdW9WvdwZ8m6n2xKCsQuvpRP0kqHOSpHDRAvOPSIs/s1600/Tiger7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4_MvrNyr9Q7ZK_gY8Om2MJ_jC6qzQFIxuelXtfebY24RTg5UfnmXyfJsHm-ZwKs5NdBI0OoPkhwn8iCSMqW4kW2VV5kD3farwsqdW9WvdwZ8m6n2xKCsQuvpRP0kqHOSpHDRAvOPSIs/s320/Tiger7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The food itself was amazing! One of the best teas I've ever had. To begin with we were given a complimentary Bellini which was beautiful and felt considerably naughty at 3pm on a Sunday...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIIGjnINJ39n-KU2E0yRH9bti5oz4GRLig4tXU9DHaEImA2WBNDzMXzuXQH_R7FsMzCn2PsfJBZ5XeO9vhqOXfmY7DI7MfeN5miWflHpji7Yc7nJGheqa6b-38bIIyYTuHfV22rZPsvg/s1600/Tiger2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIIGjnINJ39n-KU2E0yRH9bti5oz4GRLig4tXU9DHaEImA2WBNDzMXzuXQH_R7FsMzCn2PsfJBZ5XeO9vhqOXfmY7DI7MfeN5miWflHpji7Yc7nJGheqa6b-38bIIyYTuHfV22rZPsvg/s320/Tiger2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then the sandwiches came and they were to die for. As the meat-eater to my vegetarian companion, it was left to me to devour the little open sandwiches with Coronation chicken, salmon and cream cheese and gorgeous beef and horseradish that was just the right shade of pink in the middle. My friend had the cheese and the egg ones which I'm told were delicious. We both washed them down with the Bellinis while our English Breakfast tea was brewing beside us. (I always go for English Breakfast as that is a staple I can compare across the board. But this tea menu was really interesting and provided by Tea Pigs - it even included a 'popcorn' tea which I'd love to try next time.)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9F2GBaNikU67UfIw1CJQcEx00AIMD0I7mb94otNCNiM0iVrPWEC1s0-fEHxFS7w8joK8tj6f_mBO07zFlRW7_krb4_fl4oKjkxmTszi3qdP4B3sGhQ3Q9_4DA4uY6ZssJC2hDDNpGio/s1600/Tiger1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9F2GBaNikU67UfIw1CJQcEx00AIMD0I7mb94otNCNiM0iVrPWEC1s0-fEHxFS7w8joK8tj6f_mBO07zFlRW7_krb4_fl4oKjkxmTszi3qdP4B3sGhQ3Q9_4DA4uY6ZssJC2hDDNpGio/s320/Tiger1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After a short break, the cakes came separately which is a good idea during afternoon tea - Sometimes they all come together and you can't concentrate on the sandwiches while eyeing up the patisserie... The cakes were so delicious: banana bread which was topped with cream and caramelised bananas, the softest scone I've ever had with tasty jam and cream, the most gooey chocolate brownie that had pistachios in to give it that little bit of uniqueness, and a really interesting cupcake. It had custard in the middle and the topping was meringue, <i>not</i> frosting. It was uncooked meringue which had been lightly blowtorched so it was moist and sweet but not cloying and sickly...definitely one I'm going to recreate at home! (I'm gonna get myself a blowtorch and give Heston a run for his money)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuU4BeHku9cmzMP6vo4Xx5VlO8z6GVXlsx7iuMtoaSRHEXIg-eziQ39Ie6OFLnyklEdaDLpjV_5zhu6Oz-P1M7Ua2azdIt0T2I2argcDpk-tsGPPaff5pEOm9tKjfkoRJoKIVuCM6KbY/s1600/Tiger4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuU4BeHku9cmzMP6vo4Xx5VlO8z6GVXlsx7iuMtoaSRHEXIg-eziQ39Ie6OFLnyklEdaDLpjV_5zhu6Oz-P1M7Ua2azdIt0T2I2argcDpk-tsGPPaff5pEOm9tKjfkoRJoKIVuCM6KbY/s320/Tiger4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our original plan was to head up to Clapham Common to do a bit of vintage shopping but in the end the cocktail menu got the better of us and my friend had another Bellini while I opted for a Black Cherry Manhattan which definitely had a bite to it! All the cocktails are on happy hour prices on a Sunday so it's stupid to say no to them at £4.50 a pop.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I highly recommend this tea - it was a fantastic price and it was gorgeous, and Clapham is a great place to while away the afternoon if you don't want to drink yours away like we did... Our lovely waitress told us they are having a thoroughly English tea for St george's Day so I'll keep my eye out for that and will definitely be returning.</span><br />
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<div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Sip"-Tease Rating: *****</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pa"Tease"erie Rating: ****</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boudoir or Boring? rating: *****</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Service with a Smile Rating: *****</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cheap or Chic? Rating: *****</span></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.teapigs.co.uk/"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://www.teapigs.co.uk/</span></a> </span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(ethical, organic tea providers)</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.blindtigerlondon.co.uk </span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(for details)</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-4232497908433340562012-04-06T01:58:00.000-07:002012-04-06T01:58:10.047-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">'Big Chocolate Tea Party' in aid of The Sick Childrens Trust</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Listen up, cake bitches! - now it's time to put your money (and your time) where your mouth is: Bake a big chocolate cake for this Saturday (April 7th) then head to Borough Market with your wares...</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiII2WwfoezgOSlxAX9pi_p15VqxgKqfDOOXDxWxbG5Qr46SlMH9qoc1y7K7PsOCdXIzRPh_2V7Cp6I7K3JR-xj6KMvYH0tmOPlQ6NZFV-8xVUCK5gOtOmja9B3vBJm7SkDf_OvVRVuOHI/s1600/chocteaparty3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiII2WwfoezgOSlxAX9pi_p15VqxgKqfDOOXDxWxbG5Qr46SlMH9qoc1y7K7PsOCdXIzRPh_2V7Cp6I7K3JR-xj6KMvYH0tmOPlQ6NZFV-8xVUCK5gOtOmja9B3vBJm7SkDf_OvVRVuOHI/s320/chocteaparty3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sickchildrenstrust.org/"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">www.sickchildrenstrust.org</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">The Sick Childrens Trust are running the Big Chocolate Tea Party campaign throughout April in order to raise money to provide accomodation for the parents of sick children. This is because there are many children who need to be treated far from the family home for their conditions, and this can put a financial strain on parents and siblings. (See the direct link on your right.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Last year the campaign enabled the SCT to provide over 600 nights of free accomodation to the families of sick children, so lets try and top that this year :)</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmTca0aTeaPMqxSWjFBZ5j6GDXHgh51QhV5IhzcZOSYC-I6ZY-1CXzsXk7rwAEzNzEGcGpVL1g0YhzaeiPVDY0yhr61iKFuD2jZSj945Nnyi4AGp_-y-TCt-6dqcrr0FlzfyDRSjqZcVc/s1600/borough-market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmTca0aTeaPMqxSWjFBZ5j6GDXHgh51QhV5IhzcZOSYC-I6ZY-1CXzsXk7rwAEzNzEGcGpVL1g0YhzaeiPVDY0yhr61iKFuD2jZSj945Nnyi4AGp_-y-TCt-6dqcrr0FlzfyDRSjqZcVc/s320/borough-market.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Head down to the lovely Borough Market from Saturday early morning, either to donate a cake or to buy one. I'll be taking two cakes with me, one donated by the fantastic Crimson Heart Cafe in Shoreditch (see my other posts labelled 'Crimson Heart') and one made by my own fair hands! I'll also be volunteering on the stall so come and say 'Hi' and fill your face :) See you then xox</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-30105438674400862962012-03-30T10:46:00.002-07:002012-04-05T07:50:48.541-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Shoreditch "Clandestine Cake Club" - Meeting 1</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZKK-TeSNuliimn-BfjmKau_4NCpHJmC9LF84lM_OOboDE-h2Ey-qJ0S9-L40Uel96avCUOgJ_galJk5PPnuSeBkdkEKE36A-dQgJRLIsHkZGLIL6m7SIJmGoNEDrjzSOqjeN4BTxy5k/s1600/CCC1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZKK-TeSNuliimn-BfjmKau_4NCpHJmC9LF84lM_OOboDE-h2Ey-qJ0S9-L40Uel96avCUOgJ_galJk5PPnuSeBkdkEKE36A-dQgJRLIsHkZGLIL6m7SIJmGoNEDrjzSOqjeN4BTxy5k/s320/CCC1a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thanks so much to everyone who came to the inaugural meeting of the Shoreditch CCC at Crimson Heart. It was so lovely sitting round and getting to know each other, and feeling (kind of) healthy due to the Vegan theme for the month. There was banana maple syrup, lemon drizzle, chocolate carrot, banana tahini, steamed berry... It was actually quite nutritious when you think about it :)</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35PJfr6ZE37RV-P0KPzplZkDWP4Hc7zFoSRhPZoHtGYSsIuUgBX9TKCu9BYITdka-_9R4-fa1iPIyzj81-76h54Hql9jkzLR2NnM2M73JRkInYYK5Hi6pD8wNa2dSbVNVEkoibS3NFOQ/s1600/CCC1c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35PJfr6ZE37RV-P0KPzplZkDWP4Hc7zFoSRhPZoHtGYSsIuUgBX9TKCu9BYITdka-_9R4-fa1iPIyzj81-76h54Hql9jkzLR2NnM2M73JRkInYYK5Hi6pD8wNa2dSbVNVEkoibS3NFOQ/s320/CCC1c.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;"><a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">I don't want to give too much away about the evening's proceedings (it is <em>clandestine</em> after all) but it really was a lovely event, facilitated by Mia who really looked after us. </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Next time will be Film Noir so get yourself to <a href="http://www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/"><span style="color: #e06666;">www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk</span></a> if you want to join in the secret, sugary shenanigans round Shoreditch (bloody hell, that's a lot of alliteration). See you soon....xox</span><br />
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</div></span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-55510809454391020942012-03-25T03:59:00.003-07:002012-04-05T07:51:53.957-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The 'Vintage Tea Party' Book - By Angel Adoree</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizncEGwhF1s9eiTG0sGL8y7ns5ah52L_kgXBzBWQpaahISsfMfz8SFcJuSRFdgUEF3xyh6Ld2jKpRDVEtMIRs8_e0drqWOHrEjrzTVKEtPUaYUADfnzVKT5oJYUeBzmQ4OuQ85fgWLX9I/s1600/VPbookDONE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizncEGwhF1s9eiTG0sGL8y7ns5ah52L_kgXBzBWQpaahISsfMfz8SFcJuSRFdgUEF3xyh6Ld2jKpRDVEtMIRs8_e0drqWOHrEjrzTVKEtPUaYUADfnzVKT5oJYUeBzmQ4OuQ85fgWLX9I/s320/VPbookDONE.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666;">On the way to a 1926 night at Troxy :)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What an absolutely </span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">beautiful</span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> book to own! I do love my Kindle as I'm an avid reader and it's easier for me to use that to carry the 10 books I can read in a week - but there is nothing better than holding a gorgeous book like this in your hands and going over its pages time and time again, in a big comfy chair.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And the best thing about it is it's not just a 'cook-book' but also has tips on how to source vintage china, make decorations and even get the perfect vintage look for your tea party. But because of the large range of subjects it covers, I was surprised at how sophisticated the recipes are. This is a 'grown-ups' cook book which includes dishes like smoked salmon souffle and brie & walnut savoury scones. It even includes so many things I've never even heard of...and I've been to a lot of tea parties! Coddled eggs, aspics...the list goes on.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nIiFQhojCK2H6z6sXOWWpTHYUJ0FdLEKAMsxg1bTVKRTRdr3qhXhyaqI6OZ-6ix2X_GzvNbkuMHdJbiTruSyH8znC9Gw7OCjmlH69WydPgG52ys4zOkdbmQoDVHdOW35hfEv4ikkmtc/s1600/Vintage-Tea-Party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nIiFQhojCK2H6z6sXOWWpTHYUJ0FdLEKAMsxg1bTVKRTRdr3qhXhyaqI6OZ-6ix2X_GzvNbkuMHdJbiTruSyH8znC9Gw7OCjmlH69WydPgG52ys4zOkdbmQoDVHdOW35hfEv4ikkmtc/s320/Vintage-Tea-Party.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><a href="http://vintagepatisserie.co.uk/">http://vintagepatisserie.co.uk/</a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now I'm half Irish and half Gypsy, so I thought I was aware of every possible excuse to drink during the day...champagne breakfast, bloody mary, mulled cider etc. But even I haven't heard of "Athol Brose" - a delicious combination of cream, honey, whiskey and oats to be downed with your bacon and eggs. That's next on my list to try :)</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Continuing the boozy theme, there is a gorgeous selection of <i>tea </i>cocktails such as a 'Tea-quila Sunrise' and a 'Tea-tini'. So who thought tea parties were twee and boring?? Of course there are also some amazing recipes for sweet treats but I don't want to spoil the surprise - go and get the book!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkcQazin95vAhO3l1z0jNi6lCBiyRehnZCsr4GPEqyi_5o_EdiK50LIZivVHM7ApkGVEXhf5o_L6bSfBqA_J8XfJdYFreUAzYZlBsSF_XFe_MEsvQ49tTJJWOhiCYJ2NNMFCixuIRYz0/s1600/angel-adoree.jpg.display.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkcQazin95vAhO3l1z0jNi6lCBiyRehnZCsr4GPEqyi_5o_EdiK50LIZivVHM7ApkGVEXhf5o_L6bSfBqA_J8XfJdYFreUAzYZlBsSF_XFe_MEsvQ49tTJJWOhiCYJ2NNMFCixuIRYz0/s320/angel-adoree.jpg.display.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666;"> <a href="http://angeladoree.co.uk/">http://angeladoree.co.uk/</a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Angel herself is an amazing woman - you may remember her from Dragons Den (watch here):</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wJ3YbTbcYzg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and she was featured in one of my earliest blog posts: </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(See it here: </span><a href="http://afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/vintage-patisserie.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">http://afternoon-tease.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/vintage-patisserie.html</span></a> )<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">She's a down-to-earth 'local girl done good', always interested in corresponding and always expanding the business and thinking up new ideas. She tells me she's working on her second book at the moment and I for one can't wait to read it!</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If you're in need of inspiration, style ideas or you simply want a good feed...this is the book for you xox</span><br />
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</script></span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-742907763167311912012-03-23T01:39:00.000-07:002013-01-29T10:34:30.936-08:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Clandestine Cake Club</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - The first rule of Cake Club is "You do not talk about Cake Club"</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - The second rule of Cake Club is "You do not talk about Cake Club"</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(or something like that...)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Well actually the main rule of cake Club is "NO cupcakes, muffins, brownies, pies or tarts - it's all about CAKE"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now the end of March is drawing near, I thought I'd officially post about how proud I am to be the organiser of the Shoreditch branch of the 'Clandestine Cake Club'. The CCC was founded in the summer of 2010 by Lynn Hill, who simply wanted a way to enjoy more tea, cake and conversation without having to do ALL the baking herself. Thus, the Cake Club was born and since then the network has grown to over 70 clubs, with international groups in Spain, Switzerland and New Zealand.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">I first saw this group on The One Show on Feb 24th of this year; note that at the time (1 month ago) there were reportedly only 30 CCC groups....</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">You can also read Lynn's write-up of the day here: </span><a href="http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/2012/02/16/leeds-the-one-show/"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/2012/02/16/leeds-the-one-show/</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I e-mailed Lynn straightaway after checking her website and seeing there was no local group near me...in fact, hardly any in London at all! Poor Lynn was inundated with e-mail but within a few days I had a location and a date for my first meeting, and the Shoreditch CCC was born.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Since then the Clandestine Cake Club has been in many magazines and newspapers, and was even on the Alan Titchmarsh show on the 16th of this month (an accolade shared by my W.I Group, the Shoreditch Sisters.) </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">It will also be on Lorraine Kelly's show around March 26th and there is a cookbook featuring the best of the CCC's recipes in the pipeline to be released soon...</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">If you'd like to join my group or the network in general, click on the above link and get registered. You can then apply to attend the<i> specific</i> events, and that is a necessary part of the process as it's the 'clandestine' part! The venue is never advertised until only a few days before so you need to be registered to find out where it is... It's also a good idea to register to let the organiser know what cake you're making (so there's no duplication) and if you intend to bring a guest. The theme changes every month, and next month I have a 'Film Noir' theme to really get those innovative and creative juices flowing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">So if you like to eat, bake and talk about cake then there's a place for you in a Cake Club near you.......... x0x</span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876616681228825969.post-87424020681902942662012-03-19T13:54:00.001-07:002012-04-05T07:52:29.579-07:00<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Cakes and Shakes at "Fat Sam's Grand Slam"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">My most recent adventure with Crimson Heart nearly involved me getting absolutely covered in cream during the infamous 'Splurge' fight - part of the 'Bugsy Malone' immersion experience hosted by Future Cinema.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgyOBBc9JpIgZ4jFwxHnl63HpP7M-CUNM01XYk2Jr8FaVbe3OIyXLF8eBAph0YklyVNispcO5NysS2sW3U-WWOvKZqtTRi91qMDme-6K6XnmZxkR-eAporNg6OMxx4nxuEMkcEyKLTGw/s1600/caketray.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgyOBBc9JpIgZ4jFwxHnl63HpP7M-CUNM01XYk2Jr8FaVbe3OIyXLF8eBAph0YklyVNispcO5NysS2sW3U-WWOvKZqtTRi91qMDme-6K6XnmZxkR-eAporNg6OMxx4nxuEMkcEyKLTGw/s320/caketray.JPG" width="285" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We weren't selling tea but there were plenty of cakes, supplied by my favourite location for sugary shenanigans in Shoreditch: Crimson Heart Tea Shop. And standing behind the counter while the amazing smells of rocky road, vanilla cupcakes and strawberry milkshakes wafted over me was almost maddening - dairy is still off the menu for me so Fat Sam had to eat my share :(</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Zr6losnPxSXBzC-OnoESDwx1BUjlsk5V3KTAIqrIZKUU3VaGep8t2RMCSNcm5BM88onVXexDbHOwbQcj8oMuxt3FNcy2R5p9Kzepbbv1SFipP0c8Lx5IkKok26DnUXnbSkSWsfmALZQ/s1600/fatsam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Zr6losnPxSXBzC-OnoESDwx1BUjlsk5V3KTAIqrIZKUU3VaGep8t2RMCSNcm5BM88onVXexDbHOwbQcj8oMuxt3FNcy2R5p9Kzepbbv1SFipP0c8Lx5IkKok26DnUXnbSkSWsfmALZQ/s320/fatsam.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The film run this time around is much longer than Brief Encounter, partly as it coincides with the kids Easter Holidays, so there's still a chance to get tickets. We were definitely prepared for the onslaught of sticky fingers demanding milkshakes, coke floats and giant cupcakes like zombies demanding BRAINS, and it was nice to see that our 'hard-shakes' were just as popular for grown-ups as they contained a cheeky shot of something a bit stronger...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wPXLfZea2d2iMeVzCCVkK-3X9GQcK3bkciWPDA9Vi4YiaCQU9taAaReGk1qrmRtfxXLY74H_5EFFyFWnLWE7b8Sln19RY_qRkl-mX2zHAt0cemkt0BGtmK39JGHdQWNRMyhWVOcBJFU/s1600/milkshake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wPXLfZea2d2iMeVzCCVkK-3X9GQcK3bkciWPDA9Vi4YiaCQU9taAaReGk1qrmRtfxXLY74H_5EFFyFWnLWE7b8Sln19RY_qRkl-mX2zHAt0cemkt0BGtmK39JGHdQWNRMyhWVOcBJFU/s320/milkshake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Thank god for the fact I never gave up booze for Lent - I needed a shot myself by the time Ali started to sneakily let me know the splurge was going to begin soon so we needed to wrap up the cakes. I went all clumsy with the cling film and started panicking, hissing to Ali in a frantic whisper "I can't find the end, I can't find the end!!" hahaha. And honestly, what compelled me to give the counter-top a good wipe down and polish?! It stayed shiny and clean for, ooh, all of 5 seconds once the pies started flying. I've never spent so much time under a table in my life!</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmkeYML_dsnbcykWaKZ55D8tYeyi4R9SlcZttPaps1YFevSTevoSQwbeo-c3p4yEDY-D516REYphra4sVqcU4e80NIBWWIUMgpcGsm5lKiVYae2mecLN5F0rvaf-aEzXmO3j3DhFe5a8/s1600/splurge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmkeYML_dsnbcykWaKZ55D8tYeyi4R9SlcZttPaps1YFevSTevoSQwbeo-c3p4yEDY-D516REYphra4sVqcU4e80NIBWWIUMgpcGsm5lKiVYae2mecLN5F0rvaf-aEzXmO3j3DhFe5a8/s320/splurge.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">It was such an amazing experience and the best part for me is that I get to do it over and over again! And by the time this run finishes....my aim will definitely improve ;) I suggest you all grab tickets immediately, you really don't want to miss out on this experience - you literally won't stop smiling all night. But none of my exes should dare turn up......cos I'll use you all for target practice ;)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Until next time...xox</span></span>Carla Valentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02315529952221641936noreply@blogger.com0