Goose Fair

Sam and I decided to head down to the Goose Fair today, which, despite the name, had absolutely no geese. It was similar to the Midway at the Stampede (for any Calgarians in the house) or to the Ex (for you Torontonians.) There were a bunch of rides, greasy fair food, and kiddies to boot.

Some of the most common food available included huge vats of mushy peas that were spooned into cups on tossed over chips. They also had full roasts with stuffing available. Now that's class. 

Saw this little yellow afro man sitting in one of the carny trucks and made Sam take a picture. Just had to. 

Proving that the rubber ducky game is a universal happiness inducer. 

We were meandering past the game stalls when this lovely little treasure, tucked inconspicuously in between an 'I Love You' bear and a stuffed pink pig, caught my eye.

Something about their faces reminds me of Glottis from Grim Fandango...

Jiminy cricket!

Somehow not as threatening when you realize it looks like a Bionicle. 

 The prices for the rides were ridiculous at 2 quid a pop, which, considering most of them were so similar to Stampede rides, I would've thought they'd flown the same ones in, weren't really worth it. So we meandered and people-watched instead, stopping to have some interesting food along the way... Sam had some chips and gravy, as well as a toffee apple. I opted for something a little more unusual...

...an Ostrich burger!! I chose the cherry tomato relish which was fab, and I fully intend to try making it soon. It tasted similar to beef, but less fatty so a little drier, similar to bison but with a bit of a spice to it. 

The lovely ladies of Dinky Donuts. 

I'm pretty sure it was my sister that told me to buy a coconut from a street vendor so on our way back, we picked one up. I was so excited to try it, we asked the vendor to crack it open for our walk home and he found a rather knife to do the trick. After worrying that he was going to whack his fingers off, he eventually got it open and we spent the half hour walk back trying to pry bits off with our fingernails. 

Totally worth the 80p.

Swimco Outlet

In an effort to find a swimsuit, I came across the realization that Swimco is actually manufactured in Nottingham. Huh. Who knew. So Sam and I ventured over to the factory outlet, which was located next to the rather dodgy looking factory...

This store...if it even is a store... was directly opposite the factory. 

These doors were around the corner after walking down a creepy, slightly dirty drive into the building complex. Needless to say, all these empty-looking, slightly run-down industrial areas, are helping me understand why so many zombie movies include the UK. 

Frozen Bananas

Had some bananas go a little black so I chucked them in the freezer with the intention of making banana bread. Got the recipe from the Planet Organic cookbook, which essentially includes mashed bananas, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt, eggs, canola oil, milk, white flour and baking soda... but I threw in some toasted walnuts, chocolate chips and raisins, just for good measure. Managed to make the entire flat smell like banana bread...

Housewife in Training

Expect there to be a lot of posts about food over the course of this blog. My flat mates keep telling me I'm always in the kitchen and a friend of mine in Toronto once told me I'd make the perfect house wife. I took this as the ultimate compliment as I've always thought I would fit perfectly in the 1950's, pearls and all. (I know some of you are making 'women belong in the kitchen jokes' right now. Don't deny it, I know who you are.) 

I love to cook and bake, and spent much of the summer collecting and copying recipes from my mother, as well as from books and the internet in preparation for the upcoming year. Unlike residence in Toronto, there is no rez food here, and I thankfully have a full kitchen...which I intend to make full use of. 

We have limited fridge space but a rather large freezer, which, I imagine, is because they assume that as uni students all we eat is frozen pizza. Instead of resorting to the local cuisine of fried chicken and other quality take-away (although I will most likely come to rely on this during exam week...) I spent much of the first week making soups and quiches to tuck into the freezer for quickie meals. 

Here are some of the ones I've tried so far...

• Apple and parsnip soup - A new favorite.
• Roasted butternut squash soup - Found this a year or so ago and it has been one of my all-time favorite soups. 
• Carrot and sweet potato soup
• Broccoli Quiche - I tucked some cherry tomatoes in this as well. Simply roast them in the oven on low heat for an hour or two then plop them into the quiche. 
• Swiss chard and potatoes - Simple but tasty, and good for using up extra swiss chard, since I had so much from the vegbox. I also used the swiss chard in omelettes with a little cream cheese.
• Bubble and squeak - Just tried this today for lunch - a proper british pub meal! Added some cheese, carrots and onion as well. Was quite good, despite finding a little worm tucked in my cabbage while cleaning it (I guess thats what happens when you buy organic...So remember to soak it first...)
• Healthy cookies - Had a craving for some oatmeal raisin cookies. These were very tasty...but probably not so healthy as I ate 5 right when they came out of the oven. 

In Search of Mr. Darcy

Despite being a horribly rainy day, my flat mate and I had bought tickets to take the bus up to Chatsworth for the day, which has been the filming place of several movies, including the newest Pride and Prejudice, as well as The Duchess. Watch this video about the filming of Pride and Prejudice at Chatsworth before looking at the pictures.

I won't lie that I was fully hoping to find Mr. Darcy walking out of the pond... Or at least find him so I could ask him to re-enact that scene.

Here's a quickie video out the window of our drive up to the house. Having been told to watch all the Jane Austen films ever made by my mother while I was home for the summer, I couldn't help but think of Elizabeth Bennet and the description of her first glance at Pemberley...Only, I hadn't recently declined the marriage proposal of the owner, but still. You get the point.

Look! A tollbooth!!

THE BOAR: 
Strike the boar with the REAL Sword and you'll get a piece of the disc.*

 *(this is a reference I only expect my father and sister to understand)

Nothing to keep you from sitting on the fancy furniture like a prickle up the bum.

A replica of Hercules' shield. Nothing major. Bet they bought it at Pottery Barn. 

...this one too. 

"A pair of French percussion target pistols by Le Page, Paris, with browned octagonal barrels, carved walnut stocks with butts, and a full complement of accessories, dates 1836."

This statue was featured in the movie and has some lovely detail of the veil. 

A view out the rainy window of some of the gardens. 

A model of the entire house...'Just a cozy house for two.'

Sam and I playing dress-up as the hired help...

...and the boys...

Hotness. Straight up.

Chatsworth building accounts, 1687-1694. 

I have always wanted a house with secret passages. This was one of many little hidden doors for the hired help. Reminds me of that door in the Clue game that helps you get from the Conservatory to the Lounge. Not that I'd use it for those purposes, mind you...

A tiara for the girls...

...and model air planes for the boys. 

Talk about a drama-filled group of gals. The Mitford sisters were described as follows..

 "Diana the Fascist, Jessica the Communist, Unity the Hitler-lover; Nancy the Novelist; Deborah the Duchess and Pamela the unobtrusive poultry connoisseur"

Deborah, the Duchess, is the only one still living today. 

Devonshire robes, possibly 18th c. Worn at the Queen's coronation in 1953 by Deborah's mother-in-law, who was the Mistress of Robes, the purpose of which I can't even begin to imagine. 

Some of the Duchess' clothes. 

Library.

Universal Equinoctal Dial...and its description...

And finally, the sculpture room. Probably the most recognizable from the movie for me. So we searched and searched for sculptures we recognized, but all I was really looking for was Darcy...

Alas, we'd finished the sculpture room and he was no where to be found. So we meandered into the gift shop and hiding above the walls of overpriced cards and marmalade, guess what we found...

And the search for Mr. Right was over. So we packed up and headed home for tea and biscuits.