Tiptree Jam Tea Room and Factory

Another tea room review and this time one inside a jam factory, not just any old jam factory but one that has the honor of putting the Queens standard on its jar. First off would you not expect its tea room to have many jam based offerings on its menu? well no there wasn't. A couple of scones or something were on offer but not to promote their own jam. I don't want them to take it to far and do Tiptree Jam and Chips but I would expect a Tiptree Jam Victoria Sponge, they really are missing a trick. Anyway it was a bit loud in there, bit expensive again and I got very confused with what the difference was between a lemon drizzle cake and lemon tangy, which I meant I ended up with a slither rather than a wedge. Still nice though and the museum made it a bit interesting....

mixing up da jam old skool

There was loads of old machinery and some stuff about the Queen coming to visit, plus a film about the history of the place. From which we created a new game called Polish Or Bulgarian Fruit Picker? Where you have to guess if the fruit picker on the film is Bulgarian or Polish. The game does exactly what it says on the tin, or in this case jar. 

Luckily on the way home we didn't get caught in a ......

Small Talk Tea Room Review

Surely there is no one who likes the living hell of Christmas Shopping? When we finished our session in Chelmsford town center we escaped from the chav shopping zombies to the Small Talk Tea Room just off the high street. This I am hoping is the first in a series of reviews of Tea Rooms in Essex.

The Small Talk Tearoom is situated near by to a Weatherspoons and a Yates, which is one of the areas in Chelmsford where the less desirable's blow chunks (be sick) in the evenings. It's certainly in a place you wouldn't expect but provides a welcome bit of Ye Olde Britishness to a modern utopia. Oh get me, I've been in a tea shop and now I'm writing like Charles Dickens!

I must say the tea was exemplary and in the quaint English surroundings I felt compelled to stick my little pinkie out. The food was tip top too, I went for a Sausage Toasted Sandwich followed by a Caramel Fudge Cake. Eva picked out a Toasted Cheese and Tomato Sandwich followed by a Chocolate Fudge Cake. I ate the food so fast there was no time to take a pic....

You could of easily imagined yourself being in the countryside if it wasn't for the view of Argos outside the window, and for some reason a man zooming past in a complete panic with a trolley full of milk. I'm really not sure what sort of emergency would need so much milk to resolve, a giant human eating cat on the loose perhaps? The guess who turned up walking past... Our mate Kevin Willis I used to work with armed with Skiing equipment who invited himself in, just like in the summer when he invited himself to my summer bbq which just happened to have some Bulgarian beauties in attendance. Nice one Kev.

The bill came to £17 something, Its the first tea shop I've been to but I am pretty sure that could be a bit on the expensive side. They done very well on the food, interior and location, we will see where they stand if I get my wish of visiting some more shops, anyway must dash!! Tally Ho.

Purple Pete can read Bulgarian...

It only turns out that Purple Pete can read Bulgarian !!! Being a bear he cant talk or write without fingers and thumbs so we only found this out when I caught him reading one of Eva's books when I came home one night. Amazing that a bear found by a Bulgarian in a charity shop in England knows her language. Does anyone out there know his life story? Have you seen Pete before?

It turns out I'm not the Pinball Wizard after all

Oh well this badge was a waste of money then, I was gonna wear it with so much pride. Don't know what the highest score was, but at some point I got beaten.

See my previous post for the full story.

I'm the Pinball Wizard at The Who's Pop Up Shop and Pinball Arcade

Tonight after work I went to The Who's Pop Up Shop and Pinball Arcade opened to celebrate the release of the deluxe and super deluxe re-releases of the Tommy album. That deaf dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball, and so do I because I am currently sitting top of the Tommy pinball league to win a guitar signed by Pete Townshend !! 

And here is the evidence which I took a pic of before it goes back in the window.

The person with the highest score  on the Tommy Pinball machine pictured below on 14th November gets to take the guitar home, They were pretty impressed by my score so fingers crossed I win!

Purple Pete Clearing Up After The UK Storm....

Come on Pete stop moaning and help, your lucky our whole tree didn't fall down. Others were far less fortunate than us during the UK storms.

Purple Pete Enjoying Bonfire Night....

Careful Purple Pete if you get a spark on you it could be all over.....

Tip From Bulgarian Girlfriend No 2, How to cook a great baked potato

Baked potatoes are a great food for the bonfire season, you can wrap them up in tin foil and take them out to see the fireworks. Here is my tip for cooking a crispy tasty one.

First make sure you give that potato a good old wash....

Then cover it in olive oil....

Then cover sea salt....

Put it on a baking tray covered in foil and prod holes in it with a sharp knife...

Then into the oven for 1 hour at 220 degrees

They come out like this, you little beauties!!

Halloween Story....Isle of Wight Ghostly Hand

I love asking people if they have ever witnessed something to do with hauntings especially at Halloween, and I was really surprised once to ask my mum and dad once if they had and to my surprise they said yes!! It happened to them back before I was born. They once told me about a holiday they had on the Isle of Wight which was cut short by some possibly ghostly goings on in the chalet they stayed in. My Mum felt uneasy after the first night staying there, on more than one occasion she thought my Dad was standing behind her only to turn around and find no one there. 

Then things got worse and she felt touches on her shoulder, again turning around with no one to be seen. She told my Dad what had happened worried he would think she is silly, but guess what? The same thing had happened to him!! They decided to ask if they could swap chalets and when asked why the receptionist gave a knowing look when my Mum said they just didn't feel comfortable. As it's Halloween tomorrow ask people you know if they have a ghostly story to tell you, you might be surprised.

One more Halloween thing.........This is what I came home to tonight!

A Sunday Stroll At Lake Meadows Park

Today we went to Lake Meadows with Eva's friend Clare which is the best park in the world, better than Central Park and I am not talking about the one in my home town Chelmsford. The park is in Billericay in Essex and has a picturesque lake, crazy golf, cafe, play park, walkways, green open spaces and car parking. However they are missing an A on their gate sign...

The park looks very autumnal at the moment and I will be entering this next picture into their seasonal photo competition, its going to be called "Eva In Autumn".....

You can't go to the park without feeding the ducks, geese and some seagulls to who grab the bread right out of the air as you throw it. Just 74 p for the reduced loaf of bread, great entertainment for under a pound.

After feeding the ducks it was onto the crazy golf course, I scored 68 and Eva 91 Ha ha ha ha. Its a good 18 holer with some ramps and pipes. This is me trying to convince the girls I didn't fall over half way round I just needed a sit down.

This is a fantastic place to go at the weekend when you have been stuck in the office all week. Many other people must think Lake Meadows is a special place to as there are many benches dedicated to people who have died...

National Bulgarian Parachutist Day !?!

I've been told by Eva today is National Parachutist Day in Bulgaria, yes that's right its a strange one. They seem to have a reason to celebrate everyday, but this one is particularly important because Eva used to be a parachutist in her home town Stara Zagora.

Eva is in the red chequered shirt at the front

So tonight im having a drink for the parachutists of Bulgaria. Then tomorrow its the day of the Bulgarian Doctors so why not have a drink for them too, although they may not approve.

My First Attempt At Gardening

This year was my first attempt at doing some gardening, I thought I would give it a go as its a creative way to try and make a new home your own. I had a vision of growing enough vegetables to giveaway and flowers draped all over the patio, I thought I could be a celebrity TV gardener by the end of the summer. It didn't quite work out that way but was my first time, now the summer is over I can show some pictures

                       

It started trying to attract some birds with a bird feeders I hung from hanging basket brackets, no luck as though as all the neighbours cats scare them off. Nice bit of climbing fence there though and a bit of paint on the shed.

Then I planted some seed,s for most it turned out I planted to early as the summer was so slow to start. Most of the flowers died but the vegetables were tough and lived on. Tomatoes, onions and strawberries were a success and tasted great..........

There was also a sunflower competition between me and my work friend Tina and I got thrashed, the one with the tallest and widest flower won.

One thing I would say is that gardening is hard work, don't try and over stretch yourself or things die when you cant pay them enough attention. If you shop around and go to the pound shop and Aldi you can find some good cheap plants and flowers. There were lots of other successes meaning some good photos could be taken......

With some posing thrown in...

And an idiot climbing up a tree.....



Norfolk Holiday.... Send Someone A Postcard

What happened to sending people a postcard when your on holiday? Texts and mobiles have probably played their part in their demise. I remember my Mum queuing to use the phone on holiday camps when I was a child, oh how things change..






I think its a great thing though, its nice to have one pop through your door and know someone was thinking of you and put the effort into writing one.
Im surprised someone hasn't come up with the idea to make a machine you can plug your digital camera in and make your own whilst your away.

Next time you go away send someone a postcard and tell them what you've been up to, such as..........

Hang on, Wake up Eva my blog isn't that boring!!!!!

Going on a seal trip and taking some nice pics....

 Eva and most people on the boat liked to think they were waving at us to say hello. I think they may have been wanting to wave us off and saying "haven't you lot got anything better to do than watch us lying on a beach". Apparently they stay laying there for three days at a time, it costs me £3.95 to have a swim in town, make the most of you lazy big slugs.

Come on Eva,..... you don't have to play dead to get out of reading this

Going on a Steam Train and seeing old railway stations... Choooo Choooo!!!
Something I've done many times and we talk about in a post all of its own.

Making new friends.........................

Muddle the Dog

Staying at a Bed & Breakfast fit for a king, which was owned by a man who was born in
the same hospital as me.............

If you know me lets swap addresses so we can send holiday postcards!!

 By the way Eva actually loves my blog.