Oh dear, I seem to have did it again! My blog record has been really poor recently. Except this time, I do have
a reason and it wasn't just from sheer idleness! Nope, last weekend I
spent a rather enjoyable time (read as amazing - Ed) with Michael and Cara who were back from
South Africa for a couple of weeks. This resulted in probably the
best long weekend that I've had since I came back, with the additional and unusual side
effect of me seeing more of Edinburgh and was also filled with good food
and plenty of drink. I should say that technically, this began on
Wednesday night as I met them for dinner (at Tiger Lily) but as I had to go to work the next day, it doesn't quite count.
The weekend began with me on a train (I seem to spend lots of my life in transit, it appears) heading to Glasgow with a boxful of Thistly Cider, before promptly getting lost on my way to Derek's flat. I would like to argue that I got lost because of the combination of Apple Maps and getting off at a new station...I'm not a complete idiot (cough cough – Ed). After I was rescued by Michael, Derek and Martin, I was eventually escorted back to Derek's flat for an evening of procrastination; Chinese food; Dungeon and Dragons; Cards Against Humanity; and the aforementioned box of cider. There genuinely is nothing better than a group of old friends getting together for an evening to just hang-out and have some fun. Yeh, it's great going out and doing things but I love just being together and hanging out like old times.
Waking up the next morning (Sorry for the snoring Cara) and after a fry-up breakfast to fuel the day, Cara, Michael, Martin and I (down one man at this point) headed into the city centre for some coffee and a wander, where we ended up into the new kitchen shop (sorry, I can't remember the name right now) where I got to try the greatest knife I have ever used. It was glorious. I mean, I own a couple of great knifes and I've used various good knives in the past but this was something else. This went through carrot like butter and shredded tomatoes with a touch. Shame that it cost £185 but even so: I had one hell of an internal struggle not to buy it. Hell, I'm having a struggle right now not to jump on a train to Glasgow and go and buy it.
Moving on swiftly from this glorious, glorious knife, the rest of Friday was a nice and relaxed day after heading to Edinburgh (down two men at this point) with a couple of drinks in the pub with Michael before some haggis, neeps and tatties with Cara, Michael and her parents before a fairly early night as most were recovering from the previous night.
Then came Saturday which was again filled with good food and drink, as well as several short tours of various Edinburgh places as well. We started off in Morning Side which is filled with lots of quirky shops and second hand book shops (aka charity shops – Ed) where we wandered around the various bookshelves as we waited for our lunch booking to be ready.
And what a lunch it was! It was glorious! We had a reservation at a pub called 'The Canny Man' which is the very definition of eccentric. First of all, if they don't like you, you will be asked to leave. You can't pay by credit card, only cash and cheque. And the decorations. Dear god, the decorations. Every inch of the wall is covered with something and when they ran out of wall space, they hung stuff from the roof. Clocks are hung beside swords. Golf clubs hang next to bicycles. I think I saw a canoe somewhere. I wish I could show you pictures but you're not allow to take photographs, so all I will say is, if you're ever in Edinburgh, go visit the pub. It is worth it.
And that's before you get to the food and drink. The beer selection is good (as is the rest of the drinks, I imagine – Ed) but the food is where the pub really shines. Predominantly, it serves Smorgasbord for food but the selection is overwhelming. Now before I tell you how many options you have, remember that this is a pub, not a restaurant (though it would overwhelm most restaurants as well - Ed). Ignoring other menu items, and just counting Smorgasbord options, you can choose from 88 different options. 88! That's an insane amount! Do you realise how difficult that makes deciding what to have for someone indecisive?!? And the best bit? They are delicious! The meat is deliciously cured and they cure a lot of their own meat as well, and make their own ham. As I've said before, visit this pub, even just once. It's a great experience and an even better meal.
Next up, we headed into the city centre to get some shopping done and then to the Scottish Portrait Gallery for the James Byrne exhibit, for some interesting and unusual pieces. I'll be honest and say that I wasn't too keen on them but I generally prefer contemporary and traditional artwork. However, there were various good pieces that looked great, particularly the Billy Connolly and Tilda Swinton pieces, so check it out if you like art. Plus, there is an elaborately decorated guitar that was owned by Gerry Rafferty as well. It's free and doesn't take too long to go around, plus there are some death and life masks of famous people (including the infamous Burke and Hare) so I would recommend checking it out one afternoon if you're free.
Following the gallery was a mixture of shopping, tea and cake (seriously, we got a slice of the biggest chocolate cake I have ever seen, it was intimidating) and a whirlwind tour of different places to eat and drink in Edinburgh before heading back to the house, including the mosque kitchen for a good curry and where the half-price hut should be (bring on the Fringe!).
My gluttonous day of eating hadn't quite finished yet though, as we headed out to a Korean restaurant called 'Ong Gie', where you can barbeque your own meat for dinner. Starting off with some kimchi pancakes (delicious, by the way), we then went for the barbeque menu. Basically, the idea behind this is that they turn on the barbeque then basically give you a plate gloriously heaped with marinated meat to cook. It was quite spectacular, especially when two of you ordered the same thing and they just place down you a mountain of meat between the two of you. In addition, they also gave you a side of rice, and some toppings (garlic, chilli and spring onion) and some delicious red bean paste to have with your meal, although this was a little limited compared to the meat.
Word of advice though: the pork belly was good and well flavoured but I think I would just stick to the regular pork, as the fat just wasn't as good barbequed and just came out a little hard and chewy. All in all though, this made for a delicious way to spend an evening, and was a good fuel before we ended the night with a house party (I got to see a somewhat large and sleepy lizard!) followed by a few drinks at their house and some animated discussion.
Alas Sunday came too quickly, which other than the following Wednesday where I met Michael for a burger and a couple of drinks at The Blue Goose (Edinburgh seems to have a thing for animals and pubs. So far there is the: Tickled Trout; Blue Goose; Red Squirrel; and the Dogs Bollocks – Animal Watch Ed), was the last time I would see both of them. This was spent as Sunday mornings should be with plenty of coffee, some bacon rolls and some jazz playing in the background. Delightful.
However good the weekend was, it wasn't the star of the show so thank you Michael and Cara for a) coming back and seeing us all again and b) letting us have such an amazing weekend!
Pick of the Week
Pure Gym – Grr, sweat, pant, push! Time to get fit and sweat off that spring weight (It's a thing – Ed) and what better place than Pure Gym? Now then, I won't sugar coat it: this isn't a fancy gym. You don't get fancy saunas or indoor football pitches or anything like that. What you do get is an affordable (£18.99 for me but it does vary) gym with locations all over the country with all the equipment you will need to get fit. In addition, you get a whole load of classes available to you included in the price as well and for any other classes, you just have to pay £1. Great value and simple. Check it out if you're looking for a good gym.
Song of the Week
This week is the turn of 'Weerd Science', who is actually the drummer for Coheed and Cambria as well. Relatively unknown, this guy has a pretty interesting style and a dark past, including a pretty serious drug addiction. This is 'The Man with No Audience'. Sorry it's just a link today but I couldn't find it on the search bar.
Click here for song
Well that's it for me! I'll see you all net week!
The weekend began with me on a train (I seem to spend lots of my life in transit, it appears) heading to Glasgow with a boxful of Thistly Cider, before promptly getting lost on my way to Derek's flat. I would like to argue that I got lost because of the combination of Apple Maps and getting off at a new station...I'm not a complete idiot (cough cough – Ed). After I was rescued by Michael, Derek and Martin, I was eventually escorted back to Derek's flat for an evening of procrastination; Chinese food; Dungeon and Dragons; Cards Against Humanity; and the aforementioned box of cider. There genuinely is nothing better than a group of old friends getting together for an evening to just hang-out and have some fun. Yeh, it's great going out and doing things but I love just being together and hanging out like old times.
Waking up the next morning (Sorry for the snoring Cara) and after a fry-up breakfast to fuel the day, Cara, Michael, Martin and I (down one man at this point) headed into the city centre for some coffee and a wander, where we ended up into the new kitchen shop (sorry, I can't remember the name right now) where I got to try the greatest knife I have ever used. It was glorious. I mean, I own a couple of great knifes and I've used various good knives in the past but this was something else. This went through carrot like butter and shredded tomatoes with a touch. Shame that it cost £185 but even so: I had one hell of an internal struggle not to buy it. Hell, I'm having a struggle right now not to jump on a train to Glasgow and go and buy it.
Moving on swiftly from this glorious, glorious knife, the rest of Friday was a nice and relaxed day after heading to Edinburgh (down two men at this point) with a couple of drinks in the pub with Michael before some haggis, neeps and tatties with Cara, Michael and her parents before a fairly early night as most were recovering from the previous night.
Then came Saturday which was again filled with good food and drink, as well as several short tours of various Edinburgh places as well. We started off in Morning Side which is filled with lots of quirky shops and second hand book shops (aka charity shops – Ed) where we wandered around the various bookshelves as we waited for our lunch booking to be ready.
And what a lunch it was! It was glorious! We had a reservation at a pub called 'The Canny Man' which is the very definition of eccentric. First of all, if they don't like you, you will be asked to leave. You can't pay by credit card, only cash and cheque. And the decorations. Dear god, the decorations. Every inch of the wall is covered with something and when they ran out of wall space, they hung stuff from the roof. Clocks are hung beside swords. Golf clubs hang next to bicycles. I think I saw a canoe somewhere. I wish I could show you pictures but you're not allow to take photographs, so all I will say is, if you're ever in Edinburgh, go visit the pub. It is worth it.
And that's before you get to the food and drink. The beer selection is good (as is the rest of the drinks, I imagine – Ed) but the food is where the pub really shines. Predominantly, it serves Smorgasbord for food but the selection is overwhelming. Now before I tell you how many options you have, remember that this is a pub, not a restaurant (though it would overwhelm most restaurants as well - Ed). Ignoring other menu items, and just counting Smorgasbord options, you can choose from 88 different options. 88! That's an insane amount! Do you realise how difficult that makes deciding what to have for someone indecisive?!? And the best bit? They are delicious! The meat is deliciously cured and they cure a lot of their own meat as well, and make their own ham. As I've said before, visit this pub, even just once. It's a great experience and an even better meal.
Next up, we headed into the city centre to get some shopping done and then to the Scottish Portrait Gallery for the James Byrne exhibit, for some interesting and unusual pieces. I'll be honest and say that I wasn't too keen on them but I generally prefer contemporary and traditional artwork. However, there were various good pieces that looked great, particularly the Billy Connolly and Tilda Swinton pieces, so check it out if you like art. Plus, there is an elaborately decorated guitar that was owned by Gerry Rafferty as well. It's free and doesn't take too long to go around, plus there are some death and life masks of famous people (including the infamous Burke and Hare) so I would recommend checking it out one afternoon if you're free.
Following the gallery was a mixture of shopping, tea and cake (seriously, we got a slice of the biggest chocolate cake I have ever seen, it was intimidating) and a whirlwind tour of different places to eat and drink in Edinburgh before heading back to the house, including the mosque kitchen for a good curry and where the half-price hut should be (bring on the Fringe!).
My gluttonous day of eating hadn't quite finished yet though, as we headed out to a Korean restaurant called 'Ong Gie', where you can barbeque your own meat for dinner. Starting off with some kimchi pancakes (delicious, by the way), we then went for the barbeque menu. Basically, the idea behind this is that they turn on the barbeque then basically give you a plate gloriously heaped with marinated meat to cook. It was quite spectacular, especially when two of you ordered the same thing and they just place down you a mountain of meat between the two of you. In addition, they also gave you a side of rice, and some toppings (garlic, chilli and spring onion) and some delicious red bean paste to have with your meal, although this was a little limited compared to the meat.
Word of advice though: the pork belly was good and well flavoured but I think I would just stick to the regular pork, as the fat just wasn't as good barbequed and just came out a little hard and chewy. All in all though, this made for a delicious way to spend an evening, and was a good fuel before we ended the night with a house party (I got to see a somewhat large and sleepy lizard!) followed by a few drinks at their house and some animated discussion.
Alas Sunday came too quickly, which other than the following Wednesday where I met Michael for a burger and a couple of drinks at The Blue Goose (Edinburgh seems to have a thing for animals and pubs. So far there is the: Tickled Trout; Blue Goose; Red Squirrel; and the Dogs Bollocks – Animal Watch Ed), was the last time I would see both of them. This was spent as Sunday mornings should be with plenty of coffee, some bacon rolls and some jazz playing in the background. Delightful.
However good the weekend was, it wasn't the star of the show so thank you Michael and Cara for a) coming back and seeing us all again and b) letting us have such an amazing weekend!
Pick of the Week
Pure Gym – Grr, sweat, pant, push! Time to get fit and sweat off that spring weight (It's a thing – Ed) and what better place than Pure Gym? Now then, I won't sugar coat it: this isn't a fancy gym. You don't get fancy saunas or indoor football pitches or anything like that. What you do get is an affordable (£18.99 for me but it does vary) gym with locations all over the country with all the equipment you will need to get fit. In addition, you get a whole load of classes available to you included in the price as well and for any other classes, you just have to pay £1. Great value and simple. Check it out if you're looking for a good gym.
Song of the Week
This week is the turn of 'Weerd Science', who is actually the drummer for Coheed and Cambria as well. Relatively unknown, this guy has a pretty interesting style and a dark past, including a pretty serious drug addiction. This is 'The Man with No Audience'. Sorry it's just a link today but I couldn't find it on the search bar.
Click here for song
Well that's it for me! I'll see you all net week!
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