Cake International - London 2013

Ever been to a mouth-watering show??

 

Ok, at first glance, this may not seem edible, but it IS cake. This amazing cakes was competing with other amazing cakes at Cake International - The Sugarcraft, Cake Decorating and Baking Show in London this past weekend.

I will be the first to admit, that I like watching tv programs like Cake Boss, Cupcake Wars, Ultimate Cake Off, The Next Great Baker because of the creative process. They could create something reminding of the cakes on display at this show.... but getting to see works of art like these close up is priceless.

I know that this owl is cake - but just look at this creature: How can one eat that? Or even cut slices of cake from that?

All the details on the cakes - spoke to some of the competitors as they were hanging around the creations talking to us visitors. Was mindblowing to hear how fast some worked, that some have only baked/ decorated for a very short time and what inspired them. They shared a lot of their thoughts as they could sense how a lot of us appreciated the creativity.

As an amateur baker it was great to get inspiration - somthing to look up to and something to aspire just a little bit when creating a cake. May never be as good as the competitors, but they do inspire you to move just a little out of your comfort zone every time.

More photos to be found here

Kon-Tiki

A Norwegian man, Thor Heyerdahl, decided in 1947 that he would prove, that South Americans were the first settlers and not Asians, as it was commonly believed.

 

What seemed to be absurd was the way he was going to prove it. He gathered 5 other Scandinavians to go with him on a raft, built as they would have done it 1500 years ago - thus depending on Mother Nature to bring the raft from Peru to Polynesia... 101 days it would take him to reach the goal.

 

Only with radio communication and a kamera as the only modern things onboard, not comprimising the mission to sail without modern technology, he passed the Pacific... when he published a book, many thought it might be science fiction, but his Oscar awarded documentary about the journey on the Kon-Tike blew people away.

 

Still to this day, the accomplisment is amazing and beautifully captured in this movie. No wonder it was nominated to an Oscar for best foreign movie.

Why Does This Never Happen.....

.... when I travel to London Heathrow's Terminal 5??

See the clip that will make you smile, and believe me, when I land at Heathrow Airport later today, this will be popping into my head

Commemorating Jane Austen

The Royal Mail UK is commemorating the 200th year of the publishing of Jane Austen's beloved novel Pride and Prejudice with these stamps - and I was lucky that a friend remembered my love for Jane Austen's books so having a set above my computer :o) Each of her novels got a stamp and it does not get any more English than that - always thought that it is nice to use national icons on stamps when sending the old fashioned mail.

Well those things are normal - but wondering what the Belgians were thinking, when launching stamps with chocolate taste?? Maybe that could have been useful here a couple of years ago, but now all stamps are self-adhesive.

A French Affair

How would you react, if a family member left you her antique stall?

This is exactly what happens to Gina and Sally Makepiece in Katie Fforde’s latest novel, A French Affair. When their aunt Rainey leaves them her stall at the French House. The owner of French House, Matthew Ballinger, was a friend of Rainey, so one of her wishes is that they work together with him to continue her calling in the antiques world.

Learning how to spot junk from the real thing. How to make a deal with a customer? Can fellow antiques dealers be trusted when offering you help? Can some of the junk be transformed into beautiful pieces sold other places than at an antique market?

Again a good read from Katie Fforde, and just after finishing it, it realised that I was looking at things at a local fleamarket / antiques market, not buying anything but feeling almost as if I was inside the book.
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Feeling a bit like Rory Gilmore from Gillmore Girls, since I almost never leave my appartment without a book - any waiting or travel time is used reading those pages. Maybe you have seen me in a long waiting line at the immigration in foreign countries' airports? I will be easy to spot, as I most of the time start reading while the queue ahead of me is slowly getting shorter. Amazing how time can fly by when you are in good company of a a book :o)

Les Misérables - Revisited

If you think that you are going to see an action movie, since the movie is starring actors like Russel Crowe (Gladitor) and Hugh Jackman (The X-men movies and Wolverine), Les Misérables should not be your choice. If you can not stand a man singing, when his friends have just been killed, Les Misérables is not the right choice. If you think that the commercials reminding you to switch off mobile phones are necessary, but you and your spouse keeps talking loud during Les Misérables, you should not have chosen to see it at the cinema.

 

Les Misérables, once again adapted into a movie - this time based on the musical version, so yes this is almost three hours of famous actors singing throughout the movie. I have seen the musical both in London and in Copenhagen so could not wait to see the new version that recently won three OSCARs but it is annoying when people are complaining loudly while watching the movie - some of them walked out during the movie, as they clearly had not realised that it was a musical.

 

Don't you read what the movie is about or watch the trailer before paying money to watch a movie at the cinema. Ok, I used cinema points to see the movie (free ticket), but for me that is almost like spending money so I still want to know in advance what type of movie to expect. I liked the movie and was also thrilled about some of the eye candy in the movie - if you like the Les Misérables musical, this is definately one to see. What to expect - well the trailer is here.

Quartet

Opera diva in a nursery home - Ok that alone could not sell movie tickets - but I am talking about the movie "Quartet" directed by Dustin Hoffman and with a star struck cast like Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins, Bill Connelly andd Michael Gambon.

 

The cast does not let us down, but dazzle us with their presence and humour. The settings is a nursery home for musicians, so the home is filled with music and the tennants' everlasting huge passion  for their metier. There is sparkling of drama between some of the tennants, and then there are those who are just enjoying themselves immensely being among peers.

 

The nursery home needs funding to survive, so they are organizing a concert to raise money - will their latest arrival return from her retirement and dazzle the audience with her voice?

 

See it - it will make you in a good mood and it's a tribute to those elderly English actors that are still going strong and making us laugh.