Movie Premier, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Sky TV usually gives out movie premier tickets to their customers but I always give it a miss because we don't have anyone that could look after Poj for us. But when I received an email about this movie, I logged into my Sky account to check if they are showing it in any cinema within our area. I booked tickets for two straight away when I saw one in Eastleigh which is 6 miles (17 minutes) away from us that would start at 6pm.  I thought that was early enough that we could ask one of our friends which Poj knows if they could look after him for 2 hours. But I didn't realised that it would be the day after the long weekend so we decided against it coz we know our friends have just come back from an out of town trip for the Easter weekend.

Luckily one of my friends was available at the last minute and I didn't have to cancel the tickets after all. We didn't know anything about the movie but was just excited to go out.

The title of the movie is Salmon Fishing in the Yemen starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas. It was a simple movie about a wealthy Sheikh who brought salmon fishing to Yemen by employing a fisheries expert (McGregor), with a little love story on the side. I like the actors and the fact that this movie just flows, light, very predictable but still enjoyable. 

Nice movie and great company. Thanks Rach and thanks Sky TV for our free movie premier tickets =)

Bank Holiday Monday

Today is a Bank Holiday Monday and the last day of the Easter weekend. We celebrated it by going to a nearby indoor fun pool for a swim. The place is called Romsey Rapids, it was suggested to us by my colleague who frequents this place with his two boys. It is a gym/spa/with fun swimming pools that are open not just to it's members but also to the public for a reasonable fee. My colleague raves about it a lot so we decided to give it a go coz we don't want to go anywhere because of the crappy weather (cold, grey & to top it off, non-stop rain!). But there was a long queue at the lobby when we got there and we were informed that they operate a colour-wrist band system during busy times such as today. It means you are guaranteed an hour of play/swim time and they regulate this from the colour of your wrist band. At this point we were contemplating on just turning around and giving up on the idea - but thought we give it a try coz we haven't gort a plan B today!

We had over an hour before our turn so we went for lunch at their cafe and waited for our colour (yellow) to be called. At this point we were not impressed at all as there were a lot of people everywhere and the crowd was growing. Also Poj didn't like the WC and said they were smelly =( 
But when we got in there were a lot of lockers and shower rooms and the pools were not overly crowded. It was obviously a lot smaller than the one we usually we go to (which is a 4 hour drive away) but this one is cheaper and closer. We noticed that the water was not heated enough but Poj had a lot of fun nonetheless. He also liked the flume and even asked to go at it twice. The hour was up before we knew it so Poj was bitin but there is no way I'm paying for another session, not when I saw that there are still a lot of people waiting for their turn, not to mention the people at the lobby! 
Verdict? I'm glad we tried it and we'll certainly come again but next time on a week day and probably early in the morning =)

After the swim, we went to town centre to buy some stuff for our trip next week and to have dinner. On the way home Poj asked to ride on this coin-op 4x4. This is new coz the last time we were here they had a Thomas train which Poj always plays with. The special thing with this car is that it was made in the Philippines, look at the website on the car (www.zamperla.ph). Kakatuwa naman & it makes me proud whenever I see Philippine products making it to the UK at hindi na lang puro galing China. =)

All in all we had a fab day. We are now keeping our fingers crossed that the weather brightens up for Papa E's birthday party and more importantly for our holiday.

Easter Cake

Sunday 8 April 2012

I know that Simnel Cake is the traditional cake served on Easter Sunday, but since we are not a big fan of fruit cakes, I decided to go for the safe option - Chocolate cake decorated with Easter eggs.

Here's the recipe for this ultra easy Chocolate cake. I used Cadbury fingers as picket fences. The chicken are not edible but the chocolate eggs are. 

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

2 cups Sugar
1¾ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup Hershey's cocoa
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Chocolate frosting

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350℉. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together all the dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla& beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. stir in boiling water ( batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake for 30-35minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool completely, remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

Hershey Chocolate Frosting
½ cup butter
⅔ cup Hershey's cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
⅓ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter
Stir in cocoa
Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. 
Stir in vanilla.

Wedding Invite

Saturday 7 April 2012

I am delighted with what came in the post today. A wedding reception invite from a lovely colleague. Theirs is a love story that is truly special and I am honoured that they invited me to celebrate with them. The wedding is not till mid-August and we are all excited for them! a wonderful celebration to look forward to for summer =)

Uwi sa Pinipinas

Friday 6 April 2012

My siblings and niece went home to my folks so we had the chance to video chat with them via Skype. Poj had a lot of fun talking to them and showing off his antics. When Lolo asked him to come home to the Philippines, we said we can't afford to go home this year not unless it's via the balik-bayan box that we plan to send later on in the year. So Poj took an empty box, climbed in with his toys and send "I'm going home to Pinipinas!" Hay, you can just imagine the laughter that erupted after that.  (We've told him many times that it's Pilipinas pero Pinipinas pa rin ang nasasabi nya! In the same way that he says he's a Pinipino!)

We do miss home especially at times like these when families get together and celebrate. These are the times when we feel more homesick than ever. We also feel that Poj is missing out on a lot of things that Papa E and I experienced when we were growing up. Hayz, the prize you pay when you live away from home.....