Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The Guardian misfits are back for a great action movie which has laughs, excitement and you may even shed a tear. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista Dir: James Gunn "Anyone can save the galaxy once." Genre: Action

Recipe: Hot Cross Buns

I'd planned to bake some hot cross buns for Easter but got tied up with other things so these were a little late. All the same, they turned out really rather tasty even if the bun a was a little heavy and closer to bagel texture. House smelt great. Yummy when toasted.

The recipe can be found here.

Volunteer: Stafford Gotta Dance

Second show featuring Heather. Nothing too tricky but again busy with the torch trying to sort out kid movement and lost property.

Volunteer: Stafford Gotta Dance

First of 2 shows featuring Heather dancing on stage. As ever with school shows, there's hundreds of kids to shift from A to B, then back again so plenty to keep me busy.

Volunteer: Lynne Hanson & Good Intentions

Great Canadian singer/song writer touring with Good Intentions band. The electric guitar player was exceptional. Shame only had 24 tickets.

Album Review: British Sea Power/Let the Dancers Inherit the Party

I’ve heard mention of this six piece from Brighton a few times over the last few years however I’ve never taken the time to listen to any of their music. With their new album, Let The Dancers Inherit The Party, it seemed the perfect opportunity to soak in their sounds. The release of the album was made possible by the band last year initiating crowd funding and offering the crowd the opportunity to obtain a 4 CD album as part of their donation.

Intro Bad Bohemian International Space Station What You're Doing The Voice of Ivy Lee Keep on Trying (Sechs Freunde) Electrical Kittens Saint Jerome Praise For Whatever Want to be Free Don't Let the Sun Get in the Way Alone Piano

Immediately the sounds flash you back to student days with its racing drums, guitar breaks backed by repeating anthem lyrics. Coming up to exam time, I’m sure this album is playing at volume in many student dormitories. After a short introductory atmosphere builder, Bad Bohemian is fine while International Space Station starts off strong but loses its way about half way through. When we reach What You’re Doing and The Voice Of Ivy Lee we find an album which has settled down and provides some real solid tracks. Saint Jerome is a little middle-of-the-road with some dodgy vocals at one point. Want To Be Free is much slower and provides a break from the rapture. Tracks are often topped/tailed with a variety of weird sound effects and can sometimes feel over produced. However this is a solid enough album which would invariably fill any dance floor with students bouncing along trying not to spill their beer.

Volunteer: Going On A Bear Hunt

Classic story for 3 year olds.

Film Review: Fast and Furious 8

Just when you thought the plot couldn't get more crazy with more impossible action, FF8 comes along. They've packed more stunts and crashes in here than any person should see in a lifetime. Weak attempt at a plot but who cares? Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson Dir: F. Gary Gray "Ride or die. Remember." Genre: Action

Competition: Pizza Hut £1000 Draw

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Competition: Nando's £200 Gift Card

Nando's Feedback Draw Win: £200 Gift Card Competition: Monthly

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Competition: Hungry Horse Easter

Hungry Horse Easter Draw Win: Discount vouchers £1000 prize draw Competition end: 23rd April 2017

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Event: Escape a Room

Coming from a family of game players, we’ve always looked forward to playing anything new. I’ve recently become aware of a new concept called “Escape Rooms” whereby you (and your team members) are locked in a room with nothing more than your skills and intellect to solve the clues and ultimately escape against the clock. While in Hull Sue and myself took the opportunity to try out one of these.

The Escape Room was nothing elaborate, located in an old office building near the center of town. A buzzer gets you into the building so everything needs to be pre-booked. After introductions, we were shown into a room with lots of goodies with an aviation theme. We are also given some quick training on a range of unusual locks which appeared in the room (based on direction, colours etc). Then the clock was started and we were left to play.

It was all rather exciting as Sue and myself explored the room, raking through drawers and trying to understand different objects. As we worked together we cracked puzzle after puzzle, each being tricky but never too difficult. On a couple of occasions the walkie-talkie we had been issued would burst into life and give a vague hint. These only gave little probes in which object/clue to focus on next e.g. “consider the map again”, and was never a puzzle spoiler.

Unfortunately, due to one tiny mistake on the last puzzle (placing 40 separate tokens on a grid), we incorrectly solved a lock combination and failed to escape within the hour. We did however complete it about 30 seconds later. Bummer!

Escape Rooms are definitely now on my list of things to do. They are great fun and it’s amazing how well Sue and myself worked together to solve each of the clues. Highly recommended.

Event: Visit Private Gallery Viewing

Last July I kicked off my 50 Things challenge by stripping off, painted myself blue and taking part in Spencer Tunick's Sea of Hull photo-shoot. Some 9 months later the photos are finally ready for display in Hull’s Ferens gallery. Given that all 3000 participants, and their guests, were invited it’s perhaps not too exclusive but I certainly got the opportunity to visit a private art gallery viewing. Sue and I booked the day off work, drove to Hull and checked into a hotel in preparation for the event.

Due to the large number of guests, the gallery assembled us in the local shopping mall where they allocated viewing timeslots based on the paint colour we each had used. Of course remembering what shade of blue you were after such a long time is not trivial but I believe I was B3 so we ended up with a 20:15 slot.

The whole event was overly crowded with long queues for check-in, complementary photo pick-up and merchandise purchase. Although this would normally be a pain, we were killing time waiting for our timeslot so generally everyone was in good humour and chatted during the resigned wait.

The gallery for also over-crowded as everyone tried to locate themselves in the ten foot pictures. I was just glad that I hadn’t ended up at the front of some of these shots since there was little left to the imagination. We soon gave up on the whole idea of appreciating the pictures in this horde and left to grab food.

I did however return the following morning and enjoyed the experience in a far less stressfully situation. I can report that I am very much visible in all the photos I took part in however I won’t be providing exact positions but will leave that for a real life “Where’s Wally”.

Film Review: The Sense of an Ending

Basis of the story is a mystery package left by an old aquintance to an aging man. However I didn't feel any desire to know what it was and that was ultimately the failure for the film. Jim Broadbent plays the part well enough but overall his part doesn't quite gel with the others in the movie. Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter Dir: Ritesh Batra "Unravel the truth." Genre: Drama

Film Review: The Handmaiden

Great movie which layers plot on plot until your head's spinning with conclusions. The director, Park, has a great way of making you feel one way then switching the world to make you feel the opposite. Beautifully crafted. Min-hee Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo Dir: Chan-wook Park Genre: Drama

Event: Get Drunk In A Brewery

It was a quiet May Day bank holiday when a poor weather report put dampeners on the possibility of some high octane racing, so I went searching for a plan B. After the success of our trip to the potteries, it was only fair that I now looked East to the wonderful Burton Upon Trent and their brewing industry. Before long I had packed Sue in the car and we headed to the National Brewery Centre.

The Burton brewing industry once accounted for a quarter of the UK's beer production, and exported beers throughout the world and in particularly the colonies. It truly was a formidable beast of an industry, much of which still runs today.

The excellent guided tour briefed us on the local history including the shire horses, the working steam engine (albeit with fake boiler) and brewing museum. The guide entertained with lots of entertaining anecdotes while all the time delaying our visit to the onsite pub. The carvery was very pleasant and provided some stomach lining for the drinking, sorry tasting, session to follow.

The tour ticket comes with three 1/3 pint samples of any ale however, as Sue was the nominated driver, I got her vouchers. So this was starting to get a little serious for a lunchtime tasting session.

It was only after the first 2 samples did I start to appreciate that the brews are more snake poison rather than mum’s cola. All but one were above 4% and the strongest came in at 5.6%. But what did the trick was the fact that the barmaid was very, very generous with her measures. The glasses were oversize ½ pints with a mark at 1/3 pint however she seemed to forget to stop until the beer was lapping the rim.

In all, I can report that all the ales went down a treat and the stand out brew was Carrington’s Oak Stout. When I eventually reach the car, it was clear that I had truly got p*ssed up in a brewery.

Recipe: Lemon Chicken

A nice easy recipe with good results. The picture doesn't really do the final presentation justice.

The recipe can be found here.

Recipe: Crispy Roast Duck with Chinese Pancakes

A good old favourite which I've only made once in my life, some 25 years ago. Mum provided the duck and I grabbed 100 frozen pancakes from the Chinese supermarket in London's Chinatown.

Originally when I made it I boiled the duck for a few hours before frying but all the modern chefs (Ramsey, Jamie, Nigella, Hollywood etc) all roast in the oven, with only Ken Hom going for a steam option. I decided to follow Gordon Ramsey's since it had a few more ingrediants and hence hopefully a fuller flavour.

All went well and a single duck was plenty for the 7 of us as a starter. At a stretch it could do 9-10.

The recipe can be found here.

Competition: Masterchef BBQ

Competition: Masterchef BBQ & Book

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Competition: Craghoppers Travel Gear

Competition: Craghoppers Travel Gear

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Competition: Racing Experience

Competition Race day at Silverstone (14th July)

Competition here

Recipe: Red Velvet Cake

I first discovered a Red Velvet Cake less than 12 months ago at the National War Arboretum, then was recently reminded of its existence by the local pizza shop menu flyer. Although I had only ever eaten a single slice, I thought it was worth a go for Daniel's birthday.

Baking the 3 separate layers of sponge was a bit of a pain when I only had 2 cake tins of the right size, but a couple of shifts soon sorted that. Using cream cheese for the basis of the topping was new to me but was pleasantly tasty.

The final cake was very yummy, the sponge being exceptionally soft and delicate. Although there was significant red food colouring in the mixture the final cake was more brown than red. You may wish to add more colouring if you’re particularly after a red look.

The recipe can be found here.

Film Review: Going In Style

Remake about 3 old men robbing a bank in order to get even. Fun enough but nothing new from this run-of-the-mill caper. Joey King, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman Dir: Zach Braff "You're never too old to get even." Genre: Comedy

Film Review: Raw

This horror pulls you slowly in then gets you hiding behind your hands, cringing when you peep out and ultimately feeling for the girls. Fantastic acting. Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella Dir: Julia Ducournau "What are you hungry for?" Genre: Horror

Competition: £10 Amazon voucher for survey

Survey to obtain: £10 Amazon voucher

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Album Review: The Chainsmokers/Memories Do Not Open

Although The Chainsmokers, American DJs Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall, have had plenty of releases since they appeared on the scene in 2014, Memories Do Not Open is their first studio album. Let’s find out if it’s any good.

The One Break Up Every Night Bloodstream Don't Say ft. Emily Warren Something Just Like This (with Coldplay) My Type ft. Emily Warren It Won't Kill Ya ft. Louane Paris Honest Wake Up Alone ft. Jhené Aiko Young Last Day Alive ft. Florida Georgia Line

The album opens with The One, a somewhat peaceful and reflective track, before providing a great stadium rousing sing-along with Break Up Every Night. Although lead singer, Andrew Taggart, has a pleasant voice I welcome that they appear to have no problem collaborating with powerful female singers. They have chosen well with Emily Warren (Don’t Say), Jhené Aiko (Wake Up Alone) and Louane (It Wont Kill Ya) to bring some variety to the album. Their second single Something Just Like This has a greater sense of maturity and I’m sure the band learnt plenty from formidable chart veterans, Coldplay. The sound feels very much like Chris Martin’s production and again brings a sense of variety to the album's sound. Tune-wise we are never disappointing however they could do with some support in creating lyrics most notably on My Type and Honest (where “whoa whoa” is lazily used to fill a gap). Dare I say it but my old-school attitude thinks that this is a long overdue album. Although there a trend for bands to release EPs and singles, this duo have clearly had enough material for an album. The album shows they have firmly staked themselves as a formable band and not just some backroom DJs playing with remixes. With their flexibility and desire to work with the best, I’m sure these guys have a great future. UPDATE: On first listen the album scored 8 however on subsequent listens a few powerful tracks have grown on me while the weaker lyrics are becoming less offensive. It was only fair that I uprate the score to a 9.

Recipe: Toad In The Hole with Onion Sauce

Toad In The Hole is one of the Great British recipes however I'd not made it in about thirty years so it was again time to whisk up some batter.

Mary Berry's recipe is based on sauagemeat but I used some posh sausages instead, dropping the leeks and sage requirement.

The final meal was very tasty however the batter wasn't quite cooked through. From the picture you can see the top is certainly burnt enough so perhaps need to use a slightly lower temperture next time. The onion sauce was surprisingly tasty and would work well with plenty of other meals.

The recipe can be found here.

Volunteer: Jasper Carrott Stand Up And Rock

3rd and final night at Stafford for Jasper Carrott. Great show with Jasper giving us some old-school comedy intermixed with a hardcore rock act (Drums by ELO's Bev Bevan).

Album Review: Goldfrapp/Silver Eye

Although I’ve always listened to selected electro tracks, it has always been somewhat limited but in recent years however I’ve found myself enjoying this genre a little bit more. Despite widening my musical taste I've never delved into London-based Goldfrapp's sounds. I’ve known the name but they've never featured on my musical radar. With the launch of their 7th album, Silver Eye, it was time to sit down and take in the sound.

Anymore Systemagic Tigerman Become The One Faux Suede Drifter Zodiac Black Beast That Never Was Everything Is Never Enough Moon In Your Mouth Ocean

Goldfrapp's sound is a little unusual and the closest match I have for it is a late Enigma with heavier bass. No doubt purists will think this nonsense but that’s how my ear perceives it. The electro instruments layered with a haunting, long decaying vocal sound matches very closely in parts. The opening thumping track, Anymore, is the only single to appear and this has been generally well received. Systemagic, with its strong bass rhythm, provides drops and heavy electro buzzes which are my favourite on the album. Tigerman starts slow but soon layers on more sound and a haunting vocal. The closing track, Ocean, is also worthy of a mention due to it large sounds intermixed with minimalist verses. A great rouser for going out on a Friday night. The tracks will get your feet tapping but this often dies out as quickly as it started. A few of the tracks feel like they are written to a similar formula which results in there being little to separate them. Similar slow starts, sounds bursts, echo vocals, heavy electro-beat are all repeated on several tracks. Ultimately Silver Eye is a well-constructed and produced album which deserves to be on your playlist. After 3 years since their last album, Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp should rest pleased that they have created a worthy album.