Best Year Yet-The Bake Off

Best Year Yet: Month Two-The Great East Midlands Bake Off!

So after a successful and very fulfilling first month of 'Best Year Yet', trying odd dance classes, bruising myself beyond belief Snowboarding and learning how to arrange flowers, it was time for a different challenge. So the focus of March and trying something new was all about BAKING. Not just because I LOVE CAKE. It was a nice excuse but I wanted to push myself to try and hone my culinary skills...and also see what you could do and find the Great East Midlands Best Baker!

I am ok with a bit of cooking-I find it very therapeutic and always keen to cook everything from fresh, but let's just say my skills are...limited. So my first port of call was to have some lessons from the gorgeous Olive Grove Cookery School...and I took three lovely listeners to help out...

So after crafting the perfect pastry, it was time to take on a big old pie challenge against Sam. I made apple, walnut and fudge pie. Clearly the world isn't ready for it yet...

The finished results....

If you can't be bothered to watch the videos....here are my apple pie bombs! Sadly they didn't win between Sam and I but for a first attempt, I was pretty proud of my little bombs!

So that was my attempt. Yours, however, were far more impressive. Try looking at these without salivating...

By Sarah Stanton Longdon

By Diane Nicola Blything

By Serena Robinson

By Amy Louise Ludlow

We had loads of incredible entries and it was clear the Great East Midlands Bake Off was gonna be tough to call. Who was the best baker in the East Midlands?! Who would rise to the challenge...(sorry I had to!) The winner would win a cookery class at The Olive Grove Cookery School and.....a GEM 106 APRON. Wow.

Here's who we crowned champion....but well done to everyone who got involved, took the time to bake and tried something new in March! 

Well done Sarah-the Greatest Baker in the East Midlands! 

So onto April and the next challenge for Your Best Year Yet....it's all on the facebook page here....

https://www.facebook.com/mybestyearyet

Festive Checklist

'It's the most wonderful time...of the year'! I ruddy love Xmas. And now I've just finished watching 'It's A Wonderful Life' for the 2nd time and 'Elf' is about to get its 3rd viewing, I am officially in full festive mode. It's been a busy couple of months at work...sooo much going on, but I didn't actually get in the mood until I did several of the following....so if you're not quite there yet try some of the below...here's whats been happening...

1) Xmas Light Switch Ons:

Loughborough...

West Bridgford...

2) Attend Festive Ball:

Angel Charity Ball:

3) Buy a Tree and SNOW SPRAY. (Not full length tree shot as embarrassingly small...)

4) Xmas Jumpers at any possible opportunity. Ideally combined with Ice Skating. And mulled wine.

Ice Skating-Natural History Museum, London

5) Sit by log fire.

6) Take picture of Reindeer. Living or not.

7) Receive crap secret santa....

8) Give crap secret santa....

9) Get massively irritated by one particular Xmas Song. Sorry Sir Paul.

10) Panto!

Merry Christmas.x

REDHEAD

You know the drill....you go through a break up...you want a new look...you dye your hair. It's the law. In a way. Soooo, my wonderful work colleagues, well namely my co-presenter Sam decided going Red would be my ideal new look. I hastily agreed, after pining for the red head look for some years now but never quite daring to. I get bored very easily with my hair...like my physical height, my hair follicles also seem to be vertically challenged. So growing long lustrous locks has always been far too tedious. It just seems to get to a point...and stop. Or go straggly. So in other ways of experimenting it's been bobbed, short, blue, black, mid way, pobbed, blonde, brunette (natural-rare), caramel, cropped and now....RED. The cropped look was a low point. At 23 I did NOT want to look like an 8 year old boy.

So off to the hairdressers I popped, all anxious and fearful, much like the dentists. This could be disastrous. Recently my hair was at it's longest, most natural and I was generally at peace with it...should I be mixing it up? This happened....

As you can see....disappointment all round. So, just before turning 29, I decided to take action. I LOVED being a bit red, but I'd had a taste and now wanted to really go for it. So I just picked up the brightest permanent red Boots had to offer, went home and applied. The first 5 minutes when it started tingling and a burning sensation crept across my scalp was a tad worrying...but stuck with it...and when washed off the result almost ended in tears. Which is actually a good thing as it was a shock....which means it made a difference! 

Anyhoo...I now LOVE it and can't imagine being brunette again...it just seems a bit...boring (no offence-its my natural) but being red feels a little naughtier, more adventurous and as soon as my scalp calms down...the only way is redder!!!

Before....

After...

Summer Sundae

Being a Leicestershire girl born and bred it was ruddy exciting when I first started going to Summer Sundae two years ago. A mini festival right on my doorstep, with the line up of artists getting bigger and better year by year. But in all honesty, the music is just a small part of it. The whole atmosphere of the festival is awesome, so friendly, chilled out and great fun. I mean...when there's giant cereal bowls and noodle discos on offer, what's not to love? I like to think it's like a teeny weeny piece of Glastonbury. Except I don't have to sleep in a wet/sweaty tent. Who needs Bono or Beyonce?!

Oh hi...

And I was all limbered up.

Friday night we smashed straight into some reggae from 'Toots and the Maytals', then topped it off with a Wagamamas, which coincidently had a dj spinning some 90's hip hop. Noodles and hip hop? Yeah that happened. I didn't see him but I imagine Jay Z was there somewhere...

Want chandelier.

I love campervans. This Airstream was so cool. Bought a drink from it purely on that basis.

With the band....

Pals in a big cereal bowl ala 'Honey I shrunk the Kids'

My new compact camera.

Saturday was all about mojitos in the sun, watching Amy Winehouses god daughter-Dionne bromfield, incredible voice! Then Newton Faulkner at sunset...straight onto our personal fave...the silent disco...

Teens leave such profound messages on the free writing wall. We drew a pair of tits. WE.ARE.28.YEARS.OLD.

Sunday was a bit of a struggle after a couple of debaucherous days (getting old) but managed to squeeze in a spot of McFly. Saw them backstage briefly, they seemed lovely. Watched about 20 minutes of them before realising I wasn't a 13 year old girl...and I only knew 2 of their songs. However they were putting on a great show for the screaming teens!

I am still very tired...all in all great result once again for Summer Sundae. It just gets better every year. Fingers are firmly crossed for Coldplay, Kings of Leon and U2 next year....come on Bono-you and The Edge can stay at mine?! Bring a sleeping bag though.

Record Breakers-Awooga!

A few weeks ago we had a text in on the show asking why 'Dangerous Dave' was in fact labelled 'Dangerous'. Well, to be honest, with Dave being a super polite, straight laced church attending good christian boy, it was kind of...ironic. However it only seemed fair that we at least put his name to the test and allow him to prove himself as 'Dangerous'. It would be fun for us if anything?! We have made him eat the worlds hottest chilli in the past which almost floored him but we needed something a bit more challenging. He seemed reluctant but also excited by the prospect of a challenge so your suggestions came flooding in...

After the initial influx of bungee jumps, sky diving etc etc, we came across one text which we decided was the most unique...and funniest for us...err, I mean, Dave. This wasn't just for our pleasure of course...it was to prove a point. So the decision was made. The initial suggestion was that Dangerous Dave would ride a rollercoaster for the duration of the show. We liked the idea...but didn't feel it was quite edgy enough. That was pretty easy. But would it be easy riding it for a full 24 hours?! Oh...and while we're at it, why not stay on long enough to smash a Guinness World Record?! At least you're achieving something from it then! Dave didn't seem keen. Sadly we were and the wheels were put in motion.

Local theme park Twinlakes jumped in and offered us their log flume ride-which turned out even better as you have the added obstacle of water to deal with. Oh dear David. It was starting to become a rather miserable prospect. Especially after we headed down to test the log flume...and it was a lot steeper and stomach churning than I thought! Not to mention pretty uncomfortable...who wouldn't want to sit on a wooden bench for 24 hours?! To clarify-and clear up those grotty gritty details-under the rules of Guinness, Dave would be allowed a 5 minute break every hour, to nip to the loo or whatever he liked. He could choose to build these minutes up if he stayed on longer than an hour. Just needed to clear that up....

First of all...we had to get Dangerous Dave trained up and prepared for 24 hours of...well, getting wet...

And he's off....

Sam and I took some time to get used to accommodation for the evening....

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150707124355504

11.30pm-16 Hours into the world record attempt....did some Late Night Fluming with Dave. Citing!

After a good nights sleep, feeling refreshed, Sam and I did the show live from the rooftop of the winnebago the next morning. Dave was still going strong....23 hours in. Bless it...

Then at 24 Hours, 14 Minutes and 45 seconds, Dangerous Dave completed the Guinness World Record for the longest time spent on a theme park ride. Relatively unscathed and most importantly, still alive... AWOOGA!

Roy would have been proud...

The Hunt For Batman...

So if there's an A list celebrity in the East Midlands, we feel it's our duty to track them down and try and get an interview, or failing that, at least stalk them and find out what they're up to. It's our obligation to you of course. We tracked down Michael Buble when he was here...he LOVED our banner we made...we had a chat with Ronan Keating at his hotel, went backstage with JLS, Kelly Clarkson, James Blunt, Olly Murs to name but a few. So when we heard world class actors Anne Hathaway and occasional psycho Christian Bale were filming scenes for the new blockbuster 'Batman-Dark Knight Rises' at Wollaton hall in Nottingham, we were VERY excited. And of course, we wanted to get closer. However this would be a risky one. I mean, we all remember how angry Christian Bale can get if you interrupt one of his scenes....

There was no way of getting Bale or Hathaway in for an interview so we were gonna have to go stealth...and find them ourselves, by invading Wollaton Park. Risky move with this live cannon of an actor. But it was a risk we were willing to take. Well, when I say we...I actually mean Dangerous Dave and Producer Simon from the show. Security was gonna be tight so we had to go to extreme measures...

They were ready to infiltrate....but did we find Bale?!

Here's what happened....

David Walliams Talks Moobs

I never thought I'd be attending a 'World Premiere' in Leicester, until David Walliams arrived in town for the stage adptation of his kids book, 'Mr. Stink'! So it was rather exciting to learn I would also get to have a chat with the great man himself at the interval. I have been a big fan of his since 'Rock Profile'-which, to be honest, to date is still my favourite piece of his work! Not sure that's what he'd want to hear, but it was BRILLIANT!! If you aren't familiar with Rock Profile, it was basically Matt Lucas and David Walliams doing 'interviews' with Jamie Theakston as pop stars. Basically hilarious impressions. I'm gonna post a video below...(scroll right to the bottom....)

Anywaaaay, thats not what the premiere was about...we were there to see Mr. Stink! I'm a big fan of films that are aimed at kids...but appeal to adults as well. Plus this came with a scratch and sniff notebook which is always good as I have the attention span of a nit so there's always something to keep you occupied during the singing parts! We arrived at Curve Theatre, which, by the way...is amazing! If you haven't been to a show yet, you really should just go for a coffee at least, to check out the building. It really does Leicester proud. We sat in the canteen and I saw this tall, lean blonde breeze through...it was David's supermodel wife, Lara Stone. Woah, she is pretty hot! I'm always amazed at just how long and impressive supermodels are in real life, especially as I'm some what of a dwarf. They are mesmerising! Then she sparked up a fag. Standard supermodel!

This isn't from last night....but seemed fitting if you weren't sure what she looked like....




It was lovely to see David sat in the audience and signing autographs before the performance. Then came the interval...and I was instructed I had 3 minutes. THREE MINUTES! We usually get at least 10-15 minutes for interviews-but it was an interval of course, so would be a very brief chat-which is quite as hard as it's difficult to strike up any kind of rapport. But hey ho, he was lovely, got a few questions in, invited him on a night out and managed to suggest a new title and idea for his next book! It's all about Moobs...See what you think...I'd buy it...

Here's my fave...Rock Profile!! I reckon Gary Barlow will be just like this on X Factor...