An evening with Marks & Spencer and their Festive Food

Marks and Spencer food is always a little bit special, especially around Christmas time. Southampton Bloggers were invited by Marks & Spencer to learn more about the festive ranges this year in food, drink and clothing. Basically - the perfect evening with cheese!

We started the evening with an introductory talk from Charles, the manager of the West Quay branch here in Southampton who really loves his job and is passionate about food. He said he had the perfect job and after tasting all the goodies on offer, I was inclined to believe him.

The cheese board seemed to be the most popular of the evening with Chestnut Chutney and a Blackberry and Gin Jelly to accompany the cheese and crackers. Now I'm not a great fan of chutneys and the like, but both of these were very more'ish, esp the Blackberry and Gin. I would never have thought to try something like this so it was the perfect way to try something new.

There were Winter Berries and Sparkling Prosecco crisp complete with gold stars (seriously) plus the renowned Milk Chocolate Cinammon Sugar Tortilla Rolls. They were described as tasting of Christmas and I can't think of a better way to describe them.

No ordinary mince pies here, plus Salmon and Cream Cheese Blinis (I wanted ALL the mince pies...).

The sweets and desserts were pretty special too. Santa Hat Profiteroles, Macarons and a scrumptious luxury Yule Log were just some of the treats on offer. There were also Hand Finished Chocolates that looked more like miniature works of art.

And if that wasn't enough, we had hot food such as Mini Vegan Burgers, Christmas Sausage Rolls, Mini Mac and Cheese and Pigs in Blankets (which were definitely #MyMarksFave).

I rarely drink, but there was plenty of choices for non-drinkers. That made a really nice change as all too often the only non-alcoholic option is water or an orange juice. I worked my way through a selection of a Sparkling Summer Berry and non-alcoholic Bucks Fizz and a G&T.

For those who were drinking there were White Christmas, Jaffa Cake and Mince Pie Martini cocktails, plus plenty of Prosecco. The cocktails would make such a beautiful Christmas gift - I can think of a few people who love the Jaffa Cake one!

Remember what I said about wanting ALL of the mince pies....?

Many thanks to Marks & Spencer, Grayling South and Southampton Bloggers for a fantastic evening and the perfect start to Christmas. I can't wait to try the Sparkling Peach and Prosecco Conserve that we were given.

Thanks for reading

Cathy
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Snow Queen at The Point, Eastleigh

Christmas is a time for traditions and one which I love to do every year is a trip to the theatre. Whether it's the panto or ballet, the feeling of excitement as you're sat in your seat waiting for the show to begin never gets old.

This year I was invited by The Point Theatre in Eastleigh to come along on the opening day of their Christmas show Snow Queen by the theatre company Tutti Frutti. An adaption of the Hans Christian Andersen tale written by playwright Mike Kenny with music from composer Ivan Stott.

Advertised as a 'wintry whirl of magic and mischief packed with physical storytelling and catchy songs suitable for all ages' I was expecting a lively show and it didn't disappoint. A really nice touch was the personal interaction from the cast who came into the audience before the show and were in the foyer afterwards. The Point is a small local theatre which helps make shows like this so much more accessible and hands-on for younger audiences.

On arrival we saw an igloo in the foyer and it wasn't long before it was being put to good use by a lot of the children attending the show (complete with flying snowballs as well!).

The story revolves around friends Gerda and Kai. Without giving too much away, it explores the themes of friendship, grief, loyalty and growing up. After Kai is pulled under the spell of the Snow Queen and his heart turns to ice, Gerda bravely sets off on a quest to save him. Along the way she encounters a number of characters including robbers and a talking reindeer.

I wasn't sure how attentive such a young audience would be, but the sheer energy of the cast of three kept us all mesmorised, young and old! Some of the songs were still in my head the next day.

Thank you to The Point for this gifted experience and the production photos used in this post. If you want to see The Snow Queen for yourself, it's on until 30th December at 11am and 2pm.

Thanks for reading

Cathy
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An evening at Southampton Christmas Market

It's finally December! The present shopping is (nearly) all done, there's mince pies in the cupboard and it's now time to relax a little and soak up the festive atmosphere. And if you haven't started shopping yet, then a Christmas market is the perfect place to find something a little bit out of the ordinary.

Earlier this week, I was invited along with Southampton Bloggers for an evening at the Southampton Christmas Market and to watch Santa fly. He's a busy guy but every night he and Rudolph find time to fly from the top of Southampton Bargate across the market.

The market is a traditional German one with alpine chalets, food and drink and even a Bavarian musician. We were given a personal tour of the market where we got a chance to talk to some of the stallholders and sample some of the food and drink available.

We then went up to Balcony Bar ready to watch the big man do his stuff and fly across the market. We really did have the best seat in the house, with hot chocolates, even more snacks and accompanying music from an alpine horn!

A big thank you to Southampton Bloggers and Southampton City Council for inviting us. If you want to watch Santa yourself (and it's the only place in the UK to see it) he's flying twice a day until 23rd December. Monday to Saturday at 5 and 7pm and on Sundays at 4 and 6pm.

Thanks for reading

Cathy
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Christmas at Beaulieu

Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love Christmas. When I heard about the Christmas at Beaulieu event and I was invited to go along with Southampton Bloggers - I might just have squealed a bit (ok, a lot! I was very excited).

This is a magical after-dark illuminated trail and is the first time such an event has been held at Beaulieu. Probably most people think of the National Motor Museum when they think of Beaulieu, but there's also the Palace House, Abbey and beautiful grounds to explore.

On arrival we were greeted with mulled wine, some seriously scrumptious mince pies and a short introduction about the installations. The amount of planning, work and number of lights involved was impressive and with over a million lights and 11 miles of power cables we knew we were in for a grand show. We were then let loose to make our way around the mile long trail. The first piece was the 200 foot long Cathedral of Light with 30,000 lights (and as we quickly found out, was the best place ever for taking selfies).

I have so many photos of the evening, so apologies for this picture heavy post. They just don't do the evening justice though and there's really something magical about walking through the trails at night with Christmas music and lights. In the grounds of the medieval abbey we found the Fire Garden lit with over 180 torches. By time the event finishes on the 24th December, they will have used over 5,000 candles. This was one of my favourite areas, the natural lights with the surrounding history was a perfect balance.

Other highlights included singing Jingle Bells with Santa on his bus and The Twelve Days of Christmas installation (does anyone get confused after the 8th day?)

You could toast your own marshmallows in front of a Gingerbread House (raspberry and champagne flavour caught my eye). There was also a love lock tree where quite a few Christmas wishes were being posted.

Earlier in the evening we stopped off at the village of Beaulieu and looking across the mill pond, we got a hint of the lights and music in store for us. Walking around the other side on the banks of the River Beaulieu was even better.

At the end of the trail was a huge tree (serious tree envy here) and a selection of festive huts selling hot chocolate, crepes, sweets, mulled wine and bratwurst. Perfect Christmas snacks. And if you needed more lights and excitement, there was a carousel, ferris wheel and the Beaulieu monorail to ride.

Christmas at Beaulieu is on until the 24th December 2018. A big thank you to Beaulieu for the invite, this really is an event for all ages and the look of wonder on the children's faces was beautiful. There's also plenty of photo opportunities.

Thanks for reading, I'm off to dig out the decorations from the loft now!

Cathy
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*Gifted tickets - thoughts and reviews are my own

Supermarket sweep - the jumper edition

Is there anything more tempting than those hidden clothing sections in the supermarkets? Especially when you're trying to count pennies before Christmas. Surely a couple of jumpers popped into the trolley along with the Quality Sweet isn't going to break the bank - is it?

Disclaimer - yes it can! But as long as you shop wisely and remember budgets, there are some gems to be found in our supermarkets. Here's a couple of jumpers I picked up recently at Tesco and Asda.

This first striped number is from George at Asda. I picked my normal size 20/22 and there's plenty of room so maybe size down if you want it more fitted.

The second jumper is from F&F at Tesco. I have a bit of a love/hate thing with F&F clothing. I don't always think they're that cheap for supermarket clothing, their sizing is a bit hit and miss and you can't order their clothing online anymore. But even after all that, this was a love at first sight jumper.

I'm wearing a 22 here and I think it's pretty true to size. Both jumpers are soft and snuggly and very comfortable - which at the end of the day is pretty much my number one priority!

Can I also mention my coat? This was also a purchase from George at Asda and is nearly 5 years old. There's so much 'fast fashion' around nowadays (and as a blogger I know there are times when we add to the problem with monthly hauls, purchases etc). It still fits, makes me feel good so why replace it? Even if it is tempting to buy a new coat every season, anything we can do to re-use and recycle has to be good for the environment and our purses.

Thanks for reading

Cathy
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