A Bakerdays cake for our 15th Anniversary! + #Cake #Giveaway

Yesterday was a pretty amazing date in Dave- and Steph-world. We celebrated our 15th anniversary of togetherness. FIFTEEN!! Who'd have thought, a decade and a half ago, that we'd still be such a happy couple after fifteen months, let alone fifteen YEARS? (Of course I have scheduled this post a couple of days in advance so fingers crossed it's still true as it publishes!)

As you read this, we've just started a ten-day holiday catching up with friends and family, some of whom knew us all those years ago and two of whom we hold responsible for getting us together. Thank you Dave and Gilly! We're also marking the occasion by treating ourselves to a hopefully-amazing theatre trip though that won't actually happen until August: The League of Gentlemen are coming to Torquay (of all places)!

In the meantime though, our celebrations started in a smaller way with an adorable Letterbox Cake from Bakerdays. I have blogged about Bakerdays before and think that these cakes are such a brilliant idea. You can enter my giveaway to win a cake for yourself, but first here's my thoughts on our cake.

I chose this personalised Somebunny Loves You design of two cute little rabbits in a floral hot air balloon. The cake arrived thoughtfully packaged to ensure its perfect condition and quite early in the day which was good in this ridiculously hot weather right now. I love the reusable 'Mmm Cake' cake tin. The cake had slid over a little on its board, but was easily nudged back to centre.

Bakerdays offer a variety of recipes including Lemon Drizzle, Chocolate Chip, or gluten wheat free, but I chose the Dairy-Free Sponge. I am told that a completely Vegan cake is in the planning stages so hopefully that recipe will be offered soon. To be honest, if I hadn't known this cake was dairy-free, I wouldn't have guessed from its taste or texture. The sponge is light and moist and the layers of jam under the cake and under the icing gave it a delicious tangy flavour. The icing itself is nicely rich, but not too sweet. Perfect with a good cuppa!

Would you like to win a Bakerdays cake for yourself? Well, if your postal address is on the UK mainland ONLY, you're reading the right blog! You could win your choice of Bakerdays Letterbox Cake posted directly to you!
There's several ways to enter this giveaway via the Gleam widget below.

Bakerdays Letterbox Cake Giveaway

The Giveaway is open until midnight (UK time) on the 28th July and I will pick a winner on the 29th. That winner will have 3 days in which to respond to my email or the prize will be forfeit. GDPR: I will need to pass the winner's email address onto Bakerdays and they will need the winner's postal address in order to send out the prize.

Good luck!

And if you just can't wait for the Giveaway to end, use SUMMER10 at the checkout for 10% off all Bakerdays cakes, cupcakes or balloons. Code expires: Friday 31st August at 23:59pm.

I received a cake for review from Bakerdays. This has in no way influenced my opinion and all thoughts on the product are my own. Links in this post are affiliate links.

Celebrating our 14th Anniversary!

Sunset over our campsite 

Can you believe it? We're amazed too!
Yesterday was Dave and my 14th anniversary of 'two-getherness' (we're so cute!) and we're celebrating with a fortnight away in our trailer tent starting with four nights on a largish campsite at Sheriffhales in Shropshire.

Ted's Caravan and Camping site covers some ten acres and is a neatly mown green field with no defined pitches so there's lots of space. It's beautifully peaceful with practically no traffic noise other than vehicles heading to the campsite or Hunger Hill Farm just over the track. A portacabin houses toilets and showers, and we have both water and electricity points near to our pitch. The site is a little pricey at £20 a night including electricity and I would have liked the shower block to be cleaner for this cost, but the location is ideal for nearby Ironbridge which we are keen to visit. We've visited the Black Country Museum at Dudley - about an hour from here - yesterday and I will blog about that soon.

Our new neighbours at Ted's are a pair of pretty cows and two friendly chickens - at the first hint of any food on offer the birds come running! We also heard and spotted a peacock, but it was too distant to get a good photograph.

Yesterday evening we dined at Shifnal Cottage, an excellent Indian restaurant about a five minute drive from the campsite. There are several Indian restaurants nearby so Dave plumped for this one based on its TripAdvisor rating, proximity, and unusual menu. It certainly didn't disappoint! I had a delicious vegetarian combination platter - smaller portions of Palak Uri Khumbhi Jhool and Dhum Aloo Zeera - and Dave had a lamb Malai Makhani Mawa with a rich coconut sauce laced with paneer. Great food, attentive service and reasonable prices. If you're ever near Shifnal, we highly recommend the Shifnal Cottage restaurant!

Cinema trip to celebrate our 18 months in a caravan

Yesterday, the 8th of March, was not just International

Barbara Lennie by Marta Nolla 

Women's Day, but also marked our eighteen month anniversary of caravan living. It certainly doesn't seem six months since I was blogging our one year CaravAnniversary posts. How time flies when you're not paying attention! We had a great sunny cycle ride in the afternoon and then treated ourselves to a film at a little cinema in Cambrils after dinner.

Rambla de l'Art is the cinema and cultural centre for Cambrils and is situated on Rambla Jaume I, just about where it crosses with Carrer Roger De Flor. It is only a twenty minute walk from Camping La Llosa. They show a good range of Spanish films as well as global releases dubbed into Spanish and in original language with Spanish subtitles. For us, the key word to look for is VOSE. This indicates an original language screening so then we just have to make sure that the original language is English! Rambla de l'Art has a light and airy foyer with lots of DVDs for sale and, at the moment, a truly eyecatching display of artworks by Cambrils artist Marta Nolla. I don't know if this is a permanent exhibition and I didn't have a camera with me so have 'borrowed' a couple of images from Nolla's website to give you an idea of her work. Barbara Lennie is a Spanish actress and I loved the Fosse vibe of her portrait. I've also included the Robert Redford and Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid painting below because it is one of my favourite films.

Last night we were lucky to catch a VOSE screening of

Carol which we had hoped to see weeks ago in Perpignan, but didn't get around to it. I wasn't really sure what to expect and can imagine that Carol is quite a Marmite film (love it or hate it!) It is absolutely beautiful throughout and the 1950s fashions, cars and interior decor are wonderful. The deceptively simple storyline is from a Patricia Highsmith novel originally entitled The Price Of Salt, and tells of the meeting and romantic attraction of two women. To be honest, not much really happens and there are lots of lingering looks, wistful and moody cinematography, and thoughtful pauses. It's the sort of film where you lose yourself in its artistry and in the subtlety of understated performances. I thought Cate Blanchett was superb as Carol and I also really liked Sarah Paulson as Carol's longtime friend, Abby. I wasn't so blown away by Rooney Mara as Therese, but her naivete was a real contrast to Carol's confidence and worldliness. If you like slow-burning arthouse cinema, I would highly recommend seeing Carol.

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid by Marta Nolla 

One Year CaravAnniversary part two - Dave's Choice

Yesterday's blog post was my choice of a dozen photographs from our

Beach south of Carnac, France
September 2014 

first year of caravan travelling and today, in the second half of our CaravAnniversary celebrations, Dave has chosen his own dozen images. Most of these have never been blogged before so you'll get a whole new insight into our travels! It is interesting that Dave has almost completely picked natural landscape scenes either showing the fabulous views we have enjoyed on our walks or the wonderful beaches from which we swam or paddled.

Again, I have linked each picture to my blog post written at the time of its taking so you can click through to find out exactly whereabouts we were and what else we saw and did there.

Beach at Malvarrosa, Spain
October 2014 

Clouds over Xabia, Spain
November 2014 

Torrevieja salt lakes, Spain
December 2014 

Sierra Cabrera near Mojacar, Spain
January 2015 

Stormy beach at Roquetas de Mar, Spain
February 2015 

Sierra d'Irta near Alcossebre, Spain 
March 2015

Henley In Arden, England
April 2015 

From Mam Tor, Peak District, England
May 2015 

North York Moors, England 
June 2015 

View to Dunstanburgh Castle, England 
July 2015 

Moors above Bleasdale, England
August 2015 

What a fantastic year we have had! Dave has also chosen one bonus picture because it is just such an incredible image that it is worth blogging again:

Egret fishing near Arcachon Bay, France
October 2014

Stunning landscape at St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve

It was about a half hour drive from Foulden Hagg to St Abb's Head for

Looking back to St Abb's village from near the
start of the walk 

our nature reserve walk yesterday. The site is owned by National Trust for Scotland. We actually crossed the Scotland-England border twice on the way there (and, of course, on the way back) and it was interesting that the Scots make a big deal of the line with large signposts welcoming visitors to their country whereas the English side is remarkably unmarked. I spotted a trio of Northumberland, England and Union Jack flags on tall poles set back from the road on one crossing point and nothing on the other. St Abb's Head is off the popular coastal driving route so well signposted and with a few car parks at the edges of the reserve. We went to the one by the visitors' centre. It is Pay And Display, but only £2 for the whole day and all proceeds go back into the upkeep of the reserve.

Once on foot, there are marked trails to follow - one basic circuit, The

Gorgeous colours at St Abb's Head 

Discovery Trail, and two additional optional loops, The Lighthouse Trail and The Loch Trail. We ended up doing The Discovery Trail and half of each of the other two. This made a good two hours walking with an interesting mix of landscapes and sights from expanses of ocean and sttep cliff rocks, to lush pasture. The trails are all pretty well marked and I was surprised how few people were actually visiting the reserve. It was a pleasant Sunday afternoon and I had been concerned that it might be heaving, but no! I loved the colours and contrasts of texture. Green grass, yellow lichens, white guano, reddish-hued rock and steely-blue sea. The area was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions which has resulted in its distinctive rugged craggy appearance today.

I guess St Abb's Head's main attraction must be its seabird colonies and

If you click into this photo (and squint) you might
be able to see birds! 

we did wish that we had a pair of binoculars when we were stood on the cliffs above them I do have opera glasses, but they are, typically, in storage! And probably wouldn't be up to this kind of viewing anyway. We could make out dozens and dozens of gull-like birds perched on the cliffs, but not in sufficient detail for identification. The cacophony of their cries and calls was loud enough from a distance and I can't imagine how deafening it must be right in the middle. We both sympathised with any introverted seagulls, inventing for them a series of hermit colonies where they could live tranquil lives, perhaps with their beaks in books!

The cliffs are riddled with rabbit holes and burrows. We saw a few rabbits

St Abb's Lighthouse 

and there are apparently hares here as well. We also kept a lookout for the Brown Angus butterfly but didn't knowingly see one. Butterflies are very uncooperative about sitting still with their wings open! After a steep climb which went on almost too long, the top of St Abb's lighthouse peeped over the ground ahead. It has been automated since the 1990s, but before that three lighthouse keepers and their families lived up on this isolated head. It must have been a challenging existence. Building was completed in 1862 and the siren fog signal, the first in Scotland, was added in 1876. Now it is maintained and preserved by the Northern Lighthouse Board.

I was fascinated by the crumpled rock formations at the far point of our

Pettico Wick 

walk, Pettico Wick. We wondered if this amazing place might have gotten its name because its folds resemble a petticoat? There has obviously been a lot going on here, geologically speaking, over the millenia and not a handy geologist in sight to ask about it! We need a team of pop-up experts like they have on Coast! After Pettico Wick, we continued downhill and headed back in the direction of the visitors' centre by walking alongside Mire Loch which is beautiful. There were a couple of graceful white swans out on the water and, part-way along, we saw a tiny one-roomed hut with its own boathouse attached, all hidden away amongst mature trees.

Mire Loch 

On a completely different note, it is our twelfth anniversary today! Yay us! There isn't really room for a bouquet of flowers in Bailey so that tradition has been put on ice for a year or two or more, so instead here are some pretty photos of flowers from yesterday. Does anyone recognise the tall pink flowers? Updated because, yes, Mary has identified the pretty pink flower - thank you Mary! It is a woodland lily Speciosum, variety Rubrum.

Woodland lily 

Honeysuckle on a wall 

One year on from everything changing

My sister, Mum and me
backstage at Plumpton Pantomime 

Dave pointed out this morning that today is the one year anniversary of us buying our caravan, the second momentous event in a very short space of time last May that led to Dave and I completely changing our lives. The first, as you may or may not already know, was my Mum dying as a result of lung cancer just the week before. I don't remember much about this time last year. Although we were all well prepared and it was a relief to know her suffering had ended, I must still have been in shock for a lot of the time.

The 18th of May was the anniversary of Mum's death. My sister, her husband and I commemorated the day by going to +Blackberry Farm with my niece and her young friend, and a couple of adult friends, one of whom has a young son. It was nice to be all together and the Farm is the perfect place for kids, especially as it was a hot sunny day, but I didn't really feel any connection to Mum. She would have enjoyed the family day out, but we had never been there with her.

By sad coincidence, Mum's birthday is the 25th of May, just a week later. I found the day this year more emotional than the anniversary and had a couple of wobbly moments. I texted my sister and my Dad, and Dave was very supportive when I needed him to just be there. My sister had said that at least we'd already coped with The Birthday last year and I suppose I did but it's more a blank than a memory. I do remember one year when, as children, we had excitedly gone off for a Whitsun week half-term holiday with our grandparents. We returned to an upset Mum because we had completely forgotten her birthday fell during the week. Thank goodness we had at least brought her a holiday present home!

I was chatting with a friend over brunch a few weeks ago. She had recently lost her grandfather and spoke about her comfort at knowing he is still somewhere watching over her. I don't follow this belief and, for me, Mum is simply gone. She did her time watching over us while she was alive and isn't hanging around anymore. It's interesting that, despite the myriad different belief systems in the world, many of them maintain that our ancestors stick around. I would love to know how this originated but it must have been so long ago that, even if the story of the first person to have the thought is still told, it will be hopelessly swirled in myth by now. I do remember feeling sudden lightness a couple of months after Mum had died when I was feeling guilty about something I had or hadn't said to her. Knowing me, it was probably something I had said but should have kept quiet! I realised that it doesn't matter anymore. Yes, I might have been stupid and selfish at the time, but it doesn't hurt her now. I can't change it anymore so there's no point in dwelling on the 'might have beens'. This simple realisation was so powerful that even writing about it is bringing back the sense of relief. I know this isn't a traditional attitude, but it was one of my big turning points in dealing with my grief.

The other thought that has been immensely helpful came from the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson in his book Death by Black Hole. I'm paraphrasing wildly, but the gist of his words was that everything on this planet and in this universe is effectively recreated stardust. He and I agree that while there's no evidence for spiritual reincarnation, there certainly is for the physical variety. Mum's ashes were spread in her ancestral home village of Dovaston in Shropshire and by now she's going to be part of many things there, maybe in a daisy flower and a hen chick and a puddle for a kid to splash about. In a hundred years she might have travelled thousands of miles and be a brick in a school wall and the page of a book and a rare tree whose wood will make a concert piano. She might even be a Mum again. I like this way of thinking. Given enough time, we really can be absolutely anything!

I think years of looking forward to the 25th as a date to celebrate will take a lot of overcoming. Thoughts of Mum still jump into my head every day and probably always will. However, for commemoration, a Birth Day signifies what is to come in a life, not what has already gone so I shall try and let the 18th fade in favour of the 25th. 

Our lovely anniversary weekend continued

Orchard Farm campsite, Bosham

 with taking Bailey away for two nights at Bosham, near Chichester – hence the no presents ‘rule’ mention earlier. Orchard Farm campsite is very peaceful but basic –water tap and electric hookup provided, own sanitation essential. No shop or club room onsite although there's a Co-Op close by in the village and nice-looking pub within a few minutes walk - we didn't actually go in. There's very little light pollution so a fantastic place for stargazing. It's also a caravan storage place so there were loads of vans but very few with people! We got there for lunch on Saturday, having avoided the Festival of Speed traffic, and met up with our friends Barbara and Andy who had not only saved us a shady spot under trees but also made a delicious chicken and mango salad that was perfect after the stuffy, sticky drive. I drove all the way and only really messed up once caused by indecision approaching a roundabout. There’s a weird creaky noise when we go slow though –probably best get that checked out.

Saturday afternoon we all went on a boat trip from Itchenor and saw hundreds of little and not-so-little boats. It felt as though everyone in the area must own their own vessel and we were left wondering ‘what recession’?! There are also loads of cyclists. It’s mostly flat countryside and they seem well catered for with cycle lanes, off-road routes and a tiny, cute ferry. Dave as a tad jealous I think and would take his bike if we go there again.
Saturday night I shared cooking with Andy. My contribution was Turkey Tagine that had been slow cooking all afternoon. It was just as tasty as if it had been done in the tagine and I’m definitely going to make the slow cooker a caravan essential. We weren’t sure due to the weight of the ceramic crock, but it was so easy to leave it safely doing its thing while we went out and I appreciated arriving back to the aroma of dinner all ready. Andy did a fruited couscous with chopped dates, apricots and pistachios. This will probably be one of my next recipe posts!

Dave steeling himself to start dinner!

The whole area is perfect for gentle strolls around picturesque harbours and spying on how the other half live on Bosham Hoe which is how we spent our Sunday. I’m happy to recommend Anchor Bleu in Bosham for lunch –good food, fast and friendly service, and they have Fentimann’s ginger beer! There’s an extensive arts and crafts shop on the harbour front where I managed to avoid spending any money despite many temptations. As it turned out, Dave drew the short straw with Sunday night cooking (salmon and pesto penne) as juggling two pans on the hob is going to take a bit of practice. He says it’s necessary to clear the area of anything that’s not needed before you start. And I must perfect doing pasta and rice in the microwave properly – like the slow cooker this will save our precious gas when abroad, and help utilise the limited space to its best advantage too.

And now it’s Monday and our wonderful weekend is over :-( 
Worthing was a nightmare of heat and traffic and it took us two hours to get from Bosham to Polegate. I’d taken a half day and did still manage to get into work early though. Nearly kept walking to the seafront but thought I’d better not!

Wonderful 10th anniversary weekend started

with these beautiful flowers. We'd agreed not to get each other pressies but naughty boyfriend did anyway!
I love getting flowers and lilies give the house a gorgeous fragrance :-)