Fish….

Yes….they are really difficult to take a photograph of….

Thrapston – Let’s make our own spa day!

It’s May, it’s raining, it’s miserable….

The economy is gloomy, and we needed cheering up, so what did we do?  We organised a little spa day…on the cheap!!

We’re all members of the Gym at the Nene Centre (one month – trial membership currently £40).  So our first stop on this drizzly Saturday morning was to the centre where we had booked a Badminton Court.  We all got rather competitive, even though we weren’t that sure of the rules!

An hour of mixed doubles later, we were ready for our swim.  So just a hop across the coffee area, we were in the changing rooms and ready for swimming.

An hour of, well not exactly strenuous swimming…. we were all getting ready for some lunch.  Now, this is where you need to use your imagination a little, as if we were in a spa we may have donned our fluffy robes and wandered off to lunch, we did consider all walking through Thrapston in our dressing gowns but thought we may be arrested so…

We all jumped in our car, fully dried and dressed, hair and makeup re-done after swimming and drove to The Bridge Hotel.

Where each week-day and Saturday they run a buffet lunch – 12-2.

After filling up on fine food and drink, our spa day was almost complete.  Except we wished to stretch our legs and take a stroll.

So off we went to the local garden centre for a stroll around.  Our fish tank is also ready for its occupants this week too, and so five Neon Tetras, five XRay Tetras and five Guppys were taken home safely on our laps.

Sitting at home that evening, relaxing and just listening to the lapping water in the aquarium we felt as chilled as any expensive spa day!!

Costs

• Badminton – Free as we are Gym member
• Swim – Free – as above
• The Bridge Hotel Buffet – £6 per head plus drinks
• Fish – around £25 

Not bad for cheering us all up on a rainy day!!  And much cheaper than The Santuary!

CybHer introduced me to my neighbours…

On May 12th I went to CybHer, for those of you who are not into blogging, it was a ‘blogging conference’ aimed at just women.  Although we noticed a few men snook in there…..

Anyway, the conference consisted of lots of workshops about geeky things, such as how to legally run competitions on your blog, how to master WordPress and when even to consider turning your blog into a book.  Lots to think about!!

Also during coffee breaks there were sponsors dotted around to make contact with, they included Palmer’s, the people who make the Body Butter.  AVG the virus defence people, who I went and thanked personally for helping me put my laptop right after a pretty bad virus attack a few weeks ago.  There were more sponsors at CybHer too…

The main one for me was meeting the ladies from Freya Lingerie.  They saw my card and saw I that I blogged about Northamptonshire, the PR lady said “Oooh we’re just down the road!!”

On Friday, after work I put her words to the test…. a short drive from work brought me to the Evedon site where Freya is based, and into a factory shop…. a veritable cornucopia of lace, satin, colours and ladies undies!!  All at factory shop prices.

Going back to CybHer briefly (no pun intended!) The ladies there had been measuring, and I think without much exception, every lady at CybHer was wearing the wrong size bra! I certainly was!

Which of course means…. a shopping trip!

I only made it to the Freya Factory Shop at 3.30pm and they close at 4pm so I only managed a few new additions.  And no, of course I’m not going to add full photos of my purchases!! Just a glimpse!

I’m hoping, in the near future, I can arrange with the Freya PR to have a guided tour of the Corsetry Factory, camera in hand and blog about how a bra is made – I for one am fascinated!!

Factory Shop details are below – and hopefully a full follow-up post will happen very soon:

Freya Factory Shop

Eveden Limited,
The Corsetry Factory,
Rothwell Rd,
Desborough,
Northamptonshire.
NN14 2PG (Click for map)

Opening Hours

Monday-Friday 10-4

Saturday 9-3

Take your Turkey on a Trip….

Britmums ( a blogging community for anyone who doesn’t know) is hosting a Lean on Turkey recipe competition, so I thought we’d enter.  So here is my entry for BritMums Lean on Turkey competition, sponsored by www.leanonturkey.co.uk

We are rather partial to Turkey in this family as:

• It’s often on Special Offer in our local Co-Op
• Turkey is high in protein and essential for growth and repair, as part of a varied and balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Nearly all protein found in turkey meat can therefore be used to maintain the function and health of our body cells.
• Cooked turkey contains 34g of protein per 100g, which is nearly 3/4 of an adult’s recommended daily allowance.
• Turkey offers as much protein as roast beef but without as many calories or grams of saturated fat.
• Compared with other meats, turkey breast has the lowest saturated fat level at less than 1g per 100g (4oz) portion, compared with other mainstream meats.
• Turkey travels well in packed lunches when out and about in the local area exploring!

 

So yummy facts over, here’s a yummy recipe too….

The Backyard Tourist’s Sticky Turkey Pieces

The Sticky Turkey Pieces can be eaten at home, hot with a few chips or rice.  Or leave them to cool, add them to a Tupperware box with some salad to take as a sweet and sticky packed lunch (don’t forget some hand wipes though!)

This is no hard and fast recipe, go with dollops and dashes, taste along the way and ensure it’s as sticky or as spicy as you want…

Make the sauce – in a dish combine – a good squirt of tomato ketchup, two tablespoons of golden syrup, two tablespoons of vinegar, two of dark soy sauce, then a big dash of Worcestershire Sauce.

Add a teaspoon (to taste) of chilli powder, half a teaspoon of ground ginger and a teaspoon of mixed herbs.  Give it a good mix!

To a hot pan add some oil and lightly fry off some chopped garlic and a bit of fresh chopped ginger if you have any.  Add the cubed turkey to brown off.  Pour the cooking sauce you’ve just made all over.

It will begin life all a bit runny, don’t panic.  Cover and cook through until Turkey is well cooked, then remove lid – cook for a further ten minutes or so, until the sauce begins to thicken, it should have a sticky, thick consistency – a little like the sauce you get with Chinese Duck and pancakes.

That’s it!  All ready – either eat immediately, well let it cool a little first!! Or pack up when completely cold with salad for your explorers packed lunch!

Party in the Park – Thrapston

Are you coming along?

Indulge me…

As I can’t quite get over how sodden Northamptonshire really is you will have to indulge me! Bear in mind, Northants is a very flat county, no hills to block or divert the waters flow… Just flatness, so a river bursts its banks and it spews out all over the fields.

See what I mean…

More floods….

What a May!  The rain has not yet stopped….  We all piled in the car last week and videoed some flooded roads…. childish but fun!