That Was The Week That Was…
Well, we finally got our WeAreLife website fixed this week – still not 100% but 98% better than it was this time last week, after a friendly hacker decided to have a go at “improving” it. Design website almost restored, meant that a bit more of a normal kind of life could resume this week.
But it didn’t feel very “normal” when we headed off to The Mechanics Institute on Wednesday evening, to hear Dave Haslam doing one of his close-up and personal interviews. With David Miliband. To be honest, it doesn’t feel particularly normal to be up close & personal with the likes of Terry Hall or Jarvis Cocker, but David Miliband? Whatever your political persuasions, if you are into politics, it’s not a normal situation to be sitting, just a few feet away, while someone who could/should/will/won’t (delete as appropriate) be leader of one of the main political parties, tells you about his relationship with his brother. The Leader of the Opposition. Slightly surreal for a Wednesday evening.
David & Dave
Thursday saw a bit of relaxation – through our Twitter account we see so many amazing comments about The Rose Garden. Having done their website and uploaded menus and photographs we are often subjected to the mouth watering dishes on offer – but via a computer. So, on Thursday, we decided to knock off early and do it for real. The early evening menu is utterly amazing – it does change regularly but each time we’ve been, the quality is unbelieveably good. The main menu also has weekly changes - one of the dishes to look out for, as long as you’re not veggie, is squirrel nutkin…
Rose Garden, Scotch Egg
This week has also mostly been about reminding people that although Burton Road is partially closed and there’s a diversion in place, ALL businesses are still open. Times are tough and sometimes we just need to be reminded that there are businesses out there, doing brilliant things and offering fab services – and to coin a phrase from one business whose aim seems to be to total and utter monopolisation – “every little helps”…
West Didsbury
And talking of businesses, there’s a lovely newcomer on Burton Road – A Taste Of Honey. Packed full of fresh produce – cold meats, cheeses, olives, breads, pies, pastries, cakes and a good stock of vegetables – this is a lovely new independent addition to West Didsbury. Go check out if you haven’t done so already…
A Taste of Honey, West Didsbury
A Night At North Star Deli
So, I wasn’t quick to either download my photos or write this blog – and that means that my best lines were taken! Yes, North/South Food, I’m looking at you and your headline, and bloomin’ Liz Gregory and her “Supper Club Mash-Up“. Lesson learnt – strike while the iron’s hot…
Intros from Deanna...
So, it’s all been said very eloquently in the two blogs mentioned. All it really leaves me to say, as someone who just loves food, wine and great company, is that this Supper Club ticked all of the boxes. After being greeted on arrival with fizz and canapes – poppy seeded macaroons filled with smoked salmon and cream cheese, and rabbit empanadas – we felt that this might not be a vegetarian feast. Both were amazingly delicious – the sweetness of the macaroons at first tasted quite at odds with the well, salmony tasting salmon, but within no time, had me wondering why I’d never considered these flavours together before. And the rabbit empanadas – well, let’s just say I’m glad I wasn’t coming home to look Peter Rabbit in the eye. Delicious. Gone too quickly. And, hence no photographs…
Each course was accompanied by two glasses of complementary wines – it all seemed very decadent, especially when genial wine connisseur, Joe, from The Diablo Supper Club kept refilling the glasses, but again, like the macaroons and the salmon, something we quickly got used to.
So, what did we have to eat and drink? For starters, a trio of scallops on a bed of puy lentils and tomatoes, sitting in a pool of shimmering Chardonnay sauce, accompanied by a Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay and a Reserva Privada Sauvignon Blanc, the former being the perfect partner.
North Star Deli, Chorlton
The main course was a winter delight – although, again vegetarians may want to look away at this point. Thick, juicy and succulent slices – and when I say slices, I mean a good sized four or five slices per person – of venison, which had been marinading in Cabernet Sauvignon prior to cooking, sitting on top of a bed of savoy cabbage and with a rich red wine sauce and accompanied by a Venison Hunter’s Pie, topped with mashed celeriac. Seriously, divine. And washed down with perfectly temperate Shiraz and Carmenere, the latter being the hit on our table.
North Star Deli, Chorlton
Dessert was sublime – a Blood Orange Tart, which we were warned was sweet. Very sweet. And accompanied by a dessert wine, which was making its UK debut – the Casillero del Diablo Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. I expected a sugar rush, but was pleasantly surprised that my teeth didn’t fall out and that dessert and wine were in fact – perfect.
So, all in all a real treat of a night. Fabulous food. Wonderful wine. And lovely company spent with old friends and putting some faces to some familiar Twitter names. Huge thanks to Deanna and the team at North Star Deli and Joe and Briony from the Diablo Supper Club.
North Star Deli & Diablo Supper Club
January Sunshine…
We love where we live. We love that our friends are mostly on our doorstep. We love that we can enjoy a wonderful social life. But we also love that when we get that gorgeous wintery sunshine, we can be in complete isolation within twenty minutes. Beautiful…
Goyt Valley, January 2012
Christmas 2011…
Christmas morning saw us heading off up North for a family Christmas which involved much food, drink, festivities and a very excited three year old…
It also involved some very gorgeous weather and some bracing walks. Here’s what we saw, away from the city -
En route...
Roadworks & a rainbow...
Durham Cathedral...
The North East Coastline...
Boxing Day by the sea...
Tynemouth Priory...
The Tyne Bridge...
Boxing Day beach...
Boxing Day beach...
Tynemouth Harbour...
Big sky...
Ullswater
Windermere from Kirkstone Pass...
Lake Windermere...
Lake Windermere...
Happy Christmas From Us…
Merry Christmas
Just a little festive message to wish readers and followers of our Didsbury Life blog a very Happy Christmas. We might squeeze in another before 2012, but if not, wishing you a very Happy New Year too 
Helen, Pete & the Didsbury Life Team x
Who knew that broadband was *this* fragile…?
You might be under the misguided impression that the “internet” is a robust thing. A thing which seems to appear by magic and enables you to do all manner of wonderful things. A thing which enables you to communicate, learn, create, befriend. In the right hands, a good thing.
You might also think that a company who you pay money to, on a regular basis, for said internet, would hopefully provide it on a basis which is slightly more than erratic. Or, when there is a fault, that the people employed by that company might a) be arsed about the problem and b) have a smidgen of knowledge that might help resolve the problem.
But, no. Because we’re talking about Virgin Media. Now they’re probably no worse – and no better – than any other company out there, so I’m not specifically having a go at them. It’s just that we have the misfortune of having inherited them (or rather NTL who were then taken over) when we bought the house. So, this could probably be about any of them, because I guess they all have a similar attitude to their customers.
So, anyway to cut a long story short. We have broadband. We don’t have broadband. Reboot. No change. Call call centre. Reboot. No change. Request engineer. Virgin Media don’t do engineers. Bang head off wall. Repeat process. Repeatedly.
But tonight – a breakthrough! After going through the steps above – AGAIN – with my new friends at the call centre, I happened to mention that this problem didn’t seem to be isolated to just us. Having spoken to neighbours, they were experiencing similar.
Neighbours? Neighbours you say? – the call centre was almost alight. And why? Well, this was PROOF that it couldn’t possibly be anything to do with Virgin Media. It was all down to INTERFERENCE from our neighbours… Or, possibly because the person on the other end of the phone felt that they needed to offer slightly more proof, it could also be due to interference from our… washing machine.
So now you know. If you are experiencing an interruption in your broadband service, do not be silly enough to think it could have anything to do with the provider. No, the fault is all yours…and your own interference
A Real Treasure Trove in Levenshulme…
Trove Foods
Trove Foods
Anyone who has visited any of the local markets in South Manchester, may have come across Trove Foods. Run by now-husband-and-wife-team, Katy & Marcus, Trove’s aim is to supply food made from fresh, seasonal and organic produce. From their market stall, they sell jams, preserves and chutneys and often a soup of the day. This was how we first got to know Katy & Marcus. On a cold March day, their spicy soup was the order of the day – and we never forget a good taste! Their stalls are always utterly gorgeous – recycled jars filled with their produce, sitting in apple crates and often with jars of wild flowers, supplied by… of course, Bud Garden Centre. If you follow our blogs, you’ll know that collaboration is our most favourite word – and Bud and Trove do just that
So, when we found out that Katy & Marcus were looking for premises, we were very excited for them. We also had an inkling what it might look like – and when it opened last week, on Stockport Road in Levenshulme, we weren’t disappointed. Across the road from the big antiques centre, you can’t really miss Trove as their original Citroen van is usually parked outside…
Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
The interior is just perfect. White washed walls, stripped floorboards, railway sleeper shelves, metro tiles, subtle colours – and a huge centrepiece table, made by Marcus, out of reclaimed boards. The menu is currently very simple and rustic. On the day we went, there were two soups – Mushroom and Beetroot & Stilton – homemade savoury tarts and homemade bread. Both varieties of soup were simply stunning – and served in big bowls with generous slices of sourdough bread. There was no scrimping going on here!
Hopefully, the addition of Trove will help to continue the resurgence of the A6 corridor through Levenshulme. We can’t recommend enough heading over and sampling some really gorgeous rustic, simple (in the best way possible) & home made food…
Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Beetroot & Stilton Soup, Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Mushroom Soup, Trove Foods, Stockport Road, Levenshulme
Trove Foods can be found at 1032 Stockport Road, Levenshulme M19 3EX
Merry Christmas From Cavendish Primary School
For the past eighteen years, the last day of term before Christmas has usually involved chasing coursework, setting holiday homework, refusing repeated requests to play dodgy downloaded DVDs – “Oh go on, Miss, such & such a teacher has let us watch the start of it…” and sitting through end of term assemblies and “talent” shows. So, this being my first year not having to do anything school related, I should have have said a big fat “No” when asked if I wanted to attend an end of term concert. However, this message came from Cavendish -
If you are at a loose end tomorrow 9.30am for 30 mins, come to see our Y5/6 show. It’s amazing, very very different…
From the school that put on CavFest, this was a bit tempting. So, with seasonal snow falling, I once again found myself in a school hall, watching an end of term concert. Years 5 & 6 were buzzing with that kind of excitement that can only eminate from primary school kids – even the cutest of cute Year 7 pupil has usually started, out of necessity, to become a bit “cool” by the time Xmas rolls round.
This concert focused on the WW1 Christmas Day ceasefire, with the children singing carols in English, French & German, to a backdrop of very poignant images, and pop up narrators telling the story. The final song – “All Together Now” – said it all really…
Cavendish Primary School, Christmas Concert 2011
Cavendish Primary School, Christmas Concert 2011
Cavendish Primary School, Christmas Concert 2011
Cavendish Primary School, Christmas Concert 2011
Cavendish Primary School, Christmas Concert 2011
*images taken with permission of school
On Yoolis Night – Strictly Medieval
After seemingly weeks and weeks and weeks of X-Factor and the circus that surrounds it, we did something very different last night. We headed off to The Royal Northern College of Music to see Joglaresa performing Medieval Christmas Carols. For those of you know us, this may come as a surprise. For those of you who don’t know us, this might sound just plain bonkers – or, it might sound amazing. The latter is correct!
Let me explain why we were there and give a bit of context. Our niece Ruth, is an amazingly talented singer. But she didn’t choose an easy route. She graduated from Trinity College of Music (TCM) where she studied Historical Performance with Timothy Travers-Brown and Philip Thorby. Ruth is now studying at the Koninklijk Conservatorium of The Hague, NL with Gerda Van Zelm and Jill Feldman. She also plays the mediæval Harp and is receiving training in mediæval languages and music from Belinda Sykes with whose group, Joglaresa, she regularly appears.
And this is why we were in the audience at The RNCM last night. And, I tell you what. If you want to see REAL talent – whether it’s your musical taste or not, check out Ruth’s website, close your eyes. And listen…
Ruth Fraser - with Joglaresa at The Royal Northern College of Music
A Garden Sale? In December? Only in West Didsbury…
Carla, from Inspirit Interiors, started working with us a couple of weeks ago, and we have to says she’s one of the bubbliest characters we’ve come across in a long while. Not only is she uber-enthusiastic about literally everything, she sees an opportunity in everything. We like people like Carla. People who are prepared to give things a go – even if there’s a chance these things might fall on their arses.
So, when Carla mentioned an idea that she’d been chatting with her good friend, Claire, about, we loved it. Because initially it seemed mad. But a great idea if we could pull it off…
And so the Festive Garden Sale came into being! Carla is an interior designer & has a garage full of upcycled, renovated and restored pieces of amazing furniture – selling them in her garden on Burton Road seemed a perfect idea, but we felt we could develop this idea. The lovely Bud Garden Centre was approached – Xmas trees, eco gifts and decorations boxed off. Juliette Hamilton, Didsbury based willow designer extraordinaire, was there with her beautiful handmade willow weavings, Mike from Urban Coppice was on hand, carving amazing kitchen utensils, Bod showcased his copper fire bowls and mulled wine and mice pies were a-plenty.
All-in-all, an event that seemed to exude real Christmas spirit. And, in true West Didsbury spirit, it still went ahead despite torrential downpours…
Festive Garden Sale, West Didsbury
Festive Garden Sale, West Didsbury
Festive Garden Sale, West Didsbury
Festive Garden Sale, West Didsbury
Festive Garden Sale, West Didsbury
Festive Garden Sale, West Didsbury
Festive Garden Sale, West Didsbury
