The Best Thing I've Ever Had In My Mouth!

This is not a joke people! This is an amazing slice of delicious truth that combines in your mouth creating a taste sensation that only the Gods could hope to produce. Do I exaggerate? Yeah of course I do, it’s kind of what I’m all about.

I recently met a friend for a drink after work, and as things usually go with a drink, one became two, which became many. Then of course what happens after a few drinks in a bar? No, not stumbling out with someone you’ve picked up. Something better.

Snack time, and what I ask you is the best pub sharer of them all. It is of course the amazing union of tortilla chips, salsa, soured cream and cheese. Street Name. Nachos! It’s a little heavenly party in your mouth with every bite. You don’t have to choose one taste; you got a plethora of taste sensation all in one. It’s sheer genius.

This however is not the end of the tale. Something better than the sweet taste of Nachos presented itself to me. My mate and I chatted over what to order and I put my feelings for nachos on the table- without as much gusto as I perhaps have in this instance- but to my delight the idea was met with more happiness than I had hoped for. We both shared an unhealthy love for Nachos.

After a brief moment of laughter and chat over this mutual love that had brought us closer together I stood up and made my way over to order.  Before I could step far she casually called after me.

“Get the pulled pork”

To which I replied.

“What like I sandwich.”

Through the distorted chatter of the bar she called back to me. I couldn’t have heard her right. I headed back to the table and apologised.

“Sorry” I said. “I thought you said pulled pork nachos.”

“I did!” She told me.

What in the sweet name of Baby Jesus was this bitch talking about? Someone had decided that nachos and pulled pork were not good enough separately but they had to be combined? What gourmet genius came up with this idea? Adding delicious shreds of pork to an already amazing share platter just blew my mind. Would my taste buds be able to handle this barrage of awesomeness it was about to receive? I was excited to find out.

Giving little regard for the price increase adding the pork would cause I made my way through the crowd to order the nachos and sat back and waited for them to come winging their way over to us.

When they arrived it was more than I could have dreamed of. Literally, the pile of food was more than I had ever seen in my life. I mean these guys weren’t messing around. There was easily enough food for a table of 5, but never one to turn down a challenge I attempted my first bite of “Shredded Nachos”. I believe I coined that phrase but don’t hold me to it. 

I picked up the triangular cheese covered corn of salty goodness and began swooping down into the ingredients like an eagle diving for its prey. I smothered the spicy tomato salsa on first, and then topped it with cool soured cream and guacamole. With great anticipation I placed a forkful of barbecue glazed shredded pork onto the already toppling mound of food and slowly, for fear of dropping any of it, brought it to my mouth.

It was an explosion of taste.  More than I’d hoped for. Every ingredient brought something to the table and complimented each other effortlessly. The amalgamation of flavours combining together in my mouth made for an exquisite orgasm of deliciousness. Not only did the sweet barbecue shredded pork round off much of the taste, but it also topped off the texture perfectly. Never again could I go back to plain old nachos. This would now always be my sharer of choice.  Like I said, it was the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth. I wasn’t lying!

Re-reading this I have come to terms with how much I actually love food, and I will always be a chubbly lovely! But got damn I gotta say, there’s no way skinny could make me feel any better than those bloody nachos! 

Revisting Youth

Sometimes the best thing to do when you’re stressed and feeling a bit meh with life is to take a step back in time. So that’s what I did J

I was lucky enough to have a little break from the city and go back to the Land of My Fathers! Don’t get me wrong, I love London. I love the pace of it, the people, and that there is always something to do. Sometimes though I need a break. From those exact things!

I decided for my hols to head home because I hadn’t seen family and friends for a long time, but also, I don’t visit different areas of Wales as often as I used to growing up as a child. When we were young, my sisters and I, we would always be taken out at the weekends to go for a run in the car. We would travel hours and hours, stopping here and there, and going for dinner, and then driving home. It was really an amazing thing that our parents did for us growing up.

The drive we used to take was all along the south west coast. We would drive through Carmarthen and all along Pendine, Saundersfoot, and Amroth. In the summer we would just drive to Pendine and spend a glorious day on the beach. I wanted to do this again. As an adult.

 I spoke to my boyfriend and told him of the little day out I wanted to do and he thought it would be nice, as he hadn’t really visited much of that part of Wales. It’s so strange, you can live somewhere all your life and never really see it all before you leave and set out on a new adventure. I haven’t been anywhere at all in North Wales, and only recently I’d even been to mid Wales.

Why didn’t I visit somewhere I’d never seen before then? Well I was feeling a bit nostalgic really. I wanted to take a journey back to a time that things were simpler, and check in with my memories from my youth.  

Spinning down the windy roads of the coast I couldn’t believe it had been so long since I’d been back down to a place I spent so much of my childhood. It was so breathtakingly beautiful, dropping down the hills to see the sea stretching out for miles. Listening to a play list of the best of the 80’s I sat in my little passenger sit prattling on about the various memories that were coming back to me. I pointed out different spots along the way that held a special place in my heart and told various stories of the different things we got up to as children.

We jumped out the car at Laughan and walked around on a little tour seeing all the places that Dylan Thomas had lived, worked, and written. We saw all the inspiration for his poems and stories, and stood in the same places as he’d stood. I love stuff like that. Being in a place so soaked with history. I recommend it to anyone to go and have a look; you get so caught up in the literature of it all.

We stopped in Pendine, and some things had changed.  I told Rob how the majority of the caravan park was just parking before. Where the caravans sat now was where my Dad would park the car when it was winter. My Mum and he would sit with cups of tea reading newspapers and books while we were sent out into wind and sometimes rain to get “fresh air”. A little trick to tire us out I now realise as an adult.

There was a small shop that sat at the cliffs edge which had closed and made way for a posh looking café. It made me sad. Kids would no longer queue up bare footed to get ice cream, and slush puppy.  Little things like that had changed, but the smell, and the feeling it gave me to be there were all the same as I remembered. I looked out to the sea, and could see us all playing in there. I could see my Mum and Dad doing their French tanning along the tide. I looked around and I’d never been more thankful for my childhood, or remembered how lucky we were to have had parents who kept us entertained and outdoors.

Travelling up through the coast we stopped at different places and each stop filled me with such a feeling of care free bliss. I had forgotten all the stresses of life. It was as if I’d taken on my childhood sense of freedom. We even climbed some cliffs like I did as a child and just sat and watched the sea. I honestly can’t believe it took me so long to go back, and I don’t understand why I don’t do it more. Why everyone doesn’t do it more. We’re so eager to get abroad and get to the sun that we don’t appreciate what’s on our doorstep. I’m sure you can say the same for Scotland and I guess even England. Jokes! England is a beautiful country which I’m ashamed to say I’ve seen more of than my home country.

It was the nicest day, and having someone to bore with all my stories was great! I’d recommend it to everyone to do a childhood adventure. It brings back memories that pictures just can’t, and it made me appreciate my parents more, remembering the lengths they’d go to to entertain us. Or put us to sleep!

We did the typical thing of having chips down by the sea, and of course some lovely candyfloss, again just like a child! In Saundersfoot we watched the fishermen bring in their catch for the day, and just as we were about to head back we decided all that walking deserved a pint, so we added on Tenby for good measure. I might have veered from my childhood course slightly but it wouldn’t’ be Welsh to refuse a pint at the end of a hard day! 

Bus Wanker to Bus Lover

Until recently I couldn’t tell you the last time I went on a long distance bus journey. You could definitely say I’d become a travel snob. I love my car. I love being in my own space, having my own space, and being able to stop whenever I can. So I was a little less than pleased when I realised I didn’t have the cash to throw into my petrol tank for a visit home. I couldn’t even do the train, which is my second favourite form of travel after my car. The prices so last minute were ridiculous, so my last resort. Getting a coach. I don’t know why I’ve got such a disdain for coach travel. Well long journey coach travel anyway. I spent so much time on them during my first two years of Uni, travelling to see my then boyfriend that I think I have conjured up some negative feelings towards them.  I think 3.5 hours on a cramp uncomfortable coach is enough to scar anyone for life.

The ticket though was £6, and when comparing that to a £60 train or car journey I thought I couldn’t’ really argue. I finished work and headed over to Victoria to get the coach. I know it’s me severely overreacting but God, I was really dreading it!  Haunted memories of my previous journeys at stupid o clock came rushing back. Leaks through the roof if it was raining. Freezing buses, or equally bad swelteringly hot ones. Why could they never just be working correctly? Then the dreaded thought, what if it’s full and I get a shit seat? Oh the horror of it! Bounding down the M4 in an aisle seat, or on the wheel, or even worse, next to the toilet.

I arrived at Victoria, and it was rammed! I managed to get a seat and just tried not to talk to anyone, though I could see we were all trying to figure out when to queue up. Was one of the queues forming for our coach?  There was no way of knowing. So I sat. As the time dragged on I realised I desperately needed a pee, and the way was too packed for me to get my suitcase. Plus I’d lose my seat. Turning to the girl next to me, I weighed her up. She seemed like a hippy. She had a massive backpack on, and smiled at me when she saw I was looking. So I took a chance, and asked her to watch my bag as I darted to the loo.

She was still there when I got back and was talking to another lady. We began chatting the 3 of us, and the non-hippy was actually travelling on my bus as far as Bristol. She was studying in London so we had a lot to chat about. I did wish the hippy lady was coming with us though. I asked her where she was from and she replied “nowhere really.” Well that was a statement I needed more juice from, but alas she was heading somewhere else.

Getting on the bus I was met with a happy surprise. It looked as if since I last travelled these fleets of coaches had had a little make over. Obviously with their growing popularity they had a bit extra cash to splash on the buses! There was no smell of urine coming from the toilet, and all the interior was clean and new. It was full on the top deck so I sat at a table seat. Which I’d never done before. I’m not a fan of someone sitting next to me let alone another 3 next to me.

The seat was comfy though, and there was room between myself and the other three people at the table to put all my stuff. The thing I’ve realised now is that dreading the bus was half the battle. I even made some travelling companions on the way. We chatted between us, and played various card games which one of the boys had on him. I played a while, sat and read, and then just stared out the window and had some time with my thoughts. I even got some extra work done because they had Wi-Fi! Wi-Fi. On a coach. Now that blew my mind a bit I must say.

The journey was pleasant and over quite quickly considering the 3.5 hours I was on it.  It has the same comforts as a train but with a tenth of the price. So adding on the extra hour and a half still seemed worth it rather than spending £60.I had such a good experience that I’m tempted to never use my car again to go home. As much as I do love travelling in my car, I hate traffic, and I thought sitting on the coach I had some relaxing time to myself. I had time to do stuff I like doing, and just relax, taking in the scenery and the people.  Not worrying about cars, and jams, that was the drivers issue not mine. So the next few trips I’ve booked home are on a coach. I’m just hoping that I didn't luck out and get the one coach that was nice, maybe next trip will be the coach of my nightmares! Eek, watch this space.

An Overheard View on Gay Marriage

To begin with I just want to put a stamp on it that I am pro-Gay Marriage. In fact I don’t think there should be Gay Marriage and Straight Marriage. There really should just be Marriage. In its basic form, Marriage is simply the joining of two people who love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together. Meaning two people of opposite gender or same gender should just be getting married. If we have to put a Gay before something, then maybe we should have to put a Straight before things too. I have a childlike mind when it comes to homophobia, as in, I just don’t get it. I can’t understand how an opinion of someone can be altered simply by the gender they are attracted to. That however is a debate too long to get into. People are all entitled to their opinions regardless of how ignorant and uneducated they may be.

Very recently I was subjected to an opinion not only of “Gay Marriage” but of “Gays” in general. My family and I had decided to pop out and get some lunch a couple of days ago. It was a really gorgeous spring day and we were together for the first time since Christmas. There’s a lovely pub near my sister which serves great food so we got dressed and we were on our way. We went in and were seated in the restaurant, and to be honest, we’d barely sat down before my sister had overheard the beginning of a conversation of some elderly people next to us. They were discussing “Gay Marriage” and how they don’t agree with it. It began quite simple, they thought that it was something they didn’t think Gay People needed as they had civil ceremonies. My sister wanted to get up and say something but I told her to just ignore it. When old people discuss their views on Gay Rights I can’t help but defend them slightly as I feel it’s a generational thing. Like when they’re politically incorrect. I feel like they don’t know any better, they were brought up in a different time to us, so they’re ignorance can be maybe not excused but tolerated.

Their conversation became something more however; hateful overly opinionated venomous talk is something completely different. As they continued, it became difficult to put their conversation down to plain ignorance.

One woman exclaimed.

“They can have their ceremonies and whatever, and they can live together, but Marriage. No. That’s our thing, for us. If I was ever invited to one I wouldn’t go. Definitely not.”

It was the segregation in her words that really, for lack of a better word, pissed me off. It was an us and them scenario. As if she was speaking about a different species all together. We began having a conversation at our table loudly berating their opinion. They seemed to be oblivious to how upsetting their conversation was to overhear, or how angry they were making us. Just as my sister and I were weighing up the psychological damage we’d suffer to just make out to make a point we heard something that I never thought I would hear someone say in my life.

One woman was talking of how she has a gay friend and before she could even continue. The other woman interrupted and said.

“Well Yes, you would have one of them as a friend but that would be it. You couldn’t be friends with two of them.”

It was at this point I stood up and just shouted “Let’s move!”

As if having a Gay friend was OK as long as you didn’t associate with more than one! What the hell was this in her mind? How was this logical to her? If you met a second Gay person what would you do? Make them fight it out to see which one you would keep?! Could you have two Gay friends as long as they weren’t in the same room together? What would happen in her mind if they were in the same room together?

I physically couldn’t’ sit there any more. I knew that if I’d heard any more I would have had to have said something. As much as I feel I should have said something to them, to stick up for the rights of others, I also don’t make a habit of shouting at the elderly, and I know my voice would have made no difference to the opinion this horrible person had.  

In this day and age I can’t believe that people could be so rude and hateful towards another person. Towards people who they don’t know, towards people who've done nothing to them. It’s absolutely disgraceful. We shouldn’t even live in a society where Gay or Straight is even a question or an issue any more. It has no effect on how qualified a person is to look after a child or whether they should be joined in matrimony. People having any sort of judgement over others because of their sexual orientation are just plain archaic, and one day hopefully these uneducated, unbearable people will be firmly put in their place and seen for the absolute detestable, foolish people they are. It is something that gets me so angry right now I can barely articulate my feelings towards it.

After our lunch we happened to be leaving at the same time as them, and as we paid the bill we were given beautiful dirty looks, one of them even mumbling something while she stared at us. We’d made it pretty obvious to why we had moved. We even ended up telling the young guy who had been serving us what had happened, and he replied how glad he was he hadn’t heard it.

What would they have said if they knew a Gay man had been serving them?

Out in the car park they stood staring at us as we got into our cars. As if they couldn’t believe that we’d been rude to them. I thought for a moment there was actually going to be a rumble in the lot! There wasn’t, obviously. I hope I never again cross people like that, but it’s an unfortunate thing in the world we live in that people like that are everywhere, and will always be poisoning our society.