I let down my hair!!!

Guess where today's item comes from. Go on bet you can't think. Where's the last place you would expect to find me one of the most unsophisticated people around. Someone who shuns refinery in favour of the quick and the sweet.Times up!

Now you better sit down for this one, I was at the ballet! Or rather the ballet came to my town and I went along for a gander. Now normally I wouldn't be too fussed about dancing and a prancing but a few reasons struck a cord. Firstly my girlfriend (insert amazing here) wanted to go, secondly the show was a darkish telling of Rapunzel. But finally because a trip to any theater brings an interval and that means Ice-cream. All three of these meant I was looking forward to today and the possibilities ahead.

The hair aspect is an odd thing to focus on as it didn't feature much.

The show was really cool, believe me I only go to the theater for comedy shows usually and have never seen anything to do with dancing in my life. But the dark and haunting soundtrack, coupled with the earthy tones was amazing and the all important interval became less important and quick to come around. I can strongly recommend the Lorent Ballet's telling of the Rapunzel fairy tale tour dates can be found Here.

I don't quite know when toffees considered old... or English

Before the ensuing ques and hordes of show seekers descended upon the trays of ice cream I flew to be ahead of the curve. On offer before me wasn't just the trio of Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate I had expected. No also there was Mint Choc Chip (not a fan sorry), Honey and Ginger (tempting). But there literally the last pot was the one for me Minghella's Old English Toffee. I snatched this up without even thinking of where the spoon was or if it was included. To be honest in the state of excitement I was in I would have shoveled with my palms like a meercat.

I quickly popped the lid and found the spoon within. Now the problem occurred for my ice cream routine tells me to wait for the second half and for the ice cream to melt before digging in. This is very difficult as you can imagine. I stared longingly at a beautifully beige frozen dessert with rather large looking chunks of burnt toffee. The wait seemed unbearable. Then the curtains rose the lights went down and the ballet and binging begun.

They look and feel really fancy!

The ice cream was great a lovely sweet and almost salty tasting ice cream. Really good quality no wonder the outside packaging boasted of it's heritage. The little pieces of toffee worked great adding crunch and bursts of toffee that I love. The only drawback was that the second half was shorter than the first and was over in what felt like ten minutes.

Overall I had an amazing night, show was great and the ice cream wasn't bad either. Now you weren't expecting me to say that ever. were you?

Score
Ice-cream - 9 out of 11

Found
Local Theater in those cool ice-cream tray things the users have.

Final Thoughts
I feel so manly after this post, well kinda, well not at all actually. But I'm loving it!!!

Hey Honeybun!

They say an army marches on its stomach. I don’t know quite who “they” are but then we never do, do we? Well I know I’m not quite a whole army but I can state that a Roy marches on his sweet tooth.

Often this marching occurs at lunchtime around the time when it calls for my caffeine kick in either tea or coffee form. For instance todays review was purchased at precisely one thirty alongside a cup of water and teabag. This treat has been tempting me from beside the counter for some time now and I’d been doing well to resist the urge. It’s called an Amondi from a company called Honeybuns.

They have a very friendly if a bit presumptuous packaging

 Apparently until now I have been doing a disservice to the café. For the packaging points out I should “Always say – “Amondi please” when ordering your coffee”. This is slightly pushy I think especially considering some days I don’t even have a coffee. I will let them off this time if they too can see past my misdemeanour of just handing the cake to the server and not asking for one. (As with all good relationships it’s about compromise.)


So what is an Amondi? I certainly want to know. According to Honeybuns it is their version of an Italian Ameretti, but gluten and dairy free. Now I’m not an expert but other than being rather domed and round I don’t quite see a similarity. It’s not got the same obviously crunchy shell for one and it’s about four times the size. Clearly their Ameretti term is rather broad and liberal as it means little bitter things (thanks wiki). These are neither little nor do I think it will taste bitter, though I'll let them off on both accounts.

Still I won’t hold that against it and that almond in the centre is mighty tempting. I open it up and am surprised immediately on the weight and the feel of this biscuit. I’m starting to regret it now, I think if I attempt to dunk this it may just finish off my tea for me. It smells pleasantly sweet and nutty however so all may not be lost folks.

Compare and contrast time folks

It has a doughy feel to it and when I break a bit off I find it appears to be mostly ground up nuts, like compressed sweet tobacco or the filling of a bounty bar. Not really a biscuit more like a small cake. Before I delve in I do the obvious and pick off the almond. Biting down I get what I’d expect and a bit more as it’s taken some of the sweetness from the Amondi. I take this as a good sign of things to come especially if it accompanies a sugar high.


So without further delay I try the cake/biscuit itself. I was right it has that same bitty texture you get with any products concerning desecrated nuts of some identity. It’s nice and crumbly whilst still keeping its form so you’re not covered in droppings. The taste is sweet and faintly fruity but not necessarily nutty, thankfully the sweetness isn’t overpowering or sickly and I find myself easily demolishing the whole piece in one sitting. I tried dunking it but considering it’s already moist and my teas already sweet neither make any passing impact.

May not appear appetizing but at least it perked me up

I don’t think I’ll be asking for it again “when ordering my coffee” however as it’s not the biscuit type thing I’m looking for. I need something crunchy to shake me up and gear me for the rest of the day. I would buy it again as a treat because it’s nice and sweet. One interesting point to me is the sweetness, which seems to come as the ingredients indicate from sugar. I would have thought considering the name of the brand and health conscious marketing that using honey would have been a more obvious choice.

Overall however it’s a great treat at lunch time though not necessarily for dunking. I hope to track down more products from Honeybuns soon.

Score
7 out of 11

Found
Local cafe's counter stategically placed.

Final Thoughts
The bee on the pack will be out of a job if they insist on using sugar.

Beware the Bownessie mi boy!!!

What’s Britain’s longest river? What can someone take a three hour boat tour around? And finlly what lies beneath its calm surface? All these and a few more burning issues will hopefully be answered in today’s blog.

Basically the answer is Lake Windermere and a lot of fish but little else. Leaving it at that wouldn’t be very entertaining for you to read. So today I’m writing from the southernmost point of the lake at a place imaginatively called the Lakeside. It has an aquarium which I strolled round as I await my vessel to take me to the town of Bowness. I’m not doing the three hour tour however as I have lots of important things to do and little time (although nothing actually springs to mind).

My fine vessel the Teal

Once seated on the fine boat the Teal we begin to sail out and I realise actually I wouldn’t mind doing the full three hours. It’s so relaxing just sitting here looking out the window watching the world go by. The scenery is beautiful even in the torrential rain coming down, yet the surface of the water still seems so calm. It’s so deep and still it reflects everything right back off it like a mirror,  creating a glorious effect with the surrounding hills.

However these calm deep blue waters may conceal a monster. Supposedly beneath me right now could be a beast! A terrible Green monster with teeth the size of my arm, with jaws big enough to catch this very ship and drag it down into the murky depths. A beast so terrible he chooses to wear a bright yellow cap and rescue stranded children instead if you believe the posters. I’m talking about Bow Nessie Lake Windermere’s very own mythical creature. Nope I’d not heard of him either until I saw the poster on the boat by which time it could have been too late for me! Clearly he needs to get himself a better PR agent; perhaps the Loch Ness Monster can suggest his.

By the time I'd seen this it was already too late!!!

Monster hunting aside, what could make this trip even better? Why a pot of tea and a couple of biscuits that’s what. I stowed the biscuits away in my coat as I wanted to review them and what better place to write than amongst this setting. The first biscuit is a Starbuck’s Biscotti I bought on a whim. I’ve been meaning to try Biscotti for a while, but whenever I have the chance I end up going for a chocolate wafer instead. The second is a shortbread biscuit featuring a startled pumpkin I purchased on one final outing to Bryson’s. Well it is Friday the 13^th so it seemed appropriate.

I know, I know much like these cookies I crumbled (bad pun is bad) and returned to Bryson’s for a third time. I can’t help it I’m addicted to their baked goods. At least I am admitting it which is the first step to recovery. Also I need to stock up It’s nearly the end of my trip and I need supplies to help with going cold turkey from the great week.

So first up we have the Biscotti, upon opening I’m not met with any smell which is slightly concerning but I persevere. I am shocked at how solid these are; honestly they are more like rocks than biscuit. I’m seriously concerned for my teeth on this one. Clearly not too concerned, as I soon take a bite off the end. It tastes great with a subtly sweet taste, the ends are slightly burnt too giving it a great toasted taste. This goes towards the centre however replaced with almonds that add their own flavour and crunch.

One thing that’s kept me from purchasing I the past is how dull these look but they are actually pretty varied. There’s even a slight whisper of orange but that could just be me. When dipped the cookie gets damp but doesn’t fall apart, it also helps bring out the sweetness and the nuts maintain some of its crunch. A very nice biscuit I will definitely be buying more.

This biscuit kept evil at bay, also what you can't see is it was glittery. Useless but nice touch!

Next up the Bryson’s pumpkin biscuit, I think it’s shortbread but seems very thick (not that I’m complaining). I take a bite and I’m immediately surprised at the icing, I had expected it to be hard and brittle. Yet instead it’s soft and creamy as though it had only just been applied. It has no taste of its own being mostly for show and texture. This is a good thing however as it allows the taste of the cookie to come through.

What a taste at that, it crumbles and melts instantly with a freshly baked buttery taste that’s divine. When dunked it does get a little soggy and you lose the satisfaction of melting it in your mouth but it still tastes great. Bryson’s have done it again; I’m going to miss those guys. (I would like to point out I am not getting paid by them they just happen to be the bakery near my hotel.)

Overall it maybe Friday the 13^th but I’m anything but unlucky. Great scenery, great biscuits, great tea. It’s amazing final day to my trip. Why do holidays have to end?

Score

Biscotti 5 out of 11

Pumpkin 7 out of 11

Found

Biscotti-Starbucks

Pumpkin- Bryson's bakery

Final thoughts

I wonder if a few shops I've been in recently have a delivery range of half the country?