20/20 Cricket

Okay, so this is a little late but since I have been back in London it has been a bit of a whirlwind of competitions and training. Forgive me?

What about if I hold my hands up and say I'm sorry?

¡Adios Lanzarote!

The final day of our trip was a relaxing one, especially after all of the running and walking we did on Ironman day!

Instead, it was time to relax and top up our tans before getting our flight back to London this morning.

Ironman Lanzarote

It's 5:30am, and outside it is as silent as can be, but behind the apartment doors are 2200 participants all getting ready for one of the most challenging days of their lives.

We are all about to meet by the swimming pool.

Beach Sprints

Being away means one thing... holiday indulgent of anything that isn't healthy!

I am a sucker for ice cream, frozen yogurt and three-course dinners when I am on holiday, and this trip is no exception (as much as I am trying to stay healthy!)

With track competitions lined up for when I get back to London, I have to train whilst I am away to maintain form. This is something that anyone can do whilst they are away though, and fancy working off last night's dinner.

Beach Sprints.

Cotton Jelly

I am in the middle of a packing nightmare.

On one side of the room is all my belongings in boxes, ready for me to move house. On the other, a pile of clothes that I want to keep out to wear to clubs, pubs, and to pack for next week's trip.

You know exactly what happens too, the majority of it stays out 'just in case.' Though I have found three tops that I am keeping out and took a break to show them off.

Like this one...

Honky Tonk

There is a wardrobe in Clapham where you can head off to London's version of Narnia.

My dinner date got a little excited about this with an ohmygawd face, and approached with no caution expecting lions and witches on the other side.

Mum's Marathon

At about the same time I was getting home from a night out, my mum was getting up.

She was reluctantly eating her marathon fuel of porridge when she turned to my dad and told him...

'I can't do this.'

Which is probably the words that the majority of people thought or said at the early hours of the morning, whilst they tried to get ready for what may have been the biggest challenge they have done.

That's normal though. Your body is about to go through 26.2 miles of running, and after all the months of the training, the winter days, the wet weather and having cold fingers after running the 18th mile, the day finally comes when the London Marathon is knocking on your bedroom door.

Luckily this year, there was no rain though!

New Kicks

I had a surprise come through the door the other day.

One of those surprises that you have needed for a little while, but still get excited when it arrives.

Back To Brighton

It's time for a road trip out of London.

Cue a sunglasses selfie on the M23 and off we go!

Pizza East

It's wet January, payday seems so far away, and everyone in London seems to be taking part in Dry January after inhaling too much alcohol in the lead-up to Christmas and on New Year's Eve.

Myself included.

I spent a little bit more than I should have on presents and Christmas drinking this year, so much so that like everyone else, I am hoping payday would be tomorrow, not a couple of weeks away.

To wash away the grey and gloomy January (seriously, when will the rain stop?), me and Frankie thought a post-Christmas catch up hiding from the rain would be a good way to cheer ourselves up!

Anyone for pizza?

Night Tales

Remember Street Feast back in the summer?
An East London warehouse full of food trucks and stalls, serving hungry foodies whilst the evening sunshine lasted well into the night.
Then winter arrived, and suddenly standing outside all evening didn't seem so appealing.

Just because the sun has faded and the nights are colder, doesn't mean that us foodies have to hibernate away. Street food is still at large (with added winter coats), with a range of pop-ups appearing around London.

Say Hello to one of them... Night Tales.

The latest food fest to appear this winter over in Dalston under a huge canopy.
Its three gold coins at the entrance, which lets you into a world of food and drink that will ensure you need to be rolled out at the end of the night!
From oriental to american, Italian pizza fritta's to west country cider, you are in for a treat!

Stomachs rumbling, we headed straight to grab some food.
First stop, BAO for some starters.

Pork belly is one of my fav foods, and you know how much I love fried chicken from my visit to Joe's the other week.
So, understandably, I ordered both.
Just look at all that pulled pork. 

And whoever came up with Soya Milk fried chicken is a genius.
Sorry Colonel Sanders, you have got nothing on these guys!

As for the Pork Belly Bun, they were miniature pieces of heaven.
If you are a bit unsure, then I urge you to try these! Honestly, they were that good!

There are queues for most food stalls, but trust me, it is worth the wait for each one of them!

Over at Pizza Pilgrims, they were serving up Pizza Frittas filled with sausage and mozzarella, or mushroom and ricotta.
J went for one and I went for the other, but the mushroom and ricotta pipped the other as the best tasting!

You have to excuse the lack of focus on the camera - I was too excited to eat these!

I have heard so much about Pizza Pilgrims, and became a fan just from these little frittas. I can't wait to go try out their restaurant menu!

There is also an upstairs area where you can hide aware form the busy crowds and grab a few drinks before you take on the next batch of food.

Ready for another round of food, we headed back over to BAO for more chicken and pork belly bun's.

Before rounding off at Smokey Tails.
Chicken wings smothered in buffalo sauce, and smokey Mac'N'Cheese on the side.
Again, I had to have both!
We grabbed a spot, sat down and tucked in.

Smokey Mac'N'Cheese is so good! The added 'smokey' BBQ flavour adds that extra pow! that has been missing all these years!
As for the delicious wings, lets just say that it got a little messy with all that sauce!

With the night vibes in full swing, we carried on with the mulled cider and chatted away to other foodie lovers who were trying to eat and drink sensibly too.

We failed at both, not that we were too disappointed!
With the night coming to a close, we staggered and pulled each other away from the food stalls, and off into the Dalston night.

Night Tales is on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday up until Christmas. You can find them here, and be sure to arrive with an empty stomach.
I mean, not-eaten-all-day kind of empty stomach!

See you there!

Played In Chelsea

It's always the same dilemma. 
You're sat watching your weekly TV show when some background music comes on and you wonder who the artist is, and by the time you have opened Shazam the song has faded. 

Fortunately, if you watch Made In Chelsea, then the artists are playing at a weekly gig in West London, which means you can find out who sang that song and see them play live.

Each week, 'Played In Chelsea' is held at Under The Bridge, featuring three live acts from the shows soundtrack. I was invited down to one of the gigs, so set off the other evening to see what it had to offer.

It literally was 'under the bridge'. 
Chelsea Football clubs stadium, Stamford Bridge, in fact.
I met up with Ryan outside, strolled down the courtyard past the photos of past and current players, and headed on in to grab a drink. 

 Ryan wore his Barbour Coat, Topman Trousers and a satchel from a small shop in Winchester.

I went for my Winter Coat, Taxonomy tee, Black Jeans, shoes by Hudson and my Mulberry manbag.

As it was going to be streamed live on E4 online, we grabbed our spot and watched as the floor manager came on to warm up the crowd into a small frenzy.
Before being quickly followed on by Jamie Laing and Proudlock from the series.

Who laughed and joked about the night and show, before introducing us to the first act.
A new up and coming indie band called Outside Central.

Their songs would act as the perfect backdrop to a day at the beach, cider in hand with your friends. Listen to 'Tell Me That You're Mine' here - I have just added it to my Spotify Playlist!.

In-between the bands, the guys came back on to film some scenes to introduce the next artist to the stage for everyone who was watching at home.
If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen that we did send a couple of cheeky tweets using the #PlayedInChelsea hashtag to see if they got read out.

Next up was Pylo.
My and Ryan clearly did not know who this band was, or even heard of their music. 
Our vacant faces gave it away whilst everyone else cheered as they walked on stage.

It's all about discovering new music though, right?

By the end of their set, we were tapping our feet and bopping our heads along in enjoyment!
More of a chilled set than a jump-around-going-crazy set. 
It went down well with a pint and they had a few more fans by the end of it too, ourselves included! Take a listen here.

The final band of the night was Deaf Havana, a band we both knew about this time!

The crowd went absolutely wild for these guys, and there was no question they brought the house down.

Think guitars, drums, and a good voice mixed together with a good pace! They are one of those acts that makes you want to put your hand up in the air and sing along!

Three songs later, the band left the stage and the lights came up. 
Gig over, a little tipsy, we grabbed our coats and went back out into the ground of Stamford Bridge.


Being at Chelsea FC, we couldn't resist a little football cheer for the team.

Clapped, foot tapped, and all cheered out, we headed off back home after what turned out to be a great night of new music! 
Played In Chelsea was a great opportunity to discover new bands, and there is one more show left as the TV series comes to an end.
Unfortunately, it is sold out of tickets (which is good though, as the proceeds go to charity!), but you can watch it online and discover who those bands were playing on the latest episode!

I'm off to download some new albums from iTunes, and start foot tapping again under the desk!