A Week of iPhone Vlogs
It was kind of accidental, but after having so much fun making a whole bunch of iPhone vlogs last week I just carried on during the first week back at work, and made one every day. Each one comes with a brand new soundtrack sketch too.
iPhone Vlogs: May Half Term
Recently I've been quite tough on myself creatively: only wanting to release more and more polished ideas. This lead to forgetting how much fun it is to simply capture moments as they fly by, imperfect though they may be, and ended up simply making less stuff. So this week, I've tried to shake that feeling off, and gone back to where this blog started: one minute videos and soundtracks — all created on my phone.
Instagram Story Archive: Saturday 6 January 2018
An Instagram Story, with original soundtrack from Saturday's breakfast drink with my good friend Pip, followed by a walk through Mayflower Park.
Instagram Story Archive: Friday 5 January 2018
This is an archive of the Instagram Story I took walking around Ocean Village, after work on Friday, with an original soundtrack inspired by the fading light on a cold January evening.
Instagram Story Archive: Wednesday 3 January 2018
My Instagram story from Wednesday 3 January 2018, with a new soundtrack written during my walk along Southampton Waterfront.
Vlogmas 2017 (Week Four): Christmas Day with Family, Food and Presents
The final week of vlogmas includes the lead up to, and the big days its self.
In the lead up up the big day, there's lot of food to be prepared, and celebrations with friends. On Christmas Day, there's more food, plus time with family enjoying time together and some gifts.
Christmas Day Food:
This year's dinner was very similar to last years feast, with a few changes:
- Turkey
Local, organic, free-range bird from Uptons of Bassett, roasted with rapeseed oil, lemons, clementines, garlic, onions, carrots, celery, sage and thyme - Gravy
Made from roasting juices and organic chicken stock - Pork shoulder stuffing with red onion, chestnuts, sage and cranberries
A Jamie Oliver recipe with some modifications, including dried cranberries added and gf bread crumbs - Sausages in bacon
Use thinly slice pancetta for wrapping for extra flavour and crunch - Roast potatoes
Par-boiled, left to cool, then roast in rapeseed oil, with rosemary - Roast parsnips
Par-boiled, left to cool, then roasted with honey - Carrots with butter, sugar and star anis
Cooked in butter, sugar and star anise from a Tom Kerridge recipe - Cauliflower cheese
Gently roasted cauliflower covered in a basic béchamel sauce, with lots of cheese in, and cheesy breadcrumbs over the top - Brussels sprouts with bacon and chestnuts
A BBC Good Food recipe - Red cabbage with apple and balsamic vinegar
An amalgamation of a number of recipes, including spices, red onions, apples, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar - Cranberry and apple sauce
Another amalgamation of recipes from all over, following the basics of this Jamie Oliver recipe, but with my own spices added - Green beans with lemon
Lightly boiled and dressed in fresh lemon and rapeseed oil - Butternut squash mash with spiced roasted seeds
Roasted the squash whole, mashed the flesh and served with the seeds roasted in cumin and paprika - Steamed Spinach
Simply steamed and served
Christmas Gifts
I got some amazing gifts, including my favourite scent (Givenchy Pour Homme Blue Label) and a Hans Zimmer Masterclass.
I got my family all kinds of bits. Particularly successful gifts were books for my Dad (including Post-Capitalism: A Guide to Our Future by Paul Mason — one of my favourite reads from 2017), and "Strong Girls Club" tops for my nieces from Muthahood.
Vlogmas 2017 (Week Three): Finishing Work For Christmas
Week three of vlogmas includes lots of songwriting, food, and finishing work for Christmas.
Vlogmas 2017 (Week Two): Integr8 Christmas Quiz, Creeper and Star Wars
Week Two of Vlogmas includes some time working on new music, hosting the Integr8 Christmas Quiz, seeing my pals in Creeper smash it at Southampton Guildhall, and catching the mighnight showing of Star Wars.
An Adventure on the Isle of Wight
At Christmas we promised my niece and nephew a trip to the Isle of Wight, two weeks ago, we got to go on that adventure.
Eggs in Clouds
Never one to shy away from an Instagram food trend, I tried my hand at Eggs in Clouds this week.
The making is fairly simple: you separate the eggs, whipping the whites in to clouds which you bake briefly — 7ish minutes, so I'm told — and then add the yolks for another short flash in the oven — 3ish minutes, apparently. I chose to fully embrace the hipster food trends, and serve mine along side mashed avocado, sour dough toast, halloumi and grilled tomatoes on the vine, all of which, frankly, were by far the better elements on the plate.