Tag Archives: Featured

abba, Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn, Frida

My favourite non-hit Abba songs!

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Obviously I have my favourite Abba hits, but what about the songs that weren’t released on their own merit? These are album tracks and B-sides to their singles, I choose my top ten favourite non-hit tracks!

10. That’s Me

This was the B-side to one of Abba’s biggest hits, Dancing Queen, but plenty of people received a nice surprise when they flipped the single over and heard That’s Me for the first time!

It was released in Japan as a single, with Money Money Money as its B-side but only made it to number 75 in the official Japanese charts.

This is an upbeat number about a woman simply saying, “This is me, like it or lump it!” The video was filmed during the making of the TV special, ABBA-dabba-doo and includes original footage and some outtakes from previous ABBA videos.

Agnetha has said that this is one of her favourite songs.

9. Kisses of Fire

Another B-side, this time to Bjorn’s lead vocal on Does Your Mother Know, which reached number 3 in the UK charts. It was released as a single in Venezuela with DYMK as the B-side!

Agnetha sings the lead vocals and it’s about a woman whose found true love for the first time and is not used to the insecurities of holding onto that relationship.

This song was performed by Panos Mouzourakis in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

8. Cassandra

This was the B-side to the wonderful Winner Takes It All, it wasn’t included on the original album, The Visitors, but was on the special edition bonus track versions.

This was a song about a mythical Greek figure named Cassandra who could make accurate prophecies, but unfortunately nobody believed her. Bringing it back to modern day, it is about feeling unheard or misunderstood which resonates with so many people.

The lyrics, melody and arrangement is perfect and together with Frida’s wonderful vocals makes this a must in this list!

7. I Let The Music Speak

An album track from The Visitors featuring Frida as main vocalist. It is the fifth longest Abba track after Eagle, The Day Before You Came, The Visitors and Chiquita.

The lyrics are incredible in this song, really highlighting how far Benny and Bjorn have come since the early days –

I’m hearing images, I’m seeing songs
No poet has ever painted
Voices call out to me, straight to my heart
So strange yet we’re so well acquainted

The underlying message in this track is that you can have good times and bad times, but music will never let you down!

6. As Good As New

The opening track on Voulez-Vous album. It was released as a double A-side in Mexico with I Have A Dream, where it was number one.

Featuring Agnetha on lead vocal, it is an upbeat and vibrant track which tells the story of somebody who has been heartbroken in the past, but has now found somebody with whom there is a bright future.

5. When All Is Said And Done

A track featured on The Visitors with lead vocal by Frida. It was released in the USA with Should I Laugh Or Cry as the B-side and reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also released in Australia and Canada.

The Winner Takes It All is synonymous with the divorce of Bjorn and Agnetha and When All Is Said And Done is about the divorce between Frida and Benny. Frida sings about her emotion and sorrow, not only personally, but for everyone who has gone through a divorce. Frida said, “All my sadness was captured in that song.”

4. Slipping Through My Fingers

A track from the album, The Visitors and which was only released as a single in Japan where it was a red vinyl promo single for Coca-Cola and there was no B-side, just a picture of the group.

The inspiration for this song was Bjorn and Agnetha’s daughter, Linda who was seven at the time of recording. It is about a mother’s regret as her daughter is growing up and going to school and she feels as though she is losing her. Agnetha’s vocals are superb, you can feel the sadness through her voice and the lyrics.

3. If It Wasn’t For The Nights

An album track on Voulez-Vous which was intended to be the lead single from the album until they recorded Chiquita which took that honour instead.

The harmonies of Agnetha and Frida are outstanding on this song. It is an up-tempo song which deals with the pain of somebody who has recently ended a relationship and having to face the night alone with their own thoughts. I often think this comes as a pair with Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight), it would make an interesting mash-up.

2. Lovelight

B-side to Chiquita, not originally released on the Voulez-Vous album, but was included as a bonus track on later releases.

This song opens with an amazing guitar solo, which would have been a fantastic opening to a concert (just my thoughts!). An upbeat song about how much brighter and better life is when your partner is around. A belief that their partner had a special ‘lovelight.’

And my favourite track is….

1. Should I Laugh Or Cry

This was the B-side to One Of Us, it wasn’t included on The Visitors album, which I think it should have been instead of Two For The Price Of One, (sorry Benny and Bjorn), but it was on the compilation album, Thank You For The Music.

The narrative from this song, comes across as a rather bitter end to a relationship. There is personal emotion from Frida, exploring how she feels about the relationship, together with Agnetha’s soft echo vocal which adds a sense of sadness to the relationship.

So there you have it, my top ten non-hit Abba songs – there are some I haven’t included which deserve a mention….

Me and I – My Love, My Life – Soldiers – to name a few…

Please check out the video to accompany this blog which I have uploaded to YouTube….

Days Out, Royalty

Buckingham Palace Garden Party – Raining Cats and Dogs!! (Not Blogs)

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One day a few months ago I received a phone call from a very excited husband, “I’ve just received an email nominating me to go to a Royal Garden Party.” That was exciting and the wait between receiving the nomination to the invitation landing on our doormat was unbearable.

We told a few people about it, (well, a lot of people!) and we were relieved when we finally received the invitation.

After the initial excitement the reality then struck, what are we going to wear? Phil loves dressing up and he decided at once that he was going to wear a morning suit and because it would probably be the only time he would wear one, we hired it from Moss Bros.

For me though, it was a different matter as I had to be careful about what type of dress I bought. I have a stoma bag fitted and I can’t wear close fitting clothes, so I prefer dresses that flow down from the waist, disguising the bag and nothing will be pressed down on it.

My dress is a long story, so I’ll cut it short (not the dress!)- I bought a dress from Phase Eight, which I was happy with and I borrowed a fascinator from a good friend which matched it. Then, on the morning of the Garden Party we went to the O2 shopping mall and I fell in love with another dress from Hobbs London, so I ended up wearing that one instead, luckily my fascinator still matched!

We booked a hotel for two nights in London, a Travelodge just by Waterloo Station. This hotel was a great choice and judging by the amount of women in fascinators and men in morning suits milling around the reception, lots of other garden party goers thought so as well.

In the hotel reception

We all gazed outside the reception doors and sighed as the rain fell, some had waterproofs on, others had umbrellas clasped in their hands, hoping against hope that they wouldn’t need to use them. We were in the latter category after Phil had hurriedly ran to a shop a couple of doors down to buy two umbrellas and had nearly had a heart attack when the guy asked for £18 for both!

We shared a taxi with two sisters, one of whom had worked for the NHS for 30 years and that’s why she was nominated. By the way, Phil was nominated for his work with Hampshire Constabulary, he is the Catering Manager for all the Hampshire Police restaurant sites and has worked there for over 30 years!

We had a lovely conversation with the two sisters on the way to Buckingham Palace and when we were dropped off, the rain had become a drizzle, but we weren’t prepared for the queue to get in. It was very long, but once it started moving, it went very quickly.

After going through security, we were in the Palace grounds and the rain was still just a drizzle.

We decided to go to the Tent and have our afternoon tea. It was very busy, but very well organised and we were ushered to a line by one of the assistants. The choice of food was great with both sandwiches, wraps, cakes and of course, scones with jam and cream! There was a choice of a cup of tea or an iced coffee – I had the iced coffee which was delicious.

The rain then began to steadily fall heavier and heavier, but we wanted to see the Royals and so we stood along the route that they would be taking.

Waiting for the Royals

At this point it really was raining cats and dogs and so we decided to take shelter in the tent and see if we could see the Royals later on. We did get glimpses of them and I could see that Prince William was there and also Mike Tindall.

We then decided to brave it and took a walk towards the Royal Tent, where again we caught glimpses of Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice.

We were told by a member of the staff that they would be leaving the tent at 5.30 and then we had a stroke of luck. Phil remembered somebody telling him who had been to a Garden Party before that they left via a gravel path to a door on the side of Buckingham Palace. We walked up towards the exit and found that exact spot. We took our place at the front and waited hopefully for a sighting of the Royal Party.

Boy, were we rewarded, the Royals all came up the path, stopping and speaking to lots of people and I managed to get some video of Zara Tindall, who looked absolutely stunning, Mike Tindall and of Prince William posing for a photograph with some attendees.

I uploaded the video on my personal account on X, formerly Twitter, and I was gobsmacked by the amount of likes, reposts and comments (not all favourable towards the Royal family, I might add) that these videos received! The video of Prince William was also used by prolific Royal watchers – According2Taz, Harry’s Gray Suit and Rebecca English!

Then it was time to go back to the hotel. We walked through the park with lots of other damp Garden Partyers, the women with soaked shoes and soggy fascinators and the men with saturated suits and drops of rain falling from their top hats, but everyone was smiling and that’s what we British do best – we don’t let the weather defeat us!

Going down the escalator in the Underground, I heard a lady say, “Is there a posh wedding somewhere? Everyone is dressed very fancy.” Little did she know that we’d just had afternoon tea with the Royal Family.

history, national trust

Lanhydrock House – History

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The Agar-Robartes children – picture taken in 1896

Following the dissolution of the monasteries, Lanhydrock was first owned by the Glynn, Littleton and Trenance families and then Richard Robartes acquired it in 1621.

When Richard died in 1634, the estate was inherited by his son, John, who after marrying twice fathered in total 19 children. He had a successful career in politics before dying in London on 1685.

He outlived his heir, so was succeeded by his grandson, Charles Bodville Robartes who spent very little time at Lanhydrock, preferring to live in London.

Charles was succeeded by his nephew, Henry who ventured on a ‘Grand Tour’ settling in Venice with his mistress. During this period of time, Lanhydrock suffered huge neglect and the house fell into disrepair and was “destitute of furniture.”

When Henry died, Mary Vere Robartes, the great-granddaughter of John Robartes inherited Lanhydrock though she was less impressed with the state of the building and she considered demolishing the house and auctioning its contents – she valued the whole estate at around £110,000.

But Mary died before she could do this and her eldest son, George, inherited the estate in 1758. Even though he rarely visited Lanhydrock, he did modernise the house and even better, he hired an estate warden, William Jenkin, who did much to improve the house.

George suffered from ill health and was always looking for cures, but he died in 1798 and the estate was passed to his niece, Anna Maria Hunt.

Anna married Charles Bagenal Agar and she improved Lanhydrock House, installing blinds to protect the pictures from sunlight and stoves to combat the damp.

Her husband, Charles, died of typhoid in 1811 and her youngest son, Edward, died in 1818. So Anna Maria devoted her life to providing an income for her surviving son, Thomas James and she died in 1861.

Thomas James Agar

Thomas James took responsibility for the estate when he came of age in 1829. He married Juliana Pole-Carew and they had a child, Thomas Charles Agar-Robartes. He was the Liberal MP for Bodmin and was considered to be “the poor man’s friend.”

He employed the architect George Gilbert Scott to repair Lanhydrock House. But unfortunately tragedy struck in 1881 when a fire destroyed the interiors of the south and west wings. Juliana died a few days later from smoke inhalation and shock and Charles died the following year, reputedly from a broken heart.

After his death, their son, Thomas Charles inherited the estate and he installed the latest Victorian fire-fighting system, as well as modern conveniences.

He married Mary Dickinson and they had 10 children and all except for one, lived to reach adulthood. Sadly their third son, John, died of bronchitis on Christmas Eve, 1884. He was six months old.

They lived during a time of late-Victorian and Edwardian opulence and had many visitors including the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1903, Lord Roseberry and Winston Churchill.

Their eldest son, Thomas Charles Reginald was elected as an MP for South East Cornwall in 1906 but was implicated in a scandal and was charged with 108 counts of bribery and excessive expenses.

He joined the Coldstream Guards and left for France in February, 1915. He was shot at the Battle of the Loos in September and later died of his wounds and the family fell into a decline from which they never recovered.

Capt. Tommy Agar-Robartes’ travelling case

Titanic Survivors

Noël Rothes

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Noël Rothes is known as the heroine of the 1912 Titanic tragedy; she helped to command the lifeboat she was in and she also steered the lifeboat away from the sinking Titanic.

Noël was decisive and optimistic and this encouraged the other survivors in the lifeboat to remain calm under this extremely difficult situation. She even took to the oars and helped get the lifeboat to RMS Carpathia where they could be rescued.

Noël, The Countess of Rothes

Noël joined The Titanic in Southampton with her parents, her husband’s cousin, Gladys Cherry and her maid, Roberta Maioni. Her parents left the ship at Cherbourg and the others continued their journey to New York , where she was to meet up with her husband, the Earl of Rothes.

The women were in their beds when The Titanic hit the iceberg and they went up on deck to investigate and were told by Captain E. J. Smith to return to their cabins and put on their lifejackets.

Noël, Gladys and her maid were rescued in Lifeboat 8 which was lowered into the sea at approximately 1:00 AM, over an hour after the collision. Tom Jones was the Able Seaman who was placed in charge of the boat said that he recognised the leadership qualities in Noël saying, “she had a lot to say, so I put her to steering the boat.”

During the night she rowed the lifeboat and helping to boost the morale of the other women until their lifeboat was picked up by RMS Carpathia early the next morning.

Once aboard the rescue vessel, she devoted her time to the welfare of the women and children. A stewardess told Noël, “You have made yourself famous by rowing in the boat,” to which Noël replied, “I hope not, I have done nothing.”

She was not comfortable with the publicity she received once in New York insisting that it was the cool-headed leadership of Seaman Jones and help from her cousin-in-law and the other women that deserved the praise.

Seaman Thomas Jones

She gifted Jones with an inscribed silver pocket watch and he gave her a brass number plate from their lifeboat, number 8. They wrote to each other regularly until Noël’s death in 1956.

Restaurants, Reviews

Mother Mash: Carnaby

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It was while we were watching a television programme called The Overlap on Tour when Mother Mash was featured that we decided that the next time we were in London we were going to go there.

So, true to our word, we visited Mother Mash in Carnaby to taste their pie and mash and, of course, their gravy!

Mother Mash – Carnaby (taken from their website)

We were shown to our table, (we had pre-booked as we had heard it got very busy) and presented with their menu. There were three steps to ordering your meal:

There were eight different types of mash…

  • CLASSIC – natural mash with milk and butter
  • CHEESY – natural mash with mature chedder
  • CHEESY MUSTARD – natural mash with mature cheddar and wholegrain mustard
  • CHAMP – traditional Irish mash with milk, butter, cheddar cheese and spring onions
  • HORSERADISH – natural mash with creamy horseradish
  • COLCANNON – traditional Irish mash with milk, butter, cabbage and onions
  • SWEET POTATO – natural sweet potato with carrot and a sprinkling of chilli
  • BUBBLE AND SQUEAK – traditional old English recipe, fried mash potatoes, cabbage, peas and onions

You had the choice of either sausages or a pie…

Sausages

  • CUMBERLAND – classic British pork with pepper
  • LINCOLNSHIRE – classic British pork with sage
  • LONDON SMOKEY – hickory wood smoked port
  • PORK AND CHILLI (Gluten Free) – Pork, chilli, cumin and smoked paprika
  • MOTHER PLUCKER – chicken with sundried tomato and pepper
  • VEGETABLE AND HERB (Vegan) – vegan sausage

Pies

  • STEAK AND BLACKHEART STOUR
  • CHICKEN, MUSHROOM AND BACON
  • TRADITIONAL MINCE BEEF
  • SPICED VEGETABLE AND CAMEMBERT
  • BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SWEET POTATO (Vegetarian)

And the last decision you have to make…

  • TRADITIONAL – simple gravy using the juice from sausages and vegetables
  • ONION – caramelised red and white Spanish onions with vegetarian stock (vegetarian/gluten free)
  • FARMER’S – red wine, onion, smoked bacon and mushrooms
  • LIQUOR – traditional parsley sauce (vegetarian)
  • VEGGIE – seasonable vegetables, tomato puree and horseradish (vegan/vegetarian/gluten free).

So, I chose the cheesy mash, I had the special for the day which was steak and stilton and onion gravy and hubby had the bubble and squeak mash, traditional mince beef with the farmer’s gravy.

My pie and mash!

The steak and stilton pie was delicious, the cheese really came through and mixed with the steak was wonderful. The pastry was flaky, buttery and tasty. The gravy was on another level, it was flavourful and just the right amount of thickness. I love mashed potato and the cheesy mash was smooth and very moreish.

Hubby enjoyed his and washed down with a bottle of lager, he was a happy man.

Always a good sign – my clean plate!

There are also sides you can have – mushy peas, baked beans, buttered savoy cabbage to name a few. We decided to just have the pie and mash.

Their pudding menu had some sweet pies – apple pie, apple crumble and apple and blackberry pie together with sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownie and ginger bread. But we were too full and with all of our willpower declined a pudding.

Thoughts…

We thought this was very good value for money, considering we were in the heart of London – we paid a total of £41 (with tip) and came out of the restaurant feeling full.

The waiting staff were very good, the food was served quickly and hot, but we didn’t feel rushed.

I would definitely recommend a visit to Mother Mash, they have two restaurants in London, one in Carnaby and one in Covent Garden and we will be visiting them again when we’re in London.

halloween, Haunted Buildings

The Ancient Ram Inn

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Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire

History

Before the construction of the building, the site was a Pagan burial ground which lies on Ley Lines. It was constructed in 1145 and was a home for slaves, masons and other workers who were building St. Mary’s Church nearby. After these workers moved out, the house became a home to a priest and it was also an inn and public house before eventually being owned by John Humphries until his death in December 2017 and now it is owned by his daughter, Caroline, who allows the house to be visited by archaeologists and paranormal tourists who can stay overnight, if they are brave enough!

Who Haunts This House?

The most active spirit is the resident witch who was burned at the stake after trying to find sanctuary at the inn. Her hiding place has now been called, “The Witch’s Room” where her ghost is said to appear at the window.

Another spirit is the innkeeper’s daughter who was hung in the attic, as well as children who were murdered as part of sadistic rituals.

Another hot spot for sightings of spirits is “The Bishop’s Room,” which was where bishops would stay, their spirits making a regular appearance in this room, including other dark spirits. Strangely, this was the room that John Humphries chose as his bedroom! He has recounted a number of events when he was personally violated by these spirits whilst he was asleep in his bed.

Who has investigated this place and what did they find?

Ghost Adventures

During their investigation they heard disembodied voices saying, “I don’t like you,” laughing and breathing.

Residual noises of growling, knockings, chanting and doors slamming.

Aaron captured a dark mist moving very fast in front of his camera.

Nick said something was thrown at him while he was doing a vigil alone.

Most Haunted

Derek Acorah hears a malignant voice saying, “Dare we come high. The same fate will await you.”

Recording of a cat meowing, there was no cat nearby.

Apparition of a lady seen by Derek.

Stuart is thumped in the chest by an unknown force, causing him to fall over and he found it hard to breath.

Sam and Colby

Figure seen at a window.

Candle falls off candlestick while they are in the room.

Knocking and disembodied voices heard.

Lots of REM Pod activity.

Light going on and off multiple times.

Restaurants, Reviews

The Cinnamon Club, The Old Westminster Library, London.

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This restaurant has been on my husband’s bucket list for a very long time and so when we found ourselves in London for a day, we decided that it was time to visit The Cinnamon Club.

The Cinnamon Club

Set in the historic Grade II listed former Westminster Library, The Cinnamon Club is an institution in the world of Indian fine dining. The original modern Indian restaurant in London, The Cinnamon Club has a long history of serving innovative and creative Indian cuisine in a magnificently majestic setting.

Chef Vivek Singh and his team of chefs have developed a stunning new menu that combines The Cinnamon Club’s signatures with new dishes and celebratory platters.

The Cinnamon Club website
Cinnamon Club

On arrival we were both impressed by the décor and the attentiveness of the staff. We chose to have the set menu which was £38 and it offered a good range of different ingredients.

We decided to have distilled water as we had to drive back home afterwards and didn’t want to have any alcohol.

I chose the Tandoori free range chicken chops with peri-peri- spices and passion fruit raita and hubby chose smoked venison and prune kebab, date chutney with chana masala hummus.

Before we were served the Starters, we were presented with an appetizer which was very tasty. (Sorry, I can’t remember the exact ingredients!)

Appetizer
Tandoori Chicken
Smoked Venison

For our mains, I had Keema Methi Gosht – lamb and mince curry with fresh fenugreek and pilau rice. Hubby had Red spiced roast haddock, dried shrimp chutney, Bengali lentil and coconut dal.

Keema Methi Gosht
Spiced Roast Haddock
Clean Plate!!

We also ordered an extra side of stir-fried greens with garlic and chilli, for an extra charge of £7.00. My curry was very spicy, but I reasoned that you wouldn’t want to go to a high class restaurant and eat bland food. The meat was tender and just fell apart and the pilau rice was light and tasted flavourful and as you can see, I cleared my plate. Hubby cleared his too, even though his nose ran a little bit due to the spiciness, once he got used to it, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dessert was an experience to remember: our local Indian isn’t known for its desserts, but at The Cinnamon Club, it was another story….

Tasting plate of assorted desserts

We paid a supplement of £5 per person and boy, was it worth it. My hubby loves his desserts, I’m not such a big fan, but the chocolate mousse with the bird nest on top was amazing! There wasn’t one that we didn’t like and we polished them off between us.

An Americano coffee to finish and we received the bill which was £101, very reasonable for a restaurant in the heart of London which included an appetizer, starters, main course and dessert!

Thoughts

We had a wonderful time and even when the restaurant was busy, the waiting staff still came and filled up our glasses with water, they were all very friendly and polite.

The food was deliciously spiced with layers of texture and flavouring.

The experience met with hubby’s expectations and it is definitely somewhere we will be visiting again.

The tables for two are pretty close together and a couple sat on the table next to us while we were waiting for our dessert, we instantly started talking to each other and it was great to have a chat and find out about each other. We discovered that both myself and the lady both had had bowel cancer, so it was nice to share that experience with her.

Quote from Cinnamon Club’s menu
Hairy Bikers

Dave Myers : Hairy Biker

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If you follow my blog you’ll see that we use the Hairy Biker’s recipes a lot – we have seven of their cook books and we enjoy following their recipes to create amazing dishes. So, we were saddened to hear the news of Dave Myer’s passing.

I followed Dave’s cancer journey as much as I could mainly because I was battling cancer at the same time and I felt a connection with what he was going through. I think it was a shock because it did seem like he was beating it, he was recording the Hairy Biker’s cooking show on which he discussed his cancer diagnosis and even said that he was enjoying his food once again.

His cooking partner, Si King, broke the news on social media with a heartfelt statement:

Hi everyone, I’m afraid I bear some sad news. Most of you will know Dave has been fighting cancer for the past couple of years. Last night, on 28th February 2024, with Lili, Dave’s wife, his family, close friend David and myself by his side, he passed away peacefully at home. All who knew Dave are devastated at his passing. His beloved wife brought him such happiness as did her children, Iza and Sergiu who Dave loved like his own.

Personally, I am not sure I can put into words on how I feel at the moment. My best friend is on a journey that for now, I can’t follow. I will miss him every day and the bond and friendship we shared over half a lifetime. I wish you god’s speed brother; you are and will remain a beacon in this world. See you on the other side. Love ya.

I know Dave and his family would want me to thank all of you who sent messages of support in recent times. It meant the world to him, his family and all The Hairy Bikers team. I am sending you all much love and gratitude for those simple acts of kindness, generosity and spirit. We are eternally grateful for them.

May I ask you all for one further kindness and allow Lili, his wife, his family, close friends and I some time and some peace to process our huge loss. I am sure I will see you all soon.

Love Si x

The Hairy Bikers met on a Catherine Cookson mini-series and formed a bond over their love of food and motorcycles. From there was borne their own show where they travelled on their motorcycles to sample local cuisines and showcasing their own dishes.

They published over 25 cookbooks ranging from comfort foods to diet books to Mediterranean style recipes.

Whenever I have blogged when I have been following their recipes I always get a huge response – the stats don’t lie! The top one being their Bread and Butter Pudding with orange and raspberries, which is amazing.

Bread and Butter Pudding with Orange and Raspberries
Turkey Curry
Chili with Cheese and Nachos

Since his passing I have read lots of comments on social media about his zest for life, how he treated people with respect and care and most of all, his sense of humour.

Thoughts also go to Dave’s family and of course, Si. I’m not sure what he will do next, but he will have the support and love from all the Hairy Biker fans and all those around him.

RIP Dave…

Cooking and Baking

An Easy Unicorn Cake

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When your two year old granddaughter asks for a unicorn cake for her third birthday party, how can you say no? With a little bit of trepidation I looked on the internet and saw some amazing unicorn cakes, too complicated for me to attempt until I came across one style that didn’t look too hard. I was amazed at how easy it was and so I thought I’d share with you the simple steps of making your own unicorn cake….

It was requested that I make a chocolate cake and so again, looking on the internet I found a recipe on the Tesco website.

The quantities shown didn’t seem enough to make a cake big enough for 14 children (plus some adults) so I doubled the amount of ingredients shown.

Ingredients

220g unsalted butter, softened
220g caster sugar
200g self-raising flour
4 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp milk
small pinch of salt

Method

Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180C, fan 160C. Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins and set aside. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and then add all the remaining sponge ingredients and beat together until well combined. Divide the mixture between the cake tins and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (40 mins if using double the amount of ingredients). Once baked, cool in tins for 10 minutes and then remove and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate cake baked and cut in half.

I put the cakes into the fridge just to let them harden a little bit before I cut each cake into half. For this cake I’m just using three layers, so there was a spare layer – so what do you do with that? Easy, make it into a little cake for hubby!

Phil’s Leftover Cake

The next step was to make the chocolate buttercream to go over the cake, this was quite simple:

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter
400g icing sugar
20g milk chocolate
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp milk

You can either melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water or put it in the microwave for 30 second bursts until melted.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until the mixture is smooth.

Buttercream the layers of the cake and also the outside of the cake and then put it in the fridge to harden.

Buttercream cake

The easiest way to cover the cake is to buy the ready rolled sugarpaste – it is a bit thick, so I used a rolling pin to make it thinner.

Cake covered in sugarpaste

The next step was the fun part – decorating it. I made some eyes out of sugarpaste, basically cutting out circles and small hearts for the pupils and then making some eyelashes.

I bought the unicorn horn and ears from Amazon and the pop-dots from our local Co-Op. I coloured some buttercream pink and piped the mane, decorating it with Love Hearts, marshmallows and unicorn sprinkles I found in Tesco’s.

Finished cake!!

So, there you have it – an easy Unicorn cake and I have to say, my granddaughter loved it!!

Special Occasions

Why Do We Celebrate Burns Night?

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For the past few years, our friends have gathered at our house for a celebration meal of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. In the past my husband and I have gone to Burns Night Suppers and enjoyed the ceremony of it: the reading of Address to a Haggis and the bagpipes playing and we were amazed when some of our friends said that they had never tasted haggis before, so we decided to remedy that!

Suffice to say they all loved it and so it’s now fast becoming a tradition to have haggis at our house. But why do we celebrate Burns Night? Who is Robert Burns and why do we eat Haggis?

Suff

Haggis, neeps and tatties (aka turnips and potatoes)

Who is Robert Burns?

Burns was born in Alloway, South Ayrshire in 1759, the eldest of seven children. His parents were William Burns and Agnes Broun and they were a poor farming family. Burns worked in the fields from the age of 15 and during this time he started to write poetry, mainly for the pursuit of women.

As he got older, his interest in farming waned and was taken over by writing poetry, women and drinking. He had many affairs during his life, one of which was with a servant girl who gave birth to an illegitimate child. Jean Armour, who was a constant in his life also became pregnant the following year, but Jean’s father refused to allow Burns to marry her.

He then planned to go to Jamaica with another woman named Mary Campbell, but she unfortunately died before they could leave. She is known as Highland Mary.

Whilst Burns was still trying to get enough money to travel to Jamaica, he published his first collection of poems entitled, “Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect” also known as the Kilmarnock edition. They made him known across Scotland.

These poems brought him fame, money and he was invited to posh social gatherings. 

In 1788 Burns moved to Dumfries where he leased a farm and he married Jean Armour. While working as a farmer, he wrote poems and songs with people who were considered socially superior.

He died in 1796 after his health declined rapidly. On the day of his funeral Jean Armour gave birth to his final son, Maxwell. He left behind five surviving children out of the 12 born.

Robert Burn’s birthplace

Why Do We Celebrate Burns Night?

It is said that Burns’ friends hosted an informal supper on the 5th anniversary of his death. They read out his poems and ate haggis, the Scottish national dish, but the following year they changed it to his birthday, although they got the date wrong by four days! 

This get-together soon became a tradition which gathered pace and is now celebrated across much of Scotland and around the world.

Traditionally, you cannot tuck in until the host has recited the famous poem – Address to a Haggis and when the line –

 ‘His knife see rustic Labour dicht, An’ cut you up wi’ ready slicht’,

Robbie Burns

is read out, they will dramatically stab the haggis, dragging the knife through the meat and then the neeps and tatties are served with the haggis.

Lasting Legacy

Burns’ work inspired many romantic poets: Williams Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his musical compositions are found within traditions around the world.

Auld Lang Syne is probably his most famous, sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve or Hogmanay in Scotland.

Some people believe haggis to be an actual animal!