Enjoying The Last Days Of Summer Whatever The Weather*

When you're a child the days seem to drag, weeks seem like months and summers seem to go on forever. When you're an adult though the weeks and months tend to blur into one, and your life seems to be flying by at a million miles an hour. It hard to believe it, but this weekend is the last bank holiday for most us in the UK, till Christmas. What a scary thought, and with the children going to back school soon, and college and university starting up again, for many of us this weekend probably signifies the unofficial end of summer 2017.

Unusually for the UK, the bank holiday weather forecast doesn't actually look that bad, especially if you live in the south of England, but come on lets be realistic, in this green and pleasant land of ours we're never far away from a shower of rain. Although we've had the odd nice day, by and large this summer has been a bit of a washout. I'm still praying that we're going to get the Indian summer that the newspapers keep promising us, but in the meantime we need to use a bit of that British resolve and make the best of it. So this bank holiday weekend, put your latest DIY project on the back burner, crank up DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince and Summertime, on a waterproof speaker like the Panasonic Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker and enjoy the long weekend, and the last days of summer, whatever the weather.

Unlike most people in the UK I'm not the biggest fan of barbecues but if the weather's decent a bit of al fresco eating is the way to go, so get outside and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. Get the music blasting, chill down some bottles and cans, and some soft drinks, or maybe even make up some jugs of Pimms or cocktails if you're feeling fancy. and then prepare enough food to feed the 5000.

Pop some potatoes wrapped in foil in the barbecue coals, then make or buy some nice salads, breads and accompaniments, and then fill your barbecue with enough sausages, burgers, chicken, and chops to feed the entire street.

In order to host a good barbecue though don't forget to provide a few vegetarian option for both vegetarians and people who are trying to stave off the meat sweats. As a vegetarian I've been to barbecues before and the only thing that I've been able to eat is the salad - not ideal. Thankfully there are loads of barbecue friendly, veggie options available including steaks, burgers and sausages, just cook them indoors or make a foil parcel on your barbecue to keep them away from those meat juices.

If you want to be a bit fancy though and really impress your guest then why not treat them to a veggie kebab or two. Kebabs always look so impressive but they are so easy to make, stick some things on skewers, add some sort of marinade and then pop them onto the grill. The possibilities are endless but why not try adapting my Lentil, Roasted Vegetable And Halloumi Salad recipe. Serve the lentil and rocket mixture on the side, and pop chunks of pepper, courgette, and halloumi on to some skewers, and then brush with olive oil, lemon zest and thyme leaves and then grill until the cheese has browned slightly, and the veggies are charred - simples and a bit more exciting than a burnt sausage!

Let's be honest though, as I've just said when does the British weather ever cooperate. The weather forecast promised fine weather so you plan for a barbecue or a picnic and then what happens? well the heavens open and all of your plans go out of the window! So what do you do? well like with all things you should have contingency plans, so if it rains, bring that picnic or that barbecue indoors.

Put on some summer themed tunes, and light some candles to set the scene, then if you can, move your furniture to sides of the room, and spread out either a paper table cloth or a picnic blanket on the floor. Get some cushions to sit on and some cozy throws to wrap yourself in, and then bring out some cactus, flamingo, or pineapple themed napkins, straws, glasses and paper plates, and bring out a board game or two, and before you know it you'll have forgotten all about the rain

It goes without saying that whatever your were going to cook outdoors, you can cook inside on the oven or grill, but why not impress your guests and be a little bit more experimental with you indoor picnic fare. Have a little look online at sites like BBC Food and you'll be sure to find lots and lots of summery recipes. to take both your indoor or your outdoor picnic to the next level (I'm loving the sound of the Ploughman's Cheese And Pickle Tart!). At the end of the day who cares if it's raining, with the right setting, music, food, drink and company, does it really matter that summer is nearly over?

Although I'm not planning either a big get together, a picnic or a barbecue this weekend I'm definitely going to have a good time regardless of the weather, and I'm going to take some time out to listen to some good tunes and enjoy some good food. Do you have any big plans for the bank holiday weekend? Let me know in the comments x

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#365DaysOfHappiness - Why I Love Music And The Playlist Shuffle Tag*

I don't know why but there is something about birthday's that makes you want to shake everything up and start again. Birthday's used to be something to look forward to - a day full of cake and presents -. You didn't dread them you looked forward to getting older. I'm now officially in the last year of my 30's and whilst I don't necessarily view getting older as a bad thing, I have spent more than a few minutes lately contemplating where on earth the last 30 odd years have gone, and asking myself why haven't I done more with my life.

Instead of looking back though I'm intending to spend the last year of my 30's living my best life, doing things that make me happy, trying new things, and taking a few risks along the way. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know that last week I started the #365DaysOfHappiness project and I've made it my goal to post a picture of something that has made me happy every day in the run up to the big 4 0 next May.

Today's photograph reflects one of my major passions in life, music. I'm not talking about playing a musical instrument I'm talking about the simple pleasure of listening to a piece of music that you love. I was lucky enough to grow up in a household that loved music. My dad was a big country fan, with a record collection that matched that passion so I grew up listening to the likes of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Hank Williams, with the odd bit of Elvis, and Jimmy Nail thrown in for good measure. My mum on the other hand listened to a wide variety of stuff ranging from classical to show tunes, and even Gregorian chants. It's safe to say that my musical education was a varied one but I'm thankful for that, I can safely say that I can appreciate most types of music, in the early days I was a bit of a metal fan, one of the first gigs I went to was Guns 'N' Rose, Soundgarden, and Faith No More, before progressing on like so many other 90's kids to a bit of Brit Pop when I spent my time wearing Adidas Gazelles and watching the likes of Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Ocean Colour Scene.

Nowadays I'll pretty much listen to anything, I like something that's catchy or that I can sing along to and I appreciate DJ's and mixing as much as I do a full on bands that play proper instruments, I love it all. I literally listen to music every single day and it makes me happy in a way that few other things do, yes it can make me sad or melancholy on occasions but there is always an element of happiness in every emotion and that's the nature of the beast.

When it comes to listening to music I literally listen to it on every medium possible depending on where I am. I'm a big fan of digital radio, and I still watch music television, in an attempt to seem down with the kids or to reminisce about my own teenage years, you pick the channel you decide! Unlike a lot of people nowadays I still own a CD player, a turntable and several cassette players where I spend many hours pouring through my own and my parents prized collections, remembering songs, and remembering times gone by.

I do hanker for the past on the occasions but modern technology has really made a world of difference to the music fan, now you literally have every single song in the world at your finger tips, and available for your listening pleasure in seconds, via You Tube, a online listening service or via your smart phone. I don't spend as long on buses and public transport as I once did but one of my greatest pleasures now is sitting on a bus and in sticking in my earphones, and allowing the music to take me somewhere else, and of course who doesn't play music where there in the bath or the shower, I've pretended to be Adele, or Lana Del Ray more than once using my shampoo bottle as my microphone, come on, don't tell me that you haven't done the same ;) As far as technology has progressed that I still think the inbuilt speakers on smart phones sound a little tinny and don't real add to the listening experience, I've tried all the tricks to improve my in-shower and iPhone listening experience like putting my phone in a cup, a paper tube, a bowl and in the sink but I really do think that I need to invest in something like the Panasonic Speaker System, to improve my in-shower and round the house listening experience, it would certainly improve the sound quality but I don't think it could do much for my vocal abilities (can you believe I was actually in the school choir though - what were they thinking?)

So now that you know a little bit about my love of music and my listening habits I thought I'd share my eclectic musical tastes with you by doing this fun tag, The Playlist Shuffle Tag that somebody once tagged me in on Facebook x

The Playlist Shuffle Tag

-

"Sweet Disposition"

1. Put your iTunes/Foobar/Spotify/Whatever on shuffle. 
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer 
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS. 

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY? 
Empire State Of Mind - Alicia Keys

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? 
Joy To The World - David Bell, Huddersfield Choral Society 

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL? 
Lana Del Rey - Video Games

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? 
Telephone - Lady Gaga



WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? 
Tired - Adele - (Ha Ha!)

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO? 
Find Me - Kings Of Leon



WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? 
Stay With Me - Sam Smith

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? 
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? 
Disappear - INXS



WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR FIRST KISS? 
Ho Hey - The Lumineers



WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND 
Linger - The Cranberries 



WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? 
Story Of My Life - One Direction (freaky but this was genuinely the next song that I got)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? 
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Carole King

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? 
Need To Feel Love - Reflekt

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? 
Waterfall - The Stone Roses 



WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? 
Wings - Birdy



WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST: 
 Let It Go - Idina Menzel

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? 
Cold Little Heart  - Michael Kiwanuka



WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? 
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW? 
 Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol



WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? 
Someone Like You - Adele

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? 
Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap 



I'm not sure about the sense or reliability of some of the answers in determining my inner most thoughts but I hope this has given you just a sneaky peek into my musical world. I don't think there was anything too embarrassing there but believe me I do have a few things on there that do make me cringe a little bit when I hear them, Aqua anyone? Never mind it's all about the memories I guess, I do wish though that you could filter out Christmas albums though in the Summer, Joy To The World indeed haha x I'm going to tag anyone that wants to do this, so please give it a go, and share your random playlists with the world x If you do it, please link me up below I'd love to know what kind of music you listen to, and maybe I can discover a new favourite song or piece of music in the process x

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A Tribute

I wasn't the hugest Michael Jackson fan but there is no doubting his contribution to the world of music. Michael Jackson and his music has probably touched so many lives - one of my funniest memories of junior school is a school disco when one of my class mates decided to show everyone how to moonwalk and dance like MJ - a funny memory that has stuck in my mind for nearly 20 years. As a tribute I thought I'd share with you my favourite Michael Jackson song of all time - the lyrics are so poignant even today - I present Man In The Mirror - RIP X