Entertainment – Page 2

Outdoor Theatre near Kamloops

Caravan Farm Theatre – Armstrong, B.C.

The Caravan Farm Theatre in Armstrong, near Kamloops has been running for 35 years. I’m trying to work out the first time I went and think it was about 18 years ago. We went again about 3 years ago and again this week to see Head over Heels.

‘There is no theatre building – just the great outdoors.’

When we went three years ago, after walking up a lantern lined path into the woods, there was a clearing in the woods with seating, each set was brought on by their trademark Clydesdale Horses and the musicians were perched in the trees. This year the set was stationary but still just as special and a Clydesdale called Shopping Cart does make a few appearances.

A plane crashes in the middle of nowhere, Oola has lost her twin brother somewhere in the crash. And to top it off, she has arrived in a mysterious, unknown land, where nothing is as it should be, things are not what they could be, and no one is who they say they are. Mistaken identity, backward antics, and madness of love send Oola into a furious frenzy of absolute delirium.

I was a bit uncertain for about the first 20 minutes but then it all started coming together. The skill of the writers and actors was obvious as the story unfolded. The second half came together seamlessly. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages.

There were children in the audience but if I’m honest, I don’t think it was suitable for kids as the content and innuendos would have been lost on them.

It’s a truly unique experience and if you haven’t been you should. Adult tickets are $34 (CAD)

Ask Italian has had a facelift and a new menu

If you’re on a diet I wouldn’t recommend going to Ask Italian for lunch. It’s not that the food is exceptionally fattening, but I couldn’t stop eating and the Prosecco Brut was flowing.

We were invited down to try out the new menu. Award winnning Italian Chef, Theo Randall, has been brought in as a consultant chef and has helped to transform the restaurant. They felt the restaurants were looking tired and wanted to, not only give the restaurants a face lift, but also to match the menu to the new look.

The team, including Theo, had recently been to an remote area outside of Naples, Italy where they discovered Panzerottini, a small dough ball stuffed with Turnip Tops. However, he knew that if he put Turnip tops on the menu in the UK they wouldn’t be that popular so they’ve modified them. You can choose between Chilli and Cheese or Pancetta.

We had a chance to make them ourselves. I was rather impressed that I didn’t manage to ‘balls’ it up. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of spice but weirdly I preferred the Cheese and Chilli. It’s the perfect starter and great for sharing.

Then we sat down for the most amazing feast. The food just kept coming. I wish they’d warned us!

Spaghetti Al Pomodoro

Prima Pizza – stone-baked with longer, crispy bases

Dessert Sharing Board – for those that can’t decide

I think they’ve nailed it! Simple Italian food with quality ingredients. Thanks to Ask Italian for a yummy lunch!

Pictured with me making dough balls is Clare from The Vegetarian Experience and Heather from Hef’s Kitchen.

‘Come Dine with Me’ with Class: A Feast through India

What do you get when you cross a Canadian, Australian, Irish Woman, Indian, Mexican and a couple of Brits?

It sounds, like a start to a really bad racist joke, but in fact, it was the start of a wonderful evening.

I have to admit that prior to being invited to a Supper Club I had absolutely no idea what it was all about. It loosely resembles ‘Come Dine with Me’ but the biggest difference is the host is an amazing cook and the people are really nice.

As we walked up to the front door we were greeted by the most amazing smell and knew we were in for a real treat. Within minutes we were enjoying a cocktail in the garden chatting with the other guests.

Sheba had been busy all day cooking ‘A Feast through India’ for us. Check out this menu. The pictures don’t do it justice I can’t begin to tell you how amazing the food was. I wish the pictures were scratch and sniff!

The menu

Appetisers

Parippu Vada (Kerala) – Lentil & shallot fritters served with coconut chutney
Bonda (Kerala) – Spiced potato balls with mustard seeds & curry leaves

Mains

Rogan Josh (Kashmir)
Aromatic lamb slow cooked with cardamom, cloves & fennel seeds

Kozhi Kuruma – Home style chicken cooked with poppy seeds, coconut and cashews

Payar Thoran (Kerala) – Green bean sautéed with a delicate combination of spices
Coconut Rice (Andra Pradesh) tossed with garlic, red chillies & cashew nuts
Jeera Rice (Basmati rice with cumin seeds & ghee
Carrot & coriander raita (North India) seasoned with cumin

Dessert

Ethakya Porichathu (Kerala)
Caramelised plantains with lime, nutmeg & coconut milk

Masala Chai

Sweet tea infused with cardamom and cinnamon

Verdict

I’m now a convert and will definitely go again. What a wonderful way to meet new interesting people and sample some amazing food. It’s probably the best dinner party I’ve been to in ages!

The next ‘Kerala Summer Supperclub’ is on the 21^st of July inSt Albans. I’d highly recommend it. Thanks to Sheba for all her hard work.

Disclosure: Dinner was compliments of Absolute Indian Cookery

I’ve cancelled my free subscription to Netflix

I’ve been waiting for ages for Netflix to come to the UK. My family uses it in Canada and its brilliant being able to stream videos with the touch of a button. So, when I heard an ad on the radio for it, I raced home and signed up even though having to register using my Facebook details annoyed me.

I was really thinking this was when my AppleTv as going to come into its own. For those of you who aren’t aware what it is it’s a small wireless device that allows me to stream content (music, videos, etc) from my PC to our TV, I love it, but getting content can be a bit of a struggle unless you’re willing to fork out £9.99 to buy films from iTunes.

The Netflix service is excellent in itself; it was easy to set up and when you compare the price of renting a single film from iTunes (£3.49) a subscription for £6 a month for unlimited films seemed like a bargain.

B-List Movies

But sadly, the content is very poor; I didn’t recognize many of the movies/TV programme nor was I inclined to watch many of them.

So, in the end I didn’t feel it was worth the monthly charge and cancelled it before I started accruing charges.

Fingers crossed the content improves and if it does I will be one of the first to sign up again.

Is Lovefilm any better?

In the meantime, Lovefilm is trying to compete and has launched their own streaming service, so I thought I’d try it out. It’s £4.99 a month and the content is much improved. However, I’m not able to stream to my TV.

I didn’t realise before I signed up that I wouldn’t be able to do this via my AppleTv. I’d cracked how to use Airplay to watch content via my iPad, but sadly the Lovefilm App prohibits you from doing this with Lovefilm films. The sound comes through but no movie. I would love to know why.

Come on guys sort it out!

I find the whole situation frustrating, I can see that the technology is available to offer a service that I want and am willing to pay for, but we have two companies that are offering services that are substandard.

I’d love your thoughts on this.

Virgin Money Launch

I was recently invited to a ‘secret’ event that was being hosted by Richard Branson at the Senate Building near Russell Square. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was linked to his new banking venture with Northern Rock, but beyond that I really didn’t know what to expect. However, as Branson is known for being a bit wacky and intrepid with his adventures, and there was beer on offer I thought I’d make the trip into London to see what it was all about.

Even with this limited information, I managed to persuade Helen from Actually Mummy to join me. We weren’t disappointed with the surprise! The 3D projection on the Senate building was amazing and we had front row seats.

If his new adventure is a success, in 20-30 years, if I’m still around, it will be great to say that I was there when Virgin Money launched back in 2012!