A quick post from me, I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas period and New Year! I won't be posting anything from now until 1st January 2020. Make sure to have lots of mince pies, all the prosecco and more importantly lots of PIGS IN BLANKETS. I hope everyone has a wonderful festive period! I'll most likely be active on Social Media but on the blogging front, over out until the New Year...

A few weeks ago, Emma, Rachael, Amy and I were invited to try out the Greyhound Inn at Corfe Castle. I'd never been to Corfe Castle prior to this evening but my god, even in the dark and lit up, the ruins are picturesque!

We all met, went in and were greeted by the manager who was very friendly and welcoming. We were shown to our table and give the wine list to peruse... my kind of first course! We settled on a bottle of New Zealand Aroha Bay Sauvignon Blank to share. We then got down to selecting our food.


As usual, I was stuck between two starters but luckily Rachael was on hand to share with me. We chose the Morroccan Lamb Kofta skewers which were served on a chargrilled flatbread with garlic pickle on a super grain salad and one of their special starters, the tempura prawns. I really enjoyed the prawns which were served with a sweet chilli sauce. The batter was light and they weren't overly greasy unlike a lot of tempura dishes. The koftas were nicely spiced and the garlic pickle was out of this world, but unfortunately the koftas were slightly overdone making them quite tough. Sad, because every other element was delicious!


For main, I was SO HAPPY to see bangers and mash on the specials menu, so I opted for this. I have a real obsession with mash at the moment, and let me tell you, this did NOT disappoint! The sausages were good and tasted like they were made from high quality pork. One of the sausages had been kofta-ized (i.e. slightly overdone) but this was only one end of a single sausage (there were three so a fab sized portion!).

This however did not stop me from choosing a little dessert. I chose a scoop of honeycomb hash ice cream which was a perfect ending to the meal.

Overall, despite kofta gate, it was a really good meal. The company was great, the food was good, the wine was fantastic and the views were picturesque! I'd definitely go again as the burgers sounded amazing, as did the buddah bowl. The presentation was incredible and it seemed to be fairly reasonable in terms of price. The service was also excellent, every member of staff was attentive!

In my family we have many Christmas traditions. As my Dad's birthday falls on Christmas Eve, we always have a cheeseboard dinner, for example. We also always watch 'It's A Wonderful Life' as a family, without fail every year (and one of us cries at it, without fail every year- usually me). When Pines and Needles got in touch with an opportunity to apply to review a real Christmas tree, I couldn't reply quick enough!

So, on Sunday, my sister and I went on a Christmas tree retrieval mission!

I had a quick google of the opening hours and was delighted to see that they have long weekend hours, perfect for an early bird like me who works during the week! We set off from Salisbury at about 7.20am and arrived in Boscombe for just after 8am.

We parked up a few streets aways and wandered down to the pop up shop. We knew we wanted a 7ft tree and we also knew we wanted a Nordmann Fir non drop tree. I'd like to note, we knew this through a mixture of google and my Dad's previous years of Christmas tree buying. My sister and I on the otherhand have absolutely zero idea and couldn't tell you a Nordmann Fir from a Fraser Fir. Luckily, the gentleman running the Bournemouth faction of Pines and Needles was super knowledgeable and friendly! He was happy to unwrap and show us the different trees.

For a small shop there were so many trees, it was quite impressive! We selected our perfect Christmas tree and then it was on to wrapping the tree up and sawing off a bit of the base. Apparently this is a practice undertaken to keep the tree fresher for longer.



Within 5 minutes our beautiful tree was wrapped up. The gentleman (I'm the worst with names!) offered to help bring it to the car, but my sister is strong and she threw it over her shoulder and we were on our way! Although, it much be said that fitting a 7ft tree in a small Corsa is no easy feat... I had a little tree friend sat on my shoulder the whole drive home!


Pines and Needles are British Christmas tree specialists with locations all over the south and London and you can even order online (super convenient)! They sell Scottish grown Christmas trees exclusively, which are predominantly Nordmann Fir (famed for being non drop). Prices range from £39.95 for a 3ft Nordmann Fir to £199.95 for a 12ft Nordmann Fir, which I believe to be fairly standard for real Christmas trees.

Our tree is gorgeous, it's bushy, strong and green. We've decorated it with a silver and white theme and we love it. In my opinion, nothing beats a real Christmas tree and I'd certainly purchase from Pines and Needles next year as the customer service was great and we've got a high quality tree!

Last Wednesday I was invited to attend a collaboration between Gulliver's Farm and The Old Thatch  called Farm to Fork. I jumped at the chance to attend, as the premise is something I fully support. The idea behind the evening was that Gulliver's Farm, a social enterprise for those with learning difficulties and disabilities, would supply all the produce, and also the hospitality in conjunction with The Old Thatch.

Gulliver's Farm itself consists of four main areas, the Farm, The Market Garden, A Deli Kitchen and the Farm Ship. All of the produce served was both organic and biodynamic. The meat used also had high animal welfare standards and they feed grass exclusively.

Emma arrived at my house, and we drove across to The Old Thatch, which is only in Wimborne (about 15 minutes away!) and met up with Rachael. We grabbed a glass of wine (small, of course!) and took in the atmosphere. It was buzzing! There were so many people, and live music! We were  then shown to our table where we were sat with the parents of one of the lads who works on the farm, and also some of the guys and girls who work on the farm. It was fantastic to get to know them! They were so knowledgable about the produce which adorned the tables (squash, carrots, pumpkins etc) and I really felt as if I learnt something from them.


We were first served bread and butter whilst we awaited the kick off of the food- I'm always about the bread and butter. It was good bread and good butter.. what more can I say?!


For amuse bouche, we were served 'Simon's Welsh Rarebit' gougeres, which were essentially a savoury profiterole. Choux pastry mixed with cheese. DELISH. I love anything cheesy, and anything with pastry.. so right up my street!



Next up, we had starters. The starter was a pumpkin and sage ravioli with a chestnut emulsion and basil oil. I have a confession, I'd never eaten pumpkin before this evening! I'd carved them for Halloween of course, but never actually eaten pumpkin. I loved the pasta, it was cooked perfectly al dente, the chestnut emulsion and basil oil was a great combo and I actually enjoyed the pumpkin and sage filling- although I'm not sure it would be my first choice...


Then it was onto the main course. Sirloin of organic beef, leeks, onion and madeira jus. The beef was cooked fantastically, a medium rare which is what I'm all about. However, THE MASH. I am all about that mash. It was creamy, it was luscious and quite frankly I could've eaten a vat of it. I'm literally dribbling at my keyboard. I also enjoyed the jus, leeks and onion- an all round all rounder for me!

We had a brief interlude between mains and desserts where we have a good opportunity to chat and socialise!


Then it was time for dessert- my favourite course of this meal. I've always loved an apple crumble. My mum makes a superb apple crumble, I have to say. The apple crumple met my expectations- it was the perfect combination of sweet and sour with a crumbly oat topping and a delicious milk ice cream.

After dessert, we settled in for the key note speech which was given by Bethany Doran, a 2012 Paralympian. She explained her journey, beginning with the moment she found running, to the London 2012 Olympic Games, to her tough decision to leave the sport. She then explained how passionate she was in contributing to the farm and how important this social enterprise is to the local community. We also had a quick raffle, in which a hamper was won by an attendee!

Tickets for the evening were £45 per person which I think is fairly reasonable for a four course taster menu, entertainment and a key note speaker. They also catered for different dietary requirements which is super inclusive.

Thank you so much to both The Old Thatch and Gulliver's Farm for having me- I had a fantastic evening! Keep your eyes peeled.. because I'm sure due to the success of this evening there will definitely be another!