The World of Siân

It was one of my close friend’s birthdays and I wanted to do something special and different for her. I decided to make her a birthday cake. I wasn’t sure what to choose at first, then it hit me there was only one thing I could do that she would love… the worm from labyrinth!!! We were having a little girlie get together for her birthday with lots of food and drink and to watch the Labyrinth film, not only because it’s an absolute classic and one of her favourites but this month marks the 25th Anniversary of the films release. Also one of her favourite characters in the film is the worm. Here is what he looks like if you’re not sure: So the task was underway to construct this cake. First it was to think of the extra bits that would be used to decorate it. I ordered some blue sparkly edible glitter to sprinkle on him but was getting no where with cake decorating shops for the other bits. I was wracking my brains. Then on a quick visit to Cardiff one morning I happened to vi...

I was trying to come up with inspiration for my friends Halloween party. I wanted to make something ghoulish and savoury to take. I stumbled upon a ladies website which showed you how to make intestines. Fantastic and brilliant, saved my aching brain. I must say this is so easy to make, the only thing I need to perfect is what filling to go in it. The lady said Guacamole but I thought that this might be a bit bland and I went for Brie and Cranberry. Unfortunately (although still very nice) I put in too much cranberry sauce and not enough brie and so it turned out to be sweet rather than the desired savoury. I could even try putting in a stronger cheese which might help. You could also do these with maybe cheese and ham or even sausage meat but this party there were mainly vegetarians and so I went for the no meat option. All you need is one pack of ready made puff pastry made into a long strip; add the filling of your choice, leaving enough space around the edges to pinch th...

Last Friday there was still hope of Wales being in the final for the World Cup in the Rugby and the weather was warm enough to walk around in t-shirts. This Friday we’re in the 3rd place play offs for the Rugby World Cup and I had to scrape ice off my car this morning!!! What a difference a week can make. Anyway, back to last Friday. I took a flexi day leave (one thing the government hasn’t taken from us poor Public Sector workers yet) and spent it with my superb friend Ms James . We had a late morning start catching the train to Cardiff Bay where we took a little stroll around enjoying the sun and popping into some boutiques. We then decided to go for a cocktail before heading for our champagne cream tea. Mimosa’s was our place of choice and we settled down for a lovely Manhattan whilst taking in the view of the lovely barman with gorgeous blue eyes, ensuring we will have to return there. All too quickly we had to finish our cocktails and head off to find the place we were h...

24th September 2011 saw the Great British Cheese Festival come around once more to the great landscape of Cardiff Castle . What a spectacular venue for a glorious event. My mum, sister and I tend to go to this magnificent festival at least every other year, sometimes every year. This year we also decided to take my wonderful niece and nephew. Luckily we arrived early, just as the big wooden doors opened revealing the wondrous sight of peaks rising up from all the tents, the colours and aromas from the flower and herb stall and the magical sounds of the music being played on the bandstand. We headed straight for the main market hall tent, luckily it was fairly quiet which allowed us a preliminary walk around before we selected our purchases. The twins enjoyed trying the cheese my niece enjoying them slightly more than my nephew, taking a great liking to a hard goat’s cheese. I purchased a Boksburg Blue and three Snowdonia Cheese , the black bomber, amber mist, and green thun...

What a wonderful way to start my flexi day off watching one of the Rugby World Cup matches. With this lovely relaxing start the day was looking good. Soon it was off to Swansea to meet my friend Taggers for a spot of lunch at the first stop of our tour. Oystermouth Castle has been newly reopened with accessible walk ways and interpretation panel. They have done a fine job of making this castle agreeable to the public for a miniscule entrance fee which is well worth the price. You can even walk around some of the battlements taking in the spectacular views of the Swansea coastline. There was some scaffolding in place in certain areas of the castle when we visited which looks like they are doing further works either to just make it safe or to increase the amount which is accessible to the public. Either way, it’s a lovely castle, in a great location near fab coffee shops and the best place to get fresh cockles. From here we went to Swansea Castle in time for our scheduled t...

For my 30th birthday my fabulous friend who I have known for 12 years bought me a voucher for afternoon tea for two at a location of my choosing. Unfortunately as me and said friend live quite far apart I was unable to take her with me, so took my other fabulous friend Fordy. On arriving in Stratford after many a detour around the M5 thanks to having too much fun in the car and not concentrating on directions (also I refuse to use Satnav it makes me even more of a road rage victim) we found the hotel we had booked the afternoon tea in and parked up. Brilliant, as we were using the hotel’s facilities and having afternoon tea there we could park for free and it was a two minute walk from the shopping centre. It was a glorious day, a lot hotter than we had anticipated but not that we were complaining. We donned our sunglasses and headed for a look around the shops. I just had to stop for a drink and chose a gorgeous Strawberry milkshake that was quite filling really. We he...

My fantastic friend Ms James (blogger of 1001 fun things to do in Aberystwyth , Cocktails at Dawn and Fat Ninja Girl ) organised a surprise weekend for me the other week. I was to be at her house for 7pm Friday evening when all would be revealed; all I was told was bring an overnight bag, dress smart casual with fairly smart but comfortable shoes and a pair of dresser shoes to change into. Full of excitement that Friday work couldn’t pass quick enough and when 3 o’clock eventually ticked its way around I was ready to sprint out the door and whiz home. Not knowing what to expect I was a bit perplexed as to what to pack. I decided to have a shower and mull it over. With bags then packed and shoes at the ready I headed over to Ms James abode. On arrival I was greeted with an envelope which inside contained the details of the wonderous weekend ahead. It began that evening with drinks in our local as it was a gorgeous warm evening then back to Ms James’ for delightful little munchies,...