An Expedition to...Claridges

Every now and again I feel that it is important to treat yourself to a little luxury. When things are getting tough you've got to switch yourself off from everything that is negative in your life and embrace everything that is positive. Last month I set us the challenge of planning an expedition, something that we could plan over the months before embarking on our adventure. Mine involved travel, I planned to finally make a trip to Canada to see my relatives. The last time I travelled there was 2001 and each time another year slipped by I always felt bad that I still hadn't been back and still hadn't seen the relatives that I loved and cared about. I knew that this year there was no stopping me and so I started planning a head, thinking about how we would get there, where we would stay, who we would visit and what we would do.

There was only one thing that would stop me from travelling and that was if my Mum became more ill but it seemed unlikely given her excellent response to the treatment that she was having. But it wasn't to be as Cancer has a nasty way of popping up whenever it wants to and when the chemo stopped the cancer came back in various other places. So of course my expedition needed to go on hold. I will get back there one day but right now it's important that I look after my Mum...after all she's spent most of her life looking after me.

So, now it was time to plan another expedition, something in my own country and possibly one that could include my Mum.  One night whilst watching a documentary about the Claridges Hotel in London I had an idea. The whole point of the expedition was to do something that you wouldn't normally do. I watched the documentary about all of the rich, elegant people taking their tea in the salon, relaxing in their suites, dining in the restaurant and sipping cocktails in the Fumoir. It all seemed like a million miles away from the life that I lead. My Mum sighed as the programme finished and said "Wouldn't it be amazing to visit a place like that...it would be a dream a once in a lifetime experience!" That comment started me thinking, why couldn't we go? Why not for a day could we live like the rich and famous and visit Claridges? So I teamed up with my Sister and we started to plan an expedition for our Mum, if Claridges was a once in a lifetime experience then it was definitely going to be a once in a lifetime experience for her. We weren't travelling 3000 miles across the world we were going to travel ninety minutes down the train track, twenty minutes in a taxi and arrive at our final destination...a million miles away from our everyday lives.

A Whole New World

I've never travelled First Class before so my expedition begun the moment that we stepped on to the train. I never even bother reserving seats, I just usually end up perched below a smelly armpit or sat on the floor by the train's loo. But today I was settled in to my leather seat enjoying the air conditioned carriage and sipping my mineral water. Mum's face was lit up like the sunshine! We had all dressed up for the occasion and felt brilliant. The next part of the journey took us through the streets of London as we made our way in a classic London taxi to Claridges, how posh we felt as we told the driver where we were going and then were greeted from the taxi by a Claridges door man who held the door open as we fell out of the taxi and stepped on to the elegant door mat and gently pushed our way into the art deco style lobby. We stood in a line looking around us at the beautiful marbled floors, the blazing fire and the gigantic vases filled with magnolias and tulips.

We were escorted to our table in the tea salon, passing tables crowned with elegant cake stands, tall glasses of champagne and the beautiful Claridges signature china. Ladies with perfect hair, pearls and Mulberry handbags sat sipping tea, deep in conversation with their friends as the staff impeccably dressed in pristine suits made us feel at home.

We felt a million miles away from our real world but the three of us were made to feel no different to anybody else in the room, we may as well have been royalty for the way that we were treated and we soon relaxed in to our table and studied the menu of never ending teas. We placed our orders of English Breakfast, French Vanilla and Damson tea. I had ordered the Damson tea, a blend of berries, fruits and spiced with cinnamon...it tasted like Christmas. My Sister's tea was a sweet vanilla, which tasted like Crème Patissiere. The tall champagne glasses in the centre of the table were moved in front of each of us, our napkins placed in our lap and then we watched as the waitress carefully poured our Laurent Perrier Champagne in to each glass. A platter of beautiful sandwiches was placed in the middle of the table...we stared excitedly at the food before us smoked salmon, dill and horseradish; cucumber, rocket and cream cheese; egg and cress; chicken and salad and a beautiful ham and tomato sandwich with the most delicious mustard. We carefully ate our little delicate sandwiches and then were brought more as we cleared our plates. What was next? We watched as people came and left the tea room. The grand piano in the corner sprung to life and a violinist accompanied the pianist filling the room with gentle music.

The beautiful art deco mirrors and lights glinted in the gentle light of the room whilst outside the city buzzed with the hustle and bustle of shoppers, workers and cars. Inside Claridges the world had slowed down, my watch actually stopped and nothing mattered any more. Another platter arrived with delicious fruit and apple scones, still warm from the oven and with little pots of clotted cream and Marco Polo jelly. The elegant scones fell open and we piled on the cream and jelly, which was swiftly replaced by more as we ran low. Our tea was constantly topped up as our cups became almost empty, we didn't have to do anything but eat and drink. Then our table was crowned with a beautiful selection of cakes and pastries, a fruit tart with cream, little lemon puddings topped with toasted marshmallow, delicate chocolate cakes and millefeuilles. By this point it was necessary to sit back and take in our surroundings whilst we digested the delicious food we had already eaten and yet the Waitress still snuck us more cake.

New pots of tea were brought over and we began to sample our cakes but after a few we were defeated by cake and an elegant bag was brought over with our leftovers neatly packaged up. We sat for longer and listened to the piano, our lovely French waitress chatted to us and told us to stay for as long as we liked. We finished our tea and I ventured out of the tea salon to investigate the ladies room. The perfumed hallway led me to an elegant room with beautiful mirrors and dressing tables, I entered in to the toilets and found a beautiful room with more art deco features, beautiful tiles and a lady who turned the taps on and off for you, regulating the temperature and presenting you with a white fluffy towel for your hands. I walked slowly back to the tea room and sat back down with a sigh...how could we go back home to normality now? The waitress walked over as we reluctantly started to button up our coats and presented us each with a small white box of chocolates tied with an elegant black ribbon with Claridges written in gold writing on it. We thanked the waitress a hundred times and then slowly left the room. Then we were back in our taxi heading through the now quieter streets of London, past the red buses, we pulled up outside Vera Wang and admired the beautiful wedding dresses before speeding off and arriving outside St Pancras station.  

With a little time left we browsed the shops in the station, reading books in Foyles, selecting toys to take home to my Sister's boys in Hamleys and purchasing loose tea and another tempting cake in Peyton and Byrne. It was time to leave this wonderful world where we had spent a wonderful afternoon and make our way back home, back to the real world which now seemed slightly more enriched by such a wonderful experience.

From now on I think anything is possible, no matter what class you are, how much money you have or don't have, if you want to do something  go and do it because as my family is learning (the hard way) life is very short. Plan your expedition (no matter what it is) and when you've done it, plan another one...you will be glad that you did.

The Theme for March - Plan your Expedition



Maybe you will raise money for charity?

This month the theme is to come up with your own expedition. It's something to work on throughout the year but at the end of March I will update you with what my expedition is and what I am doing. Your expedition can be something as simple as training for a marathon and running it, maybe you will aim to raise funds for a charity with your goal at the end to raise a certain amount of money. Maybe there is a place you have always wanted to visit and this year you're going to do it...stop putting it off and make the journey. Your expedition could be setting up a business or maybe you're going to go and seek the career you've always dreamt of, maybe your expedition will be how you will get there perhaps you will need to re-train or take on additional study? Whatever it is, keep Felicity and her team in your mind and focus on your goal, plan your expedition carefully as they did. Life is short, we spend too much time putting things off or talking ourselves out of something because we are afraid or can't justify doing it. When I finished Felicity's book I felt quite envious of the women for achieving something so big and setting themselves an incredible challenge. Now it's our turn, our expedition...whatever it is take a deep breath and get started, you will get there.

Or maybe organise that dream holiday?

Women - we are wonderful!

I'm sorry but we women are an incredible species aren't we? Look at what we do and what we have overcome over the years. We have fought battles for women's rights and gained equality in what was a male dominated world. In some countries women are still battling for their rights and to be treated equal to men. We balance our careers with raising our families, I like to think of us as the glue that holds everything together and I don't believe in the question "who is the stronger sex...men or women?" because I believe we are equal. However as a woman the answer has got to be women hasn't it? Although my husband is great at getting the lid off a jar.

But feminism aside I have just finished an inspirational book called "Call of the White - Taking the World to the South Pole" by Felicity Aston. For weeks I've been sneaking off to bed at 9pm to read more about this fascinating adventure to Antarctica. I have always been interested in Antarctica since my Lecturer at University spent a couple of hours showing us slides and talking about her visit to Antarctica and the research that she carried out there, it's a place that I find so fascinating but so far out of my reach. To go there frightens me but exhilarates me at the same time. This book took me closer, I felt like I was there with all of the women. Felicity's adventure started when she decided to put together an all women's team to ski to the South Pole with. Each woman would come from a country within the Commonwealth to form an international team. The team was to be ordinary women who wanted to inspire other people to grab their dreams or better their lives. In the end Felicity sorted through 800 applications, travelling to each of the Commonwealth countries to interview potential team members and narrow it down to  just one woman from each of the following Commonwealth countries India, Jamaica, Brunei, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore and Cyprus. Some of the women who joined the expedition had never experienced or seen snow, some had never been in a tent.

I was in complete awe of all of the women who completed the expedition as well as the women who had the courage to apply in the first place. Felicity inspired me, she fought hard for what she believed in and led these women through one of the toughest journeys in the world not just in their trek to the South Pole but also in their fundraising and gaining sponsorship and support for their expedition, these women worked tirelessly and extremely hard, fighting for what they believed in and wanted to achieve even before they set foot on the ice. Felicity's final words at the end of the book really spoke to me...she wrote that a woman who had climbed Everest came to speak at her school when she was a teenager, the woman had said that she had once been told that there are two paths in life and that taking the harder path would always lead to greater fulfilment. Felicity said that she decided from that moment that she would always seek out the 'hard path.' I haven't trekked across Antarctica but with all the bumps and winding roads in my life I would say that I have chosen the hard path and from thinking about Felicity's words and reading this book I'm glad that I have, some of the things I have encountered in my life I would never have chosen for myself or wished for myself to experience; but having experienced these bumps  I've learned a lot, become wiser and I now know that I am a stronger person than I think. If I had taken the 'easy path' my life would have been boring and I perhaps wouldn't be the person that I am today. Felicity said that the real success of the expedition was the impact that it had on the lives of others, inspiring people to make a decision in their own lives. But what I loved about the book was the determination of the women, their attitude to never giving up and proving that as women we can do anything that we want.

For some of the women on the expedition they were the first women from their country to ski to the South Pole, some of these women are still experiencing male dominance and segregation in their country and are seen as the weaker sex. How incredible must they feel to think back to what they have done and know that they have achieved something so amazing that no other woman in their country has achieved? I know I would feel on top of the world and eager to encourage other women to do the same. Thanks to this book I feel more inspired to know that I can do anything that I want and with sheer determination and willingness I will get to where I want to be...I'll get to my own Antarctica.

 

Did you sign up to something positive?

So...what did you sign up to? Did you sign up to anything? Surprisingly I did, although it's not going all that well. This month money was particularly tight and where the sensible thing would be to tighten the purse strings and forego some luxuries I just can't seem to do that.

I can't resist a meal deal!

As an Intellectual Dinner Club member the lack of not going out for dinner each month is proving too difficult for me. When our boiler broke during one of the coldest weeks of the year so far I used it as the perfect excuse to visit my favourite restaurant right on my doorstep, Mustard and Punch. Three courses for just £22 and half a bottle of wine thrown in, well that's a bargain isn't it? And then a visit to the Woodman in Thunderbridge was just too tempting to turn down, their menu of delicious warming dishes proved too much to resist and I overindulged by again choosing three courses...Yorkshire pudding and onion gravy, slow roasted belly pork, STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING! How could I not?

So all this over indulging and sampling beautiful, local food meant that my lack of funds were becoming increasingly worrying and my growing waist band was making my clothes disturbingly tighter...although it was the double chin that was bothering me the most (I still tap it with the back of my hand hoping it will gradually go back up to where it came from.)

Sign up to something positive.

Signing up for something was proving to be difficult. I had no money and my energy levels were sinking rapidly thanks to a new desk job and my over indulgence. Then a friend recommended The Park Run to me, it was genius and the perfect thing to start off my year positively. Park Run is genius, it's a nationwide event that takes place every Saturday morning in various locations up and down the country, in my case it starts at 9am (eek!) at my local park. It's completely free but all you have to do is sign up on their website and print off a barcode, which you have to present when you complete your run each week. Your results are then published on their website and you can track your progress...brilliant! Each run is 5k and you can run, walk, jog, take your Dog however you want to get around, but the idea is to run. So I did it...I did my first run on a freezing cold morning amongst people of all shapes and sizes. I ended up at the finish line 35 minutes later, propped against a tree trying very hard to get my breath back and not throw up in front of everybody. It was such a friendly, jolly place to be and everyone spurred each other on shouting encouragement and inviting us to have a nice warm drink in the cafe afterwards. Unfortunately with the snow and a wine-fuelled Friday night the other weekend it's been a while since I've been back but I've got my barcode ready, my IPod charged and I'm ready for another go on Saturday. I have to say I'm actually quite proud of myself...even if I am booked into the 3 Acres Restaurant in two weeks time, well everything in moderation I need to have some fuel to burn off at Park Run!

 

 

New Year, Old You - The Theme for January

I hate that saying "New Year, New You!" At the start of every year they wheel that one out again and every year I think, no it's still the same old me. I know what they mean, it's time to get a new, improved version of yourself but for me that never actually happens. I don't go and get a radical haircut or new wardrobe instead I usually buy   reduced bubble bath from Boots and shave my legs, read a magazine and try and feel inspired by all these amazing women who have left a career in law or so and are now running a business knitting tea cosies in their garden shed or who have moved abroad and converted a haunted house into a Provencal paradise.Very inspiring but they are all usually rich!

At the start of January we are all told that we should start that diet now but it never really works out does it? Especially if like me you have a mountain of chocolate to climb. So forget it I'm not dieting nor am I depriving myself of anything cake or chocolate like or anything that comes out of a bottle with a cork in it. Here is this month's theme...

This month we are going to start out quite easy, nothing challenging and nothing that really involves using our brains much. We want you to sign up for something...anything! Here are some ideas:

1. Sign up to dance classes

2. Sign up for night school

3. Sign up for a magazine  subscription

4. Sign up to a blog and start blogging

5. Join the RSPB

6. Sign up to Race for Life

7. Sign up to join a book group

By the end of the month we should all have signed up for something. We will present our themes on here so you can see how we got on, what we joined and why and how it's made us feel. Feel free to e-mail in and tell us about your experiences intellectualdinnerclub@gmail.com

Happy January!

A Change of Plan

It's the start of a brand New Year and already we are feeling the need to tighten our purse strings. It's a bit depressing really because The Intellectual Dinner Club has been running since 2009 and all this time we have managed to keep our dinners going each month...and I always managed to find a few extra pennies for dessert! But realistically it's just not feasible to be eating out every month and besides we've pretty much eaten our way through Huddersfield and Holmfirth now so there's not many other places to go. Our dream was to move on to travelling around the UK and discover some hidden gems that offered amazing food and service without breaking the bank. Then maybe we could eat our way around London, Paris...the World!! The aim was to offer fresh, honest (without being horrible), unpretentious restaurant reviews that didn't confuse with big words, food that you've never even heard of or would want to eat and telling you how micro-food is now a la mode; tiny little leaves arranged on top of some edible soil?...I don't think so!Unfortunately we are going to have to leave the dinner side of our club to the over-fed, pretentious, slightly rude food critics that grace the pages of our food supplements each month and instead we will focus on the Intellectual side of our club, the themes.

Each month there will be a theme posted on to our blog, a challenge, project, goal however you want to view it, that all of us can join in with if you like. How you interpret it is up to you but the aim here is to achieve something each month. By Christmas you will have achieved twelve things that you didn't know you would achieve this year. It may be something simple like seeing that film that you've always wanted to see so come 2014 you will have seen it, you've achieved something. I'm setting no goals or New Year Resolutions this year instead each month The Intellectual Dinner Club will set the themes and I will use these as my goals.

If you do decide to join in let's use our blog to talk about what we have achieved, to inspire each other to keep going. Maybe you've interpreted the theme in a different way if so, let us know...e-mail us and we can add your theme to the blog. Maybe you can suggest some themes too? We can be as creative as we like and come Christmas we will hopefully have picked up some new skills, learnt a few things and be feeling creative, inspired and intellectual! Who knows what we will do each month, I just know that I can't wait to get started, it's a new beginning ladies!

New Years Eve

This time last year I was geared up for 2012, my best year yet I promised myself. I wasn't in a great place and my commitment to 12 in 2012 gave me goals that I felt would be realistic and achievable...ha...that didn't quite happen! My year threw up challenges that on New Years Eve 2011 I didn't think would be possible. With my husband jetting out to visit his critically ill Mother in Finland I laid alone in a bath filled high with bubbles sipping champagne and then retiring to bed before midnight...it was wonderful. I approached the start of January refreshed and raring to go but with my mother-in-law seriously ill and my Uncle passing away by February everything seemed to be falling apart. Let's skip past everything else quickly, I became ill myself and then my Father passed away after I spent five months caring for him, ten weeks later after settling my Father's affairs my Mum was diagnosed with Cancer and then my Great Uncle became ill and I returned to caring again before he passed away suddenly at the end of November...phew what a year!

So here I am faced with another year and slightly worried about what this one will bring. But I have a new attitude towards this one, I'm making no New Year resolutions and there will be no 13 in 2013. This year is all about me, I've decided that I want to be just a little bit more selfish and do what I want to do. The other day my subscription to Essentials Magazine dropped on to the door mat and today, with a handful of chocolate in my hand I laid out on the sofa and devoured not only the chocolate but the entire magazine. By the time I had finished I felt great, positive and pleased to know that many women like me are also approaching 2013 in the same way. The Editor's letter was called "It's Time to Get Happy!" And she's absolutely right, it is! There's nothing I should feel guilty about, if I want to eat like a pig I'm going to; if I don't want to do something I'm going to say NO and I'm going to make sure I achieve that work/life balance without feeling negative about it...it's not all about money and work. My favourite page of the magazine was "101 Best Bits of Advice Ever!"
"Learn to trust your instincts...if something doesn't feel right, listen to it go with your gut. It doesn't lie." This is so true and something I can definitely say I have learnt this year. The Celebrity Words of Wisdom also helped too..."There are no regrets in life, just lessons" from Jennifer Aniston
"The important thing is to realise that no matter what people's opinions may be, they're only just that - people's opinions" Mary J Blige; and my favourite "Never eat anything bigger than your head!" - Miss Piggy. So here I am, I know 2013 won't be easy, I know there will be changes that unsettle me and days when I feel sad and stressed but I feel that this year has made me grow up and find some direction in my life and I know that by the time I reach Christmas 2013 I will be much more wiser again and hopefully achieving my goals whatever they turn out to be...I've decided I won't be setting myself any, instead I'm just going to go and discover my goals as I move through the year.

It's raining and I feel content that I'm sat here warm and cosy with a fridge full of food that's absolutely no good for me, there's plenty of alcohol and champagne to celebrate the end of a horrible year and plenty of rubbish to watch on the television. I've developed a bit of a muffin top above my jeans but I've just devoured a third of a box of chocolates...do I care? No I really don't. I'm not planning a diet, I'm not going to get up and go running in the morning in fact I'm going to put my pyjamas on, eat some more chocolate and watch the Sound of Music knowing that I can because it's my life and I can do anything that I want. I'll go running next week...once I've eaten everything...although nothing bigger than my head! Happy New Year.

Catherine xx

Christmas and the end of 2012

So here we are, we all made it with relief to Christmas and our dinner at the 3 Acres. The thought of turkey with all the trimmings in our favourite cosy restaurant was an incentive to keep us going throughout December as well as the fact that finally the five of us were going to be back together. I woke up on the morning of the 21st December with excitement bubbling in my stomach. I had just one day to work and then my Christmas holiday of not working (for the first time in over ten years) would be kick started by what I hoped would be the best night ever at my favourite restaurant.

When home time finally appeared I raced home, poured myself a glass of wine and started getting ready. At ten two seven I heard our chauffeur for the evening Alex, pull up outside and finally ready on time I ran out into the cold evening loaded with carrier bags full of gifts to treat my four friends who had been such an amazing and strong support to me during the past year.

As we settled in to our table at the 3 Acres we looked around at the restaurant, which was cosily lit with candles and a roaring fire. Twinkling lights wrapped around Christmas garlands gave it a festive glow and steaming plates of food flew past as we excitedly studied the menu...although we really didn't need to it was a unanimous decision and it seemed that we were all here for the Turkey and of course Danielle was here for her usual choice of a giant fish served with chips and mushy peas. Getting here to the 3 Acres had been my goal all year, after what I can only describe as the worst year ever I was grateful that I had made it to Christmas and now I was sat with my four favourite friends finally feeling normal again, there was only one thing to do and that was to reward myself with a glass of something sparkling and celebratory! Our Waitress was attentive (as the staff at the 3 Acres usually are) and she took our orders straight away with the most marvellous accent which we sat and debated where it could be from...Amanda disagreed with us all "No, I'm pretty sure that's fake, she sounds a bit phony to me!" We all held our breath as Amanda continued brightly unaware that the Waitress was standing right behind her listening to every word with a confused look on her face. She frowned, removed the wine list and then walked away...no doubt to work up some saliva to season Amanda's dinner with!

The 3 Acres is our favourite restaurant as you well know by now and we all know that their Turkey with trimmings and trio of Christmas puddings is the best dinner in town, so I'm not going to give you the details of how each bite tasted or how the Christmas pudding was delightfully alcoholic and delicious, all I will say is that the four of us sat with protruding bellies, content that we had rounded our year off with the best dinner ever. I had eaten well, so well that I deserved another glass of fizz to round the meal off nicely.

There was no theme, instead we chatted about Christmas and New Year, we didn't discuss 2012 and what a crap time we had had. All of us had ended up in very different places be it in our work and our personal lives but whichever way you wanted to look at it we were all a little wiser and probably a little better for everything that happened this year be it negative or positive. We avoided talking about the future of the Intellectual Dinner Club and agreed that a meeting in the New Year would determine where we go from here. Instead we filled the table with presents and sat excitedly unwrapping them and saying "oh you shouldn't have!" At the end of the evening we sat amongst the debris of discarded paper, gift bags and envelopes. It had been a perfect evening and the best way to kick start our Christmas. Next year we thought, we should really book ourselves into the suite where we had our photo shoot and make it a special treat, after all we have been through we think that we deserve it and this way we can prolong our 3 Acres Christmas experience. The evening as always had passed by far too quick but we said our goodbyes and off we went into the dark, cold Christmassy night, weaving around the winding roads back to my house, where Caroline and I (whilst our partners were getting toasted in the pub) popped open another bottle of fizz and raised our glasses to a great evening and the start of not having to work at Christmas!

Catherine xx

Where are we?

Where are we? That's a good question. At the moment I'm quite sure that some of us don't have a clue where we are. 2012 hasn't been our best year yet, for some of us it's been going pretty well but a few of us are finding it a struggle and that's why you haven't seen us for a while. I'm not going to go into detail, some of it is extremely personal but The Intellectual Dinner Club has had to be temporarily suspended. I know, I can't believe it either for years we kept it going even when we were scrounging for pennies, it's like we are Girls Aloud...we haven't actually split up but we don't know when we'll be back either; I wouldn't mind but we're not even working on solo projects...although Caroline is doing really well with Caddy Slims...I guess she's Cheryl Cole then! The Intellectual Dinner Club's purpose was to get us through the difficult times and inspire us but to be honest times have got a little too difficult and even The Intellectual Dinner Club isn't strong enough to pull us out of this grump. Still, we have set ourselves a goal...we are booked in to the 3 Acres at Christmas to treat ourselves after a tumultuous year. There will be no theme but we certainly will be mulling over the year, having a bitch and trying to take something positive from 2012 in to (what I pray will be a better year) 2013.

For me, I think those of you following the blog will know about my year and it doesn't seem to be getting much better. Right now I'm back in my childhood home following the death of my Father caring for my Mum who has just been diagnosed with Cancer. I can't quite believe it...it's our unluckiest year yet! My husband and I have moved in to my old bedroom, surrounded by my old things...a ratty Bagpuss, a bag full of old Boyzone, Roxette and Take That programs...which my husband has decided to pretend doesn't exist. Yesterday I stumbled upon my old memory box which is crammed full of silly things I hung on to as a child; my old Brownie uniform; notes that my friends and I passed to each other in class; finger puppets; old cinema and concert tickets; a letter from my Grandma; a shot glass I ended up walking home with after a night out at University and a rude birthday card that my friend sent me when I was sixteen. It's amazing how many things I have hung on to, and as silly as they may seem I can't seem to part with them, each item triggered a different memory...a happy memory. When I started to clear my Dad's things I discovered that we were more alike than I thought. He'd kept the bill from his honeymoon, which cost just £4.50 and the paperwork from the purchase of our family home, which cost less than a 4x4 car; school reports; his first job contract...I was surprised because I didn't know that my Dad was so sentimental.

Living at home hasn't been so bad but I miss my own home. I miss walking to our local farm shop on a lazy Sunday afternoon; the beautiful countryside and even the smell of cow poo from the nearby farm. But most of all I miss my friends, I miss meeting up with my fellow witches and having a gossip, I miss the challenge of the themes we used to set ourselves, the excitement of getting ready, picking out an outfit and sitting in the warmth of a cosy restaurant whilst we relax and have a little bitch. Each of my friends have such amazing qualities that just seem to bring out the best in me, when I see them I can forget my problems and return home with a smile on my face. I miss them so much and not knowing when the next time I'll see them will be always makes me sad. I may not feel like the most sociable person at the moment but if I could have one thing next year just for me then it would be to have The Intellectual Dinner Club back...new and improved! It kept me going, it inspired me and I miss it.

This Month's Meal!

It had been 2 whole months since the last Intellectual Diner Club Meeting and I was looking forward to seeing my friends, but just as I was starting to get ready, I received a call from 2 friends, who had been in a car accident. They were thankfully Ok, but their car sadly wasn’t and I needed to collect them from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I called Amanda, who with the other witches, arranged for the meal to be put back for an hour. Having picked up Kate and Andy, I got ready in world record time, knocked round for Amanda and set off for Balooshai in Honley.

It was lovely to see my fellow witches; Dani couldn’t make the meal as she was enjoying a spa weekend. We have all been thinking of Cathy and it was good to see her out. She had just returned from a holiday in Llandudno with her mum and sister and had enjoyed it. Catherine and her mum were the youngest people on the coach trip and due to all the walking had decided to purchase some comfy shoes, (nothing wrong with that I say!). She had also become a female Dr Doolittle befriending a seagull!

I was ravenous and nearly kissed the waiter when he offered us poppadoms. I love a good poppadom and these came with the pickle tray, which had some lovely sauces and pickled vegetables, including some pickled apple which was yummy. Our drinks had arrived. Amanda and I had gone for a G&T which unfortunately was diluted with flat tonic. We asked for them to be refreshed and the waiter was very apologetic and brought us fresh G&T’s with fizzy tonic. 

The previous night had seen the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games. I had stayed up to watch the whole ceremony and was buzzing with the spectacle of it all and so were my fellow witches! The ceremony was very quirky, (Hello – the Queen skydiving with James Bond), at times moving and very, very British! Catherine had invented a fantastic drinking game, involving taking a swig of drink for every country as they came into the stadium. (Needless to say she doesn’t remember too much of the end of the ceremony!).

I didn’t think I would be watching the Olympics, but I am writing this a week in to the Games and have watched more sport than I ever have watched in my life. I am feeling inspired by Team GB, it’s many accomplishments and all the many little stories of the Games such as the rower, Issaka the Otter from Niger a landlocked arid nation, who took up rowing 3 months ago and finished 2 minutes behind the winners, but who just wanted to represent his country. 

2 Members of Team IDC

The Intellectual Dinner Club ladies, were inspired that we decided to represent the ‘Republic of IDC’. Our opening ceremony outfits, would of course be designed by Queen of Chic, Amanda and our flag in order to represent the IDC would consist of a knife and fork and er.. a brain. We chatted about what our sports would be, cake-eating for me obviously, speed cake-making for Phoebe, cake icing for Phoebe and Amanda?  – a mix of lip-pursing and drinking liqueur coffees out of the ‘proper receptacles’.

The restaurant was heaving. Every now and then the waiters would produce a sizzling dish, that when it came past us would cause everyone to start coughing, due to the amount of chilli in it! Our lovely waiter informed us it was the ‘Balooshai special’.

The food was lovely, I had the cheese and onion fritters which were spicy to say the least! (I am a total wuss when it comes to spicy food) and I really enjoyed the Chicken Korma with pistachio nuts. I had been recommended this by a friend and it did not disappoint. I shared rice and a Naan with Phoebe. Because the restaurant was so busy, there was at times a small wait for the food. We could see the waiters running around like anything. Our waiter was lovely and friendly and at the end apologised for any wait we had. I could also see the staff ringing for taxis for other customers, so there were a lot of lovely personal touches. We are very lucky in the area we live, in that we have Balooshai in Honley and the Laxmi in Berry Brow. I think both restaurants are lovely and would happily take my other half to both, so it is a big thumbs up from me to the Balooshai.

We decided to go back to my house and do our themes. We sat on my bed and went through them. I kicked off with my weight loss program. I had then become a megalomanic and decided to go into business with Arnold Scwarzenegger, setting up a spa outside of Paris, complete with courses run by my fellow witches. Catherine did an amazing business plan, with the Kiss me Cake bakery. Phoebe, her business partner had also done her theme on the Kiss Me Cake Bakery. Having sampled cakes from this bakery, it is a winner to me! And Amanda had decided to develop last month’s previous idea by dong her business plan about the ‘Boothroyd’ gallery. 

 

And so it was time to go. My lovely other witches will be posting about their themes in more detail.

Where did June go?

I know...where have we been? Where was June's dinner? Basically it didn't happen. I never thought that I would miss one of our Intellectual Dinners but last month it became impossible when my Dad passed away. He had been ill for a few months but it was still a bit of a shock when in the middle of the night we received a phone call to tell us that it was time. We sat with him for an hour and a half and at 5:30am he decided he'd had enough, he smiled and then took his final breath. Why am I telling you this? Because I want people to know who my Dad was, he was a kind, caring man who liked everything to be right. He valued his friends greatly and he worked hard his entire life to take care of his family. Dad was a strong man who showed very little emotion, he rarely hugged me but that was just who he was. Except earlier this year when I became ill, he was the person I wanted the most and when he came to get me, for the first time I can remember he hugged me and told me everything was going to be alright. I felt safe when Dad was around and now he's gone I feel quite lost without him.

But it's not doom and gloom. We celebrated Dad's life on Tuesday with a dinner dedicated to him. My Dad was a Yorkshire man and so we feasted on bread and dripping, Yorkshire pudding with onion gravy and HP sauce, pork pie, chicken drumsticks and egg custard and trifle. All of his favourite foods. We listened to the Grimethorpe Colliery Band and The Shadows, it was an event that I am sure he would have loved. People laughed and swapped funny stories about my Dad and my two and half year old nephew laddered my tights, booed and told the golfers putting outside the venue that they were rubbish and then managed to rake in ten pounds by being cute around the other guests. Dad would have been proud of his Grandson! That night we ate fish and chips and felt content that my Dad had had the best send off that he could possibly have.

Now it's time to get back to normal so last night I met up with the girls for the first time in a while and it was so good to be back with the Intellectual Dinner Club. Last night we sat and discussed what we are going to do next whilst we feasted on cheese, crackers, cake and Cava. This may explain why I am feeling slightly ill this morning. I'm so excited to be back and to get the club going again, our next dinner will be in two weeks so watch this space! I hope that you will continue to follow us for the second part of the year...let's hope it's so much better than the first part!

Catherine x

June's Theme - Business Plans

Alan Sugar’s search for an Apprentice finally came to an end, when he crowned Ricky Martin the outright winner. The prize is a £250,000 investment into a business venture conceived by him. Ricky’s idea was a recruitment business in a niche sector.

This month, the challenge for the Intellectual Dinner Club is to create a business plan for your dream business.

Some ideas of what to put in your business plan include:

·         What you want to do

·         What you would need to do it e.g. shop, premises, training etc

·         A 3-5 year plan

·         How much money would it make?

·         How would it be marketed?

Please note, you don’t have to include all of the above, these are just suggested guidelines. But don’t be afraid to dream as big or as small as you would like!

Mays Dinner - The Caribbean

We were already just over a week into June as we set off for May’s meal, but holidays and other commitments had forced us to push our meal ever so slightly into the next month. And the month was June so hopefully we’d be in for a nice balmy summers evening…the country had in fact seen rain of almost biblical proportions and my toes were feeling the chill as I set off, rather optimistically, in my lovely new sandals.

This evening we were headed for the Caribbean courtesy of ‘Discovery Bay’ restaurant which is situated on a quiet little back street in Huddersfield town centre. It may have felt like autumn on the outside but once the five of us had settled into our seats and Danielle and I had spotted the sunny looking cocktails on the next table, we knew that for the next couple of hours we’d have our own little taste of summer.

Once we’d had a very quaffable jug of Rum Punch installed on the table we were free to cast our eyes over the very tempting menu. Starters of ‘Mango Mushrooms’ and ‘Caribbean Crab Cakes’ were ordered both of which went down very well, the flavours certainly matching up to the delicious aromas that filled the air.



Caribbean Crab Cakes



There was a lot of catching up to do because the five of us hadn’t all been together since the last meal. I’d just come back from a very enjoyable few days in Paris with my sister where I’d dined on escargots, had lots of cocktails and tried steak tartare for the first time and really enjoyed it. Danielle was very excited about the prospect of going back to college as she’s just been accepted on a beauty course – she’s now threatening to wax us all to within an inch of our lives and tan us all in shades of mahogany.

Finger Licking Rum Chicken with Chunky Breadfruit Chips

Pretty soon our main courses arrived at the table. Phoebe and I had both opted for one of the days specials ‘Caramelised Jerk Pork’, Caroline had ‘Rum Pork’, Danielle had ‘Finger Licking Rum Chicken with Chunky Breadfruit Chips, and Catherine, who is approaching the end of her experimental vegetarian month, had ‘Vegetable Curry’. The food was absolutely spot on, the only criticism coming from Danielle who bemoaned the lack of tomato ketchup for her breadfruit chips, peasant that she is. The pork I had was deliciously tender with a rich, creamy, spicy rum sauce and the slices of sweet potato added another layer of taste. Suffice to say we cleared our plates.

Caramelised Jerk Pork

We were offered the dessert menu but were far too full to eat more and decided that coffees were the best option. We needed to vacate the table by 9pm as the restaurant is so popular it runs three sittings an evening. We still had themes to do so we thought it would be a good idea to head on over to the all-night coffee bar next door. After settling up the bill we happily headed along the road only to be stopped in our tracks by a very obviously closed coffee shop. There then ensued the fastest pub crawl I’ve ever done as we hopped from bar to bar, full of Saturday night revellers, in the hope of finding a coffee and a quiet ambient corner. Poor Danielle even had to suffer the humiliation of getting i-d checked. We finally came to the conclusion that drive-thru Costa might be the wisest option and headed out of town only to find that they were closing up. The family friendly pub next door proved to be our salvation where we finally settled into a quiet window seat with a selection of coffees and soft drinks and prepared to present our themes.

 
 

Mays Theme - Cultural Highlights

Amanda's Theme

I chose to visit The Hepworth in Wakefield, a brand new, stunning gallery dedicated to the work of Barbara Hepworth. The gallery is truly inspirational and so for my theme I chose to claim the gallery as my own and re-name it The Boothroyd.

The first room in the gallery would be Early and Formative years containing items such as my Tiny Tears doll and Secret Agent Handbook. On the walls are images of my childhood heroines - Wonder Woman, the Bionic Woman and Charlie's Angels.

Room 3 would be named The Mother and contain every pair of my sons shoes from his very first baby ones right up to his last pair from junior school.

Caroline's Theme

Phoebe's Theme

Phoebe visited Manchester Art Gallery and was impressed with the variety of exhibits on show there.

After wandering round for a while and looking at the various displays she found herself drawn to a photography exhibition, a form of media that doesn't usually excite her that much. This one was different as the photographs all contained a human element which she found much easier to relate to than photographs of static objects. Most intriguing was the man who had created a tiny model house from pieces of skin removed from his own body.

Catherine's Theme

Catherine grew up in Sheffield and witnessed the city, almost consumed with depression and grime, pulling itself out of a huge recession to become the thriving paradise of shopping, galleries and restaurants that you see today. So this month she chose to visit the city's Millennium Gallery.

Dannielle hadn't managed to do the theme but she's intending to take her Dad to Tate Modern next month to see the Damian Hirst exhibition. It'll be worth it just to see the diamond skull.

And so another evening drew to a close. We'd been very impressed with the Caribbean and can't wait to see where in the world we'll be dining next month.