The Wales Air Show hits Swansea Bay!

One of my favourite Swansea events (and yes, I'll admit, there aren't a huge number to choose from, but stick with me for this) is the biennial Wales Air Show, a two day celebration of all things...fly-ey.

This weekend, the show rolled into town! With the bay as its backdrop, it put on displays of truly epic proportions...Hurricanes, parachuters and acrobatics, wing walkers and a majestic Lancaster bomber, all topped off by the Red Arrows, swooshing their way across the sky above our heads.

And the only thing more epic than the displays were the crowds! We are so spoilt that our city is completely cwtched by the most beautiful of beaches, but it's a beach that stays largely empty throughout the year. Not this weekend! Apparently there were 180,000 people watching the show over the course of the event and it was incredible to see them all enjoying the beach in this glorious summer weather. Talk about feeling like part of a community!

Mr. O and I cycled into town, picking up a picnic in Uplands before taking it into Singleton Park for a slightly calmer view of the festivities. Later, we ditched our bikes and braved the beach, just in time for the incredible Red Arrows. We had such a brilliant day, cycling home through the crowds on a perfect summer evening. And the next day Swansea got to do it all again...this time though we enjoyed our own private view from Mumbles, complete with Joe's ice cream.

It's weekends like this that completely bring our ugly, lovely city to life - let's hope the sun is shining as brightly in 2015!

Strawberry picking at Nicholaston Farm

So, Mr. O and I are throwing ourselves completely and utterly into summer, absorbing every sunshiny minute of it that we can.

In 2011, we ventured to a local Pick-Your-Own farm to pick our weight in fresh, juicy strawberries. In 2012, we headed back to the same farm for another harvesting session. In 2013, we went again - and this year, we actually managed to come home with some fruit, finally managing to actually go during the picking season. They'll make farmers of us yet!

We found out this year that, if you manage to get your act together and go at the proper time (!), Nicholaston Farm is an absolutely incredible place to pick-your-own. It's huge! As well as strawberries, there are a zillion other crops to choose from, all available to pick and take home. The farm is also spoilt with the most beautiful views out over Nicholaston Burrows, one of my favourite Gower beaches.

On such a sunny day, we weren't the only foragers out after a berry feast, but we found our own little patch and started rummaging up and down the rows, searching out our treasures. I got into the zone and found it hard not to imagine that I was on some sort of Famous Five adventure, and that my punnet of strawberries would soon be added to a hamper of ham sandwiches and ginger beer, ready to be packed into a rowing boat nestled in the nearby cove. Mr. O and I were off to hunt for smugglers!

Or maybe not, though perhaps that could be our 2014 strawberry picking adventure. In the meantime though, we headed home with enough sweet berries to feed a small army, so I'm thinking up lots of yummy combinations for this week!

You can pick your own feast at Nicholaston Farm, with the strawberry season due to run for about another two weeks. You can also check the picking seasons for their other produce on their website. And if you're feeling particularly adventurous, you can even book a camping pitch in their neighbouring field! Strawberries for breakfast!

Nicholaston Farm, Penmaen, Gower, Swansea SA3 2HL

Well done Andy Murray!

Woooohoooo! What a weekend! Andy Murray - Men's Singles Wimbledon Champion, who'd have thought it!?

Despite the beautiful summer weather, we were firmly glued to the television yesterday afternoon, cheering for every single point he scored. The roar as he won the Championship point was deafening.

Can't believe they made poor Doug carry their bags all that way, ha!

We then celebrated in true British style - with a slap up picnic and the last of the evening sun. Cheers Andy!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy (belated) Fourth of July, y'all!

As a self-confessed Yankophile, it seemed only right that Mr. O and I paid a little homage to the USA on Independence Day yesterday. I had some time to experiment in the kitchen and, if you've been reading this blog over the past few months, you might be able to guess that there was really only one way we could go when it came to American food.

BURGERS.

Really annoyingly, I can't remember which recipe I used for the burgers themselves, though in honesty whatever it was could have done with a few tweaks anyway. I bought my beef from our local butchers, but I think I could have done with using meat with a higher fat content, to give it a bit more flavour and I also think that using mince gives a texture that's a bit too dense. I'd love to one day be able to grind my own mix at home...but that's quite a commitment to the burger cause!

The real star of the show (other than my homemade lemonade) was the brioche burger rolls that I made from a Smitten Kitchen recipe. Oh my word, these bad boys were amazing! I haven't made bread at home before, but these were so simple and so very tasty that I think it may now become a regular occurrence - especially if Mr. O gets his way!

So there it is - sunshine, dressed burgers and sweet lemonade. Thank you America.

The Bullring, Birmingham

Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Who really, really, really loved Krispy Kreme doughnuts. But that girl didn't live anywhere near a Krispy Kreme outlet, which sometimes made her very sad.

Then, she heard of a magical place called The Bullring, a new shopping centre which would bring Krispy Kreme doughnuts a whole 50 miles closer to home! And she was even considering studying in Birmingham - doughnuts every day!

Alas, she never managed to made it to The Bullring.

Fast forward 10 years (10 years? How on earth did that happen!?), and that girl still loves her doughnuts, but has managed to (marginally) improve her food choices and can hold herself back from the glazed treats now available pretty much everywhere (though it is a constant test on her willpower).

She still really wanted to visit The Bullring though. And this weekend we made it happen.

We picked a bright blue sunshine day for our pit stop in Birmingham and both just loved the building itself. Those shiny bubbles against the summer sky? Beautiful.

We hit the shops, heading first for Selfridges, ostensibly to look for a cover for my brand new sparkly iPhone (first ever smartphone, go me!). The biggest hit though was the food hall, with Mr. O spending a frightening amount of time staring at the selection of American sweets. I dragged him away with only a bag of Jelly Belly seconds as his prize - poor boy.

I have to be honest though, things have changed since 2003, when I excitedly heard of this amazing new shopping complex. Now, we're lucky enough to have incredible shopping options much closer to home (though still not in Swansea, grrrr), so, actually, although The Bullring was ok, I wasn't blown away. Doesn't that sound terrible? Shows how much things have changed for us country bumpkins! Phhhew.

We had a huge choice of lunch options, but obviously had our minds made up for us when we spotted Handmade Burger Co. They were busy and we couldn't get a table outside in the sunshine, but inside looked almost as good. Food was delicious - we both went for the Jimmy's Beef Classic burger and I added some malt to my deliciously thick chocolate milkshake. The menu at Handmade Burger Co.'s menu is vast and it was hard to choose, but we were both really pleased. I only wish they had a outlet a little closer to home!

Bellies full of beef, not doughnuts (improved food choices, see!? Ha!) and iPhone protected, we grabbed a photo with the famous bull and hit the long road home, The Bullring finally ticked off the list.

Handmade Burger Co., Unit 3 St. Martin's Square, Birmingham B5 4BW

* Please excuse photo quality - all of these snaps were taken on my new iPhone, which I am clearly yet to get the hang of!

This little piggy...

This weekend, we packed up our car and headed north, off on an adventure to see our lovely friends near Formby. It's been a few months since we were last able to visit and we've been looking forward to seeing them so much.

This wasn't any old visit though, oh no. We were setting out for a party. And not just any old party either, but a full on, proper, hog-roasting, summer party! As you can imagine, excitement levels in our house have been pretty high in the last few weeks!

Arriving late on Friday evening, with beautification in full swing, we settled in and caught up with plans for the next day. Turns out, hiring a hog roast is a pretty genius way to have a party - other than decorating and setting up drink stations, the hog roast team would arrive and take care of all of the food. AND all the food-related washing up. My kind of entertaining...

Bright and early on the big day, Team Summer Party swung into action, a flurry of activity across our friends' beautiful garden. Mr. O and I were put in charge of the setting up the gazebo and he did a great job of that whilst I stood around and took photos. Helpful as always! I was pretty impressed with the hipster-esque geometric shapes being created by the gazebo poles though, so a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do, right?

With enough time for a cheeky game of table tennis before getting ourselves suited and booted (I was royally beaten by my husband), we then helped with the set up of an impressive array of drinks, which I, of course, forgot to take a photo of. Typical. It was a thing of beauty though, complete with imported red cups. Red cups!

As the other guests started to arrive, we cranked up the music and awaited the roasted meat, which honestly didn't disappoint. Oh my word, I'm still thinking about it now. Mmmmmm... It went down very well indeed with the crowd, as did the absolutely massive cakes that we feasted on for dessert. Obviously, I went for the chocolate option. Hey, at least I'm consistent!

We had such a brilliant day - the weather may not have got the summer memo, but it was so much fun to be outdoors, in a colourful garden with good food and great company. The rain started to fall just as the crowds started heading home. Perfection.