Hobbycrafts Craft Fair and Cake International

7 hours stacked full of craft and cake - a great day.

I got on the 8.12 am train to head down to Birmingham to meet my friend Celeste and use our £6 worth Tesco Club Card Vouchers for entry to both the Hobbycrafts Craft Fair and Cake International shows.  We met up at New Street Station and took the train to Birmingham NEC (it was a bit of a crush and apparently you can get charged for First Class tickets if they find you just in the vestibule area - cheeky!).

We started off with the Cake International Show and went straight over to look at all the amazing cake competition entries.  Everything bar a few internal supports and dummies is made entirely from sugar and it's quite overwhelmingly amazing just how clever people are.  

I took over 100 photos which is far too many to post here, but here is the link to the whole album.  However, here are a couple of my favourites:

This one was in the Handbags and shoes category - I was really impressed that it's literally been knitted/crocheted together with icing.

This one was in the cupcakes category - I had thought that cupcakes would be a fairly straightforward entry,but I was really impressed how creative some of the entries were.  I particularly liked the typewriter in this one.

These two were in the wedding cake with "at least 2 tiers category" and there were so many entries and they were all amazing.  I liked the Halloween themed cake and I also loved the really tall square tiered cake as it was really different.

This category was flowers made from sugarcraft and they were startlingly realistic.  I was really impressed with the tiny detail on them.

These two were in the "Sculpted novelty cake category".  The Roast chicken looked really realistic and the glaze was really convincing.  Slimer was great too, the shaping was really clever, but there was also some sugar "slime" as well.

These two were in the younger category and I loved Oscar who was in the 12 - 18 year old category - really realistic, fun and reminded me of my favourite Sesame Street character.  I apparently insisted to my Mum when I was about 2 years old that it was "arsker" and not "Oscar" as she was trying to get me to pronounce it.  The Dinosaur was in the Under 12 category and was more impressive than I think anything that I might be able to manage! 

This was my favourite cake - Hagrid's house.  The detail was incredible, the pumpkins, the toadstools and best of all even inside Hagrid's hut had amazing detail.

I'm in so much admiration of these cakes, I'd love to have the time and energy to be able to create something so detailed and impressive - not sure that I would be able to bring myself to be able to eat it though after so much work!

We stopped for some lunch and I showed Celeste some more photos from my trip to Bali and had some Sushi and Edamame beans.

Next we walked around the sales stalls and I bought some chocolate "melts" in purple, red and brown (peanut butter flavour) some cellophane bags, purple and red lolly sticks.  I also bought some cellophane with patterns on them that you put melted chocolate on and when you peel off the cellophane the patterns stay on.  I'm going to be making some Chocolate Lollies for Christmas Presents that I learned at the Living La Vida Cocoa WI workshop in October.   I also bought some edible glitter to make them all a bit more exciting!

We then went into the Hobbycrafts, Crafts for Christmas and Arts Material Live section of the show.  

I bought a couple of goody bags as they are always pretty good value for money - the Prima bag was pretty good with some magazines and an OPI crackle nail polish in black which is itself about £8 and the whole bag was only £3!  The other bag was £6 and had loads in it, lots of card making papers and letters and some ribbons - apparently the value was circa £50 and I can believe it!

I then was enticed to buy some more nail polish after an impressive demonstration when I had a strawberry, flowers and a French Manicure drawn onto my nails in seconds using a set of 10 polish pens from Nails Supreme.  This morning I've turned all my nails into a French Manicure, they are great and really easy to use.  I paid £20 although apparently they are usually £30, but a quick google search revealed that you can buy them for £20 online.

I bought 4 balls of Rico Can Can yarn to make scarves to sell on the stall at the Buns & Roses craft stall.  I've used Rico Can Can before and it's so easy to use - cheat knitting really as it knits so fast and I will make it into scarves that look like this:

I can make a scarf up in about an hour or so in front of the TV, so it's a really good craft for winter nights sat watching my favourite programs from Sky Plus like The Bill, Fresh Meat and and of the CSI or Criminal Minds series.  It also only needs someone to know how to knit basic knitting and cast off, you don't even need to know how to cast on!

I then bought some really good value fabrics for patchworking - 4 pieces for £6 and then some Christmas smelling oil - cinnamon, clove, orange - really smells like Christmas!  Here is my haul!

Someone else was very interested in my bag when I got back in, not sure why as there was no fish or meat in my purchases!

Sukawati Market, Sanur Beach and a long journey home

This blog entry I'm writing on the train back to Leeds from Kings Cross.  Everyone said that I would be really shocked by the weather and how cold it would be, but actually it's been quite pleasant.  I do love the warmth and sunshine of Bali, but there is something to be said of the ability to walk 100 yards without literally dripping sweat everywhere!

Anyway, I wanted to write about my last full day in Bali which was really good fun.   The day started very well with a gorgeous Banana Pancake with caramel and coconut on it and the usual selection of fruit - Papaya, Pineapple, Watermelon and the option of a tiny banana or green tangerine with coffee.   Rachel came by my hotel with Kiran having found a really lovely guy to be our driver for the day called Putu - Made was busy with some preparations for a family cremation.

First of all we drove to Sukawati market as the market that I'd been keen to visit in Ubud is currently being renovated.  Sukawati market is huge and I think that we saw only a very small part and mostly the tourist shops, and it was perfect for completing my holiday present shopping.  I bought 3 sarongs for the pretty batik patterns that I will be able to use in my embroidery and sewing work, a lovely little dress for one of my friend's babies (who hasn't been born yet so will have to wait a while to grow into it.), some small paintings for my Mum and some incense for Coddy from the "local" part of the market.  Everything is brightly coloured and I could really spend a whole lot of money there and if transporting them back to the UK wasn't an issue I'd love to buy some of the amazing wood carvings and furniture.

We got back in the car and drove out to Sanur which is a beautiful coastal resort.  We grabbed some lunch - impressively there was a baby chair so Kiran was able to bang his hands on the table and make a mess of all the food that he was eating and Rachel got to eat using both hands for a change.  We both had some very tasty Nasi Campur.

It was a warm and sticky day and so we walked along the beach and found a nice spot to lay out our sarongs and get into our swimming things and Rachel put Kiran into his swimming outfit.  He was much more interested in playing with and trying to eat the sand of course.  

We went into a beautifully clear sea which was really calm and shallow, and as warm as a nice bath and perfect for Kiran's first experience of swimming in the sea.  He loved it and smiled and giggled as we splashed him around in the water.  Rachel and Kiran got out and I swam around for a bit until I spotted a sea snake nearby and so decided that was a good time to get out!

We walked along the beach for a little bit and I bought an amazing kite for my Dad which was shaped like a boat and we saw a Labrador that was happily lying in the sea enjoying the warm water (he was there for ages as we saw him on the way there and the way back!)  

Our driver took us back to Ubud and we got showered and changed and relaxed in the hotel room until Made came with Maya to pick us up and take us to a lovely restaurant for dinner.

The restaurant was very attractive and a large section of it had individual tables in little huts where you sit on cushions on under low tables.  We ordered a big fish sharing platter and some rice and it was pretty spicy, but really tasty.  Maya and Kiran amused themselves by trying to crawl under the table and Kiran enjoyed shredding paper napkins like an Andrex puppy.  I ordered a young coconut drink which was huge and very tasty.  Basically it was a whole young coconut with the top sliced off and some sugar, avocado and jelly added to it - was more than enough for a pudding even though it was just a drink!  

After dinner I was dropped back at the hotel and was determined to fulfil the final thing on my list that I'd wanted to do and I walked down to find somewhere that I could get a manicure!

I initially went back to the first place I'd been where I'd got my pedicure done earlier on - Kenko, but at 8pm it looked distinctly closed so I walked back and just went for the first place that wasn't too far off the main street who shouted "Yes massage" at me!  I asked if they could do a manicure then and they said yes and I went to Daisy Spa which was by no means glamourous, but for £3 for a manicure I was more than happy.  At the last minute I also thought that I may as well get my toes redone as the pedicure I'd had was starting to chip after 10 days of walking around in flip flops and so the girl got her friend and I had my feet done at the same time.  It was a bit of a weird place and experience made even odder when the girl doing my nails told me "You are beautiful, I like your face".   I took it as a compliment, but "I like your face" is one of the strangest compliments I think that I've ever been paid.

Back in the hotel room I packed up my suitcase as I knew that getting up at 4.30am I wasn't going to want to do very much at all and I managed to snatch about 4 hours sleep before Putu came by at 5.30am to pick me up and drive me to the airport.

Yesterday was a really long day - the whole day went like clockwork in terms of getting picked up, the flights that weren't delayed and the transfers that were very smooth, but 19 hours or more of travelling is just exhausting.  I grabbed breakfast at the airport in Denpasar and even though I was tempted by Eggs Benedict, I dedicated that an Indonesian breakfast was a good idea as I'm not likely to get the chance again for a while.   The journey from Bali to Singapore was very smooth and I had a brief snooze in between the time when they fed us.  The transfer from Terminal 1 - 3 in Singapore was smooth, a brief walk and the "Sky Train" in between the terminals with about 10 minutes free to buy 2 very expensive bottles of water for $4.  On the 13 hour flight from Singapore to London I managed to watch a total of 4 1/2 films!  I was trying hard to keep awake to try and right my sleep pattern by going to bed early and waking up at a usual time this morning.  I think that it's more or less worked, although I did practically fall asleep in my dinner.

First of all I watched "The Hunger Games" as I was interested to see how it was done compared to the book that I'd read earlier on in my holiday.  The film is really faithful to the book and it was very similar to how I'd pictured everything in my mind.  The portrayal of the main character - Katniss Everdeen was very good and just as I'd imagined her, the actress - Jennifer Lawrence looked very similar to how I had imagined her.  Peeta Mellark who was one of the other main characters looked different as I'd not imagined him to be blonde, but Josh Hutcherson portrayed him well in terms of character.  I suppose my only criticism was that they didn't really make as obvious in the film in comparison to the book the main characters feelings about each other, they glossed over it a little which was disappointing, but does make for a neater conclusion.

Next was People Like Us I'm not sure why I chose this one, but it was a bit of an odd film with a plot that could have been shortened and tidied up considerably, but felt quite unnecessarily drawn out.  Basic premise is that Sam the main character is a bit of a shyster and is short of cash, in debt and doesn't visit his family.  He ignores calls from his Mum all day and then his girlfriend tells him that his Dad has died.  He makes every effort to avoid going to the funeral including hiding his ID from his girlfriend, but they end up arriving there late and missing the funeral.  His Mum is played by Michelle Pfeiffer and she is clearly angry with him and a lot of the film explores their strained relationship.  Sam picks up a note from the lawyers about his fathers will which is an odd request to deliver $150000 in cash in a shaving bag to a "Joshua Davis" who he then discovers is his Dad's Grandson to a half-sister that he never knew existed.  The majority of the film then is a slightly farcical exploration of him getting to know his sister and nephew without revealing until right at the end who he is so that she ends up trying to kiss him.  All in all it's a bit weird.

Total Recall the remake was next.  I think I've watched bits of it in the past, but I can't remember watching the whole film.  I was a bit sleepy during this one so I think that I may have nodded off and had to rewind at points.  I do remember that they left in the 3 boobed lady from the original film in the dodgy district that the main character - Hauser visits to go to Rekall.  The premise of the film is good and the remake seemed good too - although I can't remember if I've seen the original in full to give an accurate comparison.  It reminded me quite a lot of Inception that I've seen recently and the special effects were very accomplished.  The ending was fairly satisfying and there of course were lots of parallels that can be drawn with global politics which I always find quite interesting.

Finally I went for Papadopoulos & Sons which was actually a lovely film.  It was the story of a self-made Greek millionaire - Harry Papadopoulos - who over leverages himself and ends up bankrupt apart from £25K cash and a closed down fish and chip shop that he co-owns with his estranged brother.    When he is evicted from his mansion with his 3 children, they all decide to move into the shop and re-open the business and it's a lovely exploration of family connections, and whether money or happiness is more important.  I really liked the film, it had a predictable ending, but it wasn't too saccharine sweet and had some good performances from some British actors. 

I started to watch 2 days in New York which was quite good, but I just kept falling asleep and then they collected up the headphones, so I'll have to have another try at this one in the future perhaps. 

The flight got in a little early to Heathrow and so my parents only had to wait a few minutes for me and then drove me back.  I gave them my presents, managed to eat some curry takeaway before falling asleep very early for me at 10pm.

Starbucks and Dancing Ubud Style

We had and idea yesterday that we might get a driver to take us to the beach, but we actually decided that we weren't really in the mood.  Rachel felt in one of those odd bad morning moods, so I decided to take her to Starbucks to cheer her up!  I know that they have been bad and not paid their taxes, but I did think that introducing Rachel to a Salted Caramel Mocha would right a fair few wrongs in her world (and I think I was more or less right!)  

Starbucks in Ubud is very tasteful and blends in with the surroundings pretty well and is a fascinating clash of the epitome of Western culture and chain brands, with a very distinctive Balinese flavour to it.  You can buy pretty much everything you would in a UK or USA Starbucks, but you get a real feel for Bali with the wooden carved furniture and the cushioned seating areas.  Kiran enjoyed crawling around the cushions as well as chewing on my purse.

we nipped into a book shop and I took the opportunity to buy Fragrant Rice by Janet De Neefe which is also about Bali and will be good for me to read on the way home. We  took a leisurely wander down Bisma which is still quite un-touristy with views of rice fields, although a lot of the dirt path that Rachel had remembered was now very much road paved by the hotels popping up all along the road.

We went back for a relax at the hotel and then went off to Juice Ja for a late lunch/early dinner.  I had a very tasty Chicken quesadilla, an Americano and 2 cardamon flavoured lassis.   We met a very precocious 4 1/2 year old girl who could speak Balinese, Indonesian, Thai, French and English and told me that I was fat because I ate too much and that she was fat too because she ate too much.  It didn't manage to put me off eating an incredibly tasty lemon and poppyseed cake with frosting served on the side.  

We came back to my room and I set about Baby proofing so that Kiran was contained whilst Rachel was talking to her Dad on Skype.  I also did some embroidery and applique to make Kiran a sleepsuit (It's what Rachel sings to him if he's getting a bit upset and it settles him down.)

Made picked Rachel and Kiran up at 7pm and so I went along to watch some Balinese Traditional Dancing and saw dancers from Sanggar Pondok Pekak performing the Legong dances, this is what my leaflet had to tell me:

The Sanggar (traditional music and dance) studio portion of Pondok Library and learning Center was founded in 1998, originally to provide dance classes for local children who didn't have other opportunities to learn.  Since then it has grown to include free children's gamelan classes, an international women's gamelan troupe and a professional men's troupe.  privately funded Sanggar Pondok Pekak is supported by our "Art of Bali" classes for travelers, private donations and proceeds from our evening performances   Many thanks to all those who help support our efforts.

The performance started with an instrumental piece with lots of men and boys playing the Gamelan which is similar I guess to a Xylophone and also there were lots of drummers.  There were 6 dances in total and I won't depict all of them here, but I'll cover some of the more interesting notes from the programme and give you a flavour with some of my pictures (which aren't great as it was dark and I was only using a phone to take close up pictures).

This is from the opening Sekar Jagat Welcome dance which represents the ritual presentation of an offering in the form of dance and is performed by a group of young girls.

Baris Warrior Dance - The Baris Dance, a dazzling dance glorifying the power and strength of a Balinese warrior, is most commonly performed as a solo exhibition dance, often by a young boy.  This expressive dance is broken into 3 parts each expressing the different moods and range of emotions of the young warrior.  The word Baris means line or file, as in a line of warriors going into battle.

Oleg Composed in the 1950s this duet represents the Courtship of two bumblees they flit from flower to flower in a beautiful garden.

Jauk This traditional mask dance portrays a demon, alone in the jungle, who is free to play, move and be happy.  Watch the ancient costume as the dancer turns around!

This drummer checked his phone in a gap between the performances.

All the dancers taking a bow.

I liked the dancing, it was different and had very strong facial expressions.  The music was also quite haunting and dramatic.  I can't imagine how long it takes to get ready and put all the make up on the dancers!  I remember how long it too Rachel to get into her wedding outfit and this must be similar, but for multiple people!  I hope that next time I come to Bali I get to see the Kecak and fire dance which is supposed to be good too.